Wellspring Valley

Like many planets, Gaia is not alone. In fact, it has two moons! Originally referred to as "The Twin Moons" these celestial bodies have roughly the same mass (~33% of Earth's moon) and same diameter (~70% of the Earth's moon) as one another. 

When the terraforming and colonization project for Gaia was announced the scientific community felt the Twin Moons should receive their own individual names. As such, they hosted a public vote amongst school aged children on what they should be. After removing some names like "Moony Mc. Moon Face" from the pool (though a satellite orbiting between the moons for research has been given that name due to the sheer popularity) our children voted to name the moons Aaron and Alice. 

Aaron is the moon closest to Gaia. On average it orbits at a distance of 270,000 kilometers. Due to it being one third the mass of the moon but significantly closer to its planet, it exerts about 96% of the tidal forces the Moon does to Earth. While Aaron is an estimated 70% the diameter of Earth’s moon, they would both appear to be similar sizes (though Aaron slightly smaller) when looking at them from their respective planets.

Alice on the other hand typically orbits an average distance of 600,000 kilometers from Gaia. While Alice’s gravitational forces can be measured by scientific instruments, it's often imperceptible to individuals. Alice's tidal forces are around 8% the strength of the moons, or about 20% of that of the Sun's. Due to its increased distance from Gaia compared to Aaron, should you look up at Alice in the night sky, it would look to be a bit under half the size of Aaron, and subsequently under half the size of Earth's moon.

Should Gaia ever host an ocean again, Aaron would be the moon most responsible for the tides. Should Aaron have been a solo moon, Gaia may have had tides similar to Earth. However, Alice would affect the tides as well though not greatly. The tides would be a bit more complicated with differing but predictable schedules, mild averages, but greater extremes. Should Aaron and Alice line up (especially if they line up with the sun), tides could raise an average of a few centimeters potentially causing some flooding in low land areas. 

Atmos, as described in Data Log #3, is a a small geosynchronous space station directly over the foundations of what is to be Wellspring Valley with the intent of aiding the new colonists of Wellspring Valley in settling down.

Working closely with the Logistic Office (see Data Log #13) and Greenhouse (see Data Log #11) the Supply Depot manages supplies made on and off station. Traders who have made deals with Atmos or Wellspring Valley often make their first stops at the Supply Depot before offering their wares to residents individually.

In many ways, it can be seen as a "General Store". Residents are able to visit the Supply Depot to request, or purchase, goods and supplies at low affordable costs. In some cases, basic food stuffs like spirulina (in all of its forms), are entirely free to assure the safety and health of citizens of Atmos.

The Supply Depot also has the ability to limit or ration supplies based on the current surplus or lack thereof of items. More often than not, they are directed to do so by the Logistics Office.

Atmos, as described in Data Log #3, is a a small geosynchronous space station directly over the foundations of what is to be Wellspring Valley with the intent of aiding the new colonists of Wellspring Valley in settling down.

The Logistics Office is one of the three departments running in Atmos, alongside the Supply Depot and Greenhouse. It can be seen as a temporary "City Hall" of sorts. Those seasoned in management, politics, and resource disbursement work here to provide civilians the resources and knowledge to take the next steps in moving to Wellspring Valley.

Due to the lack of infrastructure in Wellspring Valley and Atmos, the Logistics Office has also taken the role of providing education to younger colonists and hosts a small clinic for those injured or needing medical care. Both services would be considered "Spartan" or "bare bones" by most professionals in the field, but serviceable none the less.

Wellspring Valley is currently nothing more than a landing pad... or more accurately two proposals for a landing pad location in the general area that will be developed into Wellspring Valley. Each proposed area is on the opposite side of a river, on the north in fertile highlands and one in the south on spacious lowlands.

The northern area is higher in elevation, likely making it a safer area to start making infrastructure in. It's also quite fertile making it a great place to grow crops. While it does have access to the nearby ocean, it has greater access to the mountains and resources found within.

The southern area is lower in elevation, meaning as the planet stabilizes and warms up, the sea levels may pose a more significant threat. However the area is currently very well suited for ranching and expansion. While it has access to the mountains, it has greater access to the oceans which could lead to greater food variety.

Atmos, as described in Data Log #3, is a a small geosynchronous space station directly over the foundations of what is to be Wellspring Valley with the intent of aiding the new colonists of Wellspring Valley in settling down.

The Greenhouse is limited in physical space, as is Atmos in general. At the moment production is divided into two processes, a large vertical hydroponics system and a spirulina production room. 

The vertical hydronics system is focused on growing plants that are considered extremely efficient for long term space travel and colonization efforts. These primarily include various leafy greens (lettuces, cabbages, mustards, etc) and root vegetables (onions, radishes, potatoes, etc). Though there is a small level of in house production of other plants like tomatoes, peas, cucumbers, and various seasonings.

