281: Europan Quarry #1

ENTRY 281: Europan Quarry #1

Things swim in the cold, dark seas of Europa, beneath the crust of planetary ice. They live, they love, and they die, their remains drifting down to lower depths as a gentle organic snow, the prime source of nutrients and energy for the stranger things adapted to the high-pressure deeps. They in turn die, and their remains lay on the sea floor, accumulating into piles and mounds, eventually crushed beneath their own weight, forming the rough sedimentary rock that makes up the bulk of the Europan sea floor. Over geological time, this raw material undergoes further chemical and physical changes - slight volcanic activity, asteroid impact, etc. - resulting in upheaval and metamorphosis. The result is a rarity in the solar system: a soft, lustrous white marble, sometimes containing the dark grey fossilized remains of ancient Europan sea life.

Sites of Europan marble are few, and currently under a monopoly of the Europan Mining microcorp, which has established three deep water quarry sites. Taking an artisanal approach to mining, vast chunks of marble are blown out using explosives, and then transhuman biomorphs cut and shape the chunk into sheets and blocks using environmentally-friendly watersaws. Most of the material is reserved for construction, being a luxury export, but the smaller material is shaped into goods and artwork by a local feminist artisan community, the Parliament of Mermaids; the detritus from mining and art is powdered and sent to other habitats, where is it mixed with resins to form a cheaper false stone material.

Using Europan Quarry #1

Rock isn't something that most players are given to think about. However, it bears reminding that most everything we know and hold familiar about geology applies to the planet Earth. Other worlds, where there are no plate tectonics, no liquid water, no little carbon-based lifeforms to die and leave behind layer upon layer, have very different forms of stone, not to mention rock formations. This doesn't necessarily mean you throw out the book when it comes to rock and gemstones, but it does mean that a lot that players and gamemasters often take for granted can actually be presented as novel, rare, valuable, and fascinating. The Europan Quarry is one such site on which to hang related plot hooks, but Europan marble by itself is a neat little detail to work into a campaign from time to time. In addition to statuary, cups, and the like, polished Europan marble may also be considered a kind of gemstone suitable for jewelry, and can show up in other habitats far away by way of trade, and buildings made or decorated with Europan marble are a display of wealth which can be worked into the campaign.

Seeds

• Exobiologists are attempting to call a halt to mining operations at Europan Quarry #1 so that they can examine and classify the fossils within the lustrous white stone (indeed, the artisans carving the stone often carve around the fossils to better show them off for clients). The PCs are hired to physically deliver the work stoppage order and represent the exobiologists' interests as negotiations continue. Work grinds to a halt and tensions aboard the small habitat get tense, with the PCs caught in the middle. Can they help negotiate a way out, or will they accept a bribe from the Europan Mining Corp. to let work continue and hope their rep doesn't take a hit? Or maybe they'll just investigate who is illegally labeling and selling off-grade white rock as marble...
• One of the "mermaids" in the artisan community has achieved notoriety for her small statuettes and cameos of exotic interspecies erotica, often featuring transhumans and one (or more) creatures based on native Europan lifeforms - including a few science hasn't identified yet. A group of collectors, scientists, and moralists have pooled their credits and hire the PCs to descend into the depths of Europa and find the reclusive artist - so that they can deliver her fanmail, cease-and-desist orders, special requests and offers, scientific inquiries, etc.
• A mystery is occurring on the player character's habitat: a mysterious disease is causing transhumans to calcify and slowly transform into statues of Europan marble! Local medtechs haven't been able to determine what exactly is going on, but that hasn't stopped the media from blaming the spread of the "Medusa virus" with an "infected" load of Europan marble jewelry that recently arrived. A little legwork and maybe a few long-distance calls to Europan Quarry #1 might put the PCs on a different tack: looking at the main competitor to the local marble importer, a specialist nanofabricator of artificial stone who has been losing business and might have the skill to program a nanoinfection.

088: Sharktooth

ENTRY 088: Sharktooth

In habitats or areas with strict restrictions on personal weapons, transhumans are forced to get creative. A growing favorite among biomorphs is the sharktooth, a personal and effective short-range melee weapon that is easy to conceal and even easier to smuggle through an airlock. In its dormant form, the sharktooth is indistinguishable from a standard dental implant, grown to replace one of the user’s adult teeth. Once past customs the sharktooth is removed, the user cracks the outer shell to activate it, and places it in a small container with a mineral-rich solution. Within an hour, the tailored organisms in the sharktooth will incorporate the mineral into a sharp, bone-like spur between eight and ten centimeters long. Removing the sharktooth leaves a dental cap which regrows into a normal human tooth within the next hour and a half, provided the user does not eat or drink anything.

Sharkteeth are popular among criminals, autonomists, and politicians, particularly in high-surveillance stations where more complicated weapons would be easy to detect and trace. A considerable amount of DIY lore is available on the ‘Mesh concerning growing and shaping the sharktooth for greater effect, with many preferring to force it into an L-shape so that it can be used as a punching dagger, with the sharp tip protruding between the fingers. A larger and more effective weapon can be had from a variant that arose on Europa, the serrated sharktooth. The serrated sharktooth appears almost identical in dormant form, though it is often discolored, and takes three to four hours to grow, but becomes a much larger weapon, up to twenty centimeters and can be chipped into a wider blade that is better at slashing and cutting through armor.

