Post by leonardzx13 on Feb 21, 2019 7:53:13 GMT
Location:
Central United States, stretching from around NE Arkansas to SW Indiana
History:
Comprising the former New Madrid Seismic Zone and Wabash Valley Seismic Zone in the Central U.S.
Late in the Aether War, an impact near said seismic zones caused a sudden flare in seismic activity in the area. The surface collapsed as the ground pulled apart, devastating the cities that were on the general line of the fault system. As chunks of the surface wedged themselves further down into the chasm that formed, the seismic activity subsided and the area finally stabilized into the chasm that it is today. People eventually started coming back to the area, and a brave few started to explore the inside of the chasm. It turned out that, when the chasm opened, it gave access to a number of cave systems that were previously unknown before the quakes started. Because of this (and the now stable state of the chasm), people actually started to move down into the cave systems and built a series of ladders and bridges to easily move around the chasm sides and across the chasm. Although it may be somewhat warmer the closer one lives to the bottom, the climate is usually cooler and slightly damp inside the cave systems.
Culture:
The Chasm, as it's commonly known, has become a sort of asylum for those people that want to "disappear" for one reason or another. As the majority of Chasm citizens have this in common, the society that lives amid the cave systems has become relatively closely-knit and wary of those from the outside. Even though this is the case, there still is some stratifying based on status in Chasm society. It is simply that those who are lower in status tend to end up living closer to the cave entrances (less protected), while those of higher status live deeper in the cave systems (more protected).
Buildings:
There is nothing much on the surface, typically several outposts to keep a lookout on either side of the chasm for inbound people (and only several on either side, based on the general flatness of the land). Also above the surface are a number of energy-gathering stations set slightly into the ground, running to large banks of batteries under the surface.
Underground, the citizens have built ladders and ledges running down and along the sides of the Chasm, in order to enter the various cave systems dotting the walls. Along with this, they have built bridges across the Chasm in order to get from one wall to the other as necessary. The cave systems themselves have begun to be modified from the Chasm wall inward, typically first for utility and then for aesthetics. At the bottom of the Chasm, there have also been a number of power stations set up to supply energy to the caves as well.
The cave modifications have been designed to give the various caverns within these cave systems a somewhat modern look (mix of concrete, metal, modern lighting, some neon), while retaining some of the natural appearance of the caverns within (usually the more sturdy and stable stalactites on the ceilings of the higher chambers).
Government:
The government system is fairly simple. Depending on how large each individual cave system is, there is usually a person acting as mayor of said cave system, with surrounding smaller caves falling into the jurisdiction of each larger cave system (the vertical equivalent to cities and suburbs on the surface). The mayors of these cave systems work together as a relatively unified cabinet, working mainly to preserve the privacy of the citizens from any outsiders. This cabinet also decides whether or not outsiders should be accepted into Chasm society. A system of laws has been set up to help preserve a state of relative peace in, and between, the various cave systems: if any laws are broken, then the cabinet elects a group of impartial citizens from the various caves to hear out both sides of the story, and decide on whether the accused is guilty of said crime. The cabinet of cave mayors then decides on a punishment to fit the crime, with the worst punishment being exile to the surface (note, in the "culture" section, about most of the Chasm citizens wanting to "disappear" for one reason or another).
Population:
Majority:
Typically, species that have better night vision/nocturnal species: Various felines, various canines, bats, certain marsupials, raccoons, certain crocodilians, rodents, lemurs, certain avians (just to name a few).
Minority:
Species that don't have as good night vision: Humans, other primates, most avians, lagomorphs, pigs (also just to name a few).
As it's been said, "It takes all kinds to make a world."
Technology:
The Chasm is about a mid-level technology society. Certain members of Chasm society had the intelligence and the ability to adapt Aether filters to a larger scale to help power large banks of Aether batteries, but much more common has been the use of solar power at the top of the Chasm (with the adapted Aether filters), and geothermal power at the bottom of the Chasm. From the various banks of batteries run lines to the various cave systems for power (either Aether charge or simple electricity. The geothermal plants at the base of the Chasm provide heat for the cave systems, all the way to the top. As this is still a growing society, most other tech is brought in from the outside, so much of the current tech there has been tinkered together from those small groups that have scavenged the abandoned cities around the Chasm area. The most prevalent variety of technology available in the Chasm is typically night-vision modifications of one variety or another.
