Desperot
Desperot Now
Desperot is presently an M-Class planet with varied terrain. Its colony is a teaming and vibrant metropolis run by a peaceable civilian government. Desperot's chief export is raw minerals though the colony itself is capable of self sustenance.
Desperot Then
The following material comes from the USS Independence-A mission archives and Wheeler Colony historical archives:
Desperot is the second planet of the Desperot System. It is a terrestrial planet which has a thick atmosphere whose characteristics are not yet fully understood. A large cyclonic storm akin to the Jovian great red spot circles the planet every 12 hours, while the planetary sidereal day is approximately 20 hours. The planet maintains a stable orbit about its sun and has no moons.
Composition
Desperot's composition is mainly terrestrial. Its core is noted for its rapid two-day mass redistribution cycle. This phenomenon is not yet understood and it produces curious effects on the gravitation in local space. Below is a brief sketch of the force in newtons as a function of distance from center of mass, where center of mass moves from center of planet to spherical plain every two days.
Surface Conditions
Atmosphere
Desperot's thick atmosphere results in an average surface temperature of 200 degrees celcius day and night. Upper atmospheric electrical disturbances result in an eerie bluish glow during the night and lower-level dust storms result in a hellish day time characterized by a reddish brown ambiance.
Surface
Desperot's surface is inhospitable to unprotected life forms. An equatorial mountain range containing peaks far higher than the Martian Olympus Mons or the Terran Mount Everest lies adjacent to a massive ocean-like depression where water was likely present.
Mining Settlement
Desperot is known for its 22nd century technology-based domed mining settlement. The settlement is located south of the equatorial line. The following drawings were taken from prospecting and engineering records at the time the colony was founded.
Layout
The mining settlement itself is a functional place. The dome is built against and into a large mountain to its south. Against this mountain the mine operations building stands. Other mining facilities and operations also exist in the colony. Of particular interest is the park mine, located closest to the local brothel. This mine houses not only large bauxite deposits but also the colony's main geothermal power station. That station is powered by heated subterranean water flows.
Artificial Lighting
At some point in its history, the Desperot colony engineers elected to build an artificial sun. This is a vast light which runs across an arced track every 12 hours and then waits another 12 hours to re-execute the same action.
Desperot Entity
The Desperot Entity is a hypothetical being responsible for hallucinatory effects on the planet's surface. The being was probably a non-corporeal explorer of the corporeal world. Attempts on the creature's part to communicate with humanoids were partially successful at best. For example, it organized the planet into tiers, capitalizing on the mining infrastructure set up by the humanoids. In some tiers it projected chroniton fields that caused neurological activity in the human brain, thus producing elaborate and often frightening hallucinations. In other tiers it created more pleasurable experiences. The latter tier resulted in the organization of an isolationist hedonic cult among Desperot colonists. This cult was organized around a political figure who retained the title of colonial administrator but rebranded it simply "Administrator."
Hedonic Cult
The Hedonic cult was organized around the pleasant experiences that could be had in certain areas of the mines. Its administration preached a doctrine of isolationism and blissful rejection of worldly cares.
Administrator
Administrator was the official title of the leader of the hedonic cult that sprung up around the pleasure tier of the Desperot Entity's communication attempts. Administrators tended to promote a doctrine of isolationism, refusing to allow the colony to communicate with outsiders for fear that the fountain of pleasure they'd found in Desperot's subterranean vaults should be discovered and exploited. Of course no one on Desperot was aware of the true nature of these pleasant underground caverns, seeing them as strange religious sites at which personal revelations and spirituality could be explored at the expense of all other concerns and cares in one's life.
Notable Members
- Jessica the Writer
- Rowls the Mining Specialist