A Conduit Plant is the heart of a Conduit City. They provide the raw element energy which is converted into power for their citizens and commerce. Each plant is similar in design concept, but aesthetically different. The core of the plants, known as the Conduit, is a connection point to a Root of the World or Primal Current. A spike of pure tralaticon is driven into the connection point and through direct conveyance technology a vast amount of raw element is siphoned off for eventual transmission to the city.
Surrounding this inner core is a larger concentric circle filled with sensitive modulation equipment. Technicians trained for the purpose ensure that the raw element drawn from the connection point is ready for the next stage of processing. The process of modulating the flow of a raw element is a delicate task. Each city has access to one connection point and may only draw one of the three elements from it. Each element is unique and requires a very different approach.
The final and largest circle contains the turbines which take in the modulated element energy and convert it into power for transmission. The turbines and all transmission lines internal to the plant must have tralaticon-alloyed aluminum or copper to transmit the element energy. However, these turbines convert that energy into a form that allows for transmission across normal aluminum or copper wire. Without that conversion, every transmission line would need amounts of tralaticon which are impossible to obtain.
Once the power leaves the Conduit Plant, it enters the grid and a series of substations and local transmission lines.
The plants themselves are the most guarded sites within Conduit City territory. Access is controlled by the Census Office and is overseen directly by each city's governing body. A Sweep Team is always on duty within the plant. Within every major section of the plant is an alarm which, if pulled, will start Containment Protocol. This protocol closes heavy doors at the entrances of each of the concentric circles and each section inside, allowing the Sweep Team to systematically clear the plant.
Incursion is the word used by the Census Office when Outsiders invade and attempt to sabotage the plant or wreak havoc within the city itself. Element Cults have also been known to penetrate plants, but they seek to steal technology or pure tralaticon rather than sabotage. These events were once uncommon but occurred with increasing frequency in the days leading up to the Apocalypse.
The Conduit Plants as they are now have been in operation less than 10 years. Dr. Baird Silver discovered direct conveyance and almost overnight the Conduit Cities changed. Before that were many decades of the slow process of passive conveyance. These cumbersome machines absorb radiant element energy from the Root of the World or Primal Current instead of directly accessing the flow of elements. The process of modulation and transmission did not change, but the scale increased massively with the discovery of direct conveyance.
The effects were immediate and large. Where before power generated from the elements was expensive, direct conveyance made cheap energy available to all. This abundance fueled an explosion of invention, increases in standard of living, and general prosperity. The shadow cast by this boom was at least as large, however. Demand for tralaticon rose and the number of expeditions heading out to find the rare natural sources increased, leading to more violent encounters with the Ergon. Mining operations on Tralaticon Isle also ramped up, with more and more corruption filtering into the system.