Biases:
The Chasm citizens have a relatively healthy distrust of outsiders, as they prefer to retain as much privacy as possible. They don't necessarily hate outsiders, they are just fairly wary of them.
Religion:
Nothing central, typically each Chasm citizen is free to worship as they please, and certain areas within the systems are set aside to act as churches, temples, mosques, etc.
Military:
This is mainly what the surface outposts are for. Those few that are either brave enough or crazy enough to spend their days scanning the horizons for potential threats.
Below these outposts are near-surface caverns set aside for use as barracks for local volunteer militia in order to defend the Chasm as needed. These militia members volunteer for shifts of a set length before switching out with another group. The outposts have in-ground communication lines running between them (Aether powered), in order to call for reinforcements as needed. Otherwise, the Chasm society is a relatively peaceful, close-knit society.
Economy:
The Chasm citizens have set up a trade-based economy within the confines of the Chasm. There are a few (usually those that have been there the longest) that have started trading goods built, and food hunted and gathered within the less-modified portions of the caves, with societies outside of the Chasm in order to earn money for the society. This money is typically used to pay other outsiders for materials to make necessary repairs, or to continue to modify the cave systems (so that they aren't living like cave-people).
There are also those that have retained some aspects of their lives before becoming Chasm citizens, usually those that were mercenaries or assassins that still occasionally take on jobs that fit that skill set.
Food:
Food sources tend to be the natural flora and fauna that thrived in the cave systems before being inhabited:
Flora:
This category tends toward mainly bio-luminescent algae and fungi that grew, and are now farmed in caverns specifically left un-modified for that purpose.
Fauna:
Bats, cave swifts (birds), blind cave fish, and blind cave crustaceans that are now raised and farmed in caverns left mostly un-modified for that purpose.
Potential Threats:
There could be any number of outsider threats, based on the reason that a person became a Chasm citizen, and on how long they have been a citizen.
Just to name a few: Law enforcement, military, crime lords, stalkers (you never quite know how far some might go...). Usually the threats seem to be more minor, though, and relatively easily deterred over time (memories tend to fade over time).
Central United States, stretching from around NE Arkansas to SW Indiana
History:
Comprising the former New Madrid Seismic Zone and Wabash Valley Seismic Zone in the Central U.S.
Late in the Aether War, an impact near said seismic zones caused a sudden flare in seismic activity in the area. The surface collapsed as the ground pulled apart, devastating the cities that were on the general line of the fault system. As chunks of the surface wedged themselves further down into the chasm that formed, the seismic activity subsided and the area finally stabilized into the chasm that it is today. People eventually started coming back to the area, and a brave few started to explore the inside of the chasm. It turned out that, when the chasm opened, it gave access to a number of cave systems that were previously unknown before the quakes started. Because of this (and the now stable state of the chasm), people actually started to move down into the cave systems and built a series of ladders and bridges to easily move around the chasm sides and across the chasm. Although it may be somewhat warmer the closer one lives to the bottom, the climate is usually cooler and slightly damp inside the cave systems.
Culture:
The Chasm, as it's commonly known, has become a sort of asylum for those people that want to "disappear" for one reason or another. As the majority of Chasm citizens have this in common, the society that lives amid the cave systems has become relatively closely-knit and wary of those from the outside. Even though this is the case, there still is some stratifying based on status in Chasm society. It is simply that those who are lower in status tend to end up living closer to the cave entrances (less protected), while those of higher status live deeper in the cave systems (more protected).
Buildings:
There is nothing much on the surface, typically several outposts to keep a lookout on either side of the chasm for inbound people (and only several on either side, based on the general flatness of the land). Also above the surface are a number of energy-gathering stations set slightly into the ground, running to large banks of batteries under the surface.
Underground, the citizens have built ladders and ledges running down and along the sides of the Chasm, in order to enter the various cave systems dotting the walls. Along with this, they have built bridges across the Chasm in order to get from one wall to the other as necessary. The cave systems themselves have begun to be modified from the Chasm wall inward, typically first for utility and then for aesthetics. At the bottom of the Chasm, there have also been a number of power stations set up to supply energy to the caves as well.
