Subject: *Shall Not Perish* - RICE Papers
I've been watching the growing information about the "Regency
Sourcebook" (Working title, which I _like_, "Shall Not Perish") and
decided to explore some aspects of the Regency that were never
really explored even when the Third Imperium Chamber of Commerce
published little black books. The occasional Contact article in
JTAS was good, but insufficient. So, I decided to pursue the
_cultural_ aspects of the Regency. What my research revealed is
introduced in the following document, RICE Paper #0000.
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RICE Paper #0: Introduction
1. What is RICE?
RICE, the Regency Institute for Cultural Education, is a
non-governmental organization dedicated to increasing the level
of knowledge and understanding of the various cultures that the
traveller may encounter within the Regency and in its immediate
neighbor stellar states. This mission is carried out through
our efforts to keep the Regency Library Data network as
up-to-date as possible, and our distribution of information
directly to travellers on request, through such publications as
this series of RICE Papers, and our representatives at traveller
assistance centers, including, but not limited to, facilities
operated by the Travellers' Aid Society. We are funded by a
combination of tourism corporations, the Travellers' Aid Society
and similar extra-Regency organizations, and private donations.
2. The History of RICE.
When the borders of the Domain of Deneb were sealed late in
1129, the resulting panic caused an upsurge in isolationism, and
a general decrease in economic activity on the interstellar
level. The Domain government, in an effort to prevent the
fragmentation of the Domain, instituted massive efforts to
promote interstellar tourism and commerce, and to publicize the
successful efforts of the Patrol (later the Regency Quarantine
Service) in preventing the infiltration of Virus into the
Domain. One of these efforts was the Deneb Cultural Exchange
(DCE), which had much the same mission as RICE today. However,
as a governmental agency, the information available was limited
to that which the various worlds of the Domain chose to make
available. Simultaneously, the Travellers' Aid Society created
the parallel Deneb Travellers' Exchange (DTE), which made an
effort to get accurate information from field researchers, but
which was drastically underfunded, due to a dropoff in the level
of utilization of TAS facilities. In 1145, after the
liberalization of the Domain government, and the subsequent
reorganization into the Regency, and rapprochement with the
Zhodani, Vargr, and Aslan, the DCE was privatized and operated
by a consortium of megacorporate tourism subsidiaries. Shortly
thereafter, an agreement with the Travellers' Aid Society
allowed the DCE and the DTE to share information and facilities.
In 1160, the arrangement was formalized, and RICE was created.
Now, we have been asked by various planetary and interstellar
governments to expand our target audience, from those who have
already decided that travelling is what they'd like to do, to
the general public. Thus, the RICE Papers, of which this is the
first.
3. What Are the RICE Papers?
The RICE Papers were originally conceived of as a set of
pamphlets focussing on a single aspect of a culture that a
traveller should be aware of. When we submitted several drafts
to various governments, we were advised that our original format
was indeed useful, but that we should also provide broad
overviews of the various planetary cultures, preferably in a
format that could give the reader an idea of what would
typically be encountered in the course of a visit to the culture
in question. Thus, there will be two series of RICE Papers.
Numbered RICE Papers will provide the broad overview, while
lettered RICE Papers will cover one specific topic in somewhat
greater depth. The lettered RICE Papers are actually associated
with a particular numbered RICE Paper, and the letter will be
prefixed by the number of the corresponding numbered RICE
Paper. Thus, if RICE Paper #1643 is on the planet Ruie, then a
RICE Paper focussing specifically on the legal system on Ruie
might be RICE Paper #1643-A, and a RICE Paper focussing on local
cuisine might be RICE Paper #1643-B.
4. How Do I Read a RICE Paper?
RICE Papers are mostly ordinary text narratives. However, as a
convenience, we are also providing extended UWP data, in a
DGP-based format. These should be interpreted as described
in Appendix A to this RICE Paper, and the text considered in
that light. At the end of this document, we have appended a
sample extended UWP, with brief annotations. Also, be aware
that information provided by a RICE Paper is correct according
to the best information available to us at the time of
publication. Governments change, and information may be
misinterpreted by our field researchers. It is recommended that
you verify any information that you feel may affect you both
before embarking on your trip, and before leaving the starport
extraterritoriality zone on your destination world. While we
encourage people to leave the extraterritoriality zone and
immerse themselves in the local culture, we recognize that under
some circumstances it may be inadvisable to do so, and
acknowledge that one can get a taste of the local culture, and
have an enjoyable trip, without leaving the zone.
5. How Do I Get the RICE Papers?
RICE Papers are placed on the Library Data network as they are
ready, and copies of the text can be retrieved from the network
databases as required. There are future plans for making
hardcopy available, but these plans have not been finalized yet.
6. When Will the RICE Paper for <insert chosen planet here> Be
Available?
In order to get the highest quality reports from the field, we
have chosen not to require that a particular planet be done at a
particular time. We do record requests, and, when demand
warrants, add requested planets to a list of the "Ten Most
Desired Destinations" distributed to all RICE Liaison Offices.
As field researchers choose to go to one of these planets, they
are removed from this list. However, we do not require that a
researcher choose a planet from this list, and in fact, many of
our researchers will deliberately avoid any planet on the list,
preferring to search out that one particular undiscovered gem
that is well off the major trade routes. We believe, as
indicated, that we will get better reports from this policy, and
that this will better serve those who are looking for a pleasant
and interesting trip.
