Feds against slavery, so they kill slaves?

[Vasious]

The slavery mechanic needs a bit of work.

1. Imperial slaves need to get proper transportation. Not as cargo, but as passengers. When this was recently proposed to Sammarco he seemed to agree and like this idea, but did not want to promise anything at this stage.
But with the future addition of a passenger mechanic this will become entirely possible.

2. We need a proper slave liberation mechanic in the game. Elite's universe and fluff is very suited for this kind of gameplay. FD should jump on this train and implement it asap I feel.
This could feed into community goals and Powerplay too and of course into regular missions.
We need something like a secretive Underground Railroad organization to deliver freed slaves to. I think this would result in a proper gameplay loop many cmdrs would enjoy to take part in. I certainly would.


Of course this freeing mechanic would not be appropriate in the case of Imperial Slaves. Imperial slaves would not be helped by this as their slavery has a very different social background and most of them should have very strong ties to their Imperial community because of this. Fleeing from the Empire would not be attractive to them as it would not improve their financial situation and they would in general not want to completely abandon their Imperial families.

It would be great if the game would better acknowledge the fundamental differences between the two types of slaves that are in the game.

Yes, the underground railway is sorely missing apart from the occasional mission that is smuggling slaves, regular or Imperial, out of System.
No way to be actively involved

And Yes there is even opportunity for Imperial Slaves to come into these.

Anarchies, Independent Dictatorships and Independent Patronages often have Imperial slaves on the open Market, whom I sure would want either to escape that bondage as however effective or not the ISA rules are in the Empire, they are beyond them there and probably would welcome a way out, or be repatriated to the Empire (I think I read that one of the rules was that Imperial Slave sold outside the Empire are free of their debt if they make it back to the Empire as the contact was broken.)

There needs to be a ISA with teeth to tie in to the crime and punishment mechanics to actually make it risky for Imperial Pilots to sell slaves outside the Empire.

 

[chagnampra]

We need a proper slave liberation mechanic in the game. Elite's universe and fluff is very suited for this kind of gameplay. FD should jump on this train and implement it asap I feel.
This could feed into community goals and Powerplay too and of course into regular missions.
We need something like a secretive Underground Railroad organization to deliver freed slaves to. I think this would result in a proper gameplay loop many cmdrs would enjoy to take part in. I certainly would.

I agree, I would love to see this. Back in the day, there used to be a 'donate xx slaves' for faction rep, etc; though this was a very basic mechanic. I did do that, on a few occasions, and decided I quite liked doing it, from a RP perspective. I now role-play a slave liberator in an FDL, with a cargo scanner, 32 cargo spaces and a hatch breaker limpet controller. My aim is to interdict slave traffickers, break their hatch and scoop up the slaves. I will only destroy the ship if it tries to stop me. Of course, now the only way to 'free' those slaves (in my opinion) is to dock at a station and discard them. I would prefer an option which could feed into some role-playing and, ideally, affect reputation. Make it happen, Sandro!

 

[Vasious]

I agree, I would love to see this. Back in the day, there used to be a 'donate xx slaves' for faction rep, etc; though this was a very basic mechanic. I did do that, on a few occasions, and decided I quite liked doing it, from a RP perspective. I now role-play a slave liberator in an FDL, with a cargo scanner, 32 cargo spaces and a hatch breaker limpet controller. My aim is to interdict slave traffickers, break their hatch and scoop up the slaves. I will only destroy the ship if it tries to stop me. Of course, now the only way to 'free' those slaves (in my opinion) is to dock at a station and discard them. I would prefer an option which could feed into some role-playing and, ideally, affect reputation. Make it happen, Sandro!

Bravo for doing it right!

And Yeah "discarding" slaves and cryo pods and hostages to free them in a Dock really doesn't feel right at all does it.

 

[Sapyx]

Re: the Tau Ceti / Achenar lifeform extermination debate:

There are two key differences between what happened on Taylor Colony and what happened on Capitol.

1. The Tau Ceti lifeforms being exterminated were not sentient. The lore states that many native lifeforms became extinct due to the dual pressure of big-game-hunting and habitat loss to farmland created by automated terraforming machinery. Look around the galaxy, especially those parts of it not yet colonized by humans. There's life out there, in abundance; probably one out of every three star systems has a life-bearing world in it somewhere. Although the people of Tau Ceti and Earth did not know it at the time, planets with native life of some kind are a dime a dozen; it's difficult for 34th century humans to find any rage over destroying just one planetfull of alien animals over a thousand years ago. It's sentient life that is hard to find. If the Federal accusations are true, then the original colonists of Achenar exterminated the only species we've ever encountered (apart from the Thargoids) that we could even in theory sit down and have a nice chat with.

