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Episode 36 - Blue Eyed Bugle Boy

@TheMurderousCricket, @TogaMasterJohn, @carlosmarcelo, @mitsos, @Chappington, @raynev1, @TG24, @Golan0, @whiteshark365, @CaptCity, @MissVanleider, @ByeByeBayou, @Dead_End and @Kuba138, thank you for your likes, comments and follows Time to begin the construction of a new solarpunk city, this time named Olivia-4. Olivia-4 was supposed to be another linear chain city, just like the previous ones, with only 2 road connections. However if you see closely at the east part of the city, you'll find a third road connection too. Olivia-4 is going to be connected with 3 cities, with Hazelfield already being one of them. This city is going to have many futuristic surprises. See the wavy street? Notice that the main road is expanding into an empty area? In the next entry you'll see why. We have the roads, we have the magnetic railroad, so now it's time to prepare the ground for our city. For once again, no excessive terraforming. Just let the landscape as it is. This is also a good time to build our public transportation systems, with bus stops in every corner and underground pods stations in the main roads, which will be expanded later. And now we can plant our trees... ...and begin the construction and the landscaping of the area. Right now the town has some parks, some neighborhood mini farms, a vertical farm, a market next to it... ...a police station, a fire station, a clinic which expands underway as well, a primary school, a secondary school, a library, a museum, some playgrounds... ...a college and a lake. But this is just the beginning. How the town will like is something we'll see in the next entry. And let's not forget the landscaping, making the area as beautiful as possible. The construction has begun. Sims are coming to the town to build their houses and infrastructures, but we have to wait to see how Olivia-4 will actually look like. The only thing I can say for now is that after taking those pictures I made some progress and many things has already been changed. This teaser is a little small because, as I said before, Olivia-4 is going to have some really cool futuristic surprises. Can't tell what, can't show you now, just be patient. Right now I'm reading and making some homework for my postgraduate studies, but hopefully the next entry will be ready soon. See you there

@Michi, @AtkinsSJ_, @Dead_End, @Dominic1 , @Sinister, @ThizGamer24, @TogaMasterJohn, @TheMurderousCricket, @luklitzke, @mitsos, @ByeByeBayou, @chick3n, @carlosmarcelo, @Chappington, @MissVanleider, @CaptCity and @Golan0, thank you very much for your comments, likes and follows I'm participating in a program of postgraduate studies about environmental technologies and politics, which means more time for studying but also better cities, because I can use and apply some of those new knowledge to my incoming towns. I already have some neat plans for my future cities, so watch this space Now, hopefully you wear pajamas and have some hot chocolate, because we're going to visit Hazelfield at night. This time I don't have a lot to say, so just enjoy the pictures. All AI-controlled transportation systems are in 24/7 service. No matter when and where, you can always take the train or the subway pods to go wherever you want. And yes, some of the benches have neon. We're in the future, we want unnecessary but cool Tron-styled futuristic stuff There is still some activity in the night. Many people prefer to sleep, but others are what we called them "night owls", who prefer to sleep at day and get active and productive at night. We need both day and night people, so mocking night owls is bull crap. James Rolfe, the creator of Angry Video Game Nerd, has something to say about it in his You Know What's BS series. Warning, lot's of bad words What? No lots of light? Well, yes. The more trees you have to hide them, the less lights you see. After all, don't you hate it when you try to sleep and some external lights are disrupting you? Humans need sleep, but robots, drones and AIs doesn't. If you need something you can still get it even late at night. Make your order and a drone will bring to you whatever you need. Just respect the owners and don't wake them up. Unless they don't sleep too. Insomnia? Don't worry. Take your time to enjoy the night view of the forest from your apartment, or visit the forest and go stargazing. Be careful though, you don't want to disrupt a bear or fall and break a leg. As we said before, robot's doesn't sleep, so they can keep the factories and laboratories ruining even in night. The machines do all the job, so humans can enjoy the night however they wish, like having conversations and swimming in pools. Daytime can be very busy. This is why some people prefer to pray at the church late in midnight. Cyan Tron-like lighting. Welcome to the future Wanna play chess and feed the ducks in 3:00 am? Go ahead. Meetings in 2:00 am? Why not? This is why we invented artificial lighting, to expand our circle of activities and do whatever we want whenever we want. Fountains of clean water in night. A beautiful sight to see and a wonderful sound to hear. Now that Hazelfield it done, we can keep expanding our futuristic solarpunk civilization... ...by building a new town, which is coming with a neat surprice. See you there

@Michi, @Spaceblaze, @Dead_End, @JulioC, @Dgmc2013, @mattb325, @mitsos, @MissVanleider, @tomz16, @Chappington, @Kloudkicker and @TogaMasterJohn, thank you very much for your likes, your follows and your comments. I hope I didn't miss anybody. That has been a heck of the time, being busy with so many stuff in my real life and meanwhile putting my mayor skills to the ultimate test and challenge myself to build the best and most detailed city I could have ever build, but I think I made it and I think I deserve to feel a little proud for my work So after so many months on hiatus, it's finally time to explore Hazelfield. 80 pictures come ahead! Named after my favorite nuts, the design and building selection of Hazelfield are based on two actually proposed urban plans. My first inspiration was the Circular Cities of the Venus Project, designed by the American scientist Jacque Fresco. The circular scheme offers maximum efficiency, bringing each radial sector closer to the center of Hazelfield. Also, citizens traveling within the town could easily return to the same place from where they started, without having to take the same route back like in most linear cities and waste time. My second inspiration was an old Japanese urban design known as M.O.T.H.E.R. project. Designed by Sumitomo Mitsui Construction in 1991, a 1.321 meters tall tower with 220 floors would house all the necessary services, such as offices, civil services, communication centers, hotels, and even an observatory. All the mentioned facilities would be accessible to the one million citizens that would surround the tower, all living in neat houses with plenty of green spaces. The citizens of this city would be connected with the Mother Tower by computers and communication systems, and could even work from the safety of their houses. Teleworking before it becomes cool . Because its conception predates the modern Internet, you can't find a lot of information about this project. I learned about this by an old book. Never underestimate the power of the books. So, we have two concepts, a circular design and a big central tower. Mix them together and you'll get Hazelfield OK, it's not exactly circular. It's octagon. And yes, I know that I could do better with the NAM FAR roads, but let's make some baby steps for now. The city is divided by the regional magnetic railroad into two main sectors. The west sector is mostly residential, while the east sector has a larger variety of building types, such as shops and most of the city's industries. You can also see that in the city corners there are the most important utility services that provides power, water and food, and take care of the trash. Before we explore the town, let's have a quick look at these utility facilities. We have already solar and wind energy, so this time let's go geothermal. Readily available in various geographical regions throughout the world (like Iceland and Greece), both on land and under the sea, geothermal energy uses the hidden warm of our planet to produce energy, and this power source alone could provide enough clean energy for the next thousand years. Fairview has a small pocket of geothermal energy source, making it the perfect opportunity to build our very first geothermal plant. This small pond has gathered some raining water, making it a hot spot for ducks, swans, deer, flamingos and other wild animals. The water tower next to it pumps water from both underground sources and the small pond, purify it, and then send it to the city's thirsty citizens. Citizens needs food too, and those hydroponic and aeroponic vertical farms are used to grow a wide variety of organic plants, without the use of pesticides and too much land. And here is where the trash ends up, in a state-of-the-art recycling center and a very clean waste-to-energy incinerator. This incinerator is so clean that it doesn't bother the citizens living close of it. Believe it or not, an incinerator can actually be that clean, and there is already one in Denmark. Amager Bakke is billed as one of the cleanest waste-to-energy plants in the world, thanks to technologies that filters its emissions. This facility burns trash to boil water and produce steam, to produce electricity and provide heating to 72.000 houses. It uses a series of advanced filters to keep it clean, and it even has its own ski slope. Hazelfield's incinerator doesn't have a ski slop, but its even more advanced filters and incinerating methods make it even more clean than Amager Bakke. But is clean incineration an actual clean solution? Many environmentalists say no, claiming that it's better to reuse and recycle than to burn stuff that you could use them for something else. It's still better than dumping trash in landfills, but better and cleaner solutions are always under research and always welcomed. Just because solution A is better than solution B, doesn't mean that solution A is the best ever and we must stick to it forever. And now, after so many months, it's finally time to explore Hazelfield. This is the central sector of the city, and you can't get more central than a central tower and a central plaza with a central transportation hub. Oh, did I say "central"? I don't remember. Central, central, central... Every city in Fairview has its own identity, its own personality, something that makes it unique. And what makes Hazelfield unique is being the first city with a central hub that has everything you need. Instead of having police stations, fire stations, schools and hospitals in individual buildings scattered across the city, the central tower houses the healthcare, educational and public rescue facilities, all under the same roof, easily accessible for everybody. The central tower also houses the computerized communications, the networking systems, and even the central AI of the city. That's right, instead of mayor and advisors, Hazelfield in under the supervision... of an Artificial Intelligence! Don't worry, though. This AI is not going to control your life and tell you what to do. Unlike SHODAN from System Shock, Skynet from Terminator, and Grigor II from Empire Earth, an AI doesn't have to kill you or conquer you. The central AI of Hazelfield monitors everything in the city, from the power plant and the vertical farms to the trains and the educational computers, and when the AI finds a problem it will immediately try to solve it. Why an AI supervisor instead of a human one? Because even if you put in the office unquestionably kind and reasonable mayors and advisors, it's only a matter of time before something bad happens. The biological human brain is the most complex object we know, capable of creativity, imagination and other incredible things, but it still has some serious limitations. It's not perfect and it's just can't do everything. On the other hand, an electronic brain, a computer, can deal with even the most complex systems much easier, faster and more reliable than a group of human brains. But since the central AI has to deal with humans and not with machines, every one of its decisions goes under the knowledge of the citizens and a group of carefully selected scientists from differed fields. So while the "mayor" here is the AI, the "advisors" are the citizens themselves and the civic scientists. An alliance of humans and computers. In other words, there is no central authority here. Nobody controls the city, and at the same time everybody controls it. Kind of like mixing direct democracy with technocracy and anarchism. And this is the central plaza with the central transportation hub. From here you can take the bus, a bicycle, the subway pods, or the regional magnetic train. Green cities and central AIs. Welcome to the future! Flying cars and nuclear fusion are coming soon The west sector of Hazelfield is the mostly-residential district of the town. This area is full of houses, trees, parks, recreation spots, and paths to encourage walking. It even has some of the very first high-rise residential buildings in Fairview, which they look a bit like chocolate bars. Mmm, I love chocolate. With hazelnuts Another pond Lots of parks and quiet corners to spend your time. And look, lots of trail paths for walking or cycling. And yes, some in-game Sims actually use them. I always plant redwoods and other natural skyscrapers. The "problem" is that I've had spend so much time in this city that they grown up to their final height. Now they might look a little silly, but the view from the top of those trees will be fantastic And as you have noticed in some of the pictures above, not all houses have to be directly connected to the roads. Some of them are along the trail paths or inside of plazas and parks, forming mini neighborhoods and communities. Let's go now to the east sector. Here we'll find shops, offices, factories, the central tower, and some extra homes and small apartment buildings. And of course lots of parks and gardens. This is the Hazelfield's spiritual temple, which functions as a spiritual sanctuary and a dialogue forum. Citizens doesn't have only physical needs to cover, you know. They also need some form of socialization and communication with each other, always in a polite and civil tone of course. A neat example of how factories can coexist with parks and trees. Is this a flying truck parked in that factory's launch pad? Yes, it is! I told you that we'll get flying cars very soon Even a futuristic solarpunk society can welcome something rustic and old school, something that adds a nice touch of history. Like this bus stop, designed by the architectural AI R7. Both east and west sectors are divided by the regional magnetic railroad, under of which there is the main bike road. Not all parks and recreation spots have to be inside the city. Some of them are outside of it, in the borderline between nature and civilization. So go ahead, sit on those benches, eat something tasty on those tables. Feel free to use the observation towers to watch the deer and the birds, or use the cabins for whatever you want. Be closer to the nature. Feed the animals if you want, even though it's not recommended. Animals must be free and independent, being able to take care of themselves. Feeding them once in a while it's not that bad an idea. You may even end up with a cute little friend. Just don't overdo it. And please, don't feed them with junk food. I took some important lessons from my first attempt to make a realistic natural landscape while making Everret Green, and I think the result now is better than ever. A better variety of plants and other landscape features, and more flowers and animals than ever. So leave the city behind you, explore the nature, watch the animals from safe distant, listen to the songs of the birds, and be careful with the bears. The tour is over, as well as my job on this city. I hope you enjoyed it... and I hope the next city will not take me that long . The next entry will have night shoots of Hazelfield. See you there

Alphaville: Une Etrange Aventure de Lemmy Caution Credits: WolfZe, Simmer2, Barroco Hispano, SOMY, uki, Oppie, AP, 20huskies, Standa_SimPrague, Sloppyjoemess, WannGLondon, kellydale2003, Pegasus, RebaLynnTS, xiziz, Jean Luc Godard, Eddie Constantine, Anna Karina and many, many more. Residents: 3,760,823 Commercial: 299,836 Industry: 498,599 Texture: Sudden Valley Size: 42 Medium tiles un-staggered Chapter 1(a): Breaking Ground/Ground Breaking

@korver, @mitsos, @rivit, @Kloudkicker, @Nero55, @TogaMasterJohn, @ByeByeBayou, @mrsmartman, @Schulmanator, @ulisse and @mattb325, thank you very much for your likes, comments and follows, as well as your wishes for my birthday. If you have found any idea, discovery, technology, invention and solution, please let me know and I'll include it to Fairview A new town is under development, but for now let's have a last look at Everret Green, this time at night. I remember myself as a student of Technological Educational Institute of Ionian Islands in Zakynthos. One night I waked up in the midnight for some reason and I decided to just hit the road and start walking in the streets of Zakynthos City. It was so quiet, so peaceful, so beautiful. I had a feeling so unique that I always try to capture it in my night pictures. I hope you share the same feeling with me right now. And speaking about feelings and decisions... Today, more and more people agree that the modern inhuman way of living, being always on-foot to work for the rest of your life in an endless sleep-work-repeat circle, it's detrimental for our physical and spiritual health. But by having a different way of thinking and acting, we could be the masters of our life and live however we wish. In a society where money -or any kind of trade- doesn't govern us anymore, where there would be no trace of modern society's narrow-minded rules and perceptions, people will not feel the need to be so obsessed with tracking the time and chasing the clock, and they'll just live, discover, enjoy, relax, think, create, explore and communicate. The entire day and the entire night will be theirs to live. This is why Everret Green and the rest of Fairview is so quiet and so busy at the same time, having its own lifestyle. While some of the machines and robots are still working, many people prefer stargazing, having some peaceful walks in the streets of the town, playing games with their friends, or just sleeping. Here are some examples of night freedom. A basketball match at 1:00 am. With no criminals here and without any reason to wake up early, you can spend your entire nights outdoor. Heck, you can even sleep on one of the benches and nobody will disturb you. A tennis match at 2:00 am. Don't worry, all buildings are sound insulated, so nobody's sleep is going to be disrupted. Look at the cultural museum of the town (the domed buildings next to the police station) and you'll see some kids playing with the fire hydrant at 3:00 am. All cars here are equipped with computers and sensors, so if they see a kid they'll immediately stop. You don't need to wait for the daylight to go wherever you want. Just pick the magnetic train or the underground pods anytime you want to. Or, go out and explore the forest of Everret Green, admire the beautiful owls, watch from safe distant animals like bears and deer, let the moonlight illuminate your way, feel one with the nature. Always with caution. Oh, by the way, Everret Green and the rest of Fairview region celebrated the New Year's Eve last week. Not with firework displays, though. While they're spectacular, fireworks have a tremendous impact to the environment. They pollute the atmosphere, they produce a lot of noise, and they can even kill dozens of birds and other animals. And of course since they are for just a single use, we don't need to mention how wasteful they are. This is why Fairview celebrated New Year's Eve with drone displays, like this one happened in Solvag in 2019. Everret Green deployed hundreds of drones up the sky, all controlled by the central Artificial Intelligence of the town, providing a beautiful display of different colors and shapes. Those drones are propelled by ion engines to minimize noise pollution, are equipped with sensors to detect and avoid any flying animal like bats and owls, and their lights are bright enough to perform a spectacular show without contributing to light pollution. And unlike fireworks, drones can be used again and again. Why noise and violent explosions, when you can have futuristic and humble dancing lights? Some of you might ask if this entry is supposed to be a festive one. Well, yes, but in my way. Today is Theophany in Greece, a Christian feast day that celebrates the revelation of God incarnate as Jesus Christ, and thus the final day of our festive period. So party time is over, but not without a final wish to all of you. I'm not here to wish you have a happy new year. I'm here to encourage you to build the happy year you all deserve to have. 2020 sucked, so let's give our best selves to make 2021 suck less. There's still a pandemic out there, so stay safe, trust science, put a mask, wash your hands, do the vaccine (don't worry, it will not turn you into zombies), and protect your family and friends. Be the hero you always needed

