Panthalassa (planet)

Panthalassa is a planet in the system of Deep Sea Conquest in the Stellar Republic. It is the homeworld of the Bohon and largely covered by water. The planet is known for its deep oceans and great degree of tectonic activity which fuels numerous subsea volcanoes.

Name and etymology
The human name for the planet Panthalassa refers to the global ocean that dominated Earth during the paleozoic age and is itself an analogous translation of the name of the planet in Caw. After discovering the planet with its vast ocean surface, the Krark named it after a prehistoric ocean on their homeworld Kyrill. This ocean is usually translated for humans as Panthalassa.

Planetary rings
Panthalassa features a comparatively small, but nonetheless remarkable set of planetary rings that line the equatorial axis of the planet. Composed largely of a fine dust of oxidized iron particles, it is believed that the planetary rings have once been a small moon or asteroid that shattered in proximity to the planet. Due to its composition, Panthalassas planetary rings are visible as brightly red during night from the planet's surface, but barely during daytime.

Geology
The planet is notable for its strong seismic activity, having caused its crust to splinter into a total of 79 different plates, whose tectonics have caused Panthalassa to feature numerous deep rifts as well as countless island chains that are elevated beyond its deep oceans. Most importantly, the plate tectonics dominate life on Panthalassa by creating numerous sources of energy for lifeforms in the deep seas of the planet: geysirs and hydrothermal vents.

Hydrosphere
Panthalassa is almost completely covered by water. The massive global ocean dominates life on the planet in many ways and is, at most places, several thousand meters deep with its deepest point reaching 25.799 meters at the Pitchblack Rift.

Only at few places solid ground can be found in the form of island chains along the edges of continental plates, formed by volcanic activity. These islands are home to many specialized plants and animals which have diversified on the isolated islands.

Sentient life on Panthalassa developed in the unique environment of the deep sea, which is entirely dependant upon subaquatic vulcanism. Geysirs and thermal springs provide energy for most life in the deep sea, while a phenomena known as subaquatic clouds - debris and minerals from vulcanic eruptions drifting in the deep sea - provides for life beyond the thriving communities around black smokers.

Athmosphere
The large amounts of water present on Panthalassas surface also manifest themselves in the athmosphere, which has permanently high levels of air humidity and often massive cloud layers. Furthermore, large hurricanes are common, originating from the equatorial region and moving towards the poles with little loss of energy over the vast ocean surface.

Panthalassas athmosphere is rich in oxygen, generated from rich algae growth beneath the ocean surface. Its median athmospheric pressure is at 1,37 standard athmospheres and thus slightly higher than on earth. Notable amounts of sulphuric compounds and methane make its air irritating to many species, although usually not unbreathable.

Culture and economy
The majority of Panthalassas citizens live in the deep sea: billions of Bohon in large subaquatic cities. These urban centers exhibit a great degree of cultural - and often political - autonomy, as most cities can trace their origins to long before first contact with the Krark and the nature of the environment in the deep seas of Panthalassa tended to isolate the Bohon civilizations in their city-states from each other.

However, the political center of the planet lies above surface, in the colonies populated by Krark on the small islands scattered along the volcanic rims and in the Red Port spacestation, which still serves as capital for the planet despite the growing importance of the Bohon with their far larger subaquatic urban centers.

Panthalassa's economy thrives on a booming service and corporate administration sector, with metallurgic industry and bioengineering being of secondary importance. Furthermore, the planet is one of the Stellar Republic's most important suppliers of deuterium and tritium for fusion engines, with massive plants extracting the ressources directly from the planet's oceans.