The Belt

**The Belt**, also known as the main *Asteroid Belt* (to distinguish it from the further out Kuiper Belt), is a torus-shaped region in the Sol system, located roughly between the orbits of Mars and Jupiter. It consists of numerous asteroids of varying size, and is considered part of the outer planets. People born on the colonised asteroids and city stations are called Belters.

## History

Expansive colonisation of the Belt began with the invention of the Exo Drive in 2203, by the Earth-based corporation: Exoscience. With the drive allowing for feasible expansion to Mars in a matter of days, and beyond within human life frames, the exodus of people from Earth exploded. Initially, the purpose of most colonisation was to exploit the abundant resources in the many asteroids of the Belt, and this in turn shaped the entire economy of the region.

From construction of the first mining stations near Eros, to the building of Medea Station in 2247 in orbit near Ceres, the history of the Belt is one of mining, trade, and manufacturing that essentially drives the entire economy of the system, but is commonly treated as a lower class society that exists solely to power more civilised places. The Earthers and Dusters who dock within the Belt are happy to drink Belter liquor and blow off steam in Belter brothels, buy Belter metal and sell third-rate materials back. Earth and Mars rely on the minerals of the Belt for technology and industry, yet they rarely provide anything back. The choicest fruits and grains and beef of Europa and Ganymede go to Earth, Luna, and even Mars, before they come to the Belt. The Earth corporations most Belters work for cut corners, resulting in unsafe work conditions for asteroid and water miners. Basic necessities such as water and air are tightly controlled and shorted during times of financial hardship (for the corporation, that is).

## Geography

### Asteroids

The four biggest asteroids of the belt: Ceres, Vesta, Pallas, and Hygiea, contain half of its overall mass. In total, the mass of all objects in the asteroid belt is approximately 4% that of Luna, or roughly twice that of Charon, and is estimated to be around 2.39 × 1021 kg. The temperatures depend on the distance from the sun and typically range from -73 °C to -108 °C.

Asteroids, in general, lack the mass to be able to support normal gravity. The only way to acquire gravity would be to artificially spin the asteroids in the same way that a ring station functions. Though possible, this procedure is prohibitively expensive to accomplish and would also likely cause the asteroids to completely break apart under the force of the spin. As such, most asteroids in the Belt have no human settlement directly on their surface, instead relying on nearby orbital habitats (such as the city stations) and temporary mining platforms that dig into the rock under microgravity.

### City Stations

The Belt is home to humanity's first attempts at living amongst the stars, in the form of a variety of stations designed for long-term habitation. Most notable amongst these is Medea Station.

## Society

### Population

Fifty million people live in the rocks and habitats beyond Earth and Mars, according to official record, though in reality the number could be twice as high if census-takers are to be believed. Out beyond the terrestrial planets, in the shadow of the giants rivalling even the Sun, Belters eke out a precarious existence dedicated to fuelling the ambitions of others, grimacing as they’re stepped on. They’re often styled as colonists, but unlike Martians, nobody really believes the Belt will ever be more habitable than it is. Air finds no purchase, crops will not grow in solid rock, and few natural resources exist to support life. Those who work in the asteroid belt harvest minerals for funding and send massive haulers to break great, icy asteroids apart for water.

The earliest Belters were miners, living out of their ships and sustaining themselves on years’ worth of food reserves. Many still live this way, jumping from one small rock to the next, hauling back water and mined minerals to the nearest stations, and scratching out meagre pay to waste in casinos and bars. These people spend their entire life in microgravity, only rarely spending time in the artificial spin gravity of Belter cities.

By contrast, a sizeable percentage of Belters live in the city stations of the Belt, which are just as dense and teeming with life as any on Mars or Earth. Medea Station alone, the largest ring station in the Belt, has millions of inhabitants, from those lucky enough to live in the outer levels with their larger apartments and their fake blue LED sky, to those living in the stacks and rows of 3D-printed “holes” in the inner levels. These stations and spaceports play host to all manner of humanity, from miners to prostitutes to mechanics to tourists. UV lamps flicker in cramped, metal and plastic hallways with moisture collecting on the walls. Most walls are meters thick, keeping Belters safe from the radiation that pervades the Belt. In these tight spaces are the things that truly define Belter culture: casinos, brothels, bars, and plenty of opportunity for cheap drugs and booze. In summary, lights alone in the dark of space, where a hauler could find warm arms and a cold drink. Criminal gangs are common here, running black markets, protection schemes, grey-water reclamation scams, and generally working to advance their own meagre ends at the expense of visitors to the station, or other Belters in a pinch.

### Government & Politics

Existing at the outermost limits of Earth’s immediate reach, the Belt is still technically under the jurisdiction of the UN and is treated as such by the UN Navy. In practice, the Belt is a lawless place ruled by gangs and factions operating throughout the various stations, keeping the peace through a loosely-affiliated network called the Outer Planets Alliance (OPA). In more recent times, as resentment towards Earth continues to grow amongst Belters, the OPA has become more of a socio-political movement, seeking to form an independent Belter state, though no one faction in the OPA can actually agree on exactly how to do this.

### Language

All Belters generally speak Belter Creole (known as Streetslang in the city stations), a combination of loan-words and phrases from various languages, combined with gestures useful for communicating while wearing a vac suit and being unable to speak. On top of that, due to the mix-and-match nature of populations in the Belt, many people know various languages that they can use interchangeably with each other.