| Jovian APAworks | Volume 1, Number 7 | July, 2001 |
The Solar Cross plays a vital role in the Solar System of the 23rd Century. By serving as a neutral medical corps, the Solar Cross provides relief to members of all nations in times of crisis. While this relief is often thought of as being limited to interplanetary space, the Cross also renders planetary aid -- especially during incidents in which the nations of the Solar System forget who it is they really serve and lay waste to massive portions of their planets, either through neglect or wanton aggression. The Cross maintains several portable, modular facilities ready for insertion into a war zone, a disaster zone, or any other area in which the human beings of the Solar System need immediate relief from the short-sightedness of their governments.
The Portable Medical Center, or PMC, is a well-stocked, modular medical facility capable of being deployed nearly anywhere in the Solar System. Each module consists of a number of 10-meter by 20-meter assemblies that conform to the standard 20 x 10 x 10 shipping module regulated by the Mercurian Merchant Guild. The modules themselves are only 3 meters tall, allowing three to be stacked -- with spacers -- into the space of a shipping module. Because of their size, these modules are readily transported throughout the Solar System on both Solar Cross and Merchant Guild ships, and they can be stored with little fuss within the branches of a Yggdrasil space station, particularly the USN-leased Olive Station.
Each module is quite similar at its outset. Removable sections allow for the fitting of access airlocks in the center of each face. The floors and ceilings feature similar panels, allowing modules to be stacked once deployed; simple ramps, ladders, or elevator systems can be installed to facilitate movement between each level. The interiors of the modules are bare at first, but movable wall sections can quickly divide them up into smaller sections as necessary. The modules are individually climate-controlled, sealed against low atmospheric pressure and vacuum, and protected from heat, cold, and radiation. Thus, a PMC can be erected on Earth, Mars, or the Moon with little modification -- Venus, however, is the exception to the PMC's universality. Because of that planet's extreme atmospheric conditions, a PMC's modules require extensive additional work before being used there. The Solar Cross keeps a few PMC modules in Venus-ready condition, however, and a complete PMC can be deployed if necessary.
Following are brief descriptions of the various specialized components and facilities found in a typical PMC's modules. These correspond to the illustration, below, which is available as a downloadable PDF map as well. Simple pressurized tubes connect the modules when the PMC is not on a planet with a breathable atmosphere.
This facility is an exception to the PMC's modularity in that it is not a module at all. The ATC tower is a 5-meter by 5-meter station with the same environmental protection as the rest of the Center. Various communications and sensor clusters jut from its roof, and additional clusters are found surrounding it, along with auxiliary power supplies. Generally mounted on a 10-meter tall tower structure, the ATC provides command and control of the airspace surrounding the PMC.
The PMC must be able to handle inbound and outbound shuttle and VTOL flights, both for supplies and patient transfer. A set of approach guides -- high-powered lamps, radio beacons, and laser telemetry feedback clusters as well as large visual cues -- identifies the PMC from the airspace around the facility. (These are "B" on the map.) A simple landing pad with additional beacons and spotlights lies at the end of the approach guides. This structure generally is made up from whatever materials are on hand, most often the planet's surface itself. Sometimes a packed dirt field, sometimes a blasted regolith field, the landing pad ("C" on the map) provides a sturdy surface for emergency air and space vehicles to make their landings. A short road leads to the shuttle parking area ("D"), which is where the Center's own dedicated shuttle rests when not in use.
The workbay is a pressurized service and repair bay for ground craft and smaller shuttles or VTOLs -- anything with a wingspan and length less than ten meters can fit within the bay. The workbay is unique among the regular modules of the PMC in that its component modules are ten meters tall and have their adjoining faces removed entirely, resulting in what is, for all intents and purposes, a 20 by 20 by 10 building. The front half consists of a vehicle airlock with 10-meter wide doors. The back half contains the primary service bay, with four auxiliary bays adjacent.
This building houses the PMC's administration facilities, including the chief administrator's office and the base computing and communications center. (The ATC tower's communications equipment is generally dedicated to air traffic control, though it can be used for regular communications in a crisis.)
The power station is the only module of the PMC not directly connected to the rest of the complex, except by power conduits. Housing an electrical generator, the power station can also tap into a local power source if one is available. Many stations feature a vast field of solar arrays to augment or supplant the generator.
The medical building is the heart and soul of the PMC. Here are found the operating theaters (two, typically), the receiving/triage room, patient recovery rooms (typically 50 patients can be treated in 25 dual-occupancy rooms), nurses' stations, and the examination rooms. This building often has several modules attached -- it is not uncommon for upwards of seven modules to be assembled into the general medical building. Some small research labs are occasionally found in the building, but most are contained within the lab and morgue building.
The living quarters module is where the PMC's permanent staff lives while it is deployed in the field. It contains several small living quarters, a cafeteria, and a recreational lounge. The cafeteria's kitchen also provides meals for the patients in the medical building.
The majority of the PMC's stores are kept in this building, which serves as a small warehouse of sorts. Primary medical supplies are generally kept in storage within the relevant building, however, where they are most urgently needed.
The Center's primary research labs are found in this building. Equipped with several bio-containment systems to control and prevent the outbreak of diseases, each of the building's labs can be sealed shut in an emergency. The process of unsealing a compromised lab is lengthy and requires careful quarantine of all involved in the emergency -- internal control of the locks is physically cut when the lab is sealed. The entire building can be equally sealed as well, should the need arise. The building also houses the Center's morgue and autopsy theater.
| Jovian APAworks | Volume 1, Number 7 | July, 2001 |
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