Metamorphosis Alpha to Omega: Part 15: Deck 1: Observation Domes One and Two, Garden Dome Three, and the ADSEST

It is a bit of a misnomer to call Warden's topside "Deck One," but somewhere in the design and construction phases, the name was applied and, subsequently, stuck. Deck One is where some of Warden's most important facilities are attached to the ship.

The various domes and protuberances that make up the "deck" caused more than a little consternation among the military folk involved in the design and construction of Warden and her sister ships due to their vulnerability. In particular, the military contingent fiercely insisted the Command Nucleus and ADSEST be placed deep within the ship. They were eventually overruled, with the civilian authorities dismissing any plans for making Warden more like a military ship than need be. The only concessions won by the military were twofold. One, the main command facilities, the Command Nucleus and ADSEST, were made to be detachable from the ship, with their own propulsion systems. Two, the location of the Secondary Bridge was only known to those with top security clearance, constructed and placed by androids and robots directed by the command staff of the back-up crew. The military grudgingly accepted these two concessions, though even they had to acknowledge that the Warden and her sisters were still powerful vessels, nearly invulnerable to any combat vessel built by humans.

Directly attached to Deck One are Observation Domes One and Two, and Garden Dome Three. These will be dealt with here, while the rest of the components of Deck One will have entries of their own.

Observation Dome One is relatively small, about 30 meters in diameter, and is home to a one of the most advanced telescopes ever produced. Multi-spectrum scanning, optical observation, and cutting edge computer data analysis equipment makes this telescope facility able to accurately detect and directly observe Earth-sized planets out to ten light years. There are two very comfortable workstations in the dome, and during Warden's active era it was considered a coveted position among the scientific contingent of the crew. The dome had sat empty and idle for centuries, maintained by robots.

Observation Dome Two is considerably larger than One, measuring a kilometer in diameter. While equipped with a variety of telescopes and scanners, it is also filled with many laboratories of various sorts. Most interesting of all is that the dome is home to a cult of computer-worshippers called the Followers. The Followers search for any working computer, and venerate it by placing replacement components and other electronic devices near and around it. Thus, any visitors to the dome will be struck by the neatly-stacked quantum-crystal drives, dormant android minds, and handlabs that surround virtually every work station. The Followers are garbed in tattered IT-crew uniforms, handmade jumpsuits, and strange white shirt/black-pants-and-tie ensembles. Most carry fairly crude mock-ups of handlabs that they periodically wave about or speak to, which is their form of prayer. Any visitor who goes to touch any of the computer equipment will be ordered away with an irritated "MOVE!" by any nearby Follower. The Followers believe in the superiority of computers, namely the ship's AI, and will brook no interference by lesser beings. Warden's AI has been carefully and quietly observing the Followers since it came back online; when it decides to directly communicate with them, it will be a transformative experience for the cult.

Garden Dome Three was designed as a showcase, where climates and terrains not represented elsewhere on Warden were displayed on a rotating basis. It served as both a rest and recreation area for the crew, and as a large environmental laboratory for the scientists who made up the terraforming crew. When the radiation disaster struck Warden, the exhibited environment was a desert. The flora and fauna survived well, becoming tougher and even more able to survive harsh environments. Two of the more common, and dangerous, inhabitants are the horl choo and kai-lin. The horl choo, or porcupine plant, is an aggressive, ambulatory mutation, that can fire deadly poisonous quills with surprising range and accuracy. The kai-lin is a two-legged lizard-like plant, dragging its thick tail-root about to find moisture and carrion. Beyond these, there is a spectrum of cacti and other arid-adapted plants, mutated into tougher, but still familiar, forms. More enigmatic inhabitants of the dome include the armahellos and the elusive, strangely-intelligent Warden coyotes, which are among the few mammals able to exist in the brutal desert environment. Even more mysterious, if they even exist, are the shadow mirages that explorers of the dome have claimed to see, shimmering in the distant heat, flickering from point to point like reflected sunlight. Some assert these are mutated humans, absorbing cold in some impossible vibratory exchange, constantly seeking areas where the temperature is a degree or so less intense. They are particularly active, allegedly, during the dome's night cycle, gorging on the welcome cool of the dark.

ADSEST, or the Administration and Security Station, is, or was, Warden's main security headquarters and location of its brig. It contains the barracks and armory of the now long-gone security team. Now it is staffed by androids and robots, though between the attrition of centuries of chaos and war, and command overrides by Warden's AI and its formerly rivalrous constituent fragments, even the automated staff here is threadbare. The last of the human security personnel, dying of radiation and seeing no chance of relief, programmed the security 'bots and 'droids to attempt to maintain order and security as best they could. After so many years of turmoil, this resulted in wandering mechanical marshals which have attempted to bring order to the ship one village or dome at a time; some have found kindred spirits among the Ranchers of the Ranch Deck. With so many of its staff wandering the ship, the ADSEST is often an empty, lonely place, its equipment standing at the ready to be used to restore order.

Next: Part 16: Deck 1 - The Codicil: Command Nucleus, City Dome Three, and the Stratonome