User:Kyres1/Sandbox2



''A Gibsoner cave city, built underground in pursuit of downwards-facing drills. These cities crawl at a snail's pace, but over hundreds of years have grown kilometers underground in some places.''

New Gibson is the second exoplanet to be colonized by humanity, shortly after the initial success of Biesel's colonization attempt in 2167. While the economic and social powerhouse established itself on Biesel, New Gibson was set to become the industrial workhorse of the Tau Ceti system. New Gibson contained a rich and valuable resource pool together with the highest concentrations of many valuable minerals of any planetary surface in Tau Ceti, in the form of highly concentrated ores. This vast mineral wealth was highly sought after, especially for the continued development of Biesel's fledgling colony at the beginning of its life. While New Gibson has a complex dedicated to virtually all industries, its major players are shipbuilding and wide-ranging manufacturing adjacent to its titanic planetary mines.

This is an old world, with efforts to commercialize every crevice ranging back hundreds of years. In the cavernous pitfalls and valleys of New Gibson resides both its thriving mining economy and its greatest dangers. Active tectonics of New Gibson are nonexistent, leading to a very cold, dark mantle. It is assumed with current technology that the core of New Gibson is long dormant, though no recorded effort to reach it has ever succeeded.

Environment
Characterised by huge snow-covered valleys with large solitary mountains, New Gibson experiences some of the coldest temperatures across Tau Ceti. Its atmosphere is primarily composed of methane, ammonia and trace amounts of water vapour - requiring those that wish to explore its landscape to wear bulky and cumbersome EVA equipment.

Due to its axial tilt, combined with its orbital period, New Gibson is enveloped in perpetual twilight. These factors also contributed to the planet’s frequent blizzards, engulfing the plains of New Gibson in its frost. Temperatures during these blizzards can reach as low as negative 187°C.

Regional weather and blizzards are frequently turbulent on New Gibson. But, every three years (GST), the planet is globally pummeled by an upset of the weather system. In the hundreds of years that have passed since its colonization, these storms have grown far worse, far more frequent and far more deadly. A clear cause would be pollution from industrial development and mostly gaseous byproducts dumped into the cold planet’s already freezing atmosphere.

These dangerous conditions imply that, if not adequately sturdy, every residence is temporary. Only underground structures and hundreds of years old biodomes stand the test of time here.

Native life on New Gibson is, to some surprise, completely nonexistent. Only invasive species able to handle the brutal habitat survive, and these are very few. Cases like these are usually small mineral-eating insectoid species with long hibernation cycles. The sole exception is Greimorians, which have taken advantage of deep-mantle burrows and a chilly subterranean cave system.

Society, Culture and People
Native Gibsoners are a reclusive people. In all their history, this planet has played underdog to Biesel’s powerful stance in the galactic stage. It would never yield much presence socially, and this reflects heavily on the introverted nature of natives on the planet. Simultaneously, the native populace of New Gibson is without a doubt its most influential planetside. This is due to themselves almost wholly consisting of the underground workforce which defines New Gibson’s industrial power. From its administration to its groundmen, insular native Gibsoners manage the sway of every drill and every press beneath the planet’s freezing surface. In a sense, this is because they simply managed to arrive on New Gibson first. They made the first treks into the planetary mines and their families would proliferate, staying indefinitely.

As said before, natives are indistinguishable, perhaps even melded with the average galactic Human. Surfacing, or even traveling natives tend to carry trinkets and heirlooms reminiscent of their family’s upbringing to confirm their familial “status,” should they have one at all. These objects may adopt many appearances, but often appear as lockets with coins inside. These assemblies are manufactured underground in New Gibson with a special compound which few other environments can replicate, the true nature of which unknown.

Residential Sectors and Arcologies
Atop its icy peaks, New Gibson hosts fully developed arcologies and domes the height of skyscrapers. These tremendous buildings know little respite from the blizzards which wreak havoc across New Gibson. Suitably, they are built to stand the test of time. Most of these are just adaptations or outright built from the frames of the biodomes originally orbitally dropped in the colonization rush of the 2100’s. They are cavernous, spacious and dark for the majority of their interior, designed to accommodate expansion for many years to come within while the external dome keeps everything inside protected indefinitely.

