SC2020 - Fusion Core Reactors

The Fusion Core Reactors powered the ships that carried the original human settlers to Garuda.
There are far fewer cores on Garuda, than there were ships in the original settling fleet. Some exploded during initial rough landings, creating craters that still scar the landscape millennia later. Other fusion core reactors were lost during wars and conflicts, often creating as much or more mayhem than the war itself. However, there are still several unaccounted for. Seeing as these are the foundation of the great cities, a fusion core reactor is beyond priceless and many people have gone searching for the remains of lost settler ships in the hope of making a historic discovery. Most gave up after years of searching, of those who pushed on only a few survived the hazards of Garuda. Of few survivors it can be counted on one hand how many found a fusion core reactor - and only one of them lived to see the core turn into the foundation of a city. It is suspected that many of the undiscovered cores are onboard ship which landed in the oceans - but not even a madman would dive into the oceans of Garuda.

Utility

The fusion cores are what powers the great cities. This means that the great cities themselves have electrical supply and technology beyond modern norm. However, due to the limited availability of material suitable for building an electric infrastructure this power does not even reach the outskirts of the great cities themselves, let alone the surrounding area. The surrounding settlement are left with pre-industrial and early industrial technology depending on the availability of resources in the area.

Manufacturing

The cores can no longer be manufactured.

Access & Availability

There is a very limited number of fusion core reactors. Less than 20 known on the entire planet. It is impossible to make new fusion cores. The technology itself is no longer fully understood, and even if an effort was made to regain a full understanding; neither the materials, nor the prerequisite tools and technologies are available on Garuda. While the fusion core reactors seem stable and were designed to go on virtually forever out in space, it has been forever since the settlers first landed and the reactors are not in space - nor are they used for their original purpose. This should matter - but what if it does. The great cities are build around the power supply of the fusion cores and will crumple in a matter of months if lost.

Complexity

The fusion cores are designed to run on Helium 3, and the original spaceships came with atmospheric mining capacity to harvest Helium 3 from gaseous planets in order to refuel during travel.

Discovery

The origin of the fusion core on Garuda are the original settler ships.