|
||||
| Shigi D648844-6 Mark Bridgeman A social experiment by moderates of the Rebin government in allowing voting rights and a reduction in law levels below what is socially the norm in the Rebin worlds, this world has a population of five hundred million sophonts who unlike their counterparts on other worlds have the luxury of breathing real though tainted air (high oxygen taint), technology is kept low and restricted to a minimal level just in case the male population becomes restless enough to attempt an uprising and overthrow their female mistresses. Primary exports from this world include, agricultural plant and meat products, processed into foodstuffs prior to shipping to other Rebin Worlds (a much needed resource). Shigi teams with both indigenous and imported compatible life, and shows signs of a large-scale ecological damage caused by over exploitation of natural resources and the inevitable clash of ecologies created when imported life is introduced to a new biosphere. Shigi boasts a large wet navy and carefully managed aquatic food stocks (fish/plankton/kelps etc), in addition to land-based industries typical of mainstream agricultural planets in the making. Much of the population live aboard gigantic floating ocean going harvesters or permanent platforms drilled into the seabed as well as on land. Shigi's secondary industry is one of leisure and tourism as pent up citizens from worlds such as ergo let off steam in their filter masks and enjoy the blue skies of Shigi's resorts, the reduction in law enforcement and punishable offences is also considered to part of the holiday. Shigi is also a popular destination for nobles and high-ranking bureaucrats many of whom participate in organised hunts and safaris in Shigi's rich and dense tropical rainforests or vast and open steppes. The high oxygen taint allows robust chemical reactions to occur within the bodies of indigenous life here, hence fast reflexes and high rates of speed and movement are common amongst native animals, making for enjoyable and challenging hunting trips. Most tourist hotspots are high in the Ames Mountains (a tectonic ridge that stretches from pole to pole (on land and undersea) almost encircling the planet. In the highlands the reduction in atmospheric pressure is sufficient to allow easy breathing without filter masks. Resorts are incredibly lavish and luxurious to say the least, making the most of outdoor facilities like open-air pools and spas. It is noted that off duty soldiers enjoying the decadence remark that a visit to Shigi makes it all worth fighting for. Trips to the beach (with filter masks) and other lowlands such as 'The Trough' (a below sea level canyon in the Gnish Desert) are popular. There are many such resorts all designed to showcase a specific aspect of Shigi's weather and beauty, hence choices of destinations range from the icy cold snow tipped mountains of the Ames Highlands to the warm and wet tropical regions of the 'Bandeia' region in addition to the dry and hot Gnish desert (not to far from the ocean). Recent studies indicate that the Ames ridge is in places unstable and volcanism is on the increase. Forest fires (when they occur) are deadly and spread more rapidly than is considered normal on other worlds, once again due to the high oxygen content of Shigi's atmosphere. "Most of the Rebin worlds have noticeably high law levels as necessary measure to subjugate such a large percentage of the population, except Shigi that is where they're even allowed to shoot each other and themselves before boarding the transport and going home..." IISS Team Leader Cynthia Gallicise. |
||||
Contact the Web Emperor to request $10/year hosting for your Traveller content on this site. No ads, no banners, no pop-ups, just a great web address! ® Traveller copyright by and trademark of Far Future Enterprises. In addition, any program/article/file on this site cannot be republished or distributed without the consent of the author who contributed it. |
||||