Trinity RPG - Arcologies

[Arashi]

I wondered about the Arcologies in Trinity.

Till recently I had a vague concept how an arcologie would look and feel like, mostly from Science Fiction films like Blade Runner.

Now in Trinity there are many types of Arcologies like the one shown on one picture in the America Offline book and the Brasilia Acrology from Terra Verde and I got thinking how to do an adventure in one ... of course including the feel and atmosphere this should provide.

Thinking about that blasted my concept about Arcologies ^^

Does anyone have good Information about Arcologies? From scientific to pure fiction, I would be interested in nearly anything ::smile

[BlueNinja]

Going sort of off the top of my head here:

Arcologies sort of have to be closed environments. That means almost draconian search procedures and limitations on what is allowed to be brought in and out so as not to upset the pocket ecology. Think modern airport security ... times ten. There will be public areas where people can view/interact with the plants and animals chosen for the arcology, but again, they will be carefully monitored and controlled to avoid breakdowns in the ecology cycle.

As to how it should look, IIRC there's some pictures in the Aberrant Utopia book about the arcology they built in Addis Ababa. Lots of tall buildings, with balcony gardens growing up the sides of the buildings near the center of the dome, and thicker forest-like areas around the dome edges (except for the entry/exit points). Probably there's a great deal of space underground, mostly the storage and industrial spaces necessary to keep it self-sufficient, possibly yeast-vats if you want the ugly sci-fi food, and possibly living spaces for those who can't afford a view. People will be on a 99% vegetarian diet, because breeding most animals for meat is too cost-intensive and/or pollution-intensive. If the arcology is anywhere but Earth, it should include a method to induce a day/night cycle relatively close to Earth's, to keep the biological rythyms of the human body going, as well as fairly normal cycles for the plants and animals.

Personnel-wise, you'll need very good botanists, ecologists, and maintenance personnel. Even though the greenery provides oxygen, any breakdown of ventilation will kill people unless they evacuate. Unless your arcology is dozens of miles across, it's not going to generate it's own weather patterns, so air will only move through ventilation systems. Water use and recycling will be carfully monitored, as will food supplies and waste management. Consumer goods will come with a bare minimum of recyclable packaging - they're not going to have a landfill handy, and France is too far away to dump your trash. ::biggrin Ironically, electricity probably won't be a worry, as by the Trinity era, the entire arcology dome should be a great big solar energy converter. Likewise, you won't have to worry about temperature controls too much, unless your arcology is built in the arctic circle or the middle of the Sahara.