Most Europan habitats are more permissive of sharkteeth, which are often worn on a cord around the neck or wrist and considered an emergency tool for both biomorphs and synthmorphs, as the salt-rich waters of Europa make an effective feeder solution. Aside from use as a weapon, Europans fashion sharkteeth into simple hand tools by shaping it as it grows and carving the end product. However, given the material these items tend to be brittle and fracture easily when used against hard metal, stone, or plastics, and so are mainly considered emergency tools. That being said, sharktooth carving remains a popular craft in many Europan habitats.

Mechanics

Blade	Armor Penetration (AP)	Damage Value (DV)	Average DV	Cost
Sharktooth	0	2d10 + (SOM ÷ 10)	7 + (SOM ÷ 10)	Low
Serrated Sharktooth	-1	2d10 + 1 + (SOM ÷ 10)	8 + (SOM ÷ 10)	Moderate

Sharkteeth are wielded with the Blades skill. In many habitats where weapons are restricted, so are sharkteeth. In the underwater habitats of Europa, sharkteeth are unrestricted, abundant, and ubiquitous; reduce the cost to Trivial for sharkteeth and Low for serrated sharkteeth when buying them in Europan habitats.

087: Tam Uisge

ENTRY 087: Tam Uisge

One of only a handful of heavily-modified futura morphs designed for extensive underwater operation, Tam Uisge is one of the relatively few morphs on Europa that can survive for extended periods in the cold seas with minimal support equipment, provided he stays within the proper pressure and temperature bands. Psychologically disconnected from most other transhumans, Tam takes advantage of this ability to lose himself in the black waters of Europa, striking out on his own for sometimes days at a time, crawling inside an inflatable, buoyant “tent” for a few hours when he has to sleep, and switching to reserve oxygen when swimming through one of the low-oxygen zones of “dead water.” While a hard man to get a hold of, few are as intimately familiar with the seas of Europa as Tam Uisge.

COG	COO	INT	REF	SAV	SOM	WIL	MOX
20	17	14	17	8	22	14	-
INIT	SPD	LUC	TT	IR	DUR	WT	DR
6	1	28	5	56	35	7	52

Morph: Futura

Skills: Academics: Biology 33, Academics: Oceanography 66, Academics: Physics 33, Art: Throat Singing 44, Demolitions 33, Infiltration 44, Interests: Aquatic Techology 44, Interests: Earth Oceans 44, Interests: Whalesong 33, Interfacing 30, Investigation 30, Kinetic Weapons 35, Language: Native Irish 84, Language: Japanese 47, Language: English 52, Navigation 77, Networking: Autonomists 30, Networking: Criminals 25, Networking: Ecologists 65, Palming 27, Perception (Smell) 55, Pilot: Watercraft 44, Profession: Oceanographer 48, Scrounging 44, Swimming 77, Unarmed Combat 44

Implants: Basic Biomods, Basic Mesh Inserts, Chameleon Skin, Circadian Regulation, Clean Metabolism, Cortical Stack, Eidetic Memory, Emotional Dampers, Enhanced Senses (Echolocation, Electrical Sense, Enhanced Smell, Enhanced Vision), Gills, Oxygen Reserve, Respirocytes, Temperature Tolerance, Toxin Filters

Traits: Striking Looks (1), Zero-G Nausea

Using Tam Uisge

In appearance Tam is less like the Creature from the Black Lagoon than a streamlined human with the skin of a dolphin; in personality he’s a broody teenager trapped in the body of seasoned underwater survivalist. If PCs need a “native guide” on Europa, Tam is their man. His penchant for getting lost in the depths also makes him an excellent hook to hang a plot on—Tam has gone missing (either in region X or looking for macguffin Y), and people want him found; in this way the gamemaster might be able to encourage the PCs to get their feet wet and explore Europa a little more than they might otherwise.

While designed for Europa, Tam can be transported to almost any setting where there’s enough water for him to operate—and where there isn’t enough, he’s a literal fish out of water.

Seed

• With his striking looks, Tam has admirers that even he doesn’t know about. In particular a scavenger named Dolphinboi has been stalking him through the Mesh for weeks—so when Tam hasn’t posted for a while, Dolphinboi sets out on a “rescue” mission. When Dolphinboi goes missing, his friends and relatives ask the PCs to track him down and bring him home. Two lost morphs, one big ocean.

086: First Spawning

ENTRY 086: First Spawning

In the floating bubble-cities of Europa, transhuman aquatic biomorphs prepares for the First Spawning, an organized mass water birth to herald the first generation of transhumans that are born as aquatic biomorphs. Though the parental units represent a diverse range of modified human and human-derived morphs, they are united in their desire to establish a generational presence beneath the ice of Europa—to make a solid biological commitment to stay and make it a transhuman world for their children and their children’s children to inhabit. Expectant parents stroll the promenades and practice their birth exercises, discussing the mostly-untested philosophies of amphibious childcare, looking forward to the big event.

