SOLARIS CITY
Overview
See
Solaris and see what these freeborn usurpers have done to our beloved Star
League. It is a city of excess and debauch, ot mindless greed and wicked
cruelties. Here, some of the best of the Inner Sphere's warriors battle,
smashing valuable equipment to scrap, forever besmirching their lives and
honor And all for money. This is what wounds my Falcon soul most deeply.
-Galaxy Commander Trey van Jimons, Clan Jade Falcon,
personal account written after a visit to Solaris VII, c. 3053
Overview:
The crown tewel of the Solaris circuit seems
on first glance to be a gray and gloomy place. Near constant rain keeps
the streets slick and the air damp. The sluggish expanse of the Solaris
River varies between swamp and sewer. Vast slums surround the city, which
is also the center of planet-wide criminal activity.
But Solaris City is much more than this It is
the home of the five Open Class Arenas, as well as of the five distinct
sectors that support them The Open Class battles are the most lucrative
but the most deadly of the `Mech contests, fortune and fame come and go
with the predictability of the daily rainstorms.
Home to nearly three million, Solaris City is
the focus of hopes and dreams throughout the Inner Sphere The aspiring
Mech Warriors who come to Solaris City do not see the incessant rain, the
filthy river, or the grinding poverty For them, the potent allure of fortune
and glory blots out all else
Government:
Solaris City is divided into separately
administered sectors, each roughly correspuridirig tu orle of the Great
Houses of the Inner Sphere. In the sprawling slums beyond the city proper,
the smaller states (the Periphery realms, the Bandit Kingdoms, and even
the remnants of the Free Hasalhague Republic) maintain their own zones
in imitation of the larger ones
Each malor sector has a distinctive character.
Interestingly enough, the sector's prominence and relative importance does
not correspond to the political position or strength of its Successor State.
House Liao, long the sick man of the Inner Sphere, maintains Cathay, unquestionably
the wealthiest and most beautiful quarter of Solaris City. House Davion's
Black Hills, on the other hand, is mostly a run-down slum rife with crime
and corruption.
Each sector has its own central government, which
sends representatives to monthly civic council meetings to determine policy
for city-wide issues. This system, which requires five separate sets of
civil laws, six separate police forces, and a wild variety of currencies,
is inefficient in the extreme, but has become an entrenched pan of Solaris,
growing larger and more complex and taking on a malevolent life of its
own, far beyond the ability of authorities to control it. Solaris City
is like a world unto itself, set apart from the Inner Sphere, yet a vital
pan of society and popular culture nonetheless.
Whatever the official pose. the elected representatives
who administrate the sectors of the impotent Civic Council do not hold
real power. The Solaris Games clothe and feed the people of Solaris VII
and maintain the wealth of their leaders. Because `Mech stablemasters and
game promoters wield so much actual power, they have a stranglehold on
the economy These individuals have more power over Solaris VII than any
other authority, and one of their major priorities is maintenance of the
city's decentralized government, which assures their continued control
Currencies:
As might be suspected, Solaris is an economist's
nightmare, with no less than seven separate currencies. The ComStar C Bill,
valued throughout the Inner Sphere for its stability, is the most desirable
currency, but usually only tourists and wealthy Solarans have them to spend.
House Bills, referred to by the initial of their
respective Successor House (S-Bills, D-BilIs, and so on) are the next most
valuable, though acceptance of an H-Bill is only guaranteed in the appropriate
quarter. Since the merger of the Lyran Commonwealth and the Federated Suns,
S Bills and D-Bills have theoretically equal value, and both are accepted
in the Black Hills and Silesia quarters. In practice, nafionalism remains
strong, and Steiner or Davion merchants often refuse to accept the other's
House Bills. The small Hasek-Davion community in the Black Hills does its
best to encourage such behavior, and friction between the two supposedly
related houses is mirrored in Solaris City.
