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Titan

Posted by: Isabella Dandolo, Firewall Proxy

As transhumanity's fate approached, scientists settled on Titan to study its unique lakes and rivers of liquid methane. Soon they settled the moon with the dream of creating a place where all transhumans could live free together. The Titanian Commonwealth, home to 60 million transhumans, is the realization of that dream.

Saturn's largest moon is shrouded in a permanent orange atmospheric haze, hellishly cold (average -180 C), and whipped by winds produced by tidal forces four times stronger than those influencing Earth's climate. On its face, it appears even less hospitable than the airless balls of ice and rock comprising every wold between Titan and Mars. The meager sunlight reaching its surface is insufficient to grow any but the hardiest plants, the mostly nitrogen atmosphere is dangerously toxic, and the surface is dotted with lakes and seas of liquid methane.

In spite of all this, abundant hydrocarbons, a thick atmosphere, and diverse chemistry make Titan one of the few worlds in the system where colonists may rely entirely on local resources. Titan's low gravity (0.138g) makes it easy to launch ships from the surface with mass drivers or catapults.

Titanian Settlements​

Aarhus​

  • Habitat Type: Dome
  • Allegiance: Titanian Commonwealth

Aarhus is a European college town transplanted to three kilometer-wide hab domes on the shores of a serene lake of liquid hydrocarbons. 20% of Aarhus's population is students, many of them from off-world (and outside the Saturnian system), attending one of its twelve institutes of higher learning. The largest is Titan Autonomous University, followed by the Titan Technical Institute, both housed under the cleverly-named University City dome. In the tradition of college towns since the middle ages, students and faculty are proudly political, enjoy drinking, and partake in friendly school rivalries.

New Quebec​

  • Habitat Type: Dome
  • Allegiance: Titanian Commonwealth

Titan's third largest city is both charming and dangerous. It's a wonderful place to spend a holiday, and its old-Canadian-inspired architecture, gaming facilities, and four-star restaurants encourage tourism. It's also the Commonwealth's main hub of criminal activity, with gangs fighting for control and a police force that seems woefully unequipped.

Most visitors to New Quebec are perfectly safe. If, however, your were looking for underworld connections on Titan, needed some extra muscle, or wanted to get your grubby little paws on something iffy, then New Quebec is your best bet.

Nyhavn​

  • Habitat Type: Dome/Subcrustal
  • Allegiance: Titanian Commonwealth

The Commonwealth’s capital and largest city is Nyhavn, a series of four vast domes, skyward-pointing spires, and a spiderweb of tunnels bored into Titan’s crust. It’s the commercial, cultural, and industrial hub of Titan (and perhaps the Saturnian system).

Nyhavn’s four main domes (Great Nyhavn, Telemark City, Old Nyhavn, and New København) provide housing, recreation, education, and services for the city’s residents. Vast parks merge seamlessly with microcorp offices, industrial facilities, rail lines, and educational institutions. Skyport Nyhavn is Titan’s busiest spaceport, offering flights anywhere in the Solar System. Because the city is situated on Titan’s equator, a space elevator is under construction on Mt. Kristiansund just south of the domes.

Commonwealth Hub​

  • Habitat Type: Nuestro Shell
  • Allegiance: Titanian Commonwealth

The Hub floats in geosynchronous orbit over Nyhavn. It is Titan’s primary spaceport, with a massive fleet of orbital landers to shuttle goods and people down to the surface. A recent shutdown of the port's activities was blamed on improper imlementation of a software update, but rumors point to some sort of contained outbreak.