Sanctum (moon)

**Sanctum** (known as **Planet Alpha** to the Eligius III team) is a moon sharing atmospheric similarities to Earth. It is located in the Goldilocks zone of a binary star system, meaning it is in the habitable zone and has two suns. It is the closest world to Earth and probably the most like it. It was colonized by a team from Earth, and made up of four families, the Primes and another individual. Using Mind Drives, they continued their rule here for over two centuries. Like the other mission planets, it is within close proximity to a black hole.

## Overview

The atmosphere is similar to Earth's, containing 77% nitrogen, 22% oxygen, 0.5% of argon, 0.2% of carbon dioxide, and small amounts of a new, unidentified element. Due to having two suns, it was believed that the moon's surface has higher radiation levels than pre-apocalypse Earth. To counteract that, the Eligius Corporation used the Nightblood serum on the members of *Eligius III* going to the moon. However, Nightblood was later discovered to be unnecessary for the survivors of the Battle for Eden, since the radiation levels are revealed to be good.

## History

In 2045, *Eligius III* arrived to this moon. The Eligius Corporation was looking for a source to tap for oil, since Earth's oil reserves had run dry. The crew had undergone the blood alterations from Becca Franco's Nightblood serum, in case the radiation levels were too high. According to *Eligius IV's* records, if they ever reported back, it was after Apocalypse One, when no one could have received the call. The true results of their arrival remain unknown. Its later suggested by Gabriel Santiago that the choice of Sanctum as a destination was not a coincidence with the Temporal Anomaly on both it and Skyring, also known as Planet Beta.

Centuries later, Monty Green, after 30 years of research, cracked the code-locking on the *Eligius III* files while on *Eligius IV*, and set the mothership's coordinates to travel to the new planet (not yet identified as a moon). The ship's journey lasted 75 years. Upon arrival, Monty and Harper McIntyre’s son Jordan Green woke from cryosleep as his father intended. He went on to follow his father's instructions and woke Clarke Griffin and Bellamy Blake. He shows them his father's video files, explaining their life on the mothership, the destroyed status of Earth, and the new world they could call home.

## Celestial Events

### Red Sun Eclipse

The moon undergoes a celestial event in which the two suns eclipse, triggering the release of a psychosis-inducing toxin from the plants. During the eclipse, sonic anomalies are sometimes caused by molecular vibrations in the air and trees. When exposed to the toxin, all fauna are affected and goaded into violence. Those killed after the eclipse is over are consumed by the plants and trees. This celestial event and the toxin itself are known as the **Red Sun**. According to Gabriel Santiago, Josephine Lightbourne theorized that these events are why higher lifeforms never evolved on the moon.

The eclipse is shown to have different effects on each person, targeting a strong personality trait or belief in each and every one. In Murphy, Emori, and Russell, the eclipse targeted their survival instinct in making them want to preserve their own lives by killing everyone around them. In Clarke and Echo, it targets their grief: Causing Echo to hear voices from her past as a spy to the point of sedating herself to make them stop and causing Clarke to hallucinate hearing Abby 's voice on a radio trying to convince her to commit suicide. For Bellamy, it targets his inner paranoia: while under the toxin's effect he attacks Murphy and Clarke with the intent to kill, remarked at the times Clarke tried to kill him and repeatedly stating he's protecting everyone by eliminating all the deceivers ("Only I can keep us safe." and "I'm saving us from both of you!") With Miller and Jackson the toxins manipulate their love for each other by causing the two to hallucinate the insects burrowing inside of Miller and leading Jackson to nearly accidentally killing Miller in an attempt to get them out. Finally, when Russell uses the toxin on the people of sanctum it turns them violent against each other, separating each other by believers and non-believers.

Gabriel uses red sun toxin to help Octavia remember her time in the anomaly. According to Gabriel, he and Russell Lightbourne once used the toxin in a similar manner to determine if any of the host's mind survived after the implantation of a Mind Drive. The answer was no, but in doing so, they unlocked parts of their own minds, things they'd hidden from themselves, answers about what their greater purpose was. In "Ashes to Ashes," Gabriel explains to Clarke and Bellamy that the toxin is everywhere: in every leaf on every tree, in the soil and the rocks. Over time, the Primes had found other ways to harness its power. Simone weaponized it as part of her Adjustment Protocol while Gabriel focused on developing an anti-toxin.

