Terra

Terra is the home world of the humans, and capital of the Free Trade Alliance. It is the most populous of all the known planets, and was once home to bright and fertile fields and flatlands.

A World Metropolis


Terra is generally considered a planet-wide city, with a few pockets of the natural world sprinkled around. While technically this is not true, it certainly feels like it. Rural areas are more or less restricted to the very rich, or are otherwise covered in massive farms producing the worlds food supply. The cities however, are sprawling and full of life, lights, and entertainment. Culturally speaking, the different cultures are more pronounced through class then they are through anything else.

Hive of Scum and Villainy


Terra is home to an uncountable number of crime syndicates, gangs, and groups of varying degrees of nefarious natures. The so-called underworld of Terra is almost entirely self-governing, with control de facto in the hands of local criminals rather than any kind of national enforcement. It becomes almost impossible to operate in these lower levels of society without any interaction with these groups, which leads many to try and find safety offworld (often to no avail).

While some organisations attempt to stem the problem, many point out that it is an integral part of Terran society, as citizens have no real representation in government, and law enforcement is almost entirely built around property laws and wealth. Security and law enforcement is entirely privatised, and requires the hiring of a private security or enforcement firm. Thus, many turn to crime syndicates for protection or enforcement, which are often left to go about their business so long as they pay operation fees to whomever controls local security.



"Now here's the thing big latt, about this part of the chip. Chant is, down that here road been got them slime dusters, off dem over on that next beat you got them dime dusters. On that back of yours is them slime dimes. Each one spread the beat that they the ones that come up with them name first, and they going all fight till death for this. Finally, you have got that josie Matt. Nobody knows his deal, but we from all over the chip stay away from him"

- Rickshaw Pete, when asked for directions to the station

Vassals to Credit
On paper, Terra has no unified government, but instead is a collection of 9 sovereign countries and a global organisation for their co-operation. In reality however, these 9 countries hold little power even in their own borders. Powerful Corporations, Think Tanks, and international NGOs hold the true power, having effectively vassalized the local governments and the Co-operation Council (CC), in part thanks to the Pancorporate Commission. As such the actual organs of sovereign power have all been outsourced to the CC or to one corporation or another, leaving national governments as little more than wealthy figureheads. The institutes of the CC that were conceived as organisations meant to improve the lives of all Terrans, are de facto sovereign entities with little oversight from the CC itself.