Embedded Files
OVERVIEW OF L-5
L-5 is a city in space, and more: since 2173, L-5 has been a Nation. It's a small one, to be sure, a microstate as places like Monaco and Dominica and Nauru had been, but a state nonetheless. Facing challenges unique for a nation, L-5 has been setting its own definitions on the relationship between a state and its citizenry. Physically it is impressive. After the Beanstalk and its Gateway complex, L-5 humanity's second most grandiose structure. L-5 takes its name from the point about which it orbits: the Lagrange Point designated L-5. The Lagrange points are locations where the gravity of the Earth and Moon are in equilibrium. Some falsely assume this means an object would be at the point, so it is more accurate to say that the Lagrange points are points around which stable orbits exist. Around points L-4 and L-5, the equilibrium orbits are large and useful. The L-5 habitat orbits the L-5 point at a distance of about 140,000 km.
This habitat was first established in 2110 by the European Space Agency. The most important criterion for a permanently settled space habitat, as opposed to a station occupied on a temporary basis, is the presence of gravity or an artificial substitute, without which normal human existence is impossible. The best substitute for gravity is the centrifugal force generated by rotating. Taking advantage of this, the L-5 Habitat was designed as a series of rings rotating around a central core. Each Ring is joined by 3 "Spokes" to a collar that rotates around the core. During original planning, it was realized that the machinery would be much simpler if the whole station rotated, but the French in particular pressed for the non-rotating core, and their argument that a stationary core allowed for improved ship handling and industrial processing eventually carried over the increased cost and complexity. The core was designed to be modular and expandable, lengthening as needed when more rings where added. The seven rings, all but one with a diameter of 4 kilometers, were built on at a time, and added to the core. The core extends for quite some distance beyond the outermost rings, where it serves as a communications and docking mast on each end. The rings are widely spaced, with two kilometers between the center points of each rings collar to the next. This gives a total length from end to end of the core, not including some projecting antennas, of 17 kilometers. The distance gives a measure of redundancy and safety to the habitat. It is not as easy for a catastrophe in one ring to affect the others as it would have been had the habitat been envisioned as a single cylinder. The rings are joined along the circumference by three long ribs, parallel to the central core. With Rings, Core, Spokes, and Ribs, the station looks like the designers had intended to build a massive cylinder, but had only got as far as the skeleton, never attaching the skin. Each Ring is divided into thirds by the points at which the Spokes and Ribs attach. Four such points might have been convenient from a human direction point of view, and perhaps they would have been called "north, south, east, and west" but the designers chose three, organizing the structure into thirds. Distance around a ring is measured in degrees, and so these locations have acquired names "zero mark", "one-twenty mark" and "two-forty mark".
The Rings, except for the Russian Docking Complex ring which is smaller than the others, are named for Goddesses, and in formal usage are, oldest to youngest, Aradia Ring, Brighid Ring, Eostra Ring, Holda Ring, Idun Ring, and Persephone Ring, although informally the "Ring" is dropped and they would simply be called "Brighid", "Eostra", etc. The two ends of the habitat are the French Pole and the Russian Pole, named for the two nations that dominated activities there. The Ribs are referred to as the Zero Rib, the One-Twenty Rib, and the Two-Forty Rib. Locations in the rings are generally referred to by the degrees around the ring from the Zero Rib. L-5 is designed as a permanent structure. The entire outer skin of the habitat is expendable, and designed to be replaced on a regular basis. The rings are surrounded on their outer sides by thick layers of metal armor, smelted from several metallic asteroids. Over that there is a padding of "rock foam", 10 meters thick, with a consistency somewhat like pumice, created from asteroid material, lunar material, and high strength synthetic fiber. Replaceable glass panels protect windows, which cover much of the inner "ceiling" surface of the rings, especially the newer ones.
Although it was designed, funded and built by an International Agency, to support their space colonization plans, political difference between member nations eventually drove them apart, and cooperative ventures like L-5 foundered. This problem led to social difficulties on the habitat, and its eventual declaration of independence. L-5 was established as an independent nation, unique amongst nations in that it has no land area over which it is sovereign. (L-5 has operations on the Lunar surface, and among some asteroids and even several comets, but claims sovereignty over none of them) The habitat also came with a host of ills, mostly monetary, which the new government is still struggling to overcome.
Although as a nation it's among the smallest, L-5 is a significant player in terms of commercial space operations. Many starships from long distance transports to in-system service and utility craft are maintained at L-5, and L-5's industries turn out critical parts for spacecraft systems. These industries, as well as commercial and financial institutions serving the merchant space community, are major components of the L-5 economy.
L-5's government has been energetically looking for ways to improve the habitat/nation's balance sheet, and regards its role as something like "business agent". As a "micro-nation" L-5 has had the problems faced in the past by small nations: a lack of voice in international affairs, an economy dependent on too narrow a range of strengths, and a relatively small talent pool. L-5 has been accused of sacrificing in the name of expediency, with corrupt individuals and organizations exploiting a lack of regulatory oversight, with L-5 officials too often turning a blind eye if the individual or organization in question was bringing much needed capital into the nation. On the other hand, L-5 has an active and progressive population. They have managed to carry out a task many said was impossible- the L-5 habitat is now, consistently, more than earning the money it needs to maintain itself, and the quality of life is steadily improving. They have opened themselves to the rest of humanity as never before, and are successfully forging a new national heritage.
There are no plans for future Rings. Rather, L-5's future expansion will be accomplished by adding habitat elements along spokes between rings, eventually turning the station (by sometime late in the 26th century, at current projections) into a cylinder.
HISTORY
L-5 was begun by the European Space Agency in its early, headstrong, imaginative days when vision still triumphed over politics. Between the discovery of the stutterwarp phenomenon (basically the controlled application of quantum tunneling) in 2080 and the first interstellar flights in the 2130’s, space development in the inner solar system blossomed. Space habitats had been designed and proposed before, but the will to invest hadn't existed. At the turn of the 22nd century, when interstellar flight appeared a near certainty with each new milestone in stutterwarp science (for example, first controlled stutterwarping of a macroscopic object, 2202; first cyclic stutterwarping, 2206; first stutterwarping of a stutterwarp device, 2211) the will and the way materialized. The initial core unit and the first habitat ring- Aradia- were completed in 2112, with the intent that they would act as a base station for further construction, with the rings Brighid, Eostra, Holda, Idun, and Persephone added by the ESA and the Gugarin Docking Complex by Russia. The newest ring, Persephone, was completed in 2256, to provide residential space for a population that was slowly expanding on the one hand and feeling downgraded in importance compared to the colonies on the other.
By 2235, with the beginning of the Tirane colonization, L-5 had 2 rings in place and was ready to assume its planned function of primary off-Earth base station for the Tirane Missions. L-5's assembly plants began manufacturing the expendable drop-cargo modules shipped on the colony ships. (Drop pod manufacture continues to this day, with L-5 producing several hundred a year from raw materials mined on the moon and from asteroids) Argentine forces threatened L-5 during the Alpha Centauri War, but most of the space combat assets fielded by the Argentines and their allies that could reach it had already been sent to Alpha Centuari. In addition, the European Space Agency made it clear that an attack on the defenseless, civilian habitat would bring unthinkable and dire consequences. The war ended with the station being left comfortably untouched.
The colonial age saw the steady increase in L-5's size and capabilities. Being well away from Earth orbit, L-5 was an ideal destination for the metal loads now being shipped in-system by way of mass drivers. Earth Orbit Factories, although within easier shuttle reach of the Earth, had the problem of presenting inbound loads of metal with a large target- the Earth itself- should a load be off course. In nineteen occasions, metal "slugs" launched by mass drivers on the moon or in the Asteroid Belt have in fact hit the Earth. This is one reason for the removal from Earth orbit of those factories receiving raw metal slugs (by treaty) and the eventual addition of habitats at the L-4 point, as well as on the Moon, and in Lunar orbit. L-5 found itself gearing up not only to support the accelerating colonial programs, but the in-system space operations as well, playing the role of elder sibling to other habitats.
