User:Omicega/Sandbox
| Eridanian |
| H. Sapiens / Human |
 |
| Home System: Epsilon Eridani |
| Homeworld: Akhet, Oran, Amon |
| Language(s): Sol Common, Tradeband, Freespeak |
| Political Entitie(s): Eridani Corporate Federation, Sol Alliance |
The Sovereign Solarian Nation of the Corporate Federation of Eridani, often referred to as the Eridani Corporate Federation or simply Eridani, is a decentralised corporatocracy set in the Epsilon Eridani system. While nominally part of the greater Sol Alliance as a whole, the Federation’s corporate government enjoys an unprecedented level of autonomy compared to other Solarian member states; very few of the Federation government’s policies align with those of the greater Solarian nation. Renowned and reviled across the Spur for the efficacy of its expansive private military concerns and controversial treatment of its own citizenry, the Eridani Federation has become something of a pariah state in galactic affairs. Its three inhabited worlds boast some of the highest population density anywhere in the Spur, with tens of billions of inhabitants calling the Federation their home.
As Epsilon Eridani was originally settled by colonists of West and Central African descent, human characters born in the Eridani Corporate Federation must have names and appearances consistent with the indigenous peoples of these regions, as any human moving to the ECF would assimilate into the dominant cultures and ethnic groups of the Federation. Eridani dregs have developed cultures of abstract or unconventional names, however, and this is tolerated. Only native Eridanians may select the Eridanian accents – employing the suit slang is how a non-native worker might look to integrate, not the accent tag in-game. This is enforceable by server moderators and admins.
Government
As the only true corporatocracy anywhere in the Spur, Eridani is (theoretically) directly administered by three of humanity’s biggest megacorporations: Hephaestus Industries, Zeng-Hu Pharmaceuticals, and Einstein Engines. The governmental framework is extremely decentralised, and in practice the megacorporations themselves operate through a complex, intricate network of subsidiaries – which themselves often have subsidiaries of their own, each directly administering one or two ‘cities’ across the system. This arrangement, while effective, has led to an odd disconnect between the Eridanian branches of each megacorporation and their branches elsewhere in the Spur. In particular, Hephaestus and Zeng-Hu’s corporate headquarters are often scarcely able to exercise control over their Eridanian branches since the foundation of the Biesel-based Stellar Corporate Conglomerate, which has become a source of concern for these two megacorporations in recent months. Einstein Engines, the only Solarian-aligned megacorporation out of the ruling trio, is thought by many to have had a hand in this recent shift in policy, but no formal accusations have been levied at them as of yet.
Similarly, while nominally part of the greater Sol Alliance (ASSN), the Federation maintains a ‘free economic zone’ across the whole system that has, over the centuries, been nudged bit by bit to become more and more in favour of the corporations themselves. Eridani has therefore become independent in all but name, openly ignoring Alliance-wide laws such as the 2460 Tajara ban and continuing to cooperate closely with the Republic of Biesel. The Federation has therefore become grossly unpopular with the rest of the Alliance’s populace as a whole, although the Sol Alliance’s provisional military government has worked hard to maintain a warm working relationship with the Federation’s authorities.
Due to its corporate government, laws on Eridani are notoriously malleable. Though the Federation pays lip service to numerous interstellar treaties and conventions and maintains a judicial system that appears functional at a glance, the reality is that corporations are free to flout the letter of the law as and when they please. Transgressions are either overlooked entirely by the PMC-run authorities or buried in enough red tape that legal action stalls out. As such, Eridani has become infamous for its attractiveness to unsavoury and unethical business practices – one of several factors that has led to its increasing geopolitical ostracisation. There is no voting or representation given to the Eridanian populace; at most, a workplace ‘survey’ handed out to employees may be used to gauge which changes, if any, are necessary for the local administration.
