Platon Stone

Platon Stone, or "The Stone", is an orbiting fortress that predates the Scream. The original reason for its founding is unclear. Local legend tells of a psitech doomsday weapon that destroyed an ice moon during the Scream, creating the gas giant rings. Precepteur University archives are unclear but suggest other similar facilities in Yasmin and Argus before the Silence.

Platon Stone has split into approximately 12 ruling Houses. Each House specializes in a specific area of expertise and using a system of trade-labor contracts between the houses allows each house to hire the specialized expertise they need. These trade-labor contracts work as an informal but critical web of overlapping alliances.

Platon Stone was originally settled from a region of disparate peoples called the British Isles. They felt their diversity but unified governance would help in the unpredictability of space.

Currently within The Stone political influence among the other houses is based on developing a specialized skill it can trade to the other Houses. Some of the smaller House still rely on more basic resources or off world trade still partake in the trade-labor to again influence and alliances.

Cultural Movements
The previous unifying Stone Throw Movement, the idea that the isolation of being a “Stone Throw” off the main Slipstream is working as a chrysalis has over the last 10 years given way, or evolved into the Rolling Stone Movement.

The Rolling Stone Movement is the belief that a Diaspora will erupt from The Stone and sweep across the Sector. The current House and the trade-labor system are seen as caused by a racial collective unconscious as an experiment to see what aspects of humanity are the most important and successful in the upcoming Diaspora. The rise of mercenary guilds from the Stone is a seen as am early indicator this finally occurring.

Trade-Labor Contracts
The Trade-Labour Contract system provides much the internal stability on Platon Stone. The fact that violence not only endangers a House but the Specialists from all of the other houses it employs as provided a pacifying effect.

Each House selects from among its young members those that will attended its Premier College. Upon graduation at age usually 22-24 and class ranking an auction/draft is held and attended by all the Houses. The contracts are for 10, 20 or 30 years, with an option to renew.

During the Specialists’ tenure they are expected to work to their full potential for the assigned House, this may at time put two specialists from the same house against each other or against their own House. This is not only expected but required to maintain the Specialist’s “Home” free from conflicts of interests.

Funds from the contract go to the Specialist's home house then is distributed back to him/her per the rules of the house. This is obviously a political balancing act between the House and the Specialists.

After completing 30 years, or less if not renewed, the specialist returns home to start a family, or return with a family to educate and raise the next generation. A specialist may start a family while out on contract but may do so only with either a specialist from the same house or a non-specialist of another.

Note: Every house of course has and educates every profession but they generally pale to what is produced in the House that specializes in it.

House MacKenzie
Probably the most influential house as it considers itself to the creators of trade-labor contract system currently in place. Run by a small group, size varies from 5 to 9, retired trade-labor participants. House MacKenzie, specializes in soldiering and Military Tactics. The Donal Graeme War College graduates are ranked as auctioned to the other houses needing specialized military training.

House Parth
This is the most the largest house based on population but due to many disagreeing sub-houses tends to flounder and change political direction and priorities. Still it’s size alone is enough to warrant being classified as one of the more influential houses.

House Parth simply due to its internal structure has created a specialty of sociology/psychology. Additionally this house is the most likely to splinter off a competing house, most recently House Singh.

House Singh
A small and fairly new house, becoming independent of House Parth some 50 years ago. House Singh is attempting create its specialty in psionic development.

Most notable was its temporary flaunting of the conventional labour contracts for several years after its creation. House Singh took advantage of an overall economic downturn to permanently buyout unregistered contracts of psychics from those houses hardest hit by the downturn. This has yielded a higher than average population of existing and psychic births over the other houses on the Stone.

House McGowan-Dunne
Hard Science (Physical Engineering, Applied Science) known for its technicians and engineers. If you have advanced tech from the Stone it would originally be from here or from another house utilizing McGowan-Dunne specialists.

House Llywelyn
Specializes in all the Fine Arts and Marketing.

House McKinney
Hard Science culture, the leading Stone in Basic Science. It is also known to have the best physicists\Chemists etc.

House Jindal-Kapoor
Specializes in Trade. Both internal and external to the Stone. Some other houses feel this really should be an specialty in corporate type espionage and spy networking. However House Jindal-Kapoor would argue that it's simply Trade taken to a more personal level as they themselves aren’t spies but simply employ them.

House Yao
Specialist – philosophy.