Planet building assignment

The Planet of Kareth

     The planet of Kareth exists in the Sun’s solar system in an alternate universe, one

of countless realities that could have unfolded as a result of the big bang and the

beginning of time. In this alternate solar system, Kareth is the eighth planet from the sun,

out of a total of nineteen. The atmosphere on the planet is extremely thin, and the air on it

is un-breathable to humans. The planet’s surface is covered with ice, with blue frozen

streams of highly sulfuric water that never thaw.

     

     Kareth’s surface is so dense and impenetrable; the pressure from its core builds up

and erupts in sulfuric geysers all over the planet. Since the temperature is so low, the

liquid that erupts from these geysers immediately freezes and shoots down as ice picks

that puncture the hard icy surface and leave very small holes in it. Underneath the ice,

there is a layer of nutrients and small organisms that communicate through neural webs,

much like mushrooms. These organisms were the main food source for the gigantic

turtle-like creatures that used to roam the planet. These creatures, called Maunapailins,

were protected from these sharp icy showers by their shells. The punctured holes in the

ice allowed them to reach the necessary nutrients to sustain themselves, using their

extremely long tongues that were covered in small bumps that would stick to the small

mushrooms and pull them out.

     

     Shortly after colonizing mars, humans abandoned solar energy as a viable energy

source. This move was led by uncontrollable corruption in the world leadership, along

with immense global greed. Abandoning solar energy meant mining other planets for oil

or other sources of energy. Unfortunately, due to a technical malfunction that led to a

crash landing of a spaceship on Kareth, humans discovered that the minerals that erupted

from its many geysers were extremely rich in a chemical compound that resembled oil,

but burned one thousand times slower. Mining for this new super-oil began shortly, and

geysers were covered in cone-like machines that absorbed the material and purified it to

usable fuel. This meant that the eruptions no longer froze in the air, and they no longer

punctured holes in the planet’s icy surface. With no access to food, the Maunapailins

died, and shortly after, the mushrooms died as well, without any life form to control its

growth cycles and spread it to other areas.

     The panoramic image shows an abandoned mining site on Kareth, with

Maunapailin skeletons and the remains of man-made machinery. Some unidentified life

form is poking its hand through one of the geysers. It is unclear what it is, but it appears

to be extremely durable, possibly made of iron. If these creatures are able to sustain

themselves under such harsh conditions, it is possible that they are spread throughout the

planet, and that man may soon encounter a very unpleasant host, whose home planet was

destroyed by intruders.