Milky Way Lifestyle

Despite the war having maimed the galaxy, the life of the average citizen has more or less continued on course. This page outlines portions of the lifestyle of the average person living in the Milky Way.

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Entertainment

Every species, sub-species, and planetary population has their own form of entertainment. These are by no means the only forms of entertainment and players are encouraged to create their sources of entertainment and add them to this list. There is no 'TV' in the Razorwing Universe. The idea of television is considered rather archaic in this time period, and very few people know of it (unless you character has a certain fetish for pre-interstellar Earth-I). Instead, something called the Sub-Spectrum Network (or SubNet) was developed. SubNet has its own article, but in essence is intergalactic internet and TV all rolled into one unique spectrum of data, hiding away so that it doesn't interfere in the operation of vessels. All entertainment is broadcast on the SubNet and it can be access by most personal devices (tablets, terminals, etc.). For more information see the SubNet article linked above.

Movies & Shows

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• Cinema: Cinema has not changed much since the 21st Century. Movies are shot and filmed in much the same way (though 3-D has become a lot more realistic when scene in the theatres). It is still considered a fun little event to go to the movie theatre and enjoy the experience from the popcorn to the actual films. That being said, films are often released on the SubNet at the same time as theatres, so there are always a wide range of movies you can watch from the comfort of your own home or cabin. The Subnet (unlike theatres) does not get rid of a movie after a few weeks, movies are always available to be watched anywhere, anytime thanks to unique nature of the SubNet
• Shows: Once again, even though there is not such thing as a TV or a TV Show anymore, there are still TV Show-esque things floating through the SubNet. These range from weekly crime dramas, or short mini-series about certain things, or news and reality shows. Some favourites include:
  • Lance: Lurk Detective - A crime drama about a Lurk Private Eye in the fictional Earth-4 city of Metroburg. This show has a rather large female following as it is a very sexual show, and the lead actor is very good looking.
  • The Almost Too Late Show - Voted one of the most annoying shows ever produced in history. This is a late-night talk show hosted by Jeelin Hane, a two-headed augmented human. While he does interview guests, the show often devolves into him arguing with his other head.
  • By the Light of the Asteroid - A campy soap opera set aboard a luxurious colonization vessel. It has been going steady for 37 seasons and isn't showing any signs of stopping. The current plot arch involves a black hole, a frying pan, six children, and a Sessian Pilot. No one is actually quite sure what the show itself is about.
  • S.U.: Simply Unnecessary - A Panel Quiz Show in which the host and guests talk at length about a variety of interesting topics. There is no theme for the show…it's just talking…but points are awarded at the end. It is hosted by a rather snarky droid known as 'The Brit Bot.' A United Federation of Great Britain made robot with the combined personalities of Stephen Fry, Hugh Laurie, Christopher Hitchens, and Ann Robinson.

Sports & Games

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• Football: Soccer…you know, the one that you play with your foot and a ball? Football is the last remaining Earth-1 Sport to actually be played intergalactically, and is fairly huge just about everywhere ever. If you're interested, the other sport was the other variety of Football (Handegg), which was banned after a drunk brawl reduced the population of Aries-IV by 10%. Yearly the Milky Way Cup tournament is played and all games are broadcast on the SubNet. Much like concerts, there is always a wide variety of Football games available on the SubNet. Below are some items of interest about Football in the Razorwing Universe:
  • Almost every planet has a team. Players are encouraged to make up team names. Some examples: Manchester Galactic (Earth-1 Team), New Frontier City FC (Earth-3 Team), Tychon FC, (Tychon Team).
• Decagon: A sport so dangerous it has been outlawed (both the playing and the broadcasting) on several planets. The Decagon is a relatively small starship that appears at various locations throughout the galaxy. The premise of the game is simple, score a goal against your opponent. The game becomes dangerous, even lethal, given the trapped stadium and explosives planted in the ball itself. Decagon is broadcast twice per month, from a different location each time.
• Infinity City Survivor: An eccentric Martian-Human Cyborg purchased an asteroid s and built Infinity City, a full scale megapolis covered in a sealed, transparent titanium dome. The giant city is filled with all the usual trappings of a city, plus some 40,000 cameras in order to capture every second of the action. Infinity City Survivor takes the poor and destitute from across the 'Verse, arms them and allows them to compete for food, money, and supremacy amongst the competitors. The ethics of this game are questioned regularly. Currently, the prize for winning is 500,000,000 credits.

