D'Naevium: Difference between revisions
More actions
No edit summary |
No edit summary Tag: 2017 source edit |
||
| (22 intermediate revisions by 6 users not shown) | |||
| Line 1: | Line 1: | ||
{{ |
{{Cosmoria}} |
||
{{Infobox World|title1 = D'Naevium|image1 = D'Naevium.png|caption_image1 = The planet is rich in many forms of life.|sun = Waimarrin|moons = 4 dwarf moons|continents = |native_fauna = |native_flora = |affiliation = |population = One Billion|languages = Rorran|currency = *Alkos |
|||
*C-Units|landmarks = |major_settlements = Various subterranean mega-cities that extend thousands of kilometers below the surface.|leader = Grand Master Epicurus Thero|region=[[Martial Space]]|government=Intendancy}} |
|||
'''D'Naevium''' is a unique terrestrial world home to the [[Ror Units]]. Seas of mercury, gallium, benzene, and brine covered much of the surface. Seemingly unnatural rock formations dot the world while plants much more reminiscent of solar panels absorbed the rays of the bright [[Waimarrin]]. Other machine-like lifeforms prowled the surface and swam the impossible seas. Despite the complex and rich ecosystem, the planet's current form is only ten million years old. Below the uppermost ten meters, much more conventional strata exist, complete with more organic fossils, coal deposits, and normal concentrations of metals. |
|||
{{Capital_Planet|title1 = D'Naevium|image1 = Scr00003-1576776056.jpg|caption1 = The planet is rich in many forms of life.|sun = Wik'Jawum|moon_(s) = 4 dwarf moons|continents = There is one global oceans with one large continent and tens of thousands of small islands scattered across the planet.|native_fauna = Nanobots, Eukaryotes that incorporated nanobots, The Ror Units.|native_flora = Unique plants that use miniature solar panels for photosynthesis.|afiliation = |population = 1.4 Quadrillion|language_(s) = Rorran|money = Alkos|landmarks = Each species under the control of the Intendency gets a 100 meter monolith covered in the name of the species written in its native language.|main_cities = The Capital|local_governor = Unit I}}'''D'Naevium''' is a temperate planet located in the [[Via Lacrimosa Galaxy]]. It is the current capital of the [[Alkan Intendancy]] as well as a chivalric order known as the '''Alkan Order'''. As the most populous planet of the Intendancy, D'Naevium is one of its most valuable worlds within the Intendancy. It is the home world to the [[Ror Units]], a species made up of nanomachines in lieu of actual cells. |
|||
D'Naevium is the current capital of the [[Alkan Intendancy]]. Most of the planet's native flora and fauna remain undisturbed as the Ror Units live in vast subterranean cities. Drilling deep into the mostly hardened mantle, thousands of commune-like cities hold over one billion individuals. The rest live in a vast network of space stations orbiting D'Naevium like a ring system extending over a quarter of an astronomical unit in any direction. |
|||
== Physical == |
|||
D'Naevium has a large mass for a terrestrial world. While this should suggest deep oceans of water and a thick atmosphere, D'Naevium has neither. Krypton, xenon, and argon make up most of the atmosphere. Oxygen is produced in small quantities by rare life forms, but this molecule is toxic to life and quickly attacks whatever exposed metal it can find. |
|||
An unknown event 10 million years before the present day destroyed what was likely a normal planetary surface. While normally planetary destruction entails an asteroid impact or a stellar flare stripping the world of its atmosphere, D'Naevium became host to an event similar to the widely-feared "grey goo scenario," the annihilation of an ecosystem or perhaps even a planet by self-replicating nano-machines. The world became host to a [[Noosphere#Noospheric Disturbances|Noospheric Disturbance]], a disturbance in local reality facilitated by the [[Noosphere|collective conscious]]. In other words, the leading hypothesis is that the fundamental nature of reality temporarily broke down, destroying its civilization and ecosystem and replacing it with an approximation. |
|||
| ⚫ | |||
As the capital of a knightly order, especially one with the title of "'''Prime Intendant'''," there is a large government apparatus present on the planet. Local affairs are handled directly by the security agencies overseeing the protection of the knights. While most planets in the Intendancy have some level of self-governance, D'Naevium is ruled entirely by the highest echelons of government. |
|||
=== Ecosystem === |
|||
Most of the inhabitants of the planet live in orbit around it on large rings orbiting the equator. This was done to more easily govern the populace as the fully artificial rings proved to separate the potentially dangerous inhabitants from the government. A small number of citizens live on the surface of the planet; something that is incredibly expensive. These people are usually ludicrously wealthy members of the merchant class that want to easily interact with the Alkan Order in person. |
