This article is terrific background for a campaign which focuses on either exploration, or scientists.  My thanks to Deb for granting permission for me to host it on my web site. - Kevin Clark - Nov. 19th, 1997.

Table of Contents:

• Introduction
• History
• Present-day Organization
• Present Activities
• The IEX Complex
• Off-Earth Facilities in the Solar System
• Projects Outside of the Solar System
• Adventuring With The IEX
• Chronology of Events Relating to The IEX

INTRODUCTION

Frequently requested by the governments of the French Empire to conduct biological surveys of potential colony worlds, the IEX has, at any one time, a number of study expeditions out among the worlds in and just outside of the French Arm of explored space.  Most of the data gathered by these expeditions must be brought back to IEX facilities on Earth where it is catalogued, stored, and analyzed extensively.

Because the IEX maintains the largest and most complete collection of xenological data in the world, the main IEX facilities ( located on a large campus in the French countryside) attract many of the world's leading xenobiologists and sapientologists.

HISTORY

The original Bureau staff was comprised of five people, all of whom were affiliated with the Universite de Paris' biological sciences department before the establishment of the Bureau.  Having run into departmental politics problems within the Universite's biology department, these five ( three professors, a post-doctoral student, and a pre-doctoral student of one of the three professors) were readily recruited by the French government for their new agency and eagerly set to work studying the latest exobiological survey data brought back by French survey teams.  Soon, it became apparent that five people were too few a number to handle efficiently all the data coming in.

Within a couple months after the Bureau's start, eleven more staff members were hired.  Ten years after its founding, the Bureau boasted a work force of 52 people.  At this time, however, with the end of the French Peace and the collapse of the French government, the Bureau feared for its future as many government agencies were eliminated or changed.  These fears proved groundless, as the Bureau survived relatively unscathed ( its budget was trimmed, but not drastically) in the wake of the collapse.  Growth of the Bureau, however, was significantly slowed for the next few years as a consequence.

In 2168, the Bureau was renamed the Institut des Etudes Exobiologiques.  It was at this time that the Bureau ( now the Institut) inaugurated an exobiological training program for extraterrestrial survey personnel.  Designed to prepare survey personnel for the rigors of doing biological studies in an alien environment, this program provided training in decontamination procedures, contamination-prevention procedures, sample collection and preservation methods, taxonomic classification ( both terrestrial and known extraterrestrial), and operation of data collection/analysis field equipment ( including mobile lab operation procedures).  Personnel were also given a crash course in animal behavior ( how to make an intelligent guess as to whether the beast you're observing is going to tear you to shreds or flee in terror), and in known extraterrestrial biology.

Upon completion of the program, a 12-18 month intensive session, a person would receive certification from the Institut and would then be qualified to participate in biological survey missions sponsored by the French government.  The inauguration of this training program was prompted by an incident in 2164 involving an expedition on the outpost world, Serurier, in which cross-contamination by insufficiently-trained survey staff resulted in the catastrophic extinction of several alien species of that world and the deaths of most of the expedition personnel.

The years 2170-2245 were a golden age for the IEE.  Since France established most of its colonies and outposts during these eighty years, the IEE was kept very busy with the amount of work involved with these worlds.  In correspondence with the growth in workload, funding and the number of people employed by the IEE were both increased significantly ( especially since France had gotten back on its feet and was once again a major world power).  Off-Earth quarantine facilities devoted to the analysis of alien biological samples were established at the ESA L-5 station and on Luna.

The educational programs offered by the IEE also grew; graduate degree programs, in affiliation with the Universite de Paris, were created.  Granting both master's and doctoral degrees, the IEE programs enabled qualified students a chance to participate in limited field work on a variety of established colony worlds -- an opportunity offered by no other academic institution at the time.  Senior level undergraduate students from the Universite de Paris were also allowed to do some studies at the IEE, generally in the form of semester- or summer-long internships under the watchful eye of an IEE faculty member.

