Venus

Summary

Venus is a harsh world of heat, pressure, and deadly gas cocktails that make life all but impossible on the surface. Colonies have sprung up in the high altitude atmosphere where orbital cities connect men and women with what jobs can be had. A healthy gas mining industry has propelled the planet forward, but times roll on and the gas markets are falling behind while talks of terraforming take hold. For all the races calling Venus home the next few years promise to be interesting.

Cities

Aerial Cities

A vast group of Aerial population centers floating amongst the clouds, the Aerial Cities of Venus are owned and maintained by a variety of institutions and governments which have a heavy stake in the development of the planet. Maintained at a steady altitude of 50km above the Venusian surface, the pressure here is perfect for human habitation and is very similar to that of Earth. The temperatures at this altitude are low but well within human survivability levels. Because of these factors, humans are able to walk outside of their enclosed habitats without having to wear pressurized suits, requiring only an oxygen supply and some rudimentary protection against Venusian acid rain. Circling the planet every 4 days due to the high winds (95 m/s), the Aerial Cities experience a closer parable to the day and night cycles of Earth than if they relied on the rotation of Venus itself (as it takes longer than a Venusian year for the planet to complete a single rotation on its axis).

The cities are constructed from carbon nanotubes fabricated into sheets, as well as graphene, forming a central platform surrounded by many spheres of oxygen and nitrogen. Due to the density of the Venus atmosphere, breathable air (21:79 Oxygen-Nitrogen mixture), works perfectly as a lifting gas and is 60% more efficient than helium is within the Earth's atmosphere. The materials used to create the cities are low-weight and durable, cheap, and easily sustainable by processing the carbon rich atmosphere. This gives each city the ability to create the materials necessary to build more of its kind while harvesting itself gives an immediate investment return to the colonists, allowing for the rapid development and proliferation of floating habitats. Each roof is coated in highly reflective materials, reflecting additional sunlight back into space to aid the cooling of the hellishly warm surface. Landing a ship on the fast moving cities is notoriously difficult, especially when attempted by amateur pilots with egos greater than their skills. Ignoring the vital guidance provided by the air-traffic control computers of an Aerial City is all but suicidal, and is the leading cause for the loss of some 70 ships every Venusian year.

Inside each city are all the amenities required for living a reasonably normal life. Living space is at a premium, with the ownership of a large residence being the greatest sign of wealth for those living within the Venus atmosphere. Most of those living aboard the Aerial Cities earn a wage by working at retail locations, infrastructure upkeep, or at the harvesting facilities. Various means of entertainment are available, some tending towards the exotic. Anyone with the enough money and a daring sense of adventure can rent or purchase the equipment to take a 4 day paragliding trip around the planet. Those with more lascivious tastes may wish to visit “Aphrodite”, the famous floating brothel. Rich with possibilities, the incredible potential of Venus continues to draw in new residents.

Conversion efforts are underway to ensure the cities are able to remain relevant and in place despite the coming changes to the planet. As terraforming effects are undertaken the cities must be retrofitted to remain stable and aloft as the atmosphere changes.

History

Low-Interest Ventures

At a time when options were plentiful for space colonization mankind looked to the most popular and well-known avenues before eyes turned elsewhere. For the colonization of Venus this meant waiting until Luna, Mars, and space outposts like Big Bertha and Griton 2 were either in place or under construction. Being of such low priority hasn't ever sat well with the Vesuvians or other races who now call the world home.

Unfortunately the single-largest economic collapse since mankind entered the stars coincided with the rise of the Vesuvian race and the planet's industry. This caused widespread turmoil for the Sol System and stalled the planet's development as capital tightened and the planet found itself mistakenly blamed for the crisis.

Waves of Change

In recent years as the Sol System has pushed ever forward Venus too has been able to reposition itself and develop a strategic plan for the future. Unifying the cities and pooling developmental resources has allowed for the long-standing potential of terraforming to move forward. For years the gas mining operations stalled development, claiming that Venus would not survive the transition period. Since then as demand and growth in the gas industry has stagnated their arguments have carried less and less weight.

Government & Culture

As a budding member within the Inner Sol Alliance, Mercury is receiving a good deal of interest as efforts begin to shape the planet into a more useful colony. Originally devoid of much weight this newfound power is causing shifts within the stations that make up current colonization on Venus.

Mayors of the aerial cities are now fully aligned behind their ISA representatives for the first time. Gone are the special interests that stalled development and focused activity upon short-sighted gas mining operations, dooming the world to a slow but steady decline into nothingness. In their place the world has elected to pursue lasting and dramatic change unlike its neighbor, Earth, which took a hard fall before change was approached, Venus is poised to rise as a leading world in the system.

Points of Interest

ZePPods

These high orbit ultra-durable zeppelins are home to numerous projects and labs. Of specific note are the stations leased out to the ecological engineers, where the teams have begun laying the groundwork for terraforming the planet. These men and women are faced with the challenge of terraforming a world with a large, immobile population. Their solution is a gradual fight against the sun and the dense atmosphere of the world. Efforts are in place to shield the world, blocking large amounts of problematic solar radiation. That underway more ZePPods are being deployed at large expense to the ISA to combat and convert atmospheric gases.

Shield Barrier

A recent addition and hazard to uninformed travelers in the area of space around Venus are the half-dozen shield arrays build to compliment ZePPod activity. These shields are giant solar arrays put in place to block a large portion the sun's radiation from reaching the atmosphere of Venus. The arrays are the second phase of early "life friendly" efforts to begin terraforming the world. A long-term solution, the shield barrier is poised to last well into the future of the planet ensuring the world will avoid atmospheric slip. The shield does not and will not help cool the planet fast enough, so other efforts are underway to