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Showing results for tags 'surviving mars'.
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Industria Planitia: Transforming the Red Planet
Joshmaul posted a City Journal entry in The Underwood Industrial Empire
Industria Planitia may be far from the boundaries of Earth, but as time passed, the Underwood Industrial Empire joined those who dared to attempt what was previously believed to be unthinkable: To turn the Red Planet green. In a joint session of the Congress of the Confederation, Grand Admiral Underwood proposed that the U.I.E. join forces with other nations with colonial holdings on Mars to tame the harsh environment of the fourth rock from the Sun. Given that it was along the same lines as the work being done to restore the region around Trinity River, the Governor-General of Industria Planitia, Dr. Lukas Indrick - arrived that morning aboard the UIEV Perseverance, the ship that ran from the colony to Underwood City - proposed that a number of geological engineers from that city, as well as scientists from the U.I.E.'s various colleges versed in ecological disciplines, return with him. The Lord Mayor of Trinity River was not keen on the idea, however; having the engineers go to Mars meant that they would not be actually working on Trinity River. The leaders of Amesport, New Providence, and Montagne Noire also protested, believing that the money would be better spent on matters "closer to home", such as building up the military to counter the fears of a renewed threat from Defileron - and possibly a landgrab by Vladimir Tsiolivosky, the new Caymarnian Emperor. Backed by the Chancellor of Blackstone University, Illuminopolis' de facto mayor, Grand Admiral Underwood made clear that he supported the initiative. However, that did not mean the "Earthbound holdings" of the U.I.E. would be neglected either. To the contrary: The Ministry of Economics had indicated to him that, should the speculation of considerable metal resources in the region around Industria Planitia prove true, the goods returned from the colony would more than equal the expenses invested in maintaining it, and in fact produce a surplus that would allow them to accomplish both goals. Remaking the Red Planet into a habitable form would be an added bonus. "Industria Planitia is the future of the Empire," he said in his concluding remarks. "If we can pull this off, nothing will be beyond our reach." With the support of the Congress (grudging in a number of cases, but support, nonetheless), Grand Admiral Underwood committed the U.I.E. to the initiative. To tame the Martian environment, the plan essentially called for brute force: to thicken and strengthen its weak atmosphere with mixtures of carbon dioxide, to raise its frigid surface temperature with greenhouse gases, to raise those conditions to allow for liquid water, and to make the air and soil support plantlife to produce oxygen. To increase the supplies to and from the colony as needed, five new ships were commissioned in the New Providence yards to run the Earth-to-Mars route to provide personnel - and more importantly, materiel - to carry out the mission. A historian at heart, Grand Admiral Underwood personally named the first two ships UIEV Erebus and UIEV Terror (only half-jokingly expressing the hope that they fared better than their namesakes) as well as three more for the men associated with those lost polar ships: UIEV John Franklin, UIEV Francis Crozier, and UIEV James Clark Ross. They complimented the UIEV Trailblazer, UIEV Perseverance, and UIEV Hyperion, which had been running the route since the colony was established. Reports of the progress were communicated between Governor-General Indrick and the U.I.E. Space Agency Mission Control Center in Amesport, as well as by the captains of the ships making the regular run to and from Industria Planitia. The results were nothing short of spectacular. Beginning with "baby steps", the plan called for the construction of specially-designed factories to produce the necessary atmospheric chemicals, as well as "forestation plants" to plant the seeds of the plant life that would grow on the surface. Much of the colony had to be redesigned, as the geological engineers brought along terraforming equipment to level the surface and remove larger rocky outcrops around the colony. A large part of the work involved tearing down and rebuilding the modular colony structures to make room for the new GHG plants, carbonate processors, and forestation plants. As the landscape work progressed, the surveyors also happened to find strange crystals on the surface that obscured satellite scans, though their purpose remained unclear; they did discover that the crystals were attracted to the power generated by the colony, and powering them up cleared up the sensors. They were later found mysteriously shattered, again with no explanation. "Lakes" were dug into the surface and filled with water produced by the colony's extractors and vaporators. As the temperature rose, the water liquified. The forestation plants had begun first with lichens; as the surface conditions improved, grass began to grow in certain areas; further on came bushes and trees. As a drastic measure, a massive payload was detonated at Mars' north pole with the force of a thermonuclear blast, the heat and energy causing the polar ice cap to melt, creating an ocean that covered much of the northern hemisphere. By some stroke of luck, Industria Planitia - located on a volcanic plain near the equator - escaped being swept away by the flood, essentially becoming an island surrounded by high crags. In a relatively short time, the Capital - the dome where Governor-General Indrick maintained his office - was surrounded by a forest. Though the atmosphere could not yet sustain biological life, he