Life in the Fifth Century of the Terran Star Empire

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"This ain't no party, This ain't 'no disco, This ain't no foolin' around...'

Unknown Philosopher Terra Pre Imp c. 9660

AN OVERVIEW

Life in the Fifth Century of the Terran Star Empire is an environment of contrasts: from unimaginable luxury and freedom to unthinkable toil and enslavement; from the pure height of selfless asceticism to the unspeakably deepest depravity. Money can buy power and power can get you just about whatever (or whoever) you want. Enough power can even get you Royal Status. The mighty Elmonit is your key to pleasures beyond the imagination.

Beyond trying to acquire cash, however, what do people in the Empire do? How do they interact? In this section are discussed some aspects of the Imperial Milieu which impact upon daily life.

SOCIETY

There is a fairly rigid social structure in the Terran Empire, though the ability of an individual to move out of a given class

varies from province to province: One's social status is encoded into his/her/its ident disc along with other pertinent information, enabling security officials to quickly thwart any illegal impersonations or unauthorized entries.

ARISTOCRACY

The highest echelon of Imperial Society, the Aristocracy, is made up of the ruling families of the various provinces including the Minor Clans. It also embraces all officials of the Province down through regional Governors (or their equivalent title) and their extended families. Nearly all major Provincial positions have become hereditary, thus adding to the sense of bloodlines dictating social class.

Aristocrats and their families are supported by the government, and though most have responsibilities to a varying degree, they seem to have large amounts of leisure time - and excesses of provincial tax money to spend. If this were not enough, most aristocratic families are extremely wealthy from inherited monits and holdings. Members of the aristocracy have a number of other privileges, both official and informal. Depending on one's rank, a member of a royal family may be exempt from varying levels of security and have more freedom (e.g., aristocrats in many provinces are permitted to carry deadly weapons while normal citizens are not). Royalty also seems to have a way of evading punishment for minor (and sometimes major) legal offenses. In most provinces a Citizen can marry into royalty and be considered such; a Slave is not permitted to marry royalty. Non-humanoids ('Humanoids' for this purpose include Neo-humans and Transhumans but not Androids or Replicants) cannot be considered Royalty under current law.

Those born into Royalty can never have it taken away. In rare circumstances, an Aristocrat has been sentenced to Slavery for a particularly heinous crime. Often this Slavery is for a fixed period of time, after which the convict is free again. He retains his Royal status, however. More often, however, a member of the Aristocracy convicted of a High Crime such as treason is sentenced to Exile (see below) for a period of time.

CITIZENRY

Citizens are usually required to work for their livelihood (unlike the Aristocracy), yet they are able to own property (unlike

slaves). They are accorded full rights under Imperial and/or Provincial Law. The Citizenry constitutes the vast majority of the Empire's population.

Certified self-aware androids can become Citizens upon activation, while Replications cannot be Citizens under any circumstances. Most non humans who interface with the Empire on an official, friendly basis are considered Citizens.

Citizens may bear non-lethal weapons in certain situations, though almost all Provinces require licenses, and taking weapons from one Province to another can be an offense. A Citizen may marry a Slave, but the practice is frowned upon and thus very rare. It also accomplishes little, as the Slave is not freed by the marriage process. On the other hand, keeping a Slave as a consort is very chic in some areas. Citizens may own as many Slaves as they can afford. Citizens may be sentenced to Slavery for various severe crimes especially monetary offenses such as embezzling, forgery, Elmonit falsification, etc.; usually the Slavery conviction is for a fixed period of time, after which the convict is free again.

SLAVERY

Slavery in the Fifth Century of the Imperium is not necessarily as bad as it sounds; in some ways it is more secure than being a Citizen, since the government protects Slaves from mistreatment by their masters ("mistreatment" can mean failing to provide proper lodgings, diet and health care). A bankrupt Citizen has very little recourse but to renounce his possessions and become a Slave.

Slaves may not own any worldly possessions. Their clothing is their master's, as is their home and anything they may create as part of their job; in return the master must provide shelter and 'reasonably comfortable living conditions'. This can vary tremendously, however. Replicants especially tend to receive hellish assignments on mining colonies, on barely habitable worlds, or performing the most undesirable tasks. Officials frequently look the other way (especially if , their gaze is diverted by Monits) when Replicant Slaves are being mistreated, since no one really cares for them.

Human Slaves generally get better treatment, but there are still areas where they are subjected to inhuman treatment and the local government does nothing to protect them.

There are a number of markets for Slaves, including private purchase, public auctions, and black-market buying. The League of Merchants makes a considerable amount of money on the illicit slave trade, dealing in humanoids from uncharted planets, mind-wiped kidnap victims, and even more unscrupulous sources.

Slaves may be trained to perform even the most skilled duties, and can be certified in a number of technical fields. Wealthy Citizens often purchase skilled Slave pilots to fly their spacecraft.

However, Slaves usually are not permitted to leave a planetary Sphere of Influence without being accompanied by a Citizen or Aristocrat. Slaves may not carry weapons more deadly than a stunner except by special license or in military situations. Although slaves are often found in the Provincial or Imperial Soldiery (purchased by that government), they rarely become officers.

Slaves can only be freed by an Imperial or Provincial Board of Certification made up of members of the high royalty. Slaves are very rarely freed, and at best they are granted Provisional Citizenship, which would allow them to marry Royalty, or for the children of a marriage to a Citizen to be considered True Citizens. Provisional Citizens have full legal rights and may possess money, but may not own land or have controlling interest in any business.

EXILE

Exiles are Imperial criminals who are forbidden to enter any system controlled by the Empire or an Inner Province. They are only permitted minimal contact with Frontier Provinces and some are not allowed even that. Usually, Exiles are political criminals who are not sentenced to death or Slavery because the government would prefer not to martyr them. Exiles are the lepers of modern society, and to be caught dealing with one while within Imperial boundaries is to invite the unrelenting. scrutiny and harassment of the Imperial Government (and nobody wants that).

TECHNOLOGY

Although technology in the universe of Space Master- some nine thousand years in our future - is far advanced, it is not beyond the imagination. Indeed, due to the numerous technological and social collapses which punctuated man's drive to the stars, many worlds subsist on a technic level not far above the barbaric 88th-90th Prelmp centuries. While truly advanced equipment exists on Imperial Core planets and Provincial Homeworlds, the cost of bringing the more sophisticated luxury items to the Frontier has often proven prohibitive.

Below is a listing of the general technical limitations and achievements of man:

. Sentient cloning and alterant replications

of all carbon based life forms whose genetic structure is encoded upon DNA strands.

. Controlled mutation of genetic material to create new extremely simple life forms. This is normally performed on the microbial level to produce biotoxins and antidotes.

. Cryogenic suspension of life forms.

. Gravitic field control to annul, enhance, or manipulate gravity on the subplanetoid level.

. Simulated sentience brought about by growing synthetic molecular "brains".

. Controlled Matter/Antimatter reactions are the most powerful energy source available to man.

. Microfusion reactors provide the limit for efficient, productive, and portable energy sources.

. Present technologies allow faster-than light travel at the maximum rate of about 0.4 light years displaced per hour.

. Controlled laser, particle beam, plasma, and electromagnetic pulse technologies form the basis for destructive weaponry.