Turquoise was a terrestrial planet with a mostly oceanic surface, orbiting the star Groombridge 1618 in the planetary system of the same name. Turquoise was home to some of the largest and most widespread colonies of Pattern Jugglers, mysterious lifeforms that interstellar colonists from Earth had found on a number of life-bearing planets, throughout several unrelated planetary systems.
Turquoise lay in a more "backwoods" area of human-colonised systems, with far less frequent visits by lighthuggers. By the 25th to 26th century, it had been a human-settled, but isolated and somewhat technologically backwards planet, with most of its inhabitants being of Thai and Inuit ethnic descent.
During the present day of the planet's history of settlement, the last major visit by a lighthugger - the Pelican in Impiety - had occured roughly a century before. Due to misunderstandings and tensions between Turquoise settlers and the Ultra crew of the Pelican, the settlers of Turquoise became more cautious and apprehensive about inviting any passing lighthuggers to their planet. Their governments followed a somewhat isolationist policy, largelly due to security concerns.
A major scientific field on the planet, with a long tradition, focused on researching the colonies of Pattern Jugglers in Turquoise's oceans.
Appearances[]
- Diamond Dogs, Turquoise Days novella anthology (2003)
Notes[]
- The planet's name is an allusion to the greenish hue of its oceans, often filled with swarms of Pattern Jugglers. (However, the name of the planet is somewhat narratively reverse-engineered, as the title of the novella was inspired by an eponymous song by the British alt-rock band Echo and the Bunnymen.)