Super Hives

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**vodo40k**

This mainly applies to Terra but other super hives as well but how do they survive? Especially on terra there is absolutely no free space anywhere, so this poses a few questions. Firstly how do they eat? I know there would be large food and water shipments but feeding a population of several hundred billion every day is logistically impossible. Secondly whenever a volcano or earthquake is triggered this would cause millions to die each day as all fault lines and volcanoes would have been built over. How do they counter this? Lastly the pollution from a city-planet would turn the atmosphere toxic and make the planet much like venus. So I ask how do they survive?

**Tyyr**

vodo40k wrote:This mainly applies to Terra but other super hives as well but how do they survive? Especially on terra there is absolutely no free space anywhere, so this poses a few questions. Firstly how do they eat? I know there would be large food and water shipments but feeding a population of several hundred billion every day is logistically impossible. Secondly whenever a volcano or earthquake is triggered this would cause millions to die each day as all fault lines and volcanoes would have been built over. How do they counter this? Lastly the pollution from a city-planet would turn the atmosphere toxic and make the planet much like venus. So I ask how do they survive?

Food's not the issue you think it is. First off with hydroponics and artificial lighting arable land is not really needed. Also remember in this setting a 3km long merchant vessel is unremarkable. Factor that in with the fact that it appears the bulk of the Imperium eats highly processed food and shipping it in isn't out of the question. It becomes very difficult, you'd likely see dozens of large freighters per day but you could do it.

Plate tectonics is probably only partially an issue. Either at somepoint in the next 38,000 years someone will figure out how to lock faults up or either the kilometers of building act almost like a cushion.

Most hive planets are described as having highly polluted atmospheres.

**metallifan**

Like Tyyr said, food wouldn't be an issue. aside from the mind numbingly huge Cargo ships that would arrive in fleets daily, you have to remember that most Superhives are honeycombed beneath their planet's surface to accomodate utility services, bunkers, shelters, and what-have-you. Somewhere in there, I'm sure underground artificial agriculture is present, just in case a food shipment is a bit late arriving. It wouldn't feed everyone, but it would be enough for high-standing members of society and the government to survive.

I imagine that 38,000 years from now, a world covered in a single city would have resolved the issue of plate movement in some way.

And you're forgetting that Hive Cities are often built layer-by-layer. Often, the next layer is built on top of the previous one, and roads are sealed overhead by upper buildings/roads/etc...

So a hive is pretty much sealed from the environment, thanks to each "storey" being stacked on top of the next one.

**Somnicide**

Also, there are hivequakes that kill lots of people in the lower hives, just nobody cares. Fungus is a popular meal as are rats and other vermin for the poor. Outright starvation isn't uncommon.

Check the Necromunda sourcebooks for answers to lots of your questions.

**Tyyr**

And actually several hundred billion is a bit of an under estimate. If you just covered the land mass of the earth in Macau's population density the earth could hold 2.8 trillion people. That's before you even start to really build up to the "hive" level of depth.

**vodo40k**

Ahh yes my bad several hundred billion is an understatement the population of Terra according to Lex is one hundred TRILLION people.

**Osyr**

Didn't you listen to captain planet? The Imperium recycles there food. Soylens Viridan is a very popular food.

And do you really think the Imperium cares if people strave or earthquakes kill people, if those citizens were smart they would have joined the guard and left the planet. If they didn't they were not benifitting anybody anyway and needed to die to make room for the Imperium's faithfull servants.

Also about earthquakes, in the real world natural disasters happen all the time and can kill tens of thousands of poeple but nobody cares if its not in their country.

**vodo40k**

Also about earthquakes, in the real world natural disasters happen all the time and can kill tens of thousands of poeple but nobody cares if its not in their country.

I agree but what im saying on a planet with ONE HUNDRED TRILLION inhabitants millions would die daily, not just the occasional really big earthquake which kill a few hundred thousand we hear about.

**Orkeosaurus**

What's killing them?

**SagesStone**

The Inquisition probably will, they have Antarctica as their base. But, continue to tunnel underneath it to expand their base; instead of fixing up the old rooms that become forgotten and eventually unusable.

**IvanTih**

Nobody cares for underhives,they are source of cannon fodder er I mean Imperial Guard,it's place which has no power,food and safe life.