The Orion Registry was a semi-regular census of the Orion people and the Orion Colonies, focusing on trade and business data. It was published at approximately ten-year intervals.
Following the fall of the Orion Empire, a time marked by arrogance and pride during the turbulent period of the Reverse, a humbled Botchok Planetary Congress (BPC) discreetly shifted its focus from government to accounting. To restore economic order, the BPC compiled the Orion Registry, which would list all the remaining Orion Colonies, their populations, great families, economic data, preferences in trade and various other business statistics.
It was a major undertaking that cost several lives, but the first Orion Registry was published in January, 1301 CE (reference stardate −7/0101) and was accepted across the Colonies. It showed that the Orion population across 507 worlds had been reduced to only 31.05 billion and falling. But it proved successful and useful too, by improving trade across the Colonies. Among these, corporations returned to develop Rhinate, and Vem'ir achieved full production once more.
With this, the Registry restored order and slowed the decline, thus finally bringing an end to the Reverse. When the Orion population was recorded as stabilizing at 20.315 billion on 213 worlds in 1715 CE (stardate −3/15), this triggered the so-called Orion Indian Summer, with close to a century of cultural redevelopment and renewed interest in colonization. (FASA RPG - The Orions modules: Book of Common Knowledge, Book of Deep Knowledge)
Unfortunately, the Orion Registry was equally valuable to the Orion pirates, who'd been growing in numbers, boldness and desperation through the Reverse. The Registry showed prime targets to strike and places to avoid. Larger bands formed, growing to the scale of pirate fleets, and instead of lone ships, they began to raid entire Colonies. This culminated in the devastating sacking of the Tellun system by the notorious Half-a-Man Sooris on the 19th February, 1894 CE (stardate −2/9402.19) and left over 2.5 million people dead.
The Registry continued to chart the decline of the Orion Colonies. Finally, the 73rd Edition of the Orion Registry, published on 8th September, 1916 (stardate −1/1609.08), reported another stabilization, with only 12.7 billion Orions surviving on only 64 planets, most in a region less than 20 parsecs from Rigel. Colonies outside this boundary, and no longer in contact with the homeworld of Botchok (Rigel VIII), were not included in the Registry. They were left in the Outer Dark, lost, forgotten and left to fend for themselves.
The Registry survived, however. In the late 23rd century, it stated that 325 major families dwelt on Nolth in peace. (FASA RPG - The Orions module: Book of Common Knowledge)