Inner Fringe

Good day, agent. As your mission specs note, you’ll be spending a lot of time in the inner system on this op. It is important, however, that you stay outside of the main travel and communications hubs and stick to the fringes. Though the Consortium likes to act like they have the inner system locked down, there are many remote stations that run quietly outside normal channels and param- eters. The hypercorps don’t mind, because they use these stations and channels to hide their own secret ops as well. I’ve pulled together a short overview of some of the more notable way-stations in this “inner fringe.” I’m also including a few habitats that are strictly off-limits to outsiders, as they may relate to your mission in other ways.

Inner System Asteroids

Almost 10,000 asteroids orbit within the inner system, including at least a thousand that are over a kilometer in diameter and capable of housing a large Cole or beehive habitat. Many feature smaller dome or tin can stations. Most of these were started as mining colonies, though quite a few other stations were established by parties seeking remoteness and isolation.

Solarchive Search: Near-Earth Asteroid Classifications

Near-Earth asteroids are those that circle the sun primarily within the orbit of Mars. By definition, these are larger than 50 meters in diameter (anything smaller is considered a meteor), with the largest having a width of 34 kilometers. These are grouped into several families, as determined by the average radius of their orbits, in comparison to Earth’s orbit (1 AU). Since most asteroids have eccentric orbits (more elliptic than circular), this classification is not always perfect at pinpointing their actual location rela- tive to Earth or other bodies.

Apoheles orbit entirely within Earth’s orbit (their aphelion is 0.983 AU or less).

Atens mostly orbit between the Earth and the sun. Many of them have eccentric orbits, however, so at their aphelion points they occasionally cross Earth’s orbit.

Apollos have orbits that average close to 1 AU. Due to their eccentric orbits, this means that their orbital paths criss-cross Earth’s orbit.

Arjunas have orbits very similar to Earth (1 AU), with low eccentricity and low inclination.

Amors orbit primarily between Earth and Mars, though they also sometimes cross Mars’s orbit (but never Earth’s orbit).

Solarchive Search: Asteroid Taxonomy

Asteroids are broadly lumped into one of the three categories:

C-Type asteroids are carbonaceous, meaning they are primarily composed of primitive carbon-rich materials. These asteroids tend to be darker and less reflective than other asteroids, and are thus harder to spot visually. Most aster- oids (~75%) are of this type.

S-Type asteroids are siliceous, or stony, composed primarily of iron- and magnesium-silicates. They are the second most numerous group (~13%).

M-type asteroids are metallic, meaning they are primarily composed of nickel-iron or other metals mixed with stone. These asteroids are moderately bright and reflective. They are also most valuable for mining purposes, and thus the most sought after, but they are also the smallest group (~10%).

Atira

Station Type: Cluster (C-Type Apohele Asteroid)
Allegiance: Independent (Criminal/Los Zetas)
Primary Languages: Spanish

The station at 163693 Atira was originally founded by a chemical and pharmaceuticals hypercorp subsid- iary prior to the Fall as a remote outpost to produce experimental drugs and exotic metamaterials. Shortly after the Fall, the hypercorp’s parent company was revealed to be experimenting on human morphs genetically modified to not experience pain, and in the subsequent scandal, Atira was bought out by another, relatively unknown, company. Firewall has since learned that this hypercorp, Empresas Del Golfo, is a business front perpetuated by Los Zetas, a prominent Mexican drug cartel displaced from Earth. Fully staffed and operational, the station continues to manufacture designer drugs and unusual chemtech. This is, in fact, one of the primary sources of Los Zetas’ drug trafficking trade. Recent pressure by the Night Cartel to join the syndicate’s operations has led to bloodshed in some habitats, however.

Condor-2

Station Type: Cluster (C-Type Apollo Asteroid)
Allegiance: Unknown Primary
Languages: Unknown

This station is clustered around a small asteroid that has been converted into a large antenna. The habitat orbits at a very high 75-degree inclination, taking it high above and below the ecliptic. Though its operators are unknown, the purpose of the station seems dual. On one hand it stands as a long-distance communication relay station, receiving tight-beam laser transmissions made to the station from one part of the solar system and relay-transmitting them to another. The high orbital path means less interfer- ence and chance of accidental interception. It likely also serves as a communications listening post, inter- cepting radio and neutrino transmissions broadcast throughout the system. Long-range analysis of the cluster’s composition and equipment indicates that the habitat also monitors deep space, making use of a large telescope. One of several similar stations, Firewall suspects this one to be operated by the Planetary Consortium’s Oversight.

