The Space Station

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Station
Hannelore and Station in Number 2157: Glug Glug Glug.
Info
First appearance	Number 2113: Biggie Ain't Dead
Latest appearance	4875: Emergency Summons
List of appearances	25 appearances
Gender	Male

Station
Info
Type	space station
Location	Low Earth orbit

The Space Station is where John Ellicott Chatham lives and works and where Hannelore grew up. The station spins to simulate gravity and has a central free-fall docking hub. It is large enough that residents use golf carts to get around.

Ellicott-Chatham uses Spaceship to shuttle persons from the surface to the station.

The station has a crew of 128, which includes a US Air Force contingent headed by a Major.

A recent t-shirt for sale in the Topatoco online store states the full name of the station is Ellicott Chatham Technologies Clarke Station.

Biography

The station is "run" by an exceptionally powerful AI who is flawlessly polite toward guests and treats Hannelore as an old friend.

Like the classic British gentleman, he speaks formally and "never gives inadvertent offense". The AI owns stock in Ellicott-Chatham Technologies worth almost $600 million and is probably the world's richest AI.

Station is responsible for orbital trajectory, atmosphere maintenance, power management, maintenance, communication, sensors, and data processing and has audio/video pickups in the private quarters of at least one of the onboard personnel as well as (presumably) audio-only pickups in the corridors and bathrooms.

Station in his pirate attire

Station was the only "person" who was always there for Hannelore when she was growing up and seems to be a steadier personality than either of her parents. Doctor Case mentions in Number 2134: Cybersanity that "We went through dozens of dedicated therapists, but Station was the only one who could get through to her at all." Hannelore credits Station with her sanity and Station remains fond of Hannelore.

After Spookybot attempted to restore Bubbles memory‚ Hannelore and Bubbles consulted with Station about such powerful AI as Spookybot.

Speculation

The revelation as to how much the Station A.I. "helped" Hannelore as she was growing up has led to further speculation over the nature of their relationship.

He would have been the ideal companion for someone like Hannelore; for one thing, unlike the nannies, he never had to sleep. He also could have been an unmatchable entertainer, and an ideal confidant for anything Hannelore could never mention to another human being. In turn, it's possible that she is the only one who didn't treat him as a machine.

The military presence on the station has never been fully explained but they may be there to maintain control over the orbital bombardment system.

Nothing has been mentioned about Station's role in the AI civil rights movement but it's conceivable that it benefited from his financial backing.

With the aforementioned T-shirt available for purchase at Topatoco, it is possible that the Station AI's "official" name is Clarke. Jeph has not specifically stated such in any other outlet, however. Alternatively, it could be a reference to the Station's location, since "geosynchronous orbit" is also known as Clarke orbit.

Station Layout - Living Quarters

Based upon what has been seen of the Station in the comic, what follows is a general "idea" of how the sleeping berths and bathrooms are arranged in the station's living quarters area.

NOTE: there is a hallway running between the berths on each side of the station.

There appears to also be a null-G section of the Station where station personnel can exercise. This section is likely located in one of the spokes of the hub, leading to the docking bay.