The World Book

The world of the XXVc™ edge. It is a vast arena of

game spans a huge area of political intrigue, warring
space, covering hundreds of factions, secret ambitions and
millions of miles from edge to dangerous alliances.

Contents
The Solar System ..... ................... 2 The Outer Worlds ........................30
The State of the World ................... 2 Politics and Government .................30
A Chronology: From Then to Now ......... 3 Jupiter ......................... , .......30
Mercury ................................ 6 Satellltes of Jupiter ......................31
Economy and Culture.................... 7 Saturn .................................34
Politics and Government ................. 8 Satellltes of Saturn .......................34
Venus .................................. 9
Talking Bet ween Two Worlds ..............38
Economy and Culture.................... 9
Criminal Justice .........................39
Politics and Government .................11
Money .................................39
Earth ..................................12
The Credit .............................40
The Orgs ..............................13
Dlgltal Personalltles ......................41
NEO .................................14
Life Suspension ..........................42
LaGrange Colonies .......................15
Food ...................................42
Luna ...................................16
Cybergenetlcs ...........................43
Economy and Culture ....................17
Politics and Government .................18 FOR THE REFEREE ONLY
The System States Alliance ................18 Designing Your O wn Gennles ..............44
Mars ...................................19 The XXV c"" Game Adventure ..............52
Economy and Culture....................19 Ghost In the Machine ....................56
Politics and Government .................20 A XXV c Game Adventure
RAM's Military Policy ....................23 for 4-6 characters of levels 1-2
Satellltes of Mars ........................24
The Asteroid Belt ........................25
Politics and Government .................28
The Black Brotherhood ...................29

Cover painting by Jerry Bingham Interior lllustratlons by Continuity Studios,

Burbank, CA

BUCK ROGERS and XX.Ve are trademarks used under license from The Dille Family Trust. Copyright c1990 The Dille Family Trust. All Rights Reserved.
ADVANCED DUNGEONS & DRAGONS is a trademark owned by TSR, Inc. Game desig n copyright c1990 TSR, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
The Solar System The Saturn System: The rings around this unique
planet are home to a bizarre race of cybergenetic
Mercury: Home to an underground civilization of man-machines, who live their entire lives within the
miners, its surface is broken by huge solar collectors, ultimate in self-contained spacesuits. And in the
massive mobile cities, and gaping strip mines, while higher orbits of Saturn's moons: the totalitarian
far overhead, the mighty orbital palaces of the state of Mimas; Calypso, the rental-prison world;
energy-rich Sun Kings spin in silent majesty. and Titan, the gem in the Saturnian crown, where
the massed fleets of the Inner Worlds battle for the
Venus: A partially terraformed hell-world, where right to terraform as they see fit.
only the highest peaks can support human life. As
the Uplanders build their great ceramic towers atop
those peaks, the nomads of the vast, balloonli�e The State of the World
Aerostates cruise the acidic skies. And far below, m
Spanning the vast distances of interplanetary
the steaming swamps of the lowlands, reptilian hu­
space, the people of the 25th Century are masters of
manoids struggle to make the world in their image.
advanced fusion technology and spaceship design.
Although limited to sublight speeds, their powerful
Earth: A twisted wreckage despoiled by inter­
space fighters, cruisers and battlers are amazing ve­
planetary looters, Earth and its ruins are a testament
hicles that use nuclear engines and high-tech weap­
to a declining civilization. Its people are divided and
ons to battle for the frontiers of space.
trapped in urban sprawls and mutant-infested res­
For more than three hundred years, giant rocket
ervations, while a few scattered arcology states
ships have been plying interplanetary routes, mak­
hold fast to the last remnants of humanity.
ing a trip to Mars an everyday event. Shuttlecraft_
carry passengers from planetside into suborbital
Luna: An iron-willed confederation of isolation­
space, where gigantic orbital colonies and asteroid
ists, the highly advanced Lunarians are the bankers
stations abound.
of the solar system-"peaceful" merchants more
Computers have advanced far beyond all expec­
than willing to knock any invading ship out of the
tations. Personalities can be downloaded into ma­
skies with their mighty mass drivers.
chines, allowing people to live in hologrammatic
immortality. Even sentient computer personas are
Man: A terraformed paradise, reborn through
fairly common, mixing into the society of the 25th
the most sophisticated world-building technology
Century as equals.
of all time. Yet, a world with its dark side-the ruth­
less Martian corporate state of RAM, attempting to
In the far future of the 25th Century, genetic engi­
spread its evil tentacles throughout the solar sys­
neers and corporate warlords manipulate the codes
tem. Terror and force are its weapons, and the abso­
of life, creating and shaping man in a new image:
lute domination of mankind is its ultimate goal.
Homo safaris-the humans of the solar system.
What engineering was to the 20th Century, ge­
The Asteroid Belt: A scattered anarchy of tum­
netics is to the 25th. Cloning, regeneration,
bling planetoids and rough rock miners, wh�re
bionics-even bioengineered humans and other life
every sentient has the right to vote, and the maJor­
forms are reality. But while much of this new sci­
ity rules among half a thousand miniature worlds.
ence is a boon to humanity, a few powerful men
scheme to create armies of mutant warriors and
Jupiter and Its Moons: The site of some of man­
mindless slaves.
kind's most radical genetic experiments, with mu­
Bioengineered organisms have made it possible
tated flying men living in the shrouded depths of
for humans to colonize the solar system. Many hu­
Jupiter's atmosphere. And far above the mysterious
mans in the 25th Century have had some minor ge­
gas giant, a collection of satellites as varied as they
netic engineering in their background. The ruling
are numerous. To name just a few: lo, powerhouse
families of the solar system often use gene manipu­
to the Outer Worlds; Europa, home to a gene­
lation to engineer their children for increased intelli­
spliced race of warlike humanoids; and Ganymede,
gence, attractiveness and to eliminate genetic
where aquatic men build great cities beneath a per­
illness. Gene engineering is not accepted every­
petually iced-over sea.
where. Earth humans, having lived through various
genetic accidents due to war and experimentation,
have a particular hatred of bioengineering and op­ offense system, known as Masterlink, that directly
pose it violently. threatened United States security.Hoping to avoid a
The most incredible feats of gene engineering are serious confrontation, the U.S.did not send its mili­
gennies-humans who have been so radically al­ tary might against the Soviet Union directly-but
tered as to almost be aliens.There are gennies for al­ the orbiting war-station could not be allowed to re­
most every type of environment, from the lizardlike main in the sky.
Lowlanders of Venus to the bat-winged Stormriders The U.S. Air Force put a daring plan into opera­
of Jupiter.And of course, RAM has its own legions tion: A single experimental space plane was
of bioengineered combat troopers to spread terror launched to knock out the Soviet satellite. Its pilot,
and oppression throughout human space. Lt. Col. Anthony "Buck" Rogers, successfully ran
the gauntlet of all the Soviets' first-line defenses and
The 25th Century is an armed society. Every citi­ destroyed Masterlink, but (it was assumed) at the
zen is licensed to carry some type of personal de­ cost of his own life.
fense weapon.Its a time when the fastest gun rules Their backs against the wall, the Soviet hard­
the spaceways. liners struck back by launching nuclear missiles from
The weapons of the 25th Century are products of some of the sites that were commanded by officers
a spacefaring age. Capacitor lasers use banks of sympathetic to their cause. Of course, the United
storage capacitors for an electrical charge of thou­ States was ready for such an eventuality, and since
sands of volts-enough to create a brief, intense U.S. intelligence knew that the hard-liners were a
bolt of laser energy. The rocket pistol fires a self­ small minority within the Soviet power structure,
propelled bullet-a miniature surface-to-surface the retaliation was mostly defensive in nature. In
missile. The mono knife, only one molecule thick the Last Gasp War, as the conflict became popularly
along its edge, is capable of cutting through any­ known, only a few nuclear warhe�ds actually
thing. Smart clothes incorporate internal circuitry made it to their targets, and no major centers of
and microcomputers for climate control, communi­ government or commerce were hit. But enough
cations and defense. bombs got through to convince everyone of the ut­
Massively powerful weapons threaten the peace ter folly of using nuclear weapons to settle their dif­
(or help to keep it, depending on your point of view ferences. For the first time in history, the leaders of
and frame of mind): One shot from a ship's kinetic Earth adopted a true planetary perspective-a fit­
cannon can blow apart an enemy vessel, and one ting, and necessary, prelude to what was to come.
boulder flung by a large mass driver can level a The countries of the world settled down to a
small city.But in the ruined sprawls of Earth, where long-awaited era of mutual cooperation.There was
it's one man against another, often the best no denying the basic nature of humankind, how­
weapon is still a knife and the skill to use it. ever, and in the arena of world affairs there arose
three major power groups: the Russo-American
The year is 2456. Across the black expanse of in­ Mercantile Combine, the Euro-Bloc faction, and the
terplanetary space beckons a new frontier. All it Inda-Asian Consortium.
takes to answer the call is a fast ship, a weapon By 2050, these superpowers had established the
slung low on your hip, and the nerve to face the un­ foundation of a world government of sorts (sup­
known. The worlds of humanity-in all their vari­ planting the outdated United Nations organiza­
ety, splendor, and squalor-are waiting for you, tion), and had given themselves the mission of
here, in the 25th Century. finding new places for mankind to occupy and ex­
ploit. Thanks to the development of nuclear fusion
A Chronology: propulsion systems for spacecraft, manned missions
were landing on Mars at the rate of dozens per
From Then to Now year; orbital missions to Venus were almost as fre­
quent; and rockets going to and from Luna were lit­
1999-2050 erally an everyday occurrence.Man now possessed
the technology to travel to other worlds in the solar
In late 1999, the long dormant Cold War be­
system, and was rapidly developing the means to
tween the United States and the Soviet Communist
make those places habitable-not a decade too
bloc flared up in one last gasp of aggression.
soon, as it turned out, because Earth was in bad
Prompted by a small group of aging hard-liners, the
shape and getting worse all the time.
Soviets built and launched a powerful space-
Radioactivity wasn't the problem: The warheads
that exploded during the Last Gasp War were not biologically dead. Civilization on Earth's satellite
particularly "dirty;· so that within decades, radia­ grew up piecemeal as a collection of domed craters,
tion levels in the blasted areas had dropped to prac­ many of them interconnected by underground pas­
tically nothing. But by the middle of the 21st sageways.As men had known ever since the first
Century, Earth was a polluted and depleted world. lunar probes of the 20th Century took their read­
The planet was no longer capable of supporting its ings, the moon is an uncaring and unforgiving envi­
human population, which by this time exceeded 12 ronment. Lunarians, as a group, took on the
billion. personality of the place where they lived-asking
It was time to move. for no help and giving none.
In contrast, the environment of Venus is down­
205 1-2 100 right hostile. The planet is an astrophysical
paradox-similar to Earth in many significant ways
During the last half of the 21st Century, the Sys­
but entirely different in many, many others.(What
tem States Alliance was formed from representa­
a difference a few million miles from the sun can
tives of the "fringe" countries of the world as well
make ... . ) Not until the mid 2200s was the first
as the three big power blocs.The organization's
domed colony established on the surface; up to that
principal purpose was to ensure the continued sur­
point, the Venusian colonists had lived in floating
vival (in other words, prevent the collapse) of
dirigible-cities balanced on the pressure flows of the
planet Earth. As the first step toward this goal, the
planet's atmosphere.
Alliance developed and implemented a plan for or­
In 2275 RAM, groaning under the yoke of Earth's
ganized, efficient colonization of the solar system.
oppressive government, rebelled. After entering
Charters were awarded to each of the three power
into a nonaggression pact with Venus /which both
groups. The Russo-American Mercantile Combine,
sides honored for the duration of the conflict), a
having the most clout, grabbed the rights to Mars,
Martian war fleet systematically decimated the cen­
which it saw as the most lucrative piece of nearby
ters of System States Alliance power around the
property. The Euro-Bloc group took Luna, and the
planet, as well as much of the rest of Earth's highly
lndo-Asians got Venus.The System States Alliance
developed areas.Over the next ten years, deprived
kept a heavy hand on all of the colonials, extracting
of the constant flow of resources from outside that
heavy taxes in raw materials to keep its polluted
it needed, Earth collapsed into barbarism. Billions
Earth running.
died (ironically, relieving the severe overpopulation
problem), and the planet became a shattered waste­
2 10 1-2300 land except for a few pockets of isolated city-states.
W ith more money and technological resources These independent arcologies became self­
than the other colonizing groups and the best set of sufficient, recycling entities, and have survived
physical conditions to start with, RAM (as the Russo­ through the intervening years relatively intact.A
American Mercantile group was now known) rap­ few thousand desperate refugees fled the dying
idly made Mars habitable. In the 22nd Century, Earth and escaped deep into space.
genetics took a great leap forward when scientists By the end of the Ten Year War, Mars controlled
discovered how to decipher the code of the DNA Earth. Throughout the war, Luna remained neutral.
molecule and recombine parts of it from different In 2285 the Martians, fearing competition from the
species to create specially tailored life forms.The Venusians and no longer feeling bound by the non­
techniques of terraforming rode on the coattails of aggression pact they had originally proposed, sabo­
this advancement-organisms specifically designed taged the Venus orbital elevator effort, setting the
to help make Mars more Earthlike were brought to colonization effort on that planet back drastically.
the Red Planet and introduced into its biosphere.
Brute force played a part, too, as gigantic "iceste­ 2301-2455
roids" were hauled in from the Asteroid Belt and
While tightening its grip on Earth and trying to
rained down onto the south polar region of the
keep spreading its influence through the rest of the
planet, releasing heat and water vapor.By the mid
inner solar system, RAM continued to terraform
2200s, Mars was livable in certain select areas, such
Mars.In 2310, refugees from Earth and dissidents
as the Coprates Chasm.
from Mars (who objected to RAM's totalitarian re­
The Europeans took an entirely different ap­
gime) escaped and began a crash program to colo­
proach on Luna, where no amount of terraforming
nize Mercury. Working from asteroids placed into
could ever change the basic nature of a world that is
orbit around the planet and from surface-based carefully reforested and seeded with life forms
movable platforms known as track cities, they set grown from the arcologies· huge genetics banks.
up a going concern in solar power and mining. The arcologies object to RAM's plundering, but
Eventually, the most powerful colonists established have had no way to stop it. Only recently have
the Sun King monarchy that rules Mercury today. some of them banded together to create the New
By 2330 Venus had established cities in three Earth Organization (NEOJ, which harries RAM
places on the Ishtar Plateau.Lacking the technologi­ whenever it can.
cal resources of RAM, the newly established Ishtar NEO has recently recovered the still-living body
Confederation turned to cheaper, long-term bioter­ of an ancient Earth fighter pilot named Buck Rogers.
raforming, making them the masters of these Long revered as the last martyr of old Earth's foolish
advanced techniques. international struggles, Rogers was made into a me­
By the late 2330s and the 2340s refugees from dia hero by the System States Alliance when that or­
Earth, Mercury, and Mars had fled en masse to the ganization was trying to build popular support for a
asteroids and to Jupiter.Using a combination of Ve­ unified effort toward interplanetary expansion.The
nusian biotechnology and Martian knowhow, pilot's reputation grew and spread over the centu­
these hardy colonists built hundreds of mini-worlds ries following his confrontation with Masterlink, to
throughout the trans-Jovian and Saturnian sys­ the point where Buck Rogers now has an almost
tems. It was here, among this environment known mythical status among the people of the solar sys­
as the Outer Worlds, that the first true "space pi­ tem. And-in typical flamboyant and unorthodox
rates" evolved. The Black Brotherhood, as they Buck Rogers style-the myth is alivel
were called, began by raiding the nearby satellites W ith his tactical skills and daring, Buck Rogers is
and asteroids for ships, supplies, and energy; soon, the asset the foundering NEO badly needed. But
their power and influence were felt all over the so­ RAM is gathering its forces to crush the indepen­
lar system. dent arcologies for once and for all, and even a hero
from the past can only stop so many ships.
2456: The Present War in the 25th Century is primarily fought by
armies of genetically engineered warriors-faceless
RAM has terraformed nearly half of the surface
legions who are bred for combat.Each of the major
area of Mars, leaving only a few vast deserts be­
worlds of the solar system has developed its own
tween the planet's shallow seas and deep valleys.
battle fleets, space defenses, and cadres of troops.As
There's enough room for expansion to last for the
it currently stands, RAM has the largest army, Venus
foreseeable future; so, seeking new challenges, the
the most sophisticated, and Luna the best equipped.
Martians have turned anew to Earth, which they
Mercury has only a small military force of gennies,
view as a vast garbage dump to be picked over.Af­
but an alliance with Venus keeps Mars at bay.
ter establishing footholds in the ruins of the old cit­
The exception is Earth, which doesn't have the
ies, their scavengers now swarm over the
equipment or the knowledge to create hordes of
landscape, while their Terrine clone-warriors elimi­
nonhuman or semihuman soldiers. And even if it
nate any troublesome "natives" that get in the way.
did, true humans have a strong aversion to bioengi­
Since about ninety-five percent of Earth's popula­
neering that would make such activity highly
tion has regressed culturally and technologically to
frowned upon, to say the least.The people of Earth,
the level of the 20th Century, or worse, there isn't
and the members of NEO in particular, remain
much opposition to Martian policy.
steadfast in their belief that ultimate victory in the
RAM has justified its encroachment on Earth by
battle for control of the solar system will be
establishing the Solar Alliance Protectorate, an or­
achieved by real humans-Terrans-who are and
ganization ostensibly created to shelter and nurture
will always remain the superior species.
the ravaged planet. However, while RAM's official
Naturally, the other civilizations of the solar
policy is, "These simple people must be protected
system-even those that are not allied with Mars
from you ravagers of the solar system (read Venus,
and RAM-scoff at the Terran point of view.As ten­
Mercury and Luna);' its true attitude is, "We beat
sions mount and tempers flare, the solar system
them fair and square during the Ten Year War, so we
moves toward another war-one that, if it occurs,
can do anything we want to them."
will involve all the colonized worlds of the solar sys­
But Earth has begun to recover. Although much
tem ...and all of the vast space in between.
of it is in ruins or covered by lifeless deserts, the ar­
eas around the independent arcologies are being
Welcome to the 25th Century.
Mercury Like Luna, Mercury is a barren, airless crater­
world. However, early in the history of coloniza­
1 st Planet of Sol System tion, the Mercurians realized that an atmosphere
project would only trap the blazing rays of the
Orbital radius: 36,000,000 mi. ( .39 AU)
nearby sun, cooking the planet worse than Venus.
Diameter: 3,024 mi.
At least in the current situation, half of the planet is
Period of revolution: 88 days
periodically cooled by the absolute chill of space as
Period of rotation: 59 days
Mercury rotates on its axis; an atmosphere would
Gravity: 33% Earth normal
only serve to distribute the sun's heat evenly, mak­
Escape velocity: 9,500 mph
ing the entire surface perilously hot all the time.
Surface temperature extremes: -280 ° F to +800 ° F
Although the Mercurian surface is pitted and cra­
Atmosphere: None
tered, with temperatures that are lethal at both ex­
Status: Settled; highly developed culture and orbital
tremes, the planet is still habitable if you're willing
settlements
to live underground.
Population: 20,000,000
The majority of the planet's population lives shel­
Government: Economic constitutional monarchy
tered from the intense solar radiation in huge war­
Ports: Two Class A, at Hielo Orbital Station and Ca-
rens that crisscross beneath the surface. These
loris
warrens are primarily long corridors five to ten
Other prominent locations (spacedocks): Tolstoi,
miles wide and hundreds of miles long, often laid
Beethoven, V ivaldi, Raphael, Copley, Miche­
out in a crisscross pattern like a gigantic grid. Build­
langelo, Mozart
ings line the sides of these passageways, sometimes
Major imports: Foodstuffs, drugs, and water
in multileveled tiers.
Major exports: Metals, raw ores, gold, silver, fission­
At intervals, usually at an intersection of two ex­
ables, and solar power
tremely large warrens, are enormous spacedocks
with huge, sliding overhead doors, where ships as