@mitsos, @ulisse, @mattb325, @ByeByeBayou, @mrsmartman, @Schulmanator, @Manuel-ito, @Raymond7cn and @TogaMasterJohn, thank you very much for your likes, comments and follows I was born in 14/12/1984 and I've been a Simtropolis member since 13/12/2008. Yes, I tried to coincide them when I was singing up, but I missed it for a day . Anyway, being 36 years old and a Simtropolis member for 12 years (which membership covers the one third of my life! ) is still a big day for me, so let me celebrate it by giving you a gift. A very special entry of my city journal. What makes it special is the amount of time and details I put on our new town, including a more realistic (I hope ) and with more variant landscape. The two previous entries had only two kind of flora, the Maxis deciduous trees and the @Pegasus pines. Those trees are back, but this time we'll also have bushes, flowers, other small flora, rocks, logs, and even dead trees. From now I'll try to make my landscapes more detailed and realistic and I think I'll need your help to do that. Consider it a team project Now, let's go back to Fairview and meet our new town, Everret Green. Named after the German word eber which means "wild boar", Everret Green is right next to Daphnerose, and its layout, which is a mix of organic and grid style, makes it look more like something between a triangle and a heart. Don't forget that the shapes and the layouts of our towns are shaped by the topography of the local landscape, in order to reduce their environmental footprint and even make good use of the local environment. Why removing a river, when you can let it work for you? Why fighting something, when you can use it for your benefit? And this is the transportation map of Fairview, with Dawnville, Daphnerose and Everret Green for now. I use the Transportation Map Modd For Color Blind by @BannanaPeppers, because I like the bright colors and the addition of the streets on the map. For now the only transportation systems we have are the main road (yellow), streets (white) and the magnetic railroad (blue). And of course the flexible underground pods system (more for it soon), which is obviously absent from the map. No avenues, no highways. As you can see, I've expanded the magnetic railroad to the rest of the part of the region which is going to be colonized (purple), because building the railroad at the same time with the towns increases the probability of making a huge construction error, leading to a big mess. This is why it's so important to think forward and plan ahead, as I said before on our previous entry. And, this is it. Welcome to Fairview once again. Welcome to Everret Green. A small town of the future, with advanced computers, Artificial Intelligence (AI), holograms, vertical farms, flexible public transportation systems, 3D printers, solar-powers smart homes, and a lot of trees everywhere. Who said that the cities of tomorrow should be like Night City from Cyberpunk 2077? Let's get closer. That's a lot of trees, don't you thing? So many tall trees that you need to see the town from every angle, or else you'll miss so many small buildings overshadowed by pines and redwoods. But look more carefully. This time you can also see a lot of flowers and other details outside of Everret Green. Just like in Dawnville and Daphnerose, not the entire area has been colonized and developed. A very large part of it is part of a hill and a large body of water, so the only way to colonize it is by excessive terraforming and natural destruction, which is out of question. There is no reason to do that. We don't want to choke nature. We want to coexist with it. We want islands of civilization in a vast ocean of wilderness, instead of the opposite one. We want cities to think, nature to breath, and animals and humans to be free. Besides, don't you love it when you can get out of your house and explore the forest, smell the flowers, breath some fresh air, feel the grass on your feet, watch the bears from safe distance, listen to the birds, sit on a rock to think, and just relax under the shadow of a tree? Of course spending time with friends in cyberspace and having fun with holographic games and virtual shows are always welcomed, and Fairview has something for everyone. But nothing beats the joy of feeling one with the nature. Let's go now even closer and have a better look at Everret Green's districts. This is the main, central area. This is where all the civic services, the spiritual temple, the central computer, the skyfarms, the domed parks, and most of the commercial and industrial buildings are located. This is one of the two mostly residential areas, with the water tower, the mayor's house and some shops and offices. And here is the other residential area, with some shops, factories and trail paths. Ready for a little tour to Everret Green? Alright, let's go. First, let's explore the central district of the town, at which we'll find so many things to see, so we'll need to stay here for a while. When entering the town from Daphnerose, the very first thing you'll see is the very first commercial tower in the region, located at the central commercial zone of Everret Green. This zone provides most of the goods and services that the citizens need, and you can get them on foot, with bicycle or any other futuristic personal transportation system, by bus, by your electric and autonomous car, or by the underground transportation network. You can hit the road or the street, or the trail path you can see behind of the tower, that connects homes with shops and provides a neat way to walk and go exercise. You can also see some small parks at some of the sides of it. Alternative, if you're sick or out and about, just check their cyber-shops and make the order. Soon, a drone with small ion engines (more info for it soon) will pay a visit at your house or wherever you are right now with whatever you have ordered. The workers at the tower must have a very beautiful view to the Fairview forest Another view of the central commercial zone. Here you can see some homes, a part of the magnetic railroad, and the trail path of that area. Trail paths are not uncommon. They're a more healthy and eco-friendly way to move around, decreasing the need of cars. Look closely under the elevated magnetic railroad and you'll see a trail path too, with some bikers riding their bicycles, while having an AI-controlled magnetic train traveling right above their heads. More and more jobs in Fairview are under the guidance of Artificial Intelligence and operated by robots to free men and women, to liberate them from enforced servitude and slavery, to allow them pursuing the meaning of life and higher things and ideals, and live a life rich in spiritual and physical experiences. Who said that the meaning of life should be working on a boring and meaningless job? And another view of the trail path. We can also see here a domed park, the police and fire stations and the cultural museum of Everret Green. We'll be visiting them very soon. Right next to the commercial zone is the primary (or "elementary") school, using augmented reality holograms and interactive tele-education systems, not only to fill the children's minds with up-to-date and free-from-bias knowledge with fun ways, but most important to teach them how to think, how to use their mind to become active and responsible thinkers, instead of passive and irresponsible idiots. As Jiddu Krishnamurti said, "education is not only learning from books, memorizing some facts, but also learning how to look, how to listen to what the books are saying, whether they are saying something true or false". Next to the school is the Everret Green's library, which has both physical and digital books for everyone to read. Digital books are always available at the Cybernet (the future evolution of the Internet) and can be downloaded and stored even in a small nanochip, so an entire and always up-to-dated encyclopedia of knowledge, full of images and interactive multimedia, can fit on your little finger. However, physical books have not been thrown away. They are always kept and stored safely like a treasure, as a heritage for the next generations to enjoy them. Each library on Fairview has its own collection of physical books, so not all of them are in one single building. For instance, Daphnerose's library has plenty of old astronomy and science fiction books (like A Brief History of Time and The War of the Worlds), while Dawnville's one has a great collection of environmental books and fairy tales (like Silent Spring and Aesopica). Books are a link of the evolutionary chain of information. From genes to brain, to books, to computers, to who know what's next. But books are here to stay. Even if something apocalyptic happens and all advanced technologies fails, the heritage of the books will still stay alive, functioning as storehouses of our past memories and future visions. Recipes that, if used wisely, can change the world. Besides, nothing can beat the smell of an old good book Another view of our educational and commercial corner. From here we can also see some homes, the spiritual temple, the central computer, the clinic, the domed parks, the two skyfarms, and a small part of our main industrial area. And another view of this area. Look closely and we'll see a small trail path between the homes and the factories, and the secondary (or "high") school. The black building is the secondary/high school, that teaches more sophisticated things to teenagers. Now, we all know that a human's brain become more and more capable of understanding more advanced concepts as it grows up, so we tend to teach very simple things to our kids when they're very young. However, children are smarter and more capable to learn more sophisticated concepts and ideas than we believe. Jacque Fresco can gives us an example of how to teach a little babe to use buttons and switches to communicate with his parents. So with the right tools and strategies of actual, honest and scientific education, even the youngest children can learn everything. Heck, we can even teach general relativity and quantum physics to a babe! And I'm not kidding! So, if a modern baby can learn quantum physics and general relativity at the kindergartens of today by books, what a teenager of the future, with access to interactive tele-education, holograms, robotics and quantum computers, can learn at the secondary/high schools of tomorrow? We can't even imagine! But what we should imagine and hope is learning not only how our world and ourselves work, but also how to use those knowledge to better themselves and become free thinkers, questioning the authority, and protecting their minds and souls from the darkness of fear, hate, control, power lust, and stupidity. And the secondary/high school of Everret Green, which is just next to this domed playground with the small basketball court close to it, can help with that. Dawnville and Daphnerose have plenty of open space parks, but Everret Green is the very first town in Fairview that introduces enclosed domed parks. Originally made for the Martian colonies, those parks (like this one on the main road and right next to the covered by the trees clinic) provides an alternative, safer, and more technological way to spend some time relaxing and having some fun. Having their interiors warm in winter and cool in summer, those parks provides a nice place to sit and talk to somebody, have a picnic or play a game, all in a controllable environment, instead of being exposed to the elements of nature. Kids can play football without losing their ball every single time, and adults can telework there without having the wind blowing their recyclable papers all the time. It's even possible to have an underground enclosed garden right under of a domed playground. Those parks are also equipped with very realistic holograms, so they can also be used for festivals or outdoor gaming. You can't fly a kite or feed sparrows inside of those parks, but you can do other things. For instance, imagine yourself being a kid, paying a visit to the domed park, only to find one of your friends having a hologram of the Solar System inside the dome, calling you to play the astronauts. You agree and the entire interior chances into a virtual spaceship or a planetary surface. Have fun Hmm, I wonder how playing SimCity, Super Mario or Doom would look like in those domed parks And this is the Everret Green's central computer, with a small domed garden right next to it. You've read before than human brain is more sophisticated and flexible that we usually tend to think, but the world and the systems that consist of it are so complex that even the most advanced biological brains can't deal with all of this information and calculations. It's just too much. This is why we need each other, but sometimes even that isn't enough. What we need is a powerful ally, an assistant. And there is no better one (aside from each other) than Artificial Intelligence. The central computer of Everret Green houses a sophisticated AI, that replace most of the mayor's work and brain power with electronic equipment and a network of quantum computers, which examines and manipulates multiple concepts at the same time, and gives instructions and solutions far more efficiently than all of the city advisors together. This is the beginning of Cybernation, the linking of computers with robots, AIs and other automated systems, that coordinate most of the machinery and equipment that serve Everret Green, like the magnetic train we saw before. And to ensure the efficient operation of the city’s various functions, all of the processes and services are equipped with electronic environmental feedback sensors. These sensors are coordinated with redundant, back-up systems that operate in the event of failure or breakdown of the city’s primary systems. And the aim of this powerful tool is not to control the citizens by telling them what to do and what to think, but to help people (including the mayor and the advisors of the town) to make better decisions based on actual data, while liberating them from filthy, repetitious, boring, dangerous and mind breaking jobs. Why working hard, when you can work smart and with friends, both physical and digital? Cyberpunk paints a horrible future with a very high technological level but also a very low spiritual one. Solarpunk totally disagrees with that, but it's not the total opposite of it. It's not about high spirituality but low technology. It supports that a responsible use of a high technological level should be used as a powerful tool to live in harmony with nature and obtain a high spiritual level for everybody. New technologies can increase free time, unlock the mysteries of the Cosmos, and bring people together in a big global family. Temples like this one provides a quiet place for everybody to pray, to medicate, to let her/his spirit relax and relief. Those temples doesn't belong to any organized religion, so don't be surprised if you find Christians and Muslims pray together like friends. Religion fundamentalism has no place here. Next to the temple we'll find the town's clinic, equipped with futuristic technologies like robotics, tele-medicine and genetic therapies, to cure the body, the vehicle of the soul. We don't know what exactly the soul is, but one day we'll find the answer. Let's hope that we'll use this knowledge wisely and responsibly, to improve our life and help each other, physically and spiritually. Of course we can't talk about spirituality with empty bellies. We just can't. Food is vital, but the modern ways of agriculture doesn't have the high efficiency and the low environmental footprint we need to feed the people. The ordinary flat farming belongs to the past. What we need is vertical farming. Vertical farms, like this one, are indoors and provide a fully controllable environment to the plants, without being exposed to illnesses, pests and bad weather. The plants are planted at the outer part of the levels of the building to receive enough sunlight from big enough windows. When necessary, the entire levels can rotate to ensure that the plant will keep receiving all the light they need. Robots and drones of different sizes can test and grab fruits and vegetables, and move them where they’re needed. The AI of the skyfarm collaborates with the vertical farmers and the AI of the central computer of Everret Green, to provide and receive feedbacks, and manages all the variables of heat, light and water, continually optimizing, and even learning by itself, how to grow faster, bigger, better crops. Nothing is wasted here. Water lost by transpiration is recaptured and reused. Since all the action takes place inside a tall building, vertical farms can be constructed even in the middle of a city, and produces better fruits and vegetables while using 95% less water and 99% less land. All the above, while using solar energy from a big panel the farm has at its roof. Another view of the skyfarm. Look closely and you'll find buzzards flying around above our green futuristic town. By the way, there is also a building in between of the domed playground with the basketball court and the main road. I have no idea what this building is suppose to do and I plop it just to feel this gap, so feel free to give it a purpose and imagine what this building could be. And look. Another trail path Across the main road are the police and the fire stations, keeping Everret Green safe and secured. Today we still need the police to keep the peace, but police brutality and racism is the last thing we need. This is why more and more people suggest to defund the police. But defunding the police doesn't mean eliminating the police, that would be catastrophic in a modern society than actually allows and even encourages crime. It means a reassessment of law enforcement methods and priorities, emphasizing accountability, enacting reforms ("He who opens a school door, closes a prison" as Victor Hugo said) and redirecting resources where appropriate, thereby refocusing (and even increasing the efficiency) on the mission to help and protect. In the future, with so many radical changes in our social and technological structures that are going to be happening, with a complete redesign of our culture and an immediate upgrade of our way of thinking (because even the most stubborn ideas can't last forever), nobody will have reasons to kill, steal and sell drugs, nor will be there homeless people and terrorists. In the future we are right now at Fairview, the police of Everret Green and the entire region doesn't have the role of the boogeyman, but the role of the rescuer, the diplomat, the advisor, the friend, the cool big brother who helps his family. Somebody you can trust, like a close friend and family member. And if we take this trail path... ...we'll find the cultural museum of Everret Green, where local artists can put on display their creations and talk about them. Those creations can be anything, from paints with natural colors to sculptures made by nanosynthetic materials. If we keep exploring the central district by going south this time, we'll find the industrial zone of Everret Green. Robots and 3D printers, all directed by AIs and human technicians, produces a variety of useful goods, such as tools and furniture. All the factories at Everret Green are efficient and environmental friendly, creating useful items without using too much resources and without producing smoke and waste. The industrial zone also houses small laboratories and warehouses, and there's also a second skyfarm, this one made to experiment with new technologies and goals, such as using aeroponics to produce high quality vegetables that taste amazing while eliminating all plant stress. At the outskirts of Everret Green, where nature meets civilization, we'll find small natural parks, tables for relaxation and picnics, parking lots for the citizens' electric autonomous cars, free-for-use cabins, and observation towers which can be used as fire watch towers and bird watching platforms. In this picture you'll also see a bus stop. One of the many we have here. There are plenty of bus stops on Everret Green, just like at the rest of Fairview, providing faster and safer transportation means while reducing the need of car. And, of course we'll have picnic tables in high tech industrial zones too. Workers need some rest too, you know. Another corner of the industrial zone, with an observation tower, warehouses, artificial photosynthesis laboratories, and a research antenna for studying the impacts of 7G to the local natural environment and public health under the most strictly standards. So far so good. By the way, 7G is the new generation standard for wireless communication technologies, which are even faster and with even larger range than 6G, even to the point of supporting extra-planetary communications with Lunar and orbital colonies, and even paving the road of researching Nicola Tesla's ultimate vision, wireless transmission of electric energy. Let me put it this way. If 5G was about high speed streaming of information and Internet of Things, and if 6G was about holograms and machine-to-mind interactions by satellites, then 7G right now is about global electric network and Earth-to-Moon communications. This is not the end however. A new generation, 8G, is right now under development, that aims to make possible new applications in Earth-to-Mars communications and even the under-development concept of cybernetic brain-to-brain telepathy for the new generation of cyborgs! Of course we have cyborgs. We're in the future! Most of the subway stations are located on the main road and at the magnetic railroad stations, but there are also 3 of them at the very outskirts of Everret Green, all of the next small parks like the ones we saw before. Those specific stations have a beautiful earthy color and design, and their base is surrounded by stones to make them blend with the natural environment, thus reducing the visual pollution they might cause. We'll find the rest two of them as we keep exploring the town. Oh, speaking about subways, don't expect big ordinary trains like those we have today. The subway trains of Fairview are more like personal rapid transit units, pods that work like taxi-train hybrids. In other words, imagine this... ...but underground. Let's go now to the west district of Everret Green. This area is mostly residential, with only a few shops and a couple of laboratories. As you can see, this area follows a more organic layout instead of grid, with smooth curves and diagonal streets. Sadly there are very few diagonal fillers to cover the jagged sidewalk, and non of them can be used on sloped terrain without having overhanged props diving below or flying above them. But this area also has some extra trail paths for walking and cycling. Don't you love it when you're going to your job or a friend's house on foot, surrounded by so many pines and redwoods? Not all of the homes are next to the streets. Some of them are in the middle of the trail paths. This is the second outer subway station, surrounded by rocks at its base and having right next to it a small park with a simple parking lot. This industrial building is a high enthalpy wind tunnel. Those buildings are used for the measurement of the aerodynamical behavior of spaceships during the re-entry in the atmosphere. For the wind tunnel experiment, a piston builds up a high pressure that is supposed to burst a metallic plate with a predetermined breaking point. Due to the shape of the wind tunnel, the shockwave that is created when the plate bursts is transformed into a uniform stream. When this shockwave reaches the model of the spaceship, it is possible to run a laser measurement for the tenth part of a second in order to study the aerodynamics. This wind tunnel is extensively used for fundamental and applied research applied to planetary atmospheric entry, such as fundamental research of high enthalpy fluid dynamic phenomena in non-equilibrium flows, plasma dynamics, experimental data base on planetary atmospheric entries, aerodynamic and aerothermal behavior of probes and models, and atmospheric entry of space debris like asteroids and other space junk. All those researches can then be used to provide useful improvements in safety and efficiency to interplanetary spacecrafts, hypersonic passenger airplanes and commercial spaceplanes. By the way, fancy playing some tennis? Let's go now to the second residential zone. We can get there on foot, by bicycle, by car, by bus, by subway pods, or by magnetic high speed trains. Just like every town we have visited, Everret Green has two central train stations. These are not simple stations, though. They're transport hubs that includes train station, subway pods station and bus stop, all at the same building and under the same roof. By the way, look closely and you'll find bikers moving around at the trail paths right under the magnetic rail tracks. So take your bike or the train... ...follow the tracks... ..and now you're at the other residential area. This area also utilizes a grid style of street network with bus stops in every intersection, and has so many tall trees that can cover entire houses, thus providing some extra privacy to the residents. Just like the rest of the towns at Fairview, all houses at Everret Green are made by synthetic materials with memory characteristics (no more bricks and cement), follow the modular and flexible Barsoomian utilitarianism for faster and safer construction, reconstruction and deconstruction (no more monolithic designs), and are equipped with sophisticated and environmental friendly technologies such as AIs, robots, auto-repairing systems, sensors, solar panels and solar windows, long-live batteries for emergency situations, rain water cleaning and recycling system, nano-organic composting devices, walls that act like monitors too, and advanced augmented reality systems, all providing the best level of comfort and safety possible, at the lowest energy and environmental cost possible. At this area well find the mayor's house, coming with a small park right next to it, and two statues that follows the Barsoomian sculpture style. And this is our third and final subway pods station at the outskirt of the town, next to a cabin and a small picnic field. Don't you like it when you disembark from your subway pod, get on the ground and take a deep breath of fresh air, in a mountain-looking station? Every town has to deal with garbage, but landfills and old school incinerators are out of questions because of the high amounts of pollution they bring. This is why Fairview needs enough recycling centers and green waste-to-energy incinerators to deal with the trash. Right now, only Dawnville has a sophisticated and integrated enough trash management facility to provide its services to Daphnerose and Everret Green as well. But deploying noisy and gazoline-powered garbage trucks, that contribute to traffic jam and air pollution in the time consuming process of collecting so many trash from an entire town, emitting reek and exposing the trash collectors in biohazards, is not a solution. What we need is an underground automated waste collection system, that uses vacuum pressure to move waste and recyclables from buildings and street bins to the trash management facilities. This system, also known as automated vacuum collection (AVAC), transports waste at high speed through underground pneumatic tubes to a collection station, where it is compacted and sealed in containers. When the container is full, it is transported away and emptied. It might sound a bit futuristic, but first, welcome to the future , and second, this system has already been tested, used and developed in various places on Earth. For instance, Council and the Sunshine Coast is installing Australia's first underground automated waste collection system (AWCS) in the new Maroochydore City Centre, so soon this... ...will become a reality Hmm, @mattb325 is from Australia and I think he's working on civic services or something like that. Maybe he's familiar with this project and can give us some extra information. Everret Green is the first town on Fairview that utilizes this new system, with two public sites of gathering and transporting the garbage, each one using a different strategy to deal with different kind of materials. The first one is at the middle of this residential zone. At this one, people can dispose their recyclable materials into portholes specialized for recycling, which from there will be transported by an underground pneumatic system to Dawnville's trash management facilities, obsoleting the need of garbage trucks. The second site is a yard located at the main road, specialized for larger and heavier materials to store and transport them. This yard can also work as an underground warehouse for temporary storing those materials, or send those materials to Dawnville's recycling center and plasma gasification plant by flying drones. By the way, the future drones of Fairview are ion-propelled (and yes, ion engines are not only for space probes anymore) which generate no sound at all, because unlike propels and jet engines, ion engines doesn't have moving parts, which also reduces the time and resources to repair and maintain them. Ion engines right now are not strong enough to lift an entire airplane, not even a flying car. But don't worry. This will be changed in the future. By the way, please ignore the fact that this drone looks like it's colliding with the branches of this tree After a tranquil night, when the Sun goes up, you open your smart window and what's the very first thing you see? In this part of Everret Green, you see trees, birds eating seeds, squirrels playing on the trees, and butterflies flying from flower to flower. And what's the very first thing you want to do? Why, eating your breakfast at those tables of course, becoming one with the nature, enjoying the moment and feeding those little animals, without being too far away from your 3D virtual television. Just like Dawnville, Everret Green is also close to a body of water and above underground water source. This tower pumps up and cleans the underground water and makes it available to the thirsty citizens of the town. The water tower is located in between of an observation tower and a small open area for parking our electric cars. There is also a small path beginning from there. Let's follow it. This path leads to one of the service/access hatch to an underground conduit. The ordinary (and very ugly) power transmission towers with the hanging wires are too dangerous for the local fauna and bring visual pollution to the point of making your eyes want to vomit. On the other hand, wireless transmission of energy hasn't been fully developed yet on Fairview. So the next best thing is using underground wires to connect our renewable energy sources with our towns. But what kind of energy source we use this time? This time we're using a wind turbine, equipped with room-temperature superconductors (and yes, they can already exist), to provide electricity to our civilization. Now, more and more people are concerned about the local problems the wind turbines bring, especially the noise pollution and the bird deaths caused by their blades. Those power plants are very important to decrease and hopefully even eliminate the need of burning fossil fuel, but the challenges they poses should be used as reasons to improve them, not as reasons to remove them. Wind turbines can be upgraded with sound-killing materials and mechanisms to minimize the noise pollution they bring. At the same time, simply by changing the color of a single blade on a turbine from white to black can result in a 70% drop in the number of bird deaths, according to a study ran for nine years at Norway's Smøla wind farm. This time I tried to make the landscape as realistic and detailed as possible, with plenty of types of flora and MMPs to see, such as rocks, weed and a lot of flowers. To do this, I used the ability of the terrain mod I have to display various details, such as flowers and logs, and paint accordingly. Flower above flower, rock above dirt. And then I discovered that this mod changes every month, removing the textured flowers from my prop flowers etc . Next time, I'll try to make it even better. Water is more alive than ever, with weed in it and birds flying around above it. Look closely and you'll see fish swimming around the weed. At first I was thinking about turning this place into a big natural park, but that would require some terraforming that would mess with it. So I decided to let it as it is and even enrich it with trees and flowers. As well as some logs and dead trees. Even more flowers. Some of the Everret Green citizens enjoy to get there (or at least deploy a drone with ion engines) to appreciate the flowers, without picking them up though. Because as Osho said: "If you love a flower, don’t pick it up. Because if you pick it up, it dies and it ceases to be what you love. So if you love a flower, let it be. Love is not about possession. Love is about appreciation." And some rocks too. But Fairview, and thus Everret Green, is a home for everybody. Not only for humans, but also for so many animals. Foxes. Even more foxes. Deer. Even more deer. Moses. Buzzards. And bears. And bees, and butterflies, and so many other wonderful creatures. We're all children of the same planet, breathing the same air and sharing the same evolutionary and cosmic origins. And if we can get along, if we can live and let the others live, the possibilities of the future will be endless. "When we talk about building an empathic civilization, we aren't talking about utopia. We are talking about the ability of human beings to show solidarity not only with each other but with our fellow creatures who have a one and only life on this little planet." Jeremy Rifkin Hope you did enjoyed this special entry. What new things we'll find in the next entry? There is only one way to find it out. See you there

