KYPRI
System: Ivapa
Atmosphere: Breathable Mix
Temperature: Temperate
Biosphere: Human-miscible
Population: 200,000
Tech Level: TL3
Description:
Kypri, in the Ivapa system is a planet of sparse arable land and almost nonexistent surface water. Because there are few, if any precious metals or any other coveted resource on the planet, Kypri holds little interest beyond the system. Nothing much comes or goes, leaving two hundred thousand inhabitants, scattered throughout numerous subsistence level settlements scrambling to survive and of little consequence.
In the southern hemisphere, situated thousands of miles from the nearest inhabitants, lie ruins of a once spectacular culture, eons since vanished and leaving behind scant clues to their true nature. Over fifty years ago, a major exploratory expedition, funded by the Utopia Corporation, came to Kypri, initiating a decade long surge of attention and prosperity for the people there.
With discovery came more exploration and soon, scientific research, digging deep into the buried remains of this apparently massive and complex city. For several years this research continued, non-stop, ultimately uncovering a number of alien secrets, buried in the rubble for what was said to be millions of years.
For a few years, Kypri was the center of attention of news streams throughout the sector. The discoveries of anatomy and culture, the extinct alien social structure, their religious artifacts and secular art, and the unique architecture of the city made headlines nearly every week, so long as the discoveries continued. Excitement gradually abated and the expeditions dwindled until finally, in 3144, the final Utopia Corporation expedition left Kypri.
Over the years, smaller, less funded and altogether shorter expeditions have been mounted, targeting specific locations and seeking specific things. These expeditions have never excited the attention of the public in the way the decade of discovery did in the 30s and 40s.
Precious little information regarding the technological and scientific level of this long dead alien race was ever released to the public. The majority of information, claimed as intellectual property by the Utopia Corporation enabled it to revolutionize the biomedical field, positioning it as one of the dominant businesses of the sector from that time on. Speculation abounds as to what Utopia Corporation has yet to disclose. Within the last 20 years, theories relating to the discoveries on Kypri have proliferated into a cottage industry of conspiratorial news feeds reporting on the locations of supposed super-secret scientific laboratories, apocryphal sightings of resurrected alien lifeforms and quack medical breakthroughs.