A track city crawls Its way across the scorching Mercurlan landscape
large as heavy cruisers can be docked.Mercury's mounted solar mirrors and scouting new mineral
very low gravity allows such large ships to safely deposits for the warrens. Track cities, also con­
dock for refueling and refitting, making the planet structed in the earliest days of colonization, were
an important way station for travelers negotiating a designed to be mobile so they could always stay on
sunward crossing of the solar system.Hundreds of the cool side of Mercury as the planet rotates; if they
ships every year pass between Mercury and the sun had to stay in one place, the inhabitants would
en route to a destination on the other side of the so­ soon be killed-if not by the heat, then by exposure
lar system, and a good percentage of those vessels to a brutally intense dose of cosmic radiation.The
plan their journeys so that they can make a stop­ track city dwellers are known as Desert Dancers, a
over on Mercury-always careful to land at a space­ gypsylike people who are fond of crafts, storytell­
dock that is on the side of the planet currently ing, and sharp knives.
facing away from the sun. Those areas of Mercury not covered with the
solar-collector "roads" are being stripped of mineral
wealth by roving ore-excavation machines (also run
Economy and Culture by Desert Dancers) that operate out of Caloris, the
planet's only ground-based spaceport, and the
The warren dwellers known spacedock sites. (Actually, Ca­
as Miners are the largest seg­ loris is built entirely under­
ment of the Mercurian popula­
Planet data
ground, as are all the other
tion. They wear spacesuitlike Each of the following sections of planetside locations.Only the
coveralls and heavy boots. The World Book describes a differ­ rocket launch bays are open to
Miners are rough and proud; ent planetary civilization, begin­ the vacuum of space, and they
they think they're tougher ning with a list of data and general only embark and disembark
than Belters (the inhabitants of information. (You'll notice that we ships when they are facing
the Asteroid Belt, who also do often use the word "planet" to re­ away from the sun.)
a lot of mining). "Never saw a fer to a satellite of a planet, as well However, as abundant as
Belter who could stand Old as the actual planets themselves.) the planet's physical resources
Sol's oven;· Miners are fond of Some parts of each list are self­ are (more than half of Mercury
saying. Even though they pro­ explanatory; as for the others . .. is composed of iron ore), the
fess not to be affected by the Orbital radius is the distance real bonanza for colonists is so­
oppressive heat of the planet from the object to the body (either lar energy. Specially con­
(which can be felt, even deep the sun or a planet) that it revolves structed satellites called
underground), warren dwell­ around. This distance is given in Mariposas spread out their
ers tend to be irritable and vio­ miles and, for the major planets, "wings"-immense solar
lent when the place they live in (continued) collectors-to capture energy
is facing the sun. directly from the sun. The
Another major power group in Mercurian society power is transformed into microwave radiation,
is the Musicians, who live both underground and which is then beamed to other places throughout
off-planet. They operate businesses, run food­ the solar system, allowing outposts in the Asteroid
processing laboratories, and perform other non­ Belt and beyond to live on solar energy even
physical tasks. The Musicians do not necessarily though they're much too far from the sun to get the
play music, although some of them do enjoy doing radiation straight from the source.
so; their name comes from the fact that many of The Mariposas are mostly created from captured
Mercury's surface locations are named after old asteroids, plated with metal and covered with col­
Earth composers (Beethoven, V ivaldi, and so forth), lectors.There are nearly five hundred individual
as well as artists, writers, and other intellectuals. Mariposas in orbit around Mercury, ranging in size
The surface of Mercury is uninhabited, except for from tiny moonlets, individually and independently
the area along a sketchy, symmetrical network of owned, to planetoids dozens of miles in diameter,
huge, roadlike solar-collector arrays that were con­ most of which are owned by the members of Mer­
structed during the early days of Mercurian settle­ cury's reigning class, who call themselves the Sun
ment in the early 24th Century. Along these Kings. At the top of the ruling class are the members
roadways move the track cities: huge, heavily insu­ of the Gavilan family, descendants of the people
lated, tread-based mobile arcologies that cruise the who sunk the most money into the original coloni­
Mercurian landscape, maintaining the surface- zation project.
 The Sun Kings own virtually all of the mineral­ Mercury, but in fact, the people with the money are
and energy-gathering machinery, and thereby are in charge. And that means the Gavilans and their
also the owners of the resources those machines Sun King brethren.
collect. The Gavilans live opulently as ultimate mon­ The Sun Kings control the reins of 55% of the
archs of their planet, ruling from their palace inside power collected in the solar system, making them
the Hielo orbital colony. One of the main reasons the richest force in all human space. However, they
the monarchy stays in power, instead of being over­ are hampered by the fact that Mercury must import
thrown, is that the government is not dictatorial. nearly 80% of its food supplies. This means that
Decisions are made based on a democratic union of RAM has always been an important part of the Mer­
the Sun Kings and the other power factions in Mer­ curian equation.
curian society-the Miners, the Mariposa residents, Since shortly after the Mercury colonial effort got
the Desert Dancers, and the Musicians. under way, the Sun Kings have generally gotten
Like the members of the super-rich upper class of along well with RAM. (Even though many of the
any historical old Earth civilization, the Sun Kings first colonists were "defectors" from Mars, RAM
vary wildly in personal styles and (lack of) taste. Set­ took a benevolent attitude toward them-it was
tled by a mixture of Middle Eastern, Martian, Euro­ better to have the malcontents go away than stay
pean, Central American and on Mars and try to undermine
other refugees from the System the establishment.) Troops from
also in Astronomical Units (AU), a
States War, the Mariposas are a Mars have been called in to
system of measurement in which
crazyquilt of cultural ostenta­ help quash the few minor re­
Earth's orbital radius is 1 AU. This
tion, from the Arabic palace bellions that have occurred on
enables you to tell at a glance (for
replicas of the Minfar Mariposa the planet, and much of the
in stance) that Jupiter's di stance
to the baroque reproductions Mercurians' space technology
from the sun is more than five times
of the Gavilan family. has been purchased from the
that of Earth's .
The medieval worldview has Martians. But recently, the first
Period of revolution is how long
influenced the Gavilans more signs of a falling-out between
it takes the planet to move around
than most other Sun Kings. The the two planets have begun to
t h e body it is orbiting. (Time
ranks within Hielo's economic­ crop up, as evidenced by a Mer­
measurements - days, years, etc . ­
based society are from titles of curian military buildup on and
are in standard Earth quantities.)
ancient nobility (Yeoman, around the tiny planet. As the
Period of rotation is how long it
Knight, Cavalier, Baron, Earl, Dancers, Miners, and Musi­
takes the planet to spin around
Count, and King). While the cians gain more confidence in
once on its axis.
Miners and the Mariposans fa­ their ability to influence the
Gravity is always compared to
vor functional clothes, and the course of events, a new spirit
(continued)
Dancers and Musicians wear of "Mercury for Mercurians" is
loose, colorful robes over their growing, and that means that
protective outfits, the fashions of Hielo are posi­ RAM-and the minority among the Sun Kings who
tively antique baroque-a mixture of finery such as are puppets of Mars-may be on the way out.
high collars, embroidered bell sleeves, and In a casual but still threatening fashion, the Mer­
pseudomilitary uniforms-all in vivid shades of yel­ curians have pointed out-just in case anyone
low and gold. The Sun Kings favor the mono knife hadn't already realized it-that the Mariposas can
as a personal weapon; however, their knives incor­ easily be converted to a planet-busting weapon ca­
porate various other tools, weapons and geegaws pable of sterilizing Mars. They have also strongly in­
into their rather ornate design. The architecture of timated that their fleets intend to control all the
Hielo is full of embellishments, decorated with gold space within the immediate range of the sun. This is
and silver filigree, and packed with copies of fa­ a dangerous proposition, as it would pass absolute
mous old Earth historical trappings, ancient art­ domain over the critical sunward-passage route to
works and antique furniture. the Mercurians.
A showdown is coming, no doubt, but mean­
Politics and Government while, the Mercurians are interested in doing any­
thing that will indirectly weaken RAM while buying
them time to build a larger fleet. This includes giving
Officially (as far as the rest of the solar system is
under-the-table aid to NEO in the form of money,
concerned), there is a democratic government on
ships and information.
Venus fers, bioengineered to resist the high winds and
acid storms. In the thick clouds above, biodesigned
2nd Planet of Sol System algae absorb the poisonous atmosphere and give
off life-giving oxygen.
Orbital radius: 67,270,000 mi. (.72 AU) Several thousand feet below the continental me­
Diameter: 7,520 mi. sas are the jungles of the lowlands. The vegetation
Period of revolution: 225 days of the lowlands is a truly alien combination of min­
Period of rotation: 243 days eral and vegetable-massive yel low crystal line
Gravity: 90% Earth normal trees attract and ground the bolts of lightning that
Escape velocity: 23,000 mph continually batter the jungles, while their heavy,
Surface temperature: 300 ° F (lowlands), I 00 ° F blue, drooping coverings of lichen and moss absorb
(mountaintops) the acid rain and give off (once again) oxygen. The
Atmosphere: Acidic, high pressure; protective suits ground itself is covered with boulders, glowing
required for humans below 5,000 feet pools of acid, and thick swamps of bioengineered,
Status: Partially terraformed; settled by four princi­ semi-metallic plants in wild, fluorescent colors.
pal population groups
Population: 90,000,000
Government: Theocracy; fam- Economy and
ily-oriented clans
Ports: One Class A, at New Ely­
Earth normal; thus, a 1 00-pound Culture
object on Earth would weigh only
sium; two Class B, at Tel­ Venus-or, more accurately,
33 pounds (one-third as muchJ in
lus Regio and Hestia the near-orbit area around the
Mercury's gravity.
Other prominent locations: planet-was settle_d in the late
Escape velocity is the speed that a
Freya, Rupes, Rhea, Sap­ 22nd Century by a combine of
ship or some other projectile must
pho, and Alpha Regio Southeast Asian and Indian col­
reach to break free of the planet's
Major imports : Technology, onists.The original orbital colo­
gravity and get into space.
spacecraft, weapons, nies huddled along its
Finally . . . not every item in the
metals, alloys, and gems terminator (the dividing line
full list of information is given for
Major exports: Drugs, bioengi­ between the dayside and the
every planetary body. If a charac­
neered animals, exotic nightside) are still functional
teristic doesn't apply or isn't signifi­
foods, and chemicals and occupied. The oldest
cant (such as gravity on very small
surface-based civilizations are
moons, which is nonexistent), then
Still a turbulent hothouse on the upper mountaintops of
the entry isn't used.
even after many decades of ter­ the Ishtar and Aphrodite pla­
raforming, the wastes of Venus teaus. These settlements are
have proven to be a stiff chal- still mostly domed, retaining
lenge for mankind's planet-shaping technology. many of the characteristics of earlier Venusian
Survival on the original Venusian surface, with tem­ building. Structures are made of stabilized, spun
peratures of around 800 degrees Fahrenheit and at­ glass and ceramics, with curves and domes predom­
mospheric pressure at the surface 90 times higher inating.This style of architecture, marked by mina­
than Earth's, was like standing in a sea of thick, rets, rounded towers, and onion-shaped domes,
swirling acid and carbon dioxide, hot enough to leaves no sharp edges or corners where acid rainfall
melt lead.The lowlands were an endless, rubble­ can settle and collect.Coloration is rare on Venusian
strewn waste, bathed in a ruddy red gloom, while buildings, since the frequent (but now diluted) acid
the highlands towered like great lifeless monoliths rains leach away all pigments, leaving everything a
over a dead world. stark, silvery white.The billowing clouds at the foot
Although the terraforming process has been go­ of each mesa obscure the many mining digs and
ing on for nearly three hundred years, Venus is still robe-factories below, giving each construction a
only marginally habitable.Its atmosphere has been "city in the clouds" effect.
depressurized and scrubbed to a point where the These are the domains of the Up landers, the aris­
highest reaches of the surface are capable of sup­ tocrats of Venus. A strong "original settler" mental­
porting Earthlike life. Towering out of dense acidic ity still pervades the Uplander culture, both on
mists, the continental mesas of Ishtar and Aphrodite Ishtar and Aphrodite.Venusian clothing also re­
are now covered in stands of dense Venusian coni- flects this rough, pioneer heritage. Voluminous
 On a plateau above the poisonous lowlands rests a Venusian city

