Weather Control
Weather control is an integral part of pegasus culture and life, and is one of their defining traits. It is also one of the leading industries of many pegasus- and mixed-cities, with about 45% of any given pegasus population employed in meteorology.
While weather across Numbers occurs naturally, it can be directly influenced by ponies imbued with sky Magninium in their bloodstream - in other words, pegasi (and to a lesser extent, alicorns). Rather than having the pure Magninium in their blood like the other races, pegasi have sky Magninium, which in addition to helping them fly, allows them to influence events in the atmosphere.
Clouds and other weather phenomena also have sky magic within them, which is automatically attracted to more sky magic. Therefore, when a pegasus lands on or attempts to interact with any form of weather, it will be pulled towards the pegasus like a magnet and follow their directions. This is the basic premise behind weather control, and how it works.
Only pegasi who have passed their integral flight test with a P or E may apply to weather control jobs, and it is not uncommon for factories to request a transcript from the pegasus' school to confirm that they passed. It is rare for alicorns to weasel into the industry, due to the intense and celebrated racism of pegasi, and even rarer is allowing unicorns or earth ponies to work. Occasionally, they may be found as secretaries or janitors, but are almost never found working in the heart of the factory.
While weather across Numbers occurs naturally, it can be directly influenced by ponies imbued with sky Magninium in their bloodstream - in other words, pegasi (and to a lesser extent, alicorns). Rather than having the pure Magninium in their blood like the other races, pegasi have sky Magninium, which in addition to helping them fly, allows them to influence events in the atmosphere.
Clouds and other weather phenomena also have sky magic within them, which is automatically attracted to more sky magic. Therefore, when a pegasus lands on or attempts to interact with any form of weather, it will be pulled towards the pegasus like a magnet and follow their directions. This is the basic premise behind weather control, and how it works.
Only pegasi who have passed their integral flight test with a P or E may apply to weather control jobs, and it is not uncommon for factories to request a transcript from the pegasus' school to confirm that they passed. It is rare for alicorns to weasel into the industry, due to the intense and celebrated racism of pegasi, and even rarer is allowing unicorns or earth ponies to work. Occasionally, they may be found as secretaries or janitors, but are almost never found working in the heart of the factory.
Science & Downfalls
Trier Bavaran, next to a tank of iron (III) oxide used in the creation of rainbows.
Weather factories do more than just control weather already occurring, although they once had such a simple task. Weather factories also generate weather, using a variety of chemistry and Magninium. The exact formulas are kept under lock and key, as each weather company competes with each other for the best-quality product and highest sales.
Typically, each city only employs one weather factory, which may be from any of the three main companies. Having more than one factory per city is rare, as the competing companies may end up disturbing the natural weather patterns more than normal, and the Limbionic Council passed a law in 2,506,049 forbidding any two factories to be within 1,000 PM of each other. Most factories, however, are further apart.
Innovations are constantly being made in the industry. In 2,530,102, demigod Trier Bavaran was the first to discover the formula for rainbows, and took over as CEO of Spectrum Inc.
With the finding of the rainbow formula, all registered types of weather phenomena may be replicated and reproduced legally by factories. However, dangerous weather, such as tornadoes, hurricanes, dust storms, blizzards, hail, cyclones, monsoons, and heat waves are regulated to the point where private buyers may not purchase or order them, and factories may only produce them in order to allow a university or meteorologists to study them.
Despite these restrictions, weather factories are allowed to send out teams of pegasi to quell and/or dissipate these severe weather systems. "Mobile units" are one of the highest-paying and highest-risk jobs in a factory, but are one of the most important, being the guardians of the factories' allocated area.
Artificial weather does destroy natural weather patterns, however. Dependence on a factory becomes mandatory after approximately ten years of modification, at which point the natural pattern is severely disturbed and natural weather becomes far more dangerous. Communities have even had to relocate after a long-standing factory shut down.
On the bright side, factories have been able to produce cloud systems that can be walked on, creating the sky-cities that many pegasi are fond of. One such example is the metropolis of Pegan, the largest sky-city and leader of weather modification in the Multiverse. In addition, weather control has allowed ponies greater use of their time and better lives overall, being able to keep schools open without snow days or purchase a sunny day from the factory for a federal holiday. It also ensures that all weather predictions are correct, as factories will put out a weekly upcoming report early Jarusday.
Typically, each city only employs one weather factory, which may be from any of the three main companies. Having more than one factory per city is rare, as the competing companies may end up disturbing the natural weather patterns more than normal, and the Limbionic Council passed a law in 2,506,049 forbidding any two factories to be within 1,000 PM of each other. Most factories, however, are further apart.
Innovations are constantly being made in the industry. In 2,530,102, demigod Trier Bavaran was the first to discover the formula for rainbows, and took over as CEO of Spectrum Inc.
