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GEEL (ghi-ill)

Galactic Co-ordination System: Vista, ULIILU-2

Geel is a world blanketed by a shifting vaporous ocean, itself punctuated by crystalline landforms. This sea is not naturally survivable, or traversable, to species that evolved on other planets, but technology is widely available to make it so – any species that visits Geel can cross the landscape through sealed pneumatic tubes, or by means of powered aerobarges (which resemble sealed submarine vessels, albeit with gliding surfaces).

As a naturally aeronautical species, the Omdua prioritise the shifting currents of the oceans in their understanding of geography on Geel. To them, the planet does not have a fixed form, but rather a constantly shifting series of networks and systems, made up of structures both physical and social, natural and artificial alike. These systems are known as “Patterns”, of which there are three major forms:

• The Abundance pattern, which creates, converts, and conducts the flow of resources essential for Omdua health and happiness – and in more recent eras, the supply of goods to the rest of the Alliance. Natural structures in this pattern are the nutrient currents in the deep pools and eddies under the surface of Geel, while artificial manifestations include trade networks, eateries and the Omdua merchants and nutritionists who operate within them.
• The Awareness pattern is largely artificial, as it is responsible for collecting and collating information on everything from animal populations to individual spaceborne threats. Structures of this pattern may be found wherever information is gathered – the monitoring stations built atop the “dry” spires that project above the sea’s surface Geel’s landforms are an excellent example, along with the satellites they interface with. Professions belonging to this pattern include Omdua data technicians, journalists, and drone controllers.
• The Autonomy pattern is simultaneously analogous to a political system, a knowledge network, and a collective memory; it is responsible for maintaining useful information between eras, and for helping the Omdua to process who they are and what they want in response to change. Nomadic by design, the basis of this pattern and its “nerve centre” is a flotilla of kite-cities in constant movement across Geel’s surface. It is served by Omdua lecturers, intelligence officers, and artists.

Whilst most structures and locations on Geel are understood as part of the pattern they serve, there are a few exceptions – generally structures built for the use of other species. The most notable of these is Anchor, which consists of a surface-to-orbit elevator and its reception area – a city-sized habitat and diplomatic staging ground – built into the heavier of the planet’s polar landmasses. Anchor is where all of Geel’s formal diplomacy with other worlds and other species takes place, and it is accordingly built to comfortably support all of the species of the Alliance in comfort – though the architecture is still distinctly fluid and organic, a reflection of the Omdua and their home.