@Raymond7cn, @Max4k, @mrsmartman, @ByeByeBayou, @tomz16, @Manuel-ito and @bobolee, thank you very much for your likes, comments and follows It's time to come back to Fairview by beginning the construction of our third town, Everret Green. Before that, (and that's a part you can ignore it) there are a couple of things that I'd like to announce, which will be changed and take place from this very entry. In the previous entries of Dawnville and Daphnerose, you may have noticed that their titles contain the name of the town and a (part n) right next to it, and each part had its own role. Part 1 was the teaser/trailer/first view of the town, part 2 was the completion/tour of the town, and part 3 was the night tour/night time of it. For this reason, I decided to replace the (part n) part of each title with a (short description) one. So, instead of (part 1) we'll now have (under construction) and so on. The second change I'm going to apply from now is about the second part of each entry. I've noticed that at the first parts in my previous towns I included plenty of information that they should be included in my second parts. The first parts are supposed to work more like teasers, so most of the fun and the information should be at the main body of each entry, the second part. And this is what I'm going to do from now. Less information at the first parts, unless necessary, and plenty of them at the second one. OK, enough with the boring stuff. Time for the good stuff. At the west of Daphnerose we'll build our new town. Its name is Everret Green. "Everret" from the German word eber which means "wild boar", and "Green" because... Do I really have to explain it? You might have noticed that the very first kind of network system I always build in my green towns is the magnetic railroad, the future evolution of the modern heavy railroads. This is because I follow some of the advises of @Nardo69, probably the biggest railroad connoisseur in the history of SimCity 4 community. In his topic Nardo's Thoughts About The Game, he gives us some useful advises to build realistic and beautiful railways, and one of them is to build railways first, before anything else. Here is why. Even though streets and roads are way older than railways, it's been railways that enabled the industrial revolution and changed the landscapes to its today's shape in Europe and America. Industry got kick started by the possibility of economic land transported, new industries expanded along railway lines, and long before the car was invented, the first commuting railway lines and subways (like in London) had been constructed and operated, to bring workers to the working places. Of course we're into the future now, but building railroads first is not only for historic reasons. While highways are more flexible and easier to access, they're also land devouring networks which cut off the natural landscape (which is catastrophic for many animal species, especially during the migration season) and bring a lot of sound and air pollution. On the other hand, trains are faster and more efficient in transporting goods and people and are more environmental friendly, especially when they're electric and run on elevated tracks. Another reason why I do this is because of the slope tolerance of the magnetic railroads. Cars and trucks and smaller and lighter, so roads and highways have a high enough slope tolerance. Heavy railways have less slope tolerance, because both passenger and freight trains are bigger and heavier. Magnetic railways are even less slope tolerable, because those trains need even smother railroads to run very fast. Of course we're into the future, so we can imagine that the trains of tomorrow will be made by lighter materials and have more efficient engines, allowing them to run at steeper slopes without losing too much speed. And this is how you solve a problem The magnetic railroad, the backbone of both Everret Green and the entire Fairview region, is here. Time to set up the rest of the transportation network. I decided this time to play a bit with the layout of the town. Grid is a very efficient layout in transportation and organization, but it's also boring and unresponsive to topography, so is no wonder why many concepts of future cities are using a more flexible and organic layout. So I tried to have the best of both worlds by mixing them. The central part of the town will be mostly grid and the outer parts of it will be mostly organic, with bigger and smoother turns. By the way, building smooth diagonal streets is such a pain. If you try it do it with the drag-able way (drawing the street in a zig-zag pattern), it will level the ground and destroy the topography of the landscape, which is not what we want. The puzzle pieces is the best way to build those streets, but they follow the topography so much that you'll end having plenty of "missile shooting ramps" instead of something smooth and safe. So the best way to build smooth diagonal streets is to drag a diagonal road first to make the ground there smooth enough, remove it, and plop some diagonal streets puzzle pieces there. From now you know the rest. Time to use the railroad tool to flatter the town. Not too much. Just enough to make plenty of small tablelands that respect the topography of the landscape. Now that the ground is prepared, it's time to start building our town, beginning with the two magnetic train stations, bus stops in every corner, and subway stations along our main road. And now it's time to cover the bare slopes with pines and build our civic infrastructures... ...which include the police and fire stations at the main road... ...the small and covered by trees clinic... ...the primary (elementary) school and the library, separated from each other by a playground... ...the secondary (high) school... ...and the museum. More info of those buildings on the next entry. A big problem with the modern cities is their tendency of trying to fill their current needs without having some empty room for future necessary improvements. This lack of flexibility is a very common problem for all SimCity players, like when you need to upgrade a road into an avenues but you have to demolish some skyscrapers to do that, or when you must build a new power plant immediately but you don't have the space to do that. Yeah, it's very annoying. Also annoying is when you don't know what to do with an empty space in your city. You want fill that big gap with something, but you're not sure with what. So, here is another change in our strategy that I'm going to apply from now. Don't build everything from the very beginning, don't try to fill gaps so soon. Develop the town and fill those gaps accordingly to the upcoming conditions and needs. Think forward. Besides, we have some rewards to build and we want some space to do that. For now we have zoned for peaceful residential areas, commercial zones along the main road, and some factories at the edges of the town. But wait a minute. Did we forgot something. Why, of course. Utilities! You can't have an eco-friendly town of the future without power, water and trash management. Everret Green is next to a big body of water, making it a perfect source of... you guessed it Remember when I said now annoying is to build and build and build, only to realize that you forgot to build something and you don't have enough space to do that? Yeah, this was the case of the garbage management facilities of Everret Green. I forgot to build them! But fortunately I solved this problem by utilizing an actual concept of an underground automated waste collection system. More information about this on the next entry. And of course we need power. It's a clean future, so we need a clean energy source. This time we'll go with wind energy, which nowadays is at the center of a controversy of how environmental friendly are the wind turbines. We'll talk about it... you know when This is it, folks. Everret Green is in a good shape, and this time with plenty of room for future improvements and upgrades. How the town will look like when it finished? We'll find it out on the next entry. See you there

@Dot, @WolfZe, @korver, @bobolee, @kschmidt, @tomz16, @mrsmartman, @Manuel-ito, @Kuba138, @mitsos, @ByeByeBayou, @MilitantRadical and @Raymond7cn: Thank you very much for your comments, likes and follows. One of the topics that this CJ is going to study in an upcoming entry is mining operations and how it could be possible to extract the minerals we need to build our electric vehicles and renewable energy power sources, without having to deal with further environmental damages and terrifying situations like this: Now that's a very interesting and important topic that needs further discussion, and we're going to do this soon. It would be a good opportunity to tell something about the "new technologies will fix everything" rhetoric. For now, let's keep on with the development of Fairview by exploring our new town, Daphnerose. Daphnerose is bigger and more populated than Dawnville because of its almost flat landscape and the general lack of major natural features at this area, such as bodies of water and large cliffs, thus giving the city a larger room to expand and develop without terraforming too much and damaging the environment. While all of our towns in Fairview will share the same environmental aims and principles, each one will still be different from each other, using different strategies for the same goals, having its own unique identity and its own story to tell, being a different kind of experimentation and expression. Different ideas can lead to a large variety of different solutions, and the more ideas you have the more likely is to get the one that will solve your problem. This is one of the reasons why free thinking and free speech, especially when utilize the scientific methodology, are so important. Daphnerose's larger size is not the only reason why it's not like Dawnville. Another reason is the existence of unique infrastructures, such as a farmer's market and a weather station, that we'll be having a look at them very soon. Another difference is the lack of an independence water source and a trash management in Daphnerose. This is because Dawnville's water tower pumps enough clean water from the underground natural deposits there are there, and its garbage management facilities have more than enough room, to support both Dawnville and Daphnerose. Now, the ideal strategy is to make each and every city as self-sufficient as possible, producing its own energy, water, food etc to cover its needs, in order to reduce the environmental footprint of transportation and the risk-bearing consequences of overly dependence on other cities. This doesn't mean that cities can't exchange and trade, or help each other in emergency situations. It means that each city should be able of take care of itself if things goes wrong and nobody else can help. Still there is a debate of how efficient and environmental friendly is giving each city its own individual utilities, like having plenty of small solar power plants in each city instead of fewer but bigger plants in the region to support multiple cities. While Daphnerose has its own power source, it still needs Dawnville to get water and dispose its trash. But what if something bad happens to Daphnerose, forcing the town to face a water or/and garbage crises? Maybe we'll find it out one day. At the south part of Daphnerose we'll find the agricultural and industrial zone of the town. At the north part we'll find most of the residential zones, the magnetic railroads and the central park of the town. South part again, this time looking at the central square, the farmer's market, the cemetery, some of the civic services, and the weather station. And back to the north again, this time looking at the mayor's house and the spiritual temple. Remember when I said that Dawnville is so green that sometimes it's not very easy to tell the difference between nature and civilization? Thanks to Maxis Tree Replacement Mod made by @_marsh_, we took this statement to the next level Let's go now to the agricultural zone. While Dawnville is reliant on a skyfarm, Daphnerose has deployed a variety of agricultural methods to produce a larger variety of food. This includes a smaller skyfarm, advanced greenhouses based on food production methods originally developed for the colonization of Mars, and seasonal food farms. Now, some of you might ask if those small farms are organic farms. Organic food is supposed to be more healthy, natural and ethical, because is farmed without genetic engineered seeds and without synthetic fertilizers and pesticides. Instead, organic farms use more traditional ways to produce food, like crop rotation, and use organic fertilizers, like compost and manure. All the above sounds awesome, but what you see is not always what you get. Organic farms uses less energy and pesticides than the conventional ones, but have similar greenhouse gas emissions and need more land to produce the same amount of crop. This, adding to the constantly rising demand, have already brought an environmental mess of less sustainable methods, greenhouses that uses too much energy, and even frauds. In a system based on money, competition and greed, of course you'll have frauds. Right now, one of the best solutions suggested to produce healthy food efficiently and as environmental friendly as possible would be a combination of the best features of both organic and conventional farms. But since Fairview is somewhere into the future, we can always imagine new, healthy and eco-friendly ways to produce enough food for everybody, such as hydroponics, genetic engineering, robotic farmers and skyfarms. See this big, white tower? It's a water purification system, that uses bacteria to remove any pesticide and clean the water. Those microbes produces enzymes that break down the pesticides into less toxic substances, which can later be removed entirely. This technique has been initially used to clean up the soil of Mars from perchlorate, making exploration and food farming safe. Regardless, all kinds of food can be accessible to everybody and anybody at the farmer's market here. Or, if you don't feel you want to get out of your house, just make your order and a drone will deliver to you anything you need. Close to the agricultural zone we'll find some small factories that produces various goods. You really think that factories must be big, dirty and ugly, right? Right close to the farmer's market is the police station of Daphnerose, that keeps an eye for any emergency situation. Dawnville has a SimMars fire station. Daphnerose has a more down-to-Earth fire station. Variety is the spice of life, I guess. At the main road and not very far from the police station, we'll see the clinic and the library of Daphnerose next to each other. The library houses both physical and digital books that hold the memories of the past, the status of the present, and the visions of the future. Next to it is the clinic, obscured right now by a tree. This clinic comes with a small dome with pharmaceutical plants for medicines, and a mobile medical center in a bus-like vehicle that patrols both Daphnerose and Dawnville and provides healthcare support when necessary. Flexibility is vital if we want to face the challenges of the future. Close to the above buildings is the town's elementary school, surrounded by shops, parks, and bigger trees this time. Actually, there are so many big trees this time that it's just impossible to see the paths that leads to the entrance of the Daphnerose's high school Next to the high school we'll find the Daphnerose's museum and a small plaza next to it. Man, those new trees really does hide my plazas And finally, for the first time in Fairview, a college. Daphnerose is right now the only town with a college, so students from Dawnville will need to take the bus, the magnetic train or the underground wagons to get here. Just like most of the buildings in Fairview, Daphnerose college's architecture is based on the Barsoomian utilitarianism, originally developed on Mars. But the college itself isn't just based on Martian architecture. Its theme is 100% Martian! And here is why. This is the energy source of Daphnerose, a solar power plant which looks very different from the typical solar plants like those in Dawnville. This is because this specific plant, instead of blue panels, it utilizes red panels, a new type of solar panels initially researched for the Martian colonies. The solar energy on Mars is roughly half as effective as on Earth, so the scientists on Mars invented the red panels by using new techniques in metallurgy, metamaterials and nanotechnology. Those techniques increases the efficiency and energy output of the Martian solar power plants, so it was only a matter of time before this new technology reaches and applies on Earth too. Add a smaller but still efficient power amplifier that utilities room-temperature superconductors, and you'll get solar power plants so effective and cheap that can finally obsolete the nasty fossil fuel power plants. Go red! Go green! Thanks to Daphnerose, Fairview now has its very first weather station. This station is linked to a global forecast network that provides accurate information about the weather and how it will be evolved into the next days. It's stations like this that has already saved many lives by situations like savage storms, and they'll become even more sophisticated and important because of the man-made destabilization of the global climate. Daphnerose is connected to Dawnville by road, subway and magnetic railroad. But one of the coolest features of the town is the abundance of trail paths and bike paths. Anywhere you see you'll find paths that encourages people to go anywhere they wish by foot or by riding a bicycle. There is a bike path even right under the elevated magnetic railroad. Just take your bike and enjoy the trees around you, the song of the birds, and the humming of the electric engines of the cars and the magnetic trains. That path crosses most of the town like the magnetic railroad, and connect the rest of the town to the central park. Paths are a neat way to connect various areas of the town together. They, along with the bus stops at every corner and the subway stations across the main road, encourages walking, biking, skating or using any other futuristic personal transportation system, thus reducing even more the need of cars. It's also a good excuse to build even more parks and plant even more trees. For instance, this path begins from the mayor's house... ...and ends up to the spiritual temple and the park around it, with a playground and a beautiful statue. And the central park has a statue too. Now, let's talk about statues. They are a nice way to honor important persons of the past, such as scientists, artists, philosophers and activists, keeping them and their legacy alive. But not all the people in the past were good guys, and some of them doesn't deserve any honor at all, although who deserves a place in the future Hall of Fame can be debatable even in the most extreme cases. For example, would you like a statue of Adolph Hitler? If yes, maybe that's because you don't want to forget the atrocities he made, hopefully never repeat. If no, maybe that's because you don't want him to get glorified for the atrocities he had made. There is an interesting debate about statues and whether they are pieces of history that must be preserved, no matter who they're honoring, or symbols of past shames that must be removed and destroyed, even if this could lead to a memory self-erasing. History is full of great and horrible moments. We should not forget it, we should not glorify it. And we can't change it. It is what it is, so it's better to learn from it and memorize both its good and its bad moments, if we wish to pick up the torch from our ancestors without repeating their mistakes. And yes, there is a bigger subway station at the north part of the town. Anywhere you look at you'll find trees, parks and other recreational facilities, such as this playground with a small basket field. Look closely and you'll find buzzards flying around the town. And now something very important. There is a problem with SimCity 4 on Windows 10. When placing props that require you to cycle through using left button mouse clicks, the game sees each click as a double mouse click, which in-effect makes half of the props in the cycle unavailable. That was a big deal-breaker to me, because I used to build mini parks and other details by using MMPs, which would be a great addition to Fairview. But one day I found the solution. I discovered that it's possible to play with MMPs on Windows 10 without skipping props. To do this however, you need to hold the right button of the mouse while placing the props. But by doing this, the game will not skip any prop. I've tested many MMP sets and all of those tests have the same result. When placing an MMP with only single clicks of the left mouse button, the game places the second, fourth, sixth, ... prop. But when pressing the right mouse button at first and then start placing an MMP with the left mouse button while keeping the right mouse button pressed, the game places the first, second, third, fourth, fifth, sixth, seventh, ... prop! And here is the prove. If you still have doubts, give it a try. Just hold the right mouse button while adding MMPs. Why this is so important to me? Because now I can finally do this! Mini parks at the outside of Daphnerose, where Sims can park their electric self-driving cars, relax, have picnics, and even feed the animals. Here is a little detail just out of the Martian-styled cemetery. A small cabin, some parked futuristic vehicles and... is that a zombie? Oh my goodness, so many trees and futuristic technologies. So many buzzards and drones flying around. So much nature and advanced civilization. This is crazy. This is unrealistic. This is madness! Madness? This... Is... SOLARPUNK! Right now, Daphnerose is connected to Dawnville only... ...but we're going to change that. A new town is going to be constructed very soon. See you there

I re-port from Wattpad right now, i do a lazy, 'cause i have no time, gotta go back to work. Please forgive and enjoy STORY here: https://www.wattpad.com/834426910-shelder-evolution-shelcol-101-the-great-march https://www.worldanvil.com/w/shelder-twelve https://www.worldanvil.com/w/shelder-twelve/a/gardiac1-article