The addition of these education programs, however, did not change the character of the IEE drastically, and it remained, as it was at the start, an institution devoted primarily to research.  Educational faculty were expected to engage in some research as well as teaching, but a large number of IEE staff members were still employed solely as research personnel.

The next fifteen years ( 2246-2261) saw some remarkable events relating to exobiology.  In 2248, the first sentient alien race, the Sung, was discovered by the Manchurians in the DM +4 123 system.  France, like many other Earth nations, was very excited by this news and hastened to open relations with the Sung.  IEE scientists, who had argued for decades over whether sentience could evolve on worlds other than Earth, were especially anxious to establish communication with the Sung and exchange knowledge with them, as well as to study the biology of the Sung themselves.

Sapientology, a field previously limited to theoretical speculation, sprang into legitimacy almost overnight, and quickly became a recognized field of study within the IEE.  The initial excitement over the contact with the Sung was marred by the discovery of a second sentient race in the DM +4 123 system, the Xiang.  Considerably less advanced than the Sung, the Xiang were, at least to all appearances, being used as slaves by the Sung.

While the IEE cautioned against jumping to conclusion about the Sung-Xiang situation ( since communication with these newly discovered alien species was still very difficult at best, and the Sung-Xiang interaction was not well understood at that point), the North American Research League ( NARL), reacting to what it perceived as a major social injustice, began a world-wide publicity campaign designed to mobilize world leaders into acting to free the Xiang "slaves".  NARL's campaign was extremely successful, and the result was the Slaver War ( 2252-2255), which the IEE protested vigorously, arguing that more information was needed about the situation before engaging in war with an alien race that we had barely contacted and hardly understood.

Fortunately, the war was over quickly with little loss of life on both sides ( casualties were highest for the Sung, though), and relatively peaceful relations were soon re-established.  When Canada was granted permission to establish an enclave on Stark, the Sung homeworld, IEE sapientologists were able to forge an agreement with the Canadians enabling the scientists to live and work at the enclave while being able to study the Sung on a regular basis.

Two more sentient races were also encountered during this time period.  One race, the Pentapods, was contacted by the French in 2251, just before the Slaver War.  The other, the Ebers, was discovered by the UAR just at the conclusion of the Slaver War.  The tremendous demand for knowledge about all these aliens overwhelmed the few sapientologists on the IEE staff at the time.

Quickly, the IEE established a separate Department of Sapientology within its organization and began recruiting among the best universities of France and Europe for staff to fill the newly-created positions.  Drawing from a variety of academic disciplines ( such as cultural and physical anthropology, psychology, and linguistics), the IEX was able to assemble a top-notch group of people for its department, which soon gained a reputation for excellence.  With the addition of sapientological studies to its organization, the IEE opted in 2261 to change its name to the Institut des Etudes Xenologiques ( IEX), a name which it has retained to this day.

The next twenty years ( 2262-2282) saw the IEX continue to expand its operations.  Existing research installations on colony worlds in the French Arm were expanded, and new research stations were created on colonies that had previously had no permanent facilities of that type.  By 2280, the IEX had at least one permanent research station on each of the seven French colony worlds.  As experts on extraterrestrial biology, the IEX staffers at these research stations frequently served as consultants to the colonists, providing advice and assistance on matters such as alien pest control, hybrid crop development, and health problems due to alien micro-organisms.

In 2268, on Beta Canum Venaticorum-4, IEX researchers, located in the city of Nauseville on the French Continent ( where they were studying the Pentapods at the enclave), were contacted by French farmers and asked to help with the problem of the Beta Grain Blight which was destroying their crops.  Agreeing to help with the problem ( which threatened to escalate into a major disaster, affecting much of the French Arm which depended on Beta Canum crops), IEX researchers had barely begun investigating the problem when they were told by the French Colonial Government that the Pentapods had been contracted to solve the problem and that the IEX should leave the blight alone, and go back to working on its previous projects.

