ftp.ee.pdx.edu/2014.02.ftp.ee.pdx.edu.tar/ftp.ee.pdx.edu/pub/frp/Archives/961

Internet Message Format | 1995-05-11 | 33KB

Path: usenet.ee.pdx.edu!news.netins.net!solaris.cc.vt.edu!swiss.ans.net!europa.chnt.gtegsc.com!gatech!swrinde!cs.utexas.edu!uunet!not-for-mail
From: [e-mail] (News User Id)
Newsgroups: rec.games.frp.archives
Subject: RESOURCE: Future History : 2104 Survey
Followup-To: rec.games.frp.misc
Date: 10 May 1995 09:24:40 -0400
Organization: Eskimo North (206) For-Ever
Lines: 601
Sender: [e-mail]
Approved: [e-mail]
Distribution: world
Message-ID: <3oqeqo$[e-mail]>
NNTP-Posting-Host: rodan.uu.net

Newsgroups: rec.games.frp.archives
Path: iceblade
From: [e-mail] (Bob)
Subject: RESOURCE: Future History : 2104 Survey
X-Nntp-Posting-Host: eskimo.com
Message-ID: <[e-mail]>
Keywords: Future History Survey
Sender: [e-mail] (News User Id)
Organization: Eskimo North (206) For-Ever
Date: Sat, 6 May 1995 23:18:58 GMT

------------------------------------------------------------------------------
  This Sci-Fi setting is based on the future history posted earlier to this
  group by the author. Any figures used herein are certainly not scientific
  gospel, but reasonable-sounding guesses at the various energy requirements
  and other design details. (More knowledgeable readers are welcome to send
  corrections.) The survey is by no means complete, and interested parties
  are invited to make their own additions. Copyright (c) 1995.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------

                               Earth-Lunar Survey
                             ----------------------
                                  April, 2104

      This transcript is a general survey of the state of the Solar System
    25 years after the cease-fire and the signing of the GLACAS treaty.

[1] Near Space

      Earth space within Geosynchronous orbit is considered too hazardous to
    navigate, except for brief, high speed runs through the polar regions.
    Seven satellites remain operational outside this zone: an old German
    Solar Observatory, two repaired communication arrays from the SkyNet
    system, an early warning spy-sat that belonged to Iranistan, and three
    relay satellites built after the war by the Lunar Republic to maintain
    ground communications with the shuttle runs.

  Inner Stationary Orbit - Fort Panama

      This small military base was built by the U.S. as a response to the
    buildup of heavy mass drivers on the lunar surface. The base is equipped
    with six launch tubes and over 180 nuclear-tipped intercept missiles with
    binary dry propellant. The habitation module and cargo bays were destroyed
    in 2071 by an X-ray laser, forcing the base to be abandoned. The facility
    is now in automated stand-down maintenance mode, with the missile launch
    codes stored at a secret location on the lunar surface. Orbital decay is
    expected some time after 2110 when the remaining maneuvering fuel is
    expended.

  Leading Trojan Point - Syracuse Laser Facility

      This Euro-Russian UV laser station was intended to propel ships to the
    outer planets in a period of weeks, instead of months or years. The
    construction was halted several times as members of the international
    community objected to the station's potential use as a strategic weapon.
    The framework was only partially completed in 2071 when the war broke out.
    A mysterious radiation accident in the secondary power plant killed most
    of the crew and workers, and the base was soon abandoned.

  Outer Stationary Orbit - Bayerlein Ship Yards

    Commander: Juan Carlos de Regista                     Population: 3,266

      Originally built as a mass catcher during the initial industrial growth
    period in the 50's, the station added ship assembly yards, propellant
    storage facilities, and recreation and habitation domes during the 60's.
    Designated an international facility, the yards were officially run by a
    panel of neutral parties from Switzerland, Algeria, New Guinea, Quebec,
    and Burma. In reality, most of the operations were run by the major
    Earth political blocs, including USONA, Pan-Euro Union, Dominion forces,
    and the Iranistani delegation.

      Despite the war, the Yards continued to expand in the late 70's, adding
    micro-gravity manufacturing and ship assembly. Many of the mining ships
    now operating in the belt were assembled at the Yards.

