If a Sci-Fi novel is to be believable, every world within it should be both relatable and fantastic, so I spent significant time world-building in Surrogate.

That said, here are ten facts about Takran, one of the three worlds detailed in Surrogate. (Okay, so I am a total Sci-Fi nerd girl for writing this, but an author must know her world(s) in considerable detail)

NOTE: This list contains information concerning Takran’s solar system, atmosphere, and geography. The rest, and there is a lot to cover, must wait for later posts.

1. Takran is the second of four planets orbiting a yellow sun in a small solar system within the Milky Way galaxy. Look west… squint… you still won’t see it. There are over 100 million stars in the Milky Way and between 500 and ? galaxies. Astronomers are still counting.

2. The other planets sharing Takran’s sun are uninhabitable.

3. Takran has two moons. One of them, Safe Harbor, has an artificial atmosphere and is colonized.

4. The travel time between Earth and Takran takes approximately four years by solar-sail transport.

5. Takran’s surface is eighty-percent water.

6. There are three continents on Takran which are interconnected via thousands of isthmi. Islands, atolls, and blue holes number in the millions.

7. By Earth standards, Takran is tropical. Seasonal changes are mild. The most notable change comes when the Spring monsoons arrive. The weather forecast then is always the same – overcast with a high probability of torrential rain.

8. Takran’s humidity, gravity, and atmospheric pressure can make new arrivals uncomfortable until their bodies adjust.

9. The atmosphere is just over thirty-one percent oxygen, sixty-seven percent nitrogen, and less than one percent argon and carbon-dioxide. Very Earth-like, but different enough to temporarily strain a new arrival’s system.

10. The humidity on Takran is rarely lower than eighty percent, and the UV light levels are high, though these levels are often reduced by the cloud cover. Bring a towel and sunscreen.

 There’s my first ten list for Takran. Look for another next week.