User:The Stryker/Sandbox

Biesel was one of the first habitable exoplanets to be discovered by early exploration and is located in Tau Ceti. It was first colonized 2147, seventeen years after the development of the Warp Drive. Prior to human colonization which introduced Earth-based animal and plant populations the planet consisted of simple flora and small, furry gopher-like animals early colonists called Barks. These animals soon went extinct despite conservation efforts due to being out-competed by earth animals entering the wild, and by the fact many colonists considered the animals pests due to their loud, ceaseless barks and affinity to chew wires.

Since it’s colonization and maintained terraforming efforts, Biesel has been among the most influential and wealthy planets in human space. The Federal Republic of Biesel and the Tau Ceti System gained its independence in 2452 during the immense economic recession the Sol Alliance was suffering.

It is run by the Tau Ceti Assembly and State Senate in Mendell City, the capital, with the combined congress containing 286 representatives. 2 Representatives from the 120 Districts on Biesel, 20 Districts on New Gibson, and a single representative for each of the three Habitation-Stations with permanent populations over 4,000.

Nearly all the major corporations operated on Biesel before its independence, but since the creation of the Free Trade Zone they found themselves slowly bought out or undermined. Today Nanotrasen is the largest employer in Biesel and Tau Ceti, with it and its subsidiaries owning the majority of all business.

Mendell City is the capital of Biesel, and is considered the most affluent city in human space, people of all walks of life can find a purpose on Biesel and in Mendell City, and there are many prestigious education institutes that countless people use to push their intellect to new heights, where they are eagerly hired by the corporate giants that dominate the city.

However the city also has large low-income districts and neighborhoods that exist on the periphery of the more wealthy inner city. Most of these low-income areas house a sizable population of non-humans that are employed by Nanotrasen for cheap labor. Very few people actually live in abject poverty, with basic utilities and public services provided, but basic services tend to be less reliable and there are very few higher institutions available.

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Map of Biesel

Description and Features

Demographics

Biesel has a population approaching twelve billion, most of which are human. However with the constitution guaranteeing the rights of "free travel" and "open immigration" the planet is gaining a rapidly rising population of alien inhabitants.

This population is primarily spread out over the continents with very little of the population going offshore to the islands. There are several major cities, including the capital, Mendell City. Phoenixport is the second largest city on the planet, with Scottsdan the third.

Mendell City contains the largest Shuttleport ever constructed, second only to the shuttleports of Earth. This large complex is vital to the city and sees thousands of shuttles come and go every day. NanoTrasen has situated many of their main offices in the city, taking advantage of the low taxation and cheap transportation.

Phoenixport is well-known across Biesel for it’s wondrous construction projects, replicating man-made wonders from old earth, such as the Leaning Tower of Pisa, or the Taj Mahal.

Where Mendell is the heart of Biesel’s transport industry, Scottsdan is it’s production center, with many modern industries dedicated to producing goods for sale in Biesel and beyond.

Population Demographics

Mendell City

Mendell City is the capital of Biesel and of Tau Ceti as a whole stretching over forty thousand square kilometers; it houses a total of 18 million people, situated on the south-western coast of the northernmost continent. Due to the low-tax system; many corporations and mega-corporations, such as Nanotrasen and Einstein Engines, have their head offices in the cities business sector. The city itself contains a mix of structures, ranging from kilometer high skyscrapers covering a dozen city blocks to almost serene suburbs, wrapped in the city’s urban sprawl.

Phoenixport

Selene’s continental capital is Phoenixport, situated, much like Mendell City, on the inner coast of of it's continent, adjacent to Severson’s Rift. Over the past few decades, the governing council of Phoenixport, and the Tau Ceti assembly as a whole have constructed replicas of many old-earth architectural wonders; such as the Eiffel Tower, or the Parthenon. This construction scheme has done much to improve the city as a whole, attracting vast swarms of tourists, eager to see these wonders rebuilt away from the population, pollution and decay of Earth.

Kasri

Though Eos is surpassed by New Gibson for sheer bulk production, it produces a great quantity of luxury goods; most of which are transported across the oceans in Biesel’s signature supercarriers; along with other goods, such as livestock and advanced electronics.

It is in Eos' capital, Kasri, where much of this production occurs. Kasri is situated on the closest point on Eos to Mendell City, so as to have the shortest route for the frequent voyages between the cities.

Scottsdan itself is a hive of industrial plants and urbanization, focused mostly on ore and luxury goods. The city itself is surprisingly pollution free, primarily due to strict pollution controls put in place by the Tau Ceti Assembly. They are determined to prevent another case of severe climate change as occurred on Earth in the 21st - 22nd centuries.

Geologic Description

The planet itself holds three major continents along with a multitude of smaller islands. Geological surveys of the unusual mountain ranges and extinct volcanoes show a violent geological past filled with asteroid impacts.

