TheDamnedCityGuideCampaign GuideIntro: It is 1966, according to the Terran calendar, which is still in use for Mars. It is early (in spring), and the newest influx of immigrants and tourists are arriving. Terraformation is coming along smoothly, and it has recently been declared that the atmosphere was now "safe on 80% of [the planet]". Mining is the most common profession, but the Talamh Glas (area covered in green, terraforming lichen) have seen some urbanization, with the few early cities now able to finally grow in the last couple years. Due to the slow spread of civilization, however, some areas of Mars look more like the American Wild West, or even some strange, desert-based fantasy novel. Damton was once a moderately prosperous town, being the air dam for the Valles Marineris and port for many of the land-trains that transported miners and material. However, as terraforming progressed and the dam became less important both strategically and economically, the Lielum have mostly left, leaving the smallfolk that maintained the structure and machines stranded. Usajin, Sikrafin, Dracion, Srabinfin, Pettlishk make up a disproportionate part of the populous here, though with few rights or say, as it is still held under British rule and the few Lielum who have remained and in charge. Languages: The most common language spoken on Mars (after Sinfin), is a pidgin of English, Irish, German, and Russian. Much like English, it also readily steals any word that works from the other races around, and one will find Mimouningan, Falloritsth, and also Sinfin mixed within, among others. This language is generally referred to as "Martian", and mostly follows English grammatical structure. Timekeeping: A Martian day is 24 hours, 39 minutes, and 35 seconds compared to the Terran clock. For everyone's ease, Martian seconds are slightly faster and so one Martian day is 25 hours; thanks to this, Sinfin units are used for any precision work. 7 day weeks have been transplanted due to the majority of early settlers being Lielum. The first day of the week is Ponedelnyk, the second day is Vtornik, followed by Sreda, Chetverg, Pyatnitsa, Samstag, and Sonnstag. The months are based on the zodiac and their position in the sky; the constellation visible at the top of the sky at midnight on the equator, roughly. Each is composed on 4 weeks, totaling 28 days; every sixth month, however, only has 27 days.
Money: As part of the early work on Mars was paid for by America, combined with the fact many Irish and Black Americans chose to emigrate there, the Martian currency is still called the Dollar ($), even though it has since become entirely disconnected from the American dollar. As some form of backing was needed, crystalline antimatter was chosen as the value, and 1$ is the value of the amount of XAM it takes to make a 100km long tunnel in D0 for a ship that measures 12m across, 12m tall, and 48m long safely at Mars's escape velocity (5.027km/s). As XAM scales logarithmically, every time the length of this tunnel is doubled, 10% less fuel is needed; a tunnel from Mars to Earth for a ship this size would require roughly 4,050$ worth of XAM. Population: The population of Mars is primarily Lielum, who compose about 60% of the permanent residents on the planet. Sinfin are next, composing 23% of the population. The remaining ~16% are broken down into Ceresians, Usajin, Niflum, and Sikrafin from most to least, with less than 1% of the population being of other races. With native Martians coming of age, the culture of Mars has become more of its own, with heavy influence from Irish, Black American, German, and Russian immigrants, with a hint of English forming a superficial layer on the top. Sinfin culture also has had a strong impact, most notably in that the bystander effect is nearly absent - if something happens in the street, most people's first instinct is to step in, rathr than watch passively. Communal restaurants are quite common in the more urban areas. Environment: Aside from wind and sandstorms, which are less of a problem in the Talamh Glas, pockets of low oxygen can be a problem, as well as the thin atmosphere in general. In many areas, emergency oxygen masks and canisters are available, but it is not unusual to find someone with their own personal kit for such cases. In general, one can survive without much in the way of special gear, so long as warmth is conserved and supplies are brought. Rumors:
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