Comparative study of Amarr space cathedrals

Continuing our search for relics in Seclusion, LUMEN's wormhole system, scanners picked up a signal corresponding to an abandoned small space colony. Warping the Indagatrix over, we found that not much was left, except for the ruins of a large cathedral complex.

 

Figure 1: Ancient space cathedral, Seclusion

The structure was definitely Amarrian. Even from far away, the gold ornaments on ivory white hull revealed its link with our beloved Empire. Closer inspection confirmed this, as the structure contained inscriptions quoting scripture. In the cloud of space debris, we found and collected liturgical objects, altar fragments, cloth, chalices.

What is striking, however, is the shape, size and layout of this cathedral. It is a cruciform design, typical for many of the ancient architectural designs of our cathedrals. In this particular ruin, both the nave and the transept were still preserved, as was the domed roof at the center of the cross. The structure emphasizes the vertical, with pillars several hundred meters high connecting roof and floor. 

Imagine for a moment visiting this ancient cathedral, standing on its floor. You would feel humbled in this enormous space. Your gaze will be pulled up, following the lines and the perspective of the pillars directing your eyes to the roof, vanishingly high above you. The architecture leaves you devoid of pride, and with your sight towards Heaven, prepared for prayer and adoration of God. This style of cathedral cropped up on Amarr as well, and can still be seen in ancient pictures, such as the one below.

 

Figure 2: Inside view of an ancient land-based cathedral, similar in architecture as the space cathedral of figure 1.

However, this type of structure is not well suited for space. On a planet, the structure has to bear its weight, the pillars have to counteract the force of gravity pulling beams and ceiling down. That is why structures struggle to reach a height that is easy to reach in space. In space, a very different type of force is prominent: the pressure difference between the inside of the structure - at breathable atmospheric pressure - and the vacuum of space outside. This results in forces not pulling down on walls, but pushing them sideways. You have to design architecture as if it is a pressure cooker that wants to explode outwards. 

The outward force moreover scales with area - this is why the large outer walls of the cruciform space cathedrals are the weak spots, and end up being blown apart when the structure fails. They're no longer present in the ruin that we found, and in many others like it. 

Over the millennia, this has changed the shape of space cathedrals, as religious architecture habits slowly became better adapted to space. The shape that minimizes the area, for a given volume, is the sphere. It is the best shape to deal with pressure differences. However, more things have to be taken into account in choosing the optimal shape. For example, you also want to have a maximum useful floor area, or perhaps fit in landing bays and hangars. So, a compromise between a more rounded shape and optimized floor area and usage led slowly to Amarr's modern design of space cathedrals.

Figure 3: Modern Amarr space cathedral

The emphasis on height, directing your gaze upward is still present in the modern architure; but the cruciform shape with large flat panel walls has been abandond for a more rounded, cylindrical or semi-cylindrical shape. Note that the anchorages - the bottom "claws" where the crypts would be - have been retained, but also adapted to the more rounded shape. Interesting, this change in shape for space cathedrals in turn influenced planet-based cathedral architecture - it takes just one look at the Dam-Torsad cityscape to see the many cathedrals in tapered (semi-)cylindrical form. 

A question may have arisen in the reader's mind: what is an ancient Amarr space cathedral doing out in wormhole space? Anoikis has only become accessible very recently. However, many, often smaller, religious orders in the Empire felt the call to reclaim these strange worlds, and decided to start a mission there or relocate there. I can only surmise that the remains we found were from an order that decided to move its entire ancient space cathedral out to Anoikis. Probably it housed the relics of their patron Saint. Such a move has been done before, even with planet-based cathedrals. Indeed, emperor Doriam II moved the Tal-Romon cathedral from Eclipticum to Amarr Prime, dismantling it and building it back brick by brick, only missing a few bricks.

So, what happened to the missionaries of Seclusion? In figure 1, left of the cathedral, a broken piece of engine can be seen, comparatively large because of its proximity to the camera. It turns out to be of Sansha origin. The religious community living here was brutally raided by the Sansha, who destroyed the monastery and turned the cathedral into the ruin it is today. At least one missionary must have survived the raid, for at the heart of the cathedral's ruin a memorial stone was found, with the inscription:

"In this year fierce, foreboding omens came over our Anoikis home, and the wretched people shook; there were excessive metaliminal storms, space lightning, and fiery comets were seen flying in the sky. These signs were followed by great famine, and a little after those, that same year on 6th of January, the ravaging of wretched heathen men destroyed God's church."

I will try to find out who these missionaries were, using as a clue the relics and scans collected. May their souls rest in piece.

 

((ooc attributions: the inscription in quotes is an adaptation to Eve from the medieval description of the Viking raid on Lindisfarne, reported in the Anglo-Saxon chronicle. The paiting is the interior of Antwerp cathedral painted by Peter Neeffs the Younger around 1650))