Puzzled by this directive, the IEX staffers decided to continue work on the blight ( albeit surreptitiously) while appearing to outside observers to be working only on their previous projects.  Just as the IEX pinpointed the blight as being due to a nearly microscopic worm, the Pentapods announced that they had found the blight's cause ( the same worm found by the IEX) and were hard at work on a solution.  According to the Pentapods, the worm was a native of Beta Canum that had just recently developed a liking for terran crops.

Originally, the IEX scientists also believed this theory, but, after careful study of the worm's biology, they weren't so sure.  Basically, the worm's biology fit well enough into the known biology of Beta Canum, but there were a few anomalies in its chemistry that were totally unlike any other known Beta Canum organism.  Although these variations could have been naturally-occurring, they lent credence to the theory that the Pentapods may have had some role in starting the blight ( Pentapods being the only ones with sophisticated enough bioengineering techniques to accomplish such a subtle manipulation of an organism's biochemistry) either as a job for the French government that somehow got out of control or as a project of their own for reasons known only to them.

As there was no real solid evidence except the biochemical anomalies in the worm itself, though, the IEX could hardly make any accusations against either the French Colonial Government or the Pentapods.  Once the Pentapods came up with a solution for the blight ( namely Terraban), the rumors of foul play were slowly forgotten, and the IEX was forced to keep its suspicions to itself.

( For further information on the Beta Grain Blight, see the adventure module titled Beanstalk, published by GDW)

The advent of France's involvement in the Central Asian War heralded a period of rougher times for the IEX.  To support the military actions in the Central Asian War, the French government was forced to trim the budgets of many of its agencies, including the IEX.  Several biological survey expeditions in the planning stages had to be canceled, while others were reduced in scope.  A hiring freeze was instituted, resulting in a number of research groups being forced to operate shorthandedly.

Unfortunately, the end of the Central Asian War brought even tougher times.  With the army coup in 2289 and the runaway inflation that came shortly thereafter, financial problems became worse rather than better for the IEX.  Even more stringent budget controls were established, with more operations having to be cut or shelved.

In an attempt to keep alive major sapientological studies being done with the Ebers, the IEX enlisted the aid of sapientologists from the Astronomischen Rechen-Institut ( AR-I).  Since the IEX was being forced to drop the Eber projects for the time being due to financial reasons ( the Ebers were not an important factor in French colonization efforts), the staff members involved with these projects were effectively out of their jobs.  Through an arrangement with the AR-I, the IEX sapientologists working on the Ebers were "hired" on a temporary basis by the AR-I, while technically being on an extended, indefinite sabbatical from the IEX.

Salaries for the scientists involved were paid by both the IEX and the AR-I, with the IEX providing twenty-five percent and the AR-I giving seventy-five percent.  Knowledge from these endeavors was shared equally between both organizations.  Before the army coup, the IEX and AR-I had been working together to some extent on studying the Ebers, and each group held a fair amount of respect and appreciation for the other's work.  It was natural, then, that the AR-I should offer, in the name of the advance of scientific knowledge, to help out the IEX scientists in their time of need.

This cooperation held even through the War of German Reunification ( 2292-2293), as the scientists involved decided that political differences should not impede the advance of science.  The existence of this arrangement, however, was kept quiet throughout the war in order to avoid trouble with the French and German governments.  This situation with the Ebers, though, was a rare exception in the history of the relations between French and German scientific personnel, which has been friendly rivalry at best, and antagonistic and secretive at worst.

With the War of German Reunification and the Flemish War of Independence in 2293, France's troubles got worsened, forcing the IEX to postpone even further a number of operations and surveys.  Finally, in 2294, with the free elections in which Nicolas Ruffin and his followers stepped into power, things began looking up for the IEX.  As the French economy was brought back on track, funding for IEX operations was gradually increased.

IEX activities received an unexpected boost when, in 2295, the Kafers were first contacted.  After the Kafers destroyed the French astrophysical research outpost at Arcturus in 2297, and attacked Aurore in the Eta Bootis system in 2298, the IEX was ordered by the French government to make the study of Kafers a number-one priority.   Additional funding, specifically earmarked for Kafer studies, was allocated to the IEX.