robes treated with acid-resistant chemicals are highest point on the planet, which reaches more
worn over baggy, radiation-suitlike garments (a than six miles above the surface on the polar conti­
holdover from the days of boiling nitric rains and nent of Ishtar. Mildly gene-modified to enable them
250-degree temperatures atop the plateaus). These to cope with the still-high atmospheric pressure, the
old. styles are still the best for the steamy, harsh lshtarians are beginning to leave their domes and
atmosphere, and are often cooled with internal air­ spread out through the habitable uplands around
conditioning systems. The favored colors are light the mountain peak (they cannot journey into the
greens, grays, whites and silvers, giving the popula­ lowlands). :v<fith its strong religious heritage, demo­
tion a muted, almost esthetic look. Jewelry is cher­ cratic ideals, and far-thinking leaders, the Ishtar
ished on Venus, because there are few gems native Confederation (headquarters in New Elysium, out­
to the planet, but such adornment is rarely worn be­ posts at Freya and Rupes) has become one of the
cause the acid rain would quickly ruin it. most powerful beneficial forces in the solar system
Venus is the site of a failed space elevator, which and is a counterbalance to the Martians.
originally rose from a mountain peak located on the The confederation is primarily theocratic in na­
equator. Destroyed by RAM sabotage in 2285, its ture, dominated by the leaders of The Faith, a mix­
multi-mile length now sprawls over part of the tow­ ture of old Earth's Islamic, Bahai and Taoist beliefs.
ering mesa before falling to ruins in the mists below. The people of the confederation are mostly vegetar­
The Aphrodite Orbital Platform is only one of many ians, although they hold no particular prohibition
failures in the history of man's adventure on Venus, against violence or killing. Of the various groups of
a world where civilization has been hampered con­ Venus, the Ishtar Confederation has the greatest ac­
stantly by savage elements and political betrayal. cess to spacecraft and the machineries of war.
New Elysium towers over Venus in more ways The Aphrodite Families dominate the other conti­
than one. The planet's largest city and only Class A nent, named Aphrodite, which is located on a
spaceport is located atop Maxwell Montes, the stretch of terrain around the equator that runs
nearly halfway across the planet. The high ground particular economic chain, and they intend for
is divided into twelve major family holdings and a things to stay that way.
number of other smaller farms. The leaders of this The Lowlanders are vitally interested in doing
power group are primarily descended from the o �ig­ whatever they must to make sure the lowlands re­
inal corporate families of the old Earth Inda-Asian main their exclusive territory. They a.r e constantly
Consortium who organized and financed the first looking for ways to both modify and improve their
colonization efforts on Venus. The Aphrodite Fami­ own abilities and to sabotage the ecological activi­
lies are dynastic in nature, and control the plateau ties of the Uplanders as well.
through a complex web of intermarriages.
Among the planet-bound cultures of Venus, two
other much smaller groups are notable. The Aeros­
Politics and Government
taters are a culture of balloon dwellers, who drift
The only political group on Venus with enough
along in the mild-pressure, breathable areas of the
money and enough clout to mount a re� I spac�
Venusian atmosphere. There are some 200 Aerosta­
fleet, the Ishtar Confederation controls the 1mmed1-
tes, organized in a loose democracy. Their cities �re
ate region of Venus-space quite effectively, relying
huge clusters of interlinked spheres, balanced like
on a few titanically huge battlers, fast and heavily
bathyscapes on the high-pressure regions below,
armed cruisers, and a type of fighter specially de­
and carried from place to place by the powerful
signed to outfly any other type of vessel inside
winds of the upper atmosphere.
Venus's atmosphere. In a head-to-head confronta­
Much like the members of the upland civiliza­
tion with the lshtarians, RAM would probably lose
tions, the Aerostaters are tight-knit, clannish and
the larger portion of its attacking fleet, not to men­
family-oriented. They are self-sufficient, trading in
tion an even greater proportion of its ground troop
information and gas-mining rights. The gigantic,
strength, which would be swallowed up in the acid
globular Aerostates are buoyant enough for hover­
seas and boiling mists of the Venusian lowlands.
craft and small ships to land on and take off from, so
Being the two biggest "gorillas" in the solar sys­
the Aerostaters also serve as middlemen for the
tem, it's not surprising that RAM and the lshtarians
transfer of cargo and information between the
wage a very active cold war against each other. The
planet surface and the orbital stations.
Confederation has become active in the battle for
The other population group is the Lowlanders,
control of Earth, subverting the activities of the So­
heavily modified humans designed to withstand
lar Alliance Protectorate and smuggling in weapons
the intense atmospheric pressure and acidic terrain
and supplies for NEO operatives. RAM supplies
of the lowest spots on the surface. They look dis­
biotech chemicals and equipment and high-tech
tinctly reptilian, with their scaly, acid-resistant
weapons to the Lowlanders, which maintains the
hides, nictitating membranes over the eyes, and
balance of power in the ongoing struggle for con­
lack of ears. The Lowlanders live at the very bottom
trol of Venus's surface and also keeps the Martians
of the murky hellholes of Venus. Their huge, squat
on the Lowlanders' good side where shipments of
cities, constructed of durable ceramics, are as much
drugs are concerned.
mining sites as they are homes. The Lowlanders,
Both RAM and the lshtarians court the favor of
now that they've been put in place in an environ­
the Aerostaters, the Aphroditians and the Mercuri­
ment for which they were specifically tailored, are
ans. And they're both especially nice to the Lunari­
actively resisting attempts to further modify Venus's
ans, since a determined effort·by Luna could easily
surface-if the planet is made too Earthlike, they
break either RAM's quarantine of Earth or the Con­
could all die (or, at best, they would become obso­
federation's smuggling operation.
lete as a species and a culture).
The fair-minded religious beliefs of the Ishtar Con­
In the eyes of the rest of the solar system, the
federation make it heavily predisposed toward sup­
Lowlanders are the most powerful of all the Venu­
porting NEO's liberation efforts, not only f�r
sians, because they control thefritical drug trades in _
political but also philosophical reasons. Thus, 1t 1 s
gravitol and lifextend, both1 extracted from the _
not likely that the lshtarians will back out of their
strange metallic grasses of the Lowland swam�s.
role in the power struggle. By continuing to use
The Lowlanders still need to be on good terms with
NEO as its agent, the Confederation is able to wage
other Venusians (particularly the Aerostaters, who
war "by proxy" against its RAM opposition while
control the means of surface-to-sky transit) to get
avoiding a direct confrontation that might rip apart
the raw materials for the drugs off-planet-but they
the entire fabric of the solar system's civilization.
know that they are the most important link in this
Earth called Regencies, each controlled by a single
Alliance-appointed official . Every Regent is an abso­
3rd Planet of Sol System lute ruler of his or her domain, maintaining control
by creative drug therapy, astute media m� nipula­
Orbital radius: 93,000,000 mi. ( I .00 AU)
tion (they control the airwaves), economic black­
Diameter: 7,900 mi.
mail, and armed troops.
Period of revolution: 365 days
The people of Earth are so fragmented that no
Period of rotation: 24 hours
single "typical" group exists. The vast majority are
Gravity: I 00% Earth normal
pure humans (TerransJ, either unable to afford or
Escape velocity: 25,000 mph
unwilling to undergo any costly genetic alterations.
Surface temperature extremes: - I 30 ° F to + I 40 ° F
A few are mutants-legacies of a past pockmarked
Atmosphere: Breathable; polluted, but recovering
with nuclear conflict, biological warfare, and
Status: Home world of Homo sapiens; devastated
RAM's insidious genetic experimentations. Clothing
and presently quarantined
runs the gamut from rags to smart uniforms; food is
Population: 3,000,000,000 (est.)
anything from raw vegetables and berries to pre­
Government: Various forms; all currently under
packaged microwaveable delicacies, depending on
RAM control
where and who you are. The only consistent fea­
Ports: Seven Class A, at Newyorg, Dallas,
ture among all Terrans is that, after nearly two hun­
Canaveral, Paris, Moscorg, Buenos Aires, and
dred years of upheaval and oppression (since the
Melbourne; nine Class B, at Los Angelorg,
start of the Ten Year War in 2275), everybody hates
New London Org, Tomsk, Nairobi, Nanjing,
RAM. Unfortunately, the majority of the population
Honshu, Manila, Denver, and Guyana; many
is in no position to do anything about that.
Class C
Under the "protection" of the Regencies, most of
Other prominent locations: Dozens of arcologies
the areas occupied by the ancient cities of Earth
and orgs, too numerous to list
have become huge, decaying sprawls, filled with
Major imports: Technology, refined metals, fission­
ruins, street gangs, dazed and drugged civilians and
ables, and drugs
heavily armed RAM troops.
Major exports: Water, art objects, historical trea­
Only in the scattered independent arcologies is
sures, and (under duress) raw materials
life reasonably good-there can be found adequate
food, shelter, a lower crime rate and decent medical
If there's a dark side to the 25th Century, it's got
care. But most of the arcologies are also under the
to be on Earth. A series of wars combined with sev­
Alliance's oppressive thumb; in fact, they are much
eral other catastrophes has all but destroyed the
more strictly supervised than the sprawls are, sim­
once flourishing civilizations of mankind's home
ply because they have an impressive collection of
planet. Treated as an economic, political, and social
resources that could be used against the Alliance
backwater, Earth has long been the helpless prey of
and RAM if the arcologies were allowed to be the
extraplanetary plunderers and invaders.
masters of their own destiny.
Earth in 2456 is fractured into a wide variety of
Not even RAM has enough resources to thor­
power groups, corporate states, arcologies (self­
oughly control every arcology on Earth-of the
sufficient cities), polluted barren areas, and urban/
hundreds of such communities on the planet, at
suburban reservations. The planet in general has
present roughly one-fifth are not infested with
been placed under the thumb of a branch of the
RAM soldiers or bureaucrats, although their resi­
"world government" known as the Solar Alliance
dents have to live with the constant threat that the
(usually called simply the Alliance, or the SA). In ac­
enemy might consolidate its position somewhere
tuality the Alliance is dominated by off-planet con­
else and free up enough troops to make an assault
cerns, primarily RAM, who are intent on playing the
on a new target.
planet's various small power groups against each
The arcologies were not attacked militarily during
other while the SA and RAM devastate the planet's
the Martian revolution and its aftermath; doing that
human, mineral, and technological resources fur­
would have worked against RAM's ultimate goal of
ther. The eventual plan of the Alliance (specifically,
control of their resources. Instead, they were sub­
RAM) is to complete the subjugation of Earth by
verted by a number of strategies ranging from indi­
turning it into a powerless "park planet" after the
rect aggression ("Can we put an embassy here, or
looting is complete.
should we test one of our new bombs7"J to bribery
The Alliance has divided Earth into divisions
("How much do you want for allowing us to garri-
 , 1" 1 ,
·,,
�p; ,

11 , , , \� 'I I I I\,
p
lil
I
I •I
'• •
' .

t0 ;J,: i
1
, ' 1 11� , I

fj�}J- -- ��� · ���� �

i
'&,
• �5iffiii'-:=::� IT'll'..iil�!9 �
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A close-up view of the devastation In a once-great Earth city

son troops here7 Ten million7 No problem . . ."). orgs, fairly densely populated and modestly
Once the Alliance got a foothold, it was a fairly sim­ equipped but not having enough power on their
ple matter to spread its influence. At this point, its own-or so the Alliance thinks-to do anything
occupation and control is thorough enough that about changing Earth's eventual fate.
only two groups of determined opposition exist on And the Alliance may be right. Collectively, the
the planet. orgs have a lot going for them.The trouble is, they
don't act collectively and f because of transportation
The Orgs and communication difficulties) probably couldn't if
they wanted to.But there are enough rebels in each
individual org for that community to be a potent
One resistance effort has its heart in the pseudo­
force on a local basis-which, in turn, is part of the
cities known as orgs (short for "organized areas").
reason why the Alliance doesn't send a lot of troops
More civilized than a sprawl and much less affluent
and technology into these areas; if your enemy
than an arcology, an org is a large. autonomous re­
refuses to invade your turf, and you can't invade
gion that usually is named after the once-thriving
his, then you can't very well fight him.The Alliance
city located on or near its current territory; for exam­
remains confident that resistance among the popu­
ple, the three largest and most powerful orgs in
lation of the orgs will eventually disintegrate with­
North America are Chicagorg, Newyorg, and Los
out support from the masses of the lower-class
Angelorg.
sprawls or the aid of upper-class technology from
The system of oppression adopted by the Alliance
the arcologies.The orgs, although acting individu­
entails keeping a close eye on the well-to-do arcolo­
ally, each with its own private agenda, remain
gies and at the same time making sure that the low­
unanimously firm in their resolve that no one can be
class denizens of the sprawls don't get a chance to
conquered who does not allow himself to be con­
organize or improve their lot in life.Between these
quered.
social and economic extremes are the middle-class
Time. as it always does. will tell.
NEC with enemy forces before they joined NEO.
Like Washington's troops, the NEO forces are
The second resistance group is the New Earth Or­ made up of citizens who were under RAM govern­
ganization. or NEO, an underground group­ ance and eventually revolted. Their reasons are
becoming less and less underground all the varied-economics, revenge, ideals, glory. NEO
time-whose eventual goal is to end RAM's occupa­ forces are able to hide within the various crannies
tion of Earth. The various orgs all have the same in­ of Earth culture; in the arcologies where the super­
tent, but where their effort is fractured by their vision of the Regency is benevolent or fairly lax,
physical remoteness from each other, NEO is not lower-ranking officers are even able to wear uni­
hampered by that difficulty. Operating primarily forms openly. Sometimes, when Alliance governors
from a cluttered collection of old orbital stations take notice of this kind of behavior, they allow it to
and former corporate HOs orbiting above Earth, continue: proof of the fact that NEO poses no threat
this one-time anti-pirate patrol has become a potent to the current regime, and the malcontents can
military force of ships, men and machines. dress in any fashion that pleases them. (The truth of
With agents and battle groups hiding all over the the matter is that the Regency doesn't want to risk
solar system, NEO has become a federation of starting any open conflict-because it doesn't
rebels, smugglers and RAM renegades; part United know how many members of the arcology might
Nations diplomatic corps. part Continental Army, join in with the rebels if they were forced to choose
and part terrorist organization. To carry the histori­ one side or the other.) NEO ranks are (from lowest
cal comparison one step further: If the orgs can be up) Warrior, Strike Leader, Group Leader, Captain,
likened to the French Resistance of World War II, Major, Colonel and General.
then NEO is (or. at least, has the potential to be) the As it stands, the forces of NEO are ill prepared to
Allied military might. If the war is to be won, then fight a pitched battle-they look for points where
the army will play the major role-but without the they can pick the ground and the fight. They are not
civilian freedom fighters doing their part, the strug­ even up to the level of manning major bases or
gle would be much longer and more costly. fielding a group of small fleets, compared to the re­
NEO is financed primarily by secretly transmitted sources that RAM has at its disposal.
contributions from highly placed residents and busi­ A typical NEO combat group might have a hun­
ness concerns in the various arcologies. Control of dred members working out of an org (not necessar­
NEO is based in the NEO Council, a governing body ily with the knowledge of the leaders of the erg's
that includes representatives from each of the major own resistance cadre). armed with personal arms
arcologies as well as NEO's military leaders. The and a few heavy weapons. A strong NEO group
top-level hierarchy of the council contains nine might have a couple or ground tanks (captured
members, but a meeting of the Grand Council can from RAM forces). or a few cruisers and fighters hid­
have around fifty people. den inside a city or out in the wastelands. A NEO
Most of NEO's resources are space-based, with fleet consists of perhaps a dozen ships of cruiser and
stolen or secretly built ships scattered throughout fighter class, centered around (if they're lucky) a sin­
the domain of the Solar Alliance. Its ground capabili­ gle large battler. This fleet would spend most of its
ties are so weak compared to RAM's that they might time hiding out in Earth orbit or in the Asteroid Belt.
as well not exist-no ground tanks. assault teams or coming in-system only when a major operation was
combat support units. Its ships are fast. lightly planned.
armed, able to strike almost at will, but not numer­ NEO is desperate for ships. Parts are scrounged
ous or powerful enough to instigate a full fleet from wrecks, stolen from RAM bases. and traded for
action. on the black market. NEO has one big advantage­
Back to the comparison with the Continental like their Yankee forebears, the NEO shipmasters
Army: In many ways. NEO currently occupies the know how to get the most out of their ship designs.
exact position of the United States forces of George They trade this advanced knowledge to the aste­
Washington's time-undermanned, unable to field roid pirates in exchange for looted ships and mili­
more than a few armies at any time, and all of those tary technology-an uneasy alliance. but one that
badly armed and made up of volunteers. However, works for the time being.
the forces of NEO are masters at ambushes and un­ NEO also needs leaders. The organization is made
orthodox combat. Small attack groups are led, in up primarily of small Battle Groups, organized un­
most cases, by seasoned and competent soldiers, der a Strike Leader, with a few of them bunched to­
many of whom ( like George Washington) served gether under the purview of a Group Leader. This
militia format calls for a great deal of personal initia­ LaGrange Colonies
tive in its commanders. Above the level of Group
Leader in the military hierarchy, most of the NEO of­ Earth Orbit Colonies
ficers are information-gatherers and management
Orbital radius: 240,000 mi.
types-people whose skills are necessary, but n�t
Diameter: Various
sufficient to turn the tide. What NEO really needs Is
Period of revolution: 27 1 '2 days
a grand strategist, the equivalent of an Eisenhower
Gravity: Various (spin-induced)
or a MacArthur. Someone like Buck Rogers.
Status: Decrepit, poorly maintained orbital colonies;
NEO has evolved to become more than a military
considerable wreckage
arm representing the interests of the arcologies and
Population: 30,000 (est.)
the ergs. In the role of a stable organization serving
Government: Independent outposts
to knit together the many fringe members of the
group, NEO has in some respects beco '.11e a ,:n ini­
LaGrange points, named after the 1 8th Century
government in exile, performing a function akin to
French astronomer/mathematician Joseph Louis
that of the Continental Congress in 1 776. However,
Comte de LaGrange, are locations in space in a two­
unity has taken a back seat to democratic diversity;
body system where the gravitational forces of �he
factions, disagreements, and power plays abound.
two bodies cancel each other out. If the location
But, since the arrival on the scene of Buck Rogers, a
also happens to be in the orbital path of the smaller
few things have changed.
body, then an object (such as a space station) posi­
In all likelihood, it will soon become apparent to
tioned there and put into orbit around the larger
the members of the NEO Council that they made a
body will stay in a stable orbit indefinitely.
serious mistake in making Rogers an honorary mem­
The LaGrange Colonies are located at the L-4 and
ber of the group. Buck was probably the last person
L-5 points in the Earth/Luna system; 60 degrees
in the universe to make into a figurehead-because
ahead of and 60 degrees behind Luna in its orbit
he isn't about to remain merely a figurehead for
around the Earth . (Other prominent examples of La­
long. Because of his strong-willed advice, a more
Grange points that contain objects-Trojans, as
unilateral NEO agenda has emerged, with the fol­
they are sometimes called-are in the systems of Ju­
lowing goals:
piter and Saturn; see the sections on those planets
I ) Expulsion of all RAM forces and governmental
later in this book.)
controls from Earth and near Earth orbit.
The L-4 and L-5 Earth/Moon LaGrange points
2) Recognition of NEO as the de facto Earth gov­
were the locations of the first truly deep-space civili­
ernment.
zations, dating back to the 2 1 st Century, and by
3) Unification of the Regencies under a NEO gov­
now these orbital colonies are definitely showing
erning and supervisory body.
their age. Many of these structures have passed
NEO plans to accomplish these goals through a
through several owners in their lifetimes, and they
number of methods. In addition to using the muscle
have not always been well maintained. Sometimes,
of its ever-growing combat forces, NEO hopes to
owners who could afford to move their stations
get sympathizers or appointees onto the Solar Alli­
elsewhere (often into the Asteroid Belt) did so.
ance Council. In addition, several NEO sympa­
What is left at the L-4 and L-5 points is a collection
thizers have been recruited within the Alliance and
of dozens of battered hulks. Many of them are
are being groomed as future Regents. By subverting
abandoned and useless (at least in terms of their
the SA, it may be possible to force a political solution
original purposes). Others that are still functional
to the RAM expulsion. Aware of the other forces
are the homes of illegal operations, Solar Alliance
working against RAM (the Mercurians and the
watch stations, and dirt-poor people with literally
lshtarians in particular), NEO has also nurtured stra­
no other place to go-a deep-space version of the
tegic alliances with these groups whenever possi­
urban sprawls of Earth. The L-4 and L-5 points are
ble.
also a critical NEO staging area, since the huge col­
lection ofjunk makes it easy to hide a group of small
ships.
Luna Earth's moon, nowadays known as Luna, was
heavily settled before terraforming techniques
Primary Satellite of Earth were highly developed, and as a result the Lunari­
Orbital radius: 240,000 mi. ans have taken a long-term, gradual approach to
generating an air envelope for the planet.A thin
Diameter: 2, 1 60 mi.
atmosphere has been created by a complex, large­
Period of revolution: 2 7 1/i days
scale process involving the extraction of oxygen
Period of rotation: 27 ''2 days
and nitrogen from the rocks and dust of the Lunar
Gravity: 1 6% Earth normal
terrain.At its thickest, at the bottom of the deepest
Escape velocity: 5,350 mph
craters, the air is as thin as Earth's atmosphere five
Surface temperature extremes: - 280 ° F to + 260 ° F
miles above sea level. In such places, it is possible for
Atmosphere: Very thin, only significant inside deep
humans to survive on the surface for as long as one
craters and fissures
hour without a breathing apparatus (although, of
Status: Underground and domed settlements; grad­
course, they still need protection from the tempera­
ually being terraformed
ture and a way to heat or cool the air before it can
Population: 172,000,000
be inhaled).The atmosphere-generation project is
Government: Federation of independent under­
an ongoing effort; it has to be, in order to stay
ground arcologies
ahead of the rate at which the gas bleeds away
Ports: Five Class A, at Tycho, Aristoteles, Coperni­
from the low-gravity environment into space.
cus, Crisis, and Korolev; three Class 8, at Ga­
Lunar settlements are fully enclosed, either under
garin, Plato, and Kepler; four Class C, at
domes or beneath the surface.They follow the gen­
Archimedes, Clavius, Tranquillitas, and Keeler
eral structure and composition of Earth arcologies;
Major imports: Water, food, and raw materials
each settlement is self-sufficient, recycling its air and
Major exports: Technology, investment capital,
water and able to grow or manufacture enough
weapons, and spaceships
food to sustain the population.

