Prime Base
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
In the Lensman science fiction series written by E. E. Smith, Prime Base is a man-made, flat-topped mountain on Tellus that houses the headquarters of the Galactic Patrol, including the office of the Port Admiral. During the time of the First Lensman, it was attacked by pirates working for Boskonia, but thanks to the efforts of its fleet and defences it survived without coming to any harm.
Prime Base has a large number of functions, including the ability to construct warships for the Galactic Patrol and a variety of scientific labs for scientists that work there, such a Nels Bergenholm. It is hinted within the series that, rather than a Military-Industrial Complex such as evolved in our society, almost all military research and production is managed by civilian employees of the Galactic Patrol, rather than by independent contractors. Earth's financial contribution to the Galactic Patrol is paid by a 3.6% income tax "in the highest brackets," distributed across the entire planet, making the financial pinnings of the Patrol -- even in wartime -- roughly equivalent to current Department of Defense spending as a fraction of the US economy.
Internal evidence in the series suggests that Prime Base is the evolved form of NORAD headquarters in Cheyenne Mountain, Colorado.
With the discovery of Lundmark's Nebula, the Galactic Patrol built Ultra Prime base on Klovia - a far stronger version of Prime Base, though it never replaced Prime Base in terms of overall importance.
