Population & Economy
Population
The population of Fureidis is 528 million, which is slightly more than the 524 million that it could support sustainably and comfortably. The result is a slight pressure on degradable resources, increasing conflict over resources at sea, and an increase in the share of national income going to landowners at the cost of labour. This is producing an increase in ventures to mine the sea-floors and asteroids, but also a tendency of people to emigrate to the Fringe — 692 Roosevelt, in Reticulum Sector, is a popular destination.
As the settlers of Fureidis amounted to a large sample drawn from all over Old Earth there is a wide spectrum of phenotypes, and no genetic founder effect.
Settlement structure
Dry land covers only 3% of Fureidis’ surface, amounting to myriads of islands of various sizes festooned over a global ocean in clusters and arcs. Human settlement amounts to a rash of megaplexes: vast, crowded, ill-planned high-rise cities. And not all of these are confined to single islands; engineering on Fureidis it the equal of constructing immensely long bridges over or under wide bodies of water, besides which aerial vehicles are numerous and affordable.
Besides that, a significant number of people on Fureidis don’t live on dry land at all. Many live on boats or ships, which may roam the seas or spend almost all their time moored. Beside that there are residential pontoons the size of a city block, towers that stand on piers in shallow water, and even a few submerged habitats.
Economy
The economy of Fureidis is development level 6.4, producing approximately the equivalent of ForeSight tech level 6.5 or GURPS TL 9 (mature). That’s approximately the median development level in Flat Black weighed by population: Fureidis is a colony of middling wealth employing typical technology. The most sophisticated method of production in FS TL 6 is photolithographic layering of photonic components. Fureidis is advanced to use micrometer-scale 3-D stereotype printing to assemble organs and limbs using cultured cells and biomimetic materials as the “ink”. (See Development levels rather than tech levels (segué into soft-tech robofac factories))
Fureidis imports materials (such as minerals and high-spec crops from Navabharata) and low-tech components (such as panels and weaves from Persatuan) from less-developed colonies, and photonics and micromechanical systems from more advanced ones to assemble the typical products of TL 8 for local use (or lower-tech substitutes sometimes, for cheapness). Deep in the Core, Fureidis is well-placed to export microfabbed and biofabbed components to both highly-development and backward colonies.
Because the Empire will not transport weapons technology, the typical smallarms used on Fureidis are ForeSight’s “cone pistols” and “cone rifles”, which fire miniature gyrostabilised rocket-propelled HEAT grenades.
The equilibrium wage of labour in such economies tends to be small. Fureidis has addressed that issue with a global tax on rents, interest, and profits, which is applied to a lump-sum “basic stipend” paid to all adults. A smaller stipend for children is paid to their mothers to the age of 16, and an intermediate one to the adolescent to age 20 (subject to restrictions on how it may be spent). There is constant political contention over the rate of the taxes, the amount of the stipend, the cost of vocational training, and the shortage of highly-skilled workers.
Space industry
Fureidis has its own space launch and landing industry and orbital facilities. It is engaged in the commercial exploitation of the asteroid belt next out from Alpha Mensae in the system, which it does under Imperial indirect jurisdiction.
The starport is an orbital facility (“the Up-Port”) operated by the Eichberger Foundation, which Spaceways’ interstellar ships dock and passengers and cargos transship to Furedisean shuttles for landing. Most landing facilities are on pontoons.
Currency
The unit of currency on Fureidis is the deenar, which has a purchasing power of 0.011 SVU and exchanges for ₢ 0.00528. Most deenars exist only in computer accounts, digital funds transfer being the rule, but coins are in circulation for 1, 5, and 20 dinars, and laminated bills for 100 d, 500 d, 2 000 d, and 10 000 d.