      Currently, regular shuttle runs arrive at the Yards several times a day
    from the major Lunar cities. The station has a decidedly old-world
    internationalist flavor with several ethnic eateries and trade houses.

[2] Moon

      In lunar orbit at present are 149 satellites built for communication,
    espionage, defense, and scientific observation. There are three manned
    orbiting stations: the 13,000 metric ton Tallahassee Center supply and
    refueling station; a military base built by the Iranistan government, now
    used by the Lunar Republic for internal security; and a general purpose
    science station in low polar orbit, constructed by the Han Dominion and
    now leased to a variety of commercial and scientific groups.

      The population of the Lunar surface is estimated at less than 95,000,
    with the majority concentrated in five cities. Less than 1,000 dwell on
    the so-called dark side. A description of the known cities and towns
    follows, along with some locations of interest.

      Magnetic sling trains have recently been completed between Eurocit,
    Kant, Kazerun, Meneur, and New Augusta. These fixed trajectory shuttles
    have reduced travel time between the cities to a few hours, improving
    trade traffic and enhancing lunar government control. Old-style chemical
    propellant shuttles are now reserved for transport to the orbital stations
    and outlying settlements.

  Cascade Hunting Lodge (28W, 28S)

    Commander: Sir Charles E. Tynside                     Population: 37

      In 2038, Dr. Werner Loewig successfully integrated neural cells
    with semiconductor technology, resulting in Animal-Robotic hybrids. The
    technology was banned after heavy lobbying by Animal Rights groups.
    However, further research, sponsored by various private hunting and rifle
    clubs, resumed a decade later in a secret Lunar lab. The result was a line
    of predator-prey hybrid robots with adapted neural and sensory structures.

      This private Hunting Lodge was built near the laboratory in the south
    end of the Altai range around 2058. As new hybrids were produced in the
    nearby laboratory, hunting parties were staged for the wealthy and
    renowned. Tracking the creatures was relatively easy across the untouched
    landscape, but the harsh environment, rough terrain, and specialized
    robotic hybrids presented their own special challenges.

      The lodge is a squat, cylindrical tower, with an unusually high window
    ratio. At the base of the lodge is a garage with 3 URVs, a pressurized
    walker, and a loiter-capable two-person yacht. Dairy food is supplied from
    a large, excavated cave farm nearby.

      The current owner of the lodge is Sir Charles Tynside, a wealthy
    recluse who retired to the moon in 2070 for health reasons. The other
    residents consist of his wife and oldest son, a private staff, and a
    number of hunting partners. They continue to hunt the nearby lands for new
    releases, and many surviving creatures wander the hills hereabouts.

      The hybrid technology has been improved considerably during the last few
    decades, and some captured hybrids have demonstrating limited breeding
    ability when water is available. The laboratory remains successfully
    hidden from orbiting satellites, an impressive feat of lunar camouflage.

  Cheyenne Agricultural Settlement (23E, 15N)

    Commander: Martha Chu                                 Population: 792

      At the outbreak of the war in 2071, most of the orbital bases and
    factories in near Earth orbit were destroyed during the pre-emptive
    strike. Several targets of negligible military value were left intact,
    however, and the occupants were left to fend for themselves in rubble-
    strewn orbits. One such station was the TINZA (Thailand-Indonesia-New
    Zealand-Australia) experimental hydroponics lab, a multi-domed structure
    used to develop new strains of high yield, microgravity crops.

      Joined by the Nigerian supply ship Irol East, the Tinza refitted the
    laboratory maneuvering rockets to gradually boost the station into lunar
    orbit. Unfortunately, the station was struck by a large chunk of debris
    during the ascent, causing extensive damage to the hull and killing over
    a third of the crew.

      The Tinza cannibalized their lab and set up a pressurized colony within
    lava caves on the north slope of the Carpathian Mountains. Four farm domes
    were taken apart and rebuilt using additional support struts. The
    colonists then used their fresh farm produce to trade with the local
    miners for essential supplies.

