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*The Lighted City of Pearls - A far off city of mystery and intrigue. |
So twice five miles of fertile ground
With walls and towers were girdled round:
And there were gardens bright with sinuous rills,
Where blossomed many an incense-bearing tree;
And here were forests ancient as the hills,
Enfolding sunny spots of greenery.
-- Samuel Taylor Coleridge, "Kubla Khan"
Top is an odd thing: an aristocratic society in a world without wealth, or formal government. Instead, Topwarpians base their claims to nobility on skill (especially in the arts and "humanities"), superior decorum, and strength of character. Titles must be earned and respect must be carefully maintained. Citizens of Top are expected to rigorously police themselves, and misbehavior is met with ruthless ostracism.
Topwarp is conservative in the most literal sense of the term. They believe in preservation of tradition for its own sake. This brings them into sharp contrast with all the other warps, which neglect their past for reasons ranging from scientific detachment (like Up) to out-and-out psychosis (like Strange).
Topwarpians generally value elegance and sophistication above all else, and believe that these virtues emanate principally from strictly disciplined willpower. Contrary to their reputation, Topwarpians are not prudish. They enjoy pleasure as much as any other inhabitant of the Mess. They are simply experts in delaying their gratification, sometimes at lengths which others may find absurd. They also tend to be exceptionally private about their personal affairs. (In fact, sensual domination and submission are treated as very serious professions in Top, with secretive guilds and elaborate codes of propriety.)
Top has a somewhat more rural feel than most of the Mess. It's one of the few Warps that has large regions of fully organic wilderness (thanks in large part to the population of nature-loving Neo-Boreals), and most of its residential areas consist of palatial estates with plenty of gardens and immaculately kept yards. Topwarpians uniformly reject factories, skyscrapers, foam-domes, and similar outgrowths of industrial design; they find them tastelessly plebian. (The "cinema" studio operated by Mr. Buck Goldberg in Top is not even discussed in polite company there.)