### Temporal Flare

Main article: Temporal Flare
A temporal flare seems to be a green light source in the sky that shoots out other green flares that burn, destroy, or "petrify" anything they touch.

Gabriel (posing as Xavier) notices a Temporal Flare nearby. He tosses Diyoza a rope and tells her and Octavia to get out and run. Diyoza gets out, but she realizes that Octavia has no time. She tells her she will return. Octavia submerges herself in the quicksand-like substance and survives the Temporal Flare with only damage to a hand that was left exposed. Diyoza manages to dig Octavia out and they run after Gabriel/Xavier.

### Temporal Anomaly

Main article: Temporal Anomaly
The Temporal Anomaly, often shorten to the Anomaly, is a wormhole to other worlds and the source of the temporal flares. It was originally thought that Gabriel Santiago went through this Anomaly. The Anomaly has also sent messages to Diyoza, Octavia, and Gabriel Santiago himself.

It is revealed that the radio signals get absorbed by the Anomaly and retranslates in The Verge, where it's possible to pick them up here in endless, repeating waves. It is also revealed that the Anomaly does the same as the Red Sun and that the Anomaly has similar effects on plants, only it's "constant and weirder". The Anomaly gets into people's minds, causing them to hear things and hallucinate, sometimes their darkest fear, their deepest desire, and both at once.

It is revealed that the Anomaly is controlled by a mysterious, ancient artifact of an alien origin, known as the Anomaly Stone. The Anomaly is closed by Bellamy's kidnappers from Bardo, presumably in an effort to prevent pursuit. The Anomaly is revealed to lead to Skyring which was Planet Beta and then from there to Bardo.

## Alien Lifeforms

Native lifeforms are largely floral in nature. Nearly all existing faunal creatures were classified by Josephine Lightbourne in four evolutionary branches: Insect, rodent, reptile, and the less easy to identify, coined "Guaiwu" ("freaks" in Mandarin).

### Bugs

Jackson can be seen with a native bug contained in a jar. Soon after, a swarm of the bugs attacks and chases the exploration team through the radiation shield, into a settlement.

The bugs appear to be omnivores, shown to eat both meat and plants, as observed by Jackson. The bugs travel in swarms when hunting. They also appear to be strong, the bug Jackson had trapped repeatedly slamming into the glass without injury. The bugs avoid fire.

The bugs have hook-like legs and round eyes, like that of a fly. They have a small tail and hidden antennae.

There are also other types of insects and bugs, too, as they were seen in drawings and books, including the *Lan Hudie rhopalocera*. Josephine Lightbourne had studied many of those different types of insects and bugs. Josephine, posing as Clarke Griffin, suggested the use of a bug on Marcus Kane that could act as an alternative to dialysis. Abigail Griffin believed it would work, but as Eric Jackson pointed out, they simply lacked the time they needed to do the whole procedure in.

The Children of Gabriel used the paralytic darts that was derived from a beetle that Josephine discovered. It can be cured with an antidote.

Gabriel Santiago was seen eating a dead species of bug in the caves.

### Snake (Kepa-She)

A hideous snake appears called "Kepa-She" in Chinese. It can degrade the poison from a body, caused by being exposed to the seaweed during the eclipse. The Kepa-She can be used for medical purposes.

### Seaweed

During Red suns, seaweed can move around ponds or lakes and crawl into someone like a tapeworm. It releases a toxin within the victim, practically killing them. The person can be revived by the Kepa-She snake like John Murphy was.

During the red sun, seaweed crawled into Murphy when Bellamy almost drowned him in the pond in the village. Cillian lets the Kepa-She bite Murphy, reviving him.

### Trees and other plants

During the red sun, trees and other types of growth become dangerous as they can release a toxin making people and bugs psychotic. If a victim dies near plants, the plants will "consume" the dead, even if there is no red sun. They can also eat fauna and bugs.
The Offering Grove is a place where people give human sacrifices to trees.

Abigail Griffin suggested using a type of Sanctum leaf as a surgical mesh on Marcus Kane believing that it, along with a type of Sanctum bug suggested by Josephine Lightbourne as an alternative to dialysis, could allow her to successfully operate on Kane's wounds from Michael Vinson. However, Eric Jackson stated that it wouldn't work as the procedure would take at least 15 hours while Kane had ten minutes at most once removed from his cryopod.

