Paradise (station)

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> “Every day and night, when the smog of Hyperion subsides, you can see an entirely different realm of existence hundreds of miles above your head. Really puts things into perspective.”
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> — *Amadeus Eleison, on the phenomenon of seeing the Paradise station from the surface of Hyperion*
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**Paradise**, officially known as the **Paradise Orbital Ring Station**, is the largest artificial satellite of the planet of Hyperion in the Hathor star system. Officially a part of the Planetary Republic of Hyperion, it is the most highly developed of all places within the Hathor star system, with the largest amount of wealthy residents per-capita. Several members of different corporate and political dynasties call Paradise one of their homes, including many from the Kanetomi Corporation.

Measuring fifty kilometers in diameter, Paradise takes the form of two rings in a von Braun format, with six spokes emerging from a central hub. Gravity is conferred to the station through a preset spin, and the station is situated beneath the Van Allen belts of Hyperion, thus making its shape easily recognizable in both the Hyperian day and night skies. The Paradise station, unlike the Hyperion International Spaceport, is not necessarily meant to facilitate logistical ease between the planet and the wider Coalition of Congressional Republics; instead, it was built to serve as the "luxury capital of the Coalition", rivaling Tellus while using Hyperion as its industrial and service basis. As such, the bulk of the station is dedicated to both tourism and extremely high-class residence, with everything from artificial hydrospheres and biospheres to entire luxury cities within its outer ring. The inner ring of the station is dedicated to farming and manufacturing desire-tailored products, whereas the central hub serves as both a transportation and ring administration center.

## Population

The current population of Paradise is approximately 750,000 permanent residents, with accommodation for a further three million tourists and workers. All residents are estimated to be making a minimum salary of well above 100 million Coalition Congressional Notes at the minimum per year, making the estimated net worth of all residents to be at least 75 trillion notes in total.

Workers that reside on Paradise make much less, but as expected do not live in the main ring - instead, they live in the central hub in relatively cramped conditions. Tourists that arrive on Paradise contribute several further tens trillion in notes to Paradise's economy, and can find accommodations either within the main ring or in the central hub.

The tourists and residents that call Paradise a permanent (or temporary) home are almost always wealthy, with the middle class only sometimes arriving on deliberate travel packages offered by tourism corporations that have investments in Paradise itself. Many are of corpo background, and hail from all across the Coalition; only a small percentage were actually born on the surface of Hyperion.

The birth rate for the population on Paradise is very low, but remains stable as a result of the constant influx of new wealthy immigrants travelling from abroad or from the surface of Hyperion.