FEDERAL SHELLAC MANUFACTORY (FSM)

• Location: Industrial Ring, New Kourou
• Address: NE Industrial Ring Road 1
• Surroundings: Adjacent to empty, abandoned buildings that used to be the Headquarters of the Frontier Supply Company and the Bermuda Inc. Manufactory in the Beta Age.

Founded in 2625 as the private New Kourou Shellac Corporation (NKSC) by Vira Antonis, the plant pressed tone-encoded fungus-shellac disks and built hand-cranked lathes/clockwork sequencers to move GAIA firmware, keys, and medical files off-grid. After the Great War and the formation of the Federal Confederation, it was nationalized in 2631 and re-badged as the Federal Shellac Manufactory (FSM) under the Federal Allotment Agency.

• Construction Materials: Cargo-crate steel skeleton, mycelium-brick infill, salvage poly-glass clerestories; pressure-rated resin kettles.
• Floors: One vast press hall with side-wing machine shop; mezzanine offices; two-level sub-basement master-stamp vault.
• Design Aesthetic: Industrial salvage—flywheel screw presses, steam/heated platens, open catwalk QA gallery; clear flow lanes from resin to packing.
• Lighting (No Electric High-Bays): Twilight clerestories and light wells; after dusk, hooded oil lamps and baseboard Luminofera dualis runs.
• Ventilation (Passive): Ridge vents, wind scoops over kettles; charcoal/compost biofilters at exhaust cowls.
• Energy Use (Low-Draw): Process heat from district biogas; presses are flywheel screw types (human/lever assist); hand-crank CRC readers and radio set during scheduled Kernel windows.

Ground Floor — Press Hall & Shop

• Resin Mix Vats (3): Jacketed kettles for fungal polymer + silicate filler; manual paddle rakes; heat via biogas loop.
• Disk Press Line (6): Flywheel screw presses with heated platens; trays to gravity cooling racks.
• Lathe-Writer Bay (12): Hand-crank lathes for small-batch comms masters; one demonstration rig for training.
• Sequencer Bench: Assembly/repair of crank sequencers and line couplers (EchoHorn fittings retained for tone fidelity).
• CRC/QA Platform: Catwalk station; hand-crank optical readers sample lots; auditors stamp ledgers and seal crates.
• Loading Dock (2 bays): Hoo-drawn wagons staged for FCS handover.
• Restrooms (2): Unisex AuroraSan stalls.

Mezzanine — Offices & Signal Gallery

• Founder’s Loft (Archive): Vira Antonis’ desk, first-press disk, micro-lathe.
• Design & Upgrade Studio: Draft tables, stylus microscopes, EchoHorn jig.
• Signal Room (Kernel Intake Shack): Short-wave receiver, patch panel, logbooks; hand-crank power backup; feeds the Lathe-Writer Bay (no public broadcasting).
• Legacy Sound Booth (Decommissioned): Glass-lined booth retained for calibration/reference only (no entertainment masters).
• Staff Nook: Break bench, wash-up.

Sub-Basement — Stamp Vaults

• Master-Stamp Vault: Temperature-controlled bunker for stamping dies and comms masters; analog sign-in, dual-key protocol.
• Security Staging: Seal locker, crate quarantine, ledger room.

Exterior Grounds

• Short-Wave Tone Mast: Receives scheduled kernel bursts for comms intake; semaphore lamp signals pass/fail to the yard.
• Waste-Resin Sumps: Clay-lined pits; cured bricks palletized for safe disposal.
• Perimeter Yard: Marshal lanes for FCS; hand-signal posts.

Hot resin and metal press-clacks under a breath of steam; flywheels hum as crews heave levers in practiced rhythm. Oil lamps and Luminofera bands pool an even glow over gauges, stamps, and ledger books. A bell rings for CRC samples; if a groove fails, yellow flags pop on the catwalk and the run restarts. It’s orderly, analog, and energy-aware—Beta-Age craft tuned for Gamma-Age scarcity.

• Plant Manager (1): Lot approvals, resin quotas, CRC ledger sign-off, kernel-window scheduling.
• Press Crew (12): Resin charge, platen heat, flywheel operation, cooling-rack transfer.
• Lathe Machinists (6): Cut masters, refurbish stylus tips, maintain writer tolerances.
• Sequencer Assembly (4): Build/repair hand-crank sequencers and EchoHorn kits.
• CRC Auditors (3): Random-sample reads, checksum logs, crate seals.
• Yard & Logistics (4): Dock marshaling, crate stamping, FCS handover.
• Maintenance Techs (3): Kettle seals, press screws, mast/semaphore upkeep.
• Admin & Records (1): Rosters, procurement, licensing paperwork.

• Public Access: No walk-ins. Licensed tours for guilds or schools by appointment (off-peak).
• Shift Schedule:
  • 07:00–15:00 — Resin & pressing peak
  • 15:00–23:00 — Mastering, assembly, QA & packing
  • 23:00–07:00 — Maintenance, vault audits, kernel-window prep
• Operating Days: 24/7.

Production streams and mandated destinations within the FWRS:

• Perimeter Fence: 3 m alloy mesh with salvage-blade crown.
• Gate Control (Entry & Exit): Guarded gatehouse operated by a Deputy of the Federal Sheriff’s Headquarters (NK); analog ledger stamps; seal checks.
• Restricted Access: Stamp Vaults and radio shack require badge + analog key; dual-custody sign-offs.
• Exit Inspections: Tool/pocket checks; random crate seal verification; master-die counts.
• Analog Alert System: Analog Siren System tied to Sheriff HQ.
• Deputy Patrols: Scheduled Industrial Ring passes; incident logbook countersigned daily.

Legal interactions:

• GAIA work assignment to the press line, lathe bay, or QA during a surge week.
• Transport sealed crates as an employee of the Federal Courier Service.

Illegal interactions:

• Bribe a machinist to cut an illicit master or duplicate a die.
• Swap CRC audit slips or break vault chain-of-custody.
• Salt comms crates with contraband before FCS pickup.

• Adventure Hook — Message in the Groove: A routine GAIA comms disk plays a whispered route, boot scrapes, then a scream—no data header. Sheriff HQ quietly hires the PCs to trace crate seals, mastering logs, and the kernel-window intake. Did someone hijack a master in the vault, or did the message arrive already poisoned? Follow ledger ink, stylus shavings, and FCS waybills before the next pressing buries the trail …

• Gamma Age
• Federal Confederation
• New Kourou
• Federal Allotment Agency
• Federal Courier Service
• Weber Broadcasting Services
• Shellac Records
• New Kourou Shellac Corporation (Beta Age predecessor)