The Lower Elements

The Lower Elements

The Lower Elements is a fictional underground universe within the Artemis Fowl world. The term refers to all areas underground that the humans (referred to as "Mud Men" by the fairies) in general do not know about. The Lower Elements are where most, if not all, fairies and other non-human beings in the series live.

History

In the fictional setting of the story, fairies and their other magical cousins used to live above ground but when the human race evolved, the two species went to war. Despite their magical powers, the fairies were defeated and fled deep beneath the ground and the sea, resulting in the creation of The Lower Elements.~

ociety

The fairies are a very advanced race with intelligence far beyond that of an average human being and as such The Lower Elements are equipped with extremely sophisticated technology, vastly superior to that of the human race. The Lower Elements are referred to as having artificial sunlight.

Despite the luxuries they have available to them in The Lower Elements, including natural hot water (possibly due to proximity to the Earth's core), sophisticated means of transportation and of course, impressive technology, the fairies lives seem to revolve around the surface of the Earth and human society. The only films fairy characters in the series are portrayed as watching are either made by humans or about humans, including "a human Western" which Grub Kelp views in "The Opal Deception" and a cinema movie about the fairies epic battle with the humans in "The Lost Colony". At another point in "The Opal Deception", Mulch Diggums remarks that fairies are "obsessed with Mud Men".

The Lower Elements are protected by a police force called the LEP (Lower Elements Police) which also seems to serve as a military as Briar Cudgeon and Opal Koboi plan to take over The Lower Elements by seizing control of the LEP in "".

Reconnaissance officers are an important body in the LEP and are referred to as LEPrecons, a play on the word "leprechaun".

The reconnaissance officers in the LEP are particularly fond of flying above ground on "recon" missions, especially the heroine of the series, Holly Short and her superior, the late Julius Root. Root at one point humorously reminds Holly that "there is life below ground you know."

Holly is contemptuous of The Lower Elements, referring to them as a "technologically advanced cave" and believing that the fairies deserve to live above ground.

Government

The Lower Elements are a democratic republic with a governing body called The Council. The head of The Council is referred to as The Chairman and is effectively the ruler of The Lower Elements.

In the first book of the series, the power-hungry Briar Cudgeon is obsessed with ascending to The Council. When his plans are thwarted and he is found to be corrupt and thus demoted, he is left consumed with hatred and determined to get revenge. He plots a coup with the villainous Opal Koboi and later says to Foaly that if it weren't for him, Root, Holly and Artemis he would be Chairman, referring to himself as having been "The Council's golden boy."

Fairy society was once presided over by a monarchy, the last ruler of which was the Elfin King, Frond. Lily Frond, the beautiful Elf who represents the LEP is descended from Frond.

Opal Koboi is obsessed with becoming dictator of The Lower Elements and eventually the entire planet, desiring power not held "since the days of the monarchy."

Notable locations

The only locations in The Lower Elements seen so far in the series, apart from the various chutes and tunnels, are the cities of Haven and Atlantis respectively.

Haven City

Haven City appears to be the capital city of The Lower Elements and as such, most fairies in the Artemis Fowl series reside there. Major government buildings are found here. It is home to the headquarters of the LEP, and The Council, the main governing body of The Lower Elements. It is one of the most populated cities in the lower elements and is widely regarded by fairies to be the greatest metropolis since the Old Atlantis (now gone) but to human standards, it is little more than a village (albeit a very high-tech one) with less than 10,000 inhabitants . Its main road network consists of tunnels and several chutes, like E1 and E37. The transportation system is a magnastrip, which is very efficient. Blast walls also protect the city in emergencies.

Atlantis

Very little is known about Atlantis, except it is under the sea, it is smaller than Haven and its residents use gills to breathe. Mulch Diggums escaped from a prison shuttle bound for Atlantis, also conveniently incapacitating the prison shuttle.

In "The Opal Deception", Atlantis is stated to be built over the ruins of the old Atlantis which was bigger than the current one.


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