Earth Orbit

Before the Fall, when Earth was still transhumanity’s home and central point, those stations within Earth orbit held primacy. Their close proximity to the home planet gave them extreme importance, not to mention unrivaled access to resources and personnel. Of particular significance are those habitats located at the five Lagrange points, where gravitational and centripetal forces from the Earth and Luna “cancel out,” allowing them to remain in a stationary position as they rotate with both bodies, with little or no need for stationkeeping or attitude adjustments. Literally thousands of satellites, stations, habitats, factories, and bases existed in these fixed points in space, and most of them flourished. Still others thrived in the Earth-Sun Lagrange points. Together these were transhumanity’s gateway to the solar system.

The Fall from on High

Unfortunately, their proximity, wealth, and importance made these locations an obvious target once the TITANs came online and began their attacks. Many of the near-Earth stations were overwhelmed in the months of fighting, succumbing to the TITANs’ electronic attacks. Some were abandoned before they could be overrun, and a few were even destroyed to keep them from enemy hands. Almost all of the others were inundated with refugees and infugees, stretching their life support capacities to their limits. Sadly, a few of these were also destroyed, torn apart as conflicts erupted, whether between desperate refugees and equally desperate locals or sparked by nationalistic and ideological grudges carried up from Earth. Those who could fled further out in the solar system, but this was not always an option.

After the Fall, when the TITANs vanished and the dust settled, the situation had clearly changed. Earth orbit was no longer prime territory. With the Earth abandoned and off-limits, the stations in Earth orbit were no longer on the doorstep of our core world—now they were on the edge of human space, beside a planet dead and gone. Economic conditions immediately worsened. Receiving supplies was far more difficult, and shipping to other locations more expensive. Proximity to Earth was now a detriment, as these habitats were still considered to be in the danger zone. Hypercorps relocated and thousands fled the region, whether they wished to distance themselves from threats or simply because they could no longer stand to look down upon the dead Earth and the horrors it whispered back at them. Almost overnight, the orbitals transformed from prosperous to impoverished.

The new flotilla of killsats and drones orbiting the Earth—the interdiction cordon—created another set of challenges. These machines were merciless in destroying anything that strayed too close, putting those who ventured to LEO stations, and sometimes even the LEO habitats themselves, at risk. Though a few stations had moved to higher orbits, at great expense, many others simply had to be abandoned, as they were too close to the barricade or even within it.

The destruction of the Fall also presented difficulties. So many satellites, stations, ships, and platforms had been damaged or wrecked, that Earth orbit was now littered with space debris. Maneuvering ships here, especially in LEO or MEO, became a deathdefying affair. Remaining stations and habitats were forced to remain vigilant and alert for potentially catastrophic space junk collisions.

Aboard the surviving stations, with so many refugees jobless and penniless, incidents of crime and violence increased sharply. Unemployment was rampant to the point where competition for new jobs was fierce and sometimes deadly. Food became scarce as ecological systems could not keep up with demand and nanofabbers were overtaxed, stolen, or hidden away. Catastrophes occurred as environmental systems failed or became septic and toxic. Overcrowding and lingering antagonisms turned many habitats into powder kegs, periodically erupting with riots and violence. Corruption reached staggering heights and the influence of gangs and criminal outfits soared.

Combined, these factors devastated the orbital community, transforming it from a thriving region to a wasteland of derelicts, husks, and hovels. Once a glittering jewel of high-end destinations and prosperous businesses, the orbital zones around Earth were now a land of detritus, scum, and bare-bones survival.

In the decade since, this situation has begun to change for the better, but the region remains blighted and tarnished. As a growing number of hypercorps and individuals begin to embrace the idea of reclaiming Earth, interest has slowly rekindled in the forsaken homeworld and its immediate surroundings. The orbital habitats have begun to be restored and to see renewed traffic and commerce. Many feel this is only a prelude to reclaiming the Earth itself, but if so it is a welcome step by those who call this region home.

Solarchive Search: Orbital Terminology

LEO: Low Earth Orbit. Between 150 and 2,000 kilometers above sea level. Currently, the lower end of this range is restricted territory, defended by an interdiction cordon of killsats between 300 and 350 kilometers up that will shoot down anything attempting to move past them in either direction.

*MEO: * Medium Earth Orbit. Between 2,000 and 35,786 kilometers above sea level.

GEO: Geosynchronous Orbit. 35,786 kilometers above sea level and close to the equatorial plane, matching Earth’s sidereal rotation period. Objects in geosynchronous orbit (with no inclination) appear to be in a fixed position from the ground.

HEO: High Earth Orbit. Above 35,786 kilometers above sea level.

Earth-Orbit Society and Culture

Earth orbit is littered with stations, both operational and nonfunctional. Easily three million transhumans live here, spread between hundreds of different habitats. These might range from cramped and archaic tin can stations left over from early space programs to crowded O’Neill cylinders and toruses to monolithic orbital factories. Even more than the Jovian and Saturnian systems, the Earth-Lunar system is crowded with activity and ships. Travel between habitats is far easier here, and sometimes even quicker and more economical than egocasting. In fact, the amount of traffic here makes clandestine ship movements and operations easier to hide and camouflage, a fact sometimes useful to Firewall sentinels who need to stealth an approach or entrance. Likewise, the amount of derelict habitats and floating space debris offers ample opportunities for covering your tracks.

Close to Home

Despite the exodus from Earth, the orbital habitats still have the sense of being a part of transhumanity’s “home,” and this is something they will never forget or not cling to, as if it gives them more authority and legitimacy. In fact, many orbitals and Lunars feel snubbed that the rest of transhumanity has turned its back on this area and does not do more to support or elevate transhuman civilization here. This also provides fuel for the budding reclaimer movement here, along with the proximity to Earth.

On the other hand, this nearness to the threat posed by the TITANs, reinforced by the dangerous interdiction cordon, along with the constant visual reminder overhead of the home that transhumanity was forced to leave, serves as a harsh lesson that transhumanity still faces problems that it might not overcome. To many, this area is simply too dark and bleak to tolerate for long. Psychosurgery for depression and similar ailments is more common here than anywhere else in the system.

Scavengers and Explorers

To some, the proximity to the relics of the Fall is exciting, whether they are thrill-seekers who like to flirt with danger or profiteers who see an opportunity. The scavenger and explorer cultures are both strong in Earth orbit, with easy access to so many ruined stations. Scavengers can be found everywhere, whether they operate as loners, in small groups, or as full-on financed operations. Aside from raiding derelict habitats for lost knowledge, stored infomorphs, or other valuables, many operate full-time as space junk herders, sifting and sorting through the cast-off junk and lost parts floating in orbit. Explorers are just as common, often idle hyperelites who enjoy the aesthetics of mapping out old abandoned stations and digging through the detritus of the past. Some socialite explorers go so far as to organize ad hoc social events in dead stations, where party-goers can dance the night away in zero-g, or find other ways of passing the time.

