Drunkard's Walk Forums

Post capsule descriptions of notable people/places/things from Fenspace here.
-- Bob
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...The President is on the line
As ninety-nine crab rangoons go by...

Might as well start it off.

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Hermes Universal Deliveries (HUD)
Founded: Fall/Winter 2007

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It was no, strictly speaking, what you'd expect from a summit meeting.
On the other hand, the small pocket cruiser Uncertainty was floating around in geo-synch, hooked up the the first true orbital habitat. That this habitat consisted of an old Grayhound, a Winniebago, several trailer homes, and a number of old train cars that desperately needed reupholstering, all hooked together, was being ignored at the moment.
The simple fact that they were still there after the last few days meant that the structural integrity fields were holding fast, and deflectors were still working too. None of the geiger counters had as much as twitched, which was an added measure of comfort.
It was about as close to being a summit, literally, as things got.
For once, the meeting wasn't to discuss some new and innovative way of applying Handwavium. There was plenty going on in that direction anyway ... and most of the discussion consisted of enough shouting to make a person want to space someone after a while. No, this was a more civil group, gathered around the small table sitting in the middle of the boat's equally small cabin with cup ramen and ideas steaming.
Logistics, they said. Demand, they said. The need to provide supply, they said. There were plenty of things that people just trampled over in their haste to get here, and would be willing to pay to have handed to them without much of a fuss.
In the fumes of miso flavoring and brewing coffee, the first, the first Universal Delivery Company of the New Age of Spacefaring (*drumroll*) slowly took shape, born out of necessity, opportunity, and the want to make a quick buck.
Well, no. Not really.
They were mostly just tired of cup-ramen, by this point, saw that the others were too busy to think about this sort of thing but _would_ likely shell out for pizza and chinese take-out, and went from there.
Not quite as dramatic, or awe inspiring, but it worked.

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Summary: Formed because 'it seemed like a good idea at the time' the company was the first to capitalize on Fennish materialism and desire to be able to, oh, order out for chinese when still in orbit but doing 'Something Important'. In a short while, both scope and range of effective delivery increased, and the original group that had come together in the early days started contracting out and networking with other Fen in a position to do the same. As a result, and after hiring on the first dozen or so 'retaining members', it became the first organized logistics company in space.
When anti-handwavium laws began to make the rounds, 'daneside relations with the US and most of Europe were discontinued, and business rerouted through Australia. Their 'daneside office is attached to Kingsford Smith International Spaceport.
Currently, Hermes consists of offices on Phobos, in Venus orbit, and on the Island, a steady flotilla of nearly three dozen smallcraft, five larger utility haulers, and a space-train, with more in production. That, and a standing subcontracting offer for indie Fen, should their own assets become unavailable for some reason, at a negotiable middle-man fee.
Founding Members (listing pseudonyms):
* Nikodemus Fargo - now Nikodemus Riddle - aka Scales or The Jovian Lizard
* Quincy Rosenkreuz - aka Quinn or Ricky
* J.S. Yzak - currently J.Yin and S.Yang
* Katz Schrdinger -
* Seth Reilly - aka Gecko
Trivia:
* N.Riddle, Q.Rosenkreuz and K.Schrdinger are silent partners and initial backers of Fenbucks and Fenway - first coffee house and sub-eatery in space, respectively.
* Just Yin and So Yang are/is currently on sabbatical from pretty much everything, and was last seen debating Life, the Universe, and Cheese with the Discordians.
* Seth Reilly is also known as The Amazing Spider-Fan, and is banned from taking part in cosplay as a certain group of Marvel Characters. When not doing delivery runs, he moonlights as an architect and runs a small design company named The Web.

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-Griever
ETA: editsu
When tact is required, use brute force. When force is required, use greater force.
When the greatest force is required, use your head. Surprise is everything. - The Book of Cataclysm

(unlisted)

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aka: Mr. Morden; General Lee; Mr Johnson; Asuma; *delete-expletive* the Hutt
Although his real name is a minor mystery, the man known by the nickname of Mr. Morden is one of the fixtures of Fendom, playing the not always welcome role of fixer - a combination of lawyer, diplomat and bounty hunter. None of these careers tend to inspire trust, but this is a burden that he seems prepared to bear so long as he receives his 'percentage'.
Although he was wanted earlier in his career by the Russian Federation for violations of their airspace and of smuggling fugitives across their borders, he was pardoned early in 2009. He is known to have worked as an asteroid miner briefly and to act as an intermediary between Fens and Mundane organisations (e.g. the Davis-Monthan Air Force Base in Arizona, where he has arranged the sale of numerous decommissioned military aircraft the various Fens). He is also a notable fundraiser for various projects and is considered to have some credibility and contacts in the Mundane financial world - something that makes him few friends among Fens.
Despite numberous claims to the contrary, there is no indication that he has exceptional wealth. What he does with his income is as much of a mystery to Fendom as his past.
Description: human caucasian male of above average height, no known biomods. Hair and eyes dark brown, bearded.
Preferred Transport: SS Saint Bernard; SC Jaime Retief
Known Associates: Too many to list, but includes the Karasukage of the Village of Hidden Asteroid, elements of the United States Air Force and senior members of the Venus Terraforming Project (of which he is a major backer).D for Drakensis
You're only young once, but immaturity is forever.
D for Drakensis

You're only young once, but immaturity is forever.

Katz Schrdinger

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Nom-de-guerre officially taken by one of the founders of Hermes Universal Deliveries. As with all the others, no prior records exist due to legal and somewhat less than legal actions taken after the 'Danelaw decided to come down hard on 'wavetech.
Incidentally, that was also the time the first meeting between Schrdinger and the individual known, among other things, as 'Mr.Morden' took place. Read into that coincidence what you will.
Katz tends to keep to himself, and is more often than not accurately described by the phrase 'eminently forgettable'. He still does deliveries on occasion, and makes extra money here and there by putting together gravtech or energy shield kitbashes on order. He's known to have done some work for the Hidden Asteroid in that regard.
Among the original HUD group, he's by far the least profilic, and the only one who hasn't made BNF.
Neither does he particularly want to.
Most people assume he's 'modded, but he himself when asked will only shrug and deny. There's not much indication to the contrary, although it should be noted that 'guacamole' state Handwavium doesn't affect him when ingested.
Description: human caucasian male, standing at around 6'2". Average built. Grey hair: Suspected bio-mod, details unknown. Tends to prefer non-obtrusive forms of dress, though they always have a lot of pockets.
Preferred Transport: SS Uncertainty
Known Associates: Hermes Universal Deliveries, Village of Hidden Asteroid, SEBureau, various others he's run across on the spaceways, Trigon *shudder*

---

-Griever
When tact is required, use brute force. When force is required, use greater force.
When the greatest force is required, use your head. Surprise is everything. - The Book of Cataclysm

I think this might be a little over the top, but tell me what you think. In a seperate thread.

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The Professor

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Also known as the Scourge of Europe, the Enemy of All Who Live, the Bane of Paris and a host of other names. His real name lies forgotten by almost everyone, and chances are he wouldn't even respond to it anymore.

