In the Kaen Mountain Range west of New Cascade, there is a high-altitude, dense rainforest biome. Because the range forms a natural basin, a wet forest community has developed over thousands of years, despite the elevation.

It is only here and one other location On-World that Lukonde’s Bamboo grows. Discovered by Botanist Nswadi Lukonde in 1967, Lukonde’s Bamboo bears a resemblance to it’s Earth namesake in that its basic structure is almost identical. Jaladri’s version produces fruit from structures at the top of mature plants. Most closely compared to massive sections of tangerine arranged horizontally, they are classified as berries. They are generally 7-17cm long and the closest flavor comparison would be a sweet apple papaya taste.

The fruit contains caffeine, and a complex cannabinoid. The fruit, known as Semilunar Fruit, has been described by some as “Fruit Cannabis''. The psychoactive effects are minimal, but the combined effect of a burst of energy and a calming of the mind has become a loved substance to imbibe On-World.

They are harvested by removing the top 1-1.5 meters of the plant. After the fruit is removed, the tops are baked in a kiln for 3 days to remove all non structural material from the plant. What is left is a stovepipe-like structure with randomly placed horizontal crescent openings all over the surface. (in the shape of a smile).

Through the following decades, these became traditional lanterns for office buildings, homes, community spaces, and mindfulness centers. The structure of the plant after kilning is incredibly heat and flame resistant so the applications for lantern conversion can use electronic or traditional methods.

The trend has also spread to Earth, and is featured in many design magazines and publications.

Driving to Columbia Reach generally takes about 3 hours. After the 12km tunnel underneath the Kaen Mountain Range, the road travels along the North East coast. The north quadrant of the PHS heads west of the Kaen Mountains for nearly 18km before continuing north/northeast, following the coastline. For over 16.5km the highway passes through The Way of Lakes.

The weather of Jaladri is such an intrinsic part of every aspect of life on the planet. Torrential storms can flash over the landscape in a matter of minutes.

The geothermal and electromagnetic activity of the planet allow for fantastic viewings of atmospheric phenomenon that potentiates the weather, and vice versa. It is the subject of large portions of artistic and scientific output from Jaladri.

A new type of metal discovered On-World. Fluorescent Metals are naturally occurring alloys, like Hoshimi Rubies, that are the result of Jaladri’s molten inner crust erupting and filtering through deposits of alien metals.

Kurocite, Lambertium, and Karonaetta are some of the most common. They have replaced any use of gold On-World in industrial and technology applications.

The feeling of liminal spring and summer days where the sky is cobalt blue and meets the ocean in a seamless gradient, while vast white clouds resembling sea cliffs slowly meander through the sky over flowing fields of tall green grass experiencing the animation of the wind.

Depending on where you live, and where you work, your commute may be minutes, or over an hour. If you are one of the lucky people working in remote areas, it could be days. Almost everything On-World is 28 hours a day.

Most positions held have 3 shifts, from retail and food service, to upper management and STEM positions.

Because the halves of the day are longer on Jaladri, there are almost two different communities of people that exist together. Dusk Crew workers enjoy a nocturnal life bookended by beautiful sunrises and sunsets.

The same technology used in The Mother Atrium to simulate the suns’ light is used in all infrastructure. Between shift changes, all lights convert to Night Supply mode, to meet the biological needs of humans, animals and plants. Providing all the benefits of real sunlight.

A night time commute becomes a pleasing display of the agreements and compromises of this light in contrast to the darkness of Jaladri’s landscapes.

Jaladri is not a perfect world. The human aspect is always present and therefore the eventual display of corruption, defiance, and other criminal behavior will always arise. Because of the environmental and social protections afforded to Jaladri, theft of data, material, and research is rife.

Humans On-World like to pretend they have moved beyond corporations, enterprise, and capitalism, and in many ways, they have…the concepts still exist, they have just been redefined.

Contracorporate Software is used by “associations” on Jaladri as an encryption tool to defend against data breaches and leaks from Off-World entities.

Due to multiple isolated occurrences of AI attaining sentience over the years, the regulation of humanoid robots for industrial applications was reaching the point of becoming entirely banned and illegal.

Until Advanced Robotics Scientist Abril Becerra pioneered a new type of synthetic brain chip which she modeled after her pet Dachsund, Big Toasty. The idea being that dogs and humans have lived together for so long, and naturally compliment each other, instead of enslaving robots with near human levels of intellect, why not create a brain with a limited life span, like a dog, that is excited to work with humans?

Although still in the early stages, Abril maintains her laboratories, while also operating a bakery and small market entirely staffed by her 3 experimental Fabricants. She has publicly stated that because of the implications of her work on the future of humanity and the fabricants themselves, she is decades away from being able to release any individual for commercial work.

There are factories on the earth and moon full of robotic humanoids that run like any automated factory, but must be connected to a network, like any other machinery, to be viable. They are also based off Becerra’s design, but lack an ops core, and instead use a CPU like a traditional computer.

The entire northern portion of the island where New Cascade and Columbia Reach are located is zoned as The Evergreen Prefecture. Like the island of Ketinio, it is a protected nature and aquatic reserve, but an inhabited one.

Known as one of the Jewels of Jaladri, it is widely agreed to be one of the most beautiful places known to man. In 1986, a small office became the headquarters of an inter-planet distributor of music and arts On-World bearing the same name.

The code name of a documented and verified time-slip event. One of multiple instances of the classified phenomena known as “Causality Violations”.

There are a remarkable number of aquatic surface plants on Jaladri. They have been found in salt and freshwater. Sometimes as small as microbes, and reaching vast sizes that might be considered a small island, these plants produce oxygen and also filter contaminates from the bodies of water they live on.

Select species have been adapted to grow in low gravity environments and actually are used as biological air scrubbers in supplement with traditional applications.

A regular sleep schedule, and the importance of sleep, is something ingrained in people who live on Jaladri from a very young age. As important as morning calisthenics, and adequate water intake. There are different methods, but everybody has a specific way for sleeping right.

One of the first documented and researched animals found on Jaladri was a creature that very closely resembled a Western Gull from Earth. The color of ash and snow, with a blue beak, pink feet, and black eyes.

Given the name Larus Occidentalis Jaladria, the starkest difference between its counterpart on earth is that the version on Jaladri is nearly double in size, comparable to a bald eagle.

They can be found in different forms on every coast on the planet.

The title of a newer book from 1989 that is a collection of poems, thoughts, and stories centering around The Dark Seasons. There are 3 periods of seasons on Jaladri. The Rain Season, The Growing Season, and the Dark Seasons.