Providence
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Providence is an inhabited system within the Gilgamesh Colonial Confederation — previously independent, Providence was annexed following a system-wide referendum in the lead-up to the Gaia Conflict. Providence is composed of four main settlements, each significantly different from the last — as such, Providence is sometimes described as a "confederation with a confederation".
History
Colonization of the system began shortly after the end of the Ares Conflict. While the new Sol Central Government had entered a period of contraction, independent entrepreneurs still sought profit among the stars, and the ever wild frontier of space provided an attractive freedom from obligations to any state. The independent company Atlas Resources — specializing in the extraction of rare metals — settled the Providence system as a transportation hub, confident that the investment would see ample returns in the future.
The first permanent colony in the system was established on the planet Providence II, now Atlanticus (Atlantis in Pan-Slavic): a resource-rich planet, riddled with mineral deposits below its oceans and volcanic islands. These deposits, coupled with the planet's low gravity, allowed for the easy transportation of materials to the colonists' orbital factories. Subsequently, the management of Atlas Resources decided to expand operations in Providence, initiating the main stage of colonization of the system and leading to the construction of stations New Washington, New Victoria and Nuevo Nevada.
Providence was annexed in 2289 following a system-wide referendum, in which the majority of residents voted to join the Gilgamesh Colonial Confederation. Suspicions around whether the vote was manipulated by external forces have abounded since the referendum, but due to a lack of direct evidence, these rumors have remained unproven. Decades later, the Providence system is firmly incorporated within the ICCG and the details of its annexation are usually only recalled in a historical context. Separatism is currently a relatively niche ideology, and most Providentians are content with their status as Confederate citizens compared to their neighbors in Valy or Gaia.
Settlements
Atlanticus (ZAC) / Atlantis (Pan-Slavic)
Atlanticus is an ocean world with extremely low gravity and a thin atmosphere. Its surface is dotted with enormous floating City-Ships — essentially moving mechanical platforms that migrate to new resource extraction points every few years, carrying their sparse technical staff. Life outside these sealed environments is impossible without specialized equipment.
The exception are the Anchor Installations — stationary, domed complexes that serve as transportation hubs for shuttles between the planet's surface and orbit. Here, City-Ships sell their products for shipment onward to the rest of the Confederation or for processing on-planet — Atlantean metallurgists are known to use Atlanticus' low gravity as a natural centrifuge, allowing the creation of ultra-pure alloys. The Anchor Installations are the primary population centers on Atlanticus, as the need to remain stationary has allowed them to expand and attract permanent colonists; hydroponic farms located near underwater volcanoes use geothermal energy to feed these installations, though agricultural output is limited and often barely enough to support the local population.
The planet's inhabitants, who call themselves Atlanteans, are highly sought after for their technical skills. Born in Atlanticus' alien environment, they have a reputation in the Confederation as creative, thoughtful, and sanguine dreamers. Their small but welcoming communities produce excellent specialists, although only those adapted to low gravity can survive on Atlanticus for long periods. Those arriving from planets with standard gravity must undergo regular rehabilitation courses at nearby space stations to avoid serious health problems.
New Victoria
New Victoria is a monumental mining and manufacturing complex on the outskirts of the Providence system. It is a planned, monolithic city-station that serves as a hub for smelters, warehouses, trading posts, and colonial administration. The complex is constantly loaded with resources from the system's asteroid belt, and work here never stops. Life support runs at full capacity, and the distinctive smell of ozone is the first thing anyone notices upon arrival.
Alongside the official complex, there is an unofficial network of stations known as Krovostok. It is unregistered and unrecognized by the government, ensuring minimal military oversight. Krovostok arose from an "Asteroid Rush" — any Confederate citizen hoping to strike rich is free to mine resources in the belt. Miners quickly recoup their equipment costs by selling ore to Krovostok buyers, who in turn resell it to large corporations in New Victoria.