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History
He is in many ways the quintessential mad scientist, brilliant, obsessed with his work, misunderstood by his peers and insane. Or at least that is the way that many fen see him, and it is not too far of the mark, the mundanes have a decidedly less complementary view of him, especially those influenced by the French media.
The Professor launched what would later be known as his Reign of Terror on the 25'th of July 2007 in Basel, when he and his three assistants raided several pharmaceutical labs in the city by simply driving up to them in a truck and beginning to load a bunch of hazardous chemicals and various devices as if they had every right to be there. It was not until the third lab that they hit that they where even asked what they were doing, which the Professor gleefully explained at great length, and to see their papers authorizing the move. When the Professor admitted to not having them the guard tried to contain them by closing the gate, at which point they drove through the building. The ensuing chase wreaked 57 police cruisers, six Abrams tanks and two Apache helicopters, as well as causing almost two billion Euro of damage (what is often neglected is that the military caused a significant portion of that, and a significant part of the remaining damage is the cost of all those military vehicles.) and caused a significant diplomatic incident between Switzerland and France that could have led to war.
It could have led to war if it wasn't for the fact that 2 days after the incident the Professor send his assistants to raid Versailles. This audacious raid was one of the few raids by the Professor that were he was rebuffed and it sparked an international man hunt of epic proportions. Soon America joined in because of the whole war on terror and because the Professor managed to steal a pair of A-10s from an American military base in Germany.
Among other things the professors exploits perfectly fed into the media frenzy who neglected to mention the astounding lack of fatalities and soon it was assumed that whenever there where no fatalities it was just luck on the defenders part. Soon he was seen as a madman more dangerous than any in recorded history.
In early October the Professor put a 'death ray' on top of the Eiffel tower and for the next twelve hour held off attack by everyone from the Paris police department, the mafia, and an attack by angry neo-nazis. The fact that the death ray didn't kill was ignored by both the professor and the media in the naming of the invention. The fact that everyone hit by the ray had to truthfully answer all questions for several days afterwards proved very inconvenient for several politicians, corrupt cops and a rather large group of mafiosi. Strangely enough reporters seemed immune to the effects of the ray.
Fearing for their re-election chances politicians promptly devoted far more resources to the search, bankrupting several countries, and they were not alone, the mob also had no interest in the recurrence of this happening and neither did several other parties. During this time the combined price on the Professor's head reached a record shattering 17.8 Trillion Euros.
Terrorist had not been idle during this time of monomaniacal focus on the Professor and had, much to their later regret, managed to build a nuke. Denmark was currently seen in a light even worse than the great devil America in no small part though the controversy surrounding the Jyllands-Posten and its Muhammad cartoons, and therefore they planed to nuke Copenhagen. Unfortunately for them the Professor was looking for nuclear material at the time, and they happened to be the easiest way to acquire plutonium in the necessary quantities for his experiments.
Long story short at the 25'th of October the Professor stole their nuke after working his way through dozens of other terrorist cells attempting to track down the nuke, with a hodgepodge of forces always hot on his heels. The Professor was finally captured on the 26'th when he fell asleep next to the half disassembled nuke. Thanks to some quick talking by Ryoko people became convinced that the Professor had deliberately hunted down terrorist cells to find the nuke (which was true) and that he did it just to save people (which wasn't so true). To express their thanks at preventing a nuclear disaster the Danes managed to get a back room deal through the UN which exiled the Professor, rather than having him killed, over the vocal objections of the French. It probably helped that the Professor hadn't visited Denmark before.
At this date there are still several bounties on the Professors head, a declaration by the pope that the Professor is the Antichrist, a few Jihads, and a few assorted other death threats. though the numbers have dropped significantly, but the occasional stupid bounty hunter still makes a try for the Professor.

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The Professor has biomoded himself, though the exact effects are debated. It is known that he doesn't need sleep as long as he regularly ingest caffeine, though he does become crazier the longer he is awake. It has been argued that the Professor's biomod increased his intelligence and or his ability to work with handwavium but there is no objective proof of this. Lastly his insanity is often blamed on the biomod, but there are those who argue that he is sane, just eccentric.
The professor is generally friendly but will often get side tracked into a rant on the power of science.
Description: Tall and lanky at 191 cm, always wears a labcoat. Messy light brown hair, blue eyes. He also wears a pair of glasses whose lenses are actually forcefields. When he feels the need to be formal he will (badly) wear a tie in some horrendous color or combinations of colors, and they usually have some small symbols on them that relate to mad science in some way, such as biohazard symbols.
E: "Did they... did they just endorse the combination of the JSDF and US Army by showing them as two lesbian lolicons moving in together and holding hands and talking about how 'intimate' they were?"
B: "Have you forgotten so soon? They're phasing out Don't Ask, Don't Tell."

Travel Times
For the general edification of the masses...
Using speed drives (within the range of 0.01c to 0.1c which seems to be the fenspace standard) travel times are as follows:
0.01c (1% lightspeed)
Earth-Mercury: 13 hrs 51 min (mean), 7 hrs 24 min (closest), 20 hrs 19 min (farthest)
Earth-Venus: 13 hrs 52 min (mean), 3 hrs 16 min (closest), 24 hrs 27 min (farthest)
Earth-Luna: 2 min 8 sec (mean)
Earth-Mars: 21 hrs 7 min (mean), 5 hrs 5 min (closest), 1 day 13 hrs (farthest)
Earth-Ceres: 1 day 14 hrs (mean), 21.5 hrs (closest), 2 days 7 hrs (farthest)
Earth-Jupiter: 3 days (mean), 2 days 6 hrs (closest), 3 days 17 hrs (farthest)
Earth-Saturn: 5 days 12 hrs (mean), 4 days 15 hrs (closest), 6 days 9 hrs (farthest)
Earth-Uranus: 11 days 2 hrs (mean), 9 days 23 hrs (closest), 12 days 4 hrs (farthest)
Earth-Neptune: 17 days 8 hrs (mean), 16 days 15 hrs (closest), 18 days 2 hrs (farthest)
Earth-Pluto: 22 days 19 hrs (mean), 16 days 13 hrs (closest), 29 days 36 min (farthest)
Earth-Eris: 39 days 1 hrs (mean), 21 days 8 hrs (closest), 56 days 18 hrs (farthest)

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0.05c (5% lightspeed)
Earth-Mercury: 2 hrs 46 min (mean), 88 min 56 sec (closest), 4 hrs 3 min (farthest)
Earth-Venus: 2 hrs 46 min (mean), 39 min 19 sec (closest), 4 hrs 53 min (farthest)
Earth-Luna: 25 sec (mean)
Earth-Mars: 4 hrs 13 min (mean), 61 min 2 sec (closest), 7 hrs 26 min (farthest)
Earth-Ceres: 7 hrs 40 min (mean), 4 hrs 19 min (closest), 11 hrs 76 sec (farthest)
Earth-Jupiter: 14 hrs 25 min (mean), 10 hrs 55 min (closest), 17 hrs 55 min (farthest)
Earth-Saturn: 26 hrs 26 min (mean), 22 hrs 12 min (closest), 30 hrs 40 min (farthest)
Earth-Uranus: 2 days 5 hrs (mean), 1 day 23 hrs (closest), 2 day 10 hrs (farthest)
Earth-Neptune: 3 days 11 hrs (mean), 3 days 7 hrs (closest), 3 days 14 hrs (farthest)
Earth-Pluto: 4 days 13 hrs (mean), 3 days 7 hrs (closest), 5 day 19 hrs (farthest)
Earth-Eris: 7 days 19 hrs (mean), 4 days 6 hrs (closest), 11 days 8 hrs (farthest)