At the bottom of the ladder is Solaris scrip,
considered virtually worthless. Scrip is accepted only by those who have
no choice-the poor, the homeless, and the working poor. The rate of exchange
between H-Bills fluctuates somewhat, but the value of scrip varies the
most, as the table below shows
Scrip's value is, theoretically, based on the
ComStar C Bill. Unfortunately, this value is not officially fixed, leading
to runaway speculation in which wealthy Solarans and crime syndicates manipulate
scr ip's value by buying, then selling, large amounts of it. The practical
result of this is a wildly fluctuating value, varying from week to week,
with a scrip bill being worth anywhere from 100 percent of its full C Bill
value all the way down to 1 percent of a C-Bill,
CURRENCY CONVERSION TABLE
| Currency |
C-Bill |
K-Bill |
D-Bill |
S-Bill |
M-Bill |
L-Bill |
| C-Bill |
1.00 |
1.25 |
1.11 |
0.91 |
1.43 |
2.00 |
| K-Bill |
0.80 |
1.00 |
0.89 |
0.73 |
1.14 |
1.60 |
| D-Bill |
0.90 |
1.13 |
1.00 |
0.82 |
1.29 |
1.80 |
| S-Bill |
1.10 |
1.38 |
1.22 |
1.00 |
1.57 |
2.20 |
| M-Bill |
0.70 |
0.88 |
0.78 |
0.64 |
1.00 |
1.40 |
| L-Bill |
0.50 |
0.63 |
0.56 |
0.45 |
0.71 |
1.00 |
Law
And Order: A city with no less
than six major administrative areas isa law enforcement nightmare. but
Solaris City has gradually developed a complex but effective system of
law enforcement.
Each sector maintains its own law enforcement
group, a police force whose authority extends throughout the apprupri;ite
zone. 
This authority
varies from sector to sector, however. Kurita police in Kobe, for example,
have far more authority than the security forces of Silesia or the Black
Hills
International areas are the realm of the Solaris
Police Department, which also has authority over those who cross sector
borders to escape prosecution Solaris police may, ihenretically, mnve throughout
the city, but sector security forces often resent their presence, which
creates considerable friction between them
Crime:
As daily life on Solaris revolves
around the games, most ma1or social ills are also related to the `Mech
competitions Gambling is both a cause and a symptom, leaving few Solarans
untouched Legal gambling reduces the common people to a state of semi penury.
and drives the poor to criminal acts such as robbery, prostitution, drug
dealing, and murder for hire. Ground down by daily life, many turn to alcohol
or narcotics in a self perpetuating cycle of degradation.
Nurie of this concerns the ruling elite of Solaris,
the nobles, stablemasters, and wealthy MechWarriors, who are the only real
winners from the exchange of wealth that takes place in betting. Police
actions mostly consist of containment actions or sweeps of high-crime areas
whenever the city's powerful suddenly get a little nervous Though some
privileged Solarans do not condone the sorry situation of the common people,
few are inclined to make any moves to change it.
The billions of C Bills that change hands each
year from gambling and crime have attracted all the major criminal groups
of the Inner Sphere. These various organized crime syndicates maintain
near complete control of serious crime on Solaris today.
Mafia:
Of all the criminal groups, the
Mafia has traveled the farthest from its roots. Except for the name, little
of the old Sicilian traditions remain. Membership is open to all races,
nationalities, and sexes, and the tradition of advancement through assassination
has been largely eliminated
The power behind the Mafia on Solaris is the
Bertoli family (none of whom are actually named Bertoli), whose organization
is a model of democracy and benevolent capitalism. The family is run as
an employee-owned corporation, with even the lowest thug considered a partner
Stock is held, traded, and sold, and members determine company policy at
yearly stockholder meetings. At these meetings, the members choose the
patriarch (more colloqui ally known as "Godfather" or "El
Capo de Capo"), who runs the family's day-to-day operations. For the
last 18 years, the Bertoli family patriarch has been Martin Bialistock,
a canny, intelligent, and sophisticated man with impeccable taste in food,
clothing, books, and art
Below the patriarch are the capos (that is, "chiefs"
or "captains"), each responsible for a different aspect of crime.
drugs, gambling, prostitution, and so on. Beneath the capos are the lieutenants,
thugs, runners, and hitmen who make up the at-large Mafia membership.
