The Realm
By Nathan Skaggs
BookRix GmbH & Co. KG
Munich, Germany
© 2014 by Nathan Skaggs.
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means without the prior written permission of the publishers, except by a reviewer who may quote brief passages in a review to be printed in a newspaper, magazine, or journal.
Third edition
All characters in this book are fictitious, and any resemblance to real persons, living or dead, is coincidental.
BookRix GmbH & Co. KG has allowed this work to remain exactly as the author intended, verbatim, without, editorial input.
ISBN: 978-3-7309-4266-6
PUBLISHED BY BookRix GmbH & Co. KG
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“Personal log: May 12, 2507. I am the Harbinger of Orion. I transmit this message to the stars in the hopes that one day intelligent life outside our solar system will know what transpired in the upcoming weeks. I am one of a tyrannical queen’s three billion subjects. Fellow dissidents and I will soon initiate a revolution against the monarchy.
Should anyone receive this message, the following is a description of the Orion Solar System. The Orion System is truly a unique solar system with a binary star comprising the yellow suns, Orion and Merope. 18 planets, numerous comets, an asteroid belt, and a dense iridescent spiral cloud orbit the suns. The combined mass and brightness of our suns equals that of nearby solitary suns. The five outer planets include four gas giants and one small frozen planet. The inner planets include three small lifeless planets with extremely different temperatures and atmospheres. The planet nearest the suns lost its atmosphere billions of years ago due to evaporation. The remaining 10 planets, Aeacus, Britomartis, Dardanus, Concordia, Glaucus, Kalypsó, Cenarius, Klymenê, Triton, and Fortuna can support plant and animal life. These 10 planets were once part of the asteroid belt until a super comet composed of oxygen and nitrogen collided with a planetoid billions of years ago. The collision forced 10 fragments from the asteroid belt into an orbit closer to the suns. The warmer orbit released the oxygen and nitrogen from the comet. This Cluster of planets revolves around a common center of gravity. Each planet rotates in different directions. The days on each planet are 2.4 hours long due to their rapid rotations. Eons later, every type of terrain and environment imaginable has developed. The ratios of land to water are 30% to 70% for each planet. Flora and fauna are abundant in the planets’ diverse biomes.
The Cloud stretches the entire length of the solar system. The Cloud rarely comes in contact with the Cluster, because it's trajectory around the suns has a slightly different angle. Every millennium, the Cloud and the Cluster cross paths during the Cluster’s apogee and the Cloud’s perigee resulting in a devastating chain reaction. Sunlight can not completely penetrate the thick dust and gases within the Cloud. The Cluster’s weather will be affected for one year. As plants suffer from decreased sunlight, animals dependent upon these plants also suffer. Humans mysteriously appeared in the Cluster billions of years later. Each planet can support 300 million humans. Humans initially viewed the Cloud's spectral appearance as something beautiful. Early humans called the Cloud Miasma due to its suffocating effects on the environment. Each passing of the Miasma brings crop failures and famines. Enduring the Miasma often depends on luck, preparedness, and brute force. Marauders and highwaymen plague innocent people during each Miasma. As humans developed agriculture, they relied heavily upon crops like carrots and potatoes that could thrive in less sunlight. End transmission.” The Harbinger said.