Eros

Station Type: Beehive (S-Type Amor Asteroid)
Allegiance: Planetary Consortium (Red Zone)
Primary Languages: English, Russian, Spanish, Urdu

The asteroid 433 Eros is the second-largest Amor, approximately 34 x 11 x 11 kilometers in size. Prior to the Fall, several hypercorps cooperated in mining this asteroid’s abundant amounts of aluminum, zinc, silver, and gold. This mining operation was guarded by a private military contractor, Ze Services. During the Fall, the local Ze commanders used the excuse of a TITAN outbreak to seize control of the beehive. About 1 AF, the Planetary Consortium stepped in, exerting one of its few open displays of force and power, hiring a homeless Russian space navy squadron to assault and liberate the habitat. As it turned out, the Ze commanders had been the ones infected, enslaving the habitat’s population and an influx of infugees beamed to Eros from Earth and forcing them into unspeakably horrible and depraved simulspace experiments. Thousands of egos were deleted due to suspected contamination.

Eros has since been repopulated and re-invigorated. Mining operations continue, and the beehive now houses one of the Consortium’s primary military bases, staffed by the privatized Russian forces, renamed Red Zone. A displaced population of former Canadian, Pakistani, Uzbeki, South African, and Chilean infugees has been resleeved to repopulate the station. Needless to say, the colony has an eclectic but lively feel to its local culture.

Eros is also notable as being home to a relic from Earth’s old space exploration programs, the NEAR Shoemaker probe landed here by NASA in 2001.

Geographos/Synapscape

Station Type: Beehive (S-Type Apollo Asteroid)
Allegiance: Planetary Consortium (Cognite)
Primary Languages: English, Vietnamese

The elongated (5.1 x 1.8 kilometers) asteroid 1620 Geographos was mined for iron and silicates and then sold to a mundane-seeming hypercorp named Educare, which established a simulspace educational and vocational training center here. In truth, however, this company is a hidden subsidiary of Cognite, and this station is yet another of their black lab research centers, codenamed: SYNAPSCAPE. Cursory infiltra- tion by Firewall vectors indicates that the primary research avenue here involves isolating various components of transhuman cognition and AI mental state software into distinct software modules, which are then pruned and optimized. Though typically kept distinctly separated and placed through various simu- lations and exercises, the SYNAPSCAPE program also experiments with compiling these modules into new mental architectures—many of which could not reasonably be called transhuman. Though the research project seems to have ample safeguards for identifying and containing any sort of emergent seed AI or hostile mind-states, Firewall has placed this program on its watch list.

On an interesting but anecdotal note, this research outpost was also one of the stations used in the discontinued Lost generation project.

Horeb

Station Type: Beehive (S-Type Aten Asteroid)
Allegiance: Independent (Israeli)
Primary Languages: Hebrew

Horeb is a small colony with a large legacy. Home to the Israeli government-in-exile, it is the capital for those still clinging to Judaism, particularly die-hard orthodox Jews and Zionist hardliners. Strong supporters of the reclaimer cause, the Jews of Horeb remain insular and isolationist, rarely interacting with the larger reclaimer movement, but contributing in their own ways. Their major interest is, of course, taking control of their holy land once again—a difficult proposition given the nuclear exchange that occurred in the region during the Fall. The majority of Horeb’s inhabitants also hold bioconservative views and are opposed to uploading, resleeving, and cloning technologies.

Horeb’s orbital period is just over 364 days, in a near-perfect 1:1 orbital resonance with Earth. Its orbital path is highly eccentric, however, between .65 and 1.35 AU, and also heavily inclined at 33 degrees above the ecliptic.

