Ultra cities, or “dystopias” as they are often called, are the staple of any civilized world. At least one space elevator lies within one of these monoliths, and it is often the first piece of infrastructure laid down. Everything else is built up around those towering structures that give the city its lifeblood from above. Naturally, skyscrapers, churches, industrial sectors and habitation buildings spring up to fuel the growth of the burgeoning center. But eventually the growth of the population will exceed that of the city itself. And those in charge of the city’s development will want to keep the aesthetic of the city, so as to entice further patronage from local corporations and possible megacorps as well. Ultra cities can also not expand infinitely outwards, as due to their space elevators, they are prime targets for planetary invasions. Great walls and defensive fortifications must be erected around the city’s edge. And while the city could go further up, humanity found long ago that it is much easier to simply go down.
Even before a city gets halfway to capacity, great earth movers will be excavating great tunnels beneath the surface. These tunnels will eventually become whole layers, or circles as they are called, tall enough that one could comfortably fly a rotary vehicle inside. How many total circles is dependent on the size of the city above. The Ostrus Capital of Sechal has twenty-five layers, with the total distance down being dozens of kilometers. With this system, potential billions could be squeezed into a single city.
Each level acts as a bulwark against those of a lower circle. The reason for this becomes obvious later. The closer one is to the surface the higher the status, with better access to amenities, electricity, food, and water. This is why these cities are often named dystopias. Each circle further below is another layer of the hellish realm of Utopia where all of the Chained Gods reside. However, only the largest cities get the title of “utopia” most others only get the lesser title of dystopia.
An entrepreneurial spirit could come to an ultra city, and often find themselves dragged down miles below the surface.There they will perform menial tasks and live off scraps till the day they die. Those born underground might never even see the star of their system once. Only by joining a lyshan crystal mining expeditionary force or the government military provides one of the few ways out from the hellish lower levels.
Tens of thousands might be subject to privation and death if a water pump bursts or a century-old generator finally gives out. Those at the very bottom also cannot bribe or steal from the trains that deliver food and other necessities down to the bottom. A circle might unknowingly be close to a lyshan crystal deposit and be set upon by hexes. The mutations from the crystals might also be subtle enough that an entire subspecies of human might emerge in the lower levels. Naturally, crime becomes an issue in the lower levels.
Entire gang wars can erupt overnight. The causes are numerous, from one faction simply seeking to add more territory, or privation necessitating taking from others. The Carmine or foreign nations often inflame these tensions significantly. The Carmine are especially guilty of the majority of the chaos in the lower levels. Often the Chained worshipping Carmine will gain a foothold through arms smuggling, narcotics, or human trafficking. Through that they will try and gain additional worshippers to the Chained Gods. The ultimate goal being summoning enough demons and gaining enough worshippers for a full-scale uprising. Many ultra cities have fallen to these insidious efforts. For the leaders of a dystopia, it is a manner of containing Carmine influence, not eliminating it completely.
Patrolling the lower levels with demon hunters of the Prime Gods, such as the Templars, Iron Brotherhood, or Forge Sisters, becomes a necessity. Anything less risks ultimate corruption. However, agents of Ashua or Ostrus might still try to flood the lower levels with high grade weapons to destabilize a city, either to just hurt the opposite nation, or weaken the city in preparation for an invasion. Mag-weapons are exceptionally rare in a dystopia. They remain one of the few places one can find gunpowder weapons still in common use. Dystopias remain Powderkeg Protection’s best customers.
Due to the inherent chaos of the lower circles, leaders of a dystopia and commercial executives will install underlords to rule underground. The underlords keep chaos to a manageable degree and make sure goods are still produced, and in exchange the underlords get showered in wealth from the surface. Such a position is incredibly deadly, as there is always another willing to take their place, and if the underlord does not perform well, then they will be quickly replaced.
Great tunnels will often connect the lower levels of dystopias to each other. This allows for sharing of resources or for enterprising underlords to expand into new territory. During planetary invasions, these tunnels become prime targets, often leading to brutal campaigns of subterranean warfare while a siege goes on up above.
Yet, despite all these downsides, ultra cities are prized possessions. Their sheer output can rival that of a planet. And the millions if not billions of human souls within provide an excellent recruiting pool for lyshan crystal mining or wars between the superpowers.