Life in Eridani
Eridanian Geography
With tens of billions of inhabitants strewn across three inhabited worlds, the most striking thing about an Eridanian citizen’s daily life is how little variation there is. Akhet, Oran, and Amon (officially known as Epsilon EridaniI, II and III respectively) are remarkably indistinguishable from one another at ground level; a citizen could be plucked from one of their smog-choked cityscapes and dropped into another without noticing much more than a change in the local gravity and temperature. Extensive and heavy-handed terraforming has rendered each of Eridani’s three terrestrial worlds monotone but perfectly habitable, imposing upon their biospheres a carefully curated environment free from undue weather patterns or extreme temperatures.
The sheer scale of urban development that has come afterwards, however, has had a profound effect on the terraforming project’s success. After two centuries of runaway construction and the unregulated exploitation of Eridani’s natural resources, the atmosphere of each respective world is heavy with smog, which clings close to ground level in a soupy mass of various colours. Across the surfaces of each world, skyscrapers rise out of the thick fog into the inky blackness of the sky above, their air-conditioned interiors providing a breathable atmosphere to their citizenry. The pollution of Eridani’s worlds has eclipsed even that of New Hai Phong, and outdoor work is now pursued exclusively by robotic workers or those without any other option.
The Eridanian skyscraper, therefore, has become more than just a workplace for the Federation’s citizenry. Formally known as ‘habitation units’, they incorporate residential floors and areas alongside office complexes and call centres, ensuring that the Eridanian citizen has no theoretical need to ever leave their building of birth. The habitation units themselves are further organised into megacorporate ‘cities’, generally held and owned in their entirety by one specific corporate subsidiary. Work is generally just one elevator ride away from an employee’s living and leisure space, which maximises productivity for the corporation at the top of the chain. The Federation’s focus on so-called corporate ‘non-jobs’ has drawn increasing criticism over the past decades, but as the population continues to sprawl across the grey, drab surfaces of each Eridanian world, the crushing weight of office bureaucracy continues to expand.
Eridanian Citizens
Known as Suits to the rest of the Spur, the life of a model Eridanian citizen is simple and regulated. Work takes place seven days a week for upwards of twelve hours a day, with an employee’s income carefully balanced against their expenditure to ensure little to no upward mobility. Prices in Eridani are controlled on an individual level, and everything is paid for in the great Solarian credit. An employee’s consumption of every resource is monitored by the state’s vast surveillance apparatus; the food they eat, the fluids they drink, and the air they breathe are all accounted for and deducted accordingly from their pay. The elevator one rides to work each day comes with a charge, and so does the electricity they use at their workstation. Jobs are frequently mind-numbing and unimaginative; data entry, call centre work, and other rote tasks are emblematic of the Eridanian ‘career path’. Unsatisfactory performance leads to penalties imposed, automatically or otherwise, by an employee’s superiors – in extreme cases, a worker’s contract may even be terminated outright, resulting in expulsion from the habitation unit onto the smog-choked concrete outside.
Augmentation is encouraged at every level of Eridanian society, and even the most body-purist of the Federation's citizens can sometimes be found with an ocular overlay laid behind one or both eyeballs. Due to a lack of regulatory control, advertisements are often invasive and incessant – the fee to opt-out is generally so prohibitive that buying the product outright would cost less, and a user’s augmentations are often used as a vehicle to deliver adware directly into an employee’s field of view or hearing. Augmentations are frequently discounted, offered as grants, or subsidised by the employing corporation (although the cost is always recouped down the line), as each new piece of metal or silicon installed in a worker is another part of them open to more state control. The private military sector is one of the heaviest investors in augmentation technology – free from undue regulation and ethical constraints, the Eridanian model of war as a business has led to the Federation leading the Spur in the field of combat augmentation.
