World Creation 12: A Tale of Three Cities

This week, I’m going to look at a few of the major cities of the Great Machine.

I’ve given varying numbers on how many cities there are total, but I envision there only being a dozen of major cities that act as hubs for tons of smaller ones. These cities would actually be surprisingly diverse; although they all serve the same purpose of perpetuating the goals and ideals of the Great Machine, the culture and structure varies.

To demonstrate this diversity, here’s three examples:

Caulplanck
Primary Function: Coal Mining and Distribution
Secondary Function: Industrial Core
Gear Cogs (cities supplied by shipments to this city): 15

Caulplanck is a mountain town, sprawled near the wide and relatively level base of Mount Blackvein. Its name, written in the tongue of the civilization that previously held dominance over the area, literally translates to “Coal Shaft”, and the name is well deserved—Caulplanck is located over an extremely rich deposit of coal. As a result, Caulplanck is a hub for industry and engineers who want first crack at the coal yields before they are shipped offsite. A major manufacturing area, Caulplanck exports vast quantities of textiles, machine parts, furniture and firearms. There are several rail stations at the very base of the mountain whose workers and foremen live in Caulplanck.

Caulplanck’s atmosphere is best described as surly, disgruntled. The denizens of Caulplanck work for a living, whether they’re miners, factory workers, low artist engineers or petty trade bureaucrats. Violence, drunkenness, and illness are common in the slums, and even the wealthy districts the factory owners and more well-off gentlemen live in are often choked with black smoke.

Caulplanck’s Councilor is known as Villeti Respettare. Villeti is rarely seen, usually burying himself in his office and only emerging to catch airships to council meetings. When glimpsed, he is quiet, rarely speaking more than two words together. Villeti is tall, rail-thin and hunched, large gears and pistons lining his spine and rib cage when not concealed by his finely-tailored pea-soup greatcoat. He usually wears a tight grey hood which shades his eyes, and few have seen his face in the light. Villeti is diligent and incredibly intelligent, but unlike most of the Councilors, he has no interest whatsoever in tinkering or other creative pursuits, burying himself instead in paperwork.

Sahkat
Primary Function: Military Hub
Secondary Function: Railroad Hub
Gear Cogs: 32

Sahkat is in a critical location, near the fringe of the hot wastelands many minor tribes and villages call home. The dark-skinned natives of this area, many of whose genetic lineages are extant to this day, were capable hunters and warriors that fought tooth and nail for what little water and game could be found. Even now, the Great Machine towns in the area are subjected to countless raids for resources. Foreseeing this tendency, the technological coalition that would found the Great Machine won the support of a local king, Mehran, leader of a vast tribe of cunning desert-dwellers and warriors. Mehran ordered the construction of a fortress he called Sahkat (translating to “Strong Point”), from which the coalition armies could adequately launch patrols of the local area to deter raids. However, the members of the coalition army were unused to surviving in the desert, and were largely unsuccessful. Mehran was appointed a general, using his armies to firmly establish a position of military superiority over the natives. Mehran’s service was eventually rewarded when he was appointed a member of the Council, and his first act was to convert Sahkat into a vast military complex. Hundreds of years later, when the railroads were first instituted, Sahkat was a logical hub between neighbors (conveniently located and well-defended, discouraging banditry), and a thriving trade center was formed. At this point, Sahkat is less a pure military complex and more a thriving city, albeit one with two very distinct faces; wander to the left of Sahkat, and you will find endless markets. Wander right, and you will find checkpoints, bayonets, and a lot of questions.

Sahkat’s councilor, Mehran, often wears simple robes fashioned from colored reeds. His arms are studded with embedded bronze plates, representative of a mechanical frame that has replaced some of his musculature and skeletal structure. He wears a tribal mask, stained white on one side and red on the other, and reed cowl that completely conceals his head. Mehran is philosophical to the point where it is tiresome to hold a simple conversation—he seems to find it impossible to take anything for granted, even regularly acknowledged facts about reality.

Claudeaire des Descaro
Primary Function: Educational Center
Secondary Function: Bureaucrat’s Paradise
Gear Cogs: 3

Claudeaire des Descaro is a town of academies. Unlike many major cities, it is not founded upon a historically significant town or location; in fact, it is barely a few centuries old. It was formed by decree of the Council to provide a centralized location for academic institutions, and almost 33% of it is composed solely of university campus. Almost every other facet of Claudeaire des Descaro is geared towards supporting these institutions: housing, import companies, et cetera.

However, the city has another side, and that is one of seemingly endless political corruption. Because of its lack of usefulness as a trade or military hub, surrounded by towns that already fill those functions extremely well, Claudeaire des Descaro does not actually have a Councilor as a supervisor. It is staffed instead by appointees and elected local government, with contribution from the administrators of the universities. Due to the lack of direct oversight and the relatively free reign, there is a large amount of room for side deals and corruption.

Claudeaire des Descaro is also one of the more beautiful cities—the architectural and artistic colleges have produced countless breathtaking buildings and sculptures that create the sense of an almost godly atmosphere.