Encyclopaedia of the Galactic Echo

by Simon Coates

  Founded in 2243 by Dr Ghislac, this private clinic has become the most well-known cosmetic surgery clinic in the world, which pioneered various practices that have become routine today.

  The company was the brainchild of Dr Ghislac, who in his early career undertook extensive research into cosmetic surgery techniques. With his reputation increasing across the human population, Dr Ghislac realised the way forward was to open his own clinic, but was unable to fund such a move. He joined forces with a number of individuals who had the necessary capital to make this dream a reality. The clinic was opened in Germany on Earth, and has remained in the same building ever since.

  Dr Ghislac, as well as undertaking complex cosmetic surgery procedures on individuals, has kept up his research into improved technology in this area, to the point that his clinic is now regarded as the finest of its type anywhere, and always boasts a lengthy waiting list of clients. This success has led to Dr Ghislac and his partners to gain huge riches, independent estimates put his personal wealth to be in excess of Cr 1bn.

  The procedures undertaken by the clinic cover all aspects of cosmetic surgery, using state of the art machinery and technology. A typical procedure would be to alter a customer’s face who is, for example, 140 years old, to one that would be naturally found on a person of perhaps 25 years old. He is in heavy demand with public figures, especially film stars and actors who are able to take on roles for a much younger person, despite the actor being perhaps over 100 years old. Other procedures include an entire body skin change, where the skin of the customer is entirely replaced with synthetic skin grown in the laboratory of Dr Ghislac.

  On a personal note, the huge financial wealth gained by Dr Ghislac has enabled him to live in phenomenal luxury, his preferred method of transport is by Gilbern spaceship, which he uses to travel between his clinic, his huge mansion in France, and various spacestation apartments, and exclusive house he owns on Mars.

  Gilbern - spaceship manufacturer

  Manufacturers of the most luxurious and expensive spaceships available for purchase by private individuals for transport in outer space. Set up by husband and wife team Margaret and Steven Gilbern, their objective being to build the finest spaceships the public can buy. Their overriding objectives with their ships is to make the experience of flying to be as close as possible to the person being in their own home, which generally points to the following objectives for a Gilbern ship:

  The absolute highest quality and attention to detail for the ships, with every technical problem tackled with the priority being towards highest quality, without compromise in terms of cost, to deliver the finest possible flying experience;

  to construct every part or as much as is practical, of the spaceship, in-house in the Gilbern workshops, to be able to offer the highest levels of fit, finish and performance;

  to offer the highest level of customer service at all levels, from the purchasing to the after sales care to the ship owners;

  to strive for the most advanced solutions to problems that will improve the quality and performance of the ships offered.

  The first ship built and offered by Gilbern was put on sale in 2275. Called Eclipse, it was massive by any standards. It weighed 200 tons and was 120 meters long, and cost new Cr 500,000. Buyers soon became big fans of what was on offer, with sumptuous accommodation, having been constructed using the best materials available, regardless of cost. Each buyer could customise the interior to their own taste and requirements, inevitably ramping up the cost; indeed, although the ship had a list price of Cr 500,000, in reality this only purchased a ‘rolling chassis’, i.e. the chassis, engine and basic accommodation. Owners would add and specify rooms to their own requirements, meaning ships would come with an end cost regularly over Cr 1 million, with some costing many times that. The reputation of Gilbern spread quickly throughout the business community, and their ships rapidly became the interplanetary transport method of choice for business leaders and important public figures. The Eclipse was powered by a colossal 400 THz rated nuclear powerplant, but despite this huge power, travel was very quiet and smooth for the occupants.

  In 2285 Gilbern replaced the Eclipse with the Star Master, which offered a number of improvements, the most significant of which was the change to a solar power engine. With a maximum power output of 1,000 THz from its enormous powerplant, the Star Master could cruise effortlessly to over 200,000 mph in near silence for the occupants.