Both exploring and scavenging are dangerous propositions, of course. Aside from the threat of running into dormant TITAN machines, there is the very real possibility of triggering some ancient security system or warbot, or running across unfriendly rival scavengers or criminal operations, not to mention the standard hazards of space exploration.

Diversity

One major defining characteristic of the Earth-orbit (and also Lunar) habitats—often in stark contrast to the rest of the system—is the adherence to old Earthbased cultural identities. Not only were many of these stations founded by specific nations, but many were created or occupied by specific ethnic or cultural groups. Many of these colonies have struggled to retain their unique cultural identities, even in the wake of the Fall—or perhaps because of it. Whereas transhumanity elsewhere has shed many of these old cultural trappings—possibly as a byproduct of technologies like the mesh, resleeving, and instant translation cutting down old cultural barriers and insular traditions—in Earth orbit and on Luna they are embraced and protected. Detractors claim that this illustrates the region’s backwardness and conservatism, saying they will never fully appreciate transhumanity’s potential as long as they cling to such antiquated notions of place and structure and culture. Others, however, enjoy the cultural focus of each habitat and even joke that Earth may be barricaded and almost unlivable but at least the stations surrounding it maintain the same traditions of insularity and distrust and ethnic/tribal tensions that caused so much trouble on Earth itself.

For Firewall sentinels, navigating unfamiliar cultural groups can be tricky and dangerous. Some gangs and crime groups especially make use of customs, lingo, and esoteric knowledge that an outsider will simply be unaware of, limiting the possibilities of infiltration. These obstacles can be surmounted with advanced study, skillware, and psychosurgery, but this is best left to agents with training in cultural mimicry.

Infugees and Clanking Masses

To this day, the habitats in the Earth-Lunar system retain the highest number of infomorph refugees as well as the largest percentage of impoverished synthmorphs and indentures. The method of handling infugees varies drastically by station, ranging from incorporating them fully in local culture and society (though the Lunar-Lagrange Alliance officially does not consider infomorphs as citizens or grant them full rights or representation) to enslaving them to locking them away in isolated simulspaces or dead storage. The clanking masses are overwhelmingly indentured to the hypercorp or station authorities that resleeved them. While many of them have been put to work, especially constructing new habitats to ease overcrowding, many remain idle and essentially unemployed with no prospects. These synthetics face widespread discrimination, sometimes institutionalized (in habitats where synthmorphs are given less rights). Many orbital and Lunar citizens unfairly blame these refugees for their cramped conditions and general economic plight.

It is worth noting that many refugee groups, having been uprooted from Earth and thrust into an entirely different type of existence, simply settled down wherever they ended up. Rather than embracing the full opportunities offered by transhuman society, some of these have in fact isolated themselves and become even more insular, partly due to suffering from combined culture and future shock. Bioconservative ideals are often rampant among these groups, despite many being sleeved in synthmorphs.

Orbitals vs. Lunars

Though orbital culture and Lunar society are almost identical, and in fact are jointly represented by the Lunar-Lagrange Alliance, there are some notable differences. Orbitals tend to view Lunars as a bit more privileged, simply because they have more resources and opportunities, are safer from the TITAN threats on Earth, are supported by the Lunar banks, and could more easily expand and accommodate their refugee populations. Lunars, on the other hand, tend to view Orbitals as a bit loose on the hinges, especially those who engage in scavving or ruin exploration.

The Lunar-Lagrange Alliance

Based out of Remembrance in Earth orbit and Erato on Luna, the Lunar-Lagrange Alliance (LLA) is the coalition government of various stations and other habitats in Earth orbit, at Earth’s Lagrange points, on Luna, and in orbit around Luna. The LLA was initially formed out of necessity, well before the Fall when there were only a few extraplanetary habitats and it was too difficult to survive without sharing resources. The various stations established pacts of nonaggression and mutual support, limiting weapons proliferation and taking care of each other in emergencies. While many of the early stations were aligned with a national government, and were essentially treated as sovereign outposts of those countries, this quickly changed as the first hypercorps entered the picture, followed by some NGOs, private researchers, and similar public groups. As the orbital population expanded and this new frontier began expressing its own culture, some of these stations and personnel asserted their independence. The hypercorps especially pushed for a united front, asserting the needs of orbital projects and habitats (and other space endeavors) over ties to dirt-bound patrons. The result was a loose alliance of habitats and entities that each maintained its own structure and personality, while still all working together.

In the days just before the Fall, the Lunar-Lagrange Alliance was the most powerful organization offworld. Its stations were the most influential bases in space and were considered the perfect blend between Earth tradition and outer space innovation. The Fall changed all that, however. Many of the LLA’s member stations were devastated by TITAN attack or overwhelmed with Earth’s panicked survivors. With Earth smoking and desolate, the LLA stations no longer had favored status or location. Other, more distant colonies and stations gained popularity, and many of those newer habitats joined together with leading hypercorps to create a new political organization: the Planetary Consortium. The Planetary Consortium was far more forward-thinking, more innovative, and more technologically advanced—they encouraged transhumanity to leave Earth behind and not look back, and to free itself from the shackles of tradition and embrace its potential. The Lunar-Lagrange Alliance was one of the elements discarded, and it fell from prominence, its habitats now considered old and conservative and foolishly limited.

The LLA continued to maintain itself, however, and to work hard at keeping its members healthy and prosperous. Slowly, the Alliance’s star has begun to rise again. More and more transhumans are turning their eye toward Earth again and seeing the LunarLagrange Alliance right there beside it. Hypercorps are beginning to move more operations here as the economy stabilizes and grows. As the overcrowding has lessened, many LLA stations have restored (and sometimes expanded) their facilities and once again become pleasant places to live.

The Junkyard

Ever since humans first took to the stars, we’ve been littering outer space. The space around Earth is cluttered with old rocket stages, spare parts, broken shuttle pieces, human waste, broken satellites, and other debris. Many old satellites were in fact maneuvered into a so-called graveyard orbit, making room for their replacements. While the orbit of many pieces of space junk decayed until they re-entered and burnt up in the atmosphere, thousands of others continued to rotate the Earth, posing a threat to spacecraft and stations. As transhumanity colonized Earth orbit, the amount of junk we tossed out only increased. If a ship broke down and couldn’t be repaired, it was often easier to ditch it in low orbit than to attempt re-entry. The same was true with bulky boosters—once past the atmosphere they could be abandoned to drift with the other castoffs, while the shuttles and cruisers and probes shot off into deep space unencumbered.

By the time of the Fall, we had a thick layer of space junk all around the planet. Some say it was like we were envious of Saturn’s rings, so we built our own. During the Fall, of course, these rings simply grew thicker. Ships were shot down, stations were destroyed, and their remnants went on to endanger others in the vicinity.