2. The colonists of Tau Ceti fought a war with Earth, and effectively lost. They admitted the wrongfulness of their actions in destroying the native ecosystem, joined the newly-formed Federation and agreed to abide by any future Federation rules regarding protecting whatever tiny remnants of native life might have survived the rogue terraforming processes of the colonization. In short, they repented. There has never been any sign of repentance from Achenar for their actions, only denials that a genocide has even taken place, refusal to allow Federation investigators to come to Achenar and find out the truth regarding the sentience or otherwise of the native lifeforms of Capitol, and refusal to abide by Federation rules regarding protection of native wildlife in general. In short, Achenar's crime was in not losing the war when the Federation first invaded them, like they were supposed to.

Now, one can debate all they what-ifs and what-might-have-beens until the cows come home, in terms of how fair and unbiased a Federation investigation team looking into the sentience of the indigenous lifeforms of Achenar 6d would have been. Whether the Federation was planning to use the investigation as a pretext for annexation is now largely irrelevant, the fact remains that the founders of the Empire were convinced they were being set up, and chose resistance over surrender.

 

[Soopyyy]

Re: the Tau Ceti / Achenar lifeform extermination debate:

There are two key differences between what happened on Taylor Colony and what happened on Capitol.

1. The Tau Ceti lifeforms being exterminated were not sentient. The lore states that many native lifeforms became extinct due to the dual pressure of big-game-hunting and habitat loss to farmland created by automated terraforming machinery. Look around the galaxy, especially those parts of it not yet colonized by humans. There's life out there, in abundance; probably one out of every three star systems has a life-bearing world in it somewhere. Although the people of Tau Ceti and Earth did not know it at the time, planets with native life of some kind are a dime a dozen; it's difficult for 34th century humans to find any rage over destroying just one planetfull of alien animals over a thousand years ago. It's sentient life that is hard to find. If the Federal accusations are true, then the original colonists of Achenar exterminated the only species we've ever encountered (apart from the Thargoids) that we could even in theory sit down and have a nice chat with.

2. The colonists of Tau Ceti fought a war with Earth, and effectively lost. They admitted the wrongfulness of their actions in destroying the native ecosystem, joined the newly-formed Federation and agreed to abide by any future Federation rules regarding protecting whatever tiny remnants of native life might have survived the rogue terraforming processes of the colonization. In short, they repented. There has never been any sign of repentance from Achenar for their actions, only denials that a genocide has even taken place, refusal to allow Federation investigators to come to Achenar and find out the truth regarding the sentience or otherwise of the native lifeforms of Capitol, and refusal to abide by Federation rules regarding protection of native wildlife in general. In short, Achenar's crime was in not losing the war when the Federation first invaded them, like they were supposed to.

Now, one can debate all they what-ifs and what-might-have-beens until the cows come home, in terms of how fair and unbiased a Federation investigation team looking into the sentience of the indigenous lifeforms of Achenar 6d would have been. Whether the Federation was planning to use the investigation as a pretext for annexation is now largely irrelevant, the fact remains that the founders of the Empire were convinced they were being set up, and chose resistance over surrender.

It wasn't just that either, the original Emporer murdered his sister, niece and nephew in order to seize power for himself. Every subsequent Imperial citizen swears loyalty to the linage that was born from these actions. Is it any wonder Federal citizens at barest minimum raise an eye-brown to the legitimacy of Imperial cries?

 

[Poseidal]

I am wondering, in this 'cut-throat' galaxy; what other option, did the FDL have? Ask you to take good care of them and bid you good day? Run away?

I see your point; slave traders must did and the slaves you have in your hold, are just a sacrifice to the cause.

Sacrificing the lives of innocent people for 'the cause', especially those you are meant to be helping, is a rather large hypocrisy.

He was in an FdL for pete's sake! It's basically an obligation to blow things up when you're in one of those bad boys. As long as he looked good while he was doing it

The problem is you can't look good while being a Fed. It's against their ideology.

 

[Atebits]

"Imperials"
"Decadence"

Anything goes to feed their hedonistic appetites.

Yes! Hahaha.
Isn't it weird there aren't pleasure cults in the Empire? I wonder if by this point humanity hasn't been around technology so long we lost the sex drive.

 

[Vevvev]

I suggest we blow up every single Federation lackey that steps foot in Imperial Space and set up blockades preventing them from disrupting our trade. Admiral Patreus, get on it now.

 

[Poseidal]

Yes! Hahaha.
Isn't it weird there aren't pleasure cults in the Empire? I wonder if by this point humanity hasn't been around technology so long we lost the sex drive.

There are factions that were described as 'Imperial Hedonists'.

 

[[VR] Marrs]

I know I didn't dream this but a long time ago I got a mission where I had to buy Imperial Slaves but the context of the mission was that I was rescuing them and taking them to a station where they would be freed. Now I don't know if this mission has been removed from the game because I only saw it the once, or whether I'm just not visiting the right stations. Any one else had this mission?

Anyway, if they did take it out I wish they would put it back in. Also, it would be nice to have a dedicated 'Contact' for freeing slaves, it wouldn't even need to pay well but would be great for Fed role-play.

