The World of Tomorrow

The World of Tomorrow
Station Type: O'Neill Cylinder
Allegiance: Independant (Morningstar Constellation)
Primary Language: English, French, Japanese

Tucked into the Venus/Sun L4 point, The World of Tomorrow is an unusual habitat. Earth Nostalgia is a huge factor in the post-Fall era, whether people admit it or not. The World of Tomorrow is a send-up of those dreams of the futurepast, a habitat modeled on humanity's vision of the future in the 20th century. This is the world our ancestors thought would be the future, which never came. A world of art deco and streamlined chrome, powered by THE ATOM and more. Sprawling skyscrapers of an early style dot its interior skyline, combined with exotic flying or suspended structures as there is a lot of emphasis on the air, and influence of Venusian culture. The cylinder is designed to mimic earthlike gravity and atmosphere.
World of Tomorrow is effectively a tourist destination, though there is some more serious work for some residents. Established by some Venusian hypercorps, it is run by the "Science Council" who built the hab and maintain it's specific atmosphere. People dress in retro sleek clothing, go about their daily commute using personal thruster packs or flying cars, and servitor bots wearing aprons and frilly headdresses scoot around doing menial work. AR skins can complete the transformation, turning any piece of decor or tech into a deliberate retro-ism. Some even can render the world in black and white. The aesthetics constantly reference early atomic and rocket science, and unnecessary blinking lights abound. Visitors will find quaint little throwbacks like "food pills", typewriters and public telephones. Permanent residents form a blend of actors, otaku and actual scientists doing some work.
For visitors, there are a variety of packages and levels of experience. "Day trippers" just out for a quick sleeve and go often simply just tour the hab, seeing the specific detail of life here and taking in some of the sights. One can hit up the range to play with some exotic beam weapons, visit the best recreation of a milkshake parlor in the solar system, or visit a variety of museums which explore the early history of spaceflight, atomic energy, computers and robotics. Several of the hypercorps which are invested into World of Tomorrow also operate "show labs" here, they do little in the way of actual research but are able to run demonstrations and presentations to advertise their companies and technology. There's even several drive in film theaters. For those who wish to recapture their child-like wonder, World of Tomorrow has a large stock of neotenic morphs to sleeve in to. For those paying for an extended stay, or especially who arrive physically, there are more amenities. World of Tomorrow has several comprehensive resort hotels which model several cultures and periods of Earth history, offer gourmet dining, robot butlers, the works. The various districts of World of Tomorrow are crammed with various unusual shops and services - specialists in retro tech. World of Tomorrow is one of the foremost places to either copy or produce retro storage media, like vinyl discs, wax cylinders and magnetic tapes. Art boutiques are masters of reproducing the hab's look and feel to any modern technology as well, selling various custom-made souvenirs to visitors, using one-time blueprints for those who did not travel there physically. And in some corners, one can find very expensive and elite stores selling actual Old Earth antiques and artifacts. The best of these have Reclaimer connections and occasionally sell objects recovered from the post-Fall Earth. If the simple art and culture aren't enough, there are many themed packages, which use actors, ALI and AR effects to create all kinds of neat scenarios you can interact with. You can fight (or be) a mad scientist, experience a kaiju attack or repel an alien invasion (Grey morphs are also popular sight on the hab), be part of a viral outbreak movie, be a giant robot pilot or space captain, and more. Depending on how much you're willing to spend, you can do group scenarios, generic ones, or even custom tailored things right to you. Those without an excess of funds will have to settle for XP.
For the residents of World of Tomorrow, things are slightly different. Corporate employees from sponsors are basically on permanent work visas - they're responsible to their employers, but still bound by the charter of the hab (based on Venusian common law), and still perform all their normal functions. While a lot of them handle PR, some real scientists and researchers are employed to do actual work, or just provide accurate technical descriptions of their work. Working at World of Tomorrow is usually considered a relaxed and positive posting, though some more serious workers find it a bit grating. Next are the "actors", or just the personnel hired directly by the Science Council. They are employed, and live a life many in a corporate owned hab would find familiar, though with the "softness" the Morningstar Constellation is known for. Many of them are indeed "actors", or at least roleplaying - they perform normal jobs such as repairing or directing bots, policing the streets, customer service and more, but must do so "in character". Indentures are rare in the World of Tomorrow as a result, few applicants have the personality and social skills for the work - instead a lot of glitterati types often end up here, trying to get a "break". For those who can't or need a rest from constantly dealing with tourists, like most Cylinders World of Tomorrow has large sections of green space which are used both for environments and to grow food - many earth classics. There are even some stock of cattle herds for that authentic "beef burger" experience (so yes, there are space cowboys. And girls, and neuters, and herms). While not an extensive shipyard, World of Tomorrow does have some facilities to build and repair spacecraft, often adding their retro flare. Other menial tasks are usually handled by ALI. Then there are the hobbyists. They come from all strains. Some are permanent tourists, some are former infugees looking to recapture the past, others wish to take a break from the "real" world of Luna and Earth Orbit. Even some are born from wandering Scum Swarms or emigrate from the Outer System to experience a world they never saw, having been born far from earth. While all of these are enthusiasts, their flavor can vary. A very few are actual experts, historians, anthropologists and documentarians who are consultants for the Science Council, or just want to get as close as possible to their subject matter. Many are artists, who are trying to recreate the style of "raygun gothic", producing vids, games, VR and more based on the aesthetics of the hab. Some may blend with the next group, the gearheads, who are the masters of the old mediums, understanding various outdated and retro tech - and even producing media on it. World of Tomorrow has one of the few functioning facilities to produce actual "film" vids in the solar system. And then there are those who are here just because they want to escape the modern solar system, and engage in a little nostalgia full-time. These all make their way as one does in the hypercapitalist economy, acting as freelancers or flexible employees to sell their wares or services.
Unfortunately, World of Tomorrow is heavily reliant on tourism and outside sponsorship. The system of Venus orbit is fairly open, requiring all materials to be recycled or imported, which can be expensive. The place generates positive PR and rep for most involved, so for now it is fairly stable, but if Earth Nostalgia ever becomes passe, the habitat could be in trouble sustaining itself. It is also a bit of hotbed for Reclaimer activities in the Venusian area. While the most hardcore are stationed around Earth, there is plenty of agitation, especially from the wing of Morningstar opposed to complete Venus terraforming. Those with these opinions tend to keep quiet in public, however, as the Planetary Consortium officially pushes that earth is dead and gone, despite being a large source of the tourism.

