(ReUnion) If You Are A Fed

If you are a Fed...

The humorous guide to the cultural attitudes of the Sol Federation!

• You know a handful of games, Starcraft in particular is common but you likely have dabbled a little in Chess and Go.
• You believe that as a citizen of the Federation, you have earnt the right to accurate information and free speech and press as long as it pertains to this. You are aware however that at times this right must be curtailed at times for the sake of security.
• You can name a couple famous Aces, probably about as well as you could name a handful of athletes in most major sports.
• You have a vague idea of how a frame operates but you dread the idea of falling into a cockpit.
• You don’t trust the Centauri but you don’t necessarily think embargo or war are necessary. You likely support, at least half-heartedly, the reunification of the scattered colonies.
• You've probably given little consideration to religious matters, if any at all. People you know do the same, except for that one guy.
• You’ve heard Cents still have duels. This is a source of mild amusement to you.

Everything has a price, and a brand.

• You think you remember being taught that there’s government supervision over communication companies, auto manufacturers, airlines, spacelines, and power companies. You don’t really hear much about it, except when the companies really cross the line. You suspect even then, the government doesn’t have too much control.
• You expect the lines to work, and that they can contact other systems for a moderate fee.
• You think the Centauri faith in their constitutional monarchy is pretty misguided and mostly just a waste of money. Not that you’re complaining about them wasting their money.
• You think unity would be nice but isn't necessarily worth all the trouble.
• Race is something that has been mostly moved past. Sometimes in ugly moments, cultures can bump heads and migrants tend to get the worst of the jobs but in the day to day and especially in huge urban centers that define the Federation, everyone is a “one thirty second” everything.
• You think that a lot of problems are caused by pride and that pretty much everything, including even reunion, could be achieved if everyone just calmed down and listened.
• You take a strong court system for granted, even if you don't use it. You know that if some serious abuse happened, you’d probably be able to scrape together the money to sue. Short of that however, it usually isn’t worth it.
• You probably speak at least two languages depending where you are. English is common, especially when dealing with Cents, but Chinese, Arabic and German are huge as well.
• You think a tax level of 10% is high, but bearable. Anything over 30% is insane, though it has happened.
• School is free until high school on most planets, and College isn't unless you get a scholarship. You have to spend at least two years in the military, planetside or off planet is fine.
• You believe health care is a private affair and should stay that way.

…We have an exchange rate?

• Mustard comes in a plastic bottle, shaving cream comes in cans, and milk comes in jugs or sometimes bottles. Cartons of milk are for kids.
• The day comes second, MM/DD/YYYY.
• The decimal point is a dot, or maybe a dian.
• You know the names of the President and you probably know a few minor politicians in the system; Out of system politicians, however, are right out.
• If you’re older you remember when war was a fact of life and are cautiously optimistic about peace. If you’re younger, you might be eager for a war yourself. Either way, anyone who deserts or refuses to spend the obligatory two years is a coward, however.
• You expect marriages, if they happen, to be made for love, not arranged by third parties. Marriages are done by Judges and usually small ceremonies however. You think Priests might have the power to do these rites, but you’re not sure…
• Depending where you are, Homosexuality might be awkward but permissible or perfectly acceptable. You might snicker awkwardly at the old propaganda discouraging it to “Keep the Federation young and strong”.
• Most hotel rooms have a shower, baths are reserved for more luxurious rooms though you probably find the idea of a bath sort of gross anyway.
• You are able to do business without relying on bribes, but you know a little bit of oil can definitely get the wheels squeeking. You’d never have the money yourself, but you half suspect the rich can just staple a check onto the end of any form and be done with it.
• If a politician has been cheating on his wife, you’d question his integrity. His abilities however, have to stand on their own.
• You are surprised when someone tries to use paper currency. You secretly suspect that it is mostly something for kids too young to register for a debit and drug dealers.
• A company can fire just about anybody it wants, unless it discriminates by doing so.
• You’ve met a handful of vegetarians, maybe tried it yourself, but it’s more a fad diet than anything. Some stick with it but you like your bacon too much.

Terran Triumph

• You’ve dabbled in old music and games, usually with the “Quirky” highschool teacher ho wanted to look cool. Final Fantasy VII is a classic and attempts to modernize it are pretty cool. You sort of wonder how they enjoyed those graphics though.
• You view rock as the basis for modern music, though Beethoven and Yayue have their place. Metal, Country and Electronic are also felt heavy throughout.
• You went over Terran History, the Federation's History, and your own system's history; Learning others' is only for the geeks.
• The Military has always sort of had a hand in politics and some friendship with various politicians, but that’s the way it’s always been. You’d be pretty wary of anyone who decided to declare martial law or a junta, though in an emergency, you might be able to understand.
• You're used to a fluctuating variety of goods to buy, depending on the market. Usually, it's a large amount of choices, but the occasional monopoly can mess things up.
• You use metric for everything important but depending where you were raised, you probably tend to talk in terms of Imperial or Shìzhì.
• You’re not a farmer yourself, but you might have one in your extended family. You suspect that rural types tend to stick together and are distrustful of anyone from a town with a population of more than a hundred.
• You get your news, and entertainment almost entirely on from the web. You probably own a handful of paper books for the odd time when the power goes out or you are stuck without an outlet.
• The people who appear most on popular talk shows are politicians, entertainers, and academics.
• You probably drive on the right side of the road, and stop at red lights even if no one's around. If you're a pedestrian and cars are stopped at a red light, you will fearlessly cross in front of them.
• The police are armed, usually with arms smaller than submachineguns. However, you've likely seen the policing Frames on television, for putting out fires or scaring away riots.
• You have an idealized image of what a person should look like, but you know that’s mostly photoshop. For the most part, you’re willing to compromise and accept a person for who they are, even if you have a vision of attractiveness to aspire to.
• There are three meals, breakfast, lunch and dinner. Two if you are busy. But always there is dinner.
• The city is dangerous at night, and you wouldn't feel comfortable walking alone in some parts during the day, either.

