COSTS OF LIVING

    RECOVERY:  <Optional>
     Recovery can be used as normal or can be increased by adding double the tech level of medical equipment.  If its TL4 and the character has a recovery of 12, the recovery in medical care is 20 (12 + 4 x 2).  The stay in the hospital would then drop accordingly.

    MEDICAL BREATHROUGHS:

CYBERNETICS (TL1):
     Cybernetics came along way in the decades since their introduction in the late 20trh century.  Unlike current views, their progression did not evolve into fashion or into some form of additional use beyond the limb they replaced.  Although this fad did exist in the early 21st century, when the boom in microelectronics allowed for a 100% efficient simulation of the original appendage, most found themselves left with an out-of-style machinery usually permanently mounted on their body.
     By the beginning of the Synthetic era, which saw the replacement of traditional electronics with bio mimicking silicon wetwear, the possibility for improvement in the cybernetic realm increased.   By the time full body replicants were being constructed, up to 80% of the human body could be realistically replaced by synthetic parts and still maintain a mental sanity as well as a general human appearance.
    Metallic and enhanced cybernetics are all but forgotten, replaced by limbs which resemble the originals in almost perfect detail, right down to mimicking a pulse and even fingerprints.  Insurance will cover all forms of synthetic replacements of organs and appendages lost from any non-self inflicting action.  The new limbs operate exactly like their original and only the small scar around the connection gives it away. Even pain sensors are connected, although toned down slightly (Any stun damage done do that area is halved).  Insurance will not cover increases in strength or additional abilities.
     If the characters are not covered by insurance and lose a limb in the in the line of duty (Smugglers for example), they will have to purchase it.  The hospital stay is usually a week.  Limbs are quicker but the limb also needs to be trained.
 

    RULES
     --Synthetics limbs can take a bit more damage.  Take the normal damage capacity of a person’s limb (1/4 of the Body’s hits) and increase it by 50%.
     --If a PC is forced to do surgery on a Synthetic limb, Engineer—Synthetic is the appropriate skill.
     --If the surgery involves entering the human body, both surgery skills and synthetic skills are required.  Two separate characters can be used for the procedure of course.
     --Synthetic parts still need to be serviced ever year of service (400 if uninsured, DV 15 for a PC to do it) If this service is not done, the part will fail within a year.
     --Synthetic parts will last five years before needing replacement.
     --A character who has a large portion of his body replaced can use the synthetic rules and statistics.
     --Limbs can be improved but insurance will not cover it.  The CMC has been known to do it under the table though.
 

F.I.T.R.
     FITR is a telepathine that induces a sense of invulnerability and increased mental strength in whoever takes it.  It had been in use for a long period of time in a variety of doses to treat certain psychological conditions, but the increased dosage increases the potential of the drug.  By the appearance of the psychically aware aliens, FITR soon found a use after it was discovered aliens can be affected by the willpower of a subject.  Although FITR had been present for many years, it wasn’t until Dr. Paul Church’s research did the its potential against the aliens reveal itself.
     FITR can be injected or swallowed in pill form.  Each dose lasts for one hour and effectively doubles the subject’s Willpower for that time.  It then drops by one ever 10 minutes until dropping until half of the original willpower.   It then slowly rises back to normal.

TIME SERUM (TL5)
     The Time Serum does not officially exist and all specimens are under lock and key.  The serum, when taken, is rumored to reverse the age process, removing wrinkles and taking up to thirty years off someone’s face.  When taken young, it stops the aging process altogether.  The Serum can only be take once, a double dose would kill someone.    It effectively doubles the lifespace of the average human being by regenerating dying cells.  Some rumors point that this serum is based on the alien’s morphology but this is just a rumor.  No corporation or government acknowledges the existence of this serum.