When the Earth was placed under interdiction, and the constellation of killsats and sensor arrays put in place in LEO, a new policy was born among orbital denizens. Rather than abandon debris in a higher orbit, where it risked sparking a collision, it is now considered proper space etiquette to dump your debris at the bottom rung of LEO, just above the barricade. This area is largely avoided anyway, being a little too close for comfort to the weapon platforms, and the junk won’t endanger anything as its orbit decays. If the debris gets too close to an element of the barricade, the killsats blast it out of the sky.

Though some (especially reclaimers) argue that this “junkyard” should be cleaned up—and other space debris as well—there are others who find it useful. Not only does it provide cover to those hoping to slip past the cordon of Earth, but it also acts as a signpost of sorts, a warning sign shouting “Danger! Don’t Go Any Further!”

Some scavengers are fascinated by the junkyard itself—it’s a microcosm of our spacefaring history, and you can find parts from both pre-Fall and post-Fall ships. All sorts of interesting finds have been made, in fact, from frozen bodies to abandoned experimental technology to items that are completely inexplicable.

Allied Forces

The LLA is an alliance in the sense that it facilitates cooperation and working together towards common goals, but on paper it has little in the way of governmental authority. Member habitats with populations exceeding 1,000 each designate one representative to sit on the LLA’s Council. The fact that small stations have equal representation to populous ones is overshadowed by the fact that every habitat rep can cast 1 vote per 10,000 people they represent in council decisions (only embodied citizens count, infomorphs and non-citizens are not represented). This grants larger colonies much more influence over LLA affairs, though smaller stations have been known to form voting blocs. The Council votes in a new president every 4 years from its own ranks.

The Council

The Council is responsible for handing any matter that affects one or more members equally, including arbitrating disputes among members. Because the guidelines are so loose, the LLA can justify interfering in almost any large-scale issue on any habitat within its organization, and each president has used different definitions and boundaries. Officially the LLA has only one goal: to promote peace, harmony, and prosperity among all of its members. That can be broken down any number of ways, however, and has been used to justify everything from artificially controlling cred rates across the alliance, to partitioning sections of a habitat in turmoil, to outlawing all offensive weaponry except for military and law enforcement personnel. Most often it is interpreted as ensuring the highest standard of living possible for all LLA citizens, defending the LLA against outside attack, maintaining active communication and transportation between LLA habitats, and restoring the LLA’s former status among transhumanity.

The President: Avra Don

Avra Don is a Council rep from Remembrance and the current president of the Lunar-Lagrange Alliance. She has run the LLA for the past eight years, and despite many tumultuous years immediately post-Fall, is now considered the most successful president the Alliance has followed. Though up for re-election, her chances of winning a third term seem likely. Dubbed the Fullerene Lady for her sometimes hard-line stances, Don is determined to restore the Alliance to its heyday, bringing eyes and credits back to the Earth-Lunar system and becoming once again a leader in transhuman commerce. Though she cannot be called a bioconservative, some of her political positions stray in that direction, especially with concern to nanotechnology restrictions and AIs. Her leadership is in fact responsible for the LLA having some of the more conservative and restrictive policies in the solar system, outside of the Jovian Republic. Her distinct ideology is not easy to pin down, however, as it strays across political lines. Though she is strong supporter of the hypercorps, privatization, and free markets, she holds some strong anti-Consortium stances and actually favored the Morningstar Constellation’s independence, though relations with the latter have been strained. She is consistently criticized for promoting economic policies that have done nothing to ease the plight of the infugees and clanking masses. She has handled challenges, crises, and controversies, however, with an impressive amount of energy, confidence, and charm.

Don is a short, slight woman with pale skin, fair hair, large pale blue eyes, and a childlike beauty she claims is completely natural and utterly unmodified. She avoids resleeving when possible, though she has multiple clones of her favored morph on hand at likely destinations when necessary.

The Fullerene Lady

Avra Don’s notable nickname has stuck for one other reason: to date she has survived no less than five assassination efforts, two of which actually killed her. Blame for these attacks has been at various times placed on anarchists, AGIs, synthmorph separatists, criminal cartels, and Barsoomian radicals, though never with much credibility. Don has always returned to her post almost immediately, unfazed by the events, but inevitably using the attacks to justify harsher public surveillance methods and stricter security controls throughout the LLA.

The Enforcer: Ord Brown

One advantage the LLA can claim is that it inherited a large number of military assets in the wake of the Fall. The tattered remnants of various masterless warships, military units, and security forces that did not defect to the Jovian Republic or get scooped up by the Planetary Consortium ended up in LLA hands, or at least in service to LLA-aligned stations. One of the LLA’s first actions in the wake of the Fall was to consolidate these forces under a united leadership and expend resources to boost them further, as a defense against hostilities from re-emergent TITAN threats, the Planetary Consortium, predatory hypercorps, or anything else. In practice, these military units have largely been deployed for civil unrest and population control duties, making them extremely unpopular among many of the LLA’s impoverished citizenry.

The current Senior Enforcer of the Lunar-Lagrange Alliance, in charge of both military security and law enforcement divisions, is Ord Brown. An old beat cop from Luna, Brown actively dislikes politics—he prefers straight talk and direct action, and more than once has ruffled feathers by manhandling important hyperelites. Brown is considered beyond reproach in his allegiance if not his methods, and is said to be completely unbribable. Though not outspoken, Brown is notably loyal to the bioconservative cause, and both of his adult children—a son named Tav and a daughter named Mercer—are active reclaimers.

Other Orbital Factions

While the Lunar-Lagrange Alliance holds allegiance from the majority of stations in the Earth-Luna system, there are many others under the aegis of the Planetary Consortium. A few habitats even belong to both, while others remain entirely independent. Additionally, there are other factions with strong influence in this region that deserve attention from Firewall agents.

The Planetary Consortium

The Consortium has a visible and noticeable presence in Earth orbit, substantially more so than on Luna. In addition to various habitats and hypercorp assets, the Consortium maintains an ongoing military presence here, under the pretense of defending the system from any sort of TITAN resurgence. The Consortium pays especially close attention to the interdiction barricade, though to this day they do not take credit for putting it in place. Should it fail or need reinforcements, Consortium forces stand poised to step in. This ongoing encampment is occasionally a point of contention with the LLA, though many Lunars and Orbitals are re-assured by their presence.

Though both are dedicated to their transitional economies, keeping the inner system secure, and seeing transhumanity prosper, the Consortium and LLA differ politically and economically on several key points, meaning that they periodically butt heads. Though both sides engage in friendly espionage and monitoring, they also share resources when it comes to the outer system autonomists and Factors, and sometimes the Venusians as well. Though the potential of an open military conflict between the two seems unlikely, it is certainly possible that a series of unfortunate or orchestrated events could raise hostilities and put these two uneasy allies at each other’s throats.

