Nithon

2123/2123
A world discovered in 2123 thru Earth and inhabited the same year. The world of Nithon is MAIN POINTS.

Planet

The star Nithon is a M0VI subdwarf. The planet Nithon is the system's third; there are six known planets: Cassrai, Wythandra, Nithon, Berlis, Ongmar and Xainwerfer. The outer two are gas giants, the inner four rock planets. Nithon is larger than Earth, with gravity of 1.2 EG at ocean level.
LOCATION IN STAR SYSTEM, STAR, GENERAL PLANETOGRAPHY
OCEANS CONTINENTS ETC, OTHER FEATURES
No signs of any sentient life have ever been found on Nithon. However, Nithon's first and largest moon, Alyura, has such signs. In 2301, precision imaging of the moon from Nithon's orbit detected small metal anomalies that were resolved to be "lunar landers" similar to those employed on Earth's moon during humanity's first space age. Subsequently there were human landings on Alyura, and some of these "landers" were investigated and recovered. Their technology was not superior to humanity circa 2020; their origin remains a complete mystery as there seems to be no world in Nithon's system to be their origin.

Humanity

Because of Nithon's high gravity, its doorway is close to the peak of one of its highest mountains, Athero. Because of the same, human habitation tends to be concentrated on mountaineous areas. Nithon's ocean level 1.2 EG is not deleterious to health, but it is tiring, and uncomfortable for those not used to it. (Even at the peak of Athero, the gravity is 1.15 EG, but even that helps.)

Last glimpse of Earth

In 2205, when Earth was destroyed, most of the doors from Earth were quickly closed. The Nithon door was different: the fire that surged into Earth blew through the portal to Nithon, and killed all there. When, a few weeks later, the charred mountaintop of Athero was found to still host the portal, even though misshapen, shrunken and slowly moving (cms per hour): through it, observers could see a rotating view of Earth from its orbit, as the Earth side of the portal, unmoored, drifted away (kms per hour). These observations were made for 3 days to confirm the totality of the disaster; after this, the portal closed.
During those 3 days, the crew of Athos, a weather relay and research station on high Earth orbit, decided to attempt escape from the calamity through the Nithon portal, drifting higher in their direction. The five crewmates put on their suits, loaded an inspection sled with all available fuel, and fired in the direction of the portal as best they could ascertain. One was hit by a micrometeorite and killed instantly; another was cut loose in the same strike and could not be retrieved given fuel considerations. Thus three reached the warping, shimmering portal as it drifted away from Earth; at the last moment one refused to pass through, and was last seen, depending on the account, either firing the sled back towards the one that had been lost in space, or towards the flaming bulk of Earth itself. In any case, she did not return.
Only two were saved through the Nithon portal from the ruin of Earth, then: several hundreds had fled through the portal in the first hours of the catastrophe but the fire followed them and killed them on Nithon. The two survivors were:

• Luka Darmongren (2160--2281), aged 45 at the time, a weather modeler, and
• Wytha Bon Ingress (2181--2235), aged 24 at the time, a trainee weather modeler.

Luka settled on Nithon, founded a contemplative monastery atop Mount Athero ("Athos on Athero", as she called it), and after the portal to Izmat was established on that location, became its chief caretaker, leaving the monastery to the care of those who needed it. Wytha moved to Izmat as soon as the portal there was established, and lived in its larger cities, much missing her homecity of London. She was murdered in 2235.

Type

Planet