[wiki/RFC] Proposed entry: "Organized Crime in Fenspace

[robkelk]

Organizing my notes for Legend of Galactic Girls gave me most of the following, which I cleaned up a
bit. Any comments, aditions, or other kibitzing before I stick it in the Gazetteer and the Wiki?

(Somebody had better say yes, because there's a hole in the article.)

As with Comrade Fnord's recent posts, please pardon the wiki markup...

---

====== Organized Crime in Fenspace ======

Not everybody who's made it Up is nice.

===== Organized Criminal Groups =====

Most Fen lump all organized criminals under the heading "Boskonians". This is a gross over-simplification.

Many major organized crime groups are active in space, not always in co-operation with each other. (The rivalry between at least one Columbian drug cartel and
at least one Yakuza group was the direct cause of the destruction of Crystal Osaka in 2013, for instance.) If they are known to exist on Earth, they probably
have at least a representative somewhere in space to keep an eye on their interests.

===== Types of Organized Crime =====

Organized crime on Earth breaks down into some clearly-identifable activities, some of which do not translate well to Fenspace.

==== Corporate Malfesance ====

This is extremely difficult to successfully carry out when the vast majority of businesses are privately-owned.

Because of the unique nature of Fenspace economics, it quickly becomes obvious which companies are being looted from within (the amount of biomass coming from
the companies increases without obvious cause), and the companies' owners can take appropriate steps before major harm is done.

==== Illegal Drugs ====

As of 2014, there are no illegal drugs in Fenspace.

This is less because of the libertarian nature of Fenspace, and more from the fact that addiction to incapacitating or mind-altering drugs is self-correcting
in space. (People who drug themselves into a state where they can't tend to their own needs quickly end up dead from oxygen deprivation, either because the
air in their suits or cars ran out, or because they walked out an airlock without a pressure suit.)

Since avoidance of "hard" drugs is a survival trait in Fenspace, there is little market for organized criminals to fill. Generally, they don't
bother.

Organized crime does take advantage of conditions in space to harvest or otherwise create drugs that
can be sold on Earth. The most nortorious of these is thionite, a powerful hallucinogen derived from certain strains of Venusian terraforming bacteria.

Use of alcohol, tobacco, or marijuana in moderation does not incapacitate the user to life-threatening extremes, so there are markets for these drugs in
Fenspace.

Alcohol is trivally easy to make from any starch-based foodstuff, and many Fen do so. (The stereotypical Belter is known for making back-of-the-car "white
lightning," and the White Stallion does a nice side business selling small batches of whiskey
that aren't up to their very high standards.)

Marijuana is almost trivially easy to grow, as long as the necessary hydroponic greenhouse space is available. Hephaestus grows a strain guaranteed to be
handwavium-free.

Tobacco is somewhat more difficult to grow in Fenspace, and remains a major Earth export.

==== Illegal Weaponry ====

As of 2014, there are no illegal weapons in Fenspace. (The use of weapons of mass destruction, such as "kaboomite," were outlawed in the treaty of
KandorCon, but ownership of them is not illegal per se.)

However, many Fen don't bother to go armed. One can only cram so much into a vehicle, and there's no hostile wildlife in space. More importantly,
there's no pre-existing source of food Out There. Given a choice between a chaingun that he'll probably never use or an extra day's worth of
groceries that he'll definitely eat, most Fen choose to pack the food. Weapon caches exist mainly on larger ships and stations that have room for luxuries
(such as Grover's Corners and Stellvia
), and in areas where the local culture is heavily influenced by Fen from areas of the United States where personal weapon ownership is
encouraged, but most of these people brought their weapons with them when they left Earth.

Also, weapons larger than sidearms and rifles are too expensive for most Fen to purchase. As of 2013, only Boskone and the Great Justice team have
military-spec hardware in any great numbers, and most of that is homebuilt.

Since most of the people in Fenspace who want weapons already have the weapons they can afford, there is little market for organized criminals to fill.
Generally, they don't bother.

Just because handguns are legal in Fenspace doesn't mean they aren't controlled. The vast majority of large ships and stations regulate who is allowed
to carry weaponry while on-board in order to reduce the chance of accidental death and structural damage. (While most handwaved hulls are impervious to firearm
bullets, there are plenty of tubes and conduits that handle electronics, oxygen, and temperature control to be ruptured in a gunfight.)