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0.1c (10% lightspeed)
Earth-Mercury: 83 min 11 sec (mean), 44 min 28 sec (closest), 2 hrs 1 min (farthest)
Earth-Venus: 83 min 13 sec (mean), 19 min 39 sec (closest), 2 hrs 26 min (farthest)
Earth-Luna: 12 sec (mean)
Earth-Mars: 2 hrs 6 min (mean), 30 min 31 sec (closest), 3 hrs 43 min (farthest)
Earth-Ceres: 3 hrs 50 min (mean), 2 hrs 9 min (closest), 5 hrs 30 min (farthest)
Earth-Jupiter: 7 hrs 12 min (mean), 5 hrs 27 min (closest), 8 hrs 57 min (farthest)
Earth-Saturn: 13 hrs 13 min (mean), 11 hrs 6 min (closest), 15 hrs 20 min (farthest)
Earth-Uranus: 26 hrs 36 min (mean), 23 hrs 59 min (closest), 29 hrs 12 min (farthest)
Earth-Neptune: 1 day 17 hrs (mean), 1 day 15 hrs (closest), 1 day 19 hrs (farthest)
Earth-Pluto: 2 days 6 hrs (mean), 1 day 15 hrs (closest), 2 days 21 hrs (farthest)
Earth-Eris: 3 days 21 hrs (mean), 2 days 3 hrs (closest), 5 days 16 hrs (farthest)

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Interstellar Speed: 500c (500 times lightspeed)
Sol-Alpha Centauri: 3.21 days
Sol-Barnard's Star: 4.31 days
Sol-Wolf 359: 5.70 days
Sol-Lalande 21185: 6.06 days
Sol-Epsilon Eridani: 7.67 days
Sol-Ross 128: 7.96 days
Sol-Epsilon Indi: 8.62 days
Sol-Tau Ceti: 8.69 days
Sol-Omicron(2) Eridani: 12.05 days
Sol-Altair: 12.27 days
Sol-Sigma Draconis: 13.73 days
Sol-Eta Cassiopeiae: 14.17 days
Sol-36 Ophiuichi: 14.24 days
Sol-82 Eridani: 14.46 days
Sol-Delta Pavonis: 14.54 days
Sol-61 Virginis: 20.31 days
Sol-61 Ursae Majoris: 22.73 days
Sol-Zeta(2) Reticuli: 28.78 days
Sol-Zeta(1) Reticuli: 28.85 days---
Mr. Fnord
http://fnord.sandwich.net/
http://www.jihad.net/
Mr. Fnord interdimensional man of mystery

FenWiki - Your One-Stop Shop for Fenspace Information

"I. Drink. Your. NERDRAGE!"

Fnord - Where'd you find the distances? I'd like to run Moondance's numbers for comparison...
Ja, -n

===============================================
"Puripuri puripuri... Bang!"

I have a nifty little program called AstroSynthesis that, among other things, has a travel time calculator with presets for 1%, 5%, 10% lightspeed, as well as an acceleration-based calculator.
The interstellar stuff I actually wrung out the hard way in an Excel spreadsheet for another project.---
Mr. Fnord
http://fnord.sandwich.net/
http://www.jihad.net/
Mr. Fnord interdimensional man of mystery

FenWiki - Your One-Stop Shop for Fenspace Information

"I. Drink. Your. NERDRAGE!"

Ship Classifications
Given the rather diverse sources of hardware used for space travel by Fendom, any formal classification of vessels would be rather problematic. The notion of formally licencing them or establishing an actual registry, would also of course be laughable.
However, some degree of distinction is necessary for traffic control purposes around space stations and planetary facilities, so in one of the many (many, many, many) clauses of the Treaty of Kandor-Con, the major ports of Fendom agreed to the following nomenclature. Pilots are asked to use them when identifying themselves to request landing or launch clearance and most docking protocols (such as they are) are based upon them. As a matter of courtesy, some Fen list their craft's name with the appropriate prefix for their classification.
Space Craft (SC)
The most common space transports by far, Space Craft are defined as any spacecraft that can be landed within a standard parking lot's parking spaces. The technical requirement is 'less than 18 feet along a viable direction of thrust and less than 9 feet horizontally perpendicular to this axis, with landing gear suitable to a flat surface'. Craft between 9 and 18 feet wide and less than 9 feet long will usually have to demonstrate that they can fly sideways with reasonable precision before anyone believes that they count as Space Craft as otherwise they can't be relied upon to be able to navigate into the internal Space Craft docks of most really large facilities. Most Space Craft, for obvious reasons, began life as automobiles.
Space Ship (SS)
In general, Space Ships are considered to be anything mobile that falls between the definitions of Space Craft and Space Vessels. There is considerable variation in size and type - modified aircraft are fairly common but probably not a majority. Typically they function as mobile homes or as medium cargo transports but many other purposes exist.
Space Vessel (SV)
This deisgnation is reserved for the largest of craft - heavy cargo haulers and semi-mobile stations being the most common. In general, any space vessel that has a longest dimension in excess of 250 feet is classed as a Space Vessel and most docking facilities insist that they do not make close approaches, instead transferring crew, passengers and cargo by means of auxiliary craft.
Space Port (SP)
A Space Port is defined as any space station that has capability to dock Space Craft without the use of specialist gear on the part of the Space Craft (Stations that that require specialised docking gear to allow access without EVA are unofficially designated as b****y rude), but that cannot usually make accomodation for most Space Ships. Many Space Ports have a 'parking lot' area and/or extendable airlocks that can make a tight seal around car doors or windows.
Space Dock (SD)
Space Docks are defined as space stations that have a resonable chance of docking Space Ships internally. While there are no guarentees, designating yourself as a Space Dock implies that a good faith effort will be made to dock anything less than a Space Vessel if landing permission is needed, and that Space Craft are available for ferrying duty if docking is not possible.D for Drakensis
You're only young once, but immaturity is forever.
D for Drakensis

You're only young once, but immaturity is forever.

Hey, drakensis? Two things...

Quote:

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The most common space transports by far, Space Craft are defined as any spacecraft that can be landed within a standard parking lot's parking spaces (roughly, a maximum of 9 feet wide and 18 long). Craft less than 18 feet wide and less than 9 feet long do not meet this classification as they can't be relied upon to be able to navigate into the internal Space Craft docks of most really large facilities.

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First, I can't get this to parse. According to this, SC-class ships do not exist. Should that be 'more than 18 feet' and 'more than 9 feet' instead of 'less than'?

Quote:

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This deisgnation is reserved for the largest of craft - heavy cargo haulers and semi-mobile stations being the most common. In general, any space vessel that has a longest dimension in excess of 200 feet is classed as a Space Vessel and most docking facilities insist that they do not make close approaches, instead transferring crew, passengers and cargo by means of auxiliary craft.

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Second, would you consider setting the SV designation to include ships greater than 250 feet? That would let the Fateful Lightning remain an SS-class ship, just slipping in under the 250-foot limit with the trailers/cab combined length.

Ships longer than they are wide can be SC. Ones wider than they are long can't - or only can if they can move straight sideways.
Ja, -n

===============================================
"Puripuri puripuri... Bang!"

Quote:

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First, I can't get this to parse. According to this, SC-class ships do not exist. Should that be 'more than 18 feet' and 'more than 9 feet' instead of 'less than'?

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Quote:

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Ships longer than they are wide can be SC. Ones wider than they are long can't - or only can if they can move straight sideways.

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Correct. The requirement is 'less than 18 feet along a viable direction of thrust and less than 9 feet horizontally perpendicular to this axis, with landing gear suitable to a flat surface'. A ship 9 feet long and 18 wide doesn't qualify even though it would techncially fit, because it might not be able to use access routes, unless the notional width is an axis of thrust.

Quote:

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Second, would you consider setting the SV designation to include ships greater than 250 feet? That would let the Fateful Lightning remain an SS-class ship, just slipping in under the 250-foot limit with the trailers/cab combined length.