A massive dome separates this Lunar city from the barren surface
Economy· and Culture
Lunarians (don't call them Moonies or Lunies,
which are insulting terms to them) tend to be clan­
nish, highly advanced, and armed to the teeth. Mess
with one Lunarian, and you'll mess with all of them.
They claim everything within the pull of Lunar grav­
ity (out to about I 00,000 miles) to be their territory,
and they have the power to shoot out of the sky any
errant or invading ships. Like Israel of the mid-20th
Century, the entire Lunar population is trained and
ready to go to war at a moment's notice.
Lunarians tend to wear close-fitting, spacesuitlike
jumpsuits, often with "smart" functions like heat­
ing and cooling built right in. Coloration is usually
brown, gray or silver-hues that blend into the Lu­
nar terrain. Luna is an armed society; everyone
wears at least one weapon, with bullet pistols (us­
ing relatively inexpensive "stupid" projectiles) and
knives as the items of choice.
The largest Lunar cities are built deep within the
walls of craters, covered over with geodesic dome
sections with easily replaced modular sections.
These cities include parklands, farms and open wa­
ter areas. Many domed craters have "showcase"
sections of spidery, nearly transparent silicate build­
ings spiraling up in the light gravity. But most Lunar­
ians feel safest buried in the wall of the crater, and
that's where even the most powerful and wealthy
have their strongholds. Ground travel between cit­
ies is via magnetic-driven subways, or by asterover
"buses" that travel above the surface. Huge mass
drivers line the floors of several craters, capable of
hurling massive loads into orbit (or in the direction
of any enemy planet or invading spacecraft) .
The Lunarians are profiteering neutrals in the skir­
mishes between RAM and Earth. Besides selling
ships and weapons technology to anyone, they
also operate the most powerful banking cartel in
the solar system.
As long as the other parties remain peaceful, the
Lunarians will deal with anyone-NEO, RAM, the
Ishtar Confederation, the Belter Anarchy-at any
time. Lunar banks are the most secure in the solar
system, Lunar currency the most stable, and Lunar
technology the most reliable. The Lunarians, tight­
fisted skinflints and hardheaded merchants all,
want your money. As long as it doesn't get in the
way of your dealings with them, they don't care
one iota what you think of them.

The tunnels of Luna are busy places

Politics and Government System States Alliance (SSA) that was based on
Earth .
The Lunar Federation, which oversees and gov­ The SSA was a world government created in the
erns all the military and political activity on Luna, last half of the 2 1 st Century, led by representatives
truly deserves its nickname, "the Switzerland of the of the three major power groups at the time: the
solar system;' although students of 20th-Century Russo-American Mercantile Combine, the Euro­
history might suggest that "the Israel of the Alli­ Bloc, and the lndo-Asian Consortium. The original
ance" would be more accurate. For like the Israelis, plan of the SSA was to have each cartel colonize
the Lunarians have a policy of "Never again" and exploit a planetary body, then send back raw
backed by a staggering amount of armed might. materials to Earth. The SSA would then divide this
Once, and only once, has any other government loot up among the starving billions on Earth.
tried to tamper with the Lunarians' destiny-and Although its original motives may have been
this is what the "Never again" policy refers to: The honorable, over the passage of several decades the
old System States Alliance, based on Earth, tried to SSA became a corrupt sham, maintaining control
slam an icesteroid into the Sea of Tranquility. The Ter­ over its colonies by oppressive force and self­
ran leaders insisted that this was a simple terraform­ serving management. Finally, in the late 23rd Cen­
ing exercise, similar to what was being done on tury, the Russo-American Mercantile Combine's
Mars. The Lunarians responded that if they wanted Martian colonists raised a battlefleet, revolted, and
to impact icesteroids on the surface of Luna, they went to Earth to overthrow their SSA masters.
were quite capable of doing this themselves. Actu­ The System States Alliance disintegrated as a re­
ally, the SSA's effort was a show of force, and when sult of RAM's victory. Now the planetary colonists
the System States Alliance persisted, the Lunarians were on their own, and RAM, being the most pow­
showed them some force. erful of those groups, became the reigning force in
First they blasted the icesteroid to smithereens the solar system. But to keep up the pretense of
shortly after it entered Lunar space. Then they democratic government of the solar system, RAM
turned their attention to Earth. In a businesslike but instigated the formation of a new administrative
brutal retaliatory strike, nearly two hundred Terran body called the Solar Alliance. (The similarity be­
ships were destroyed and seventeen Terran capitals tween the old name and the new name was pur­
were blasted by the impact of gigantic rocks hurled poseful; this way, RAM could maintain that the new
by Lunar mass drivers. Alliance was merely an outgrowth of the old SSA
The only other time that the Lunarians have used instead of an entirely new agency.)
their mass drivers against another planet was in After the revolution left Earth under RAM occu­
2275-once more against Earth-at the very start pation, Luna was the only neutral ground in the in­
of RAM's revolt against the System States Alliance. ner solar system where an interplanetary alliance
(That incident is briefly described in the section on could be headquartered. The Lunarians agreed to
mass drivers in The Technology Book.) Since then, have the Alliance based on their turf, and Luna is
the use of such force hasn't been necessary-but where all formal Alliance meetings are conducted.
everyone knows what the Lunarians can do if they (Naturally, the Lunar representatives are neutral on
think it is necessary. all issues-and the Alliance judiciously avoids mak­
The Lunarians don't want your problems, and ing any decisions that would directly inconven­
they don't want your politics. They deal with distur­ ience or hamper the Lunarians.)
bances by deporting all parties involved. They will­ No representative of the Alliance admits-but
ingly prosecute and imprison RAM execs right neither do they deny-that the organization is
alongside the lowliest space scum. They don't let merely a RAM puppet. Hardly anything of great im­
anyone land warships on their world, and they port is ever accomplished, with the result that RAM
have one very stringent rule about combat within is pretty much left free to do what it wants. The
Lunar space: Don't even think about it. most active branch of the Alliance is the Solar Alli­
ance Protectorate, a ten-member panel created at
The System States Alliance RAM's insistence to oversee the "protection" and
(Solar Alliance) "development" of Earth . The people who do the
"protecting" and "developing;' as might be ex­
Another political force present on Luna is techni­ pected, are RAM civilian employees (the Regents),
cally a government in exile. Now called the Solar Al­ backed up by RAM soldiers and gennies, using RAM
liance, this organization is descended from the hardware. Any doubt who's really in charge?
Mars Much of the Martian highlands have been left un­
terraformed; these areas are covered with rocks,
4th Planet of Sol System craters and red dust. With the planet having a
higher water content than ever before, even these
Orbital radius: 1 4 1 ,7 1 0,000 mi. ( 1 .52 AU)
areas have a fair amount of plant life, although
Diameter: 4,200 mi.
most of this is low and scrubby. The areas around
Period of revolution: 687 days
Pavonis Mons (Mount Pavonis) have been planted
Period of rotation: 24''2 hours
with bioengineered conifers, and water has been
Gravity: 38% Earth normal
brought in to form several small, deep lakes in that
Escape velocity: I I , I 60 mph
area.
Surface temperature extremes (at equator): - 80 ° F
to + 20 ° F
Atmosphere: Thin, concentrated in lowlands Economy and Culture
Status: Extensive ly terraformed; most powerful
planet in system The major civilized areas are centered around the
Population: 253,000,000 southern and eastern edge of the Marineris Basin, in
Government: Despotic corporate socialism an area called Coprates Chasm, and on and around
Ports: One Class A, in orbit above Pavonis; two the Mars-Pavonis Space Elevator complex on the
Class B, at Coprates and Marineris; three Class towering Tharsis plateau.
C, at Pavonis, Utopia, and Hellas Coprates is a huge city of some sixty million peo­
Other prominent locations: Olympia, Chryse, Gal­ ple, housed in huge arcologies built into the titanic
laei, Arsia, Memnonia, Phytus, Solis, Argyre, chasm walls. Smaller, pyramidal structures housing
Casini, and Hesperia the executive class are scattered over the chasm
Major imports: Luxury goods, gems, rare metals, floor, or on islands scattered throughout the
and wines Marineris Chain. The name "Coprates" takes in the
Major exports: Technology, weapons, and ships entire area, describing a single-city nation stretching
several hundred miles along the rift, although what
Mars is the dominant planet in the solar system of is commonly called Coprates Chasm is a narrow
the 25th Century, controlled by a government area of the western valley only about three hun­
known as RAM (originally called the Russo­ dred miles long.
American Mercantile Combine, though the full Much of the rest of civilization is based just north
name is no longer accurate and never used). RAM is of the equator in the vicinity of Pavonis Mons. The
the major political force on Mars, and is made up of mountain is an extinct volcano that rises high out of
equal parts socialism and corporate greed, combin­ the Martian atmosphere, and also the planetside
ing the worst of the two dominant political and eco­ terminus of perhaps the greatest single technical
nomic tendencies of the late 20th Century. achievement in mankind's history-the Mars­
The Mars of the 25th Century has been exten­ Pavonis Space Elevator. (For more information on
sively terraformed, using a variety of techniques in­ this structure, see The Technology Book.) The Mars­
cluding bioengineered life forms, volcanic heat Pavonis elevator is the planet's other major popula­
traps, microwave mirror arrays in space, and drop­ tion center, containing dozens of levels habitable by
ping large icesteroids onto the surface. (For further humans.
information on terraforming, see The Technology Farther north, toward the Boreal Sea, a number
Book.) The current topography is based around two of settlements are scattered along the shallow
shallow seas, the Sea of Hellas in the southern hemi­ shore. Like similar settlements along the Hellas
sphere and the Boreal Sea, which rings the northern coast, these are devoted to farming, both land crops
polar region. The Boreal Sea is a mere 400 feet deep, as well as shallow-water crustaceans and bottom
and is fully seeded with bioengineered marine life; fish, which comprise a large part of the Martian
the smaller Sea of Hellas, 450 feet deep, is still in the diet.
process of being stocked. A chain of small, deep Martian cities are primarily based on the arcology
lakes, known as the Marineris Chain, runs most of concept, with a pyramidal plan predominating; in
the length of the Valles Marineris basin that cuts fact, the capital of Coprates is made up of dozens of
through the planet surface just south of the equa­ interlocking pyramidal structures. The Martian style
tor. The deepest of these lake beds is roughly two is clean and geometric, cut from sandstone and
miles beneath the surface of the water. trimmed in glass and metal. Often, corporate logos
are etched into the faces of headquarters' pyramids. that by the early years of the 2 1 st Century. a state of
Hanging gardens are popular. as are large collec­ exhausted cooperation existed between those na­
tions of Terran artifacts and treasures. tions.
The Martian people are the best-fed, best-looking Eventually, this cooperation resulted in the for­
(because of gene-shaping), best-educated people in mation of the Russo-American Mercantile Combine.
the solar system. They are fond of trinkets, gadgets, Almost simultaneously, two other major power
social events, and other nonessential trappings of groups coalesced on the planet: the Euro-Bloc and
civilization. Their garments are most often a combi­ the lndo-Asian Consortium. Prompted by a new
nation of military uniforms and business suits (a planet-oriented worldview, leaders of these groups
Martian executive's "power suit" is oftenjust that­ were the driving force behind the formation of a
a business suit with integrated wiring, built-in world-government agency, the System States Alli­
weaponry, and electronic defenses), usually in one ance.
of the more popular shades of red, gray, brown or Realizing that man's future on Earth was directly
black. The color blue is reserved for the "subhu­ tied to his success in colonizing the rest of the solar
man" gennie Workers. the lowest caste in the Mar­ system, the SSA took as its major goal the organiz­
tian hierarchy. ing of a colonization effort. Eventually. three char­
While the citizens of Mars are better off than any ters were awarded: The Russo-American group
other group in the Solar Alliance, no one in that took the rights to Mars, the Euro-Bloc claimed Luna.
group can ever forget that they are controlled by a and the lndo-Asian group settled for Venus.
ruthless organization that encourages personal Although it was seen (and correctly) as the terri­
gain at others· expense, and enforces its prefer­ tory with the most potential for supporting human
ences and policies through the use of force. That or­ life, Mars was far from easy to tame. Conditions
ganization is RAM. were harsh, and keeping the colonists dedicated to
From the highest citadels to the deepest warrens, their task required harsh governance. The Russo­
RAM maintains a constant surveillance on the citi­ American Combine used brute force to forge the
zens who are in its grip. Troops may detain anyone early Martian colonists into a tough fighting ma­
on mere suspicion. Internal Affairs operatives chine, capable of beating an equally tough planet.
(known as Enforcers) can blackmail, kill or torture as One result of this process-only recognized by
they see fit. Even the most powerful members of the the people of Earth after it was too late-was that
hierarchy are not entirely free of this totalitarian the government and the citizens of Mars became
system, and since RAM absolutely controls most of too tough and too powerful for the System States
the Martian surface and owns both of the planet's Alliance to control. RAM revolted against the SSA in
natural satellites, there are very few places where 2275, and over the course of a conflict known as
rebellion or dissent can take root. the Ten Year War succeeded in destroying or occu­
Those few areas not controlled by RAM are con­ pying every stronghold of the System States Alli­
sidered as a group th.e Martian Free States, and are a ance on Earth.
haven for smugglers. pirates and NEO freedom This victory by force and brutality was not with­
fighters. These Free States are sparsely scattered out its price, even for the victors. After the war, a to­
across the high, windy plateaus that account for talitarian state existed on Ma rs, in wh ich a
about half of the Martian surface area. While habit­ technocratic/corporate aristocracy ruled over lesser
able in the loosest sense, the vast ranges around "workers" with an iron fist. Among the general
such outposts as Utopia, Hesperia, and Cassini are populace, there was little argument-RAM had in­
mostly home only to the gene-altered Desert Run­ deed thrown off the yoke of the corrupt SSA and
ners and other strange creatures of the high desert. made Mars into a relative paradise, and did provide
food, shelter and jobs for everyone on the planet.
Politics and Government In many ways. the present-day RAM resembles
one of the huge Japanese corporate empires of the
20th Century. Workers are taken care of from cradle
After an abortive attempt to gain military suprem­ to grave. All needs are taken care of by the Com­
acy in the late I 990's, the Earth nation known as pany, and the Company tells you what to do, say,
the Soviet Union collapsed back into a period of re­ wear and think. RAM chooses your job, provides
volt and internal confusion. The United States, itself your home, and even provides most of your social
weakened by years of divisive government, was in entertainment.
no position to take advantage of this condition, so The only difference is that the old-style Japanese
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corporation didn't have genetically altered troops Corporate Security: Mostly made up of office
to "take care of" dissidents and naysayers. guards and low-level security personnel, this divi­
RAM is currently run by Simund Holzerhein, who sion encompasses the corporate grunts of RAM.
took control of the RAM Board about one hundred Lightly armored and superficially trained, opera­
and fifty years ago. A ruthless and implacable foe, tives of Corporate Security protect only those tar­
Holzerhein is even more dangerous because of one gets deemed relatively less important or
additional advantage-his personality has been up­ threatening to the corporation. Important bases
loaded into the RAM Main Computer, giving him in­ and other high-security areas are protected by Inter­
credible speed, virtually limitless knowledge, and nal Affairs operatives or members of the Ground
literal immortality. His real body lies in a glass cryo­ Enforcement Corps.
genic suspension tube stored in a bunker under­
Space Assault Corps: Space Assault is the second
neath his palatial "chalet" on the wooded slopes of
strongest arm of RAM Security, right behind Internal
the Forest of Pavonis. Various members of his family
Affairs (and not counting the Terrines, which on a
control key RAM operations, but overall, control of one-for-one basis are far tougher than any other
the subdivisions has been passed around between
soldier alive). Rocket pilots for the corps are drafted
at least one hundred various family groups.
from the merchant fleets of RAM, or taken from the
RAM is divided into divisions such as High Tech,
elite graduates of the RAM Academy on Deimos.
Atomics, Fabrication, Consumer Products, Transpor­
Space Assault is currently made up of five fleets,
tation, BioSci and Marketing. The most powerful di­
named for the near-orbit areas where they are
vision is RAM Security, which controls both the
based: Earth, Mars, Vesta, jovian (near Jupiter), and
military and "secret police" aspects of the corpora­
Deep Space (monitoring the Asteroid Belt). Each
tion. These are the aspects of RAM most often en­ fleet has at least five battlers, ten to fifteen heavy
countered by NEO and other planetary
cruisers. fifty to one hundred light cruisers, and
groups-the bad guys, as it were.
hordes of fighters. Unlike NEO, RAM has no prob­
Security is further subdivided into five major
lem with procuring ships; if it needs more, it can ei­
groups: Internal Affairs, Corporate Security, Space ther manufacture them or (even easier, if the
Assault Corps, Ground Enforcement Corps, and
circumstances are right) commandeer them.
Planetary Assault Corps. A small division within the
Planetary Assault Corps is the intensely feared and Ground Enforcement Corps: This division is
respected Bio-Mechanized Assault Forces, made up made up of normal humans. usually recruited from
of the semihuman killing machines known as Ter­ the local populace, who serve as garrison troops.
rines. Most of them have been slightly gene-altered, as
have most Martians, to make them better able to
Internal Affairs: The shadowy secret police of handle the un-Earthlike conditions on the planet.
the Martian state, Internal Affairs grew out of the but they have not been modified specifically to
now-ancient KGB of the Soviet Union and the CIA make them better in a combat situation. Quickly
of the United States. Although the secret police are trained and poorly equipped (compared to Plane­
capable of doing good deeds (for the sake of all the tary Assault troops), they are considered ,:!n ex­
people they represent) and are not universally a pendable front line. For serious problems, RAM calls
Bad Thing, the fact remains that the vast majority of in the Jump Marines (see below).
their activities are d irected against segments of their
own population and involve terrorism, intimida­ Planetary Assault Corps: These troops, many of
tion, and murder. The organization's Enforcers and them cybernetica lly enhanced for improved
Interrogators are among the most highly trained strength and quickness, are the nucleus of RAM's
and cybernetically enhanced veterans of the RAM ground forces. Also known as the Jump Marines,
hierarchy, with control over all citizens except those these soldiers wear battle armor, carry heavy as­
at the highest levels of the corporation. Internal Af­ sault weapons, and are trained to be dangerous
fairs is very powerful on Earth, which RAM cor­ and ruthless foes. The Jump Marines are composed
rectly views as a hotbed of rebellion and dissent. of promising recruits from the Ground Enforcement
Using such methods as powerful mind-control Corps (see above) and graduates of the RAM Acad­
drugs, subliminal broadcast messages, and a ruth­ emy who show promise as officer material.
less assassination squad, Internal Affairs is-in the Bio-Mechanized Assault Forces: Also known as
eyes of those victimized by it-RAM at its absolute the Terrines. these elite gennie Warriors are cy­
worst. bernetically altered and armored and equipped
 ---

