Oort Cloud
Welcome to Solaris, traveller! This is a slower-than-light science fantasy set in our own solar system.
About Solaris | Guide to Solaris | Prologue
About Solaris | Guide to Solaris | Prologue
Far beyond our borders it lies; the offcuts of our creation. A vast array containing everything that once made us, stretching thousands of times wider than our own system. In the dead silence of space, it whispers.
Far beyond Neptune, the Kuiper Belt, and the Scattered Disc, the Oort Cloud envelops the Sol System. It is a a wasteland of frozen debris and cosmic dust wider than the Inner and Outer World combined.
The Sentinels in the Kuiper belt is the Sol Systems serve as a stalwart defence against the entities in the Oort Cloud. Information about the entities is highly confidential, due to the cognitive hazards posed. All information on the Oort Cloud poses a risk of Oortic Poisoning and Deep Space Syndrome. Probes sent into the Oort Cloud return garbled and warped information. Comets from the Oort Cloud bring with them oortite, a corruptive crystal. Further study is ill advised and often directly outlawed.
As Old as Sol
It would take a spacecraft travelling at interplanetary max speeds eleven years to reach the beginning of the Oort Cloud. In comparasion, it takes two months to travel from Venus to Neptune.
As Unforgiving as Sol
The protonic debris contained more than just dust and dead rock. Among it was the same seeds of creation that led to life in our solar system. However, in the deadlands a different, hungrier, kind of life began, overseen by somethings, or someone, as old as Sol itself. Though today we have the brave Sentinels to protect us from most of the physical dangers of the Oort Cloud and beyond, ancient civilizations were not so lucky. Cosmic cults proliferated across the system, seeking to appease the entities in the Oort Cloud.
The more fortunate cults never drew the attention of the entities they attempted to worship. Those that did invariably drove themselves into extinction. As better methods of dealing with the dangers of the Oort cloud were developed, these cosmic cults have naturally faded away.
by Annie Stein
A Beacon from Afar
The Sol System is always in flux. As the Galaxy yawns, the galactic tide pulls comets out of the Oort Cloud and into the Outer and Inner Worlds. Other comets have orbits that take them into the Oort Cloud. All entities that enter the Oort cloud are irrevocably changed, however, regardless of their origins. The sight of a comet streaking across the night sky is a bad omen. Warnings are issued when a comet contaminated by the Oort Cloud is detected. People are advised not to look up as it passes by, but many skirt the rule by viewing them through specially crafted goggles that purportedly reduce the risk of exposure. Far more dangerous than the mere sight of a comet is the debris left in its wake. Special cleaning crews are deployed to contain the event if and when solid matter reaches the surface. Oort-tainted meteoric substances are extremely dangerous, causing a large amount of adverse mental effects. Many artefacts from ancient Cosmic Cults were made from oortite and meteoric metal, and the trade of these artefacts flourishes in black markets despite the risk.| Outer Space | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Location under
Related Materials
Table of Contents
Notice: This article is a stub. It may be expanded later!
I already told you this elsewhere, but I really love how much story and context you've crammed into the article. You've set the stage for so many things I really want to read more about know. Deep space syndrome! Cosmic cults! Meteoric metals and tainted asteroids that threaten all life! Black market dealings and more! All these things and more, I can't wait to read about :)
Creator of Araea, Megacorpolis, and many others.
Thank you so much! I have to try keep up with the rest of y'all!
Solaris | Camp Chill | Summer Camp