Observatory/Meteor Defense

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Eden Observatory

• Common Metals Cost medium
• Rare Metals Cost very low
• Build Time medium
• Tube Connection Required yes
• Power Required 30
• Size med.-small
• Workers Required 1
• Hit Points low
• Scientists Required 3
• Armor light
• Meteor Defense

Eden Meteor Defense

• Common Metals Cost high
• Rare Metals Cost low
• Build Time long
• Tube Connection Required yes
• Power Required 100
• Size med.-small
• Workers Required 2
• Hit Points medium
• Scientists Required none
• Armor light

New Terra's orbit is near a huge asteroid belt, much larger than the one in Earth's solar system. A large gas giant located beyond the belt disturbs the movements of these asteroids, causing occasional collisions and orbital changes that have provided New Terra with a slow, constant rain of meteor impacts throughout its history. The geological record also shows clear signs of multiple asteroid impacts, hardly a comfort for Colonists from a planet whose ecosystem was destroyed by just such an impact.

Description

Still the risk was minimal throughout the colony's early years. But unknown to anyone, an event that had happened years before was about to change that. Two of the larger asteroids with orbits near New Terra had collided, sending out an invisible spray of billions of particles, some as small as grains of sand, some several meters across. Now those particles are being swept into New Terra's gravity well, causing a meteor shower that never ends, and New Terra's thin atmosphere offers almost no protection from the bombardment.

While most of these meteors can be handled by the micrometeor shielding incorporated into all buildings and vehicles, some are large enough to cause major damage to the colony. Unfortunately, these chunks are still too small for early detection, and too large to be easily destroyed. Plymouth's reaction to this was simply to grin and bear it, but Eden's Scientists weren't satisfied to sit and wait. A special Observatory was designed, employing radio and thermal targeting, along with special wide-field, computer-guided, optical telescopes. The Observatory provides minimal advance warning of approaching large meteors, allowing some time for Colonists to get to shelter, for emergency airlocks to be closed, and for other measures to be taken to minimize loss of life.

This offered small comfort to worried Eden Colonists, however, and a method was sought to eliminate the threat of incoming meteors. The Meteor Defense they developed works in conjunction with the Observatory, which provides targeting information. A huge bank of underground volt-sinks stores power for the weapon, a High Energy Ray-Composite (HERC). The HERC system produces pulsed beams of energy in optical and microwave wavelengths, as well as a particle beam. The effect is to rapidly pump energy into the meteor in such a way as to cause it to crumble into harmless dust.

Despite a pilot laser that detects and corrects for atmospheric disturbances and the best efforts of Observatory Scientists, tracking and targeting aren't always exact, and the weapon's long cycle time usually doesn't allow for a second shot. Still, Eden's Scientists reason that any protection is better than none.