Psyche

Harker
Type: Rocky Moon
Satellite Of: Bromeliad
Gravity: .15 g
Diameter: 3275 km
Atmospheric Pressure: N/A
Atmospheric Composition: N/A
Surface Temperature (Mean): -60 C
Day Length: N/A
Orbital Period: 36 Days
Gate Access: Martian Gate (vis Psyche Station)

Bromeliad

Type: Terrestrial (Tundral)

Primary Star: M5V (Red Dwarf)

Gravity: .8 g

Diameter: 11313 km

Atmospheric Pressure: 1 atm

Atmospheric Composition: 65% Nitrogen, 21% Oxygen, 6% CO2, 4% Hydrogen Sulfide, trace other gasses

Surface Temperature (Mean): -5 C (26 C in Volcanic Regions)

Day Length: 28.5 Hours

Orbital Period: 

Satellites: Harker

Gate Access: Martian Gate (vis Psyche Station)

The Harker/Bromeliad system is the classic example of "dirty little secret" exoplanets. It should be of intense interest to the public, and scientific data from it of utmost interest to all researchers - but it is incredibly unknown. The gate, now named "Psyche" for the station built around it, stood in the LaGrange point between Harker and Bromeliad. Harker is named after the Gatecrasher who explore the system first - and is a mostly unremarkable terrestrial moon, a rough analog for Luna. It has a decent amount of metallic and silicate elements which are drawn on for mining projects, and some water ice in frozen pockets which has been also utilized for settlers. It is not of major interest.

Bromeliad on the other hand, is quite interesting. A tundral terrestrial, slightly smaller than Earth with a slightly toxic atmosphere due to lots of volcanic activity - this geothermal heating is the only thing which keeps it remotely habitable on the far edges of its dim star's habitable zone. Most of it's surface is bare rock, or layers of water ice and other volatiles. But, large volcanic activity has cut through glacial zones in certain regions, in valleys, dormant or extinct craters, geothermal vents and hot springs and sinkholes. These regions, which give the exoplanet it's name, have a bearable (and hot even) temperature, enough humidity they have rain or mist and standing liquid water. And it is here that life has evolved on this planet.

Microbes flourish of course, both chemo and photosynthesising living in otherwise acidic or toxic pools, leeching elements from standing water or geysers, etc. While their biochemistry is slightly different, they do not lend any serious research opportunities to Transhumanity. Complex organisms do, and Bromeliad has them. Exoflora is decently diversified. Their structure and chemistry is sufficiently different from terrestrial plants most of them are indigestible to humans, but otherwise they're roughly analogous to Earth plants. Their chlorophyll analog is called "erythrophylla" because it is a majority reddish in color to our eyes, with slight tinges of orange. Many of them also process sulfur and other volcanic gas elements and secrete them to avoid toxicity, so they smell unpleasant and would be poisonous for even some of the local animals to eat. 

Initial surveys by probes launched from Harker or directly through the Gate did not indicate much interesting in the way of Exofauna. Almost all larger life on Bromeliad is semi- or fully amphibious. They exist in various pools and flows of water, or stalk overland from pool to pool, filtering microbes, eating the less toxic plants or even engaging in predatory behavior. They have a sophisticated DNA/RNA analog which makes them very resistant to diseases, parasites and carcinogens, and they have a slightly acidic biochemistry compared to Terrestrial life. Most of them are limbless or quadrupedal, or just have gripping forearms. While not considered aesthetically pleasing, they are similar enough looking to Earth animals for familiar names. Eelsnakes, Bromeliad Salamanders, Frog-monkeys, Craterskippers and Fanged Toads are examples of these identified species. Smaller life includes amphibious insect analogs, who pollinate or try and parasitize plant and animal life to survive. These can have between 4-8 limbs, and are exoskeletal, while the other macrofauna is endoskeletal - though they seem to be more like sharks with a cartilage-like substance providing most of their internal structure. 

This should make Bromeliad a prime place for colonization. With minimal mods or equipment, transhumans could visit to study the lifeforms, even see them like some kind of nature preserve or zoo. And the volcanic activity means there are valuable heavy metals in the crust to exploit, along with large volumes of water ice. And yet the Gate is mostly locked down, and there are no permanent settlements on the surface of Bromeliad. 

This is because of the other residents of Bromeliad. First discovered when a manned mission was sent to try and find a good place to set up an initial outpost by Pathfinder. Mission logs were heavily classified afterward, but if you know where to look, they can be found. The mission was wiped out to a man by an exofauna form now called "Psychovore". Pathfinder was ready to black out the address for a hostile alien life form, or possible TITAN activity, but this is where the Trinity Foundation stepped in. Officially, Trinity is a group dedicated fostering cooperation between Hypercorps in similar industries to promote the growth of the Planetary Consortium and it's Four-Point Plan. Their name is derived from their motto "Mind. Body. Soul.". But in reality, they are a shell company. Their majority stakeholders are all tied into Cognite, with the rest of their executive slots filled by people tied to corps like Ecologene, Skinaesthesia and NanoSys. 

Trinity vastly overpaid to buy exclusive rights to the Gate destination over Bromeliad, and used it to establish a largely unknown research base, Psyche Station.

Psyche

Station Type: Cluster

Allegiance: Trinity Foundation (Hypercorps) 

Primary Languages: English, Cantonese, Russian

Population: 1,200

Psyche is the variable configuration cluster habitat built by Trinity around the Gate, thus located in the LaGrange point between Harker and Bromeliad. The station's primary purpose is research and development, though it has some business elements and quarters for visitors to scope out Bromeliad, though they are rarely used. Officially, Trinity Foundation uses it as space for it's "cooperating hypercorps" to launch joint research projects based on unique conditions of the Harker/Bromeliad system. Again, the reality is that it is a black box lab, connected to major hypercorps, who can perform exotic research away from prying eyes, under conditions of total control. While the labs and their projects are frequently modified and rotated, ultimately a lot of their research is based on the data of the Psychovore species.

What Trinity has been able to determine about the Psychovore is that they are a complex, amorphous or semi-amorphous species, with usually dark coloration. Their internal structure is more advanced and complex than most other species on Bromeliad, and due to their external appearance many think it is similar to the Factors. However, their internal components and behaviors are different enough to posit they are not directly related. Additionally, Psychovores do not appear highly intelligent or sapient. They are called "Psychovores" because of their unique form of gathering metabolic energy. The flowery way to put it is they "feed on consciousness", but the most accurate way is to say that Psychovores gather metabolic energy by lethally parasitizing the nervous system. They invade and "feast" on brains and CNS systems (or analogous) and absorb neuroelectric and neurochemical energy. More complex organisms with larger brains like Transhumans have more of this energy stored and thus are more nourishing, and a more desirable prey. While feeding on less-complex organisms is enough to sustain them for extended periods, eating large entities means that they can initiate rapid cellular analog division - this allows them either to grow in size and complexity or to reproduce via fission, adding anywhere from 1-4 new forms. This reproduction is aesexual completely, and akin to the growth of a virus or bacterium - mutation and adaptation seems to occur naturally in response to environmental pressures. The worst part of the Psychovore is that appears naturally Asynchronous - that is it possesses what we call "Psi" abilities, in addition to flexible and adaptive biochemistry. Small Psychovores can create a psychosomatic "shock" in the target at a touch, and generate some kind of psychic field which provokes fear responses in large sophonts. Larger forms show more exotic abilities, able to lure targets toward them, or cause them to ignore the Psychovore from their perception. This element seems to be what peaked Cognite's interest. 

