Orbiting the star Gamma Serpentis is Irohiri, a “pale blue dot” both familiar and alien to the first human colonizers that arrived on its surface in 2175. Irohiri sits at 1.7 astronomical units from its star, notably farther than Earth orbits from the Sun. Its years last 804 Earth days and every day is over 36 hours. Its 34 degree axial tilt causes extreme seasonal changes to occur to the planet over the course of its long year and its two relatively close moons, Yara and Homanao, push and pull at Irohiri to create dramatic tides.

      Irohiri’s sun, Gamma Serpentis (called Gamma for short by human colonizers and the Irohaitians) has fostered an amazing biodiversity on Irohiri. However, the star’s rays are also a constant source of danger for much of the planet’s life; being about 30% larger than Earth’s sun, Gamma Serpentis outputs a greater amount of ultraviolet light, a type of electromagnetic radiation that can potentially have devastating effects on developing life. Thus, to cope with the star’s dual-nature of being both a source of energy and a searing danger, much of the flora and fauna of Irohiri has evolved to be nocturnal. Its plants open their fronds to the light of the moons and coil back under thick carapaces come morning.