Equatorial River

The sphere section of the ESCI Revelation features a canal around its equator.

Purpose / Function

The equatorial river is nearly 50ft deep when the soil at the bottom is excluded and serves a variety of purposes, including recreation, psychological comfort, spare water storage for industrial and life support purposes, and space for aquaponics activities. The water present here also serves an important role in regulating the humidity and 'rain' cycles of the habitable sections of the vessel.
Below thirty feet lie fish hatcheries, kelp beds, artifical reefs, and certain 'custom' marine life designed to provide the all-important redundancy that all large Evermornan projects require. As such, the depths belong to the Life Support Department. The very bottom is often patrolled by Knight-Espatiers in power armor, who, like other spacewalking personnel, use the buoyancy of water to keep trained for microgravity operations.

Alterations

During the acceleration and deceleration phases of the Revelation's journey, the equatorial river will take a different level due to the influence of both centripetal and accelerational forces. As such, during these times, the top ten feet of the river is drained such that it will not overflow its banks; the top two tiers of catwalks (see Architecture) are hinged arranged like turkey feathers, allowing them to pivot in response to the angle of the waterline and provide for a safe walking surface.
In contrast, during decompression emergencies or sudden losses of centripetal gravity, massive covering membranes enclose the river to provent the water from just floating or sublimating away.

Architecture

The equatorial river is bounded on either side by lightweight decking textured and colored to emulate the appearance of a boardwalk. Another tier of decking is placed along the edges of the river at every ten foot interval of depth, but only the top two tiers are hinged (see Alterations) or decorated as such. Beneath each deck tier are large emergency lights to allow divers and workers to be able to better see and orient themselves. These lights are smaller and dimmer the deeper one goes in an effort to emulate a natural (if greatly forshortened) layering of biospheres.
The four support and access gantries leading to the Command & Services Ring connect to the sphere section at reinforced bridgeways spanning the equatorial river. These bridgeways leave some space beneath for passing boat traffic, but not much; these also serve as the points where the internal damage control membranes may seal to prevent atmosphere leaks, so the gaps must be small to allow for rapid closure.

Tourism

The edges and top thirty feet of the river are open to public access, with several ultralight rowboats provided in the ship's complement as a means of providing exercise and relaxation for civilians and off-duty crew members. The cool blue waters are often said to remind Evermornans especially of home, while Lepidosians, for their part, mostly treat the abundance of water as an enjoyable novelty in comparison to their arid homeworld.

Type

Canal

Compartment of Vehicle

ESCI Revelation