Iconoclast -- New Aurora -- The Dome

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Iconoclast -- New Aurora -- The Dome

Why build a city within a dome?

Efficiency. A sphere is the most efficient shape to use. It encloses the most volume with the least surface. Thus, any dome that is a portion of a sphere has the least surface through which to lose heat or intercept potentially damaging winds. This allows the interior of a dome to maintain a more constant temperature, even in the middle of winter. A side effect of the dome's reflectiveness is that New Aurora can dim her city lights at night to save energy--even with fewer lights down below, the lights higher up top reflect against the dome to create the overall effect of a brightly moonlit night, even though the glow is dispersed in such a way as to suggest overcast conditions at the same time.

Cost-effectiveness. A geodesic dome gives maximum structural advantage with the least material possible. Geodesic domes can be erected very quickly, sometimes in mere hours instead of months or years. And geodesic domes get stronger, lighter and cheaper per unit of volume as their size increases--just the opposite of conventional buildings. The best geodesic domes are proportionally thinner than a chicken egg shell is to the egg.

Strength. Local loads are distributed throughout the geodesic dome, utilizing the entire structure to take advantage of its inherent strength. In fact, geodesic domes have proved to be the strongest structures ever devised. Earthquakes cannot damage them unless the ground opens up and swallows the foundation. Hurricanes have never damaged a properly designed geodesic dome.

Protection. From bacteria, bombardment, surveillance, adverse weather, radiation, and a hundred other factors. Whereas a normal dome is strong, the dome surrounding New Aurora is almost impregnable to almost any form of attack. The railguns, missile systems, and pulse lasers which hook into satellite imaging and ground/air radar and electronic countermeasure systems help too.

So the real question is: why NOT build a city within a dome?

The original plans for New Aurora involved a geodesic dome, requiring the support of the buildings underneath it. As the city expanded, and areas grw up outside the dome, this first dome was torn down, and a larger dome built to encompass the entire area; the reach of this original dome can be seen by the clear delineation between what is now "downtown" New Aurora and what are the outlying "suburban" intra-dome areas.

The current dome shrouds the entire city, stretching approximately 3 1/8 miles in diameter and extending 1600 feet above ground level as well as 1600 feet down into the ground. Underground portions of the dome were actually built by nanites while construction was going on overhead. These nanites burrowed through the rock and created the dome without having to move a single shovelfull of dirt. Some stone was obviously moved to make room for the underground portions of the city--explosives created a depression and built the area up around the city, meaning that outer portions of the dome rest on looser soil while the center, which bears the most weight, is over solid bedrock. Construction of the underground portion of the dome took about 3 years, including several periods where the nanites had to re-repair portions that became damaged due to aboveground construction. At the time of its construction, it was the largest geodesic dome on the planet.

New Aurora's dome is comprised of two layers of electro-reactive polymer which surround a semi-liquid inner core. The outer layers are not so much plates as a tightly knitted "fabric" that acts as a sort of musculature. This musculature is able to instantly become malleable or rigid in reponse to electromagnetic impulses in order to adapt to internal or external forces.

The inner core is comprised of, among other things, a semi-liquid form of the same material as the outer layers, which allows trillions of "microbots" (tiny robots similar to nanites, except a few orders of magnitude larger) to effect immediate repairs should any damage to the dome occur. These microbots are in turn repaired, maintained, and assisted by a small group of nanites (only a few hundred trillion). All of these are monitored and controlled by a protected segment of the Matrix.

The dome's complexity does not stop there, however, in addition to the inherent qualities presented before, the dome also has a number of other useful capabilities: Opacity ranging from nearly transparent to totally opaque, capacity to absorb a wide variety of spectrums of light (think gigantic solar panel), and the ability to act as a tremendously powerful transmitter/receiver. In all cases, it retains a distinctive bluish-grey color, though the exact shade is obviously affected by external light. By night, the overhead dome walls are nonexistent in their blackness, letting space's void terrorize the meek. By day, the translucent walls sway with artificial light, teasing skygazers with a distorted view of the sky.

Although the dome is fully sealed, the temperature inside cannot always be maintained; as a general rule, the temperature inside will be between 20 degrees hotter and 20 degrees cooler than the temperature outside. The reason for this inability to maintain one temperature is the dome's size. In order to help maintain a semi-constant climate within the dome, New Aurora maintains a select crew of engineers who constantly monitor the dome, adjusting opacity and opening vents in order to make the best use of passing breezes and sunny periods. Even though most of the human staff are managers and robot maintenance personnel, they have acquired a reputation as sailors of a sort, opening vents to catch a breeze much like tacking on a sailboat.

The dome maintains an average temperature in the low 70's Fahrenheit on the main concourse. In the Upper City, the temperature tends to be a bit cooler in winter and a bit warmer in summer. Belowgrounds, in the dirtwalk and lower city, temperature is cooler and more constant, averaging about 55 to 60 degrees Fahrenheit.