51 Planets to See Before the Universe Collapses

Xinth (zihnth)

Scort Muggins, Human Year 3251:

There wasn’t anything particularly interesting about the landscape of Xinth. There were similar terrains and foliage on Mars and other planets I had visited. The structures and cities were built the same and it looked no different than the average, run-of-the-mill, intergalactic type one civilization on the Kardashev scale. [Note: The Kardashev scale is method of measuring a civilization’s technological advancements based on the amount of energy the civilization is able to harness.] What was different was the Xinthian people.

A typical Xinthian was taller and thinner than a human. They were bipedal. They had a long tail coming from the back and were covered in sort of mucus membrane. Each had a pair of eyes, a pair of noses, a pair of mouths, and two ears coming from each side of its head (See Figure 14.1). The amount of orifices was unusual because most Xinthians didn’t have all of their senses. Some only had one sense, others had two, and so on. The most any Xinthian had was six - including sight, smell, taste, touch, hearing, and proprioception. [Note: If you haven’t studied the senses, proprioception is the ability to sense where your body parts are at all times. (i.e. Touching your finger to your ear without looking in a mirror. I bet you tried to do it just now.) Proprioception can also be described as the ability to sense where your body is in relation to objects around you.] This, of course, created a huge divide in their society. Most Xinthians would only interact with other Xinthians that shared the same senses. It made sense (LOLOLOLOLOL) that those with the same senses would experience life in similar ways and could relate to each other more than to other Xinthians. The unfortunate consequence of that behavior was that the same gene pools would never be introduced to others, and the offspring of a Xinthian relationship would still only have the same amount of senses as their parents. Even more unfortunate, those with only one or two senses [Note: Often called the degrading term “senseless.”] ended up homeless, unable to work and participate in society. The lucky senseless were put in special caretaking facilities, but most ended up on the street. I let Luskem, still regrowing and having only regained some of its senses, play with the senseless locals. I’d like to think we really brightened their day.

The Xinthians that had all of their senses were regarded as superheroes, able to perform tasks with ease that were difficult for others. It was like having special powers in the eyes of those that did not have eyes. Only six Xinthians on the planet had all of their senses and were ominously deemed “The Council.” They were part of an elite team that handled anything you could think of, including global relations, the economy, and crime fighting - “law and order” as they called it. The Council was in complete control of Xinth.

The six members of The Council each had one “super sense” that was more heightened than any of their other senses, and no member of The Council had the same super sense. The planet was also divided up into six sections, with each section containing Xinthians that all at least had one similar sense. The super sense of the council member determined which part of the planet they ruled. For example, the Xinthian with the most powerful sense of taste was the ultimate, authoritarian leader of the entire section of the planet where the population all had at least their sense of taste. The Xinthian with a super sense of sight and the Xinthian with a super sense of hearing held most of the power on the planet. Sight and hearing were thought to be the most valuable senses. Although proprioception seems like the least essential sense, those without it were dangerously and embarrassingly clumsy. 

Since I had all my senses and wits about me, I became the talk of the town as soon as I arrived on Xinth. The rumors and legends of Scort spread quickly and I found my way in front of The Council. The Council filled me in on all of the information I described above. I’m very good at relaying information. I’m also very good at impressing a team of beings that think there are only six senses. Humans developed a seventh magnetic sense about 750 human years ago, and I immediately flaunted it. In front of The Council, I pointed to several things around the room that were magnetic. One of their loyal subjects ran around the room with a magnet and stuck it to everything that I had pointed to. The Council inhaled one gasp after another as I was continually proven correct. It was a pretty cool feeling to have six Xinthians - who were revered as superheroes by a whole planet - to think of me as a superhero. It was a very similar feeling to hitting that hundred billion follower mark. I struck some sexy poses while I pointed to a few more magnets, and The Council applauded and cheered. 

The six Xinthians put me up in a beautiful hotel and asked me to stay for a while. The Council was struggling to handle certain issues on the planet and wanted my advice and expertise. I wasn’t sure how the ability to point at magnets would help, but I didn’t tell them that after they gave me the nice hotel room. After all, the hotel had a pool, television, and room service that was paid for. I also walked past a workout room and thought about exercising, so I felt pretty good about myself too. 

I stayed on Xinth for a couple of weeks and reported to The Council everyday. I expressed my thoughts on healthcare, conservation, and violent disputes between different sections of Xinth while also continuing to play with magnets. The problem with those of similar senses only reproducing with each other and not diversifying the gene pool was brought up. The Council told me they had discussed this before, but failed to come up with a solution. It seemed wrong to reproduce with a Xinthian that couldn’t feel or be aware of what was going on. And it felt wrong to force reproduction of any sort. I saw their point. Consent is, and always has been, woke (See Figure 14.2). 

I came up with a plan to put all of the Xinthians with only one or two senses in facilities together in the hopes that a Xinthian with one sense would happen to reproduce with a Xinthian with a different sense. That way, there would be a possibility that their offspring would genetically receive both senses. It would also get some of the senseless Xinthians off the street and in safer conditions. The Council loved my plan and soon the senseless were rounded up and moved to these... camps of a sort. Although the Xinthians had tried other programs, this seemed like the best and final solution.  

I felt really good about improving the community and the well being of the population on Xinth. I spent one last night in the hotel on the planet and ordered all of the room service I could stomach. The next day, I wished The Council well and pointed to a few more magnets. I walked out to the sound of a roaring applause. 

RATINGS

Hospitality — 10/10
Food — 8/10
Sights — 5/10
Activities — 6/10 (some of The Council meetings were a snooze)
Family Friendly — 9/10
Impressing the Locals — 10/10