==== Slavery ====

Slavery is illegal in Fenspace, and has been since the Articles of Confederation were signed at
KandorCon.

The scarcity of usable living room in space makes owning slaves problematic, so slaving operations in Fenspace focus on obtaining "stock" for the
Earth market. There is enough demand among unscrupulous mundanes for biomodded pleasure-slaves that capturing, forcibly biomodding, and brainwashing Fen is a
sufficiently profitable activity for organized crime to handle.

==== Terrorism ====

(something should go here... any ideas?)

---

-Rob Kelk




"Read Or Die: not so much a title as a way of life." - Justin Palmer, 6 June 2007
--
Rob Kelk
"Governments have no right to question the loyalty of those who oppose
them. Adversaries remain citizens of the same state, common subjects of
the same sovereign, servants of the same law."

- Michael Ignatieff, addressing Stanford University in 2012

[Epsilon]

Don't forgot the old standbys of organized crime: Gambling, Extortion and Prostitution. There is also theft and murder, for fun and profit.
Those three form the trifecta of most organized crime efforts. Even when gambling and protitution are legal organized crime will worm its way into it, usually by applying extortion efforts.
The primary crime in fenspace is likely to be extortion. "That sure is a nice oxygen reclamation system you have there. Would be a shame if something were to happen to it." Small groups of boskone extorting protection money out of isolated fen. Sure they'd be no match for a OGJ squad but they have the advantage of being able to move fast and the fact that threats are often very effective. Most people will pony up the money because of the chance that the boskone could sabotage their food and water and air supply before OGJ could do anything to save them.
Gambling is going to be big. Very big. Since fenspace has no gambling laws at present expect the kind of people who run Las Vegas to show up to set up some nonterretorial gambling. These people are BAD MEN. If you think that just because its legal means its going to be blood free take a look at the history of Las Vegas itself. Competition is going to be fierce (and often bloody) between the competiting factions of boskone here. Cheaters can expect to be spaced and so on.
Of course, this will all be done "under the table" so as not to piss off major fen factions.
And while most fen won't consider it a crime most world governments will, so you should touch on electronic piracy. Illegal download servers will flourish in space and you can expect heavy sanctions from Earth based governments as a result.
So, yeah, lots of potential for badguys. Lots of potential for heros as well.
-----------------
Epsilon

[robkelk]

We've gone the Amsterdam route with prostitution - made it legal, made sure the prostitutes get regular medical checkups, and made sure there's some muscle in the establishments to forestall any physical violence. (And that's how Candy Apple Red's entered the setting.)
Extortion and gambling, though... yeah, we'd better put something about those into the entry.

-Rob Kelk
"Read Or Die: not so much a title as a way of life." - Justin Palmer, 6 June 2007
--
Rob Kelk
"Governments have no right to question the loyalty of those who oppose
them. Adversaries remain citizens of the same state, common subjects of
the same sovereign, servants of the same law."

- Michael Ignatieff, addressing Stanford University in 2012

[ECSNorway]

Expect such establishments to be targeted - OC types are very territorial, and won't like the idea of anyone setting up in what they consider their business without working for /them/.--
"I give you the beautiful... the talented... the tirelessly atomic-powered...
R!
DOROTHY!
WAYNERIGHT!
--
Sucrose Octanitrate.
Proof positive that with sufficient motivation, you can make anything explode.

[M Fnord]

