A space elevator on Sweetwater whose foundation is at the seabed. A giant coffer dam surrounds the base, exposing the surrounding seafloor to sunlight. The city that has grown inside the dam is possibly the (de facto) capital of the planet, or at least the capital of the wealthy benthic cities who benefit from the planet's membership in the Allied Worlds.

Regarding life on the free-floating islands, it's pretty hard. Imagine something like the Sentialese. Since the island is actually foating vegetation, there may be terra but it isn't very firma. There are no fixed artificial structures, since the land undulates along with the waves. Fire is a precious resource, with some groups not knowing how to kindle fires and having to rely on lightning strikes to start fires that are then kept lit at all costs. Pyrolatry and pyromancy (in the mundane sense of using fire for divination) are common practices. Even though these groups are largely isolated from one another, one common theme found among most of their belief systems is a pantheon of cthonic (or thalassic?) deities or demons who may do anything from “bless” people with flotsam rising up from the benthic cities or “curse” people with storms. The attitude toward these entities is usually negative, reflecting the group's founding by Misotheist Atavists. The gods are usually seen as fickle or uncaring. Fire-water juxtoposition is also a common theme, with Focus also associated with fire. Fire is usually regarded as good and water evil or indifferent.

These atavist groups are often mistreated or exploited by roving bands of pirates, with some atavists being taken as slaves.