Music & Concerts

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• Not much change here. Same idea. Why it is here, because at all hours there are always concerts (as well as music) being sent out across the SubNet for the listeners enjoyment.
• GLITCH:IN/THE_SYS.TEM A rather popular band from the Milky Way Galaxy that has gained a cult following for it's unique sound and makeup. There are 25 band members that each play several instruments and swap out as needed, and all 25 collaborate on their shows, choreographing the acts and making each live performance different from the next. The Band is most famous for their "Glitch-suits" which are augmented reality suits that serve multiple purposes during their shows, including 'glitching' them during performances to the music, and assisting in visual effects that take up the entire stage and audience. The main genre they focus on is Glitch-Hop but they experiment in everything Electronic. Most instruments are traditional instruments that have been modified to have a more electronic sound, with the exception of a couple of lurk instruments that naturally make an electronic sound.

Internet - Razorwing Style

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The Internet is really the backbone of the Sub-Spectrum Network. The internet can be accessed from any computer terminal on just about every civilized world in the 'Verse. There is no much to note, as the Internet (now called the SubNet) hasn't changed much since its invention.

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Travel and Tourism

In the 26th century, the travel and tourism business are absolutely booming because there is just so much to see in the the galaxy. This section is split in two sections, the first discussion commercial travel (think modern day air travel) and the second covering proper tourism and vacationing in the RW'verse. The prices of travel in the RW'verse are exceptionally low and it's very easy to get from system to system, even after the war. Travel between governing authorities, while more difficult, poses little to no safety risk. The tourism industry is dominated, much like terraforming, a single super-massive corporation called Astral Oasis Luxury Lines, which offers vacations in all sorts of price ranges.

Commercial Space Travel

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In terms of inter-system travel in the 26th century, there is none better than Corona Rapida. Corona Rapida, a company rapidly approaching its hundredth birthday is a massive company that, like the Galactic Banking Authority, survived the fall of the AEC by being independent of the AEC. CR has transport hubs in just about every well populated system in the galaxy. They have a well maintained fleet of 50,000 vessels and can get you anywhere you need to be in a fast and reliable manner. The livery of vessels in the CR fleet are white, blue, and gold. Corona Rapida, following the business plan of ArtifiSKY spent a decade buying out the competition and is now the only way to fly in the galaxy. All of their vessels are manufactured by Gemini Transports, a well known ship-building company. Corona Rapida's head offices are on the waterworld Thest, however their fleet repair stations are on Arctica.

The Gemini Transport manufactured Astral-class vessel (affectionately referred to as the Dolphin) used most commonly for commercial space travel in both Gemini Transports livery (bottom) and the livery of Corona Rapida (top), the commercial space transportation company of choice in the Milky Way.

Tourism and Vacations

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In the 26th century, the most popular form of vacation is the interstellar cruise and in the realm of such luxuries there is one name that stands about above the rest; Astral Oasis Luxury Lines. AOLL (pronounced 'a-ol') is the end all and be all of interstellar cruises. Before the fall of the AEC, Astral Oasis was booming. The fall caused the company to fall on hard times as the son, daughter, and wife of CEO Richard Septimus were killed in a terrorist attack, sending Mr. Septimus into a black depression. The company shut down during the war. The board forced Septimus to resign five years after the end of the war and relaunched itself in the public eye under the watchful eye of Mehra Singh, a Martian ex-pat. They have a fleet of 5500 cruise ships. The company is based out of the exclusive business zone of Earth-V and has ports across the galaxy.

The Freedom Star (pictured below) is the flagship of the Astral Oasis Luxury Lines fleet of cruise ships. She was manufactured by a team of 100,000 sapients and droids in the starship foundries of Issies. Her maiden voyage took place last year and was a special event for war veterans and their families. It was a ten day cruise through the MWGA's space.