Appendix A: The Extended UWP
The extended UWP appears as follows:
Regina (Regina:Spinward Marches/1910)
A788999-D A Hi Cp 103Re F7V M8D M6V
g=0.6340 day=22:43:52.5; year=683d 10:03:45.36/721d 12:49:51.6
atmo=1.8, natural weather
temp=-12 (6/lat +6 to -54) (season -32 to +19, 16 deg lat)
daily temp range 9
Agri, Ore, Compounds; AgriProd, NonMet; Parts, Dur, Cons; Rec, S/W, Doc
Prog/Adv; Comp/Peace; Har/Friend
Legal 9-A7A96, Tech DC-CDDCC-DDDE-DD-E
Line 1: Name of planet, followed by subsector name, sector name,
and sector coordinates, in parentheses
Line 2: TAS Standard World Profile: starport, size, atmosphere,
hydrosphere, population, government, law level, tech
level, followed by types of military facilities on the
world, trade classifications, population magnitude,
number of planetoid belts (exclusive of the main
world, if it is a belt), number of gas giants,
allegiance, and the standard Hertzsprung-Russel
stellar classifications for each star in the system.
Use the standard interpretations for these figures.
Line 3: Surface gravity, in standard g, followed by local day
in hours:minutes:seconds, and local year in standard
days, hours:minutes:seconds/local days,
hours:minutes:seconds. Normally, starships will
gradually adjust their internal gravity and light/dark
cycles to match the destination planet. However, some
people require more than the week of jump travel to
adjust. This information is provided to allow
travellers to begin the adjustment process before
embarking.
Line 4: Atmospheric density in standard pressures, weather is
either "natural" or "controlled" This information is
provided to allow adjustment prior and during travel.
Note that atmospheric density significantly different
from that which a traveller is used to may require the
traveller to use assisted breathing apparatus.
Line 5: Basic temperature, degrees Celsius, 35 degrees
latitude, followed by the range in basic temperatures,
expressed as (degrees per ~8 degrees latitude, followed
by equatorial temp to polar temp), followed by the
maximum change in temperature in the polar regions
(maximum summer increase to maximum winter decrease,
followed by latitude where seasonal temperature changes
become noticeable). Use this information and that in
the next line when selecting clothes to pack. On most
worlds of technical level 8 or higher, indoor
temperature is normally controlled to be within the
range of 10 to 20 degrees.
Line 6: The size of the daily variation in temperature. This
is the difference between the high and low for the day.
Line 7: Classifications of products widely available for
export. These are listed in the order natural
products; processed products; manufactured products;
information. Within a classification, products are
separated by commas. These are GENERAL CLASSES ONLY,
representing the kinds of goods that the planet excels
in producing, causing an export market. Consult trade
representatives to determine the availability and
market for specific products.
Line 8: Social classification. There are three entries for
this line. First is progressiveness indicators,
attitude/activity, then the aggressiveness indicators,
attitude/activity, then the extensiveness indicators,
global/interstellar.
Line 9: The legal and technical profiles. The legal profile
consists of six entries, in the following order:
overall law level, representing the likelihood of the
traveller being required to experience one or more
portions of the legal process; weapons law level,
representing the restrictions on type, availability,
and "carryability" of personal weapons by individuals
not part of the planetary law enforcement agencies;
trade law level, representing the level of restrictions
placed on the exchange of property; commercial law
level, representing the level of restrictions on doing
business in general, including labor laws, zoning,
permits, and so on; civil law level, representing the
level of enforcement of restrictions on personal
activity, and personal freedom level, representing the
types and severity of restrictions on personal
activity. The technical profile consists of 14 entries,
as follows: First, the range (high and low) of technology
commonly available on the planet. Next, the technology
levels for Quality of Life: Energy production, computers
and robotics, Communications, Medicine, and Environment.
Next, the technology levels for transportation: Land,
Water, Air, and In-System Space. Next, the _acknowledged_
level of common military technology: personal and heavy,
and finally, the novelty tech level. Items can be found
of the novelty tech level, but, as the name implies, they
are novelties, and not to be expected to be generally
available. They are typically demonstration or
experimental models, or imported.
We believe that this is the minimum set of information needed to
alert the traveller to any general conditions that he needs to
be aware of. Following this extended profile will be the text
of the RICE Paper, calling out the general characteristics of
the culture, and any noteworthy conditions or habits that can
help the traveller to understand the culture better, or to avoid
making mistakes that will insult the local population or involve
the traveller in legal action.
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I'm open to comments and questions on RICE Papers, and suggestions
as to which planets to tackle. At this point, I am using as a
baseline the MegaTraveller UWP for the Spinward Marches, except for
Regina Subsector (from TNE), and as I find MT-era or later docs for
other sectors/subsectors of any of the Spinward States, I'll use
them as baseline material. For the record, if nobody has guessed,
I am using DGP's World Builder's Handbook to flesh out the XUWP,
and applying liberal amounts of imagination to convert the result
into a RICE Paper. Comments, as I said, are welcome, including
even those comments that tell me to shut the hell up. RICE Paper
#0001 will be coming soon.
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Jeff Zeitlin [email removed]
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~ QMPro 1.52 ~ How many wings does a cow have? -Tacky the Penguin