Yeddo

Yeddo
Astrography
Star	Perry
Gravity	0.95G
Orbital distance	0.4 AU
Day length	26 Earth hours
Year length	360 Earth days
Diameter	11,322 km
Axial tilt	22.5°
Temperature
Average	62° F
Atmosphere
Composition	76% nitrogen, 22% oxygen, 1% argon, trace gases
Surface pressure	0.9 atm
Demographics
Population	11 billion

Yeddo is the fourth planet from the orange class K star Perry, which is about 0.8 times the mass of Earth's sun. In the ancient past, almost the entire planet was covered in one large city - After the fall of the Valerian Empire, many of these buildings fell into disarray, with the least polluted areas being reclaimed by nature. Despite this, the Federation of Stellar Systems was able to form a civilization here, getting its jumpstart from the wealth of Valerian paleotechnology left behind in the area. As a result, Yeddo has historically been home to the leading innovators on virtual reality technology and faster-than-light communication.

Though slightly smaller in diameter and denser in mass, Yeddo is comparable to the size of Earth. It has one large moon named Ezo which is surrounded by a faint ring system comprised of ancient space junk. Though it was found well within the habitable zone, little more than microbes were in the native ecosystem when the planet was first settled. It was terraformed into a world more suitable for humans over thousands of years in an effort to create an Earth-like homeworld in another star system. To early spacefaring humans, Yeddo was considered a better long term planetary settlement than either Mars or Venus due to its remarkable similarity to Earth, so much so that after the Blackout humanity began to believe that Yeddo was actually their original homeworld. This theory was only recently called into question with the discovery of several species of anaerobic bacteria that had a radically different DNA structure than humans.

Yeddo's moon contains numerous servers that serve as communication relays. They aid in the large bandwidths required to transmit virtual reality instances across the galaxy. Their remote location away from human civilization has also allowed for a safe means of a heat sink. More modern servers are deep space satellites, but the ones on Yeddo were among the first interstellar capable VR servers ever created.

Physical Characteristics

The atmosphere was not originally breathable by humans. Because of the slow process of terraforming and the desperation to settle down a habitable world in large droves at the time (due to much of humanity experiencing bone mass loss as a result of time spent in zero gravity environments), Yeddo quickly underwent aggressive urbanization. Nearly the entire planet became covered in sprawling cities. The buildings served as makeshift biodomes until the planet's atmosphere was made to be fully breathable by humans with oxygen levels comprising approximately 22% of the atmosphere. This was done by introducing Earth native plant life, mostly lichens and mosses as they were hardier and more adaptable to the native ecosystem than other types of plants.

Due to the extensive urban development, the atmosphere contains smog that turns the sky a purplish hue. A similar purple hue is observed on the oceans which cover around 70% of the planet. These oceans are mined for salt, but most of Yeddo's oceanic goods are imported from the planet Merin. Despite the pollution, Yeddo has developed a reputation for having beautiful sunsets as the orange sun against the purple sky gives a unique vista that has only been replicated in the virtual worlds.

Some of Yeddo's older structures have become part of the landscape. Old skyscrapers that are abandoned become home to a variety of different species of birds and small mammals.

Points of interest

Port Oraulan

Main article: Port Oraulan

Port Oraulan, sometimes known as Oraulan Shores, is a coastal district located in the planet's tropical region. It is among the most popular AR locations in the galaxy with multiple VR worlds inspired by it. To many, it's a paradise resort for VR travelers throughout the galaxy. The coastline is oriented towards the west where Yeddo's signature sunsets are arguably best viewed. Many activities take place here such as parties, concerts and music festivals.

In addition to being a popular tourist destination, the area is also an important industrial location. In addition to being a seaport, it is also a starport for goods that go to and from orbit. Doubling as a space elevator, a large vrNet server known as the Star Lift is located approximately five miles off the coast which helps to serve as a relay between the planet and the deep space megastructures where further vrNet traffic is forwarded to other star systems.