XENO – ZIP:
     See below…

    XENOBIOLOGY &
    THE DISCOVERIES FROM THE NEW SPECIES:

LINGUAFOEDA ACHERONSIS
     For the layman, they are called the aliens, some call them the Xenomorphs, but to the scientific community, they have been given a name…

LEPROSY AND THE ALIEN (TL4)
     Leprosy plagued mankind for centuries.  Centuries ago, a cure finally wiped out the problem and it, like many viruses of the previous millenium, vanished.  Recently, sanctioned alien hive labs bombarded their subjects with almost every type of curable terran virus hoping to stumble on a bug that would destroy the species but leave the human race with a virus that could easily be handled.  Years passed, without a single big that would even cause of heart murmur…. That was, until, someone read the bible.
     Leprosy didn’t seem to hurt the aliens themselves, but when injected into the impregnated human vessel seemed to retard the development of the embryo inside.  It didn’t seem to kill the creature, just prevent them from growing into a stage that would be ready for birth.  This process can occur anytime until 30 minutes before the alien give birth.  Once infected, the impregnated host can work perfectly without hindrance (except for the attacking leprosy).  As long as the leprosy can be stayed off, the alien inside would never grow.  The subject then can wait until a surgical room is ready.   By TL5, an enhanced version of the disease is available in syringe form that attacks almost instantly but stops before it can do any permanent damage.  After the chestburster can be removed, the disease is cured and the subject walks away.  The idea seemed useful.  However, this accomplishment came very late and people could not be helped in time as thousands of aliens spread across the ICC.
     Infected humans with the retarded embryo are assumed to still be impregnated, thus, they are totally immune to Alien aggression.  Aliens will not attack them and will try to protect them.  One sanctioned hive even carried a crew of leprosy infected impregnated subjects which can freely walk through the hive without the slightest bit of aggression.  Not even Synthetics can guarantee that.  Only the Queen can openly attack one of these subjects.  After six months being infected by leprosy, the damage becomes too great and it really must be cured.

ROYAL JELLY (TL3)
     The scientific community is totally aware of the Royal Jelly’s importance to the alien species but it was shocked to discover what happened when mankind ingested the substance.  Jelly offers a pure form of elation and a high greater than any drug ever recorded in the history of man.  In the violence and horror of mankind most found escape in the form of the alien jelly.
     A dose of Jelly does the following:

    +2 to WILLpower
    -1 to PREsence
    +2 to REFlex
    +2 to DEXterity
    +2 CONstitution
    +20 ENDurance
    A 5 OP Bad Temper
    A 5 OP Beserker
    It makes you FEEELLLL good.
    All derived statistics are modified as well…

     Royal Jelly is extremely addictive.  Anyone who takes it, must take DC4 to his/her resistance.  If reduced to zero, addiction sets in.  If not, they are okay but if exposed to it again, take DC5, this increases by 1DC every dose.  If taken before the resistance can be recovered, addiction is certain.
     Once addicted, the user must have daily doses or suffer withdrawal.  After twenty doses, the bonuses offered no longer apply with the exception of the Bad Temper and Berserker.  It still makes you feel good though.  If a double dose is induced, abilities are doubled but the user also takes DC5 of Humanity damage.  A triple dose triples the bonuses and inflicts DC10 of Humanity damage.  If quadrupled or quintupled, the process continues.  If the Humanity is reduced to zero, the character has OD and has gone mad or can be mutated into a Bug Man <OPTIONAL, See Plug-In>.
     If the doses stop, within one day the bonuses usually added are subtracted (Basic penalties:  -1 WILL, -3 REF, -1 DEX, -1 PRE, -2 CON) but the Bad Temper and Beserker remains.  This time the anger is vented towards either other people or to getting the Jelly.   The graph below must then be followed.  The character must beat a DV of 10 using their WILL. A check is made after the time given below. Start at 1.
    Each failure or success moves the person up or down the table until he/she dies or is rendered free.  If the user fails a DV, the next test adds a +1 bonus to the person’s roll as long as they don’t take the drug.  If they do, they are back to test 1.  Taking the drug within a month of passing Test 11 reduces the subject back to Test 1.  After a month, they are assumed to be starting over.
    GETTING OFF THE JELLY