The simple yet majestic pyramid Is the cornerstone of Martian architecture

with the best individual combat technology RAM tackle the Lunarians and the Venusians, as well as
has to offer. Any two of them are equal to a squad offering some leg room for RAM's ambitious mana­
of normal men in fighting strength, endurance, and gerial class. (Everyone wants to be in charge of
killing power. There are only a few Terrine squads in something, even if it's a run-down outpost on a
RAM-a high mortality rate during the gene­ backwater planet.)
altering and cybernetic process, plus fatalities dur­ However, RAM knows that it must move care­
ing training, keeps the number of individual soldiers fully on Earth-as it has been doing since taking
down around one thousand at all times. Terrines are over-in light of political opposition from Venus
called in only when a situation looks critical and a and Luna. One thing RAM doesn't want is for that
RAM victory is essential. political opposition to erupt into out-and-out mili­
tary conflict-at least not until RAM is fully pre­
RAM 's MIiitary Policy pared for that turn of events. In a strategy similar to
that used by the Nazis on 20th-Century Earth, RAM
RAM is a massive political entity designed for con­
continues to move slowly, milking Earth's resources
tinued expansion. For centuries, the tough Martian
and consolidating its position, until the time is right
environment put up enough resistance to keep the
for a military strike.
RAM expansionists at bay. Now, with the planet
RAM's only noteworthy potential opponents are
sufficiently tamed and molded to its needs, RAM
the Venusians and the Mercurians, both of whom
wants more. One obvious place to expand is back
are able to raise considerable space fleets, and the
on Earth, which has been part of RAM's dominion
Lunarians, who can defend their turf in a variety of
since the end of the Ten Year War in 2285.
ways both military and economic. RAM's fleets
Earth is only a stepping stone in RAM's plan to
have been patrolling the space lanes leading to
eventually dominate the solar system. Once the
Mercury and Venus from both Mars and Earth, and
planet is thoroughly exploited and its populace sub­
it is not uncommon for a RAM fleet to run across
jugated, it will provide a base from which RAM can
Mercurian and Venusian vessels also engaged in
what both sides call "standard reconnaissance." of the planet. The satellite was also a potentially
Both sides are careful to adopt a nonthreatening ideal site for the off-planet "anchor" of a space
posture whenever their ships come within sensor elevator-an idea that was advanced and acted
range of one another, but everyone remains poised upon almost immediately.
to react to the act of aggression (whether it turns Phobos was extensively excavated, the raw ma­
out to be real or trumped-up) that is probably, ulti­ terials were shipped to the surface, and the
mately, inevitable. hollowed-out hulk that remained was sufficiently
W ith the Venusians and Mercurians keeping it reduced in mass so that it could be maneuvered into
busy in space, and the need for constant surveil­ a new orbit. The satellite already circled Mars at an
lance of its own population keeping it busy at angle only slightly tilted with respect to the planet's
home, RAM doesn't have enough resources left to equator, so it was a fairly simple matter to install it
mount an ongoing, concentrated effort against directly above Pavonis Mons in a geosynchronous
NEO. The military policy at present is to employ pri­ orbit {revolving at the same rate that Mars rotates,
marily Ground Enforcement troops and Internal Af­ so that it stays directly above the same place on the
fairs goons against NEO. The leaders of RAM don't planet surface all the time). The vast caverns left be­
take the upstarts from Earth especially seriously at hind by the excavation have been converted into
this point, and perhaps that's the correct thing for spacedocks, warehouses, refitting stations, and ho­
them to do . . . for now. tels. I For more information on the Mars-Pavonis
Space Elevator, see The Technology Book and the
Satellites of Mars preceding description of Mars.)
Deimos, the outer moon, was used as a construc­
tion shack during the early terraforming of Mars,
Phobos and has since been converted into a major RAM
Orbital radius: 3,750 mi. fleet base and a space academy. It is ruled by the
Size: I 6. 7 x I 3.0 x I I . I mi. equivalent of the RAM admiralty. The base includes
Period of revolution: Not applicable a "stockade" where military and political prisoners
Gravity: Negligible are held . . . some of them for a very long time.
Escape velocity: Less than 3 mph
Atmosphere: None
Status: Off-planet terminus of Mars-Pavonis Space
Elevator
Population: Varies f mostly transient)
Government: Civilian, RAM-controlled

Deimos
Orbital radius: I 2,000 mi.
Size: 9.3 x 7.4 x 6.2 mi.
Period of revolution: 30 hrs., I 8 min.
Gravity: Negligible
Escape velocity: Less than 3 mph
Atmosphere: None
Status: RAM military outpost, academy, and prison
Population: Varies I soldiers and students)
Government: Military, RAM-controlled