|||
Standing in a typical ecosystem on D'Naevium would do much to reveal the staggering array of life. Small crystalline formations, a few millimeters in size, coat every rock in a rough glistening sheen. They metabolize silicon compounds and metals by concentrated sunlight into a small area. Larger forms of life include flora shockingly similar to solar panels, using the electricity produced to convert the various nutrients they collect into energy-storing molecules. In the distance, monumentally tall wind turbines generate power, only these are massive fungi using the planet's strong winds to generate energy for their growth. They will soon choke the air with a thick smog of spores that play a key role in the planet's ecosystem. |
|||
"Grazing" nearby is a herd of bulky hexapods of considerable size. They make a whirring and crunching sound as they scrape rock and crystal from the ground, grinding it into a fine powder. After having their fill, they began meandering over to the nearest body of liquid. As they drink, liquid metal dissolves the contents of their mouths, allowing for digestion. This liquid is the element mercury, filling the air with a toxic vapor that is essential to the metabolism of most of the planet's life. |
|||
| ⚫ | |||
This planet is home to a unique form of life classified as "syntharyotic organisms." These organisms are made up of nanites in lieu of cells. These units are called nanites to distinguish them from fully artificial machines. |
|||
| ⚫ | |||
About 4.5 Billion years ago, it is theorized that an advanced civilization lived on the planet D'Naevium. This theory is supported by very ancient shards of plastic found on the largest moon of D'Naevium, a thin layer of plastic 2 micrometers thick over most of the planet, and some unusually pure chunks of metal orbiting the planet that may have once been satellites. |
|||
In the distance, thunder roars as clouds of gallium metal collide with mercury carried by a jet stream, the interaction of the metals creating hugely energetic storms. Within the clouds are glowing points, only more forms of life that use the updrafts created by the storms and their electric potential to feed. Shortly thereafter, strong winds deliver the first snow of the season, crystals of mostly pure gallium that soon will form deep drifts. |
|||
This civilization was advanced enough to have developed some sort of self-replicating nanotechnology. Unfortunately for them, this technology ended up consuming all the pure metal on the surface of the planet. |
|||
After the storm passes, large fixed-wing aircraft fly overhead, although these are yet more animals. Their propellers whir loudly as small airborne parasites pester them. Unlike most aircraft, their natural origin is clear with writhing masses affixed to them as well as numerous legs curled beneath their main bodies. They possess large eyes looking down, surveying the landscape, briefly considering the strange interloper standing on the surface before moving on. |
|||
The nanomachines ended up covering over fifty percent of the surface of the planet, filled the lungs and gills of most species of animals, destroyed all technology, and crowded out bacteria and other micro-organisms. This caused a mass-extinction event of epic proportions. Not only was technology destroyed, but thousands of nuclear power plants melted down (this is known due to several artificial isotopes remaining on the surface of the planet). Since they already coated most of the surface, this only made things worse. Eventually, all life on the planet was destroyed. |
|||
Before long, night falls. Despite no moons to illuminate the night, the large artificial ring system more than makes up for any light it may be missing. Its glittering space habitats and ships offer a brief distraction from the planet's unique life. Its majestic form, however, is soon occluded by distance airborne masses. Numerous small creatures scurry across the landscape, escaping judgment from above as hovering organisms drop rods of metal from high in the atmosphere, instantly crushing those creatures unfortunate enough to be targeted. Before long, they descend, feasting upon the annihilated corpses of their prey. |
|||
There are only a handful of simple fossils from before the mass extinction event. These mostly include traditional bacteria and other single-celled organisms. |
|||
===Nanomachine Layout=== |
|||
The original nanomachines were about 4 micrometers across. They were covered in cillia-like hair which could propel the nanomachine through water or, if need be, drag them across dry ground. The machines were theorized to have miniature thermo-electric generators, causing them to seek out heat sources so they could have a steady source of power. |