Outside the Old Cradle…

• You feel like your kind of people aren't being listened to enough on Earth. You feel like the government is too centralized sometimes. You sort of quietly resent the “Sol” part of the Federation’s name, even if you understand the sentiment.
• You expect that both inflation and unemployment won't be very high (say, over 15%) at the same time. It's a fact of life at times, though.
• You don't care much what family someone comes from, and will probably have a good laugh if a Solarian or someone from outside of the system start insisting it does. You can respect politicians from good families though.
• The normal thing, when a couple dies, is for their estate to be divided equally among their children.
• Chinese and Rock Operas are well known entertainments but they take a lot of time and just can’t do the same thing that films can, you’ve probably seen one or two over your life though. Classical Operas are there but usually with some avant-guard gimmick thing that you don’t follow unless you’re really artsy. It's likely you don't see that many plays, either.
• Christmas is still celebrated, and you're expected to spend it with your family and put up decorations and a tree.
• You find the idea of the government running the church to be pretty deliciously ironic. You know religious types would never go for it and you suspect it’d probably be an awful idea anyway.
• If you were told to name Centauri worlds, you’d be able to guess Eden and maybe “that Russian one”.
• You've left after the beep.
• You've probably met lawyers in person at one point. You may joke that it took a week to get the slime off your hands.

Flowing Along

• If you have an appointment, you'll mutter an excuse if you're five minutes late, and apologize profusely if it's ten minutes. An hour late is almost inexcusable.
• If you're talking to someone, you get uncomfortable if they approach closer than about a foot or so, depending how well you know them.
• You think it's rude to touch people you're not intimate with. When you're a nameless face in a crowd, however, you have no qualms about pushing and bumping into people.
• About the only things you expect to bargain for are houses, cars, and antiques. Haggling is largely a matter of finding the hidden point that's the buyer's minimum.
• Once you're past college, you very rarely simply show up at someone's place. People have to invite each other over— especially if a meal is involved.
• You nod, shakes hands, or salute to greet people, depending on who you and they are.
• When you negotiate, you are polite, of course, but it's only good business to 'play hardball'. Only Centaurians pay excessive attention to status, or don't say what they mean, which is rude.
• If you have a business appointment or interview with someone, you expect to have that person to yourself, and the business shouldn't take more than an hour or so.

Additional Info

• Pregnant woman shouldn’t go onto a ship that's expected to travel in the Flow- You’ve heard its bad for their health. You know some folks will be a bit nervous about anyone who was born on a ship, especially in the flow.
• Spaceborn children are suspicious- They've never had gravity to make 'em think.
• You only refer to people as 'Terrans' if they're actually from Earth and even then, you might try to guess what region they are from.
• Terrans are either

• • Uptight, distrustful, and universally wear suits. They tend to be bit touchy about personal space; extremely uncomfortable in close quarters but wide open spaces make them zone out. When left to their own devices however, they are pretty ingenious at times.
  • Crude, rude, and at least a little violent, rarely the kind of people you'd ever want to associate. Live in the lower cities and slums, off of the refuse of the first Terran type. That said, you’d rather have them behind you in a fight than infront.
• Midgarders, whatever their specific descent, are often bitter and drunk. They might come off gruff and distrustful to outsiders but they tend to hate eachother far for than they could ever dislike you. Once you get past that though, they tend to be life-long friends.
• Bastioners, whatever specific planet they hail from, tend to fluctuate between larger than life folk who will go out of their way to be friendly or else paranoid gun nuts. You sort of suspect they’re still a little bitter about the invasion.
• Altairans are quick witted and always have another trick up their sleeve but they also managed to pull themselves out of the some of the rougher spots on Terra. For the most part they seem quiet and overly polite, though once you get to know them, you’ll realize it’s because they save all their anger and squabbles for friends and mortal enemies. Just hope you’re the former.
• Vegans are seem quiet and hardworking, if a bit informal. They’re friendly and reliable enough until you open a bottle of sake with them and suddenly you wake up in a ditch on the other-side of Region with nothing on you but the lampshade on your head.
• Asilosians are a weird mix of anti-social gamers and party animals who are a bit more relaxed than their Vegan counterparts. Even those from Etxebarri, though they tend to ramble on about politics and play on pirated games…
• Sejongese are quiet but proud and can be at least a little hard to deal with, still they tend to be pretty good at what they do. Just be careful not to cross them…