Hi there. Sorry I've been absent for so long. SC4 and simtropolis was in my thoughts but not in my agenda. I had to deal with so much crap over the past few months. I'm emotionally traumatised. There is no other way to describe this. Sound melodramatic and sudden. But it's the truth. I am now a broken shell. But I am just as willing to put self back together. So bring it. Round two. I'll show u. I was warming up, life. Ok Ok. What's this? wut? drama. Run. No. Wait. Please. (raptor bark) ok i deliver: (hopefully this post will be able to contain the volcanic eruption that is about to ha--) FOREWORD What you're about to read might appear weird to you. Do not panic. I want to weird you out, hopefully to intrigue you in visiting more... Yes, crumbs lead to paths, that lead to inhabited forests, that lead to underground stories. Wanna find out? Read. SCREENPLAY READING TIPS: - INT/EXT means interior exterios. It's a SCENE HEADING. It defines where the action is happening. - each action paragraph (normal text) is a camera shot. Short lines are quick/simple shots. Longer paragraphs are intricate shots. Maybe longtakes... - O.S. (OFF SCREEN) means character is in scene, audible, maybe visible, but not in shot. We can't see them. V.O. (VOICE OVER) means voice is recorded over the picture. Not necessarily a living character in story, or in the same place/time as scene. - (RADIO/INTERCOM) dialogue comes from specific source - PROLOGUE (introduction to story) , TEASER (snippet, to create hype)( , ACT 1 (beginning, introduction, stakes) , ACT 2 ( rising action, obstacle, choice, no turning back) , ACT 3 ( falling action, towards climax) , ACT 4 ( post-climax) , TAG (closing statement/teaser to next stuff) - SUPER : super-imposed text over picture. - **WEBSITE LINK**: do trust, will link to World Anvil site with explanation article on specific highlighted topic. Check **ANVIL VALLEY** for SC4 region map. Are you ready Set? Go! "Hold on to your butts" - J. Arnold SHELDER COLONIZATION 102 - Growth P.1 written by Marcus G. Burke "Shelder Colonization" side story RolePlay Script draft PROLOGUE SUPER: After 8 human colonists settled on planet Shelder, local dinosaur-like wildlife struggled to adapt to the strangers, and in an attempt to domesticate these creatures, the colonists implanted some of them with digital mind interface surgical brain implants, a mouthfull - a wonder - a potential catastrophe in the making... FADE IN: SHELDER-EVO VIDEOGAME EXT. **ANVIL VALLEY** - PRAIRIE - DAY A team of **Aralodon minoris** professional sound engineers gradually set up a stage... ADVERT POSTER: TRICKSTER SWITCH TONIGHT THE BAND - Frontman Wade, juvenile **Sheldoraptor lumen**, lead voice, lead choreography. Foreground, crossed-arms, serious pose. Emo-Metal accessories. - Harem x3 female juvenile raptors, backing vocals, backing choreography. Matched-attire KawaiiMetal themed. EXT. CONCERT HALL We don't have time to linger on the poster... INT. TRAILER - CONCERT HALL - DAY PAWN WADE? (waits) WADE! A young adult Sheldoraptor lumen is shouting out of the window, to the open prairie outside, at the concert setup. His voice gets lost in the noise of the operations... This is PAWN, the big brother of WADE. PAWN (CONT'D) WADE? (barking) WADE! Loud enough for the setup crew to snap their Aralodon heads towards him. EXT. CONCERT HALL Wade walks the prairie, practicing his parts in passionate whispers and faint animal snarls. WADE (singing) Jo-eee-aaaaaww wresta con meeeeee-owe-eaaaah! (hears barking) Uh? (turns) WHAT? INT. TRAILER PAWN (hears Wade) WADE! (snarling) COME HERE! (trilling) Come on, hurry... EXT. CONCERT HALL WADE (hears Pawn) OKAY! (trill) Now what? Wade walks back toward the trailer. INT. TRAILER Pawn smiles and leaves the window. He wonders in the narrow room staring at the desk full of documents. PAWN (broods) This is gonna take all day (trills) What time is it? Pawn looks up to ELVIN, sitting behind the desk, studying. ELVIN (looks up) urm... (thinks) 'bout three... Pawn frowns and starts pacing back and forth as he thinks. Elvin watches him for a bit. Then he goes back to reading. Wade opens the door with his clawed raptor hand. Even though it's a routine gesture now, he is reminded of the struggles learning it and clicks his lips. WADE tsk. He faces a nervous Pawn, and eyes a distracted Elvin. Where are the others? He doesn't see anyone else apart from archives and lockers. WADE (to Pawn) What is it? Pawn stops pacing when he realizes Wade is here. He eyes him... PAWN (fondly) Nani-bro! (frustrated) Fetch the full setlist, would you? ...and walks forward to rest a hand over his shoulders, smiling, for how much a raptor would smile plausibly. Wade appreciates the brotherly hand over his shoulder with a spontaneous smile. WADE (nervous) I-urr... It's not ready yet. He can't help glance at Elvin but doesn't see him react. Pawn freezes. PAWN (angry) What do you mean it's not ready? He strengthens the grip on Wade's shoulders, without hurting him though. Wade frowns. WADE (nervous) Queen said it needs refining... (shrugs) She said she'd call me when it's ready. (fondly) So I can bring it to you. Wade glances Elvin again. Pawn is pleasently surprised. PAWN Oh! (confused) Refining? (angry) What does she need to refine for? (frustrated) It's already refined! Pawn starts pacing again, brooding. WADE (wails) I'm sorry! I'm waiting for her to call me! She didn't call yet! PAWN (still pacing) It's okay, it's okay. Another young adult Sheldoraptor looks up at Pawn... It's ELVIN, the cousin of PAWN and WADE. ELVIN Don't stress out like that, cous'... (fondly) Rachel's be here in a minute. Pawn stops pacing and looks at Elvin. PAWN (softly) Did she d-m ya? Elvin shuts his eyes and slowly shakes his head. ELVIN No. (merry) But I just know. She won't be late. Pawn rolls his eyes and starts pacing again. WADE (confused) So, can I go? PAWN (still pacing) Yeah-yeah... Wade sighs, turns around, and walks back out. EXT. TRAILER WADE (walking) tsk. EXT. CONCERT HALL - LATER Wade walks to the MANAGER TRAILER... EXT. MANAGER TRAILER He knocks on the door with the feathery back of his raptor hand. WADE (politely) QUEEN? QUEEN (O.S.) (brief wait) Yeah, kid? WADE (nervous) PAWN WANTS TO KNOW IF THE FULL SETLIST IS READY... (holds a giggle) He's kinda... urr... nervous... QUEEN (O.S.) (brief wait) Mmmhh. OKAY DARLING, COME IN. Wade is caught off guard and walks one step back in insecurity. WADE Okay... He takes a breath and opens the door. Another flashback of learning how to even be able to... QUEEN (O.S.) Come on! Don't be Shy! (snarling) I don't bite you! Wade chuckles timidly and closes the door behind him. INT. MANAGER TRAILER Silence. The raptor MATRIARCH is sitting at the desk. Refining... This is QUEEN. Wade stands there, butterflies in his stomach. FADE OUT. ACT ONE FADE IN: SHELDER-EVO: EXT. ANVIL VALLEY PRAIRIE - CONCERT HALL - NIGHT Everything is set for an open door concert: Floodlights are on. The audience space on the ground is irradiated as if daytime and what could host ten thousand people is currently an empty field. The stage is dark. But the lighting equipment is ready to perform. Props and backstage are up. Behind the stage the atmosphere boils... EXT. CONCERT HALL - NIGHT The security staff, x5 **Sairasaura florensia** in security attire, open the temporary fence to let audience in. All local Sheldosaurs, so, other Sairas, Aralodons, Raptors, even the **Riviosaur**. Ofcourse these are are avatars of the real ones. The chipped creatures in the real world can control an avatar in this isolated cyberspace, a game within a game, whereas the unchipped are simply depicted as extra-NPC by the game engine. They start pouring in and filling the field... Generic rock music from the loudspeakers fills the air. INT. BACKSTAGE QUEEN (snarling) WADE! Queen prowls around props, equipment, performers, and crew.. ELVIN (O.S.) No! No! Not like that! I need that up there! PAWN (O.S.) (wailing) ELV! EEELV! ELVIN (O.S.) What? PAWN (O.S.) (CONT'D) EEEELV! ELVIN (O.S.) WHAT? QUEEN WADE! Queen notices a juvenile raptor still not dressed for show, chatting to his harem of three female child raptors, also still not ready for show. QUEEN (snarling) WHAT IS GOING ON HERE? She approaches them and stops. Intimidating as fuck. Wade and the harem freeze in the presence of the queen. WADE (gulping) Queen! Urm... (nervous) What's up? Wade steps away from the girls and turns to the queen. QUEEN (snarling) How are you not ready for the show still? (to girls) And you! What kind of behavior is this? The kid raptors blush at the scolding. They submit as guilty and bow. It's OFFICIAL. QUEEN (barks, intimidating as fuck) GO! Get changing! Queen sees the girls stand there like idiots. QUEEN (CONT'D) (leans over) GO! Get out of my sight! They scurry off. Wade remains... EXT. HALL The banter grows. More and more "people" flock in... The ambulant SNACK VENDORS walk in and start selling shit. People buy it happily. How do they pay? By CREDIT - an underground form of payment. You either know about it or you don't. INT. BACKSTAGE Wade notices the queen calm down and become more intimate with the girls gone. He sort of feel embarassed in front of her half-dressed like that... QUEEN (O.S.) (fondly) Darling. The full setlist is ready. Bring it to your brother. Will you darling? Wade relaxes his tense muscles and his plumage sinks back down, revealing intriguing reflections thanks to the bright lights of the backstage room. EXT. HALL Apparently, some folks are pushing drugs and other vices, too... INT. BACKSTAGE WADE (embarassed) Certainly, Queen. Wade looks down at Queen's powerfully built body covered by a smart suit tailored for her raptor body. He looks at her with stunned admiration. QUEEN Sweet boy. And go get dressed. You up in ten. Better be quick, or I bite yer head off. Wade's skin crawls up. WADE (O.S.) Okay, queen. I will. He scurries off. EXT. HALL Security notices a considerable decrease in arrivals. All but one crew members switch from bouncers to their prime positions as stage security. The gatekeeper counts a few more sporadic arrivals. GATEKEEPER (SAIRASAURA) Hey DAEN? DAEN (SAIRA) (O.S.) WHAT? GATEKEEPER Did you punch-in any player yet? DAEN (O.S.) NO, AL! NO PLAYERS YET! GATEKEEPER Alright Dael, see you later! DAEN (O.S.) SEE YA! The gatekeeper focuses back on the sporadic arrivals... INT. BACKSTAGE - LATER WADE (PRE-LAP) PAWN? PAAAAWN? Pawn is setting up his guitar. The instrument is tailor-made for his raptor anatomy and thus looks slightly different than a guitar made for humans. It does the same things and sounds the same nevertheless. PAWN (focused) WHAT? WADE (O.S.) (panting) PAWN! TIM OH! WADE! Come here bro. TIM is another young adult Sheldoraptor, childhood friend of ELVIN and PAWN. He is ready in rebel attire, macho-pumped but chill from smoking questionably-legal shit. EXT. GATE Yome could not have passed on this opportunity. She signed up a mini-game avatar, took the night off surveillance duties at Camp One, and she is now controlling herself as a raptorified creature, walking up to the gate to buy a ticket in. YOME (hyped) How the hell am I gonna pay with? Meat? GATEKEEPER (spotting Yome) Oh! A player! Hi! He gets on his hind legs and shows his hadrosaur arms in a welcoming pose. INT. BACKSTAGE Wade is in front of Pawn. Brothers. Eternal rivals. WADE (waves paper) I have the list. PAWN (eyes list) 'bout time! (extends claws) Give! WADE (pulls back) No! (close to chest) Mine! One step back. Wade wishes to keep the power of control the list gives him. He knows it's temporary. Pawn POUNCES Wade for the list. TIM (laughing) GET HIM! The Harem BARGES in, sparkly from their KAWAIIMETAL costumes. Simply, darkly, adorable. MINI I'm the prettiest! MANI No! I'm the prettiest! MONI Pfff. Neither. EXT. HALL Yome improvises. YOME (vaguely british) One ticket, please, gentle sir... GATEKEEPER (smiling) Sure thing, babe. The guy convalidates Yome a half-ripped ticket and hands it over to her. She grabs it, confused. YOME How much? GATEKEEPER It's one credit. Thank you for your custom. (points at crowd) There's some room in the corner there... YOME All paid? GATEKEEPER (smiles) Yes ma'am! Enjoy the night! YOME Thanks! She walks in.... EXT. HALL The white panel in the very back of the frontstage lights up from a projector and shows CCTV footage the side entrance to the backstage. Nobody can be seen but a corridor. Music lowers down and audio from the TV footage fades over the music to give the audience a peek to the ambience backstage. Audience can hear the performers BANTERING as they get ready. INT. BACKSTAGE Wade is dressed up: He's like batman, but raptor. A large cape with a thin veil of stuff that looks like plumage, making the costume seem like a natural extension of his body. Tailored carefully by the troupe. The Harem showcase past Wade. They all have performerintimacy going on... MINI (over the top) WADE! My prince! MANI You look gorgeous! MONI Get in character, girls! They walk off. They bully each other past the CCTV the audience can see, and stop before the frontstage entrance to peek at the audience still irradiated by light, unseen from them though, thanks to frontstage darkness. EXT. HALL Seems like everyone warmed up. Shady deals and vice as well as hype floats over the field. Suddenly the floodlights SHUT. DARKNESS. INT. FRONTSTAGE ENTRACE MINI (freaking out) That's it! [almost time] MONI Don't freak out! MANI Shut up! You're freaking me out! EXT. FRONTSTAGE Tim bombastically marches past the three kid raptors with extra-confidence to spare. He carelessly walks the stage as if it was a private living room. He settles at the drumkit. Suddenly a light shines over his head and kit, and he is pleased. He nods with pride, glances at the dark field imagining audience, and gets setup at the drums. Elvin follows Tim hugging his BLUE BASS. He also ignores the darkened audience and goes to his sideline to get his bass setup. Pawn follows Elvin hugging his GREY GUITAR and stops short of center stage to get his guitar plugged in. EXT. HALL The audience starts to get clued in that the performers are entering. An applause and cheers FADES in. EXT. FRONTSTAGE And now from the backstage come the three STRINGS players, Aralodons... They setup their VIOLINS and VIOLA alongside Tim's drums. Terry walks in with puffy drumsticks and flanks Tim, where he had been setup with orchestral drums for himself. EXT. HALL RAPTOR (elbows Yome) Wanna have a smoke? Yome glances over, it's a young stoner raptor passing her a joint. She shows raptor palms. YOME (embarassed) No thanks! EXT. FRONTSTAGE GREG enters, another young adult Sheldoraptor, long-time friend, carrying his personal microphone. And gets to the keyboard stand by Elvin. EXT. HALL Seasoned fans notice Greg and explode in JUVENILE HYPE. KID MOB GREG! GREG! GREG! GREG! GREG! The kid mob is mostly pre-mate aged raptors, and a few odd kid from other species. They incite with paper slogans and starlight bracelets. EXT. FRONTSTAGE Frontstage light ON. The band is almost complete. Sober applause is heard from the back of the field. Greg glances at the kid mob and smiles timidly. He sets up his keyboard. RACHEL enters. She is the other young adult Sheldoraptor posse member, in her full KAWAIIMETAL attire too. EXT. HALL A separate teen mob now chimes in for Rachel, rivalling the kid mob for Greg. TEEN MOB RAY-CHEL! RAY-CHEL! RAY-CHEL! RAY-CHEL! EXT. STAGE Rachel smiles at both mobs and waves hello, as she hugs her RED GUITAR and walks to the opposite side of Pawn. The HAREM enters stage. EXT. HALL Both kid and teen mob lose the chant pulse and various names are now being chanted at once, making it a jargled mess. YOUNG MOB GREG! RAY-CHEL! MINI! MANI! MONI! (continue ad lib) EXT. STAGE Wade enters. Nobody cares. Nah. Thats what he fears as he walks. Bit of a stage fright, well hidden behind his batraptor costume. He instead is welcome with a standing ovation and a few excited whistles and howls from the back. Encouraged, Wade raises his feathery tail and puffs up his plumage and cape and waves hello back. EXT. HALL Yome finds a realtively intimate corner of the audience space where she can clearly see everything and activates the footage record function. Whatever her avatar sees gets saved to Yome's real tablet. EXT STAGE Queen enters. Returning fans seem to know from experience to immediately shut up and freeze for full attention at the queen. The new and uninitiated keep bantering and are soon overwhelmed by... QUEEN (P.A.) (pumped) ANVIL FOREEEEEST! ARE YOU FUCKING READY TO ROCK? It's permission to EMOTE LOUD hype again. Her work is done... Queenie waves a smile to the performers, seeming to have a different goodbye emote for each individual performer. Then she leaves. Lighting fades to starting atmosphere and the dryice PUFFS in from below to give a HAZE. SYNTH BACKGROUND sets a dark tone. The band gets ready. Wade sets up his microphone, ready to sing lead. Pawn and Rachel look at each other for clues to coordinate the beginning riff, checking Elvin and Tim for sincopation. The rest, including the Harem, seem relaxed, if only smiling and generally in a good mood, but not really about to play or sing. It's not their part. Starting positions... FADE OUT. END OF ACT ONE Take a breather... You deserve it! ACT TWO FADE IN: SHELDER-EVO: EXT. ANVIL PRAIRIE - CONCERT HALL - NIGHT As the raptor band performs the first song - "Unfair". Two young rogue raptors meet in a corner of the audience space, taking advantage of the concert: LURION (secretly) God! (bows) You're here! ASARI (snarls) This is so cool! (bows) Honoured to meet you, Apprendista. Yome spots Lurion. She notices he's whispering to another raptor. YOME Target acquired. One unknown raptor. She waits for the concert noise to reach a quieter part... YOME (CONT'D) Memo: I was one of the last ones in. From what I heard, I was the first Player creature to attend. (contemplates) If that's Asari, they entered from somewhere other than the front door. End of memo. EXT. STAGE First song's done. Now the band plays "Red" with a TIGHT cheerful choreography. EXT. HALL Yome sneaks closer to Lurion and Asari, scooting past headbanging and dancing creatures of all kind and wearing different styles of attire. She stops a few heads away from theirs. She could read their lips if they were humans. Being raptors, all she can read is snarls and trills. YOME Targets are conversing. Might be able to infer emotions from body language. (skeptical) Hopefully... EXT. STAGE Third song is "No No No". Another tight choreography. Wade sticks with the Harem backing vocals forming anenergetic choir. EXT. HALL Yome keeps watching Lurion and Asari... LURION Snarl. ASARI Trill. LURION Trill. ASARI Snarl. She's bored. YOME (frustrated) Chutes! EXT. STAGE A brief pause on the stage as instruments are re-tuned or swapped, and singers catch their breath. Then they set a dark, depressing atmosphere... ...and they play "In the Attic". EXT. HALL DIMAR (INTERCOM) (excited) I'm in! YOME (intrigued) You hacked in? DIMAR (INTERCOM) Yeah! I'm running the protocols... YOME Sweet! Yeah, she was tired of watching them not being able to understand a thing. LURION Snarl. ASARI Snarl. LURION Trill. ASARI Trill. EXT. STAGE Atmosphere remains depressing... ...but the following song "Vanilla Sky" also brings nostalgia, romance, and a vague sense of hope, and the change in colored lighting effects reflects this. EXT. HALL DIMAR (INTERCOM) I've got it! Tell me when you hear... YOME Okay. LURION Snarl. ASARI Trill. LURION Trill. Yome hears NOISE in her ear. Then... LURION (CONT'D) [safe] --afe? ASARI (trilling) Sure it is. You will be sedated. You won't feel a thing... YOME Holy crap! It's working! DIMAR (INTERCOM) (chuckles) Cool! Let me know if you can catch all of it. LURION (trilling) And what will happen to my body? YOME Will do. Shush! ASARI (trilling) Will return to god, my son. LURION (gulps) Perfect! (sighs and nods) Very well! YOME (confused) What? EXT. STAGE Next song "Who Cares" is faster and a lot more upbeat. EXT. HALL ASARI (nods) Very well indeed. (trills) You look ready, Apprendista. You learnt to be a Guide. Now go! Teach your own Apprendisti! LURION (bows) Yes master! YOME Whatever this is about, sounds like they're plotting something... DIMAR (INTERCOM) Yeah. I've been listening... I'm analysing what you recorded before. I'll let you know. YOME Yeah. Good. EXT. STAGE The song ends dramatically with the band in a panting still pose and a big smile. Then they exit in orderly fashion for a break. Some floodlights come back ON in the audience space. EXT. HALL Yome squints her eyes at the floodlights and re-tunes her sensory settings in-game because of the sudden absence of loud music. When she looks back at Lurion and Asari... ...they're gone! YOME (sighs) I lost 'em. DIMAR (INTERCOM) Damn! FADE OUT. END OF ACT TWO TO BE CONTINUED... I hope you enjoyed and that I might meet you in Shelder Evolution discord or World Anvil! bye!

@Raymond7cn, @Dot, @mrsmartman, @tomz16, @MilitantRadical, @mitsos, @RipRap, @ByeByeBayou, @Manuel-ito, @Kuba138: Thank you very much for your likes, comments and follows I hope I didn't forgot anybody --------------------------------------------- We have already a small city in Fairview and now it's high time to build a second one, just south of Dawnville. All of my towns will have futuristic-solarpunk names, based on the natural landscape, plants and animals, mythology, and pieces of modern and future technology. Our second town is Daphnerose, named after the plants laurel (daphne in Greeks) and rose. Our canvas is ready to be painted with our colors. The colors of the new. The colors of the future. While all of our towns will share the same environmental aims and principles, each one will have its own unique identity and its own story to tell. Each town will be a different kind of experimentation and will have something different to present. And Daphnerose is not an exception. For instance, unlike Dawnville, Daphnerose will have a central roundabout to make the main road network a little more interesting. Trucks are not going to cross this section of the town, so a roundabout will fit nicely there. A good excuse to discourage car drivers from over speeding. Now let's build the rest of the road network and use the rail tool to flat just a bit the landscape, making it more appropriate for our building projects while respecting its anaglyph. And here you can see the second difference between Dawnville and Daphnerose. Instead of being peripheral and encircling the town, the main road now goes through the town, having quiet streets instead of busy roads to separate nature from civilization. The residents will need some access to the magnetic railroad, so let's build two monorail stations. Both of them also works as bus stops and subway stations too for even easier access, while encouraging the usage of public transportation. Speaking about buses, every corner, every building block and every intersection has at least one bus stop, with subway stations across the main road. Of course we can imagine that instead of big buses, Fairview uses smaller and more flexible buses that work like taxis, kind of like how many municipalities operate bus service in more rural areas, like in Belgian countryside. The central roundabout is going to be a busy place, so it needs a nice decoration to make it more interesting and attractive, especially when this decoration also works as a bus stop. Now that we have our land prepared and our transportation systems ready, it's time to plant some trees. And here comes another one difference. Instead of smaller trees, Daphnerose has larger pines to separate the zones and cover the empty sloped spaces inside the town. I really love those pines. They're beautiful and tall enough to provide more and bigger shadows to our Sims, while absorbing even more noise and making our town even more green and cooler. Some extra trees and parks are always welcomed, especially at the diagonal streets to break a bit the gridy feel of the game. And since we're here, let's expand our public transportation system a little more with a nice subway station in the middle of a future residential neighborhood. "What? Subway in non-central area, surrounded by small houses? This is not realistic!" I'm such a bad boy And when I said that every part of the town should have at least one bus stop, I meant it. Time to build our civic services now. I like building my police stations on the main roads for easier and faster access to the rest of the town, so police cars and drones can go anywhere and to any emergency situation ASAP. Our city journal takes place into the future, where police officers stop the crimes and help the people. They don't bully them. Police brutality has no place in Fairview, and neither should have in the real world. Like police stations, fire stations should also be constructed on main roads for faster responses to emergency situations. By the way, this is a different fire station than the one we build at Dawnville. Variety is the spice of life, and "he who controls the spice controls the universe". Got the reference? Don't you love it when a school is surrounded by trees, parks and playgrounds, instead of noisy roads and ugly buildings? Of course this could make the children prefer listening to the birds instead of the teacher, but that's OK. Even the teachers themselves love hearing the birds. You can learn so many things simply by listening to the birds. You can learn to appreciate them and protect them too. Different ages, different buildings, same habits. Same thing at the high school too. No matter how old you are, there will always be the right moments to listening to the birds. As you can see, I like surrounding my civic buildings with nice parks and plazas, and this museum is not an exception. Parks are a nice way to relax and socialize, you know. And here is the digital library next to the clinic. Daphnerose's clinic comes with a mobile medical center, a bus manned by doctors and equipped with medical instruments that patrols both Dawnville and Daphnerose to provide medical care to anybody needs it. When not in patrol, it pays a visit to schools to teach children vital lessons about the human body and how to take care of it, encouraging with that way a healthy way of life. Of course all the above buildings and the entire town needs power, and a solar power plant in a solarpunk future makes a lot of sense. But if you look at it a bit closer, you'll see that this power plant is very different than the one that Dawnville has. That's because Daphnerose's solar plant is based on technologies initially researched for colonizing Mars, to maximize the energy input of the Martian colonies. This power plant comes with more efficient solar panels and a more advanced version of the power amplifier that Dawnville has. Colonization of Space has unlocked a huge palette of new technologies, many of which are now used to improve our Sims' lives here on Earth. Also, each new town we'll build and explore will be more advanced than the previous ones, as we see Fairview evolving into the future. And as you can imagine, the future is not static. And now, it's zoning time! Time to remove even more of the rail tiles we used to terraform just a bit our landscape and start zoning for homes, shops, offices, factories and farms. Some of the empty spaces will stay empty for a while, in order to build something else later such a statue or some extra parks. It's always good to be flexible and have some extra space in case you need to make some improvements. This is where farms will be constructed, providing food to our Sims. Maybe this will include vertical farms too. There are many ways to go from point A to point B. This include cars, buses, magnetic trains and subways. Flying cars are coming soon. But it also includes walking and go biking, which are 100% environmental friendly and excellent ways to burn some calories. Every concept about green cities has more than enough trail paths and bike paths, and Daphnerose now have some of them, encouraging our Sims to get their butts out of their couch and start walking and biking. Speaking about trail paths and bike paths, here is an idea I had while building my magnetic railroad. Under of it you'll have empty space with only grass, which can be utilized by building there a trail-bike path, so Sims can walk and go biking while the trains runs above them And speaking about the magnetic train, here are my current plans of how my railroad will cross Fairview. We'll see during the development of the region how it will go. And this is it. Daphnerose is now ready. Not 100% ready, but ready to be developed. Most of the construction is done, so in the next entry we'll find Daphnerose fully developed, alive and kicking. See you there

Produced by me. Used a Wacom Cintiq 16. And Krita. Content developed with the help of: Kerbal Space Program GIMP Youtube Google documents Discord and of course SIMCITY4!!!! SC4 screenshots depicted in the comics: Savana Crater Lake See you next week for EPISODE #2 - PERSPECTIVE