Randall Vox

Randall Vox is the Planetary Consortium’s senior representative in Earth orbit, and the official Planetary Consortium Liaison to the Lunar-Lagrange Alliance. Favoring slender morphs with elegant features and subtle mods to enhance his already considerable charisma, Vox is extremely smooth, exceptionally polite, and utterly engaging. He is also a diabolical, ruthless snake who will do anything to satisfy his masters back at the Consortium. A former executive for Omnicor, Vox takes a particular hard-line stance with the LLA when it comes to policy matters regarding Earth and the interdiction. He consistently places pressure on Avra Don’s regime to clamp down on the growing reclaimer movement, and has gone so far as to enact economic sanctions against the LLA when they refused to restrict reclaimer observation operations on several orbital stations. Firewall suspects Vox and the Consortium have taken further, more clandestine steps to inhibit the reclaimer movement, including active infiltration and ongoing smear campaigns.

Truth Hurts!: the Truth About the LLA

Truth Hurts! The outlaw newsfeed that uncovers the harsh realities behind transhuman history, power, and politics!

Sponsored by Extropia 9

Remember back before the Fall, when the Lunar-Lagrange Alliance was the big power in outer space? They were entrenched and influential, controlling all of the stations and other habitats up there in Earth orbit and at the Lagrange points. People looked up to the LLA. Respected them. So what happened?

The TITANs, of course. They hit the LLA, and hit it hard.

But was it really the TITANs? And even if it was, were they acting on their own, or did they have a helping hand to guide them along?

See, the LLA had a lock on space resources and space expansion. It all went through them. Certain hypercorps were making a killing, and stifling the opportunities some of the others wanted to take outside of the Earth-Lunar system. In other words, other powers—whether politicos, hypercorps, or both—didn’t have much room to expand. Not a lot of opportunity for authority or profit when there’s already a big dog on the block. In order for anyone else to rise to prominence, the LLA had to be taken down a few notches.

Lo and behold, along come the TITANs to do exactly that.

Or at least, that’s what we were told. Who’s to know, really? Who can conclusively point at a virus or a nanoswarm or a missile and say, “Yes, that is TITAN manufacture,” as opposed to “That was built by the old world militaries or hypercorps and had all identifying marks stripped away so they could claim it came from the TITANs?” Nobody.

Exactly.

It worked. Not only did the LLA receive the brunt of TITAN attacks off-Earth, but they were also swarmed by all of those infugees and refugees. Conveniently, some stations and habitats further out in the system said no to taking any more in, meaning the LLA was stuck, overcrowded with too many people. Meanwhile, some of those forces took the opportunity, while the LLA was crippled, to build themselves a new empire. To further their own interests, as usual.

Sure, the LLA’s still around, but it’s a shadow of its former self. Everyone knows the Planetary Consortium is the big game in town.

Wasn’t that convenient?

Careful who you tell, though. There are plenty of people, people in power, who like the LLA exactly where it is. They don’t want to see it get strong again, and they definitely don’t want anyone to figure out how that power shift happened in the first place.

Truth Hurts!

The Organization

Officially and legally known as the Lunar-Lagrange Alliance Civil Organization (LLACO), but unofficially simply called “the Organization,” this is the most widespread and entrenched local crime syndicate within Earth orbit. Founded by a mixture of Russian, Eastern European, and Middle Eastern criminal outfits who brought their activities into space pre-Fall, crossed paths, and realized they could be more effective as partners than as rivals, the Organization received a further membership boost when many of their Earthbound allies took advantage of the Exodus to make a profit and/or ended up as refugees in orbit themselves. Though it has substantial competition, the Organization is considered by many to be the dominant “local” cartel.

“Civic leaders” belonging to the Organization on different habitats control their syndicate’s activities on those stations, under the guise of civic-minded social projects and clubs. They also attempt to oversee other criminal enterprises, particularly the numerous small gangs, and take a percentage of any credit they earn. Each civic leader is responsible for their own station, and as long as the Organization remains in control and its President, Nav Garson, receives his cut, they can run the station any way they like. As a result, some stations are clean, well-lit, and safe because the civic leaders actually provide community stability and security, preferring to earn money through black markets, gambling, drugs, and other more “respectable” vices. Other stations, however, are deadly pits of iniquity where anything goes and people knife each other for a handful of cred.

The LLA has made moderate efforts to stamp out the Organization, but most of their attempts have been an utter failure. Local officials on many stations are bribed or otherwise cut in on Organization operations, so they look the other way. On others, officials are simply bullied and threatened into letting the Organization operate unhindered. Even when antisyndicate measures have been successful, the LLA has failed to pin any charges against the Organization itself, or its leadership. Potential snitches are well aware that the penalty for fingering the Organization or any of its senior members is far worse than any punishment the LLA could ever inflict.

Also known as the Organizer, Nav Garson is the current president of the Organization. A large man with ostentatious silver-plated cybernetic forearms and glittering sapphire optics, Nav dresses in the latest fashion and presents himself as a law-abiding citizen and the president of a simple community group, yet he lives in an opulent apartment in one of the highest towers of Remembrance and his offices occupy a large, imposing building in the center of the business district. Garson is said to fear the idea of uploading and resleeving, and has in fact not left Remembrance since he was brought here. If a meeting is called for, people come to him. Behind the scenes, Garson is known for his shark-like sensibilities and his utter lack of morals. Stories among Organization cadres tell of Garson cutting a man’s throat, shoving a mechanical fist through, and yanking out the man’s cortical stack, all in the middle of an elegant dinner party—and without spilling his drink.

Other Syndicates

The Organization is far from the only syndicate to operate in Earth orbit, of course. The Triads, Night Cartel, and ID Crew all have active and ongoing operations here, often at odds with each other and the Organization. Nine Lives and Pax Familae also have a presence here, though significantly smaller. More widespread, however, are hundreds of small gangs, often culturally insular and present only in a particular habitat or community in that habitat. Many of these gangs have arrangements with the larger syndicates, handling their lower-end operations such as drug and XP dealing, prostitution, piracy, racketeering, etc.

Reclaimers

The Planetary Consortium claims that Earth is transhumanity’s past and the stars are our future. They urge us to turn our backs on our birthplace, forget it ever existed, and go forth into deep space, exploring and growing and adapting to new environments and new situations. Most people, however, still feel some connection to our ancestral home. More and more people are saying it may be time to return there, to make it our center once more.

The reclaimers are at the forefront of this opinion. Their movement exists for one reason and one reason only—to bring transhumanity back to Earth and reclaim its homeworld. Though every reclaimer is passionate about returning to Earth, as an organization they are sensible, even cautious, and very, very serious. They have recruited substantial scientific help in studying the planet, and are large enough now to fund their own research initiatives. They have created detailed simulations to plot out the best way to cleanse the world, terraform it, and make it ready for repopulation. They have volunteers ready to serve and hypercorp interests willing to contribute for an opportunity to get in early on a new market.