Non-Citizen Eridanians
Aside from the Federation’s official citizenry, however, billions of non-citizens live outside the confines of the crushing corporate system. Referred to as Dregs by the Spur at large, the term has been co-opted by many as a badge of honour rather than a pejorative. Whether an individual was born outside the great Eridanian skyscrapers or sent there following the loss of their job, Dreg society is the polar opposite of their Suit counterpart. Without corporate control or any form of governance from the Eridanian state itself, the Dregs largely inhabit their own sprawling, slum-like conurbations all across the surface of Eridani’s terrestrial worlds. Categorising their form of governance is impossible, as the disposition and inclinations of one Dreg community can be strikingly different from those of its neighbours. Anarchist communes, miniature despotisms, and even some functional democracies have spread themselves from Oran to Amon, and the Dreg world now consists of an immeasurable number of unrecognised micro-states, all of which are mostly ignored by the central Eridanian authorities. The attitude of each of these micro-states can vary considerably, as can the attitude of each corporate ‘city’ towards their officially unrecognised neighbours. Some Dreg and corporate communities are known to engage in limited cooperation, however uneasy; some others, however, are engaged in all-out bloody warfare to undermine or eradicate the other.
The life of the ‘average’ Dreg, therefore, contrasts sharply with that of their Suit counterpart. The air is thick with smog, technology is often backwards and archaic, and independent observers estimate life expectancy to be somewhere in the low forties. Even so, living outside the hellish Eridanian corporate system comes with its own invaluable upsides – Dregs enjoy personal liberty the likes of which very few Suits will ever see, and passage off-world is (ironically) much easier to secure for many Dregs to acquire than a Suit under constant, crushing surveillance. What little remains of the colonists’ native African culture is kept alive in Dreg communities across Eridani, and although much of it has diverged significantly from what the Africans originally brought to the system, it often forms a important aspect of life in Dreg society, as well as acting as a symbol of defiance against the oppressive, corporate non-culture the authorities look to enforce.
Reinstatement
Synthetics and IPCs
The majority of legally registered IPCs in the Federation are owned by corporations. While Eridani does not officially bar synthetics from self-ownership and purchasing their own citizenship in the same manner as a foreign national might, practically speaking this practice is very uncommon. Generally, synthetics are seen as property or equipment for a corporation to utilise, and the ideas of synthetic emancipation are found mostly outside the walled confines of the corporate megacities, among the Dregs. Due to these factors, self-owned and non-subservient IPCs tend to stand out within the cities, but they are far more common among Eridani's non-citizen populace.
IPCs in Eridani's corporate sphere are employed in all walks of life, from the service sector to private military work. High-end restaurants and social clubs make heavy use of Bishop and shell frame positronics to enhance the customer experience, and a select few PMCs build and employ significant numbers of synthetic personnel to bolster their ranks.
Outside the confines of Eridanian corporate society, positronics can be found all across the Dreg-dominated conurbations sprawling across the planets' surfaces. Though the proportion of free IPCs here is greater than in the corporate world, many are still shackled to ownership by Dreg communities or influential individuals. Able to operate freely on the heavily polluted surface of Eridani's worlds, IPCs have a distinct advantage over their organic counterparts when it comes to life outside the megacities. On account of these capabilities, IPCs are frequently seen as akin to luxury goods in Dreg society, and large numbers of synthetics continue to be smuggled out of the cities for resale and reprogramming. Synthetics that manage to acquire their freedom commonly find themselves joining gangs to protect themselves from repossession or disassembly, with some of the more notable examples being the Scrappers.
Corporate Slang
Esteemed colleague - A friend or superior.
Colleague - Neutral term or an insult if the person is a friend or superior.
Blue sky thinking - A very good idea.
Dreg - A member of the lower social classes.
No can do - Polite form of "no".
That's a big N O - Neutral or negative form of "no".
Do lunch - To meet up or hang out.
Eight thirty res at Asmara - A humorous way of saying good bye/ the impossible, based on the extremely exclusive Asmara restaurant on Oran e.g. "Gotta go, I have an eight thirty res at Asmara" or "uh huh, and I've got an eight thirty res at Asmara."
Call me - Dismissive form of "bye".
I'll call you - Friendly form of "bye".
You got it - Said in response to "Call me" or "I'll call you."
Pierced and Dyed - A dreg. Could be someone who lost everything/became poor. (“What happened to Mr. Holloway?” “Made a bad investment; now he’s pierced and dyed.”)
Ink under his/her/their suit - Associates with dregs more closely than is socially acceptable. It implies that under their nice clothes, their body is tattooed. Insult.