Unfortunately, due to the dangers inherent in capturing a live Kafer, and the rapid decomposition of dead Kafers, the IEX has been able to make only limited progress in obtaining useful knowledge about Kafer biochemistry, psychology and culture.  For the most part, the information gained on the Kafers by the IEX to date has been restricted to general anatomy and physiology.  Plans to capture a live Kafer have been considered by the IEX, but, as of yet, no plan has been developed which would allow detailed study of a live Kafer while, at the same time, ensuring the safety of the researchers and the prevention of escape of the captive Kafer.

PRESENT-DAY ORGANIZATION

• Le Bureau d'Administration ( the Administration Bureau)
• L'Office Extraterrestre ( the Extraterrestrial Office)
• L'Office d'Expertise et des Donees ( the Survey and Records Office)
• La Division de L'Art de L'Ingenieur Biologique ( the Bioengineering Division)
• La Division de la Sapientologie ( the Sapientology Division)
• La Division Medicale ( the Medical Division)
• La Division de L'Exobiologie ( the Exobiological Division)
• La Division de L'Education ( the Educational Division)

The Administration Bureau - Le Bureau d'Administration

The Bureau d'Administration serves as the link between the French government and the Institut - receiving governmental directives, keeping the government informed of the Institut's various operations, and handling the monies received from the French government to fund IEX activities, facilities, and staff.  The Bureau also handles, through its office staff, in coordination with department heads and the Board of Trustees, the selection of candidates both for employment by the IEX and for admission to the educational programs of the IEX.

The Extraterrestrial Office - L'Office Extraterrestre

The Survey and Records Office - L'Office d'Expertise et des Donees

A sub-branch of the Survey and Records Office, Les Services des Machines a Calculer ( Computer Services) operates the vast computer system used by the IEX to store all the exobiological data presently known to mankind.  Databases within the system are frequently updated as new information becomes known or old information is found to be obsolete.  Virtually every IEX staff member on Earth has ready access to these databases, either through hardwired terminals located throughout the main IEX campus in France or through remote access via public computer networks linked into the IEX mainframe computers.

Non-IEX personnel can obtain access to the databases, but only after applying for a user account through Computer Services.  Non-IEX staff user accounts are usually granted only if a valid research reason is given for needing access to the databases.   Off-Earth IEX research stations maintain their own computer systems and databases, with regular data dumps being sent back to the Survey and Records Office via stutterwarp courier to be added to the main IEX databases on Earth.

Personnel working at these off-Earth stations can subscribe to an update service in which new data relating to their field of study or work in progress is listed in a subject catalog that is released several times a year.  Data files listed in the catalog can be requested by these personnel, and computer-readable forms can be sent via stutterwarp courier.  The IEX databases also include copies of all the biological, chemical, medical, exobiological, and sapientological scientific journals published, all of which are as accessible as the data files themselves.

The Bioengineering Division - La Division de L'Art de L'Ingenieur Biologique

Genetic engineering done by the IEX generally involves tailoring known organisms to fit a new environment or new purpose.  Most of this work is done on terrestrial organisms -- microbes, plants, and animals -- and usually is limited to helping the organism survive better in an alien environment.  Symbiotic bacteria, however, have been engineered from existing bacterial strains to help unengineered plants and animals fit into extraterrestrial ecosystems.  Rather than altering the plant or animal strain itself, genetic engineers will alter a bacterium to live within the organism so the organism can survive off Earth.

Since initial contact with the Pentapods, though, genetic engineering done by IEX scientists has dropped off to some extent.  With Pentapod genetic engineering being more advanced than that of humans, the French government has often found it quicker and cheaper to hire the Pentapods to accomplish a certain genetic engineering task than to have the IEX work on it.  IEX genetic engineers are dying to learn more about Pentapod techniques, but the Pentapods refuse to say too much about them -- probably being afraid that if they divulge too much, they'll end up losing a significant amount of business.  The IEX scientists, then, often try to learn Pentapod genetic engineering techniques by scrutinizing Pentapod products presently available, a line of study often frustrating at best.