While they have plans and potential starting resources, the complete project would be a massive undertaking requiring the full support of the Planetary Consortium and LLA, at the least. What the reclaimers don’t have, so far, is the political clout to push their agenda into action. They are working on this, however, and a new wave of reclaimer politicians and activists has stepped to the fore, complete with celebrity endorsements, making elaborate arguments to the media and presentations to political leaders and lobbies, pushing them to lift the barriers and return to Earth as soon as possible. They do this through the reclaimers’ official organization, the Earth Reclamation Project (ERP), and any less-thanlegal activities are carefully kept separate so the ERP can honestly disclaim any and all knowledge of such.

Despite growing substantially in the past few years, the reclaimers still face an uphill battle. There is major opposition to their plan simply on the grounds that no one knows what dangers continue to lurk down there, and stirring them up may doom the rest of transhumanity. This is an argument that is difficult for the reclaimers to counter, as no one knows the true risks, or even if the TITANs are truly gone. At best the reclaimers can talk about caution and full surveys and stages of progress and risk management, none of which is very appeasing to those who still remember the terrors of the Fall. Another common argument used against them is that the Pandora gates offer much better opportunities, enabling transhumanity to colonize and terraform numerous exoplanets, while also spreading ourselves wider and thus protecting ourselves more from any sort of genocidal attack. Proponents of this argument ask why there is a hurry, why not wait and let Earth sit fallow for a century or more, giving transhumanity time to fully establish themselves throughout the galaxy, rather than putting all of our eggs in one barren and dangerous basket. In response, the reclaimers typically play the nostalgia and homeworld emotional appeal cards, with mixed results.

Meanwhile, outside of the realm of public debate, research, and lobbying, another wing of the reclaimer movement is already hard at work secretly putting their plans into motion. Refusing to wait for public opinion to get on their side, these cells of dedicated activists are engaging in more direct studies, including drone surveys and robotic field missions down to Earth itself. Reclaimer scientists work on developing new plant and animal species that will survive and prosper on the devastated planet, as well as microorganisms that will spread and help bring new life to the barren, scarred world. Reclaimers with military expertise make plans for destroying known TITAN remnants and strongholds, stockpile weapons, and recruit and train volunteer fighters. According to our intel, the most daring are already establishing base camps down on Earth, the first outposts in a battle to take back the planet. Preliminary attempts to locate and contact survivors are also underway.

While Firewall is neutral towards the reclaimer agenda, these clandestine reclaimer activities pose several potential x-risks. Ad hoc, unsupervised, and limited resource operations of this sort may run across a threat that they are incapable of handling or containing. Firewall’s policy is to monitor reclaimer activities, hinder those that may create risks, and actively engage and counter those that pose active endangerments. If a reclaimer op poses certain dangers and cannot be stopped, however, policy is to remotely observe and to provide backup support should a risk situation arise. Simultaneously, however, the reclaimers are regarded as a potential resource for information on threats, access to Earth’s surface, and other useful resources, so Firewall sentinels are advised to consider all potential interactions with reclaimers on a case-by-case basis.

Movement Support

A lot of people wonder where the reclaimers get their money—all that research isn’t cheap, and neither is maintaining Vo Nguyen and the other reclaimer bases, not to mention the clandestine Earth missions they frequently attempt. The truth, as far as Firewall can determine, is that the reclaimers have tapped into a network of support from multiple sectors.

On one hand, we’ve noted several hypercorps that are likely providing funding and logistics for certain reclaimer projects. While some of these are ideologically motivated, it is likely that others view the reclaimer movement as an investment, looking forward to being on the ground floor for the recolonization of Earth, and all the business possibilities that entails. Some of these corporations are also clearly interested in piecing together more details on the TITANs, what they did to Earth, and what weapons of theirs might still remain, in order to profit from new discoveries.

On another hand, several pro-reclaimer LLA habitats have actually instituted a highly disputed Reclamation Tax that goes toward lifting the barricade and making Earth livable again. Most of these funds are given to the ERP, but some are discreetly channeled to covert reclaimer ops.

On yet another hand, the reclaimers also gain support from more hidden sources, particularly wealthy patrons with nostalgia for the homeworld who donate generously. Our sources indicate that even the Organization crime syndicate is a major supporter, possibly in a bid to control the black market if the Earth is resettled.

One thing to consider with these patrons is that support almost always comes at a price. What favors have the reclaimer benefactors already asked for— and called in?

Reclaimer Scavenging

Another source of funding for the reclaimers comes as a benefit from their clandestine reclamation projects: scavenging. At least one major scavving outfit— PastFinders—is linked up with reclaimer missions to Earth. This company is interesting because risky salvage ops are only part of their business model— they are also heavily invested in researching, cataloging, and reviving egos lost during the Fall. Most of this work entails digging through cold storage infugee archives looking for lost relatives of wealthy clients or tracking down infugee family members separated and sent to far-flung corners of the solar system. Some ego-retrieval cases involve searching through frozen corpses in devastated habitats or determined legwork through the system’s criminal network of soul traders. In any case, we suspect PastFinders of supporting at least one mission to Earth, from which the corp reaped the rewards of extremely valuable Earth relics and a few bounties on people lost on Earth during the Fall.

Tate Markess

Tate is the Executive Director of the Earth Reclamation Project, the foremost spokesperson for the reclaimer movement, and the station chief of Vo Nguyen, the de facto reclaimer capital. Favoring muscular female morphs with close-cropped flamered hair, Markess is surprisingly soft-spoken and disarming, but nevertheless resolute in her convictions. It is open knowledge that Tate’s deceased husband was a hero during the Fall; as the director in charge of a major egocasting facility under TITAN attack during the last few days of the Exodus, he stayed behind and ensured that as many people as possible were able to egocast out before the TITANs overwhelmed the defenses and he was forced to manually destroy the transmitter. Markess has vowed to find him and bring him back.

Notable Habitats

As many as five hundred habitats orbit the Earth at various distances. Most of these are tiny tin can habitats, cramped little metal boxes capable of holding no more than a dozen people at best. A handful are enormous Cole bubbles or O’Neill cylinders, built for hundreds of thousands to millions of occupants. The rest fall somewhere in between, their capacity depending upon their design and their original purpose. Some habitats were established as laboratories and research stations, others designed as hotels and resorts, some built as factories or shipyards, and still others meant for spaceports and trading hubs. Then of course there were the monitoring stations, scanning satellites, communications satellites, and orbital defense platforms.

