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Valdern Megastructure
Technology > Application > Megascale Engineering
Galactography > Regions of Space > Middle Regions/Hinter-regions
Galactography > Other Major Polities, Empires, and Meta-Empires > Orion Federation
Galactography > Systems and Worlds > Systems & Worlds U - V
Galactography > Regions of Space > Middle Regions/Hinter-regions
Galactography > Other Major Polities, Empires, and Meta-Empires > Orion Federation
Galactography > Systems and Worlds > Systems & Worlds U - V
A cluster of McKendree Cylinders with associated virtual environments | |
 Image from Steve Bowers | |
| Valdern incorporates four linked McKendree cylinders, with an area equivalent to 1/3 Earth's surface; it also includes virtual environments of comparable scale, and wide photovoltaic arrays and radiator systems. It always faces the local star, thanks to mechanical linkages between the rotating cylinders | |
Data Panel | |
| Star | Erythail. YTS 880-100-167 |
|---|---|
| Type | K5v |
| Luminosity | 0.11 x Sol |
| Constellation | Monoceros |
| RA | 06. 04. 33 |
| Declination | -04 07 10 |
| Distance from Sol | 1210 ly |
| Reached | 4879 AT |
| Significant Megastructure | Valdern, 4 connected McKendree Cylinders |
| Dimensions | radius 750km, length 9000km; total surface area (including all four cylinders) 170 million kilometres (one third of the surface area of Earth) |
| Centrifugal acceleration | 0.8 gees (0.8x Earth's gravity) |
| Popular religions | Multiversalism, Ipsemism, veneration of Enremdeaorion |
At first two cylinders were constructed, each with an Earth-like biosphere inside, although the majority of the population lived in a virtual environment supported within the thick walls of the cylinders. (Two more cylinders were added later). This processing substrate layer is mostly computronium thirty kilometres thick, surrounded by an outer later of radiation shielding; also included are spacious real-life apartments for visitors and the small fraction of the population of Valdern who prefer to remain in physical bodies on a permanent basis. For the benefit of such embodied modosophonts there are sophisticated virtual reality rigs, allowing them to visit the main Valdern virtual conurbations using avatars.
In effect, each cylinder supports a Double World virch, in which the virtual environment is nominally a replica of the real life environment, but the virtual replica is a much more complex and densely inhabited version; a simulated ultratech urban environment where most of the population live, and almost all of the cultural interaction takes place. On the other hand, the real-life environment in these cylinders is a wilderness environment, which is visited by the population and by tourists in real-life bodies (either their own current forms or robotic temporary bodies).
 Image from Steve Bowers | |
| The interior of Valdern Aliv, a largely forested environment incorporating many different biomes mostly derived from Old Earth species. All four cylinders are illuminated by sunclouds. | |
In Bez, on the other hand, the possibilities of virtual existence are explored in more depth — as well as humanoid and basic provolve morphs, they like to adopt exotic bodyplans and physical forms that are difficult to instantiate in real environments. They like to visit the real-life environment of Valdern Bez in physical forms such as birds, sea monsters and giant arthropods, as well as replica xenosophont bodies. The virtual cities of Bez are kaleidoscopes of architectural forms and illuminated spaces, yet still retain a one-to-one equivalence with the landscapes within the real cylinder.
In 7888 two more cylinders were added, to accommodate even more exotic possibilities. Valdern Taw holds a virtual environment which is largely abstract and rapidly changing, while the politics of the citizens there are equally exotic — they often link together in temporary tribeminds, or isolate themselves individually in endless solipsistic illusions — but they still like to visit the rocky islands and sandy beaches of the largely maritime interior of this cylinder. The decisions in this cylinder are often made using stochocratic principles, using lotteries or games of chance to distribute power or to make decisions. Sometimes this has interesting, even chaotic results.
And Valdern Jimal acts as a cosmopolitan meeting point for all three of the other cultures within this megastructure — the gentle rolling hills and fertile plains of this cylinder include a large number of temporary structures which can be erected and disassembled in a very short time, allowing interaction on a formal, semi-formal basis or as festival venues.
Dividual citizens
A significant number of the citizens of Valdern exist in more than one cylinder simultaneously; many maintain a presence in Alif, Bez or Taw while simultaneously existing in the cosmopolitan Jamil virtual environment, or in the real-life cylinder of that name. Others exist merely in Alif and Bez, or Bez and Taw, and so on; some exist in all four environments simultaneously, or in all eight real and virtual environments at the same time. Since these citizens were originally the same individual but have since diverged, they can be regarded as dividuals. In order to coordinate their personal point-of-view experiences in these disparate environments, some dividuals form a small group mind limited to the various versions of themselves, (effectively becoming a copygroup); others live as independent entities most of the time, but periodically merge or synchronise consciousnesses in order to experience each other's memories and life-choices. Some of these linked dividuals maintain that living in so many closely-linked environments is redolent of existing in a multiverse, where many possible choices can be made to affect the various futures of their own timeline; other dividuals disagree, and are content to live independent lives in each environment, occasionally comparing notes and memories with one another.On the other hand, the majority of citizens maintain a relatively simple, single point of view, or (in some cases) merge with various friends and acquaintances whenever they wish to do so.
Current Era
The Orion Federation is a fairly loose collaboration of many different polities, and Valdern is a typical example; it is said that the various transapients and archai often visit this megastructure in avatar form, just to keep an eye (or several) on things. Even Enremdeaorion emself is believed to visit occasionally.Related Articles
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Development Notes
Text by Steve Bowers
Initially published on 28 November 2025.
Initially published on 28 November 2025.