The Bioengineering Division's hybrid development programs have generally met with limited success.  Designed to produce hardier organisms through crossbreeding, the hybrid development programs have usually progressed slowly.  With virtually the same goal as the genetic engineering programs, hybrid development can be broken down into two areas: crossbreeding of only terrestrial organisms, and crossbreeding of terrestrial and alien organisms.  The former area has had much more success than the latter, which has had only a few successes, all of which have been sterile, nonreproductive organisms.  Numerous cross-breeds of Earth-native organisms ( mostly plants) have been developed which have seen great success among the colonies of the French Arm.  A few crossbreeds of totally extraterrestrial organisms have been accomplished which have proven useful to French colonists.

The Sapientology Division - La Division de la Sapientologie

While communication with the known alien races has progressed significantly since first contacts, it is still often difficult to communicate clearly with a sentient alien race without misunderstandings occurring on either or both sides.  Societal taboos have also served to limit the exchange of information between sentient species, with the result that large gaps exist in our knowledge of these aliens.

The Sapientology Division has some of the leading experts on alien culture and biology working under its jurisdiction.  Through their efforts, the Sapientology Division has amassed the largest body of information in human space concerning the known sentient species.

The Medical Division - La Division Medicale

Presently, the most important problem the Medical Division is working on is the fungal blight on Aurore, which is a lifethreatening problem for the colonists there.  Although little progress has been made in finding an agent to kill the fungal parasites, the Medical Division has a number of leads which it is following that should, given time, result in a solution to this problem.

The Exobiological Division - La Division de L'Exobiologie

Staff within the Exobiological Division can generally be grouped within one of three categories: microbiology, macrobiology, and biochemistry.  The microbiologists tend to work with those alien organisms invisible to the naked eye, while the macrobiologists are involved in studying those creatures visible to humans, from tiny plant-like lifeforms barely as big as an eyelash to enormous beasts like the giant lizards of Wolf 424B-1.  The study of alien body chemistries is the province of the biochemists, who work to unravel the intricacies of how alien body systems function on the most basic levels.

Currently, some members of the Exobiological Division are working on L'Encyclopedie des Organismes des Colonies, an extensive compilation of all the data presently known on all the organisms discovered to date in explored space.  An exhaustive work, L'Encyclopedie will be regularly updated as new data is acquired or old data is found to be obsolete.

Members of the Exobiology Division often find themselves working on a consulting basis with members of the other IEX departments ( especially the Medical and Bioengineering Divisions) as their expertise is needed in solving problems related to their fields of specialization.

The Educational Division - La Division de L'Education

PRESENT ACTIVITIES

The IEX Complex

Computer Services, with a facility all to itself, is situated in between the cafeteria and the main Survey and Records Office building.  The IEX computer mainframes are located at Computer Services, as are the extensive database libraries.  Although all of the department buildings are networked directly into the mainframes, additional terminals ( mainly for visitor use) are available at Computer Services.  Ultra-fast batch printers, for producing hardcopy of large computer files, are also located at Computer Services and are available for use any time during the day that the building is open.

There are five large dormitory complexes located on campus, each with its own dining facilities.  Three of these are used exclusively for IEX students, while the other two are reserved for visiting scientists, usually either off-world IEX researchers or non-IEX scientists engaged in special work using IEX resources.  Additional classrooms and lecture halls are located in these dormitory complexes, as are lounges and reading rooms.

As impressive as most of the IEX campus is, the aspect that seems to amaze visitors the most is the large number of greenhouse-like buildings.  Situated immediately north of most of the campus, these structures house a multitude of alien lifeforms.  Collected from all over explored space, these organisms live in specially controlled environmental chambers.

