Terms & Whatnot

[Antman9]

Terms & Whatnot

Terraforming
Moons and planets that have been terraformed within the past two hundred years—like those in the industry heavy Kalidasa System and the rough-and-tumble Blue Sun System—are more likely to be less settled than those in the Core and Border Planets. Basic foodstuffs, toiletries, and other goods are often in short supply. Truth be told, the further you get away from the Core, the more desperate folk’ll tend to be—no matter who they are.

The Wonders of Terraformin’
The Earth-That-Was got all used up almost five hundred years ago. Billions of folk left the planet on generational starships to find a new system, leaving Sol, Luna, Mars, and all the other planets and moons behind. Thanks to the wonders of terraforming, the planet Persephone is now almost exactly identical to humanity’s birthplace. Everythin’ that old girl had, Persephone has. Volcanoes, oceans, forests, mines, ranches, big cities—you name it, she’s got it.

Terraforming comes in two flavors—terraforming and helioforming. It takes several years to turn a hunk of rock into a planet and then stabilize that world’s environment. Even though terraforming technology has advanced some since its inception, newer planets and moons aren’t exactly safe. Most settlers who live there have some kind of affliction that has to be cured with medicine or surgery. Helioforming—a newer and more dangerous process—is used to turn a brown dwarf into an artificial sun. This technique was first deployed in the Blue Sun System, which is the youngest area of the ’Verse, and the process is still a touch unstable.

Over 40% of the celestial bodies found in the ’Verse ain’t fit for anything living, human or otherwise. Some planets, like Shadow, were bombed into no-man’s-land during the Unification War. Others, like Oberon or Three Hills, were never developed or, like Destiny, have been quarantined by the Alliance. Due to the size of the ’Verse, there’s plenty of room for folk to spread out some. Which is a darn good thing, too, for the Alliance don’t have any plans to terraform new worlds just yet.

AG Terraforming Tech
This is the same technology used to terraform new planets and moons. Remember, this tech doesn’t always work perfectly—especially on Rim Planets. Almost every location outside of the Core has its own little quirk that affects the settlers—a rare disease or common malady and the like. This isn’t the sort of tech your Crew will normally come across, as most planets were terraformed over two hundred years ago, but it’s important to know it exists. After all, if you find yourself on a brand new moon outside of the Core like Whitefall, you’ll likely be stricken with some kind of ailment if you stick around too long.