      After many lean years, the colony has finally begun to thrive and now
    maintains 14 large agricultural domes. New crop strains are traded with
    the nearby cities for manufactured goods, and most of the food needs of
    the local miners are now supplied by the town. The lava tubes have been
    expanded to house the growing population, and a new 500m dome is planned
    for lumber growth. The colony possesses little in the way of transport-
    ation, apart from several utility farming vehicles.

  Dust Hole (35E, 30S)

    Commander: Austen Wire-bit                            Population: 1,730

      After the war started, many dust miners found themselves without a
    market when the orbital factories were smashed. These disfranchised
    laborers attempted to band together for mutual survival, forming small
    communities in whatever shelter was available. The miners remained
    stubbornly independent, however, and most of these settlements failed.

      One of the few success stories is Dust Hole, perhaps due to the ready
    assistance of newly arrived farming families and also because of the
    abundance of heavy equipment. A recently discovered, huge lava cavern
    system was methodically sealed, buttressed with concrete arches, and
    cleared for buildings. Three agricultural domes provided the required
    food stuffs, and a renegade scientist the recycling expertise.

      The underground town remains a rough and tumble community, with swift
    frontier justice and a decidedly low-tech economy. The population has
    continued to expand with the arrival of unsuccessful miners, refugees
    from the lunar cities, and failed homesteaders. Most of their equipment is
    made from refurbished mining tools, with some poor reproductions by local
    smithies. There is a severe shortage of functional vacuum suits, and most
    are unsafe, patchwork affairs.

  Eurocid (21W, 4N)

    Commander: Werner L. Stein, CSLE                      Population: 21,480

      Primarily constructed between 2064-2067 at a site in the south east rim
    of Mare Tranquillitatis. The old city was built by the recently formed
    Euro-Rus space conglomerate in response to the rapid American buildup at
    New Augusta. The old city is highly modular in design, with a hexagonal
    pattern formed from 236 ceramic CHaMPs. 200m farm domes were added about
    the periphery, and no less than six heavy mass drivers were built in the
    Hart industrial center to the south-west. The old city was nicknamed Hull
    Downs for the large number of buried buildings and extensive underground
    passages.

      The new city section was built between 2067 and the start of the war.
    Constructed Cathedral-fashion, with straight buildings forming the outer
    walls, the new city featured long, grassy commons and an automated transit
    system on the upper levels. At the middle of the complex is the elegant
    Stickney Building, a sixteen-story administrative center with an
    underground 600 MwH Fusion Plant annex.

      In 2068, the Fulda Genetics Research Complex was added 16 km to the
    north, in compliance with the SCRAP Treaty. The center rapidly became a
    leader in cloning research, producing the first fully synthetic human
    offspring in 2070. The site is now building up for a mass production goal
    of 1,000 infants per year.

      The city has a large, diverse population of primarily Eurasian ethnic
    origin. Easily the largest city on the moon, Eurocid is currently the
    capitol of the Lunar Republic. (A consensus decision after strenuous
    objections were raised against the other potential sites.)

  Farside Station (161W, 2S)

    Commander: Lt. Harvey Burnside                        Population: 134

      Originally established in 2034 as an astronomical observatory by the
    Pan-European Union, Farside Station was mothballed in 2064 due to
    financial difficulties. The station was re-opened in 2095 as a deep-space
    tracking and communications center. The site is now primarily crewed by
    technical specialists and their families. There are three 50m automated
    farming domes, a cluster of 18 linked CHaMPs, four URVs, a 200Kwh Solar
    Array, and considerable astronomical, tracking, and communications
    equipment. Farside is visited once a month for resupply and personnel
    transfer by a bus from New Augusta.

  Kazerun (84W, 19S)

    Commander: Faiaz Adil                                 Population: 7,850

      Established by the Iranistani state in 2046, this scientific outpost was
    financed by the enormous oil monopoly of the 2040's. The location selected
    for the base was the eastern edge of the Mare Orientale, where the Earth
    appears just above the east lunar horizon.

