Post by zephyr40k on Aug 7, 2013 15:42:43 GMT -5
Al-Gul, the Demon Star
Al-Gul-Prime was a warm, wet, highly populated, main-phase planet towards the edge of the Commonwealth. Due to the unique characteristics of its binary star system, the planet received an unusual amount of light in the red and blue wavelengths, making it ideal for agricultural use. It was considered a garden planet, with a thriving tourism trade. The gas-flow channel between the two stars and the unique celestial phenomenon that resulted drew scientists as well as tourists from across the galaxy.
It was also renowned for the varied and bizarre life-forms on the planet. Odd but fairly harmless creatures thrived in the slightly erratic light and occasional minor radiation bursts from Algol’s twin suns.
With a population of over two billion and a thriving democratic government, it was a center of culture and learning, with three universities listed regularly among the top ten in the Commonwealth, a robust economy, and a rich culture.
All this changed in the year 2130. Government astronomers began detecting strange variability in Algol-alpha’s spectral signature. At first the astronomers’ observations were chalked up to normal stellar processes. But over the next few months the events became stronger and increasingly erratic. Solar storms and radiation bursts from the main star increased in intensity and frequency. Astronomers determined that the parent star had finally drawn off enough mass from its neighbor to achieve critical mass for a nova transformation. As for how long they had, estimates varied between a week and a hundred years.
What ensued was a classic case of political gridlock and paralysis. The Commonwealth government, in a short-sighted attempt to prevent profiteers from exploiting the situation, imposed an interdiction on the Algol system while they debated what to do. All this meant was that only the wealthiest portion of Algol’s population was able to bribe their way to safety. An evacuation was finally begun six months later, but it was too little, too late. Massive protests against the Commonwealth government raged across the cities of the planet, demanding a complete and immediate evacuation. However, the Commonwealth itself had recently begun a terminal decline into economic and political chaos, and lacked the resources or the coherency to mount any kind of real relief operation.
One month later, the star turned a haunting, brilliant blue for an hour, pulsing wildly, before it finally collapsed in on itself. The astronomers who had predicted a nova were wrong –
It collapsed into a Magnetar
The explosion vaporized every ship, station, colony, and satellite in the system that was not behind a planet at the time. The side of Algol-prime that was facing the star was sterilized by a ten-second pulse of x-rays and gamma radiation. Worse yet, the pulse stripped off twenty-five percent of the planet’s atmosphere and three-quarters of its ozone layer. What had been a garden planet was transformed into a blasted, irradiated wasteland. The Commonwealth’s scientists and politicians, concerned with their own internecine quarrels and civil wars, closed the books on Algol, declaring it permanently interdicted and completely incapable of sustaining life.
They were almost right.
Al-Gul-Prime was a warm, wet, highly populated, main-phase planet towards the edge of the Commonwealth. Due to the unique characteristics of its binary star system, the planet received an unusual amount of light in the red and blue wavelengths, making it ideal for agricultural use. It was considered a garden planet, with a thriving tourism trade. The gas-flow channel between the two stars and the unique celestial phenomenon that resulted drew scientists as well as tourists from across the galaxy.
It was also renowned for the varied and bizarre life-forms on the planet. Odd but fairly harmless creatures thrived in the slightly erratic light and occasional minor radiation bursts from Algol’s twin suns.
With a population of over two billion and a thriving democratic government, it was a center of culture and learning, with three universities listed regularly among the top ten in the Commonwealth, a robust economy, and a rich culture.
All this changed in the year 2130. Government astronomers began detecting strange variability in Algol-alpha’s spectral signature. At first the astronomers’ observations were chalked up to normal stellar processes. But over the next few months the events became stronger and increasingly erratic. Solar storms and radiation bursts from the main star increased in intensity and frequency. Astronomers determined that the parent star had finally drawn off enough mass from its neighbor to achieve critical mass for a nova transformation. As for how long they had, estimates varied between a week and a hundred years.
What ensued was a classic case of political gridlock and paralysis. The Commonwealth government, in a short-sighted attempt to prevent profiteers from exploiting the situation, imposed an interdiction on the Algol system while they debated what to do. All this meant was that only the wealthiest portion of Algol’s population was able to bribe their way to safety. An evacuation was finally begun six months later, but it was too little, too late. Massive protests against the Commonwealth government raged across the cities of the planet, demanding a complete and immediate evacuation. However, the Commonwealth itself had recently begun a terminal decline into economic and political chaos, and lacked the resources or the coherency to mount any kind of real relief operation.
One month later, the star turned a haunting, brilliant blue for an hour, pulsing wildly, before it finally collapsed in on itself. The astronomers who had predicted a nova were wrong –
It collapsed into a Magnetar
The explosion vaporized every ship, station, colony, and satellite in the system that was not behind a planet at the time. The side of Algol-prime that was facing the star was sterilized by a ten-second pulse of x-rays and gamma radiation. Worse yet, the pulse stripped off twenty-five percent of the planet’s atmosphere and three-quarters of its ozone layer. What had been a garden planet was transformed into a blasted, irradiated wasteland. The Commonwealth’s scientists and politicians, concerned with their own internecine quarrels and civil wars, closed the books on Algol, declaring it permanently interdicted and completely incapable of sustaining life.
They were almost right.