Space scientists and explorers have long known

that the moons of Mars are merely rocks, ill suited
for major colonization efforts in light of the riches of
the planet below. But they do have their uses.
The scientists of the Russo-American Mercantile
Combine, in the earliest days of the Mars terraform­
ing program, found Phobos rich in carbon com­
pounds that could be put to good use on the surface
The Asteroid Belt Vesta
Orbital radius: 2 1 9,000,000 mi. {2.3 AU)
Debris between the orbits of Mars Diameter: 3 1 0 mi.
and Jupiter Period of revolution: 1 ,320 days (3 yrs., 7 ½ mos.)
Orbital radius: 2 1 4,000,000 to 307,000,000 mi. (2.3 Gravity: Negligible
to 3.3 AU) Escape velocity: Less than 500 mph
Diameter: Varies widely; largest 663 mi. Atmosphere: None
Status: Artificial environments Population: 7,000- 1 0,000
Government: Democratic anarchy Ports: One Class B {military), one Class C {civilian)
Vesta is the third largest asteroid, home of one of
The Asteroid Belt is a widely flung collection of the oldest civilian settlements in the Belt and cur­
small bodies, most of which share the same general rently the site of the major RAM military base in the
orbit between Mars and Jupiter. In the 20th Cen­ outer solar system {including all of the area beyond
tury, roughly 2,000 separate "minor planets" had the orbit of Mars).
been given names. By the middle of the 2 1 st Cen­ The civilian population is fairly constant at about
tury, the number of named asteroids had more than 5,000; the overall figure varies because the number
doubled, but at that point scientists decided not to of RAM personnel present at the base at any time
bother with counting or labeling any more of the can range from 2,000 to 5,000.
rocks. It is generally thought that around I 00,000 The soldiers and civilians coexist quite well, with­
asteriods exist {including the scant few whose or­ out friction, because RAM has not tried to exert its
bits do not lie entirely within the area between influence in a direct takeover of Vesta and the in­
Mars and Jupiter), but the vast majority are so creased population due to the military presence has
small-a mile or less in diameter-that they are all helped Vesta's economy to prosper. The asteroid is
but meaningless. Except, of course, to the settlers not viewed by other factions as an ally or a satellite
who occupy them. {Unlike the way they were often state of RAM.just as a place where RAM has chosen
presented in 20th-Century motion pictures, the as­ to establish an outpost. The citizens of Vesta have a
teroids are separated from one another by hun­ reasonably good life, and don't really require "liber­
dreds or thousands of miles; it is very rare for two of ation" from RAM, although they may have little
them to be visible to the naked eye at the same choice in the matter if some adversary of the Mar­
time.) tian superpower decides differently.
Many asteroids have been tunneled and cored
for settlement. Some have been excavated, leaving Fortuna
huge vaults beneath the surface, and given a spin to
simulate gravity for the inhabitants within. Others Orbital radius: 227,000,000 mi. {2.44 AU)
are left in free fall {no spin, no gravity). The tough, Diameter: 1 35 mi.
no-nonsense inhabitants of these barren rocks are Period of revolution: 1 ,364 days (3 yrs., 9 mos.)
known throughout the Alliance as Seiters. Gravity: Negligible
Seiters tend to be independent, strong-willed, Escape velocity: Less than 300 mph
and radical in nature. They are well aware of the Population: 5,000
legend that surrounds them-the rough-hewn, Port: One Class C
"Forty-Niner" type prospector with a fast gun and Fortuna is a zero-G environment {no spin-induced
faster fists-and they know better than anyone gravity), essentially a very large orbital colony, that
that the legend is more fact than fiction. contains a number of engineering and pharmaceuti­
The most important permanent asteroid settle­ cal factories, specializing in the creation and devel­
ments, of the dozens that exist, are the nine civiliza­ opment of products that attain their greatest purity
tions described in the remainder of this section. or degree of precision when they are manufactured
in the absence of gravity.
These enterprises are supported and funded by
various concerns, most of them privately owned
and politically neutral. The scientists and techni­
cians who work on Fortuna owe their allegiance to
those who supply them with technology and raw
materials so they can continue their research.
Ceres Co-Op Psyche
Orbital radius: 257,000,000 mi. (2.76 AU) Orbital radius: 272,000,000 mi. (2.92 AU)
Diameter: 663 mi. Diameter: 1 27 mi.
Period of revolution: 1 ,680 days (4 yrs., 8 mos.) Period of revolution: 1 ,633 days (4 yrs., 6 mos.)
Gravity: Negligible Gravity: Negligible
Escape velocity: I , I 00 mph Escape velocity: Less than 300 mph
Atmosphere: None Atmosphere: None
Population: 20,000 Population: 5,000
Port: One Class 8 Port: One Class B
The largest asteroid, Ceres is the economic and Popularly known as the Boatyard, this asteroid is
technological center of the Belt. Shipments from the one of three major Belter ship-construction bases.
inner planets earmarked for any of the very small The cost of having a ship constructed at the Boat­
asteroids are often dropped oft here instead of be­ yard is at least 50% higher than the usual rates (see
ing delivered all the way to their destination, since the Characters & Combat book for standard prices),
the smaller places usually don't have docking facili­ but the quality is exceptional; any ship built on
ties adequate to handle large ships. The Ceres Co­ Psyche has I 0% to 20% more hit points than a nor­
Op charges a tee for the services of offloading and mal vessel of the same type.
storage, and then it the customer doesn't pick up
the merchandise within a reasonable time it is put Juno
up tor auction or sold outright to someone else who
Orbital radius: 248,000,000 mi. (2.67 AU)
wants it.
Diameter: 1 45 mi.
Ceres is also the location of the main computer
that electronically connects all of the civilizations in Period of revolution: 1 ,680 days (4 yrs., 8 mos.)
Gravity: Negligible
the Belt. The computer is used tor information stor­
Escape velocity: Less than 400 mph
age, message transmission, transfers of payments,
Atmosphere: None
and the recording of votes when an issue arises on
Population: 6,000
which all Seiters must voice their opinions. (For
Port: One Class B
more information on this subject, see the section on
Politics and Government below.) Also known as Academy, Juno is the second ma­
jor Belter shipyard (standard prices, standard qual­
Pallas ity) . The asteroid also has a training base for
rocketjocks. It they want to, graduates of the acad­
Orbital radius: 257,000,000 mi. (2.76 AU)
emy can stick around and pick up some quick cash
Diameter: 335 mi.
taking newly finished ships out on their shake­
Period of revolution: 1 ,680 days (4 yrs., 8 mos.)
down cruises.
Gravity: Negligible
Escape velocity: Less than 500 mph
Atmosphere: None
Population: 7,000
Port: One Class C
Even more individualistic and hermitlike than
most Seiters, the natives of Pallas do not deal with
visitors on the asteroid, but rather on an orbiting
moonlet (diameter 5 mi.) named Gateway.
As far as anyone can determine, Pallas has noth­
ing to hide; the settlers simply prefer to be left
alone. They have carved out a bare-bones existence
tor themselves, and they only interact with outsid­
ers when it's absolutely necessary-for instance, it
they need replacement parts tor machinery or com­
puter equipment.
Travelers disembark whlle their ship Is serviced at the Ceres Spaceport
Hygela Thule
Orbital radius: 293,000,000 mi. (3. 1 5 AU) Orbital radius: 400,000,000 mi. (4.3 AU)
Diameter: 254 mi. Diameter: I 00 mi.
Period of revolution: 1 ,860 days (5 yrs., 2 mos.) Period of revolution: 2,400 days (6 yrs., 7 mos.)
Gravity: Negligible Gravity: Negligible
Escape velocity: Less than 500 mph Escape velocity: Less than 250 mph
Atmosphere: None Atmosphere: None
Population: 9,000 Population: I 00 (on-station guards. plus many
Port: One Class B transients/prisoners)
Port: One Class C
Hygeia is the third large shipyard in the Belt, spe­
cializing in the construction of micro-sized orbital Located far from the main area of the Belt, Thule
colonies. nicknamed "bottles." These made-to­ is the Anarchy's prison. Criminals are allowed to
order. self-sufficient environments range in size roam through the honeycombed tunnels, but that's
from 70 feet long by 40 feet wide up to several hun­ the extent of their freedom; they can't really go
dred feet in each dimension, at a cost ranging from anywhere. Security devices and a small number of
5 to I O times the price for a ship of equivalent size. robot guards keep the prisoners under control,
Each botle is fitted with a detachable fusion booster while a minimal staff of specially designed gennies
during construction, tailored to provide enough operates the spaceport and deals with communica­
power and enough fuel to move the bottle to tions from the outside world.
where the owner wants it located.
The vast majority of bottles are located in the Belt
and in the areas beyond (the systems of Jupiter and
Politics and Government
Saturn). Inhabitants of a bottle are considered citi­
Technically, the rowdy rockhoppers, roustabouts,
zens of the Belter Anarchy regardless of the loca­
and rough customers who inhabit the Belt are
tion of the bottle.
known collectively as the Free Asteroid Democracy.
but to themselves and the residents of the rest of the
Aurora solar system, the name "Belter Anarchy" suits just
Orbital radius: 293,000,000 mi. (3. 1 5 AU) fine.
Diameter: I 36 mi. Government in the Belt is a curious, yet somehow
Period of revolution: 1 ,860 days (5 yrs .• 2 mos.) sensible, mixture of democracy and anarchy. On a
Gravity: Negligible day-to-day basis, every group of Seiters is free to
Escape velocity: Less than 300 mph solve problems and decide issues on an individual
Atmosphere: None basis-Pallas watches out for Pallas. Juno cares
Population: 3,000 (permanent, plus many tran­ only about Juno. and so forth. But when something
sients) must be decided that affects the Belt as a whole
Port: One Class B (RAM wants to yank out a few more icesteroids for
continuing its terraforming of Mars; someone
The citizens of Aurora operate the largest publicly
wants to "borrow" a rock to turn into an orbital col­
owned casino in the solar system-the entire aste­
ony). all of the Seiters operate under an absolute
roid is devoted to gambling houses, resta urants. en­
democracy where every sentient occupying any
tertainment spots, and lodging for the tens of
asteroid-human. gennie, mechanical construct.
thousands of customers who pass through here
whatever-has the ability, and the responsibility. to
every year. (Think of "the Strip" in 20th-Century Las
vote. All issues are resolved by the tabulation of
Vegas, multiplied several times in size and sporting
votes transmitted simultaneously, at a prescribed
the latest in high-tech games of chance, plus all the
time. to the Belt's main computer on Ceres.
traditional favorites.)
This form of decision-making makes for some
strange politics. Nobody's vote is influenced by any­
one else's, because no one ever knows for sure
how the other guy voted; the only numbers that
matter are the big totals of yeas, nays, and absten­
tions. But that doesn't keep people from trying to
persuade others to see things their way. Coalitions
form, vanish, split, and modify on an almost daily racy is impossible, but physics means that travel
basis. The Belter population is highly educated and routes between the inner planets and their various
well informed (like the miners of the Old West, most outposts are going to follow certain paths and pat­
of these guys haven't got much else to do while sit­ terns. Along these routes, as well as in the more
ting around on a rock except read), which makes it heavily traveled areas of the Belt and the area be­
very difficult to pull the wool over their eyes. yond, lurk the Black Brotherhood's members.
Any citizen of the Anarchy is not only allowed to, Whether its members are acting as privateers
but expected to, vote on any issue deemed signifi­ (freelancers hired by a legitimate government and
cant by the Ruling Council (which is currently made given papers of authority to attack "enemy" ships)
up of a group of elected computer personalities liv­ or true pirates, the Black Brotherhood is far more an
ing in the Ceres Co-Op mainframe). Issues have a alliance of information than of weapons. The pi­
week-long pending period, although in special rates maintain elaborate spy networks, hundreds of
cases (like a decision on declaring a war), that per­ informants, and extensive communications and
iod may be shortened. The system has a certain computer systems, all to help locate where a possi­
amount of flexibility, but not much: Seiters who are ble victim is going to be. Space isjust too big to just
visiting other planets, or are In transit somewhere lie around in wait for a passing ship. You have to
outside the Belt, are not required to vote since they know where and when to strike.
can't always establish a link with the main com­ lt is the combination of information and man­
puter. Any citizen who fails to vote (when he is able power that makes the pirates a serious threat to the
to do so) more than five times is subject to severe Solar Alliance. Armed with fast ships, powerful
penalties-at the least, imprisonment and revoca­ weapons and bases strategically hidden all over the
tion of all rights of citizenship; at the most, a com­ system, the Brotherhood can strike at will. RAM bat­
plete economic and physical quarantine, including tlefleets are easily outmaneuvered; wealthy Sun
loss of rescue rights, air rights, and water rights. Kings are taken hostage and traded for power and
As a military force, the Seiters are not a serious concessions; secret weapons mysteriously
threat to RAM. There are as many sides to the RAM­ vanish . . . . The pirates are, in short, a pain in the
vs.-NEO controversy as there are Belter communi­ neck to the entire Alliance.
ties, and any group of Seiters is just as likely to One group with whom the pirates do have an ex­
support one side as the other, depending on the cellent rapport is NEO. Like the pirates, NEO spends
community's current political views, the question most of its time on the run, striking against RAM
being discussed, and whether a good fight is in the whenever possible, and hiding its forces in out-of­
offing (Seiters love a good fight). RAM does give the the-way places. The pirates also find NEO useful for
Seiters a large amount of leeway on the individual other things-the rebels are often willing to trade
level, simply because, even though they're not nec­ information or supplies, and are always willing to
essarily military-minded, the "rock monkeys" are buy any ships the Brotherhood doesn't want or
usually well armed and spoiling for a scrap. need.
Recently, under the direction of such leaders as
Black Barney (see the NPC Profile Card in this boxed
The Black set), the pirate brotherhood has become an even
more powerful force, openly displaying some of its
Brotherhood battlefleets and bases. Whether the Black Brother­
hood will take up a position as a power in the Solar
One of the most powerful groups in the Solar Alli­ Alliance is yet to be seen, but for now, whether offi­
ance has no nation and no government. This is the cial or not, the pirates are a force to be reckoned
Black Brotherhood-freebooters, pirates, and brig­ with.
ands who travel the solar system looking for plun­
der. The Brotherhood claims a long and infamous
history; traditionally, the pirates of the Caribbean
on Earth in the I 8th Century were also known as
the Black Brotherhood, and these present-day space
pirates have gone out of their way to uphold the
legacy of their ancestors.
Theoretically, economics dictates that space pi-
The Outer Worlds Jupiter is the largest planet in the solar system, a
gas giant with a primarily hydrogen/helium atmos­
The term "Outer Worlds" applies to the huge Jo­ phere. The planet has been referred to as a proto­
vian and Saturnian systems at the boundaries of ex­ star, but it's about I O times smaller than it would
plored space. W hile humans have traveled to the need to be to become a star. However, it does give
edge of the solar system (and, it is rumored, beyond off more energy than it absorbs.The atmosphere is
in a few lost colony ships), knowledge about the ar­ under extremely high pressure, which creates heat;
eas beyond the Outer Worlds is in the realm of ru­ at a certain point deep within the outermost layers
mor, not fact. Even the Outer Worlds themselves of frozen clouds, there is an area where water va­
are relatively unexplored, and conditions change por and habitable temperatures exist.
every day. The atmosphere does support life . . . but not true
human life. Jupiter is the home of one of the most
Politics and Government strangely modified types of genetic humans yet de­
veloped, known as Stormriders. These gennies
were created to be the foundation of a new ecosys­
While each moon and planetoid has its own varia­
tem in Jupiter's atmosphere, and they have fulfilled
tion of government, most also belong to the Outer
their role admirably. Through bioengineering pro­
Worlds Conference. This is a loose union of the colo­
jects of their own, they have created other species
nists on and around Jupiter, Saturn, and the satellites
that are able to survive in the Jovian environment
of those planets.These worlds are all too distant, too
(and which provide the Stormriders with sources of
sparsely settled, or too small to have a strong impact
food), including a form of algae, raylike creatures
on the politics of the Solar Alliance individually, but
called Mantas, and quadruped "cattle" known as
as a group acting through the Conference, they are
Bloats.
able to occasionally keep RAM from running rough­
The Stormriders live in spherical cities that float
shod over them and their territories.
atop the high-pressure atmosphere beneath them,
The Conference has no real space navy (ships) or
in much the same fashion as the Aerostates that cir­
army (soldiers), and its factions are too divided for
cle Venus. In fact, the Stormriders have imported a
them to form a true centralized government.
lot of the Aerostaters' technology, and the two
There's only one thing all of the Outer Worlds colo­
groups have formed a tenuous alliance despite the
nists agree on all the time, and that is that they dis­
vast distance that separates them.
like the "insystem people" more than they dislike
Stormriders are humanoids with keel-like chestp­
one another.
lates, more efficient muscles, batlike wings devel­
oped from the arms, and ears sensitive to radar and
Jupiter radio.Due to their design, living requirements, and
depth inside Jupiter's gravity well, they have little
contact with regular humanity. But they are experi­
5th Planet of Sol System encing a "genetic revolution" similar in scope to the
Orbital radius: 483,880,000 mi. (5.2 AU) industrial revolution of I 9th-Century Earth; re­
Diameter: 89,000 mi. search into new and even more different life forms
Period of revolution: 4,337 days ( I I yrs., I 0"2 mos.) is going on all the time, and within a handful of
Period of rotation: 9 hrs., 50 min. years the Stormriders may have developed the abil­
Gravity: 260% Earth normal ity to leave Jupiter in living spaceships.
Escape velocity: I 36,000 mph The only other significant activity around Jupiter
Atmosphere: High pressure; mostly hydrogen and is an occasional visit by one of the privately owned
helium, some methane, trace oxygen Skimmerships, huge vessels in elliptical orbits that
Status: Unterraformed; partially settled by gene- dip into the extreme upper atmosphere to collect
modified humans methane and other gases for resale elsewhere in
Population: 1 20,000 the system. Skimmerships do not come into contact
Government: Tribal with Stormriders, and vice versa.
Ports: Several Class C, all airborne platforms (un­ Far away from Jupiter but taking the same route
named) around the sun are the Jovian Trojans, two collec­
Major imports: Technology, especially biotech tions of cored-out asteroidlike bodies located 60 de­
Major exports: Gas, chemicals grees ahead of and behind Jupiter in its orbital path.
Ruled by the Dominion of the Trojans, a loose coun-
cil of the most powerful of these settlers, the Jovian lo
Trojans are a hotbed of illegal activity. They claim no
Orbital radius: 262,000 mi.
allegiance with the Outer Worlds Conference, and
Diameter: 2,300 mi.
consider any ship or outpost fair game for thievery
Period of revolution: 42 ½ hrs.
and plunder. The only travelers who visit the Tro­
Gravity: 1 6% Earth normal
jans are those who want to sell stolen goods or of­
Escape velocity: 5,600 mph
fer illicit services-and anyone who approaches
Status: Unsettled and unpopulated; orbital colonies
these criminals without the manpower and the fire­
nearby
power to stand up to them will promptly find him­
Population (of colonies): 9,000
self minus a ship . . . or worse.
Government (of colonies): Representative democ­
racy
Satellites of Jupiter lo is one of the most geologically active planets in
the solar system, dotted with volcanoes that spew
Metls forth sulfur dioxide and other noxious gases. The
Orbital radius: 79,500 mi. satellite is close enough to Jupiter to be continually
Diameter: 25 mi. distorted by the force of the big planet's gravity.
Period of revolution: 7 hrs. This tidal pull actually changes Io's shape as it re­
volves around Jupiter, and a layer of its interior as
Adrastea close as three to six miles from the surface is molten.
Old volcanoes die out and new ones spring up all
Orbital radius: 80,000 mi.
the time, making surface settlements impossible.
Diameter: 1 5 mi.
However, lo is a potent source of energy, both be­
Period of revolution: 7 hrs.
cause of the volcanic activity and because its orbit
lies deep within Jupiter's magnetic field. The highly
Amalthea developed colonies in orbit around lo make a lucra­
Orbital radius: 1 1 2,500 mi. tive living by tapping into this energy source. The lo­
Size: 1 60 x 1 00 mi. nians will never be serious rivals to the Sun Kings of
Period of revolution: 1 2 hrs. Mercury, but they do collect enough energy to
Status: Artificial environment supply-for a price, of course-the other settle­
Population: 3,000 ments on and around Jupiter's moons.
Government: Corporate council The people of Io's orbital colonies are fairly rich,
and they have a large and well-drilled navy. They
Thebe haven't had to defend their territory from en­
croachment, and probably won't have to as long as
Orbital radius: 1 38,000 mi.
they continue to provide energy for all the other
Diameter: 45 mi.
settlements in the Jovian system.
Period of revolution: 1 6 hrs.

The three smallest of Jupiter's inner moons have

Europa
scattered, irregular and temporary settlements. Orbital radius: 4 1 7,000 mi.
Only Amalthea, a relatively large, oddly shaped Diameter: 1 ,950 mi.
rock, has any permanent settlements. Period of revolution: 3 ½ days
Amalthea has been cored into five vaults and is Gravity: 8% Earth normal
controlled by a number of cooperating corpora­ Escape velocity: 2,500 mph
tions, including Skimmertech, which oversees the Status: Underwater arcologies
Skimmerships that are "mining" Jupiter's atmos­ Population: 30,000
phere; Solar Geographic, a research lab; and the Ge­ Government: Various hostile states
netics Foundation, which created the original
The outer surface of Europa is an iceball, cracked
Stormriders and claims "ownership" of the Jovian
and grooved by Jupiter's tidal forces. Its inhabitants
gennies.
are groups of people who came here for a variety of
reasons. One group has staked a claim on behalf of
RAM (without RAM's consent or support); another
has claimed the satellite on behalf of "free Mars"; a
third supposedly represents the interests of the Bel­ vided by means of six widely scattered lee Stations
ter Anarchy; and so it goes . . . . punched through the moon's icy shell. These are
The groups are housed in ten underwater arcolo­ the remains of former ice-based colonies, now in­
gies f each of roughly the same size) beneath the ice, hab ited and ma intained by imm igrants from
and all of the permanent residents have been very Europa, who fled from that moon to get away from
mildly genetically modified to help them withstand the interarcology conflicts. Ironically, however, the
intense cold: few blood vessels near the surface of "icemen" didn't really escape-competition be­
the skin and a thicker covering of fine, silky body tween the Ice Stations is very intense, since each
hair. one wants to be the one and only middleman in
Because of their diverse political and social be­ dealings between the Ganymen and the outside
liefs, the arcologies of Europa are in a continual world.
state of conflict. Most of the time, each settlement is The near-orbit area around Ganymede is filled
officially at war with one other state and unoffi­ with space stations and small orbita l colon ies
cially at war with several others. Europans have owned and operated by various business concerns
long memories, hold grudges, and tend to be vio­ that deal with the Ganymen. The Ganymen have a
lent. single "government" beneath the surface of the
The orbits above Europa {like the pla net itself) are planet, but they have no desire to enter or influence
not controlled by any ground-based nations, and as interplanetary pol itics. The Belters, RAM, and the
a result are a mixture of Belter bottles, corporate sat­ lshtarians each maintain a token military presence
ellites, and independent private habitats. with a base in orbit around Ganymede.

Ganymede Callisto
Orbital radius: 666,000 mi. Orbital radius: I , 1 70,000 mi.
Diameter: 3,250 mi. Diameter: 3,000 mi.
Period of revolution: 1 72 hrs. f 7 days, 4 hrs.) Period of revolution: 400 hrs. f 16 days, 1 6 hrs.)
Gravity: 30% Earth normal Gravity: 20% Earth normal
Escape velocity: 7,000 mph Escape velocity: 6,400 mph
Status: Underwater civilization Status: Self-contained arcologies
Population: 4,000 Population: I 5,000
Government: Genetic hierarchy Government: Imperial ist economic cartel
Major exports: Foodstuffs
Callisto is similar in appearance to Ganymede: a
Major imports: Technology
miles-thick covering of ice over a deep, planetwide
The civilization of Ganymede has four layers: its ocean of water, all of it surrounding a rocky core.
orbitals, the ice crust forming the outer surface of But instead of opting for genetic alteration and an
the planet, the liquid water beneath that crust, and underwater civilization fsuch as Ganymede and
the rocky core of the planet proper f minimally exca­ Europa have done), the settlers of Callisto preferred
vated, but as yet unsettled). to find physical and mechanical solutions to the
The inhabitants of Ganymede's watery depths problems posed by the planet.
are genetically modified humanoids known as Callistans live in rock-and-metal citadels built on
Ganymen. Their bodies are streamlined, more and into the ice; theyjourney below into the oceans
fishlike than human in many respects. They are bio­ only to work, harvest, and make repairs to equip­
luminescent, giving off a dim, eerie glow that ment. Each citadel is powered by an underwater
slightly illuminates the immediate area. They have nuclear reactor beneath the surface of the ocean.
gills, webbed fingers at the ends of their arms, and a Like the Ganymen, the Call istans make a living by
semi-rigid "tail;' resembling a fish's dorsal fin, run­ cultivating and harvesting a form of genetically
ning along the spine. The bones of their skulls func­ modified algae that is high in protein and other nu­
tion much like sonar detectors, enabling them to trients; they use some of it for their own food needs
"hear" by sensing differences in vibrations. Gany­ and export the rest.
men are expert geneticists and aquafarmers, and do Callistan government is stratified, with only the
export some of the high-protein food they raise, but three largest arcologies having full voting rights;
have little reason to visit the solar system outside the other, smaller citadels are considered "colonies"
their realm. of the big three. Callistans, unlike residents of the
The Ganymen's contact with the outside is pro- other large Jovian moons, also claim rights to the
space around their home, and to protect those areas Slnope
from unauthorized incursions they have a well­
Orbital radius: 14,700,000 mi.
developed laser defense system.
Diameter: 30 mi.
Callistans are human in appearance, and they
Period of revolution: 758 days (2 yrs., I mo.)
have a distinct dislike of all modified races, including
Status: Settled, built-up colony
Europans, Ganymen, and the other genotypes who
populate the Jovian system.
The eight outermost Jovian moons are relatively
small, and have been claimed en masse by the gov­
Leda ernment of Callisto.The first four of these outer
Orbital radius: 7,000,000 mi. moons are Leda, Himalia, Lysithea, and Elara.Hima­
Diameter: I 5 mi. lia, the largest of the four, has been extensively bur­
Period of revolution: 240 days rowed and strip-mined by the Callistans to provide
them with raw materials for the construction and
Hlmalla upkeep of their citadels.
The orbits of the outermost four moons are all se­
Orbital radius: 7, 120,000 mi.
verely "tipped" compared to the paths of the other
Diameter: I 00 mi.
satellites. Ananke, Carme, Pasiphae, and Sinope
Period of revolution: 251 days
move around Jupiter in more of a north-south ori­
Status: Ravaged by mining operation
entation (approximating polar orbits) rather than
the east-west orbits (roughly encircling the planet's
Lysithea equator) of the inner moons. In addition, their orbits
Orbital radius: 7,260,000 mi. are retrograde-they move around the planet in
Diameter: I 5 mi. the opposite direction from the other satellites.Both
Period of revolution: 259 ½ days of these facts strongly suggest that the outer moons
are not natural satellites, but actually wandering as­
Elara teroids that were captured by Jupiter's gravita­
tional pull.
Orbital radius: 7,290,000 mi.
The Callistans may claim all of the outer moons,
Diameter: 20 mi.
but of course the claim is only enforceable when
Period of revolution: 260½ days
Callistans are present, and they do not regularly or
frequently patrol these areas. A number of small, in­
Ananke dependent operations have done some excavation
Orbital radius: I 3,000,000 mi. work on the outer moons, but the only permanent
Diameter: 14 mi. settlement is on Sinope, the remotest of all Jovian
Period of revolution: 617 days (I yr., 8½mos.) satellites.Sinope has been extensively mined and
expanded, such that it is now an artificial world 30
Carme miles across-nearly twice its original, natural size.
Formerly a pirate haven, it has become "respect­
Orbital radius: 14,000,000 mi.
able" but will still deal with anyone with the correct
Diameter: 19 mi.
price or pull for shady operations.
Period of revolution: 629 days ( I yr., 9 mos.)