      Gradually expanded throughout the 2060's with the addition of CHaMPs,
    a Mosque, eight agricultural domes, a paved landing field and an ore
    reprocessing center. In 2069, a secret military base was added to the
    north, with an elite company of Holy Guards, 30 modified Tartarus battle
    tanks, a squadron of two-seat interceptors, 28 Sony E-471 remodelled
    security droids, and a small arsenal of purchased missile and beam
    weaponry.

      A series of nine 400m village domes were added by 2070, each a self-
    sufficient community for over 800 people. Automated monorails were built
    to join the widely separated domes.

      Between 2066 and 2071, the Grand Mosque was constructed from pre-
    fabricated marble sections, shipped 'up' from earth at enormous expense.
    The seamless dome was a marvel of modern micro-manufacturing techniques.
    Unfortunately, the crystalline dome was ruptured in 2084 by a suicidal
    bomber aboard a leased Shuttle. The damage was extensive and is only
    gradually being repaired.

      The city government is a highly centralized bureaucracy, with tight
    control of the economy and all communications. The ruling council was
    originally selected by Iranistan, but the government now appears to headed
    towards an anachronistic hereditary aristocracy.

  Iceland Recovery Haven (30E, 87S)

    Commander: Dr. William Banks                          Population: 350+

      This base was established in 2029 by an Eloxco subsidiary to mine the
    shallow ice deposits in the south polar craters. Extraction proved
    difficult due to the extreme conditions, but enough Hydrogen was collected
    to finance several additional mines during the 30's. By 2044, the base was
    declining as a financial source, and was sold to Redux Futures, a small
    firm specializing in cryogenics for the wealthy. The base has survived to
    varying degrees since that time by cryogenic sleep recovery and low-
    temperature biochemical research, plus long-duration data records storage
    and some hydrogen mining by independents.

      The base boasts the largest vertically aligned solar array ever built,
    standing some 150 meters tall and running 5.1 km in length. The habitation
    quarters have room for 515, but currently houses less than half that
    number. Additional residents are found in nearby mining villages, and the
    Cryogenic Storage Facility in Haven Crater. The Iceland Research building
    houses the surviving members and family of the Redux Futures Corp. In
    addition, there are 7.3km of tunnels originally dug for transition racks,
    but now used primarily for farming. There are 14 URVs, two M8 roller
    transports, a refurbished 8-seater shuttle, and a new survey walker.

  Kant (22W, 12S)

    Commander: Hu-Lin Tie, People's Leader                Population: 8,900+

      This immense domed structure lies entirely within the Kant Crater. Built
    as an experimental prototype during the 60's by Sino-Han Dominion, the
    dome housed a fully automated bio-factory designed to produce large
    quantities of engineered bacterial food mass for Chinese worker-
    immigrants. Insufficient hydrogen was delivered to go into full production
    before the war broke out, however, and the dome was permanently ruptured
    in a retaliation strike by New Augusta.

      The pressurized section of the base survived intact and now houses a
    mixed population of bonded immigrants, political functionaries, and
    elite technical staffs. The site remains highly insular, and is well
    protected by roving security drones, laser batteries, ASAT missiles, and
    the so-called People's Lunar Liberation Army. External contact is limited
    to a recently completed Trade and Information building to the north-west
    of the crater.

      Scattered seismic sensors have detected extensive automated mining
    efforts underway in the crater, including a shaft that descends a stunning
    1,300km. The city government steadily maintains that the mining is
    intended purely for expanded housing, but knowledgeable sources suspect a
    major search for heavy element concentrations is underway.

      Reinforced hangars and concealed bunkers are known to exist in a secured
    area to the south of the crater, possibly housing extensive machine shops,
    military hardware, and at least two Assault Orbiters. Arrivals at the
    reinforced landing strip are infrequent, and are usually limited to former
    Dominion vessels or emergency landings.

  Kennedy-Vostok Landing Site (6W, 14N)

      When humans finally returned to the moon to stay in 2017, the selected
    landing point was the eastern edge of Mare Vaporum. The initial base
    consisted of two 6-person habitation modules, a garage, a two-story
    laboratory, and 500-square meter solar array. A buried shelter was added
    the following year, along with a greenhouse, a long range pressurized
    rover, additional science pallets, communications gear, and an emergency
    ascent module. The base was in continuous operation until mothballed in
    2028. The site now serves as a emergency supply and habitation depot.

