Caine's Star/Chiru/Skyler

<address>[/Skyler] is an underground city in the lower crust of [1]</address>. This massive cave system was partially flooded by the Marx Hydropower Project, and was settled a few years later to form what is colloguially known as the "Chiru Riviera".

Rainbow Streams

These are one of the city's most unique features. Pumping stations on high ground (especially around Marx Tower) send jets of water streaming out, to land in lakes elsewhere in the city. These 'invisible aqueducts' were named Rainbow Streams after the drilling of more light wells through the cavern roof allowed them to project numerous rainbows over the entire city.

Access Points

Access to Skyler is either through the Downline (which connects the top of Marx Tower with surface buildings), or a number of lifts, trains and spiral tunnels which come out around the walls of the giant cavern.

Transport

The city's traffic is split between rivers and roads, with a very small proportion of flying vehicles. There are separate licenses required to operate a vehicle on water or land, and some people only use one or the other.

While river/canal access is most convenient, and regular bus services cover most of the city, it is difficult to travel a long distance without going by road. The rivers have many gates, allowing the flow of water between caverns to be regulated by the Canal Authority. Some gates are below road bridges, while others take the rivers and canals through a pumping station to allow more precise control. There are a few double-gates, where boats can be allowed into an intermediate chamber where the water level is lowered. However, for the most part the navigable rivers are split into a number of smaller sections, or segments, in order to minimise the spread of flooding in case of a problem with the systems.

Due to the way the city grew up, the rules are different for water and land travel. For example, boats usually keep to the left side of the canal or river, while landcars drive on the right. Where one side of a road or river is blocked, traffic on that side must wait for a break in oncoming traffic before continuing. In the case of the few single-lane roads, the 'obstruction' is considered to be on the side with smaller buildings. There have in the past been heated arguments on the subject of which vehicle takes priority if a boat and a car meet coming in opposite directions (as the law as written would give priority to both or neither); about 1 person in 20 can't see why this question isn't addressed in law.

Districts

The city is divided up into a number of districts, which vaguely follow the division of different caverns at the time they were constructed (although in more recent times the boundaries have shifted)

Caravell

The most northern cave, Caravell is built on a higher level than most of Skyler, and consists mostly of upper-class residences and shopping districts; this is the rich part of town.

Little Castille

To the north-east of Caravell, and slightly lower. Considered part of Caravell by some maps, this region grew up around the Castillian embassy to Caine's Star, and is home to many former Castillian tradesmen. The rumours that it is a retirement home for successful members of the Castillian Mafia are almost certainly unfounded. The area is highly attractive to gourmet chefs, and has a number of the city's best restaurants, including a growing number specialising in cuisine from other ethnicities.

The Little Castille cave is in fact significantly deeper than its neighbours; but is mostly flooded. The water flows away through drains into unoccupied caves, and is refilled by the River Magdallene (among others) flowing in from Caravell. The buildings are constructed on floating pontoons, roughly level with the Caravellan cave floor.

Marx Tower

This district is the city's highest (and tallest), and situated just west of the geographic city centre. The tower itself houses most of the important civic government and management, and stretches almost up to the apex where the cavern roof is open to the surface. Water comes in at the top from the Marx Hydropower Project on the surface, and runs down both inside the tower (through turbines) and down waterfalls on the outside, before being directed to other parts of the city via aqueducts and rainbow streams. The core of the tower is a natural rock pillar, with the tower built around it. Lower levels are wider, and there are terraced shopping areas all down the outside, connected by a steeply spiralling road which stops only a dozen levels from the top (giving access to the Downline).

Reece's Wharf

The most tourist-heavy areas; at the East end of the city, the two wharfs have a river every 2 or 3 streets, and are filled with gift shops, waterfront hotels and cafes, and leisure boat hire shops. Helga's Wharf includes a large freshwater lake, where tourists can fish from the shore or from a hired boat. This is carefully policed, as fish escaping into the main rivers could cause problems at the pumping stations (at least according to the city council). The equivalent area in Reece's Wharf is surrounded by fences 22m high: the Tam Penitentiary, Chiru's largest high security prison. When the prison was built, the River Tam (formerly the busiest transport route through the city) had to be diverted around the site.

Black Spire

Skyler's main industrial region, named after the award-winning black glass spires of the South Sylar Hospital. The majority of industry here is either powered by geothermal energy, or based around the area's few mines (which have drilled down to find pockets of minerals deep below the city caves).