Underwater City?

an Idea that sprung up on me in the IRC chat not too long ago...
what if there was a ravine-type thing in the bottom of an ocean or large body of water that had a tunnel leading to a massive air pocket with a lake. It could have been home to a group of people that created an artificial ecosystem or something that would help them live down there. there could be buildings and all sorts of cool stuff around...

But eventually the oxygen would run low, and the Carbon Dioxide would build up with no place to go....

Flare wrote:

But eventually the oxygen would run low, and the Carbon Dioxide would build up with no place to go....

They could use air scrubbers and lots and lots of plants.

Where would the sunlight come from?

Artifical sunlight.

may i remind you that there are plants that grow in darkness...no i can't give you a name, because i forgot it, but i know for certain that it's true^^'

How would it get there? And still remain water-tight? Production costs would be enormous, let alone the fact it'd only last until one hungry mermaid said "Meh, cheap food," broke it open, ate their fill, and left the rest to drown.

A better idea may be to have it in an area that's recently flooded, made watertight in preparation for the flood and now a minor glass city in shallow water - perhaps the highest levels above the surface and concealed in some way.

Well... it does sound cool, but isn't very practical. Still, It would be interesting if you could get it to work, I've always been interested in Atlantis and that sort of thing.

Sillysausage wrote:

Well... it does sound cool, but isn't very practical.

Yep, maybe have it done for some reason such as the city's over holy ground?

Yeah. There could have been a holy site, that over the years fell into the sea. People still wanting to remain in that area were forced to adapt. I think it's feasible as long as there are enough plants and it's strong/concealed enough. The pocket idea would work, like I said, with enough plants to emit oxygen and suck up carbon dioxide. And some plants can grow in artificial sunlight. A good deal more can live in filtered sunlight - maybe there could be a sort of a glass "skylight" (sealight) that can let the people view the ocean above and let some filtered sunlight in. There food and culture would be different because of this - interesting concept.

I find the concept of underwater cities interesting, but not very viable. There is so much that can go wrong, even for one that is in shallower water. All it would take is a single weak point and water would just flood in. Unless they had something similar to Negav's Isolon Eye, then a smart predator could easily find a way to exploit a weakness in it's defence.

Sillysausage wrote:

I've always been interested in Atlantis and that sort of thing.

Lol, Atlantis was what you thought of? I was thinking of R'lyeh.

I don't think it's too improbable. They could have sections that could be sealed off if there is flooding and then later pumped out. It just depends how prepared they are. And from the sound it would be hard for a predator to get in... though the folks there are sort of trapped if they ever want to leave as a mermaid would probably crack open any subs coming or going.

I think this is a great idea ! Hard to put in place, but the concept is appealing

thanks karbo

and as for what could protect them. the isolon eye couldn't have been the only of its kind. maybe they managed to get another much smaller one to keep preds at bey, but something happened, maybe it got damaged so they were no longer fully protected, and years later a predator broke in...

maybe multiple crystals? kinda like that one cartoon movie atlantis had with the multiple big ones that surrounded it. but alittle different.. idk its just my idea... as for it being weakened.. it could have been some kind of inside job of some sort...

yea idk... im just giving my opinion..

um well I admit i am little wary at using the Isolon eye too much ^^;

The Isolon Eye is a magical crystal created by the Ps'isol magiocrats. It's not a naturally occurring mineral. There are no others like it.

It probably could only be created in Negav, due to the massive amount of ascarlin needed to power such a magical device.