by Simon Coates
Eschewing all forms of artificial aids for living, the organisation ‘Ultra Natural’ are a group based in the Black Forest in Germany. They were founded in 2116 by Donovan Caldera who led a small group of people disillusioned with modern living who believed that humans had essentially lost touch with their basic natural lives, with increasing reliance on artificial means such as advanced plastic surgery, medicine and living on spacestations. This, according to the group, made them more robots than humans.
The principles of the group are essentially unchanged from when they started nearly two hundred years ago, and over a century since Donovan Caldera passed away. Their lives revolve around living as naturally as possible, so undertake farming and agriculture duties and live what, to modern eyes, would be seen as very basic lives. There are around 3,000 people in the group, which tries to be as inclusive as possible. The rumours that they are ‘bible bashing God lovers’ is a myth, they mention a lot about God in their lives, only because they refer a lot to the Christian bible, purely because they see it more as a guidebook on how to live as naturally as possible. Indeed, a lot of the group are confirmed atheists, although there is a church building where they are based, which is used for religious festivals for the group members who wish to partake in them.
The extent by which the members of this group take the idea of living natural has different meanings. Some, for example, use electricity to power basic appliances such as washing machines and kettles, as well as motorised transport, indeed some of them do use the local airport, for instance, to travel long distances. Some of the people, however, take the natural idea to extremes. They eschew all forms of artificial aids, relying totally on natural light, so will for example, use wax candles for light on a night time, not using electricity at all for any part of their lives.
There is a strict code within the organisation, and each member when joining has to sign a ‘code of conduct’, declaring an allegiance to the ideals of the group. Anyone found to be in contravention with this code will be expelled, due to their actions likely to offend other members.
Employment in 2298
The following are a variety of jobs undertaken by people living in the 23rd century. There are many more jobs undertaken by people of course, but the ones described below illustrate the variety and depth of employment at the current time, with some very new jobs to some very old and perhaps surprising ones. They are split into five main sections: entertainment & leisure, food, healthcare, service industry and transport. Quoted salaries are for a person in that role full time, 37 hours a week, 52 weeks a year and paid holiday leave.
Entertainment & Leisure
Antiques valuer
Interest in antiques is as popular as ever in the 23rd century. A very wide and varied role, valuers tend to specialise in certain fields, for example coins and medals, to transport vehicles, with dates of items from pre-10th century, through to the industrial revolution in the 20th century, up to the modern day. A valuer with general knowledge about antiques would be able to give a basic estimate on an item value, or if not, have a number of contacts in the industry to be able to value an item.
Prostitute
The oldest profession in the world. With a traditionally ‘seedy’ reputation, the job in the 23rd century has gained a sort of respectability, as a result of a more liberal society across the world. Prostitutes are subject to the same tax laws as anyone else in employment, but are usually self-employed, and for the first time probably in history are seen as doing a valid job. The general consensus is that they are in the entertainment industry for any clients wanting their services.
Personal insurance is highly recommended for prostitutes, to protect against violent rape and sexual assault.
For personal reasons, salaries and earning potential are kept secret as prostitutes do not like to boast about how many clients they have for obvious reasons, however top performing prostitutes are only known to the people who need to know.
Tour guide, Mars
Employed by the Mars Tourist Board, a tour guide will lead tourists to parts of Mars that are deemed significant areas of interest. The postholder would be expected to have an encyclopaedic knowledge of Mars, including all the major areas such as the Valles Marineris and Olympus Mons. They will also require in-depth awareness of the historical importance of sites such as the Abramov landing area.
Food Industry
Food transport co-ordinator
With humans living across the solar system, transport of food is a very important task. A food transport co-ordinator would be expected to be able to supply areas where food cannot be produced in sufficient quantities in order to meet demand. A vital role, without which spacestations could not function. The job also takes into account shipping fresh food such as fruit and other perishables, so the choice of transport equipment is critical to the role. The co-ordinator would be expected to organise all aspects of whatever food is to be transported, specifically taking into account time constraints, to ensure deliveries are made before the food becomes unsuitable for human consumption. Salary for this role is typically around Cr 30,000.