Paslphae
Orbital radius: 14,600,000 mi.
Diameter: 35 mi.
Period of revolution: 739 days (2 yrs., 9 days)
Saturn state. Ringers congregate only with other Ringers
and avoid "fleshy" humanity whenever they can
6th Planet of Sol System (although they do engage in commerce, trading
raw materials for energy supplies). They view com­
Orbital radius: 887, 1 40,000 mi. f9 .5 AU)
munity living as obscene, and think even the inde­
Diameter: 75, I 00 mi.
pendent Seiters to be too open and expressive.
Period of revolution: I 0,759 days f29 ½years)
The rings of Saturn are also the home of many of
Period of rotation: 1 6 hrs., 39 min.
the solar system's Spacers-members of an incredi­
Gravity: 1 20 % Earth normal
bly modified gennie race who can live in free space
Escape velocity: 82,000 mph
for an unlimited time. The Spacers have no govern­
Atmosphere: High pressure; mostly hydrogen, also
ment, politics or even society. Loners in the extreme,
helium, minute traces of other gases
their worldview is possibly the most alien among all
Status: Uninhabited
the races and varieties of mankind.
The gas giant Saturn has no native or implanted
life forms, though in theory bioengineered crea­ Satellites of Saturn
tures could survive in its middle atmosphere just as
the Stormriders do on Jupiter. Atlas
Saturn is best known for its rings, the huge belts Orbital radius: 85,000 mi.
of rock and ice fragments that give the planet its dis­ Size: 30 x 1 3 x 1 2 mi.
tinctive image when viewed from a distance.These Period of revolution: 14 ½ hrs.
rings are the home of the Ringers, independent min­
ers who comb the rings for usable water ice, long­ Prometheus
string hydrocarbons, and minerals. Ringers are a
combination of man and machine, physically wired Orbital radius: 86,200 mi.
into their large, crustaceanlike spacesuits to pro­ Size: 30 x 1 5 x 1 2 mi.
duce a synthesis of humanity, robotic mechanism, Period of revolution: 1 6 hrs.
and techno-organic creation. A Ringer and his suit
are inseparable once the man has been installed in Pandora
the machine; the creature would die if forced to Orbital radius: 88,000 mi.
abandon the suit under any conditions. Size: 90 x 50 x 50 mi.
Each Ringer is an independent entity, and has no Period of revolution: 1 7 hrs.
loyalty to a"ny national, planetary, or corporate

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A ship blazes its way through the void on the way to one of the Outer Worlds
Janus the settlement. including all citizens of the settle­
ment. More than 200 Earth years old, st?e has been
Orbital radius: 99,000 mi.
extraordinarly successful at keeping her aging proc­
Size: 90 x 65 x 50 mi.
ess at bay by the use of drugs and genetic augmen­
Period of revolution: 1 8 hrs.
tation. She maintains control of her small empire
Population: 2,000
through the use of cloned and genetically manipu­
Ports: One Class B
lated troops.
Epimethius Enceladus
Orbital radius: 99,000 mi.
Orbital radius: 1 47,500 mi.
Size: 1 3 5 x 1 00 x 1 00 x mi.
Diameter: 3 1 0 mi.
Period of revolution: 1 8 hrs.
Period of revolution: 33 hrs.
Population: 3,500
Status: Unsettled; orbital habitats nearby
Ports: One Class B
Population: 3,000
Government: Democratic council
The five innermost moons of Saturn lie within the
thickest part of the planet's ring network, and as a Enceladus is an ice-world in the pattern of Gany­
result their general inclination is toward the Ringer mede and Callisto, though it is probably a soupy mix
civilization. There are a number of scattered settle­ of ice and water clear to the core. The settlement of
ments and space habitats in and around these Enceladus is in orbit, a collection of various space
moons. habitats gathered together under the supervision of
Atlas, the closest moon, is used as a Ringer con­ a single ruling council. Attempts at settlement and
gregation point and is the location of a Ringer repair terraforming of the satellite itself have so far been
facility, where a miner can get a replacement for a delayed by lack of funds and interest.
piece of faulty spacesuit equipment.
Prometheus and Pandora are used as Ringer trad­ Tethys
ing bases. Organizations from the major civilized ar­
Orbital radius: 1 83,000 mi.
eas of the Saturnian system send representatives
Diameter: 650 mi.
here to bid on discoveries in the rings and on fu­
Period of revolution: 46 hrs.
tures commodities dealing in ring products.
Status: Single domed arcology
Janus and Epimethius are found as the rings be­
Population: 4,000 (plus transients)
gin to thin. They are used as supply bases for the in­
Government: Merchant council
ner moons, and each one has an active spaceport.
Ports: One Class B
The artisans of Janus are also accomplished builders
of small, specialized spaceships. These two moons Civilization on Tethys is concentrated in a 900-
occupy practically the same orbit, and in fact they mile-long chasm that runs almost halfway around
actually exchange orbits in a regular pattern that re­ the planet. The chasm is nearly two miles deep in
peats itself about every four years. places and about five miles across at its widest, and
has been domed over for its entire length and con­
Mlmas verted into a habitable arcology. It has been called
the solar system's biggest shopping mall.
Orbital radius: 1 1 5,300 mi.
Tethys is the center of commerce within the Satur­
Diameter: 245 mi.
nian system, and is run by a council of "retired"
Period of revolution: 22 ½ hrs.
merchants and corporate officials. Free trade is the
Status: Single domed colony
order of the day; literally anything can be bought,
Population: 2,000
sold or bartered in the marketplace of Tethys, as
Government: Dictatorship
long as the people who run the place get their cut of
Ports: One Class C
the proceeds off the top.
The first major moon of Saturn is a medium-sized A pair of Trojan moons orbit Saturn in the same
body dominated by a huge crater in its northern path as Tethys, 60 degrees ahead of and behind the
hemisphere, called Herschel. This crater has been large satellite. The leading Trojan object is Calypso,
domed over to form a single huge arcology, which a rock 20 x 1 5 x 1 5 miles in size, which has under­
is ruled by decadent madwoman and her court. The gone extensive burrowing and has been converted
ruler, Agatha Kiribashi, literally owns everything in to a prison that operates under the name "Calypso
Rental Facilities." Owned by the same merchants tion rights turned out to be deadly: The arcologies
who run Tethys, the facility rents "storage space" to of Rhea spent so much time and effort wrangling
other governments and powerful individuals. with one another that they all stagnated and died
The trailing Trojan object is Telesto, 20 x 1 6 x I 5 economically. (The people of Dione should have
miles in size. Telesto is also under the control of learned something from this turn of events; maybe,
Tethys, but this satellite is maintained as a separate someday, they will.)
government, which then sells citizenship, ship­ Almost all of the surface settlements on Rhea
registry rights, and living quarters to individuals were abandoned at the same time several years
seeking anonymity; in effect, it is the planetary ver­ ago. Before and during the exodus of people from
sion of a dummy corporation. Telesto "backs" the surface, the few orbital settlements that were
spaceships of dubious quality and purpose, merce­ still viable were towed to Dione or Titan.
nary groups, and financial organizations of ques­ Pirates, scavengers, and other less than honor­
tionable repute. able individuals still live under some of the domes of
Rhea (those few that have not been ruptured or
Dione rendered powerless) .
Orbital radius: 234,000 mi.
Diameter: 700 mi.
Titan
Period of revolution: 65 ½ hrs. Orbital radius: 760,000 mi.
Status: Several domed arcologies Diameter: 3,200 mi.
Population: 8,000 Period of revolution: 1 6 days
Government: Various forms Gravity: 33% Earth normal
Ports: Several Class C Escape velocity: 7,000 mph
Atmosphere: Nitrogen, some argon, traces of meth-
Dione is similar to Tethys in composition and ap­ ane and other gases
pearance, and has a huge chasm (called Palatine) as Status: Multiple arcologies; fiercely contested
a major feature as well. In this case, however, the Population: 50,000 or more
chasm and a number of other craters have been set­ Government: Various colonial powers
tled by a wide variety of individual nationalist city­ Ports: Several Class C
states, all of whom hc1ve attempted to retain their
own identities. The result is a collection of feuding Larger than Mercury and second in size only to
petty municipalities, each with its own firmly Ganymede among the solar system's planetary sat­
rooted traditions and approaches. ellites. Titan is cloaked in a thick, soupy, smoggy
Roughly half of Dione's surface is crisscrossed atmosphere.
with veins of volatile hydrocarbons. These deposits Long before man took his first giant steps out into
are the object of several mining operations, and space, Titan was already known as a world where
brisk competition {often breaking out in trade wars) conditions were favorable for the formation of
exists between the settlements. life-for one thing, it is the only place in the solar
Dione has a leading Trojan moon, named Helene. system other than Earth that has a nitrogen atmos­
It is about 22 x 20 x 20 miles in size and is currently phere. Nothing has been discovered in the interven­
unsettled. ing centuries to change that assessment, and as a
result Titan is being terraformed by everyone with
Rhea the resources to mount an operation.
RAM is there, of course. So are the lshtarians, the
Orbital radius: 325,000 mi. Sun Kings, Seiters, Callistans. Europans, and the
Diameter: 950 mi. merchants of Tethys. The net result of all these inde­
Period of revolution: 4 ½ days pendent efforts is a rolling ecological catastrophe as
Status: Abandoned arcologies each faction tries to use its own methods to turn Ti­
Population: Negligible tan into its idea of a habitable world. The competi­
Rhea is a moon whose colonies have failed, leav­ tion and confusion continue, without breaking into
ing a series of ghost towns spread across its surface. open conflict, because no faction wants to earn the
Similar in appearance to Dione, complete with veins enmity of all the others . . . and because no one can
of hydrocarbons, Rhea would seem to offer the be really sure that the other guy isn't taking the
same kinds of opportunities for mining operations. right approach.
But in this case, the intense competition for excava-
Hyperion high percentage of carbon.This black mineral is be­
ing harvested and refined by a variety of concerns,
Orbital radius: 9 20,000 mi.
but the supply is running out; in a few years, or
Size: 160 x 1 30 mi.
sooner, the settlers will have to find another way of
Period of revolution: 2 1 ¼ days
making a living or else leave lapetus for a greener
Hyperion is a potato-shaped rock, uninhabited pasture.
except for a robot-controlled emergency aid station
that was installed by a special task force of the Phoebe
Outer Worlds Conference-one of the organiza­
Orbital radius: 8,000,000 mi.
tion's few productive joint efforts-and is moni­
Diameter: 1 35 mi.
tored by Conference members on a rotating basis.
Period of revolution: 550 days (I ½ yrs.)
Status: Small domed settlement
Population: 1 ,500
lapetus Government: Democratic theocracy
Orbital radius: 2,200,000 mi. Ports: One Class C
Diameter: 9 00 mi.
Phoebe, the outermost Saturnian moon, is a reli­
Period of revolution: 79 ¼ days
gious mission and sanctuary settled by members of
Status: Several small domed settlements
various faiths and governed by a council of repre­
Population: 6,000
sentatives from each faction. The Phoebeans have
Government: Independent democracies
the support of the Ishtar Confederation, which has
lapetus is a two-faced moon. The side facing also donated a laser defense system to the cause .. .
away from its direction of orbit is a normal-looking, just in case a gently worded radio message isn't
light-colored iceball, while the other side is heavily enough to keep an interloper from trying to land.
coated with a thick, black, dusty paste containing a

