Rice Papers
RICE Paper #SM-1537: Mertactor, Version 1.2 (Final)
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Date: Tue, 19 Sep 1995 17:08:03 -0700
From: Christopher_Griffen@dmcwave.com (Christopher Griffen)
Subject: RICE Paper #SM-1537: Mertactor, Version 1.2 (Final)
At long last, my final version of the Mertactor System RICE paper!
Mertactor (Plankwell: Spinward Marches/1537) B262732-B S Cp
610 RE G1 V
G=0.26, Day=25:39:30.5, Year = 724d 20:36:54.14 Atmo=1.3, No Weather
Control
Temp= +20.7 (4/lat +12 to -28) (season +12.42 to -43.0, 5.5 deg lat)
Daily temp range 18.2
Agricultural; Agroproducts; Weapons; Artforms
Progressive/Enterprising, Competitive/Neutral, Discordant/Friendly
Legal: 2-20544 Tech BA-BBBBB-BBBB-BB-D
On the fringes of Regency space in the Spinward Marches lies
Mertactor, a nexus for mercantile activity.
As a planet on the frontier, Mertactor is known for its free
spiritedness and lawlessness. Felons fleeing the authority of the
Regency Navy, RQS and/or bounty hunters frequently stop off at
Mertactor on their way to the independent worlds and client states
spinward and rimward of the Regency. Merchants carrying illegal goods
find Mertactor to be the ideal port to sell their wares. For the
disenfranchised, disillusioned and disingenuous, Mertactor is the last
port on a journey to the outlands of unincorporated space.
The first colonists set foot on the system mainworld's terra firma in
the early 300s. The majority of lots had been purchased by Moran
interests, which, under pressure from the Moran government, designated
Mertactor (then known as 567-910) as a population overflow world.
Consequently, Mora issued the Relocation Initiative of 324. The
initiative was not looked well upon by the displaced colonists or the
small band of colonists already on 567-910. Although Mora publicly
used "population relief" as their motive for the deportation, the
deportees included an inordinate number of religious dissidents,
ex-cons and other malcontents. Draw your own conclusions.
To villify the Moran Matriarchs, the colonists deported from Mora
named their world after the notorious freebooter, Wilhelm Mertactor,
who had raided, raped and pillaged the coreward subsectors of
Gushemege in the twilight years of the Ramshackle Empire. An
ambitious public relations campaign by the Moran Matriarchs was
demoralized and many a political career fell by the wayside in the
ensuing scandal.
Surprisingly, the Mertactans refused the clemency of the Moran
government in 328, when they were offered repatriation as compensation
for their "unjust deportation." The Mertactan colonists had become
accustomed to their small but verdant new home and the majority
decided to stay. By appealing to the IISS Exploration department's
colonial bureau, Mertactor was granted independence. Imperial
officials saw this as an opportunity to prevent the relocation scandal
from travelling all the way back to the Iridium Throne. As part of
the deal, the IISS was allowed to establish a base on Mertactor. It
wasn't until after the Fourth Frontier War that Mertactor finally
accepted overtures made by the Imperial Government to apply for
membership.
Descending from working-class deportees, Mertactans are proud of their
uncompromising heritage. Mertactans tamed the wilds of their planet,
forging an advanced and forward-thinking society. The Mertactan
Chamberlords reserved approximately 25 percent of the planet's
wilderness as preserves to avoid the ecological calamities that had
occurred elsewhere in the region due to reckless colonial bootstrap
programs. The remaining portion of land was tendered to offworld
corporate interests with a mind to develop the planet's resources and
promote trade and industry. In order to preserve their independence,
however, the Chamberlords carefully screened out any megacorporations,
megacorporate shadow companies and sectorwide corporations in order to
prevent a takeover attempt by any one corporate entity.
Their conservative approach backfired and industry never really took
off on Mertactor. Seeking to teach the upstart colonists a lesson,
the megacorporations had colluded with mid-sized corporations to
boycott the Mertactans. Employing every type of coercion imaginable,
the megacorporations managed to squelch independent-minded investors
from circumventing the boycott.
