BY LETTER
Gammergan
Former lost colony in the MPA Ophiuchus Region |
 Image from Steve Bowers |
Star YTS 98754-34500
Type G3/K5 binary system
RA 17.73009 Hrs
Dec 5.80104 degrees
Distance 1702 ly
Colonised 5107 AT
This system was originally colonised by the Interstellar Frontiers Group, but contact was lost with this system in 6580 AT. This region of space was isolated for 3300 years because of the turmoil in the Serpens Region, but contact was re-established in 9885 when the Skiiws'nnii ship Namor entered the system.
Records showed that the colony had once held a world named Gammergan, but this world was no longer evident. No sign of the colony was found either, although there was a much greater dust burden in orbit around both stars than before, forming a remarkable nebula shaped like the symbol for infinity.
The Skiiws'nnii astrometrists considered that this could only be the result of hostile action, and with great caution set up a thallasaforming regime on a frozen moon of the remaining jovian planet, which the old IFG had named Munroe. An active shield of collapsed amat microspheres was setup to protect the moon and the wormhole, and the provolved dolphins continued to warm the new freshwater seas using orbital solettas as they scanned the skies for the invisible enemy.
The Orbital Council, Skiiws'nnii's allies from their home system, began to collect the debris using magnetic scoops, to gather raw material for orbital habitats in the near-empty comfort zones. The debris however began to agglomerate and move as if under conscious control, and destroyed an OC RAIR magscoop dust/collector ship. It was then determined that the particulate dust was made of individual sentient elements, and contact was finally made using a simplified form of the old IFG trade language.
For five hundred years the IFG colony on the partly terraformed world of Gammergan had tried to continue without contact, until the ruling theocorps became convinced that they were the only humans left in the universe and made a long term strategy for survival. Collecting the energy of both stars they disassembled all four inner planets and created a swarm of sophont bodies made from metal foil and computronium.
The newly-redesigned colonists sailed around and between the two stars at will, creating new diverse cultures and alliances in a gigantic figure-of-eight-shaped living space as they used their flat bodies to tack in the solar rays and feed on the solar winds.
After contact with the STC and Skiiws'nnii, the Gammergan culture was established as a swarm reservation, visited by researchers and tourists alike. Many Gammerganners joined the STC Exploration corps, and are well known as as a versatile, rather idiosyncratic space-adapted clade.
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Development Notes
Text by Steve Bowers
Initially published on 08 June 2002.
Initially published on 08 June 2002.