 

[Poseidal]

I know I didn't dream this but a long time ago I got a mission where I had to buy Imperial Slaves but the context of the mission was that I was rescuing them and taking them to a station where they would be freed. Now I don't know if this mission has been removed from the game because I only saw it the once, or whether I'm just not visiting the right stations. Any one else had this mission?

Anyway, if they did take it out I wish they would put it back in. Also, it would be nice to have a dedicated 'Contact' for freeing slaves, it wouldn't even need to pay well but would be great for Fed role-play.

These did exist. The Imperials had missions to buy 'regular slaves' and bring them to in Imperial stations to train as Imperial Slaves as well.

 

[xondk]

Today I got interdicted by an NPC as I was flying around in my (Brand new) Python. Sure, no problem, I take quick care of the poor sap with my massive new weapons... All of a sudden a FDL jumps in and types the following (paraphrasing, can't remember the exact quote): "Imperial slave traders don't deserve to live. Prepare to die." And then he proceeds to vaporise me in a couple of seconds. Besides being rather livid at the fact that this happened one jump from the A. Lavigny-Duval's home system, and the 6.7mil credit insurance payout (I now only have 10mil left at this stage), I am also quite confused... Obviously this guy doesn't give a rat's ass about slaves, because he has just brutally murdered 128 (tonnes of cargo, so it must have been quite a few more people) Imperial Slaves (Who are treated with honour as it plays an important part of Imperial culture). Pretty annoyed, and i wish the Feds would come up with a decent excuse for murdering us around our home systems...

P.S. I prefer open because these special cases are rare, and I enjoy playing with other CMDRs, the cameraderie during the recent Imperial Warship CG was amazing...

Yeah it is generally just an excuse to shoot people, "Slaver scum!" bang bang, slaves die....which you know, is fine, people have reacted like that IRL before doing stuff without thinking about how the consequences actually affect those they protect, so yeah... seems pretty normal.

 

[Arry]

I know I didn't dream this but a long time ago I got a mission where I had to buy Imperial Slaves but the context of the mission was that I was rescuing them and taking them to a station where they would be freed. Now I don't know if this mission has been removed from the game because I only saw it the once, or whether I'm just not visiting the right stations. Any one else had this mission?

Anyway, if they did take it out I wish they would put it back in. Also, it would be nice to have a dedicated 'Contact' for freeing slaves, it wouldn't even need to pay well but would be great for Fed role-play.

The smurf Princess often makes that kind of offer at Cubeo. She is against slavery in general.

 

[=71st=RuSh]

You guys will really hate me.
I trade 284 imps one way, make 3500/t (at a black market, no less), come back with a load of 284 regular "enthusiastic volunteers" and make another 1900/t. A-B-A-B 45ly journey.
In principal, they're both slaves. In practice, the protection imperial law grants imperial slaves makes them more wealthy than many "free" federal citizen wage-slaves in serious debt. They are well fed, clothed in fine liveries, educated (handy for when their servitude is finished), are provided free childcare, free healthcare and imperial law (theoretically) protects their dignities. Sure they work 12 hour days and it's their word against their master's but comparing their strife to the strife of those in the unregulated slave trade ignores the difference of degree in suffering.

I'm in a unique position to compare the two on a regular basis and I can tell you, you see a fierce pride in the eyes of imperial slaves and they tend to speak well of their former masters. They are educated, healthy and very well spoken. Their children are housed, educated and cared for. Many who became imperial slaves now own imperial slaves of their own, who will do the same in return. Unless I run them to a black market in an anarchy system where they are no longer protected by imperial law, which I do. They get off my boat, I light my cigar, twirl my mustache and count my cash. I don't ask what becomes of them.

Unregulated slaves are a truly sad lot. There are the fresh ones, often still in their flight suits or work clothes. Some even in tuxedos and wedding dresses. The defiant ones usually have bloody lips and black eyes, the others are scared with tiny pupils. Most are always looking at the floor. Some are even wearing tatters of imperial livery. The ones that have been there a long time invariably develop some sort of insanity. Abused, malnourished and often diseased, they fight amongst themselves unless policed. Some have been enslaved since birth and have zero social skills and can barely understand galach. They treat former imperial slaves with particular contempt. They're life expectancy is six months to a year unless they're purty. This is human misery.

Triggering SJW is an excellent justification for trading virtual slaves.

I take 256 tons of IS in my Python many times an hour, each leg give me 1.1 to 1.2 miils, they are in hibernation in the cargo racks, sometime one or two wake up in the middle of an interdiction battle, but no problem, the NPC always dies! they are in safe hands!

 

[[VR] Marrs]

The smurf Princess often makes that kind of offer at Cubeo. She is against slavery in general.

Smurf princess, lol. Yes I have a feeling it was her. Might head that way. Thanks for the tip.