They're absolutely terrified of flying, so much so they've considered strong sedatives to be able to do this. It's their only chance at escaping from under an oppressive, cruel, polity's thumb. -- Anon Guest
Social engineering can be used for evil. Case in point, The United Shareholders of New Economy. In order to stop citizens fleeing their polity, most Deregger empires simply make it too troublesome for the wrong sort[1] to travel.
This one has spent a significant effort in making its citizens too terrified to travel. The news and media are overloaded with transit accidents, but only the transits involved in taking citizens away from The United Shareholders of New Economy. Transit to and from work is safer than one's own home[2].
As for the rest of the universe... Economeans are all bombarded with the images of Evil Aliens. Perverted Aliens. Disgusting Aliens. Regular Humans who have been corrupted by their wicked influence into lifestyles of pure dissipation. Rea had spent his lifetime steeped in such messages, but when it came to the choice between dissipation and slow death by unemployment, anything looked good.
It never took much to get on the CEO's list of Persons To Investigate, and watching a Mock Launch explode was one of them. He hadn't meant to look, but leaving the factory after overtime had allowed him to see the finished product leave the floor.
It looked exactly like a Galactic Sub-orbit Transit as it was towed out onto the launch rail. Rea had seen the Galactic's ships soaring through the air and idle curiosity had made him stop to stare.
How did they fly?
This one launched into the air via a mag-rail and, just as Rea was expecting it to float lazily away, it exploded. In the news feeds, all the way home, all they could talk about was the massive loss of life in the Sub-orbit transit explosion in his area. How unsafe it was to leave the surface of their world in anything other than a sanctioned spacecraft, as those Dirty Aliens ran their vessels until they failed.
But... Rea had worked on that one. Admittedly, he had worked in a mobile support frame, blinkers and all, tightening every bolt with a special machine. That plating wouldn't have come loose even if hit with a tactical nuke.
But if the explosive was on the inside...
That traitor thought may have spilled out of his lips, because the Investigators came to ask him questions the next day. Rea was lucky, he knew the right answers. All the same, he knew his days as an Economean were numbered.
Any day now, he could become a traitor to their pure and righteous polity.
It was no crime to go shopping in a spaceport. Neither was it a crime to join the volunteer cleaner corps to keep it clean from Alien filth.
Once one mopped past a certain point, there were no cameras.
Head down. Keep mopping. Slowly and surely. All the way into the Spaceport Security locker rooms. Change into a Security uniform, put the bucket somewhere, and march as if he knew where he was going and what he was doing.
From there, 'inspect' an Alien freighter pod with as many as a dozen other security guards, find a space to hide... and do it well.
When choosing between slow death and fast, so very many choose to go quickly.
Better to explode into a million pieces than slowly freeze to death with only cardboard between oneself and the elements. With starvation as an option in the summer.
Rea clenched, tense, as the gravity changed. What they never told anyone about the COL-landing system[3] was that takeoff involved freefall; as the virtual gravity pulling the ship up negated the force of the planet keeping the ship down.
Rea had to press his arms and legs against the walls of his hiding space so that he wasn't shaken around like a rock in a tin can. When the sensation of down re-established itself, Rea fell to muttering prayers of gratitude. The Invisible Hand had never granted any of his prayers before, but thankfulness and praise was always welcome.
And then the hatch came off and a surprisingly cute Dirty Alien in a livesuit was staring up at them.
"Hello and welcome to Alliance Space, wandering star. I have Human-compatible nutrition packs and bunk space to spare. If you would follow me, I can take you to my MedUnit where all your issues will be diagnosed and a treatment regime will commence."
This was so far from the reality Rea expected that he had to ask, "You're not fattening me up for my toes, harvesting my tongue, or plotting to take advantage of my body?"
"We believe in consent, here, sir. I merely wish to ascertain your health for the benefit of all aboard. Come. You can meet your fellow escapees."
"There's more?"
"Five this time," the bird-dinosaur creature in the armoured suit seemed pleased with themself. "If I rescue one thousand, I get an award from the CRC."
[1] Poor people.
[2] This disregards the relative safety of Deregger domiciles.
[3] Control Operated Levitation. Basically, a very specific use of the Gravity Drive, and someone wanted to have COL-Landers being part of any planet-visiting vessel.
[Image (c) Can Stock Photo / AlgolOnline]
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