Chrononexus is my final project for my Animation and Games degree. It serves as a concept which I presented as an artbook that could be adapted into a game or animation.
The Chrononexus is a space station that orbits a black hole. Due to its close orbit to the dark star, the station takes advantage of time dilation. It is used as an archive, base of operations, tourist attraction, and refuge. Spending just one day here equates to a century on Earth. It is lawless and disconnected from the rest of the universe. On the edge of an inescapable void where time flows differently. Despite all odds, it is one of the most peaceful places in the galaxy. Rumours, fear of the dark star, and lack of contact keep the nexus sheltered from the conflicts of the rest of the universe.
Characters
The Outlaws
There are three sectors within the Chrononexus: the tourism and corporate sector, the maintenance sector, and the outlaw-run sector.
Since so many people used the Chrononexus as a refuge, a group of outlaws repurposed an entire section into a safe space for those escaping their past. Some end up in this sector as fugitives in hiding, others are interested in illegitimate forms of trade, but most have nowhere else to go.
The fashion of this district is utilitarian, favouring function over form. Natural materials are scarce in this section, meaning the clothing is often synthetic or scavenged and coloured with pigments derived from asteroids.
The Robots
Machinery and robots of all levels of advancement keep the space station running. They maintain the vital functions of the station, perform all social and domestic tasks, and, most importantly, stop large objects like asteroids from entering the black hole. This task prevents the build-up of energy around the star, which could lead to catastrophic jets which would put the station and surrounding solar system at risk.
Unfortunately, the robotics industry is oversaturated, and rising unemployment levels cause many models to be misused and even abused. Early designs of humanoid robots mimicked the human appearance; many found this unsettling, so over time, robots have taken on a more mechanical appearance to be more easily differentiable from humans.
The Tourists and Corporate
Most people visit the nexus for the effects of gravitational time dilation. Some hope to return home to a better future, others are fascinated by technological advancement, some wish to see the black hole, and the rest are intrigued by the archives within the nexus, which contain thousands of years of data.
Those who wish for a better future can sometimes become addicted to this ideal. They leave the nexus expecting to return to a utopia, but they are greeted by the very issues they were desperate to escape from (war, overpopulation, climate change, and poverty). Time and time again, they visit this place, experiencing decades and centuries of progression, only to find that the world is all too preoccupied with conflict. Yes, technology evolves, and an occasional world issue gets resolved, but another usually replaces it. This unexpected future leads them to find any way to return to the station, which suddenly becomes more familiar than their home world. Many of the people in the outlaw sector are the result of that addiction: caught in the loop, alone and hopeless.
The corporate individuals, however, stay there for another reason. They use it as a base of operations, going there after giving orders to receive quick returns on their actions due to the time dilation. This process allows them to remain in control for centuries on Earth, having only been in control at the station for hours or days.
The Chrononexus
The Chrononexus is a structure 1.6 km in diameter designed to orbit a black hole. Like many other spacecraft or space colonies, the nexus is ring-shaped to support the generation of artificial gravity, spinning at 1.057 rpm. The massive size of the station makes this rotation easily habitable by most civilians. Any smaller and the spinning of the station would be extremely disorienting for the average person.
The Chrononexus is divided into three sections: the outlaw sector, the maintenance sector, and the tourism/corporate area. It is fitted with solar panels, radiation and debris shields, and bridges connecting the sectors.
Instead of being one giant ring, the station rings are split into sections for safety reasons. This sectioning ensures that damages do not render entire sectors uninhabitable.
There are many other space colonies stationed around the universe, but the Chrononexus is the only remaining ‘time station’ that has successfully orbited a black hole for centuries. This station’s success is due to its simple design, heavily optimised with a lack of small parts on its exterior, making it less likely to lose major functions like power generation.
The rings of the Chrononexus are arranged so that the wealthiest tourism sector faces closet to the black hole while the now outlaw-run sector lies in the outermost ring, only glimpsing the black hole at certain times of the ring’s rotation.