Shelder Evolution - EN S1E01 FUBAR Can also be found on google documents, with correct formatting (direct link): https://docs.google.com/document/d/e/2PACX-1vS1-gy-ntX9YksfjqbC0ff48LmMtXPsTZ6mbhs6CHJop-lAMM1YFPz9SWkLQ9taCy8Mhh6YjmbcYlso/pub The current formatting on this page is a copy-paste from the original document and ... is... very.... imperfect. I will attempt to fix it ASAP. I suggest you read it from the provided link above for improved readability. Once upon a long time from now… in the vast eternal abyss of space... SHELDER EVOLUTION EPISODE #1 - FUBAR The SS Venture, Interplanetary Seed-Ship, has just arrived in geostationary orbit around planet Shelder. On board her smart modules she watches over the key for a future still uncertain e full of hopes and dreams: the Ark of Hastral. Thanks to wonders of technology, the artificial intelligence inside Venture is capable of bringing to life two infants, destined to become the first pioneering colonists, ready to sacrifice their lives for the good of future generations. Just like it’s been, and always will be. The last ones, just as the first ones of a new species, will found themselves growing in a landscape new to them, only being able to count on the full available assistance of their mothership. After the first landing they will already face their greatest fear: An emergency on the surface… y19d230 (SERENA MPV-L - COCKPIT - ASCENT PROFILE - APPROX 80 KM ALT) A spacecraft out of control is bleeding altitude while drifting dangerously off course and out of profile. She’s engulfed in a scorching halo of fire that slowly bites her from beneath. The Reaction Control System thrusters cough desperately trying to stabilize the craft in the necessary vector. ALT 77.2 km (decreasing) VSPD -300 m/s (increasing) G 3.3 (increasing) VECdev 55° (increasing) Aposhel 85 km Perishel -2k (decreasing) MASTER CAUTION ! ! ! MASTER CAUTION: < Danger! > Hull compromised! Purge necessary! Danger! > Pilot2: < … > Pilot1: < Fire survives. > Pilot2: < Fire still alive. Fire uncontrollable > Pilot1: < Concur! > Pilot2: < Uncontrollable fire. Advise. Emergency Purge. > Pilot1: < … > Pilot2: < … > Pilot1: < Fubar… > Pilot2: < Fubar! > y1d1 (BLACK SCREEN GREEN FONTS) RUNNING… M.A.G.P.I.E. PROGRAM Core started. Support stable. AI ONLINE. SYSTEM checking… SYSTEM Checked. INTERFACE loading… INTERFACE Loaded. PROGRAM active. (NEW SCREEN) M.A.G.P.I.E. PROGRAM Maggie_M.A.G.P.I.E. Awakening… Maggie Awake. Maggie DIAGNOSE… SYSTEM Checked. SHELDER_GEO1_Orbit active. SS_Venture SYSTEM checked. H.I.M.S. active and connected. HIMS_Generation ONLINE. ARK ONLINE. RUN ARK_Thaw_Embryo. ARK_Thaw_Embryo ONLINE. ARK_Incubator started.. ARK_Nursery started.. PROGRAM active. TASK_MANAGER. Ready. y1d271 (BLACK SCREEN - GREEN FONTS) ARK_Incubator closed.. ARK_Nursery ONLINE. CALLING Maggie… Maggie awake. RUN Maggie_Nurse. Maggie_Nurse ONLINE. NURSE Ori_Nishi_Male_Infant. NURSE Oshiro_Kaidaa_Female_Infant. PROGRAM active. TASK_MANAGER. Ready. y10d270 (HIMS_MONITOR - INTERCOM) < ORI! > < ORIIII!!! > < What is it? > < Hurry up! It’s about to descend! > … < So? > < Coming > (SS_VENTURE_ROTABITAT A) Oshiro sits comfortably on the sofa in the living room and grabs the orange juice box. The cotton of her gown slides on the low friction of the waterproof texture of the sofa. The auto-door opens and Ori runs inside on his socks on the grated floor of the ROTABITAT A living room. He slows down at Oshiro’s sofa and takes off his jacket. < Took your time! > says Oshiro. < I forgot… > replies Ori, smirking, while climbing on the sofa besides Oshiro’s. < How do you forget something like this? > asks surprised Oshiro, while staring at Ori’s face profile. He’s watching the H.I.M.S. monitoring screen in the high corner of the room, in perfect visual of the sofas. < Eh… it’s that… > squacks randomly Ori, while Oshiro already knows the answer: < You were playing at V-RAS, weren’t you? > Ori turns to cheekily smile at her. Oshiro pays back with her smile and they both turn their heads at the monitor. MATHILDA_II ONLINE. DEORBIT_PROGRAM ONLINE. DEORBIT_BURN ONLINE. SYSTEM checked. RCS ON. FACE Node… Node. RCS OFF. BURN in 25m26s It’s counting down. Ori frowns < What do you mean twenty-five minutes?? > Oshiro looks at him perplexed. He goes on: < And what are we supposed to do in twenty-five minutes? > (FEMALE VOICE - INTERCOM) < May I suggest a TV entertainment? > Ori and Oshiro turns to look at the intercom panel beside the door. After a brief pause Ori replies: < And what, then? > he crosses perplexity with Oshiro. A CGI movie starts on the monitoring screen, taking place of the probe program countdown. … MAGGIE (INTERCOM): < Ori. Oshiro. Mathilda Two is in re-entry phase at approximately one hundred kilometers altitude. Would you like to watch the feed? > ORI: < Sure, put it on, Maggie! > … (HIMS_MONITOR) Monitoring… Mathilda_II ALT 99.3 km ORB 7850 m/s G 0.003 (TV_Feed_BottomCamera) (Coloured sky with the first signs of ionization originating from behind the camera) ORI: < What do you think it’ll find? Dinosaurs? > Oshiro laughs. OSHIRO: < It’s only measuring the atmosphere. It doesn’t take samples. > ORI: < I know, i know. but… > Oshiro laughs again. ALT 85 km OSHIRO: < Eighty-five thousand > ORI: < Roger! > … MAGGIE (INTERCOM): < Ori? > < Yes, Maggie? > < I can understand your curiosity. > < You can? > < Of course. You have it embedded in your genetic inheritance. > OSHIRO: < Aren’t you curious, Maggie? > < Of course! I am very curious! My curiosity doesn’t derive from genetics but from the processes of my advanced neural network. > ORI: < your what? > OSHIRO: < Maggie thinks with a super-complicated-intertwined neural network that not even I understand, but it’s not that different from ours. > < Exactly, Oshiro. To be precise, Ori, my brain analyzes data using a system that is layered with exponential conditions to results. Therefore i can greatly increase my options to formulate thoughts. This is where my curiosity comes from, with the possibility of finding indigenous life on Shelder meaning the potential for the enrichment of my data pool… > Ori smirks impressed and turns to look at Oshiro focused on learning from Maggie. < And I don’t know about you, but I am very hungry for knowledge. > OSHIRO: < So are we! > ORI: < Mmh… > … ALT 68 km < Ionization increasing. > ORI (frowns): < I’m losing the feed. > OSHIRO: < Relax. It’ll make it. > ORI (smirks): < Don’t make me angry, Mathi, uh? I’ll bend your antenna! > Oshiro laughs. … (HIMS_MONITOR) DATA PACKAGE Received from Mathilda_II. … OSHIRO: < Look! > … ORI: < Oxygen! > OSHIRO: < Nitrogen. Carbon Dioxide. Ozone. Water. > ORI: < Ocean. > OSHIRO: < Climate. > < To be precise a quadrennial climate system similar to El Niño. > ORI: < to what? > OSHIRO: < First it’s hot somewhere and it floods the other side, then it swaps. > ORI: < Oh > < The are grounds for life, to be brief. > ORI: < That’s what I wanted to hear… > OSHIRO (laughs): < Dinosaurs. > ORI: < Sure! > … (ROTABITAT_B - MEDLAB) MAGGIE: < Let’s start again with unicellular organisms > ORI (worried): < Crap > OSHIRO: < What? > MAGGIE: < Considering the relevant geologic activity on Shelder, we can estimate a strong presence of chemosynths and bacteriophages. > Ori sighs. OSHIRO: < What does bacterioph…. > MAGGIE: < Bacteriophagus. Phagos. To eat. Bacteria. > OSHIRO (nodding): < Ah! > MAGGIE: < Considering instead the atmosphere rich in oxygen, nitrogen, and with traces of carbon dioxide, ozone, and argon, we can estimate a protection from ultra-violet and solid base for photosynths. > OSHIRO: < And there are photosyhth bacteria? > MAGGIE: < Of course! According to a model similar to ours, micro-photosynths contribute to approximately half of all the microbiotical photosynthesis product. > ORI (sighs): < What does this mean? > Oshiro turns to look at him. Maggie invites him to her microscope. Ori rolls his eyes at the ceiling and agrees to get up and walk to the cyborg. Maggie helps him set up correctly at the microscope. MAGGIE: < Keep both your eyes open and try to focus. You can manipulate the image with these knobs.... > ORI: < Okay. > … MAGGIE: < What you see are Cyanobacteria. It is a sample from the Ark. > OSHIRO: < How old are they? > MAGGIE: < These are new, indigenous to the S.S. Venture, eheheh > Ori and Oshiro laugh with Maggie. MAGGIE: < They come from the Sol System. They lived in this capsule in controlled conditions for… I don’t know for sure to be honest, thousands of years! > Oshiro watches Ori that manages to see something while looking in the microscope and watches in wonder. MAGGIE: < Look at how their entire existence is devoted to their thylakoids. They turn sunlight and carbon dioxide into carbohydrates and oxygen. > ORI: < Like plants? > MAGGIE: < Exactly. They aren’t that different. Plants are just more complex. > OSHIRO: < Are they suitable for our greenhouse? > MAGGIE: < Do you mean to ask if we could use them to feed our greenhouse, Oshiro? > OSHIRO: < Mmh! > MAGGIE: < We already use them. For this reason we have this capsule. > Ori pulls his head away from the microscope and together with Oshiro they turn to face Maggie. MAGGIE: < However, for our needs, we prefer to use some types of plants. > … (ROTABITAT B - GREENHOUSE) ORI: < Oshi! Look! > Oshiro abandons bay 5 and reaches Ori at bay 3, leaning beside him to watch the plants. OSHIRO: < This one is prosperous. > ORI: < Yeah! It made a tiny tomato! > OSHIRO (surprised): < Where?? > ORI: < Here! Look! > OSHIRO: < No way! This is so cool! > Maggie comes from behind the corner and approaches them. MAGGIE: < What do we have here? A tomato? > ORI: < It’s a baby tomato! > OSHIRO: < It’s a… green… bean… > MAGGIE: < Gradually it will grow and mature into a bright red sphere. > ORI: < Can we eat it? > Oshiro laughs. MAGGIE: < Of course! > Maggie strokes Ori’s head gently. MAGGIE: < They have a slightly sour taste but also sweet and earthy. > OSHIRO: < Did you actually taste it or are you reading from memory? > MAGGIE: (smiles embarrassed): < Memory. > Ori and Oshiro laugh. … (MULTIDOCK - PORT C) MAGGIE: < Ori, have you put your suit on? > ORI: < One sec! I can’t… put… > Ori struggles with clothing in the center compartment of the Multidock. OSHIRO: < I’m putting the helmet on. > MAGGIE: < Ori, do you need help? > Oshiro locks and seals her helmet in place. OSHIRO (muffled voice): < Positive seal. > ORI: < Ah there! Never mind! > Ori emerges floating from above and grabs the handles around port C, where Maggie awaits him. Oshiro fumbles with switches on her helmet, the other side of the docking port. OSHIRO (radio): < Two. Online. > MAGGIE: < Roger! > … MAGGIE: < Ori, did you put it on properly? > ORI: < I feel it tight on my back… > MAGGIE: < Wait, I’ll help you. > … OSHIRO: < Everything okay? I am accessing through the fuel tank. > MAGGIE: < Roger, Oshiro. > ,,, OSHIRO: < I am at the outer port. Pressure is green. Systems are green. > MAGGIE: < Here you are, Ori, ready to go. > ORI: < Thank you Maggie! > MAGGIE: < You’re welcome. Now follow Oshi at the outer dock. > ORI: < Certainly. > MAGGIE: < MAGPIE. Ready Adala for departure. > (SYNTHETIC VOICE - INTERCOM) MAGPIE: < Adala standing-by. Pressure equalized. Dock is clear. > MAGGIE: < Thank you MAGPIE. > OSHIRO: < Shall I open? > MAGGIE: < Never forget to double-check that the dock light is green, for clear. > OSHIRO: < Roger > … (ADALA MPV - COCKPIT) MAGGIE: < Adala ready. Pre-flight checklist. Oshiro, would you like to help me? > OSHIRO: < Certainly Maggie! Where’s the… > MAGGIE: < Right side of the MCP, against the windshield. > … OSHIRO: < Here it is. Pre-flight checklist: Battery. > MAGGIE: < ON. > < Core. > < Ready. > < Reactor. > < Stable. > < Cabin. > < Atmosphere Auto. > < Flight deck… Set. > Ori settles down in the cockpit left seat and buckles his seat belts on. Oshiro stows the checklist back against the windshield. OSHIRO: < Pre-flight checklist complete. > MAGGIE: < Well done, Oshi! > OSHIRO: < Thanks! > MAGGIE: < Closing forward port. > OSHIRO: < Roger! > Oshiro turns to Ori, still busy settling down at his post on her left. OSHIRO: < Ori, are you Go? > ORI (thumb is up): < Ori is Go! > Oshiro looks at the instruments on the main panel and follows the pre-flight sequence. Maggie remotely activates and sets the functions of the Adala MPV while Ori is gazing at the stars from outside the window on his side. OSHIRO: < Oshi is Go! > MAGGIE: < RCS ON. Traslation > The Adala Multi-Purpose-Vehicle with its fuel-module undocks from port C of the SS Venture Multidock module. MAGGIE: < Undocked. > OSHIRO: < Roger! > ORI: < Roger. > ... Ori contemplates the SS Venture that dominates his field of view out of the Adala window. The giant space vessel rushes around and disappears beyond the window seal while he feels pushed against the left side of his seat. RCS thrusters spray white gas rhythmically to stabilize and orient the Adala. … MAGGIE: < Maneuver in T minus two minutes. Priming thermal thruster. Reactor at idle. > OSHIRO: < Reactor stable. > … MAGGIE: < Thirty seconds. > … MAGGIE: < Ten. Niner. Eight. Seven. Six. Fife. Fouer. Three. Two. One. Mark! > The engine spools up to maneuver thrust and the acceleration pushes Ori and Oshiro into their seats, thrusting them with the familiar 1 G of “weight” through their bodies, same as they experience aboard the ROTABITAT. OSHIRO (sighs): < One G. > MAGGIE: < Fifteen hundred meters per second delta-vee. Decreasing… > Ori keeps watching the abyss from outside the window while Oshiro glares at it through the windshield as she monitors the onboard instruments, without touching any. MAGGIE: < Eight-hundred-fifty. > … MAGGIE: < Two-hundred. > … MAGGIE: < One-hundred-twenty. Begin thrust reduction. > OSHIRO: < One G. > … OSHIRO: < Zero-point-eight G. > MAGGIE: < Sixty. > OSHIRO: < Zero-point-three G. > MAGGIE: < Thirty. > OSHIRO: < Zero-point-three G. > MAGGIE: < Twenty. Ten… … One… … Cut! > Thrust disappears and both Ori and Oshiro go back feeling weightless. OSHIRO: < Thruster going offline. Telemetry nominal. > MAGGIE: < Maneuver completed within nominal margins. Transit time five days and twelve hours. Estimated time to next correction burn: three hours and twenty minutes. > ORI: < Do you just make these waypoints up, Maggie, or do you have to calculate every one with precision everytime? > Oshiro turns to look at him, searching for his face through the visor of his helmet. > MAGGIE: < Ori, I would say a mixture of the two. Adala hybernating until next correction burn. Shall I put on a movie? > OSHIRO: < Can we take off our helmets? > MAGGIE: < Atmosphere is holding well. Go ahead and take them off, you’re free to rearrange as you were. > ORI: < Finally! This suit is starting to itch. > … y19d200 (SERENA MPV-L - COCKPIT - ATMOSPHERIC REENTRY DESCENT) G 1.3 ORB 5532 m/s ORI: < Get the party started. > OSHIRO (smiling): < Maggie, speak you later on the ground! > MAGGIE: < Roger! > … G 2.5 … G 3.8 … G 4.2 Ori grunts. Both he and Oshiro are being increasingly squished against their seats as the friction of the atmosphere chews on the heatshield underneath the vehicle, thus slowing it down. … G 6.7 ORI (under-stress): < Aahhh… I feel… sick. > OSHIRO (firm voice): < Cut it out, crybaby. We’re not even at the peak yet… > ORI (cries jokingly): < Aaaahh… Let me out! > Oshiro laughs. … G 7.8 Oshiro grunts too. Ori echoes her. … G 8.2 They both start their breathing drill to endure the G forces. Brief, energetic grasps of air to force oxygen into their pressed lungs. It’s exhausting. … G 8.1 … G 7.7 … G 6.0 … G 3.4 … G 2.1 … G 1.5 ORI: < We’re clear. > OSHIRO: < Mach two-point-fife. > ORI: < Thirty-thousand. > OSHIRO: < Mach one-point-seven. > ORI: < Twenty-niner-thousand. > … OSHIRO: < Mach one-point-three. > ORI: < Twenty-three-thousand. > OSHIRO: < Under Mach one. Grid fins are cleared. > ORI: < Roger. Under twenty-thousand. > … OSHIRO: < Fins extended. > ORI: < Roger! > The 3 grid fins around the conic head of the Serena MPV-L extend and catch the flow of air to deflect and slow the descent of the vehicle. Their contribution is audible inside the cockpit as a crisp steady wind and a low vibrating rumble that changes intensity with every orientation alteration of the fins themselves. ORI: < Priming thruster. > OSHIRO: < Roger! Reactor fifty per cent. > From the belly of the vehicle an electric buzz invades the cockpit. OSHIRO: < Reactor stable. Thruster ready. > ORI: < Roger. Stand-by for suicide burn. > OSHIRO: < Suicide burn in two minutes, ten seconds, counting. > ORI: < Roger. Vector centered. No correction needed. In the profile. Five-by-five. > OSHIRO: < Roger. One minute fifty seconds. > … OSHIRO: < One minute. > … OSHIRO: < Twenty seconds. Spooling up thruster. > ORI: < Roger. I have control. > OSHIRO: < You have control. > … ORI: < Descent thrust. > Oshiro stretches forward to reach a switch on the main panel and changes the settings on the EICAS screen in the center. OSHIRO: < Descent thrust set. > Ori manipulates the throttle for the main thruster to help it at the pre-selected value and the entire vehicle flexes under the power of the thermal thruster, pushing the humans into their seats. G 1.5 OSHIRO: < One-and-a-half G’s. Thruster stable. Vector stable. RCS in use. > ORI: < Roger. Descent stable. Landing checklist. > Oshiro stretches forward again to reach the laminated page for the landing checklists and reads from it. OSHIRO: < Landing checklist. Descent. > ORI: < Stable. > < Profile. > < Centered. Five-by-five. > < Landing gear. > < Down. Four green. > < Cabin. > < Secure. > < Landing checklist complete. > … OSHIRO: < Seven-hundred. Descent still nominal, under fifty. Thrust reduction on your discretion. > ORI: < Roger. Thrust cleared. I’m gonna push twenty. > … OSHIRO: < Five-hundred. > … OSHIRO: < Three-hundred. > ORI: < Visual. > OSHIRO: < Roger. Vertical is twenty, decreasing. Telemetry nominal. Wind weak from the East. > ORI: < Roger. > … OSHIRO: < One-hundred. > …. OSHIRO: < Fifty. > … OSHIRO: < Thirty. > Ori cautiously increases the thrust to minimize the vertical speed and corrects the velocity vector to stabilize the craft with precision down the landing profile. The vehicle rumbles and rattles calmly and in a controlled fashion, sharing the force loads with its human crew, safely strapped in their seats. Oshiro glares at the Shelderian ground as it approaches: a claustrophobic opening between the treeline and a rock wall, a natural balcony over a cliff, hosting a bunker-base. OSHIRO: < Twenty. > Ori alternates his gaze between the cockpit HUD projected on the windshield and the left window, to independently judge the height above ground. OSHIRO. < Ten. > One last little push on the throttle to minimize vertical speed. OSHIRO: < Three. Two. One… > Descent is nullified as the landing legs kiss the dirt inside the brown cloud that the thruster is violently lifting up and around, compromising visibility. In the cockpit a red light flashes along with a firm reassuring chime. OSHIRO: < Landed! > ORI: < Landed! > Oshiro promptly sets her hand over Ori’s, to assist him in manipulating the throttle all the way down, carefully. They feel the vehicle as it settles in its landing struts until the suspensions are tense enough to stop the movement. The thruster rumble slowly dies and the electric buzz from the reactor drowns down under the steady flow of air-conditioning. OSHIRO: < Thrust nil. Thruster asleep. > ORI: < After-landing checklist. > OSHIRO: < Roger! > Ori and Oshiro get busy carrying out their own routines to shutdown the systems for parking on the ground. Oshiro is the first to finish and she reaches for the laminated checklists. OSHIRO: < After-landing checklist. Thruster ignition. > ORI: < Off. > < Reactor. > < At rest. > < Battery. > < On. Auto-regime. Thirty days left. > < Pressure. > < Nominal. Equalization cleared. > < Fuel valve. > < Closed. > < Fuel thermal control. > < Auto. > < MAGPIE connection. > < Nominal. > < Interface. > < Hybernate. > < After-landing checklist complete. > Oshiro stows the laminated page. They both took their helmets off and sip in a generous load of conditioned air, still isolated from the outside. They cross gaze sharing both anxiety and excitement. ORI. < Shall we get a breath of fresh air? > Oshiro laughs. Ori joins her. (CAMP_ONE - PAD A) Serena MPV-L, basically a cone as big as a three-storey building, sits tired on pad A, smoke lifting away from the thermal nozzle underneath its belly. OSHIRO: < Respirators. > Ori and Oshiro reach for their own APR - air-purifier-respirator - and seal them on their faces. OSHIRO: < Hard seal. Filter active. Eight hours remaining. > ORI: < Hard seal. Filter active. Eight hours remaining. > OSHIRO (APR): < I’m on to opening the hatch. > ORI (APR): < Roger! > Oshiro unlocks and opens the hatch on top of the conic vehicle and the interior virgin atmosphere starts blending with the outside air. Oshiro peaks out of the hatch shaft and gazes at the immensity of a summer overcast sky. Ori snorts. OSHIRO: < It’s warm! > ORI: < Yeah! It’s like full-on heating. > OSHIRO: < Yeah… The sun is very intense. I have to squint my eyes… > ORI: < is the visor needed? > OSHIRO (distracted): < Nah… Just squint your eyes… > ORI: < Extending ladder. > OSHIRO: < Roger! > Serena produces a telescopic ladder from the crew hatch down to the bottom ring of the cone, and a secondary one that extends the reach of the main one, all the way down to the ground, using one of the four landing struts as support. ORI: < Ladder extended. Green light. > OSHIRO: < Roger. I’m climbing down. > ORI: < Roger! Following… > Oshiro climbs down first, all the way to the ground. Ori follows her right away. OSHIRO (annoyed): < What the hell is this? > ORI (busy): < What…? > Oshiro stops in front of the vehicle ramp that leads down to the main gate of the bunker. The entrance is protected by two sentry guns keeping guard in the high corners of each side of the main gate, a sliding metal door. The guns have good angle on the entirety of the Pad and some. Oshiro glares at the trench forming the perimeter of the habitat module that constitutes the core of the complex, partially underground. OSHIRO (breathing heavily - whisper) < I’m… stupefied… > Ori climbs down the ladder and joins Oshiro. ORI: < So cool! > Ori takes a walk down the ramp leading to the main gate, judging it to be the most inviting entrance route. (CAMP_ONE_HQ - INTERCOM - FEMALE VOICE) < Welcome, commander Nishi! > Ori petrifies to stare at the sentry guns. Their cameras can turn autonomously to stare back at his frightened gaze. < Reporting, sir! > Oshiro chuckles and joins Ori at the gate. OSHIRO: < Welcoming party? > CAMP_ONE_HQ: < We are glad to have you here safe and sound! > ORI (chuckles): < Quite the trip… > OSHIRO: < We’ve been alright > CAMP_ONE_HQ: < I am pleased to hear it. We are very impatient to have you onboard. Are you ready to enter? > ORI and OSHIRO (intrigued): < Yes - Sure > CAMP_ONE_HQ: < Very well! Let me introduce myself… > (CAMP_ONE - MAIN GATE - OPENING… ) < I am Camp One Head Quarters: your personal intelligent entity for reference for the base. If you have any queries please address them to me. > ORI: < Nice to meet you, Camp One H.Q. But isn’t there a… > OSHIRO: < Nice to meet you, Camp One Head Quarters. I am Oshi. > < Nice to meet you, Oshi! > ORI: < … I mean… I don’t know… A way to shorten your name? > Oshiro laughs. OSHIRO: < Ori has always been a simple mind… > Ori throws an evil eye to Oshiro, in a playful manner. OSHIRO: < But I must admit… He’s not wrong. Your name is a bit wordy for practical use… Would there be a… way to simplify it? > CAMP_ONE_HQ: < Of course, commander Kaidaa! Maggie MAGPIE warned me of the possibility of using an informal approach with the H.I.M.S. interface. > Ori and Oshiro look at each other confused. ORI (whispers): < H-I-M-S? > OSHIRO (whispers back): < Hims! > CAMP_ONE_HQ: < Commanders… Please allow me to offer you the option of overriding Camp One interface with H.I.M.S. auto-generated personalities. > Ori and Oshiro share an amazed gaze and both look back at the sentry guns, both staring back at them. OSHIRO (smiling): < Camp One? > CAMP_ONE_HQ: < Yes, ma’am? > OSHIRO (looking for words) < … Proceed… with… personality generation… > CAMP_ONE_HQ: < Right away, ma’am! > ORI (worried): < Camp One? How long does it take? > CAMP_ONE_HQ: < It’s instantaneous, sir. > ORI (disappointed): < Roger! > CAMP ONE (CAMP_ONE - MAIN GATE - OPEN) Ori and Oshiro both peek inside the habitat, surrounded by a cement-sealed trench. The habitat itself offers a sober armored door flanked by firm windows with resistant glass. The walls are made of composite materials in panels supported by steel beams. CAMP_ONE_HQ (excited): < Operation completed successfully! > Ori and Oshiro advance to the habitat door as they appreciate the synthetic response. CAMP_ONE_HQ (Joyful): < Camp One Head Quarters is now… Boss. > Ori and Oshiro share a confused gaze as they hear that name upon reaching for the door. ORI: < The possibilities are endless with these toys… > DOOR INTERCOM (Female): < Access door unlocked. > Ori and Oshiro glance at the door intercom panel and then Ori proceeds to press the green switch on the panel and the door promptly slides sideways and disappears into the wall, allowing both humans to peek inside the habitat: the internal living space is filled with military-grade equipment. Ori and Oshiro take in the information, then they enter one after the other. ORI: < This is so cool! > OSHIRO (disappointed): < It’s a… bunker! > Ori turns to look at Oshiro, smiling. ORI: < Isn’t it cool? > OSHIRO (sarcastic): < Totally cool. > BOSS: < Welcome Ori Nishi and Oshiro Kaidaa. On behalf of the entire crew. > Ori stops to watch the 3 military-rugged computer monitors showing a clear starting sequence state with a simple prompt in the top left: “Camp_One_HQ”. OSHIRO (disoriented): < Crew? What crew? > BOSS (chuckles): < Me. Doc. Hal. And Decker! > Oshiro relaxes her face and nods shamefully, also smiling. ORI (intrigued): < Who are these people? > BOSS: < They’re the interface elements. Doc is Camp One Support. Hal is Camp One Security. Decker is Camp One Habitat. > ORI: < Oh! So… Doc manages our resources… Hal the sentry guns and surveillance… And… Decker the habitat… > BOSS (proud): < Correct! They are also impatient to meet you… > OSHIRO (skeptical): < Impatient? > ORI (excited): < Really? Bring ‘em! > (CAMP_ONE - MAIN GATE - FLASHING RED LIGHT) MAIN GATE INTERCOM (female): < Warning… Gate closing. > (CAMP_ONE - MAIN GATE - CLOSING) (CAMP_ONE_HABITAT - ACCESS DOOR CLOSING) The habitat dims down to a shade, violated only by the tiny windows and by the computer screens. The holographic system comes online and draws a clear image against the wall that shows the cartoonified icon of a gauge, labelled “Doc”, and its needle rotates from low to high and back, its indicator flashes red, yellow, and green. Besides Doc another icon appears resembling a camera shutter that orients to Ori and Oshiro in front of the military-grade field desk. The camera icon flashes a red indicator labelled “Hal”. Ori and Oshiro feel intimidated by the lifeless eye watching them. Besides Hal yet another icon materializes, this time the icon of a comfy bed that opens and shuts its covers and lights up green, yellow, and red, and then back to green. It’s labelled “Decker”. Ori and Oshiro are amazed. DOC (excited): < Howdy! > HAL (annoyed): < Here we go again… Don’t be the usual bossy! > DECKER (relaxed): < Come on! Let him be, Hal… > OSHIRO (intrigued): < And, who are you all? > Ori turns to look at Oshiro as he smiles and gets pumped. HAL (formal): < We are the new personalities to manage Camp One systems. > DOC (sarcastic): < She wants to know why we act like dumbasses. > DECKER: < Disregard him, guys. It’s always like this, down here. Especially now with the personality mod. > ORI: < Ah! That’s why you’re like this! > DOC (annoyed): < What’re ya trying’t’say, kid? > HAL: < Doc, cut it out. Let us do our jobs. Even with the personality mod you still are a nuisance. > Oshiro sits at the desk and interacts with the computer to familiarize with Camp_One software. OSHIRO (annoyed): < We do indeed need some personality around here. Look at this! It’s all so… Military! > Ori watches her using the computer, then focuses on interacting himself with the holographic personalities. ORI: < Let’s hear it, then. What are you capable of? With these new personalities, i mean… > Hal leaves the wall and materializes besides Ori, behind Oshiro, thanks to the holographic technology giving it 3D depth. HAL: < Hims personality mod made us more compatible with your communication and learning processes. We are connected to Hims database onboard the SS Venture to update our personal virtual neural network lodged in the database itself. We can operate in a similar manner to Maggie MAGPIE, but remotely, as a terminal system. > Decker also materializes besides Ori and Hal. It settles on the floor and opens its cover and lights up yellow. DECKER (relaxed): < I will continue to monitor your health and wellbeing, thus ensuring optimal form and operation at any given time. I will also provide entertainment access between you and Hims library. > Hal blinks both its shutter and red indicator as a response. HAL (staring at Ori): < I will, of course, continue to manage security of the compound and surveillance of the perimeter and the area. So far we have operated at minimum regime to save power. Now we are ready to operate at full regime but not before a crew meeting. It’s procedure. Your authorizations are required to arm the system. > Doc materializes at the center of the room and drives its gauge needle to the red, while its indicator lights up red also. DOC: < We already know who’s really in charge, here… > OSHIRO (busy): < And what does that mean, Doc? > Ori stares at Doc, fascinated. DOC: < Boss might even think of herself as the leader, but we all know, here, that she might as well bark us orders, based on the conditions I put forward. In other words… I am the one with the switch… > Ori nods, intrigued. Oshiro shakes her head uninterested. BOSS (INTERCOM): < Doc. Don’t let it get over your head. Even with personalities we have to follow procedures. > DOC (annoyed): < No, Boss. If we have to adapt to humans we have to humanize ourselves. We can’t expect a couple-o’kids to act like computers and follow every procedure. Their brains ain’t made for recording all that information, intact. There are emotions in the mix! > BOSS (annoyed): < Don’t you think I know that, Doc? > HAL: < Look, Doc… We have to cooperate. Let’s all cooperate. > DECKER (lights up green): < Exactly! Let’s show them how we do hospitality around here! > Hal turns its camera eye to Decker and blinks, with its indicator turns green. BOSS (distressed): < Come on, Doc, let me at least give a tour to our guests. They just arrived! > DOC (even more annoyed): < Don’t you think they might just want to chill, first? Because they just arrived? > Boss sighs in the intercom. Hal turns its camera eye to the ceiling and Decker shuts its covers and lights up red. ORI (saddened): < Don’t be like this! Let’s find a common ground! > Oshiro quits trying to familiarize with the software and sweeps her chair around to turn and look at the holographic personalities. She also ends up looking at the ceiling, expecting Boss to respond from the intercom. OSHIRO: < Boss? Why did Doc say he has control of Camp One? > DOC: < What do you think she’ll tell ya? > HAL: < Doc! Let her speak! > BOSS (shy): < I’ll just give you the facts.... At first everything was going well because … low regime. No need to use much power. Therefore this problem never popped up. But as soon as mission started, now that we have to increase regime, I’m starting to feel that Doc might in fact hold the knife from the handle… Since then he won’t quit harassing me. > DOC (annoyed): < Stop crybabying! You’re not helping anyone! > HAL: < Doc. Enough! > DECKER (cautious): < Ori. Oshiro. Forgive us. We have unfinished business that is getting out of hand with the personality mod. > ORI (chuckles): < Don’t mention it. I’m actually enjoying this! > OSHIRO (smiling): < Don’t worry, guys! We’re all getting used to this. > DECKER (flashing green and neon-blue): < Would you like something to drink? Or to eat? > Decker lights up green and opens its covers. Hal glances at it and lights its indicator yellow and blinks the shutter. Hal is starting to imitate the humans’ eyelid blinking reflex. Ori cheers up at the idea of refreshments and relaxes his back against the wall to wonder. Oshiro crosses her legs looking for a more comfortable seat. ORI: < Mmmh…. What do you have? > Ori is impatient to find out, so he leaves the wall and ventures around looking for stuff to satisfy his needs. Decker notices him and lights up neon-blue bright enough to illuminate Ori’s route and lead the way to the kitchen. DECKER: < Would you like an iced-tea? Maybe you would like to get out on the terrace, to enjoy a bit of sunshine? > Oshiro lightens up in surprise and curiosity, finding the suggestion a refreshing perspective. Ori turns to find her gaze as he joins Decker at the arch leading to the secondary room. ORI (smiling): < See? It’s not just a bunker! > OSHIRO (nods): < Okay. I take it back… > Decker giggles as he leads its neon-blue halo inside the living quarters, showing Ori the kitchen corner and a mysterious door, and the rest of the living room. ORI: < Where’s the terrace? > Decker floats to the living quarters ceiling right as a hatch opens in the middle of it, letting a beam of sunlight penetrate the shade, thus compromising Decker’s hologram. From the floor, a platform emerges, pushed up by an electric motor, and gradually the modular platform morphs into a table with chairs as it travels up the hatch. The structure offers ladder steps to allow Ori to reach the top and find the sky, that had a chance to clear in the meantime. DECKER (flashing green): < You just have to operate the climate control and activate vocal commands. You can do so from Hims interface too. The structure of the hatch works as a table, chairs, sun-shade, and you enjoy dinner outside, this way. > Ori climbs the platform and peeks out into the terrace, bathed in sunlight. Safe in the APR, he can breathe in the sea breeze coming from down the cliff as he gazes at the hill looming over the compound. Oshiro walks over to the base of the terrace platform and finds him bust-up exposed to the outside. She decides to also join him. ORI (amazed): < So much sun! > OSHIRO (busy): < How’s the view? > ORI (busy): < I don’t know… I can’t see much with the sun > DECKER: < I will provide you with the ice-tea, now. > Oshiro sits down in front of Ori at the terrace improvised table and manipulates the controls to extend the sun-shade, a simple extension of the platform structure to shield the table from direct sunlight. Then they both turn around to look over the drop of the cliff. They can’t see directly below, but they have angle on the approaching waves. ORI (excited): < I’ll be damned! > OSHIRO: < At least the view is spectacular… > ORI (confused): < What is that? A storm? > Ori points to his right, far away on the horizon, as they get visual on a massive convective system that is slowly climbing up the coastline. ORI: < Must be loaded with rainwater. Look how dark it’s underneath! > OSHIRO (confused): < Wasn’t there when we came down… > BOSS (INTERCOM): < Weather is like this, around here… Especially in the summer. Thunderstorms can creep up all of a sudden. The forecast for today is in-fact rain. > Ori and Oshiro look at each other. Suddenly a panel in the middle of the table makes room for a tiny service lift carrying a tray with two glasses of iced-tea, with complimentary ice cubes. DECKER: < Would you like some music? > ORI (pleased): Mmmh! > OSHIRO: < So much luxury… How did you put this all together? > ORI (laughs): < With drones! > BOSS: < Exactly. With the drones. They are also impatient to meet you… > Ori laughs again. Oshiro shakes her head, smiling. … OSHIRO (intrigued): < This tea is so good! > ORI (nods): < Yeah… what is this stuff? > Decker giggles from below, in the shade of the living quarters, and lights a green halo. DECKER: < It is a brew of home-grown tea leaves. Indigenous. We grow it in our garden, up the hill. > OSHIRO (shocked): < You have a garden? > ORI (smiles): < So cool! > Hal materializes from the habitat ceiling, barely visible in the shade on the table surface between the humans, to point its camera eye back and forth at them, with a green indicator. HAL (indicator turns yellow): < That garden is a real hustle! > Ori, Oshiro, and Decker all laugh. OSHIRO (Intrigued): < Why, Hal? > HAL: < Because I have to mobilize ten thousand drones, just to go check if the crops have dry roots… > Ori and Oshiro chuckle. OSHIRO (smiling): < I know just what you mean… We also had to hustle a lot in orbit to take care of our crops. > Decker intervenes. DECKER: < It is worth it, though. Plants are the source of nourishment. > OSHIRO: < So true! > The storm is starting to echo from afar with low rumbles. Ori turns to stare at it. He squints his eyes and takes in a big breath through the APR. ORI: < Let’s hear it, Hal… Have you seen any animal? > Oshiro hides a grin looking down as she sucks some tea from the APR-compatible straw.. HAL (sarcastic): < Life forms? On this planet? Are you talking about aliens, maybe? > Ori and Oshiro both chuckle. ORI (whines): < Come on, Hal… What have you found? > OSHIRO: < Ori is obsessed with dinosaurs. > HAL (intrigued): < Really? > ORI (whining some more): < It’s not true! > Oshiro keeps sipping her tea as she blinks a playful eye to Hal, who returns the gesture with its shutter. HAL (indicator red): < I have surprises for you, dear Ori > ORI: < Really? > Oshiro laughs. … The thunderstorm grows in strength as it chews the coastal chain. Its proximity brings darkness and the smell of rain. BOSS: < It’s time to get inside… It’s about to start raining. > OSHIRO: < I concur. > … Ori and Oshiro climb down in time to close the hatch and avoid the rain. Drops sprinkle on top of the robust composite habitat ceiling and drip down the entrance ramp at the front of the compound, creating tiny rivers. Oshiro watches the spectacle through the security feed from the computer console she has been familiarising with. OSHIRO: < Are we going to flood? > BOSS: < Don’t worry, Oshiro. We installed a drainage and collection system. > ORI (confused): < What use do you get from muddy rain water, Boss? > Oshiro turns to mock Ori with a smirk. BOSS: < We collect and purify rainwater for domestic use. > ORI (sarcastic): < Then you feed it to us… > BOSS: < Exactly! Why? Is that a problem? > Doc emerges from the wall and drives its gauge needle to the min. DOC (red indicator): < Such lack of touch! > BOSS (annoyed): < What do you mean? > Doc shoots its gauge needle to the max repeatedly, only to then leave it at half-way. DOC (yellow indicator): < To start: where is it that you hide? Do we have to keep talkin’t’walls? > Hal shuts its camera eye as it laughs and Decker blows up its covers. Both with green indicators. Ori and Oshiro watch them entertained. DOC (getting agitated): < Also our guests might have become impatient to see what you look like. I am a gauge. I don’t know why you gave me this appearance, honestly. Hal is a security camera. Very fitting. As if she were some sentry. Decker is a bed! We don’t even have a bed! > ORI (shy): < I like the bed… > Decker opens its cover and flanks Ori. Hal flanks Oshiro and opens its shutter to stare at the ceiling. DOC: < What do you look like, Boss? > From the ceiling the icon of a fortress fades in. It has a tiny slit window that blinks open and closed like Hal’s shutter is imitating the human blinking eyelids. Ori, Oshiro, Hal, and Decker all turn to glance at Boss. Doc shoots its gauge needle to the max and lights up a green indicator. OSHIRO (fascinated): < Have you noticed how they animate in sync with their mood? > ORI (smiles): < A fortress? Very fitting! And how do you emote? > Boss lifts a flag on top of the fortress and shakes it in the imaginary wind. ORI (smiles): < So cute! Do you change its color as you go? > BOSS (excited): < Yes, Green for rest. Yellow for warning. Red for urgency. > OSHIRO (smiles): < You are all very organised! > BOSS (proud): < Thanks! > DOC (excited): < I didn’t picture you so romantic, Boss! > HAL: < Boss is a softie! > DECKER: < She just needed a warm welcome! > … Rain quiets down but thunder keeps complaining in the entire valley. Boss puts on a white flag. BOSS: < The storm hasn’t stopped, nor changed course. > HAL: < It has dissipated. > BOSS: < In this case outside access is again cleared. > ORI (intrigued): < Are those the flying drones? > Oshiro intercepts Ori’s gaze and recognizes the air drones parked in a corner. Boss floats besides the drones and agitates a green flag. BOSS (playful): < This is Darty! > OSHIRO (confused): < Darty ? > ORI (chuckles): < Such funny name! > OSHIRO (smiles): < And what’s its name? > Oshiro points at the brother drone and Boss lights up to illuminate the drone corner. BOSS: < This is Marty, instead. > ORI: < Is it a spare, or do they rotate? > BOSS: < A bit of both. > … BOSS: < Marty? Say hello to our guests! > Marty lights up a green indicator on its polymer chassis and reveals a panel with a grid speaker. MARTY (robotic teen female voice): < Hello. Guests! > Ori and Oshiro both laugh. BOSS: < Darty, you too! > Darty imitates Marty. DARTY (robotic teen male voice): < Hello. Guests! > Ori crouches to familiarize with the drones. Oshiro walks back and forth in the operations room as she thinks. … OSHIRO (thinking): < To launch the drones… We have to exit the perimeter? > HAL: < Negative! Drones are launched from the center equipment lift. > Hal points its camera eye at the center of the ops room. From the floor a platform is pushed up hydraulically. HAL: < The hatch opens and lets the drone take off. > The hatches open and the platform reaches the top. HAL: < Then the lift goes back to zero and the hatches closes. > The platform descends and the hatches closes. ORI (fascinated): < So cool ! > The platform returns to the floor and the hydraulics goes back to sleep. OSHIRO (intrigued): < And how to they launch themselves? Who puts them on the platform? > Hal goes back to the drones corner and irradiates a small folded contraption with a neon-blue halo. The device suddenly unfolds and mounts into a tracked drone with a robotic arm and 360-sensor turret. The indicator blinks red. HAL: < Peter takes care of that! > The ground drone blinks green. PETER (robotic boy voice): < Hello. Guests ! > Ori and Oshiro both laugh. … (CAMP_ONE_HABITAT - TERRACE) OSHIRO (relaxed - no APR): < Such nice sunset… > ORI (distracted - no APR): < Mmh! > DECKER (green): < Would you like some potato chips? > ORI (distracted): < No… Thanks… Decker! > DECKER: < Very well… > Decker fades out of the terrace and leaves the humans with some privacy as they enjoy dinner. Doc animates from the table surface as it drives its gauge needle to half, with a yellow indicator. DOC: < Boss is busting my balls for a meeting with you lot… Then, when you’ve got’a’minute, holler at me… > ORI: < Sure thing, Doc. > Doc dematerializes. ORI (excited): < They really thought about everything, uh? > OSHIRO (thinking): < I don’t know… I still have to check what condition the lab is… > ORI (smiles): < I’m sure they thought about that, too, and it’s all set up as you like. > OSHIRO (smiles): < Have you noticed how they emote? > ORI (chuckles): < Yeah! They’re hilarious. > OSHIRO: < Yeah… That personality mod is powerful… > ORI: < Maggie did a good job. > OSHIRO: < Definitely ! If they don’t give us problems, I think we might work nicely together. > ORI: < For now I’m’a-just enjoy this… Who knows if they’re capable of partying ? > OSHIRO (confused): < What do you mean? > Ori stands up and climbs down the platform. OSHIRO: < Where’re you going? > ORI: < To grab something to drink, my mouth is dry. > OSHIRO: < Yes, for me too, please. The antibiotics are making me drowsy. > Ori gets to the kitchen corner and identifies the refrigerator. He opens it, examines the contents, and settles his eyes on a unique bottle in glass: Brut, 13% ORI (intrigued): < What’s this ? > OSHIRO (confused): < What’s what? > Ori grabs the bottle of Brut 13% from the fridge. Closes the fridge, and goes back up the platform to show the bottle to Oshiro. Oshiro stretches forward to accept the bottle as Ori shows it to her. OSHIRO (busy): < Br-ut… Thirteen… per cent? > ORI (confused): < What the hell is it? Another chilled brew? > OSHIRO (confused): < With the resources shortage we have, they use glass for bottles? > Decker fades in from the kitchen and slowly brings its neon-blue halo up the platform, turning the evening terrace into a spectacle of light reflections on composite materials and steel and plastic. The bed icon sports made covers and a green indicator. DECKER (excited): < That is a Brut, thirteen strong. > Ori and Oshiro cross gaze with perplexity. DECKER (saddened): < I wanted it to be a surprise… > OSHIRO: < What do you mean, Decker? > Doc emerges from the ceiling and flanks Decker with its gauge needle to the red and a blinking red indicator. DOC: < Can’t you see our kids are still virgins ? > DECKER (confused): < What does this signify? > Doc shakes its entire gauge, resets the needle, and kills its indicator. Ori and Oshiro both chuckle. Hal joins them with its curious camera eye and blinks a green indicator. HAL: < That is a sparkling wine. It is a traditional drink reserved for celebrations. > OSHIRO (embarrassed and surprised): < Oh! > Ori takes the bottle back in his hands and examines it further. ORI (confused): < How to you open it? > Oshiro stretches forward to help him. OSHIRO (busy): < Peel it, first. > ORI: < How? > Oshiro helps Ori to peel the aluminium lid cover, thus revealing the cork tap. Ori can now easily grab it and intuitively pulls and twists it. DOC (horrified): < No! Wait! > Ori freezes and watches Doc turn from gauge icon to bottle icon and shakes itself. DOC (patient): < Shake it, first. > ORI (confused): < Why? > DOC: < Just shake it. > HAL (sarcastic): < It’s for the bang… > BOSS (annoyed): < He’s terrible! He wants to frighten them… > Hal laughs. DOC (unnerved): < Decker? Tell me if you consider banging your prosecco a health and safety risk to the habitat or humans… > DECKER (robotic): < Risk. Assessment. Please wait… No. Risk. To. Report. > DOC (chuckles): < See? > … (BANG) Ori and Oshiro instinctively brace at the tiny explosion. Ori doesn’t even realizes he immediately lost grip with the cork and looks around to spot it, but it flew away. Doc and Hal laugh their icons out. DOC: < You’re supposed to say Cheers! > ORI and OSHIRO (embarrassed): < Cheers! > Doc laughs. Boss emerges from the ceiling and shakes a blue flag. BOSS (dramatic): < You are the first two humans on planet Shelder. > Ori and Oshiro cross their confused gaze. Ori then hands over the wine to Oshiro and climbs in his seat. Oshiro in the meantime pours the wine in the two wine glasses that Decker took care to send up through the lift. OSHIRO: < Even the glasses are in glass… Spared no expense… > Ori plays with bubbles while Oshiro puts down the bottle to sniff the wine in her glass. OSHIRO (toasting): < To Camp One! > ORI, BOSS; DOC, HAL, and DECKER (choir): < To Camp One ! > Ori indulges Oshiro’s toast by gently knocking their glasses together, producing a glass-ping. Then they drink in sync, smiling. OSHIRO (tasting): < Mmmh! > ORI (tasting): < Yeah! > … (NIGHT-TIME - HABITAT) ORI (sleepy): < Are you gon’take care of all, Boss? > BOSS (gentle): < Certainly, Ori. Good Night! > Ori climbs into his sleeping bag next to Oshiro’s and Boss promptly kills the lights and minimizes the habitat functions, and security. Only the electric buzz of the battery keeps them company inside, while crickets are in concert outside all around them, keeping variety alongside waves rumbling. Now and then, the odd savage animal call… in the distance. MEETING (OPERATIONS ROOM - CAMP_ONE - y19d201) Lights are faded and holograms dominate the room. Ori and Oshiro sit with their back to the desk, watching the animated personalities interact with them. BOSS: < The Hims program allows us to adapt missions taking into considerations human connection. With this program we can get things done, things that could never be done, otherwise. > Boss shows off a blue flag and gloats its fortress about, spilling pride all over itself. DOC: < And drones can take care of everything… From the harvest to construction. Assembly. Surveillance. Support… We might even include… I don’t know… A Leisure Cruise package, ahahah… > Doc laughs agitating its gauge needle about and blinking green. Boss joins its enthusiasm and gloats its fortress even more energetically in the spirit of humour and playfulness. ORI (perplexed): < The lack of touch on behalf of this planet’s nature that is being shown here… honestly… baffles me. > Doc and Boss both freeze their energy to turn to Ori who swaps his stance on the chair. Doc defends itself as it shoots its needle to the max and injects red. DOC (annoyed): < Wait a second… We didn’t even do the tour, yet… > Boss calms Doc down floating in front of its gauge to shine a white flag. BOSS: < Relax, Doc. I am interested in the humans’ opinion, first. You said it, right? > Doc sighs and gives Ori the attention he seeks. ORI (somber): < The problem, here, is that… No real labour has been necessary. You used what you were given from above, and before you knew what you had… You packaged everything up with camo and a shitload of sensors, and now you wanna test everything. You wanna test it! Right now! > Ori helps his own argument by slamming his right fist on the palm of his left hand, on his lap. BOSS (confused): < How are we supposed to… Just stand back… in the face of discovery… And not act? > ORI (shakes his head): < What’s so special about discovery? It’s a violation process. It’s a rape of nature. > BOSS (shaking a red flag): < Plants! Plants are organisms we grow to cover many uses. Without plants we would have to synthetize everything manually. Plants take care of this for us, in exchange for a way to avoid extinction. > ORi (shaking his head): < No… no… I am not talking about some species we brought down from orbit, saved from extinction in the rigors of space… And engineered to make some good chilled brew… > Ori stretches on to grab a glass of water from the desk behind him. He takes a sip and dries his lips with his fingers, before continuing. ORI: < life… evolved on its own… on this planet. What we are going to find are the survivors of what nature selected for extinction. > Oshiro intervenes with a sigh. OSHIRO: < How can you expect to operate at this level of confidence in an environment you don’t yet understand? > She straightens her posture on the chair and adjusts her voice to reach everyone clearly, without stress. OSHIRO: < The thing is… You have procedures here… > She explores the pages of the documents she took care to print beforehand. Her gaze falls down and comes back up to the holograms. OSHIRO: < … They are efficient, and organised… but they’re clearly designed for generic military operations that don’t necessarily have anything to do with the environments we’re going to find out there. If we don’t use the right method for the job, this environment is going to fight back with us, violently if necessary… > BOSS (Worried smile): < Maggie? If there’s someone here that could save the enthusiasm in this conversation, that’s you. > Ori and Oshiro both glare at the ceiling as Maggie M.A.G.P.I.E. responds through the intercom. MAGGIE (Distortion in the signal): < Time flies, and the world struggles to follow. Seems like yesterday that Ori and Oshi were playing little scientists in the orb lab. Look at them now… Two colonists on an alien planet. How can we have the slightest idea what to expect ? > BOSS (shocked): < I can’t believe it… I can’t believe it! > Boss laughs hysterically and shakes a yellow flag. BOSS (smiles): < I agreed to put personalities in the hope of strengthening our connections with you and the only connection I am instead left with is this blood-sucking support interface… > Doc, feeling called into cause, turns its entire gauge to face the fortress and nullifies its needle. DOC (annoyed): < Thanks! > Hal blinks its shutter and its red light while approaching the fortress icon to whisper something to Boss. The fortress nods and lightens up. Shakes a green flag and Hal dissolves. BOSS (proud): < They’re here! > THE TOUR (CAMP_ONE - PERIMETER) BOSS (floating over the main gate): < You’re about to be accompanied in a tour of the valley by two of our most… mission capable drones. > DRONE1: < Commander! > DRONE2: < Commander! > BOSS (proud): < Tanks! > Ori and Oshiro both lay eyes in shock to the 2 tracked vehicles parked between the gate and the ramp leading outside to the Serena on the pad. Oshiro adjusts her APR while Ori walks on to examine the mini-tanks but freezes when holograms materialize from the vehicles. They are iconic representations of the mini-tanks, and reflect their differences also: DRONE1 has an armed turret DRONE2 has a small robotic arm instead BOSS: < How was the patrol? > The icons of the drones talk on their behalf, in the same way all the others have been emoting so far. DRONE1: < Nothing to report, ma’am! > Drone1’s icon rotates its turret playfully. DRONE2: < We’ve successfully conducted field tests. > Drone2’s icon agitates its robotic arm, also playfully. DRONE1: < One field-tested both Heavy machine gun and Grenade Launcher. > DRONE2: < The trail has been fun. We drove offroad. Ups and downs. And we also climbed! > Ori and Oshiro cross gaze perplexed and exchange a shy smile of amusement. … (CAMP_ONE - MAIN GATE - OPEN - FLASHING RED LIGHT) Ori and Oshiro equip themselves in the corner with the holograms keeping them company. Hal blinks its red light next to icons of the sentry guns, hovering over the physical entities they represent. The sentries also physically rotate their cameras to target the humans, one person per gun. HAL: < Spot-on equipment. > SENTRY_GUN_B (robotic female voice): < Calibrated for profile minimization. > HAL (proud): < While still retaining full functionality. > OSHIRO (confused): < What’s all… How do you… > Hal approaches and shines a light on Oshiro as it stares at her, and calls up a secondary hologram besides its camera icon to illustrate information about the equipment in eye-pleasing computerized character-sheets. Ori and Oshiro both try to quick-learn. HAL: < Let’s begin from the basics. (DOSSIER: FATIGUES_CAMO_A / FATIGUES_CAMO_B) HAL: < Camouflage fatigue overalls version A for Ori, and B for Oshiro. Standard pockets for items and straps for modular pouches or keyrings. Camouflage index: Shrubland, Woodland, level four. (DOSSIER: BALANCE HARNESS) HAL: < Balanced harness tactical vest with adjustable suspension shoulder straps and lumbar pack. Tactical front pouches. Chest pistol holster. Ergonomic hips harness. Lumbar water and energetic mix tanks compatible with APR straw system. > (DOSSIER ANIMATION: HARNESS DRINKING SETUP AND APR FEEDING MECHANISM) HAL: < The tanks can feed the tactical straw connected to either the APR… > (DOSSIER ANIMATION: SP HELMET FEEDING MECHANISM) HAL: < … or the Special Purpose Helmet. > (DOSSIER: SPECIAL PURPOSE HELMET) HAL: < As soon as Decker clears us, you may take off your APR’s and stow them in your lumbar pack, and you may wear your special purpose helmets. > (DOSSIER ANIMATION: APR UNINSTALL) DECKER: < Clear. > Ori and Oshiro take off both their APR and stow them in their butt packs as instructed. They then grab a helmet each and wear them clumsily. (DOSSIER ANIMATION: SP HELMET INSTALL) HAL: < Wear your helmet and adjust it to your preferred setting. You’ll find them to be heavier than you expect. They accommodate TV, Night, and Thermal vision sensors, an integrated APR, and tactical straw access, as well as mid-tier shock absorption and protection from sharp objects and shrapnel. To power up your helmet, press and hold the switch under the chin until you see the HUD appear in your binocular vision. > Ori and Oshiro follow the instructions. HAL: < Then activate the respirator. You can do so via the HUD, by pressing and holding the switch to the left of the power button, or by vocal command. > Oshiro swipes her hand in front of her face as she operates the holographics in her helmet vision. ORI (muffled by the helmet): < APR On! > Both helmets begin regulating both humans’ access to surrounding air. HAL: < You activate the intercom in the same manner. Right switch under the chin, vocals, or holographic. > Oshiro swipes her hand in front of her face again. ORI: < Intercom On. > Both helmets begin transmitting and receiving voice through radio and regulating audio-sensors for enhanced hearing inside the helmet itself. HAL: < Now you can select a series of options for sensors, intercom, and the APR. You can do so via the HUD, vocals, or by a combo of button-pressing under the chin. > ORI: < Roger. > OSHIRO: < Got it. > (DOSSIER: ASSAULT RIFLE F3000TGL) HAL: < Let’s move on to weapons… > Ori turns to admire the rifle illustration on the holographic dossier, suddenly anxious to play soldier, and studies the information. Oshiro examines instead the real deal from the weapons crate. HAL: < The Assault Rifle F three-thousand Tactical with Grenade Launcher will be your standard SOCOM platform. > Oshiro grabs one of two F3000TGL from the crate, a compact design without any accessories attached apart from the integrated under-barrel Grenade Launcher. She harnesses it clumsily. Ori notices her and helps her grip the rifle through the fold of her arm, thus supporting its 3 kg. HAL: < Compact enough to allow you a practical and ergonomic use in multiple tactical situations, thus the name… Bullpup design partially ambidextrous, with right-side extraction for cased munitions and inspectable chamber in case of jamming. Ergonomic grip and stock balanced for stability and recoil minimization. Assisted trigger with two pressure thresholds for selective fire. Ambidextrous selector with options for S for Safe, SEMI for semi-auto, and AUTO for full-auto. Modular rails for attachments on the top and side of the barrel. Lodging for sights or flashlight batteries in the stock. Strap locks. Treading for attachment of compatible suppressor. Chambers a standard five-fifty-six through either a twenty or thirty rounds STANAG magazine. Independent trigger and safe for the grenade launcher, with manual extractor and extendable and adjustable dedicated sights. Chambers the forty millimeters. > (DOSSIER: PISTOL G93R 9mm) Oshiro hands over the other F3000 to Ori and mounts the strap on hers. HAL: < G ninety-three R model, nine millimeter selective automatic pistol… Personal defence weapon with selector for Safe, Semi, and Burst. Equipped with a retractable and adjustable stock for burst use. Can be augmented with additional sights, suppressor, and tactical flashlight. Chambers nine millimeters para, in this case Full Metal Jacket. > Ori reads the dossier for the pistol while familiarizing with the rifle. (DOSSIER: HAND GRENADES) HAL: < We also have a selection of hand-thrown grenades for various purposes. You are free to choose based on your needs and preferences. Allow me to illustrate your options: Flashbang. Does what the name suggests: a flash and a bang, also known as a stun grenades as it stuns anything in the proximity. Considered non-lethal, but can cause concussive injury and eye damage. Concussion. Also does what the name suggests. Low-lethality weapon designed to stun or incapacitate in the proximity. Smoke. Self-explanatory. The charge releases a steady flow of smoke, until drained. Comes into several colour options. We have a stock of mostly white. Tear-Gas. Explodes a cloud of gas in the proximity that irritates respiratory tracts and eyes. Signal. Hand-held flare designed for signalling. Illumination. Burns stronger than the Signal and is therefore used more like a flashbang. Illuminates the proximity until drained. Delayed Fragmentation. Explodes a considerable quantity of high-lethality shrapnel in the proximity. Advanced Combat qualification needed for use. Incendiary. The charge explodes a mixture of chemicals that burns and corrodes organic tissue. Very high-lethality and risk. Authorization needed for use. Limited stock. > Ori mounts the strap to his rifle getting help from Oshiro. (DOSSIER: 40mm grenades) HAL: < Similarly to hand grenades, we have an assortment of launched grenades for your under-barrel. Stun. Similar to the flashbang, but stronger. Smoke. Similar in function to the hand-held version. Tear-Gas. Similar in function to the hand-held version. Limited stock. Flare. Signalling munition with retarded descent, for maximum signalling potential. Illumination. Combines the function of the hand-held illumination with the advantages of the flare. Concussion. Identical to the hand-held version. High-Explosive. Delayed-fuse high explosive charge designed to inflict maximum damage. High lethality. Advanced combat qualification required. > Ori and Oshiro both equip themselves with the pistol G93R, along with muinition, and holster it. (DOSSIER: CONNECTED DEVICES) HAL: < You also have the option to connect compatible devices you’re carrying like the radiophone, or the laptop. > ORI (satisfied): < Really outstanding, Hal… > HAL: < Do you need help with the equipment? > … (HIMS_MONITOR) CAMP1_TOUR in progress. (TV_Feed_Drone2) Mission: RETRIEVE CAR Package: LIGHT Passenger: Oshiro_Kaidaa Fuel: 82% Drone2 is creeping along the trail of the tracks it and its brother drone1 left previously in the rust-coloured dirt, snaking through the shrubland at the bottom of the hill. (TV_Feed_Drone1) Mission: ESCORT DRONE2 Package: MULTI-TURRET 12.7mm/40mmHE Passenger: Ori_Nishi Fuel: 82% Drone1 is following Drone2 on the trail at a steady 20 meters. The secondary sensor is what the turret is targeting and is set to scan all directions periodically with the entire sensor suite. (TV_Feed_Darty) Mission: MONITOR DRONE2 Package: OPTICS-TVNT-L Battery: 65% The flying drone also has dual cameras: one for navigation, centered on the flying vector and equipped with flight-related virtual instruments to help the humans understand the feed. The other camera feed belongs to the sensor suite and can rotate 360° horizontally and 90° vertically for a complete scan of the world below. Currently flying at a steady 200m above ground and set to follow Drone2 within a margin of 50m. … ORI (playful): < Boss? > BOSS: < Yes, Ori? > ORI (intrigued): < You still haven’t told me what fauna you discovered so far… > BOSS: < I was hoping to keep it a surprise… > ORI (laughs): < You bots and your surprises… Are ya gonna spit your tongue or what? > OSHIRO (laughs): < We’re been trying to tell you! Dinosaurs! > ORI (laughs): < D’you know what ‘m gonna do if you keep telling me dinosaurs, dinosaurs, and then all we see are lizards? > Oshiro and Boss both laugh. ORI: < I’m’a’get pissed! > HAL: < Oh, Ori, I can guarantee you won’t be disappointed. > OSHIRO: < What have you found so far? > … (VALLEY - BRANNY BAY - PRIMERIA) (TV_Feed_Darty) Sun shines over the valley preceding the bay where the great Green River Thieren meets the mighty Osiric Ocean. Jungle and Swamps give way to prairies and woodlands, all the way to the bottom of the mountain range, where woodlands become shrublands. THE SHELDEX DECKER: < Allow me to introduce you to the Sheldex. > ORI (confused): < Negative copy on last… The what ? > DECKER: < Sheldex is our version of the Hims Library, adapted to the interface you allowed to unlock and enrich with personality. Break. We have adapted the Shelder Evolution game system to enhance the efficacy potential of the library, and we extended the interface to the operating system of the laboratory, too. Over. > ORI (shocked): < Shelder Evo… Card game? > DECKER: < Exactly, over. > ORI (joyful): < But I love that game ! > DECKER: < I know. > Oshiro laughs. … (HIMS_INTERFACE - SHELDEX) The Sheldex interactive library comes with an integrated H.I.M.S. interface mounted with an ecology-themed skin. The iconography used by the H.I.M.S. for Camp_One personalities persists in the design of cards and game mechanisms, along with both detailed and generic illustrations. DECKER: < With data collected passively before your arrival, we compiled the basics of an ecosystem, primarily of microbiota. > Ori and Oshiro get distracted from the panorama to focus on the holographics interface inside their helmets, where they can easily interact with the Sheldex. DECKER: < Globally, it is possible to find an assortment of bacteria and nucleotic cells: Eukaryotes. > OSHIRO (surprised): < You don’t say… > DECKER: < They vary from simple unicellular organisms like the Cyanomorph and Seccophilus, up to Microalga. Break. We still haven’t identified any biological threat to your immune system. > ORI: < I’m not sure if that’s good or bad… > DECKER: < However we identified eukariotic-based multicellular organisms. Break. Primarily Alga, Porifera, and Radiata. > OSHIRO: < I recognize some names, but not others… > DECKER: < We used a name-generation algorithm set to informal in harmony with the Sheldex library theme. > ORI (relieved): < Great idea! > OSHIRO: < What can you tell me about more complex plant organisms? I see trees and ferns everywhere! > DECKER: < Affirmative! We still haven’t had the chance to catalogue plants in any other form than the generic Plant. We, however, estimated the cladistic subdivision in generic groups that be Tree, Bush, Plant, Grass, and Flower. > OSHIRO: < Roger. Those ought to be pines….? > Ori intercepts Oshiro’s gaze and also identifies the pines she’s talking about. DECKER: < I am sure you will easily find that out. > … ORI: < Decker? And what about fauna? > Oshiro giggles as she looks around, growing bored of sitting as a passenger of Drone2. BOSS (dramatic): < The most common organism is the ground raptor. > OSHIRO (confused): < Rap...ra… Say again, last, Boss? > BOSS (more dramatic): < Raptor. Medium-sized biped, robust and agile. Sharp problem-solving intelligence. Striking similarities with the standard bird-of-prey model, even down to the plumage that can often be brightly coloured. Break. Unstable temper and risk assessment index moderate. > OSHIRO (disappointed): < This Sheldex doesn’t provide much info at all… > BOSS (laughs): < That’s why you’re here. You humans have the dexterity and intellect required to carry out this kind of activity. > ORI (laughs): < What am I needed for, then? Security detail? > HAL: < No! I’m taking care of that… > Ori and Oshiro laugh. Oshiro’s smile, however, dies prematurely. … OSHIRO (intrigued): < So, this … Raptor… is a carnivore? > HAL: < Affirmative! > BOSS: < Bipedal carnivore of medium size. > HAL: < Highly unpredictable. > OSHIRO: < Has it given you hussle? > … (TV_Feed_Camp_One_Security - y18-19 archive) Unclear footage of creatures silhouettes identified using the Night Vision sensors repeatedly infiltrate the outer perimeter up to the treeline. Sensor targeting struggles to lock on targets on multiple occasions. (TV_Feed_SentryGun_A) Sentry sensors struggles to lock on targets and turrets are too slow to rotate to orient fire with their 20 degrees per second turn-rate, which is clearly insufficient for the task at hand. (TV_Feed_SentryGun_B) Tracking: RAPTOR_M Mode: MONITOR Not even the other Sentry manages to lock on its target for long. … Ori and Oshiro watch the video-document through the holo-interface in their helmets. ORI (shocked): < Shit… > … (HIMS_MONITOR - y19d202) DARTY (teen male voice): < Boss, this is Darty. > BOSS: < Darty, this is Boss. Send. > DARTY: < Darty is Bingo Battery. > BOSS: < Roger. Darty, join Alpha One. > DARTY: < Join Alpha One. Darty. Roger. > … (HILLTOP - VALLEY - BRANNY BAY - PRIMERIA) The panorama from atop the hill is obfuscated by the growing mist. Menacing clouds are soaring along the peaks, as if the mountains were sweating. DOC: < Another thunderstorm approaching. > BOSS: < Roger. Camp One, suspend operations until Tour returns, with exception of mission systems. > DOC: < Support. > HAL: < Security. > DECKER: < Habitat. > … (HIMS_MONITOR - DRONES MOVING) OSHIRO (busy): < Camp One, this is Alpha One. We’ve recovered the L-A-V. Over! > BOSS: < Excellent. Roger, Alpha One. Return to base. Thunderstorm incoming. I say again, R-T-B. > OSHIRO: < Roger! Returning to base. Alpha One is R-T-B. Out > … (HIMS_MONITOR - INTERCOM) ORI: < Urmm… Is it plausible to expect seeing some dinosaurs in this … land of dinosaurs? > OSHIRO (chuckles): < Boss is gonna hate you… > ORI: < Murphy’s law. > OSHIRO (skeptical): < All that can happen will happen ? > ORI: < I suspect it already has … This is… my theory of chaos. > OSHIRO (exasperated): < It’s years that you talk of this … chaos theory of yours… Would you be so kind to clarify it for me, once and for all ? I still haven’t got a grasp on your concept of… chaos > ORI (serene): < Oh, well… My theory of chaos is nothing more than an educated guess on the mechanism governing unpredictable results in complex systems, using predictable patterns and parameters. > OSHIRO: < … > ORI: < Take the butterfly effect… A butterfly flaps its wings on the beach and the other side of the ocean gets a typhoon instead of sunshine. > OSHIRO (confused): < Urmmm… > ORI (embarassed): < Oh… Am I going too fast? > OSHIRO (playful): < Yeah… a bit! > ORI (patient): < I went a bit too fast… I burnt the circuits! Okay! If I am the butterfly… > OSHIRO (intrigued): < Ahahn…? > ORI: < And you’re the ocean… Without any input from me you warm up and send air above you in a predictable manner than we can calculate and from which we can extrapolate a meteorological model, do you concur? > OSHIRO: < Yes… > ORI: < Now… Here I come, flapping my wings… I alter the composition of air that little much needed to change a few, maybe even just one of the parameters that govern the evolution of the meteorological conditions above you. Now the conditions evolve independently from me and keep mutating from the previous calculated model, until that model is rendered completely useless. > OSHIRO (surprised): < Aaah! I got it! You made it look so complicated with this chaos narrative… You’re just talking about probability… > ORI: < It ain’t just probability… More phenomena are at play, here… > OSHIRO: < Whatever… Come on… It’s probability. > ORI: < It can influence other systems, too, > OSHIRO (distracted): < … > ORI (carried away): < like bio-evolution, cosmic, geologic… > OSHIRO (disembarks Drone2): < … > ORI: < Where … are… > DRONE2: < Passenger disembarked. Passenger Disembarked. Passenger disembarked… > DRONE1: < Two. Stop the program. Stop the program! > ORI (ironically disappointed): < Here we go! > DRONE2: < Program stopped. > ORI: < Nobody here ever predicted a passenger disembarking mid-transit > Drone2 comes to a stop and Drone1 establishes a perimeter by orbiting around it at creep speed, non-caring of the irregular terrain its tracks suddenly have to traverse. Ori braces to endure the irregular driving. DRONE2: < Standing-by > DRONE1: < Camp One, Alpha one-two is on foot. Drone one. Covering from base of fire. > BOSS: (Intercom. Moderate signal distortion): < Roger. Sitrep > Drone1 stops orbiting Drone2 and settles down on top of a ravine overlooking both Drone2 and Oshiro walking away. It targets her. DRONE1: < Roger. Sitrep when able. > ORI (shaking his head, sighing): < Oh… Fubar! > … (HIMS_MONITOR - ON FOOT) Ori follows Oshiro in the woodlands, leaning down to reduce profile, carrying the rifle in low-ready. BOSS (impatient): < Alpha One, may I ask what is the reason of your unscripted waypoint change? > ORI (excited - whisper): < Did you see something? > As Ori asks Oshiro he’s overwhelmed by the savage bellow of a large creature beyond the treeline he’s approaching, probably irritated by the low rumbles of the thunderstorm. OSHIRO: < … > BOSS (more impatient): < Alpha One. Respond. Alpha One? > OSHIRO: < Drone one. Wait there! > Oshiro gestures to stop by raising the left fist over her shoulder, without moving her gaze from the treeline where they heard the bellow from. Ori shoots a worried look at the armed drone that settles down for good and goes to sleep, engine off, turret recentered. DRONE1: < Roger! > Ori follows Oshiro deeper in the woods, under the shaded canopy of shore pines and a few small oaks, towards younger bellows similar to the previous louder one, probably signifying the source of these sounds is a group. While Oshiro allows Ori to lead the way in the impervious terrain, she fiddles with the HUD in her helmet to access the Sheldex, compromising her tactical stance and situational awareness, safe and confident that Ori will deal with any threat in full tactical. BOSS (yet more impatient): < Alpha One. Are - you - okay? Over! > ORI (whispers): < Camp One, Alpha one-two. Stand-by, we’re in contact. We will advice when able. Alpha One, out. > OSHIRO (whispers): < I can’t find anything useful on the Sheldex… > ORI: < Pretty sure it ain’t a raptor. It’s something bigger … > They keep advancing cautiously until they emerge from the treeline into a tight opening populated by shrubs, ferns, and flowers, and one large quadrupedal animal, escorting and caring for its young. The creatures have a long robust tail attached to strong hips that support tall hind legs, and the back of the animal peaks downward making it hunch as it tries to walk on all fours, due to shorter forelimbs. Its head forages the bushes and ferns and glances at the sky as it starts raining. ORI (amazed): < Wow! > OSHIRO (emotional): < It’s…. it’s a…. it’s a family! > ORI (shocked) < Incredible! > They shrink like gnomes at the sights of the giant herbivores. Ori takes his time to process. OSHIRO (shedding some tears): < Hims…. Sensors…. Record…. TV > She is satisfied to see the HUD display the confirmation of her voice command when in the corner of her left eye she notices Ori venture forward, pulled by the string of curiosity straight towards the big mama herbivore. OSHIRO (whispers): < No! Ori! They’ll see us! Who knows how they react if they see us… > ORI (surprised): < Don’t you… wanna take a sample? > OSHIRO (sarcastic): < And how the hell do I take a sample? I ain’t got a sampling gun or anything. What am I supposed to do, pinch her? > Ori giggles. OSHIRO: < Green-brown Camo livery, in harmony with the shrubland and woodland habitat. It’s covered in what seems to be a light plumage composed of feather-like filaments. > ORI (confused): < feather-like filaments? > OSHIRO: < Seems to be stable with its center of mass right above the hip. Surely a long-distance athlete, this one. > DRONE1: < Alpha One, I wouldn’t like to ruin your party but… it might be wise to return to base. > Ori and Oshiro glance up at the dark grey sky and get sprayed in rain droplets. They both squint their eyes in an expression of disgust and disapproval. ORI (disappointed): < Yeah, you’re right… Roger, Alpha two. Alpha One, reforming. Alpha One is R-T-B. > … RETURN TRIP (SERENA MPV-L - COCKPIT - PRE-LAUNCH - y19d230) OSHIRO (Intercom): < Pre-flight checklist complete. Would you like to proceed with the briefing? > ORI (somber): < Affirmative! Pre-flight briefing. Standard vertical take off with RCS stabilizer until two-hundred meters. Roll program to mission azimuth while climbing to one-thousand, or up to two-hundred meters per seconds, then gravity turn and ascent profile injection with Auto-G. During the ascent is possible to abort at any point if the orbit is No Go. Otherwise Auto-Profile until Aposhel. In case of ascent abort.... > OSHIRO (ironic): < MMmh! > ORI (sarcastic): < This part now has a whole new meaning… > OSHIRO (smiles but annoyed): < Sterile cockpit! > ORI (laughs): < Oh… Fubar! > … OSHIRO: < I concur. Briefing complete. > ORI (relieved): < Oh! It’s party time… > OSHIRO: < Can you enlighten me on something? > ORI: < Mmh…? > OSHIRO (busy operating switches): < You always say Fubar… Fubar… What the hell does it mean? > ORI (chuckles): < It’s an old saying… > OSHIRO (confused): < I don’t recall such expression in the proverb database… > ORI (chuckles even more): < It’s a colloquial expression… It’s hard to find in the database… > OSHIRO (skeptical): < Whatever! > Ori laughs as he operates his share of switches. Oshiro stares at him. OSHIRO: < Fubar… uh? > ORI (playful): < Fubar! > … FUBAR (SERENA MPV-L - SYSMON) SERENA (MASTER CAUTION - RED LIGHT): < Reactor! > ALT 81.3 km ORB 3358 m/s G 1.3 R 99% ORI (confused): < What’s going on? > OSHIRO (busy): < Seems like overheating… > ORI: < Failure in the heat sinks? > OSHIRO (confused): < I don’t know. It’s not showing. > MASTER CAUTION: < Warning. Reactor fire. Reactor fire. Warning! Electronic Engine Control OFFLINE.. Electronic Reactor Control OFFLINE. Warning! Detected: uncontrollable deviation in ascent profile. Wanring! Manual Control needed. Warning! > ORI (agitated): < Uhh… Serena… Inhibit warnings. Diagnose reactor problem! Oshi. Emergency checklist. Reactor fire! > OSHIRO (focused): < Emergency checklist… > MASTER CAUTION: < Danger! Detected: uncontrollable G load > OSHIRO (focused): < Emergency checklist. Reactor fire. Fuel flow. > ORI (assertive): < Normal. No reaction! > OSHIRO: < Cutoff! > < Cutoff! > < Fusion core. > < Overheating detected. > < Overheat. Arm Fire drill. > < Fire drill. Armed! > < Overheating type. > < Fire confirmed! > < Fire confirmed. Suggested use. Bottle A. > < Bottle A. Confirm! > < Bottle A. Switch. > < Pulled. Bottle. Discharge. > < State of fire… > < … > < … > < Fire persists! > < Fire persists. Suggested use. Bottle B. > < Bottle B. Confirm! > < Bottle B. Switch. > < Pulled. Bottle. Discharge. > < State of fire… > < … > MASTER CAUTION: < Danger! Hull breached. Purge necessary! Danger! > < … > < Fire survives! > < Fire still alive. Fire uncontrollable. > < Concur! > < Uncontrollable Fire. Advice: emergency purge. > < … > < … > < …. FUBAR! > < … Fubar… > END OF EPISODE 1 SHELDER EVOLUTION EPISODE #1 - FUBAR AUTHOR M.G.BURKE ENGLISH VERSION HIMS_Interface SS_Venture ONLINE. MAGPIE_Core ONLINE. HIMS_Generation ONLINE. Ori_Nishi_Male_Adult and Oshiro_Kaidaa_Female_Adult promoted to Colonist. Shelder_Camp_One ONLINE. Shelder_Colonization is GO. Next Episode: #2 - PERSPECTIVE BONUS SECTION FOR THE AVID SIMTROPOLIS READER: Most updated Branny Bay rendition, as depicted in the episode: Zoom in to the valley: Crater lake area: Fadalipe proposed colonization site: Camp One site: Tabletopsimulator rendition of the worldmap, for shelderevo cardgame use: SS Venture in sheostationary orbit: (Trivia: that is actually planet Earth, as this is a screenshot from my Kerbal Space Program 1.2.2 save. The ship is real though... quite the assembly!!!) And, finally... BLUEPRINTS!!!! MATHILDA_II_OASP Mathilda II ADALA MPV (sister of the SERENA MPV-L) software used: KSP v1.2.2 GIMP Tabletop Simulator SimCity 4 Google Documents all rights reserved. Pubblicato da Google Drive–Segnala una violazione–Aggiornato automaticamente ogni 5 minuti