Solarchive Search: Earth-Lunar Cyclers

One of humanity’s earliest and greatest space travelers, the United States astronaut Buzz Aldrin, first proposed the idea of the cycler, a spaceship that used the gravity wells of two bodies to shuttle back and forth between them indefinitely. Though his first projected cycle was between Earth and Mars, other routes were quickly calculated and located, including one between the Earth and Luna.

The cycler itself is a large ship that is boosted into orbit and adjusted until it locks into the gravitational pull between the Earth and Luna. Thanks to gravity assistance, once in orbit it no longer needs fuel or guidance, but will continue its path as long as it retains structural integrity, with the occasional minor course correction. Shuttlecraft allow passengers and cargo to reach each of the Earth-Luna Lagrange points as the cycler passes within range. Though slower than a direct flight, cyclers cost far less and are generally more reliable. The typical orbit period is 2 weeks, with a Lunar rendezvous once every two rotations.

The cyclers were largely ignored by the TITANs and continue to run today. The use of cyclers helped cement bonds between various LLA habitats and gave the LLA a large part of its power because goods could be transported to and from its stations with very little effort. They are still a primary means of transportation to and from Earth and Lunar orbit. Six Earth-Lunar cyclers remain in operation, two of which, Miles To Go Before I Sleep and Demand the Impossible, are unofficially designated as scum barges. See also: Earth-Mars Cyclers, Saturn-Titan Cyclers

Elegua

Orbit: HEO Station
Type: Modified Bernal Sphere
Allegiance: TerraGenesis Primary Languages: Dutch, English, Vietnamese
Major Industries: Terraforming, Ecosystem Management, Environmental Data

Owned and operated by TerraGenesis, this research station in Earth orbit is based on a modified Bernal sphere design, similar to an artificial Cole bubble. Housing 120,000 residents, Elegua’s primary function is to gather environmental data on Earth for ecological and terraforming research. Numerous other hypercorps lease space here, often collaborating with the TerraGenesis cooperative on joint studies and projects. TerraGenesis has been willing to share much of its scanning and sensor data with other parties, a fact that has brought a storm of criticism from the Planetary Consortium. In truth, however, TerraGenesis isn’t only focused on studying Earth here; Elegua is also the destination point for much of the data gathered on other exoplanets and solar system bodies. Additionally, some interesting research projects here explore the impact of neogenetic and alien micro-organisms on various closed ecological systems. The interior of Elegua is studded with domed gardens and sealed greenhouses that serve as laboratory environments.

Fresh Kills

Orbit: Earth-Luna L5 Station
Type: Cluster
Allegiance: Independent (Scum)
Primary Languages: English, French, Tamil
Major Industries: Salvage

Fresh Kills calls itself a “reclamation center.” That’s a fancy way of saying they’re a salvage base, which is still a nice euphemism for “pirate stronghold.” Not a small one, either—at least several thousand transhumans actually call this hive of scum and villainy home. Built around a central docking spindle, Fresh Kills serves as a starting and stopping point for scavengers and salvage crews in the Earth-Luna system, and sometimes ones ranging farther abroad as well. The base itself is at the far edge of the Earth-Luna L5 point from the Hexagon, but this proximity makes for some uneasy shuffling on both sides, especially given that Fresh Kills is also bristling with armaments. Ships going to and from either generally steer far clear of each other’s operations.

Sugali Ali

Sugali Ali is the owner and operator of the Fresh Kills “reclamation center.” Though outwardly a prosperous businessman, he is known far and wide as the Pirate King, since Fresh Kills is a salvage base and home to scum, scavvers, and criminal cut-throats. Typically sleeved as a short, broad man with four thick arms, Ali enjoys the Pirate King image and plays the role. According to stories, he started his career as an actual pirate on Earth’s East African coast before the Fall.

Hexagon

Orbit: Earth-Luna L5 Station
Type: Modified Torus
Allegiance: Planetary Consortium (Direct Action)
Primary Languages: English, German, Mandarin
Major Industries: Military Tech, Research, Training

This large, imposing station sits at the Earth-Luna L5 point like a fortress, which it is. Owned and operated by Direct Action, Hexagon houses much of that company’s weapons testing and personnel training facilities—most of the Consortium’s cuttingedge military tech comes directly from here, which makes sense since Direct Action supplies and/or trains most Consortium troops. Of course, that makes Hexagon a tempting target for business rivals and weapons dealers, but it is extremely well defended. Most of Direct Action’s employees here are sleeved in combat morphs, with heavy armaments within easy reach. The rest are either scientists and engineers specializing in military equipment and combat mods or businessmen who handle meetings with clients and assign the company’s vast resources and manpower.

In addition to a lethal array of automated defenses and weapons platforms, Hexagon is equipped with some of the most impressive arrays of sensor systems in the inner system. Many of these are pointed at Earth, keeping a close eye on the cordon and any signs of TITAN-related activity, but the rest are pointed around the solar system, tracking warship movements and supply chains. A small but potent fleet of combat craft and military drones is also stationed here for defensive purposes, and they have been known to shoot down anyone who gets too close without authorization. Ships and bots from his fleet are also leased as protective services to other habitats in the Earth-Luna system, as well as ships traveling to and from.

Hotel California

Orbit: Earth-Luna L4
Station Type: Beehive/Dome
Allegiance: Independent (Brinker)
Primary Languages: Bengali, Hindi
Major Industries: None

Asteroid 4113 Calif was a large iron and basalt rock caught in a tadpole orbit around the EarthLuna L4 point. Those valuable minerals made it an appealing prospect, and several Earth nations cooperated to establish a mining outpost there, one of the first extraplanetary operations successfully attempted. It was a no-frills operation, a simple domed settlement for the workers and a small launch pad where shuttles could drop off supplies and pick up ore. When the Fall came, the mine was shut down and the asteroid abandoned.

Shortly after the Fall, a refugee transport vessel suffered a catastrophic life support failure. Lacking other options, the ship dumped hundreds of excess refugees into life rafts and pointed them at the asteroid. Most of these were lucky enough to make it and find shelter within the abandoned station, where they had power, air, heat, and some water from ice blocks on the asteroid’s far side. Despite assertions they would be rescued, no one ever came. For two years the refugees survived at a subsistence level, until a Consortium patrol craft investigated a light beacon the survivors had activated. Though given an option to leave, many opted to stay. When word of the settlement reached other refugees in cramped conditions on board other habitats, some took desperate measures to make their way to the asteroid. The residents of Hotel California welcomed them with open arms, and the colony grew.

When a mining hypercorp returned to the asteroid to re-open the mine, they found a large community of squatters who were not at all impressed with their claim to the asteroid. An initial attempt to evict the squatters was met with an armed response. The hypercorp is currently analyzing the cost-benefit ratio of pursuing the issue further.