The middle ring connects the two sectors and is known as the maintenance sector. Here, robots can easily traverse both sectors and release drones to handle space debris. These robots carefully monitor asteroids and space debris because the black hole could produce devastating jets if it absorbs too much matter.
The Interior of the Chrononexus
Sector 1, otherwise known as the Tourism sector, is well maintained by robot workers. Here, visitors can buy retro tech, sell their current technology to contribute to the archives and explore the many viewing areas, shops, and archives found within this section.
For those who wish to extend their stay, Sector 1 offers a range of luxury accommodations and hotel rooms. Most visitors only stay for a day or two, as this passes hundreds of years in their home world. It also takes most inhabitants many years to return to their home world; their neuro-devices factor in travel time and dilation to determine the length of stay.
With the close vicinity of the black hole, archives of technology and time-dilating effects, the Chrononexus attracts wealthy people from all over the universe.
Most visitors of the Chrononexus stay for a brief amount of time, reluctant to let too much time pass in their home world. The outlaws are an exception, using the station as a refuge. Many also see no reason to leave as valuable cargo is often shipped to the station to be preserved. Many wealthy individuals also visit, making it a prime location for trade or thievery.
This illustration represents the home of an Outlaw Scrapper. At certain points in the station’s rotation, this room gets a clear view of the black hole. At this moment, Amaryllis the protagonist of the story gets another glimpse of the gravitational anomaly as she continues to adjust to life on the station.
Within this room, Nerian the scrapper tinkers with robotics and other salvaged materials to sell to merchants in the outlaw sector’s main halls. He has even scrapped parts of the room to create his inventions, including the ceiling light.
Storyboards
Within this universe, intelligent lifeforms known as Amethisians were discovered. These peaceful humanoid lifeforms were an amazing discovery for humanity until a military group that lied during health checks landed on Amethisia, contaminating the land and causing a deadly outbreak all across Amethisia. This event was thought to have wiped out 90% of life on Amethisia, including all Amethisans.
The discovery of Amethisians and the outbreak that wiped them out was kept a secret to the citizens of Earth; however, outlaw scavengers known as Scrappers on the Chrononexus soon began to discover this alien life after shipments of data and even alien flora began to show up in cargo holds.
Here, two scrappers, Nerian and Marcos discover Amaryllis. An Amethisian smuggled onto the Chrononexus by corporate personnel. It is thought that Amaryllis must have been brought to the Chrononexus shortly after the initial discovery of Amethisia, having only glimpsed humans once before.
The Crashsite
Colonies have been established all over space in ring-like structures similar to the Chrononexus. Unlike the Chrononexus, stations like these can become the site for conflict or war, often disrupting the spacecraft’s orbit and causing it to crash into unsuspecting planets. While these stations are robust and designed to withstand a controlled crash on a remote planet, this cannot occur on the Chrononexus, as it would end in catastrophe for everyone on board, plummeting into the black hole. This fear is why the Chrononexus has remained harmonious, unlike many other stations around the universe, despite its dubious inhabitants.
Sketches
Within the Chrononexus, natural materials are hard to come by since the nearest habitable planet is many light-years away. While plants are cultivated on the Chrononexus, clothing made from natural materials is a luxury reserved for the affluent. All other surfaces and fabrics are made from plastics and other synthetic materials. To make up for the poor quality fabrics, clothes are often bright and colourful.
Many visitors also use cybernetic enhancements on the Chrononexus. Almost everyone has a neuro-device used to translate and interact with other devices on the Chrononexus. These devices act like passports, tracking the time of entry and distance from their home to ensure they stay there for the correct length of time to pass. This device makes speaking or interacting with a robot to ask for assistance, order, and pay for a service unnecessary, saving vital time.
The illustrations below represent early explorations and studies for the inhabitants of the Chrononexus. These are created tradtionally using markers, fineliners and pencil.