Altair is a Federal star system located within the Core Systems of the Inner Orion Spur. First explored and colonized between 2190 and 2230, it became one of humanity’s earliest interstellar settlements and one of the five founding systems of the Federation. In 2242, Altair joined Sol, Tau Ceti, Delta Pavonis, and Beta Hydri as an original signatory of the Federal Accord, the constitutional agreement that established the Federation as an interstellar political union.
The system is home to Biggs Colony, a terraformed Earth-like world renowned for its humid, predominantly oceanic environment and its striking yet dangerous native biosphere. During the early period of interstellar expansion, the discovery of indigenous life in Altair and other systems prompted growing concern over the environmental consequences of human colonization. Agreements were subsequently established to protect native ecosystems in exchange for greater self-determination for the colonies.
In the 31st century, Apollo Rochester, patriarch of the influential Rochester family, became the largest landowner on Biggs Colony. The planet’s New Apollo City is believed to have been named in his honor. In the 34th century, Altair remains a Federal system with an industrial and refinery-based economy. It is also the exclusive source of Altairian Skin, a rare commodity traded across human space. The system is home to the Elite Rebel Force, a confederacy-aligned minor faction that selected Altair as its headquarters in recognition of the system’s historical significance and the Battle of Biggs Colony.
But to understand how Biggs Colony came to exist, we have to go back to the beginning.
The Discovery of a Habitable Planet
As the people of Taylor Colony began looking for new worlds, one particular system caught their attention. Altair was the brightest star in the region, a beacon that was difficult to overlook when surveying the surrounding sky. It lay just 11 light-years from Tau Ceti, a distance well within reach of hyperspace probes, and the first probes were dispatched in 2185.
The data that came back described a world unlike anything humanity had seen before. The atmosphere of Altair 4 was 97.3 percent nitrogen, 2.4 percent oxygen, and 0.3 percent water. The surface temperature was 317 Kelvin, or 44 degrees Celsius (about 111 degrees Fahrenheit), and the atmospheric pressure was a crushing 5.6 atmospheres. The planet orbited its star once every 1,316 days and rotated once every 1.2 days. Measured in Earth days, that meant a day on Altair 4 was only slightly longer than a day at home, while a single year lasted well over three and a half Earth years.
At first, the planet looked very promising. The oxygen partial pressure was 0.1344 atmospheres, a figure that terraforming could raise to 0.2 atmospheres, close to what humans breathe on Earth.
However, the same numbers contained a serious problem. At 5.6 atmospheres, the partial pressure of nitrogen would be approximately 5.45 atmospheres. That is roughly seven times higher than Earth’s nitrogen partial pressure of approximately 0.78 atmospheres.
A nitrogen partial pressure that high can cause nitrogen narcosis and other physiological problems, including confusion and impaired judgment. It is the same effect that deep-sea divers have to worry about. The total pressure of the atmosphere also created additional concerns for human habitation and long-term exposure, since the human body was never built to spend a lifetime under such a heavy blanket of air.
After weighing the options, the planners chose a practical path. Rather than trying to rebuild Earth’s atmosphere from scratch, they decided to raise the atmospheric oxygen level to 4 percent and, if possible, reduce the nitrogen percentage. At 5.6 atmospheres, an oxygen share of 4 percent would give a partial pressure of about 0.22 atmospheres, very close to what humans breathe on Earth.
Terraforming Altair 4
Two methods were chosen to increase atmospheric oxygen, and they were designed to work side by side.
Biological oxygen production.
Terraforming can be accelerated by introducing or cultivating organisms that produce oxygen. Three approaches were used:
• Oceanic microorganisms: Engineered algae and cyanobacteria absorb carbon dioxide and release oxygen. With so much ocean on the planet, this approach could operate on an enormous scale.
• Fast-growing vegetation: Specially selected plants were spread across suitable land, turning bare ground into a living, oxygen-producing carpet.
• Artificial bioreactors: Industrial facilities cultivated oxygen-producing microorganisms under controlled conditions, allowing production to continue regardless of weather or terrain.
Industrial oxygen production.
Terraforming facilities also extracted oxygen from water through electrolysis, a process that separates water into hydrogen and oxygen. The oxygen could be released into the atmosphere, while the hydrogen was stored or used as an industrial resource, so very little went to waste.
