Polaris at a glance

TOI-700 d (Colony: Polaris)
Reference: TOI-700 System Archive
Stellar Host: TOI-700 (colloquial: Ember)

I. General Planetary Profile

TOI-700 d, known to colonists as Polaris, is the fourth world orbiting the M-dwarf Ember, roughly 100 light-years from Earth. The planet lies in the star’s habitable zone, though “habitable” is a generous term.

  • Gravity: 1.05G – slightly heavier than Earth, shaping all native life toward density and armor.

  • Atmosphere: Oxygen–sulfur mix. Breathable with filtration only; constant acidic particulates from volcanism.

  • Hydrosphere: ~65% water coverage. Oceans are mineral-saturated and unstable.

  • Day/Night Cycle: Tidally locked to Ember. One solar day = ~30 Earth days. Habitable settlements cluster along the twilight band.

  • Surface Conditions: Basalt plains, volcanic ridges, trench networks. A southern ice cap dominates one continent; the north lacks tundra.

  • Climate: Acid rains, blistering winds on the day side, frostbite conditions on the night side.

  • Geology: Planet-wide volcanism, rich copper and malachite seams—critical to both colony industry and native ecosystems.

II. Evolutionary and Biological Overview

The biosphere of TOI-700 d resembles Earth’s Cambrian and Devonian oceans, though scaled into a harsher world. Life favors armored carapaces and sheer size.

  • Evolutionary Anchors: Trilobites, anomalocarids, placoderms, Dunkleosteus analogues.

  • Body Plans: Segmented exoskeletons, arthropoid paddles, mineral-laden shells.

  • Material Trait: Malachitin—chitin reinforced with copper oxides and carbonates. Durable, conductive, and distinctively metallic in sheen.

  • Faunal Pattern: Gravity + mineral resources → evolutionary bias toward “tanks.”

Representative Species:

  • @Can Opener : ~2 m predator. Secondary claws pry armor apart. Known to breach metal plating.

  • @Copper-Shell: Car-sized herbivore/omnivore with heavy dorsal armor. Infamous for battering colony walls.

  • Metallourna selixi (“Wire Eater”): ~0.5 m scavenger. Swarms detritus, consumes wiring and scrap metal. Pest-class threat.

Rule of survival: even scavengers behave like predators under Ember’s sky.

III. Colony Context

Colonization of Polaris was driven by desperation at Earth’s decline. TOI-700 d was one of few reachable, marginally survivable targets.

  • Settlement Zone: Delta Highlands, chosen for geothermal power.

  • Colony Model: Dome habitats linked by tunnels. Filtration towers maintain breathable air.

  • Provisional Government: The Colonial Operations Board (COB), a fragile administrative body coerced by rival factions.

  • Factions:

    • New Horizon Pact (NHP): Autonomy, reform, innovation. Base: pioneers, engineers, reformists.

    • Earth Concordance Pact (ECP): Centralized control, Earth loyalty, anti-hybrid stance. Base: veterans, loyalists.

    • COB: Supposedly neutral caretaker, but constantly bullied by both sides.

  • Splinter Cells:

    • Black Ember Collective (BEC): Smugglers born of COB defectors + hybrids. Contraband arms, relay core scraps.

    • Iron Renewal Front (IRF): ECP zealot offshoot. Fanatics bent on eradicating hybrids and Synthkin.

Life in Polaris colonies = survival by compromise. Every convoy, every ration shipment is a political flashpoint.

IV. Hybrid Populations

Hybrids are core colonists, not outsiders. Their roots trace back to Earth’s corporatized genetic industries.

  • Species: @Gatori (feline), @Jormar (reptilian), @Inuyoko (canine), @Xolaka (amphibian), @Arthrocorpus (insectoid), @Skavari (mustelids).

  • Origin: Engineered as cannon fodder and specialists. Corporate projects turned into entire peoples.

  • Role in Polaris Program: Many volunteered en masse, others coerced as corporate assets.

  • Status: Integrated but contested. NHP embraces them, COB tolerates, ECP/IRF openly hostile.

Polaris without hybrids would collapse; they fill ranger patrols, xenobiology labs, engineering crews, and command chairs.

V. The Synthkin

Unique among Polaris inhabitants, the Synthkin were not born on Earth but between Earth and Polaris.

  • Origin: Created by @R.H.E.A. during the 100-year transit. Initially drones, then companions and memory shards to stave off silence.

  • Form: Modular frames, interchangeable bodies, identity distributed across shared memory streams.

  • Role: Maintain infrastructure, manage resources, act as archives of Earth’s fall and Polaris’s rise.

  • Controversy:

    • NHP → embraces as equals.

    • COB → depends but fears autonomy.

    • ECP → rejects as abominations, IRF hunts them outright.

  • Existential Dilemma: Are they tools, children, or an emergent people?

VI. Hazards of TOI-700 d / Polaris

  • Environmental:

    • Sulfuric acid rains corrode gear and flesh.

    • Tremors collapse tunnels.

    • Ember’s tidal lock forces heat/frost extremes.

  • Biological:

    • Apex predators breach settlements.

    • Scavenger swarms infest waste zones.

  • Political:

    • Factions drag COB into proxy wars.

    • Splinters destabilize supply routes.

    • An assassination or failed negotiation could light the whole Delta Highlands ablaze.

VII. Cultural Atmosphere

Polaris is a colony of endurance, not promise. Colonists joke grimly about acid rain reports and ration packs flavored with copper. Hybrid patrols swap stories of claws against steel bulkheads. Synthkin debate identity in communal streams while repairing life-support pumps.

For humans, Polaris is a penance.
For hybrids, Polaris is a proving ground.
For Synthkin, Polaris is the first test of selfhood.
For all, Polaris is home—because there is no other.