By the turn of the 23rd century, 5 rings had been completed and the population had crossed the 100,000 mark. The Russians, moving into space and flirting with the ESA for a while, added a smaller ring to the far end from the main docking area. This was the Gugarin Docking Complex, for a while a Russian sub-0enclave on the ESA station, but gradually being incorporated into L-5's society. As the Colonial Age drew to a close in the 3rd decade, the ESA was being threatened by internal strains. Although issues between the French and the Germans took center stage, the reality was the member nations were drawing apart in their goals and philosophies, and could no longer manage a coordinated colonization program. Already, most of the new colonies had been established by one member nation, or by several nations claiming independent areas on the same planet. It was also clear that if ESA colonization continued, colonists would eventually lose any fealty to a particular nation, and several ESA member nations were very concerned over this. The dismembering of the ESA left several areas in a state of uncertainty. Some were absorbed in one way or another by ESA members. Parliament and Centaura on Tirane struck it out as independent nations. L-5 was considered to important to be let go, or to be absorbed by one of the nations. (In particular, the Russians, who had invested substantially in L-5, repeatedly sabotaged suggestions that it be assigned to one nation). L-5 was run as a jointly owned station for most of the rest of the century.
Joint ownership had its drawbacks, especially with the number of owners. Views on L-5 policy often conflicted, and increasingly failed to take into account the wishes of the population. By this time, most of L-5's population was native, a demographic milestone which is a potential turning point for most colonies. L-5's owning nations found it easier to deal with the management of their far-flung colonies, typically possessions of a single nation, than with a habitat in the Earth-Moon area. With the exception of the well remembered Rachel Vanderkamp, the Dutch Operations Director of L-5 from 2230 through 2242, L-5 seems to have gotten the less able managers as the cream of the colonial crop headed off for other star systems. L-5 acquired a reputation as a poorly run place, productive, important, but with endemic social problems. The French adopted the policy of rotating their people; they were beginning to see L-5 in terms of a temporary work assignment and not a permanent society. This severely tested the locals.
The European Space Agency's member nations quibbled about what to do over the increasingly disaffected residents of L-5. In the 2250's acts of civil disobedience
IN 2271 the decision was made by the member nations of the European Space Agency, with the approval of those nations that had substantial interests on L-5 without actual membership (Russia, Scandinavia) to permit the Board of Directors of the habitat, directly elected by L-5's citizenry since 2255,
In 2173 the Board of Directors assumed full operational control over the habitat, and although they had previously agreed to leave the ESA nations responsible for many matters of policy, in particular relations with other powers, they surprised humanity by declaring L-5 an independent nation, bound by treaty with the ESA nations, but sovereign. Reactions were mixed. Many analysts doubted that L-5 could meet the heavy debt burdens it had towards ESA nations that had funded its construction. Russia backed the L-5 Board of Directors from the start, as did the Latin American nations which lost no sleep over seeing yet another symbol of ESA glory whittled away, but it took France until 2288 to recognize L-5's independence. This was only done in the shadow of the Central Asian War, when France needed to call in a few political chits, and found that official recognition of L-5's independence was an inexpensive gift it could toss a few allies.
In the last decade of the 23rd century, L-5's balance sheet finally pulled into the positive side. Although L-5 still has debts to pay off, and its operating costs are still high, the Habitat is now earning its keep. Ripples of its success, though hard won and still far from certain, have spread across humanity's sphere. On dozens of small colonies, outposts, and habitats, independence is now looked upon seriously.
TRANSPORT AND VISITOR'S INFORMATION
There is a growing desire in L-5 to increase the transport links with the rest of humanity. By virtue of its size, position, and economic dependence on commercial spaceflight, L-5 has always had a higher number of starship passenger arrivals and departures as a proportion of its population than any other nation. Under the terms of L-5's independence, it was recognized in return for an agreement not to nationalize any of the commercial activities here except by legitimate means- buying them under conditions of mutual agreement on selling price. This left a lot of foreign ownership of property, and along with a high expatriate population has led to travel to and from L-5 being predominantly a commercial phenomenon. High levels of investment, improving the hotels and making internal transport easy for visitors with easy to use "smart guides", have been among the recent efforts have been made to open L-5 up to tourism. Since the station itself has little for visitors to see except the station itself, L-5 has been positioning itself as the tourist hub for the entire solar system beyond Earth.
Regular spaceplane service connects L-5 with over a dozen cities on Earth, including Moscow, Paris, Marseille, Berlin, Denver, Miami, Johannesburg, London and Glasgow. In-system shuttles link L-5 with points throughout the Solar System, including Gateway and a number of Earth orbital habitats, the L-4 habitats, the Moon, Mars, and points beyond. L-5's French Pole has a quarantine dock, for ships arriving from beyond the Earth quarantine zone. Beyond the quarantine dock, which includes a hotel and business facilities, the station is considered within the Earth Quarantine Zone. No special precautions are needed when travelling between L-5, the Earth, and other points within the zone.
Within the habitat, transport is provided by an automated tram system that moves along the circumference of each ring, along the ribs connecting points on the rings to other rings, through spokes to the core, and along the core. (The main tubes used by the trams going from end to end through the core are called "Via Napoleon" because they connect the "Russian" pole and the "French" pole) The entire habitat is readily accessible, and there is no cost to use this system. Visitors are charged a daily service fee, which supposedly covers the cost of their use of this system, as well as their impact on other systems, such as water reclamation. Recently, however, the Board of Directors has issued a low cost "tourist rate" with the intent of making visiting the station more attractive. There are no passenger cars, although there are bicycles, and there are small electric mini-trucks. These are used for inter-ring deliveries of goods. Most are robotic, and they are similar to the mail and parcel deliver robots found in many office complexes. They have a greater range of access than the trams, and have a low warning chirp to alert pedestrians to their otherwise silent approach.
The standard currency unit is the French Livre. The L-5 government issues its own L-5 Bank notes, which are pegged exactly to the Livre, but this is largely a ritualistic function, as the standard Livre is in general use, and almost all transactions on L-5 don't involve the actual passing of cash.
Entry into L-5, for the visitor, is fairly straightforward. Customs checkpoints are at the two docking areas. There is a small regular staff, reinforced with part time "Volunteers" when large passenger ships call. This is infrequent, and the L-5 government is attempting to amend this. All arrivals are thoroughly scanned and imaged, and a bio-profile entered into L-5's security computer. L-5 has the usual range of contraband materials. Most drugs beyond personal needs are illegal. All firearms are illegal- there is simply no need to own one on the habitat. Live animals can be brought onto L-5 only under special permit conditions. Body armor is illegal- the view seems to be, since there are no firearms on L-5, one can't have a good reason for owning body armor. On the other hand, L-5 seems to have a nonchalant view towards pirated copyrighted goods of all sorts, and customs agents have no interest in valuables at all- nothing is ever "declared". The reigning philosophy seems to be to worry about things that can actually cause harm on L-5, and ignore all else.
There are two offices tasked with assisting travelers and promoting tourists. Each is at one end of the habitat, and both are called "Travellers' Aid Office". They are there to make the life of travellers easier, and will assist in the obtaining of needed goods and services. The "Russian Pole" Travelers' Aid Office is the larger of the two, and doubles as the Office of Tourism for L-5. They frequently offer some sort of benefit in return for filling out their visitor's survey.
Weather does not exist, and there is no need for any heavy clothing. Two of the rings are kept at "sub-tropical" temperature, so light clothing is desirable.