Krovostok thrives on an underground economy: casinos, legal and illegal amusement houses, bazaars selling resale equipment, and smuggling networks are all found here. However, this place is fiercely competitive, with accidents, "accidents", and secret dealings all too common. The very name Krovostok evokes oxidized iron and spilled blood (the literal ZAC translation being "Blood Gully") . However, this laissez-faire attitude has its limits: lawlessness persists only as long as it doesn't inconvenience the GCC. As soon as officials learn of a major robbery or significant loss of wealth, the Colonial Navy launches a brutal raid. To avoid downtime, Krovostok merchants typically turn the offenders over to the authorities themselves, after which order is quickly restored.
The inhabitants of both complexes — unlike their neighbors from other planets — consider themselves workaholics, looking down on the inhabitants of more comfortable worlds as lazy layabouts. To a New Victorian, if you're not up to your eyeballs in sweat, ore, and ozone, you may as well be a Sestrian.
New Washington
New Washington is a large, ring-shaped tourist station in the orbit of a moon of the gas giant Indra. The station welcomes all Confederate citizens, but strictly separates them into zones reflecting social status. The Outer Rim is reserved for the elite, including private residences and the exclusive Establishment — patrons of the station, who use personal yachts to explore the gas giant below. The Central Rim serves as the main area for mass tourism, featuring accommodations and lively entertainment options that don't require a view: a variety of bars, futuristic clubs, and casinos where tourists can not only gamble but also receive special services as prizes. Hidden away here are the staff quarters and technical facilities.
The Inner Rim — a private medical facility reserved for Navy personnel and their families — is off-limits to civilians. This area is an oasis of tranquility, devoid of ostentatious luxury: the Inner Rim features double-walled rooms, exterior portholes, and specialized medical centers for recovery, including those for combat-related psychological trauma. The main feature of this zone is its botanical garden — a unique therapeutic complex where, thanks to careful cultivation, the garden's many flowering plants are always in peak bloom.
Beyond the luxury of the station itself, visitors also enjoy the New Washington's unique space activities. These include:
- Corediving — a dive in reinforced capsules into the atmosphere of the gas giant Indra
- Geyser Fishing — controlling drones to intercept quartz crystals ejected by the planet, among which are rare opals
- Glider Racing — a dangerous competition in high-speed, single-seater vehicles with bets accepted in the station's casinos
New Washington's only long-term residents are primarily staff, who maintain a culture informally known as the "Cult of the Masquerade". Staff are taught to keep an illusion of cheeriness and give impeccable service, hiding discontent behind a constant polite smile — even among their coworkers. A strict, unspoken hierarchy has developed within the station, in which workers serving the Outer and Inner Rings are valued above those in the Central Ring.
Nuevo Nevada
Located in extremely high orbit around Providence I, the station of Nuevo Nevada is one of the GCC's top research centers. Thanks to the constant and bottomless funding of the Office of Defense Research, the station is experiencing a period of unprecedented prosperity. Its asymmetrical, modular design is stripped of excess, fully reflecting the culture of its inhabitants: it is a strictly-zoned, utilitarian complex with a central, static core. Spatial efficiency is maximized by pneumatic arteries for parcel delivery and integrated hydroponic systems in the sub-module corridors. The station is powered by prototype fusion generators, while material supplies flow almost continuously from Atlantis and New Victoria, forming a visible shuttle line.
Nuevo Nevada's success is showcased by its achievements: many of the GCC's newest military developments originate here, and a number of everyday civilian technologies are byproducts of this research. Currently, two key projects are actively being developed in Bay 0, the station's foremost lab. The first is the Centaur Project, a constantly-evolving military initiative — the specifics of the project remain classified, but rumor speaks of cognitive enhancers, pharmaceutical stimulants, psionic implants, and countless other advanced combat interfaces of dubious authenticity. The Prometheus Project, by contrast, is largely open has been published in many a Confederate scientific journal. This project focuses on xenoarchaeological research with the intent of bettering humanity's technical and historical understanding of the universe, and works closely with the Colonial Pioneer Corps.