Impian

Station Type: Cole (S-Type Amor Asteroid)
Allegiance: Independent (Triad)
Primary Languages: Bahasa, Cantonese, Malay, Tamil

Mined, converted into a bubbleworld, and settled by a joint Malaysian-Indonesian-Chinese government venture, Impian (“Dream” in Malay) is notable for being home to a number of ground-breaking software and simulspace-coding hypercorps. Asserting its independence after the Fall, the Impian government has been thoroughly infiltrated and compromised by the Shui Fong triad. As a result, it has a reputation as one of the more vice-ridden habitats in the inner system, and is a regular stopover for scum barges and smugglers. It is colloquially known as a place where dreams can come true—for a price. Originally known as 1036 Ganymed, Impian is the largest of the Amor asteroids, and has a population of half a million.

Lonely Mountain

Station Type: Beehive (M-Type Amor Asteroid)
Allegiance: Independent (Private/Hyperelite)
Primary Languages: Spanish

Originally designated asteroid 1986 DA, this 2.5-kilometer-wide lump of metals was heavily mined by the MMX-Espaço hypercorp, which extracted a fortune—thousands of tons—in gold and platinum, as well as nickel and iron. Shortly after the Fall, the entire asteroid was claimed as the private domain of MMX-Espaço’s CEO, Nazareno Batista, who took up residence in the beehive tunnels and warrens with key members of his hyperelite dynasty. The Batistas also claimed the small military installation and defenses that guarded the mining operation, making their home a well-defended outpost. In the first few years of their occupation, rumors tore through glit- terati circles about the lavish design of this habitat, including gold- and platinum-plated chambers and furnishings. The Batistas were also known to have one of the most extensive and priceless collections of art and artifacts rescued from Earth. This hoard of wealth was closed off from other hyperelites, however, following the strange death of Nazareno Batista on Progress in AF 5. Though publicly claimed as an assassination—for which a ring of Barsoomian radicals was convicted and sentenced to final death, including erasure of all backups—it is strongly suspected that Batista in fact committed suicide. Since resleeving, Batista has retired from public view and is rumored to never leave Lonely Mountain. Most of his former business affairs are managed by other Batistas and members of their clan, though it seems likely that Nazareno himself is still pulling the strings.

Phaethon

Station Type: Beehive (S-Type Amor Asteroid)
Allegiance: Independent (Brinker/Techno-Creationists)
Primary Languages: Wu

The residents of 3200 Phaethon are adherents of a particularly odd Techno-Creationist splinter cult. Like other Techno-Creationists, the Phaethonites believe that the Fall was a divine portent, and that the future of transhumanity lies in transforming themselves to a future ascension with alien beings. Unlike other Techno-Creationists, the Phaethonites are full-on singularity seekers, and believe they are destined to meld with the TITANs. More bizarrely, they grasp onto a conspiratorial belief that the TITANs are currently hiding within the sun, watching and waiting for enlightened transhumans to reach an unspecified level of development/enlightenment, at which point the TITANs will reach out, snatch them away, and absorb them into their collective consciousness. To this end, the cult engages in severe cognitive modi- fications and Skinner-esque behavioral adjustments. To outsiders, the Phaethonite ideology is uncomfort- ably close to exhuman, and the cult remains closely watched by several inner system powers and Firewall.

The Phaethon asteroid’s orbit also comes quite close to the sun, with a perihelion of only 0.14 AU— less than half the distance of Mercury. It is actually an extinct comet, the parent of the Geminids meteor shower in fact, and has a diameter of 5.1 kilometers.

Sisyphus

Station Type: Cluster (S-Type Apollo Asteroid)
Allegiance: Independent (Hypercorp /Zrbny Limited)
Primary Languages: Unknown

The binary asteroid 1866 Sisyphus is home to the largest Zrbny Limited waystation hub in the inner system. Built after the mysterious corpora- tion went on lockdown, it was constructed entirely by automated machines, with no signs of direct oversight or transhuman involvement. The hyper- corp continues to manufacture mining equipment, process ores, and transfer freight, selling their output to other hypercorps, with minimal interac- tion handled via a single AGI interface. Firewall has twice attempted to infiltrate this station with stealth drones, to no avail. Remote hacking explo- rations have also been stymied.

