Domestication of Planets: An Aesthetic Typology
[ Galactic civilization, the state of living in mass societies across the galaxy, follows from sophisticated praxis in two areas: space itself, the vacuum, the vastness, and the problems of living safely in the most unnatural environment conceivable for planetary organisms; and domestication, the transformation of more or less inimical planets into living spaces. The ancient word "terraforming" misconstrues the mature praxis as reproducing the planetary experience of the Terhumene species on the Cradle World... ]
Mature galactic civilizations that practice Domestication of planets recognize that, while every planet is unique, there is a finite set of practicable planetary types, and a finite set of desirable worlds to live upon. Domestication, transforming non-life-supporting worlds into habitations for the species of the Terhumene*, is an ancient imperative of life in a galaxy so rich in worlds, so abundant in life, but where any existing xenobiology precludes a Terhumene biology, both on practical and ethical grounds. Practical, in that the interaction of alien biologies always leads to bizarre novelties of disease and debility. Ethical, in that xenos always lose out to the technological and social power of the Terhumene. While many societies and personalities thrive in vacuum, in ships, habitats, asteronds* and cavern-colonies, most of us want to breathe and not absorb radiation, and so galactic civilizations have always domesticated planets and moons.
The following are planetary types with a large existing body of theorics and praxis, applicable to widespread planetary types [for planetological typologies, refer to standard works such as Koppen and Qayyumi].
In large galactic polities much given to domestication, e.g., the Verdance, or Concordium; or meta-civilizations in a regional oecumene with enough planetary engineering for styles and mutual influence, the Venetik type and like named models inform development decisions for use of the planetary surface.
Venetik style
extensive shallow seas, convoluted mini-continents rising to low mountains or crater ridges. Lagoons, salt marshes, wandering oxbow rivers and wide deltas. Stilt cities, island arcologies, residential vessels endlessly circulating the planet on its seas or at low altitude.
Arabesque
effort into non-Cradle type ecologies, landforms, seasonal divergence: usually with a percentage of xenobiological inclusions for adaptation to unusual habitability indices. With regard to the planet's primary star, orbit, local chemistry, xenorgs may be the difference between a viable "shirtsleeve" world and a planet in need of high-energy tinkering for millions of years. Arabesques commonly feature localized giant organisms, especially architectonic shells, wood-analogs, palatial corals, banyan cities.
Scathings
Excavation of lithosphere in layers, with goal of exposing mantle, hotspots, or stable deep structures. Air pressure increases, weather patterns with precipitation emerge around edges as atmosphere rushes in and compacts. Enough hot gas above a hot surface for constant weather system: an energy input other than the planet's primary.
Mature galactic civilizations that practice Domestication of planets recognize that, while every planet is unique, there is a finite set of practicable planetary types, and a finite set of desirable worlds to live upon. Domestication, transforming non-life-supporting worlds into habitations for the species of the Terhumene*, is an ancient imperative of life in a galaxy so rich in worlds, so abundant in life, but where any existing xenobiology precludes a Terhumene biology, both on practical and ethical grounds. Practical, in that the interaction of alien biologies always leads to bizarre novelties of disease and debility. Ethical, in that xenos always lose out to the technological and social power of the Terhumene. While many societies and personalities thrive in vacuum, in ships, habitats, asteronds* and cavern-colonies, most of us want to breathe and not absorb radiation, and so galactic civilizations have always domesticated planets and moons.
The following are planetary types with a large existing body of theorics and praxis, applicable to widespread planetary types [for planetological typologies, refer to standard works such as Koppen and Qayyumi].
In large galactic polities much given to domestication, e.g., the Verdance, or Concordium; or meta-civilizations in a regional oecumene with enough planetary engineering for styles and mutual influence, the Venetik type and like named models inform development decisions for use of the planetary surface.
Venetik style
extensive shallow seas, convoluted mini-continents rising to low mountains or crater ridges. Lagoons, salt marshes, wandering oxbow rivers and wide deltas. Stilt cities, island arcologies, residential vessels endlessly circulating the planet on its seas or at low altitude.
Arabesque
effort into non-Cradle type ecologies, landforms, seasonal divergence: usually with a percentage of xenobiological inclusions for adaptation to unusual habitability indices. With regard to the planet's primary star, orbit, local chemistry, xenorgs may be the difference between a viable "shirtsleeve" world and a planet in need of high-energy tinkering for millions of years. Arabesques commonly feature localized giant organisms, especially architectonic shells, wood-analogs, palatial corals, banyan cities.
Scathings
Excavation of lithosphere in layers, with goal of exposing mantle, hotspots, or stable deep structures. Air pressure increases, weather patterns with precipitation emerge around edges as atmosphere rushes in and compacts. Enough hot gas above a hot surface for constant weather system: an energy input other than the planet's primary.
Rogue planets and satellites of stars too dim by mass or distance to heat a planetary surface, including moons in jovian and superterrestrial planetary systems, may have core heat sufficient to warm localized biomes, even an entire planet (properly scathed).
Pontic
Cities of bridges, bridge habitats, bridge landforms: geoscaping processes maintain roads, elevated tracks and vast spans of high tensile strength. Plinths and supports occasion access to other facilities: bridgescape land bogs, marsh, shifting mudflats and stilt islands, congeries of vegetal remains that accrete in eddies and stills in the lee of bridge anchors (the wind- or current-shadow of the megastructure). The Pontic type lends itself to planetary cities, given proper regard for waste heat management.
[list incomplete]
Pontic
Cities of bridges, bridge habitats, bridge landforms: geoscaping processes maintain roads, elevated tracks and vast spans of high tensile strength. Plinths and supports occasion access to other facilities: bridgescape land bogs, marsh, shifting mudflats and stilt islands, congeries of vegetal remains that accrete in eddies and stills in the lee of bridge anchors (the wind- or current-shadow of the megastructure). The Pontic type lends itself to planetary cities, given proper regard for waste heat management.
[list incomplete]
* asteronds and the Terhumene are concepts i hope will clarify themselves to the attentive, not to say devoted, reader; explicit definitions are to be found somewhere among the Satrap's Backlog.
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