Half of New Gibson’s population resides in biodomes, and almost all tourism and immigration flocks here particularly. Industry here is primarily entertainment, and upper-level executives reside here as opposed to underground where the inner workings of the planet churn. Food business and agriculture are the main planetary outputs of these biodomes, through hydroponics, farms or otherwise.

Industrial Sectors
Settlements inside New Gibson’s industrial territories are vertically-expansive, as cities creep deeper underground to follow the crawling pace of global strip mining. The surface levels of most cities here are often decrepit, long rendered ghost towns by the perpetual digging below. Only spaceports and points of travel meet much traffic in industrial sectors. Otherwise, it is common for natives to go their whole lives never seeing the stars first-hand.

The remaining half of New Gibson’s population resides in these underground industrial sectors. Where residential areas in the biodomes dominate the agricultural and entertainment sectors, these underground areas rule the manufacturing, drilling and offworld exports.

Cuisine
Due to the early life inside cramped biodomes, where there was little space for livestock, there was a noticeable shift towards more vegetarian and vegan-based diets. During this period of the planet's history, the drinks ‘Gibson Hooch’ and ‘Gibson Punch’ were starting to see prominence. These cocktails had no standard mix, with Hooch being made out of a mix of alcoholic spirits, beer, and cola, while Gibson Punch would typically be made from orange juice, homemade vodka, and powdered lemonade mix for flavour. These two drinks would eventually become household favourites of the colonists, with the drinks being standardised roughly at the start of the 24th century. To Gibsoners, these drinks are culturally and historically important, reflecting the difficult history of New Gibson.

While the number of livestock on New Gibson during this time was never high, there were small ‘farms’ spread out across the biodomes that allowed for meat, eggs and dairy to be given to the populace in small amounts. Smaller animals such as goats, chickens, and sheep were the only ones allowed due to the cramped conditions making space a luxury at the time. Living conditions for these livestock are notoriously poor, even today. Soups and stews were a primary feature at this time to help stretch out the limited food supply of the colony, and to make up for the lack of variety of food offered.

Synthetic meat has also grown in popularity, with facilities on New Gibson itself established to provide beef, pork, salmon, and herring in particular for domestic consumption. There have been plans since the late 24th century for aquaculture arcologies to be built, but due to the investment required for these facilities, this has barely left the planning stages.

Celebrations
Unity Day is celebrated across New Gibson on the 27th of December. It is a national holiday that celebrates the forming of the Parliamentary Republic of New Gibson, which unified the biodomes under a central government. There is no official celebration beyond a special announcement by the Presiding Speaker, but many people host parties in the residential districts to celebrate.

Celebration of the Solstice is celebrated by those of New Gibson on the 6th of September, marking the completed revolution of New Gibson on its axis. It involves the raising and dancing around a maypole - a tall, wooden pole that has its origins in provinces across Earth. After the activities surrounding the maypole have concluded, there is a community picnic each family contributes to.

Harvest Week is celebrated primarily in the Bagumbayan Biodome starting on the 22nd of August and ending on the 29th. During this time the glut of crops grown are sent to the myriad street vendors and eating venues to be sold as part of the celebrations. Harvest Week is a celebration of New Gibson’s progress as a colony, as well as a remembrance of those lost due to starvation during its early years. Harvest Week is one of the biodomes main draws, bringing in tourists from across the planet during the celebration.

Greimorians on New Gibson
New Gibson holds host to a large infestation of Greimorians in its lower crust, typically out of sight or scared off by drilling expeditions. Sparse hostile reaction is ever encountered towards the noisier drills, but smaller vibrations like small mining teams is known to attract burrowing Greimorians in swarms. In recent years, these have grown more common as hungry, unseen hives grow larger.

The origin of these Greimorians is unknown, but sightings have been prominent for at least a decade.