Thus, Psyche is built to contain and study these entities.

Psyche, being a large cluster, has all the normal functions you might expect from a space habitat. Given that primary access is via the Gate, there is a large central sphere built around it, which serves as a primary customs access point, with round the clock security and support shifts to move cargo and people. This area is immediately connected to central spar which provides primary support to the station's structures. Along this spar first is the Administrative modules, which handle all command and control stations, and house primary nodes for station infrastructure to be managed. They also have central security offices. It has a permanent residence of about 1200, and this number can balloon as high as 1800 for specific project rotations. This of course means quarters and support for all these people - mostly in the form of habitat modules just beyond admin, connected directly to the gate via transport tubes, some of which are lightly spun for lunar-level gravity. However, some labs have overflow or extra habitat modules attached to them so researchers don't have to go far from their projects. As expected from a group mostly backed by Cognite, the decor is surprisingly detailed and even gaudy - a Neo-Victorian stretching to Art Nouveau style.  

Beyond this point, access is all controlled, which has made it very hard for Firewall to examine the labs closer. Most of this data is based on reports and schematics back in-system, not first hand HUMINT. Access to areas beyond the public ones are handled usually by some form of two-step authentication. Station employees carry physical token IDs or have nanotat IDs which are matched to Ego ID data recorded in the central hab servers. Tokens and Mesh IDs are rigorously tracked by internal security, and logged by various sub-networks. Access points are paired with the Ego ID authentication, which means only authorized personnel with their proper entry materials can enter a given section, which is primarily done to prevent people from accessing areas off-shift or when they have been reassigned, but they cannot be accessed by just stealing the right token access cards. Infomorphs utilize Digital ID codes instead, which are checked when logging into or transferring to certain devices. Coupled with many isolated or outright air-gapped internal networks makes Mesh access also limited. 

General purpose of sections is originally related to Psychovore phenomena, but this has branched out into several covert research operations under these strict security measures. This is similar to the function of the Aten station in the Solar Corona in-system, but there is no involvement with groups like Direct Action, and minimal interference from Oversight. Instead, internal security is handled by an in-house Security division, and primary oversight comes in the form of (well paid) Pathfinder reps. 

The central spar sections are primarily infrastructural. Hooked into and extended from main habitation modules is public services modules, with medical and resleeving facilities as well as psychological care stations. Past them is mostly a network of storage modules and inventory management. From here a lot of repair and reconfiguration ops are run. Opposite side of the spar from Admin and Habitation is the primary infrastructure sections. First is Life Support, with primary water-treatment and atmospheric and environmental control modules, though sub-modules are embedded in various strands of the cluster. Past this is the Power Plant and Resource Refinement modules. Primary power output is a DPF fusion reactor, which provides power via hardened transmission lines or wi-tricity transmitters. Backup power is provided to individual modules by large nuclear batteries or supplemental solar, though solar efficiency is weak due to the dim local star. Resource refinement combines waste management with mining and harvesting operations conducted by ALIs and teleoperation on Harker. Access to these modules is limited to technicians mostly. Both ends of the spars are capped off with shuttle and drone bays, where ops can be launched to Harker and Bromeliad directly.

Out from the spar are the lab clusters. Many of them are designed to be reconfigurable and expanded or contracted as needed. They can also be jettisoned or quarantined easily in case of some emergency. While the exact labs and projects can vary at any given time, there are a few major internal departments which almost never fully close. 

• Exobiology is the largest and oldest - they directly study the Psychovores as well as other flora and fauna on Bromeliad. They make observations both on carefully contained "live samples" and surveys of the planet. They are also attempting to deeper understand their physical structure. Notable modules within this department include Genetics and Behavioral Analysis labs. There is also the "Paleontology" module, which is more like a Xenoarchaeology section - studying the history of Bromeliad to look for clues about the appearance of the Psychovores and the common theory that they are some kind of artificial bioweapon deployed by an earlier species. 
• Parapsychology is the next oldest and largest, but by far the darkest lab. Almost nobody knows what goes on there, other than reports back to Cognite indicate that their primary purpose is to study Psi phenomena. Originally, it seems like their purpose was to study the effects of Psi on transhumans, as well as detect and interfere with psi and asynchronous brain-waves as per the Psychovores, but has since expanded. They now appear to conduct research on Transhuman Asyncs and their capabilities, as well as run complex simulations on the limits of psi phenomena exhibited by exsurgents and xenofauna. As the only known way for transhumans to develop async abilities is to be exposed to certain strains of the Exsurgent Virus, this is deeply troubling research. 
• Neurogenetic Hardware Labs are a small, permanent and prestigious posting - which appears to be the open face of Parapsychology. Trinity promotes their work the hardest, which is mainly on development of morphs and cyberbrains to ever expand the transhuman limits. Covertly they also appear to be working on cultivating morph lines which are resistant to Psi. They have notable sub-divisions, an AI lab, a Forking lab and Psychosurgery lab. The AI lab seems to focus on standard AGI generation from neural maps or ALI generation from pruning to suit station needs and research tasks. Forking, however, is more dangerously experimenting with exotic fork-hives and merges into Transcendant forking. Psychosurgery works closely with Human Augmentation (see below) to perform skill grafting, scanning as well as developing new techniques and hardware tools. 
• Human Augmentation is the most volatile division. While almost always up and running, it's various departments are constantly swapping, closing and reconfiguring modules. It is probably one of the most active departments on Psyche. Their three primary wings are Implants, Pharmaceuticals and Software. The Implant group is self-explanatory, working on new ware, primarily bio and nano based on other researches. Primarily cognitive and sensory enhancements, but they also have built some mods from exotic xeno-life samples. Software is primarily focused on skillsofts, particularly exotic skills or knowledge bases. While high quality, many of these are esoteric, projects which couldn't survive normal working conditions at places like Cognite or Experia. They also work on software plugins and upgrades for infomorphs. Pharmaceuticals is probably the largest consistently, working on nootropics and supplements derived from xenosamples. They also are notable for the development of various Psi Drugs. 
• Remaining labs come and go as projects and funding run through them. Exotic Particle labs have opened and closed several times when they weren't cost-effective. The Planetary Science lab was opened at the same time as Exobiology, but was shuttered only months after and has never been reopened, but also never reconfigured. Resources from other labs and infrastructure are occasionally repurposed to construct Robotics or Nanotech testing labs. An "uplift division" cluster of modules tends to drift from major department to department as they focus on particular projects. The Computer Science lab was subject to some kind of accident and several modules were breached, after which it was quarantined and ejected, only to be stripped down to basic modules re-attached to other labs. And various scientists and department heads have "pet" modules which cover small personal projects, such as Astronomy, Quantum Physics, Linguistics and Memetics. 

