| Living in the Jewel Cluster
If you want to picture the life of an average person in the Jewel Cluster then look outside your window, because life in The Cluster is very much like a more prosperous version of present day Earth. The technological level overall is higher, and there is very little outright poverty or serious social problems in the way modern Earth has them, but generally speaking they aren’t much different than us. Your average person in the cluster does the same things your average person in the modern world does each day, and technology hasn’t removed the need to earn a living the old fashioned way. Farmers farm, artisans craft, singers sing and businessmen do business, it’s the way of things. That said, their culture varies depending on where they are from, each of the seven core systems is different both in custom and culture, and they all have their own ideas about the best ways to live. Even on a single world, there is not cultural homogeneity, with many different cultures and sub-cultures on each world. About the only thing most (but not all) of them share is their humanity. However, it can be said that the cultures of each of the Cluster worlds does reflect their world in some way, and the attributes that are associated with it. As a result, pretty much whatever type of background you can think of, someone in the Cluster worlds probably has it. However, keep in mind that in part because of the prosperity in the Cluster there is very little violence or violent crime because the poverty and social unrest which generates it isn’t common. Characters from rougher backgrounds are possible, but will likely have trouble fitting in, and weapons are extremely tightly controlled. Also, despite the restoration, the population has yet to completely bounce back since the disasters which changed the Cluster. Compared with modern day Earth, the planets of the Jewel Cluster are actually relatively lightly populated, with fewer big cities and more small towns. Living outside of cities is fairly convenient, so many have chosen the life of smaller communities. |