Government
Initially, the colonies established across New Gibson were subservient to their respective colonial powers, the majority of which was Nordic in origin or northwestern European. There was no unified government across New Gibson until after the Crisis of 2294, where the Parliamentary Republic of New Gibson was established, a representative democracy that relies on population statistics to award influence within its highest chamber of authority. Those within Parliament are elected by inhabitants of the respective biodomes, who in turn elect an individual among themselves to represent the entirety of New Gibson; the Presiding Speaker. The current Presiding Speaker is Åke Torvald.

New Gibson, unlike other planets across the Orion Spur, does not possess a military force. It only utilizes law enforcement agencies to ensure there maintains a level of order within its biodomes, known as the New Gibson Security Forces. The administration of the New Gibson Security Forces falls under the purview of Presiding Speaker Torvald, who has assigned each biodome, adequate members of the force, to ensure effective law enforcement.

History
Settlers from northern Europe and Scandinavian factions populated New Gibson’s wayfaring colonization fleets in its early days. Unlike Biesel, a tremendous measure of preparation was required before even considering landing on New Gibson. Colonization ships were unusually huge, purpose-made to carry the equally large terrestrial biodomes for orbital delivery.

The colonization of New Gibson in 2167 shortly after Biesel came with small praise and little media coverage, contrary to its neighbor which had blown minds as the first habitable exoplanet colonized. New Gibson was relatively unnoteworthy, and simply seen as a stepping stone for Biesel’s upcoming dominance. From its colonization and onwards, the history of New Gibson would be turbulent, and often seen as secondary to Biesel in many ways.

The industrial prowess of New Gibson however was never questioned. Unlike Biesel’s planetside capabilities, New Gibson had been developed as a mining venture from the start. Early corporations sought to jeopardize the immigration boom to Biesel by raising New Gibson to be a boomtown for different reasons. Though, due to the difficulties with its habitability and extreme weather conditions, the population of New Gibson would never soar. People sought comfort in the paradise of Biesel’s landscapes, and quickly New Gibson receded into being nothing more than another one of Biesel’s ventures into independence.

Most everything for New Gibson’s colonization was eventually manufactured in-system or in orbit. Facilities such as biodomes would be dropped from orbit on one-way trips, unpiloted and half-complete. Once landed, they would be properly constructed in gravity with the proper necessities planetside, such as electricity and water pump systems. The dropping of biodomes would usually be catastrophically mismanaged, and the hasty rate at which they were constructed did not help. Most of the dropped facilities would fail mid-flight, and slam into the planet destructively. This led to biodomes being spread out in landing, and many ended up being connected by less-than-stable structures built overground.

Underground, things were far different - drilling arrays and material acquisition made plenty room for development, and within the turf of New Gibson there was some warmth still. While traversal would still require extensive EVA protection, underground facilities would be built much more comfortably without constant winds barraging the ground crews. Biodomes were the start, but in truth the underground would expand New Gibson’s industry exponentially over the years.

Founding
The encroaching ecological collapse of Earth spurred numerous countries across the European Union to attempt to colonize planets as a way to preserve their way of life - even if it existed in another form on another planet. Majority of the original colonists of New Gibson were refugees from the environmental circumstances of their homeland - melting icecaps flooding the coastal regions of Scandinavia. Entire regions were wiped from the flood, resulting in overpopulation within the major population centers and rising political tension. The issues presented across the Nordic region eventually prompted the unified colonization effort of New Gibson - its abundance of natural resources and proximity to Biesel and Valkyrie made it an optimal decision.

Several settlements were established during the early 2160s, marking the first wave of colonization, utilizing modified arcology technology from Mars. The first biodomes are considerably different from what exists across New Gibson currently and were heavily industrialized. Artificial environments were unheard of for the initial colonists of the planet, and industrial architecture was a common sight. The limited ability to sustain colonists, whilst also providing for their needs, resulted in cramped living conditions until the expansion of the settlements deep within the permafrost and crust.

Despite there being several setbacks across the colonies of New Gibson, it was eventually deemed a successful effort from all sides in 2192. Colonies that previously were self-sufficient had begun industrially specializing, and an expansive trading network between the biodomes became critical to the survival of those across the arctic plains. Initially making use of atmospheric carriers that proved to be ineffective in the long run, the notion of an interconnected subway crept into the colonists’ minds. The New Gibson Subway was established in 2224, and brought with it a new type of connection between the biodomes. Travelling among biodomes became popular, and the myriad of cultures began to fuse into one.