Each chamber, controlled separately from the others, duplicates as closely as possible the natural environment of the organism(s) living within.  Factors such as light, moisture, temperature, atmospheric gases and pressure, and environmental radiation are monitored carefully and adjusted to make the inhabitants feel as much at home as can be done on Earth.  Gravity, however, cannot be adjusted here on Earth, so researchers are somewhat limited in the species that they can keep alive and well in such a habitat chamber.

Care is exercised in the selection of species for these habitats; organisms that are extremely dangerous to terrestrial creatures are not allowed on Earth, but are instead restricted to the off-Earth quarantine facilities.  Escape of such organisms, even under the most careful of precautions, is always a possibility.  Such an escape could prove to be catastrophic in results; thus, only relatively safe extraterrestrial organisms are allowed to be kept at the IEX facility in France.

Transportation to the main IEX complex is not a difficult task.  An air-film train station is located on the outskirts of St. Denis de la Campagne, providing regular service between the IEX and major French metropolitan areas.  Well maintained roads for ground cars heading to the IEX are also available for use, although parking at the IEX is limited ( most people use the airfilm train and take a regularly running shuttle to travel between the train station and the IEX complex).  Additionally, there is a sizable heliport/VTOL landing pad on the IEX grounds for air transport ( the IEX has four VTOL craft of its own that are used for official trips only).

Off-Earth Facilities in the Solar System

Shaped like a large, fat cylinder with docking ports at each end, the L-5 installation was designed in such a way as to be able to support organisms needing surface gravities different from that of Earth.  With an internal structure of concentric cylinders, the IEX L-5 station provides levels of different simulated gravities as it rotates on its axis, with the one-G level being roughly halfway between the axis and the station's outer surface.  Personnel working at the station commute via a "space taxi" system from the ESA station where they live.

The IEX lunar base is a fairly independent facility, with living quarters for the staff located in a building connected to the lab complex by a tube system capable of being sealed off and sterilized in the event of an accident in the labs.  Specimens kept at the lunar base are generally those that are gravity inspecific, or those whose natural environment is very low gravity.  Landing facilities adjacent to the base allow easy transport to and from the base.

Projects Outside of the Solar System

Aurore: IEX activity on Aurore, in the Eta Bootis system, has been given high priority by the French government due to the problems with the Kafers there.  With a research station located in the town of Equator Flats, IEX scientists are trying to learn as much about Kafer biology and psychology as possible while, at the same time, trying desperately to find some means of combating Kafer Rot, a fungal blight.  Introduced into the Auroran ecosystem by the Kafers, this fungal parasite affects both humans and Terran plants.  In humans, Kafer Rot is a generally fatal manifestation of the fungal blight.  Without the development of an agent to kill or arrest the fungal blight, the survival of the colonies on Aurore is threatened.

( For more information on Kafers, Kafer Rot, and Aurore, see the adventure module Kafer Dawn and the supplement Aurore Sourcebook, both published by GDW)

Beta Canum Venaticorum-4: On the major colony world of Beta Canum, scientists of the IEX are engaged in studies of the Pentapods and their bioengineering techniques.  With an installation in the city of Nauseville ( relatively close to the Pentapod enclave), the IEX has been examining both the Pentapods and their bioengineered constructs.  Anxious to learn the advanced methods the Pentapods employ in their bioengineering, the IEX has been pressing the Pentapods to share some of their techniques.  This has met with very little success, since the Pentapods are reluctant to reveal their "trade secrets".  Frustrated by the Pentapods' attitude, IEX researchers are examining Pentapod products carefully in the hopes that, by studying the genetic modifications made, some insight into the techniques used can be found.

Tirane: In the Alpha Centauri system, the major activity of the IEX has centered around the establishment and maintenance of Le Parc Zoologique Extraterrestre, the zoo devoted to extraterrestrial species.  On Tirane, in the colony of Provence Nouveau, the zoo has become a major tourist attraction, drawing visitors from all over Tirane as well as from Earth and also many of the colony worlds.  Although its exhibits are limited to those relatively safe animals that can survive in an environment fairly similar to that of Tirane, the zoo boasts an unparalleled variety of diverse species collected in one place.  For those who have never been to Earth, the zoo also has representatives of some of the more interesting terrestrial species ( among some of the colonists these exhibits have proven more popular than many of the extraterrestrial ones).