Fruit picker
Another very old job, which dates back to the first humans foraging for food. A fruit picker is a job that is held within the entire food industry and is highly valued. With humans living in increasingly ‘artificial’ areas such as spacestations, fruit and other perishable food is very sought after, so armies of pickers are employed to collect the fruit from specially arranged fields. A picker is usually paid by the load weight of food collected, and can be very lucrative for the people who develop techniques to pick maximum fruit in a certain timescale.
Healthcare
Gravity Illness Specialist
With people living in areas with zero or very low gravity, specifically outer space and Mars and the Moon, a very common problem is a general sickness suffered by people when they return to Earth. This is mainly due to the body having to adapt to a stronger gravity situation than they have been used to for a period of time. Symptoms are mainly linked to headaches and muscle wastage, as the body adjusts to being back in normal gravity from a low gravity environment. A specialist will treat the patient as necessary, with most making a good recovery relatively quickly, although some people have long term effects that require more intensive treatment. A post holder would expect to earn around Cr 50,000 to 60,000.
Surgeon
Cosmetic and other surgery types has moved on greatly in the past century or two, with the brain transplant now being a possibility, meaning that people can now live much longer than they have done in the past. A cosmetic surgeon in the 23rd century has many roles, depending on the experience and knowledge the surgeon has, from basic face lifts, limb changes, and face transplants. A surgeon can expect to earn from around Cr 25,000 as a newly qualified surgeon, to well over Cr 1m for a highly experienced brain transplanter. Indeed, with the growth of this industry, surgeons are known to be some of the highest paid people in the world, with many building up huge fortunes in this lucrative industry. Surgeons undertaking cutting-edge research can earn well over Cr 1m.
Service Industry
Administration clerk for the government
With a world-wide population of over 40 billion people, spread over the Earth, Mars, the Moon, and their orbiting spacestations, governing these people is a mammoth task.
The main government buildings are located in Beijing, China. Here, on a massive site, the government of the people undertake their tasks, employing many people across a multitude of separate areas, from the environment, power, and the economy.
A clerk will be normally responsible for a specific task within this colossal organisation, and will serve whoever is ultimately in power at that moment. Salary for this job will range from around Cr 10,000 for a junior post to over Cr 100,000 for a senior role.
Air traffic controller
A crucial role within the transport infrastructure. With the skies above the various celestial habitation
areas being at times very busy with arriving and departing spaceships, a controller ensures the safe travelling of everyone who uses the highway in the sky. The post holder would generally be looking out for ships that are in trouble such as those suffering various engine failures, or if a pilot reports a malfunction of some sort, so that the controller can advise other pilots to take alternative routes. They work alongside people such as meteorite detectors to ensure the skies are as safe as possible, and that the routes are clear for people to fly into. Earnings vary between Cr 35,000 for a controller based at a normal sized airport, to over Cr 60,000 for a post holder on a spacestation as the traffic there tends to be condensed in a smaller area.
Chimney sweep
From around the 17th century, across stately homes and other houses in England, chimney sweeps were employed to clean chimneys. The fires that kept the houses warm during cold winters would get clogged up with soot, as fossil fuels such as coal and wood would be burned to generate heat. This was a dirty and dangerous job; in many cases young boys were employed as they were small enough to crawl into the chimney stacks, and many lost their lives doing so. Today, chimney sweeps are still employed, to ensure the houses on Earth, many of them hundreds of years old, are kept as close as possible to how they were when the original house when they were built, as part of the heritage protection that operates on Earth.
It is unlikely that someone would be employed today purely as a chimney sweep. The person undertaking this task would probably also undertake other routine maintenance jobs around a heritage building.
Climate controller, Mars
Mars was successfully terraformed in 2167, and ever since then the planet has been carefully monitored to ensure it is safe for human habitation. With over 2 billion people living on the red planet, the job of keeping it safe is a critical one. The person doing this job will work as part of a group, with multiple teams across the various population areas on Mars, monitoring the various gas concentrations such as carbon dioxide, oxygen and helium and other particles in the atmosphere. The person would be expected to undertake routine maintenance on the machinery and monitoring devices to ensure they work correctly, and also to lead evacuations if necessary, if for example a part of Mars became unsafe to live on.
