Difference between revisions of "FreeRIDErs (setting)"
| Line 20: | Line 20: | ||
=={{separator|stars|Background Material}}== | =={{separator|stars|Background Material}}== | ||
| − | + | ==={{separator|stars|Monetary Units}}=== | |
| + | '''Source:''' Reynolds, Nathan. (149 AL) ''Zharus: A Socio-Economic Primer'' (Uplift: Uplift Press) | ||
| + | There is a frequently-repeated but probably apocryphal story that posits, when the newly-formed Nexus Consortium in Laurasia was drawing up plans to establish a colony on the continent of Gondwana, it forgot to provide the contractor with its preferred names for things, such as the units of currency the colony would use. So the contractor simply used “monetary units” (or the abbreviation “mu”) as a placeholder, assuming Nextus could change it later. | ||
| + | |||
| + | However, the name had not been changed by the time the colony was actually founded, at which point the colonists--impressed with its straightforwardness and simple Greek-letter abbreviation--adopted the placeholder as its actual currency title. Thanks to Nextus’s rapid economic explosion due to its advances in science, technology, and industry, its “mu,” “moo,” or “moonits” soon displaced other colonies’ own government-backed money (such as Nuevo San Antonio’s neo-peso or Uplift’s cumulo) as the ''de facto'' currency of trade among people and businesses. | ||
| + | |||
| + | By this point, the passage of time makes it unlikely the story will ever be either proven or disproven--but whether true or not, the story has been incessantly repeated by other colonists (and even Nextusians themselves) for the same reason as most ethnic humor--it plays so well to the Nextusian stereotype as a bunch of unimaginative pragmatists. (See also, “How many Nextusians does it take to charge a hardlight projector?”) Unimaginative or not, however, Nextus boasts a GDP 50% larger than its nearest Gondwanan competitor—so perhaps pragmatism may not be all bad. | ||
| + | |||
| + | ==={{separator|stars|Zharus: Ecology and Wildlife}}=== | ||
| + | '''Source:''' Banner, R.J.. (122 AL) ''Zharus: A Guide for Immigrants.'' New Boston: Suffolk E-Press | ||
| + | ====Introduction: A Far Away Home==== | ||
| + | Zharus was discovered by a sublight survey probe in the year 72BL (Before Landing, 2278 AD). It took twenty years for the data to travel back to Earth at mere lightspeed. At the time habitable planets were starting to appear more frequently as probes were sent to nearby stars. That Zharus was a habitable super-Earth came as a surprise in the astrobiology, astronomy, and xenogeology fields. Underwritten by the philanthropic Zharus Diaspora Group and Steader Colonization Consortium, a fleet of twenty colonization ships were built and sent into the stars, with hundreds more to follow. The journey took thirty-five years and is an adventure tale by itself. | ||
| + | The advent of superluminal propulsion a century ago changed the whole colonization landscape. Even the first superluminal starships shaved ''twenty years'' off the travel time. Since then, as speeds through subspace steadily increase, we are now within a year's travel from the Core Colonies of Proxima and Centauri. We have the space, no natives to displace. Come join us! | ||
| + | Our world is dominated by three truly massive continents to match its impressive girth, rightly named for Old Earth's long-vanished supercontinents. Despite this, our surface gravity is less than Old Earth's. While this leaves planetary resources deficient in most useful heavy metals, asteroid mining more than makes up for it. Our world provides ample resources, including so-called "rare earths" in vast amounts necessary to run modern civilization. | ||
| + | We are proudly the largest jewel in the Earth-sphere's crown. Independent of Earth-sphere politics, yet proud of our heritage. | ||
| + | ====Laurasia: A Temperate Eden==== | ||
| + | The smallest continent, Laurasia's growing population of two billion is still uncrowded. As large as North America and Asia combined, by itself it has nearly half of Old Earth's habitable surface area. The continent has been extensively terraformed and the process continues. 90% of food production is centered here, with vast areas devoted to Terran crops and livestock. Yes, we still raise food the old-fashioned way. | ||
| + | Visit the capital city of Zharustead. | ||
| + | ====Rodinia: A Native Refuge==== | ||