Undaunted, the Mertactan merchant fleet took the initiative and began
establishing trade agreements with the worlds of the Daryen
Confederation and the Sword Worlds. Famous Mertactan free trader and
gambler Michaela Wallace took her business all the way to the fringes
of the Zhodani Consulate, and established trade ties with the Zhodani
that have survived numerous frontier wars and exist to this day.
While most of the early Spinward Marches colonies also traded with the
established interstellar governments of the region, few dispute that
Mertactan mercantile savvy can open twice as many doors in half the
time.
Modern Mertactan industry is essentially just subsistence for the
planet's lucrative mercantile sector. Rather than a producer of
industrial or agricultural goods, Mertactans like to think of their
system as "the best damned conduit for trade in the Regency."
Landing at Mertactor downport can be a harrowing experience. The
unregulated close orbit and airspace of the planet are subject to more
accidents per capita than on any planet in the sector. While there
are ample spaceports on the planet, only the B-quality facility in the
capital city of Seacheard and the C-quality installation in Kaydah
provide services for interstellar craft.
While dodging free traders and air/rafts, visiting travellers will be
impressed by the lush earth and blue skies of Mertactor. Thanks to an
absence of big industry and an abundance of scattered wilderness
preserves, the planet has been able to maintain its clean air and
natural landscape. Due to the planet's rather small size and close
horizon, the clear azure skies seem to almost surround the reclining
viewer.
Offworlders are frequently uncomfortable with prolonged exposure to
Mertactor's low gravity. Generally, hostels that cater to offworlders
provide 1G suites to appease those who can't abide Mertactan
lightfootedness for extended periods of time.
Mertactor's thriving tourist industry offers a plethora of activities
to visiting travellers. In the city of Seacheard, visitors will be
astonished by the beauty of the Daryen flame sculpture exhibit at the
Seacheard Museum of Art. Donated by First Frontier war hero, Admiral
Koenig, the exhibit features some of the finest Daryen artwork to be
produced in the last millenium. At the Colonial History Museum,
visitors may view artifacts, holovids and antique equipment from the
Spinward Marches' colonial past. Of particular note is an exhibition
featuring what the museum's curator claims are the original blueprints
for the Type-S scoutship prototype. Children will enjoy visiting The
Wild Frontier, Seacheard's largest amusement park replete with an
imported Moran virtual reality entertainment center.
Inghvernar, Mertactor's largest ocean, lies 280 km to the west of
Seacheard. Mertactans on holiday flock to Inghvernar's golden
beaches. Well-travelled offworlders will be less impressed by the
beachfront of this body of water which would only constitute a large
lake on most larger planets. On Inghvernar's east coast is the
Lubvenar Fossil Museum, where travellers can discover the rich natural
history of Mertactor through an exhilariting series of exhibits and
holodynamic displays.
Kaydah, the seat of government, features the impressive Mertactan
Legislature Building (MLB). Constructed of reinforced synthetic
sandstone, this ivy-draped obelisk seems to thrust right out
Mertactor's terrestrial crust and through the planet's thick
equatorial jungle as if it had been there since time immemorial.
Standing atop Mount Aseldon, the MLB looks over the busy streets of
northern Kaydah like an alert sentry.
On the southern end of the city, is the Plankwell Subsector Capital
Building. Though the Capital's architecture is aesthetically pleasing
with its sharp edges and metallic industrial styling, political
representatives from throughout the subsector complain about the
dearth of office space in the building. The building was intended to
be much larger when the subsector capital was set to be on neighboring
system, Collace. However, when the Mertactan Chamberlords
successfully lobbied the Archduke to establish the capital on
Mertactor, they immediately contracted a local architecture firm to
design the building. Due to the time constraints of the agreement,
the job was rushed, with the result being an attractive but largely
inadequate building.
Despite the Mertactan historical animosity toward Mora, the native
government is rather obviously influenced by that of the domain
capital. While not a matriarchy, women traditionally get preference
for most cabinet posts and tend to be elected to Chamberlord positions
at a rate of just over 60 percent on Mertactor. The Chamberlords are
a select group of nine individuals, elected for lifelong terms by a
subordinate network of sheriffs, who are popularly elected by the
rather disproportionately sized counties of Mertactor.