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Sure, that number's just plucked out of the air anyway.D for Drakensis
You're only young once, but immaturity is forever.
D for Drakensis

You're only young once, but immaturity is forever.

Know Your Factions
The Major Factions:
Unaligned Fandom (Neutrals, Generalists, Damn Neutrals): Not really a "faction" as such, but considering that the unaligned fen make up nearly 40% of the total population, their collective voice can count for a lot if all pointed in the right direction.
United Federation of Planets (Trekkies, Trekkers): One of the oldest, largest and best organized factions, the Trekkies are also the only faction to date with a permanent interstellar base. (Starbase 2, Alpha Centauri A IV) Currently they're putting all their energy into second-generation handwavium research, trying to hammer out the worst of the quirks & establish a functional mass production line.
Galactic Republic (Warsies): The second-largest of the organized factions. The Warsies are also more militarily inclined, organizing along troop batallions (read: stormtroopers retconned into "Alliance Clone Troopers" to maintain a friendlier face) and engaging in exercise maneuvers to keep their edges sharp.
The Wizarding World (Wizards, Potterites): Not a faction most people would think was the third-largest one in Fenspace - Harry Potter is fantasy after all, not science-fiction or even space opera - but the combination of "magic" handwavium plus the crackdowns on private ownership thereof forced a mass migration of Potterites to Fenspace. Wizards tend to set up their own districts in larger settlements & stations, while the leadership & teaching of new wizards is done at Hogwarts (undisclosed location, Main Belt).
Interstellar Alliance (Fivers, Rangers): The Fivers are Fenspace's natural diplomats. Whenever there's a dispute between two factions, you'll find a Fiver in the middle trying to mediate and making a mess of things. Highly dispersed as a fandom, appearing in ones or twos all though the general population. Rumors that they get their marching orders from Babylon .5 can not be confirmed or denied.
Independent Faction (Browncoats, Whedonites, Jossies): The smallest of the one-fandom major factions, the Jossies are few in number but deeply devoted to their cause. In true emulation of their icons they've set up shop in the Jovian system, with plenty of moons to work with.
Crystal Millennium (Senshi): Not so much a single fandom as a coalition of a half-dozen fandoms with the same general theme. The Senshi and the other magical-girl fandoms are at the top, combined with Buffy fans, Xenites, a handful of Dragonriders & even a contingent of mecha pilots. Their top priority for the last few years has been the Venus Terraforming Project.---
Mr. Fnord
http://fnord.sandwich.net/
http://www.jihad.net/
Mr. Fnord interdimensional man of mystery

FenWiki - Your One-Stop Shop for Fenspace Information

"I. Drink. Your. NERDRAGE!"

Know Your Factions, Continued
Minor Factions:
Space Pirates (Leijiites, Buccaneers): Free men of Space, the Pirates hold themselves to the moral code expressed by their symbolic founder, the great Captain Harlock. Known best for protecting the weak in the asteroid belt, flamboyant dress codes and melodramatic speeches.
Village Hidden in Asteroids (Ninjas): Founded by an international coalition of Naruto fans, the Hidden Asteroid is considered the finest martial-arts center in all of Fenspace. Also has the highest concentration of fenkinder anywhere save the Potterite districts. Has an odd friendly rivalry thing going on with the Space Pirates.
Musician's Aid Society (Filkers): A mutual-aid group for Fandom's wandering troubadors.
Heinlein Society (Heinleinians, see subfactions: The formal collection of fans of Golden Age grandmaster Robert Heinlein. While in theory the Society runs the Heinleinian show, the actual situation breaks down into three major subfactions:
Church of All Worlds (Nesters): Fans of "Stranger In A Strange Land" who migrated to Mars in search of Martians.
Howard Foundation (Longs): Fans of Heinlein's "Future History" and "World-As-Myth" novels. The majority are on Luna or scattered through the Belt, but are rumored to be working on constructing an interstellar colony ship.
Space Cadets (Juvies, Sky Farmers): Fans of the Heinlein juveniles. Mostly concentrated in long-term colonization projects in the solar system; Sky Farmers can be found almost anywhere where there's a dome colony in need of agriculture.
Justice League Interplanetary (Supers): Small but media-savvy, the Supers split their time between vigilante work and researching the nature of handwavium biomods. Their ultimate goal is to create actual superheroes. The League is a rare faction in that it also has high-profile members on Earth as well as in Fenspace.
Banzai Institute for Biomedical Research and Strategic Information (Blue Blazers): Disciples of the great pulp hero Buckaroo Banzai, the Blue Blazers exist to help their fellow man. Most of the Institute's work actually takes place on Earth, where they're active in disaster relief and researching the use of handwavium for the betterment of humanity.
Belters (Nivenites, Rockrats): The original prickly asteroid miners. Belters hold a deep suspicion of gravity wells and anybody who lives in one.
Paratheo-Anametamystikhood Of Eris Esoteric (Discordians, Erisians): You're not cleared for this. Fnord.---
Mr. Fnord
http://fnord.sandwich.net/
http://www.jihad.net/
Mr. Fnord interdimensional man of mystery

FenWiki - Your One-Stop Shop for Fenspace Information

"I. Drink. Your. NERDRAGE!"

The Watch (Discworld fen) One of the smallest factions out there, and possibly the most loosely organized. Composed mainly of fans of Terry Pratchett's works, they are usually friendly, laid back, and also generally a member of at least one other faction. They tend to be scornful of the Potterites, and only some have ties to the Wizarding World. Due to their scattered nature, they have eyes and ears everywhere, and generally can be depended on as good source of gossip, trivial and not so trivial information.

Antis (Anti-'dane).
The incredibly loosely organized (they aren't at all, really) 'Anti' faction is a bundling term for those of us who aren't _really_ fen, but are just up here because we like weirdness and hate 'danish thoughts. An Anti may spend a week drawing from Star Trek in their projects, then turn around and put a combined B5/Star Wars spin on things, parking a Starfury in an Excelsior docking bay, and seeing nothing wrong with it.
Antis are usually confused by factional rivalry.Wire Geek - Burning the weak and trampling the dead since 1979Wire Geek - Burning the weak and trampling the dead since 1979

It should be noted that the Banzai Institute and the Blue Blazers are not particularly factional in their factional status. They can, will, and do take all volunteers as prospective members. A Blue Blazer can be a member of any other faction, providing he or she is willing to help others and live in accordance with the Banzai Code (which I will eventually get up online ... really). While Blue Blazers do not necessarily cross-pollinate into other factions, it is not uncommon to see Browncoats, Supers, Trekkers, and others wearing a Banzai Institute patch or pin somewhere on their faction colors.
The "Blazer" is not an actual jacket (although some Blue Blazer Irregulars do wear navy blue coats when needed), but refers to a "blaze" in the heraldric sense, where the word is roughly synonomous with a coat of arms. Hence, the "Blue Blaze" is the blue emblem of the Banzai Institute.
Ebony the Black Dragon
Senior Editor, Living Room Games
http://www.lrgames.com
Ebony the Black Dragon
http://ebony14.livejournal.com

"Good night, and may the Good Lord take a Viking to you."

