Tourist Guide to Manhattan
A Thneed's a Fine-Something-That-All-People-Need! - Dr. Suess, The Lorax
Redweed - It's an invasive seaweed that's red, oily and fibrous. It started spreading after the 1895 Invasion. Some call it the Martian's Gift. It absorbs pollution. It turns water into oxygen and stores the hydrogen so it can be used as a fuel source. Ferment it and it's stronger than grain alcohol. Stuff it into a wound, it'll seal it and disinfect it. The fibers get weaved into cheap fabric. Don’t try eating it raw. Only mutants and ratlings can stomach it straight. They shovel handfuls of it like it was spinach. Some of them even smoke the stuff.
For the survivors on Earth, it's one of the few things they have left.
We know it used to grow on Mars because there's redweed pollen in the soil. If we warmed up the planet it would all bloom.
Every schoolboy's read War of the Worlds. It's an important work of nonfiction, you know. Nobody saw where all that captured alien tech went after 1895, but we knew the governments hoarded it. Maybe a raygun or two surfaced during WWI, but otherwise it stayed top secret. Except for the redweed. We started using that for everything.
And yes, we don't know if they were really from Mars or used it as a waypoint to attack Earth. Thats why we call them Invaders now and not Martians.
That's what the Expeditions are all about. Who knows what we'll find in those canals? Maybe something to repair the Earth, Maybe something to fix the damn FTL engines so we can get outta this solar system and find a shiny new planet to use as an ashtray.
Loqueheed Marten Northup Grummond (LMNG)
The four engineering companies that merged to take on building the Manhattan Project. They're the elephant in the room when you talk business in Mahattan. Yeah they're shady, but as long as they keep the ship runnin' nobody dares to complain. Everybody calls their employees lemmings, but not to their face.
Herrnz
They were the biggest producer of canned foods in the world. I heard they still have a factory running on Earth, so maybe they still are.
MacDougal's
Yeah, we still got burgers. The beef gets shipped all the way from Earth. At least that's what they tell us. Pass the fries?
The Manhattan
The port is thirty miles long and fifteen miles wide, several levels with 'scrapers jutting like spikes all the way through. There's five levels (we call 'em Islands), meaning they're platform stretches all the way across to create mile-wide rivers between the living structures and the bulkhead. Each island also has a Central Park where no vehicles are allowed.
Manhattan level (MTN) - They get the best view of the stars. They get their own level and their own lake for yachting. The Mayor's mansion is up there. You gotta have diamonds on the soles of your shoes to live there, or work for someone who does. It's the top of the dome, and the islands get larger as you make your way down.
Brooklyn level (BKN) - Where most of the people live and work. And by people, I mean Humans.
Queens level (QNS)- Like Brooklyn, but more diverse. Also where most of the night life goes on.
The Bronx level (TBX) - Not a place for tourists. It's pretty desperate down there. Crime waves, riots...seems to always be just short of collapsing like Staten. Their Central Park has turned into a tent city for people who can't pay rent.
Staten Island Level (STI) - We call it the Sty. Don't go there. Seriously. The Municipals had to turn their Central Park into a garbage dump after it flooded with radiation and it all went downhill from there. The lights flicker and the water is iffy on a good day. The subways and airtubes are sealed off, and good luck convincing a cabbie to take you there. But somehow people still live down there. And Things. Lots of Things.
You can VISIT the next higher level, but unless you have a Worker's Pass or are a guest of someone who lives there, you're liable to get stopped by the Municipals sooner or later.
What's that? You wanna go higher? Good luck sneakin' yer way in!
Garuda (GRD)
Above the Manhattan level, this is where the whole ship is controlled.
If you see a guy in a naval uniform flanked by a dozen fully armed
Marines, best give him a wide berth.
Rikers (RKR)
If the cops pick you up you’ll get thrown in here. it’s a Spike through the levels and you’ll probably get locked up on your home level. I hear the Manhattan level has a golf course. Bronx level is a fight for survival every day. The Sty level got shut down after the accident, locking the inmates in…
Carousing
From pages 52-53 in the book. Its only a 1d8 so the higher outcomes aren't possible without a big bonus. At the end of a long haul or a taxing mission, every spacer wants to carouse in their local cantina and celebrate living to see another day. Carousing in DarkSpace works the same way as it does in Shadowdark. See the Carousing section in the Shadowdark RPG for details on how those rules work.
Manhattan's Orbit
If your space station is in a heliocentric orbit (orbiting the Sun) and passes by Venus, Earth, and Mars during its journey, the length of its orbit would depend on its semi-major axis—the average distance from the Sun.
To estimate the orbital period, we can use Kepler’s Third Law, which states:
T^2 = a^3
Where:
• T is the orbital period in Earth years
• a is the semi-major axis in astronomical units (AU)
Let’s break this down:
1. Planetary Orbits (for context):
• Venus: ~0.72 AU �’ ~0.62 years
• Earth: 1 AU �’ 1 year
• Mars: ~1.52 AU �’ ~1.88 years
So your space station’s orbit must lie between Venus and Mars in distance, likely averaging around 1.1 to 1.2 AU (to fly by all three with minor course corrections).
2. Estimate Orbital Period:
If we assume the semi-major axis is around 1.2 AU:
T = \sqrt{1.2^3} = \sqrt{1.728} \approx 1.31 \text{ years}
So, the space station would take about 1.3 Earth years (roughly 16 months) to complete one orbit around the Sun.