Here's how I might think of cradle (look at my epic picture) (look at my epic picture)...
Key: The giant circle is cradle. The 6 inner circles are each 'cores' radiated their orange power into the true center of cradle. The power is strongest where they all meet, which is what us knights detect from the blue hump we call Haven. The green poles are the clockworks runs.
They're ALL right next to eachother? Also, there tons more then six, I just can't draw.
I'd think they'd go around the planet.
We can only see so much from the blue hump! Doesn't it look like an ENDLESS expanse? Also try to add the third dimension... And the elevators might not be straight lines from the true center to the core to the outer edge of cradle... I'm sorry for bad art.
should I just leave it?
Well I'm curious as to why you came up with this. You have evidence showing that it is possible, but you have none showing why we need to consider that Cradle has any but one core.
Think about it... If the alpha squad went into the core... would it be the TRUE core...? Then maybe they wouldn't be in that hunk of metal... but further down...?
the fact that whatevers in the core let alpha squad in is not reasonable evidence of it not being the true core
They might not be in that giant hunk that we see!
im not even going to try and correct you there
Well, the recon module was left right outside the "core". So I'm 99% sure they are in that one, and that that is the only core that Cradle has. Unless you count the jelly cores and whatnot.
Well, the way the Clockworks work isn't all that simple. The elevators are sort of modular, they assemble themselves and connect up at an uncertain point below themselves. The levels are selected by the rotation of the cogwheels.
The majority of fixed levels themselves are encased inside large metallic spheres which act like simulated biomes.
The clockworks passages are assumed to be the areas between these biomes or gremlin built. It varies.
Originally, it took the minerals you now feed your pet to power the elevators and cogs in the Arcade, which somehow determined the levels within the clockworks underneath that elevator.
All Strata are also linked via a persistent Sub-town.
So, based on what we know:
The core doesn't necessarily have to be on Depth 30. If it uses the same sphere/biome technology, it could theoretically be any one of the levels rotating through the clockworks. It could easily be in a constant state of self-rotation as a self-defense mechanism.
This means depth 29 could be a decoy. There's still a lot of unanswered questions in the Clockworks.
The Trojans aren't corrupted by the Swarm, as they're Fiends according to the Bestiary. Perhaps whatever is in the decoy Core is causing it.
The minerals the Knights mined up to power the elevators could have been feeding the Core. Perhaps the Strangers are Agents of the Core, using Crystal Energy like a carrot on a stick to get the Knights and Gremlins to keep mining minerals to feed whatever is inside?
We'll never find out, but it's fun to think about.
Is it at the center of the planet, or even within a few miles? I don't think so. Cradle is a small round planet, with an atmosphere. That would make it at least as big as a moon in our solar system (Jupiter's moon Europa is 1500 km radius). But you've only descended some 30 levels, not hundreds of miles.
Gravity would be reduced to nearly zero at the center, but you can run around as though you weigh about normal. The temperature should rise as you descend (all that machinery with insufficient cooling), but the knights at the Core complain of the cold.
but the knights at the Core complain of the cold.
Don't they complain of the "conditions", not specifically mentioning that the core is cold?
The gravity staying the same really IS weird, isn't it?
And Jet-Uppercut, I couldn't have said it better myself. Each of those cores (many decoys...?) all radiates power, and the most power (the extreme amounts we felt from the skylark I believe) come from the center of the decoys, where the power is strongest!
Hehe, your welcome for the food for thought. ;3
Its not necessarily weird that the gravity remains the same. Cradle is a mechanical wonder, so why not consider gravity generators?
Yeah, the Skylark clearly had gravity generators. So we can assume that for this sci-fi game, (like most sci-fi settings) Gravity Generators are canon.
yeah, assuming that all of the 6 elevators are placed on a perfect circular shape around the planet when we know that they're all right next to each other in the arcade gates O_O