(Prototype, add or edit @ will.)
==== Terrorism ====
Terrorism in Fenspace is kind of an odd duck. Fen are beautiful examples of targets for all kinds of terrorists, from al-Quaeda to Operation Rescue. However //terrorism// tends not to happen in Fenspace. This is based partly in the diffuse nature of fen government; it's harder to strike fear in a nation when that "nation" is made up of less people than the population of Luxembourg and spread out all over a volume millions of times larger than Earth.
A few terrorist (or "terrorist") groups, like the Sons of Turner (a white-power movement affiliated with like groups in North America and Europe) or the Red Brigades (the classic communist terror group from Italy, revived for a new century) have found homes in Fenspace. However, these groups seem mostly content to isolate themselves within small habitats as they try to create their utopias. If/when these attempts fail, the situation may change.
The biggest terrorism-related threat plaguing Fenspace, and the one Great Justice (and after them, the Patrol) spend most of their energy combating, is the threat of groups using fen technology to strike at Earth. The idea that a group could throw "small" asteroids and comets at juicy targets on Earth is //very// tempting. Thankfully, most terrorist groups don't have the contacts or the imagination necessary to pull this kind of stunt off. One (thankfully rare) exception to this are the Sons of Rome, a negative-growth deep green movement that attempted to drop a dinosaur killer on Earth in early 2014. The attempt failed, but a large number of the Sons escaped the Patrol.---
Mr. Fnord
http://fnord.sandwich.net/
http://www.jihad.net/
Mr. Fnord interdimensional man of mystery

FenWiki - Your One-Stop Shop for Fenspace Information

"I. Drink. Your. NERDRAGE!"

[robkelk]

Thanks, Mal.

---

One (thankfully rare) exception to this are the Sons of Rome, a negative-growth deep green movement that attempted to drop a dinosaur killer on Earth in early 2014. The attempt failed, but a large number of the Sons escaped the Patrol.

---

Eep!
Okay, who's writing this story?

-Rob Kelk
"Read Or Die: not so much a title as a way of life." - Justin Palmer, 6 June 2007
--
Rob Kelk
"Governments have no right to question the loyalty of those who oppose
them. Adversaries remain citizens of the same state, common subjects of
the same sovereign, servants of the same law."

- Michael Ignatieff, addressing Stanford University in 2012

[M Fnord]

---

Thanks, Mal.

---

Ist nicht.

---

Okay, who's writing this story?

---

Don't look at me, I was just adding some color to the idea. Still, the story should write itself; bad guys jack rock, good guys intercept, they fight, bad guys scatter, rock stopped, day saved. Add however much cinema is needed to make things snappy.---
Mr. Fnord
http://fnord.sandwich.net/
http://www.jihad.net/
Mr. Fnord interdimensional man of mystery

FenWiki - Your One-Stop Shop for Fenspace Information

"I. Drink. Your. NERDRAGE!"

[Kokuten]

---

Tobacco is somewhat more difficult to grow in Fenspace, and remains a major Earth export.

---

To state, in character, that I am Verily Fucking Displeased with this would be an understatement. I am positively livid.
Out of character, that is a beautiful line right there. My avatard doesn't smoke anything other than tobacco, so the stuff we do grow, ain't no good..
And the tobacco-ish plants we _can_ grow don't bloody work out well.
Ties us back to the Mother Planet on a number of levels, throws some scarcity into Fenspace, and implies how Fenspace handles things. Very nice.
Wire Geek - Burning the weak and trampling the dead since 1979Wire Geek - Burning the weak and trampling the dead since 1979

[Morganite]

---

Expect such establishments to be targeted - OC types are very territorial, and won't like the idea of anyone setting up in what they consider their business without working for /them/.

---

That might be quite a bit more difficult under fenspace conditions though. The combination of non-isolation and the lack of real places to hide should make it hard to keep things quiet.
-Morgan.
"I'm not a vampire, but I play one on TV."

[M Fnord]

---

The combination of non-isolation and the lack of real places to hide should make it hard to keep things quiet.

---

That's not quite true, you can hide and you can't hide in Fenspace. Remember, the solar system is a big place; once you get outside the major traffic lanes, it's reasonably easy to slip into the background. This is how Boskone hid until it consituted a major threat, after all.
However, it's difficult to actually commit crimes when you're hidden like that. Again using Boskone as an example, it wasn't until they started attacking shipping and isolated bases that they really differentiated themselves from the rest of the eccentrics.
It's a little early in the universe for it, but I could see the less-populated parts of the solar system becoming popular hideouts for mob bosses and other bigshot crooks around 2025-30 or so. The combination of isolation plus distance makes it an ideal situation.---
Mr. Fnord
http://fnord.sandwich.net/
http://www.jihad.net/
Mr. Fnord interdimensional man of mystery

FenWiki - Your One-Stop Shop for Fenspace Information

"I. Drink. Your. NERDRAGE!"