As befits any cosmopolitan world, the fashion and culture of Mertactor
are heavily influenced by visiting merchants and adventurers.
"Anything goes," is the motto on Mertactor. One will find visiting
travellers sporting anything from traditional Vilani lagaash robes to
the virtual nudity of Glistenite tailored vaccsuits. The jaded
Mertactans are nonchalant and accepting of such diversity.
Perhaps the most outstanding educational establishment on the planet
is the Mertactor Mercantile Academy. While the academy is on par with
most other Regency educational facilities for the most part, its
language department is outstanding. Just about every language spoken
within 80 parsecs is taught at the academy, including each and every
vargr language in the Extents. The academy emphasizes cultural
behaviors and idiosynchrasies as well in order to train the ambitious
merchant cadet for any eventuality.
Mertactan trading companies benefit from the presence of the academy.
Some of the most finely trained merchant personnel in the Regency can
be found in Mertactan trading companies. Mertactan traders are known,
however, to be quite bloodthirsty in their competition for business
insystem and will stop at nothing to obtain their goals. The rather
ineffectual law enforcement administrations of Mertactor are unable to
prevent trading blocs and factions from colluding, bribing, embezzling
and on occasion shooting each other to death.
Within the last 80 years, the rimward encroachment of aslan ihatei has
had an interesting effect on the mercantile subculture. Disputes
between trading companies are now frequently resolved by dueling.
Unfortunately, the aslan code of honor is absent in Mertactan dueling.
Shooting or stabbing one's opponent in the back or poisoning his food
the evening before the duel is not uncommon.
Visiting free traders should not fear, however. Oddly enough, the
virulence shown by one fellow Mertactan trader to another is not
extended to offworlders. It is thought that a general sense of pity
for the poorly trained foreign trader makes him unworthy of such
treatment. The prevailing attitude is "if he's not Mertactan, he's no
good at trading anyway!" Though you'll never hear a Mertactan say
this in public!
The Mertactan Free Trade Administration operates the planet's sole
orbital starport and city. Built in 1004, FTA Orbital was originally
intended as a place where offworlders could comfortably trade without
having to make planetfall. The idea never took hold with visiting
merchants, however. Declining public funds resulted in the
government's inability to properly maintain the facility. FTA Orbital
quickly deteriorated into a D-level facility. Ironically, trade
traffic has actually increased over 300 percent at FTA Orbital since
the decline. FTA Orbital now features the most active black-market
trade in the subsector.
To coin an ancient Terran metaphor, Mertactor has a Jekyll-and-Hyde
culture. To offworlders and potential trading partners, Mertactans
are amiable and welcoming, while to one another they are the most
vicious of opponents, professionally speaking. While the divisiveness
of Mertactan society may appear anarchic or perhaps downright hostile,
it is embraced by Mertactans as an integral part of their culture. To
survive in a universe fraught with danger and deception, Mertactans
believe that "It is better to do unto others before they do unto you."
Mertactor System Details
Orbit Name UPP Remarks
Primary Magnus G1 V
0 Bailiff Y200000-0 Va
1 Ring System YR00000-0 Va
25 Vaunt YS00000-0 Va
1 Wrankon YS00100-A Va
2 Gustavson G770360-A Sc
40 Danner Y300000-0 Va
3 Tyros Belt H000462-B Re Sc
4 Mertactor B262732-B S Cp
10 Hord GS00235-A Va
30 Skellor YS00000-0 Va
5 Pelloponeese Y600233-B Re Sc
6 Mauritius Y330000-0 Va
1 Ring System YR00000-0
6.9 Gwaynfjord G957562-B Re Sc
7 Calori Belt F000563-B Re Co Sc
7.3 Eldron G967363-A Sc
8 Wyndermere H667263-A Sc
8 Hoggoth H430160-A
9 Portcullis F303321-A Sc