BARD PAPER: OPAL8697 | Home | Traveller | BARD | OPAL |
BARD PAPER: OPAL8697 | Home | Traveller | BARD | OPAL |
Named for an ancient French Solomani writer, Balzac is heavily industrialised. The world's abundant resources and strategic location along the Rift Tradeway attracted large numbers of traders and colonists. The population soon divided over a number of economic issues, but not into the usual geographic groupings. Instead professional and labor groups became the main competitors, and they chose to divvy up power within the existing communities.
Rather than being divided by borders, the locals are barred by "preeminent domain" regulations that restrict access to a business, housing, utility line or factory to one of the six federations. Each federation is a vertically integrated corporation like structure, that overlaps with its neighbors. Allegiance is chosen by the pattern of patronisation by the general population of a federations power structure. Competitive bargains and deals are offered by each federation in an attempt to woo citizens; but the resulting structure muddies allegiances and avoids quick conflict resolution, which was the point to begin with. Visitors are recommended to peruse the general services provided in the starports, as the thicket that is the local government can be daunting to the inexperienced.