Phobos/Wauxhall

Phobos
(From p. 126-27 Sunward)
"Phobos orbits Mars about every 7 hours and would
have destroyed the space elevator within a week of
it going up if they hadn’t done something about this
sucker’s chaotic orbit. Now Phobos orbits the straight
and narrow and is crawling with Cognite employees.
Cognite has a controlling interest in Phobos, sharing it
with with several other corps, including Direct Action,
ComEx, and Eng/Dilworth, an IT firm specializing in
automation and security for orbital stations.
Phobos is where the project that created the
Lost generation got its start; the first crèche servers
were located here. Cognite’s Wauxhall Institute was
involved in the Lost project and is also rumored to be
taking part in experiments with the Watts-MacLeod
strain of the exsurgent virus."

Phobos is similar in composition to a D-type asteroid, with numbers of silicates, carbon and oxides with organic chemicals, and sub-surface deposits of water ice. Phobos also has a very low density, as it is a “rubble pile”, not a singular body of rock but many smaller ones held together by gravity, though colonization efforts have taken great pains to stabilize the asteroid.

Cognite’s primary outpost here is Wauxhall, home of the touted “Wauxhall Institute”, a dome settlement built into the massive Stickney crater on the surface of Phobos. The dome features many arcology structures which span the entire height of the space, with gaps between individual structures for air vehicles, trams and walkways. Wauxhall features a high degree of open space for a microgravity habitat. Rumors say that Cognite originally planned to utilize utility fog in the hab to simulate gravity, but after the Fall such technologies are highly restricted. Wauxhall is host to Cognite’s major central “offices”, and most of their more public industries - such as nootropic and cognitive enhancement research, while their more secretive projects are hidden away either in deep interior labs or on other outposts. All in all, several thousand Cognite employees and contractors and their dependants live in Wauxhall or it’s connected interior structures. Also, due to the volume of complaints and controversy directed at Cognite - as well as their own aloof and concealed nature, Wauxhall is host to a branch office of Oversight, staffed round the clock by tactical response teams of auditors and security contractors who keep an eye on Cognite, along with a small team of PR officials who work to prevent frivolous slander against a major player in the Hypercorp Council.

Wauxhall is an interesting habitat. It’s interior structures are designed with a very “Neo-Victorian” aesthetic, combining classical European neo-gothic or neoclassical architecture with Middle Eastern or Asian influences. Structures are artistically reinforced with visible cast iron or steel, various spires and columns are visible as accents, and many facades are covered in a reddish “brick” made from materials from Phobos. Ornamentation is everywhere, with tightly packed designs which verge on cluttered. Elitism is a large part of the corporate culture within Cognite, and verticality plays a large roll in Wauxhall. The higher “up” you live or work, the more important you are in the company. The core employees of Cognite (execs and scientists) also are very showy about their intelligence and creativity, littering their casual conversation with technical and philosophical jargon to appear more intelligent, and public displays of art are highly common and encouraged by the company. Contractors and support staff are less caught up in this particular aspect. Almost everyone in Wauxhall, however, projects as air of austerity and gravitas. People are aloof, polite and avoid open displays of emotion or even most body language. In Wauxhall, you never know if you’re being studied or analyzed, which creates a sense of social propriety (and paranoia). Social or mental problems are also kept under wraps, as it could end up with a quick trip to psychosurgery under orders of the company - something many employees are paranoid about. Emotional dampers are highly common.

Wauxhall is broken up into several broad districts and neighborhoods, typically by function and facilities, though some of these areas may be striated along the vertical axis.