The cave modifications have been designed to give the various caverns within these cave systems a somewhat modern look (mix of concrete, metal, modern lighting, some neon), while retaining some of the natural appearance of the caverns within (usually the more sturdy and stable stalactites on the ceilings of the higher chambers).
Government:
The government system is fairly simple. Depending on how large each individual cave system is, there is usually a person acting as mayor of said cave system, with surrounding smaller caves falling into the jurisdiction of each larger cave system (the vertical equivalent to cities and suburbs on the surface). The mayors of these cave systems work together as a relatively unified cabinet, working mainly to preserve the privacy of the citizens from any outsiders. This cabinet also decides whether or not outsiders should be accepted into Chasm society. A system of laws has been set up to help preserve a state of relative peace in, and between, the various cave systems: if any laws are broken, then the cabinet elects a group of impartial citizens from the various caves to hear out both sides of the story, and decide on whether the accused is guilty of said crime. The cabinet of cave mayors then decides on a punishment to fit the crime, with the worst punishment being exile to the surface (note, in the "culture" section, about most of the Chasm citizens wanting to "disappear" for one reason or another).
Population:
Majority:
Typically, species that have better night vision/nocturnal species: Various felines, various canines, bats, certain marsupials, raccoons, certain crocodilians, rodents, lemurs, certain avians (just to name a few).
Minority:
Species that don't have as good night vision: Humans, other primates, most avians, lagomorphs, pigs (also just to name a few).
As it's been said, "It takes all kinds to make a world."
Technology:
The Chasm is about a mid-level technology society. Certain members of Chasm society had the intelligence and the ability to adapt Aether filters to a larger scale to help power large banks of Aether batteries, but much more common has been the use of solar power at the top of the Chasm (with the adapted Aether filters), and geothermal power at the bottom of the Chasm. From the various banks of batteries run lines to the various cave systems for power (either Aether charge or simple electricity. The geothermal plants at the base of the Chasm provide heat for the cave systems, all the way to the top. As this is still a growing society, most other tech is brought in from the outside, so much of the current tech there has been tinkered together from those small groups that have scavenged the abandoned cities around the Chasm area. The most prevalent variety of technology available in the Chasm is typically night-vision modifications of one variety or another.
Biases:
The Chasm citizens have a relatively healthy distrust of outsiders, as they prefer to retain as much privacy as possible. They don't necessarily hate outsiders, they are just fairly wary of them.
Religion:
Nothing central, typically each Chasm citizen is free to worship as they please, and certain areas within the systems are set aside to act as churches, temples, mosques, etc.
Military:
This is mainly what the surface outposts are for. Those few that are either brave enough or crazy enough to spend their days scanning the horizons for potential threats.
Below these outposts are near-surface caverns set aside for use as barracks for local volunteer militia in order to defend the Chasm as needed. These militia members volunteer for shifts of a set length before switching out with another group. The outposts have in-ground communication lines running between them (Aether powered), in order to call for reinforcements as needed. Otherwise, the Chasm society is a relatively peaceful, close-knit society.
Economy:
The Chasm citizens have set up a trade-based economy within the confines of the Chasm. There are a few (usually those that have been there the longest) that have started trading goods built, and food hunted and gathered within the less-modified portions of the caves, with societies outside of the Chasm in order to earn money for the society. This money is typically used to pay other outsiders for materials to make necessary repairs, or to continue to modify the cave systems (so that they aren't living like cave-people).
There are also those that have retained some aspects of their lives before becoming Chasm citizens, usually those that were mercenaries or assassins that still occasionally take on jobs that fit that skill set.
Food:
Food sources tend to be the natural flora and fauna that thrived in the cave systems before being inhabited:
Flora:
This category tends toward mainly bio-luminescent algae and fungi that grew, and are now farmed in caverns specifically left un-modified for that purpose.
Fauna:
Bats, cave swifts (birds), blind cave fish, and blind cave crustaceans that are now raised and farmed in caverns left mostly un-modified for that purpose.
Potential Threats:
There could be any number of outsider threats, based on the reason that a person became a Chasm citizen, and on how long they have been a citizen.
Just to name a few: Law enforcement, military, crime lords, stalkers (you never quite know how far some might go...). Usually the threats seem to be more minor, though, and relatively easily deterred over time (memories tend to fade over time).