That is a shame - Don’t really care. “Oh, the dregs are going hungry? That is a shame.”
Out of my scope - Not my problem or, dismissively, “I can’t/won't help you.”
I would sign that - I’d bet on it/it’s a sure thing.
Blue dye thinking - A very bad idea. A play on “Blue sky thinking,” but “Blue dye” refers to dregs.
I’ll pen you in - Good/Positive response to “Let’s do lunch.”
I’ll have to check my schedule - Negative response to “Let’s do lunch.”
Read the fine print - Be careful/Stay safe.
Sign blindly - Dangerous or stupid. As in signing a contract without reading it.
His/her/their contract expired - Polite way to say someone has died. “Fired” is another, but more casual, and sometimes considered rude.
Partner - Good friend/Significant other. From “Business partner.”
Good Investment - A high compliment. “You’re a good investment” could mean that someone is dependable, respectable, a good friend, and/or loved, depending on the context.
Across it - Understand it. “I’m across it” or “I’m not across it” would be to understand or not understand something, respectively.
Per my last (message/note/transmission) - A way to indicate they are repeating themselves in either a frustrated way (“Bitch can you read?”) or cocky way (As in “I told you so” or “If you had listened to me.”)
Bought (a tie/heels), shipped (a tie/heels) - Trans person. “They bought a tie but were shipped heels” indicates the individual is a male but placed in a wrong body.
A single credit - Not worth my time.
Clip-on - Fake. (From a clip-on tie). Usually refers to a person.
Poor Posture - Unsightly/bad taste.
Proactive - Kind/thoughtful.
Engaged with - Spoke with/talked to.
Get the memo - Hear/heard.
Draft/Drafted - Write/wrote.
Push it forward - Give it a shot.
Tongue-pierced - Rude/Insulting. As in “He’s tongue-pierced” (He’s rude) or “Is your tongue pierced?” (Indicating that someone just said something rude, insulting, or like a dreg).
I trust you understand - Indicates “you had better listen to me” or is said before something to indicate it’s dire or serious. “I trust you understand the gravity of the situation” would mean, loosely, “You need to take this seriously.” Can sometimes be considered a veiled promise or threat.
Deal - Depending on context, it could be the literal definition, or it could be like “thing,” loosely. “This is a bad deal” could mean that something is a bad plan. “I love this deal” could be said when talking about a favorite food, song, book, etc.
Plain writing/Plainly written: Being honest and/or being blunt (“I’ll present it to you in plain writing”). However, it can also be used in a condescending manner.
Foreign Merger - Interspecies relationship.
Subpar/Not optimal - Very bad/dire."This situation is subpar, contact ERT."
Ledger - Situation.
Black Ledger - We're great.
Red Ledger - We're in deep shit.
Merger - Committed romantic relationship.
Temp work - Romantic fling.
Check your quarterlies - be careful about where you’re going.
What are your quarterlies? - How have you been?.
Bank run - Sudden bad situation.
Hostile takeover - Murder.
“You’re acting like an intern,” - being unprofessional/unbecoming.
With Kindest Regards - Fuck you.
“I need to hang up.” - I have to leave unexpectedly / attend to something urgently.
“I need to take a call” - I have to go for a moment.
“I’ll call you back,” - We’ll speak again later.
"Move/moved the needle" - Worked hard.
"Unseen collaboration," - Used to express getting less credit than deserved.
Dissolution or Liquidation - Bad breakup.
Reinstate - A Dreg trying to climb back into a Suit status.
“It might default” - It’s risky/dangerous.
Sky High - High quality.
"A quarterly report’s worth of X” - A lot of something.
Portfolio - Reputation.
Examples:
“It’s blue-dye thinking, but I’ll push it forward. I trust you understand that it’s out of my scope if this deal leaves you pierced and dyed.” (“It’s a very bad idea, but I’ll give it a shot. You had better know that I won’t help you if this plan makes you lose everything.)”
“Plainly written, foreign mergers are simply poor posture. I’m not across why anyone would sign so blindly.” (“Honestly, interspecies relationships are disgusting. I don’t understand why anyone would consider such a bad idea.”)