Spirulina production is no longer as necessary as it used to be. When Near Light Travel was the only form of long distance travel, it was the backbone of interstellar agriculture. The quick to grow, and super nutritious, cyanobacteria has however remained a staple as a component or back up for long term space based projects. It's often utilized in drinks, protein bars, or nutrient pills. 

Extra food based goods like meats, sweets, various seasonings, and other fruits that are unable to be grown at the moment, are typically brought in via trade or occasional supply. 

Communication has evolved greatly, especially through speed and availability. Through similar technology used for FTL travel for ships, signals are sent across the stars at FTL speeds via a network of relays. Even distant planets get near instant communication with core worlds.

While communication is near universal, the method of communication is often up to the individual.

Ancient Tech like floppy drives, fax machines, and landlines do exist and are popular for those who prefer less tech influence in their daily lives. Albeit they are upgraded to handle more data and distant communication.

Retro Tech like cellphones (both touchscreen and not), USB drives, Retro PC's/laptops, and tablets are considered extremely common. Many consider it THE sweet spot for technology's influence over daily life. The biggest appeal is that there is often greater ease of disconnecting while still having to connect more intimately.

Modern Tech varies GREATLY! There are cellphones that simply have holographic displays, eyewear that allows people to project and view small screens, AR and VR tech, earpieces that react on voice or thought command, upgraded computer consoles, etc. It can often become a significantly more integrated part of someone's life.

Gaia was only recently terraformed and isn't quite DONE terraforming either. There is a seasonal calendar based on what the seasons WILL look like, but Gaia is considered to be in a "Pre-Season" state, meaning that while some plants may be around, water is flowing in rivers, and the atmosphere is breathable, the planet's biosphere doesn't change as it should in relation to its tilt and the sun's energy. Nor is it's ocean fully formed. At least not yet.

Currently Gaia is in a perpetual Winter. Temperatures stay below freezing. Though this is a significant improvement from it's status just a few decades ago.

This limits the growth of many native plants from the ancient seed bed to some weedy/hardy plants, and the occasional evergreen. It also limits crop production to primarily greenhouse production.

Space Travel in the modern age is considered very pedestrian. Though it takes many forms which this Data Log will cover the basics of.

Near Light Travel (NLT) is something every modern ship is capable of. This lets a ship easily travel from one part of a star system to another, in less than a few hours. While NLT ships can technically go to other star systems, depending on distance and time, the time dilation is often considered too much of a cost.

Many ancient NLT ships are still traveling to their destination even after hundreds of years. No one knows the status of these ships, or the crews.

Faster Than Light travel (FTL) is limited to Jump Gates and Jump Ships.

Jump Gates can be thought of as galactic subway stops. NLT capable ships can go into one gate, and instantly be transported out of any other. Jump Gates are relatively common, built in empty parts of Star Systems that are HEAVILY populated. The Sol System, as an example, has a Jump Gate just beyond the Kuiper Belt.

Jump Ships are LARGE ships that can jump on their own without a gate. Sometimes they're TOO large to even land on a planet. Commercial transportation companies and various governments/empires will use Jump Ships to ferry their NLT capable ships to star systems more efficiently. The rich may also have private jump ships.

In the modern age, smithing, construction, and manufacturing has changed drastically. Especially on the large scale.

Many manufacturing needs have been replaced by modern day "Printers". These are industrial machines that can essentially print any simpler structures or blueprints out of most materials (not wood). This can include walls, machine chasises, shelves, tables, screws, wiring, simple tools, etc. However complex items usually need manual work. This can include machinery, prosthetics, circuitry, complex tools, specialized items, anything wooden, the blueprints themselves, etc.

As an example, some one who builds space ships may use an industrial printer to print the hull in segments, individual parts of an engine, and the chassis for communication arrays. However the ship builder would eventually be welding the parts of the hull together, assembling and testing the individually printed parts of the engine, and installing the electronics in the communication array chassis.

This is the modern, and what's considered "efficient", way of manufacturing. However many people in more rural planets prefer utilizing traditional methods for what printers could provide, or simply do not have access to industrial printers.

Blacksmiths, carpenters, ore processors, and professional artisans of all backgrounds are not uncommon out of extremely populated and industrialized worlds. Some stick to the most traditional forms of their crafts, refusing to use any newer technologies and relying on what worked in the 20th century or even before. Some have small personal printers to aid in creating tools, screws, bolts, copper wire, etc. while doing the rest manually. It's a diverse crowd with many opinions on how technology and their art/profession intertwine.

Not to mention, general maintenance of things that can be printed, still need living support. Mechanics work on a variety vehicles, electricians keep electrical systems running, repairmen activly maintain the printers themselves, and so much more.