immense moisture released by the melted ice cap, combined with the introduction of CO2 and other greenhouse gases, began to take hold, and the inhabitants of Industria Planitia began to see blue skies for the first time since they had left Earth. As time went on, the work steadily progressed; the Erebus and the Terror were regularly sent around Mars with vessels from other settlements, seeding clouds to produce rain (another novelty not seen by the colonists since leaving Earth) while trying not to make it toxic; seeding vegetation much like the forestation plants, in order to make it take hold; capturing ice meteors, for the water. The Hyperion was ultimately sacrificed in order to deploy a sort of "sunshield" to preserve Mars' weak magnetic field and contain the atmosphere, complimenting facilities built on the surface for that purpose (which also had the potential to produce "Marsquakes" in the otherwise seismically dormant planet). After long and arduous work, the ultimate goal was achieved. Communicating with Grand Admiral Underwood via a live satellite link with Mission Control in Amesport, Governor-General Indrick formally gave the order: "Lower the domes!" Even then, the work progressed on expanding Industria Planitia itself. To celebrate the new beginning, Governor-General Indrick ultimately elected to relocate his seat of government. The "old" Capital would be preserved as a museum for future generations, while work began on the "new" Capital - a far larger district, one too large for a dome. From its spire, he would oversee his domain - and take pleasure in both the work that had been done, and the work that lay ahead. The new Capital and the fact that it was (and would forever be) non-enclosed was also a testament to the confidence of the Governor-General, the U.I.E., and the multi-national initiative that had done the work - they were certain nothing would ever go wrong. The colony has since expanded even down into the canyon to the south, through a connecting tunnel on the canyon floor. Here, the soil remains more or less untouched, though the work is underway to change that. The idea of a Martian colony being admitted as a full-fledged member state was looked at with skepticism by many within the U.I.E., but thanks to the terraforming initiative that has utterly transformed Mars, the question has been settled so far as its supporters - namely Governor-General Indrick and Grand Admiral Underwood - are concerned. Distance was of no issue before, and now that the colony is free of the confinements of domes and pressure suits, the remainder of the confederation now concurs: Industria Planitia is no longer simply a colony, but a city in its own right. -
Industria Planitia: Planting the Flag on the Red Planet
Joshmaul posted a City Journal entry in The Underwood Industrial Empire
Since the earliest days of manned spaceflight, it has been the dream of many nations to create a thriving community somewhere beyond the reaches of Earth, and the great science fiction writers have often written of great colonies, or even civilizations, on the various celestial bodies of our Solar System. Now, technology has caught up to fantasy to make such dreams real. Though it was not the first to do so, the Underwood Industrial Empire is among those who have been successful in the quest to expand its borders beyond the cradle of humanity with the establishment of a colony in Elysium, an equatorial volcanic region in the eastern hemisphere of the planet Mars. That colony is known as Industria Planitia, or "Plains of Industry" - and it was immediately admitted into the U.I.E. as its sixteenth city-state, on equal footing with Underwood City and the other terrestrial city-states. Like most offworld settlements, Industria Planitia began solely with automation, with robot vehicles and prefabricated structures. But they had to be built first - and to that end, a fleet of rockets was ordered by the U.I.E. Navy, which controls all "vessels" - from the seafaring ships built at New Providence Shipyards, to the massive zeppelins that fly around Underwood City and Illuminopolis, to the rockets that launch into orbit. Three facilities have been constructed with the express intention of servicing the rockets and paving the way for Industria Planitia: The Alan B. Shepard Launch Base in Amesport (the first rocket launch facility built in the U.I.E.), the Imperial Center Launch Base in Underwood City, and most recently the Blackstone Launch Base in Illuminopolis. The shipyards in New Providence were altered to construct three long-range rockets - UIEV Trailblazer (based in Amesport), UIEV Perseverance (based in Underwood City), and UIEV Hyperion (based in Illuminopolis) - to make the journey. Although the Perseverance was completed first, delays in testing prevented its launch, and the design flaws found in it led to it being the second of the three to be launched. Thus the aptly named Trailblazer would be the first to land on Mars, launching from Amesport carrying the remote-controlled vehicles and prefabricated materials necessary for constructing a colony on the surface. Among the cargo was the first bio-dome to be built for prospective colonists, refined from the bulky prototype designs erected in the New Holbrook neighborhood of Underwood City prior to the ship's launch. Upon entering Martian orbit, the Trailblazer released a series of survey satellites to pinpoint an ideal landing site before the automated systems brought the ship and its cargo in for a landing. The first and oldest of the domes built on the surface, thus dubbed "Imperial Landing", was built in a shaded ridge not far from the Trailblazer's original landing site. As it was to be - for a time - the only habitation in the colony until more resources could be brought from Earth, the dome was also accompanied by a number of