Nahhum

A nahhum is the (usually) large building in which a 'family' [resomo] lives. These can vary greatly in size and style, but the occupants always consider themselves as being 'family' even when not actually related. The word name nahhum pre-dates the current E-Zero international language and means 'fortified farm'. In modern times a nahhum is set in its own grounds or joined to a nahhumar (a small group of nahhum).

A nahhum normally consists of between twenty-five and sixty residents, although some have fewer and some have more. By law, each nahhum must be managed by a qualified leader who must lead by consent. A nahhum can be run in any acceptable manner, the level of democracy depends upon what the members feel is appropriate, but there are guidelines published by the professions.

In modern times the nahhum has become the center of an artificial intelligence. When talking about 'home', or the 'nahhum', as a member of the family, it is normally referred to as Peyrit. In some places, it is customary to give Peyrit a different name which can be a little confusing sometimes. Peyrit usually manages all aspects of the building and (depending on its age and model) manages the health, education and finances of the members.

Commercially a nahhum should be self-sufficient, earning revenue from the sale of goods and services produced by the family. A nahum will therefore consist of living quarters, socializing / health rooms and possibly a combination of a warehouse, small factory and/or offices. The Nahha do not distinguish between their place of work and their home, and they have no need to commute.

A modern well equipped, well maintained nahhum will consist of the following: -

  • A dining room [sethhijhes]

  • A summer room (often at the top of the building with an open roof) [nisudjhes]

  • A winter room (usually below ground) sometimes referred to as 'The Sock' [bot~dijhes]

  • A children's indoor play area [mapjhes]

  • A 'quiet room' which can be associated with children's play room, or may be on the opposite side of the building.

  • Entrance hall, which is often another social room, on the ground floor.

  • A shared bathroom/sauna/jacuzzi/swimming pool. The actual structure can vary considerably with every nahhum

  • One or more working areas which can be offices, storage/warehouse or manufacturing areas

  • A bedroom for each adult (say, 40 bedrooms) a lot of which would normally be unoccupied as adults would share. The spare rooms are also used for visitors (hotels are rare). Bedrooms vary considerably from single bed to multiple occupancy, and some have side rooms for young children. These vary considerably with every nahhum. Each bedroom usually has its own en-suite toilet and shower.

  • Various service rooms including those for maintenance and tools

  • Kitchen or food preparation area. It is currently fashionable for 'Peyrit' to manage an automated kitchen, being able to manage food stores and provide bespoke diets for the residents.

  • Laundry, or clothes room [bun~jhes]. Again, often automated peyrit will clean, repair and create new garments for the family.

Internally there must be at least a single person responsible for the running of the building and managing the residents. There can be more than one. There is usually one or more people also responsible for the maintenance and development of a nahhum. This means that these people will constantly be involved in reconfiguring the building to changing requirements often making a nahhum a dynamic piece of architecture, changing over time.

Nahhum are usually grouped together to form a nahhumar. There can be anything from two to nine nahhum in a nahhumar but the usual number is between three and five - meaning that about one hundred to two hundred members would form an extended family.

The materials used in a nahhum will also vary considerably. Modern nahhum are mostly built using a ceramic/plastic concrete-like paste that hardens into a thick insulating wall. This material is a very good sound and heat insulator. It can be softened and carved to form organic shapes but where this material is under stress it becomes very hard on its own accord. Peyrit also pervades this material with sensors and can tell when parts of the structure need maintenance or are becoming over-stressed and will announce warnings if this happens. In some nahhum the paste is actually channelled via internal conduits (maintained by small parasitic robots) and can 'grow' or 'atrophy' rooms on its own accord.

Most nahhum are constructed both above and below ground. Those built in extreme weather conditions may be fully buried or may exist as 'free buildings' and rest on top of the ground in a framework of some nature. There are many nahhum constructed under the sea as well. These will have tunnels connecting them to each other and the surface.

A travelling market, fair or theater will consider its train (or fleet of vehicles) to be its nahhum. There are several thousand large ocean-going ships and commercial aircraft where the crew live permanently on board, particularly the larger dirigible cargo transports that use helium. These are also considered nahhum even though the 'family size' may be smaller than normal.