The Summit

Station Type: Beehive (C-Type Arjuna Asteroid)
Allegiance: Independent (Hyperelite)
Primary Languages: English, Hindi, Japanese, Mandarin

The Summit station is built inside a quasi-satellite of Earth known as 3753 Cruithne. With an orbital period approximately the same as Earth’s, the Summit and Earth seem to follow each other around the sun, revolving in roughly the same path.

The Summit’s true notability, however, lies with its purpose and secretiveness. It is the private meeting place of the reclusive Triplanetary Commission, 33 vetted gerontocrats representing the political and economic leadership of the inner system. Though the actual membership roster is confidential, it is specu- lated to include representatives from all three inner system power blocs. Unlike other hyperelite special interest groups, the Triplanetary Commission seems focused on protecting the joint interests of these transitional economies, particularly from outside influences, from the autonomists to Jovians to Factors. Their interests are likely opposed by other hyperelite factions.

Naturally, conspiracy theories surround the reclu- sive Summit, and it is condemned for a range of purported activities, from trying to instill a system- wide government to being the true party responsible for the interdiction of Earth. Others finger the Summit as secretly running Project Ozma, negotiating with the Factors against transhumanity’s interests, or even being responsible for the TITANs. Certainly the Summit’s defenses are top notch, with no craft allowed to approach, and access presumably only allowed via secure egocasting facilities.

The Martian Trojans

The Martian trojans are clusters of asteroids that orbit in the Mars-Sun L4 and L5 Lagrange points. Technically Apollo asteroids, these trojans are not as numerous as the Jovian or Uranian trojans, but they still number in the hundreds. Dozens of habitats can also be found here.

Introspect

Station Type: Torus (Mars-Sun L5)
Allegiance: Planetary Consortium (ExoTech)
Primary Languages: English

This torus is one of ExoTech’s primary research installations. Firewall keeps a close eye on it due to implications that, among other things, ExoTech neuroscientists are running long-term time-acceler- ated AI development experiments. Not only does this research involve testing limited AI and AGI, but it seems to involve infomorphs as well. These may, in fact, be the longest-running (both real and virtual time) continuous time-accelerated simulspaces in existence (that we know of). This is but one of the many research projects pursued here, of course. ExoTech also has researchers working on fine-tuning uploading techniques, advanced ego bridge designs, superior AGI personality templates, and next-gen mesh presence software.

Memory Hole

Station Type: Torus (Mars-Sun L4)
Allegiance: Planetary Consortium (Stellar Intelligence)
Primary Languages: English, Mandarin

The databases and archives kept secure by Stellar Intelligence in this torus represent a massive under- taking to mine and analyze information of value to this espionage corp, the Planetary Consortium, or its various clients. These archives extend back to before the Fall and include up-to-date mirrors of data and traffic distributed on mesh networks across the system—and beyond. Remember that embar- rassing public post you made back in 12 BF? Yeah, Stellar probably still has that on file, along with your complete lifelog, a network map of your friends, co-workers, and acquaintances, intercepted messages, and even a copy of all those encrypted files you sent, just in case they figure out a way to crack the code some day. You may be effectively immortal, but your data security probably isn’t, and Stellar is counting on finding something juicy in there some day. All of this information is a prime target for data theft or sabotage, of course, but Stellar employs some of the most vicious mesh security in existence, and they likely have everything backed up in various safe- storage archives just to be sure.

Aside from keeping records on pretty much every- body, this torus is also home base to Stellar’s other wholesome activities: intelligence think tanks, data analysis and prediction experts, memetic warfare prep and staging, and so on. A significant chunk of their projects is based on surveillance and countering potential threats to Planetary Consortium hegemony, from Barsoomian interests to outer-system autono- mists to the upstart Morningstar Constellation.

Moustier Station Type: O’Neill Cylinder (Mars-Sun L5)
Allegiance: Independent
Primary Languages: English, French, German

This small O’Neill habitat was constructed by a temporary consortium of hypercorp interests in order to house infugees and relieve some of the overcrowding stress in other habitats from the Fall. As a result, its portion includes a significantly high percentage of synthmorphs, most of whom were former indentures helping to build this or other habitats, and who have not been able to upgrade to a biomorph. Its populace is also largely composed of refugees pushed out of other habitats, making it a cultural and lingual melting pot. Add in a sizable amount of still-disembodied free-roaming infomorphs, and you get quite an interesting mix. Among hyper- corps, it is known as a good place to find cheap labor, as the poor and clanking masses are desperate for work. Numerous small hypercorps have taken up residence here, making it a small bazaar of corporate interests as well.