|||
Moving from this temperate area towards the polar region, pools of benzene can be found. Where gallium is never hot enough to melt, the ecosystem fundamentally changes. Unlike the opaque seas of mercury and gallium that cover most of the world, the benzene creates a tidal pool, an oasis for life forms dependent on the fluid for survival. Numerous creatures swim in the pool, just as voracious and diverse as their larger airborne counterparts. |
|||
They had a limited self-repair system, but could not maintain themselves forever. When it died, a nearby nanomachine would usually harvest its material and use it to reproduce, as there was only so much pure metal around for them to reproduce with. Each nano-machine had a very simple memory system. In this system was the script used to control the organism. Like biological genetic code, this script could change over time, allowing for a mutation. This script mostly contained layout and behavioral instructions. |
|||
| ⚫ | |||
The nanomachine population fell to about ten percent of what it was at first due to the lack of available metal. The corpses of dead animals soon decayed away. Once the decomposers ran out of material to decompose, a mass die-off occurred. Biological bacteria remained alive for another two billion years before being out-competed by the evolving nanomachines. On land, the lack of material and the difficulty of movement caused most nanomachines to move into the ocean or oxidize rapidly. |
|||
Towards the equator, large fields of solar panels on long stalks make up most of the "plant life." Here, water is most common, the substance life-giving even on this utterly foreign world. As large droplets of water blanket these fields, the panels quickly hide their faces to protect themselves from the deluge. After the rains pass, the humming of drone-like creatures fills the air as they feed, on the plants or each other. Much like everywhere else, the air is teeming with large amounts of life, some like airships, some like planes, and some entirely divorced from conventional means of air-based transportation. As the soil dries, kite-like platforms rise from the ground, strong winds keeping them airborne. At once, they cooperatively ensnare an unsuspecting balloon-like animal, bringing it down so the decomposition can spread its nutrients to their roots. |
|||
Their scripts were intentionally designed to be stable, so it took them over a billion years to finally start mutating. These mutations eventually added up, resulting in a new "species." These machines still needed electricity, but they managed to incorporate a form of sugar fuel cells to harvest energy. This allowed them to become predatory to the bacteria that remained on the planet. |
|||
D'Naevium's ecosystem, dominated by creatures of the air rather than creatures of the sea, seems to be entirely inverted to conventional worlds. The deep seas of mercury are almost lifeless as sunlight does not penetrate deep at all. Gallium is no better; most of it is frozen as the top layer absorbs most of the star's heat. A small white speck can be seen in the distance, rapidly rising in the atmosphere, a reminder that D'Naevium is not merely a wild world; an entire civilization resides on this planet. |
|||
Every nanomachine began to utilize elements like silicon and aluminum which were far more common in the crust of [[D'Naevium]]. Some even adapted to use insoluble crystals as their main body. A stunning array of nanomachines formed. Shells, drill-like appendages for hunting, creating small bursts of electricity to hunt, propellers to move, creating threads like web to capture nutrients, and dozens of other strategies emerged to survive. Most found themselves congregating around hydro-thermal vents to gather heat. |
|||
=== Cities === |
|||
Around 1.5 billion years ago, they developed miniature solar panels to take advantage of the bright sun of D'Naevium. There were species that concentrated light to create heat for their thermo-electric generators, others used the light to create sugars, and others used the light as a "forge" to better harvest metals they needed to grow. Around this point, scientists stop classifying them as "nanomachines" and, instead, call them "nanites." |
|||
Underground, beneath the hostile ecosystem, is a much tamer world of cave creatures. Here the Ror Units have carved out an existence. Large settlements in natural lava tunnels and voids represent most of the population. Many cities are alone in voids thousands of kilometers across. Much like space, these isolated cities represent points of artificial light in the void. Radiating from the cities are high-speed rail lines, elevators leading to the surface and deeper below, and isolated settlements devoted to production or some other function. |