“Did you get the memo? She’s going to end up dyed after that deal, and I’d sign that.” “Is your tongue pierced? Per our last conversation, gossip is worth a single credit to me. If anyone has ink under their suit, it’s the one engaging with me in poor posture.” (“Did you hear? She’s going to go broke after what happened, and I’d bet on it.” “Are you done being rude? Like I said before, gossip isn’t worth my time. If anyone’s acting poor, it’s the one talking with me in such poor taste.”)
Dreg Slang
Boss - Moron, an extreme insult.
Suit - A member of the rich upper class.
Extra - A hacker.
Heavy - Serious or dangerous.
Plus - Good.
Rats - Food, derived from "Rations".
Soy - Food, derived from the ever present soy products in Eridani space.
Chew the rats: Eat.
The office - Prison.
In my turf: Up in my business/In my face.
Pad: Place.
Boy/Girl - Male/Female friend or neutral person.
Man/Woman - Male/Female partner, lover or romantic interest.
No phone - A derogatory response to a suit slang bye e.g. "I'll call you" "No phone boss."
Chief - Boss, but not disrespectful.
Signed the dots - Being imprisoned/enslaved. Comes from the idea of signing a contract.
Tie and slacks/Leisure suit - Half-dressed in a suit i.e. a dreg that either associates with corps, or maybe a dreg who has a corp parent. Either way, it’s a big dreg insult.
Sets lunch - A play off of the suit slang “let’s do lunch.” Basically someone who associates with suits (“Yeah, he's the type to set lunch.”)
Suit Smile / Suit promise - A lie. Fake.
Knabo/Knabino/Knab - Guy/Gal.
Talpo/Talpino/Talp - Shady person.
Kroko/Krokino/Krok - Outsider. Someone who isn’t part of their community. Non-dregs.
Bovo/Bovino/Bov - Cow/Bull. Used for really good pals, kind of like calling your friend “The shit” or “My bitch”
Amo/Amino - Cute version of Boyfriend/Girlfriend
Orano/Oranino/Oranges - Person from Oran.
Scrapper/Ruster - Person from the twins, Set/Nebthet
Verb/Verbed/Spit - Say/Said/Told. Can also use “Spit” (Spittin’ words)
Gabbed - Chatted/spoke with.
Audit/Audited - Hear/Heard.
Vide/Vided - Saw/look/seen.
Scrib/Scribe - Write it down. From “Scribble.”
Tool/tooled - Fix/fixed. Maintenance. Etc.
Mapped it - Been there. Also “Understand” or “Saw it” (ex: “Do you know how to set the shields?” “Yeah, I mapped it.”)
Arctic/Sly/Slick/Iced - Cool, great. Basically a positive term. (“That’s arctic” / “Lookin’ real sly.”)
Riccy - Rich. Mostly derogatory. “Riccy-tongued” would be talking like a rich person/suit. Same as “Riccy-glibbed” or “Riccy-spittin’”
Fek - Fuck. Simple replacement.
Knob - Fuck. Usually kind of like “Fuck me, didn’t expect THAT to happen.” I’ve used “Knob me sideways” and “Knob me offways” to express disbelief, joy, or frustration. Also used “Knob me halfback to Eri.”
Debt/Debted - Work/worked. Debt can also be job or shift. “Debted last night,” “Where do you debt?”
No debts - No frets, no problems, don’t worry about it.
Bonny - Good. Derived from the “Bon-“ root, which means good. Can also use “Bones,” ie “It’s all Bones” to mean “It’s all good.”
Dolly - Kind/Nice/Sweet. From “Dolce.” You can call someone a dolly or say an action was dolly, or even use “dolled.”
Creaky/Rusty - Dangerous. I use it mostly since salvaging is dangerous, and those words would indicate that the area isn’t safe. Rusty can also mean that something went bad.
Pure/Straight/Right - Really or Very. “Pure Bonny,” “Straight Riccy,” “Right Dolly,” etc.
Milk - “Something” or “Anything.” (Loosely). “His name is Erik or some milk” = “His name is Erik or something like that.”
