Of Libertarians and Seasteading CH 1

Hell on Water Libertarians & Seasteading CH 1

Selfishness in space!

Shortly after the Sacking of Rand, the Randist refuges found themselves adrift in space.

They had no choice but to flee planet Rand or be enslaved or slaughtered by the American “liberators” that had been sent by the government to loot the world and subjugate it’s people. Normally- there would have been a contingency plan for such an event. A readymade fleet of transports and escort ships to shuttle refuges off world. But The Randists were Republican leaning Libertarians to the core. They believed it was everyone else’s problem to prepare for such an event! So they never cooperated and thus never came up with an evacuation fleet. And so the survivors of Rand were few. Jammed onto whatever rusty converted cargo ships were planetside at the time. Only the rich 1% of the population had actual transport ships. And that was a trivial few. In total the refugee fleet had about 27 medium starships for the entire planet. For reference most meager backwater worlds have about 30 large active cargo vessels at a time in fleet. –At minimum. It’s well know that Libertarians do have decent technology on par with just about anyone else. But their backwards system of beliefs ensures that such technology is extremely rare, and available to only a privileged few. Since the poor have no money in Libertarian society- there is no economy that would warrant mass production of high-tech products. This permanently cripples the availability of new tech. And so something as grand as even a simple starship was a treasure few and far between.

But it wasn’t just lack of ships… There was the problem of the Libertarians themselves. By far a Libertarian’s worst enemy is themselves. During the escape many Libertarians ran price gouging and rescue scams until the last second. Libertarians believe that price gouging is a perfectly moral act that is part of their so called “free market.” And by that they mean free of any laws protecting people from scams or over pricing rackets. Even during major emergencies. Libertarians don’t care. Selfishness is their religion. “Let the buyer beware!” – Their unholy creed. So it was little surprise that many overbooked seats and outright scammed many people out of their money by selling fake tickets at outrageous prices. Many of the scammers used this money to buy there own tickets out of there. Many died so a few criminals could live. But that’s Ayn Rand Capitalism. What Libertarians call “pure morality.” In the end it was messy- but some of the Randists did manage to flee into space. Now- the concept of spinning aimlessly through the endless cosmos means different things to different people…

For the newly freed Solack it was bliss. They were perfectly contented to remain in space until long after they had repaired and rearmed their forces. Being a cooperative race by design – The Solack were built for colony life. The average Solack is driven by a need to create. A need to better not only himself- but the lives of everyone in his or her colony. They even have a limited hive mind that allows them to plan on the same page – but also to feel empathy for other Solack. This compassion for others along with their need to create and improve the colony is much of the reason why the Solack are the dominant race in the Core Galaxy. Thus they simply took to life on the go as a teenager took to a road trip. The Solack were so carefree they often played a waltz over the intercom systems and spent days adrift. –Relaxing as they watched the stars and galaxies in the heavens dance across the vastness of space.

But in the end things went too far- and they became complacent out in space. Much to the chagrin of their Furry traveling companions. In fact the Furries often popped in for visits on the Solack, whom were becoming fatter and fatter every month as they did nothing but eat, harvest space debris, and build. The Furries treated the Solack like lazy mooching teenagers bumming around the house. The Furries would often protest the Solack’s lack of ambition and complacency. -Much like a parent asking as to when their teenager was going to get a job and get out of the house. It was true the Solack were so happy just being free, they didn’t care much for settling down. But- the Furries eventually managed to convince the Solack to set down roots and get off their lazy butts. An act that the Furries would soon come to deeply regret.

For once the Solack got back into their predatory element – they immediately became hostile and paranoid. In their greed and distrust of other races- they turned on the Furries. Inciting an event that would become known as “The Great Betrayal.” Still- while it lasted – life in space was good for the Solack.

But as for the Randists….

At first many of the Randists survivors believed that opportunity lay ahead in the stars. That the Randists could find a new home in aboard beautifully ornate space platforms. However… It soon became abundantly clear that was not going to happen. The notorious greed and selfishness of the Randists immediately began to bleed through.  There are many forgiving environments that allow for a good degree of independence, mistakes, and yes- selfishness. -Space- is not one of those environments… At all… The Solack had an easy time in space because they were so cooperative and caring about one another. They gladly worked together to build and maintain things that they knew would benefit them all. Systems and hardware that were free for everyone to use and have the benefit of. Ensuring an ever growing minimal standard of living for all. This inspired the Solack to build more! To have more! And the more they had- the less work they had to do a day. Every time they expanded or got a system automated they got increasingly powerful. This freed them invent new ways to gain even more for less labor. They were working smart- not hard.

But that isn’t the human way… And it certainly is not the Libertarian way!

 The Randists, in classic Libertarian style – cared only about what they could profit off of. And their dog eat dog style of uncontrollable selfishness led to a floating hell hole. All the Randist refugees cared about was ripping each other off. So even traveling in well built ships- death and destruction were inevitable. It has been said many times that the problem with the Libertarian ideology of “Fuck everyone else but me!” –is that to the man standing next to you- You ARE the “everyone else” that is to be fucked over. And that was the root of the Randist’s problems.

