#OctoberWorldbuilders I have been so focused on Celesta that I completely forgot: I have a whole galaxy of planets to choose from! On Greem, there are definitely deserts. Known for their humanite genetics expertise, Greem has had significant challenges with ecological genetics…

#frjosom

#SeptemberWorldbuilders ... Also, darkness of skin is considered to look more pensive, profound, and wise (that is, not "smarter" per se, just "deeper") in the The Island's culture -- though "appearance is only skin deep" is still a well known axiom, even so far into the future...
#frjosom
#celesta

#SeptemberWorldbuilders On #Celesta, "darkness" is not thought of as menacing or evil, but as profundity, deepness. As in the physical universe, darkness is considered *larger* than light (there's far more dark, empty space than there is lit space near a star, for example).
#frjosom

…However, without The Medium for the Lupole Drive to engage with, relativity came crashing back, and the debris hit the hull with nuclear force. It might not have been so bad, had the impact not happened precisely where it did; even 10 meters off, things might now be very different.

#frjosom

#SeptemberWorldbuilders As the Q'Enmari approached the Celestan system, still braking desperately but still neary at .1c, disaster struck: it collided with a very small cluster of Oort cloud debris. Normally, under the Lupole Drive, something the size of a child's fist would be negligible…

#frjosom

The seven Days (i.e., the seven sections of The Island on Celesta) use colors to self identify on sails, official clothing, etc. …

#worldbuilding
#frjosom
#celesta
#SeptemberWorldbuilders

Important #frjosom note: writers love the idea of galactic colonization, one species invading every world out there to dominate & control.

But its more complicated than that. Very FEW living worlds are habitable by humanites in any of their forms.

Fortunately, there are LOTS of worlds out there!

"Vivaforming" is the wider activity of "terraforming", but is not limited to making a planet's environment just like Earth's, per se. Vivaformed worlds can vary widely -- and can even be completely alien, often vivaformed by other civilizations than humanite ones.
#frjosom

"Humanite" refers to the far-future descendents of Homo Sapiens from Earth, but humanite forms and biology now vary widely.
#frjosom

#SeptemberWorldbuilders Celesta was planned for standard humanite* habitation and was undergoing automated vivaforming* when something went wrong and it became inundated. The planned inhabitants seem to never have moved in.
#frjosom
#celesta
#worldbuilding

#SeptemberWorldbuilders ...And here is where the legends differ, because there are those who call The Island itself Q'Enmari. And there are those who say that Q'Enmari is the spirit or soul of the Island, but not the Island itself...

#frjosom
#qenmari
#celesta
#worldbuilding

#SeptemberWorldbuilders Not rituals or prophecies, unless not throwing waste into the sea counts.

But The Islanders on the planet Celesta have legends. They tell of the time, four millennia ago when the people were brought to The Island and how they found it barren and hard and lifeless...
#frjosom

#SeptemberWorldbuilders Celesta was undergoing vivaforming (i.e., terraforming) and already had well-established rivers, lakes, seas, and oceans—complete with all sorts of terrestrial aquatic life. Then the vivaforming process went awry and covered the entire planet with ocean...

#frjosom
#celesta

#SeptemberWorldbuilders …on the other hand, *The Island* does have a deity, called Q'Enmari, variously believed to be the Spirit of The Island, The Island itself, or (curiously) the captain of the ship who, more than four millennia ago, brought The People to The Island in the first place…

#frjosom

#SeptemberWorldbuilders Celesta is an ocean world (though not intentionally). However, the Islanders have never deified the ocean by imagining a *personified* deity. Nevertheless, they honor it and respect it. E.g., it is taboo for any waste to go directly into the ocean…

#frjosom
#worldbuilding