Terraforming

Terraforming is the process of artificially altering an extraterrestrial planet or moon to be more Earth-like and suitable for terrestrial life. Depending on the starting conditions, this may encompass a wide array of techniques, including atmospheric and climate modification as well as topographic and biological engineering. While "terraforming" technically refers to making worlds more Earth-like, it is generally used in reference to corresponding alien efforts as well, though habiforming has emerged as a more all-encompassing alternative term. Terraforming may include some degree of planetary engineering, though various forms of ecoforming, or ecosystem modification, are most common. Terraforming is often combined with bioforming, or the introduction of genetically engineered or modified organisms to the terraformed world. On a basic level, this can extend even to the colonists themselves, who may require tailored injections to withstand alien microbiota or non-standard gravity, for example.

Human
Common terraforming measures are more of a nudge toward habitability than the complete remaking of a world. As a general rule, worlds requiring minimal modification are preferred. Typical prerequisites for such worlds include an Earthlike rotation period and thus day length, sufficient gravity, the presence of surface water, and a preexisting nitrogen-dominated atmosphere. Terraforming is never a one-size-fits-all process that can be repeated in the same form everywhere, though some techniques can be useful in more places than one. It is also a question of to what degree it is viable or cost-effective to modify a given planet; sometimes the introduction of magnetic shielding, domes, and localized paragravity generators is considered good enough, whereas some worlds may undergo global atmospheric modification to give them a terrestrial atmosphere. Such processes are usually extensive and are rarely done in under a century. In many cases, terraforming is also not a process that can be considered "done" at any point, as maintaining the planet's habitability requires active systems such as magnetic shields, solar mirrors and shades, artificial magnetospheres, atmospheric processors, and various active climate control measures.

Many terraforming techniques, such as atmospheric modification, climate control, and solar shades, were pioneered in the Sol system prior to the advent of slipspace travel, with several being used to stabilize and repair Earth's climate. Mars is the most notable human colony to be terraformed, and the planet to receive the most extensive terraforming processes; Venus was at one time another prime candidate and was subjected to terraforming experiments for over a century, but it would fall by the wayside as far more attractive worlds were made available via faster-than-light travel. Since the breaking of the light barrier, planets as inhospitable as Mars or Venus are rarely even contemplated for terraforming; for example, using mass ice asteroid bombardment to create oceans as was done on Mars would not be regarded as worth the effort on extrasolar worlds.

Terraforming is always locally tailored and though approaches improve with each effort, various historical failures have shown that the process is never fully predictable. Few worlds are habitable from the outset, but some require only minor tweaks. The relative abundance of worlds with an Earth-compatible biosphere from the outset has puzzled astrobiologists for centuries. It was previously thought highly unlikely that most alien biospheres could support Earth-based life, yet many such worlds have been discovered. Such worlds are generally attributed to ancient biodisplacement: terraforming conducted by unknown actors in the ancient past. Even in the case of out-of-place biota, it is common for local bacteria to be initially hostile to Earth fauna due to millions of years of divergent evolution, though any compatibility issues can generally be solved through medical science.

Places that are otherwise hostile to life are still colonized for economic or strategic reasons, such as natural riches or unique features not available elsewhere (such as the computing and industrial benefits of cryoworlds). In such cases, alternatives to terraforming include surface arcologies and space habitats, which can be built to be hospitable at a much lower cost than that of terraforming. One popular means of measuring the viability of planetary bodies for terraforming is the CAA's habitability rating system, though experts use far more precise scales when weighing the pros and cons of terraforming.

Terraforming has historically been a divisive topic in human society. The human religio-philosophical and political movement known as the Delugers once believed it was humanity's moral imperative to fill an otherwise barren universe with terrestrial life, terraforming even barren worlds through great effort for its own sake in a "Deluge of Viridity". Though active between the 22nd and 24th centuries, the discovery of large numbers of worlds with their own biospheres rendered the Delugers' mission obsolete and the movement died out. On the other side of the debate, radical opposition to terraforming also exists. Planetary conservationists oppose terraforming for various reasons, ranging from scientific to ideological. "Soft" conservationists aim to delay terraforming or colonization efforts as long as possible before a planet can be studied in depth, while hardliners insist that any terraforming is wrong. The most prominent anti-terraforming movement are the pseudo-religious Farites, who revere the teachings of the 22nd-century philosopher and spiritual guru Samudrasen Faries. Influenced by extant conservationist and ecological movements as well as paindeism and panpsychism, Faries proposed that Man should not meddle with extraterrestrial worlds in any way, as all of them may harbor the potential for developing life in the long term. Though Farites hold terraforming to be sacrilege, most schools accept the exploitation of asteroids and comets for the construction of space habitats, which also serve as the Farites' primary mode of residence outside Earth. At their most prominent in the 23rd and 24th centuries, the Farite ideology has been on a steady decline since as theirs is considered by most to be a cause long lost. Debates over terraforming often take place on a local level, with many colonies having internal disagreements between various positions as to what terraforming measures, if any, should be applied and when.