In spite of these trappings of respectability.
the Mafia remains a brutal organization, dedicated to profit from crime,
violence, and corruption The Bertoli family controls most of the drugs,
trafficking, prostitution, illegal gambling, protection, and extortion
on Solaris, and maintain this control with ruthless efficiency The days
of splashy, violent mob rub-outs are no more Those who oppose the Bertolis
simply disappear, with no questions asked The Mafia is the single most
powerful and dangerous criminal entity on Solaris VII
Yakuza:
These criminals of Japanese descent bear many
similarities to their predecessors on Terra. Membership is usually limited
to those of Japanese blood, but a few outsiders have managed to gain admittance
and to rise high
At the head of each yakuza family is a patriarch,
or warlord, whose underlings serve him in the manner of feudal vassals
Their code of honor is quite strict, anyone who commits a major breach
of honor must commit seppuku, while minor offenses are pardon able if the
otfending party voluntarily performs an act of self mutilation. Yakuza
operatives with one or more fingers missing are not uncommon.
Several yakuza families operate on Solaris, but
little competition exists between them. Conflicts over territory and operations
are resolved by a meeting of warlords The triads and the Bertoli family
are hated enemies, but the yakuza prefer the more subtle methods of threat
and extortion to outright violence
Triads:
Triads are more contentious than the yakuza.
which is precisely what prevents them from gaining more power on Solaris
Even so, triads (the term is derived from their symbol, a mystic triangle
made up of the equal forces of earth, body, and spirit) are a force to
be reckoned with. Under the absolute authority of a warlord and his minions,
each triad controls a territory, supervising drug traffic, prostitution.
and gambling, and providing protection" against other gangs (and the
triad itself).
Prominent triads include the Red Cobras (active
primarily in Cathay and Silesia), their arch enemies, the Hundred Swordsmen
(Cathay). the Steel Brothers (Kobe), the Demons (Kobe, Black Hills), the
Heavenly Warriors (Cathay, Montenegro), and the Eternal Flames (Montenegro,
Silesia)
Bloods:
Like the Mafia, the bloods have
changed with the times becoming fully integrated and expanding their business
to incorporate a wide variety of criminal activities. Like the street gangs
of thc 20th century. the bloods are well organized and heavily armed, bu
have ceased the destructive measure for measure gang hits of thi past
One major element of bloods organization remains
the gang are male dominated The best rank a female can hope to achiev is
that of "bloodette a place only slightly higher than that of gui moll
Numerous subgroups of bloods exist throughout
Solari, Unlike the triads, these groups generally cooperate with each other,
and open conflict is rare The bloods and the yakuza hat one another with
a pa ion, and although open warfare is rar violence between the two groups
is near continuous.
Independent Gangs Dozens, possibly hundreds,
of small, independent crime gang exist on Solaris ranging in size from
a half-dozen to a hundrE members. Most of these gangs deal only with one
or two crimin activities, being quick to flee or relocate should the authorities
larger gangs take an interest in their affairs. Independents are most common
in the outlands and in small cities. where the major gangs of Solaris City
are unable or unwilling to gain a toehold
The
Games: Solaran
culture revolves around the games The economy is driven by these contests,
entertainment centers on them, and conversations seem always to turn to
them On Solaris, one may make a fortune one hour, only to lose it the next
Compulsive
gambling, along with its attendant woes of drug abuse, crime, and alcoholism,
runs rampant throughout the world, but is most preva lent in Solaris City
Even the lowliest cab driver or lanitor in Solaris City may have a tale
of winning an incredible sum one day. which then slipped through his fingers
the next.
Betting terminals are sprinkled throughout the
city, always functional and in good repair even in the poorest districts
Itie games form, or odds sheet, is the holiest of texts, read more widely
than the Bible, the Koran. or any other sacred book The latest fight is
always on everyone's lips, and people know the records of favorite MechWarriors
backward and forward
Solaris is a crucible, and the dispossessed or
impovershed MechWarriors who come to this world to seek their fortune feel
the heat more than anyone Hundreds of such hopefuls arrive on Solaris daily.