TEST	PENALTIES	NEXT_CHECK	FAILURE	SUCCESS
1	basic	24 hours	Test 2	Test 3
2	basic, 10 OP Temper	24 hours	Test 4	Test 1
2	basic, 10 OP Temper	24 hours	Test 4	Test 1
3	basic	72 hours	Test 1	Test 5
4	same as 2, 10 OP Beserker	24 hours	Test 6	Test 2
5	-2 WILL, -2 CON, -1 PRE	1 week	Test 1	Test 7
6	same as 4, 15 OP Bad temper	24 hours	Test 8	Test 4
7	-2 WILL, -1 CON	1 week	Test 1	Test 9
8	same as 6, 15 Beserker	24 hours	Test 10	Test 6
9	-1 CON	1 month	Test 1	Test 11
10	same as 8, 20 Bad Temper	24 hours	Test 12	Test 8
11	none	none	Test 1	Complete
12	same as 10 plus 20 Beserker	24 hours	Test 13	Test 10
13	None	None	Death	Test 12

    Every two months using the Jelly consistently adds a 5 OP personal habit since the visual effects of the substance is obvious.  Every month, this OP increases by 5 and causes DC4 of humanity, until the subject is a glibbering mess.

XENO - ZIP
     Xeno-Zip, produced by Grant Corp, was an attempt to cash in on the possibilities of harnessing the abilities of Royal Jelly without the harmful side effects.  The Royal Jelly is one of the prime ingredients.  It is totally non-addictive but is still frowned upon by many groups.  Xeno-Zip, in its purest form, is basically an amphetamine, and the strongest type you’ll ever find.  It will make the subject feel wonderful—make you do fourteen hours of work in three hours.  It was first designed for people in manual labor since it makes you work like horse.  Taken only in pill form, Xeno-Zip lasts for 3 hours and causes the following:

    +1 to WILLpower
    +1 to REFlex
    +1 to DEXterity
    +1 to CONstitution
    +10 to ENDurance

     Of course, it is not as effective as Royal Jelly but it is legal and non-addictive.  Grant Corp made a fortune until they ran out of Jelly.  Synthetic alternatives were a quick alternative.  However, the synthetic version was flawed.  Anyone taking the Flawed Xeno-Zip must beat a simple DV of 5 adding their WILL to the roll and subtracting 1 for every additional pill taken (4 pills = DV8 = DV5 with 3 additional pills).  Of course, some automatically succeed, but those who fail loose the bonuses and immediately and take DC5 in stun damage +1DC per extra pill.  They must immediately make another roll.  Another failure results in a catastrophic biological frenzy where that last person’s actions and thoughts are amplified to breaking point.  This frenzy lasts 4D6 rounds plus 1D6 for every additional pill taken.  For that time, the following is in effect.

    +6 to WILL
    +3 to REF
    +3 to DEX
    +3 to CON
    +3 STR
    +3 MOVE
    +3 BODY

     All these abilities increase by 1 for every additional pill taken up to a maximum of +5.  After plus five, any additional pills just lengthen the effect.  The person’s last though becomes amplified and is effected by a 20 OP Beserker Complication
     After the time has passed, if the subject still lives, he/she reverts to normal with a penalty to their CON = to how many extra pills are taken.  If the CON is below zero, the subject enters a coma and takes DC Killing Damage = to all the extra pills taken.
     After this was discovered, the flawed Xeno-Zip was pulled and Grant Corp, even though taking a bath in the stock market, recovered by gaining a new supply of Royal Jelly.  By CL5, their Sanctioned Hives were supplying the stuff at a good rate.  There were underground reports that GrantCorp kept a large cache of the “flawed” Xeno-Zip under request of some military organizations including the CMC for times for which they needed such insanity.

