Tower of Babel

The Tower of Babel is a school of sorts, only it is also the headquarters of a system-wide organization. It could be described as a fortress, or a citadel, only it isn't bristling with weapons. At least, not ones that are immediately obvious. The Tower is well-defended, with energy shielding and a number of defenders, but it doesn't appear threatening. This school-base is a carbon nanotube tower with a large number of windows, plus a collection of smaller steel buildings at the bottom. Around the habitations are a number of gardens, as well as a fishery. The Tower of Babel is the headquarters for the X-Templar, students who train in the use of the Babel Virus. The Tower serves as a sort of martial arts monastery for manipulation of physical laws, meaning it also contains a library on chemistry, biology, and physics. The buildings below serve as communal homes for the resident students and X-Templar.

Demographics

The Tower's population is nearly all Humans, although members of any species are theoretically welcome. Two Synths count themselves among the X-Templar, although they do not spend time at the Tower except to confer with compatriots, and only in those cases with a copy. The Tower has friendly contact with an Anansi hive infected with the Babel virus, which sometimes sends visitors, but no Anansi live at the Tower.
In terms of profession, there are fifteen full-time teachers at the Tower. These are experienced X-Templar who have decided to turn to training the next generation. Thirty other X-Templar come and go, although they spend most of their time outside of the settlement, adventuring (and thus are not counted in the population count). 
Among the remaining 83 locals, eight are X-Templar researchers who live at the Tower full-time and share a home. Six are X-Templar guards that ensure the security of the settlement against (mostly) the wildlife. Ten are gardeners and fishermen, whose job it is to supply food for the Tower. The other 59 inhabitants are Initiates, or people who have been infected with the Babel Virus and who have come to the Tower for training, but who have not yet become full X-Templar yet.

Defences

The Tower is mainly protected by its X-Templar. At any one time, at least twenty X-Templar -- and sometimes as many as fifty -- make their home in the Tower. Any attacker would need to get through the inhabitants first. Considering that the X-Templar are renowned not only for their adventuring skills and their Resonance Swords, but for their potent magical abilities, not many attempt attack.

Infrastructure

The Tower relies upon a small number of solar panels to power communications devices and computers, but otherwise does not rely very much on technology. There is a fishery, there is a small field hospital, there are a number of comfortable, lived-in homes, there are productive gardens. A weather monitoring station sits atop a nearby hill. 
The Tower dominates the landscape. As wide and tall as a skyscraper, the Tower's windowed black cylinder takes an imposing position in the view of things. The tower's many tall floors serve as training rooms for initiates, as libraries, and as apartments for the teachers. The top floor is equipped with telescopes for viewing the stars and the distant continent.

Tourism

The Tower was once the subject of popular sightseeing tours, but the X-Templar put a stop to that when they staged a dangerous accident at the Tower. Now wary of the danger of approach, few commonfolk approach the Tower. 
The Tower is mostly visited by those infected with Babel who wish to see if there is anything for them to learn there, or people considering application to be infected with Babel.

Geography

The Tower sits on a small island in the far north of Nordic Frog Beach. The continent to the southeast cannot be seen, though arctic pole to the north also cannot be seen. Instead, all directions from the island, it is only ocean as far as can be seen. 
The island itself has a 21 km2 (8.1 sq mi) area. The island has sandy beaches protected on all sides by a reef, and the land rises in the center in an even hill. Its flat top is the spot where buildings have been built. Because the lack of size makes an airport impractical and the inconvenient coastlike makes a dock an impossibility, the outpost's inhabitants mostly come and go by hovercar or Babel abilities.

Founding Date

N.F.Y. 7

Alternative Name(s)

X-Templar HQ

Type

Citadel

Population

98

Inhabitant Demonym

Initiates