I said in my last post that I'd start writing about some of the behind-the-scenes stuff. This time, we're talking about worldbuilding, and how Arx Nubibus is laid out.
First off, Arx is as much a vertical city as a horizontal one. There's a total of 12 levels that carry addresses, plus the Subways and Underwing.
The Underwing is a more or less unused part of Arx, where most of the 'hidden infrastructure' is located. Main sewage treatment, water storage, a power plant, it's all down here. Side story #5, The Keeper, gives a bit more description to the Underwing, and it'll be more important later on in the story, so I'll leave out more details until then. The Underwing is probably two or three stories high.
The next lowest level, which again doesn't have numerical addresses to it, is the Subways. Basically a network of public transit. This district is about three stories high, and has routes running throughout the horizontal size of Arx.
The next lowest level is the Business District, which is five levels. Each level is probably two stories or so. Vertical addresses 8-12 refer to Business District locations. This is where all the stores, public venues, schools, clinics/the hospital, and entertainment attractions are. Basically anything that's not a house or something that would be on the Top.
Above the Business District we have the Residential District, which occupies levels 2-7. Again, each level is about two stories. Everything in here is a house. As such, it's quite a bit quieter compared to the Business District. There's a reason our midnight meet-ups tend to be in the Residential District as opposed to the Business District. The higher up you go, the quieter it tends to get.
Initially I was going to have each level be about one story, but I later decided on two to make the homes feel a bit more like what we have in the modern day.
Level 1 of Arx is the Top. It doesn't have to support a level above it, so it's fairly open up here. People don't tend to spend a ton of time at the Top, though, since it's so far from the Business District and there isn't a ton of stuff here unless you happen to work in one of the buildings up here. Most of the Top is dedicated to food production, with greenhouses and cricket farms being the main sight. There's also recycling plants and any building that doesn't have a glass roof has solar panels atop it. The panels generate a bit of electricity to support the city (though the generator in the Underwing is still the main source of power).
Arx is then split into 13 blocks by 5 blocks. Since 13 has a lot of superstition attached to it, Block 13 is referred to as Block 14. Arx is somewhat ovular, so each block isn't a perfect square, but they are roughly that shape. Block 1 of 14 is at the 'front' of Arx, while Block 14 is at the 'back'. Basically bow and stern if we think of Arx Nubibus as a giant flying boat. Block 1 of 5 would then be port, with Block 5 being starboard.
Addresses are set up with first the vertical block, then the long horizontal block, then the short horizontal block, followed by a specificity number. Each block is roughly a kilometer square, so multiple buildings are often on the same block.
So for example, in Chapter 8 we see the military barking an address as they respond to an emergency call (Phantasma's attack). They only specify the block, considering it to be close enough. Based on the crowd, they have no problem finding the actual place.
The address is 9-9-3. This means that the theater is located on the second highest block of the business district (ninth from the Top), 9 blocks from the front and 3 blocks from the left side of the ship.
Specificity numbers are given to buildings. They're two digits to allow for more than 10 buildings in one block (mostly relevant in the Residential District, but sometimes important in the Business District as well). They're assigned from 01 starting at the front left portion of the block (front being the nose of Arx) and moving clockwise around.
Next post will be a character commentary on Achilles. If you have a future topic you'd like me to cover, message me on Twitter or Patreon!