Organizing my notes for Legend of Galactic Girls gave me most of the following, which I cleaned up a
bit. Any comments, aditions, or other kibitzing before I stick it in the Gazetteer and the Wiki?
(Somebody had better say yes, because there's a hole in the article.)
As with Comrade Fnord's recent posts, please pardon the wiki markup...
====== Organized Crime in Fenspace ======
Not everybody who's made it Up is nice.
===== Organized Criminal Groups =====
Most Fen lump all organized criminals under the heading "Boskonians". This is a gross over-simplification.
Many major organized crime groups are active in space, not always in co-operation with each other. (The rivalry between at least one Columbian drug cartel and
at least one Yakuza group was the direct cause of the destruction of Crystal Osaka in 2013, for instance.) If they are known to exist on Earth, they probably
have at least a representative somewhere in space to keep an eye on their interests.
===== Types of Organized Crime =====
Organized crime on Earth breaks down into some clearly-identifable activities, some of which do not translate well to Fenspace.
==== Corporate Malfesance ====
This is extremely difficult to successfully carry out when the vast majority of businesses are privately-owned.
Because of the unique nature of Fenspace economics, it quickly becomes obvious which companies are being looted from within (the amount of biomass coming from
the companies increases without obvious cause), and the companies' owners can take appropriate steps before major harm is done.
==== Illegal Drugs ====
As of 2014, there are no illegal drugs in Fenspace.
This is less because of the libertarian nature of Fenspace, and more from the fact that addiction to incapacitating or mind-altering drugs is self-correcting
in space. (People who drug themselves into a state where they can't tend to their own needs quickly end up dead from oxygen deprivation, either because the
air in their suits or cars ran out, or because they walked out an airlock without a pressure suit.)
Since avoidance of "hard" drugs is a survival trait in Fenspace, there is little market for organized criminals to fill. Generally, they don't
bother.
Organized crime does take advantage of conditions in space to harvest or otherwise create drugs that
can be sold on Earth. The most nortorious of these is thionite, a powerful hallucinogen derived from certain strains of Venusian terraforming bacteria.
Use of alcohol, tobacco, or marijuana in moderation does not incapacitate the user to life-threatening extremes, so there are markets for these drugs in
Fenspace.
Alcohol is trivally easy to make from any starch-based foodstuff, and many Fen do so. (The stereotypical Belter is known for making back-of-the-car "white
lightning," and the White Stallion does a nice side business selling small batches of whiskey
that aren't up to their very high standards.)
Marijuana is almost trivially easy to grow, as long as the necessary hydroponic greenhouse space is available. Hephaestus grows a strain guaranteed to be
handwavium-free.
Tobacco is somewhat more difficult to grow in Fenspace, and remains a major Earth export.
==== Illegal Weaponry ====
As of 2014, there are no illegal weapons in Fenspace. (The use of weapons of mass destruction, such as "kaboomite," were outlawed in the treaty of
KandorCon, but ownership of them is not illegal per se.)
However, many Fen don't bother to go armed. One can only cram so much into a vehicle, and there's no hostile wildlife in space. More importantly,
there's no pre-existing source of food Out There. Given a choice between a chaingun that he'll probably never use or an extra day's worth of
groceries that he'll definitely eat, most Fen choose to pack the food. Weapon caches exist mainly on larger ships and stations that have room for luxuries
(such as Grover's Corners and Stellvia
), and in areas where the local culture is heavily influenced by Fen from areas of the United States where personal weapon ownership is
encouraged, but most of these people brought their weapons with them when they left Earth.
Also, weapons larger than sidearms and rifles are too expensive for most Fen to purchase. As of 2013, only Boskone and the Great Justice team have
military-spec hardware in any great numbers, and most of that is homebuilt.
Since most of the people in Fenspace who want weapons already have the weapons they can afford, there is little market for organized criminals to fill.
Generally, they don't bother.
Just because handguns are legal in Fenspace doesn't mean they aren't controlled. The vast majority of large ships and stations regulate who is allowed
to carry weaponry while on-board in order to reduce the chance of accidental death and structural damage. (While most handwaved hulls are impervious to firearm
bullets, there are plenty of tubes and conduits that handle electronics, oxygen, and temperature control to be ruptured in a gunfight.)
==== Slavery ====
Slavery is illegal in Fenspace, and has been since the Articles of Confederation were signed at
KandorCon.
The scarcity of usable living room in space makes owning slaves problematic, so slaving operations in Fenspace focus on obtaining "stock" for the
Earth market. There is enough demand among unscrupulous mundanes for biomodded pleasure-slaves that capturing, forcibly biomodding, and brainwashing Fen is a
sufficiently profitable activity for organized crime to handle.
==== Terrorism ====
(something should go here... any ideas?)