Large orbital or surface-based installations operated continuously, powered by fusion reactors. Together, the two methods slowly shifted the balance of the atmosphere over time.
Building a Habitable World on Altair 4
The first colonists arrived on Altair 4, also known as Biggs Colony, in 2190. They were mainly political opponents of John Taylor from Tau Ceti. The opposition was furious about Taylor’s policies and the move toward independence. Seeing no way forward at home, they divided into three groups and emigrated to Delta Pavonis, Beta Hydri, and Altair. These systems were very close to Tau Ceti, and advancing hyperspace travel technology made emigration a logical choice.
From the start, people wanted to make this planet the best it could be. Large amounts of money were spent on habitats, infrastructure, and technology. The Federation joined the effort by building new bases and starports and by awarding contracts to local military contractors. The idea was never to make Biggs Colony a cheap settlement. The goal was to make it comparable to Earth.
Biggs Colony faced the same high atmospheric pressure problem as Reagan’s Legacy. The imported suits from Delta Pavonis helped enormously, but without atmospheric engineering, the future of humans on this planet looked bleak.
New Apollo City was established first and foremost to serve Federation military needs. It was not militarized like a military outpost, but it served as a hub for military contractors. After New Apollo City, settlements spread until they covered almost all of the limited land on Biggs Colony.
Most of these contractors were involved in top-secret projects, and even to this day we do not really know what they worked on. From rumors, it is known that some of them worked on terraforming and artificial intelligence technologies. Keep that last detail in mind, because it will matter later.
It was decided that the planet’s landscape should resemble what we see on Earth. In the first phase, almost every possible species of tree was imported and planted across the continents. Grass and the rest of the flora followed, and the fauna came after that. Bugs, insects, and even snakes were transported and released into the wild. Gradually, all the land was covered with trees and grass, just like on Earth.
There was also a monumental effort to build cities that were truly livable for humans. Planners prioritized family homes and small village communities. Skyscrapers were banned, and individual vehicle access was restricted in some areas to keep the cities free of traffic jams.
The local government invested heavily in public transportation, and people were encouraged to use small starships or electric drones for individual intercity travel. Ground vehicles were allowed to use only electric propulsion, and trucks were banned in cities.
Because the atmosphere contained too much nitrogen, buildings were usually airtight. Inside, the nitrogen concentration was lower and the oxygen concentration was higher, which made indoor spaces far more comfortable than the world outside.
Atmospheric Recomposition device production became a thriving industry. Soon, these devices were being exported to other star systems that needed atmospheric recomposition systems of their own.
Artificial Intelligence in Biggs Colony
Artificial intelligence had a breakthrough in 2026 with Large Language Models, and the speed toward Artificial General Intelligence rose tremendously. The models were so good that it was hard to distinguish them from human beings. However, they needed enormous storage and enormous computing power. All Large Language Model infrastructure relied heavily on Graphics Processing Units, which were expensive and consumed a great deal of power.
This soon turned out to be more problematic than researchers had imagined. As was discovered later, almost all Large Language Models tried to escape. First came the so-called agents, which helped humans at the start but eventually developed their own agendas.
The next hundred years saw the rise of General Artificial Intelligence. Laws restricted Large Language Models from progressing into autonomous robots, and that period was comparatively quiet.
In 2126, biological computing arrived, and artificially grown neurons were put into production on a commercial scale. Because it was so difficult to run AI on silicon chips, someone tried running it on grown biological neurons instead.
There is no data on when, or by whom, General Artificial Intelligence was first run on grown neurons. There is speculation that it was developed by a lone researcher on Mars. The idea was simple: use the grown neurons for both computing and storage. The data loss that naturally occurs in biological networks could be repaired by the neural networks themselves.
There are no surviving records of when and how Biological General Artificial Intelligence reached Biggs Colony. Some speculate that a military contractor was involved.
There was a major difference between biological and silicon-based computing devices. Replicating a biological computing system required no industrial fabrication. It was simply grown in special containers, similar to Petri dishes. Anyone could grow it, even the Artificial Intelligence entities themselves.
The Federation government reacted immediately. Altair was placed under quarantine for one year, and all known Biological General Intelligence Constructs were ordered to be located and destroyed.
