Golgotha Mining Station

[henry quirk]

"What is the practical difference between a vigilante and a Constable?"

Fine line between the two, mostly established by the Constable doin' what he or she does in full public view and in the moment. Also, most are reluctant to be the Constable cuz such a thing stinks of 'not minding one's own business'. The public nature of the intervention, the general distaste most have for the duty, and the natural Golgothan desire to avoid debt makes the Constable (of the moment) step lightly and, as possible, fairly.

#

"Is a Constable under any enforceable guidelines when picking a punishment?"

Only cultural.

#

"Or when assigning a value for compensation?"

Equal value is equal value: Joe steals Stan's vac suit. Vac suits are valued at, say 500 erg-creds. joe needs to pony up the original vac suit or the 500 creds. If he can do neither, other options (touched on above) are available.

#

"Is the Constable expected to do actual police or detective work if they don't catch someone red-handed, or can they make rulings based on their gut feelings? Or is it considered not to be a crime at all if you aren't caught red-handed?"

If Stan invokes the Constable, the unlucky guy or gal must make a good faith effort, sumthin' that's largely a matter of trust. A Spacer's life, bein' what it is, Golgothans tend to make good investigators (methodical, fact-driven, problem-solvers).

Let's take murder: Louis is found dead, a six-inch hole bored clear through his head, obviously the work of a miner's charge suppresser (a mining tool...nullifies the electron's charge causing matter to disassociate...works slows, so such a tool used as a murder weapon means the killer literally had to work the tool through Louis's face, skull, brain, and skull over the course of several minutes, all the while Louis is in agony...not a passion killing, but a cold-blooded torture session). Such an event puts Golgothans on high alert. Any number of folks will investigate out of self-preservation if nuthin' else.

That particular crine remains unsolved, by the way.

#

"What is the practical difference between arrest and detention?"

Arrest is haulin' someone away to a holdin' cell; detention is a body being kept in place while all involved parties do what they need to do (includin' drafting an Arbiter).

Bear in mind: there is no 'trial set for three months down the road'. The whole of Golgothan Justice happens 'here and now'.

#

"If two parties can't agree on an Arbiter, does it devolve to who has the stronger posse?"

Kinda, but no posses. Any one stupid enough to try to drag another Golgothan into such a final solution is pretty much dead where he or she stands.

Understand: Golgothans are unforgving. They're also practical. Just makes sense to get Law violations out of the way quickly. Culturally, heel-draggers are monkeyin' around with people's lives in a way that's damned close to 'not keepin' their hands to themselves' coupled with 'forcin' others to mind your business'.

[henry quirk]

"If a man gets a women pregnant and abandons her, in a place where children are effectively a pariah, what happens to the man? "It's on him" how?"

Every- and any-thing from nuthin' to eating vacuum.

#

"Followup: given the serious risk of pariahdom to mother and child, why would any fertile woman go there at all?"

Mebbe cuz she doesn't see herself as a baby machine and looks to get rich mining uranium (or any other damned thing she sees fit to pursue)?

#

"Followup followup: if there are no good choices or fertile women (generally the most desireable), and sex is risky, why are the men there?"

Mebbe cuz the men don't see themselves as life support for cocks and are lookin' to do what they each see as the best for themselves?

And: sex is not risky when one is responsible.

[henry quirk]

V,

This is an exercise in world-building.

A question about citizenry (real or fictional) in another place resulted in the first half of my opening post here. The second half of the opening came from follow up questions in the other place.

While I may disagree with most of you about 'everything', none of you (except tw [fuck you, tw]) is a dumb bunny. Questions and comments help me refine the setting, rethink it, and -- eventually -- put the bones of the story I want to tell together.

Normally, I'm the one askin' myself the questions, alone, in front of a typewriter. This public exercise, involving you folks, is new to me.

So, no I'm not lettin' my hair down; I'm ruthlessly, shamelessly, usin' you folks as a sounding board.

[xoxoxoBruce]

When someone is eliminated who gets their shit?

Sounds to me like it's not that difficult to frame an innocent person out of revenge and have them vacuumed before anyone figures it out.

No country for children so have to rely on immigrants.

For the millions of incarcerated people who have no future on release, it could be a chance for a new start.

[Happy Monkey]

Originally Posted by henry quirk

"Is a Constable under any enforceable guidelines when picking a punishment?"

Only cultural.

And personal, presumably.

"Or when assigning a value for compensation?"

Equal value is equal value: Joe steals Stan's vac suit. Vac suits are valued at, say 500 erg-creds. joe needs to pony up the original vac suit or the 500 creds. If he can do neither, other options (touched on above) are available.

All vac-suits are identical? Every item has a fiat price? Nothing is haggled for? Also - erg-creds. If the money is credits towards energy, who backs them? Are they managed in a bank?

"Is the Constable expected to do actual police or detective work if they don't catch someone red-handed, or can they make rulings based on their gut feelings? Or is it considered not to be a crime at all if you aren't caught red-handed?"


If Stan invokes the Constable, the unlucky guy or gal must make a good faith effort, sumthin' that's largely a matter of trust. A Spacer's life, bein' what it is, Golgothans tend to make good investigators (methodical, fact-driven, problem-solvers).

Crimes that would require a professional detective will probably go unsolved, or you may end up with actual professional detectives. Advanced forensic tech may help.

"If two parties can't agree on an Arbiter, does it devolve to who has the stronger posse?"

Kinda, but no posses. Any one stupid enough to try to drag another Golgothan into such a final solution is pretty much dead where he or she stands.

Who says they have to drag? Could be a family member, could be a good friend. Could be someone willing to be hired. Could be organized crime. Also, a 'party' is not necessarily an individual. Could be a family against one person.


Could be none of the above - posses and lynch mobs historically have frequently included plenty of volunteers.