Camus II
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Camus II was once home to an advanced humanoid race called the Yiterans. The pinnacle of their technological achievement was a device that exchanged energy between two individuals, so that they effectively swapped bodies. Unfortunately, this power of identity-shifting deception led to a calamitous war that destroyed their civilization. The Yiterans remained lost to history until a Federation archaeological expedition discovered their ruins and their still-functional life energy transfer device in 2269.
The Federation first explored Camus II in the 23rd century, and investigation of the planet’s lost civilization continued in the 24th. The Yiterian civilization existed before the advent of Human warp drive.
Climate
Camus II’s climate falls toward the colder end of Class M norms. Archaeological evidence indicates that the planet was once warmer than it is in the 23rd century. The prevailing theory holds that the war that destroyed Yiteran civilization created an ecological disaster that dramatically altered the planet’s climate.
Geography
Camus II’s landmass is divided into four continents of similar size, one in each quadrant of the planet. All four are dotted with the remains of ruined cities, many of them large enough to have housed hundreds of thousands of inhabitants at their peak. Hill 27C2, the site of the life energy transfer device, is located in the northwestern corner of the southeastern continent.
Civilization
Archaeological evidence suggests that Camus II’s long-extinct advanced race called themselves Yiterans, and that they were humanoids that averaged 2 meters in height and varied widely in appearance. They seem to have divided themselves into four great nations at the peak of their civilization, one on each major continent. At one point, engineers in the southeastern continent developed a device that allowed two individuals to trade what they called “life energy.” In effect, the two swapped psychological identities through it.
The leaders of the southeastern continent (called Southeasterners by Federation archaeologists for want of a better term) seem to have seized upon the life energy transfer device as a way of destroying their geopolitical rivals so they could exercise power over the entire planet. According to the fragmentary records that remain, they invited leaders of the other nations to gather under the guise of a peace conference, then lured some of them out to view the device. The Southeasterners swapped these foreign leaders’ identities with their own agents and sent them to the conference, where they promptly provoked antipathy between all of the Southeasterners’ rivals. The result was a four-sided world war, during which the Southeasterners hoped to hold back, then roll over their weakened rivals. Unfortunately for them, the war spiraled out of hand and global catastrophe ensued.
History
The 2269 archaeological expedition led by Doctors Janice Lester and Arthur Coleman marked the Federation’s first substantial attempt to explore Camus II. The Lester/Coleman team discovered the remains of the Yiteran’s civilization — in particular, their unique life energy transfer device. The expedition came to grief when Doctor Lester ordered most of her team into an area improperly shielded from celebium radiation. Everyone except the two leaders died of radiation sickness before help could arrive. Allegations later surfaced that Doctor Lester deliberately exposed her team to the radiation to cover up the existence of the life energy transfer device and lure the Constitution-class Enterprise to come to their aid. These allegations were never proven, and she never had to face them in a court of law, being judged psychologically incompetent to stand trial after her return to Earth. However, it is a matter of record that she had a longstanding grudge against Enterprise captain James Kirk, and that she used the Yiteran device to disguise herself as him in an attempt to commandeer the ship.
The Federation did not attempt to revisit Camus II for nearly a century thereafter. In 2367, the Enterprise-D was ordered to survey the planet, only to be called away by a distress signal before it arrived. Since then the Federation has mounted several more expeditions to Camus II, most notably in 2380 by Terran archaeologist Professor Steven Wada of the Extraterrestrial Institute of the University of Chicago. Professor Wada’s team discovered fragmentary historical chronicles and artifacts that still form the basis of what is known about Yiteran civilization.
Federation scientists remain stumped by the Yiteran’s life energy transfer technology. No one has been able to analyze the nuts and bolts of how it works, and all attempts at replicating it have produced fatal instabilities in both subjects (fortunately, these copies have never been tested using sentient beings — at least, not by the Federation). Needless to say, the Federation keeps a close eye on any and all experiments involving what is known about Yiteran technology, knowing all too well how its ability to conceal someone’s identity might be used for espionage or criminal purposes. It also requires that any Starfleet vessel on patrol in Camus II’s sector visit the planet and send a landing party to investigate whether any unauthorized visits have been made.
Places of Interest
The Lester/Coleman expedition gave the place where they first discovered the Yiteran life energy transfer device the prosaic name of Hill 27C2, and no one has ever bothered to change it. However, the next expedition to visit the site, acting on orders from Starfleet, surrounded the hill with hidden sensors to record the comings and goings of anyone who came to take a look at the device. Starfleet monitors these sensors on a regular basis in case any unauthorized parties try to gain access to this powerful technology.
Even though the life energy transfer device is both powerful and dangerous, the Federation could never quite make up its mind to destroy it. It still functions, and in theory anyone who isn’t afraid of getting into trouble with Starfleet can try to use it. Activating it is relatively simple, since pictographic instructions engraved onto the device still exist.
The device’s effects, however, are not indefinite. The exchange of identities lasts for a minimum of 8 hours.
Starfleet proposed a special mission to examine the device using psionic volunteers, but the low priority of this “unorthodox research” meant that the mission was scrapped with the advent of the Dominion War.
Reference(s)
- Burns, Eric, Kenneth A. Hite & Doug Sun. Star Trek Roleplaying Game Book 7: Worlds, Decipher, 2005. ISBN: 1582369097.