• Undertown is the colloquial name given to the lowest levels of Wauxhall and the warren of tunnels dug into Phobos beneath it. This area houses most of the distributed infrastructure of Wauxhall such as water reclamation, power distribution and other vital components. Many sectors of undertown are poorly sealed or even open to vacuum. This area is home to the synthmorph indentures who serve as vacworkers and support staff to Cognite. Contracts with Cognite are a double-edged sword: they almost always feature mandatory (albeit “temporary”) behavioral modification with open clauses for further psychosurgery, and the Muses the company provides are loaded with behavioral spyware like a Monitor AI - but on the other hand Cognite offers great mental health coverage and access to recreational simulspace. They also respect company loyalty, the most talented and loyal indentures can end up hired into better contractor positions within Wauxhall itself. 
• Londinium, Germania and Gallia are the three primary arcology towers, arranged in a rough triangle around the crater, reaching from the floor all the way to the surface of the dome. The outside of these circular structures is adorned with various accents in the style of the rest of the hab. Apartments ring the outside of the building, with the center being a mostly open area layered with transportation methods and zero-g gardens and art installations. Occasionally floors of housing space are replaced with rows of shopping arcades containing basic necessities and supplies sold through Cognite after strict screening, or other recreational facilities. The quality of the housing sharply increases based on the height in the buildings, with the lowest floors little more than single-occupant capsules, and the upper layers having single apartments which constitute one apartment for a senior executive or researcher and their family and personal staff. The very top levels aren’t housing, but rather extravagant dining destinations which extend above the layer of the dome to give a breathtaking view - many high-powered Cognite meetings take place in these locales. 
• Metaversal Studios started as a nickname, but became a semi-official title for Cognite’s VR division after a partnership with Experia. This tower focuses on the design and programming of various cutting-edge recreational and educational simulspaces, which push the limits of modern hardware for more realistic experiences. Simulspaces are coded, tested and fixed here, before being mirrored to Experia media servers for mass consumption. Cognite employs small legions of infomorph indentures as beta testers and QA contractors. Due to the highly advanced nature of the simulspaces being constructed here, Cognite also experiments in high end computer hardware. The lower levels of Metaversal are dedicated to less “advanced” jobs in “edutainment” vids and vidgames, or development of skillsofts. This zone has a volume of Experia contractors and representatives, who often bring their own flair to the compound.
• The Candy Factory is another colloquialism. Officially, it is Cognite’s “Pharmaceutical Research and Design Division”. This section of the company is responsible for one of Cognite’s biggest sellers, nootropics. Built of several structures, this area of the hab is a study in contrast. The pharmacists, chemical engineers and research doctors developing or testing new drugs work in sterile, white-walled labs, while the upper layers are staffed by many of Cognite’s overworked marketing and public relations employees, trying to develop new tactics and plans to sell the drugs once their blueprints are encoded to be distributed. Experimental AR graphics and displays run wild on the upper floors, and it is a common joke among the scientists that the guys “upstairs” consume most of their products in order to stay on top of their game. 
• Teatown is the name for Cognite’s “Cognitive Enhancement and Morphological Development” department, with the name coming about after the Fall and the rise of the “Black Kettle” morph growing operations on Mars. Here, Cognite develops and updated a number of cognitive implants and genelines, including their original variant of the popular Menton morph. Cognite is also feverishly trying to reverse-engineer the Hyperbright morph after Acumenic “embarassed” them with the Bright habitat. It is also known that Cognite also produces a modernized version of the Futura morph used by the original Lost project here, for “internal uses”. 
• The Think Tank is one of the most centralized and secured structures on Phobos. The building has a dark, bleak exterior at odds with much of the other architecture on the station. It is insulated from many external mesh sources, and has a large airgap. This is because this is where Cognite does it’s “public” AI research, developing the latest templates for Muses and other specialized AIs, while they leave their more advanced (and secretive) research to other stations. Think Tank additionally works on forking work-groups and hives, especially the “autocratic” style which is currently popular with Cognite’s executives. The Think Tank has also been experimenting heavily with cyberbrain emulation states, and Infomorph/Eidolon designs - including Cognite’s special “edits” for Infomorphs to encourage productivity in indentures. 
• The Morgue has no official name. It is Cognite’s cold storage center. After the Fall, Cognite was one of several corporations who began to buy up the massive stockpiles of Egos in dead storage, and begin processing them for indenture contracts. In addition to the massive racks of cold storage servers, there are also a number of Simulspace servers to process prospective indenture candidates. Most people find Cognite’s particular practices of indentureship particularly unpleasant, so this structure is heavily secured and secretive, with security personnel watching the location around the clock. Cognite doesn’t just store infugees here, they have several contracts to hold criminal Egos in some very secure servers at the heart of the Morgue. Due to secrecy, rumors abound about the Morgue, even among employees; possible ego trafficking with the ID Crew or Nine Lives, imprisonment of captured Egos of Lost Project subjects, or even that the Morgue contains a boxed pre-TITAN Seed AI.
• St. Dymphna Mental Health Research Center is a pyramidal building built as a kind of miniaturized arcology. Here Cognite performs much of it’s psychosurgical and psychotherapy research. They also develop therapeutic simulspaces to help patients. Most of the work here is oriented on research, and so Cognite takes on a limited number of “patients” but is known to occasionally work on high-profile mental health cases for the publicity. In the lower levels of St. Dymphna are the Infolife and Uplift wings, which experiment on cognitive development, modelling and treatment for non-human cognition, with tales of unethical experiments often thrown around in Mercurial circles. Cognite also is known to dabble in psychosurgical loyalty modifications and interrogative simulspace and psychosurgery techniques for the Planetary Consortium here. 
• Youth Cognitive Excellence Center (YCXC) is a private educational institution run by Cognite. Here Cognite specializes in the teaching of young people to best stimulate their development and maximize aptitude potential through a variety of experimental educational techniques. The YCXC was popular among Hyperelites and upper class Martians in the immediate aftermath of the Fall, but business waned after the Lost Generation fiasco. Now a majority of the student body are children of Cognite employees or contractors, who get a large discount on enrollment. Some of the students are also Cognite “projects” also. The YCXC was responsible for the rough educational planning of the Lost and some of their creche server environments, but had little to do with the execution.
• Phobos Circus is the name of the circular district which rings the perimeter of the dome, and is home to what passes for the larger scale entertainment and recreation in Wauxhall. The Phobos Circus is also host to “embassy” or branch offices of affiliated hypercorps and Cognite subsidiaries. Here, there are a number of restaurants, cafes and teahouses, and large scale physical entertainment or exercise - such as zero-g soccer and racquetball. Independant shops sell goods imported from other locations, typically Mars, though at significant markup due to Cognite fees. There are several art galleries and museums here, all sponsored by Cognite, and it also contains the Wauxhall Theater, with a Cognite sponsored troupe who perform microgravity versions of many classic plays - though it is also host to other experiments in performance art, especially performances made possible through the kinds of technologies Cognite works with. 
• Wauxhall Institute is the center of Wauxhall, located in the smaller Limtoc Crater inside Stickney. Here, Cognite’s scientists conduct their most advanced and bleeding edge research, though almost the entirety of these projects are strictly theoretical. Actual practical research is done on other Cognite stations. This is also where Cognite’s executives, including their board of directors, meet - either remotely or in person. The Wauxhall Institute is linked to all other Cognite “offices” around the system. Also contained in this region is Wauxhall House, which is the administration center for the station, and contains many primary infrastructure functions, such as Ego Casting and Resleeving, and is where the Oversight branch office is based.
• The Dimondium Palace is the nickname for the orbital tether cluster held in orbit directly above Wauxhall as a spaceport and redundant communications hub. The nickname comes from the variety of windows and viewports to observe both Mars and Phobos as well as the space traffic. Dimondium also has a couple of rotating clusters and rings for certain kinds of work which must be done in “simulated” gravity. Shuttles to Mars and other stations on Phobos are most common here, but there are also regular movements to other major martian orbital habs. 

Plantation (The Good Masters)

"The greatest task before civilization at present is to make machines what they ought to be, the slaves, instead of the masters of men." - Havelock Ellis (1948)