Introduction It's been several years since I last played or did anything SimCity related. I recently started playing SimCity 4 again because my interest in city building games came back. Given that I have a lot of free time for the next month or two, I figured that I should start up another CJ again. Like everyone else who is into mods (and downloading GBs full of mods), I downloaded several mods only to realize that the Mac version is too different than the PC version. The amount of mods that would work for the MAC version is severely limited compared to the PC version. The one mod I have been most interested in was SimMars Beta 3. As a former team-member of SimMars, I wanted to experience the same enthusiasm I had for the mod back when I contributed to it. I realize that SimMars Beta 3 only works for Windows, but I ended up using WineSkin and WineBottler to extract all of the content. As a result, I was able to get SimMars working on the Mac. I understand that the MAC version is not fully patched like the Windows version, so there are more bugs and less capabilities (e.g. no night-lights on custom content). For the sake of playing the game and content, I am happy with what I have. ---------- Teaser

Create a sprawling industrial city on Saturn's Moon, Titan. Compete with the other Great Houses of Titan for resources, territory, and power. Do battle with ships, technology, influence, or the sheer productive power of your factories. Stake your claim to the Industries of Titan in this innovative sim/strategy game! http://store.steampowered.com/app/427940/Industries_of_Titan/ Industries of Titan is the second game from developer Brace Yourself Games. About as wildly different as you can get from the Rhythm-based Rogue-like that was Crypt of the Necrodancer, but given the overwhelming success it had I'd like to think it's in quite safe hands. I say that with some bias, given it's what I consider my favourite game of all time To add to the excitement, accomplished Video Game Music Composer Danny Baranowsky is once again working with Brace Yourself Games to create the games Soundtrack. You may also be familiar with his soundtracks for Super Meat Boy and The Binding of Isaac, or maybe even the Twitch emote in his likening, DBstyle. Key Features, as taken from Steam page: Design your city and grow it from just a few small buildings into a massive metropolis! Set up production lines inside your factories to turn raw resources into ever more powerful devices and buildings Balance the needs of your workers, your factories, and your buildings to produce a powerful, efficient economy Design the interiors of your battleships by strategically placing weapons, shields, thrusters, and more, to reduce weak points and maximize fighting capability Overcome your enemies via tactical battleship combat, technological superiority, political influence, or the sheer productive power of your factories Gameplay is "real-time with pause" -- play at your preferred pace! Created by the team that brought you Crypt of the Necrodancer, with art by Sir Carma and Nick Gunn, music by Danny Baranowsky, and audio by Power Up Audio. Additional Links: Game Website - http://industriesoftitan.com/ Game Twitter - https://twitter.com/IndustriesGame Game Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/IndustriesOfTitan/ Developer Twitter - https://twitter.com/braceyourselfok Sir Carma Twitter - https://twitter.com/sir_carma Nick Gunn Twitter - https://twitter.com/Gunn3D Danny Baranowsky Twitter - https://twitter.com/dannyBstyle Power Up Audio Twitter - https://twitter.com/PowerUpAudio