GOVERNMENT
L-5 has a Board of Directors, a structure common to corporations but in this case elected representatives of the people. There are twenty Directors, and they each serve for five years. Terms are staggered with 4 being elected each year. A director pulls double duty- he is at once a legislator with regular voting power on the board, and a minister, with a specific portfolio. The chief of state is the "Operations Manager", appointed by the Board, with fairly limited powers, but with the ability to cast a tie breaking vote if the Board is deadlocked, and react to emergencies. The title and position reflect the realities of life in space: the Operations Manager is typically a person of technical, not legal or political background, and is assumed to make his decisions from the point of view of someone familiar with the physical requirements of the habitat. (As Operations Manager Otto Bertolini explained in 2286, "Oxygen is somewhat higher on our priority list than it is with most other governments. To be an L-Fiver is to take nothing for granted."). In times of emergency the Operations Manager has dictatorial powers as far as the technical systems of the Habitat is concerned.
The Board of directors combines the functions of Cabinet, Legislature, and court of final appeal. (This makes it pretty hard to sue the government and hope to win, that's one of the harsh realities of L-5 life.) The Board of Directors has significantly more powers than legislative bodies of other nation states. L-5 is without any system of "Checks and Balances" other than the next election. This is established in the L-5 constitution. Giving competing power to other branches of government was discussed at length, but eventually rejected as it was felt the tiny Habitat/Nation had too small a margin of error in too many critical functions. Elsewhere, the society and government may be shaken, but not unduly impaired if the government from time to time errs on the side of inaction, but their were fears of problems developing out of hand if it was to easy to impede the function of government.
What kind of problems? The principle issue has and still is the question of money. L-5 simply requires greater per capita expenditures than any planet side nation to maintain its infrastructure. Its resources are decidedly finite, and the environment must be managed in a fashion more like a large starship than a nation.
L-5's unique society has had to create and enforce laws that generally don't exist on nations with genuine soil beneath them. For example, the people of L-5 not only have a right to work, and to receive certain guaranteed benefits, they have a requirement to work. It is illegal to be unemployed in L-5. Being unemployed for more than 30 days without registering with the Assignments Office is called Malingering here and is punishable by fine, Restriction, (see Security) and often, immediate assignment to an unpleasant work detail. OF course, there are wealthy residents who simply pay the fine monthly, essentially using it as a "non working" tax, and the government eagerly accepts this. (People wealthy enough to do this are the ones who spend money on the local economy.
This does not mean that every citizen of L-5 lives in fear of being fired. Labor laws similar to those in pre-Twilight Era Germany protect employees. Corporations have to justify any firing, are required to show minimum employment levels commensurate with not only their income but also the wages and benefits of their executives, and taxes support the Assignments Office. For its part, the Assignments Office is tasked with finding a place for everybody. Although due diligence is placed on finding good jobs that match positions with qualified people (and most corporations think this is one of the good things about L-5, the government steps in and does most of the hard work of the Human Resources Office) there are those who simply will not cut it working for anyone. Unable to expel anyone from L-5 (since they are, after all, citizens of the habitat), the Assignments Office forms these people up into Work Details doing tasks, sometimes menial, sometimes dangerous, for the public good.
Sub par performance on these jobs is an entirely different matter. When one demonstrates on L-5 that one is entirely unwilling to do anything useful for the society, one is charged with Aggravated Malingering, and that is a crime punishable by incarceration. As is the norm for L-5's punishment system, prison sentences beyond one year's duration are frequently served in foreign prisons.
The Directors have the following portfolios: Legal Affairs, Foreign Affairs, Commerce, Culture, Security, Health, Education, Assignments, Structure, Industry, Defense, Finance, Research, Power, Environment, Statistics, Socionics, Arbitration, Tourism, and Port Operations. Some of these are positions are mirrored in almost every human national government. A few are more unusual. The Directorate of Socionics was established in 2236 by the ESA in response to declining morale. The office's charter is to monitor and improve the psychological health of the habitat’s population, identify and correct causes of stress, and improve functional and social efficiency. It's broad scope makes it more powerful than one might guess.
INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS
L-5's small size and limited budget makes it hard for them to maintain a large foreign office. On Earth, they have all of three embassies, one each in America, Russia, and the United Kingdom. On Tirane they have one office on an orbital platform, and they have one office on Beta Canum Venaticorum. Relatively few nations have an embassy on L-5, the bulk of them former ESA members granted rights to embassies on the habitat by agreement. As small as the nation is, it is frequently easier to manage affairs from Earth, with visiting representatives as necessary.
America The American Embassy is a well manicured terraced office/apartment building in Persephone. American/L-5 relations have been very friendly, and active, due the former being very involved in the world of commercial space operations and the latter being a center for these operations. As is the norm for American embassies, the complex in Persephone is used as a meeting place by businessmen, including non Americans, thanks to the highly regarded American traditions of business law and arbitration. While there is open friendship, there are problems to be worked out. America wishes L-5 to work more aggressively against high level crime and corruption. L-5's government does not see this as a priority, and is wary about drawing too close to any of the major powers.
Argentina Argentina has a small Embassy not far from the American structure in Persephone. Argentina's hostility to the ESA is old and carries over into relations with L-5. Argentine diplomats have been accused of attempting to "poison" the relationships between L-5 and ESA member nations, and there is some truth to this.
Australia. The Australian Embassy is a very small office and residential suite in Aradia. Australia keeps a staff of only two here, and has never been particularly close to L-5. Australia, like America, has issues with L-5 wishing to play in the Adults Pool of international space shipping, yet not cooperate fully with the other powers in matters relating to corruption.
Azania Azanian and France were the two members of the ESA most reluctant to approve independence for L-5. Azania keeps a sizable complex in Aradia, which is involved with the substantial Azanian Expat community here (about 2,500) and the Azanian owned commercial activities on L-5. Azania has been largely forgiven for its ant-independence stand.
Caribe. Neither nation has any embassy with the other, but both recognize each other, and both are friendly, with L-Fivers identifying with the island micro-states that became Caribe, each tiny former colonies of colonial powers. The two nations have exchanged modest cultural missions and there is talk of a regular space plane link.
France France's embassy is in Aradia, and despite France's coldness to L-5, is the largest embassy here. This is due tot he large number of French expatriates and the French corporations that still have extensive operations on L-5. There is a strong belief in L-5 that the French would like to have L-5 under its control. In the 2230's the French frequently suggested French sovereignty as a post-ESA political solution for L-5, but they gradually moved away from this position, and current French policy has not mentioned any desire to control L-5. Nevertheless, several issues bred deep suspicion among the L-Fivers: First, France's eventual recognition of L-5 seemed reluctant and forced. Second, French citizens on L-5 had the lowest rate of adopting L-5 citizenship of any former ESA population group.
Germany The German embassy is in Persephone, near the American, Dutch, Ukrainian, and Italian embassies. The concentration has led to the section being named the "embassy district". The recent unpleasantness between France and Germany was shocking to the L-Fivers, who considered ejecting both groups from their habitat to lessen the chance of any "spillover", which L-5 would certainly be hard pressed to handle. Many Germans acquired L-5 citizenship before the last European War. Some 1,200 people on the habitat are German citizens still, and L-5 officials are watching how the re-organization of Germany affects them. Overall, L-5 is wary of Germany, and afraid of being dragged into German problems.
Italy The Italian Embassy in Persephone is a near copy, architecturally, of the German Embassy. The Italians have been considering a dramatic face lift giving it a Romanesque façade. The Italian media initially found the idea of L-5 becoming an independent nation quite humorous. The locals didn't get the joke, and they have been cold to Italy ever since. The Italian media still portrays the L-5 leadership in a generally unflattering light, and there has been discussion about expelling the Italian Embassy, but cooler thinking, along with the agreement that allows each former L-5 contributing nation to maintain an Embassy, has prevailed. Still, there have been some noisy demonstrations in front of the Italian Embassy.
