Oriole Mercury Works

With the discovery of the Mercurial Pressure Process allowed for the production of Impelisy on a large scale. Facilities dedicated to Impelisy production soon followed, one of the earliest and largest of which was centered in New Oriole. Consisting of thirteen factories covering a span of two-hundred acres, the Oriole Mercury Works produced power for the entirety of the city from its construction in 1772 to the city's abandonment in 2231.

History

The original plans, as laid out by the Oriolei Energy council, was for the construction of four factories each to provide power to the city's four main districts. As people flocked to New Oriole, however, the city expanded and the plans were revised for six factories. Reliability concerns pushed the idea for eleven smaller factories, each connected through a switched network.
Construction was done in phases with the three largest factories taking four years to complete. Others swiftly followed while simultaneously the old, distributed tin plants were shut down and the power networks adjusted to work with the new mercury works.
Over the decades, individual factories experienced shutdowns and various catastrophes including the mercury flood of 1826 which left half the city without power for nearly three months. In 2200, two of the factories were decommissioned and in 2230, the entire operation was shut down.

A City Within a City

At its peak, the Mercury Works fostered its own bustling community that pulled from those around it. The enormous works overlapped with residential districts and the people living nearby began to consider themselves distinct from the outer neighborhoods. The publicly operated factories lacked oversight and agents overlooked the people and animals who made hovels out of the emptied mercury tubes and earned illegal pay from operating the piston cranks.
The mercury tubes were always warm in the harsh winters and fostered gatherings and celebrations around them. During the summers, people loitered in the cool floor pits, operating discreet markets which offered food, drugs, medicines, and other wares. At least three generations of families subsisted rent-free in the works until in 1827, in response to the floods, the city cracked down and pushed out these so-called "mercury men."

Power from Plants

The Mercurial Pressure Process involves creating a pressure differential, usually through a piston, to stimulate organic matter such as tree bark, soil, or other plant matter. The Earth Impel stored within the organic material is forced out by the pressure and channeled along wires strung from flax. Endpoint components receive this Impelisy and transform it into useful forms. Other metals like tin and lead work equally well though must be maintained in their liquid forms thus historically, the process has been paired with mercury.

Illustration of the Mercurial Pressure Process

Type

District

Location under

New Oriole