Post by redsycorax on May 8, 2022 2:58:46 GMT
Once, the paramount scientist of an advanced civilisation sent their child to a planet of refuge when their own world was about to erupt into oblivion due to a chain reaction within its radioactive core. However, this is not set in that universe, these are not those planets and these are not those beings...
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It is a familiar story to some, perhaps. On a distant world orbiting a remote red dwarf sun, a superterrestroid planet was entering its last phase of existence. Eons after its first life forms had crawled onto land from the sea and, despite setbacks, constructed a highly technologically sophisticated civilisation, one of their greatest intellects discovered a stark fact about superterrestroid planets like their own. There was a certain subcategory of superterrestroids where radioactive elements accumulated near its core and under certain circumstances, such as bearing large satellites and close proximity to its feeble red dwarf sun's lifegiving ecosphere, tidal stresses would ultimately lead its volatile core to initiate a chain reaction and ultimately explode with unimaginable force, pulverising that world and all upon it. Horrified, the scientist observed it occur repeatedly, and then came the discovery that he had been dreading. Their own world was one of those affected and worse still, it was showing the same warning signs that had been the case on the other obliterated superterrestroids that they had observed. The scientist presented their findings to the planet's governing technocratic cabal, its Science Council, but they asked too many ignorant questions. At length, they rejected the scientist's findings and ordered them not to publish them. Angry, the scientist went back to their domicile, where their life partner was the only other person on the planet to believe them. And then, the scientist made an even darker discovery. Not only was their homeworld in the same category as the other superterrestroids that that world's exoplanet survey and analysis framework had detected and examined, it had already begun to combust within.
Against time, the scientist and his life partner laboured to construct a refugee starship, but they ran out of time and the only vehicle available for escape from the doomed planet was a small, two person vessel. As the final superquakes began and the planet began to churn and perish beneath them, the scientist pleaded with their life partner to enter the refuge vessel with its solitary offspring. No, replied the life partner, it had decided that continued life would be meaningless without its cherished life partner by its side. And so, the couple made the decision. Embracing their offspring one last time, they stood and watched as the vessel soared from their domicile, and found comfort in each other one last time before their planet obliterated itself in a prodigal, blinding explosion of heat and light. Several million miles distant, though, the tiny refugee starship made a hyperspatial jump, with its terminus several thousand light years away. In years to come, fragments of the shattered planet would tumble through the wormhole inadvertantly created by the still experimental starship's warp drive and pose a menace to its occupant.
When the vehicle left hyperspace, its sensors detected a potentially habitable planet in an adjacent planetary system, two light years away. While its primary sun was yellow and larger than its vanquished homeworld's original stellar parent, the onboard AI decided to home in on the life-enabling world and deposit its infant occupant within its environment. Although the sublight journey to the target system took a decade and a half, there were ample nutritional resources and educational data as the occupant grew to adolescence. Finally, the AI made appropriate reorientation manoeveurs as it entered the planetary system, passing ice giants, two gas giants, a remote subterrestroid rocky world and finally, it closed in on its objective. It was a respectably sized world of gentle blue and green hues, with a large planetary satellite adjacent to it. And so, the AI identified a potential entry point and allowed itself to be pulled in to land on the chosen world.
Although steam arose when it finally impacted within the planet's abundant oceans, the occupant opened its eyes and felt ultra-solar radiation from the brilliant yellow sun at the centre of its newfound planetary system radiate into its body, strengthening its limbs and senses as it filled the creature. Ultimately, the hatch opened and the cephalopod, octopoid occupant swam into the surrounding sea. It scrutinised the surroundings and then, with growing puzzlement, realised that it was alone on this world, apart from algae. No other life had apparently evolved here and it was alone on this world, at the pinnacle of life here. The AI suggested that might be an excellent nom de guerre for it, Pinnacle. Were there any inhabited worlds like this one within range, Pinnacle asked its AI? The AI replied affirmatively and directed Pinnacle's newfound telescopic vision outward. Pinnacle thanked the AI for its assistance and its enablement to learn and survive during the years of transit between its obliterated native Vellyare and this beautiful if lonely world of refuge, but regrettably, it could not stay here. With its enhanced strength and senses, it would be wasteful to inhabit this one world alone as a fortress of its solitude. Accordingly, Pinnacle made its decision and soared upward, breaking the ocean surface and hurtling into space, testing the abilities that the AI had instructed it to use. And thus, in that universe, the waterworld of Charyss eventually discovered the existence of its strange visitor from another planet, who had vowed to protect truth, compassion and the security and peace of its encompassing planetary oceans. And, in time, it came to love those adopted world's inhabitants and they acclaimed and celebrated them in turn.
It is a timeless story of flight and refuge, inclusion and acceptance and one which takes many forms throughout the multiverse- as many as there are variations on the bodies and types of sapient beings and their civilisations.
