Atmospheric Biology: Bacterium Acies
25 Jan 2022Scopelx
Being ahead of schedule for my current expedition for the first time in weeks, I have had time to sift through some of my accumulated exobiology data. An evening spent drifting through some unremarkable system in Tenebrae, and I'm prepared to offer an update on my ongoing survey of atmospheric life. I have compiled a complete set of composition scans for each know variety of Bacterium Acies. The Codex describes this species as follows: A bacterial species that converts evergy from neon-based atmospheres creating looping whirls of bright colour.
As the Codex would suggest, these bacteria can be found on worlds harboring neon or neon-rich atmospheres. In my experience this almost always means icy bodies. Much like Bacterium Informen, the different colors characteristic of each variant are derived from the trace elements present on the planet on which they g
row. However, that's where the similarities with Informen end. Neon atmospheres are prevalent in icy bodies around cool, dim stars (as evidenced by the mass codes of my discoveries below). And cool, dim stars are the most abundant stars in galaxy. As such, Vista Genomics isn't particularly interested in genetic data for Acies, offering only about 50,0000 CR per sample. Also, their swirling patterns are much less distinct and often blend in with the surrounding terrain, making them more difficult to see from the air.
All of the following populations were found during the Magellan Experience, nearer the distal end of the Perseus Arm. I came across one interesting datapoint of note regarding Acies during my travels. I found an example of Acies growing on planet with nitrogen-based volcanism. The metabolism of the Acies species does not typically have the capability to take advantage of the energy provided by active volcanism, basically always being outcompeted by Bacteria Omentum in a case like this. I'm not sure why Acies was able to proliferate on that planet, but it certainly merits further investigation.
Bacterium Acies Cyan
Material: Antimony
System: Pruia Airgh BH-Y b0 (Lyra's Song)
Bacterium Acies Cobalt
Material: Ruthenium
System: Nuelou PZ-D d13-0 (Tenebrae)
Bacterium Acies Lime
Material: Technetium
System: Synookea PZ-S c3-1 (Lyra's Song)
Bacterium Acies White
Material: Tellurium
System: Synookea FH-L b35-0 (Lyra's Song)
Bacterium Acies Aquamarine
Material: Yttrium
System: Iowrofy PG-P b53-0 (Lyra's Song)
Bacterium Acies Magenta
Material: Polonium
System: Ausain SP-Y b55-0 (Tenebrae)