[Morganite]

Well, what I meant was that it's usually going to be hard to hide on *someone else's* ship, and if you're in a populated area and decide to do something precipitous, like, say, knock a hole in the side, people will notice.
And prostitution I'd say is pretty high up there on the list of businesses that work out better in more populated areas. '.'
-Morgan, thinks Irene is still likely to offer them thin enviroment systems..."Mikuru-chan molested me! I'm... so happy!"
-Haruhi, "The Ecchi of Haruhi Suzumiya"
---(Not really)

[Bob Schroeck]

Mm. Looks good. A couple comments, before I see anything anyone else has added.

---

Alcohol is trivally easy to make from any starch-based foodstuff, and many Fen do so. (The stereotypical Belter is known for making back-of-the-car "white lightning," and the White Stallion does a nice side business selling small batches of whiskey that aren't up to their very high standards.)

---

"The settlement on/in the SP ''Grover's Corners'' is top-heavy with home-brewers; their beers, meads and ciders are considered among some of the better "local" product available in Fenspace. They are also hard to come by -- the crew came into Fenspace expecting to brew mainly for themselves, and at the moment they are limited to approximately ten five-gallon "brew buckets" at a time."
(If you're inclined and want to add more
"Hephaestus Foundries has made a standing offer to build them one or more 500-gallon stainless steel fermenters, though, any time they feel like ramping up produciton.
The Corners' crew generally sell their brews for a quarter their weight in biomass (or the equivalent in other valid currency) plus an amount of water equal the brew sold."

---

The use of weapons of mass destruction, such as "kaboomite," were outlawed

---

"The use ... was outlawed." "Use" is the object, not "weapons".-- Bob
---------
One of the primary differences between the Left and the Right is their attitude toward the Future. The Radical wants the Future to have gotten here yesterday. The Reactionary wants the Future quietly shot and the corpse buried where no one can find it.
-- Bob
---------
Then the horns kicked in...
...and my shoes began to squeak.

[Feinan]

*grin* Looks...interesting. I especially like the bits about alcohol, marijuana and tobacco.
Though....

---

Tobacco is somewhat more difficult to grow in Fenspace, and remains a major Earth export.

---

You do realize this is the sort of thing I look on as a challenge, yes? *chuckle* Never really got into smoking - though I enjoy the smell of pipe smoke - but trying to figure out a way to pull this off might be amusing. Not immediately high on the Jason's priority queue, but interesting nonetheless. I don't really have the footage needed for such a large-scale crop, unless I made it spaceworthy....but it's something to consider for the Martian farmers. Hmmm...
-Feinan

[M Fnord]

---

.but it's something to consider for the Martian farmers. Hmmm...

---

I figure Martian farmers are big on hemp. It grows quickly, can be used for all sorts of things involving fiber (cloth and paper being the big ones; no more dependency on wood-pulp paper from Earth for one thing) *and* you can smoke it to boot. Handy stuff, it is. ---
Mr. Fnord
http://fnord.sandwich.net/
http://www.jihad.net/
Mr. Fnord interdimensional man of mystery

FenWiki - Your One-Stop Shop for Fenspace Information

"I. Drink. Your. NERDRAGE!"

[Feinan]

*laughs* Very handy stuff, I'll admit. Though if there's a market for tobacco, I'm sure at least a few farmers might try it. Besides, I like multi-use crops whenever possible. Tweaking the growth rate and adding other possible uses to the plant might make it a viable option. I'd suggest nitrogen fixation in the roots, but I believe the nitrogen content in the Martian atmosphere is way too low to make this useful. Ah well....something to think about for the future.

[Cobalt Greywalker]

DAMN YOU ROB. Now you've got me thinking about a Top Ten Threats to Fenspace list from the Supers. I've already got 5 of them. Also, please note I'm using only Fen threats, not any OC come up from the Well. I'll post it later once I run out of Ideas.

[Ebony]

---

Okay, who's writing this story?

---

Hmmm. I might do something with this. 'Cause, ya know, Doomsday Devices are right up Buckaroo's alley.Ebony the Black Dragon
Senior Editor, Living Room Games
http://www.lrgames.com
Ebony the Black Dragon
http://ebony14.livejournal.com

"Good night, and may the Good Lord take a Viking to you."