  Max's Place (Place de la Maximillian) (20E, 10N)

    Commander: Lander Zero                                 Population: 1,500+

      During the halcyon days of the 20's, playboy Maximillian Vishardo made
    a fortune on Deuterium Reprocessing Futures. What followed was a series
    of ill-considered investments, culminating with an out-of-this-world
    restaurant and villa for the wealthy on the slopes of Mt. Etna in
    Copernicus Crater.

      The gaudy chateau was built in 2047-9 with a tasteless, metallic Alpine
    style, staffed with imported Swiss and Italian servants, and equipped with
    all the latest conveniences. Even a fully functional ski slope was built
    on the mountain sides using artificial snow.

      After Max died in poverty in 2061, the place fell into decline until
    purchased by the Indonesian government in 2065. The space port was then
    expanded, and the site became a melting pot for lunar developers, miners,
    industrialists, and mountebanks. The First Lunar Bank was begun here in
    2070, backed by the Swiss currency, and providing ready capital for the
    growing waves of entrepreneurs.

      All this flourishing activity came to an end during the war years,
    although the base became something of a second home for wealthy refugees.
    Following the war, the base continued to decline until now it is a
    somewhat seedy hangout for a variety of independent miners, dispossessed
    hustlers, vagabonds, drug addicts, and other questionable elements.

      The site now consists of a paved Spaceport; 3 hangars and a repair shop;
    the domed Villa and Chateau; 8.4 square kilometers of domed farm land; the
    "village" - a cluster of 21 refurbished fuel tanks used for housing;
    Min-Leit's space rentals - 14 old, but well-maintained BUS' for rent; and
    a variety of overused ground vehicles. It is not uncommon for the space
    port to be visited by a family mining ship or a private yacht.

  Meneur (25W, 18N)

    Commander: Margarette Lane-Stone, Mayor                Population: 9,288

      Initially established as a supply base in 2044 by the Pan-European
    Union, this transport hub began to grow rapidly after 2065 until the
    war began. Defense systems were added in 2070, along with a space-trained
    platoon of the Legion Etrangere.

      The early design was a haphazard affair, with clusters of buildings
    mixed with domes. Order was introduced during the expansion period, and
    Meneur is now a well-planned site with residential clusters, a warehouse
    district, the train yard, and a large business-industrial park. The
    administrative center is housed in the slender Toulon Tower, the tallest
    man-made structure on the lunar surface at 1.2km.

      The base specializes in machinery repair, high-capacity batteries,
    agriculture, and railway construction. 41 agricultural domes provide
    most of the animal protein for the lunar colonies. A self-replicating
    solar array factory was added to the south in 2059, and now covers 44
    square kilometers and growing. A second paved space port lies 41
    kilometers to the west, linked to the city by a high-speed magna-lev
    transport.

  New Alexandria (3S, 39E)

    Commander: Victor Hampton, Librarian                   Population: 147

      Constructed in 2068 as a long-duration information storage facility, the
    underground building now contains most of the surviving written and
    digitized record of human history. Designed to withstand the impact of
    a 100 megaton nuclear explosion, the structure lies 1.2 Km beneath the
    surface in a reinforced ceramic cocoon. All records are maintained in
    inert gas capsules at a steady 4 degrees celsius.

      Currently this library is maintained by a dedicated handful of former
    civil servants who continue to recover old manuscripts and documents from
    Earth. Access to the computer facilities is available for a moderate fee,
    which funds facility maintanence and additional recovery expeditions.

  New Augusta (46N, 26E)

    Commander: Cedrick "Ray" Murray, Governor              Population: 11,240

      Established in 2059 as a mining center by the USONA government at the
    Laplace Promontory near the Sinus Iridium. The site expanded rapidly as a
    transport hub, ore processing center, heavy mass-driver facility, and
    administrative center. Light rail transport lines were built north across
    Mare Imbrium and Oceanus Procellarum to carry lunar soil to the base. By
    2062, a millions metric tons of processed materials were being launched
    into orbit.

