The city of Delphia, Synthetica, is the capital of the Empire of Synthetica and the seat of the Imperial Government. The central “core” of Delphia consists of a planned city roughly four kilometres in diameter, surrounded by a halo of unplanned urbanization referred to by residents as Greater Delphia. This description concerns the central planned core of Delphia, and will be referred to as Delphia henceforth.
The Crest of Syntheticism is embedded into the city plan of Delphia in the form of wide, continuous esplanades, albeit rotated such that its normally upright main stroke points down towards the riverbanks against which the city has been built. The Founders Monument Park is located at the end of this stroke, right on the bank of the river, and is linked through the very center of Delphia to the Imperial Palace by the National Mall.
Halfway between the circular esplanade that surrounds the city and the very center of the city is the Φάρος Συνθετικός, the Pháros Synthetikós. This is a branch of the world-famous Pharos Institute, established and directed by Thoth himself, and several museums are curated as part of the National Mall in this block. Further back and to either side of the Pharos Synthetikos are the East and West campuses of Delphia University, also a subsidiary of the Pharos Institute.
The Imperial Palace on clear days can be visible from the Founders Monument, beyond the Obelisk. The seat of the Imperial Government is built such that Calyo’s penthouse looks out towards the Obelisk.
The Obelisk stands tall and proud in the very center of Delphia, a landmark easily seen from the Founders Monument Park, the Imperial Palace, the Palacial Estate, the Grand Temple City, and two parks at the ends of the other two main strokes. This Obelisk serves as the centerpiece of the entire city, and at night is brightly illuminated in order to remain clearly visible at all hours.
The Palacial Estate is Calyo’s personal, private estate. It is positioned counter-clockwise to the Imperial Palace (traveling west-ward). Originally ceded as entirely privately-owned lands by popular referendum, Calyo opted to establish much of the estate as a public-access private park, with only the land immediately surrounding her private mansion and a small zen garden in the very center of the estate declared as non-public-access. The Palacial Estate is landscaped such that the mansion is built at the crest of an artificial hill, with the rest of the landscape sloping down towards the city center. Calyo visits this estate most weekends, and often takes the tram, not only as a demonstration of her own willingness to use the city’s extensive mass transit system, but also because she enjoys the public commute. Most regulars on this tram line are familiar with the Empress’s weekly use of it and tend to not bat an eye.
The Grand Temple City is a city-state and an independent theocracy located clockwise to the Imperial Palace in the remaining “star” of the Crest formed in the Delphia city plan. Unlike the rest of Synthetica, which is a secular theocracy with Syntheticism as the official religion of the state mostly on paper only, the Grand Temple City is a theocracy in its purest form. Syntheticism is the state religion, and the only faith permitted to be expressed within the city’s walls.