Gearheads - mecha fans, which generally break out into three more or less inter-related subfactions, namely Gundamites, Macross/Robotechies, and Super Robot Sentai. Transforming robot fans are generally lumped in with the Macross fen even though Transformers and Brave series robots are thematically closer to sentai superheroes. While there is an "official" faction logo, a cog with optics and a speaker grille, usage is only spotty and likely to be subordinate to genre logos like the Macross fighting kite, Autobot or Decepticon insignia, or the various Gundam unit patches.
As a side note, Wave Convoy is rather vehement about not claiming any sort of leadership role even among Autobot-logoed mecha piloting fen who ask him to, saying that he has enough trouble managing his own affairs Matrix or no and what do they need a supreme commander for anyway, when the biggest Decepticon conflicts are bar brawls.SERVO: Loook *deeeeply* into my eyes... Tell me, what do you see?
CROW: (hypnotized) A twisted man who wants to inflict his pain upon others.
For the next 72 hours, Itachi intoned, I will slap you with this trout. - Spying no Jutsu, chapter 3
"In the futuristic taco bell of the year 20XX, justice wears an aluminum sombrero!"hemlock-martini
--
"Anko, what you do in your free time is your own choice. Use it wisely. And if you do not use it wisely, make sure you thoroughly enjoy whatever unwise thing you are doing." - HymnOfRagnorok as Orochimaru at SpaceBattles
woot Med. Eng., verb, 1st & 3rd pers. prsnt. sg. know, knows

Barsoomians - Fans of Edgar Rice Burroughs' John Carter of Mars romances and similar works, the Barsoomians are fond of chivalry and swordfighting, but prefer to live their fantasies on the ground instead of joining the Space Pirates in Fenspace. There aren't very many Barsoomians, but they're responsible for one of the most recognizable symbols of Fen presence in the Solar System: the city of Helium, just beside the Valles Marenaris on Mars. (They expect the terraforming project to turn the Mariner Valley into a giant canal, completing their favoured setting.)

-Rob Kelk
--
Rob Kelk
"Governments have no right to question the loyalty of those who oppose
them. Adversaries remain citizens of the same state, common subjects of
the same sovereign, servants of the same law."

- Michael Ignatieff, addressing Stanford University in 2012

Quote:

---

Musician's Aid Society (Filkers): A mutual-aid group for Fandom's wandering troubadors.

---

Just a note - they're also probably known as dandelions, since those are used as an emblem of filking. A lot of us have dandelion buttons and stickers.

Quote:

---

Barsoomians are fond of chivalry and swordfighting

---

And wearing very little clothing. I think these are a subset of the general Pulper faction, which sort of groups the Barsoomians with the (Doc) Smithers and the Banzai Institute.Ebony the Black Dragon
Senior Editor, Living Room Games
http://www.lrgames.com
Ebony the Black Dragon
http://ebony14.livejournal.com

"Good night, and may the Good Lord take a Viking to you."

Radio Frequencies
Many 'Fen went into space on little more than a wing and a prayer. Some of them forgot to bring even so much as a cellphone, or were unable to. Most 'Fen, in contrast, brought along at least one radio, since in Space, No one Can Hear You Scream.
This has led to a confusion of standards and frequencies and methods, though a few have gained prominence. As interconnections via Interwave increase, more and more individual 'Fen are becoming FCC compliant. More on this later.
FRS/GMRS
These cheap and readily available radios operate in the 462-467mhz range, and are theoretically unlicensed by the U.S. FCC. There are subtle differences between FRS(unlicensed) and GMRS(licensing required), none of which are terribly relevant in Fenspace. Almost all FRS/GMRS radios started as handhelds, though many have been 'modded into' installations or vehicles.
CB
Citizens Band radios, operating in the 26.965-27.405mhz range, are a perfect match for Fenspace. The incredible diversity and commonality of CB equipment meant that a fairly large chunk of 'Fen had one on the way up, or brought one with them. Handheld, 'Mobile' and 'Base' units are all common.
Cellular
Cellphones came up to orbit as well, and surprisingly, many of them work. Hephaestus is a cell site, as are many of the larger permanent structures. Cellphones operate on many frequencies and standards, including the following: 1710-1755 MHz and 2110-2155 MHz(3g data/voice), 1850-1990 MHz (PCS data/voice), 824-849MHz and 869-894 MHz (PCM cellular), and the '850, 900, 1800, 1900' GSM bands.
Cingular wireless has moved into orbit as well, and has behaved surprisingly well, after the first cell sites it deployed were returned to Cingular headquarters on earth, along with the entire Cingular storefront on The Island, and a note recommending they 'play fair'. Now, instead of charging four to five times the initial pricing and eight to nine times the contract pricing as compared to Terrestrial plans, Cingular's "sky prices" are actually somewhat cheaper. Cingular sites may be found at The Island, Stellvia, Phobos, and many of the permanent communities on Mars. SV Gnarlycurl also has a Cingular site.
British Telecom is also 'up', and has a storefront on Stellvia, as well as a 'roaming' agreement, that allows their GSM users to participate on the far-more-widely deployed Cingular network. BT has identical pricing between their terrestrial and 'fen offerings.
Amateur Radio
Amateur Radio is spreading like wildfire through Fenspace. The massive amount of frequencies and equipment available to even an entry-level licensee, as well as the 'Hephaestus Grant' (Hephaestus resells many brands of amateur radio gear at list cost or below), have contributed to the acceptance and spread of the licenses and equipment. Also a factor is the FCC's attitude that "General Mail, Stellvia, L5 Earth-Luna" is a perfectly valid address for licensing purposes.
Amateur radio of various flavors can function in many bands from 1.8mhz to over 300ghz, providing an incredibly diverse array of frequencies and channels. Most common is 2-meter (144-148mhz), and 440 (420-450mhz).
Data Radio
While most of the previously named methods are almost exclusively voice, there can occasionally be heard a 'databurst', sounding like a UsRobotics modem being fed through a garbage disposal. This is usually two AI's communicating at high speed. Dedicated data is often transmitted via Wi-Fi (2.4, 5.8ghz), Wi-Max (variable from 700 mhz to 66ghz, depending on equipment), ISM (902-928mhz), and many dedicated licensed data-only radios anywhere from 2ghz to 60.
Modulation
Aside from cell phones, almost all public communications in Fenspace are unencrypted Frequency Modulation (FM, yes) signals, providing very high voice quality. Cellphones use an encrypted digital transmission scheme, while secure comms can use any number of encryption or obfuscation techniques, usually AI moderated.
FTL/Wavenet/Interwave
In open space, radio signals travel at (obviously) the speed of light. Since space is big, this causes problems involving communications lag. A number of fen inventors have developed their own FTL radio systems. Each one is a bit different, but they all operate on the same principles as FTL travel.
The "standard" FTL radio used in Fenspace has an estimated signal speed of 10000.0c, bridging the gap from Earth to Pluto in just over a second (but calling the nearest star is a six hour round trip for one signal. Remember, space is big). As befits the patchwork that is the realspace radio network, the FTL system's total available bandwidth and general reliability depend on what device was handwaved to create the FTL transponder in the first place.
The system that's achieved the greatest penetration is the Interwave. Interwave transmitters are large and power hungry, but they provide enough bandwidth to act as the backbone for FanNet. Some notable Interwave nodes exist at:
Crystal Tokyo
Earth
Tranquility Base, Luna
Stellvia
The Island
Grover's Corners
Phobos
Mars
Starbase 1
Hephaestus
Starbase 2
Greenwood (Rockhounds, Inc. Homebase)
Hooking it All Together
The most common method of 'mediating' between different communications types is to have an AI take care of it, as this sort of work appears to be a nearly-effortless task for most of them.
Addressing
The non-voice-only services, such as cellular and Internet, have extended their addressing conventions to Fenspace, rather smoothly, all things considered.
Cellphone and Telephone- Using US convention, users dial a '1' to access Long Distance numbers, then the country code, then the number. This makes my dad's (made up but plausible) speed dial 11-907-373-5309, which calls Earth, Alaska, Wasilla, Dad.
All other Fen cell calls are considered 'local', given the massive location changes that are not only possible in Fenspace, but easy. For example, to call The Jason, I would dial 867-5309, with no long distance or country codes.
For dialing from Earth, the country code for Fenspace is +42.
Internet
Shortly after it was clear that long-term habitats outside of Earth's atmosphere were both here to stay, and connected, the IANA assigned the .space TLD.
This met with resounding indifference. Applications for other TLDs were processed, and the current list of TLDs that are only available for people and organizations whose primary operations are off-planet is as follows.
.merc - Mercury
.venus - Venus
.luna - Luna
.lib - Lagrange or Libration points
.mars - Mars
.belt - Asteroid and Kuiper belt
.jup - Jupiter and moons
.sat - Saturn and moons
.fen - For all things fennish and off-planet.
The IANA only approved .fen after over a year of repeated applications (one application submitted a day, by several interested parties), the first .fen domain, Kandorcon.fen, went active January 10th, 2010.
Wire Geek - Burning the weak and trampling the dead since 1979Wire Geek - Burning the weak and trampling the dead since 1979