Dubbed Hotel California by the residents, after an old song about a hotel where the visitors never leave, this station is notable as a brinker haven right at the heart of transhuman space. The colony has no egocasting facilities, nor do the residents desire any, so the only way to reach it is by standard physical means. Ships rarely visit here, and few people leave. The local mesh is very limited, and the few meager fabbers, some leftover from the life rafts, are held in common trust. The site is primarily notable as an area useful for lying low and going underground. Firewall suspects that several wanted individuals have made their way here, to live in anonymity and isolation.

Paradise

Orbit: Earth-Sun L1
Station Type: Torus
Allegiance: Planetary Consortium
Primary Languages: English, Italian
Major Industries: Resort Services, Tourism

This station sits in the sun spot of the Earth-Sun L1 point, meaning it’s permanently awash in golden light. It was built as a resort and spa for the ultra-rich, back before the Fall, and was said to be extremely popular, especially for offering cutting-edge rejuvenation techniques back before such technology became more widespread. Overwhelmed by refugees during the Fall, the aesthetic beauty of this sanctum was marred by shanty-towns, hovels, and camps. Its oncehandsome groves of exotic trees were hacked to bits for firewood and shelter. Paradise has managed a turnaround, however, as some of the inner system glitterati have taken interest in the resort again and substantial efforts were made to relocate squatters and restore the facility. Ongoing rumors say that the relocation of some refugees was less than gentle, but the support of the Planetary Consortium in the matter has kept this discreet. This reinforces another rumored likelihood, that the Hypercorp Council uses Paradise for critical face-to-face meetings, which seems increasingly likely given the extra security and countersurveillance systems with which the resort has been equipped.

Remembrance

Orbit: Earth-Luna L4
Station Type: O’Neill Cylinder
Allegiance: Lunar-Lagrange Alliance
Primary Languages: English, Hindi, Wu
Major Industries: Shipping, Trade, Information, Politics

The center of the Lunar-Lagrange Alliance and the largest station near Earth, Remembrance dominates the Earth-Luna L5 point and houses over two million people. Though it is the largest O’Neill cylinder in existence, it is still overpopulated, so most of the station is cramped, dirty, smelly, and dangerous. The station itself actually consists of two counter-rotating cylinders laid end-to-end, each 35 kilometers in length and 8 kilometers in diameter, and providing approximate Earth gravity. The most crowded cylinder, home to the more impoverished residents and indentures, is continuously pushing its environmental systems to their maximum, and suffers regular breakdowns—as evidenced by the septic growths and smells. The other half of the habitat fares slightly better, thanks to better air scrubbers, and it is here that the towers of the upper-class elites, including the LLA officials, rise above all, clean and airy and shining. There have been several proposals to expand Remembrance itself, adding another cylinder in order to accommodate its increased population, but doing so would require a substantial amount of cred. Most of the elite refuse to be bothered; after all, they’re not the ones being crowded. Still, the effects do spill over into the business section and even around the towers, and Remembrance suffers an unfortunate amount of vice and crime.

Nandi Setsin

Nandi Setsin is the mayor of Remembrance, and possibly one of the most disliked political leaders in the inner system. Abrasive and argumentative, Setsin is an ardent reclaimer. Already under fire for failing to relieve Remembrance’s overcrowding and widespread poverty, Setsin fanned the flames by instituting an unpopular Reclamation Tax on Remembrance citizens. A supporter of Avra Don, Setsin has occasionally taken the fall for pushing through some of Don’s disliked policies. On the other hand, the pair are often at odds, as Don seeks to rein in Setsin’s vocal rhetoric and Consortium-bashing. Repeated charges of corruption have been raised over Setsin’s administration, though none have stuck. None of Setsin’s detractors can fault her administrative skills, however, or the fact that she keeps a troubled habitat from falling further into decline.

Vo Nguyen

Orbit: GEO
Station Type: O’Neill Cylinder
Allegiance: Lunar-Lagrange Alliance
Primary Languages: French, Vietnamese
Major Industries: Research, Salvage

This station is a well-known stronghold of the reclaimers movement. Under the leadership of Tate Markess, the reclaimers study Earth and make plans for taking it back. Some say the reclaimers also use Vo Nguyen as a launch point for missions to the planet, but the reclaimers deny this. This habitat is also a focal point for bioconservative efforts around Earth, with several notable biocon groups headquartered here. Prominent demagogue Milder Ripon is notable as a leading bioconservative organizer and voice.

This mesh of ideologies has led to some contentious disagreements. While most bioconservatives support the reclaimer cause, not all reclaimers are bioconservatives—in fact, most are explicitly not. Political arguments between reclaimers supporting nano-ecologist viewpoints and bioconservatives have sometimes led to physical violence. Certain reclaimer research projects on Vo Nguyen, especially ones advocating heavy use of nanotech and neogenetic life forms in geo-engineering efforts, have also suffered several sabotage and bombing attacks, likely conducted by neo-primitivists in support of the biocon agenda. Some worry that these ongoing disagreements may tear the reclaimer movement apart.

Derelict Habitats

A significant number of Earth-orbit habitats were vacated during the Fall, whether voluntarily or by force. The majority of those are still derelict now, though squatters have occupied some, and a handful have been restored. The rest remain potential sources of profit and danger. Though Firewall has cataloged these stations (link), a few deserve explicit attention, having recently raised flags with Firewall scanners.

Blackrock

Orbit: Earth-Luna L3
Station Type: Beehive/Dome

Named for the iron-rich black rock asteroid upon which it was built, Blackrock was a thriving travel exchange and mercantile base until the Fall. It was established when a captured asteroid was towed into the Earth-Luna L3 point, for the express purpose of maintaining a communications grid on Luna’s far side and also to establish a waypoint there, for cycler traffic and other destinations. It quickly grew into a key shipping point for many companies. When the TITANs began attacking Earth-orbit stations, however, Blackrock was one of the first casualties. In a matter of minutes, something killed all biological life on the asteroid, leaving it a dead rock. Some theorize the attack was a biological virus—quite possibly an exsurgent virus variant—though it is noted that synthmorphs were also terminated in the same period. Another hypothesis is that a dirty bomb of some variety was detonated within the base, which seems plausible given the electromagnetic pulse detected at the time and a tell-tale radiation signature around the station ever since. Some have suggested that Blackrock’s own personnel detonated the device in order to prevent the TITANs from exploiting the station’s communication nexus capabilities.

Regardless, the station was abandoned and has been an empty hulk ever since. Initial exploration via remote-control drone discovered nothing interesting or unusual, but scavengers have largely avoided Blackrock due to the high radiation count that remains. Recently, however, several stations and nearby spacecraft have reported intercepting transmissions originating from Blackrock. These signals have been analyzed and found to either be encoded or gibberish. The source could be squatters, but it seems unlikely anyone would risk dealing with the radiation there.

It should be noted that without the attitude adjustment it has needed to stay at the L3, Blackrock’s positioning has become unstable. It will likely drift from the Lagrange point and crash into Luna sometime within the next 5 years if not dealt with first.