The colony, escape, and defense ships that made up the Randist refuge convoy were singular units with standard modular systems. Ordinarily these systems would be ran in unison by a cohesive crew. But many of the wealthy Randists owned and controlled the individual systems. They were entrusted with keeping and maintaining the basic functions of the individual colony ships. Being of the Ayn Rand mentality- they soundly believed that capitalism was best way to run their systems. Therefore they left it up to their most successful business men to work out the details. Ayn Rand and her followers believed that all poor people are stupid and cannot function without the rich to guide them. The rich are therefore “in theory” smarter and more qualified to manage things than anyone else. In the minds of Libertarians- The richer you are, the smarter you must be.  But most of the component owners were real-estate tycoons and snake oil salesmen – not engineers or technicians. Acting out of greed they quickly began to come up with ways to profit off their burdens of maintaining systems. No one had ever stopped to wonder if the most wealthy among them may have been so because they were also the most corrupt and immoral. The thought never would have occurred to them. Such rational thought was against the religion of Libertarianism.

And even if someone did figure it out… They wouldn’t have said anything. The last thing anyone wanted to do was receive the death sentence of being labeled “communist” for speaking independently of fascist Libertarian dogma. For a quasi-religion that claims to value “freedom” Libertarians don’t take well at all to dissent or even to speaking freely. You can get in a lot of trouble for expressing yourself or thinking independently. The usual punishment for free thinking among Libertarians is total banishment called “disfellowshipping” where no one is allowed to talk or do any business with you ever again. Basically, after you say anything they don’t like- the Librarians will all gather around you and shout, “You’re Blocked! You’re Blocked! You’re Blocked!” three times. And that’s it! You’re doomed! Cut off with no help from the community. Left for dead…

With thinking like that- It wasn’t long before a wealthy CEO by the name of Barry Mage founder of the digital payment racket “PayBuddy” came up with the idea of selling O2 which had until then been provided by his machines for free. He then proceeded to shut down the entire air supply of the ship. Many other colony ships did likewise. People now had to buy oxygen or die. And many did die. – As a result the colony ships no longer had air. Soon after they didn’t have water either. Then one CEO by the name of Marvin Brigg (founder of Poweron) got the idea to shut off power unless paid by the hour. Soon after the propulsion drive managers shut down the engines and many captains began to demand payment for access to navigation!

In short the Randists were tearing themselves apart like the selfish animals they were! Many ships were now floating around without power. Some ships got lost, drifted into space, and were never seen again. As panic ensued many drew up plans to trade critical services just so they could operate the colony ships. But it was too late… The reactors on several of the colony ships had been running without water for days. Several more were shut down then put into cold start without time to heat up. This caused shorts and massive explosions that destroyed several ships. Shrapnel from the explosions hit many of the others causing severe malfunctions and fatal hull breaches. The few remaining libertarians of Rand now watched as many of their already dwindling population now floated away… Dead in space, floating along vast streaks of wreckage. A path of blood and metal trailing the Randist fools wherever they went. Yet even in these worst of times – the Randists themselves refused to let up on their libertarian ideals. Even the more perverse ones…

A hairy middle-aged fat man in his underwear with his pants around his ankles was struggling to chase down a 6 year old girl as he ran down the corridors yelling, “I gave you that piece of candy! Now give me sex! We had a contract! You signed it! You agreed!” But the little red haired girl was having none of it. She darted off down a hallway and into a dark room where she slammed the door behind her. The door slammed shut on the greasy libertarian child molester’s hand and he let out scream. The heavy armored door took the tips of his fat fingers clean off. He hobbled away cursing and yelling furiously, “When I tell Stuffin Muckamux what you did you’re gonna get disfellowshipped for sure! Just you wait you little brat! A contract is a contract! A is A!”

“A is A…” A term Libertarians often use but are mostly too stupid to understand what it actually implies. But Ayn Rand said it. So they mindlessly repeat it every time they think they are getting ripped off. Ironically the Libertarian belief system is built on the denial of reality. In particular the denial of man’s dishonest and hostile nature. In short- Libertarians in fact DO NOT believe that A equals A. On the contrary- they emphatically deny it. Unfortunately that ability to deny reality is what allows Libertarians to so easily twist and pervert morality itself, in order to suit their own selfish immoral desires.  Including the belief that the government has no right to tell a person not to have sex with children. Additionally Libertarians believe that even a child is fully capable of entering into contracts. Even if the child can’t read. They believe that any children old enough to talk can agree to work any job that an adult can. Including prostitution… So if a molester can bribe or trick a child into signing a contract to do something. No one will object to what happens after. Not publicly anyway.

Sadly… If the little girl had parents she might at least have had someone to protect her from predators trying to trick her into signing things she didn’t understand. But her’s died when the air was cut off on her ship about a month ago. Her mother gave the little girl the only small air tank they had. Simmerra. The little girls name was Simmerra. And that incident would not be the last time a Libertarian would curse her name in anger. In the mean time she was indeed in trouble! If the man told anyone she had broken a contract Simmerra would be disfellowshipped and left to die. Thankfully a shoddily made stair well gave way under the fat man’s weight as he wobbled down an old archway. He fell 70 feet to his death onto a pile of rusty ragged metal scraps. He didn’t get the chance to tell anyone… Simmerra was safe for now.

Long had the Randist feared the forces of the American government finding and slaughtering what was left of their people. But the truth was they should have been more concerned about their own kind. But like any libertarian the truth was too toxic to bear. It was far easier to blame the American Government and leave it at that. Yet still… they knew… They knew the REAL reason they were in such pain. And it had to be dealt with. Before their own greed killed them off once and for all. It was unanimous… They HAD to find a new world to settle on! And they needed one with all haste! They were going to kill themselves if they stayed adrift for much longer! They were like cornered cannibalistic animals eating each other alive! And in that most desperate time of need. As if summoned forth by will alone- the cosmic dust settled and their eyes beheld a shining blue gem aside a glittering star. And that beautiful water world they did name…

Libertaria…

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