Tourism in Fenspace
There are a number of locations where Fen can vacation, and can reasonably expect to meet Mundanes who are also vacationing in Fenspace. There are also a number of locations in Fenspace where tourism is either unlikely or unwanted.

Near-Earth Space
The most popular 'Dane tourist destination is Luna. It's close to Earth; once Fen spacecraft clear Earth's atmosphere, travel time to Luna is measured in minutes, not days or months. Luna is also close enough to Earth that the lightspeed communications lag is barely noticeable. Luna is home to Tranquility Base, the site of the first off-world human landing - a location respected by humans of almost all nationalities and philosophies, and guarded by the United States Coast Guard. 'Dane tourists with any curiousity about Fen life often visit the Metahuman Power Biomodification Research Institute in Kandor (by appointment only, and please don't comment on their lack of success) and the Senshi "Moon Kingdom memorial base" outpost in the Sea of Serenity.
The next most popular 'Dane tourist destination is the Earth-Luna L5 station Stellvia. It isn't the first Fen space station, or the largest, or the friendliest, but it is the closest Fen space station to Earth; this makes it a natural transfer point for Mundane tourists venturing into Fenspace proper. This station takes pains to maintain a family-friendly reputation, much like the Disney corporation does for its theme parks (with the same relative level of effectiveness). Some 'Danes never get farther away from Earth than a stay in Stellvia's small hotel complex. Very few Fen consider Stellvia to be a tourist destination, though; the vast majority of Fen are used to living in artificial habitats, so this is "just another space station" to them.

Toward Sol
Moving in-system, the only tourist attractions are those found in high Venus atmosphere: the Crystal Cities and the Cloud Tours. The Crystal Cities, terraforming stations of incredible intrinsic beauty, are architectural marvels in themselves; they are also home to a large fraction of the Senshi faction of Fen. (Tourists are strongly advised to keep in mind that the vast majority of these attractive, underdressed young females are not in the "adult entertainment" industry; those who forget this often return home in an ambulance.) A few of the Crystal Cities are primarily industrial centres, and discourage tourism; other Crystal Cities, including Crystal Tokyo, open their doors to visitors. The Cloud Tours are trips into the upper atmosphere of Venus to look at the colours and patterns in the clouds, run by professional gondoliers. A mediocre guide can turn this into a waste of an afternoon; an undine can make this an adventure that tourists will tell their grandchildren about.

Between Earth and Jupiter
Moving out-system from Earth, many ships make a habit of stopping at The Island. The first Fen flying-land-mass station, The Island is as safe a place to visit as Stellvia, but (in the words of its owner) is "much more Fen in facilities, clientele, and outlook"; many Fen prefer to get no closer to Earth than The Island. On the other side of the coin, if 'Dane tourists can handle The Island emotionally, then they're probably ready for the rest of Fenspace. The Island is also home to what may be the largest shopping mall off-Earth.
The biggest tourist draw in Fenspace is the planet Mars. This planet is home to Olympus Mons, the largest mountain in the Solar System, and Valles Marineris, the deepest and longest rift valley in the Solar System. The Sand Jets of the Martian south polar region (discovered by NASA in 2006) put Earth's pure-water geysers to shame, although they only erupt during the local summer and are best viewed from a safe distance. Mars also has more than its share of 'Dane space probes; Viking, Pathfinder, Spirit, Opportunity, and others are still popular attractions. The Cydonia Planitia is popular amongst conspiracy fans (both 'Dane and Fen), being the supposed home of the Face of Mars and the Pyramids of Mars; unfortunately, the ongoing terraforming project threatens to flood this low-lying part of Mars.
There are a large number of Fen colonies on Mars, and most of them have tourist attractions of their own. Utopia Planitia is the home of a large group of Trekkie Fen (until and unless the terraforming project floods them out sometime in the next few decades), and their Starbase 1 space station and shipyard is in areosynchronous orbit above the colony's line of latitude. The Barsoomians have built the city of Helium, with its gossamer twin towers, on the edge of the Valles Marineris. And some of the Nesters have small colonies all over Mars to support their quixotic search for native intelligent life on Mars.
One of the supposed "Pyramids of Mars" is actually the SV Gnarlycurl, a combination service station, machine shop, and convenience store with a "stone temple astronauts" motif. The Gnarlycurl spent its first half-year in Earth orbit, but it can more often be found near Mars or in the Asteroid Belt these days.
Phobos and Deimos, the moons of Mars, have been hollowed out to support the Martian terraforming project. Most of Mars' traffic stops at one or the other of these moons to avoid the problems of entering a gravity well with an atmosphere. Phobos is one of the largest cities in Fenspace, with convention facilities sufficient to host thousands of people and all the supporting businesses and attractions that that implies.
If you know where to look, somewhere between The Island and the Asteroid Belt, you can find a station called Candy Apple Red's. The people who work there are in the "adult entertainment" business, and enjoy a good reputation amongst Fen who patronize such establishments.
There is very little to see in the Asteroid Belt. Contrary to decades of space-opera fiction, the density of asteroids in the Belt is very low; it's extremely unlikely that someone standing on one asteroid would be able to even see another asteroid. There are small "truck stop and diner" facilities on Ceres, Juno, and Pallas, and an Asimovian colony "marooned off Vesta" (their words; they're actually in Vesta, and host a small college known primarily for its work in robotics and biochemistry), but none of these locations are general tourist draws.