The city is also connected through a series of highways where self-driving cars travel at speeds of more than 200 miles per hour. These roads are sometimes used by thrillseekers going manual to drag race on. Despite it being illegal, it is still done anyway.

In the years following the Virtual Wars, the oceans have become significantly more polluted making some areas unsafe to swim. This has not hindered the virtual reality tourism however.

Mimi's Milkshakes

Main article: Mimi's Milkshakes

A small milkshake bar where the PHIA Phorce is headquartered. To gain backend access, tell the bartender, "I’ll take the Strawberry Milkshake, Mimi Style".

University of Oraulan

Main article: University of Oraulan

Located at the heart of Oraulan Shores, the University of Oraulan is a prestigious place of study focused on virtual reality technologies and their implications on galactic living. The field of virtuoarchaeology is very popular especially, serving as an entry point for many newcomers aspiring to join the Archaeology Guild.

Babylon

Located in the more inland portions of Oraulan Shores, Babylon is the largest and tallest building on Yeddo. It is large enough to be a city of its own with all of its residential and commercial establishments being inside one singular building complex. A series of rails and highways circle upward in a spiral allowing traffic from the outside to seamlessly pass through it. Some like to compare Babylon to a combination of a shopping mall and an apartment complex seamlessly integrated into one.

It is thought that Babylon is also the oldest structure on the planet. Its architectural style is surprisingly consistent with the early Valerian period, particularly with buildings found on the planet Mars.

Midori Gardens

Midori Gardens is a pastoral region of Yeddo though most of its landscape is not natural. In the distant past, Midori Gardens used to be large, complex series of aeroponics bays that would supply all matter of crops such as fruits, vegetables and wheat. During the events preceding the Blackout, these structures were destroyed, and the seeds of the cultivated plants scattered about, allowing nature to reclaim large portions of the city. The most striking features of Midori Gardens are its skyscrapers that have been completely overtaken by foliage making them superficially resemble large, vine-covered trees. The plants are from the former aeroponics bays were recultivated by the Federation although this time, into farms where the crops were directly planted into the natural soil.

Additionally, older sewer systems that had their pipes exposed above ground became the source of various water features such as lakes and rivers. Previously extinct species of fish that were recreated with genetic engineering can be found here from trout to salmon.

One of the most notable predators native to the region is the Ferogator, a species from the Crocodilia order that adapted specifically to Yeddo's ruined urban environment. They have one of the most powerful bite forces on the planet at over 4,000 PSI. Although incredibly dangerous and known for actively hunting humans, they are somewhat easily repelled by house cats.

Star Lift

A large vertical structure in orbit, directly tethered to a buoy off the coast of Oraulan Shores. It serves as a means of easily transporting goods to and from the planet's surface. The Star Lift serves as a spaceport for starships traveling all over the galaxy. It also doubles as a communications node allowing the transmission of information at superluminal speeds. During the Virtual Wars, the cable was cut by the Insurgency as a means of slowing down production lines to the capital. There were at least three fatalities when the lower half of the severed cable crashed to the surface against Oraulan's beaches.

After the war, the cable was repaired by Virtuoso but not without charging a hefty fee to the Federation. This was one of the earliest post-war opportunities Virtuoso took advantage of when securing control over the Federation.

Ruins of Petraphos

The Ruins of Petraphos are located in a swampy region near Midori Gardens. While today, it is flooded with swamp water and industrial runoff, in its prime, it was a prosperous city. It was established as a settlement while Babylon was still under construction. Its most notable feature is Pyramis-Petrophos, a large temple in the shape of a pyramid. It is believed to have served as a place of meditation as well as a place where one could interpret the information stored within a Valerian data crystal.

As a landmark in virtual reality technology, the University of Oraulan created a simulation of Petraphos as it may have looked like in its prime to the highest degree of accuracy currently available at the time.

