Baths

The baths are the most important social environment in the basha, and their place in people's lives dates back to survivarium times. There are small bathing areas in the Circle of Love and the Circle of Games, but they are not connected to the main bath complex. Getting one's 'ticket' to the bath complex is a part of the sentinel party that marks the onset of puberty.

History

The baths have evolved from the cooling system that serviced the reactors in the survivariums. This is why you have to swim through an underwater tunnel to reach them; some of the bashas have purpose-built slowmoving fans into the tunnels that you have to cross. You come out in the Hot Caves, which are direct descendants of the survivarium caves, where people used to go to soak their aching bodies in hot water after work. Being naked together produced a social phenomenon called skinship, a cardinal part of sangsara. Stories were told in the caves, of past lives, traumas and tortures, secrets passed down from the experiences of the survivors on the rootkit raliway. When the bashas were built, the cooling systems continued to be social hubs, and this idea was ramified and developed into the present-day baths.

Architecture

The baths are always entered by swimming through an underwater tunnel. Initiates go with a buddy; after that they go on their own. It's allowable to carry a small flotation device, and there are airwells along the tunnel in case you need tocome up for air, though most people do it in a single breath. Younsters train nervously for this moment, and the thrill of making it into the tunnel is magical. It's customary to cheer and yell when a youngster makes it for the first time. The Hot Caves are sauna-like; they are usually shallow and have little fountains of different heat-levels; mood lighting is very important. One exits into the main baths along a tunnel which opens into a chasma dn then teh wall grow lower. One is now in the Circle of Light. This illuminates the vast bath complex with stored sunlihgt, so the baths are always lit at noonday levels even at night. In large old bashas the baths are so vast that they feel as if they're open to the sky, a clever illusion. The Circle of the baths has many different configurations of water and stone; waterslides, rapids over stones, competitive swimming lanes, whirlpools, massage groves, lover's coves, lotion stations, etc.The young are expected to spend a great deal of time there, exploring both their bodies and their emotions, but more than three hours a day causes comment. Even in old age people tell stories of their encounters in the baths, and many puppy loves are formed and broken there.

The sides and bottoms of the baths are made of sopstone, and thery are carpeted with mermouths. They form a great water treating and recycling complex, and act as reservoirs. water from the baths feeds the canopy, keeps it healthy, and provides Evening and Morning Mists.