Olympus
Located on the North-west side of Olympus Mons
Olympus, the single largest city in the entire Sol System and capital of the Martian Confederacy, is the heart of innovation and production on Mars. This modern metropolis sprawls over 4,000 square kilometers around the base of the largest mountain in the Sol System for which it takes its name, Olympus Mons. Although the city seems gigantic from the SSTO landing pads on the surface or viewed from the many of the half-kilometer skyscrapers, the majority of Olympus and its citizens is underground. This allows for large sections of the city to be pressurized and oxygenated, therefore enabling the inhabitants to exit buildings without wearing any bulky pressure suits.
Olympus is kept under strict order by the Martian Confederacy, limiting the presence of off-world criminal organizations, such as the Skulk, and dissuading many Venusian and Terran corporations from conducting business within Olympus. Even the noticeable ProxGen Inc. is absent from the large industrial areas of the city. While this has most likely damaged the Martian Confederacy's total economic capability, the lack of competition from the off-world market has allowed many Martian companies to flourish.
Olympus was also the last of the great Martian cities to fall during the final days of the Invasion of Mars by the UNSF. Numerous parts of the city had been struck by orbital weapons and the UNSF marines, although skilled in precision attacks, had to damage many civilian sections in an attempt to force the MC to surrender. Most of the areas damaged by the war have since been repaired, but their are still places where a observate eye can identify flaws within the otherwise pristine city.
History
Olympus was first established as an American permanent research base on Mars. It was constructed on the landing site for the Ares II mission, the first manned mission to the Mars. Over the last 200 years, Olympus has grown exponentially as it is both the capital of the Martian Confederacy and the center of industry on the Red Planet. Gaining recognition as a city with only 2,000 citizens back in 2074, an astounding 489.523 million people now call this crowded city-state home.
Architecture
The buildings that make up Olympus can be commonly categorized, although with a few exceptions, into one of three style:
- Exploration Era- These buildings are easily identifiable by their windowless domes, that were constructed between 2055-2140. Most of the vital systems of these structures are found underground, along with most of the habitable areas. They are remarkably sturdy and very radiation resistant, although they do not have many windows and space is a premium within these older buildings. As of such, many of these building are now inhabited by the impoverished citizens of Olympus.
- Extraction Era- These buildings make up the major of the architecture of Martian cities as they were constructed during the mining booms between 2140 and 2175. They are usually quite large and, thanks to the improvement of radiation shielding technology, have many windows to capture the stark beauty of the martian landscapes. Extraction Era buildings were the first structures that allowed for human life on the surface of Mars without living under meters worth of regolith and ice.
- Modern Era- Constructed from 2175 and the present, the Modern Era buildings include the massive skyscrapers that now dot the once barren horzion, the attempted arcologies that make up much of Olympus's center, and the pressurized underground environments home to millions. These marvels of human engineering have shown the entire Sol System that Mars, even though considered defeated in the Space War, is still able to compete with the ingenuity of Terra.
Below is an image of one of the newer sections of Olympus.
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