Netherlands To the Dutch, the failure of the ESA meant the virtual end of their colonial activities- their really never has been much of a national drive to conquer space alone in the Netherlands. The Dutch were opposed to L-5's independence, but through a different tack. They were the most committed to making the colony work from a sociological point of view, and established the office of the Director of Socionics. The Dutch believe that the independence movement came about at the result of the other ESA nations failing, not them, and still wish to maintain a somewhat paternal relationship with L-5. (Possibly as a springboard to renewing their space colonization program). The have a moderate consulate in Persephone, the bottom floor of which houses a commercial row occupied by Dutch businesses- a café with "outdoor" garden seating, an art gallery, a bank, and a delicatessen.
Russia: Russia wanted to place its embassy at the Gugarin Docking Complex, for unclear reasons. The L-5 Board of Directors declined, for equally unclear reasons. Relations between L-5 and Russia are good, with the Russians being one of the powers that supported L-5's efforts for independence. (Russian political philosophy supports independence for all regions whose populations desire it). Russians dominate L-5's hotel industry, owning the hotel at the Gugarin Docking Complex and the Romanov in Persephone Ring. Their embassy is actually one floor of the Romanov. Russian ships are frequent visitors to the station.
Ukraine: The Ukraine has a moderate facility in Persephone, in the "Embassy District". The Ukraine was at first cold to the idea of L-5's independence. Since then, attitudes have changed and now they are quite supportive of the little nation. This is the only major project in which they cooperated with the Russians, and the two communities drew quite close over the years. For reasons unknown, neither Russia nor the Ukraine has been too happy about this, and actions were taken to revive nationalist identities among both groups. Russia gave up in 2272, but the Ukraine still sponsors a Ukraine Day fair. Most of the Russian-heritaged population, and the large number of L-Fivers who seem to have left behind the ethnicity of their ancestors, seem to become Ukrainian for a day or so. Even with their mother nation putting out the effort, most Ukrainians on the habitat consider it a heritage and not a nationality. In fact, after the start of the Kafer War, most of the remaining Ukrainian citizens on L-5 changed their citizenship to L-5. The Ukraine was not thrilled over this, but the agreement with L-5 enshrined the right of these people to do so.
United Kingdom: The UK has a small embassy in the Persephone Ring. L-5 considers the United Kingdom the friendliest of the former ESA nations, possibly because of the very positive track record maintained by L-5 towards former colonies. Despite the small embassy, the UK is the nation who's foreign ministry seems to take L-5 the most seriously, and they have extended a hand towards L-5, helping it adapt to its new independent status and join the community of nations. The UK is interested in signing military cooperation agreements with L-5, and there has been some call, but a small one, for adding L-5 to the commonwealth. This has not been taken up by the L-Fivers, who are still heady over their nation's independence, but they do seem to appreciate the attention. For now, L-5 is quite happy with the United Kingdom getting L-5 a spot in their professional Bucketball league. British warships have made port calls to L-5, and British merchant ships are often docked.
SECURITY
Organization
L-5 has two security organizations, the L-5 Police Force, which handles internal security and criminal affairs, and the L-5 Defense Force, which provides external security and a token military capability for the tiny nation.
The Police Force has an operating environment most police forces would envy. L-5's internal sensors, while not providing video of every nook and cranny and private dwelling, do monitor public spaces, key areas, and provide environmental sensor data for nearly every location in the habitat. The computer system is sophisticated and stores a visual and biometric data file for everyone on the habitat. Strangers can be quickly picked from crowds by matching camera images to images on file, and individuals tracked through the habitat in this way. Even in areas of the habitat only covered by the most basic of sensors, unauthorized human entry can often be detected and monitored through sensors recording changes in air temperature and composition (increases in CO2 indicating a human presence) and electro-magnetic fields. The computer security system can also interface with several of its counterparts on Earth, allowing exchanges of data. Currently, this exchange is not especially fast, but improvements are being made to the systems.
The L-5 Police have about 250 officers. Some are full time computer cops, monitoring the security system and the communications network. There is a special investigations squad, a domestic disputes and family safety squad and a number of patrol teams. The police also have a special administrative security squad, a force of about 20 officers, supplying protection for the government. In times of crisis, the police can call upon the Defense forces for assistance.
The Defense Force numbers about 120 people. This small detachment operated two elderly system patrol craft, purchased used from the United Kingdom and 4 much newer space fighters, purchased from Germany. L-5 has the highest per capita spending on military starship maintenance of any nation. In addition, the L-5 force has an infantry platoon of 28 men trained in zero-gee and vacuum combat. The Defense Force also operates a small constellation of surveillance satellites. From the L-5 Operations Center, the entire region of space around the L-5 point is continuously monitored, and the habitat's sensors are strong enough to track the comings and goings of starships and spacecraft throughout the Earth moon system. L-5 also has a very small foreign security office, which provides security personnel for L-5's handful of foreign embassies and a very small intelligence service.
There are a number of civilian volunteers who augment the Defense force in all its aspects. L-5 has several batteries of defensive lasers, all of which, if would ever be used, would be manned by civilian volunteers. The infantry platoon would also be augmented by a militia should the station ever have to be protected against borders. The civilian volunteers train periodically, and several times a year the laser batteries are test-fired. In terms of defense policy, L-5 is under no illusions. They could not possibly defend the station against an effort by any other space going power. Nor are there any powers with designs on L-5. However, there are a number of contingencies L-5 is prepared to meet, and there is the issue of national pride. Not to have a military, however useless the military appears to be, would be out of the question. A military capability also gives the nation some weight in international matters. L-5 regularly assigns its patrol craft and surveillance satellites to the Earth Quarantine Command, and in return is rewarded with some say in quarantine policy.
Strengths and Weaknesses of L-5's Security
As an enclosed habitat, L-5 is fundamentally finite. There are only so many hiding places. In the face of a determined search it's difficult to stay hidden. Some sophisticated groups have managed this by tricking the habitat's internal sensors on L-5, fooling the computer system into overlooking an area. L-5's police have, in the past, proved efficient, but overly reliant on the computer system- if the sensors are telling them no one's in a certain area, then no one's in that area.
Another weakness of L-5 is the small pool of talent and resources. They have the population of a medium sized city, but in a typical nation, in the event that a particular medium city was overwhelmed by a security situation, help would arrive from the national authority and if need be other cities. L-5 has no such backup. They have the Volunteers available, but these do not make up for the shortage of high level specialists. Due to political problems, the security computer system does not integrate well with foreign national security networks, even those belonging to former members of the ESA.
On the positive side, the security computer is very advanced. It may not have the best expertise to back it up, but the hardware is top shelf. This is to be expected, as L-5 is an exporter of advanced quantum computer cores. Also, the population is small, and of course they don't move around like the citizens of other nations. Relationships here are long, durable, and flexible, and the locals are quick to question something or someone that seems out of place. They are highly attuned to the faces around them. L-Fivers are quick to recognize a stranger, especially one who seems out of place. Many L-Fivers are suspicious of foreigners, particularly French. They give the police the equivalent of a very large and committed Neighborhood Watch.
Punishment
Conservation of living space is a priority on L-5. This has forced the government to be somewhat creative in the assigning of penalties. The prison facility here is not large and there is no desire to expand it. Frequently, L-5 falls back on paying others to house prisoners. This would be expensive, were it not for the several nations with notoriously under funded prison systems willing to take on L-5 prisoners. With due regard for the severity of conditions in those prisons, this is reserved for the more serious crimes on L-5. The deterrent effect is impressive; the very thought of five years in an Indonesian jail is enough to slap sense into a would be criminal. Yet, there are offenders that can't be dealt with so easily. There are lesser offenses, for which such a harsh sentence would be socially unacceptable. In these situations, L-5 makes frequent use of "Restriction", a punishment generally unused elsewhere. The enclosed nature of L-5 makes it feasible to track individuals wearing coded identity tags, and enforce rigid controls as to where they can be, and when they can be there. Thus, for the crime of malingering (That's a crime here, see Government) offenders are often restricted to home and place of employment. Of course, the L-5 government is constantly looking at the bottom line, and cash fines are imposed with every opportunity.