Condemned Zone

The Condemned Zone is a series of skyscrapers and other structures that collapsed around the time of the Valerian Empire but were never rebuilt. Officially, it exists outside of Federation territory and therefore, emergency services are considered unavailable in this location. Despite this, the local population have created makeshift houses out of scrap metal. Former high rise office buildings were converted into apartment complexes while broken elevators were converted into simple lever operated pulley systems. For many in the Condemned Zone, virtual reality is an escape from a difficult life of foraging for scrap.

The Federation's and Virtuoso's neglect to gentrify the area has invited many criminal gangs, making it a dangerous place to live in. The deepest portions of the region do not receive any emergency or law enforcement services, and any citizens in those areas are assumed to be in them at their own risk. Many homes are equipped with automatic defenses scrounged up from old military equipment leftover from as recently as the Virtual Wars. Even today, one can still find unexploded ordinances, weapons and decommissioned combat robots decades after the fighting stopped.

It is usually safest to explore the Condemned Zone with an AR avatar though some nefarious groups and even some automated defense systems may broadcast viruses or other malicious programs that may infect any AR users.

Taranis

Taranis is a city-state located deep within the Condemned Zone. It hosts a government independent to the Federation and of Virtuoso's direct influence. A country sitting on the brink of a brutal civil war, Taranis is totalitarian state currently ruled by a woman named Phyliss Taranis, thought to be related to the Delphi family. Taranis operates mostly as an isolationist state that aims to be a utopia with the promise of free access to virtual reality for all citizens. Taranis is believed by its people to be a goddess incarnate and rules over almost every aspect of a citizen's life.

Through official means, it is only possible to enter Taranis by air as the entire nation is surrounded by walls that are fifty meters tall. Old sewer tunnels and abandoned subways are sometimes used by smugglers to travel to and from the nation, and some of these paths are part of an intricate network to escort refugees to Oralaun. Because these underground paths go directly through the condemned zone, few will travel far enough before encountering ruthless gangs and crime syndicates.

Infamously, Taranis was home to an event known as the Mogus Purge. The Mogus, wandering extraterrestrials from another galaxy, had formed a population in the region, and were considered nuisances and pests. Thus, in a controversial move, every Mogus in the area was methodically rounded up and killed with only a scant few survivors.

Geothermal Engine

The Geothermal Engine is an extensive undeground complex extending throughout most of the planet's deeper subterranean regions. Built out of the planet's deep caverns, it is comprised of a series of spacious maintenance tunnels filled with extensive Valerian machinery often situated near underground volcanoes and lava tunnels. While the Valerian Empire still inhabited the planet, they used the Geothermal Engine to harvest heat from the planet's core to turn it into energy. Because most of the area is in disrepair, this has limited the capabilities of restoring power to other ruined structures on the surface. After years of remaining abandoned by its owners, these structures serve mostly as hideouts for pirates and black market businesses. Many refugees that became displaced during the Virtual Wars had fled to the Geothermal Engine to form makeshift settlements.

Polaria Isles

On Yeddo's north pole is an archipelago of frozen islands. It was once a much larger landmass thousands of years ago, but has since broken up due to the planet's terraformation attempts in the past. The area is incredibly remote though the town of Nordran has a sizeable population. In an isolated region, various strains of Rampant viruses are kept under close guard. Supposedly, the only reason they haven't been eradicated yet is to study them in the event of future outbreaks.

Scar Canyon

In the deserts located in the inland of the continent is Scar Canyon, a large chasm that is at least several miles deep. The canyon is unusually straight, making it quite obvious that it is not a natural formation. It is speculated that during the Singularity War, a planet destroying weapon was fired upon the surface by Oracle forces. Though it missed, it grazed by the surface, creating the chasm. The result was massive dust clouds and debris blocking out the sun which caused mass extinctions and serious environmental damage. Although the planet survived, it forced the inhabitants to evacuate the planet, leaving behind ruins to be rediscovered after the Blackout.