### Tree Sap

After a Temporal Flare, the sap in the remains of fossilized trees becomes "mutated". When applied to the skin, it causes a time dilation effect – wounds heal faster, but it causes accelerated aging (caused by exposure to a Temporal Flare) is slowed down. Gabriel Santiago called the bottled sap, "Time in a Bottle".

## Residents

### Primes and Mission Team Alpha

* Gabriel Santiago
* Russell Lightbourne †
* Simone Lightbourne †
* Josephine Lightbourne †
* Priya Desai †
* Ryker Desai †
* Daniel Lee †
* Faye Lee †
* Victor Lee †
* Kaylee Lee †
* Miranda Mason †
* Jasmine Mason †
* Caleb Mason †

### Sanctumites

* Blythe Ann Workman
* Jae Workman
* Delilah Workman †
* Rose †
* Jade †
* Cassius
* Sierra †
* Trey
* Zev †
* Jeremiah
* Alyssa †
* Rex
* Lee
* Paula
* Gavin †
* Josiah
* Bryson †
* Brooke †
* Alejo †
* Tyman Averi †
* Annabel Averi
* Savannah †
* Isaac †
* Miranda's lover †
* Tai †
* Arabel †
* Tory †
* Klara †
* Tobin †
* Cora †
* Zahir †

### Children of Gabriel

* Gabriel Santiago
* Luca
* Nelson †
* Layla †
* Tosh †
* Cillian †
* Xavier †
* Geo †
* Eduardo †
* Jericho †

### Wonkru

* Clarke Griffin
* Raven Reyes
* John Murphy
* Emori
* Eric Jackson
* Abigail Griffin †
* Madi Griffin
* Indra
* James Crockett †
* Miles Shaw †
* Knight
* Penn
* Lindo
* Otis

### Eligius Prisoners

* Nikki
* Hatch †

### Disciples

* Bill Cadogan
* Bellamy Blake
* Doucette

### Others

* *Sheidheda*
* Picasso

## Locations

### Sanctum (City-State)

Main article: Sanctum (city-state)
A city-state, also called Sanctum, is a ministate that is located within the radiation shield. It was built to be a sanctuary for human race. The radiation shield protects Sanctum Citizens from intruders and dangerous lifeforms.

### Ryker's Keep

Ryker's Keep is inside the cave system under the city-state of Sanctum. It is used to hide during the Red Sun Eclipse, so no one would be exposed to the toxins.

### Offering Grove

The place in the woods near the settlement which serves as a cemetery for the dead Sanctum citizens. According to traditions, the bodies are offered to the trees, so their souls could be in a better place.

### Research Outposts

At least fourteen outposts were built by the colonists or their descendants for research.

They also built numerous observation blinds to study the native species of the moon in their natural habitat.

### The Verge

**The Verge** is a location near the the Anomaly. It was once one of Sanctum's research outposts. It is currently used by Gabriel Santiago as a home and study.

Due to the Verge's proximity to the Anomaly (which sucks up all radio signals on the moon), radio signals can be picked up there in endless, repeating waves.

### C.O.G. Territory

The *Children of Gabriel Territory* is home to a militant faction of rebels, known as the Children of Gabriel. They live in caves and other locations.

## Notes and Trivia

* Before finding out that Alpha is a moon, it is erroneously referred to as "Planet Alpha".
* This particular place in "Goldilocks Zone" refers to the world being far enough away from its sun to contain liquid, but still close enough to sustain life.
* Monty states that *Eligius III* came to this world to tap for oil as the Earth's supply was exhausted. This was completely omitted subsequently with the recap at the beginning of "Sanctum" simply stating that *Eligius III* went looking for another planet. Instead, the mission to Alpha and the other four worlds is described solely as a colony mission.
* Sanctum is the Latin root of "Sanctuary".
* According to Bellamy, Alpha is the closest of the five *Eligius III* worlds to Earth and probably the most like it which is why Monty chose Alpha out of the five.
* Alpha is located twenty years journey away from Planet Beta on *Eligius IV's* damaged engines making Beta far closer to Alpha than Earth is.
* Alpha is within close proximity to a black hole. Due to being closer than Beta, time runs slower on Alpha compared to Beta.