Part 1 | Part 2

Construction

With final approval granted, construction equipment moved in; both the Emera family's formidable assets, which included every construction Leviship in Aludra, and two entire combat engineering battalions from the Aludran Army. Work began with blasting operations to create the artificial cavern that would extend under the central park, with a pair of giant tracked power shovels soon creating a crater four hundred feet deep and a mile across. Since the "table" structure of eight pump towers and an upper deck supporting central park was entirely below ground it would not count as part of the six month "spreadline," and so construction began immediately. Lei and Hana said this was how construction had proceeded at Rasoon, where the pump tower and fountain canopy were completed first and routinely activated to test water flow through the city and ensure there was no erosion of the foundations.

As the lower city took shape, the two young architects were able to venture outside the spray-screened trailer they had previously been confined to on the site, soon helping to direct the construction of the undercity proper. A filter plant was constructed to direct water from the river into a temporary holding lake, and six months after breaking ground a line of generators sputtered into life and water flowed through the skeletal buildings of the undercity for the first time.

One unexpected challenge during the development of the undercity was Lady Lucille, a Hawkeater Moth with four daughters who flew across the Vamar just after the "table" was completed and refused to leave. Since by this point the Hawkeater was regarded as a "non-citizen sentient" species by the Aludran government* the undercity plan required a slight reworking to accommodate her presence. Lei and Hana initially found the 25-foot predatory moth terrifying and appealed for her to be housed somewhere else, but over the course of a few weeks grew used to her and rescinded their requests, hoping that other Mirrai would have similar reactions.

While Lucille and her daughters watched in bemusement, the lower city's tiered walkways and water tunnels were constructed; as with all Mirrai cities, Lower Aqua City was to be partially flooded so that families had swimming spaces in their homes and pools to relax in.

Less troubling than Lucille's presence was the population of freshwater trilobites that established itself in the undercity during construction, in spite of estimates that the species would not like the levels of algae in the water. This led to some amusing negotiations since, for reasons that baffle sociologists, Alun are adamant that trilobites are inedible and should be treated kindly, while Mirrai would normally not have any problem with eating swimming bugs. Introducing representative Kawai to a few of them won her over, however, and an explanation that the friendly creatures were not food was added to the Mirrai citizen orientation.

Landscaping began on the park itself; Farah sen Ahan of the Alurna Botanical Gardens, who had agreed to supervise all aspects of the project involving plants**, had suggested completing the park immediately to ensure any problems would manifest themselves during the rest of the construction process. The last thing the Empress wanted was for the central park to be dying off or an unmanageable mess, and this would allow time for problems to be caught and corrected.

With their work on the central park deck completed, House Emera began to ship in their remaining construction equipment to level the rest of the site; piling works began as soon as the first pump tower tests were positive, with representatives of the Kais and Ruhm families personally supervising work on concrete and steel batches destined for the project. Now the noble families were on board, none would be willing to show anything but their best work to their rivals and the world.

The Aludran hatred of needless suffering meant every effort was taken to empty the site of animals and insects during the terrain levelling process, with staff from the Imperial College of Natural Sciences helping to set up holding areas at the edge of the construction zone. All suitable species would be reintroduced, with the remainder being relocated to suitable habitats.

The year after the first groundbreaking all foundation work was completed and construction had commenced on the first structures. Since most Aludran cities of antiquity were recorded as starting around pagan holy sites, it was decided to build the temples and their associated facilities before any other structures. The first of these was the temple requested by the Chiran government, a late addition to the city plan and designed by noted Chiran architects as a fusion of traditional forms and Aludran sensibilities. The city would feature three main temples, one for each of the main figures of Svedzi worship, and four hundred smaller chapels and shrines.

At the same time as the temples, a series of temporary structures took shape: a railway container terminal and marshalling yard, fuel storage depot, and a series of concrete plants and workshops.

At this point the project was still a mess of deep holes and trenches, which would one day be underground car parks, subway stations and tunnels, or had been dug out for pipe and cable laying. Starting anew, there was no need to drill out the tunnels for the subway system and so a pair of 2,000-ton trench excavators designed specifically for the task had dug them out from the surface. At the completion of the temples only the sections of the subway network that passed under building foundations had been installed.

The next step completed the underground parking structures and subway stations, since it was intended that they would be temporary homes for the project's workers and their families. The majority of workers thus accommodated had been offered homes in the completed city, as it was felt that people working on structures they would ultimately live in and around would do their best work. Central Station was for much of the project called "Central Manor" due to the formation of a particularly large and stable Household among the occupants.

Along with these were a series of underground structures that the Aludrans did not want to see on the surface, including the entire power grid and a series of underground water treatment and purification plants built to Mirrai specifications. Electrical substations were built within a series of honeycomb-like cells designed to prevent damage in the case of an explosion. The one thing not placed underground were telephone exchanges, since Aludra uses fixed lines or operator switchboards rather than automated direct dialling systems. Aludran nobility regarded the latter as impersonal and therefore Improper.

