Planet Celsius, Home Of The PCA
Cernig10SPOCS 900 6 is a terraformed earthlike world which has become the adopted home planet of the Praetorian Curiate Assembly after they recently took it and the system from the Federation. Known to the inhabitants as "Celsius", it is a harsh and unforgiving place which has given rise to a fiercely self-reliant culture.
Celsius is tidally locked to its companion gas giant, SPOCS 900 5, known locally as “Sarek”. The two rotate around a common center, which is actually located within the gas giant itself, with a period of 77.9 solar days, and orbit around the primary together with a period of 430.8 solar days. Celsius always keeps the same face to Sarek but because of that mutual orbit it has very long day/night cycles, of almost 39 solar days each, instead of one side always facing the sun. There are two planetary rings, visible from the planet’s surface both day and night. The inner ring is called “Prosperity” and the outer ring “Longevity”.
Celsius showing the rings Prosperity and Longevity, with the gas giant Sarek in the background.
Celsius is slightly larger than Earth, with a higher gravity (1.24g) and has a slightly higher atmospheric pressure (1.256 atmospheres) but has less oxygen as a percentage of that atmosphere (16% as opposed to 21%) and far more carbon dioxide (0.52% instead of 0.04%). This hothouse atmosphere combined with the day/night cycle combines to bring the average surface temperature to 339 Kelvin or 150 Fahrenheit, as opposed to Earth's average of 58 Fahrenheit. Planet Celsius is challenging to live on, to say the least.
On the side facing the sun at any time open water quickly heats towards, and eventually reaches, boiling point (212 F) while on the dark side at any time temperatures plummet close to or below freezing. The constant slow movement of these zones is the only reason the whole planet is viable, instead of occupation being confined to a band around the terminus. Still that slow rotation and the temp differential between day and night makes for some serious winds. Storm-force winds blow towards the dark at high altitudes and cooling low temperature winds blow back towards daylight. Looking up, you'd see the clouds moving in the opposite direction to the wind you felt at ground level.
Meanwhile, the seas flow. There are no tides, but the super-charged evaporation cycle means water always flows from dark to day and depending on where you are on the planet the flow speed and direction change with the day/night cycle. At least that keeps most of the surface water cooler appreciably than the local air temperature, which is fortunate since it provides an alternative heat transfer method that means the winds aren't as strong as they might otherwise be.
Due to Celsius' long day/night cycle, an extra unit of time called the Nayan is often used locally. This is a fortieth of the length of a local day or night and roughly corresponds to one t-standard day. The word comes from the Mongolian for 'forty'. A 24-hour long Nayan with the suffix "am" or "pm" to denote local day or night is used. It would be common for a local to write a time as13:30, 4th Nayan PM for example.
Sunrises and sunsets take a long time on Celsius, around eighteen standard hours, and are often particularly colorful due to high levels of dust from wind erosion and water vapor from evaporation in the upper atmosphere. A long Celsius twilight and sunset, with the rings overhead and the sky ablaze with color, is regarded as one of the most beautiful sights in the galaxy.
The planet Celsius' main food exports are algae and migratory fish from the oceans. Its primary imports are hydrogen fuel and biowaste, showing that it is still in the process of building up sufficient biomass to be self-sufficient in these commodities. Celsius also imports clothing, as the planet's agricultural cycle is unsuited to the growing of natural fibers like flax and cotton. Its secondary exports come from heavily genetically engineered plants which already had short growing cycles, ideally under six weeks, so that they can be grown and harvested in the short mornings and evenings of the planet's long days. Tobacco, sunflower seeds and oil, and short cycle vegetables like radishes, onions, broccoli and chard are common crops along with short-cycle grains like millet and fonio. Likewise, hardy animal species like goats, camels, alpine sheep and guinea pigs have been modified for life on Celsius, providing animal meat and leather. Tea, coffee, and various fruits are grown underground in large hydroponic farms, while less hardy livestock are reared in underground pastures and fetch a premium price locally due to their rarity. The local beers, wines and spirits are made from millet.
Like the livestock that can live outdoors, even the human inhabitants of Celsius must be genetically enhanced if they are to spend any amount of time outside the sealed domes, buildings and underground plazas of a typical Celsius settlement. Their bones and muscles are strengthened to cope with increased gravity and still enable a tall, slim build that is ideal for shedding heat during the Celsius day. Their metabolism speeds up during the night while their blood contains a natural anti-freeze protein originally found in an Earth Antarctic fish to help them survive the long cold. Most of the citizenry are enhanced in this way, as are many of the members of the noble families. Many of the noble families are former Federal leaders in the system who decided to offer fealty to Rowe rather than flee the system. Others are imported nobles from systems where Patreus or Rowe had connections, often a lord who has done service but had no worthwhile lands; so there is a split between natives and first-generation residents. Imperial slaves tend to be more of a mix due to importation of slaves from elsewhere, but slaves from off-planet are employed almost exclusively indoors and underground.
The planet rotates so slowly that a constant speed of only 25kmh will keep abreast of the moving sun. Some Celsius fishing towns, tourist complexes and noble houses float on the oceans and constantly sail around the world to maintain their position in a perfect, warm climate.
Celsius as night turns to day, from the Celsius Market station.