The Outer System and Beyond
Jupiter, the largest planet in the Solar System, has many attractions. Not only is the Great Red Spot worth seeing up-close, but the planet is home to other electrical storms with lightning bolts the size of North America; even an average gondolier can make a flyby of Jupiter exciting. But the main draws in this part of Fenspace are the Galilean moons: Callisto, Europa, Ganymede, and Io. Casual landings on Io are strongly discouraged because of the extreme volcanic processes on the entire surface, but flybys of the moon are always exciting (not only because of the Prometheus plume, which has been erupting at least since Voyager passed by the moon in 1979). Ganymede is exciting in another way; extreme members of both the Whedonite and Juvie (Heinlein juvenile) factions of Fen have claimed the entire moon, based on their respective namesake writers' works. (In reality, the Whedonites tend to stay in the domed towns while most Juvies are happy to be "farmers in the sky", but their rivalry is sometimes exaggerated for the tourists. When it gets out of hand, the small resident Ranger population steps in to negotiate.) Callisto is home to the Whedonite Fen who don't want to even pretend they're at odds with the Heinleinians on Ganymede; casual tourists often find the welcome on Callisto to be less forced than on Ganymede. Europa is home to many scientific teams trying to find life on the moon, so far with no success; visitors are often welcomed at these bases, but there's little to see unless you're a scientist.
Possibly the most famous natural tourist draw in the Solar System is found around Saturn: the famous Rings. For most tourists, these are best viewed from a distance; many tourists are disappointed when they finally see the rings up close. (Others find in them what they expected to see in the Asteroid Belt.) The other attraction in this part of space is Titan, the largest moon in the Solar System. A small gondolier company makes a steady living taking what tourists get out that far on trips around Titan, stopping at many of the scientific stations on the moon's surface.
Further out, would-be tourists find very little besides wilderness. While Uranus and Neptune have been visited by explorers and scientists, they have nothing of interest to casual visitors. Neptune's moon Triton has some natural attractions - ice volcanos and geysers that send material 8km into the air, fields of frozen nitrogen, and some spectacular ice cliffs - but there aren't yet any hostelries or tour guides on or near Triton.
The last stop before leaving the populated system is Space Station Hades, a research outpost and rest stop. Some of the research is of certain aspects of religion; Hades boasts both bizarre architecture and a large number of churches.
Beyond Neptune are the Kuiper Belt and the Oort Cloud, which are similar to the Asteroid Belt on a larger scale, but without even the minimal infrastructure present in the Belt.
Past that is interstellar space; with one exception, only a very few scientists and self-sufficient individualists ever travel that far from Sol. That one exception is Alpha Centauri, where a contingent of Trekkies have established Starbase 2, mankind's first extra-Solar colony.

Places that Don't Welcome Tourists
Certain Fenspace locations have been declared off-limits to tourism, usually for the physical safety of the would-be tourists. These include the entirety of Mercury, Io, and Pluto, and the Hephaestus mining station. (The Hidden Asteroid is also off-limits to tourism, because a flow of tourists would make it difficult to keep the asteroid hidden.) Casual travel to any of these locations is strongly discouraged.
Also, private ships and stations are just that - private. Strangers are very rarely welcomed in a person's home, no matter where the stranger hails from. The rare places that follow codes of open hospitality will make that known before people arrive; tourists should respect the privacy of other residences.
Sidebar: Is The Hidden Asteroid Really Hidden? The answer to this question is an unequivocal "no." Its position in the Belt and orbital elements are all known properties, and any idiot with a copy of Celestia and twenty minutes - which is to say, every navigator in Fenspace - could use this data to find Hidden Asteroid. However, the unspoken agreement among fen is to quietly pretend that the Hidden Asteroid is, in fact, truly hidden. It's the principle of the thing, after all.

Tourism Logistics
Tourism in Fenspace is controlled by the Fen. With a very small set of exceptions, mostly military, space travel outside of low-Earth orbit is controlled by the Fen for the simple reason that they own the spacecraft. Much of the tourist trade is managed by a few corporations that run large luxury-liner ships that take weeks to make trips that Fen are accustomed to making in days; some is handled by independant operators in a fashion vaugely analogous to tramp-steamer travel on early-twentieth-century Earth. At the very low end of expense and reliability, most of the Douglas Adams Fen are almost always willing to pick up a hitch-hiker or two if they have their own towels.
It's a trivial matter to find transportation near or between Earth, Mars, and the Asteroid Belt; the vast majority of Fen can be found in this part of the Solar System. Finding room on a ship heading to Venus, Jupiter, or Saturn usually takes some advance planning, but even a casual tourist can sometimes find passage to these planets on short notice if he, she, or it is lucky.
The major impediment to tourism past Saturn is finding a ship with room for tourists going that way; no tourist is known to have had the opportunity to venture farther from Sol than Starbase 2, and those who've made it that far are very rare.
Sidebar: Orbital Air Run by Larry Williams (a former airline pilot), Orbital Air operates a thrice-weekly service from Perth to Moonbase Alpha, departing Perth Monday, Wednesday and Friday, returning Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday. Larry and his nephew Mark each head flight crews that alternate trips. Service is aboard a single modifed C-97 that can carry 40-60 passengers in conditions approximating business-class air travel (one of the three cabins can be quickly refitted for cargo). Unfortunately, the in-flight movies are limited to Star Trek reruns by a quirk of the aircraft, which was dubbed the USS Danube by Mark. A package deal holiday including travel and accomodation with hotel rooms in Moonbase Alpha and tours of Luna sites of interest is under negotiation. At the moment, a return flight costs about $120, and a single either way costs about $100 (all prices in US dollars).
Sidebar: Customs requirements, or lack thereof The traditional role of Customs is to control the import or export of some goods and to collect revenue upon trade. The latter of these concerns is negated by the Treaty of Kandor-Con which (amongst other things) established Fenspace as a free trade area. As a general rule, there are very few items that Fen are intent upon banning from their space, and therefore custom checks by Fen are the exception rather than the rule. However, this does not translate into licence to use recreational drugs or to carry weapons - always check local safety regulations. The USCG post on Luna does make cursory checks upon arrivals on Luna from Earth and some form of photo-ID is requested but not required when entering Moonbase Alpha, in both cases for law enforcement purposes. Stellvia also requests photo-ID from anyone remaining overnight, for hotel billing purposes.

-Rob Kelk, with M Fnord, Drakensis, Sirrocco, ClassicDrogn, Herr Bad Moon, Kokuten, Bob Schroeck, and Ebony
--
Rob Kelk
"Governments have no right to question the loyalty of those who oppose
them. Adversaries remain citizens of the same state, common subjects of
the same sovereign, servants of the same law."

- Michael Ignatieff, addressing Stanford University in 2012

The Church of Fenspace
(also known as the Fenchurch, particularly to Londoners and Douglas Adams fans)
Religion is closely tied to culture, community, and way of life. So it stands to reason that with the mass migration of people into space, new beliefs would evolve...or get created, as the case may be. The Church of Fenspace generally subscribes to the creation doctrine, on the basis that God clearly has a sense of humour.
The Church of Fenspace is the largest Christian organisation existing off-planet, and the only one recognised by Christian churches back on Earth. However, "recognised" might be a strong term; the degree of acceptance varies across the mundane religious community. The Vatican and several Protestant bodies regard the Fenchurch as a full-fledged denomination, albeit a strange one...but many others denounce them as a cult. Or worse.
The actual situation is somewhat problematic, because "organisation" is a bit of a stretch when describing the Fenchurch. "Organisation" tends to be lacking in any Fen endeavour, and the Church is no exception. Individual worshippers vary greatly in their theology and conduct. In practical terms, the Church of Fenspace is pretty much a catch-all category for any Fen that professes to be Christian.
That said, the Fenchurch does have a government of sorts. The various priests and pastors are on the same mailing list, and they have a message board. Flamewars are common, but the Church insists this merely shows their members have Fire of the Holy Spirit. God is their moderator, as it were.
And there are a few doctrinal matters that the Fenchurch agrees on. Kind of, anyway. As a general rule, the Church subscribes to the doctrine of the Holy Trinity, accepting the existence of God and the divinity of Christ. It is a Protestant or Reformed body, insofar as it does not accept Papal authority...or at least the mundane Pope, but all efforts to appoint a new "Space Pope" have thus far met with failure.
Many Fenchurch members also venerate Saints, although Sainthood in this case is more Anglican in nature than Catholic. Saints are elevated by popular opinion as holy people, rather than formally canonized by Church authorities. Attempts have been made to draw up an official Litany of Saints, but discussions inevitably get bogged down. For example, many believe in St. Rei and St. Asuka of Evangelion...but the Sainthood of Shinji is a bit debatable.
Several groups fall within Fenchurch's umbrella, ranging from monastic orders such as the Grammaton Clerics and Order of Magdalene to regular congregations like the Wolfwood Chapel and In Nomine Tether.
However, the largest place of worship is St. Liebowitz's Cathedral, possibly the biggest religious structure off-Earth. It has the worshippers to match, making it the unofficial headquarters of the Fenchurch. Located on Mars, the Cathedral holds services throughout the week, catering to all believers. There are occasional clashes...for instance, Quakers insist on silence during their services, but their weekly meeting in the Cathedral coincides with the Klingon Prayer Group...but such things are usually peacefully concluded in the universal brotherhood of Christ. Or sisterhood. Or gender-neuter-hood, considering some of the stranger biomods out there.
The Church of Fenspace is supported mainly by voluntary donations and tithes from members, although there are occasional fundraising activities like bake sales. Considering the amount of handwavium used by the average churchgoer, it might not be a wise idea to eat the cakes.
The Fenchurch has favourable relations with most other religious bodies in space, particularly the Unorthadox Jewish, Fen Muslims, and Space Buddhists. However, the Church has no association with the Jenova's Witnesses.

