Monkaiko

Monkaiko us a unique planetary body on the Monka System that baffled scientists for generations before its origin was determined.

Description

Monkaiko has a roughly eighty percent Standard-Earth-sized mass, but despite its size, is not round. Rather, two hemispheres come together with a deep band separating them. The two halves share a similar chemical composition but have distinct cores. The cut is not around the meridian, but at a roughly forty-five degree angle, and forms a perfect circle.

The planet has a ring system (highly uncommon for worlds of that size), and is surrounded by several small, jagged asteroidal moons. The surface is pockmarked by impact events, yet there is a thin atmosphere (about fifty-percent Earth-normal), including liquid water and weather patterns. The atmosphere supports some plant life and a very few simple insects. Evidence of higher-ordered life is abundant, including the remains of immense cities; but the planet does not support human life and has very little oxygen.

Charting

The planet was initially charted by a long-range probe sent by the Gudersnipe Foundation, who identified the strangely shaped planet as "most probably an anomaly or mistake by the survey system". High metal contents were detected, so a manned mission was sent to investigate the solar system as a possible site for mining.

The survey crew were not being particularly excited about the mission, since they suspected the planet either wouldn't be there, or would be much smaller. They were quite shocked at what they found: a world which defied all explanation. It had close to normal gravity, rotation, and liquid water, yet had not formed an sphere.

Such oddly-shaped worlds were not without precedent: Cobble has peaks as tall as sixty miles, some extended nearly into space. This is nothing compared to the six-hundred-mile-deep, thousand-mile-wide gash on Monkaiko.

Discovery of Ruins and Explanation

The initial survey team was the first to note cities from their orbital sweep, but it took a specially-equipped survey team to make the initial landing. They proved obvious remnants of human habitation. The nearly anaerobic state had preserved much, and they found, within minutes, writings belonging to the long-destroyed Marcon Alliance.

This, in turn, made Monkaiko's awkward appearance blatantly obvious: the planet had been sliced in half by the sorceress Lelerough in 901 B.G.A..

Later Use

Since it was an excellent candidate for the process, Monkaiko was terraformed. The larger moons (actually severed chunks of the planet) were either stabilized or sent back to the surface, and new life seeded. The process destroyed most of the Marconian remnants, but since Marcon civilization is, in general, not highly valued, this was considered 'Okay'. The Monka System is still a major mining outpost, but Monkaiko sees tremendous amounts of tourism. "Gash Tours" or descents into the massive gash are popular, as is amateur archaeology in the ruins of Marconian cities. The Foundation both allows and encourages "anyone with a shovel" to come by and go digging, and a few finds of treasure and other interesting articles have been discovered. The rather unconventional methods have caused serious damage to the archaeological value of the sites, which, again, most people tolerate.