worldbuilding

Greetings,

I hope everyone has had a wonderful holiday season. Ours has been very nice. The children loved all of the hustle and bustle that accompanied the preparatory stages, and of course enjoyed the final day.

Even now they can't put down the new toys.

Since I haven't written in a few weeks, I thought I would take this opportunity to share some worldbuilding information with you on the Shalotha system. The system was created in two parts.

The first was to create the scientific foundation, meaning that I had to identify a star that could reasonably be expected to sustain carbon-based life. After doing some research on various websites, I found a list of several that are considered to be within a certain range of parameters that met the requirements. I used a program called StarGen on one a many worldbuilding websites.

This wonderful program uses scientific data from a star and models gas accretion to supplement your star system with celestial bodies. All of the data is scientifically based, so that there is typically no more than one or two planets that are human-life habitable.

After spending hours on StarGen to find a system generation iteration that met the needs of the story, I found one that ended up matching the Shalotha system.

The downside of the StarGen program is that it doesn't add moons in very well, but that can be corrected at a later time. The results of the StarGen program yielded a system with twelve planets. Using a name generator from SeventhSanctum.

com, I named the planets as follows:

Base Star: Zeta Tucanae (referred to in EC:Descent as the primary star in the Shalotha System)
Planets, closest first:
1. Imodunth
2. Ammik
3.

Hlos (has a named moon - Ahlurus)
4. Shalotha (has a named moon - Surulha)
5. Zrolus
6.

Linau
7. Ersis
8. Xeste
9.

Hytheor
10. Oron
11. Tertius (has named moons - Zuron and Ilon)
12.

Tbarus (has named moons - Aspanep, Eriel, Ithes, Karah, Orhus, Derus, and Paop)

The nomenclature for the naming system hasn't been fully fleshed out yet, however in EC:Deception, more information will be revealed about the system. Some ideas that I'm playing with include having the planets named after ancient Shalothan gods (prior to conversion to Christianity). The moons would be children of the gods.

This is not a definite yet, but something I'm leaning towards.

After this basic creation, I began using some worldbuilding questions culled from various websites to begin fleshing out the homeworld of Shalotha. Here, for your reading pleasure, are the original notes (copied and pasted) directly from my file:

BEGIN NOTES
Standard Development Questions
What ecology spawned this life-form?

How hostile is the environment?
Is the atmosphere conducive to reproduction?
Do they breath oxygen at all?

Is the gravity more or less dense than Earth's?
What is their economy based upon?
Is their primary (sun) stable?

Brighter than our sun? Cooler than our sun?
Are their tides drawn violently by more than one moon?

Is their history sprinkled with violence or oppression?
Is their culture flavored by their history?
Are their surrounding environments physically challenging?

(e.g. snow-capped alps, excess water/sun, subterranean dwellings etc)
Has there been time between bouts of survival for creativity to blossom?

Species: Shalothans
Home Planet: Shalotha
System: Shalotha (Zeta Tucanae)
What ecology spawned this life-form?
The planet of Shalotha is the 4th planet in the Shalotha system (Zeta Tucanae). It is a high gravity, wet planet with a thick atmosphere.

The air is primarily composed of N2O2 (91.6% Nitrogen, 7.7% Oxygen).

The system star is halfway through the main sequence life cycle. The planet itself is unstable and has high tidal stresses due to its large moon (also terrestrial 0.591 Earth masses).

The indigenous Shalothan species evolved from cave-dwelling crustaceans. The species was further enhanced by extra-terrestrial intelligence in a distant past for the purpose of developing a slave species. The species continued to evolve, and developed its own culture and society.

How hostile is the environment?
The planet is a higher gravity planet (1.2 Earth Gs), with a surface pressure of 2.

985 Earth atmospheres (2933 millibars). This keeps water in liquid form longer than Earth, and also allows winds to move dust twice as easier than Earth. Additionally, the constant higher pressure of the atmosphere maintains an even temperature distribution, keeping the surface around 64.

0 F normally. The planetary Min/Max is 31.5F/94.

8F, but the extremes would be in the polar caps for cold (like Earth), and equatorial Shalothan plains for the heat. The planet has an axial tilt of 17 degrees, causing severe fluctuation between seasons.

