New Landing Floorplan Key

* Football field shown for size comparison purposes.
* Blue shapes within the hold denote washroom facilities.
* OS = Oceanside, RS = Riverside

1 � Oceanside singles dorm
2 � mechanics workshops (sled maintenance and power pack recharging)
3 � main cavern of Science Complex (surrounded by labs, linked to medical wing)
4 � main medical ward (exam rooms, recuperation rooms along corridors to left)
5 � laundry
6 � cr�che
7 � main computer lab (smaller terminal labs along corridor to left)
8 � Library/hard-copy records storage (surrounding corridors contain study/music practice rooms)
9 � family/larger living quarters
10 � Riverside singles barracks
11 � requisition centre at entrance to Stores (up stairs, in caverns spreading through second level of the Hold)
12 � Kitchen (surrounded by storage rooms for food that will be used soon � i.e. not put in Stores) The bar, Mentasynth, is also located here
13 � Classrooms
14 � Hatching Rooms (1 major, 2 lesser)

Thank you Melissa for making our map!

The Jordan River near New Landing, before (left) and after (right) the pass began in Year 8. Some vegetation has returned in recent months, due to the small success of the Tubberman grubs.

Detailed Description

New Landing is situated on the western mouth of the Jordan River, not far from the original site of Landing. The first Landing was abandoned at the beginning of the first pass, eight years after its establishment, due to volcanic activity. It was covered with volcanic ash shortly after the evacuation, but most supplies were salvaged in time. Before Threadfall, the southern continent was covered with spacious settlements. Seeking shelter from the unexpected thread, those who didn�t flee north abandoned their homes and came together to form communities called they holds. There are four major holdings in the Southern Continent. The holds are led by the charterers who were originally granted the largest stakes of land in the Pern colony�s charter, although the policital system allows for an election to replace an incompetent leader. The hold leaders are known as mayors.

New Landing, having the largest population, is the base of operation in the south. Before Threadfall, it was known as the Jordan River Settlement and was home to a small fishing fleet and a few farmers. Being the closest settlement to the original Landing, when volcanic activity threatened, the old Landing residents picked up and moved, the Jordan River was the ideal location for resettlement. It soon earned the name New Landing Hold. As the dragons are still very young, the term "Weyrhold" hasn't yet been used and "weyrs" are just the name used to describe the appartments on the upper level of the hold used by dragon partners.

At New Landing, Thread defense in the southern continent is coordinated, and science, medical, mechanical, and other such specialists practice and reside. A plateau overlooks the mouth of the river, which is several miles across, and the ocean. The plateau itself is triangular in shape, forming a point at the mouth of the river with one side facing the ocean and the other facing the river. Farms and cots, or small family housing units, are found on the plateau. The edge drops into a rocky cliff face that is covered with interconnecting natural and man-made caves. More cots line the shore for those who prefer to live outdoors, but the majority of the population lives within the caves. As there is a lot of social pressure to procreate, people with children are given priority housing.

Two large, natural caverns mark the entrances to the caves. Both have been fashioned with great metal doors. The widest faces the river and has been made into a great hall used for dining, socializing and public meetings. A mix-mash of assorted plastic, wooden, and metal tables and chairs cover the floor. To save power, "glows" are used for lighting. A smaller kitchen it attached to the rear of the cave. The second big cavern faces the ocean. It is smaller but has a higher ceiling. It's used to house the sleds vital for fighting threadfall. A mechanical team can be found there around the clock working to repair preserve the irreplaceable machines so they might last the rest of the pass. The two sides of the hold have been nicknamed Riverside and Oceanside.

The mayor and his family have their own administrative wing on the second "story" of Riverside with windows overlooking the ocean and Jordan River. The quarters have private bathrooms and also administrative offices where meetings are held, Threadfall is monitored, and the general management of the hold takes place.

Passageways, lit by glows, wind deeper into the rock. There two big dormitories, one on each side of the hold, for single men and women. The Oceanside Dormitory and Riverside Dormitory both consist of a hallways with several dozen rooms carved. Because space is limited, there are two or three people to a room. Men and women may room together if they request it, but generally room mates are paired by gender. Married couples and other people in a stable relationship can apply for a larger, more private room in the family section. Each residential section has two large bathrooms, one for each gender, with private showers, baths, and toilets. Both dormitories have a lounge for socializing with couches, tables, board games, books, and computers.