Terrorism
During the troubled period from the late 2240's to the present, one criminal political group briefly flared into prominence on L-5. The L-5 Homeworld Party attracted the most vehement opponents of ESA governance. In the course of a decade they devolved from underground political opponents, although zealous ones, to terrorists when several of their core members decided that a few 'actions" against ESA offices on L-5 were warranted. To their credit, the L-5 Homeworld Party was careful to avoid actions that could be structurally threatening to the habitat. Unfortunately, they weren't quite as careful about avoiding damage to L-5's inhabitant's particularly those that professed a desire to see the independence movement quashed. Their preferred mode of attack was corrosive liquid, which they used to attack a number of offices. Twice, they deployed sophisticated wire guided low-sig robot bombs against warships belong to the ESA member nations. Their efforts earned them the wrath of the genuine independence movement, who saw this bunch as deranged whacko giving the L-5 independence advocates a bad name. So hostile was the legitimate independence movement towards this bunch that the L-5 Board of directors still strongly suspects that the L-5 Homeworld Party was actually set up, presumably by the French, to besmirch the very cause they claimed to be espousing.
The L-5 Homeworld party's activities dropped off after 2256, with the Board of Directors being, for the first time, locally elected. Their known last actions were in 2259, when they sabotaged shipments of drop cargo modules being shipped off for use on the French Arm, and attacked a data processing office used by the ESA. The L-5 Homeworld Party was hunted down with vigor, with the locally elected Board showing even more enthusiasm than the ESA governments. At their peak the L-5 Homeworld party probably included less than a dozen members, of which 3 were killed during various encounters with law enforcement agencies, 1 was killed in an accident, 2 are official fugitives and still at large, and 4 were sentenced to prison. They were technically sophisticated, using "null chambers" hidden in the habitat's core, carefully screened from all of L-5's internal monitoring apparatus. They also made use of computer software attacks. One member of the L-5 Homeworld Party, still at large, is believed to have sold his organization's remaining secrets to an Earth based underworld organization. As long as activities aren't directed at L-5 in particular and pose no threat to L-5's security, the board of Directors has not made a priority out of tracking down the remnants of the Homeworld party's operation.
PEOPLE
Demographics
L-5's population is primarily of European derivation. Most of the population has ancestors hailing from the United Kingdom, Germany, France, Russia, the Netherlands, and Italy. Smaller groups arrived from Azania, and other the Ukraine, and some from other nations in Europe. For the most part, these people have put matters of ethnic loyalty behind them. They have accepted L-5 as their nationality willingly, although they retain aspects of their ancestor's cultures. Marriage across cultural boundaries has produced a population that recalls Earth ethnic nationality as something one's grandparents had.
Since Independence, L-5 has seen a new wave of immigrants, these being either individuals who see L-5's policies as advantageous to their business, and people who are enthralled by the idea of living in this small, insular yet technically progressive "experimental" nation. This is in accord with Idylwild's Observation of 2209: "Given sufficient freedom to explore alternatives, human nature will diversify to the point where any possible social structure, regardless of its seeming absurdity, will attract a core of committed individuals." The social mix on L-5 has led a few to call it a "little America", and there have been a few (rare and unheeded) calls to have it incorporated as an American state.
Of L-5's 180,000 citizens, 160,000 live on the station proper. The remaining 20,00 are either expatriate citizens, or living on one of the mining outposts or ships owned (but not on territory claimed by) L-5. L-5 even has some expatriates living on Earth. On the other side, L-5 has about 40,000 non citizens living in the habitat. Some are foreign expatriates, some are ship crews, and some remain from the citizenship policy adopted at Independence, which allowed residents of the station to retain their original citizenship if they wished.
English is the official language. This is despite the fact that France had the greatest hand in creating L-5. France has been perceived as less friendly towards an independent L-5 and rightfully so (see History). In the past fifty years, many of the French inhabitants of L-5 emigrated, and of those that remain, many retain their French citizenship: about 1/2 of the 40,000 foreigners living on L-5 are French. English is also the dominant international language in space operations, and L-5's economy is built around supporting this field.
The natural population growth rate is fairly low, even though the government subsidizes the growth of families by providing credits towards increased services, and living space. Immigration remains fairly high, with 5% of the population being foreign born from Earth. The age curve is fairly flat. Marriages occur later in life. Emigration, actually larger than immigration during the first few years after independence, has slowed. It is still anomalously high among L-5's homosexual population. There is no real prejudice directed against them, and the Director of Socionics concludes that their emigration is a simply the result of the population being small and confined, causing them to leave in search of better social opportunities, particularly choices of mates.
L-5 is one of the least religious nations in existence. There are a number of institutions on the habitat, serving a variety of mankind's spiritual beliefs. None are ascendent, none attract a significant amount of followers, and none have any real political or social power.
Culture
Every nation has a treasured paradox or two. On L-5, it’s the idea that they have become marvelously free with their independence, when it is a demonstrable fact that citizens of L-5 are under more obligations to their nation, and put in more effort and have less leisure time and opportunity than citizens of any other modern nation. It is no use trying to explain this to an L-Fiver. From their point of view, they do not live lives of servitude to their government, they accept certain tasks as a necessary fact of life. They live under more directions and regulations than citizens of planetary societies, but they choose their own leaders, and to them, this makes all the difference. In attaining their political freedom, L-5's people gave up a substantial number of personal freedoms. This seems OK with them.
While the people have more obligations to the government than their counterparts on Earth, the government certainly provides more in return. L-Fivers are accustomed to a paternalistic government that looks over many aspects of life. Health care, while provided private companies, is standardized by the government, which also owns the facilities and makes sure each is comparably equipped. The design of dwellings is approved by the government, because the Directorate of Socionics determined that "architectural variance" is esthetically pleasing, and without considerable government manipulation, this would be lost as people designed their dwellings to the size maximums and highest spatial efficiencies available. The government collects and removes all trash, which is strictly rationed- residents producing more than their share are fined, and the collection trucks do weigh it. Even the weather is controlled by the government, such as it is.
L-5's population is more productive than comparable populations. They have a much higher per capita economic output, because it is a matter of policy to keep people as active as possible. L-Fivers are mobilized for productive effort to a greater extent than any other free nation's population. Unemployment is not only rare, it’s illegal. Stay at home housewives and househusbands are frowned upon. Retirement is later than in most societies. In order to absorb this greater work effort by the population, some adjustments are made. The work day on L-5 is typically a 6 hour shift, 5 days a week, shorter than in most societies, and with liberal vacation allowances.
Many L-5 citizens donate part of their time to the good of the society, what they call their "Volunteer" function. Volunteers get a substantial tax break. The government relies on volunteers to provide many services, and to back up the regular employees in time of need. Thus, the military has a militia, the police have an auxiliary, and Infrastructure has part time volunteers conducting the on going inspection and maintenance of the habitat itself. Arts and sports in schools are taught almost entirely by volunteers. If L-5 were to be attacked, volunteers would man the defenses. Volunteer duty is classic l-5 social engineering. By pushing the system, the Board of Directors makes the government function less of a duty for a withdrawn techno-bureaucratic class, and more of a shared social responsibility. L-Fivers attend these tasks with pride. Shirking is a social sin of the highest order. In some regards, the people of L-Five seem to be something between citizens and ship's crew. Those who don't like it are encouraged to emigrate.