With the finding of the rainbow formula, all registered types of weather phenomena may be replicated and reproduced legally by factories. However, dangerous weather, such as tornadoes, hurricanes, dust storms, blizzards, hail, cyclones, monsoons, and heat waves are regulated to the point where private buyers may not purchase or order them, and factories may only produce them in order to allow a university or meteorologists to study them.
Despite these restrictions, weather factories are allowed to send out teams of pegasi to quell and/or dissipate these severe weather systems. "Mobile units" are one of the highest-paying and highest-risk jobs in a factory, but are one of the most important, being the guardians of the factories' allocated area.
Artificial weather does destroy natural weather patterns, however. Dependence on a factory becomes mandatory after approximately ten years of modification, at which point the natural pattern is severely disturbed and natural weather becomes far more dangerous. Communities have even had to relocate after a long-standing factory shut down.
On the bright side, factories have been able to produce cloud systems that can be walked on, creating the sky-cities that many pegasi are fond of. One such example is the metropolis of Pegan, the largest sky-city and leader of weather modification in the Multiverse. In addition, weather control has allowed ponies greater use of their time and better lives overall, being able to keep schools open without snow days or purchase a sunny day from the factory for a federal holiday. It also ensures that all weather predictions are correct, as factories will put out a weekly upcoming report early Jarusday.
Within the Factory
Factories are typically run by a central planner, who answers to the board that runs the company and the CEO. The central planner runs the factory, receives orders from private buyers and the city mayor(s) that fall under the factory's jurisdiction. It is the highest-paying job of the individual factory.
Underneath the central planner are the floor managers, who oversee their specialization of weather and help train new employees. Each floor of a factory generates a different weather phenomena, be it clouds, rain, snow, hail, etc. (in the case of rainbows, each color requires its own floor, and then an eighth floor to combine them). Floor managers focus solely on whatever their floor does, although certain managers (such as cloud specializes) may visit other related floors (rain, snow, sleet, etc.) to ensure their products are being utilized correctly.
Floor managers have a small team of meteorologists who they may ask for advice on tweaking a weather formula or ask to form a mobile unit for work in the field. Meteorologists are the researchers of the factory, discovering faster and cheaper ways to produce satisfactory weather, and also are the ones who draft the weekly reports. They also work in the fields in shifts, studying dangerous weather or working to remove it from an area. They are the second-highest-paying job in the factory, and most are promoted to floor manager after years on the service.
Beside the meteorologists of each floor, there are also a large number of laborers who run the machines and keep the factory running smoothly. Originally, these laborers generated the weather themselves with their own Magninium and mixing chemicals painstakingly, but with the addition of technology, much of the process is streamlined, and they are needed merely to transport materials between floors and keep the machines running.
Depending on the floor and level of access a worker has, they may wear a rainbow pin with different colors signifying their status. High-level workers wear entire spectrums, while lower workers will wear red to purple, with red being the highest level and purple being the lowest. Mandatory uniforms are typically gray colors, as it is easier to tell if someone has been contaminated with chemicals while wearing such colors.
The ground floor of a factory never has heavy machinery within it after the accidental deaths of three pegasi and one unicorn investor, which resulted in a law against it being passed. Rather, ground floors serve as a communal break room and visitation office for investors and tourists, who may purchase a tour of the building to see the weather as it is created.
Underneath the central planner are the floor managers, who oversee their specialization of weather and help train new employees. Each floor of a factory generates a different weather phenomena, be it clouds, rain, snow, hail, etc. (in the case of rainbows, each color requires its own floor, and then an eighth floor to combine them). Floor managers focus solely on whatever their floor does, although certain managers (such as cloud specializes) may visit other related floors (rain, snow, sleet, etc.) to ensure their products are being utilized correctly.
Floor managers have a small team of meteorologists who they may ask for advice on tweaking a weather formula or ask to form a mobile unit for work in the field. Meteorologists are the researchers of the factory, discovering faster and cheaper ways to produce satisfactory weather, and also are the ones who draft the weekly reports. They also work in the fields in shifts, studying dangerous weather or working to remove it from an area. They are the second-highest-paying job in the factory, and most are promoted to floor manager after years on the service.
Beside the meteorologists of each floor, there are also a large number of laborers who run the machines and keep the factory running smoothly. Originally, these laborers generated the weather themselves with their own Magninium and mixing chemicals painstakingly, but with the addition of technology, much of the process is streamlined, and they are needed merely to transport materials between floors and keep the machines running.
Depending on the floor and level of access a worker has, they may wear a rainbow pin with different colors signifying their status. High-level workers wear entire spectrums, while lower workers will wear red to purple, with red being the highest level and purple being the lowest. Mandatory uniforms are typically gray colors, as it is easier to tell if someone has been contaminated with chemicals while wearing such colors.
The ground floor of a factory never has heavy machinery within it after the accidental deaths of three pegasi and one unicorn investor, which resulted in a law against it being passed. Rather, ground floors serve as a communal break room and visitation office for investors and tourists, who may purchase a tour of the building to see the weather as it is created.