[Ebony]

Addendum: I will have some additions to this entry, regarding certain organizations, but I don't want to spoil the surprise. Let's just say that for every reaction, there is an equal and opposite reaction. Even in Fenspace....
(Mwa ha ha.)Ebony the Black Dragon
Senior Editor, Living Room Games
http://www.lrgames.com
Ebony the Black Dragon
http://ebony14.livejournal.com

"Good night, and may the Good Lord take a Viking to you."

[Kokuten]

---

that for every reaction, there is an equal and opposite reaction. Even in Fenspace....

---

Join The Black Patrol today!Wire Geek - Burning the weak and trampling the dead since 1979Wire Geek - Burning the weak and trampling the dead since 1979

[Ebony]

---

Join The Black Patrol today!

---

Oh, no. It's much worse that that....
Hail Xan!Ebony the Black Dragon
Senior Editor, Living Room Games
http://www.lrgames.com
Ebony the Black Dragon
http://ebony14.livejournal.com

"Good night, and may the Good Lord take a Viking to you."

[robkelk]

Hey, I remember what the "coming next" card at the end of the movie said...

-Rob Kelk
"Read Or Die: not so much a title as a way of life." - Justin Palmer, 6 June 2007
--
Rob Kelk
"Governments have no right to question the loyalty of those who oppose
them. Adversaries remain citizens of the same state, common subjects of
the same sovereign, servants of the same law."

- Michael Ignatieff, addressing Stanford University in 2012

[Cobalt Greywalker]

Well, here's the Top Ten list. Only I ran out of ideas at eight. Have fun with it, as it's very beta.

---

As Operation: Great Justice drew to a close, it became obvious that as the Boskonian threat diminished native threats were filling the gaps left. In realising this, the various intelligence groups pooled their resources to understand these threats. Fortunately a few lone wolf Supers had anticipated this and had been using the amalgamated intelligence resources of OGJ to keep an eye on things while the main threat was dealt with.
Thus within a month of the fall of Boskone Prime, OGJ Intelligence produced a Top Ten Threats/Wanted list.
The List
1) The number one threat in Fenspace today is the El Capone Gang. They are an amalgamation of the various Movie Gangster Fen, and as such have close contacts with (or been infiltrated by) the various OC groups back on Earth. This naturally makes them the official heirs to the Boskonian legacy, and they have their hands in every criminal enterprise known to Fen.
2) The second biggest threat are the Tanglewood Boys. The Gangsta Rap Fen who use the U.S. East coast as their inspiration, they are mostly the small time criminals who go into extortion and threats. The main reason for their threat is their numbers, almost matching those of the El Capone Gang.
3) Threat number three are the Star Bloods. These are the Gangsta Rap Fen who prefer the U.S. West coast as their inspiration. Their most distinguishing feature is their preference for running the Gambling trade. This puts them at odds with the El Capone Gang and their backers. Combined with their natural rivalry with the U.S. East coast Tanglewood Boys, this makes them a vicious group to make up for their lower numbers.
4) The fourth most serious threat in Fenspace is Madam Marciano, one of the leaders of the newly emergent Criminal Guild (which seems to have picked up the various government contacts the Boskonians had that have not been ferreted out). A refined beauty with Gothic tastes, what isnt generally known is that she is a Cyborg (reasons unknown). What makes her so dangerous is that she controls The Twelve Sisters, female android assassins with a Gothic Lolita fashion bent who dont mind collateral damage and who are utterly loyal.
5) Number five came a quite the surprise, as until all the records from Boskone Prime were cracked it was thought he was dead. Dr. Asmodeus Grey, the former Super who created the Catgirling Machine. While his location is unknown despite the best efforts of the intelligence groups, the steady pickup of unusually regular biomods hints he is still developing his procedures. He is wanted Alive, despite calls for his immediate execution, just in case he knows a way to make the lives of the victims of his machines better.
6) The Bugrom. Extremely biomodded insects created by Queen Diva and commanded in battle by Dark General Katsuhito Jinnai, the Bugrom started showing up in early 2014. Diva is obviously an extremely good Bio-Geneticist, and given the increasing numbers of Bugrom encountered has either got a mass-production line or has managed to regularly breed them. No one is quite sure which is worse.
7) Big Fire. While the new Criminal Guild has focused on the business of Crime, Big Fire is an ideological organisation bent on World Domination, by any means. While their numbers are still small, the organisations existence has forced Fenspace to acknowledge the existence of Supervillains.
8) The Concordat. Probably the most insidious threat to Fenspace and Danelaw interests, the Concordat feel they OWN Handwavium, and as such have the right to control it and do with it as they please. While nothing much else is known about them, the mere existence of the Concordat has led the various Danelaw government to tighten regulation of Handwavium but paradoxically to allow more people access to it.

