Gaiaterra: Elysea's Conflict/Cryo Technology

To stop the Red Menace
Cryotechnology was first discovered, tested, and put into practical use by the Andoran. It involves hosing a target with water and freezing it with a burst of liquid helium, thereby quickly freezing most objects, though recent designs have updated to using special frequency lasers to slow the motion of atoms to a near standstill, resulting in a focused freezing effect. Cryotechnology was originally used as a way to disable enemies indefinitely in suspended animation. However, it was discovered that, when frozen, things become extremely fragile, to such a degree that a single concussion would trigger catastrophic and unrepairable damage. To say the least, Cryotechnology was instantly weaponized.

However, not all applications were as violent as the most recognizable. This breakthrough led to the rapid development of cryostasis, or the indefinite suspension of matter. Larger, more powerful arrays were constructed to sustain the temperatures needed to achieve this grand feat. The first of which was built in the Smithsonian, which needed the device to preserve thousands of international treasures transferred after the fall of various nations to the Voshkod. Even the wealthy could be frozen upon request, to extend their lives, or prolong them until a solution can be found to their complication. Cryotechnology has also been a great boon to medicine, allowing critically injured people such as soldiers on the battlefield, to be put in stasis until they can be brought to a proper hospital and treated for their injuries. This has already resulted in the saving of thousands of lives that would have otherwise been lost because they could not be transported to a hospital in time.

Interpol (the branch of the Guardian dedicated to arresting civilian criminals) had other plans. Cryotechnology had immediate applications within the realm of prisoner correction. Hundreds of individuals had been arrested, detained, processed, trialed, and sentenced with due process of law, which would swamp normal prisons. They now have been assigned a cell at one of the numerous facilities designed to keep them secure. These so-called Cryo Prisons have become fortresses from which there is no hope of escape.

Cryo Prison
These large complexes are located in barren frozen areas of the world, such as Arciana, Eastern Galbadia, or (insert Gaiaterran equivalent of Greenland). These are the place where all criminals who have performed crimes against humanity are held. The only exception is the Tower of Blackwall Cryo Prison, which holds very high-visibility prisoners, like Communist heads of state.

The prisons are often the same size as a large prison base and are able to provide the keepers with plenty of home comforts because the work done by these men and women is amongst the hardest in the world. They are constructed in a similar way to any other prison. But unlike those, Cryo Prisons don't require much space for the prisoners. Prisoners are frozen in tanks and "stored" in small rooms in the largest building. These tanks, full of water, are permanently frozen by cryo emitters, so there is a low chance that anyone will be able to get out of them. If fluctuations disable the cryo emitter and the prisoner "awakens", there is a small chance they will escape because they will be nearly naked and in a cold environment. There are a large number of keepers who will stop the escapee with their weapons and put them back in their "frozen grave".

Prisoners are kept in these special facilities until the Supreme Court can do justice. Rumors that Cryo Prisons are made to keep their prisoners, among them terrorist leaders and people who committed crimes against humanity, forever in "storage" are dismissed on a regular basis.

The Cryo Prison is highly defended and is able to stop any threat. Upon massive ten-meter-high walls stand Cryo Towers for protection against tanks and aircraft and Multigunner Turrets mounted with both heavy missile launchers and cryo emitters for use against close targets. There are often many Multigunner IFVs, also with cryo emitters, for the quick pursuit of the escaping prisoners or defending against attackers and Cryocopters which support the IFVs from above.

If the Cryo Prison has access to an ocean or lake, there is usually a harbor for Alert-class Icebreakers. Since the prisons are in extremely cold, remote areas, the only men who can walk in the open air must wear suits specifically designed for such cold environments. These men are called Cryo Legionnaires, and though not originally made for prison keeping, they do their job extremely well. Currently, there are five Cryo Prisons in existence, but their locations are highly classified.