Is the atmosphere conducive to reproduction?

Within the caves labyrinths throughout the planet, the atmosphere is stable enough to support reproduction. Surface side reproduction can be completed within shelters. The wet atmosphere is very conducive to reproduction of mold spores, moss, and fungus.

The atmosphere typically is 77.1% covered by clouds on any given day, and more than 30% of these are part of storm cells.

Do they breath oxygen at all?

The atmosphere is 91.6% Nitrogen, 7.7% Oxygen.

Shalothans can breath heavier concentrations of Oxygen. Their ability to survive in atmospherics conditions with less oxygen made them a lucrative species for slavery on other worlds. Today this ability is an added benefit to warriors fighting in other systems.

Is the gravity more or less dense than Earth's?
The gravity is more than Earth (1.2 Earth Gs), leading to an escape velocity of 13.

3 Km/sec. This increased gravity ratio, along with the reduced oxygen abundance in the atmosphere made it more difficult for early Shalothans to break the planetary pull and achieve space flight. Once they did however, their ability to overcome those obstacles provided them experience and insight to better spacecraft design, propelling them to the forefront of the spacefaring races in terms of technology.

Few races can compete with Shalothan-built spacecraft, both commercial and military.

What is their economy based upon?
Due to their planet s atmosphere, hydroponics and agriculture are natural exports.

Also, mining, both planetary and deep-space, has become a valuable commodity. Additionally, spacecraft design and knowledge, particularly in the lead-up to the galactic wars, provided a new source of income.

Is their primary (sun) stable?

Brighter than our sun? Cooler than our sun?
Zeta Tucanae (known as the Star of Shalotha by the Shalothans) is a stable sun.

It is 3.883 billion years into the main sequence life cycle, with another 3.656 billion years left, approximately.

The stellar mass is 0.98 solar masses, and the luminosity is 1.30 (brighter than our sun).

Are their tides drawn violently by more than one moon?
Shalotha has one large moon Surulha. It is a terrestrial planet approximately 0.

591 Earth masses, and 0.842 Earth radius. The two celestial bodies could be perceived as a duel planetary system, however the bodies do not circle each other; Surulha has a defined orbit around Shalotha.

The planet of Shalotha has a hydrosphere of 87.0%, providing thousands of miles of coastlines for tidal forces to be observed.

Is their history sprinkled with violence or oppression?

The Shalothan species originally evolved from cave dwelling sub-species, however an extraterrestrial species modified the genetic makeup of the species for purposes of labor/slavery. Evolution provided increased intelligence. Over thousands of millennia, the enslaving species was brought to extinction by other forces, providing freedom to the Shalothans.

The species used the technology provided by enslavers to continue their own technological development, including their own version of spacefaring craft. Historically they have been quick to wage war against other species that threaten, or are interpreted to threaten the freedom of the Shalothans. Shaolthans guard their freedom very carefully, and have a fanatical outlook on their freedom.

Sometime during the past several millennia Christianity was introduced to the culture, adding to that fanaticism.

Is their culture flavored by their history?
Their culture is divided into two distinct periods.

The first is what the Shalothans call The Dark Ages. This is a reference to the period that the species was subjugated to slavery, as well as mutated to their current state of being. The knowledge that their current state of existence was not the result of natural evolution is a heavy burden.

The psyche of a typical Shalothan is that of never being good enough, and not original. Of having to prove oneself again and again to gain acceptance. The second period is the current era, officially referenced as the period of Salvation.

Shalothans believe that they will move into a new period with the arrival of Christ, thrusting their culture into the period of Grace, otherwise known by Earth Christians as the Millennial Kingdom. Once Christianity was introduced, their feeling of inferiority increased as Shalothans pondered if they were truly creatures of God, or doomed to Hell because they were creations by another living creation. Two traits constantly propel them to war: their fanatical belief that all systems should be free (as well as protecting their own system from potential enslavers), and their desire to spread Christianity to the rest of the galaxy.