There are bigger rooms throughout the caves for larger families with children. These generally have one or more connected bedroom and a lounge area for relaxation. Tight resources mean no private kitchen or bathroom. There are public bathrooms throughout the hold, and meals are prepared by the kitchen staff and served in the dining hall. There are communal kitchens available for those that prefer to cook for themselves.

Higher in the cliff face, there are more natural caves that are only accessible by air. They've been explored and dubbed 'weyrs,' although they're too difficult to access to be used. These 'weyrs' will serve an important purpose in the future.

Solar panels are mounted on the cliff face and outdoor buildings. There are extras in storage to supply power for several years to come, but as solar panels breakdown there is no means to replace them. Power is reserved only for what is necessary. The general population is slowly changing to a similar way of living to reserve resources.

The cots along the shore and plateau are generally occupied by families. They are built from silicon based plastic and square in structure. The little houses were made from kits brought along on the Yokohama and were originally designed to be quickly erected in old landing as temporary homes. A standard cot would have a small kitchen, living room, and bedroom on the first floor. The second floor is a bathroom and large bedroom, which can be divided into smaller rooms if necessary. The cots on the plateau are reserved for farmers because of the long hike to the shore, although anyone can live on the shore cots.

In addition to the farmers on the plateau, there is a large hydroponics facility deep within the hold. Botanists salvaged the precious equipment to grow food safe from threadfall.

There is a makeshift road that winds down the western most side of the hold, where the cliffs gradually flatten, that connects the plateau farms with the main part of the hold. It can take several hours on foot to go from the more isolated farmholds to the main hold, so most travel by horseback or have oxen pull supply wagons. There are stables on both the shore and the plateau for boarding horses. Fortunately, a staircase has been carved into the cliff face for foot traffic. It winds down the hold between the Oceanside cavern and the entrance to the Oceanside dormitory.

New Landing is home for people with all sorts of jobs. Farmers and fishermen provide food for the hold and train their next generation the ways of the land and the sea. The main laboratories for the scientists are at New Landing. They conduct all sorts of studies, and most recently much of their staff is focusing their time on the dragon project. A medic wing is attacked to the scientists hall where doctors give checkups, treat Thread scores, and perform operations. There is also a large building devoted to schooling. There are classrooms devoted to teaching children while much of the hall is devoted to training new teachers and other scholarly pursuits. There is a valuable collection of books, data files, and musical instruments that are tools for scholars to pursue their interests in arts, music, and history. Some of the holders frown upon the scientists and teachers for distracting survival and Thread fighting efforts.

A Home for the young dragons

The layout of the dragon camp on the plateau above the hold where dragon partners live when their dragons are too big for the hold but too young to live in weyrs. Map by Melissa.

One month after the first dragons hatched, it was clear they would soon out grow the tight corridors of the hold. An abandoned farm, a half mile from the stairs that scale cliffs above hold, was selected. A small group of siliplastic cots were erected for the dragon partners to live. They're positioned in a loose circle around a center common area, leaving room for more to be built as the dragon population grows. Each cot is fixed with an overhang to provide a sheltered porch for up to four sleeping dragons (think carport). There is a larger, central building with scientific equipment for dragon checkups. In this building there is also a modest lounge with couches, tables, and computer consoles. Not far from the housing runs a creek that has been dammed to provide a bathing pool large enough for a growing dragon.

The cots hold up to four dragonpartners, two to a room. Dragon partners with families do not have to share. Map by Melissa.

Dining at New Landing

Public kitchens are available, but the majority of eating is done in the Riverside Cavern, which has been converted into a cafeteria style dining hall and is easily accessable by those living in the main hold, on the beach, and in the upper level weyrs. There is a roped off area with four counters serving hot entrees that change daily. There is a salad bar, sandwhich bar, and a beverage dispenser. After holders dish up, they take their tray to a kitchen worker to "purchase" the meal and exit the roped area to sit at the many tables and chairs throughout the cavern. A conveyer belt takes dirty trays and plates back to the kitchen. The cavern also doubles as a meeting room when the entire hold has matters to discuss or a hatching to watch on a large vidscreen.

Mentasynth is a bar founded by Liam Murphy late in Year 10. It is located in a converted store-room adjacent to the kitchens.