Dome Engineer, the Moon
On the Moon, the human population live in secure domes, to protect it from the harmful and inhospitable natural lunar atmosphere. The domes require routine maintenance and upkeep, and the engineer would be expected to lead on such jobs as and when required. The post holder would also work closely with the scientists to ensure the air inside the domes is safe, and to take the necessary action in the event of a problem.
Gravity engineer, spacestation
For life to exist on a spacestation in any normal fashion, one of the most important aspects of the environment is the power of the gravity. Simply put, without an artificial gravity system on board, spacestations would not be viable for people to live there. In space, in a zero gravity situation, People would float around and normal life would not be possible in any way, hence why artificial gravity is a requirement for any spacestation.
The gravity engineer is part of a team looking after the general environment of a spacestation, ultimately in charge of the artificial gravity systems on board. They will monitor the gravity to ensure the living environment in the spacestation is as normal as possible, or put another way, as close to natural Earth gravity as possible. On a spacestation, the gravity can change from time to time, as it orbits around its celestial object, so adjustments need to be made, which is the main role for the engineer. Also, the postholder would be expected to know what to do in an emergency, such as if the gravitational system fails to work properly. An engineer will earn around Cr 30,000 as a starting wage, with the necessary qualifications, going to over Cr 100,000 for an experienced engineer with a number of years experience.
Interior designer
A wide ranging role, the post holder would generally specialise in one or two areas. As an example, a customer might want their home to be similar in style to the large stately palaces which were popular amongst the wealthy elite in the 18th and 19th century. Or the customer might want a designer to create something for a spacestation apartment, which comes with a major challenge of making a limited space comfortable and appearing bigger than it actually is. A good designer is in very high demand, so can command substantial commissions, which means potential earnings of over Cr 200,000 per year.
Meteorite detector
A vital role for the safety of spacestations and satellites orbiting Earth, the Moon and Mars. A meteorite detector is employed to locate space debris, and to calculate and log any that are in, or any that will, come into close proximity to the various homeworlds and satellites. Any that is spotted that pose a threat will be reported to spacestation admirals so they can fly the station to a safe location, or the satelite controllers, so they can move their satellites out of harms way. Small meteors pose no threat to Earth, for example, as they will burn up in the atmosphere, but such space debris can be dangerous to a spacestation or satelite. The role comes with a salary of around Cr 40,000.
In recent years, this role has extended to monitor other space debris and not just meteorites, such as small metal parts that came off spacestations, and other detritus in Erath orbit that has become lodged in space as a result of human exploration there. Some of it dates back to the mid-20th century.
Phobos scientist
The Mars moon Phobos has small pockets of human colonies on the surface, but rather than these being population areas, they are scientists and other professional staff undertaking research. A scientist stationed on Phobos would be someone who would be expected to do the job of a ‘normal’ scientist, but be able to undertake the role in the inhospitable atmosphere of Phobos. As such, it is dangerous work, with temperatures never reaching above freezing point, and falling down to -112 degrees, so a truly unforgiving place to work. As such, the postholder would expect to earn in excess of Cr 60,000 per year.
Rag and Bone Man
Another trade with certain connotations, in more modern times has become a more acceptable and respected job. Officially known as metal recyclers, but the job title of rag and bone man is preferred by a lot of people in the profession, as it harks back to a time when people did this on horseback in the 20th century. The more modern version of this job will more likely be undertaken by someone who scours the surface of a spacestation after it has been built to clear up after the construction people have left, and return the metal and materials collected to a central processing plant for recycling. Usually self employed, an efficient rag and bone man can earn over Cr 50,000 per year, and substantially more when a major construction project is being undertaken.
Spacestation Admiral
Holds overall responsibility for the running of a spacestation. The role is very varied, involving the major day to day running duties of a spacestation, with a typical day usually meeting with a variety of people, from staff on board the spacestation, to very important government officials, in the case of huge Type 5 stations. The admiral oversees the safety of the entire population on board, which can mean looking after over one million people, so the job comes with substantial responsibility. Salary for this role varies from Cr 250,000 for an admiral stationed on board a Type 3 station, to over Cr 1m for the post holder on a Type 5 station.
