The RTSC Guide to Startopia
Part 11Love & Other Catastrophes

Sirens are good to have wandering the Station as any Peep striking up a conversation with one scores a Love bonus.

Love to a Siren is a very spiritual experience, as significant to them as religion is to the Zedem Monks. Sirens score huge Soul bonuses conducting their duties, while the Monks score huge dollops of Love working at the Zedem Temple. The two groups are polarised to each other and don't get on. Sirens and Zedem "counter" each other. Sirens have problems with anything to do with the Monks and don't receive good bonuses from the Temple, while Monks have a hard time at the Love Nest and disapprove of all things Dahanese. While many Peeps will huddle around the Zedem Temple seeking divine redemption and blessings, you can always be sure that your Nests will be happily packed with Sirens who are more than content with their Lot.

You can never have too many Nests it seems. Certainly the computer AI's seem to fill their Station segments with so many Love Nests you wonder if you've missed something. More likely though, the AI's need lots of help! While massive doses of good Loving are gained, Peeps will still need to be entertained in other ways. Love Nests only marginally alleviate boredom.

Oroflexes

Sirens and Love Nests aren't the only way to gratify a Station's lovelorn population. One of the best Station attractions you can build on the Entertainment Deck is the weird and vaguely suggestive contraption called the Oroflex. Oroflexes are a giant half animal, half tree, half fairground ride and circus freak show all rolled into one. They can service up to eight Peeps at a pop, rewarding them with large dollops of Fun and Love as the Peeps presumably get a thrilling ride inside it's gullet. They're expensive to set up and take up large areas of deck space, but these strange fairground amusements are well worth it. They are a fantastic attraction in themselves, and excellent for curing boredom on your Station. Alas, the Zedem Monks have issues with them and derive no fun from them at all; if anything, a modest spiritual crisis occurs in the face of such rampant fun.

Unfortunately, their success as a venue can also create a few problems for you. Oroflexes will draw Peeps away from other Station entertainments, leaving them empty. You will almost certainly have to drop prices just to keep other facilities occupied. But there's a useful flip side: their sure fire success works in your favour by livening up dead spots on the Entertainment Deck. Peeps like to travel only so far to get anywhere, so I generally try to keep Oroflexes away from any thriving faculties. I'll replace unused entertainments in a depressed part of the deck with an Oroflex to quickly revitalise it.