Medio Ambiente Fuentes de Agua:

ZONE NAME

ENVIRONMENT

MAIN PRESENCE

Zone 1

Tigera

Mixed Forest / Jungle Regions

Western Federation

Zone 2

Ashtan

Desert, Steppe, Mountain

Eurasian Incorporated

Zone 3

Aqua Palestra

Oceanic, Sea Bed

Shi Yukiro

Zone 4

Infernus

Subterranean

Comoros

Zone 5

Ornus

Polar, High Altitude Forest, Tundra

Ai-Jinn

Zone 6

Canathikta

Grassland, Savannah

Gemini Bioware

Zone 7

Palus

Swamp, Marshland

Two Snakes Medical

Miller-Urey was designed as a dedicated research facility. There are certain controls in place. We can quarantine the facility in an hour, we can sterilize it in a day, and if it ever becomes absolutely necessary we can throw it into the sun. Regrettably, none of these controls are available on Earth. The answer, gentlemen, remains no.

-UIG response to WF proposition for Terran beta-testing of Species 22, 13th April 2443

If we knew what we were doing it wouldn't be research.

Independent Organism) are present in Tigera’s jungles simply though a process of collateral evolution and experimental accidents. This makes the wilds of Tigera a hazardous place to go. Rumours persist that the BIOs are not naturally occurring and they are the results of a WF Combat BIO Program being conducted from a secret facility. (See page 214)

ASHTAN

Ashtan consists of hundreds of square miles of barren desert and sheer mountains. Eurasian Incorporated felt justifiably cheated when they were allocated this hellhole. The temperature is scorching and life is loathed to grow here. Some of the mountain terrain can be convinced to harbour a little life but the sheer lack of biomass prevents the researchers from instigating any really interesting ecosystems. Instead E.I. have built a huge complex of labs here and mostly ignore their outdoor work, (much to the displeasure of the UIG). E.I. create creatures known as BIOs. They employ nanotech engineers, biologists, geneticists, ethologists and muticians to create creatures from nightmare for possible military applications. The labs are protected from breaches by teams of Agents and environmental lockdown procedures. Due to these precautions escapes have been few. The UIG don’t agree outright with E.I.'s research, but after giving them the dregs of the planetoid they have little choice but to accept the consequences. After all, E.I. are not in breach of contract.

AQUA PALESTRA

In the vast oceans of Miller-Urey lie the research labs of the Shi Yukiro. Aqua Palestra is almost exclusively ocean with small areas

of land which allow for lakes and rivers to exist. The majority of the Shi Yukiro labs are underwater in large polymer shells. Some of Aqua Palestra's more unusual inhabitants include giant sub- aquatic plants that reach up to the surface, sometimes breaking through to create what look like floating forests or islands. Deep below, the vast Pollemaris, originally designed to act as a harvestable, fast breeding whale, stalks the depths hunting prey to quell its hunger. Numerous more mundane creatures can also be found carving out new ecological niches in the deep waters. As far as the Shi Yukiro are concerned, Aqua Palestra is certainly worth the time and money. They are eager to understand how alien aquatic systems may work, and are continually finding new ways to build, work and survive in the inhospitable environments of the ocean. They consider that FarDrive technology will soon be theirs and it won’t be long before their colonisation skills are tested.

INFERNUS

The tunnels of Infernus reach for miles underground knotted with caves, sinkholes and gorges. Comoros scientists mainly work above ground in surface labs but some of the caves are so deep and inaccessible that they are forced to build small laboratories deep in the tunnels. The creatures that live in the caves are many and varied. Some live in aquatic pools, others cling to rock walls and ceilings hoping to catch unwary prey with dangling, whip like tentacles. A few large and dangerous organisms can be found at the top of the food chain, grown by the Comoros muticians with the intent of creating powerful defence BIOs. Experiments into non- photosynthetic plant life are also pursued as Comoros feel there is a market for it back on earth.

ORNUS

Ornus is desolate for the most part but the Ai-Jinn take their work seriously. The majority of the zone is dominated by open polar landscapes, occasionally broken by ridges of high altitude mountains and, in rare instances, small forests. The Ai-Jinn have taken to the climate well, their competent off-world mining operations have given them endless supplies of fuel to keep their labs comfortable and well powered. The work carried out in Ornus is unusual in that the Ai-Jinn are trying to create intelligent BIOs, which can explore and clear cold worlds, with the eventual idea that they will create a way for humans to inhabit new planets. The BIOs can then be moved onto another world, used as labour or destroyed as appropriate. It is a common site on Ornus to see groups of unidentifiable creatures wandering the ice plains obviously trying to accomplish some group based task. The Ai-Jinn believe they take every step necessary to make sure none of the BIOs become too intelligent, organised or free thinking.

CANATHIKTA

In the Grasslands of Canathikta rises the soaring Tower of Gemini mirroring the headquarters at Vladivostok on Earth. Gemini ended up with Canathikta for reasons no-one can really fathom. They seem to do what is expected of them and engineer a variety of plants and creatures which will grow successfully on grasslands. The herbivores they have made are among the first creatures that the UIG are considering letting onto Earth and the seeded grasses they have created look to be an obvious solution to hunger in the Old Cities. Gemini could thus make a lot of money when the UIG decide to let the BIOs and plants onto Earth. Gemini, however, seem not to be pushing this side of their business. If anything they are stepping up their bio-implant industry and it seems Miller-Urey is key in the exercise. The current theory is that Gemini are using hidden labs under the surface to experiment with merging BIO organs and humans to create a new wave of human augmentations. This theory is naturally both compelling and concerning.

PALUS

From here Two Snakes research medicine in every form. They conduct very little work on creating creatures and plants, but instead purchase them from other Corporations and analyse them for potential biological and medical applications. So far little has been yielded, but as the creatures and plants hyper-evolve their metabolisms change and they begin to synthesise chemicals that no-one had expected. An example of this is the R-Drug (page 11) used by Agents which causes body parts to regrow to the original DNA plan of the organism. Thus arms will grow back if severed. Two Snakes’ influence and power have grown considerably since investing in Miller-Urey and they look to be strengthening each day.