The following are excerpts from The Indy Diaries: Life on The Edge.
They are a collection of often anonymous accounts of life outside the everyday
routine of house space, and candidly explore the ships, people, and attitudes
of those who live on the fringes of civilization.
The Stewards of Civilization
Criminals, the lot of them. Oh, the cities on Crossfire
surely filled up when ship after ship vomited their human cargo upon the
waiting, newly constructed metropoli. Yes, the bloody news media hailed the
settling of Crossfire as an inspired achievement of inter-house cooperation.
What they didn’t tell you is that the so-called society that has chosen to
reside here are among the worst sorts of filthy degenerates one could imagine.
I understand that most of your candid voices for your little
docu-vid are often too cowardly or too degenerate to allow their names to be
associated with their lying, slanderous utterings. Well, I shan’t be
constrained by cowardly anonymity: my name is Reginald Crecy, and I have the
honor of holding the title of Director of all Crossfire Market for Bretonia
Mining and Metal. I administer and run the BMM complex on the ground and on the
orbital facility in-between the planet Crossfire and the alien hypergates. In
short, it is my business to bring trade, commerce, and the beginnings of civilized
life to this dreadful place. And what a loathsome task it is! I hail from five generations of Crecys, each
prominent in the upper executive ranks of BMM. There are times when I am
convinced that I am the only proper Bretonian on this foul planet.
As I said: criminals. Men and women, and even their little
mouth-breathing urchins arrive by the shipload every day. In fact, the local
Bowex fleet was at first a bloody mass-transit service after the automated
cities were completed. Little better than prison ships, I should say. Every one
of the pathetic plebs who arrives is pre-screened and has a job waiting for
him or her: the biodomes, the factories, the shipyards, the retail industries,
and the local shipping services aren’t going to staff themselves, now are they?
Well- nor are the mines, on the surface or in space, and that’s where we come
in. Normally, a market director would be perfectly content to see the masses
going about their work, bringing fame and profits to Her Majesty’s humble
business endeavor. But these- people.
Back in civilized space I could have counted on good, honest Bretonian labor.
But here: oh, dear me, no. Everywhere I turn, all I see are, say, the scum of
the Texas system- the bounty hunters are quite correct to round these vermin
up, I say! But it’s not only Liberty’s unwashed masses. I see the hordes of
Kusari, eating their disgusting noodle bowls even as they walk around in the
streets. Despite the pro-integration
policy, Rheinlanders form their own communities, with their guttural language
and their slovenly beerhouse folk songs. Even those who claim to be from
Brittonia aren’t true subjects of Her Majesty- there are so many O’s and Mics
that I fear the Dublin problem has been solved by transplanting the itinerant potato-eaters
here, to my facility!
Part of the BMM Crossfire charter was a guarantee that the
laborers would receive additional compensation for their voluntary settlement
of a remote, dangerous, partially terraformed planet. I can assure you: while under my thumb, none
of these wretched villains shall receive anything of the sort! I have already
instructed local managers to restrict hours worked, and informed all BMM employees
that residency on BMM facilities shall be mandatory- with an appropriate amount
for room and board deducted from their cheques, of course. Employees are
instructed to shop exclusively at BMM stores, and report those who venture out
into the larger cities on Crossfire during their off hours. Naturally,
productivity quotas shall remain the same, and even increase gradually. It is
my intention that if I am to be sent cattle, I shall treat them as cattle and develop
Crossfire into the most profitable market that Bretonia Mining and Metals has
ever exploited!
One particularly gifted chap from Human Resources has come up
with a capital idea: during every shift, the first and last hour worked is not
counted as regular labor, but as “BMM Team Time”. This time, generously donated
by the worker to the company, is an inspired way to prove one’s loyalty to the
BMM team, while adding millions of credits to our market’s bottom line. I have
consulted with our attorneys, who have assured me that, legally, no Bretonian
labor laws are violated by implementing this policy, as Crossfire isn’t subject
to Her Majesty’s Law.
Even though the business sense of these proposals should be
obvious to all, I still had to deal with a case of insubordination. No, not
from some grubby-pawed miners with delusions of unionizing; that would have been dealt with swiftly
and neatly. From one of my own executive staff! To even think! A young man, of
fine Bretonian stock- or so I had thought. As several new profit-enhancing
initiative policies were being implemented, this most junior of local administration had the absolute impertinence to suggest
that our sound business practices were of the same nature that had caused Imperial
Rheinland to spawn so many dangerous criminal groups from it’s old labor force.
The impudence! In addition to placing a security detail on this young man, I
can assure you that calls were placed to the correct people in New London- that
young “professional” would be fortunate to do accounting for a third rate
coffee shop on Leeds by the time his shuttle arrives back in Bretonian space.
The Crecy family has a long history with BMM- and I am resolved
to be remembered as the most significant Crecy of my line. If I can’t
accomplishment it with proper Bretonian labor, I shall have to make my mark
with the scum of Sirius. God save the Queen, and long live Bretonia Mining and
Metals!
Editor’s note: Bretonia
Mining and Metals wishes to assure all civilized peoples of Sirius, and
especially Her Majesty’s Royal Person, that rumors of labor unrest among her business
ventures on Crossfire are completely false. When asked for comment concerning
Director Crecy’s controversial remarks, BMM spokesman John Wolverton issued the
following statement:
“While many fear that Director Crecy’s remarks concerning our labour
practices on Crossfire are indicative of potentially illegal or unethical labour
practices, we at Bretonia Mining and Metals are absolutely convinced that our
Crossfire operations are wholly within the realm of legality and decency. We
have not encountered any evidence of systematic wrongdoing at any of our
facilities, nor have there been any complaints lodged with our free employee
labour hotline. Director Crecy is well-known to the rest of the company for being
passionate about his position and his people, and we are confident that any
adjustments to standard BMM labor practices that are made under his
administration are done in accordance with the best interests of labour, management,
and shareholders alike.”