Nuevo Nevada's inhabitants proudly call themselves "Analysts". The station's culture is based on a profound sense of order and responsibility, and the main principle of residents' lives is reliability: if an Analyst says a project works, then it must work. Violations of this principle are harshly condemned, even in everyday life. They have a pragmatic attitude toward other colonies, viewing the chaos of their neighbors as an acceptable price to pay in the scheme of the overall system: Atlanticus provides alloys, New Victoria provides raw materials, and New Washington keeps nosy tourists out of Nuevo Nevada's hair.
Politics
The Providence system consists of four separate colonies, each autonomous within its own territory. The connection between Providence's four colonies is primarily economic, and the system did not have a central authority prior to annexation. Historically, each colony was managed by its own Transit Directorate, a board of directors harking back to Providence's days as a corporate outpost — while residents retained a vote on major policies, most decision-making was handled by the board with an emphasis on technical efficiency and profit. These Directorates still handle most day-to-day governing within their colonies, but the system as a whole is overseen by the GCC's colonial administration: a small supervisory body based in New Victoria that monitors the activities of individual settlements.
Economy
Economically, Providence's colonies are highly interconnected, and the system's economy as a whole is a tightly-woven web linking its constituent parts. Exports of raw ore and processed alloys from New Victoria and Atlanticus form the backbone of the system's GDP, bolstered by the influx of external capital from New Washington's tourist sector — smuggling and underground commerce around New Victoria's periphery continue to play a significant role, but remain unreported in official figures. Since Providence's annexation by the GCC, a sizeable (and increasing) portion of material exports has been directed to Nuevo Nevada for use in military research and development. Heightened investment has seen Nuevo Nevada's R&D capacity boom in recent years, and today their research is used throughout the GCC.
Despite an overall strong economy, few Providentian goods and services are designed for domestic use. The system remains dependent on imports, leaving it highly vulnerable to external shocks — in prior decades, disruptions in Providence's supply chains have lead to widespread shortages in food, clothing, and other basic consumer goods. Today, Providence's hydroponic farms are capable of providing up to 10% of the system's total nutritional needs, leaving the system reliant on Terran and Gaian agricultural imports. Moreover, Providence's population has increased several-fold in the past few decades, with Confederate citizens from across the GCC flocking to the system in search of employment — while the economy continues to flourish, this influx has heightened the strain on Providence's already burdened domestic infrastructure.
Culture
The general demonym for a resident of the Providence system is Providentian, which is sometimes used synonymously with "nomad" in the region. Many Providentians are not tied to a single location or occupation, and constantly move throughout the system and beyond: from working Nuevo Nevada's supply chain, to manual labor within New Victoria's mines or aboard Atlanticus' extraction platforms, to staffing New Washington's tourist facilities and mandatory state service abroad. This lifestyle, while harsh, exposes Providentians to all levels of society and leaves little room for sentimentality. Providentians are not afraid to take risks and waste little time making decisions: a missed opportunity is tantamount to injury. To people from other systems, a Providentian may seem closed and aloof, but Providentians pride themselves on their practicality and tireless work ethic.
Despite this utilitarian mindset, Providentians celebrate a number of holidays across the system. Atlanticus celebrates Tide Day, marking the arrival of a City-Ship at a new mining site or Anchor Installation. This is accompanied by a feast among loved ones or a large-scale festival featuring storytelling. New Victoria unofficially celebrates End of Production Day, during which sales are held in the administrative complex, and Krovostok hosts fierce Ore Battles — competitions amongst miners to see who can extract the most ore, with lucrative bonuses promised to the victors. New Washington's Carnival of Colors is one of the best-known celebrations, tied to the changing atmospheric seasons of the gas giant Indra. On this day, the station synchronizes its lighting with the planet, creating a brilliant display augmented by a fleet of technicolor drones. Nuevo Nevada itself has no official holidays, but upon completion of major projects, employees are recognized with honor rolls and bonuses. On this day, Analysts allow themselves to purchase luxury items to decorate their living spaces.