| + | The second-largest continent. Slightly larger than Laurasia, it dominates the Southern Hemisphere. The Zharus Colonial Authority designated this continent as a native refuge--a Planetary Park--declaring it off limits to any development aside from a few special tourist and scientific installations. | ||
| + | Zharusian life is primitive by Earth standards, with no native vertebrates. The continent is dominated by life similar to Earth's Carboniferous Period, three hundred million years ago, with the addition of grassoids, flowing plants, and well-developed soils. Verdant and lush, there are many safari options for the willing. Will you dare? | ||
| + | ====Gondwana: A Billion Year Drought==== | ||
| + | Since its discovery from the very first survey probe, geologists and climatologists from Earth and beyond have marveled at the conditions that have produced the Dry Ocean. A combination of geographical features, tectonic stasis, and the most stable climate ever discovered, have left an area larger than the North Atlantic on Earth drier than the Atacama Desert in South America. At the deepest point, 1,800 meters below sea level, temperatures can reach 80C on high summer days and a chilly -20C on low winter nights. | ||
| + | The Dry Ocean contains wonders unseen on other worlds, even the low-gravity spindle-arches on Proxima. Desert tours are available for a nominal fee, ranging from personal tours from locals to commercial liners carrying hundreds of guests in climate-controlled comfort on leisurely week-long cruises. | ||
| + | Human and native life exists around the edges. The Polis of Uplift is the only one that exists away from the life-giving rains of the continent's Coastal Ring. These hardy, friendly folk will be happy to welcome newcomers from Earth, Proxima, Wednesday, and the other human colonies. | ||
| + | What life exists in the Deep Desert lives on a different plane of time. See the columnar "plants" that contain numerous channels to trap any hint of moisture in the air, some estimated to be ''millions'' of years old. | ||
| + | There is great wealth here, buried in the rock, in vast deposits of evaporates bombarded by millions of years of solar radiation, changed somehow. It's all here, unclaimed riches. Will you get yours?* | ||
| + | <nowiki>*</nowiki> <sub>This is not a guarantee. Suffolk E-Press LLC is not liable for ''mu'' spent, death, dismemberment, accidental species/gender reassignment, or potential bankruptcy.</sub> | ||
| + | |||
| + | |||
| + | '''More to come…''' | ||
[[Category:FreeRIDErs]] | [[Category:FreeRIDErs]] | ||
Revision as of 21:38, 22 July 2012
 |
FreeRIDErs story universe |
Contents
Stories in Chronological Order 
Stories in Chronological Order 
Authors may add links to their stories as they happen in chronological order in story time. For a complete listing of all FreeRIDErs stories, since this list may be updated sporadically, see the FreeRIDErs Category.
156 AL
Background Material
Background Material Monetary Units
Monetary Units Source: Reynolds, Nathan. (149 AL) Zharus: A Socio-Economic Primer (Uplift: Uplift Press)
There is a frequently-repeated but probably apocryphal story that posits, when the newly-formed Nexus Consortium in Laurasia was drawing up plans to establish a colony on the continent of Gondwana, it forgot to provide the contractor with its preferred names for things, such as the units of currency the colony would use. So the contractor simply used “monetary units” (or the abbreviation “mu”) as a placeholder, assuming Nextus could change it later.
However, the name had not been changed by the time the colony was actually founded, at which point the colonists--impressed with its straightforwardness and simple Greek-letter abbreviation--adopted the placeholder as its actual currency title. Thanks to Nextus’s rapid economic explosion due to its advances in science, technology, and industry, its “mu,” “moo,” or “moonits” soon displaced other colonies’ own government-backed money (such as Nuevo San Antonio’s neo-peso or Uplift’s cumulo) as the de facto currency of trade among people and businesses.
By this point, the passage of time makes it unlikely the story will ever be either proven or disproven--but whether true or not, the story has been incessantly repeated by other colonists (and even Nextusians themselves) for the same reason as most ethnic humor--it plays so well to the Nextusian stereotype as a bunch of unimaginative pragmatists. (See also, “How many Nextusians does it take to charge a hardlight projector?”) Unimaginative or not, however, Nextus boasts a GDP 50% larger than its nearest Gondwanan competitor—so perhaps pragmatism may not be all bad.
