Grey Machine
"This observation post is fitted with self-destruct devices. Authorized access only."
The Grey Machine is a planet somewhere within the same plane as the Milky Way. Though found through a Tein Gate exploration, remarkably little is known about the planet or its system. Believed to be about 50 million light years away from Earth, The Grey Machine has no permanent human population, and debate continues on whether the Tein Gate leading to it should be destroyed entirely. The observation post in the system has been settled in the orbit of another, more natural planet. However, it almost exclusively observes Grey Machine.
Grey Machine is a planet with a diameter around 90% that of earth. While it lies within the habitable zone of its star, no living things are known to exist on the planet, because it appears to be entirely artificial. Though simulations of the star system seem to show that a body the size of Grey Machine has likely been in its current orbit for at least hundreds of millions of years, the planet appears to be a smooth ball of grey. The gases of its atmosphere make observation of the surface difficult, and the planet's orbit is blanketed with artificial satellites of unknown origin.
Though Grey Machine produces large amounts of electromagnetic radiation, the human observation post has detected no attempts by the planet to communication. On occasion, the observation post is blinded entirely by an onslaught on its sensors, but so far it has not been physically harmed.
Localized Phenomena
Grey Machine constantly blasts the surrounding space with radio traffic that has no apparent purpose. Apart from the radio traffic, Grey Machine does not have discernible weather patterns, or any signs of life. The satellites in its orbit are believed to function as a sort of solar array, but the purpose of the planet's activity is unknown.
History
Found through a Tein Gate exploration about 40 years ago, the Grey Machine was at first a scientific curiosity, but has gradually become a reminder of the unknowable nature of the universe. With no habitable planets, the system has been difficult to explore, and Grey Machine seems to periodically knock out human observation vessels in the system. Arguably the first evidence of alien civilizations found by humanity, Grey Machine has nevertheless been largely left to its own devices. The lone observation vessel in the system has been rigged with explosives to prevent use of the Tein Gate from Grey Machine's side, for they have no idea what the planet is capable of.
In the vacuum of information about the strange planet, various theories have arisen. One theory goes that an extremely advanced race created Grey Machine for some purpose, and then eventually abandoned it. Another suggests that Grey Machine was likely a life-bearing planet at some point, and the civilization there transformed its own planet into this, likely destroying themselves in the process. Whatever the case, Grey Machine has not spread beyond its original planet, and the rest of the system seems to be untouched by the artificial planet's influence.
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