A recent article in the journal Astrobiology has reignited interest in superhabitable worlds: exoplanets that might represent the best opportunity for harboring extraterrestrial life. While many researchers have assumed that alien life would be most likely found on planets most closely resembling Earth, others have proposed that slightly older, larger, and warmer worlds would be even better candidates for extraterrestrial life.
Following this logic, a K dwarf star might be more likely to support the development of extraterrestrial life than our own G-dwarf type star. Although cooler, less massive, and less luminous, an orange K dwarf star has a much longer lifespan and may have a wider habitable zone.
Translating the superhabitable parameters into Traveller5 terms, we get a set of criteria something like this:
- K-dwarf primary
- Orbit 2
- Size 89A
- Atm 6789
- Hydro 678
A few other superhabitable parameters—for example, the presence of a slightly larger or nearer moon than Luna—are not detailed in standard Traveller world generation, but can be determined during extended system generation.
[There] is life everywhere. Worlds naturally spawn their own life forms, and many produce intelligent species —MT Referee’s Manual 7.
The Third Imperium setting assumes that extraterrestrial life is fairly common within Charted Space, though no one game mechanic has been consistently used across editions to determine the presence or absence of native life.
DGP’s World Builder’s Handbook (1989) has a nice, simple system for indicating native life: a 2D roll of 10+, modified by primary type, orbit, atmosphere, and hydrosphere. A garden world (Size 678, Atmosphere 568, Hydrosphere 567) orbiting in the habitable zone of a G or K dwarf could have a total DM of +6, meaning native life would have developed on 83% to 92% of the worlds meeting those criteria. In contrast, a desert world (Atmosphere 23456789, Hydrosphere 0) orbiting a type F star would have DMs ranging from -4 to +1, with odds of native life ranging from 0% to 28%. That’s quite high for my personal tastes, but seems roughly consistent with the published OTU.
GURPS Traveller: First In (1999) provides a different determination method in which the age of the primary star is a fairly large variable. If we assume a K dwarf system might be anywhere from 1 to 12 billion years old, the modifier could range from +1 to a whopping +24! An ocean world (in this context, a world with some surface water and oxygen-nitrogen atmosphere) orbiting a 6-billion-year-old K dwarf star in the habitable zone would have a +14 modifier. Such a world has a 100% chance of harboring native life, the nature of which which breaks down to a 2.77% chance for protozoa, 5.55% for metazoa, 8.33% for simple animals, and a 83.33% of complex animals. A desert world would have no chance for harboring native life.
Traveller5, surprisingly, does not have an analogous mechanism—perhaps because that edition seemingly assumes any planet with an atmosphere of 2+ and a population of 7+ in the habitable zone has not just native life, but Intelligent Native Life. That's way too much for me. I'm not looking to Traveller for super hard sci fi, but not the Star Wars cantina either.
In any case, superhabitable worlds as we defined them above should be very strong contenders for native life in the OTU, if not total locks. In Magyar sector, three worlds meet the superhabitable criteria:
- Nosret (2807 A897477-D). This world was within the Vilani Ziru Sirka, so has potentially been inhabited for thousands of years. It's got a class A starport, is on the Xboat route, but only a population of 4. Perhaps it has native life, but that life is incompatible or inimical to Humans. Maybe the dense atmosphere is tainted with microbes or spores.
- Tralp (1913 D968998-8). This world has some canonical history: beyond the Ziru Sirka, it was settled by Terran emigres by -2204 and grew into the Reformed Dootchen Estates. Probably the native life was compatible with Terran life.
- Hesselgrave (2939 CA98696-8). Also beyond the Ziru Sirka, this world may have been incorporated into the Terran Confederation and/or the Rule of Man, but might not have been settled until after the Long Night. Like Nosret, the native life may not have been really compatible with Terran life.
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