BLACK MOLD
     The Black Mold is a substance reported on the terra-formed world of RLW 1289.  It was never found anywhere else and since the original supply vanished, has been hard to re-create in a lab.   The Black Mold is totally harmless to humans but has an extreme adverse effect on the Alien species and seemingly only the alien species.  It devours the resin of their hives and retards embryo development.  It does not eat anything else.  The crumbling black dried-peanut butter-type substance carries on the backs of aliens into the hive where it attacks the resin walls, the eggs, and then finally the queen. The mold weakens the facehugger, preventing them from impregnating people with any effectiveness.  Those that do succeed usually only implant dead chestbursters that die in the womb or upon birth.
     The queen’s egg sack rots and dies…she soon follows from the infection.  The drones cannot create jelly.  Soon, the alien drones, in a mad dash to sustain the hive, exhaust themselves into extinction.  The whole process for an average hive can take as long as a month from initial attack but the end result is still the same.  If the queen’s chamber is infected from the start, this process can be shortened to only a matter of days since the Drone’s care of the queen will spread the mold to every part of the hive in a few hours.
     The Mold is totally uninterested in any other substance and is not even poisonous to other life forms, even though it offers no nutritional value.  This leads to the conclusion that this mold, although found initially on an un-colonized planet, must be bio-engineered because of its single-minded mentality.  It has been deduced man did not manufacture it.  <See JOCKEY RACE PLUG-IN>

    RELIGION
     Most religions still exist even though the ICC frowns on them altogether.  Most have embraced religion because of the horrific society most live in.  Religious cults now spring weekly, where people, starved for some answers, will embrace something that looks like a promise of something better.  Missionary vessels cruise through the ICC, passing the word of God.  These ships number more than Smugglers in some sectors.  The CMC promotes religion in its armies for stability.  When the Aliens became public at CL4, most ran to religion to answers since many decreed that these creatures were nothing less that the purest form of the devil.  Some thought otherwise that no universe created by god could result in this species.  For a select few, however, the aliens became their own religion.
 

CHURCH OF SALVAJE’S (CL4)

        Salvaje started his sect underground at first, offering his escape on local cable access.  His mentality was that the aliens were the next evolution of mankind.  Man would be reborn in a new life.  Men are servants of a new lord.  He started his cult with a few members but as society worsened, more and more came knocking on the Church’s door.
 

“You’re nothing.  I’m nothing.”  Only vessels.  Here to serve the truth Messiah… Glorified I having been chosen for the ultimate communion.”

     Salveje’s cult became obsessed with allowing the aliens to propagate, giving up their lives to the future ruler of the universe.  They are solely responsible for starting the war that released the aliens all over Earth.   For years Salvaje let his numbers increase, promising the moment of true salvation.  When his followers numbered in the hundreds, he made his play, attacking the hive run by Bio-National on Earth.  Many were killed by security but many made it through.  Even Salvaje himself was impregnated.  It was unavoidable then.  The aliens were loose.  Salvaje had won.  Before their final attack at the beginning of TL5.5, his followers everywhere spread and sabotaged, trying to force the infestation in other areas.  Some, impregnated, purposely hid in populated areas.  Some even used the leprosy retardation to delay the birth until strategically necessary.  Salveje’s cultists are only loyal to the cult and to the alien.  They will kill to protect them.  Nothing is more desirable to them then to be a vessel.

    SERVICES

MEDIA
     Excerpts from the book The evolution of Television by Emmett Webster, DH Press 2057: Commercial television as it was known in the 1980s and 90s disappeared with the application of super-conductive transmission technology to the then non-existent cable television systems.  With systems offering 500, then 1000, and eventually 5000 channels, it became economically infeasible for advertisers to support mainstream dramatic programming.  Soon, instead of hundreds of thousands of viewers, audience shares were calculated in the tens.  With the breaking of the FCC, cable access was open to all persuasion.  In a resurgence similar to that seen during the mid-1980s, religious programming became a television staple, outnumbering non-doctrinal programs nearly 100 to 1.   With so many programs to choose from, viewer perceptions changed.  5, then 2 second commercials defined much of the fast-cult visual styles of the 90s.  The style of mid-century programming was changed with the introduction of the retinal switch or “eye-box.”  The “eye-box” was designed to detect minute changes in the capillaries of the retina and initiates random channel changes based on involuntarily blood pressure fluctuations.  To hold audiences, programmers were forced to devise new styles of programming that would not trip the eye-box switcher.