  Five years later, Gilbern replaced the Star Master with the Golden Dragon, which was joined a year later by the Silver Cheetah. The Golden Dragon featured further developments on the luxury side of things, with an even quieter and refined cruising capability, despite an increase in engine power to 1,600 THz, making it one of the most powerful public ships ever made. Even with this huge engine power, some owners report that they only know they are moving when they look out of the window, such is the level of soundproofing employed and engine refinement. The Golden Dragon has become the ship of choice for political figures due to the size of the ship, with private individuals tending to go for the Silver Cheetah as it is a little smaller so easier to land. One of the more eyebrow raising technologies which is unique to Gilbern is the ‘active’ artificial gravity system, which is connected directly to the engine. It works by employing gravity where needed to counteract the ‘g’ forces of acceleration, so the occupants cannot feel the ship descending, accelerating or braking as the g-force is cancelled out by the system. Indeed, in one demonstration of its capabilities to the public, a Silver Cheetah was flown on Earth, doing multiple 'barrel rolls', which had no effect whatsoever for the interior or occupants, who experienced no jarring or sensations at all. For the beginning of the 24th century, Gilbern have announced that they plan to develop a new spaceship, the Platinum Star, which promises even higher levels of comfort and luxury… so it should, as they have stated the price will be around Cr 2m!

  Due to their exorbitant cost, a Gilbern is firmly in the category of dream ship for most people. It has led to a fan club for the manufacturer which produces a variety of merchandise; indeed such is the fanbase, it is believed the merchandise income is greater than the income from selling actual spaceships. Such is the demand for Gilberns, which is always very high due to the small numbers produced at the factory, and the premium value attached to a spaceship that is built by hand far more than other manufactures, residual second hand values remain high. Even an older Eclipse can cost over Cr 300,000, as unlike most ships on sale today Gilberns generally don’t depreciate in value due to their status of being very sought after. However, along with very high purchase cost comes the maintenance, to the point that a routine yearly service for a Gilbern can easily come in at over Cr 20,000. So even if buying used does mean people can save money on new, in reality, the costs of running such a machine are so high, owning a Gilbern remains an unrealisable dream for the vast majority of people.

  The Righteous Independents of Earth (Mars-based), and Lunar Alone (Moon-based), pressure groups for independent Earth control.

  When the current format of government was sworn in on Earth in 2232, recognising that humans now lived across increasingly diverse areas of the solar system, Marsians gained their own independent government, but still under ultimate control of Earth.

  With Mars being many millions of miles away from Earth, and the people of Mars increasingly living separate lives from the mother planet, there has been calls for Mars to be more independent of Earth control.

  The pressure group The Righteous Independents of Earth was formed at around 2250, led by Binfo Babs, with their sole purpose for total independence from Earth control, so going much further than the current setup with Mars having its own laws, but where Earth still holds ultimate power over laws such as tax rates and other legislation. Their main argument is to state that the Earth has no right to meddle with the lives of Marsians, saying that they do not need this influence and that they would be better off if they had full control of their own laws.

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nbsp; In response, the central government state that it would be financially impossible for Mars to exist on their own without Earth support, claiming that Mars still receives huge amounts of natural produce from Earth, and that having ultimate control on Earth is better for the planet. They add that Mars has its own government anyway, to rule over issues that are important for Marsians.

  Approaching the 24th century, the group has moved from peaceful demonstrations and rallies, to undertaking more violent acts, although ultimate responsibility as to who caused the violence to flare up during the various clashes is debateable, between the group members and security forces. There is increasing angry feeling between the group and their representatives from Mars who hold power on Earth, stating that their methods are not supported by the majority of peaceful Marsians, claiming that most of them prefer Earth to have ultimate power over laws that are beneficial to all people.

  The Moon based Lunar Alone was formed at around the same time as their Mars counterparts, although their requests are a bit less forceful than the Marsian group, due to the fact that the Moon is closer to the Earth, and they recognise that the Earth will always be a hugely important element in lunar life. Their aim is simply for a bit more independence from Earth, but not full independence. Their leader is Kilmor Sift. It is believed that the two groups may be working together to plan activities in conjunction, but this has not been confirmed.

  It is predicted that these clashes may well turn more and more violent in the future, resulting in security being stepped up at major events, fearing assassination attempts on major government figures or other acts of terrorism. Both group leaders condemn any violence, which has led to many experts fearing there could be splinter groups forming, making the threat of terrorism greater.

  Ultra Natural - Earth-based organisation