Zharus: Ecology and Wildlife
Zharus: Ecology and Wildlife Source: Banner, R.J.. (122 AL) Zharus: A Guide for Immigrants. New Boston: Suffolk E-Press
Introduction: A Far Away Home
Zharus was discovered by a sublight survey probe in the year 72BL (Before Landing, 2278 AD). It took twenty years for the data to travel back to Earth at mere lightspeed. At the time habitable planets were starting to appear more frequently as probes were sent to nearby stars. That Zharus was a habitable super-Earth came as a surprise in the astrobiology, astronomy, and xenogeology fields. Underwritten by the philanthropic Zharus Diaspora Group and Steader Colonization Consortium, a fleet of twenty colonization ships were built and sent into the stars, with hundreds more to follow. The journey took thirty-five years and is an adventure tale by itself. The advent of superluminal propulsion a century ago changed the whole colonization landscape. Even the first superluminal starships shaved twenty years off the travel time. Since then, as speeds through subspace steadily increase, we are now within a year's travel from the Core Colonies of Proxima and Centauri. We have the space, no natives to displace. Come join us! Our world is dominated by three truly massive continents to match its impressive girth, rightly named for Old Earth's long-vanished supercontinents. Despite this, our surface gravity is less than Old Earth's. While this leaves planetary resources deficient in most useful heavy metals, asteroid mining more than makes up for it. Our world provides ample resources, including so-called "rare earths" in vast amounts necessary to run modern civilization. We are proudly the largest jewel in the Earth-sphere's crown. Independent of Earth-sphere politics, yet proud of our heritage.
Laurasia: A Temperate Eden
The smallest continent, Laurasia's growing population of two billion is still uncrowded. As large as North America and Asia combined, by itself it has nearly half of Old Earth's habitable surface area. The continent has been extensively terraformed and the process continues. 90% of food production is centered here, with vast areas devoted to Terran crops and livestock. Yes, we still raise food the old-fashioned way. Visit the capital city of Zharustead.
Rodinia: A Native Refuge
The second-largest continent. Slightly larger than Laurasia, it dominates the Southern Hemisphere. The Zharus Colonial Authority designated this continent as a native refuge--a Planetary Park--declaring it off limits to any development aside from a few special tourist and scientific installations. Zharusian life is primitive by Earth standards, with no native vertebrates. The continent is dominated by life similar to Earth's Carboniferous Period, three hundred million years ago, with the addition of grassoids, flowing plants, and well-developed soils. Verdant and lush, there are many safari options for the willing. Will you dare?
Gondwana: A Billion Year Drought
Since its discovery from the very first survey probe, geologists and climatologists from Earth and beyond have marveled at the conditions that have produced the Dry Ocean. A combination of geographical features, tectonic stasis, and the most stable climate ever discovered, have left an area larger than the North Atlantic on Earth drier than the Atacama Desert in South America. At the deepest point, 1,800 meters below sea level, temperatures can reach 80C on high summer days and a chilly -20C on low winter nights. The Dry Ocean contains wonders unseen on other worlds, even the low-gravity spindle-arches on Proxima. Desert tours are available for a nominal fee, ranging from personal tours from locals to commercial liners carrying hundreds of guests in climate-controlled comfort on leisurely week-long cruises. Human and native life exists around the edges. The Polis of Uplift is the only one that exists away from the life-giving rains of the continent's Coastal Ring. These hardy, friendly folk will be happy to welcome newcomers from Earth, Proxima, Wednesday, and the other human colonies. What life exists in the Deep Desert lives on a different plane of time. See the columnar "plants" that contain numerous channels to trap any hint of moisture in the air, some estimated to be millions of years old. There is great wealth here, buried in the rock, in vast deposits of evaporates bombarded by millions of years of solar radiation, changed somehow. It's all here, unclaimed riches. Will you get yours?* * This is not a guarantee. Suffolk E-Press LLC is not liable for mu spent, death, dismemberment, accidental species/gender reassignment, or potential bankruptcy.
More to come…