Since the Empress thought that the Monarch Towers would look ridiculous standing over a half-built city, the entire rest of the city would be built before the skyscrapers were raised. While the Emera family were not particularly happy with this arrangement since they had assumed they would be able to build temporary roads for heavy vehicles, they were soon given access to the four largest transport Leviships from the Air Navy Support Fleet, and moved as much equipment into the city as possible prior to the beginning of building construction. Several right-wing Etrusean newspapers took this as a sign of mismanagement and mocked the "crane graveyards" that formed within the site.

Sub-level construction proceeded briskly, with all subway tunnels completed and all but four filled over within nine months and cable and pipe laying concluding a month later. The four remaining tunnel segments were another improvisation by the Emera: the lines passed close to major construction areas, and were to be used to move equipment and materials. The Emera family bought in surplus locomotives and rolling stock from the Alurna and Reidan underground rail systems, since engines for the Aqua City Underground had not been built yet.

This involved turning the adjacent parks into goods yards, a decision that upset Farah sen Ahan. She had hoped to get all of the parks planted at the earliest opportunity so that her staff could tend to them just as with the central park, and Emera guarantees that massive movements of heavy machinery over the freshly laid soil would not result in contamination did not convince her. After a series of impatient meetings with senior members of the Emera family, she was still not happy.

Giselle sen Kais felt that Farah, rather than simply being obstinate, was frustrated: not being technologically minded, she did not really understand what the Emera were trying to tell her. Giselle sent her younger sister Gina to discuss matters with her. While still a representative of Aludra's largest concrete manufacturer, Gina was a carefree young woman who loved nature, and Farah knew she would be able to speak freely with her older sister about any concerns.

With Farah finally happy that her dreams for the four parks would not be drowned in grease and oil, she resumed supervising work on the difficult vertical gardens, the first of which was just taking shape.

The tiers and levels of the city were laid out as the smaller buildings took shape around them, stone paving, ornate wrought iron railings and decorations soon making the bare structures look suitably Aludran. A brief skirmish with Basram on the Southeast border did not affect the construction schedule, and all seemed to be going well for the incredibly ambitious 28-month goal.

At this point, however, one of the Chiran engineers spotted a problem on her plan, and went to her superiors: the lightning conductors on many buildings in the city passed much too close to metal climbing handholds. Architects trained primarily in aesthetics rather than structural engineering had added the handholds, and the plans they had been given to work with did not even include the conductor wire locations. While Chirans would tend to climb the inside of a building during a storm, the layout was unacceptably dangerous, and construction paused while existing plans were quickly reworked and equipment returned to buildings thought to have been completed. The result was a substantial delay given the sheer number of completed structures.

In the end it was just over three years after the consecrating of the temples when groundsheets with the Emera coat of arms on them began to be removed from the largest cranes around the three hundred and eleven remaining bare foundations. The schedule now demanded following the delay would require swiftness and military precision, and the two combat engineer battalions returned to the site to assist in coordinating construction.

Farah sen Ahan was delighted to discover all efforts would be made to clear out the temporary yards by building from the middle of the city outwards; due to the "spreadline" this would leave at most twelve months to establish the four parks, but Farah had spent three years considering the matter and was certain she could manage. She was encouraged by Gina sen Kais, by this point her beloved wife; the ceremony had been conducted in Aqua City's Grand Temple.

All of the city's temples had been in full operation for over two years serving the workforce, and over that period had conducted five hundred weddings and eighteen funerals, four due to accidents and the remainder from natural causes. Even the Chiran temple was in use for the surveyors, testing crews and advisors supervising Chiran accessibility. To the delight of the Chiran ambassador when she visited, Aludran citizens were also attending services and prayers there.

Estelle sen Emera herself arrived as the first girders were laid. With the hopes and dreams of Aludra resting on her shoulders, the formidable head of the most powerful family in Aludra short of the Alud themselves was in her element. Her presence around the site was such that in interviews, workers half-seriously questioned if there was only one of her.

As the first four towers rose, others joined them, the construction starting to shift ahead of schedule. Estelle had decided to leave the Monarch Towers until last despite their central location and that if any project would generate unexpected difficulties it would be that one, but her sheer confidence in her workforce's abilities buoyed up morale at the site. Estelle was fond of reminding them that while others are able to make all possible things, a Lady is able to make all things possible.

The schedule quickly moved to continuous shifts; Alun, being descended from nocturnal ancestors, have few problems adapting to working at night. Three rotating shift sets were set up so that they could still enjoy a mid-shift nap without there ever being a time when work had completely paused.

Almost ten thousand additional workers joined the final construction. Many of them were qualified volunteers paid by their Households, either out of either pure patriotism or desire to win the Empress' favour, rather than as part of the project's budget. The site became a hive of activity as the towers rose together, even the most skeptical coming to accept that the plan would almost certainly succeed.