[Ebony]

---

7) Big Fire. While the new Criminal Guild has focused on the business of Crime, Big Fire is an ideological organisation bent on World Domination, by any means. While their numbers are still small, the organisations existence has forced Fenspace to acknowledge the existence of Supervillains.

---

There are rumors (aren't there always) that Big Fire is a front organization for an older syndicate. Some say this organization began forming as early as 2008, and some say it has been around for much longer. Believed to be Asian in origin, it is said to have drawn the survivors of the Tongs and the triads into its core, and is ruled by a man that is so powerful, so evil, as to rival the Devil.
But of course, these are just rumors....
(Okay, if you don't know what I'm talking about, you're not paying attention or you haven't seen "The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai.")Ebony the Black Dragon
Senior Editor, Living Room Games
http://www.lrgames.com
Ebony the Black Dragon
http://ebony14.livejournal.com

"Good night, and may the Good Lord take a Viking to you."

[robkelk]

Here's take two of the entry.
Or, rather, entries - I've split off the discussion of legal drugs into a "Popular Trade Items" stub.

---

====== Organized Crime in Fenspace ======
Not everybody who's made it Up is nice.
===== History =====
Organized criminals got into Fenspace the same way everyone else did: they handwaved some vehicles (or had someone else 'wave some vehicles for them) and headed up. Then, for the most part, they settled down in quiet locations away from the major traffic lanes and built up their resources.
However, it's difficult to actually //commit// crimes when you're hidden like that, so they started preying on honest folk (some more quickly than others).

===== Organized Criminal Groups =====
Most Fen lump all organized criminals under the heading "Boskonians". This is a gross over-simplification.
Many major organized crime groups are active in space, not always in co-operation with each other. (The rivalry between at least one Columbian drug cartel and at least one Yakuza group was the direct cause of the destruction of Crystal Osaka in 2013, for instance.) If they are known to exist on Earth, they probably have at least a representative somewhere in space to keep an eye on their interests.
(Edit: Incorporate Cobalt's list of organized Fencriminals here...)

===== Types of Organized Crime =====
Organized crime on Earth breaks down into some clearly-identifable activities, some of which do not translate well to Fenspace.

==== Extortion ====
In Fenspace, extortion is widely considered to be a form of robbery, which is illegal.
Small groups of Boskonians make a profit extorting protection money out of isolated fen. ("That sure is a nice oxygen reclamation system you have there. Would be a shame if something were to happen to it.")
Extortionists have the advantage of being able to move fast, and their threats are often very effective.
In regions where the Patrol is nearby (such as the Supers enclave in Kandor City) or where citizens routinely take the law into their own hands (such as the Browncoat settlements on Ganymede), extortion is risky. In other areas, it can be quite luacrative - most people will pony up the money because of the chance that the Boskonians could sabotage their food and water and air supply before the Star Patrol could do anything to save them.

==== Gambling and Prostitution ====
As of 2014, gambling and prostitution are not illegal in Fenspace.
But that doesn't mean they're safe. Organized crime is accustomed to being in charge of these businesses on Earth even where they're legal, and they don't take infringement on their "turf" lying down. A new establishment in either of these fields should expect extortion and terror tactics to be used against it until it capitulates, unless it becomes more expensive for the criminals to continue the harassment than they'd gain after the takeover.
Successful casinos and brothels in Fenspace either have arrangements with the local organized criminals, are owned by the criminal element outright, or are //very// good at protecting themselves.

