------------------------------- ATC2 - A Galaxy Full of Stars: The Culture ------------------------------- This file is about the *general* culture of civilization. Things might be very different where your character comes from, so remember that if you're unsure, the first thing to do is ask one of the GMs about it. Arts & Entertainment ******************** The chaos and hectic atmosphere of the last twenty-five years has caused a massive desire for a return to simpler times. As a result, minimalism is just coming back into style. Postmodern minimalism is the rising fad in literature, and classical music, especially baroque style, is very very big (thanks to the help of the Sleythin, in part). Net shows are drastically cutting back set budgets and aiming for a more clean-cut art-deco look. Red New York's art-deco stylings are seen as the pinnacle of current architectural design. As for movies, they, too, are returning to the basics. Clothing ******** The complicated fashions of the 1060s and 2070s are fading fast, replaced by simple one-piece dresses and sleek strapless numbers. Men's fashion has thrown off the tie and suit, and replaced it with a collarless jacket and slacks. For more down-to-earth (or down-to-mars) people, a simple buttonless shirt and jeans are standard fare. Alternatively, and also among the downtrodden, the single-piece nano-extruded jumpsuit is a mainstay, especially for its useful "use once and throw away" ability. Religion ******** Religion has gotten simpler as well. Gone are all the myriad offshoot religions of the 2050s. The big four, Christianity, Judaism, Islam, and Buddhism, are still around, with the exception that while Catholicism is big on Earth, it is Space Catholicism that rules on Mars, Venus, in the asteroids, and out to the moon colonies. There is also one new religion that is taking off like wildfire, especially among the poorer Martians: Europism. Called the Cult of Europa, it worships the original cast of ATC1, the so-called "Europa Team". Using the members as its pantheon, the Cult (not really a cult anymore) promises the Europa Team will return from wherever when danger once again threatens Mars. Its popularity is likely due to the drug-enhanced worship sessions. Food **** Food trends are the one defiance to the rule of simple. Despite the rise of culture in the various countries, the "traditional" ways of cooking have returned, with a lot of crossover between them. Restaurants no longer just specialize in one genre, but instead usually feature at least French, Italian, and Japanese, if not more. Heavy spicing is common, usually to cover the odd aftertaste of the cage-grown Mars meat. Extremely upscale restaurants serve only Earth-grown meat, and at exorbitant prices. Fresh vegetables are at a premium as well, though with the terraformed land they are finally becoming slightly less expensive. Transportation ************** Public transportation between cities is fairly regular - spaceplanes take off from every city almost every half hour for at least the top ten major cities. The security is rather lax, as hijackings have dropped to a new all-time low after the NeoHippy rebellion ended. Roads are seldom used except for low- priority shipments (and the inevitable corporate secrets), but there is a road system with emergency domes in place. Private spaceplanes and ships take off pretty much whenever, though they have to pay fees for the use of spaceports and such. And you can almost always find a pilot for charter to someplace else. Lifestyle ********* On the whole, life on Earth is fantastic, life on Venus is boring, life on the asteroids is good, life on the moon colonies sucks, and life on Mars can vary from extraordinary to absolute crap. Most high-class people have large homes with all-real items. Most middle-class have a mix of real and nano-extruded items, possibly with a nanoconstructor in their own home. Most low-class people use the public nano-constructors, sometimes just to survive (all nano- constructors can produce a nutrient-rich paste). People on Venus usually only own apartments (no ground for homes, remember), as do people on the moon colonies. There are 13 billion people out there, and almost as many ways to live. If you're looking for specific details, feel free to ask a GM. Street Slang & Drugs ******************** Spoken by disenfranchised youth across Mars, and picked up by wanna-be kids all over the system, slang has managed to keep just ahead of the tendency for languages to absorb the terms. Slang is rarely spoken by anyone above the age of sixteen, and usually only in the "bad" parts of town, but some people use it anyways. As for curse words, all the oldies but goodies are still around, with a few new ones as well. Here's a quick list of the more common ones: "tweenyquad" "upper" "two-Four", n. = Twenty-Four "dopejack", n. = Mindlink Headjack "ex" , n. = exo-suit "whammy" , n. = HEX "tizzim" , n. = TriSense Mindlink "slick" , n. = cyberware "sleek" , v. = to have cyberware installed "splice" , v. = to have genetech installed Some of the prolific street drugs: Clarity, a hallucinogenic NeoMeth, a narcotic KraKow, a narcotic Whoops, a TSM program inducing hallucinogenic effects