      In 2064, the large solar arrays were supplemented by a heavy He3 Fusion
    plant. Light industrial parks were built throughout the 60's, supplying
    tools and spare parts for most of the lunar colonies. With the completion
    of a 200m transparent dome in 2069, the first public lunar resort was
    opened to tourists. Heavy growth of the city continued until the war began
    in 2071.

      New Augusta suffered one of the few attacks made on the Lunar surface
    during the war, when the primary mass driver was destroyed in a raid
    by the Dominion on February 3, 2072.

      The city now occupies a 9km radius, with a perimeter protected by an
    active sensor grid and patrolled by 54 Compudyne 3nX Security Droids. The
    interior is zoned into residential, energy production, manufacturing,
    farming, transportation, administrative, and recreation sectors. The core
    of the city consists of eight self-repairing 2-500m domes linked by an
    automated transit system. The space port is the second largest on the
    moon, with a fully automated refueling and boarding system, berths for
    18 cargo ships, and a continually-manned emergency rescue ship.

      Currently, the city is the largest manufacturing center on the moon. The
    automated plants are powered by a dedicated 1,200 Mw Fusion Plant, with a
    500 KwH Solar Array for surge use. The factories turn out a wide variety
    of processed goods, primarily ceramic or metallic-based products.

  Spotsville Nuclear Disposal Facility

    Commander: Charles T. Benderson?                       Population: >200

      Codenamed Project Windsaw, this USONA government facility was completed
    in 2041 ostensibly as a Nuclear Waste storage site. In reality, this base
    was constructed for top secret research into military uses of so-called
    Nanotechnology. The main complex is buried 400m below the lava plains of
    Grimaldi. Three rings of trenchworks surround the main landing field at
    900m, 1km, and 1.2km radii, each filled with lethal quantities of
    radioactive waste. The base is defended by two batteries of SVMs, at least
    15 Compudyne 5z44 battle-droids, and 2-3 squads of well-armed security
    guards.

      Many of the personnel were relocated from the base during the war,
    providing the only source of intelligence about the site. The base has
    remained incommunicado since that time. Spysats have detected some recent
    activity within the perimeter, however, including the appearance of
    several metallic domes and a tower-like structure.

  Tina's Homestead (32W, 22N)

    Commander: Steward Peiterson, Elder                   Population: 45

      Typical of the small farming communities that are coming to dot the
    lunar landscape, this homestead is notable only for its location near
    the old Apollo 17 landing site in the Taurus-Littrow valley.

      The homestead was built in the usual fashion, with several BUS-loads of
    tough, smart-filter dome panels, and leased dome-building equipment,
    including a light crane; electric bulldozer with backhoe; and an automated
    brick-making kiln. Once the waterproof foundation was laid to the bedrock
    and the double-layered dome erected and sealed, tankers were brought in to
    supply the farm with hydrogen for water. Oxygen was generated on the spot
    by a portable solar furnace, and the farm house was built underground near
    the vehicle airlock.

      For energy needs, several acres of solar panels were laid down next to
    the dome, and a high-capacity super-conducting coil is used to store the
    energy needed during the long lunar nights.

      The first crops of special grass strains were used to build up the soil
    base, with shipments of sod, fertilizer, and 'geneered' bacterial
    additives mixed into the ground. Early crops were limited to hardy plants
    that grow well in poor soil. As the ground grew richer with steady care, a
    mix of crops were grown and rotated in plots within the 200m dome. The
    grain and vegetables are supplemented by chicken eggs, goat's milk and
    cheese, fruit from the small orchard, and animal protein supplied by large
    bacterial vats.

      Tina's farm community owns two electrical farm vehicles capable of
    towing their pressurized habitation trailer and other attachments, a
    TriUV, a PicaIV communications unit with satellite antenna, and several
    small beam weapons and a tangler gun for defense against intruders.

      The clan lives modestly, and most of their needs are supplied by their
    dome. However they often trade their surplus crops for manufactured goods
    from the visiting mobile merchant trains. Their infrequent medical needs
    are usually handled by teleoperated waldoes and virtual visits by the
    family doctor.

