Tribeca

Location	Allegiance	Starport	Climate	Atmosphere	Hydro %
(-0.31, 4.55, -0.98)	Confederate	V	Warm	Standard (Thin)	72%
Gravity	Diameter	Moons	Avg. Orbit R	Stars	Day Length
1.08	8,564	None	0.19	M2 V	18 h
Population	Government	CR	TL	Resources	Year Length
5.1 billion	Bureaucracy	4	11	Abundant	50 d

Languages

Russian, Esperanto

Background

The Tribeca colony mission was funded by a group who believed in a centrally planned economy as a means of maximizing both efficiency and the overall happiness and wellbeing of its citizens. Their ideology has worked well for them, establishing a well ordered polity and populace. This naturally makes for a more conservative and somewhat rigid culture. Tribecans tend to abide by the rules and use tried and true methods. They are legalistic, codifying almost any formal interaction or transaction in detail and wrapping it in red tape.

Outward social structures are based on locality, social rank, profession, and familial relationships. Friendships span social rank, profession, usually built more upon local communities. These communities concern themselves first with internal order, often creating their own by-laws for themselves, and secondly with outward order. The latter focus determines how their community integrates into the broader social order.

Family bonds stress direct lineages and marriages. The parent-child relationship is the building block of Tribecan society. By law, Tribecans are forbidden from having children without the approval of Central Planning; this is sometimes a prescribed duty. Any offspring require a 25 year parenting contract. The entirety of the contract is centered around raising the child and the relationships both parents have with it, rather than the family as a unit. The parents may or may not be married to one another, and may be married to others with no intention of having a relationship beyond co-parenting.

The marital relationship, though impermanent, is second that of parents and children, yet takes precedence over extended lineal relationships. Common marriages are generally contracted for periods of 5 years, which, contrary to most things in Tribecan society, can be renewed simply. These contracts can allow for multiple, simultaneous marriages, which in turn may be contracted amongst several parties or one person may have multiple marriages with separate individuals.

Interestingly, Tribecans enjoy contact sports, such as boxing and other martial arts competitions, football, rugby, etc.. Fans of such sports tend to be obsessed with statistics as much as the events themselves. They also consume action games, movies, etc., at a comparatively high rate, though these generally come from offworld. Native Tribecan games are typically about resource management, while their literature, movies, games, etc., tend to be procedural in nature.

 

Tribecan art tends to be either abstract in nature or reminiscent of classical 20th century socialist propaganda art. Their architecture is brutalist, but is usually decorated with murals and sculpture, often themed to represent different districts or neighborhoods. Their cities are well laid out, conforming efficiently to local geography, and are designed on growth and industrial development planning principles.

When found out of their home system, they tend to belong to one of two groups: those steeped in Tribecan culture, and those who have rebelled against it. The former are usually found in careers that take advantage of their cultural strengths; Tribecan accountants and lawyers are actively sought after by offworld headhunters. As a group, the latter tend to be thrill seekers and can often be found in dangerous careers. Even so, they tend to be more meticulous than their offworld peers.

Together with Colm and Perheim, Tribeca is one of the three founders of the Colm Confederation. Their primary role in the Confederation is, unsurprisingly, bureaucratic in nature. Tribecans have taken an active role in codifying Confederate legislation.

Port of Tribeca (Class V)

Visitors to Tribeca are most likely to remain in the Tribeca Downport. Tribeca beyond the port is considered dull to the point of tediousness by most offworlders. Its cities do not gleam, its nightlife is lethargic and mostly stagnant, and its natural beauty is restricted to citizens and offworlders. The singular exception is its cuisine, which is flavorful, somewhat exotic, and often extremely spicy. To some it is a taste they never acquire. To most it is a taste that, once acquired, is highly desired.

Tribeca Downport is called Star Tears Downport for the beautiful waterfalls visible from the port. Tribeca has few secondary landing sites and those are mostly restricted to Tribecan-run shuttles. The result is a much larger and busier downport that one would ordinarily expect. Travelers are treated to extensive customs inspections making it a port to be avoided by smugglers, pirates, and others whose presence might cause legal troubles.

The port itself looks like a fly caught in a spiderweb from above, with numerous maglev trains and roads connecting the port to a network of nearby hubs and depots ultimately connected to a handful of outgoing rail lines. The startown beyond the port is integrated into the transit network. Well planned, it is lightly populated, mostly providing housing for starport employees and secondary businesses to service this population. There are a few entertainment facilities that specifically cater to offworlders, but the city is comparatively free of them.

The high port, Tribeca Overport, is mostly unremarkable. It is comprised of its enormous main facility which is surrounded by several smaller stations. The one lasting impression it leaves is just how clean its orbitals are – clean to the point of near sterility. While somewhat off-putting, it goes hand-in-hand with a reputation for quality work and fair dealings.