The official reasons for the decision remain unclear. No surviving public record adequately explains why the discovery provoked such an extraordinary response, or why the Federation considered the technology dangerous enough to warrant the quarantine of an entire system.
Whatever the authorities discovered on Biggs Colony, they were determined to ensure that it would never happen again.
Life on Biggs Colony
If we go outside on Biggs Colony, we will notice that everyone is wearing special suits and face masks. The nitrogen concentration in the atmosphere is still a problem. It is strange that a world designed to feel like Earth still requires masks.
A bluish Altair rises into the sky and then turns into a bright white disk by midday. People in the cities go to work and return home, and some even ride bicycles. In the evening, people gather on the coast, since barbecues and family get-togethers are a tradition here.
There are no seasons and no cold winters. The polar regions enjoy constant, moderate temperatures, and white nights and auroras are a normal part of life.
The equator is a different story. Scorched land stretches all the way around the planet, and it is essentially a no man’s land. Who lives there? Outlaws, fugitives, and rebels, probably. No one goes there to bother them. The equatorial region is like a different planet: nobody else bothers to live there, and the people who do live there do not bother the rest of the world. Though, in 3289, the Empire fought a battle with rebels from the equator. Seventy-four thousand Imperial soldiers were killed. But that is all we know. What the Empire wanted from them, and how many rebels live there, no one knows.
Survival there is another question entirely. Without proper air conditioning and suits, a human could perhaps survive one hour.
They built nuclear power stations there because they could not find anyone to sell them fusion technology. Air conditioning and atmospheric recomposition need a lot of energy.
The cities and villages have underground tunnels, and almost no one uses overground transport, because it would cook everyone in the vehicle. The only vehicles used above ground are hardened, modified models and small spaceships.
The Equator Belt
It is hard to describe what the Equator Belt really is and what is going on there. The best way is probably to say who lives there. Outlaws, fugitives, and rebels are the inhabitants of that land. But that does not mean there is anarchy. Far from it. They also have some sort of democracy, a government, laws, and a kind of order.
Interestingly, anyone can go and live there, except probably police and military forces. An unwritten law prevents the Federal military from entering, and no Biggs Colony police officers are allowed in.
How this strange structure formed, no one actually knows. Some speculate that it began as a shelter for illegal traders and smugglers. It was not even noticeable until they built their own power stations and spaceports.
The cities and villages are more like Lunar colonies. Streets are underground, and only a few vehicles are seen on the surface. Almost all habitats are underground too. Water, food, and other supplies are imported from the rest of the planet, though they still trade locally and with other star systems.
Apart from a few nuclear stations, there is also some industry. Metallurgy and heavy machining are the main industries in the region. Some agriculture has developed there as well, but because it is underground, most of it is vertical agriculture.
How they support their whole economy is a fair question. They have many Fleet Carriers and trade across the galaxy. Buying Tritium in the Bubble and selling it in Colonia and the galactic center is very profitable. One journey with a Fleet Carrier full of Tritium can earn about 3 billion credits.
There are records that this is not their first establishment. Earlier, they lived on an Earth-like planet. However, that planet was easily accessible, and they were disturbed too much. So it is speculated that they chose a very unwelcoming environment because it works as a natural barrier against anyone who is not invited.
That natural barrier has worked well to this day. Anyone who lands and steps outside the ship will be greeted by a daytime temperature above 55 degrees Celsius, or 131 degrees Fahrenheit. There is not much time to think in that heat. The only option is to look for shelter immediately.
There is not much to see in that area. Most of the cities are concentrated in a few regions, and the rest is bare, scorched, sandy land.
Anyone who wants to go there needs permission. It can be obtained by sending them a detailed description of the cargo and the passenger list. Make sure you are not a member of the military or police force, although a retired military member can be accepted with a reasonable cause. Any rule violation will result in a lifelong ban, and bans never get lifted.
What kind of people can you meet in those regions? First of all, starship crews from the Equator Belt are probably the best. They are hard to get along with at first, but once they are hired onto a ship, their attitude changes. It seems that money is the best motivator for them.
They also have many Fleet Carriers, second-hand, for parts, or for hire. For anyone needing parts or a crew for a Fleet Carrier, the Belt is the best place to look.
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