"Peter F. Hamilton - A Night's Dawn Companion - The Confederation Handbook" - читать интересную книгу автора (Hamilton Peter F)

Voidhawk crews are traditionally chosen from SaturnтАЩs indigenous population,
though not exclusively.
 The Atlantis Islands
The only actual planet colonized by Edenists is Atlantis, which is completely
oceanic, there being no land mass at all. The inhabitants live on floating bitek islands
of polyp, 2km in diameter, typically supporting three major accommodation towers,
various civic buildings, and a central park. Six hundred and fifty such islands have
been grown so far, each capable of supporting a population of 6,000, and they are a
derivative of the original orbital habitat technology. They do not have food-synthesis
glands other than for purifying water, but given the abundance of food in the
surrounding ocean such a system would be completely irrelevant. They are not
equipped with any form of propulsion, and simply drift where the current takes them.
However, if one island were to be caught in the polar region for too long, the
inhabitants would use tugs to tow it out into a current which would take it back into a
warmer climate.

Energy is provided from a combination of systems. One is photosynthesis, where
every external surface is covered in a layer of photosynthetic cells, helping to supply
the essential organs with nutrients, although this is very much a secondary system.
Another is organic thermal-exchange cables, which dangle below the island as it drifts
along, exploiting the temperature difference between the surface and bottom of the
ocean to generate an electric current; this energy is mainly used by the mechanical
and electronic systems in the accommodation towers. The main supply of chemicals
for the organs to synthesize comes via large external gills that ingest plankton. These
provide enough raw material to sustain the islandтАЩs polyp structure, and maintain its
growth.


Economy
The small amount of industry on these islands is almost solely concerned with
shipbuilding. There is a respectable tourist trade, split fifty-fifty between Adamists
and Edenists, both of whom seem to find the prospect of a planetary ocean
exceptionally challenging. Many come to view the whales, which were introduced
into the ocean in 2420. Several luxury cruise ships sail a random course between the
floating islands, and many keen sailors hire yachts to circumnavigate the globe.

However, the original reason for establishing the islands is the fishing industry;
Atlantis fish and seaweed are delicacies recognized throughout the Confederation,
and the planet has eight orbiting stations to cope with visiting trader starships. Each
island has several family fishing fleets, and runs surface-to-orbit cargo flyers. After
250 years, it is estimated that only 25 percent of the indigenous aquatic species has
been categorized.

Three
Starships and Weapons
The starships fall into three distinct categories: voidhawks, blackhawks and Adamist
starships.


Voidhawks