"Machines exist to serve man, not to rule over him" - Motto of The Good Masters

PLANTATION (1036 Ganymed)
Station Type: Cole Bubble (S-Type Amor Asteroid)
Allegiance: Independant (The Good Masters)
Primary Language: English, French, German
1036 Ganymed was one of the largest known near Earth objects, a Mars-crossing Amor asteroid of considerable size, and roughly rounded shape. It's name comes from the German spelling of "Ganymede". The habitat is has become, Plantation, is an interesting strain on bioconservatism. It was founded by several conservative business tycoons who escaped the Fall with resources intact, and for various reasons did not care for the direction the Planetary Consortium was going - nor necessarily the overbearing militarism and Catholic influence of the budding Jovian Republic. So, they funded the creation of their own habitat to breed their own ideal - Plantation - and became known as "The Good Masters".
Fundamentally, the Good Masters are founded on one simple strain of thought. All machines are devised to be tools of man - thus man should control machines and machines never control man. They see the TITANs and the growth of other infolife, the exploding use of synthmorphs and cyberbrains, forking, advanced nanofabrication and exotic biomorphs to be both a survival risk and a moral affront. Technology serves man's purposes and does not serve its own, so the machine should never be higher placed than a human Ego. This does not mean that Plantation does not utilize some technologies, but they do so in very specifically proscribed ways.
For Transhumans, this means a very simple living. Biomorphs more advanced than an Exalt are not available on Plantation. Many residents to not have or do not utilize basic mesh inserts, instead preferring to keep their digital access to external devices like an Ecto. Cyberbrains also cannot be acquired on Plantation, and those with them are often treated like second class citizens or barred from entry on account of being "security" risks. The station has minimal infomorph servers which are clearly designed to be transitional space, one should not live as data permanently. A citizen may not sleeve into a Pod or Synthmorph - and those inside these morphs will be asked to vacate them for the duration of their stay - though Brain Box units are allowed. This, however, is a good way to be treated as a literal object. Cyberware is minimized for immediate medical or work-related uses only, though basic, non-visible bioware and even nanoware is approved. Cortical stacks, backups and resleeving are allowed, but practiced rarely as a precautionary measure, and all resleeving facilities are held by the governing body of Plantation - the Ganymed Council. Much like in the Jovian Republic, advanced nanotech like Healing Vats, Ego Bridges, Hives and fabrication of all kinds is not privately owned, but held in carefully regulated facilities and generally not accessible to the public. Alpha forking is illegal, with Beta forking highly regulated, though the use of forking and merging for having children is allowed - as are exowombs. For authenticity, "surrogate" Pods are often used to hold growing children. Skillsofts also form an unusual contraband on Plantation - it is thought utilizing the expertise of another and being dependant on technology for skills is a deep affront to the original Ego and allows technology to "rule" you. The only other major restriction of note, besides the basic laws one might assume in modern, organized habs, is that Indenture is categorically illegal on Plantation. A human cannot be construed to "own" another human, which puts their society at odds with Morningstar, the Consortium and Extropians, but means that Indentures are occasionally smuggled to Plantation by friendly Scum Swarms or certain Barsoomians.
Because, while citizens (I/E Transhuman Egos) and visitors may not acquire or utilize some of this technology, that is not to say it does not exist. Plantation is rife with Pods and Synths, however they are all stacked with ALI or teleoperated by humans (these morphs are clearly marked in both AR and realspace as being used by a human). Plantation does not fear mass AI subversion like many societies, as they use curbed or limited AI in small independant networks to handle certain advanced tasks using physical instances, and heavily limit the hardware capabilities of non-instanced AIs, as well as have littered the hab with numerous air gaps our countermeasures to prevent some kind of AI subversion outbreak (such as wide-spectrum wireless jamming being available in the entire hab in a state of emergency). These AIs or jammed drones handle most routine tasks - they manage farms which are Plantation's namesake, they are used in off-site asteroid mining projects, they replace "all-in-one" nanofabrication with literal assembly lines of AI Synths and handle most low-level service industry jobs. Every "unit" of AIs must have a transhuman handler or manager in some respect - the titular "Good Master". Large tasks often mimic middle management structures of old-fashioned corporations with multiple levels of transhuman management over AI "cube workers".
AI work is the backbone of Plantation's healthy economy. They man the plantations the hab is named after, which grow several otherwise rare strains of plants both for internal consumption and export. Most of the work at the Ganymed Brewing Company is done by AIs, as are local manufacture of consumer goods (at least those not small enough that they be produced simply in fabricators or classic 3D printers). As noted, AI labor supplements mining efforts which return raw materials to Plantation, and they make up the bulk of the service industry, which allows for greater profit margins while retaining competitive pricing. Basic hab maintenance is handled by AI drones overseen by humans, much like many Autonomist habs - which gives people free time on artistic or other creative pursuits. Most citizens are employed as "management", or in technical work to repair and update machines and AIs, as machines cannot build or repair machines. Plantation has a sizable educational system, due to it's ability to generate profit in excess of its smaller population - with encouragement of sophisticated or technical skills; though for every doctor, lawyer or computer engineer Plantation produces they produce at least twice as many business or polisci majors.
Government of Plantation is a semi representative democracy. Habitat-wide decisions are voted on by the entire populace, using a physical token voting which is tallied by a mix of hand and computers. But most day to day operations are handled by the Plantation Council. The council has 8 normal seats and one executive seats. Four of the seats are permanently held by founding members of Plantation, or their chosen proxy, the other four are elected by the populace every two standard years. The final slot, the Executive seat, acts as a tiebreaker vote only and has limited executive powers, and is selected every four years by nomination of the Council, and then ratified by a popular vote requiring simple majority. The council oversees habitat infrastructure and finance - taking a very reasonable flat taxation to pay for upkeep costs and to employ "Management" on public AIs. They also fund the Militia, a technically volunteer organization which takes compensation to work - as Plantation employs minimal drone security - almost entirely for external defenses or states of emergency. Punishments on Plantation are usually fiduciary - including seizure of some property (which would include AIs), short periods of confinement, probation and house arrest, and most frequently mandatory work assignments - where serious convicts have their original morphs impounded or confined and they are forced to do so many hours of "community service" work in teleoperated morphs or bots to repay their debt. Loss of citizenship and exile are only common for the most serious or repeated crimes - as Plantation does not believe in mandatory psychosurgery, cold storage or execution. Everything else is handled by corporations or other businesses which are compensated by the government - with obvious favor to corporations who "give back" to Plantation or otherwise are profitable for the Council.
Citizenship on Plantation is fairly simple. To become enfranchised, one must count Plantation as their primary residence (reside their a majority of the year), have paid taxes at least once on Plantation, and either own their own biomorph or possess enough funds to purchase one from the government (this can be all at once or leased) which must be arranged immediately upon granting of citizenship. Citizens are entitled to vote, serve in the Militia and have stronger legal protections, as well as be subject to benefitting from more government services. Due to minimal computer tracking and automation, most citizens have Nanotat IDs or some other form of physical ID token on them for official purposes. Due to their ideology, work visas are very common to Plantation as a step to citizenship, and freely given to those with demonstrable skills - so long as they are not in possession of restricted technology or would surrender it upon entry to the hab. Workers may even utilize restricted morphs if they cannot afford their own biomorph, and there is little concern of "job loss" as AIs take care of most manual labor jobs. Tourist visas are a little more strongly restricted. Those not coming to work are allowed, but they must either not be in possession of illegal technology or be willing to surrender it - and those in restricted morphs must rent a biomorph for a temporary stay. While on a tourist visa one may not "work" on Plantation. Of course, there are additional complexities. AGI who enter Plantation are highly restricted - they cannot be unaccompanied, and must either sleeve into a biomorph or be subject to curbed hardware, and will have their mesh and technology access restricted and monitored. AGI cannot become citizens unless they sleeve into biomorphs and live at least several years under a probationary period and pass a battery of "humanization" tests. Uplifts represent an ideological conflict for the Good Masters. Some parties assert that as Uplifts are transhuman creations, they are tools as well and thus should be confined to second-class citizenship - above AIs but akin to AGI, while others assert since they are sapient and can live as humans do, they are as eligible for citizenship as anyone else. For the time being, until legislation can become more clear, Uplift morphs of most types are allowed on Plantation for visitors, and Uplift citizens are approved on a "case-by-case" basis.
It is not all sunshine and rainbows on Plantation. Many people feel that their lifestyle is archaic, and overly simple. They do not reap the full benefits of technological advancement, and live artificially constructed lives to uphold their "values". Politically, their opposition to Indenture puts them on the wrong side of the Planetary Consortium (and to a lesser extent, Venus and Luna). Their extensive use of AI, no matter how restricted, often means they are thought of as a walking security risk by "true" precautionist or bioconservative societies such as the Jovian Republic. Their attitudes on morphological freedom, advanced nanotech and AGI means they are of dubious quality to most Autonomist groups. This means their strongest allies are in mobile Scum swarms who are of non-committal natures about people living as they please, and some sects of Barsoomians on Mars - who engage in anti-Indenture tactics, Martian reclamation and nationalism. Several Sapient politicians and activists are pushing for reforms for pro-integration Uplifts and AGIs, but Mercurials are deeply distrustful or hateful of their style of governance and several terrorist attacks have occurred - which have been tied to infolife Mercurial organizations. The Consortium is waging ongoing economic and memetic warfare with Plantation - which is so far able to stay afloat due to relative self-service and the fact that some of their exports (in the form of grown plants or byproducts) are relatively valuable to others in the Solar System. X-Risk groups like Firewall are concerned a digital outbreak of the Exsurgent Virus or TITAN agents could also compromise the habitat and it's not insignificant population, and utilize it as a jumping off point for other operations.
Construction-wise, Plantation is a bit of a patchwork. The two "poles" house spaceports and inner city analogs, tightly packed quarters for persons who organize shipping/receiving, vac and zero-g industry and certain infrastructural functions. Along the "equator" of the bubble is primary residence, where cheap block housing is held, along with governmental buildings, most government services are based out of here, as is the service and tourism industry - featuring several resorts, pod brothels, restaurants. The Ganymed Brewing Company and several other local corporations have offices here. This is also where their limited Egocasting facilities and official resleeving facilities are. The remaining interior surface is a blend of secured industrial facilities and large fields with attached plantation houses which give the habitat it's name. Small teams of synths or pods often roam fields or streets, accompanied by a manager or two. Architecture blends stark, industrial look in factory settings with almost wistful historic colonial or plantation-style construction, with hints of southeast asian or pacific island styles. While not primary languages, the background of several founding investors means that Plantation is a bastion of linguistics and cultures from Southeast Asia and Oceania which would otherwise be lost. Most people in Plantation are fairly well off, though of course they are limited in what they can do with this wealth. This makes entertainment a fairly decent industry there, and classic non-interactive media being the most prolific. People who fall on hard times are caught by government safety nets to prevent them being "lower than a machine", though people on welfare are widely disrespected. People think of their lives as peaceful and tend not to go armed, but "managers" are almost always equipped with a heavy sidearm (such as a seeker pistol) or a weapon loaded with jammer rounds to deal with wayward AIs. AI-driven units are easily identified - all Synthmorphs and many pod morphs run by AIs are "naked", with their ownership clearly marked on their bodies - though pods working certain industries meet dress codes. People operating pods or synths remotely, via brainbox or on temporary stay visas until they can afford a biomorph will dress and act as normal people, and include AR markers to let others know a person is there. Crime is minimal on Plantation, limited to typical crimes of passion or economic crimes - with the Militia keeping an even hand to break things up, though generally people are in agreement. However, there are two common crime issues on Plantation - vandalism or property damage, which is how the government categorizes damage or abuse of AIs and their platforms, and smuggling. Black Market operators backed by the Triads, Night Cartel or Scum offer illicit implants, technology and softwares to people living on Plantation who are willing to break the rules to get ahead. Skillsofts, cyberware (and implant masking) and nanotech are the most commonly smuggled goods.

