The Pipe People were the natives of the planet, driven underground by the colonists. They eventually took to living in pipes throughout the city. There were specified tourist zones, a rocket pod zone with scheduled flights, and a waiting zone that moved to different places depending on the time of night. This was in place of a prison, prisons being considered dreadful places. Helen A had built over 1,000 factories that were staffed by drones who came from the flatlands, and were forbidden to enter the city.