THE END
[12.40 pm, 05.09.2022: Editing]
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It is a familiar story to some, perhaps. On a distant world orbiting a remote red dwarf sun, a superterrestroid planet was entering its last phase of existence. Eons after its first life forms had crawled onto land from the sea and, despite setbacks, constructed a highly technologically sophisticated civilisation, one of their greatest intellects discovered a stark fact about superterrestroid planets like their own. There was a certain subcategory of superterrestroids where radioactive elements accumulated near its core and under certain circumstances, such as bearing large satellites and close proximity to its feeble red dwarf sun's lifegiving ecosphere, tidal stresses would ultimately lead its volatile core to initiate a chain reaction and ultimately explode with unimaginable force, pulverising that world and all upon it. Horrified, the scientist observed it occur repeatedly, and then came the discovery that he had been dreading. Their own world was one of those affected and worse still, it was showing the same warning signs that had been the case on the other obliterated superterrestroids that they had observed. The scientist presented their findings to the planet's governing technocratic cabal, its Science Council, but they asked too many ignorant questions. At length, they rejected the scientist's findings and ordered them not to publish them. Angry, the scientist went back to their domicile, where their life partner was the only other person on the planet to believe them. And then, the scientist made an even darker discovery. Not only was their homeworld in the same category as the other superterrestroids that that world's exoplanet survey and analysis framework had detected and examined, it had already begun to combust within.
Against time, the scientist and his life partner laboured to construct a refugee starship, but they ran out of time and the only vehicle available for escape from the doomed planet was a small, two person vessel. As the final superquakes began and the planet began to churn and perish beneath them, the scientist pleaded with their life partner to enter the refuge vessel with its solitary offspring. No, replied the life partner, it had decided that continued life would be meaningless without its cherished life partner by its side. And so, the couple made the decision. Embracing their offspring one last time, they stood and watched as the vessel soared from their domicile, and found comfort in each other one last time before their planet obliterated itself in a prodigal, blinding explosion of heat and light. Several million miles distant, though, the tiny refugee starship made a hyperspatial jump, with its terminus several thousand light years away. In years to come, fragments of the shattered planet would tumble through the wormhole inadvertantly created by the still experimental starship's warp drive and pose a menace to its occupant.
When the vehicle left hyperspace, its sensors detected a potentially habitable planet in an adjacent planetary system, two light years away. While its primary sun was yellow and larger than its vanquished homeworld's original stellar parent, the onboard AI decided to home in on the life-enabling world and deposit its infant occupant within its environment. Although the sublight journey to the target system took a decade and a half, there were ample nutritional resources and educational data as the occupant grew to adolescence. Finally, the AI made appropriate reorientation manoeveurs as it entered the planetary system, passing ice giants, two gas giants, a remote subterrestroid rocky world and finally, it closed in on its objective. It was a respectably sized world of gentle blue and green hues, with a large planetary satellite adjacent to it. And so, the AI identified a potential entry point and allowed itself to be pulled in to land on the chosen world.
Although steam arose when it finally impacted within the planet's abundant oceans, the occupant opened its eyes and felt ultra-solar radiation from the brilliant yellow sun at the centre of its newfound planetary system radiate into its body, strengthening its limbs and senses as it filled the creature. Ultimately, the hatch opened and the cephalopod, octopoid occupant swam into the surrounding sea. It scrutinised the surroundings and then, with growing puzzlement, realised that it was alone on this world, apart from algae. No other life had apparently evolved here and it was alone on this world, at the pinnacle of life here. The AI suggested that might be an excellent nom de guerre for it, Pinnacle. Were there any inhabited worlds like this one within range, Pinnacle asked its AI? The AI replied affirmatively and directed Pinnacle's newfound telescopic vision outward. Pinnacle thanked the AI for its assistance and its enablement to learn and survive during the years of transit between its obliterated native Vellyare and this beautiful if lonely world of refuge, but regrettably, it could not stay here. With its enhanced strength and senses, it would be wasteful to inhabit this one world alone as a fortress of its solitude. Accordingly, Pinnacle made its decision and soared upward, breaking the ocean surface and hurtling into space, testing the abilities that the AI had instructed it to use. And thus, in that universe, the waterworld of Charyss eventually discovered the existence of its strange visitor from another planet, who had vowed to protect truth, compassion and the security and peace of its encompassing planetary oceans. And, in time, it came to love those adopted world's inhabitants and they acclaimed and celebrated them in turn.
It is a timeless story of flight and refuge, inclusion and acceptance and one which takes many forms throughout the multiverse- as many as there are variations on the bodies and types of sapient beings and their civilisations.
THE END
[12.40 pm, 05.09.2022: Editing]