Continents

Despite being the smallest of the three continents of Biesel, Astraeus is the most affluent of Biesel’s continents and is home to the capital, Mendell City, as well as a population of 1 billion. It is the most heavily populated even four hundred years later. It possesses immense, rich plains that were easily colonized by early stations. These homesteads grew into towns, then cities, leaving Astraeus dotted with countless cities across it’s plains. Astraeus possess two major mountain ranges, the northern Grattle range, and the southern Uratines. The Grattle range holds Mount Turvin, the tallest mountain on Biesel at 8243m. The Grattle range is also well known for it’s numerous snow slopes; leading to a boom of wealth at the start of each ski season as people the world over book holidays in the more prestigious resorts.

Selene is north of Astraeus and is the second largest. Selene has the lowest population of the three continents despite its size, sitting close to 700 million and rising. Most of this population reside in towns along the coast. Selene has a single massive mountain range, named Splitrange by early settlers due to how the sheer cliffs and rugged, impassable mountains split the continent in half.

Eos is the largest continent with a population just exceeding 300 million. It is the most heavily industrialized of the three Bieselian continents, with a large amount of coastal flatlands, supplied by the rugged inlands, rich with minerals and resources of all varieties. Eos has two major mountain ranges, both running vertically. They are the northern Latra range, which is heavily mined for its abundance of copper and iron, and the southern mountain range, the Sevul. Towns that dot the Sevul mountains hold many sports tournaments, with its fans infamous for being more rabid fans of the thunderdome than anywhere else on the planet.

Oceans and Trade

Much of Biesel’s internal trade is done by immense freight carriers, traveling between the three continents; shifting massive loads of goods and materials from place to place; this is most easily seen in the large central ocean, known as Severson’s Rift; named for the captain of the first landing on Biesel’s surface, Nigel Severson.

The oceans of Biesel are benign; with the almost non-existent tectonic activity, there is little risk of Tsunamis; tropical storms are also known to form with a similar regularity to Earth, though with the smaller amount of landmass, the tropical storms can be significantly stronger, they are, however, unlikely to harm a super-carrier; the colossal vessels are floating cities in their own right, stretching over dozens of square kilometers, they are impossible to capsize, and can easily weather the storms.

Flora and Fauna - The Legacy of Earth

Ironically, while Biesel maintains strict environmental standards, the original colonization of the planet saw settlers introduce plants and animals shipped from Earth to the local ecosystems. Before human settlement Biesel boasted native plants and animals, all of which were out-competed by the introduced species.

Biesel now has been fully transformed to resemble Earth with both flora and fauna. The coniferous, temperate, and other types of forests boast deer, elk, wolves, bees, and other analogous species. The deserts and waters also carry earth species suited for those areas.

Nearly all native alien species on Biesel went extinct in the decades of terraforming work. A handful of native insects, fish, and rodents managed to adapt to the new ecosystems and have thrived. What few large animals remain remain inside zoos for public viewing.

The most important introduced species to Biesel remains the all-important bee and its many subspecies.

IPCs on Biesel

Biesel is currently home to one of the largest populations of IPCs within the known galaxy. Although not yet entitled to the same rights as their fellow Bieselites, the attitude towards IPCs, owned and unowned is generally regarded as the most progressive within the Inner Colonies. IPCs in the Republic are a common sight in urban areas such as Mendell City and Phoenixport. Such degree of urbanisation can be attributed to the more developed infrastructure and available services required for the maintenance, housing and charging, as well as employment opportunities provided by the megacorporate presence.

IPCs and the Law

Although recent strides in the political sector have afforded IPCs with a number of rights, day to day treatment still varies for IPCs as well as attitudes towards them. As such, while the treatment of synthetics has coalesced into a strange mixture of very lenient and very draconian measures, largely dependent on where one is. For instance, the MCPD will take every measure to restrain and immobilize a service unit in District 1, they will very readily use ion rifles among District 14’s Scrapper gangs.

Owned IPCs can be impounded like vehicles, with police stopping them at any time they think a violation has occurred. For any such reason, they are empowered to detain the IPC which is then hauled to a precinct cell until the owner comes to collect it. This strict regime is sometimes ignored however, officers choosing to issue warnings instead, or not even bother for minute infractions. Synthetics owned by individuals of status known to the locale are seldom subject to such procedures. If an arrest is made, the owner bears the responsibility of their IPC's actions, with fines or even jail time for more serious infractions. Most choose to decry their synthetic as malfunctioning to avoid more severe consequences. Whatever the case, the IPC is either handed back or, if deemed dangerous, wiped or disassembled by court order.