L-5's people are notoriously informal. People address each other by first names. Protocols are ignored. Formal titles are almost never used. On the formality scale, they share the "loose" end with Australians. Some sociologists have speculated that this is a reaction to the formality with which ESA ran affairs. The locals have another explanation. According to the L-fivers, this informality is a product of several factors. First is the small size of the population. Personal and family bonds simply cover a lot more of the population, proportionately, than they elsewhere. And the links between people are short. The people at the top live in close proximity to those at the bottom, and they are pared of shared social groups. Second is the narrow social range. Income and lifestyle disparity is not so great here as elsewhere. There are rich people here, but there is not much conspicuous consumption- there are no vehicles or mansions to buy and display. Third, the Volunteer system gives many people not one but two professional hierarchies. A retail clerk may work for a store manager, but when they turn out to man one of the emergency medical stations, the clerk may be in charge and the manager the assistant. This double hierarchy arrangement tends to distort people's normal social order.
COMMERCE
Q-VOX
This corporation, headquartered on L-5, is a major producer of quantum computer processing cores. These devices are central to the operation of Stutterwarps, Automeds, and other advanced pieces of technology- in fact, the stutterwarp would be impossible without them. Q-Vox is a recent company, coming into existence when a group of investors bought out the old ESA production center near the center of L-5. (Quantum computer cores for stutterwarp drives are most easily manufactured in weak gravity, the weaker the better. The core of L-5, where gravity is weaker than it is in Earth Orbit, is one of the best locations available). Q-Vox has a staff of over 4,000 on L-5, making it one of the larger employers. Its production is one of the most efficient in the Quantum Computer industry, and its research is geared towards reducing per unit costs and gaining market share.
Societe Generale L-5
This is the largest corporation on L-5, and is still registered as a French corporation and is predominantly French owned, although it is publicly traded. SGL-5 employees about 5,000 people on L-5, mostly in the manufacturing industries, although a subsidiary is L-5's largest law firm. SGL-5's manufactures are broad ranged, and cover everything from parts for starships to household goods. The enclosed ecosystem of L-5 makes great demands on the products used there- L-Fivers tend not to use disposable items unless they are completely recyclable. This means many of the standard every day items used on Earth are found in different forms on L-5. This is common to space habitats in general, and the products turned out by SGL-5, specialized to the space habitat environment, are in use throughout human space. SGL-5 also manufactures many of the necessaries that keep the habitat functioning, such as the cars for the transport system, and the new structural members being used for expansion.
Grupo Hephaesto
Grupo Hephaesto is a conglomerate owning several industrial companies on L-5. It also has some sizable holdings off the habitat, and is the largest corporation registered in L-5 in terms of overall assets, although Q-Vox has higher earnings strictly counting L-5 operations. Grupo Hephaesto has about 3,500 people on L-5, and some on the Moon, a few in the Belt, some in Earth Orbit, and some elsewhere. Grupo Hephaesto is growing rapidly, and seeking additional investments. They've cast an eye towards the outer planets, and if their projects designed to exploit the resources of the Jovian system and beyond come to fruition, there could be a resurgence of interest in settling the outer reaches of mankind's first star system.
Grupo Hephaesto's forte has been in astro-chemistry, making use of organic compounds recovered from asteroids, and lately, the atmospheres of the outer, gaseous planets. Among their important products are some that are best manufactured under microgravity conditions. For these processes Grupo Hephaesto, like most of L-5's industrial companies, has extensive factories in the core. One of the products turned out here is "Polarized Viscosity Polymered Liquid". This is a family of chemicals, liquid at normal temperatures, that has different fluid properties in different directions, i.e., it can be very stiff in the vertical direction, and have flow in the horizontal direction. Or, it can have strong adhesion along one dimension and weak adhesion in another. One form of this material- one with a well guarded proprietary manufacturing process- produces the liquid sealant that seals and lubricates the joints between the revolving Rings and the stationary core. L-5 is a big consumer of this product, but it, and chemicals like it, is in use across human space on starships and habitats.
Halo Aspirations, a Division of Locus Group
Halo Aspirations is the latest in the "Aspirations" series of corporations set up by Locus Group, the New York City based personal services mega-corporation. Like its sister companies, Halo Aspirations is in the business of making people's lives easier. This is not so great a demand on L-5. The habitat has a tightly knit society, the result of its small size, isolation, and recent achievements. On the other hand, the habitat is large enough to provide the full range of social contact humans ordinarily need. There are, however, many thousands of people scattered across the rest of the solar system, and they find that their needed social contacts and life services are somewhat harder to obtain. Halo Aspirations provides education and career services, medical services, legal services, travel services, social management services, and matchmakers who will link likely romantic prospects across the reaches of space. Similar corporations exist on Earth (many of them owned by Locus) but the denizens of the far flung outposts and mining stations of the Solar System seem to have a natural trust in the consultants and counselors of L-5. Conventional wisdom holds that the L-Fivers, being spacers, understand the realities of life on ships and outposts better than the people on Earth, regardless of nationality.
Halo Aspirations has a work force of about 1,000 on L-5, and almost all of them are station natives. Being a foreign owned corporation, the L-5 government taxes them heavily, but they are hanging in there. Growth has been slow, because the market is small and very spread out. Many of their clients are in the Belt, on the Moon and Mars, and a few on Manchuria's Mercury outpost.
Mining Operations
L-5 supports the operation of a number of mining sites on the Lunar surface, on distant asteroids, and on comets. Some of these are the provinces of major corporations, such as Grupo Hephaesto, while others are small independent operations. Most of these mining companies use magnetic catapults to launch cargoes of metal towards factories. L-5's position offers a natural advantage to the factories that must operate on the receiving end of inbound streams of metal loads, called slugs in the business. L-5 orbits a point, rather than an object, and there are innumerable stable orbits around that point. Metal slugs can be launched into these orbits with no possibility of an inadvertent impact on a planet. Even the risk of impact with L-5 itself is minute enough to be almost non existent. The radius of the orbital zone around L-5 is vastly larger than even geo-stationary orbit around the Earth, making the L-5 habitat and its attendant satellites exceedingly unlikely targets.
Space mining is a demanding occupation. Most of the work is performed from ships and small temporary craft. The popular image of the miner laboring away with pick while wearing a suit-suit is a false one. Most miners use robotic tools which they operate from aboard ship, or from within tiny portable habitat-control modules. Even so, the work has a low tolerance for error and means long stretches aboard small mining vessels or in modular habitats. Miners can be away for months at a time. L-5's Gugarin Docking Complex has become a popular way to blow off steam. Almost as good as Gateway, and no French Police.
The S Type asteroids most commonly sought by asteroid miners provide base metals in such abundance that they are literally there for the taking. Supply is limited only by the demand, and the number of people willing to actually go out and get it. Far more important are the smaller amounts of rare metals recovered from the asteroids. Platinum, Indium, and other rare elements are recovered and shipped to L-5 for processing. Miners based out of L-5 have recovered tantalum, which they freely sell on a rather quiet market, with the government asking few questions. Some people have issues with this.
Lighter elements are recovered from the moon. L-5's government maintains one mining operation that recovers oxygen and water from ice rich bodies, and several mining companies recover carbonaceous organics.
LIFE
Medical Care
L-5's medical facilities were originally designed with an eye to responding to emergencies. Each ring has three emergency clinics distributed at equal pints around the circumference. Although this provides rapid access and redundancy, 24 clinics is well in excess of l-5's day to day needs. In each ring, one of the clinics is incorporated into the ring's Hospital. The size of the hospitals and their capability varies with population, Holda of course having the smallest. The other two are kept in "ready reserve' status, where they can be activated at a moment's notice in life threatening situations. In 2221, the habitat's
Board of Directors, (at that time, appointed by the ESA's member nations) decided to mitigate the cost of maintaining L-5's advanced medical systems by having private medical companies operating them as leased concessions.
