Terra
The heart and soul of the Dominium
The ever-living planet-wide city that rules over the Dominium is without a doubt the greatest wonder of humanity. Once a dying world, the discovery of dimensions and apogee of the interdimensional travel technology resurrected it. Now at the top of the Dominium, the United Nations of Terra rule over a hundred billion people across thousands of worlds.
On the verge of collapsing
By the beginning of the 23rd century, Terra was a polluted planet where pure air was a luxury. Overpopulation came in pair with famines as the galloping urban expansion swallowed the farmlands. Heat level records were beaten every other day despite the time gained in the previous century regarding climate change, and several pandemics coexisted at all times. The daily death count was close to the million and with the global economy on its knees, it was only a matter of time before the collapse of the civilisation.
The salute came from interdimensional travel. When the first dimension was discovered, the leader's opinion was torn between a massive exode and the use of this dimension's resources to propel Terra's salvation. The second idea won in the end, and this first dimension was massively exploited. Entire continents were turned into farmlands, and the polluting mining of rare-earth elements was displaced out of Terra. The beacon of hope that was the I.D.E.A. did not save the planet from destruction yet, but it gave back hope.
Subsequent dimensions were put to the service of Terra, until the planet was thriving again, having solved through technology and the exploitation of others most of its problems. Having no use for nature in their homeworld, the Terrans expanded the cities of the now united world, until every speck of land was covered in metal and concrete. The planet-wide city that took the name of the planet was now made out of more otherworldly materials than Terran's.
Districts and levels
The megacity is split into many districts of hundred million to billions of inhabitants. Most of the original district boundaries were those of ancient countries but altered slightly by time and purchases. Inside a district, life is vertical, from the subterranean levels to the very top above the clouds.
Maintenance levels
The lowermost levels run under Terra as a layer between the planet itself and the giant city. It contains the gigantic pillars that holds the districts up, biofluids conductors and Z Energy reactors. Swarms of maintenance robots roam the dark hallways, managing the repairs and upkeep of the city automatically. There are only a few entrances to the depths of maintenance, as human intervention is deemed unnecessary except in case of critical failure. The structure is resilient to earthquakes, power shortages and most explosions, and no manual maintenance has been needed since its creation.
The place is not devoid of life either. It is a most perfect hideout for vermins like Myrrns or the terrorist group G.H.O.S.T. Down there, the whole world is interconnected and there are no such things as controls or boundaries. They play hide-and-seek with security cameras and the many robots that would report their presence, ready to strike above whenever they get the chance.
Near-surface
The near-surface is the name given to the recycling grounds. Just above the maintenance level, it gathers all the trash and things that fell from the upper levels. Both sorting and recycling are done automatically by the same kind of drones that maintain the city. Various circuits are used to send the recycled goods up above, or most of the time to another dimension. Terrans use very few recycled goods as they think of themselves above the need to consider ecology matters. The non-recyclable trash is dumped in the junkyard dimension Sereny II.
The main difference with the maintenance level is that access to the Near-surface is not forbidden, only unrecommended. Then, the few tramps that stay in the dimension end up there, living off the outrageous waste of the richer Terrans.
Upper Terra
The city in itself is more loosely divided, as levels there can have a different meaning depending on the district or no hierarchy at all. Suspended streets connect the buildings in usually three layers, but some district got over ten floors of streets. The cityscape is irregular, as some buildings reach far higher than others, and their shape is at the mercy of the wild imagination of architects. Since biofluid supports the foundation of every building, constructions that may seem impossible according to the laws of physics are just common sight.
No nature is to be seen anywhere except in the Domes, artificial reserves that saved the remaining specimen of most Terran species and recreated those who could not be saved. This is a popular amusement, both a glimpse into history and wildlife.
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