Archaetron

Archaetron
Astrography
Star	Epoch
Diameter	9,034 km
Demographics
Population	16 billion

Archaetron is an artificial planet orbiting the blue giant star Epoch. Constructed around the early era of the Valerian Empire, it was intended to be an experimental world to research the evolution of life. It was first seeded with self-replicating nanobots meant to emulate the behavior of single-celled organisms. Left to its own devices over thousands of years, the planet evolved on its own complex synthetic life forms that superficially resemble robot dinosaurs. They eventually formed a civilization of their own with inhabitants with intelligence rivaling that of humans. The development of Archaetron was key research done by the Valerian Empire to increase the accuracy of their own virtual reality simulations, having gained intimate knowledge of the process of Darwinian evolution without having to wait the millions of years it otherwise would have taken.

The primary intelligent species is the Archaetronians which resemble velociraptors. Despite their fearsome appearance, they are friendly towards humans. They view them with both curiosity and caution as their organic biology is considered highly alien and fascinating to them.

During the Singularity War, contact was lost, and the planet was hidden away to protect it from the Oracle. For nearly the last 2,000 years, it remained completely isolated from the rest of the galaxy until contact was reestablished. Additionally, one of the earliest forms of cybernephrine was discovered on this planet, which has created a poaching problem by those seeking to harness it and sell it. As such, as ferocious as some of the native wildlife is, the planet itself is highly vulnerable.

In 2028 AB, the Serpent's Fang invaded Archaetron in an attempt to seize control of the planet to convert it into an Oracle node. They infected an enormous mechafauna with a Rampant virus which caused it to wreak havoc throughout the world. It took the intervention of the PHIA Phorce to hold them off.

Biosphere

The synthetic life forms have evolved an ecosystem of its own where in spite of being robotic in nature, they have many of the same counterparts to many life functions. The robots prey upon one another in a variety of ways from direct consumption, scavenging their parts or otherwise siphoning their energy. Plant life tends to resemble relay towers with solar panels, absorbing energy and radiating signals around themselves to entice other animals to spread their seeds. Animals use a variety of methods to get around from legs to wheels to gusts of air to omnidirectional propellers.

The planet is also home to a specific variety of synthetic life form known as mechafauna which are enormous machines - some over 200 feet tall. These mechafauna often clash with one another over territory, causing natural disasters around them.

Because Archaetron's automated regulatory systems also adapted to accomodate the extensive biosphere, many Archaetronians believe the planet to be some sort of intelligent entity or god going by the name of Mother Frame.

Flora

• Solar Tree - A family of species of trees with large solar panels as leaves. They perform photosynthesis, gathering sunlight.
• Grand Pylon - One of the largest plants resembling pylon towers. They connect to one another with large wire-like vines to share energy.
• Carbon grass - A common plant that roots itself into the ground. Its leaves are made of a flexible fiber that can conduct electricity.
• Rootwire - A fungus-like growth that spreads electrical wires across the ground. They can intertwine with others of its kind to exchange information.
• Blightwire - A kudzu-like growth infected with the Rampant virus. It poisons and infects other systems.
• Sparkthorn - A small carnivorous shrub that lets out electrical shocks to paralyze suitable prey.

Fauna

• Autodactyl - A flying creature resembling a pterosaur. Its wings have propellers in them allowing it to fly like an airplane.
• Stegotechus - A large, lumbering herbivore with four powerful legs. It has a series of plates going up its spine resembling solar panels. It spends most of its days wandering to find the best spots to absorb sunlight.
• Cyber oryx - An antelope-like animal said to be one of the fastest land animals on the planet.
• Dronebird - A hummingbird-like creature that stays aloft with rapidly flapping wings.
• Compy - A creature resembling the extinct Procompsognathus. They are tiny scavengers that wander frequently, seeking out broken electronics to feed on.
• Spider drone - Tiny radially symmetrical arachnids with a central bulb and multiple legs branching out. They can move omnidirectionally and climb walls using their magnetic feet.
• Giant spider drone - Similar to their smaller cousins in body plan, Giant spider drones wander the land and can even wade the oceans.
• Polygon fly - A butterfly-like creature with iridescent, polygonal wings. It gives off a bright blue shimmer.
• Submerwhale - Resembling submarines, they wander the planet's oceans in pods. They communicate with one another using sonar. Sometimes, they leap out of the water to make impressive displays.
• Technodragon - A large, quadrupedal reptile with large wings with jet engines. It can expel excess heat and gas through its mouth, resulting it in being able to breathe fire.
• Lightning lizard - A giant creature resembling an apatosaurus. It has a long neck that extends high into the air. It sports a horn on its head which acts as a lightning rod where it feeds off electrical storms.
• Morsebird - A small avian that communicates punctuated sinewave-like tones. Their songs make up much of the natural ambience seen throughout Archaetron.
• Blimpsquid - A giant balloon creature that casually drifts across the sky while its ribbon-like tentacles flow in the wind. They tend to be found in large clusters above the water, using updrafts to remain afloat in the air. They are usually preyed upon by Autodactyls.
• Ground Urchin - A spherical creature that rolls around like a ball. It can magnetize onto vertical surfaces.
• Helium Ray - A balloon shaped like a mantay ray that gently flaps its wings.
• TA-RASQ - A ferocious mechafauna that are tough for even the Archaetronians to contain. It resembles a dragon, frog and turtle, and it is capable of firing projectiles of plasma.

Points of interest

Mother Frame

The Mother Frame is the massive computer network that regulates the climate and biosphere of the entire planet with a central processor located at the planet's core. The network can be accessed from almost anywhere on the planet, and many of the flora and fauns are connected to it in some way. To the native Archaetronians, the Mother Frame is considered a nature goddess. The Mother Frame also preserves the consciousnesses of Archaetronians that die on the planet, serving as an afterlife. One can commune with their ancestors by speaking with the Mother Frame.

The Void

A deep hole in the ground thought to be some sort of old exhaust port. It goes all the way to the planet's core.

Cities

Varlog

Main article: Varlog