This proved attractive to the accountants, less so the residents. The situation improved in 2245 when the board, now including 2 locally elected members, declared that no single entity could operate more than two of the hospitals on L-5, and the operator of each hospital had to support the two reserve clinics. This gave some measure of competition that reduced fees for residents. (Being in a small and isolated market is a perennial problem for the L-5 consumer). In 2248, a 9th hospital was established, this being a special services zero-gee facility in the core. Another two emergency clinics were added, on in the Gugarin Docking Complex and one in the core.
Medical services since independence have been run by private concerns. In return for their concessions at the hospitals, though, the companies are required to provide certain free services. L-5 citizens ar issues annual vouchers for medical services, which can be given to others but legally not
sold (the idea was to prevent citizens from gambling their health for money). In reality there does exists a black market for medical service vouchers, and it is a regular task for L-5's law enforcement. Babies, pregnant women, and senior citizens are issued additional vouchers. Medical services other than those covered on the voucher system are paid for by direct payment or through insurers. There is no free public medicine on l-5 other than the vouchers, which are looked on as part of the compensation citizens earn through their support of the nation. Since employment is mandatory, there is no question of medical care for the indigent. (L-5's Assignment Office will come up with a job for you no matter how incapacitated you are, or how pathetic your skills. Of course, the job may be "test subject" but as they say, beggars can't be choosers).
In addition to the clinics and hospitals, L-5 has a number of Emergency Aid stations scattered throughout the habitat, and on Life pods. These stations are about the size of a broom closet, and contain emergency life sustaining equipment. About 13,800 of L-5's population are "emergency medical volunteers" who are authorized to use these stations in time of need. Each is secured with a lock that responds to the hand print of any medical professional, soldier, policeman, government official, or emergency medical volunteer on the station.
Media
By 2300, most Media organizations had ceased being identified with a single media format. They now exist as multi-formatted entities, linking Net, Broadcast, Direct Cast, conventional Print where necessary, and any other format they can use. Individual Media organizations, both public and private, are distinguished by name and general approach, not by their methods of access. L-5 has two such organizations. The government information outlet, which provides news, official reports, and informational content of all sorts, is L-5 Information Office, or LIO. Fully aware that a healthy society needs a free Media, but also aware that the population of L-5 is a bit on the low idea and unwilling to see the local free Media swallowed up by a foreign conglomerate, the L-5 government subsidizes LIO's independent, commercial rival, LagrangeNet. LagrangeNet seems to have a perverse sense of humor: they start off most days with a bland weather report detailing in monotonous sameness the expected climate conditions inside L-5. The "Earth Report" sums up news from Earth as if the planet was a distant, exotic colony. Things common to planetside folk are described as if they were utterly alien. Strangely, LagrangeNet has picked up a small and growing band of followers on Earth.
Education
L-5 has a solid and very active educational system. The Volunteer system assures that all children are taught in small classes, led by frequently changing teachers. L-5 philosophy, the doing of the Directorate of Socionics, eschews telepresent or virtual instruction. Fortunately, the volunteer system gives the Directorate of Education a sizable labor force. Free education is provided up to the age of 18. Private and home schooling is prohibited, for two reasons.
First, the education system is seen as a level base from which to build a just meritocracy. Giving some children better schooling than others because they can afford it seems, to the L-Fivers, to be a way to ensure the continuity of social class privileges. Public schooling allows the children to bond with their society. To that end, all school children up to the age of 16 wear school uniforms. No exceptions. Second, the L-5 school system provides children with some instruction not found on Earth bound schools. "What to do in the event of habitat disaster" is a subject children are drilled in frequently. Younger children are taught to survive, older children to actively participate in emergency functions. A typical ten year old child on L-5 can don and use a vacc suit, knows what to do in eh event of a breach, and is experienced in zero gravity.
Students are freed to pursue more individual courses at higher levels. L-5 has a university, (L-5 National University, of course) as well as two private colleges, Tallstead College of Arts and Humanities and Aradia Technical Training Centre. The University has one well known sub-element, the Kovalcyk School of Astro-Engineering. This school makes intensive use of the vary large zero-gee chambers in L-5's core, many built for use as factories or storage but left unused. This is the one element of L-5's educational system that attracts great interest from foreign institutions and students. At any given time, up to a thousand foreign students and researchers are studying here. Even more L-5 students study away from the habitat. Not only does this give them greater educational choice, but there is the chance at a real change of scenery.
There are theories and speculations, but no one is certain as to why L-5's university is a magnet for crackpots and self described visionaries. There seems to be no end to the media hungry, over-ego'ed geniuses who are convinced they have a better idea for what to do with a giant space habitat than merely let 220,000 people live in peace. They continually design, in excruciating detail, some fantastic new use that "mankind" should put L-5 to, frequently displaying a mind boggling command of the engineering involved, but not the human dimensions. They generally complain of the stupidity, lethargy, and general apathy of the masses when no one signs on with political support and funding, or assume they are the victim of some vast and unseen conspiracy against them. Among these plans have been the construction of a "breeder ring" that would turn the L-5 population into a work force producing and launching more habitats, a giant weapon using the core as a particle accelerator, and a giant starship)
Sports
L-Fivers make considerable use of their habitat's core for recreation. There are a variety of activities performed in zero gravity, and the inhabitants seem to delight in creating new ones. Some of course are not discussed here; humans are endlessly creative. Openly discussed public activities include bucketball, a zero-gee derivative of basketball popular throughout human space, mostly among spacers, and inhabitants of orbital complexes.
Another activity enjoyed in the zero gravity core is flying. Several companies have leased large empty chambers in the core, filed them with air and wind generators, and installed high resolution display screens on the walls. The walls can display any surroundings, and with the wind turned on and directed at people floating in the chamber, they can have the sensation of virtual flight through various landscapes natural and fantastic. This is extremely popular with tourists. With gateway too crowded and too busy, no comparable facility exists there.
A strictly local phenomenon, and not official by any means, is "spoke jumping". Within each spoke, joining rings to collars, there is one main access tube. This is almost never used, the trams carry people up and down. The only way up through the access tube is a long slow climb along the ladders which line one wall of the tube. This exists primarily for maintenance and emergency evacuation, no in their right mind climbs 1.8 kilometers of later, even though the gravity declines towards the core.
Despite the long straight drop, jumping into the access tube will not send one hurtling to the bottom 1800 meters away. This is because as one falls, one rapidly loses angular velocity relative to the rest of the station- the Coriolis Effect. The jumper instead falls against the ladder on the wall, which was positioned in just such a way as to let the Coriolis Effect press people against it, for safety. It is possible to descend through a Spoke through just such a series of short jumps. Naturally, the further down one gets, the more challenging this gets. Making it to the bottom earns one a mark of respect amongst L-5’s youth.
A TOUR OF L-5
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French Pole
The French Pole is L-5's second most active port. Unlike the Gugarin Docking Complex, though, this one's all business. No cluster of businesses eager to attract spacers and passengers exists. This in mostly due to the French Pole's function as the "outer" terminal, the one where ships from beyond the Earth Orbit Quarantine may dock. This rather restricts the French Pole's desirability. Most of the facilities are normally "dark" with the systems powered up only as needed fro arriving ships. L-5's beyond Quarantine arrivals dropped off considerably since the building of the Beanstalk (another thing the L-Fiver's haven't forgiven the French for, with Gateway being L-5's biggest rival.). In this quiet end of the habitat, the Defense Force keeps its hangars and maintenance stations, and a training center for the infantry- one of the few zero-gee training environments in existence. The French Pole has the main receivers for the solar power system, which relies on a series of co-orbiting mirrors to focus light.
