Rhinara
20-01-2004, 07:40
(OOC: This plot will be developing over a long period of time, so this is just a record of the steps that lead up to what will happen to Rhinara.)
The Founder looked over the population density maps and scrolled through a few images of the crowded cities of Rhinara. Tall buildings soared into the sky, nearly reaching the perpetual layer of clouds that hung over the Dominion's major cities. While the clouds dimmed the cities below them and gave everything a gray shade, it protected the cities from spy satellites. Massive underground complexes were sprawling with people; mainly the poorer citizens who could not afford surface homes. Small underwater habitats dotted various areas of the coastlines. Just about anywhere that could be occupied was occupied. And the population of over two billion was still growing. Clearly there was not enough space in this small country to keep all these people in. What was needed was more land. Much more land.
There was the option of conquering other lands or eliminating large numbers of unwanted citizens, but those were not even considered by the Founder, they were so preposterous. Off-world colonization seemed the best alternative, but just about anything that could be colonized was already colonized.
He brought up a starmap and glanced over it. The information provided was gathered from intelligence operatives taking maps from other nations and/or from the numerous cloaked Dominion scouts that flew out on exploratory missions. The holographic map was tinted by varying colors to designate what space was owned by whom. Only places of little to no value were left free for the taking.
...except for a distant nebula that no one seemed to have explored... How odd. He looked up that nebula on his computer.
An eyebrow arched up. The Ianorean Patch; an odd phenomenon where a large region of space was filled with a nebula that emitted such bizarre radiation that no one would venture in. Those that have entered suffered massive engine damage that led to the destruction of smaller ships. Only when the ships slowed to a crawl were they unharmed, but even centuries of exploration in that nebula with such a slow speed would not reveal much. Especially when all known scanners have been unable to penetrate more than a few meters into the nebula.
Certainly there was nothing in there. At least nothing worth the amount of resources needed to explore that monster of a nebula. He put that out of his mind and moved on.
But it kept nagging at him.
The Founder looked over the population density maps and scrolled through a few images of the crowded cities of Rhinara. Tall buildings soared into the sky, nearly reaching the perpetual layer of clouds that hung over the Dominion's major cities. While the clouds dimmed the cities below them and gave everything a gray shade, it protected the cities from spy satellites. Massive underground complexes were sprawling with people; mainly the poorer citizens who could not afford surface homes. Small underwater habitats dotted various areas of the coastlines. Just about anywhere that could be occupied was occupied. And the population of over two billion was still growing. Clearly there was not enough space in this small country to keep all these people in. What was needed was more land. Much more land.
There was the option of conquering other lands or eliminating large numbers of unwanted citizens, but those were not even considered by the Founder, they were so preposterous. Off-world colonization seemed the best alternative, but just about anything that could be colonized was already colonized.
He brought up a starmap and glanced over it. The information provided was gathered from intelligence operatives taking maps from other nations and/or from the numerous cloaked Dominion scouts that flew out on exploratory missions. The holographic map was tinted by varying colors to designate what space was owned by whom. Only places of little to no value were left free for the taking.
...except for a distant nebula that no one seemed to have explored... How odd. He looked up that nebula on his computer.
An eyebrow arched up. The Ianorean Patch; an odd phenomenon where a large region of space was filled with a nebula that emitted such bizarre radiation that no one would venture in. Those that have entered suffered massive engine damage that led to the destruction of smaller ships. Only when the ships slowed to a crawl were they unharmed, but even centuries of exploration in that nebula with such a slow speed would not reveal much. Especially when all known scanners have been unable to penetrate more than a few meters into the nebula.
Certainly there was nothing in there. At least nothing worth the amount of resources needed to explore that monster of a nebula. He put that out of his mind and moved on.
But it kept nagging at him.