ATMOSPHERE PROCESSORS
     With the lack of habitable worlds within a short distance of the Earth has encouraged the development of marginal worlds and colonies. Potential colony worlds with reduced atmospheres can be colonized over a period of decades by reducing the unbreathable components of their atmospheres and increasing the levels of breathable gasses such as oxygen and nitrogen. Two techniques are being used to do this; sometimes both are used at the same time.  First, it is possible to establish ecological architectures -which are usually specific mosses, grasses, and small flowering plants -to convert certain gasses in the atmosphere (mainly the carbon dioxide) into usable oxygen. The second technique is to supplement this long-term strategy with a number of atmosphere processing stations.
     An atmosphere processor is a cone-shaped tower, about 1500 meters high. A 1.0 Terrawatt fusion reactor powers it, and it draws into the planetary atmosphere through a series of louvers in the bases and sides. This atmosphere is then drawn up through a series of hot mass processors arranged in a ring around the fusion core. Each of the processors can draw into the atmosphere through a battery of turbines, which compresses the accelerates the gas.  This is then passed through a high temperature electrical arc that heats the gases and ionizes it. The magnetic coils then heat the gas to near plasma temperatures in around 5,000 degrees Kelvin, and the molecules within the gases are dissociated into their component atoms. The hot streams of monatomic gas are then sorted by a series of magnetic fields into constituent elements. Some of these (such as carbon) can be drawn off as a waste by-product (such as graphite dust), while the remaining hydrogen, nitrogen, and oxygen atoms are expelled back into the atmosphere, where they can cool to form as hydrogen, nitrogen, and oxygen.

CRYO-TUBES
     A need to travel the long distances across the vastness of space, a majority of the company and the military missions involve a long distance of travel. As a result, the development of the cryo-tubes process has evolved over the years. First used to preserve the dead for study, scientists have used this technology for use in long distance travel. Since it's success, it has been widely used on different gathering operations for long lost ores and new resources to the military for their interstellar travel to protect and guard a colony on a distant planet. This kind of sleep involves reducing the body temperature to a freezing level. It slows the heartbeat so that the person in the tube is in a deep comatose state. While the person is in this state, the computer monitoring the sleeper will emit a low energy stasis field so that no time for the sleeper will pass. The process was not intended for anybody to sleep for more than several months to a year. Corporations still plans on exploring the outer reaches of space and to developing more advanced ways for the sleep process.
     All corporations manufacture the cryo tubes.  They are all identical in operation even though many variants of the style exist.  Impregnated subjects can be placed in cryo and held safely until needed.  The freezing process inflicts more damage onto an embryo than even a human does.  An embryo, after the host is removed from cryo, unfortunately takes longer to adapt back to normal health.  Every 12 hours in cryo-sleep grants the host another hour when released before the embryo starts to grow again.

