structure
In the decade of 2140, the high population in both the Earth and the Moon forced humankind to look for new outworld havens. At the time, the UN was presented with two projects, Asteria and Ares; the first proposed the building of space cities between the orbits of Earth, Venus and Mars, while the latter aimed at the colonization of Mars itself.
The Red Planet was indeed occupied later, but in those years it was the Asteria Project that was chosen as the solution for humankind's problem; though the building of the so-called Star Rings was expensive, their choice over the Ares Project was due to the fact that Mars was too far from the Earth, and once the rings were completed, they could be used to support the colonization of farther regions.
And it was for that very reason that the first seventy-five Rings were built between the orbits of the Earth and Mars – the “Outer Rings” –, while the remaining twenty-five were placed between the orbits of Venus and the Earth and became known as “Inner Rings”. From Earth's point of view, they are not stationary, and so they appear and disappear from Terran skies much like the planets themselves. Additionally, they all contain engines that correct their orbital position and speed whenever it is altered by the gravitational pull of the planets and the sun.
The design of every Star Ring is essentially the same: it is a gigantic ring that spins at such speed the resulting centrifugal force produces a false “gravity” on its inner surface, equalling that of Earth's. The outer face is covered by layers of titanium plates beneath more layers of solar panels. In order to absorb as much solar energy as possible, the Ring's outer face is turned straight towards the sun. Along the Ring's borders, there are reflectors which refract sunlight towards a giant crystal that floats at the very centre of the circle, and which serves as the “sun” of the station's inhabitants.
The administration and the maintenance of each Ring were both originally the responsibility of its respective metropoles; after the Elenag's creation, the agency not only shared this duty, but also received powers as a mediator, even being authorized to overrule Ring governors in specific cases. Within every Ring, it counts the Edges as its exclusive territory; these Edges are the barriers along the inner surface's borders, protecting it from outer space but also sheltering the power plants – of both nuclear and antimatter types – and the air generators.
Furthermore, they shelter the Elenag's offices and the Shenjing terminals (Chinese for 'Nerve'). The Shenjing is a special system that allows the Elenag to administer and monitor the entirety of the Ring, enabling it to access power, water and air supplies, digital networks, transports systems, even the Ring's rotation and orbital positioning. The agency's command central in a Ring is a special sector called Naoh (Chinese for 'brain').
The inner surface – or the Loop – is equally allotted into five States, each reserved for a country and ruled by a governor. They are separated from each other by immense Gates that can only be crossed by train or by special passageways. Each State contains its own basic infrastructure, but the amount of power and water it receives is proportional to its population, and rigorously controlled through the Shenjing to avoid unfair resource division.
The Red Planet was indeed occupied later, but in those years it was the Asteria Project that was chosen as the solution for humankind's problem; though the building of the so-called Star Rings was expensive, their choice over the Ares Project was due to the fact that Mars was too far from the Earth, and once the rings were completed, they could be used to support the colonization of farther regions.
And it was for that very reason that the first seventy-five Rings were built between the orbits of the Earth and Mars – the “Outer Rings” –, while the remaining twenty-five were placed between the orbits of Venus and the Earth and became known as “Inner Rings”. From Earth's point of view, they are not stationary, and so they appear and disappear from Terran skies much like the planets themselves. Additionally, they all contain engines that correct their orbital position and speed whenever it is altered by the gravitational pull of the planets and the sun.
The design of every Star Ring is essentially the same: it is a gigantic ring that spins at such speed the resulting centrifugal force produces a false “gravity” on its inner surface, equalling that of Earth's. The outer face is covered by layers of titanium plates beneath more layers of solar panels. In order to absorb as much solar energy as possible, the Ring's outer face is turned straight towards the sun. Along the Ring's borders, there are reflectors which refract sunlight towards a giant crystal that floats at the very centre of the circle, and which serves as the “sun” of the station's inhabitants.
The administration and the maintenance of each Ring were both originally the responsibility of its respective metropoles; after the Elenag's creation, the agency not only shared this duty, but also received powers as a mediator, even being authorized to overrule Ring governors in specific cases. Within every Ring, it counts the Edges as its exclusive territory; these Edges are the barriers along the inner surface's borders, protecting it from outer space but also sheltering the power plants – of both nuclear and antimatter types – and the air generators.
Furthermore, they shelter the Elenag's offices and the Shenjing terminals (Chinese for 'Nerve'). The Shenjing is a special system that allows the Elenag to administer and monitor the entirety of the Ring, enabling it to access power, water and air supplies, digital networks, transports systems, even the Ring's rotation and orbital positioning. The agency's command central in a Ring is a special sector called Naoh (Chinese for 'brain').
The inner surface – or the Loop – is equally allotted into five States, each reserved for a country and ruled by a governor. They are separated from each other by immense Gates that can only be crossed by train or by special passageways. Each State contains its own basic infrastructure, but the amount of power and water it receives is proportional to its population, and rigorously controlled through the Shenjing to avoid unfair resource division.