Moustier also has the distinction of being home to the largest population of neanderthals in the solar system. Resurrected from fossil DNA and uplifted to full human-level sentience, this research project met with mixed reactions within the Consortium—to many transhumans, the ethical issues of raising a species formerly wiped out by primitive humans, and so genetically similar, was disturbing. The neander- thals themselves have mixed opinions on the matter, with the majority considering themselves part of the transhuman family while still supporting mercurial causes, and others taking a more militant/separatist approach. Their small community has attempted to revive what they can of neanderthal culture from archeological records, though in practice they have forged much of it anew. Their natural propensity towards music has produced some of the best musi- cians in the inner system.

Qing Long Station Type: O’Neill Cylinder (Mars-Sun L5)
Allegiance: Planetary Consortium/Triad
Primary Languages: Cantonese, Korean, Mandarin, Vietnamese

The largest habitat in the Martian trojans, and the largest O’Neill cylinder in the solar system, the “Azure Dragon’s” two million inhabitants display a heavy Chinese cultural influence, though sizable segments of Vietnamese, Korean, and other Southeast Asian groups are also evident. Though nominally a part of the Planetary Consortium and adhering to its standards, Qing Long and its residents have been sanctioned by Oversight several times, not least because of the heavy influence of criminal groups here. Nevertheless, several prominent hypercorps call Qing Long home, including Hyundai Transport, one of the leading designers of personal transport vehicles used in habitats throughout the system. Several Extropian corps also favor Qing Long as a port- of-call for doing business with Consortium hypercorps.

It is an open secret that Qing Long is a triad stronghold and that the administration is firmly in their grasp. The 14K Triad is predominant and considers this station their headquarters, though several others, including the Shui Fong and the Big Circle Gang, also operate here. For the most part, tensions between these groups are muted on Qing Long, as they each cooperate in maintaining the habitat as the best environment for their particular trades (else- where, however, all bets are off). The station’s current Overseer, Jintao Suharto, is related to one of the top 14K leaders, and Pai Gow (Double Hand), the triad’s security company, is employed for immigration control and to protect the station’s key assets.

Given the triad activity, Qing Long features some of the best gray and black markets in the inner system. The colony is also a hotbed for vice and unsavory activities, from gambling to pros- titution to pit fights. It is especially notable for its casino circle, a row of massive casinos that lines the interior of the cylinder at one end. The massive spires of the Galaxy 888 dwarf the rest, highlighting the influence of the Galaxy Entertainment Group, another 14K front.

Transix

Station Type: Cluster (Mars-Sun L4)
Allegiance: Planetary Consortium (Comet Express)
Primary Languages: English, Russian

Transix is Comet Express’s primary waystation and transfer point between the inner and outer systems. It may in fact be the largest freight station in the entire solar system. The port spars provide docking space for numerous farhauler freight craft. A fleet of courier drones operates on constant rotation here, and a large manufacturing/repair module makes sure that both ships and bots remain in good shape. Groupings of slingshot accelera- tors and mass drivers stand ready to launch drones into space—or even cargo shipments to be picked up by ships passing nearby at speed, so they don’t have to burn fuel to slow down.

Comet Express also leases space here to many smaller cargo and courier hypercorps, and several entertainment corps run modules that provide R&R for visiting hibernoids and other vacworkers. Oversight also has an import/export control office here, monitoring traffic and inspecting shipments to and from Consortium habitats. Given that all manner of goods pass through here, both Firewall and Oversight (and possibly others) have instrumentation in place to detect potentially dangerous cargo, such as radioactive materials.

Remote Habitats and Ships

A few remote habitats lie far from any asteroid or planetary body. Similarly, some large ships are essen- tially roving habitats.

