This spire in the Old City faces the Enterprise Sector and houses a superb collection of Martian art and antiquities. The museum is tended by the Keepers of the Way and fills the tower. Only the six lower floors are open to visitors. Among the highlights of the collection are a series of stone reliefs depicting the construction of one of the great canals. There are also a set of mysterious suits of flexible silver armor, which one Terran scientist claims are ancient Martian vacuum-suits. The value of the collection is incalculable and the building is guarded only by a handful of unarmed curators, yet the Hall of Wonders has never been robbed.
The Great Library stands in the Old City, facing the Entertainment Sector. It is a tall tower clad in prismatic glass like the others. Like the Hall of Wonders, the Great Library is maintained by the Keepers of the Way and serves as their headquarters in Nectar. The ten lower floors are open, forming a single vast space. Twin ramps spiral around the sides of the chamber and in the center stands a giant monolith of transparent crystal. Along the walls are shelves holding the writings of Mars's greatest minds. The Great Library is a superb collection, though not the best on Mars (that honor goes to the Tower of Books in Alclyon) and is consulted by researchers from Earth and Mars.
Gamemaster's Note: Actually, the heart of the Great Library is not the collection of books, but rather the crystal monolith. It is a fantastic artifact of ancient Martian civilization _ a psychic storage device. The monolith contains the memories of thousands of great thinkers from Mars's history. Sadly, the last trained user of the monolith died centuries ago and none of the Keepers of the Way has ever been able to make it work since. An untrained user trying to tap into the crystal runs a great risk of having his mind completely drained. In an "orthodox" Space: 1889 campaign without psychic powers, the crystal is an enormous piece of computer hardware _ a holographic memory storage unit. The Keepers have lost the operating manual.
The Palace of Nectar stands opposite the Administrative Sector in the Old City. The Prince and his court dwell in the tower, served by a horde of slaves and retainers. The lower floors house the throne room, offices and the quarters of the Prince's Marine Guard. Upper floors hold the apartments of the Prince's wives and mistresses. Prince Sitanni himself dwells at the top of the tower and the treasury is immediately below. The Palace has six elevators, which were once powered by slaves turning capstans, but now are run by electricity. Access to the Palace is strictly controlled.
The Sand Room is located fifty feet below the Gardens of Naahej in the Old City. It is a huge cylindrical chamber filled with water and steam, surrounded by huge pipes and conduits. The Sand Room is actually the heart of Nectar's water system. Water from the canals flows into a deep shaft bored through the crust of the planet. At the bottom the water is instantly boiled to steam and forced up a second shaft into the Sand Room. There, the steam condenses and is filtered through a deep layer of charcoal and sand before entering the municipal water lines. The Old City even has separate hot and cold pipelines, but the rest of the city must make do with only cold water.
The Gardens of Rib-targeen are located in the Entertainment Sector, just across the canal from the Old City. These famous gardens are open to a select clientele. Entry costs a full gold piece. Once inside, visitors can stroll among the wonderful gardens and fountains, sip wine from one of the best cellars in the city and listen to music played by the finest musicians in Nectar. This is where the well-educated Martians congregate to gossip, argue philosophy and discuss politics. It is a stronghold of the Council of Traders and their sympathizers and Terrans are emphatically not welcome. Among the shady paths and cushioned benches, many plots are hatched.
The American University of Nectar is a small college, established in 1887 by the philanthropist and tobacco magnate William B. Drake as a training school for missionaries. The school is operated by the United Methodist Church.
The American University gives the degrees of Bachelor of Arts, Bachelor of Science, Doctor of Divinity and Doctor of Philosophy. It offers courses in Engineering, Physics, Chemistry, Theology, Mathematics, English, Philosophy and Biology. The director of the university is Dr. Henry W. Armitage. The school has just under a hundred students, of which eighty are Martians. There are ten professors. The school boasts the best baseball team in Nectar (as yet no other team has been formed to challenge that title). It currently occupies a city block in the Residential Sector, on the Square of the Fountains. Presently, half a dozen scholars from Earth reside at the University while they do research on Mars.
Formerly a Martian tavern, the Cafe was bought in 1885 by Madame Katya Kerensky and quickly became the center of social life for the Terran community in Nectar. Located on the Square of the Fountains in the Residential Sector, it is a dimly-lit, smoky little place, with initials carved in the bar and memorabilia lining the walls. Almost all the Terrans in Nectar stop at the Caf« every day. It is certainly the best place for a visiting Earthman to learn about Nectar or to look for an acquaintance.
The chef is a Martian named Vespeen, who has learned to make a variety of Earth dishes quite well. He can prepare a prime rib of Gashant that is indistinguishable from beef and does a wonderful clam chowder. Madame Kerensky herself tends the bar. The Cafe has the best Viennese coffee on Mars and a good selection of American liquors. Her only rule is "no mint juleps before eleven."
Named for a famous courtesan of high repute and low morals, this establishment can seem like heaven after the dust and stink of the streets. It is located in the Entertainment Sector and is typical of the bathouses there. There are several large communal bathing-pools, used by Martians of both sexes. One can choose from a chilled snow bath, a cool dip, a tepid rinse, or a scalding hot soak. There are a dozen private rooms, where one can enjoy baths laced with exotic spices, perfumes and oils. For a nominal fee, one can have heady Thaumasian wine and watch the dances of a skilled courtesan while twin bath girls help with the washing.
Most Terrans consider the baths a den of sin, but a few have taken up the Martian custom of indulging in a luxurious session at Sheeal'leaah's once a week. Earthmen using the communal pools should expect a great deal of curiosity from the Martians.
Control of the water level in the Grand Canals is very important to Martian civilization. Nectar, at the junction of six canals, is a vital link in the water control network. Each of the canals has a flood-control gate, located where the canal enters the city walls. The gates are enormous sets of bronze panels mounted on a pivot in the floor of the canal. They can be raised to slow or stop the flow of water. The control structures are also a key part of the city's defenses and are heavily fortified with gun batteries on towers flanking the water gate.
Two of the water gates no longer work. The gate on the Aurora canal was damaged in an earthquake and the one on the Protei canal was destroyed when a Tossian cloudship crashed into it during the war of 1457. The rest of the system still functions and a dedicated cadre of engineers pass along the operating secrets.