Image of Enaiadal organisms from A.R.L.O
The atmosphere of Lovelace is highly corrosive and the life that has evolved on the planet continues to fascinate scientist to this day.
Lovelacian DNA[]
All life on Lovelace uses six nucleotides instead of the four found in terran life forms. In addition to adenine, guanine, cytosine, and thymine there is esthine and rosanine. Named after Esther Lederberg and Rosalind Franklin respectively.
Most remarkably, this has led to a vast array of enzymatic RNA structures that have replaced the conventional peptide based components in many traditional metabolic pathways and regulatory cell systems.
Due to these unique factors, Lovelacian life has been instrumental in the advancement of biotechnical research in the Sector.
A.R.L.O[]
From 2216 to 2250 there was an immense effort to collect and document life on Lovelace. During this time it was estimated that the 96% of life on the planet had its genome sequenced and stored in the Archived Repository of Lovelacian Organisms on Habitat One.
Human caused mass extinction events[]
2250 The initial period of biological collection and documentation ended on Lovelace. Atmospheric management started and initiated the first mass extinction event, referred to as The Advance (TA).
2665 The Reckoning (TR) was precipitated by events revolving around the Scream the details of which have been lost to time. The re-acidification of the atmosphere wiped out the biosphere old Triangulum had created.
Lovelacian Clades[]
Speculative ordening of Lovelacian organisms is based on Clades with two main branches (the Provincia) and further cladistic inferior taxons (Tributa).
Phylogenetic tree
There are currently five Tributa the Kekrymea, the Viomikro, the Akrozoi, the Enaiada, and the Tantarya. Each of these five Tributa contain unique rRNA, which forms the basis of the five-Tributa system. In addition, the presence of a nuclear membrane distinguishes the Enaiada and Tantarya from the other Tributa, while biochemical and RNA markers are emblematic of the Viomikro and Akrozoi Tributa. The Kekrymea is the most recently discovered and its inclusion as a native Tributum is hotly debated.
Kekrymea[]
This tributum consists of single celled prokaryotic microorganisms.
Very little is known about the Kekrymea. Discovered deep in Lovelace’s crust using metagenomic sampling around the pre-scream vaults of the ancients, it is unknown if they are truly native or a hybrid creation of the ancestors. Due to the low biomass concentration at these depths and restricted access to the vaults there has been little chance to study these organisms.
Viomikro[]
These organisms make up the majority of the biodiversity on Lovelace. Single celled prokaryotic organisms they inhabited an incredible number of diverse ecosystems.
While the The Advance caused the extinction of many strains others managed to adapt to the changed environment, which made them vulnerable to the The Reckoning and re-acidification that took place in 2665.
Akrozoi []
Typically known as the extremophiles of Lovelace this tributum actually comprises organisms found in a broad range of habitats.
While morphologically similar to the Viomikro, Akrozoi possess several genes and enzymes more closely related to the Enaiada and Tantarya. Other elements of Akrozoi biochemistry are unique and this tributum displays a staggering diversity of metabolic pathways.
Enaiada []
Perhaps the most fragile of all the tributa, Enaiadal life forms lived mostly in shallow acidic waters on Lovelace. These delicate organisms had nuclear membranes and advanced cellular machinery.
The Advance lead to the complete extinction of this entire tributum, and all attempts to recreate them from the archive have failed.
Tantarya []
Like Enaiada, organisms in this tributum have nuclear membranes and advanced cellular machinery. These organisms may be multicellular, creating enormous diversity in the Tantaryan clades.
Tantaryans can reproduce both asexually through mitosis and sexually through meiosis and gamete fusion.
Legends persist of mega fauna present in the pre-Advance oceans of Lovelace. But unfortunately these files are missing from A.R.L.O, either lost to data corruption or purposely deleted.
Imperialia[]
Due to the drastic changes that occurred on Lovelace in an extremely short geological and evolutionary time frame the Imperialia classification system was created to help eliminate taxonomic confusion. These descriptors, added next to an organism's taxonomic name, easily differentiate when an organism lived in relation to the mass extinction events and the level of human interference they experienced. The specific Imperialia are not tied to any one other taxonomic classification.
- Stelia- These species evolved on Lovelace without human interference before The Advance and have survived to the current day.
- Mortia- These species evolved on Lovelace without human interference before The Advance and are now extinct.
- Avidia-These species were added to the biosphere by the ancestors after The Advance.
- Interbia-These species naturally developed between extinction events and still exist.
- Osria- These species naturally developed between extinction events and are extinct.
- Daria- These species have naturally evolved since The Reckoning
- Novia-These organisms are a result of S.C.R.O.L.L efforts to reintroduce life to Lovelace
Example:
Mortia Pristis geodaehan-A small bioluminescent squid like creature that evolved pre-Advance
Novia Pristis geodaehan- A hybrid species introduced to Lovelace by S.C.R.O.L.L post-Reckoning
S.C.R.O.L.L[]
Scientists Concerned with the Re-establishment of Lovelacian Life
Since the Scream some families of House Triangulum have been restoring the biosphere on Lovelace. Working from the data stored in A.R.L.O they have slowly reintroduced species to the planet. Unfortunately, A.R.L.O has become corrupted and some of the biological information stored on it has been lost. This has lead scientists to use recombinant DNA technology to fill in the missing information, creating hybridized organisms. While the biosphere will never return to is pre-Advance state the hope is to create stable ecosystems capable of maintaining themselves without outside interference.