|||
===Multicellular Life Origin=== |
|||
Eventually, "multicellular" life emerged on the planet. It is theorized that the first multicellular lifeforms were small collections of photosynthesizers that could better concentrate light onto solar panels. Once the component nanites began to specialize, they became more advanced. Eventually, predators would form due to pressure the photosynthesizers put onto them. These predators filtered large amounts of water through themselves to gather smaller organisms to absorb their nutrients. |
|||
While many cities still practice their traditional lifestyles, some as traditional as ten million years prior, most are sufficiently advanced post-scarcity societies deeply tied to galactic trade and culture. Since living on D'Naevium proper costs a premium, the only permitted way to make more space on the planet is to hollow out space below existing settlements or to live on the world's abundant orbiting habitats. |
|||
The first macroscopic organisms were small colonies of filter-feeders on the sea floor. They eventually developed a sort of "turbine" that would generate energy using the current, allowing them to pump more water towards themselves. These turbines served as the basis for propeller-based organisms that would later evolve. The first macroscopic free-swimming organisms used propellers to move through the water. |
|||
| ⚫ | |||
Others developed a unique way of reproducing. These nanites essentially became viruses. They found a way to infect large organisms to cause them to create copies of themselves. They often injected their code into the memories of their host organisms, although they would often not kill their hosts. In fact, viruses that killed hosts were incredibly rare. The reason is that hijacking the nanite and using it to continually manufacture new units is far more useful than killing the host before it could produce as many copies. |
|||
As the headquarters of the largest order of [[Paladins]] in Cosmoria, the [[Alkan Intendancy]], there is a large government apparatus present on the planet. Security agencies handle local affairs and answer directly to members of the order. Non-members are classified as "guests" and usually handle bureaucratic needs while those in orbit are outsiders. Emissaries from [[Enyo]], the capital world of the [[Greater Martial Consilium]], officially outrank the paladins, however, they have little de facto power due to their low numbers. |
|||
| ⚫ | |||
<br /> |
|||
The planet is home to several million "species" that did not form via Darwinian evolution. While evolution has since kicked in full force since the origin of these organisms, most suddenly appeared. |
|||
| ⚫ | |||
About ten million years ago, an advanced civilization lived on D'Naevium. Ancient satellites and artificial substances encased deep underground shed light on this civilization. The fossil record was fairly normal until this time as well. This civilization may have ushered in their end or were victims of random chance. Regardless, their world has changed beyond recognition due to forces still poorly understood. |
|||
===Common characteristics=== |
|||
Life across D'Naevium shares several characteristics implying a common origin. Vocalization is universally done by spinning a disk-like structure against a needle, giving life a distinctly artificial hollow sound characterized by static. Most organisms depend on electricity to store or generate energy, using this electricity for gear-like structures and motors. |
|||
Carbon is almost absent from life, but water is an essential nutrient required in many chemical reactions. The substance is common and storms often deposit it at the same time as metal precipitation events. Instead of cells, small nano-scale machines are usually present. Mimicking biological cells, these machines depend on electric potential to run and a steady supply of nutrients. |
|||
| ⚫ | |||
Since the formation of life, evolution created variations on the original life forms. Since little in the environment has changed since the origin of this life, scientists can study the original life almost directly. It seems that most life on the planet has biological analogs in the fossil record. Most of the analogs for airborne life existed in the seas and vice versa. |
|||
[[Category:Planets]] |
[[Category:Planets]] |
||
[[Category: |
[[Category:Martial_Space]] |
||
[[Category:Scope: Cosmoria - Aylathiya]] |
|||
[[Category:Author: Duodecillionaire]] |
|||
Latest revision as of 18:32, August 11, 2025
D'Naevium
Waimarrin
Grand Master Epicurus Thero
Intendancy
One Billion
Various subterranean mega-cities that extend thousands of kilometers below the surface.