500 Bushels

500 BUSHELS 
Station Type: O'Neill Cylinder (Mars-Sun L4)
Allegiance: Independent
Primary Languages: English, Greek, French

500 Bushels is an interesting experiment in classical systems of governance. The cylinder was in construction prior to the Fall, but it's backers vanished or went bankrupt in the event, allowing the production rights to be bought up and completed by Tatton Werner, who would become the first Archon. The large cylinder follows the standard plan, and looks remarkably pastoral to a casual observer. This is because 500 Bushels follows the rule of timocracy - governance by those who own and work land. Warner made sound investments prior to the Fall, and was a bit of a history buff who stumbled upon the formalized form of this government while examining history - and bought up 500 Bushels to be his "experiment" in governance. Like many others, he felt governments big and small had failed in the crisis, and wanted to attempt to build a simple life where people's socioeconomic power was based on how much property they could control and goods they could produce. Werner did extensive research and modelling for the government style, producing a carefully planned constitution which all persons wanting to become citizens must agree to operate under.

Under the constitution of 500 Bushels, there are several defined "classes", which each have defined powers and capabilities, with the terminology primarily based on the Solonian reforms of ancient Athens:

• Pentacosiomedimni (Usually Pentacos for short) are the highest rank of citizen. They are those who have property or estates which produce 500 or more bushels of wet or dry goods in a year, or an equivalent income. Pentacos are the only ones who can claim the highest political offices.
• Hippeis (or "Knights") are the second rank, those who have an production or income equivalent to 300 units. Knights are able to afford and maintain high-level military equipment such as Battlesuits should they be called to fight in the militia.
• Zeugitai (Usually "Tillers" or "Yokemen", sometimes "Zoogs") are the middle class, they produce in excess of 200 bushels of income per year, and thus are considered to be able to afford to equip themselves with weapons and armor - and in the event of an emergency would be called on to form the militia. 
• Thetes ("Workers") are the remaining citizens and the lowest class. Manual laborers, or those with less than 200 bushels worth of product. They can only serve in limited positions in the government under the constitution, and cannot serve directly in the militia - but are consigned to reserve or technical positions, such as operating and crewing ships or defensive platforms.

While all citizens have some basic rights (such as trial by jury and other rights of due process and freedom of expression) under the constitution, positions they can hold and even vote on may be restricted by their class - which is calculated every "half-year" (343.5 Days) under the Martian calendar by an official Census proceedure. This gives sufficient time for classes to be tallied and officially remarked prior to upcoming elections. It's not all "bad news" for the lower classes however, while they may not be eligible for elected offices, 500 Bushels levies a graduated tax, where upper classes pay higher proportional taxes at a ratio of 6:3:1, with Thetes having to pay no taxes. 

The government of 500 Bushels itself has a system familiar to many democracies or republics, just with key limitations on who may hold certain offices. The Archon is the executive office, elected every 2 Martian years from the Pentacos - and handles the expected duties. They are the chief magistrate and treasurer responsible for nominating many of those lesser positions, in event of a state of emergency they are the commander in chief and also are responsible for planning public events. Mostly, the archon is a coordinator who handles the other government groups in attempts to keep the habitat healthy and prosperous. Daily operation of the habitat is handled by the Council of 500 (or boule) which is actually decided by random lots from volunteers every Year - and can include members of the top 3 classes. The Council handles day-to-day governance, putting forth new legislation and supervising elected officials. 

One may only ever serve on the boule twice in his life - and never two years in a row. New councillors are investigated and vetted in a formal proceedure by the outgoing council. Historical boule met every day which was not a festival day - but networking and computer technology means that physical meetings of the council are saved for the most formal of occasions and instead councilors regularly check in over the Mesh, though they do not work on public holidays. Councilors swear an oath to uphold the constitution and do the best for the habitat when they take office - "oathbreaking" is an offense punishable by disenfranchisement and exile. Due to the fact that anyone can become a councilor, many of them integrate politics packages into their Muses when they take the office, similar to upgrades which are available in the Titanian Commonwealth (p. 199 Rimward). The Assembly is then the main body of 500 Bushels, but they act very infrequently. This body consists of all enfranchised citizens (I/E those who submit to the constitution, live on 500 Bushels and work in some form - those who do not work are dependants). 

