NWS-Atlas

The NWS-Atlas is a Bernal sphere space station, as well as NWS’ headquarters. Originally intended to preserve what little remained of Earth prior to the Great Eschaton, the NWS-Atlas has since become home to dozens of species that sought a better home. Over several decades, the NWS-Atlas became the site of groundbreaking scientific advancements and divine revelations.
It has changed drastically since its first iteration. Some of the greatest minds in existence have passed on their knowledge to the NWS-Atlas, allowing it to accommodate species previously thought to be lost causes. With Captain Axel at its helm, the Great Eschaton may be nothing more than a memory in due time.

Districts

The Many Layers of the NWS-Atlas

The NWS-Atlas is divided into several disc-shaped layers, with each serving specific purposes. The lower layers (1-5) have very few restrictions and are open to the public at all times, meaning it is completely acceptable to walk between them at one’s leisure. The upper layers (6-10) are fundamental tools in keeping the NWS-Atlas operational and safe at all times. These are restricted layers that the public cannot access.
Lower Layers

1. Layer One, the lowest layer, contains the entrance and exit to the NWS-Atlas, as well as the Layer One service desk. For an individual to be admitted aboard the NWS-Atlas, they must have their personal information recorded on an identification card. Passengers must keep this card on their person at all times. Since the Captain chooses passengers, identification cards are free.
2. Layer Two contains the living quarters for passengers that are not Chief Representatives, the Captain, or the Co-captains. It also contains the Dimensional Warp Engine (D.W.E.), allowing Layer Two to be infinite while remaining within a confined space. The living quarters of Layer Two are subsections of the NWS-Atlas tailored to each species aboard the ship. Each of these subsections contains a classroom, where planet representatives instruct their students, and a playground.
3. Layer Three contains the NWS-Atlas archives. Passengers aboard the NWS-Atlas can freely access this layer, except on Wednesdays, when NWS staff inspect the archives for any items containing outdated information. The archives are divided into sections, with each requiring different levels of authorization. NWS-Staff grants levels of authorization at the archive service desk, where they load data onto an identification card. Under no circumstances are any materials from the archives allowed on any other layer except where special permission is given. Passengers return items to the archives on Wednesdays so that a proper inspection of all items can occur. A noise-canceling shell surrounds Layer Three.
4. Layer Four is the NWS-Atlas hub zone (commonly called the Atlas Nexus). It contains the mess halls, the Atlas Lounge, and the Nexus service desk. Unlike other layers, which may be closed depending on the hour, the Nexus is open at all hours to all passengers, including children, if they have chaperones. Most adolescents work here if they do not become farmers.
5. Layer Five contains the medical ward, the medical dispatch pods, and the nursing homes. Before the creation of the D.W.E., the population aboard the NWS-Atlas was to be heavily limited. This meant that only a certain amount of children could be born to any family. Doctors euthanized excess births and shunted them into space. Though this practice continues, the child limit per family has increased drastically to where euthanization is seldom required. Akin to Layer Three, a noise-canceling shell surrounds Layer Five.

Upper Layers

1. Layer Six contains the NWS courthouse and the Null Unit, the correctional facility. Proven criminals that are relegated to the correctional facility have their crimes read aloud, their permissions revoked, and their jobs reassigned. A dampening vacuum, which disables psychokinetic and arcane abilities, encloses the courthouse and Null Unit. The NWS staff often gives criminals jobs on Layer Eight, where they may work off their punishment under heavy security. To minimize conflict, they work separately from the children and adolescents. Layer Six is the most secure layer on the NWS-Atlas; the Null Unit, aside from criminals, guards, and the Captain, is completely inaccessible to the public. To access the courthouse, one must have their identification card on their person.
2. Layer Seven contains the living quarters for the Chief Representatives and the Ring Hall. The Ring Hall is where Captain Axel and all members of the NWS staff convene to establish proper laws and codes of conduct. Successors to Chief Representatives may train here at specific intervals, but the Ring Hall is otherwise off-limits because of the many government documents that are stored here. Consciously removing government documents from Layer Seven is a felony and is punishable by discharge from the NWS staff or imprisonment in Layer Six. Alongside Layer Ten and Layer Six, Layer Seven is one of the most secure layers within the NWS-Atlas.
3. Layer Eight contains NWS’ food reserves and the agricultural systems meant to sustain the ship’s passengers during the Great Eschaton. It has gradually increased in size over the years thanks to the ingenuity of recruits. Children, on specific days, or adolescents, that are not trained in other specialized fields, get jobs here. Overlapping large portions of Layer Eight’s ceiling are several grow lights and sprinklers to help food production. The exterior of Layer Eight acts as a steel curtain to shut out external light. This acts in tandem with the grow lights and sprinklers to accommodate different photoperiods.
4. Layer Nine contains the main space dock and several warehouses dedicated to storing ordinary or rare materials harvested from asteroids and planetary bodies. Except under special circumstances, only those allowed by the Captain and certified pilots or miners can access Layer Nine. Pilots are on constant standby in Layer Nine unless extra hands are required in another layer. Layer Nine is also where aspiring and amateur pilots train. The area surrounding the outside of Layer Nine is for flight courses. Here, pilots train under varying degrees of gravity.
5. Layer Ten contains Captain Axel’s living quarters, the Co-Captains’ living quarters, the Gravity Drive, and the NWS-Atlas’ multiple engines. From this layer, the Captain, as well as two Co-Captains, manage and control the ship’s flight when it is not in Drift mode. Layer Ten is the smallest in the entire ship and the most delicate. Because of this, a shock-resistant outer shell fortifies Layer Ten. If the primary engine dies, the ship can operate via its emergency engines.

History

What would later become the NWS-Atlas was originally an idea sparked by Atlas Bourgeois long before the Great Eschaton. As Louisiana, his home state, continued to erode and disappear, Bourgeois adapted, drafting plans for an underwater city. Because of his flighty imagination, however, none of his colleagues could settle on a design that both made sense and would be reasonably achievable. Bourgeois shelved his idea for the time being.
After 65 BE, when the effects of Zhizn’s disappearance began taking effect, Dr. Ento Hyiw came to Louisiana to speak to Bourgeois. Hyiw convinced Bourgeois to revive his old ideas and instead aim for a cosmic paradise. A combination of Hyiw’s genius, Bourgeois’ connections, and the desperation of Earth's people led to the creation of the NWS-Atlas. Bourgeois expected the migration to last only a decade. It has been over two centuries.

Founding Date

25 BE

Founders

• Ento Hyiw

Alternative Name(s)

Space Colony Atlas

Type

Starbase

Population

Approx. 650

Inhabitant Demonym

Atlite

Owning Organization

New World Safeguard

Characters in Location

• Salix

Dimensional Warp Engine

"Magic is simply science people haven't figured out yet. I could've just made a bunch of pocket dimensions for Layer Two, but the D.W.E. makes my point a lot clearer."

- Dr. Ento Hyiw

Created by Dr. Ento Hyiw, a representative of Earth, the Dimensional Warp Engine (D.W.E.) is a device that replicates the Ainos’ ability to warp reality’s natural laws. It’s unknown how Dr. Hyiw created such a machine; the powers of the Ainos are ill-defined at a glance and convoluted upon inspection, and Dr. Hyiw is keen on keeping his studies classified.
In simple terms, the D.W.E. can create and warp dimensions to fit larger locations into smaller ones. Under normal circumstances, Layer Two should be an impossibility, but the D.W.E. ensures that Layer Two will have sufficient space for anything the passengers desire. Dr. Hyiw has no plans to make a second D.W.E.

Sci-fi generator by Orest Tsypiashchuk