Second Great Depression & Interstellar War
The ushering in of the Second Great Depression resulted in a dark age occurring across the colonies of New Gibson. The collapse of the Solarian Alliance’s economy initially meant that New Gibson saw itself rise to prominence as a regional industrial superpower, and enjoyed a somewhat delayed impact of the economic slump as outer colonies found themselves relying on New Gibson as a manufacturing hub in the region. The continued economic downturn eventually forced the rerouting of funds allocated to New Gibson to other colonies deemed more vital. While other colonies had begun to adjust to the instability of the economic recession, New Gibson had been plunged into the deep end. With the inability to fund the maintenance of their biodomes combined with escalating demands from its industrial sector, New Gibsonites were forced to replace several residential districts with industrial zones in the hope of their export income sustaining the colonies. Biodomes returned to cramped living conditions, with overpopulation quickly overtaking the other issues faced.

The outbreak of the Interstellar War only added to the abuse that New Gibson was suffering from the increased demand for its manufacturing ability. Much of the smaller industries funded by the inhabitants found themselves swallowed by larger off-world competitors, namely Einstein Engines. While the shipbuilding industry of New Gibson was repurposed for simple refuelling and repairs, it quickly became the foremost and most critical base for the war effort towards the galactic east. The bailouts received from the Solarian Alliance for Einstein Engines at the height of the Second Great Depression, with many on New Gibson viewing it as funding meant for them, found itself injected into the planet's shipyard infrastructure. For a brief period in time, New Gibson seemed to recover slightly from the mistreatment of its sovereign power. This would unfortunately not last for long.

The brief respite for New Gibsonites was just that; despite other participants within Tau Ceti contributing to the demands laid out by the Solarian Alliance, New Gibson was often forced to shoulder the large majority of it due to it specializing in manufacturing early on in its development as a colony. Overpopulation was rife, and the ability to sustain its inhabitants continued to dwindle through the decade long war. Its conclusion only brought with it growing unemployment and political tension between New Gibson and the Solarian Alliance.

Crisis of 2294
Dwindling necessities, overpopulation and unemployment were just the major factors that contributed to the Crisis of 2294. The inability to provide basic necessities, or afford to import it from Biesel, resulted in a famine that wiped out almost twenty percent of New Gibson’s total population. Hundreds of thousands died in the ensuing weeks, alongside the proliferation of diseases such as dysentery across the biodomes. Riots broke out shortly thereafter, attempting to breach the restricted hydroponic districts, taking what little food was still being grown with limited resources.

It is seen as the most defining moment within New Gibsonite history. It was months before a helping hand was extended by both Biesel and Valkyrie, against the wishes of the shared colonial sovereign. It took almost two years to fully recover from the effects of the Crisis, with Einstein Engines liquidating the majority of its corporate assets across the planet due to the grim circumstances that made recovery seem unlikely.

The Crisis of 2294 resulted in the introduction of the New Gibson Parliament, and the change of hands in leadership. Biodomes would be afforded seats based on their population, and those holding seats in parliament would be elected by the people. It also brought with it the replacement of the Colonial Governor’s office, with the office of Presiding Speaker taking its place.

Contact with the Skrell
First contact with the Skrell in 2332 brought with it incredible changes, especially for New Gibson. The tension between the Solarian Alliance and New Gibson was at the highest it had ever been and was continuing to grow. The vestiges of the problems experienced almost forty years prior still had a profound impact across the biodomes of New Gibson. Growth across New Gibson was still restricted due to the lack of funding from the Solarian Alliance and issues presented shortly before the Crisis were beginning to re-appear.

After several years of brokering agreements, the Jargon Federation had agreed to integrate their biodome technology across colonies within the Solarian Alliance. While this was first treated with hostility by New Gibsonites, who believed it to be an alien invasion into their culture and way of life, it eventually became the foundation for an amicable relationship between Skrell and New Gibsonites. Skrell were migrating in droves to the biodomes across the planet, integrating their foreign technology into the decaying systems of New Gibson - revitalizing and revolutionizing the quality of life on the planet.