    OTHER HOSTILE LIFEFORMS

ARCTURIANS
     These are the natives of Arcturus, and they are mammal-like creatures that are about the same size as humans.  Their society is like that of ants; they live in underground hives, have a large single queen which lays eggs, and raise their young in communal nursing chambers.  They are semi-intelligent, with mental abilities similar to those of the lower apes.
     This combination of animal and insect traits makes the Arcturians a strange race.  They are warm-blooded omnivores, breathe an oxygen atmosphere, and are roughly humanoid, but they are also eyeless and they communicate and find their way using sonar.  Their young are amphibious and are raised in warm pools in nursing chambers near the bottom of the hive.  The limited intelligence of the Arcturians allows them to work together on important tasks, learn from experience, and teach each other.  They have a rudimentary language and use simple tools, including sharpened pieces of stone for weapons.  Arcturians pose little threat to armed Colonial Marines, but an unwary group entering Arcturian tunnels could be in trouble.  They have been known to lay traps for Humans, and have even collapsed shafts to isolate intruders.  The Arcturians have also learned to wait until a group’s lights have failed before attacking, to maximize their advantages.
     Arcturians are kept away from Human settlements by sonic barriers.  To drive them out of their warrens is more difficult, as the queen is immobile and the Arcturians will defend nursing chambers to the death.
STATISTICS
     (These are base numbers with their appropriate skill)
INT: 2           WILL: 5         REF:  5         TECH:  1         DEX: 4        CON: 4          STR: 6            BODY:  8
MOVE: 7         (RUN—14, SPRINT—21, SWIM / LEAP—7 )
HITS: 40         KD:  5            ED:  5
STUN: 40        SD:   20         REC:  10
WEAPONS:              Range:  WA:      DC:                                   SPECIAL
Claws                           1             +1     6-Stun / 3-Hits                      None

BLACKBODY CORAL
     Discovered on Saint John, Blackbody Coral is a Hive-type microorganism that is similar to coral on Earth.  It grows on surfaces that are exposed to light, and its cells are essentially light traps; virtually all of the solar energy that hits the coral is absorbed into the cells, which are also well insulated.  The energy is used to feed the growth of the Blackbody Hive.
     Blackbody coral is widely used in construction on Colony worlds with harsh environments, because of its excellent insulation and energy absorption properties.

HARVESTERS
     Harvesters are large creatures which live below the ground, and they are destroying the Colony on Tarturus.  Their attack is almost impossible to stop because they bore through the Earth and attack from directly beneath the facilities.  No underground protection has been that will stop the Harvesters, although many attempts have been made.  Decoying the Harvesters to the surface outside the colony where they can be attacked by aircraft has been used with success, but the Harvesters are cunning and these tricks are no longer effective.  The Primary focus at the remaining facilities is to destroy the Harvesters in their underground chambers.  For this work, the Colonial Marines have been called.
     A Harvester is heavier than any land animal on Earth; it is over nine feet high and nearly twenty feet long.  Shaped something like an armadillo, the Harvester lives beneath the ground and has massive front claws and a powerful snout for digging.  It uses sonar as its main sense and has acute hearing and small but limited vision.  The Harvester is very maneuverable for a creature of its size and can  and can move up to 34 feet / second.  It main purpose is for burrowing and harvesting.  Harvesting consists of burrowing to the surface and shredding organic plant and animal life that it processes and stores in its gut.  Harvesters operate in groups and their communication and intelligence can be compared to that of a wolf pack.  They are highly territorial and attack any Harvester from a foreign pack or any other threat within their area of operation.  A Harvester’s attack consists of the creature charging and overrunning or ramming its target.  When Harvesters fight each other, it is a push and shove match until one is turned over, exposing its softer underbelly.  This leaves it vulnerable to the shredding jaws of the victor.
     The carrier is another form of the creature, and it is very similar to a normal Harvester.  It is different in that it is not equipped to harvest and store large quantities or organic material.  Instead, it has up to 12 drones growing on itself.  These drones can be regrown in about three weeks.
     The Drone is a smaller, boar-size creature whose purpose is defense against small animals and creatures that threaten the lair and underground chambers.  The Drone has only one purpose, and that is to bite.  It lives attached to what is called a Carrier and has few internal organs of its own.  When released from the Carrier to attack a foe, it does so with the ferocity of a creature whose only purpose is attack, for the drone can only live a few hours once released.  The Drone can climb and jump, as well as move up to 42 feet / per second.  Once it reaches its target, it attacks with its jaws.  The creature is nothing more than a portable set of mandibles and once it locks its jaws onto its victim it will not release its grip.  The jaws actually ratchet down and cannot be opened short of breaking the thick skull and mandibles.
STATISTICS – HARVESTER
     (These are base numbers with their appropriate skill)
INT: 2          WILL: 3         REF: 7          TECH: 0         DEX:  7        CON:  10             STR:  15
MOVE: 11         (RUN—22, SPRINT—33, SWIM / LEAP—11 )
HITS: 150 (3 K)         KD: 30 (0.5 K)         ED: 26 (0.5 K)
STUN:  100                SD:  50                     REC:  25
WEAPONS:              Range:     WA:                  DC:                                       SPECIAL
Bunt                               3m             0           10-Stun / 5-Killing
Claws                             4 m           +1                       6                                      Can also grapple
Stomp                             1 m           -3                     13 (1k)
Ram                                 1m            -3                       3k