Lasso - To hook someone on something, usually drugs.
Cark it - Die. IE: “Don’t cark it out there” could mean “Don’t die” or “Be safe.” “Carked it” = Died. Also used for “Fucked up” ie “Yeah I carked it.”
Crease/creased: Kill/killed. Alternative to “Cark it.”
Arbo – Dionae (From tree).
Serpo/Serpino/Serp – Unathi (From snake).
Rano/Ranino – Skrell (From frog.)
Borgo – IPC or stationbound.
Cino – Vaurca (From Bug).
Hopper – HoP.
Badge/Blue – Cop, security, law enforcement.
End game - Counter hacker/ murderer.
Patcher – Doctor.
Wrencher – Engineer.
Mixer – Bartender.
Mainlaned – Mainline (aka Shooting up drugs).
Bleed ‘em - Hurt them/Make them pay. Used for encouraging fights as well as encouraging suits to waste their time or money.
Sniffs/Sniffer - Brown-nosing. Dregs who suck up or listen to suits/authority. Also for cops who are putting their noses in your business.
Band - Gang. Bando/Bandino would be a gang member.
Banded - Married/Life partners. Best friends, marriages, etc. Not a coincidence it uses the same root for gangs.
Idio/Drongo - Idiot.
Half-eared/Half-eyed - Hard of hearing/seeing. Mostly said out of frustration (“What the fek are you, half-eared?”)
Just hands - Said of a person who can only communicate in sign language because they are either deaf or mute. Might be called No-eared or No-tongued, to mean Deaf or Mute, respectively.
Fair shake - Fair enough.
Pointed/Pointy - Horny. Mostly as a joke, to tell people to relax. (“Don’t get all pointy”)
Affirmed - Got it. Confirmed. (“Did you set the engine?” “Affirmed, boss.”)
Tick/Shake - Second or minute. Like “Hold on a tick” Or “Back in a hot shake.”
Biz - Kind of like how people use “Shit.” Bad biz, I mapped that biz, etc.
Callsign - Name.
Clacker/Starfish - Asshole. “Crank the rod from yer clacker” = Get the stick out of your ass.
Not(Ain’t) my prints - Not my fault. As in, my fingerprints aren’t on that. This is one of my favorites.
Running your trail - Got your back/following you/I’m with you.
Dry as a suit’s wife - Boring, dull, lacking substance. Implication is that suits barely fuck or have mistresses (Or both), depending on who you ask.
Ice the (bricks/pipes/glass) - Vandalize.
Wrong (shoes/boots) - Trans person. “Born in the wrong shoes” means born in the wrong body. NOT derogatory.
Night wishes - Dreams.
Spillin’ Honesties: Being real, being truthful.
Examples:
“You vide that rano mixer? Knab’s pure iced.” (Have you seen that skrell bartender? Guy’s real awesome.)
“Affirmed; right dolly, mixes plus brews.” (Yeah. Real sweet, and makes good drinks).
“Fekkin’ knob me sideways, that arbo boss is a pure badge sniffer. Ain’t even my prints that the biz got rusted.” (Fuckin’… fuck me sideways, that Dionae moron sucks up to the cops. It’s not even my fault that the shit went bad.)
“All bonny, amino; you ain’t signin’ the dots. Maybe rusty biz, but I’m runnin’ your trails, no debts.” (All good, love. You’re not going to prison. Maybe it’s uncertain(dangerous) shit, but I have your back, no worries.)
“Verbed with patcher Gonzales’ ma last debt; kickin’ pure bonny at my own ma fekkin’ off. Krok’s drier than a suit’s amino; spit riccy the max shake. Def sets lunch, though probbo suit-smilin’ about her biz.” (I talked with doctor Gonzales’ mom last shift; Makes me really glad that my own mom left. She’s dry as a suit’s wife; talked rich the whole time. She mixes with suits, though she’s probably lying about her business.”)
History
Colonised in 2095 by settlers from the West African Union (UAO), the near-Sol system of Epsilon Eridani stood out as a prime location for early extrasolar settlement.