The Venusian Colony is a colony that has been established in the atmospheres of the planet Venus. The colony is made up of a large system of lighter-than-air space dirigibles that carry a "cloud city." These dirigibles and the buildings attached to them house the inhabitants and make up the infrastructure of the colony. Originally a prison colony and constantly facing harsh conditions, It is considered to be the most precarious of the colonies.
The floating dirigibles that make up the Venusian Colony.
Keeping the colony running involves strenuous work in uncomfortable conditions.
The surface temperatures of Venus regularly near 500-degrees-Celsius and the planet has a heavy atmosphere mostly composed of carbon dioxide. Without extreme terraforming, it would not make a habitable terrestrial planet. However, Venus' upper-atmosphere proved to be hospitable. A n average temperature that sits at a much more reasonable 75-degrees-Celesius and gravity levels that are comparable to Earths. This atmosphere is also able to support lighter-than-air dirigibles, which is what the Venusian colony consists of. These dirigibles float in the atmosphere of the planet and stay in place by being perfectly positioned within its gravitational pull.
The Venusians quickly learned to take advantage of the one resource they had - Venus’ CO2 rich atmosphere. Venus used CO2 as a feedstock for algae - the main food-source for life in their habitats. They also used it in synthetic fuels and turned it into carbon nanotubes, dramatically improving Venusian structures’ resistance to accidents and ageing. Almost every Venusian to some degree works as an engineer as the habitats need constant attention to maintain high-level operations and guarantee the safety of the colonists.
Venusian culture is a communitarian-Utilitarian one based on a balance of hard work and doing what is best for the colony and ensuring the proper mental health of each individual. This came out of the colonies beginnings and the harsh living conditions there. Since Venus originally was started as a penal colony, the camaraderie and spirit of mutual support as necessary for survival remains strong. This focus on mental health became pertinent after a rash of colonist suicides in the nation's early years. The difficult living, which included hard labour, cramped conditions, and unbearably long days and years directly contributed to this problem. To help keep track on every citizen, the old prison surveillance system was retrofitted to be a watchful eye. Much unlike the Mirror, there is no data collection and Venusians have moved past the urge to use it to spy on their neighbours. This system was also necessary to fix any error that might occur right away as a simple mistake from one person could put the entire colony at risk.
Each colonist is expected to carry their own weight, including the Royal Family. Venusians do not have one job in particular, each taking turns doing tasks that keep the stations operating. One day they could be a foreman on the crew repairing a solar panel, the next they could be working in the kitchen. Venusian culture tries to do away with concepts like ego and superiority, while still attempting to keep individual identity in tact. On the flip side of this, concepts like monogamy and romantic love are looked down upon. Starting a family and "settling down" is accepted for practical relations and classical familial relations remain, but even the act of raising a child is far more communal and the act of the child's parents only being with each other is considered antiquated.
A older man is about to leave through the airlock as part of the Running while his granddaughter watches on in despair.
When the colony started to succeed, if ever so slightly, beyond its meagre expectations. Colonists began to procreate, but each new child still carries the risk of pushing the colony’s food, water and building resources to the breaking-point. An unspoken tradition in Venus involves "The Age of Competence:" when a younger colonist reaches the age eleven. When this happens, an older colonist will volunteer to leave in a ceremony known as "The Running." However, Venusians have proven ill-suited, physically, mentally, and financially, to thrive anywhere outside of Venus and success rates of "Runners" has proven to be very low. As CO2 extraction has boomed and plans for more infrastructure has been developed, Runnings have become less necessary with the hope that they can be stopped altogether in the near future.
A carbon harvester experiences suit failure and quickly tries to save himself by fixing it.
The main Venusian export is carbon; harvested for the creation of carbon nanotubes and carbon fibre. Carbon harvesting had been practiced since the colony proper had been established, but it was initially done at a minimum scale as developments in CO2-based equipment production could not be done at a large scale. Then the 2078 discovery of the Patel Process changed everything. Suddenly carbon nanotube production was far cheaper and the use of CO2 to produce proved to be the most energy efficient method. A run on CO2 began, but environmental laws and geopolitical agreements meant that trying to take it from Earth’s atmosphere was immensely complicated. The same limitations do not exist on Venus and the colony declared itself open for business. In 2084, Venus is frantically casting about for a partner who can help them mine the CO2 at a mega-industrial scale and help with security from space raiders. Currently, a massive deal between Venus and the Wang Corporation is being worked out and cemented with the planned marriage between the Princess Mirela and Wang Hao, the son of Wang Corporation CEO Wang Qiang. These developments have caused tensions with some Venusians concerned that they are betraying their values and will become subservient to corporate forces.
Hundreds gather outside in the rain to watch the premier of the Royal of Venus on the screens of their city centre.