Venus
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
Brilliant toxic smogs protect and obscure Venus from outsiders. The planet is a lush and hostile paradise, and it's inhabitants are the strange and alien Fei.
Venus is the second planet from the Sun, but despite its presence at the heart of Sol, it retains a reputation as foreign and exotic. Shrouded in vivid pastel smoke and fog so thick visibility never extends beyond a few metres, foreigners, and their imaginations, are easily captured. It doesn't help that Venusian politics are elaborate and labyrinthine, interweaving private and public life.
Despite the low visibility, the people of Venus, the Fei, are big on aesthetics. Coming in all shapes and sizes, the Fei are plantlike and can cultivate their own growth to their personal ideals. Many also embrace the practice of symbiosis, embedding symbionts and even parasites into their bodies to further enhance their appearance.
Adapting to the Fog
The smogs of Venus come in many colours, from pastels, to vivid oranges and pinks. Pollen glimmers as it catches the dulled rays of the sun, like sparkles in the air. The native flora and fauna of Venus depend on the thick air, and are even the source of some of the compounds and toxins. Foreigners, however, struggle. Hardier species can breathe the native air for a shorter period, but most suffer inflamation and irritation, as well as a mild to severe intoxication. The fogs of the fei, in particular, are heady and mildly narcotic.
Because of this most foreigners wear masks on Venus, and sometimes even tanks of their preferred air. Some foreigners take more drastic measures, and surgically implant a filter organ. These organs are created from a mixture of native plants, and embedded into the throat and sinuses to allow them to breathe. Filter ferns fan out of their face, and give even these foreigners a distinct, plant-like look.
Human with Filter Organs by Annie Stein
| Planets | Mercury · Venus · Tellus · Mars · Jupiter · Saturn · Uranus · Neptune |
|---|
| ♀ Venus | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
by Annie Stein
Type
Planet
Location under
Included Locations
Included Organizations
Inhabiting Species
Related Materials
Notice: This article is a stub. If you'd like to see this article expanded, please leave a comment!
Oooh, now this is fascinating. I gotta know - what are some of those 'favorite' flavors of air? Is there an air-black-market? :D
Creator of Araea, Megacorpolis, and many others.
Thank you! It's really just meant as a catch-all, as the air is slightly different on each planet and moon. Humans want only a certain amount of oxygen, while other species might have other components they need to function at best. I could see there being an air black market in places, or bars that let you sample different flavoured air, kind of like oxygen bars!
When in doubt, capitalism finds a way to exploit it for money
Creator of Araea, Megacorpolis, and many others.