Elysian Fields

Station Type: O’Neill Cylinder (Earth-Sun L3)
Allegiance: Independent (Brinker)
Primary Languages: English, Japanese

Elysian Fields is unusual in being one of the closest brinker colonies to Earth but also in that its residents have come here in search of that which transhumanity has specifically sought to avoid: death. This habitat was founded shortly after the Fall when hypercorp magnate Masamune Nami decided that he had tired of life, declaring that no species should have to outlive its own homeworld. Spending much of his amassed fortune to build this habitat at the Earth-Sun L3 point, directly opposite the sun from Earth, he invited all those who wished to come live a natural, human life, followed by a peaceful (or even assisted) death. Condemned by many transhumans as cowardice and embracing exactly the wrong response to the Fall, Elysian Fields has nevertheless attracted thou- sands of bioconservatives or others who simply no longer wished to live the transhuman life. Anyone is welcome to Elysian Fields, though the station has no egocasting or resleeving facilities, so direct travel is necessary. There are only three rules: no synthmorphs, no contact with the outside world, and you may not leave. While many come to the habitat to live a few final days or months before suicide, most residents simply intend to live out their natural lifespan in peace and harmony. Nami himself is still alive, over- seeing his final-death-embracing colony.

Mars Cyclers

The Mars cyclers are large ships placed on a gravity- assisted trajectory designed to “cycle” them between Earth and Mars, allowing them to traverse this path indefinitely with almost no fuel expenditure (except for minor course corrections). The Chinese colonial effort invested heavily in these ships before the Fall. Half of these cyclers followed a path with a transfer time between Earth and Mars of 5 months, followed by 21 months to get back (16 of which are spent out beyond the orbit of Mars), for a total cycle time of 2 years. The other half follow a similar but opposite path, with only a 5 month period to get from Mars to Earth. Many of these ships remain in operation, trans- ferring people and cargo between Mars and the Earth- Luna system. A few specific ones deserve mention:

The flagship cycler, Martian Express, was lost to a TITAN attack during the Fall, one that saw its crew and passengers turning on each other. Though depres- surized and abandoned, its derelict hull continues to cycle. Eventually, without course correction, it will drift off path and into space.

The Peculiar Taste of Silence was a Chinese government cycler that succumbed to a mutiny during the Fall. It is now a full-fledged scum barge, catering to the Consortium and LLA habitats at either end of its cycle. It is notorious for being one of the best sources of Earth relics, whether legit, fraudulent, or black market. It is also home to a large contingent of uplifts and other mercurials who have sought refuge here from the restrictive policies and attitudes they face in inner system habitats. Various TITAN relics have occasionally turned up in the hands of scavengers here, so Firewall keeps an eye on what’s available.

Dào Yì Yo ̆u Dào (Even Thieves Have Principles) was another Chinese cycler that succumbed to a pirate attack shortly after the Fall. It has since exchanged hands and become a Night Cartel operation, used to transfer goods of a questionable nature. It is notable as one of the best sources of illicit weaponry in the inner system.

The Lazy Eight cycler also transferred hands, though more legitimately, when it was bought out by an Extropian merchant corp in 7 AF. It is now a major outpost for Extropian affairs in the inner system, with several other anarcho-capitalist and mutualist projects leasing space here.

P/2019

This extinct comet in an eccentric and highly inclined Aten orbit has just recently come to Firewall’s attention. A survey drone recently spotted unmistakable signs of structures on the comet’s surface, and further analysis detected some minor (probably shielded) energy emissions that are similar to signs of previously seen TITAN activity. Whether this is a remote hypercorp research project playing around with TITAN technology or an actual relic of the TITANs remains unknown, but certainly warrants further examination.

PEX

Station Type: Torus (Mars-Sun L2)
Allegiance: Planetary Consortium
Primary Languages: English, Mandarin

PEX is the home of the Planetary Stock Exchange, the inner system’s premier electronic trading network. This is where the vast majority of stock trading that involves Consortium hypercorps occurs, and it is accordingly busy and secure. The mesh traffic between this habitat, the Martian cities, and Progress bench- marks at some of the highest volumes achieved so far. Oversight’s central offices are also here, keeping a close eye on market activities. Despite the high security, someone managed to release a psychotropic biowar agent in one of the trading chambers in 8 AF, resulting in half a dozen suicides and three traders chewing their own arms off. The exchange was shut down for a week, and the entire incident was blamed on outer system anarchist terrorists.