prefabricated structures to be set up both inside and outside the dome, as well as an army of worker drones that would construct and maintain the colony's structures and collect and store what resources they found - or created - in the colony itself. It featured what the planners dubbed to be the basic necessities for the single dome: Housing units for the colonists, hydroponic farms to grow food, an infirmary, a security station, a diner, and a grocery store. A prefab water-reclamation spire was placed in the center, in order to ensure a steady supply of the precious fluid for the colonists and the hydroponic farms. Outside the dome, the necessities to generate its life-support were added - a MOXIE (Mars Oxygen In-situ Resource Utilization Experiment) generator to create oxygen inside the dome, vaporators to collect what moisture could be found in the atmosphere, and tanks to collect additional water and oxygen in the event of mechanical failure. A series of pipes connects the various structures outside the dome, giving it a slightly cluttered look. The colony also came with a number of Stirling generators to create power, and power cables to connect the various structures to the power grid, and a control hub and recharging stations for the colony's drones. As time went on, the colony began to grow by leaps and bounds. A great biodome was established on the ridge above Imperial Landing, and became known simply as "the Capital", a great clear dome (compared to the "star-marked" domes of the remainder of the colony) that is described as "a little slice of Earth". The center arcology spire, at the summit of which is the office of the Governor-General of the colony, is surrounded by a great rocky park, and a sort of "moat" on the edges of the dome near the airlocks provides a kind of "riverside" feeling. The landscape is based somewhat on - and uses soil and water from - the banks of the Skytrail River in Underwood City. As it was the "center" of the colony, a landing pad was set right outside the Capital on the spot where the Trailblazer originally landed; an obelisk nearby also memorializes the spot. Spurred by the inventive minds and research facilities of the colony as it grew, Industria Planitia became more and more self-sustaining, eventually developing greater technology than was available (or viable) on Earth. The first major project to be completed was the Industria Elysium Observatory, set up just outside the Capital, with far greater range and accuracy than any of the U.I.E.'s observatories back on Earth. To speed up supply runs without having to brave the atmosphere (especially during the periodic dust storms or meteor showers), a great space elevator links the surface to a point in orbit. Another landmark was the colony's main power plant, creating what was essentially their own miniature sun through the power of fusion, providing the colony with an almost inexhaustable source of power - provided there was enough water to maintain the cooling systems and regular maintenance by the worker drones. The power plant - with the Stirling generators as backup - also provides energy for the colony's Meteor Defense System (MDS) laser batteries, which can blast incoming falling objects out of the sky before they damage the colony. Within the nearby "Elysium Oasis" dome are a series of larger farms, more open than the "stacked" hydroponic gardens, and giving a real sense of "working the land". As it was named for industry, and founded by an empire built on it, a number of factories for extracting the concrete and metal resources on Mars (to lower the dependence on cargo runs from Earth) were set up on the surface as well. The largest were near the Industria Major, Industria Minor, and Industria Minimus domes on the eastern edge of the colony - two concrete extractors (one of them quite large), and a deep core (mohole) mine that brings up metals, including rare metals that fuel the colony's economy when it is shipped back to Earth. The widening area of the colony also required the construction of hubs for a series of automated shuttles to rapidly carry cargo from one end of the colony to the other at greater speed than was possible with relying on the sturdy but slow worker drones. The colony's population has risen to more than five hundred souls - barely enough to be considered a village, let alone a city-state in its own right. However, the colony's self-sufficiency, considerable industrial and economic output, and the very fact it is the only U.I.E. settlement on Mars (for the moment) led Grand Admiral Underwood and a majority of other officials, many of them from the scientific and academic community in Illuminopolis, to dismiss concerns about "overambitious shanty-towns" disrupting the balance of power. (The fact that the majority of the population also came from the other fifteen city-states is another factor.) For the Grand Admiral, Industria Planitia represented more than just the U.I.E. planting the flag on its little portion of the Red Planet - it represented the future of the Underwood Industrial Empire itself. -
Anyone who's been reading my U.I.E. city journal entries may have seen reference to my empire's Martian colony, Industria Planitia - something that I have (occasionally) worked on in Surviving Mars, published by the same folks who publish Cities: Skylines - one of the radio stations I listen to fairly often in Skylines (when not using the music mod to listen to the soundtracks to SimCity 3000, 4, Societies, etc.) is the "Official Mars Radio" they gave out a while back as a sort of tie-in. Which begs the question: Does the greater community here consider it to be a "city-builder" game, or would it be considered more akin to an RTS or some such? (I'm asking primarily because I am considering adding pictures from the colony to the U.I.E. city journal, heh heh.)