- Alkos
- C-Units
D'Naevium is a unique terrestrial world home to the Ror Units. Seas of mercury, gallium, benzene, and brine covered much of the surface. Seemingly unnatural rock formations dot the world while plants much more reminiscent of solar panels absorbed the rays of the bright Waimarrin. Other machine-like lifeforms prowled the surface and swam the impossible seas. Despite the complex and rich ecosystem, the planet's current form is only ten million years old. Below the uppermost ten meters, much more conventional strata exist, complete with more organic fossils, coal deposits, and normal concentrations of metals.
D'Naevium is the current capital of the Alkan Intendancy. Most of the planet's native flora and fauna remain undisturbed as the Ror Units live in vast subterranean cities. Drilling deep into the mostly hardened mantle, thousands of commune-like cities hold over one billion individuals. The rest live in a vast network of space stations orbiting D'Naevium like a ring system extending over a quarter of an astronomical unit in any direction.
Physical
D'Naevium has a large mass for a terrestrial world. While this should suggest deep oceans of water and a thick atmosphere, D'Naevium has neither. Krypton, xenon, and argon make up most of the atmosphere. Oxygen is produced in small quantities by rare life forms, but this molecule is toxic to life and quickly attacks whatever exposed metal it can find.
An unknown event 10 million years before the present day destroyed what was likely a normal planetary surface. While normally planetary destruction entails an asteroid impact or a stellar flare stripping the world of its atmosphere, D'Naevium became host to an event similar to the widely-feared "grey goo scenario," the annihilation of an ecosystem or perhaps even a planet by self-replicating nano-machines. The world became host to a Noospheric Disturbance, a disturbance in local reality facilitated by the collective conscious. In other words, the leading hypothesis is that the fundamental nature of reality temporarily broke down, destroying its civilization and ecosystem and replacing it with an approximation.
Ecosystem
Standing in a typical ecosystem on D'Naevium would do much to reveal the staggering array of life. Small crystalline formations, a few millimeters in size, coat every rock in a rough glistening sheen. They metabolize silicon compounds and metals by concentrated sunlight into a small area. Larger forms of life include flora shockingly similar to solar panels, using the electricity produced to convert the various nutrients they collect into energy-storing molecules. In the distance, monumentally tall wind turbines generate power, only these are massive fungi using the planet's strong winds to generate energy for their growth. They will soon choke the air with a thick smog of spores that play a key role in the planet's ecosystem.
"Grazing" nearby is a herd of bulky hexapods of considerable size. They make a whirring and crunching sound as they scrape rock and crystal from the ground, grinding it into a fine powder. After having their fill, they began meandering over to the nearest body of liquid. As they drink, liquid metal dissolves the contents of their mouths, allowing for digestion. This liquid is the element mercury, filling the air with a toxic vapor that is essential to the metabolism of most of the planet's life.
In the distance, thunder roars as clouds of gallium metal collide with mercury carried by a jet stream, the interaction of the metals creating hugely energetic storms. Within the clouds are glowing points, only more forms of life that use the updrafts created by the storms and their electric potential to feed. Shortly thereafter, strong winds deliver the first snow of the season, crystals of mostly pure gallium that soon will form deep drifts.
After the storm passes, large fixed-wing aircraft fly overhead, although these are yet more animals. Their propellers whir loudly as small airborne parasites pester them. Unlike most aircraft, their natural origin is clear with writhing masses affixed to them as well as numerous legs curled beneath their main bodies. They possess large eyes looking down, surveying the landscape, briefly considering the strange interloper standing on the surface before moving on.
Before long, night falls. Despite no moons to illuminate the night, the large artificial ring system more than makes up for any light it may be missing. Its glittering space habitats and ships offer a brief distraction from the planet's unique life. Its majestic form, however, is soon occluded by distance airborne masses. Numerous small creatures scurry across the landscape, escaping judgment from above as hovering organisms drop rods of metal from high in the atmosphere, instantly crushing those creatures unfortunate enough to be targeted. Before long, they descend, feasting upon the annihilated corpses of their prey.