-Rob Kelk
"Read Or Die: not so much a title as a way of life." - Justin Palmer, 6 June 2007
--
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
bit. Any comments, aditions, or other kibitzing before I stick it in the Gazetteer and the Wiki?
(Somebody had better say yes, because there's a hole in the article.)
As with Comrade Fnord's recent posts, please pardon the wiki markup...
====== Organized Crime in Fenspace ======
Not everybody who's made it Up is nice.
===== Organized Criminal Groups =====
Most Fen lump all organized criminals under the heading "Boskonians". This is a gross over-simplification.
Many major organized crime groups are active in space, not always in co-operation with each other. (The rivalry between at least one Columbian drug cartel and
at least one Yakuza group was the direct cause of the destruction of Crystal Osaka in 2013, for instance.) If they are known to exist on Earth, they probably
have at least a representative somewhere in space to keep an eye on their interests.
===== Types of Organized Crime =====
Organized crime on Earth breaks down into some clearly-identifable activities, some of which do not translate well to Fenspace.
==== Corporate Malfesance ====
This is extremely difficult to successfully carry out when the vast majority of businesses are privately-owned.
Because of the unique nature of Fenspace economics, it quickly becomes obvious which companies are being looted from within (the amount of biomass coming from
the companies increases without obvious cause), and the companies' owners can take appropriate steps before major harm is done.
==== Illegal Drugs ====
As of 2014, there are no illegal drugs in Fenspace.
This is less because of the libertarian nature of Fenspace, and more from the fact that addiction to incapacitating or mind-altering drugs is self-correcting
in space. (People who drug themselves into a state where they can't tend to their own needs quickly end up dead from oxygen deprivation, either because the
air in their suits or cars ran out, or because they walked out an airlock without a pressure suit.)
Since avoidance of "hard" drugs is a survival trait in Fenspace, there is little market for organized criminals to fill. Generally, they don't
bother.
Organized crime does take advantage of conditions in space to harvest or otherwise create drugs that
can be sold on Earth. The most nortorious of these is thionite, a powerful hallucinogen derived from certain strains of Venusian terraforming bacteria.
Use of alcohol, tobacco, or marijuana in moderation does not incapacitate the user to life-threatening extremes, so there are markets for these drugs in
Fenspace.
Alcohol is trivally easy to make from any starch-based foodstuff, and many Fen do so. (The stereotypical Belter is known for making back-of-the-car "white
lightning," and the White Stallion does a nice side business selling small batches of whiskey
that aren't up to their very high standards.)
Marijuana is almost trivially easy to grow, as long as the necessary hydroponic greenhouse space is available. Hephaestus grows a strain guaranteed to be
handwavium-free.
Tobacco is somewhat more difficult to grow in Fenspace, and remains a major Earth export.
==== Illegal Weaponry ====
As of 2014, there are no illegal weapons in Fenspace. (The use of weapons of mass destruction, such as "kaboomite," were outlawed in the treaty of
KandorCon, but ownership of them is not illegal per se.)
However, many Fen don't bother to go armed. One can only cram so much into a vehicle, and there's no hostile wildlife in space. More importantly,
there's no pre-existing source of food Out There. Given a choice between a chaingun that he'll probably never use or an extra day's worth of
groceries that he'll definitely eat, most Fen choose to pack the food. Weapon caches exist mainly on larger ships and stations that have room for luxuries
(such as Grover's Corners and Stellvia
), and in areas where the local culture is heavily influenced by Fen from areas of the United States where personal weapon ownership is
encouraged, but most of these people brought their weapons with them when they left Earth.
Also, weapons larger than sidearms and rifles are too expensive for most Fen to purchase. As of 2013, only Boskone and the Great Justice team have
military-spec hardware in any great numbers, and most of that is homebuilt.
Since most of the people in Fenspace who want weapons already have the weapons they can afford, there is little market for organized criminals to fill.
Generally, they don't bother.
Just because handguns are legal in Fenspace doesn't mean they aren't controlled. The vast majority of large ships and stations regulate who is allowed
to carry weaponry while on-board in order to reduce the chance of accidental death and structural damage. (While most handwaved hulls are impervious to firearm
bullets, there are plenty of tubes and conduits that handle electronics, oxygen, and temperature control to be ruptured in a gunfight.)
==== Slavery ====
Slavery is illegal in Fenspace, and has been since the Articles of Confederation were signed at
KandorCon.
The scarcity of usable living room in space makes owning slaves problematic, so slaving operations in Fenspace focus on obtaining "stock" for the
Earth market. There is enough demand among unscrupulous mundanes for biomodded pleasure-slaves that capturing, forcibly biomodding, and brainwashing Fen is a
sufficiently profitable activity for organized crime to handle.
==== Terrorism ====
(something should go here... any ideas?)
-Rob Kelk
"Read Or Die: not so much a title as a way of life." - Justin Palmer, 6 June 2007
--
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