STATISTICS – CARRIER
     (These are base numbers with their appropriate skill)
INT: 2          WILL: 3         REF: 6          TECH: 0         DEX:  6        CON: 10           STR: 13
MOVE: 10         (RUN—20, SPRINT—30, SWIM / LEAP—10 )
HITS: 100 (2 K)         KD: 20 (0.3 K)         ED: 20 (0.3 K)
STUN:  75         SD:  30         REC:  23
WEAPONS:              Range:          WA:                  DC:                       SPECIAL
Bunt                               3m                 0         10-Stun / 5-Killing
Stomp                            1 m               -3                     13 (1k)
Ram                                1m                -3                       3k

STATISTICS – DRONE
INT: 1          WILL: 1         REF: 5          TECH: 0         DEX:  6        CON:  8          STR:  6          BODY:  5
MOVE: 7         (RUN—14, SPRINT—21, SWIM / LEAP—7 )
HITS: 35            KD:  5            ED: 5
STUN: 35           SD:  20         REC:  13
WEAPONS:              Range:          WA:          DC:                  SPECIAL
Bite                                 1m                 +1             6                          Grapple

HYPER-ALGEA
     This very small type of plant life was found in the limited shallow seas of Alexandria.  When it is cultivated in an environment of water, sunlight, and carbon dioxide, it reproduces at an incredible high rate.  Oxygen is the main byproduct of Hyper-Algae, so its is used in the large Life Support systems of many Colonies, and is the primary reason the systems are inexpensive and reliable.

MORPHERS
     The creatures were discovered on Saint John.  They weigh five to ten pounds and have a unique shape-changing ability.  They are able to adopt any of several forms, including a water-breather like a fish, an amphibian form, and a land-dwelling air-breather.  Morphers do not simply change shape at will; they enter a state of dormancy in response to seasonal and climatic change, and emerge from that state days or weeks later in a form which is more appropriate to the current environment.  This change occurs through the action of a special part of the Morpher’s DNA code, ad is like the way a tadpole becomes a frog, except that a Morpher changes among several different forms on a cyclic basis.
     The study of Morphers has been vital to the science of genetic engineering, and Morpher DNA is still being heavily researched for future uses.

PANAMAR PLANKTON
     A recent discovery on Panamar is a type of thermogenic plankton; this simple life form used thermal energy instead of sunlight to create hydrocarbons.  It is already in experimental use in life support systems, and will probably have many other functions as well

BRACHOUS SLUGS
     This is a simple and decidedly unglamorous organism that lives on Astyanax.  Concealed in its DNA, however, could be one of the greatest prizes discovered by Humanity.  Because the Brachous Slug evolved in a high radiation environment, it has developed the ability to repair radiation damage and other harm to its own DNA.  The ability to repair itself has given this simple creature effective immortality .  Falcon industries is currently leading an intensive research project into the Brachous Slug, in the hope of greatly extending Human life.  The rumored Time Serum is said to be based on this creature’s DNA