The Assembly has final say on laws put forward by the Council - who act in an advisory and supervisory capacity. The Assembly must ratify declarations of peace or war, approves or elects magistrates and other elected officials and has final say on their performance before their terms end. Physical assembly is not required, and is instead done virtually in a system of cyberdemocracy. A 2/3rds majority is required to pass the assembly, and a minimum of 6,000 citizens must vote for it to count.  Other civil positions are usually referred to as "magistrate" even if they do not directly engage in judicial efforts, and may be called "Magistrate of" something to infer their position. Magistrates are picked by the assembly from any class, usually nominated by the Council or Archon. They oversee criminal and civil trials (with a jury picked from the citizenry), direct efforts of the government's judiciary and otherwise handle public offices. 

While very much formally a timocracy, 500 Bushels is very minarchist leaning, and has garnered some ties from "moderate" Extropians because of it. The government conducts a census to identify classes. They collect taxes which are used to pay for hab maintenance or public works - pay supplemental income to public officials or otherwise handle things for the entire hab. The Assembly and Council review elected officials and their work during their term. Otherwise, laws seem to be very simple - and all interaction between citizens is handled on a contractual basis. Basic protections of agency are levied and defined and ratified under the constitution. Crimes against the person and against property are the strongest - with punishments usually selected to involve reimbursement or restoration or other punitive damages, short instancing in punitive simulspace with disenfranchisement and exile reserved for the highest of crimes. Policing is handled mostly by security drones, with militia officers being assembled if there is a great need. 

The Militia is the only other major government body - rarely utilized. Should the Assembly declare a state of war, all citizens of the appropriate class will be required to serve based on military strategy decided by the Assembly and directed by the Archon. The Assembly appoints Strategos (Generals) from the Pentacos, who assemble junior officers from the top two classes. There is no major funding for the military besides purchase of hab defensive systems - individual soldiers are expected to pay for their own arms and equipment - hence why Thetes are not soldiers and instead relegated to non-active combat roles. In cases of small disruptions (such as a civil disturbance) the Assembly can authorize limited numbers of militiamen led by a magistrate to handle problems if drones cannot. 

Originally, the habitat was settled by Werner and some business associates, who calculated original parcelling of land. Werner assumed the default position as Archon for a half-year, and then won the first formal election to the position, before stepping down to fill a kind of advisory role and focus more on his political and diplomatic activities, leaving his protege Polyxeni Raptis as the current Archon. Citizens were originally drawn from several middle and upper class cultures across Southern Europe and North America who were specifically interested in the form of governance, or wished to avoid consolidation by the Planetary Consortium pre-Morningstar split. Once established as a place of relative prosperity where theoretically anybody willing to work hard and produce could theoretically get ahead in life a number of refugees with basic skills moved in to fill in the lower classes. Even now, 500 Bushels is a frequent site of immigration by former indentures across the solar system who have limited skills and no other market for them. Primary industry uses the still large amounts of free space for farming or ranching - with the owners of this land split among all the classes, and Tatton still holding strategic reserves of real estate to sell to new citizens. In addition to simple foodstuffs and byproducts which serve the hab, these are also exported to several other interests in the immediate system, and many Pentacos are small or independent businessmen and women who were not part of a larger hypercorp system. Other common industries are refinement or import/export of goods. Middle classes of Hippeis or Zeugitai of craftsmen of both artisanal and technical works are common in addition to small producers or business-owners - those who produce smaller works often subsist as Thetes by the grace of catering to the upper classes, while most Thetes are employed by large estates of the higher classes or in their other businesses. 

Overall, most citizens of 500 Bushels seem content. While there is a visible and true class divide, most people are happy that they retain rights to vote in the Assembly and that the Council is randomly pulled. Some classism and elitism is known to come from the upper levels, but such disputes rarely leave the verbal purview, and fights are quickly broken up by security drones. While there have been racist or sexist tones in similar cultures historically, there is no overt discrimination in 500 Bushels, as no race or gender is restricted except on account of property, though a majority of the members are drawn from european or middle eastern lineages. 500 Bushels does not normally perform indentureship, though they have no laws against it at this time. Once should be careful arranging indenture contracts however, as the habitat has specific laws for the rights of "dependants" those with no income whose needs are met by a citizen. Paying a negotiated wage is often simpler. Property in the form of space is relatively easy to come by, as those in the lowest class pay no taxation and there is no formal regulation on what price a previous owner must set. Large scale land owners are known to occasionally quickly sell unworked or unproductive land in a pinch before a census to maintain their class. While the inner system credit of the Planetary Consortium is accepted and widely used on hab, they also produce their own currency called Kerma, which is represented by a physical token or coin in bronze, struck with the face of the current Archon and distributed by the government. The value of a kerma is carefully calculated to equal 1 Bushel normally, and thus are fairly highly valued.

Obviously, not all things function perfectly. Rumors persist that both the Planetary Consortium and certain Extropian or hypercorps are working to woo 500 Bushels for their niche prosperity, something most of the wealthy populace resists. But, care must be taken not to draw the ire of the hypercorps as 500 Bushels is unlikely to survive a "police action". For this reason Werner himself is pushing stronger ties with the Morningstar Confederacy, which are somewhat limited by physical distance. As there are very limited regulatory laws, corruption and misconduct by both government officials and wealthy land or business owners is occasionally discovered and may not be punished with much effectiveness - there is also a strong statistical trend that the upper classes win civil cases against lower classes due to greater economic power. Bioconservatives and Precautionists are wary of 500 Bushels and some who thought it was a simple agrarian life are displeased by the government's use of powerful computer systems and AI to run security functions or tabulate the census and have formed a small political bloc. Autonomists are often uncomfortable dealing with 500 Bushels - they have too much governance for most Extropians, their blatant class system literally divided by material value puts off most Anarchists and Scum (even though Reputation could be said to favor steady workers and producers at times) and the Titanians turn their nose up at the lack of social programs. This puts them in a precarious position in regards to the wider solar system. 

The interior of the hab is relatively pastoral and clean - with low population density and decent taxation bringing about healthy infrastructure. The two ends of the cylinder are the most urbanized, where many Thetes live and sleep, with various businesses, government houses and other buildings packed together - with the large rest of the hab held either in estates and lands of various sizes or public green space. Moving from end to end is handled by a small road system or a public tram maintained by the government. The hab is spun for Martian level gravity and operates entirely off the Martian calendar year. Due to relative prosperity, the government has assembled several public works projects such as sports fields, amphitheaters and fountains and gardens open to all citizens. General architecture is generally Classical or Neoclassical - leaning either Antebellum or Greek Revival in the latter case - though occasionally they trend to such styles as Colonial, Federal, Empire or Resort. Fashion tends to be downplayed and simplified for utility to those with wealth occasionally splurge. Coloration has some import - Red is identified with citizens of any class, pure white is associated with those who are wealthy - they can afford clean clothes or to not work directly. Purple or gold colors traditionally mark those in high public office. Black is worn as a sign of mourning or protest. Drab colors are worn by Thetes who do manual labor, or by dependants who have no income and are clothed at the behest of others. Other colors may reflect personal mood, seasonal or cultural fashion - making smart clothes a good choice by those who can afford.