Tower of Light

The Tower of Light is the center of human civilization in the twenty-second century. It is a megastructure that rises some 12,000 feet from the equatorial Pacific. It further descends just over 8,100 feet to the ocean floor. The Tower of Light has 1,080 floors, and over a hundred sublevels below the surface of the ocean. It is divided into five sections: the spire, the upper, the computer core, the main, and the sublevels.

Characteristics

The Tower of Light is composed almost entirely of a nano-diamondoid composite fashioned around aluminum framing with hyperdense reinforcements. It is designed to withstand natural forces as well as nuclear blasts, and its hardness is enough to withstand all but the heaviest and most advanced lasers and piercing weapons. The entire tower is shielded from radiation with an equivalent protection factor of 10,000. The Tower of Light can also project an prolate spheroidal barrier screen that envelops it from top to bottom (UT 191, heavy barrier screen).

Flooring in the Tower of Light consists of a layer of accreted sea minerals, which is less tiring on human feet than the ultra-hard nano-diamondoid material used for the walls and ceilings. The coloration and opacity of the walls and ceilings can be manipulated by users. A person could turn a wall into a screen or a window, have it adjust its color and opacity on a schedule, give it a pattern, have it reflect as a mirror, and so on. Interior walls can furthermore be made amorphous, so spaces can be reshaped as needed. The ability of the composite to phase-change from a stiff solid to a shapable solid responds automatically to seismic activity and powerful blasts, adding to the Tower of Light's resilience to earthquakes and other forceful events.

The Tower of Light is powered by a series of fusion reactors located in the deepest sublevels. These reactors extract hydrogen from seawater, using it as fuel. The hydrogen extraction process is powered by an OTEC system. In addition to fusion energy, the entire surface of the Tower of Light uses solar paint technology integrated into the nano-diamondoid material to take advantage of solar energy. The OTEC and solar energy systems can power the entire life support system of the Tower of Light, and serve as backup power in the event of fusion reactor failure. To date, there have been no failures of the fusion reactors.

In addition to the formidable Tower of Light armor and shielding, it has a fully integrated weapons system. It has an array of 12 Rainbow Laser Cannons (UT 117), 24 Blaster Cannons (UT 123), and 48 Gauss Miniguns (UT 143). The spire is thought to have additional undisclosed armaments. The sublevels have defenses that include rocket-torpedos with hyperdense or shape-charged warheads.

A defense net system inside the Tower of Light makes it impossible to use any weaponry that requires a power cell or an explosion to activate. This rules out most conventional and beam weapons, and any explosive warheads. Weapons that use combustion or simple mechanical power work. Most of the Tower of Light security soldiers use tangler pistols (UT 140) and knives, and are trained in the use of martial arts and shields. The defense net system is controlled by the Queen of Light.

The Infinite Echo megacomputer system is fully integrated into the Tower of Light. Anyone inside can interact with it through thought alone. Any surface can serve as a screen and holograms can be projected anywhere inside. It can further enhance the interface with optional sound and smell (targeted or untargeted) anywhere on the Tower of Light. Anyone with an internal computer and a wired or wireless neural interface device does not even need a visual or audial interface to interact with the computer, and can maintain a consistent link with Infinite Echo. Multiple users with cybernetic interfaces could share a virtual interface that does not exist in physical reality. Thus, several users could meet in a virtual room or all look at and manipulate a shared virtual screen, all while sitting comfortably in their own apartments. Significant amounts of human interaction occur in this virtual space.

Sections

The Spire

The spire comprises the highest 80 levels of the Tower of Light and is the domicile of the Queen of Light. The Queen's receiving chamber (also known as the throne room) lies at the base of the spire; what lies anove is undisclosed and undocumented. Access to the spire is controlled by the Queen and is generally restricted to very few other than herself. Both Trandroids are based in the spire.

The Upper

The Upper consists of the 900th through 1,000th levels of the tower, and is home to approximately 1,500 residents. These people are the elite of humankind, and include top scientists, psis, Lewis Sphere pilots, clergy in the Chuch of Light, and high ranking security officials. Only residents and approved persons may access The Upper.

Much of The Upper is devoted to the Shiva Space Technology division, which oversees the construction and maintenance of the Lewis Spheres. The Lewis Sphere launch platforms extend out from the 900th floor, one in each of the cardinal directions. The Queen of Light personally oversees the Shiva Space Technology division.

The Computer Core

Levels 600 through 899 house the Infinite Echo computer core.