#for most of their life tsac preferred to be left alone.

[threestarsaboveclouds]

Say, do you happen to have records of products and other objects your residents used to manufacture or make? Something such as this brand of drinks perhaps?

I don’t have any records of this beverage in my archives, this one in particular might be from a faraway region. The distances between iterator cities often led to them developing very unique cultures, and food and drink such as this were based primarily on what food sources were native to the surrounding area, as well as what could be cultivated in the cities’ automated farm arrays.

My city, Zenith, was primarily a destination for scholars seeking to advance their knowledge, but over time it also began to attract a modest amount of tourists. People often traveled to the city because of its unparalleled views of the night sky. Many of the items offered by local merchants took on a celestial motif in an attempt to appeal to these visitors.

One item that I recall being popular was a form of candied Lilypuck. When shucked and cut into slices, the plants appear vaguely star-shaped. Lilypucks also have a form of bioluminescence, which fades after the fruit is picked. They were prepared fresh and offered to stargazers, who enjoyed the novelty of the way Lilypucks glow in the darkness.

Despite the appeal to tourists, the extreme climate of my location deterred many visitors. The cold could be dealt with by dressing appropriately, but a larger shock to newcomers was the thin air. Those traveling from lower altitudes often had trouble acclimating to the air's depleted oxygen content, resulting in sluggishness and exhaustion, and even injury. Eventually the High Council began to mass-produce masks to provide the wearers with supplemental oxygen in order to mitigate the effects of altitude sickness.

The masks used Bubble Weed as an oxygen source. The plants were suspended in water tanks and attached to the wearer's air intake. Some of the masks manufactured by the High Council were very ornate, made in an effort to appeal to the upper class. These more elaborate masks were often only accessible to wealthy individuals who visited; usually these were foreign politicians or famous visiting scholars.

More lightweight and affordable masks were also available. These were less elaborate and more utilitarian, and were often used by members of the working class, as well as children. They were considered more comfortable and offered a higher range of motion because they didn't cover the entire face. However they were also frequently considered uncouth by members of the upper classes for this reason.

A popular activity among younger tourists was a challenge to see who could climb up the city’s central Vertex Spires the fastest, often using supplemental oxygen as an aid. Many individuals ended up injuring themselves in the process, and the High Council eventually banned the practice out of caution. However, it is to my understanding that this only made the game more enticing to the youth, and it persisted despite the Council’s efforts to lock down the Spires to prevent trespassers. I assume it was seen by many as a rite of passage or a dare. I... can't say I approve of this activity, but I was unaware of its practice until I read about it in my copy of the High Council's archives.

When my citizens were still here, I paid little attention to their daily activities. Their lives were recorded by citizen ID drones and my Overseers, and I only received reports of notable events that required my attention. The rest of the information was processed by background subroutines in my low-level processing strata, and was heavily moderated by the High Council of the House of Spheres. Recordings I lacked the time to examine were stored in the Council's archives for later perusal.

I appreciated the lack of distractions. Now that Zenith’s residents are gone, however, I have access to everything, and more than enough time to examine it all. I used to care very little about the culture of my citizens, but the more qualia I analyze, the more I am realizing what a rich tapestry of life had been woven through my city streets.

….

I am beginning to regret allowing the House of Spheres to moderate access to my own citizens so heavily. Their lives seemed so trivial and insignificant back then, but the city seems barren and lifeless in their absence.