Though unexpected delays cut into the initial lead, Estelle sen Emera proudly watched as the spires of the Monarch Towers were lowered into position, twenty-six hours ahead of the six-month goal. With three hundred and eleven buildings topped out, a small army of electricians, glaziers, plumbers, decorators, upholsterers and carpenters descended on the site while Leviships made constant runs to ferry construction vehicles too large to move by themselves out of the city***.

The final step was the construction and testing of the city's above-ground water systems, from relatively simple reflecting pools to canals, complex fountains and most difficult of all the system of pumps, lakes and aqueducts that would create Lei and Hana's distinctive waterfalls. Along with this was the dismantling of the temporary irrigation systems that had supported the gardens that would now be nourished by the water system. This work was not without setbacks including several leaks which were difficult to track down, but six months after the skyscrapers topped out, the main reservoirs were fully flooded for the first time. As Lei and Hana watched, Hana's bioluminescent sides glowing faint blue from nervousness, their vision finally became reality. Aqua City was complete.

Occupation

It was agreed that the Mirrai settlers would be moved in first to ensure they were comfortable; any large works project on the undercity would be disruptive to those moving into the buildings above. Happily, the arrival and orientation was without any major incident and soon eight thousand Mirrai families were settled and learning the layout of their new home.

Representative Kawai was delighted to discover she had been assigned an embassy in the undercity, having spent the entire project living in the Imperial Palace's sauna and baths, and even happier when she learned the Empress had demanded she be made ambassador. Four servants who had been appointed as her personal staff during the project were allowed to join her, and two later married her.

The next group were the occupants of Old Aqua City and the five thousand Chiran families. The former's worries that the government in Alurna would not make good on their promises were finally laid to rest as military convoys delivered them from the old airfield to their new home. The final stage of the project, the demolition and redevelopment of the old airport, began before the last buses had even left.

The new citizens were amazed at the sight that greeted them. The dirty, narrow and dangerous old city had been replaced with shimmering towers of pristine masonry and beautiful parks and flower gardens already filled with songbirds and chirping moths. Now truly living up to its name, the city was filled with flowing water, from ornamental streams with fish and trilobites to the great waterfalls, some of them hundreds of feet high.

The Imperial family themselves had commissioned three thousand sculptures and statues**** for public spaces, and much to the surprise of the Old Aqua City residents, several of the old murals on abandoned buildings had been precisely replicated at approximately the same locations. Carnival Square, a cheerful place known for community-organised fairs and markets in the old city, was almost exactly restored at its original location, and the Delfi families who make it the lively place it was were housed nearby.

The Empress had granted official noble titles to the heads of family groups moving into particular buildings, and the first few days included a series of meetings in the central park so the new nobility could get to know one another. Among them were former gang leaders and higher-ups, granted full pardons by the Empress along with promises of jobs for their subordinates if they would assist in enforcing the law in the new city. Much as crime did not go away, particularly not smuggling through the new docklands, many were grateful for the end of open hostilities and petty turf wars.

Six months after the official inauguration of Aqua City as a district of the greater Alurna metropolitan area, a public holiday was declared, a day of festivities to celebrate the appointment of Aqua City's first official Representative at the Imperial Court. While Aludra's relationship with Chira had deteriorated greatly over the preceding year and trouble was brewing on the eastern border, for that one day all was right in the world. In the evening, as families who had come from across the world watched fireworks light up the sky alongside thousands of Mirrai looking up from the gleaming waters of Lake Harmony, they knew that they were home.

*While in Etrusea the identification of Hawkeaters as sentient required a long series of intelligence tests, in Aludra it was entirely due to a Hawkeater called Lady Roselle, who lived on the roof of the First Temple. One day she had entered the Temple during a service, walked the length of the building as the congregation silently watched, and bowed to the statue of Hira. Since "recognising the image of their creator" is one of the Aludran criteria for a species to immediately be considered sentient, all Hawkeaters in Aludra are treated as having rights comparable to any other sentient species, with qualifiers since they cannot work or pay taxes.
**The Ahan family have for centuries been among Aludra's most sought-after landscapers and were responsible for some of the most beautiful mansion grounds in Aludra. Farah had initially been very enthusiastic about participation in the project, but tended to be a little short with the representatives of Kais, Ruhm and Emera since she worried that they did not take her work seriously.
***The availability of Leviships meant that Aludra had little interest in Chiran ideas of containerised construction equipment. For example, even discounting crane Leviships that simply have winches mounted directly to them, a large Isra-Class transport Leviship can move a 3,200-ton capacity ring crane in two loads (or three without dismantling the main boom), while the Chiran equivalent splits down to 135 container loads. The gigantic Aludran railway loading gauge also means a lot of medium-sized construction vehicles are only barely dismantled for shipment.
****Per tradition, not a single one was of the Empress or any previous Empress, such statues only standing within the Halls of Counsel (usually called the Aludran Parliament in Etrusea) and the Imperial Palace. Putting them elsewhere has historically been regarded as Improper, immodest and unnecessary; the country and species already call themselves after the Alud.