==== Slavery ====
Slavery is illegal in Fenspace, and has been since the Articles of Confederation were signed at KandorCon.
The scarcity of usable living room in space makes owning slaves problematic, so slaving operations in Fenspace focus on obtaining "stock" for the Earth market. There is enough demand among unscrupulous mundanes for biomodded pleasure-slaves that capturing, forcibly biomodding, and brainwashing Fen is a sufficiently profitable activity for organized crime to handle.

==== Illegal Drugs ====
As of 2014, there are no illegal drugs in Fenspace.
This is less because of the libertarian nature of Fenspace, and more from the fact that addiction to incapacitating or mind-altering drugs is self-correcting in space. (People who drug themselves into a state where they can't tend to their own needs quickly end up dead from oxygen deprivation, either because the air in their suits or cars ran out, or because they walked out an airlock without a pressure suit.)
Since avoidance of "hard" drugs is a survival trait in Fenspace, there is little market for organized criminals to fill. Generally, they don't bother.
Organized crime //does// take advantage of conditions in space to harvest or otherwise create drugs that can be sold on Earth. The most nortorious of these is thionite, a powerful hallucinogen derived from certain strains of Venusian terraforming bacteria.

==== Illegal Weaponry ====
As of 2014, there are no illegal weapons in Fenspace. (The use of weapons of mass destruction, such as "kaboomite," was outlawed in the treaty of KandorCon, but ownership of them is not illegal per se.)
However, many Fen don't bother to go armed. One can only cram so much into a vehicle, and there's no hostile wildlife in space. More importantly, there's no pre-existing source of food Out There. Given a choice between a chaingun that he'll probably never use or an extra day's worth of groceries that he'll definitely eat, most Fen choose to pack the food. Weapon caches exist mainly on larger ships and stations that have room for luxuries (such as //Grover's Corners// and //Stellvia//), and in areas where the local culture is heavily influenced by Fen from areas of the United States where personal weapon ownership is encouraged, but most of these people brought their weapons with them when they left Earth.
Also, weapons larger than sidearms and rifles are too expensive for most Fen to purchase. As of 2013, only Boskone and the Great Justice team have military-spec hardware in any great numbers, and most of that is homebuilt.
Since most of the people in Fenspace who want weapons already have the weapons they can afford, there is little market for organized criminals to fill. Generally, they don't bother.

Just because handguns are legal in Fenspace doesn't mean they aren't controlled. The vast majority of large ships and stations regulate who is allowed to carry weaponry while on-board in order to reduce the chance of accidental death and structural damage. (While most handwaved hulls are impervious to firearm bullets, there are plenty of tubes and conduits that handle electronics, oxygen, and temperature control to be ruptured in a gunfight.)

==== Corporate Malfesance ====
Because of the unique nature of Fenspace economics, it quickly becomes obvious which companies are being looted from within (the amount of biomass coming from the companies increases without obvious cause), and the companies' owners can take appropriate steps before major harm is done.

==== Data Piracy ====
As of 2014, it is not illegal to share data of any sort in Fenspace. Most factions have rules against divulging secrets, and many respect the concept of copyright to greater or lesser degrees, but the highly libertarian nature of Fenspace as a whole makes it impossible to place an outright ban on data transmission.
This gives certain people ideas. Download servers that are illegal on Earth, ranging from the political to the mercenary, flourish in many areas of space. Some of these servers are operated by the criminal element.
Because of these servers, many Earth-based governments do not allow their citizens to access the Interwave, and some of the governments that do allow such access monitor it closely.

