Eastern Hemisphere
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Arthropoda(Ar-THROP-a-duh) is located in the Trifid Nebula of the Sagittarius arm of the Milky Way galaxy, one of a handful of Outer System planets discovered by the flurry of Andromeda probes launched during the mid-21st century. Slightly smaller than Earth (6,000 miles in diameter), it is a mineral gift basket but has a climate hostile to humans, with a toxic atmosphere and intense heat.
Most humans agree that sending Mansects there was a stroke of genius, since the bugheads love nothing better than mining and tunneling and were perfectly happy to have their own planet, where they could bask in the heat of three suns and breathe that sweet sulfuric acid and carbon monoxide. Arthropoda is rich in a number of important minerals not found on Earth, mostly crystal compounds and superconductive ceramics which have revolutionized Earth technology. They are also at the heart of Mansect technology, although the way each world uses these materials is quite different. The planet has an extremely hard crust and very little free surface water except at the equator, which is banded with extensive swamps and steamy lakes. Most Mansect cities are located in or near "Camp Swampy", as the Great Swamps are called, because as far as Mansects are concerned, the hotter the better! Beneath the surface, the entire planet is riddled with a treacherous, uncharted network of tunnels and caves known as the Honeycombs. It's worth a Mansect's life to go wandering around down there unguided, although they provide important access in many of the mining operations. |
The Flag of Arthropoda
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Many of the place names on Arthropoda, as well as the names of its seven moons, reflect the Mansects' high regard for what is considered Earth's Golden Age, the late 20th century. They, like humans, look back on this period as a high point of Earth culture, and aren't ashamed to show it!
The names of the seven moons are Truckstop, Mallrat, Marilyn, Ringo, Cheeseburger, Walt, and Apple.
It is the only planet revolving around a pair of binary stars, named Alborak, for the prophet Mohammed's white steed, and Pegasus, the winged horse of Greek myth. A third star, Rosinante, named for Sancho Panza's broken-down nag in the story of Don Quixote, moseys along in an irregular outer orbit, making this a more-or-less three-star system. While there are cycles of light and dark, there is never what could be called "night" on Arthropoda. When evening comes, the pale green sky turns the color of burnished bronze, and the horizons take on a golden glow. A few stars can be seen, but not many. And in every Mansect city, town, farm and mining camp, when the day's work is done, Mansects sing their cacaphonous and droning songs until daylight comes. |
Western Hemisphere |
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Created by Gerry Mooney and Vicki Mooney. All characters, character names, and their distinctive likenesses are TM and ©2004 Gerry Mooney Studios
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