Even as the date of the First Spawning draws close, detractors and critics continue to find flaws with the program. The newborn children growing in their parent’s wombs are, they argue, already obsolete, the genetech that went into their design already months old. None of the Europan habitats are yet self-sufficient, though those holding first spawning events have already begun to plan for how to house, provide, and educate their forthcoming charges.

Using the First Spawning

The First Spawning, whether it is a success or a disaster, will prove to be a pivotal moment in the history of Europan colonization, provided the Europan habitats prove stable in the long term. In game, whether or not you choose to feature the First Spawning directly it can provide a basis for showcasing a key division in Europa, between those who seek to expand by traditional methods (i.e. standard or modified human reproduction) and those who try more novel methods (i.e. mass production of aquatic synthmorphs). The different views of the future espoused by groups promoting one method over the other can provide a good impetus for adventures, especially when contrasted with those Europans whose only concern is for immediate survival in the present.

Seeds

• Europans are taking any rumors of disruption or potential security risks of the First Spawning very seriously; in some cases this has led to “temporary” restrictions on personal freedoms and heightened public surveillance. A group of asexual morphs ask the player characters to help them evade the authorities so that they can stage a harmless “artbombing” in protest against the new restrictions.
• While the First Spawning is the first organized birthing event on Europa, it is far from the first live birth. Individual pregnancies carried to term on Europa have faced a number of difficulties given the environment, morph design, and lack of medical care; some transhumans have been trying repeatedly for live birth for years. With the First Spawning, these transhumans have now received the help and resources they require to successfully conceive and carry a child to term…but the latest medical scans show some of the fetuses have already developed serious defects commensurate with exposure to exsurgent viruses. Foul play is suspected, and the PCs are asked to come in as independent investigators to discover the culprit, before the entire First Spawning is infected…

085: The Pearlworks

ENTRY 085: The Pearlworks

The seas of Europa are, as researchers and explorers continue to discover, a distinct environment from the terrestrial waters that form the bulk of transhumanity’s ocean-lore. In the dark depths, where the pressure rises and the temperature drops, there are weird “rivers” of mineral-rich waters, heavier than the surrounding liquid, that can carve winding paths several kilometers long before the differentials in temperature and mineral content even out, and the “river” becomes indistinguishable from any of the other currents. These edge zones between warmer and cooler waters are prime habitats for some of Europa’s deep-sea lifeforms, particularly lithoderms that depend on the mineral-rich waters for sustenance.

The most spectacular of these under-ocean rivers is the Pearlworks, which emerges from the cone of Mt. Nacramater, a massive cryovolcano encrusted with Europan coral. The icy cryomagma sluggishly slips of the side of the underwater mountain, forming the first in a series of half-frozen waterfalls as gravity and density force the semiliquid downwards to the surface of a relatively flat plateau. Eventually pressure and temperature shifts force the emission into a liquid state, and it feeds into thirteen-kilometer winding canyon, gradually expanding in width and becoming more shallow as the mineral-rich waters diffuse into the open ocean.

The Pearlworks are home to one of the most unusual species on Europa, the Europan pearl. These creatures begin their life as seed-like multicellular organisms consisting of three thin tissue layers—an outer layer that filters the surrounding waters, a middle vasculature and transport layer, and an inner layer packed with symbiotic lithoderms. The minerals that the pearl absorbs but cannot digest are passed to the lithoderms, who process it and excrete it inside the growing seed-pearl as a spherical or near-spherical mineral nodule, causing the pearl to stretch and expand its surface area, allowing it to better capture additional minerals. The process is slow and the Europan pearls are not entirely without predators, but some of the oldest pearls have reached truly prodigious size—over one meter in diameter for the Grand Pearl of Europa.

Explorers in this underwater world have captured images of entire stretches of the Pearlworks filled with tiny, almost spherical nacreous seed-pearls, the light playing off their low-index outer membrane and high-index inner-membrane to produce strange optical effects in the dark. Some of the larger animal-analogue fish have been known to scoop up small or mid-sized Europan pearls; the exact reason is unknown but most xeno-   oceanographers believe it is either for the mineral content or to facilitate grinding and digestion.

Seeds

• Europan pearls are living creatures, sensitive to environmental stress and damage to their outer membranes. A smuggler in the PC’s colony has arrived with a high-pressure container with a dozen inch-diameter Europan pearls, and gotten themselves arrested. Now several factions are tearing the habitat apart looking for the container. The PCs may find it difficult to stay neutral as various groups form looking for the treasure, but unbeknownst to them all it is for naught. Cramped and neglected, the Europan pearls in the container have died and their outer layers peeled off, leaving behind rough spheres of unremarkable minerals.
• Miners in the Europan depths have been harvesting pearls from one of the branches of the Pearlworks whose nodules contain high concentrations of platinum-group metals. An environmental engineer has tried to convince them to use the pearls to find the load rather than to harvest the Europan wildlife directly, but without success. So she wishes to prove them wrong directly, by staking a rival claim at the load itself. If the PCs are willing to back her up and protect her, she’ll give each of them a share in the claim.