[3] Far Space

  Mars

      Mankind first journeyed to Mars in 2051, with the establishment of a
    scientific outpost on Phobos. The first man on Mars was the German
    Astronaut Daynard Hurlein, one of the eight members of the all-european
    crew. The base was revisited and expanded six years later, and a permanent
    presence was established by 2062. Crews were rotated down to the roving
    Martian expeditions every three months, and a series of weather monitoring
    stations established. By 2065, semi-automated ice mines were built on
    Phobos and Deimos, with regular tanker shipments of hydrogen sent to the
    lunar cities and Ceres.

      The manned base was temporarily abandoned in 2074, with crews returning
    to the moon or joining the asteroid mining consortiums. In 2081, the base
    was reoccupied by the Khazir mining family, with the permission of the
    lunar government. Hydrogen shipments to the moon resumed two years later.

  Asteroids

      Heavy mining of the Asteroid belt began in the 2060's when several major
    industrial consortiums built a line of ore mining and processing ships.
    The first major base, Kansas Range, was built by the US on Ceres in 2061.
    Automated refineries were constructed on the planetoid's surface, and
    several local mining operations begun by independents. The base was
    expanded in 2066 with the addition of housing and recreation facilities.
    In 2068, the base was internationalized. With a population averaging
    2,100, Kansas Range is the largest community in the belt.

      A second base was built by Tanglier-Dalmer Manufacturing on Diotima in
    2064. Ship repair yards were added and the base is now visited regularly
    by belters for maintenance work on their spacecraft.

      The Asteroids are home to over forty company mining ships, plus 134
    independents of various models and several small mining villages.

  Outer System

      A variety of robotic probes were sent to the outer worlds up until
    the war began. More recent explorations were of a decidedly pragmatic
    nature, as automated mining ships searched for low delta-V sources of
    hydrogen and concentrated heavy elements.

      The Clark-Siberia expedition of 2096-99 was the first official manned
    journey to the outer planets. This refurbished mining vessel made
    extensive studies of the rings and moons of Saturn to study the
    feasibility of ice mining operations. An orbital processing station is
    planned for 2110, and several mining groups have signed up.

[4] Glossary of Terms

  BUS (Basic Utility Shuttle) The standard mode of transport on the lunar
    surface, this vehicle flies a sub-orbital, non-loitering trajectory.
    Typically crewed by a Class R pilot and steward, with automated backup
    guidance. The pressurized cabin has seats for 8 passengers and cargo,
    with a food prep locker, compressed air toilet, and foldout emergency
    tent. No airlock, BYOSS.

  CHaMP (Covered Habitation Module, Pressurized) The old-style habitation
    buildings consisted of a reinforced-metal shell, covered in 2 meters of
    lunar soil, and linked to other modules by modular attachments at either
    end. Most have only a single raised floor, with the lower deck used for
    storage, recycling equipment, battery racks, and chemical containers.

  SCRAP (Synthetic Clonal Reproduction and Propagation) Treaty - Signed in
    2065 by fourty-five nations, including all major power blocks except
    Iranistan. This treaty set limits on class 3 genetic experimentation upon
    humans and higher life forms. Dangerous research was limited to off-world
    laboratories with strict quarantine procedures. The treaty was routinely
    ignored by most countries, save for some lip service and public gestures.

  SVM (Surface to Vacuum Missiles) Smart-guided missiles built to cripple
    vessels operating in a vacuum. Maximum velocity is restricted to well
    below the lunar escape velocity in order to prevent accidental damage to
    manned orbital stations.

  URV (Unpressurized Roving Vehicles) These ubiquitous, lightweight vehicles
    are intended for brief forays away from shelter to perform brief or
    emergency tasks. They are battery powered, with seats for a driver and one
    passenger, plus a cargo rack. Accessories include a retractable solar
    shade, hand-powered recycling tank, and suit heaters for night work.
    Many variations exist, ranging from one-person triUVs to six-wheeled
    recovery vehicles.

--
 Bob                 | I may not know what the heck you're babbling about,
 [e-mail] | but I'll defend to the death your right to confuse me.