IEX staff associated with the zoo are involved not only in maintenance and care of the exhibits, but also in procuring new species for inclusion in the zoo.  IEX expeditions are sent out on a fairly regular basis to capture new animals for exhibit.  In the case of a few species which have become extinct in the wild since mankind moved into their territory, the IEX zoo is the only place where such creatures still survive and flourish.

Stark: Working out of the Canadian enclave on Stark ( DM +4 123-4), the IEX is currently engaged in extensive studies of the Sung, the indigenous sentient race.  Sapientologists are particularly interested in studying the interactions between the Sung and their ecosystem, hoping to learn more about the degree to which sentient beings manipulate, control, or disrupt their natural environment.  Much work is also being done to learn more about the Sung, their language and culture, and their relationship with the Xiang ( Much is still not clearly understood of the motivations concerning the Sung "enslavement" of the Xiang).

Frequent expeditions from Stark are made to the Xiang homeworld, where sapientologists have been having a challenging time studying the enigmatic Xiang.  A truly "alien" species, the Xiang have proven difficult to understand in terrestrial terms of behavior.  Much work needs to be done before IEX scientists will have a good understanding of Xiang culture and behavior.

Kormoran: IEX scientists on Kormoran ( 83 Eridani-4), the Eber homeworld, are engaged in two projects: study of the Ebers and evaluation of the Pentapod-designed "tree-houses" being used by some of the UAR colonists.  The Eber studies are the more extensive and long-ranging of the two projects, with much work still needing to be done in piecing together the Eber language, culture, and history ( especially the reasons behind the destruction of the other Eber colonies on Beta Hydri and Rho Eridani).

The "tree-houses" are a Pentapod product currently being used on a trial basis by some of the the UAR colonists on Kormoran.  The French government, intrigued by the tree-houses which provide housing and subsistence-level nourishment for people living within the natural cavities in the trees, is considering using them on some of the newer French colony worlds.  IEX scientists have been commissioned to do a detailed evaluation of these tree-houses to determine their safety, successfulness in accomplishing their intended purpose, and suitability for colonial use.

Beta Hydri: With the ruined Eber colony in the Beta Hydri system, IEX sapientologists/archeologists have been kept busy.  Although a fair amount has already been excavated, large areas of the ruins are still relatively unexplored and unexplained.  The AR-I also has several teams of scientists working at the Eber ruins and has "imported" a group of Ebers from Kormoran to serve as consultants and guides in the excavations.  Due to the ruins being about 4,000 years old, however, these Eber guides have not proven as useful as the AR-I had hoped.  Although the IEX and the AR-I had cooperated in the past on Eber studies, the current relationship between the two groups is one of friendly rivalry, with each group trying to learn more about the Ebers in a shorter period of time than the other.

King: A colony world in the American Arm, King has in its solar system a Jovian planet which has been discovered to support life in its atmosphere.  Invited by the Americans to participate in a joint venture to study these organisms, the IEX has only just begun to collect data on these unusual creatures, which have managed to evolve and survive in the atmosphere of a gas giant.  Observations of these fascinating lifeforms have been difficult to obtain, so information-gathering by IEX scientists has proceeded at a slow pace.

DM +17 2611-2: The Klaxun, a sentient alien race living on a world in the DM +17 2611 system, will probably find themselves the subjects of study by the IEX after the events detailed in the adventure module, Energy Curve.  As AR-I sapientologists will also undoubtedly be interested in studying the Klaxun, IEX scientists may end up competing with AR-I researchers in a race to learn the most about the Klaxun in the least amount of time ( both groups wanting to be the first to make vital discoveries about this new species).

ADVENTURING WITH THE IEX

CHRONOLOGY OF EVENTS RELATING TO THE IEX

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