The gentle giant Ulthel shines like a pink pearl against the void of space, its gently drifting gases swirling lazily in ever-changing textures. From an offworld explorer's viewpoint, the planet might seem beautiful but probably lifeless, as it boasts no solid ground, and its dominant gases are a toxic cocktail of hydrogen, helium, and methane. However, jellyfish-like creatures called ulthelim—and only these creatures—call the planet home, serving as a strange cautionary tale to any who dare venture close. Despite the toxic nature of the planet's depths, Ulthel's upper atmosphere is comfortably breathable by most intergalactic standards. In the early days following the Gap, this made the planet attractive to governments and corporations seeking to harness and refine Ulthel's nearly infinite natural gases. Exploratory and colonial contingents from varying offworld locations set off for the gas giant, but one by one, these groups disappeared. Some seemingly blinked out of existence upon hovering above the planet's toxic layers. Others set up research posts or refining stations deeper within the gases, operating without issue until, seemingly at random, they ceased all communication with parent organizations. In these early days, all explorers reported that the planet—and previous visitors' structures—were uninhabited. As years stretched on, visitors to Ulthel, all eventually as ill-fated as predecessors, began reporting enormous schools of what looked like pink jellyfish with no tentacles migrating in clouds within the gases. Visitors called them ulthelim and considered them non-sentient local fauna. Soon, though, all visitors began reporting hearing mental pleas from these jellyfish—in a single cacophonous voice, the choruses begged visitors to partake of the planet's wisdom, to merge with the clouds of ulthelim, and to become one with the planet. In all instances, ulthelim referred to themselves and the planet as a single entity. These were always the last reports visitors logged before they disappeared without a trace. In the current day, most governments and corporations have stopped all operations concerning Ulthel. Although it's unclear what mysteries the planet holds, most scientists speculate that the planet's ulthelim are actually made up of the transformed bodies of offworld explorers who dared enter the planet's atmosphere. Logs of previous expeditions confirm this theory, as the number of ulthelim sightings reported correlates to the number of scientists, researchers, colonists, and others who attempted to conduct business near the gas giant's perilous depths. It's unclear exactly how long it takes for a visitor to Ulthel to transform into an ulthelim, though reports have ranged from a few weeks to a few months. Most believe the physical and mental transition is gradual, with visitors' bodies slowly becoming more shapeless, gelatinous, and pink—while their minds simultaneously become more in tune with the practically transcendent nature of the ulthelim's collective consciousness. To some, visiting the planet is a surefire death sentence. To others, the transformative nature of ulthelim represents a blueprint of utopia. To still others, the gas giant holds a potential gold mine of riches and scientific secrets worth braving any risk.