Ifus

If only things had been different, Ifus would have been a planet and could have saved everyone the hassle that is Albus. Colonized for its utility shortly after Albus, Ifus plays a key role in the Barella system as a chief trade weigh-station.

The Caspiez who began this colony have left behind a legacy of shrewd traders. While visitors can easily find necessary supplies here, be ready to pay for them, as the Ifus traders are well-versed in the art and not easily taken. Some have even been called for using telepathic abilities to sweeten the deal in their favor, but such influence is hard to prove.

Ships additionally dock at Ifus to get fitted with the subspace rigging necessary to travel between the systems. It’s a busy port where docks are charged by the hour, and there is even talk of levying a fee for air filtration, be ready to spend.

History

A Quick Nudge

Ifus is a large body of rock and ice that should have been a planet, but never quite made it for whatever reason. Since that time it has drifted, tugged between the gravity of larger planets like Albus and its own sun. While Albus was being formed, reformed, and cleared once again some in the system saw that everything there was going so slow that it would stall the rest of the system if they weren't careful.

Enter the drifting body, Ifus. For however long it had been drifting the large sun had been calling, and by the time that humans set their eyes on the dwarf planet its orbit was so erratic that there would be no chance for colonization. Yet, seeing its utility Ifus was saved from its eventual demise by some quick engineering.

Before long its orbit had been altered, rotation stopped, and set with careful computer estimates of gravity set into a less unhealthy tract around the system. Today its long orbit, which takes it out almost as far as the rocky world Savin allows Ifus to better facilitate the extra-solar transit that has bred extra life into the outpost.

Government

H-Code 42

Forty-two-thousand is a more reasonable number when considering the number of revisions to the trade code that envelops Ifus with any number of overlapping tariffs and taxes. The code, which derives its name from the ancient Hammurabi code, is less a government and more a system of eye-for-an-eye lain out thoroughly detailed specifics.

Married? Cheat on your spouse? Not only will you face the swift dissolution of the union, but also a hefty fee as your spouse receives damages. Bar fight? Get ready to receive an invoice from both the bar-owner, and the other fighter. Appeals are not handled in the atypical legal fashion, instead they are brought before a council of prospective Ifus Mediators for discussion and resolution.

Culture

Ifus is known for its traders, but also for its theatrics. When adrift on a giant still-born planet the mind is apt to wander, and so it was true for those who came to Ifus. As work stalled on Albus and Ifus’s population steadily increased everyone quickly realized that this system was dull as dirt.

Thankfully those who are good at the sell are also fairly good at acting. A large school for drama was established here, Stalkamp, and flourishes today. Ifus people are both sly traders, and grand story-spinners. Be ready to be amazed by their grasp of the word and stage-craft. A number of prominent political stars in the Jovian League hail from Ifus, or attended the Stalkamp Academy.

Sometimes its hard to tell where the show and sell end and where the real demeanor of a Ifus resident begins.

Notable Figures

Mediators

They fill a simple niche by resolving disputes as masters of the craft. Mediators are Ifus’s elite body of contract workers. Their skill is legendary. Working with everything from operations optimization to dispute resolution these highly-paid, hard-to-reach individuals have dedicated their life to personal gain. Often times they have no family, no permanent physical address, and own little more than a bank account large enough to buy almost anything they want within a moment’s notice. It’s a life that only the hardiest of Ifus traders, and even fewer outsiders take, but one that has such high rewards many are lured down its path.

Very few Mediators hold the designation for more than five years, at which point a generally accepted rule is that their hectic schedules overtake them. Yet, by that point their lives are virtually assured by sitting on accumulated credits. The price is worth it, but to what type of person? As a general rule there are only approximately 500 Mediator titles held, others all vying for when the precious spot opens up as a burnt-out mind gives up.

Points of Interest

Stalkamp Academy

Less an academy and more an opt-in service paid for by interested individuals. Still, the monthly-fee club is a rigorous experience well worth its exaggerated cost. For anyone interested in learning more about how to succeed in modern theatre, Stalkamp is a must-have resume builder.

Thankfully the Academy offers up remote options for interested parties, beaming sessions out into colonized space for all to receive, after prompt payment of course. Presently the academy only has one physical location, a large compound that is little more than a large oval dome with a number of doors for entry. “As clay once was on earth, so too will we mold you.” The academy is never late, has no holidays, and is open for varied sessions at-all-times – “Great work cannot be held to normal constrains.”