Core

Not to be confused with Chord or Cord.

The Core is the central, pressurized trunk within the Orbstack of the starship Daban Urnud. It runs the length of the rotating habitat column and provides service and transit access between the Orbstack’s inhabited spheres and the non‑spinning frame. Its wall rotates at a gentle, “second‑hand” pace; travelers who catch the grid of handholds feel a small but useful sense of “down,” making movement easier than in zero‑gravity.

Layout and features

• Long axial shaft—about a hundred feet in diameter—connecting the forward and aft bearing chambers to the Orbstack interior.
• A grid of handholds on the inner wall; matching the Core’s rotation provides light pseudogravity for rest and movement.
• A moving conveyor‑ladder runs up one side and down the other; its elastic rungs soften the initial jolt when grabbing on.
• Four major Nexi are spaced along the Core where stacks of four Orbs each connect. From each Nexus, a tubular shaft leads “down” toward an orb and ends in a huge ball valve.
• Ball valves here are captive spheres with a bored tunnel that can align for passage or rotate shut to seal the path; some valve bores include ladder rungs to aid descent as pseudogravity increases.
• Around at least one Nexus, offices and ring‑corridors—the Command Torus—wrap the Core wall. Accounts note this area has been partially partitioned amid tension between the Pedestal and the Fulcrum, with some hatches locked and routes severed.
• Glowing light tubes strung along the inner surface pipe filtered sunlight into the tunnel; below them, a continuous conveyor runs with well‑lubricated clicking and humming.
• A ring‑ladder around the Core wall provides access to multiple well‑shafts; practiced travelers can jump between shafts, while others use the ladder and handholds.
• Effective gravity weakens noticeably near the axis; at the exact center, travelers can hover if they cancel their spin.
• Approximate span: accounts place the Core’s length on the order of a couple of miles; one account notes roughly two and a quarter miles along the axis.

Access and controls

• The Core links to the ship’s bearing chambers via very large ball valves; nearby single‑person airlocks allow passage when the main valve is closed.
• Entry from exterior vertices is possible by passing through a vertex facility (e.g., an observatory dome used as a giant airlock) into a bearing chamber and then through the main ball valve when open.
• During alarms, valves may be shut to restrict movement between the Core and connected regions; some access points are secured by keypad controls.
• For routine movement between Orbs, visitors ascend/descend well‑shafts via ring‑ladders and small hatches and airlocks; escorts may issue padded blindfolds and sick bags to mitigate Coriolis effects near the axis.
• Safety protocols limit how many climbers are on a ladder at one time; stewards or soldiers control pacing at the tops of shafts.
• Interpretation reported in‑world: some avout view the oversized ball valves and their ability to operate against pressure differentials as an implicit deterrent—evacuating the Core and opening a valve could, in principle, rapidly depressurize a connected Orb. This is presented as an interpretation, not a confirmed procedure.

Noted activity

• Amid emergency response around the World Burner installation, the forward bearing chamber filled with firefighters, soldiers, and technicians moving through a Tendon toward the affected vertex. In the confusion, travelers in firefighting gear slipped through a closing ball valve into the Core, used the rotating wall to move along the axis, and reached the Nexus serving Orbs One, Five, Nine, and Thirteen before descending toward Orb One.
• Later, during preparations for a ceremonial gathering in an Urnudan Orb, an Arbran delegation ascended from a Laterran Orb through the Core. Ladder traffic was regulated, and other delegations transited by floating down the axial space.

Status

Active and heavily used as an internal artery of the Orbstack, with access governed by large ball valves and smaller airlocks. Recent observations describe elevated traffic and intermittent closures during shipboard emergencies and ceremonial movements.