At a glance
| Type | Terraformed temperate world |
| Star | Hale, a yellow star; soft overcast days |
| Day length | 23.9 hours (the main reason it was chosen) |
| Climate | Mild, humid, misty mornings; gentle seasons |
| Location | 12.4 ly from Menhir · 19.5 ly from the Meridian Gate |
| Went silent | Day 16 of the Quiet |
| Peak population | 900,000 (retirees and caretakers) |
| Survey status | Open: Garden Districts 1–4 |
History
Solace was sold as paradise: a world engineered to be comfortable. Its arcologies are eco-brutalist, with concrete terraces overflowing with gardens and pools and walkways through planted atria. Caretaker systems tended everything. It's the most beautiful world in the Reach and, to OWR, its most valuable listing.
Environment & biome
| Gravity | 0.97 g |
| Atmosphere | Fully breathable, engineered over 90 years of terraforming (the first garden valleys opened to residents after 40) |
| Temperature | 14 to 22 °C, regulated by the planetary climate controllers |
| Terrain | Rolling green hills, terraced valleys, still lakes and engineered rivers; low misty forests |
| Sky | Hale is a soft yellow sun, usually behind thin high cloud; one large pale moon, Verity |
| Heat and orbit | An Earth-like orbit around Hale, a Sun-like star. Its large moon, Verity, steadies the planet's tilt, keeping the seasons gentle and predictable. |
| Weather | Scheduled. Climate controllers bring mist every morning, gentle rain after midnight, and clear afternoons. The schedule is still running. |
Biome: an imported Eden. Almost everything alive on Solace came from Earth: ferns, mosses, cedars, wisteria, water lilies, and engineered pollinating insects. Native life was cleared during terraforming, except one protected species, glassgrass, a translucent highland grass that rings like faint chimes in the wind. The gardens are still perfectly kept. No caretakers have ever been observed.
Hazards: none recorded. "Everything has been taken care of."
After the Quiet
- The gardens are still perfectly kept. Hedges are trimmed and pools are clean. Caretaker drones have never been seen doing the work.
- Every table in the Grand Atrium is set for dinner.
- Solace's population records show 900,000 residents, but there are only enough homes for 600,000.
Architecture
Bring the garden indoors. Hale & Verity's architects followed one rule: every room has a plant and a view, and nobody should ever have to hurry.
| Materials | Warm pale board-marked concrete, timber, brushed bronze, wide sheets of glass, and water everywhere. |
| Forms | Massive stepped terraces overflowing with planting; cantilevered balconies; atria with full-grown trees; reflecting pools; low shaded arcades. |
| Windows and light | Wide glass walls; soft warm interior light; small garden lamps along every path. |
| Interiors | Lounges with armchairs arranged for conversation, dining tables laid for dinner, libraries, planted atria. |
| After 50 years | Immaculate. Hedges trimmed, pools clear, tables still laid, sprinklers running on schedule. Nobody home. |
| Building type | Notes |
|---|---|
| Garden terrace | Stepped arcologies 10–40 storeys high, every level a garden. |
| Atrium hall | Huge glass-roofed halls with trees, pools and dining terraces inside. |
| Residence | Single homes among ferns and mist, every one with a garden room. |
| Sanatorium | Cantilevered wellness buildings on forested hillsides. |
Places
- Garden Districts 1–4: The residential districts: stepped garden terraces rising from misty valleys, linked by tram lines through the lawns.
- The Grand Atrium: A glass-roofed hall the size of a forest clearing, with full-grown trees, still pools and long dining tables laid for 2,400 guests.
- Stillwater Gardens: A long reflecting pool between high concrete garden walls, perfectly still, perfectly clean.
- Hale Sanatorium: A cantilevered concrete wellness building on a misty forested hillside, warm light in every window.
Vessels
Built by: Hale & Verity Living. Retirement in motion. Solace's ships echo its eco-brutalist arcologies: concrete, glass and greenery, designed so a resident never felt they had left the gardens, even in orbit.
| Silhouette | Graceful and softened: rounded forms, a terraced upper cabin, wide panoramic windows. 60–250 m. |
| Hull | Warm pale concrete-like composite with thin brushed-bronze trim; large glass panels. |
| Lights | Soft warm interior light only; small white navigation lights; nothing harsh. |
| Details | A planted garden atrium visible through the glass, small terraced balconies, potted trees in the lounge, the moon reflected in the windows. |
| Interior glimpse | Empty lounge armchairs arranged in conversation circles; plants thriving; a tea service laid out. |
| After 50 years | Immaculate, like everything on Solace: glass clean, plants trimmed, nobody aboard. |
| Vessel type | Notes |
|---|---|
| Verity-class cruise shuttle | Orbital pleasure cruises for residents. Evening Verity is one. |
| Garden ferry | A planet-side flyer with a glass canopy over a small garden, linking the districts. |
| Residence transport | Private, quiet, comfortable: a lounge with engines. |
Ground vehicles
Solace was designed so nobody needed to hurry. Garden trams glide on slim rails through every district, and personal pods carry residents door to door. The trams still run on schedule.
| Look | Graceful and soft: warm pale concrete-like bodies with brushed-bronze trim, glass roofs, planted window boxes, slim rails hidden in the lawns. |
| Lights | Soft warm interior light; small white lamps; nothing that would disturb a garden at night. |
| After 50 years | Immaculate and still moving. Empty trams arrive at every stop on time, doors open, wait, and close. The window boxes are freshly watered. Nobody is aboard. |
| Vehicle type | Notes |
|---|---|
| Garden tram | Glass-roofed carriages on slim rails winding through gardens and terraces. |
| Residence pod | A two-seat, self-driving pod that carries residents between home, garden and dining hall. |
| Caretaker cart | Small grounds-maintenance vehicles. Records list hundreds; none has ever been seen. |
Sound
The most beautiful morning of your life, playing on a tape that's slightly warped. Peaceful, but something is subtly off.
The worlds of the Reach are all tuned to the Hum, the note A. Solace sings it in ionian.
Surveys
0 of 6 known properties surveyed
No Surveyor has been sent to Solace yet. Its properties are listed below as they appear in the Accord's old records.
- Verdant Terraces
- The Grand Atrium
- Stillwater
- Hale Sanatorium
- Residence 4471
- The Canopy Walk
From an Outer World Realty brochure: "Retire among the gardens. Everything has been taken care of."