---

-- Acyl

Here are some ideas that may be taken up by the rest of the group or may not be.
THE BLAKES
What do Blakes believe in? Freedom. A laudable goal, for sure, but they also believe that blowing
things up, in disrupting life for the average Fen is a reasonable tactic in gaining this "freedom."
Who are they trying to be free from? Everyone.
Call them anarchists. Call them nihilists. Call them libertarians, or socialists; terrorists or
madmen. In the wake of the destruction of Boskonianism, there was a gap in general mayhem in
Fenspace and the Blakes were all too eager to fill in that gap.
Started as a group that opposed the Federation's growing power in Fenspace, the Blakes staged daring
prison breaks, destroyed power stations, disrupted trade and travel. They soon broke up into many
competing factions, eager to fight each other as their supposed oppresors. Some of the many, many
factions of Blakes include the Real Blakes, True Blakes, Continuity Blakes, The Avon Brigade, and
the Blakes 700.

THE BLACK MONOLITHS
There's a rumor in the Jovian system, a rumor born from a half-glimpsed nothing where a star should
be, a rumor that's spread in Browncoat watering holes and transit stations when all that're left in
the bar are the last holdout drunks, stringing together half-remembered tall tales from other bars
and that one moment of strange terror when they perhaps were at the edge of the mystery. And it
comes down from parent to child as a warning, an admonition to do right.
And the rumor is this: that in a useless moon are a strange cult of fens who truly left behind their
bodies to go AI; AIs shaped like Black Monoliths. That in their caves of dust and ice, they plot
the future of human evolution, testing it and shaping it with perverse bioreactors and kidnapped
victims who were reduced to component chemicals and reshaped in the Black Monoliths image of
potential superhumanity or into slaves or just kept as puddles.
And mothers say to their children, "Be careful or the Black Monoliths will get you."

BALEY SECURITY SERVICE
Now there's a lot of good to be said about the B-Men, and it's all true. They won't let anything
stop them from getting to the truth, from getting their man. And they'll follow due process, chain
of evidence; anything and everything to let everyone know that when they've pinched someone, it's
the real deal. And they also respect human rights. Now, some security services, they'll do
everything for their bosses. The B-Men know how to do their jobs without being monsters. They're
professionals and they don't let things like anger, expedience, or just the righteous feeling of
giving a bugger a toe in get in the way of doing the job. Catching the bad guy. Protecting their
clients. Upholding the law. Whatever it is that they're there for, they'll do it. Their way. The
Right Way.
And there's a lot of bad to be said about the BS, and it's all true, too. Arrogant? Oh, yeah.
Superior? If they stuck their noses further up, they'd break their necks and a good thing, too.
And they're willing to work for anybody. A 'danecrat trying to steal all the unreal estate or
freestate, claiming the moon and the asteroids and the stars as theirs? Oh, the BS'll work for 'em,
and gladly. A little tinpot, madman would-be dictator that's just taken over his asteroid/space
station/planet and wants to rule it with an iron grip? BS'll work for that nutter, too, saying
please and thank you all the way to the bank. A Robber Baron Industrialist decides that all those
pesky worker rights are getting in the way of maximum profit? The BS'll come a running to bust up
that undemocratic union. Oh they may not break any bones doing it, won't hold the leaders in jail
for too long, but they'll do it and cash the blood money with a whistle on their lips and a spring
in their step.
And that's Baley Security Service for you.

SLANS
The Slans started off as your average Fens, really. Maybe a bit self-absorbed and melodramatic, but
basically alright. Then they all, and there were only a few of them in the beginning, not as much
as there are now, who took the same batch of 'wavium with the same wish: to become Slans.
And they got it.
They got the enhanced physiology, the waving tendrils, and even a form of telepathy. It's really
just integrated biological FTL-comms, but they can talk to each other over long distances, and even
with anything else with FTL-comms all without having to pay a service carrier.
So naturally this makes feel superior. And you know what, having a bunch of smug so-and-sos around
wouldn't have been that bad if they weren't also the most whiny, supercilious jerks with
overinflated martyr complexes in all of Fenspace. Basically because nobody thinks they're as great
as they do, they feel persecuted. And they tell everybody that they're persecuted loudly and in as
grating a manner as possible.
Maybe there's a nice, well-adjusted Slan out there somewhere. But nobody's found him yet.

THE QUATERMASS INSTITUTE
While the rest of fendom gleefully go out into space like intoxicated five year olds in a playground
filled with broken bottles, the Quatermass Instute grimly watch the indifferent depths of space for
signs of the inevitable alien invasion. While the Federation and the Republic talk about how first
contact will herald a true galactic awakening in humanity, Quartermass is far more skeptical,
thinking it more likely that the alien hordes are waiting to dupe the young and the hippies into
going stupidly and gleefully to their own deaths as food for the aliens.
Depending solely on hardtech, as they believe that handwavium may be a plot by the unseen aliens to
weaken humanity as a prelude to their inevitable genocidal feast, Quatermass stands ready and
vigilant to defend humanity at any and all costs. Dismissed by much of fendom as paranoid doomsday
fanatics, it is rumored that Quatermass has a storehouse of nuclear weapons, mass drivers, railguns
and kinetic missiles standing by to repel any alien invasion, even if it means destroying 99.9% of
humanity and the planets to do it.

THE AEUG
The Anti-Earth Union Group is simply a coalition of various fens who resent any encroachment of
'danes into fenspace. The reason why they went to space in the first place was to get away from
them, and now that they're trying to wrest control from the fens, from those that truly tamed space,
and take all the rewards and impose rules and regulations that have no basis on life in fenspace . .
. well! The AEUG won't stand for it, that's all.
But it's not like they're Blakes or anything. Goodness, no. They're peaceful fens who'll fight
with peaceful means. Protests, letter campaigns, "legal" action on Earth. Any and all of that.
And, no, there are no secret fleets massing in the Asteroid Belt. And the idea that there's an army
of mecha being built on the Moon is just plain ridiculous. And these aren't uniforms, man! It's
just fashionable to have epaulettes on your red space suit these days. And so what if I am wearing
sunglasses indoors?
-murmur
Edited to remove redundant Metropolis entry