Gugarin Docking Complex
The Russian Pole, with its own Ring, is collectively called the Gugarin Docking Complex, and is a partly self contained section. The Gugarin Ring is smaller than the others by far, having a diameter of only 1.5 kilometers and a width of 120 meters. (Naturally the three ribs do not extend this far). The Gugarin Docking Complex is L-5's "harbor" with docks and service facilities for civilian starships. Its capability is second only to Gateway. Part of the Gugarin Ring is taken up by Hotel Gugarin. (Yuri's is the attached restaurant)
The Russian Pole also has the habitat's main communications array, which serves as L-5's link with Earth and the rest of the system, and also acts as a "retransmission center", accepting data from other sources and resending them where and when needed. The Gugarin Docking Complex managers earn a little extra income for their operations with this service, but they have been accused of "data smuggling" accepting and resending transmissions with little regard for the legitimacy of the client. The Gugarin staff feel it's not their place to question what's in a particular stream of data, theirs is just to receive, store, and retransmit what they’re paid to.
The Gugarin Ring has a small permanent population of 17,000, and is not designed to the same specs as the rest of the habitat. Most of the people living here are employed in starport operations or in communications- although many commute in from other rings. Many other locals are in those businesses that cater to visiting spacers and ship crews. This is in every way a "port" town, and has the usual range of diversions, i.e., drinking establishments, and retail businesses designed to separate visitors from their cash. It also has L-5's main restaurant and entertainment area, and is home to a variety of entrepreneurs selling all sorts of personal services, some socially approved, others not. It is, socially, the motley end of L-5, and has a more unfinished, gritty feel.
L-5's Core
Power plants and life support equipment, factories and maintenance centers, as well as recreational spaces, storage areas, etc take up large areas of the core. Other places with a specific need to be in a zero gravity environment are located here as well. These include a special medical center, research laboratories, and training areas for the military, and for civilian space operations schools as well.
Aradia Ring.
The oldest ring is built to the first generation specifications. Aradia has more emergency and backup systems, armor, and overall redundancy than the others. It is also slightly wider, at 220 meters instead of 200. It has the same 4 km diameter as the others. Aradia is the operations center for L-5. The principal government center is here, as are the older, more "established" commercial, and institutional buildings. There is less window area, and a more cramped feel despite the additional size. Aradia has several rim docking ports. These a generally not used, as its easier to come and go from one of the pole docking ports than match vectors and "catch" a rim docking port. Aradia supports 42,000 people. In cross section, Aradia is rectangular, 220 meters wide and 74 meters high with chamfered edges. The "main floor" is 5 meters above the outermost floor, beyond which is 14 meters of armored hull and rock foam. The spaces below the main floor are occupied with utility lines, infrastructure, and storage, the tram system, and the docking ports. This space is divided into chambers designed to be sealed off in the event of a breach in the outer hull, limiting the damage. The side walls are armored as well, with the same metal and rock foam. The ceiling has lighting, ventilation, and the skylights. Living space from main deck to ceiling is 50 meters high, the height of a 15 story building. In Aradia, dwellings and offices run completely up the side walls
Brighid Ring.
The second ring added the first large recreational space to L-5. Brighid Ring houses 37,000 people. Parc Jerome occupies one third of the ring. The park is named for the inventor of the stutterwarp. There was some debate about changing the name after independence, but the traditionalists won that round. The grounds include athletic fields, two large swimming pools, a track, and overlooking balconies and galleries along the walls. There are also two large lawns and several small "natural" features, notable Lagrange Falls, the artificial waterfall that tumbles down a rock wall towards the middle of the park. The highly unusual "twist" in the waterfall is the result of the Coriolis Effect.
The presence of the park makes Brighid a more desirable place to live than Aradia or Eostre. With fewer industrial and institutional facilities, Brighid is in some ways the "suburb" of these other rings (by extension, Holda and Idun are the outlying wilderness).
Eostre Ring
Eostre ring is a planned urban community. It is the most densely populated of the rings, and the most architecturally detailed, in the interior. It was the first ring with substantial "sky windows" in the ceiling. 71,000 people live in Eostre, which has a population density equivalent to a fairly crowded urban area. One of the innovations in Eostre, repeated later, is the termination of all structures (except at the spoke marks) at a height no greater than 35 meters above the main floor. This ensures that every structure has an apparent roof, giving an illusion of open space above and beyond. The rooftop space is never wasted, being used for recreation space, private terraces, gardens, etc. (Open space is a premium on L-5) The effect is to give Eostre ring the something of the feel of a terrestrial city. Sections of Eostre carry the illusion further- there are areas with narrow side streets paved with cobblestones. With an interior only 200 meters wide, like most of the Rings, there is room for only one main circumferential avenue, and this is remarkable terrestrial in its appearance.
Holda Ring
Holda was the first ring with a significant agricultural capacity. Previously, there were small hydroponic chambers and greenhouses built on other rings, but these were more for experimental and ornamental purposes than large scale production. Holda supplies only a fraction of L-5's food intake. Imported food has always been readily available, if expensive, and since the completion of Holda L-5's directors have not had the capitol needed to add another Agricultural Ring. The old rules of "comparative advantage" insist that L-5's population is better employed in those special fields where L-5 offers its own special opportunities, and the growing of crops is not one of them. Even so, several new bays have been added, hundred meter long extensions running parallel to the core, sticking out from the ring. These are specialized farms, each bay being devoted to a different crop. Holda has the smallest population of any of the large rings. At 6,000 people, it is the least populated ring. The communities at the spoke marks are essentially agricultural towns.
Idun Ring
Idun was built at the same time as Holda, and originally, both were to be agricultural rings. However, French social theorists of the late 22nd century (at this time the population of L-5 included many 1st generation French "space settlers" and the French government still maintained an avid interest in their well being) concluded that L-5 had far too little in the way of "natural" features. Idun was converted from farm space to a recreation in place of 3 of Earths biomes. Between the zero mark and the 120 mark, Idun is a tropical rainforest. The rainforest occupies about .4 scare kilometers, half the space available in this area, with the remainder being taken up by a tropical "sea" and two beaches. Between the 120 mark and the 240 mark the environment is cold subarctic woods, modeled on the southern Alaskan coast. There is another small sea here, this one lapping against rocky shores. The third sector of the ring is taken up by a Mediterranean, hilly landscape fading into grassland in the center, surrounding a pond. The ring, like the others, is divided into sectors by at the three "marks" where the spokes and ribs join the ring- the zero, 120, and 240. Here, these marks are the "towns" that border the wilderness. They have commercial and recreational facilities, and the most desirable living spaces on L-5. Idun Ring is home to 12,000 people.
Persephone Ring
Now home to 47,000 people, with its population slowly rising, Persephone is the newest ring, built to accommodate the expanding population. Persephone incorporates new features of design. The cross section is the standard ellipse, with the exception of the "upward" (coreward) bulge at the ceiling. That, along with tricks of lighting and design borrowed from traditional cathedrals, makes the ceiling in Persephone seem much higher than it actually is. Structures along the side walls get no closer than 25 meters to the ceiling, adding to the illusion, and the ceiling incorporates large panels that can be either transparent to the outside or illuminating as desired. Persephone uses these to have a daily 8 hour "night", during which the vast L-5 structure and the stars beyond are visible through the ceiling. Idun and Holda have similar night cycles, for the benefit of the plants and animals there, bit in Persephone it is solely for human psychology. There are a number of dissenters, who wonder why the lights have to be turned off- L-5 has solar power to spare, and to a person born and raised in an enclosed habitat, a period of dark night seems a bit artificial. Nevertheless, the Directorate of Socionics has had the last work on this. They are conducting, they say, a multi-decade study on the differences in behavior between the population living with day and night, and the population living without. Those who are unhappy can certainly apply to live in other Rings. Persephone has a cleaner, newer look about it. Colors are bright, surfaces are smooth, and one has the feeling of living within a giant art deco sculpture. It is popular with institutions and foundations. Corporate offices have moved in here, as have most of the embassies established since Independence. The L-5 university is here as well.
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