Thread: [WB] Sci-Fi in the Sol System

On to some planets! Mercury Mercury Population 30,243,484,000,000 Total Population, Including Orbitals 30,243,800,540,000 Government Corporate Republic Orbital Facilities Orbital Ring, Space Elevators, Refuelling Station, Heavy Shipyards, Repair Facilities Mercury represented one of the most challenging worlds to colonize. The intense heat was a punishing limit that proved difficult to overcome. Still, the concept of incredibly abundant solar energy and monstrously high densities of heavy metals were appealing targets. Technology that was in development for the Venusian surface proved to be the key to unlocking the world. Still, the development was not without some limitation, and living space was located deep underground. As minerals were excavated en mass, the interior space was filled with rotating habitats. Mercury is nearly unique in that it lacks reliance on the gas giants for Helium 3, as it is almost entirely powered through solar. Even it's local defensive ships are instead powered through high density batteries instead of more traditional fusion ships, leaving them much lighter, and typically much more agile, though also with much shorter operational time. Industrializing Mercury proved a challenge indeed, though it was made possible on a wide scale by liberal use of thermal superconductor technology, employing it on a vast scale, previously unheard of on other worlds. This enabled the world to throw open the full bounty of the sun. It took very little time to have vast amounts of power available, and research technology on mercury focused not on efficient solar panels, but on increasing the energy density of batteries. They unsurprisingly surpassed the capacity of other worlds, becoming the leading experts in the field. With such huge arrays of power available for nearly no real cost, Mercury is also the only world able to produce anti-matter on an industrial scale. Particle accelerators have been constructed on a massive scale, circling the planet at the equator, fed by the power harvested from the sun to produce the required antimatter for export and production. Thus, Mercury primarily exports energy to the other clusters in the system. Heavy metals are extremely plentiful here, and they are processed on site in vast foundries, but there was no way to expand such industry quickly enough to compete with the output of mining operations. Thus, they also exported raw materials to other clusters, with Luna being a primary buyer of their wares. This has led to a careful interdependency between the two powers, as Luna would suffer greatly without the output of Mercury, but Mercury requires the constant influx of Lunar money to continue to maintain it's trade for things like water, seeing as what little could be found in the polar regions was used quickly. The orbital Ring around Mercury is a marvel of heat direction, the entire vast construct lined with thermal superconductors, sending the heat to the regions shadowed by the planet, there it's dissipated through huge radiators. Engineers from Mercury are frequently employed on other worlds to assist in new designs where thermal distribution is a priority. While most rings are connected to the surface through simple cable cars or similar, such was considered too risky with the intense heat, therefore the ring is only connected to the surface at a few points through large space elevators. This has led to a larger than usual planetary infrastructure for transporting goods. Much of it is subterranean to protect it from heat, as tunnelling is still less costly than redirecting and dissipating the heat. The governing power of Mercury is vested in the Hermes Industrial Union, who do provide an elected parliament to have citizens voice concerns, but they own the monopoly on nearly all things on Mercury. While early attempts at control of all properties backfired badly when cost-cutting led to poor living conditions and wages, but a mass exodus form the planet, leaving their facilities desperately understaffed. Since that point, HIU has offered high wages and better than average living conditions for all it's citizens, keeping them interested in continuing to work. The Parliament has little true power, it mainly exists to work as a filter, distilling issues that require addressing before sending these issues off to the Board of Directors, who have the final say on changes to the world. Thus the power for more than thirty trillion souls rests ultimately in the hands of approximately twenty individuals, a fact not lost on many other powers in the system. Venus Venus Population 3,041,159,212,000 Floating Cities, 388,410,000 Orbital Ring, 30,697,289,750,000 - Habitat Cloud Total Population, Including Orbitals 33,738,837,372,000 Government Constituional Democracy Orbital Facilities Orbital Ring, Orbital Defence Platforms, Refuelling Stations, Orbital Cylinder Habitats, Medium Shipyards Venus was long considered a difficult target for any kind of habitation. While orbital work could be established, without a supporting infrastructure, any materials would have to be shipped in. From a scientific standpoint, there was always great curiosity about the planet, and several corporate endeavours funded the establishment of research stations in orbit to try and develop further technology to exploit the surface. It took nearly three decades to develop the technology even for the most rudimentary automated units on the surface, and another before a properly usable vehicle that could be piloted by humans was developed. Once both of these factors were handled however, it opened the door to the wealth of Venus. The initial gold rush of settlement efforts came in fast, the first of them being simply large metallic blimps with attached living quarters. These were cheap to produce, and simple to keep at high altitude, providing living quarters and easier access to hydroponics. The extreme pressures and temperatures were found to be useful for several industrial applications, leading to further expansion of the planet. Venus had been established for more than a century when the Earth Alliance government collapsed. With all of the Clusters declaring independence, Venus was the planet that endeavoured to remain on good terms with Earth and Luna, forging the first of the new Interplanetary Trade Accords. Being the first gave Venus the leverage to secure an excellent deal for themselves, with Luna needing the resources of Venus to keep the forges burning. Thus with the new influx of wealth, the face of Venus changed. The simple blimps were phased out, and a new type of habitat was conceived. Engineers from Luna and Io were brought in, and they designed the new phase of living among the clouds. Each one several kilometres across with a high standing dome to provide the atmosphere for both living and for lifting, the habitat itself was not built of metal, but metallic glass. Iron glass formed the structure, while the exterior was crafted of palladium glass. The structure gives the impression of being carved from silver crystal that shines in he Venusian sun. Under the dome are grasslands and forest, environments carefully cultivated and sculpted for maximum appeal. In the center is a towering spire, home to only the most luxuriously appointed homes. As a matter of office, the elected overseers of each settlement have a place within the spire. Those who lack the funds to live in the spire have quarters below the park lands. These are no slums, still considered highly appointed compared to most other colony worlds. There is still a small population that works on the surface, and such is the regard for them due to the hazards that they work in that each person is considered something of a celebrity. Unmatched pay makes them some of the wealthiest citizens as well. The bulk of the population live in orbital habitats, close to 90, and there are long waiting lists of those looking to transfer down to the planet proper. Securing surface employment, or specific employment on the floating cities is the fastest way to make it to such a goal. Genetic tailoring has reached it's highest point on Venus, with the highest acclaimed genetic engineers being referred to as Gene Sculptors. To have trained within a Venusian Genetic Engineering Academy is to ensure one is never short of work. The degree of engineering done to the average citizen is higher than average, with many people investing in more cosmetic engineering. As a result, Venusian people are often used an example of physical beauty. Aesthetics are considered to be a high goal, and most goods made on Venus are made with an eye to that, making exports a highly profitable enterprise.