Hydroponics were no longer struggling to reach quotas, and cramped conditions disappeared almost overnight as Skrellian technology continued to be introduced and expanded upon. New Gibson readily accepted the Skrell into their society, with many choosing to remain even after the leasing agreements had concluded. This resulted in New Gibson hosting one of the largest populations of Skrell outside the Jargon Federation, and the largest in Tau Ceti.

Recent Times
The independence of Tau Ceti in 2452 was highly celebrated in New Gibson, ending the rising political tensions between the planet and the Solarian Alliance. Independence brought opportunities to expand and allowed New Gibson to rise to prominence once again. Tau Ceti’s status as a safe haven for megacorporations was initially met with bitterness, but after continued investments by NanoTrasen, it quickly altered the New Gibsonite perspective. Skrell still remaining on New Gibson were utilized once again, but instead of integrating their technology into pre-existing structures, were tasked with constructing an advanced biodome that would become the capital of the planet - the Hengsha Biodome Archology, named after Presiding Speaker Xin Hengsha.

New Gibson remains an industrial superpower within the Republic of Biesel, and is responsible for the production of the majority of industrial and consumer goods that can be bought within the region of space it encompasses - even exporting to lesser nations such as the Izweski Hegemony and the Peoples’ Republic of Adhomai. There are several events that have transpired on New Gibson in recent times:

August 18th, 2460: The Hengsha Biodome Archology is attacked by the Lii’dra Hive. Thousands are injured in the ensuing chaos, and the deployment of Black K’ois is first seen.

August 19th, 2460: New Gibson is placed in lockdown, and the New Valley Biodome experiences a communications blackout. Expeditions are launched by survivors to investigate.

August 21st, 2460: Black K’ois is finally contained on New Gibson, being confined to several controlled locations carefully monitored by authorities. The New Valley Biodome is discovered to be the breeding ground for an unknown substance.

September 4th, 2460: The Lii’dra are successfully repelled. Damages estimated from the carnage are high and expected to take months to repair. The death toll of the New Gibson invasion sits at 192.

Both the Phoron Scarcity and the King of the World Arc have brought several changes to the arcologies across New Gibson, mostly in the forms of compounding issues that many fear will turn into another Crisis of 2294. With most of the arcologies utilizing Phoron generators to power their districts, there have been several power fluctuations resulting in entire districts having to undergo brown-outs to ensure life-support is sustained throughout their archologies. There are calls from Gibsoners to address the developing issue, however, little has been done by the government - many voicing discontents as their calls fall on deaf ears. The Solarian Invasion of the Republic Biesel by the 33rd Fleet only added to the problems faced by New Gibson. Using the orbital bombardment of the arcologies as a diversion attempt, many of the levels close to the surface found themselves heavily damaged, and requiring extensive repairs. Much of the damage has not been repaired, due to the power constraints in the face of the Phoron Scarcity as arcologies face brown-outs in order to keep themselves alive, even just barely. The Crisis of 2294 lingers on the minds of Gibsoners, many fearing yet another may occur and plunge their planet into another era of darkness.

Hengsha
The capital of New Gibson, the Hengsha Biodome is the largest across the arctic flats and houses the majority of the New Gibsonite population. Instituted by then-Presiding Speaker Xin Hengsha, it was one of the first massive undertakings by the Republic of Biesel following its independence from the Solarian Alliance - a project of sorts that was thought to prove their capacity as a sovereign nation. It was the first collaborative project with the megacorporations as well, with both NanoTrasen and Hephaestus Industries contributing greatly to its construction. It is centered around “Hengsha Square”, a promenade surrounding an artificial lake created to simulate the environment of Biesel. It is considered one of the most advanced biodomes within the entirety of the Orion Spur, with round the clock maintenance workers ensuring its continued operation. Internally, its architectural structure is a blend of both Biesellite and New Gibsonite designs. It has no specific function, and dabbles in several different fields; agriculture, industry and even entertainment. Due to it housing the majority of the planet’s population, Hengsha is awarded the most seats in Parliament.