Government

Tribeca is nominally a republic. There is a parliament, elected officials at all levels, and everything any would expect of a democratically elected parliamentary republic. In practice, this government serves as an advisory committee. The real political power rests in Central Planning, which is an umbrella term for the manifold departments responsible for running the economy and otherwise ordering society from the top down.

Most diplomacy is conducted by bureaucrats. Ceremonial occasions are attended by the politicians under the careful guidance of Central Planning. Likewise, Tribeca’s delegation to the Confederation is comprised of bureaucrats chosen from the appropriate department(s).

All businesses on Tribeca are state run. Such businesses conform to their niche in the overall economy. Practically speaking, this means that businesses as small as the corner liquor store and as complex as a large interstellar shipping company are simply separate divisions of the overall economic plan. Offworld companies are forbidden from operating on Tribeca, though such companies often partner with Tribecans, and Tribeca invests in offworld corporations as well.

Although many would find the Tribecan government oppressive, it is welcomed by a mostly conformist culture. While the crime rate is low, there is a definite criminal element present on Tribeca, which naturally includes (highly) organized crime. Minor crimes are punished by demerits, demotions, and fines. Serious crimes are punished by re-education via dream-learning and/or psych implants.

Tribecan jurisprudence focuses on the minutia of laws, regulations, and precedent, though its method of fact finding is rigorous and focused discovering what actually happened. An adversarial trial follows after the finding of fact.

In spite of the complexity of such proceedings, the process is short, generally taking less than a month for the most complex of cases and as little as a day for more straightforward cases. The finding of fact, which in practice all but determines the outcome, can take months or even years. During this time, suspected criminals are free, though restricted in movements, unless their offense was violent (in which case they are jailed).

Contract disputes and tort cases are usually handled by mediation or binding arbitration. When such disputes cannot be resolved in this fashion, the same procedure used for criminal proceedings is used. Punishment is generally in the form of fines and/or damages. If individuals are found to have committed a violation, they, too, may be fined or even criminally prosecuted. This has led to the re-education of several offworld corporate officers.

Offworlders caught up in the justice system are fined or deported for minor offences such as supporting anti-government causes or for serious violations of the myriad of regulations. More serious infractions, ranging from theft to violent crimes, are subject to local law.

Colonies

Outside of its own well utilized system, Tribeca has no colonies.

Religion

Unsurprisingly, Tribeca has a state religion. It is handled in several layers, allowing for variations on the central theme to account for regional differences and personal taste. At its most basic level, it is more philosophy than religion. The central tenets are duty to community, adherence to defined practice, and a dedication to personal development, known as the “Pillars”: Community, Practicum, and Ascension.

The most spiritual aspect in the broadest religious sense is Community. Life after death is intimately tied to the concept of Community. They believe in the “Community of the Spirit” - an afterlife in which all spirits become fully unified while still retaining their individuality. Most Tribecan religious practice is based on Community. Religious ritual is integrated into everyday life, with song, ritual, and meditation found at work, school, and the public square. Offworlders experiencing it for the first time generally find it off-putting to see small groups of Tribecans joining hands, closing their eyes, and softly chanting their hymns of Communion.

Second in practical terms is “right-practice” - the Practicum. While “Practicum” has no easy translation outside of Tribecan culture, it is roughly “the following the rules, procedures, and practices to the best of one’s abilities.” It correlates to preparation for the Community of the Spirit, but understanding it precisely is difficult at best for those not steeped in Tribecan culture.

The third part of their religion, Ascension, is also difficult to convey. It amounts to spiritual development, generally in the form of personal development, following the Practicum, and engaging in Community rituals. It is also professional development, efficiency, and a maintenance of personal order. It is supposed to prepare one for a greater role in the Community of the Spirit.

While offworlders can get a sense of the Practicum and Ascension, the full spiritual dimension of it is lost on the vast majority.  From the outside, at least, it seems more like corporate propaganda than anything like a religion. Yet to Tribecans it is their belief, a belief and way of life that they pursue.

Tribecan Baseline Genetic Template

The genetic differences in Tribecans are due to 1000+ years of guided evolution. Tribecans are a stable sub-species of baseline humans. There is also a genetic upgrade that can grant this template to non-Tribecan children. This upgrade breeds true with Tribecans.

Tribecan Template [19]

Attribute Modifiers: ST+1 [10], FP+2 [6].

Advantages: Rapid Healing [5], Temperature Tolerance 1 [1].

Disadvantages: Attentive [-1], Careful [-1], Staid [-1].

Features: Taboo Traits (Genetic Defects, Mental Instability)