The galactic political situation draws upon the map – though necessarily embellishing it – provided in Franz Joseph's Star Fleet Technical Manual. In contrast to Joseph's map, the Star Fleet Universe's "Alpha Octant" also depicts the size and position of the Tholian and Gorn Empires; the Technical Manual only shows the incidental locations where the USS Enterprise crew encountered the species in the episodes wherein they made their respective appearances (viz., "The Tholian Web" and "Arena" ). File:SFU Galaxy Map.jpg|A political map of the Milky Way Galaxy, as portrayed in the Star Fleet Universe File:Alpha Octant.jpg|A map of the Alpha Octant, home of the United Federation of Planets (blue, in center) and its neighboring factions