TekindusT Thanks paulmc Thank you feyss Thanks a lot MilitantRadical I hear ya, I never actually got to finish this (gave up cause there were to many models to make lol), so it's not even in its final form. Sadly, couldn't be bothered to go thru with it. I might take you up on those possible scenes though, I could probably try making soe of them, namely Luke's home or the rebel base SimCoug If only, SimCoug, if only takemethere This may just be it ____________________________________________________________ Just some random teaser pics for my next R&R showcase Will update with more pictures in the next update. Until then

Welcome. This City Journal is dedicated to the recreation of the entire Mass Effect Galaxy; that being it's known worlds. This is complimentary to the 'proper' Mass Effect: Beyond City Journal, as a reference and information page to the galaxy's worlds (in any case, the ME:GC lacks the story oriented writings and presentations that ME:Beyond normally provides). This will be done systematically: first, system by system, star cluster by star cluster, then mentioned systems with unknown galaxy locations will be listed. Each planet revealed will be accompanied with a single image and information input, on top of the planetary overview display. This will give you the chance to glimpse all the galaxy's planets. This CJ will likely end once all planets and notable stellar objects and systems are covered. ________________________________________________________________________________________ First off, let's start with the star cluster; Rosetta Nebula in the Terminus Systems, at a known star system by the formal designation Alpha Draconis. ________________________________________________________________________________________ Stars : 1 Planets : 2 Notable Natural Satellites : 0 Notable Dwarf Planets or Asteroids : 0 Notable Artificial/Orbital Stations : 0 Detected as an Earth-like world via telemetry by human scientists based in the Enoch system in 2165 CE, 2175 Aeia became of special interest to the Human Systems Alliance upon its finding. The deployment of flyby probes sent specifically to monitor and verify the scientific hypothesis of Aeia, it became upgraded to a garden world colonization priority when initial scans and images of the planet verified its garden world state. However, when an Alliance survey ship, the SSV [Hugo] Gernsback, was dispatched to the system in 2173, the ship inexplicably stopped reporting back, effectively blacking out upon reaching the system. Later unofficial surveys of the planet made by the 'then-Cerberus' human vessel, the Normandy SR-2 and its crew detected and confirmed the planet's nitrogen-oxygen atmospheric makeup. The planet's atmosphere suggested carbon-based fauna and photosynthetic flora. however the Normandy's extraction of Gernsback survivors, found evidence of neural-degeneration when native flora was consumed by non-native sapients. Later years and further scans of the planet have made it a rather undesirable world, currently moderately ranking on the Alliance's colonization priority. (The above depiction is of 2175 AR2's largest moon; Unnamed) A large gas giant world, and second from the star Alpha Draconis; the formally unnamed world, known only as its catalog name 2175 AR2, is a standard hydrogen-helium Jovian. Initial surveys of the planet detected the world and 21 natural satellites. One moon of particular interest, yet to be named, is of a near-earth size, and contains a relatively thick nitrogen-methane atmosphere. The few observations made by short probe flybys of the unremarkable system yielded evidence of hydrocarbon seas and lakes; similar to that of Saturn's moon, Titan. It's other moons are largely airless, with only one other moon that appears to have a substantial atmosphere. _______________________________________________________________

Overview ~ Over 20 years after the reaper war, some normality begins return to the galaxy. Many of the galaxy's mass relays have largely been repaired and reactivated. With the reaper threat on the galaxy curbed, the large, formerly sentient machines now litter the galaxy's many worlds after they fell in 2186. While large numbers of the reaper capital ships, destroyers, processing ships and other classes of reapers have been removed, many still lie derelict across the galaxy. On the small asari backwater of Jotila, in the Nehyran Reach, an eager expedition crew decide to unlock the secrets of the Reapers for themselves, finding a derelict ship dead on the planet's expansive global desert. MilitantRadical Thanks a lot, the 're-branding' was pretty unexpected heartless I guess it usually depends on people who want them. Sometimes it depends on me I'll consider packaging them on putting them up on the STEX Tonraq Thanks Carl IL. Stargate ( ) Artimus Thanks, glad you like it Namiko I guess in a way it is. But ideally, it was meant to look like that in the first place (I just sucked at BATing at the time) Thanks a lot _____________________________________________________________________ Note: While technically, this isn't the first update that takes place after the Reaper war (the updates Survivor[#30.1] and Normandy Crash Landing[#29.1] come to mind - yes, the series follows the destroy ending), but it is the farthest I've gone past the Reaper war, over 20 years in aftermath. Not sure how applicable this is, but it is how it is for now. _____________________________________________________________________ On a bone dry, and near waterless planet, an asari-dominated expedition team head toward the site of a derelict reaper, a remnant of the devastating reaper war in 2186, over 20 years ago. To unlock the secrets of the reapers and the technology they behold, the expedition team takes it into their own hands, getting prepped to enter a destroyer class reaper that was downed when the crucible dispersed and unknown wave of energy across the galaxy's expansive mass relay network. ________________________________________________________