Manu Das, The City of Ra (Man-oo Dahs)
Manu Das is the largest sedentary settlement on all of Venus. Newer than the moving cities that used to travel across the landscape, Manu Das appears more like the traditional Atlantean cities with buildings built in circular formations leading towards a center. The city was trapped on the cold side of Venus when the rotation stopped, but it is only so far as to be in perpetual dusk. However, the most important fact about Manu Das is not its location or geographical features, but rather that it is completely under the control of Ra.
Though it is hundreds of miles from the Tower of Souls, Ra maintains control of the city in a variety of ways. The city was built under his direct order and supervision and as such, it has been perfectly constructed to be under constant surveillance. With crystals not only powering the city, but also providing Ra a constant stream of information on the city, the entire city can not be disconnected from his eyes without effectively shutting down all of Manu Das. Even in the event that this would happen though, Manu Das is the one location on Venus that has an Oculi stationed to exclusively monitor that one location.
The city is physically much larger than the population would suggest. This is due to the large amount of automation and automatons that have been constructed in the city. Entire buildings, let alone sections of the city, may not have a single living organic being in them, but are still churning with the output of weapons, vehicles and any other device that needs to be constructed at the time. The busiest streets in all of Manu Das may have only a handful of living beings while wheeled automatons zip to and from carrying all manner of things.
Though it is not rare to see Manu Das covered in a thick blanket of snow, most of the time the ground is covered in ice while a thin flurry floats through the air. In order to maintain its population, the fields are sowed with cold-resistant and nutrient poor crops, though most of the population doesn’t need to eat for a variety of reasons. However, for those that do need to eat, these crops are kept in purposefully poor condition to exacerbate the living conditions of the residents and keep them heavily reliant on the city to survive.
Given the physical and political climate of Manu Das, one would be surprised to find that it is perhaps the most accessible city on the planet. Though most people would never dare travel to the city, it has a well maintained road, cleared of snow daily. It also has the only cold water port in all of Venus and even has a shuttle bay for the few air vehicles that need docking in the city. All of these may give the impression that the city is a destination to travel to, but in truth, it is merely the result of a finely tuned machine.
Inhabitants No one lives in Manu Das by choice. If you live there, you have always been there and many believe you will always be there until the day you day. This vicious cycle has been the axiomatic truth for as long as anybody can remember. Every resident of Manu Das lives and dies by the will of Ra and his needs. The exception to this is the prisoners in Tartarus, of whom the majority were not from Manu Das, but many will live the rest of their numbered days within the city. Tartarus itself is staffed by the same guards that watch over the city proper. Most of the residents of the city proper are xyel-ya, though they are not the xyel-ya that one would see if they were to visit the other population centers on Venus. While they appear very much the same as their typical four-armed brethren, there is one distinct and immediately recognizable feature. They xyel-ya completely lack a mouth. Though it is not visible to the eye, they also lack a stomach and all other associated digestive organs. Somewhere in the past, the xyel-ya of Manu Das seemed to lose their mouths, most likely through some process concocted by Ra. The implications of this are both biological and sociological. The obvious implication is that all of the xyel-ya, and by extension the vast majority of city residents, are completely unable to speak. With no means of communication, outside of writing, the city finds it much easier to control the populace without fear of rebellion. The more dire implication is that even though the xyel-ya in this city have no mouths or means to eat, they must still find some means of consumption, less they starve to death. Through technological means, the city is able to provide sustenance to the residents through a pod-like device which will provide them with nutrients once they rest inside of it. However, this is merely a means of control. Though it is never stated, every xyel-ya knows that even if they could somehow escape the city, they would surely starve to death. Though Ra is able to maintain a constant watch of the city, and some say he does, he has placed a governor to run day to day operations in his stead. The city has had many governor’s throughout the centuries and the newest one has proven herself to be very efficient at what she does. Governor Clymene is a Thora woman who supposedly was a prisoner in Tartarus at some point. Others say she used to be the head of a major rebellion who turned in all of her comrades for Ra’s favor. No one knows for sure what to make of her, they just know she isn’t to be trifled with or trusted. The remainder of the city is made up of automatons and prisoners, both of which are treated functionally the same. While most of the automatons in the city are little more than simplistic robots that can only perform a singular task, there are others which possess greater intelligence that may begin to rival living beings. The prisoners of the Tartarus likewise have no rights and suffer greatly at the hands of their guards. Regardless of where they reside, in the city of Manu Das, there are no free men.
Inhabitants No one lives in Manu Das by choice. If you live there, you have always been there and many believe you will always be there until the day you day. This vicious cycle has been the axiomatic truth for as long as anybody can remember. Every resident of Manu Das lives and dies by the will of Ra and his needs. The exception to this is the prisoners in Tartarus, of whom the majority were not from Manu Das, but many will live the rest of their numbered days within the city. Tartarus itself is staffed by the same guards that watch over the city proper. Most of the residents of the city proper are xyel-ya, though they are not the xyel-ya that one would see if they were to visit the other population centers on Venus. While they appear very much the same as their typical four-armed brethren, there is one distinct and immediately recognizable feature. They xyel-ya completely lack a mouth. Though it is not visible to the eye, they also lack a stomach and all other associated digestive organs. Somewhere in the past, the xyel-ya of Manu Das seemed to lose their mouths, most likely through some process concocted by Ra. The implications of this are both biological and sociological. The obvious implication is that all of the xyel-ya, and by extension the vast majority of city residents, are completely unable to speak. With no means of communication, outside of writing, the city finds it much easier to control the populace without fear of rebellion. The more dire implication is that even though the xyel-ya in this city have no mouths or means to eat, they must still find some means of consumption, less they starve to death. Through technological means, the city is able to provide sustenance to the residents through a pod-like device which will provide them with nutrients once they rest inside of it. However, this is merely a means of control. Though it is never stated, every xyel-ya knows that even if they could somehow escape the city, they would surely starve to death. Though Ra is able to maintain a constant watch of the city, and some say he does, he has placed a governor to run day to day operations in his stead. The city has had many governor’s throughout the centuries and the newest one has proven herself to be very efficient at what she does. Governor Clymene is a Thora woman who supposedly was a prisoner in Tartarus at some point. Others say she used to be the head of a major rebellion who turned in all of her comrades for Ra’s favor. No one knows for sure what to make of her, they just know she isn’t to be trifled with or trusted. The remainder of the city is made up of automatons and prisoners, both of which are treated functionally the same. While most of the automatons in the city are little more than simplistic robots that can only perform a singular task, there are others which possess greater intelligence that may begin to rival living beings. The prisoners of the Tartarus likewise have no rights and suffer greatly at the hands of their guards. Regardless of where they reside, in the city of Manu Das, there are no free men.
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Capital
- Characters just now arriving on Venus - The biting cold is the only thing that sucks the life out of you more than the oppressive atmosphere of this place. Everyone seems scared of it, even the people that live there.
- Characters not from Venus, who have spent some time there - People talk about the Tower like its hell, but talk about Manu Das like it's the boogeyman. Even amongst Venus, it's the most alien place on the planet.
- Characters from Venus - Thats where people disappear too. You hope to never see it for yourself. The patrols you see occasionally on the horizon scare you enough as is, you don’t want to see them every day.
- Characters from Venus who find themselves in Manu Das - You’re likely a prisoner, in one sense or another. If you’re not yet, you should get out before you become one
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