Moving from this temperate area towards the polar region, pools of benzene can be found. Where gallium is never hot enough to melt, the ecosystem fundamentally changes. Unlike the opaque seas of mercury and gallium that cover most of the world, the benzene creates a tidal pool, an oasis for life forms dependent on the fluid for survival. Numerous creatures swim in the pool, just as voracious and diverse as their larger airborne counterparts.
Towards the equator, large fields of solar panels on long stalks make up most of the "plant life." Here, water is most common, the substance life-giving even on this utterly foreign world. As large droplets of water blanket these fields, the panels quickly hide their faces to protect themselves from the deluge. After the rains pass, the humming of drone-like creatures fills the air as they feed, on the plants or each other. Much like everywhere else, the air is teeming with large amounts of life, some like airships, some like planes, and some entirely divorced from conventional means of air-based transportation. As the soil dries, kite-like platforms rise from the ground, strong winds keeping them airborne. At once, they cooperatively ensnare an unsuspecting balloon-like animal, bringing it down so the decomposition can spread its nutrients to their roots.
D'Naevium's ecosystem, dominated by creatures of the air rather than creatures of the sea, seems to be entirely inverted to conventional worlds. The deep seas of mercury are almost lifeless as sunlight does not penetrate deep at all. Gallium is no better; most of it is frozen as the top layer absorbs most of the star's heat. A small white speck can be seen in the distance, rapidly rising in the atmosphere, a reminder that D'Naevium is not merely a wild world; an entire civilization resides on this planet.
Cities
Underground, beneath the hostile ecosystem, is a much tamer world of cave creatures. Here the Ror Units have carved out an existence. Large settlements in natural lava tunnels and voids represent most of the population. Many cities are alone in voids thousands of kilometers across. Much like space, these isolated cities represent points of artificial light in the void. Radiating from the cities are high-speed rail lines, elevators leading to the surface and deeper below, and isolated settlements devoted to production or some other function.
While many cities still practice their traditional lifestyles, some as traditional as ten million years prior, most are sufficiently advanced post-scarcity societies deeply tied to galactic trade and culture. Since living on D'Naevium proper costs a premium, the only permitted way to make more space on the planet is to hollow out space below existing settlements or to live on the world's abundant orbiting habitats.
Government
As the headquarters of the largest order of Paladins in Cosmoria, the Alkan Intendancy, there is a large government apparatus present on the planet. Security agencies handle local affairs and answer directly to members of the order. Non-members are classified as "guests" and usually handle bureaucratic needs while those in orbit are outsiders. Emissaries from Enyo, the capital world of the Greater Martial Consilium, officially outrank the paladins, however, they have little de facto power due to their low numbers.
Unique Life
The planet is home to several million "species" that did not form via Darwinian evolution. While evolution has since kicked in full force since the origin of these organisms, most suddenly appeared.
Origin
About ten million years ago, an advanced civilization lived on D'Naevium. Ancient satellites and artificial substances encased deep underground shed light on this civilization. The fossil record was fairly normal until this time as well. This civilization may have ushered in their end or were victims of random chance. Regardless, their world has changed beyond recognition due to forces still poorly understood.
Common characteristics
Life across D'Naevium shares several characteristics implying a common origin. Vocalization is universally done by spinning a disk-like structure against a needle, giving life a distinctly artificial hollow sound characterized by static. Most organisms depend on electricity to store or generate energy, using this electricity for gear-like structures and motors.
Carbon is almost absent from life, but water is an essential nutrient required in many chemical reactions. The substance is common and storms often deposit it at the same time as metal precipitation events. Instead of cells, small nano-scale machines are usually present. Mimicking biological cells, these machines depend on electric potential to run and a steady supply of nutrients.
Evolution
Since the formation of life, evolution created variations on the original life forms. Since little in the environment has changed since the origin of this life, scientists can study the original life almost directly. It seems that most life on the planet has biological analogs in the fossil record. Most of the analogs for airborne life existed in the seas and vice versa.