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Work

An odd fact about the Milky Way in the 26th century is the heavy class division among various work environments. Many humans (especially bitter members of the lower class) refer to it as a return to the Dark Ages of Earth-I. There are three different levels or classes of employment in the 'Verse. Low class jobs are usually dangerous forms of manual labour (such as terraforming or starship manufacturing). Since the end of the war, military jobs are considered the lowest of the low. Upper class employment is what one might refer to as the 'cushy' type of employment. These are people work in the offices of the big employers in the 'Verse or have government jobs. The middle class dominates the 'Verse and covers everything in between, from teacher to cabin crew on board a inter-system flight. Outlined below are a few of the big names in each class of employment.

Lower Class Employment

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• Terraforming Ground Work: Arguably the most dangerous and unpleasant work in the whole of the Milky Way. Working on a Mk. 7 Terraforming planet building a new world is well and truly dangerous. Just about everything going on in this line of work can kill an employee. That said, ArtifiSKY Galactic offers great death benefits.
• Starship Construction: Most of the Milky Way's starships come from one place: Issies, a highly volcanic world. While not as dangerous as working on a terraforming mission, working in one of the many foundries on this world is a close second. There is constant risk of death by hot things, not to mention all of the dangers associated with building a starliner. Gemini Transports owns most of Issies' foundries and they, like ArtifiSKY, compensate the families of the dead really well.
• Military: Military jobs used to be something to be proud of. Once the AEC's tyranny was revealed, the militaries fell from grace. People aren't disrespectful of military personnel, they're simply afraid of them. The citizens of the Milky Way fear another crippling war, fear another half-billion dead sons and daughters and thus think that those serving the military are the lowest of the low.¹
• Freelance Work: Perhaps the only thing lower than military personal are what people called 'Freelancers,' which is just a nice way of saying mercenaries or hired goons. Usually travelling in small gangs from place to place, making enough money to keep their ship in the sky, they are looked on as vultures that pick the carcasses of derelict warships clean and sell the parts for a profit. They are profiting from the divided galaxy and the general public sees this as shameful.

Middle Class Employment

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• Flights & Cruises: Working on board the inter-system flights and cruises is seen as a very well respected line of work. Many young people from across the galaxy flock to this industry simply to travel the Milky Way and see the sights. They are well paying jobs that demand very little work. Perhaps the worst part of this type of work is the long hours.
• Education: Teachers are everywhere. There isn't an inhabited planet without some kind of teacher on it. They are well-paid and well-respected by the 'Verse at large. There are few drawbacks to being an educator.
• Deep-Space Shipping: Getting freight from place to place is probably the largest industry in the whole of the Milky Way. There are a number of well-known shipping companies in the galaxy including Angellus Shipping (the company that originally owned the Razorwing), System2System (a company owned by a Hydina specializing in the transport of flora and fauna), Cyrostar (a cold storage shipping system), and Interstellar Heavy Haulers (a company owned by a Lurk specializing the in delivery of other ships).
• Mega-Corporations: This section appears in two places on this list. The bulk of the jobs at one of the Milky Way's mega-corporations (Corona Rapida, AOLL, GBA, ArtifiSKY, etc.) are considered middle class. These are your customer service jobs, retail jobs, middle-level management jobs. All of these companies pay well, and employ the most people in the Milky Way.

Upper Class Employment

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• Mega-Corporations: The upper echelon of all corporations are a shining example of upper-class work in the Milky Way. These are the people on the Supernova List (Milky Way's richest people) and the people with the private star-yachts. Most of them work out of the ultra-posh commercial districts of Earth-V, Thest, and Kriya.
• Government: Not sure that this needs much detail. The leaders of the various governing authorities make buckets of cash.
• Law Enforcement: Since the end of the war, law enforcement jobs have shot to the top of the upper class. Citizens that protect other citizens from crime and from injustice are considered heroes and have a place at the top of society. Most law enforcement personnel are paid well above the average income in the Milky Way.
• Entertainment Celebrities: produces, directors, writers, singers, actors, and porn stars. All of these jobs pay loads of credits. They make up the parts of the Supernova List that the CEOs of mega-corporations leave empty. The richest being in the galaxy is a Lurk named Bruce Quar, the lead actor in Lance: Lurk Detective.

Footnotes

1. This does not mean that veterans are considered second class citizens or are treated poorly.