A shipment of cargo bound for a remote outpost Is loaded aboard a transport

Talking Between Earth for Luna) to Ceres, Pallas, or Juno

Two Worlds
Closest approach 1 67.40 1 5:00
Farthest distance 353.40 31 :40
Earth for Luna) to Hygeia or Aurora
All videophones and radios capable of interplan­ Closest approach 1 99. 95 1 7:55
etary communication (devices that are much more Farthest distance 385.95 34:35
expensive than the standard "consumer" versions Mercury to Vesta
of the equipment, as described in The Technology Closest approach 1 76.70 1 5:50
Book) are linked to a series of powerful laserwave Farthest distance 25 1 . 1 0 22:30
communications satellites scattered throughout the Mercury to Ceres, Pallas, or Juno
solar system. Signals move between these satellites Closest approach 223.20 20:00
at the speed of light ( 1 86,000 miles per second); Farthest distance 297.60 26:40
however, there are still significant time delays to Mercury to Hygeia or Aurora
contend with when sending messages between Closest approach 255. 70 22:55
planetary locations. Farthest distance 358.05 32:05
The information needed to calculate transit times Venus to Mercury
for interplanetary messages is given on the table be­ Closest approach 27.90 02:30
low. Since the distance between any two planets or Farthest distance 1 02.30 09: 1 0
satellites is not a fixed quantity, the time required to Venus to Vesta
send or receive a message varies constantly. The fol­ Closest approach 1 48.80 1 3:20
lowing table lists the extremes of distance between Farthest distance 279.00 25:00
planets; most of the time the actual distance be­ Venus to Ceres, Pallas, or Juno
tween planets, and the corresponding time delay Closest approach 1 95.30 1 7:30
for communications, will lie somewhere between Farthest distance 325.50 29: 1 0
the extremes. Venus to Hygeia or Aurora
(Note: The Solar System Display map sheet in­ Closest approach 227.80 20:25
cluded with the XXV c"' game is intended as an aid Farthest distance 358.05 32:05
to play and is (bi)not meant to be scientifically accu­ Mars to Mercury
rate. The orbits of the planets and asteroids are rep­ Closest approach 1 04.60 09:22
resented as circles, even though they are actually Farthest distance 1 79.00 1 6:02
ellipses. Instead of moving continually, as real plan­ Mars to Venus
etary bodies ·obviously do, the planets and asteroids Closest approach 76.70 06:52
in the XXV c"' game change location every 30 days. Farthest distance 206.90 1 8:32
Interplanetary distances and times in the following Mars to Vesta
table are derived from the solar system map, not Closest approach 72.07 - 06:27
from actual scientific fact.) Farthest distance 355. 70 31 :52
Mars to Ceres, Pallas, or Juno
Distance Time delay Closest approach 1 1 8.57 1 0:37
(mllllons of mllesJ (mln:secJ Farthest distance 402.20 36:02
Earth to Luna 0.25 00:02 Mars to Hygeia or Aurora
Earth (or Luna) to Mercury Closest approach 1 51 . 1 2 1 3:32
Closest approach 55.80 05:00 Farthest distance 434.77 38:57
Farthest distance 1 30.20 1 1 :40 Vesta to Ceres, Pallas, or Juno
Earth (or Luna) to Venus Closest approach 46.50 04: 1 0
Closest approach 27.90 02:30 Farthest distance 474.30 42:30
Farthest distance 1 58. 1 0 1 4: 1 0 Vesta to Hygeia or Aurora
Earth (or Luna) to Mars Closest approach 75.80 06:47
Closest approach 48.80 04:22 Farthest distance 506.85 45:25
Farthest distance 234.80 2 1 :02 Ceres, Pallas, or Juno to Hygeia or Aurora
Earth for Luna) to Vesta Closest approach 32.55 02:55
Closest approach 1 20.90 1 0:50 Farthest distance 553.35 49:35
Farthest distance 306.90 27:30
While computers compensate for these time de­
lays somewhat-they can process an incoming
message and send an automatically generated reply Money
(if one has been prepared) within milliseconds­
long-distance communications are still more like tel­ Logically, one would expect that currency trans­
egraph messages than telephone calls. For a actions in the 25th Century would be electronic,
message from the inner solar system to some point and to a large extent, this is the case. Transfers of
in the Asteroid Belt, true two-way communication funds are carried out via telecommunications
is impossible-messages are beamed much the way whenever possible. But there's still no substitute for
they would be sent along long-distance cables. Af­ getting your hands on a large chunk of valuable
ter you send a message or a question, it will take at metal-and there's no way to transfer money elec­
best several minutes-at worst, well over an hour­ tronically when it's being exchanged over a gam­
for you to receive a response from the other end. bling table or between two shady characters in a
(As slow as that might seem, it's still a lot faster than dark alley.
sending a written communication by spaceship. For a while, it was projected by economists that
And consider the way things were on Earth up until the universal unit of value would be energy or
the late J 800's, when the fastest way of getting a power (the electrical, solar or atomic variety, not the
messsage to the other side of the planet was a jour­ political kind). This view was heavily promoted by
ney by sailing ship that could take weeks or the Sun Kings of Mercury, who knew a good thing
monthsl) when they saw it. With their easy access to solar
energy of incalculable proportions, they would
have become instant multi-megamillionaires. But,
Criminal Justice just as the oil sheiks of the Middle East in the 20th
Century were unable to make oil the basis of cur­
The methods of punishing criminals in the 25th rency, neither did the "power brokers" succeed in
Century are as varied as the societies that adminis­ making energy the universal unit of exchange.
ter punishment. For instance, on Venus, the lshtar­ Energy is a relatively unwieldy monetary unit, ec­
ians would merely have the criminal's mind onomically speaking. Before you can receive a
"altered" in a humane way; the Aphroditians transmission of "currency," you need a place to
would kill him and break him down into spare parts store the stuff (a belt-pouch just won't do), and of
for their organ banks. RAM uses both of these meth­ course it takes energy to transfer energy. And no
ods of dealing with criminals (depending on the of­ matter what substance is the backbone of the mon­
fense and, sometimes, the mood of the judge etary system, it's tough to hand a bribe to a cheap
issuing the sentence), and also maintains prisons on politico or pay off a blackmailer when the exchange
Deimos, Earth, and in the Asteroid Belt for its more of currency has to be conducted electronically. In
recalcitrant criminals. addition, the Last Gasp War taught everyone a
The Outer Worlds (the Asteroid Belt and beyond) valuable lesson about electronic and theoretical cur­
have "contract" prisons-secure asteroids which rency when electromagnetic pulses from the bombs
can be rented for the incarceration of criminals. that exploded wiped out the world's stock ex­
Such locations can also be used to store merchan­ change systems.
dise or other types of goods that the renter wants to In the 25th Century, the word "money" is still as­
keep in a very safe and out-of-the-way place. The sociated with gold, silver and other precious metals.
agencies or individuals who own the prisons gener­ Substances such as these haven't lost any of their
ally don't care who or what you store in them or value, because on all of the other worlds mankind
what you do with the prisoners (or objects) once has settled, these elements are even rarer than they
you've locked them up. are on Earth.
The most common type of justice in the 25th Cen­ On the street, coins of all types are exchanged, as
tury is fast, simple, and dispensed from the muzzle long as they ate of gold, silver, copper or a combina­
of a laser gun. After all, even in the 25th Century, tion of two of those metals. And, of course, the
the frontier is still the Frontier. coins must be coins minted by a recognized issuing
agency; normal transactions do not involve the ex­
change of jewelry, raw ore, or precious metal in any
other form that it might be found in. No one cares
what planet the coins came from; deals are done by
weight and type of metal, and most people have a
good idea of the relative value of a Martian newru-
ble versus a Venusian tang. (Luckily, for the sake of transactions. There are several branches, the main
those with a lot of pocket change, most coinage is one located at Tycho.
small and thin.)
Electronic credit/debit cards are often used by
RAM executives and upper-echelon Lunars, who
The Credit
can afford to have accounts in banks, and less fre­
In the early days of colonization, the Alliance es­
quently by affluent members of other groups or so­
tablished the credit as the standard denomination
cieties. Mercurians, as a rule, still tend to use hard
of value. A credit, abbreviated "er," was defined as
currency only. Some independent arcologies on
the wage earned by an "average" person for one
Earth often have debit-card systems for transactions
day of "average" work. As with all such semiarbi­
between residents of the arcology, but only the
trary definitions, the distinctive meaning of "credit"
most dependable of these small-scale banking sys­
has been blurred through the passage of time; eco­
tems are backed up by a reserve of metal to support
nomic fluctuations (inflation, recession, etc.) have
the currency.
changed the wage structure in various places
Officially recognized paper money is nonexistent
throughout the solar system, so that hardly any­
except in RAM-controlled work camps; each institu­
body makes exactly I er per day any more. But the
tion issues scrip to be used for purchases within that
term remains, and is useful as a common ground for
camp. Of course, the time-honored IOU is still a
transactions involving more than one type of cur­
valid piece of currency (to use the term loosely), as
rency. Electronic transfers of currency are always
long as the recipient agrees to accept it.
expressed in credits, and converted to the local cur­
Banks-that is, large-scale financial institutions­
rency when needed. Most of the time, prices in the
are few and far between in the 25th Century. Many
XXV c"' game will be referred to in credits for ease of
cities, arcologies, and even some smaller communi­
play.
ties have "banks" that cater exclusively to their resi­
dents, but their influence doesn't extend beyond
the boundaries of the particular community. A resi­ Most Common Monetary Units
dent of Chicagorg, for example, can't necessarily
walk into a bank in New Yorg and arrange for a Cr
transfer of funds from his hometown bank; as far as Planet Name Value Composition
each institution is concerned, the other one doesn't Mars Newruble 1 0.00 Gold
exist (or, at best, it does exist but can't be trusted). Dolarube 1 .00 Silver
Two financial behemoths in the solar system are Penny 0. 1 0 Copper
more or less universally recognized, such that some­
Venus Tang 20.00 Gold & Silver
one with an account in good standing at either one
Tak 1 .00 Silver
of them can make any other smaller bank sit up and
Tael 0.50 Copper
take notice.
Mercury Konig 20.00 Platinum
Coprates Bank, Ltd. Marquis 1 0.00 Gold
Baronet 5.00 Silver
This is one of the largest banking firms in exist­
ence, based in the RAM capital and with offices on Earth, Luna, and the various independent civiliza­
Luna and Aphrodite (on Venus). Most RAM transac­ tions in the Asteroid Belt do not have their own cur­
tions pass through here, and this institution handles rency designations; residents in those areas simply
the accounts of most of the wealthy and powerful use a hodgepodge of whatever coins they might
members of the Solar Alliance. have on hand. For instance, someone on Luna mak­
ing a 65cr payment could hand over three tangs
Flrste Luna Geschaft-Zollstelle, GB and one baronet, or five newrubles and one konig
(getting five dolarubes or the equivalent in change),
The Lunars are cultural descendants of the great
or any other combination that adds up to at least
Swiss banking houses of Old Earth, and this heri­
65cr.
tage shows in their banking system. The most
trusted and honorable banking house of the Solar
Alliance, Firste Luna (the short form of the name) is
the place for numbered accounts, safety deposit
boxes, gold and silver reserves, and "delicate"
Digital Personalities sonality is a tall order-they are thousands of times
faster than any human, and can only be dispersed
The computer systems of the 25th Century are ex­ by using sophisticated "killer virus" programs. De­
tremely advanced-so advanced that an entirely stroying the computer itself isn't enough; in most
unique level of computer programs exist. These pro­ cases, the Digital Personality will detect the attempt
grams, known as Digital Personalities, are fully to destroy it virtually instantaneously, and by the
aware, computer-based intelligences. There are two time the killer virus is in a position to do any harm,
kinds of DPs, Constructs and Translated Personali­ the Digital Personality will have already left for an­
ties. other base. At best, such an attempt may prevent
Constructs are purely computer-generated-they the Digital Personality from taking along many of its
are created by a complex series of mathematical for­ key information files and programs (the equivalent
mulas, which generate a "personality." A primitive of Digital Personality possessions).
version of this would be the electronic brain of Mas­ Digital Personalities live in computer systems of
terlink, a Soviet "defense satellite" put into orbit in mainframe size (a personal computer or microcom­
the late 20th Century. A more advanced version­ puter, even of the 25th Century variety, is far too
certainly the state of the art for a constructed per­ small). They are able to move around from place to
sonality in the 25th Century-would be Doctor place in the vast, connected network of telecommu­
Huer (refer to the NPC Profile Card inside this boxed nication lines and radio links known as Computer­
set), who, while based on Buck Rogers's memories space. Computerspace reaches all over the solar
of the original Dr. Faustus Huer, is primarily con­ system, and Digital Personalities moving within it
structed mathematically. In most societies where are limited only by the speed of light. (Huer.dos, for
they exist, Constructs have limited legal rights; they example, could move himself from Earth to Mars in
can own property, but cannot vote. about three minutes, and then contact Buck Rogers
Translated Personalities are programs created by anywhere on the planet by patching into a tele­
"mapping" the brain-wave patterns of a living hu­ phone, radio or video circuit.) Life in Computer­
man being, then translating these patterns into space is unfathomable to human thought, but
mathematics and generating a computer-based Digital Personalities say that it's much like living in a
"clone" of the original. The biological person must dream world, which they can per�eive in any way
be alive at the time of translation. A good example they wish. Movement is like teleportation to these
of this type of Digital Personality would be RAM superspeed mentalities.
Chairman Simund Holzerhein, who had his mind Digital Personalities think and act much faster
translated to a computer matrix shortly before the than any mere human can. However, in order to
death of his body. The legalities of Translated Per­ deal with the world of people, they must use some
sonalities are somewhat complex-current doctrine form of interface. This interface could be a tele­
is that until the biological person is dead, the com­ phone, radio, TV, videophone, or hologram. One
puter personality has no legal rights whatsoever. common method of interfacing is the holoprojector,
But upon the death of the original person, the com­ a small box about the size of a pack of cigarettes,
puter copy assumes the full legal rights and privi­ with a radio link to Computerspace and a laser holo­
leges of the former. Needless to say, a computer gram generator. The Digital Personality simply en­
copy that schemes to murder its original can and ters the holoprojector through Computerspace and
will be executed for murder. appears any way it wishes.
To distinguish between the two types, the suffix In fact, halos of all sorts are the most common
".dos" is applied to the end of the names of Con­ means by which Digital Personalities manifest
structs, while ... dop" is applied to the end of Trans­ themselves to the outer world. Digital Personalities
lated names-for example, Huer.dos and can "take over" almost any holo linked to Compu­
Holzerhein.dop. In both cases, Digital Personalities terspace, unless special precautions have been
are referred to as "it;' unless (as in the case of both taken to prevent this. Since halos are commonly
Huer and Holzerhein) the personality is so "human­ used for advertising displays, receptionists, video­
like" that people tend to respond to it as though it phones and TV screens, Digital Personalities have a
were a living person. lot of places in which they can "pop" up in unan­
Both types of Digital Personalities are extremely nounced.
complex-so complex that, like crystals and snow­
flakes, no digital person can ever be replicated
twice, or copied as a backup. Killing a Digital Per-
Life Suspension By the 25th Century, testing and refinement of
the dry suspension method has made it I 00% de­
The original design for a life suspension device pendable for preserving life for as long as one year.
was developed in 1 999-just in time to be installed The chance of surviving decreases by I 0% for each
aboard the vessel that Captain Buck Rogers piloted year or part of a year thereafter-90% at one year
to his rendezvous with Masterlink. In Buck's case, and one month, 80% at three years, 60% at five
the device was an outer-space version of an escape years, and so on. No recorded case exists of a per­
hatch, and it ended up serving exactly that func­ son being revived after more than ten years in dry
tion. suspension. The standard cost for undergoing the
The system, known as a "dry suspension unit" in process is 2,000cr per month of suspension­
25th-Century parlance, used electrodes for putting payable in adyance, of course.
the brain into a dream state, while a computer over­ While his body is in life suspension, all of a per­
rode the autonomic nervous system and reduced son's mental and physical processes, including dis­
life functions to the absolute minimum, creating a ease and all forms of aging, are slowed to the point
state of hibernation. where they are detectable only by monitoring de­
Medical theoreticians in the 20th Century were vices; to an observer using his physical senses, the
confident that a human being could survive in such patient appears comatose or dead. Typically, a per­
an environment for as much as one year, based on son chooses to undergo life suspension if he is suf­
experiments with laboratory animals and the fering from an incurable, terminal disease (hoping
known fact that some creatures-without the ben­ that a cure will be found while he's "in the tank") or
efit of any medical technology whatsoever-lived if he wants to beat Father Time on a short-term basis
for several months at a time in such a condition and for some reason .
suffered no ill effects. But they were not willing to It is possible for someone to be revived from dry
suggest that an artificially hibernating man could suspension and subsequently "resuspended;' but
live for ten years or even five. at least six months must go by before the process
How, then, did Buck Rogers stay alive for more can be repeated without causing the death of the
than four and a half centuries? In the 20th Century, patient. and there is no known instance of a person
such an event was inconceivable; in the 25th, it is having lived through four life-suspension treat­
explainable. ments.
Examination of Buck's ship after he was rescued
revealed that the cooling chamber around his laser
was ruptured at the very end of the battle with
Food
Masterlink, at roughly the same time that the life­
Microwaveable food, which first came into
suspension device was automatically activated. His
vogue in the late 20th Century, has been drastically
cockpit was flooded with the coolant. and possibly
refined and improved in the intervening five hun­
the liquid reacted with gases and other substances
dred years. Anything edible that needs to be heated
that were loose inside the cockpit. The solution
or cooked before being consumed can now be
passed through his skin and permeated his cells. As
found in a custom-designed package-complete
the cold of space froze his comatose body, the solu­
with a built-in, battery-powered microwave gener­
tion acted as a sort of antifreeze, keeping his cells ator that cooks the food right inside its package:
from rupturing. This additional, unforeseen step in
Just pull a tab, which exposes a solar cell or acti­
the suspension process put a halt to Buck's life func­
vates a microbattery, and seconds or minutes later
tions altogether-but without actually killing him.
the food is cooked to perfection.
The secret of this so-called "wet suspension" is Dozens of companies produce every level of
yet to be unlocked, primarily because no one had
ready-packaged meals from gourmet dinners to fast
an opportunity to give Buck Rogers a thorough food, all of them requiring no refrigeration or spe­
physical examination immediately after he was re­
cial storage. Even plates and forks are included.
vived. Apparently, as soon as he regained con­ (Most of these companies are subsidiaries of RAM,
sciousness Buck's body began to assimilate or of course, but you knew that, didn't you7)
transmute the chemical that had kept him in stasis,
Even on extensively terraformed worlds, there
and within hours thereafter no trace of the sub­ isn't a whole lot of open acreage, so that by the
stance remained in his system. It remains for future time the average citizen sees the food, it's already
scientists to reconstruct the elusive formula that been packaged. Fresh food is sti ll available, how-
helped Buck Rogers beat the unbeatable odds.
ever, if you have the money or if you live in one of the process of creating organisms that are human,
the more affluent arcologies where hydroponic gar­ not human, and more than human all at the same
dens yield fruit, vegetables, and spices. Fresh meat time, depending on which part of the creature is un­
is a real rarity, since very few livestock farms and der consideration.
fishing industries remain in existence, but synthetic Eyes and ears with enhanced abilities can be
steak or halibut is virtually indistinguishable from grown in tanks, then grafted onto computer brains
the real thing-and since most people have never that approach their programmed responsibilities
tasted the real thing, they don't know the differ­ with a single-mindedness that the biological human
ence anyway. brain can't match. In a similar fashion, the rest of the
Nutrient pellets and pastes-the stuff of science­ organism's body can be composed of a mix of bio­
fiction stories and early outer-space exploration logical and mechanical parts. The result, in the case
during the 20th Century-do exist, but are not pop­ of this example, might be the world's best security
ular or in widespread use. It's conceivable (maybe guard-eyes and ears that don't miss a thing, coup­
even a good idea) for someone planning an ex­ led with a brain that concentrates on what it's sup­
tended journey into the wilderness to take along a posed to do because that's all it knows how to do.
supply of easy-to-carry food pills, since he literally The creation of gennies (a short term for geneti­
may not know where his next real meal is coming cally altered organisms) is a discipline that's related
from. It has happened, on occasion, that some sub­ to cybergenetics, because some gennies do have
sidiary of RAM in charge of an enormous construc­ nonbiological parts, but most are entirely organic­
tion project will import a large amount of food pills the result of gene-splicing that combines attributes
to dole out to the workers on the site; this can be of more than one species into a single creature.(The
more convenient and more cost-effective than ship­ Characters & Combat book and the later section of
ping in tons of real food. But, given a choice, most this book contain more information on gennies.)
people prefer good-tasting food that they can sink While gene manipulation has been p·racticed suc­
their teeth into, and the satisfying feeling of having cessfully for hundreds of years, cybergenetics is still
a full stomach when the meal is over. in its infancy. The cost of creating a cybergenetic
organism is so high that only governments and
Cybergenetics enormously rich business concerns can afford the
necessary laboratory equipment, raw materials,
and scientific talent; the process is still very much
Microengineering and improved computer tech­
one of trial and error, so that even after you've paid
nology have advanced the science of cybernetics to
your money, you still have to take your chances.
a level that was only dreamed about in the 20th
Player characters in the XXV c"' game universe
Century. The function of nearly any part of the hu­
shouldn't even think about having cybergennies
man body can be duplicated-sometimes even im­
made to order-no matter how much money they
proved upon-by an electromechanical device.
have, it won't be enough-but they should be
In combination with the advancements in gene
aware that such organisms do exist.
manipulation, cybernetics becomes cybergenetics:

Players: Read no fartherl

The remainder of The World Book con­ If you act as a referee for one XXVc™
tains information that is meant to be seen game campaign and also participate in an­
only by referees. If you are a player, other campaign as a player, you'll need to
please don't turn the page. Much of the become familiar with at least some of the
enjoyment of the XXVc™ game, for play­ information on the following pages. But
ers, comes from not knowing everything when you run a player character, you'll
that the referee knows-until the referee have to do your best to "forget" the
chooses to reveal some information dur­ things you have learned in your capacity
ing the playing out of an adventure. as a referee.