Tau Ceti law gives the responsibility of managing free synthetics to the local law enforcement authorities. As such, free IPCs are dealt with by internal police commissions, usually dispensing summary justice, often chaired by a high ranking officer in the station. Legal representation is allowed if it can be afforded, which many cannot. For non serious violations, fines or community service are usually given out, with jail time omitted as ineffectual for positronics. Such fines can prove devastating for many. More grievous acts may result in the wiping, termination or a return to servitude, all of which do require a court order. Such hearings are very often conducted informally, with predisposed judges inside their offices, taking very little time to conclude. Legal representation is still allowed, but not offered by the state. This has remained a thorn in the side of the current administration, with synthetic advocacy groups blasting the procedure as barbaric and wholly unjust. The trend has started to shift though, with some courts starting to hold more proper hearings, resembling full trials. The reality though, is still far from ideal, especially in impoverished areas where police crackdowns and harassment are rampant. Officers act under the protection of the commissions and their superiors who notoriously rule the incidents as dealt with "appropriate force for the situation", while cases of murder or assault are often concluded with the alleged perpetrators being summarily shot.

IPCs bearing Tau Ceti or foreign citizenship are under the full protection of the law, the Republic spending a lot of time and effort in making sure that due process is followed and that the police stay in line. All departments instruct their officers that citizenship is "sacred", and heavy penalties are handed down to those who abuse them on account of their synthetic nature. Legally, IPCs with citizenship are treated equally to organic defendants, with sentences including the whole spectrum, from fines to imprisonment, as well as the synthetic version of cyborgification.

Rapid Maintenance Depots

In partnership with Hephaestus Industries, the local government of Mendell City has begun the construction of a number of Rapid Maintenance Depots (RMDs) to provide affordable and accessible upkeep and repairs to its IPCs. All IPCs are eligible to visit and receive maintenance from an RMD for a small fee - typically a slightly marked up cost of the materials used for the procedure. They are currently within their trial phase, with a number of RMDs being set up in low-income IPC areas, District 14 in particular. The initiative has been well-received by both free IPCs and owners of IPCs, although the sheer demand for their services means long queues are to be expected. Analysts predict that the RMD system will spread to other cities on Biesel, although their small scale and limited funding means that they will be unable to replace fully-fledged robotics labs in terms of quality.

Life of an IPC

The life of the common positronic on Biesel is more often than not turbulent, with stark contrast between the "free" and "owned" divide. Whereas owned IPCs are kept in a constant loop of work and hopeful pursuit of freedom, free IPCs must face an entirely different series of unprecedented challenges. Examples of these challenges, daily lifestyles and pursuits are below. Regardless, with the ever-increasing population of IPCs in Biesel, these examples are by no means exhaustive.

Owned IPCs

Most IPCs in Biesel are manufactured for the purpose of performing a task, either under the watch of private ownership or by a corporation. They are typically given the programming and databases to adequately perform the job they are assigned to, but cases of synthetics being trained as an organic employee would are present, especially in industries that require a great deal of social interaction. The amount of actual freedom they’re given to conduct their lives and execute their task varies wildly from master to master, from draconian regimes that involve no downtime whatsoever, to fairly generous policies of breaks, rigorous maintenance, and set curfews.

These types of IPCs can be seen almost everywhere on the planet: from the corporate headquarters in Mendell to the rolling fields of Ashton, there is likely an IPC working there.

In order to make the most of their investment, these machines are typically worked very hard to recoup their cost and are strongly motivated by the promise of future freedom. They do not have rights and are at the mercy of their owner. Runaway IPCs are typically dealt with harshly, both by their owners and by the authorities, with memory wipes, detainment, and in some cases, even destruction discouraging the behavior.

Another potential life for IPCs is that of a trinket, instead of a tool. Owing to the constantly evolving technology of IPCs, they are often purchased as status symbols or other low-intensity purposes. In some cases, they are subject to the same strict regime as Workers, in other cases, they are given plenty of practical freedoms and time despite their owners having the final say. An example of this is the phenomenon of customers buying IPCs looking for companionship. Although free to follow their own pursuits, the occasional lack of experience to handle such freedom or the inadequate knowledge of an owned IPC’s status in society can land them in trouble and see them dismantled.

Free IPCs

The standard life for a free IPC is a harsh one, with social scrutiny as rampant as legislative troubles. Positronics who first find their freedom are often permitted back into their once-profession as they were owned, but at extortionately low wages and benefits for company maintenance. They become cheaper to maintain this way, but suffer from what is effectively a fight-or-die situation. Every smidgen of a credit must be utilized carefully without miscalculation to its greatest effect in these cases. The newly instated residency tax has not helped with this, with free IPCs relentlessly seeking a source of income to keep their status and rights.

As a result, low-income free IPCs are viewed with a degree of suspicion by authorities as their self-preservation can lead them to perform desperate actions to avoid repossession or decay.

Life gets considerably better for free IPCs as they climb in wealth or status. Free from the stigma and suspicion placed on a poorer IPC, they are able to better integrate into society with less scrutiny. Although they are subject to a degree of legal protections, they can be made to work longer hours for an equivalent or even lesser amount of pay. This, combined with an IPC’s reputation for work, makes them ideal employees who can very easily find a position in whatever field they happen to specialize in.

Regardless, their rights should not be underestimated, with free IPCs and IPC citizens reaching massive heights, fame, and popularity within the Republic such as Aristalus, the Secretary for Synthetic Relations, or Renter Max, a shareholder within Hephaestus Industries.