NOMI IV
System: Syeh
Atmosphere: Breathable mix
Temperature: Variable temperate-to-warm
Biosphere: Human-miscible
Population: Several million
Tech Level: TL3
Description:
A member of the Four Worlds political bloc, Nomi IV is a world, much like any other Earth analogous world, but for the level of radiation emanating from its core. This radiation is lethal for a typical human being, however the inhabitants of Nomi IV descend from altered ancestors who were engineered to survive on this otherwise beautiful planet.
The average Nomi IV native is born with a shell-like, armored external layer, creased at the joints to enable movement. As they mature, these creases crack open to allow for further development, growing as they grow, keeping their entire body covered with a thick, leathery protective layer through childhood and into adulthood.
Over the generations this engineered mutation has gradually changed to include a multitude of colors covering the gamut from red to violet. These colors generally manifest across the entire body of a Nomi IV native, though some newer mutations are showing up as large blotches of opposing color.
This armored mutation is not enough on its own to protect the natives from radiation sickness and ultimate death. Their cellular structure was changed as well. In fact, changing the structure on a microscopic level was the original goal of the gengineers of Nomi IV. The resultant armor-like hide was a side effect of the changes necessary to protect them for a lifetime from the ubiquitous radiation.
Nomi IV is a major source of radioactive materials for the sector. The materials are mined robotically and processed in automated facilities. Citizens of Nomi IV make their living as land owners. The surface of the planet is divided into parcels and family run corporations operate these mining enterprises.
One other inhabited planet shares Nomi IV’s planetary system. Beragnh, an ocean world, with very little dry land is home to a couple hundred thousand people. The natives survive on the sea life of this small world, using imported composites to build massive arks, which stay afloat for decades, supporting very large communities of fishers and divers.
Samanis is a life sustaining planet that also occupies the Syeh system. It is a frozen world of megafauna that holds little interest beyond its harsh environment being used as a training ground for elite military units.
A fourth planet, a massive gas giant orbiting within the habitable zone, Vigdis has been protected from mining by the sector government since the discovery of microbial life in its upper atmosphere before the Scream. With the abundance of eligible gas giants throughout the sector, it isn’t difficult to keep Vigdis free of mining operations.