Spacestation Electrician
With millions of miles of cable and wire, the job of wiring up a spacestation is a huge and complex one. Usually completed before any of the major interior works start, there is extra pressure on the electricians to complete this task, as any delay can be costly for the various contractors on site waiting to begin the next stage. Working in gangs of ten or more in various areas of a ship, an electrician will be responsible for the complete electrical wiring of a whole spacestation, so it is a critical role. Also, as they work in the early stage of spacestation construction, they would be expected to be
able to work in zero-gravity environments. The job will re-commence at the end stage of the spacestation, as inevitably wiring can break or malfunction during the various construction phases after the initial wiring up, so an electrician will be expected to undertake full diagnostic checks on the whole spacestation.
Transport
Spaceship pilot
With humans living across the solar system, the transport infrastructure has become a critical element to make this feasible. Every day, supplies have to be taken to and from Earth, Moon and Mars to the various orbiting spacestations, as well as special journeys to outer space to the outer or inner planets for scientific projects. The ships vary in size, from basic transport vessels, to large cargo carriers, with varying payloads, from transporting building materials, food and components, to moving livestock for fresh meat to an area where a particular animal cannot be farmed, for example. Also a pilot may also be employed to fly someone such as a political figure to and from areas.
A spaceship pilot is a highly skilled job. The job involves not just flying a ship to and from specific areas, but the pilot will be entirely responsible to ensure this is done as safely as possible. A person in this role will have a special flying licence to allow the pilot to fly a certain category of ship, graduated by ship weight. The person will also have knowledge of a ship's mechanical, electronic and computer systems, so will be expected to be able to carry out routine maintenance, and also help with a ship repair if it becomes stranded in outerspace in the event of a breakdown.
Salary is in the range of Cr 20,000-100,000 depending on the size and type of cargo the pilot will be flying. Pilots who own and operate their own spaceship and undertake journeys as self employed people can earn substantially more.
Spaceship service mechanic
The various spaceship manufacturers have service garages where customers come to have their ships serviced, which is the job of a service mechanic. This role involves servicing a spaceship to the manufacturer’s specification, and undertaking repairs where necessary. The person in this role will be specially trained by the manufacturer, as the various ships are made very differently from maker to maker.
Depending on the specific experience and qualifications of the person, a service mechanic can vary from someone to give a ship a basic service, to someone with the necessary skills to rebuild a ship from its component parts, including the entire engine. Certain other specialists concentrate solely on engine rebuilds, as well as bodywork repairers.
A mechanic earns between Cr 15,000 up to and in excess of Cr 100,000 for an engine specialist.
Gilbern spaceship salesperson
The spaceship industry for the public offers ships for all budgets, with the most prestigious made by Gilbern, who mainly cater for political, business and high net worth users. Their new ships cost well in excess of Cr 1 million, and with their second hand machines holding their value, due to the fact that they very sought after, their residual values remain high. There is no cheap entry into Gilbern ownership.
For someone to be successful in this role, they would be expected to have a wide general knowledge of the spaceship industry for private users, including in-depth details of spaceships for the public, especially regarding previous Gilbern ships. The person would have to have a pilot licence as they will be expected to undertake tasks such as test flights with customers.
They will also need to know how to approach and communicate with the customers in the way they would be expected to be treated, as the buyers tend to be very business-like. There is the general mindset that a customer interested in spending a large amount of money on a spaceship will probably have made their mind up about purchasing a Gilbern, essentially because Gilbern ships are unique, being the only ships made to the level of luxury they are. They have no rivals in the industry, so a salesperson's job is basically to show the customer the various options with regard to trim levels and colour schemes, etc; they won’t generally need to point out why Gilberns are special and unique as the customers are likely to know this in the first place. They will also need to advise on finance options and business deals, as a large number of customers tend to be representatives of companies after a spaceship that will be owned by a business rather than an individual person.
The salary for this role is a basic Cr 15,000 per year, with potential to earn many times that amount, dependent on sales targets being met.
Glossary
Anorak - colloquial term for someone taking part in watching a Type 5 spacestation orbit overhead.