Several sub-periods within the Salvation period have provided decades long inter-system wars, decimating both resources and populations within the system. However, the need to fight also provided the motivation to populate other planets within their system, leading to the settling of Hlos (3rd planet out), the moon Surulha, Linau (6th planet out), and Xeste (8th planet out). Additionally, the ongoing wars provided the need for military outposts.

This need translated into the known galaxy s largest orbital shipyard and port/staging area. These facilities are located in the orbits around the planet of Tbarus (12th planet out) and its seven moons (Aspanep, Eriel, Ithes, Karah, Orhus, Derus, and Paop). Large storage facilities are located surface-side on the planet and each of its moons, along with support facilities.

Military outposts are also located on each body to support and protect the facilities. None of the moons nor the planet have breathable atmospheres, creating one of the largest hostile atmosphere environment communities in the galaxy.

Are their surrounding environments physically challenging?

(e.g. snow-capped alps, excess water/sun, subterranean dwellings etc)
The planet of Shalotha is very humid and wet.

The high pressure keeps the atmosphere cloudy, maintaining a moderate temperature. The immense amount of rain creates an environment conducive to large scale agricultural growth. The planet is still geologically active, with shifting plates and burgeoning mountains.

The numerous mountains create numerous valleys and protected plains, adding to the diversity of crops. Also, the abundance of mountains provides a natural habitat for the Shalothans, who evolved from crustacean-like cave-dwelling creatures. A large majority of the population still lives underground or just above ground.

Large scale cities and dense above-ground populations are not typical. Shalothan cities usually consist of cave labyrinths deep underground or in caves. The current version of Shalothans retains the keratin skin coating of its predecessors, as well as the dim light/no light vision.

The synthetic evolution of the species allowed the Shalothans to walk on two legs, and two use two arms. Natural protection against predators both in pre-evolution and post-evolution forms includes keratin ridges on extremities that are knife-like and can be used for slashing, cutting, and ripping, as well as pyrokinesis the ability to create fire. This ability is created by the secretion of an enzyme through the minute pores in the keratin.

The secretion is combustible upon contact with oxygen. Evolution has allowed the species to control the amount of secretion in order to control the size of the flame or amount of fire on the extremity. The secretion does burn the keratin with repeated usage.

The pyrokinesis is not typically used by the population while living in the caves/labyrinths. Warriors and priests are typically the only Shalothans that would use this ability in any form.

Has there been time between bouts of survival for creativity to blossom?

The species has not provided any significant artistic works to the galaxy, unless spacecraft design is considered as part of the arts. The species is weighted more heavily towards technical, and this uneven distribution is evident in the precision of its wares, as well as the often uncreative military tactics. Foods are viewed almost entirely as a fuel source, with almost no consideration for taste or visual appeal.

Likewise, clothing and living appointments are drab at best; most Shalothans wear basic tunics, including soldiers and priests. The species almost has an abhorrence for excessive clothing, furniture, etc. Shalothans do not typically wear jewelry.

The lack of cutting edge clothing and living conditions is in stark contrast to their off-planet facilities and technological creations, which are cutting-edge. The disparate differences are well-known throughout the galaxy, and have been the cause of many other species to look down on them as being backwards . Shalothan views are that they do not need the excesses, and that the rudimentary clothing, living conditions, etc grounds them in their beliefs that they are the servants of Christ.

END NOTES

As you can see, there are the beginnings of some history for the characters to discover in the forthcoming novel. What I can tell you is that so far, based on the rough draft, Shalotha (obviously) and Tbarus have been the most prominent planets featured.

As work progresses, I will continue to refine and develop the Shalotha system, as well as apply the same processes to the Fe-Ruq and Aormy systems.

The Fe-Ruq system has already been created using the StarGen program, but does not have anything fleshed out beyond the scientific data, and a handful of names already mentioned (Je-Fin, Fe-Ruq, Ru-Nula, etc). I'll post more on this system, including which star it's based on) in later postings.

For now, writing continues as a snails pace as I find other diversions - creating the systems in AstroSynthesis 2.

0 and Celestia, as well as developing the Enemy Calling website.

Happy New Year!