Arcology

A hyper-building,12 kilometers tall with a 1.5 km wide base and housing 1 million Solmen in steerage class quarters. Entire decks devoted to container farming provided sustainable food for the colony. Decks full of entertainment, shopping, parks, and recreation helped ease the boredom during the voyage.

Arc is the short form. These are often built in space enabling an entire colony to move from source to settler world. Upon landing on a planet or asteroid, the arc’s filial struts widen to stabilize the tower. Arc’s are tall enough that upper floors usually remain sealed so Solman occupants can breathe adequately.

Once landed, the Xardyon foremen quickly directed their nanites and robots to dismantle popular common areas and many berthing levels, building domes on the farmsteads selected by the first settlers to make choices. By breaking down entire floors, the aliens forced the colony out of the city tower lifestyle and onto their chosen planet’s surface to commence their new lifestyle.

2nd Generation Arcs were built by humans, largely to the Xardyon design. They set out from the most successful colony worlds, to resource or nature rich planets. Sponsor worlds often used the colonial method to claim planets with critical trade positions or resources. After the original contract terms were satisfied, the colony could claim independence under a Galactic charter. The home planets ceased calling themselves colonies once they themselves spawned a colony expedition which successfully landed.

3rd Gen Arcs are being built more freeform, often sporting decks which lever out like petals to create a massive terraced structure of outdoor garden spaces. Many such Arcs on the Rim are not abandoned for farmsteads, but become centers of luxurious urban living, supported by hordes of robots toiling the fields, factories, and mines across the countryside.