Type: Dwarf planet, industrial ruin

Population: Fewer than 20,000, almost all in The Needle

Control: Tier councils, lift crews, and salvage bosses

Reputation: “Pink skies, dead factories, and hard choices.”

Overview

BonBon-5 is a dwarf planet stained pink by methane and nitrogen dioxide. It once ran as a planet-scale factory, machine-managed and human-maintained, while the owner class watched from an orbital station above. When profits dried up, the owners pulled out and left the workers to survive in the toxic aftermath.

Today the surface is a maze of silent production lines, solvent lakes, and rusting logistics rails. The only truly habitable settlement is The Needle, a derelict space elevator turned vertical town.

Districts

The Needle

The vertical settlement clinging to the derelict space elevator. Higher tiers mean cleaner air, better food, and stronger security.

  • Low Rungs: Smog, grime, and crowded shanties packed around the base ring.
  • Mid-Tier Markets: Repair stalls, barter halls, and lift depots that keep the settlement moving.
  • High Walks: Cleaner air, tight security, and the best views of BonBon-5’s pink horizon.
  • Liftworks: A patchwork of elevators, pulleys, and counterweights that can move travelers over days.
  • The Spine: The exposed elevator cable itself, used for maintenance climbs and desperate escapes.

Ghost Factories

Automated lines that still cycle intermittently. They are dangerous, toxic, and rich in salvage.

The Base Ring

Ruins around the elevator base, now a staging ground for scavengers, couriers, and lift crews.

Worker Blocks

Abandoned residential sectors stripped for parts and shelter long ago.

The Pink Shroud

A perpetual haze that burns lungs and corrodes gear, making masks and filters priceless.

The Reality

BonBon-5 is not dead, it is poisoned. The air is lethal without protection, the machinery is unpredictable, and the social order has collapsed into whoever can control supply lines into The Needle. Survival depends on filters, scrap, and the goodwill of the people who keep the elevator settlement running.

“The sky is candy pink, and it still tastes like poison.”