Dig for victory...
A call for spiritual advice from... Sulka himself!
15 members have voted
Before we begin, be it known that the will of the Revered Spirits of the St'ropoli Dimension has been taken into consideration and the texture for beaches all over New Udanani has been changed to "HD Sandy Beach" - according to the results of the vote.
And now for the update...
As the years went by, The Activators steadily built up their industrial base. All these actions resulted in accelerated production of wide array of resources that, in turn, sped up the growth of their cities. Mining industry has always been the key element in this "virtuous cycle". This activity was keenly embraced by private companies based in Industrious Hills - the first city in which "rare earths" and coal deposits have been discovered. Nadir Mining Company, which laid claim to these deposits, constructed traditional, shaft-mining facilities atop Dal Xanth Hills to extract and ship these resources out.
However, much larger project has been completed by the Activator Mining Syndicate - a state-owned company which discovered vast deposits of limestone and useful concrete aggregates within Kuun Lan Plateau. This discovery and the intense need for construction materials, turned the entire area into the largest open-pit mine in New Udanani...
Kuun Lan Mines became a huge draw for Activator workers and the more resources they extracted the more money could be reinvested in the mines. Modern conveyor belts, crushers, vehicle maintenance facilities and a broad array of employee benefits soon followed. Employment in the mining business became an attractive and interesting way to make a living.
A large portion of the materials obtained in Kuun Lan ended up on the Activators' own soil with the city of Industrious Hills being the main beneficiary of the new opportunities. Thanks to cheap and abundant resources The Activators were able to build the first, large-area shopping center, a minor league sports stadium and some R$ neighborhoods in this city.
But even after the construction of all these facilities was complete, a large surplus of resources was still available and The Activator Tribal Council authorized a trade mission in order to try to sell some of the remaining goods. The Activators have thus gone to great lengths to dig out an artificial river harbor and build a cargo port through which their ore could be efficiently exported.
All of these projects would probably have an eccentric, industrial appeal were it not for the fact that the extensive mining and building activities triggered several environmental processes that have only recently been linked to the latest developments...
One of the problems identified is the way in which mining byproducts are disposed of. Uncovering valuable deposits in Kuun Lan, requires the removal of huge amounts of ground from the excavation sites. All of this ground is being piled up by the edge of Kuun Lan Plateau and then forgotten about...
Kuun Lan Plateau, however, is known for fairly strong winds sweeping across the landscape all year long. This causes the dumped ground to quickly dry up into dust and travel all over the place, covering large portions of nearby meadows with dark, powdery sand.
Wind has caused some of this dust to travel East as well, migrating into Industrious Hills area. Moreover, the ground dug out during the construction of artificial port basins have undergone a similar process and, likewise, started to be blown about the place.
Although it may sound insane to outsiders, The Activators have welcomed the phenomenon and the dust-covered expanses have been accepted... as a form of development... As long as a piece of land is covered with something, The Activators are happy.
But apart from travelling dust, experts have also noticed a slow but steady drop in the local water table levels - a phenomenon frequently associated with the mining areas all over the world. This, rendered the main water source in Kuun Lan unusable and forced some of the citizens to move to lower parts of Kuun Lan Plateau, where proper aquifers could be found. Not coincidentally, the process have also exacerbated the travelling dust issue as low moisture meant the ground became drier and loose.
Regardless of The Activator's eccentric affection with the new features of their landscape, the processes initiated in their cities did not have a localized effect. Although not toxic or directly harmful to health, some of the pollution and dust from their industrial sector entered Cualescet River, resulting in a visibly murkier waters around Designers Bridge.
As can be expected, rivers carry the pollution downstream. This is where another problem occurs as Cualescet passes through the Smileyface territories... Of course, this Southern tribe was not amused to see the waters along their coast getting a maroon tint...
- Lady and Gentlemen, someone upstream, most likely The Activator tribe is tainting waters off our coast. We need to discuss possible solutions and counters to this situation.
Said The President of The Smileyface Tribe to his cabinet of ministers. The officials understood the gravity of the situation - clean environment was one of the principles for the society's happiness. When the water pollution started to increase, the Minister of Social Satisfaction alarmed the rest of the government that satisfaction ratings in Tralfamadore (the city most affected by the problem) dropped as much as 18% in just two months - an unprecedented dip, never registered before.
- Mr. President, I believe that me and my colleague, Minister of Environment, have a good, short-term solution to this challenge - said Avalan Tekhriti, Minister of Economy and the only female member of the Government - after the recent survey that we jointly ran, we have determined that Tralfamadore's hi-tech companies are able to design technologies to filter the already polluted water. At a cost of course, but it's still worth it.
- Yes, it's true - "CleanAir Co." and the new "Environes" companies are working on water filtration engines as we speak. Meanwhile, my Ministry monitors the quality of all our aquifers to make sure that the drinking water is clear and safe for consumption.
- Thank you dear Colleagues - said The President - I welcome your initiative and your hands-on approach puts smile on my face. However, we also need to find, or shall I say, confirm the culprit behind this sudden deterioration of our local environment.
- Mr. President, if I may, this requires proper reconnaissance - replied General Baasan Ranktutru, the Smileyface Minister of Defence. - I suggest sending out a couple of SSSDs (Stealth Surface Skimmer Drones) to gather samples and intelligence upstream... This way we'll learn who or what is the source of pollution clogging our waterways.
- Whatever we do, let's do it fast... - said the Minister of Social Satisfaction - Happiness and peace of mind is our ultimate goal and we need to protect it. Either the polluters understand that, or they will pay the price.
- Speaking of which - added General Ranktutru - we also need to prepare ourselves for the further deterioration of the situation and... probably a direct military action. Just in case.
- What do you mean General? Are you suggesting an open war with whoever has done this?
- Well, you know me well and I think you know that I am not a particularly hawkish type of politician... But this is just a possibility. Our customs and laws are clear - either they smile with us, or they don't smile at all. What I'm saying is if this problem persists or spins out of control, we need to shut down or target the cause of this threat ASAP.
- As controversial as this idea is, I consider it entirely logical - The President opined - General, you are authorized to make all preparations necessary but you are not allowed to take any action on your own. We shall wait for the results of the reconnaissance and the effectiveness of filtration methods offered by the Tralfamadore's companies chosen for the task. Let's act Colleagues! For the happiness and smile!
The unexpected problem only further antagonized The Smileyfaces against The Activators. The former tribe had already been disapproving of the latter's tightly-packed, suffocating cities. However, the ongoing construction of R-2 highway resulted in many Smileyfaces eagerly waiting to meet The Businesspeople which, if you remember from this episode, have received a high happiness rating from The Smileyfaces as the most desirable allies.
By the end of this episode, The Revered Spirits of the St'ropoli Dimension are kindly requested to once again help determine another custom texture for New Udanani. This time, the overall terrain texture (grass?) is put under your vote. The possible choices are displayed below (sorry, no Italia Mod - it's just too obvious... 
)
The previously selected "HD Sandy Beach" texture will, of course, be retained for the beaches.
Comment replies:
@Ke|is - I'm happy you liked The Mirror and the last episode! 
It's always nice to have you around.
@tomz16 - It's very nice to hear - thank you. In fact, your CJ inspires me as well!
@TogaMasterJohn - The Slackers are just lucky - that's all there is to it! 
Unfortunately I forgot where is the template for port information directory, so I won't post any details just yet. 
-
12
1 Comment
Recommended Comments
Sign In or register to comment...
To comment in reply, you must be a community member
Sign In
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In NowCreate an Account
Sign up to join our friendly community. It's easy!
Register a New Account