Some die, some leave deadbroke but alive, some have pyrotechnic moments
of prominence, only to vanish in the same flash, while a few-a very few-make
it to the top.
The cult of the MechWarrior exists with a vengeance
on Solaris. Books, movies, holovid series, posters, magazines, news papers,
all these and more are devoted to the tiny minority of MechWarriors who
reach the top. Media programs feature promismg young warriors, who grant
interviews like ancient royalty granting audiences. Images of MechWarriors
and their `Mechs are also popular, as are biographies and lurid fiction.
Without question, Solaris VII is the center of the Inner Sphere's obsession
with the romance of its MechWarriors.
A few other industries do still exist Some outlying
communities harvest timber or engage in sonic farming. for example, but
even these boast their own BattleMecti arenas and sponsor Class One or
Two competitions
Gambling:
In the edny days ot the Solaris games. betting was informal As time passed.
the underworld bic,iine and more involved arid elements of triad gangs.
the yakuza, bloods, and other criminal groups gradually gainea mor? influence
Bookies got rich or went broke chronic bettors borrowed fortunes from loan
sharks for a long shot payoff entor Cr' s uollectt'd ruoricy or fied fights,
ganglords raked in the profits. and bullet riddled members of every group
were daily found floating in the Solaris River
The advent of tornialized rules for Mech competition
wa. intended to eliminate these abuses. but tIre only effect was to drive
it underground Bookies conrinued to offer better odds thai tfie official
ratings and loan sharks nontinoed to happily extend credit. Far from decreasing
the number of bodies floating in the Solaris River doubled within ten years
Many of the betting conventions were considered,
at best unconventional The tradition of betting on `Mechs rather than their
pilots caused considerable controversy, especially during the Fourth Succession
War when a string of low grade MechWarriors were replaced by experienced
ringers at the last minute, resulting in some lopsided victories ann massive
losses
The `Mech vs `Mech betting system remained in
place more because of tradition niore than for any other reason In the
wake of the abuses of the 3030s, the game piorrioters instituted a new
system They created current odds by combining the relative experience and
reputation of MechWarriors with the size and effectiveness of their `Mechs
in a complex equation This might produce a green pilot in a Shogun, for
example, sorely challenged by a veteran in a less powerful Osrsot with
the odds favoring the Ostsol pilot Straight `Mech vs Mech hetting still
exists, but is far less popular than before
Official betting terminals are located throughout
Solaris City Odds for daily matches are updated continuously, and may even
change while someone is in the process of betting Ticket sellers accept
C Bills, debit cards, or Solaris scrip, although the exchange rate may
fluctuate so radically that even the most profitable bet would become worthless
before a match is over. The terminals dispense tickets with bets and amounts
printed on them, along with a specially coded magnetic strip Winners may
cash in their tickets at readily available official exchanges
Numerous terminals and exchanges are scattered
about bolt the arenas and throughout the city Almost every small town also
has at least one of each, ohen at the same location. All link up to the
central computer exchange in Solaris City, which offers odds on every official
match on the planet. down to the most obscure exoskeleton match in East
Nowhere
As mentioned, the underworld is deeply involved
in gambling Illegal bookies offer far more generous odds on battles, and
will pay high prices even for losing tickets for use in forgery. Fake tickets
are common, but only the best imitations can pass official scrutiny, which
employs specially designed code readers
The secret of Solaris gambling is that no one
ever gets ahead Only the promoters, stablemasters, and (occasionally) MechWarriors
have any chance of finding riches in this brutal environment, a world that
swallows ordinary men and women whole.
SOLARIS STARPORT
[ Poetry Corner
] [ Short Story Forum ] [ Vampire
Pub II ] [ Music Jukebox ]
[ Role-Play Forum ] [ Guestbook
] [ Other Links ] [ Return Home
] [ Credits/Copyrights ] [ Email
]
Copyright © 1996 -
1997
Created by 
Wolf
Pack Inc, Friday, August 29, 1997
Most recent revision Thursday, September 25, 1997