Nicosia
From The Kim Stanley Robinson Encyclopedia
Nicosia is a Martian city located on the Tharsis rise halfway between Noctis Labyrinthus and Pavonis Mons, the latter filling its western horizon. It was the first freestanding tent city on Mars, but is even better known as the site of the assassination of John Boone.
History
Due to its status as the first freestanding tent city on Mars, the completion of the city was marked by a large stadtfest (or city festival) attended by important public figures including John Boone, Frank Chalmers, Maya Toitovna, and other members of the first hundred. It was at this festival that John Boone was assassinated amidst riots during the time slip.
Design
The layout of the city forms a long, roughly triangular shape, running east to west and less than 5 km in length, with a city farm, larger than the city itself, located to the east in a separate greenhouse. While three slim skyscrapers tower over its eastern end, the bulk of the city is made up of low, trapezoidal buildings faced with various colors of stone, built along seven tree-lined boulevards which run through the length of the city from the medina on the east end to converge at the park on the west end. These boulevards are connected by narrower side streets, some paved with street-grass, others with cobblestones or concrete, with plazas located in some intersections. The architecture in the city is a mix of cultures, built by Swiss and Arabs but described as looking somewhat Parisian.
Tent Technology
Nicosia’s tent is the first city tent built on the surface of Mars. Its foundation is a meter-high wall of concrete surrounding the city, from which rises a thin frame supporting the tent’s fabric. The fabric is comprised of four layers of plastic: the outermost layer is piezoelectric plastic made of polyvinylidene difluoride that captures energy from wind and stores it in the city’s power grid; the two middle layers sandwich a layer of airgel; the innermost layer captures radiation and is periodically replaced. The tent fabric was constructed by Isidis Planitia Polymers.
| The Mars Trilogy | |
| People |
Hiroko Ai • Arkady Bogdanov • Jackie Boone • John Boone • Phyllis Boyle • Frank Chalmers • Nadia Cherneshevsky • Ann Clayborne • Peter Clayborne • Michel Duval • Nirgal • Desmond Hawkins • Art Randolph • Sax Russell • Maya Toitovna • Zo Boone |
|---|---|
| Groups & Organizations |
First Hundred • Greens • Reds • Free Mars • Praxis • UNOMA • UNTA |
| History |
Timeline • 1st Martian Revolution • 2nd Martian Revolution • Second Renaissance |
| Culture |
Areophany • Viriditas • Gift Economy • Ecopoesis • Little Red People |
| Settlements |
Acheron • Bogdanov Vishniac • Burroughs • Cairo • Da Vinci • Dorsa Brevia • Echus Overlook • Nicosia • Odessa • Sabishii • Senzeni Na • Sheffield • Underhill • Zygote/Gamete |
| Areography |
Mars • Tharsis • Valles Marineris • Hellas • Argyre • Olympus Mons • Pavonis Mons |
| Satellites & Spacecraft |
The Ares • Clarke/Space Elevator • Deimos • Phobos • Novy Mir • |
| Kim Stanley Robinson | The Mars Trilogy | Other Works | |
