Genesis-A

A star entering senility

All planetary systems are defined by the star(s) at their center, and the Genesis system is no exception. As is usual for most host stars, Genesis A is the most massive and oldest body—but is quite a bit older than the majority of stars today, at 9.6 billion years old(for comparison, the Solar System is ~4.5 billion years old)! As such, the star has aged quite a bit; while it started life as a red dwarf, it’s slowly evolving into the hypothetical “blue dwarf” stellar type. However, it will be many millions of years until Genesis-A becomes a blue dwarf, so it’s at an intermediary “pink dwarf” stage where its surface temperature is slightly higher than that of our Sun(further heliophysics research is needed to figure out why it’s assumed a purplish tinge).

Just like Genesis-A, most worlds in the Genesis system are similarly aged, many having endured periods of geological change longer than life’s tenure on Earth. The result is a system greatly warped from its inception.

Genesis-b was the first planet to be discovered in the Genesis system, owing to its notable mass. Being between 200-300 times Earth’s mass(in the ballpark of Jovian masses), it’s clearly a gas giant made primarily of hydrogen and helium. However, it appears more similar to ice giants richer in volatile compounds like water and ammonia from space, being a largely deep-blue ball.

This has little to do with the planet’s composition, rather being a by-product of Genesis-b’s proximity to its parent star—which has prevented the formation of large-scale cloud formations or hazes. While Genesis-b likely looked far more like Jupiter or Saturn in the Genesis system’s early days, the steadily-increasing luminosity of Genesis-A would drive up temperatures, leading to the world’s ammonia-rich cloud layer dissipating.

Perhaps a more drastic demonstration of how greatly Genesis-A’s increasing luminosity has had a significant impact on its worlds is found when looking to the lunar system of Genesis-b. The gas giant has three major moons whose masses range from 4.3%(b-II) to 9%(b-I) that of Earth; for comparison, the Moon is around 1% of Earth’s mass.

In addition to these, there are other major moons akin to those of Saturn, and a smattering of asteroid-like minor moons. Most of Genesis-b’s moons were once frigid icy bodies, but the increasing luminosity of Genesis-A has rendered them arid rocks. Still, a few of the major moons have managed to maintain a thin atmosphere created from their icy mantles.

Being significantly more massive, the three largest moons of Genesis-b (commonly referred to as the “b-Trinity”) have managed to maintain a much more substantial atmosphere—one capable of maintaining surface liquid. These moons vary drastically in climate, having greatly divergent atmospheric and hydrologic systems based on their initial ice composition.

The outermost of these major moons is b-III, a tepid ocean world with a high-pressure Venus-like atmosphere. b-III’s thick atmosphere when coupled with its low gravity make flight on it much easier compared to many other bodies in the Genesis system—and even compared to Earth in some respects as well! As a result, flying/floating organisms dominate the moon’s biosphere, likely created via panspermia from b-II. Extensive mats of floating algae-like organisms(tinted red as a result of using rhodophyll as a photosynthetic pigment) kept airborne by sacs of heated gas sustain fauna that rarely—if ever—visit the moon’s oceanic surface. It’s likely b-III was an extremely ice-rich moon early in the Genesis system’s history, which would explain how it acquired its global ocean and hazy atmosphere.

b-II is the least massive of Genesis-b’s moons, which has made it a far drier place than humid b-III. A significant amount of b-II’s atmosphere(around a tenth the pressure of Earth’s) is carbon dioxide, which has made it a rather hot world as well. Some have compared b-II’s climate to be a hybrid between Earth’s hottest deserts and Mars. Yet still, the hostile world has an extensive history of life. It’s highly probable that b-II’s first lifeforms emerged when the world still had an extensive icy crust, dwelling in deep underground seas warmed by geothermal heat. As the moon warmed, these seas were opened up to the surface. While life would soon spread to land niches, the majority of b-II’s biosphere would be centered around the immense oceans. b-II’s analogue of the animal taxonomic kingdom was dominated by aggregate creatures made up of smaller individual animal units dedicated to specific bodily functions, in a manner somewhat convergent to zooid aggregate animals of Earth. Some of these aggregate animals could reach the size of small islands, being the basis for local ecosystems similar to Earth’s coral reefs. However, the continued warming of the moon would result in most oceans drying out into saline basins, and widespread ecosystem collapse as a result. There still exist some vestigial remnants of the moon’s prior biosphere, but nothing close to its former glory. Over countless eons, the remnants of b-II’s biosphere have been compacted into subsurface strata that now make up extensive deposits of oil and natural gas, which has resulted in heated controversy over whether it should be opened up to commercial development.

Still, life from b-II was carried to the other two b-Trinity moons; the aerial biosphere of b-III was previously discussed, but of equal notice is the more Earthlike b-I. b-I is by far the most active of the b-Trinity moons, having an active system of plate tectonics currently in the process of rifting apart a supercontinent. Much of this tectonic activity stems from the moon’s large core and heavy tidal stresses. The moon also sustains heavy volcanism, with large tracts of igneous rock surrounding volcanic hotspots. Like b-III, b-I has plant life tinted red by rhodophyll, though much of it is more familiar terrestrial flora. b-I’s low gravity has allowed for tree-like strains of its flora to grow to incredible heights, with forests causing nigh-perpetual night on their floors from packed canopies—which also serve as a habitat on their own. As a means of protection for frequent volcanic activity and the forest fires that may ensue, a large portion of these “skyscraper trees” have developed semi-fireproof bark. The abundance of plant life on b-I has given it one of the most valued and peculiar qualities a celestial body can have: an oxygenated atmosphere. Though the bolstering of immense forest fires is an unfortunate side effect of this, it still remains fact that b-I’s breathable(at least, when not full of ash particles) atmosphere makes it extremely lucrative for human colonization. Still, radiation remains a major barrier to colonizing the world; although there is a tenuous ozone layer, a weak magnetic field makes it easy for high-energy radiation from Genesis-A to reach the surface of b-I. While the flora and fauna of the moon have been honed over the course of their evolution to be resistant to this radiation, humans evidently are not.

As Genesis-A ages and brightens, it’s inevitable that the same process of volatile evaporation that gave the b-Triplet their rich histories will render them barren rocks as arid and dead as Genesis-b’s other moons. While the meager gravity of b-I might be enough to keep its atmosphere for another billion years or so, it’s most likely destined to become a smaller Mars.