Amythaon
General Information
- Appeared in: Serendipity (mentioned)
- In Mission(s): None, Intel entry
- In System: Mirfak
- Bitmap(s) used: None
Amythaon is a planetoid orbiting Mirfak which is not native to the star system, as it was a rogue planet captured by Mirfak's gravity approximately 3 million years prior to the events described in FreeSpace. The planetoid, which has an anomalous orbit due to the gravitational capture, is also much older than the Mirfak star: detailed isotopic analysis has revealed Amythaon to have originated from the same cluster as Sol, making its former parent star a so called stellar sibling of Sol. Amythaon, in addition to this peculiarity, has also revealed the presence of an extremely old leftover of a planetary bombardment. Christened Amythaon Planetary Thorn Structure (APTS) and dated at 447 million years ago, this is the oldest indirect evidence of advanced life ever found. Data concerning the APTS are subject to Coalition Watch monitoring and are consequently classified. The structure, now heavily faulted by tectonics and barely recognizable without advanced geophysical equipment, was initially 5 kilometers deep and 400 meters wide. Analyses have totally excluded a possible natural origin of the structure, and models attempting to compare it with Lucifer bombardments have yielded different results, meaning that the Shivans, or at least the Lucifer, were not responsible for the APTS. No other evidence on Amythaon regarding possible past colonization has been found.
Just like many other celestial bodies in SR, Amythaon has been named after a Colony Wars planet or satellite.