Cent - universal currency unit used by humans to purchase items. A cent is 1/100th of a credit. Usually denoted in its abbreviated form 'ce'.
Credit – universal currency used by humans to purchase items, denoted by ‘Cr’ followed by the amount. It is the equivalent of 100 cents. As a guide, an average house costs around Cr 135,000, a pair of trousers Cr 25. A million credits is denoted as Cr 1m, as billion as Cr 1bn.
Dome area, Moon – the habitable areas on the Moon are covered with a type of dome system that protects the inner area from the harsh natural atmosphere. This is different to Mars, which was terraformed to make the planet safe, but such a project was not possible on the Moon.
Downforce – there are two types of downforce for a spaceship. Gravitational downforce is the gravitation pull on a ship by a celestial object, and produced downforce, which is thrust force produced by the spaceship itself to push it down to a celestial object. Formula X ships have thrusters mounted on the roof which are connected to the engine to generate the produced downforce. This aspect of a spaceship is only really of importance to a racing ship as it is critical to the performance of the ship during racing.
Earthite – collective term describing someone born on Earth.
Escape pod – emergency unit fitted to a spaceship that is used in case of a situation that is of high danger to the main ship, such as unavoidable collision or engine explosion. On a public ship, there may be more than one escape pod, depending how big the ship is. For a Formula X racer, the escape pod is built around the cockpit, so the pilot is already in the pod, for rapid ejection. When deployed, the pod ejects for the main ship with tremendous force, to move it away from the main ship as quickly as possible.
Heatshield – part of the lower section of a spaceship that allows the ship to re-enter Earth atmosphere safely. Without the heatshield in place, the ship would tear apart with the temperatures in the upper atmosphere.
Marsian – collective term for someone born on Mars.
Moon domes – special areas on the Moon where humans live. Whereas Mars has a safe natural atmosphere, the Moon has huge artificial dome areas where people live, to keep them safe and the natural Moon atmosphere outside.
Moonion – collective term for someone born on the Moon.
Spaceship, public – a spaceship legally useable for the public to use to travel between celestial objects.
Spaceship, racing – a special ship designed only for racing purposes, not legal for use on the highway. Generally much faster and more powerful than a public ship.
Spacestation – large man-made satellites that orbit a celestial object. They vary in size, the biggest of which house many people, and contain housing, shops, and leisure areas.
SecMars - timing system used on Mars. As a day is 37 minutes longer than on Earth, the system used is the same time format on Earth, meaning a second on Mars is slightly longer than a second on Earth.
Sweet spot – a spaceship racing term that is used to describe a number of things. For an engine, it is the throttle setting that gives maximum acceleration and power. However, it is more commonly used in describing a racing line, which is the route taken by a ship that is the most efficient. In the Earth-Moon race, the sweet spot is the entry point of the ship to go into orbit around the celestial object which is the fastest and best line of travel.
Terahertz – measure of power produced by a spaceship engine, usually denoted as THz. A typical public spaceship produces aro
und 300-500 THz, a modern Formula X racing machine has a power output of around 15,000 THz.
Terraforming project of Mars – huge civil engineering project that was undertaken on Mars to make it a safe place to live. Chemicals and other agents were placed into the Mars atmosphere for a project that took many years until it became a safe, breathable environment.
Thruster – section of a ship that is the part that pushes the force of the engine outwards. They are connected directly to the turbines that produce the power that is ejected by the thruster. On a modern Formula X racing ship, there are five, a main thruster behind the ship body, and two each on the outboard units fore and aft, to give forward power and braking through reverse thrust.
Turbine – part of a ship engine that uses the power of the engine to create force or power to push energy outwards towards the thruster unit. Sits behind the thruster. A modern Formula X racer has three turbines, a main turbine behind the engine, and two turbines in the outboard units, powering the fore and aft thrusters for forward thrust and reverse thrust for braking.
Turbine bypass – a facility used on racing spaceships where pure energy that is meant to go through the turbine bypasses this, and goes straight into the thruster, which delivers more thrust to the ship. Only generally used sparingly during a race where extra boost is required, such as overtaking or lunging for the finish line in a close finish.