Fallanland
A residential and industrial sector intermingled would be Fallanland, a city of underground spires and deep-core drilling arrays progressively moving deeper into the planet. Originally consisting of thousands of drilled caverns intersecting, cave-ins and the danger of moving rock has led its creators to seek support for the city by only going down. Fallanland began as a struggling biodome in the Crisis of 2294. It was present atop a large cave system known to the dwellers within. Inevitably, it would collapse, and the establishment had no choice but to dig in to ensure their survival. In a miraculous turnout, the construction of drilling into this massive cavern would be just enough to support the biodome’s weight. Since, ample time has been provided to ensure the biodome’s citizens move underground, and over one hundred years have passed. Fallanland’s populace lurks underground, still wary yet of the uncertain integrity of the biodome above their heads.

Xoikko
Introduced after contact with the Skrell, the Xoikko biodome has become somewhat of a tourist attraction instead of its proposed research focus, only hosting one Zeng-Hu Pharmaceuticals corporate research facility. It has a flourishing civilian sector and is the “entertainment capital” of the arctic planet, propagated through the backing of its facilities by Idris Incorporated, who continue to expand both its influence and facilities within the Xoikko Biodome. New Gibsonites are largely fond of the Xoikko Biodome, and when asked will often talk about their experience within the clubs, restaurants and other entertainment venues. Predominantly composed of Skrell, the Xoikko Biodome is known among New Gibsonites to be especially mechanophobic despite the Republic of Biesel’s stance on IPCs - with reports of unofficial entry denial into the biodome. Due to the similar environment of Aliose to that of New Gibson, Skrell from these planets share similar appearances - thick, white skin meant to assist in thermoregulation.

Xerxes
Deep within the surface of New Gibson exists the Xerxes Biodome, populated mostly by Vaurcae of the Scay’extiih’aur brood. The colony has expanded underground, allowing human populations to reside on the surface. The latter is still rare, as crime and prejudice make the biodome not a popular venue amongst other species. The relay tower, the most visible landmark, serves as a backup for the main one placed in Flagsdale. Similarly to the Hengsha Biodome, Xerxes remains unaffiliated with any megacorporation mostly as a result of the isolative tendencies of Scay. The majority of the innovations of the Zo’ra Hive can be attributed to the efforts of the Hidden Queen, said to have played a role in adapting the Bulwark to be utilized by the Zo’ra.

Skrell on New Gibson
Following first contact with the Skrell in 2332 CE, various agreements between the Jargon Federation and the Solarian Alliance facilitated the introduction of Skrellian technology on New Gibson; much of which was being used on Aliose. This led to the "leasing" of Skrell to oversee the application of their technology, making sure that its use holds up to skrellian standards. This new technology was rapidly applied across the colony, replacing the rather rudimentary archologies established across the arctic planet.

Initial integration proved to be difficult, owing to the cultural differences of the species. Whilst tensions were rather high between Humanity and Skrell on New Gibson, it eventually came to pass shortly after the assimilation of Skrellian technology. The new biodomes proved to be a success as the archologies were massively overhauled, allowing for the various restrictions forced upon the archologies to be repealed. Many of the "leased" Skrell chose to remain on New Gibson, with the Jargon Federation supporting those that remained through the establishment of spa clinics, allowing the new colonists to receive similar characteristics to Skrell found on Aliose - primarily thick white skin.

Most Gibsonites, as a result of the planet's assistance from the Skrell, possess a more positive view of Skrell than other humans within the Orion Spur. This has prospered in many skrellian individuals continuing to visit their quya that remained on New Gibson or even emigrating due to the welcoming attitude towards their species. New Gibson now hosts the largest population of Skrell within Tau Ceti, and one of the largest outside of the Jargon Federation. This change in demographics has pushed many Gibsonites to share a similar bias towards Synthetics that the Skrell do; prompting more discrimination to occur to IPCs than anywhere else within Tau Ceti. Whilst the official discrimination against IPCs is similar to that on Biesel, unofficially, many IPCs have commented on the mechanophobia that has enveloped Gibsonite society.