Enceladus

Enceladus, Saturn II
INFORMATION
Quadrant:	Alpha
Star System:	Sol
Affiliations:	United Federation of Planets, Outer Worlds Commonwealth, Bright Thinktank
Natives:	Enceladese, Brights (Human)
ASTROMETRIC DATA
Star Type(s):	G:V (yellow main-sequence star)
Estimated Age:	4.6 Billion Years
Number of Planets:	9
Orbital Period (Days):	10,590 standard days (Saturn); 33 hours for Enceladus
Classification:	Class F (methanated ice with a silicate-carbon volatile core)
Number of Satellites:	none; Enceladus is the second moon of Saturn
PLANETOLOGICAL DATA
Atmosphere Type:	none; trace ionized hydrocarbons and water
Atmosphere Pressure:	none; base ocean pressures are similar to 50 times Earth's sea level. Earth Seal Level PSI is 14.6. Enceladus' ocean pressure begins at 735 PSI.
Mean Temperature:	cold but with superheated pockets approaching boiling
Hydrosphere:	ice with pockets of methanated water interior
Dominant Terrain:	ice, methanated, often slushy water pockets, craters, hydrothermal vent striations, young ice plains
Gravity:	0.11g (Earth=1)
Day/Night Cycle (Hours):	artificial: follows a 24-hour standard Federation day. Enceladus is tidally locked to Saturn.
LIFE DATA
Stage of Life Evolution:	primordial multicellular life similar to abyssal plains worms, arctic corals, and sea vent arthropods
Sentient Population:	32,000; approximately 8,000 live in Eilat Hub with the rest in Eilat Anchorage.
Capital:	Eilat Hub Station
END OF BRIEFING
Template:Planet

At a Glance

With a diameter roughly the size of Arizona, Enceladus is 500km across, and approximately 1600km in circumference. By comparison, Earth is 25,000km in circumference. Enceladus' largest neighbor- Titan- is 16,000km in circumference. Enceladus is one of the brightest objects in the Sol system- it is covered in new, highly reflective ice that gives it a white and white-blue appearance. As a moon of Saturn, Enceladus drew the attention of twentieth and twenty-first-century science when it was hypothesized that Enceladus- like Ceres and Europa- had a vast interior ocean of water. Those hypotheses were correct.

Enceladus is trapped in an orbital resonance with the innermost Saturnian moon of Dione. Dione drives Enceladus' eccentric orbit and contributes to the tiny moon's interior tidal heating. Enceladus has cryovolcanic geysers, most of which are found at its poles. The geysers, which are water mixed with sodium chloride, several organic volatiles, and some solid material, return to Enceladus as snow, but also contribute to Saturn's "E Ring." These pieces of evidence further led Human scientists to suggest Enceladus may harbor life. Again, that hypothesis was correct. Enceladus does have its own brand of unique- albeit fairly primitive- life.

Enceladus began as a colony of a colony- Eilat Hub was established as a satellite research facility for Titan- specifically Titan University. Though it later petitioned for its own colonial status- which was granted by the Federation- Enceladus is still governed as a member of the Outer Worlds' Commonwealth and the Outer Worlds' Commonwealth's representative sits for Enceladus in the Federation Council.

Terrain

Settlements

Eilat Hub

The Eilat Drop

Eilat Anchorage

Governance

The Enceladan Commonality

Enceladus is a small colony and one with roots inexorably tied- most would believe- in Titan and the Outer Worlds Commonwealth. Its governance is based on a system similarly found on Titan- a rotating council of five nonpartisan selected- albeit still subject to opinion and personal ethics- judge-ministers. These five cannot draft law, but can approve it based on a new law's perceived constitutionality. Law is drafted by a public hearing process, which is supposed to be both broadcasted and interactive offsite. Each potential law is screened clause by clause for constitutionality and can be rejected by the judge-ministers. When a new law's final clause is approved, it is "enacted" with a final vote by the five. The Commonality is based on the ability that any citizen with an official petition- and the requisite votes- can bring a potential law to the books.

Outer Worlds' Commonwealth

Politics

Collective Conservatism

Scientific Rigor

Precautionary Principles

April 2385: Petition of Censure in the Outer Worlds Commonwealth

Countercensure: May 2385

February 2386 Suspension of the Federation Charter

Native Life

Life arose on Enceladus, by most estimates, some two billion years ago. However, because of the small size of Enceladus and the seasonal changes of its interior oceans, that life has remained small-sized, homogeneous but surprisingly complex. Enceladus has no known vertebrates- evolutionarily there is zero need. Enceladus has barely a tenth of Earth's gravity and no landmass. Most multicellular life on Enceladus is worm-like, coral-like, or arthropod-like. The largest single species is a nine-armed analog of a seastar only slightly larger than a human hand, though "Ice Brain" coral can form colonies that are far larger. All life on Enceladus is anaerobic- it does not use oxygen. Most life uses ethane or methane.

Methane Fixing

Haptic and Olfactory Senses

Edibility

Enceladan life is simply not fit for Human consumption. Because of very different biochemistries, Enceladan life is not nutritious- and it has been noted to taste awful. Because of the methane-saturated environment, most Enceladan sea life exposed to oxygenation emit a foul natural gas-like smell and taste. Enceladan life is also very delicate, with either mushy or "melted plastic" like textures. It has been described as tasting like, "A really gooey booger that tasted like a particularly noxious fart."

Examples of Enceladan Life

Xenocopepoda and Xenamphipoda

Cryogliochaetes

Ogliochaetes have an Enceladan analog similar to terrestrial earthworms. These are marine roundworms.

Xeno-Monochaetes

Monochaetes are segmented worms with single "chaeta" or "bristles" appendage on each segment. Polychaetes have multiple chaeta per segment.

Archaeocampa Enceladis

This form of xeno-monochaete worm, similar to glow worms found inside caverns, borrows into the ice and builds up a thick, viscous, bacteria-ridden goop that dangles into the Enceladan ocean. The bacteria use methane to fix heat and energy for the worm in return for more nutrient goo. Like many such creatures, it emits blue bioluminescent light in order to snare prey for itself. These bathyscaphic worms tend to grow in large "carpet colonies" on the underside of ice. They have the unfortunate nickname of, "Snotcicles," to Enceladan colonists.

Xeno-Polychaetes

Kasydopteris Spindis

Archaeoprimnoa Eilatis

A form of mound-building coral, sometimes called "Ice Brains." Like many creatures on Enceladus, Ice Brains are dependent on methane fixing for energy and heat and do so with anaerobic bacteria. Ice Brains are unusual in that they are not fixed- they freely float in Enceladus' ocean. They can grow as large as 10 meters across and do serve a similar function of safe harbor for polychaetes and larger arthropoda.

Ankyllonudibrancha

Also known as "articulated" or "armored" flatworms.

Nonasteridae Mobilis

An unusual analog to the terrestrial seastar, Nonasteridae Mobilis is a nine-armed echinoderm-like creature that can anchor to ice but also latch on to Ice Brains to feed. They can emit jelly-like tendrils and push water through valves, allowing them to move very quickly.

The Myth of the "Ice Whale"

Rooted in Some Fact?