==== Terrorism ====
Terrorism in Fenspace is kind of an odd duck. Fen are beautiful examples of targets for all kinds of terrorists, from al-Quaeda to Operation Rescue, but //terrorism// tends not to happen in Fenspace. This is based partly in the diffuse nature of fen government; it's harder to strike fear in a nation when that "nation" is made up of less people than the population of Luxembourg and spread out all over a volume millions of times larger than Earth.
A few terrorist (or "terrorist") groups, like the Sons of Turner (a white-power movement affiliated with like groups in North America and Europe) or the Red Brigades (the classic communist terror group from Italy, revived for a new century) have found homes in Fenspace. However, these groups seem mostly content to isolate themselves within small habitats as they try to create their utopias. If or when these attempts fail, the situation may change.
The biggest terrorism-related threat plaguing Fenspace, and the one Great Justice (and after them, the Patrol) spend most of their energy combating, is the threat of groups using fen technology to strike at Earth. The idea that a group could throw "small" asteroids and comets at juicy targets on Earth is //very// tempting. It's bad enough that this [[fiction:early:we_don_t_need_that_hammer_lucifer|almost happened to Aukland by accident in 2011]; most people in Great Justice and the Patrol have spent at least one sleepless night dreading that someone might try doing it on purpose. Thankfully, most terrorist groups don't have the contacts necessary to pull this kind of stunt off. One (thankfully rare) exception to this are the Sons of Rome, a negative-growth deep green movement that attempted to drop a dinosaur killer on Earth in early 2014. The attempt failed, but a large number of the Sons escaped the Patrol.

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====== Popular Trade Items ======
//or, How can I make some credits in Fenspace?//

===== "Legal" Drugs =====
Technically speaking, all drugs are legal in Fenspace (barring local regulations to the contrary), but some drugs are just too dangerous to use in the unforgiving environment of space.
Use of alcohol, tobacco, or marijuana in moderation does not incapacitate the user to life-threatening extremes, so there are markets for these drugs in Fenspace.
**Alcohol** is trivally easy to make from any starch-based foodstuff, and many Fen do so. The stereotypical Belter is known for making back-of-the-car "white lightning," and the //White Stallion// does a nice side business selling small batches of whiskey that aren't up to their very high standards.
The settlement in the //Grover's Corners// is top-heavy with
home-brewers; their beers, meads and ciders are considered among some of the better "local" product available in Fenspace. (They are also hard to come by - the crew came into Fenspace expecting to brew mainly for themselves, and at the moment they are limited to approximately ten five-gallon "brew buckets" at a time.)
And Crystal Sapporo (in Venus orbit) is home to one of the most noted breweries in Fenspace.
The //Corners'// crew are typical in selling their brews for a quarter their weight in biomass (or the equivalent in other valid currency) plus an amount of water equal the brew sold.

**Marijuana** is almost trivially easy to grow, as long as the necessary hydroponic greenhouse space is available. //Hephaestus// grows a strain guaranteed to be handwavium-free. The Martian Terraforming Project grows acres of hemp mainly intended for cloth and paper fiber, but some of that crop ends up in pipes and cigarettes as well.

**Tobacco** is somewhat more difficult to grow in Fenspace, and remains a major Earth export. (As with all botanical matters in Fenspace, there are persistent rumors that The Jason is working on this problem, but as of 2014 he hasn't announced anything.)

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Additions, deletions, other changes, further kibitzing of any other sort?

-Rob Kelk
"Read Or Die: not so much a title as a way of life." - Justin Palmer, 6 June 2007
--
Rob Kelk
"Governments have no right to question the loyalty of those who oppose
them. Adversaries remain citizens of the same state, common subjects of
the same sovereign, servants of the same law."

- Michael Ignatieff, addressing Stanford University in 2012

[robkelk]

And a new, related entry for discussion:

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====== Courts in Fenspace ======
Civil court in Fenspace is a lot simpler than Earth/U.S.A. You get two parties who are in conflict, they agree on a judge (often an Erisian), the judge takes care of the rest. This system of binding arbitration is slowly creating a "body of law," which happens to be nowhere near internally coherent, nor does it precisely follow the Articles of Convention.
Criminal court is similar, except that the accused doesn't always get a say in who the judge is. (Or judges - since it's often impossible to //find// a jury of the accused's peers, let alone compel them to hear a case, some Fen prefer to have a tribunal of at least three judges rule on serious crimes such as murder.)

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It's a bit sparse... Any comments?
-Rob Kelk
"Read Or Die: not so much a title as a way of life." - Justin Palmer, 6 June 2007
--
Rob Kelk
"Governments have no right to question the loyalty of those who oppose
them. Adversaries remain citizens of the same state, common subjects of
the same sovereign, servants of the same law."

- Michael Ignatieff, addressing Stanford University in 2012