To Boldly Go: Midnight

Originally published April 14, 2014

GURPS Handbook of the Planets Inputs: Personal user number 119; System number 932.

Among the cultures encountered on the edge of Federation space, many have evolved in alien ways. Others however have attempted to recreate an idealized version of the past, one where they live a life of the idle rich of that era. In the case of the Mythweavers, they took that one step farther and took the place of the gods.

Mythweavers

The Mythweavers live in post scarcity opulence on the planet of Midnight. A culture of bioengineers, they have remade themselves into idealized giants with the features and attributes attributed to the ancient gods of Earth. Their culture bends traditional gender and racial lines but tend to idolize the ancient Greeks and Romans over other cultures.

Physically many Mythweavers stand over 8 feet tall with no physical defects and augmented strength, lifespan, and intellect. Disdaining cybernetic enhancements, they use biological fixes wherever possible. Damaged limbs and organs are replaced with cloned replacements. Hair, eye and skin color are reprogrammed with designer viruses. Their language is a hybrid of Japanese and English, a relic of the founders of their society.

Their main export is knowledge, specifically in genetic engineering and terraforming. There is also a minor trade in art. Internally the main measure of wealth is in art and daring. Art for the Mythweavers covers such diverse products as genetically modified pets, dynamic outfits that shift with mood, and reproductions of Earth locations.

As indicated above, the Mythweavers do not engage in labor. For the menial tasks they prefer biological androids, bioroids. These living slaves wait on them hand and foot, maintain their ships and systems, and perform all of the busy work necessary to keep their society running.

Among themselves, the Mythweavers practice an Athenian democracy, a process aided by their small population and advanced technology.

Aspects

• Bioengineered Mythology
• Slave-Holding Idle Rich

If using a Language skill, the local dialect is a Fair Difficulty (+2) language to know or learn.

Midnight

The main planet of the Mythweavers, Midnight , is part of a seven planet system lit by a dim red dwarf star. The dimly lit world orbits its star, Night, roughly every 9 standard days while its "day" last for about 17 days or twice a “year”. Thanks to an eccentric orbit, temperatures swing wildly from freezing to tropical. The dim red sun floats in the sky for ages easily ten times the size of Earth's sun. Surface gravity however is close to Earth norms.

At aphelion, the oceans begin to freeze up except near the numerous volcanic peaks. At perihelion, they melt away and those who live on the surface must make their way to the poles to escape the sudden heat wave. Temperature ranges across the world from 23 degrees Celsius to -17 degrees Celsius averaging in the single digits. Storms that brew here are as powerful as they are short-lived. Tides are tremendous rising as high as 862 meters, making much of the land uninhabitable. 80% of the surface is covered in ocean, not including the wide swaths of the planet submerged for days on end.

Native life never really got a start on land. Genetically modified creatures have been established in the highlands of the few continents among temperature tolerant conifer forests at the upper latitudes. In the oceans, native species still predominate but are slowly being replaced with invasive and genetically engineered species. All life must be able to cope with rapid temperature changes include being partially frozen, unless they live among the deep-sea vents that populate this volcanic and tumultuous planet. Most of the native life is capable of rapid movement or floats freely.

The citizens of this world live on floating palaces like cruise liners that provide them with everything they need. Served hand and foot by obedient biological androids, they live like ancient emperors in opulence and ease. Others live in the massive space station in orbit above: Olympus.

Aspects

• Unstable Climate
• Eternal Nightly Cruise

Sample Storm

These storms can blow in at a moments notice. While no danger to the cruise liners where the Mythweaver's live, they can easily swamp smaller craft.

• Aspect: Fierce Winds
• Skills: Waves + 4, Winds + 4, Lightning + 2, Rain + 2

System Details

• Night: a dim M7V star, 5.2 billion years old.
• Midnight (Night I): an earth sized habitable world on an eccentric orbit, chilly but water covered for much of its "year". Subject to 2 centuries of terraforming to increase average temperatures.
• Anemoi (Night II): a small ice world mined for hydrocarbons.