Bridges
From PatchworkWiki
The first footstep into this patch invariably falls with a low resonant clank upon a wrought iron bridge. The bridge leads on through torrential rain, that seems to always fall at the boundary, to an island dimly seen through the haze. When the viewer moves closer the island appears to be either floating in space, or supported by a dozen or more similar iron bridges. However these bridges connect to three other islands equally unsupported, while more still lead off into the haze out of sight.
The lowest island holds agricultural buildings and farmland. The middle two are covered by densely built towns, while the highest island floats above, the underside only is visible. Below all this tiny waves can be seen moving across a blue sea.
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Geography
Low Island
The island is flat and clearly cultivated, with a walled settlement in the centre and indistinct signs of activity outside. To either side of the island, two more bridges can be seen, also rising upwards to other land masses.
The first bridge
New arrivals from the patchwork inevitably arrive at the same bridge, on a flat metal mesh surface with iron railings. The bridge stretches ahead for some distance, rising very slightly as it continues towards Low Island, with an iron gatehouse at the end of the bridge.
The gatehouse is built partially of stone, largely obscured by a reinforcing framework of dark iron girders that dominate the structure. The gate is heavy iron, and firmly sealed. The entire structure is perfectly constructed, immaculately maintained, and shows little if any signs of use. There are a number of wide, partially covered slots in the construction that resemble windows.
The gatehouse guards wear a plain black and grey uniform marked with a badge, and carry revolvers on their belts. The gatehouse is under the administrative control of Supervisor Crandall. Staff also include assessment officer Faber.
The monorail
There is a railway platform just beyond the first bridge on Low Island. It has a roof, supported by the gatehouse on the one side and a row of sturdy pillars on the other, opening onto a large paved enclosure. The monorail system itself consists of two single rails running in parallel, to carry one train on each rail travelling in opposite directions.
Trains are blocky metallic structures with two cars, one with windows for passengers and the second with a single large door for loading freight.
The road inland
Past the monorail platform and a garage of trucks a flat smooth road leads inland. It runs past farms and fields and most traffic is agricultural.
Low island terminus
Assistant Director Spalding is nominally in charge of Low Island Terminus.
It is a huge construction of stone and iron, looming several stories high and overhanging the edge of the island. Emerging from it is the second bridge, much larger than the first and soaring upwards diagonally at around forty-five degrees, with the distinct suggestion of a great multitude of shapes moving along it: The main building appears to be built around the anchoring point and whatever structures it comprised.
The monorail from the first bridge terminates in an open hall very like any other railway terminal but very large indeed, and full of people going about innumerable tasks. The station hall is arranged in a large cross shape a little like a cathedral, with the monorail connection to the first bridge in the south section, four more substantial rail lines leading to the second bridge in the much larger western section, a loading area for other vehicles to the east and a row of desks or kiosks to the north.
The railway line at the western side lies beyond a low metal fence-like partition, with a small crowd of people slowly filtering between a group of turnstiles to board it. Each turnstile is manned by a guard who examined something presented to him by each passing passenger. The four passenger lines run above another set of tracks, which carry shipping containers from a second loading platform a few stories below.
Middle island
From above Middle Island looks almost like a huge machine, a great mass of iron skyscrapers and ponderously moving machinery with just a few pinnacles and towers poking out of a thick blanket of smog that obscurs it. The city extends right up to the edge of the island, some buildings even overhanging the deep drop to the sea below.
There are certain structures of unusual design between the towers: great wheel shapes, constantly in motion, spinning so fast their wheels were a blur. These elemental rings are powered by elementals and connected to processes throughout Middle Island; driving turbines and gears, powering mechanised equipment across the iron city.
The bridge to Middle island
A tangled web of train lines - and other transport systems. Above the bridge are metal poles supporting a monorail. On the left hand side is a series of canal locks, rising in steps to somewhere ahead and above of them. To the right are train lines bearing iron bullet-shaped trains.
All around is the noise of movement and half-glimpsed images whizzing past as the vehicles and roadways climb a gently curving arch of a massive bridge. Multiple rail lines, the stepped canal, and two monorail lines climb together up the gleaming metal arc of the bridge with the blue drop of the sky glimpsed on either side behind the endlessly moving carriages.
Middle island metropolis
Middle Island is obviously mechanised in a way that Low Island is not. Tall iron buildings soar upwards, forming an impressive skyline against the blue distance. In between the iron skyscrapers are lines and loops of rails - along which monorail cars hurtled at impressive speeds.
The air smells of iron filings and smoke and the streets seethe with people and machines. Some of the machines are used for transport, others have brushes and hoses and clean the streets as they travel along them.
Middle Island rings with noise: clangings and whistles and the overlapping voices of people. Everyone seems to be busy and everything seems on the move. Even the skyscrapers seem to be in motion with elevators zipping up and down their streamlined sides.
High island
High Island is very different from the previous two. It is as green as Low Island but instead of straight divisions between farms, the green comes from scatterings of trees up and down the roads and irregular green spaces of parks.
Like Middle Island it has a great many buildings but instead of the iron skyscrapers, these are elegant sprawling residences constructed on no more than two or three floors, each surrounded by an outer wall and a ring of park land. In fact each building on High Island appears to be a small estate or complex.
On the edge is a low wall studded with spurs and juts of viewing platforms, trees and benches. It looks like a pleasant place to walk or sit, taking advantage of the fine view. However, it is usually almost deserted.
Justice promontory
Close to one edge of High Island, there is an open square. Along one side of the square is a simple iron fence, and in the fence is a simple iron gate. Justice Promontory isa wide expanse of clear paving a few hundred yards long, and beyond that is the final span.
The final span
Extending from Justice promontory is a simple bridge of smooth black material barely ten feet wide. The surface gleams as if recently polished. Just a couple of feet of thickness appears to be enough for the structure to support itself, assuming that normal principles of engineering applies to it.
Justice Island
Justice Paine's Fortress hangs in the air. It is blocky and rather angular, more like a black cube suspended in space than a tall tower or a spacious palace, and has no landmass to support it at all. It simply floats impossibly above the great ocean.
From the slim tether of the final span, the approach widens into a platform on the other side of which are double doors leading into the Justice chamber.
Government
It could be argued that the highest authority in Bridges is Justice Paine, although his interests are somewhat narrow. Otherwise, there is only the Council, whose official remit is equally narrow and which has no actual control or power over any of its members. If any organisation or group existed which possessed sufficient power to exert any sort of control over another, that group would itself be an equal member of the Council.
The Council
In theory, a new member can be appointed by the unanimous consent of the existing members. In practice, however, the only effective requirement for membership is the ability to convince enough of the correct people that you are, or should be, a member. If someone is sufficiently well-informed to be able to find the meeting, sufficiently powerful to reach the chamber and sufficiently influential not to be immediately thrown out again, then that person is self-evidently qualified to be there. It could be said that the theoretical description and the practical one in the end equate more or less to each other, but it's considered important to draw the distinction between them in this case.
The current membership is largely composed of various leaders of industry, as it has generally been in the past. Ms. Dorothy Olsen of the Safeguard Consortium, Mr. Adam Fredrickson of the Lorekeepers, Mr. Marcus Fraser of Omnitech Industrial, Magister Sulian of Matrix Industries, Ms. Evangeline Saunders of Orion Production and of course Mr. Joseph Kaufmann of Mythril Industries are all known to be members at this time, but it is of course likely that there are others who choose not to make their membership generally known.
