Bubbletown

A 'bubbletown' is a form of space colony built entirely around, and within, the spherical solar-thermal collector that powers it. Low-tech, low density, and low population, bubbletowns are important pieces of orbital infrastructure which provide refueling, refining, research, and customs services in the comparatively remote regions of the star systems they inhabit, particularly the outermost orbits where the sun is far away.
While many different species in the Sealed Kingdoms Region employ similarly simple, inflatable, self-sufficient orbital platforms for similar roles, the term 'bubbletown' is generally used for such installations employed by the Cobalt Protectorate. The dirt-simple technology involved with the creation of bubbletowns make them big favorites for loan or sale to allied powers, such as the League of Lepidosian City-States or Federated Queendoms of Feldea, as the Techguard regards them as a minimal risk product.

Demographics

Life aboard a bubbletown is often quiet, twilight-lit, and (some would say) achingly lonely. Few bubbletowns have a population greater than 1,000, not including the cargo haulers, passenger liners, and cyclers who stop by for resupply on trips that might carry them lightyears away thereafter. Especially out near the Oort clouds, where the light of the mother star is dim and cold, where the faint signals from planetary settlements can take days to propagate, where the nearest thing to nature is the open starscape and the burbling hydroponics tanks hang in the chill air, the isolation can take a toll on spacers not suitably prepared for it.
The psychological rigors of a remote bubbletown assignment exert a selective pressure on the colonists who choose to remain there, who, subsequently, have developed a reputation for a stoic, contemplative nature that exceeds even that found among regular Evermornans. Bubbletown residents who crave change and variety will often immigrate back to a larger colony or terrestrial settlement to be replaced by those looking for a quiet life. Both the kindest, most friendly souls and the most brutal, repressive cults in Evermornan culture have come from bubbletowns, as those who 'rock the boat' too much in that environment quickly discover that there are only so many people to annoy before day-to-day living becomes a chore. If nothing else, bubbletown residents are almost universally friendly to a fault with visitors, as these may represent the only opportunities to interact in real time with people beyond ones own family and coworkers.

Government

Bubbletowns are small enough to operate internally on a purely democratic system, though specially educated administrators will often be appointed to roles like Closed Ecology Life Support System (CELSS) maintenance to ensure that life-threatening situations do not arise from wild public whims. Clusters of bubbletowns may form federations amongst themselves or, more often, institute the merit-based hierarchies expressed in the Code of Evermorn. Some bubbletowns are outposts owned and operated by private business interests, especially among the aerospace and entertainment industries, and, thus, operate under those power structures.

Defences

Most bubbletowns have between two and six multispectral scope arrays positioned around their equator and poles to provide sensory data to station administrators, to facilitate communication and space traffic control, and to blast any dangerous bits of debris that might collide with the outer envelope. Some bubbletowns feature adjustable focus mirror assemblies, allowing them to project a beam of concentrated sunlight or laser light onto larger threats approaching from the front. Kinetic and radiological threats that can't be disuaded might instead be absorbed by turning the aft cargo section - often full of heavy water or water ice - towards it. Maneuvering and station-keeping activities such as these can be accomplished by forcing this liquified cargo through secondary heat exchangers or microwave electrothermal thrusters.

Infrastructure

Much like a SoVoReCo platform, a bubbletown's most notable structure is its inflatable outer envelope. Half of this envelope is transparent to allow sunlight into the interior. A parabolic mirror nested into the hemisphere opposite the transparent side concentrates this light onto heat exchanger assemblies at the center of the envelope. Forward of these heat exchangers lies the long, relatively narrow habitat cylinder of the colony itself, the inner hull of which usally features two or more counter-rotating sections to provide artificial gravity. The volume enclosed between the mirror and the opaque hemisphere is used for fluid storage, often water cracked from asteroids.
Brayton cycle heat engines convert the heat gradient generated by this intensely focussed light into electrical power. A metallic working fluid, such as silicon oil, is typically chosen so that it can be both pumped and tapped for power through magnetohydrodynamic coils, minimizing the number of moving parts involved. Both power and utility radiators project aftward from the equator parallel to the light of the distant star to minimize the heat they absorb. This light may also be used to provide environmental heat for the residents, light for agricultural activities, or heat for metallurgical or asteroid mineral refining activities.
Some bubbletowns are placed in orbit around, or in the trailing Lagrange points of, gas giants in order to facilitate the harvesting of atmospheric gasses blasted away by solar wind for use as fusion fuel. Large magnetohydrodynamic collectors are positioned around the station, but outside the membrane, to draw charged particles in towards condensers closer to the station. The cargo portion of the station's membrane may have to be subdivided to permit separate storage of these gasses, typically in a liquid, chemically bound, or clathrate form. Freighters and end-users alike visit the stations to withdraw fuel in exchange for spare parts, luxury goods, or other tangible goods the locals would otherwise have a hard time finding. Big projects, like the launch of the ESCI Revelation or the construction of Apocalypse Class Star Carriers, rely on the bubbletowns as integral parts of the fusion fuel supply chain.

Points of interest

Because the outer membrane provides some degree of protection from debris and radiation, bubbletown portholes can be wider and more numerous than on other space installations. This means that the outer portions of the bubbletown enjoy spectacular views of the cosmos. Indeed, telescopes may be mounted to the beshadowed aft hemisphere of the station if the station's purpose is scientific in nature, as being back there ensures that light pollution from the local star is kept to an absolute minimum.

Architecture

Because of their simple construction, bubbletowns enjoy the opportunity to employ whimsical decorative elements in their construction. Most bubbletowns in the Evermorn System feature opaque hemispheres decorated to look like the bodies of plump fish or birds, the radiator fins shaped to resemble fins or wings respectively, giving these colonies the appearance of giant kites or wind socks when viewed through terrestrial telescopes. It follows that clusters of bubbletowns, often tied together by transparent pressurized umbilicals, tensegrity cables, and dark-painted trusses, resemble flocks or schools of these animals from a distance. Like with many cyclers, the pressure membranes of bubbletowns may also be adorned with the emblems of funding organizations, lit signage advertising services to passing space crews, or the occasional lump concealing additional equipment relevant to the specific bubbletown's purpose.

Climate

Unless positioned close to the local star or a habitable planet for some reason, the atmosphere aboard a bubbletown is typically quite cold compared to that of an asteroid colony or cycler. Though not comprised of ice-walled General Purpose Modules (GPM), most bubbletowns are positioned in locations far removed from other celestial bodies, such as the Lagrange points of outer gas giants, and, thus, receive little in the way of insolation.

Type

Orbital, Station