The ship

Geography

The Creche Argent resembles a five-spked wheel with a gigantic parachute. It spins fast enough to create earth-normal gravity on a plane all the way around.
On three places are big metal bubbles on the wheel, these contain the artificial fusion fields. At the flat floor of the bubbles, the light is similar enough to sunlight to allow plants to grow. Two of them are used for farming various natural crops and vegetables, while the third contains a forest with some basic animal life, like small birds, insects and rodents. The remaining walls of the bubbles are covered in blue solar panels, providing most of the energy necessary for the ship.
The remaining sections of the wheel are used for habitation, commerce, education, and culture. In lower levels where gravity is higher are various warehouses and machinery. Along with huge tracts of algae-reactors and mushroom field, providing the majority of food necessary.

Fauna & Flora

Most of the ship has very limited room for life. All are expected to keep plenty of potted plants and many have smaller pets, such as rabbits, guinea-pigs, rats, spiders, and snakes. There are breeding programs to keep these alive and well.
There are persistant problems with various forms of pests such as cockroaches, lice, and pidgeons. But most of these are kept to a minimum by the automatic life-control systems. Problems with something usually erupts once every few years, before the humans and the ship manage to almost eradicate the creatures again.

Natural Resources

There are no natural resources. Everything is carefully recycled and the system monitors usage. There is a slight leak in oxygen, carbon and other basic materials, but this drain has been balanced with reserve materials from the ship warehouses. Not much remains of these warehouses, but largely the original calculations and the balancing of the machine has ensured no disastrous shortages.

Alternative Name(s)

El Esperanza, The Tub, The Rat cage

Type

Megastructure