Worlds with existing biospheres present an ethical case against terraforming, as any attempt to tamper with the local ecology will irrevocably disturb it, potentially with unforeseen and disastrous consequences. Although this is a concern to planetary conservationist groups, it is rare for preexisting planetary ecologies to be completely protected from settlement, though nature preserves are often created. Some ecologically rich worlds, such as Monsoon, have biologies so incompatible with Earth-based life that terraforming would require effectively eradicating the native life and replacing it. In such cases, the planet is usually left alone, with any human habitation limited to enclosed arcologies.

Covenant
The Covenant have access to various terraforming methods, some of which are fairly exotic. This is thanks in part to their scavenging of Forerunner relics.

Though some proven techniques date back to the Sangheili's pre-Covenant days, fully habiforming planets was not common for the early Sangheili. This was for a variety of reasons; for one, the Urs system already had several habitable worlds, and there was less pressure to develop terraforming early on. The Sangheili also had a preference for natural over artificial environments and a philosophical aversion to tampering with existing ecosystems; this originated in the pre-Skyfall times when the Sangheili attempted to modify Sanghelios' climate, largely with disastrous results. Should they come across a biosphere that was incompatible with Sangheili biology or barely hospitable, they would typically either leave it alone as a sanctuary or attempt to adapt to it, albeit within reason; once they had mastered their harsh homeworld while keeping its essence intact, and so too should they master other worlds. While some Sangheili groups, including the more culturally radical members of the Irshun League, practiced limited bioforming of the colonists' own bodies, extensive genetic engineering was hardly common and frowned upon by most cultures. While they preferred to seek out fertile worlds, the Sangheili would also settle barren worlds for industrial reasons. Many inhospitable worlds used for industrial purposes such as mining would only be occupied by robotic servitors, a practice that endured until the advent of the Covenant's anti-AI strictures in High Antiquity, leading to the gradual re-establishment of manual labor by subject species. Even at the height of pre-Covenant automation, small populations of flesh-and-blood Sangheili overseeing the operation were usually present. For their uses, domed or otherwise enclosed habitats were the norm. The Sangheili being an inherently active species uncomfortable with tight spaces, these arcologies were designed to be as spacious as the technology permitted at the time. A common feature of them were and still are large nature preserves meant for recreation, such as sports and hunting. This remains the norm in enclosed Covenant habitats inhabited mostly by Sangheili, though quarters meant for the subject species are usually much less spacious.

Paragravitic systems would be used on low-g worlds to simulate a more comfortable gravity as soon as the technology became available several centuries before the War of Beginnings. Since then, further development and discoveries of Forerunner technology have advanced the field of Covenant gravitics by leaps and bounds, and it has found numerous applications in colony engineering. In addition to increasing the gravity of low-g worlds or stations, gravitic systems are often employed on higher-g worlds to lower the gravitational strength inside the bounds of specific buildings or habitats — a practice most often employed for the comfort of Covenant delegations and ambassadors on Jiralhanae worlds. For temporary forays on high-gravity worlds, the Covenant use antigravity belts set to negate part of the ambient gravity; Sangheili Rangers' antigravity packs are also capable of operating on a continuous mode to achieve the same effect.

While the Kig-Yar have rarely engaged in terraforming entire planets of their own accord, they are masters in crafting relatively small habitats, carving livable spaces and even partly natural environments into asteroids, comets, and small moons. However, they are much more frugal with space than the Sangheili or San'Shyuum.

One of the Covenant's quirks is walled terraforming, or the creation of walled oases of atmosphere and biology on otherwise inhospitable worlds. Energy fields projected from the walls are used to hold the atmosphere in place, while gravitic engines may be used to raise or lower the local gravity. Such "walled gardens" are often created on resource-rich worlds or outposts not otherwise warranting full terraforming, or as temporary measures while a planetary body is undergoing large-scale terraforming efforts.

For large-scale terraforming, the Covenant use "life engines", mobile facilities encompassing an array of planetary engineering systems mostly reverse-engineered from Forerunner equivalents. These include incredibly powerful atmosphere processors, genetic databanks and life-seeding units, rather like the terrain-generation systems used on the Halo rings and other Forerunner megastructures. Their use is uncommon both due to the rarity and expense of the life engines and the Covenant preference for already-habitable planets or small-scale terraforming.

Lesser terraforming machinery is used to control climate and atmosphere on worlds that are otherwise desirable for settlement, for either resources or strategic location. Sometimes subtle terraforming is also done for aesthetic preferences, though often this takes the form of introducing plants and fauna familiar from one's homeworld, or ones otherwise regarded as pleasing. Notably, San'Shyuum usually seek to replicate the environment of the upper-class districts of High Charity one way or the other. However, this typically occurs on warships and mobile habitats as the San'Shyuum rarely settle on planets. There are also ancient cultural traditions among Sangheili that seek to appreciate the natural environments of worlds as they are, with any modifications being subtle at best.