Lokira

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Major Appearances

Minor Appearances

Lokira is a major world orbiting Sakase and undisputedly its most important. If not the most important planet in its region, Aylathiya, it certainly numbers amongst the most widely known worlds. Its population is not the highest, its factories not the most productive, nor its home species the most influential. Lokira is, however, the site of one of the most important developments in civilization's history—egalitarian democracy. It was not the first in the universe to develop it, but it was certainly the first in Aylathiya to do so.

Lokira is home of the Zythyn people and now hosts 32 billion of them on its surface. A further 350 billion live in orbit of the planet and on its moons. The planet follows a trend in The Cenades in which the majority of the population live in space habitats rather than on the surface. Even Lokira's capital Toqapkal City is a massive drum habitat in polar orbit.

Lokira is a major world in the Lowyzol Federation, with Lokira's population making up three fourths of the federations component states. As a result, Lowyzol is often referred to as "Lokira" as a metonym.

Biosphere

Lokira's biosphere developed an independent abiogensis 4.0 billion years ago. These carbon-based microbes form the Lokirae sphere of life. 100 million years ago, a large incursion took place by the Ma'eau sphere of life, bringing with it the more familiar kingdoms of animalia, plantae, fungi, and monera. The result is a hybrid ecosystem in which the two spheres clashed for dominance. While Lokira's native life never evolved to be multicellular, their influence has had a great effect on invasive species that soon became just as native as it was.

The Zythyns are a mammalian species descended from this initial settling, although it is unclear how this initial wave of mammals came to the planet. The most well-supported hypothesis suggests something similar to panspermia but involving spaceborne life. Unlike microbes, who could brave the vacuum of space in many cases, even simple mammals could not. Perhaps as few as two or three shrew-like animals were the only who survived, licking up the algae analogs to survive.

Plants and fungi arrived with the mammals and arthropods. All plants evolved from a single species of grass and the fungi from simple yeasts and molds. The result can be seen in the ecosystem to this day. In place of trees, multiple grass plants coil their blades around one another to create the support necessary for increased height. The largest multicellular fungi are molds that have developed a symbiotic relationship with the native photosynthesizers, essentially making them into plants.