The Flytrap

Orbit: Earth-Luna L1
Station Type: Torus

Originally a resort habitat called De Milo, this torus’s amenities were not available to the public, having been designed, built, and created as a private getaway for the OneCom hypercorp’s top execs and their favored guests. A sumptuous private clubhouse, the De Milo offered the finest food, wine, accommodations, and service in a lush, arboreal, lowgravity setting. OneCom privately boasted about the torus’s vineyards, groves, pools, and gardens, and even populated this carefully sculpted wilderness with unique wildlife—exclusively-licensed chimera provided by Ecologene.

De Milo was digitally invaded by the TITANs early on during the Fall. Though some of the residents and guests managed to escape, hundreds died, apparently turned against each other (a likely sign of exsurgent infection). A half-hearted attempt to destroy the station merely succeeded in taking out a segment of the torus’s rim, leaving a gaping hole in the wheel.

Shortly after the Fall, LLA military units investigated, swept, and reclaimed the torus, finding no signs of active TITANs or their machines. OneCom never survived the decapitation of its leadership from the TITAN attack, among other Fall-era incidents that effectively caused the corp to collapse (and be consumed by its rivals). The LLA seized on the lack of ownership and turned the torus into an ad hoc refugee camp, shuttling in hundreds of destitute survivors from overcrowded habitats elsewhere. From the beginning this arrangement faced problems, as the torus’s environmental systems were severely damaged, and little effort was made to clean up or restore the wreckage and debris from the TITAN attack. This situation backfired not long after, when tensions between two rival ethnic groups, housed together in cramped and frightening conditions, erupted in riots, leaving dozens dead. The LLA was forced to relocate many of the refugees, then decided to wash their hands of the matter. The remaining staff and residents were left to handle the habitat on their own, many of whom fled rather than live in a habitat they found to be depressing and weird.

In the years since, the decrepit habitat has continued to change. The still-unfixed environmental systems damage means that the torus has been overcome with sepsis and rot. The air within is difficult to breathe at best, and respirators are recommended. The stench is overwhelming. The flora within the station has mutated and exploded outof-control, with entire segments of the habitat now overtaken with foliage, mold, and spores. A nominal population of squatters still resides here, waging a battle of sorts against their environment.

Now nicknamed the Flytrap, this station is notable as a waystation for brinkers and others who need to conduct business in an out-of-the-way place. More interesting to sentinels, however, are the reports of new animal life-form sightings within the station. While these may be survivors from the habitat’s original stock of gengineered animals, the history of exsurgent infection on this station raises potential links and concerns.

Shenlong

Orbit: MEO
Station Type: Cluster

Known as the “Divine Dragon,” this pre-Fall orbital station was a research center and weapons platform for the Chinese military. No one knows exactly what they were developing there—most likely viruses and other germ warfare agents that required a strict quarantine. It had the best defensive systems and security hardware available at the time, cutting-edge really, to protect the scientists working there and safeguard their secrets.

During the Fall, this station suffered a TITAN outbreak. It is unknown how the TITANs got on board—perhaps they infiltrated the cluster’s computer systems and activated some of the military’s own defenses against the crew or manufactured new killing machines on the spot. Whatever the case, the TITANs swept through the habitat ruthlessly—there are no known survivors. Various other military stations and ships concentrated their fire on the station, attempting to destroy it before the TITANs could deploy its weapon systems. The cluster’s sophisticated defenses managed to counter these attacks, however, with the station weathering only moderate damage. For reasons unknown, the TITANs never used the weapon platform to strike back, and seemed to have abandoned the station soon thereafter. Shenlong’s automated defensive systems remain activated, however, countering several further attempts to destroy the cluster.

The Planetary Consortium has put a block on any initiatives to destroy Shenlong, likely because various hypercorps are quite eager to see what the Chinese were doing inside. Numerous attempts to gain access to the station have so far failed, however, driven off or destroyed by the cluster’s defenses. There is some indication that the cluster has repaired itself and possibly even upgraded these systems. Efforts to breach this habitat are advised to proceed with caution. The defenses are substantial, TITAN relics may still be aboard, and whatever the Chinese scientists were working on may have been released into the cluster, posing further dangers.

Private Stations and Squatters

On one hand, you have a massive overcrowding problem in the Earth-Luna system. On the other, you have dozens, maybe hundreds, of stations sitting vacant, floating in orbit, waiting to be used again. It seems simple, yes?

Many of these derelicts are damaged, of course. Some are barely inhabitable, or would require extensive repairs to put back in operation. Others are not so pretty as they once were, but functional, having been abandoned for one reason or another during the Fall. Of course, most of those stations have no power, no heat, no water or food. So that is the first problem. But anyone who can surmount those issues can squat the habitat and claim it as their home.

In some cases, these new claims are completely legal. New companies have appeared and bought old stations from surviving owners or their descendants, repairing them and renovating them and setting up corporate headquarters and research stations and outposts around Earth. In some cases these claims have been less legitimate, or at least less bureaucratic—possession is still nine-tenths of the law, and many of the empty stations have no one else to claim them, so any company or individual that inhabits them has a full right to them.

Yes, corporations. Not all squatters are poor and destitute, you know. Some are resourceful and see an opportunity. And where refugees and hypercorps have gone, so too have criminal syndicates and others.

Most of the squatters in the system are indeed impoverished and desperate. Some have been dumped in empty habitats by administrations that sought an easy solution to the overcrowding difficulties in their home habitats. Others have been resourceful enough to organize and find a way to get to an abandoned station and make it theirs. In some cases, they hire freehaulers or crime cartels to transport them to a derelict habitat. If they’re lucky, they’ll get there alive and without getting their gear stolen. Others cobble together a small shuttle of their own, barely sturdy enough to blast off from Luna or wherever they are and make it to their destination before the life support runs out. Not all of them make it. If they do, they cannibalize the craft to get a small power source, a tiny heat barrier, and a small nanotech assembler. They’ve got food, water, heat, and power. They can survive. Then they work on repairing their new home, restoring and sealing and re-powering room after room, building after building, until they have a decent living space again, one far bigger and better than the crammed-in hovel they came from. A few are more prepared and have more resources, so they arrive at their new home with a team of bots to clear the place out and clean it up for them.

What worries Firewall the most about squatters is that they may very well be putting themselves at risk, should they unearth or somehow reactivate some TITAN-related threat. Unlike more prepared and resourceful groups, it would be very easy for squatters to fall prey to such machines, or worse, to become infected and then to spread that infection back. On the other hand, many of these old stations still have dangerous weaponry, research projects, or TITAN relics lying around—which could be devastating in the wrong hands. These same concerns apply equally to scavengers. For these reasons, Firewall scanners take an active interest in monitoring squatter and scavenger activity.