Mineral procurement is as important as ever, if not MORE important! On many levels technology has allowed people to use resources more efficiently, though the raw scale of production has still driven up the amount of raw materials needed. Which has led to mining taking on many new forms and enhancing traditional ones.

On mineral rich planets your traditional mines are still common place. They are of course enhanced with state of the art mining equipment, vehicles, drones, etc. though at their core they still resemblem traditional mining. However pickaxes may not be as common as mining lasers.

A lot of mining now occurs in a system's asteroid belt(s). Independent miners, companies, and planetary governments, often send NLT (Near Light Travel) capable mining ships out to the asteroid belts of their system in order to harvest minerals with out exploiting or destroying large swaths of the planet's ecosystem.

Mining ships typically come equiped with mining lasers, drills, large cargo bays, and tractor beams to assure they can collect the materials. Some ships even have forges to process valuable minerals and then release scrap. EVA Suits and hand held mining lasers are often used for more precision mining operations on fragile asteroids, meaning miners can still find themselves in quite dangerous situations.

Magic in the world of Wellspring Valley IS A FACT! However views on magic have changed over the millenia as technology has advanced.

On one hand, many see traditional magic as the rules the universe runs on or the fabric that holds reality together. They believe that through the Harvest Goddess, or the power of runes, or their connection to the earth/planet they live on, or their devotion to an ancient dragon/deity like being, they can channel magic to affect the world around them. Everything in some way stems from magic.

These thought forms tend to be more prevalent in long lived species with close connections to tradition and nature, like Elves. Though it's not uncommon for anyone of any race to be familiar with, or seek out, the ancient traditions. Or in that case, to have the opposing views.

Many see magic as a science yet to be explained. Magic can help plants grow, throw fireballs, and cure wounds. Many scientists have found similar, if not near identical, ways to produce the same results with scientific achievements. Different fertilizers and grow pods grow plants quickly, fireballs are excessively easy to make with the right chemical mixtures, and even nanomachines can help patch scapes and cuts up near instantly.

Some argue that science has even surpassed magic as science brought sentient beings to space and traveling faster than the speed of light, but magic hasn't.

So mind you, I've got a few like Data Logs for this Harvest Moon/Story of Seasons/General Farming Sim AU in the backburner that I'm writing for fun. Gonna release them Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays.

But if y'all got any questions on this AU, how the RP group would work, or my opinions on characters and etc, feel free to leave an ask or comment. Or if you wanna make suggestions or share your own SciFi AU headcanons, I'd love to hear them. I think I got submissions open?

I am considering doing one a data log for Licorice cause I love her and I already know what I'd do with her in this AU as an RP muse.

Spoiler Altert under Read More: Gonna reveal the next Data Log for Wellspring Valley.

Agriculture has, is, and always will be a very important part of civilization. It's one of the things living beings need to survive no matter where they are or what kind of technology they have access to. As such, agriculture has taken on many forms depending on the needs of the region.

Planetside agriculture can still take on many classical forms. Planets with smaller populations are often filled with traditional farms. With ever improving fertilizers, safer Integrated Pest Management solutions, and more efficient watering systems, traditional farms can feed much more than they used to without adversely affecting the environment. They're also comparatively cost effective to set up. And depending on their access to technology, the farmer may even have mechanical drones to help with some of the labor.

Worlds with larger populations start to see a shift. Oftentimes utilizing a greater amount of modern day greenhouses to produce large quantities of food with significantly less resources and space, but at greater cost. These greenhouses may use vertical growing stacks, aquaponic tanks, aeroponic racks, or any combination of similar technologies. They can be found in the middle of urban skyscrapers or as standalone buildings in a town. They're made for efficiency and quantity. 

Systems with multiple inhabited planets, difficult to inhabit planets, or significant populations in space aboard stations and ships, often see wider spreads of modern day greenhouses and growing technology both planetside and in space. They also often use more genetically enhanced crops that can grow with greater ease in harsher environments.

Atmos Station is a small geosynchronous space station that is specifically made to aid in the construction and well being of the Wellspring Valley Community. It's in low orbit specifically over Wellspring Valley. Should you look up from the landing pad at night you can see it twinkling like a little star above your head.

It currently contains three workspaces. A Logistical Center that acts as a sort of temporary "Town Hall", where workflow is directed. A "Supply Depot" that aids in the distribution of materials to insure that large projects can be completed. And lastly a "Greenhouse" where food for the fledgling colony is grown.

There is also a temporary housing unit for those emigrating to Wellspring Valley and permanent housing units for those staffed in the station itself. Not to mention five docking ports for those with their own ships.

Atmos Station's foundations are built to be expanded upon. Whether it's by adding more space for more work or housing stations, or more docks to encourage merchants and space faring civilians to take up residence.