Preservation Alliance

The **Preservation Alliance** is a small group of freehold worlds that were settled by survivors of failed colonies. They have remained independent of the Corporation Rim.

## History

The Preservation Alliance's original members were refugees from a failed colony world that was abandoned by its parent company. A ship led by Captain Consuela Makeba came across them and made a deal to carry the colonists to safety, leaving the abandoned world and building a new home with vastly different rules and leadership. These new rules included free food, shelter, education, and medical support to everyone, and no forced contract labor. Captain Makeba is known for making impassioned speeches at this time about leaving no one behind.

The journey took almost two hundred years (which they weathered in suspension boxes). Once they arrived they used the ships that brought them there to build Preservation Station. Then they made an alliance with two nearby systems with similar stories. They were later found by the Corporation Rim, but maintained their independence by declining its help.

## Culture

> *Humans in the Preservation Alliance didn’t have to sign up for contract labor and get shipped off to mines or whatever for 80 to 90 percent of their lifespans. There was some strange system where they all got their food and shelter and education and medical for free, no matter what job they did.* (Network Effect Chapter 2)
>
>

Preservation has two economies. One is a complicated barter system for planetary residents and one is currency-based for visitors and dealing with outsiders.

Preservation appears to value hand-made goods (as seen by the types of clothing available on Preservation Station) and also eat a primarily plant-based diet. In "Home: Habitat, Range, Niche, Territory", the food cabinet is stocked with only plant-based foods and drinks (nut-based milks, fruit and vegetables, etc.) and animal-based foods have yet to appear in the canon.

Preservation (the planet and station) have extremely low crime rates.

## Locations

* Preservation Station
* Preservation (local planet)
* Makeba Central Medical (named after Captain Consuela Makeba, separate from Station Medical)
* FirstLanding University (on planet, source of surveys)
* Free Preservation Institute of Discovery and Engineering. (ART reached out to them to find Arada's survey location in Network Effect. May be related to FirstLanding.)
* Makeba Hall
* Unnamed Survey World 2
* Two additional (undescribed) systems

## References

1. ↑ Talking Murderbot With 'Network Effect' Author Martha Wells https://www.newsweek.com/network-effect-murderbot-diaries-martha-wells-novel-sanctuary-moon-1502150
2. ↑ *Humans in the Preservation Alliance didn’t have to sign up for contract labor and get shipped off to mines or whatever for 80 to 90 percent of their lifespans. There was some strange system where they all got their food and shelter and education and medical for free, no matter what job they did. It had something to do with the giant colony ship that had brought them here, and a promise by the original crew to take care of everyone in perpetuity if they would just get on the damn thing and not die in the old colony.* Chapter 2, Network Effect.
3. ↑ *There’s always a dramatic rendition of Captain Consuela Makeba’s speech about not leaving a single living thing behind to die. Mensah has a clip from one of the most popular ones on a display surface on the wall of her station office.*, Chapter 5, Network Effect.
4. ↑ *"Ratthi objected, “Hey, it may be old, but it’s not shitty. It came to Preservation packed into the hold of that much bigger ship, the one that’s become the station, with our grandparents..."*, Ratthi, Chapter 8, Exit Strategy.
5. ↑ *"“They were in suspension boxes, because the trip took almost two hundred years. They were refugees from a failed colony world, and it was the only way to escape. When they arrived in the Preservation system, they were able to make an alliance with two other systems settled earlier by similar refugee ships. When ships from the Corporation Rim discovered us, they refused their help, which kept us independent.”"* Mensah, Chapter 8, Exit Strategy.
6. ↑ *"The crime stats on Preservation Station and the planet were pitifully low, and usually involved intoxication-related property damage or disturbances and/or minor infractions of station cargo handling or planetary environmental regulations."* Chapter 2, Network Effect.
7. ↑ *I knew the others were on planet: Dr. Bharadwaj on a family visit and Arada and Overse at the FirstLanding university working on preparation for the survey they wanted to do, and Volescu was retired.* Chapter Three, Fugitive Telemetry.
8. ↑ *When I arrived through the Preservation wormhole, I sent messages inquiring after humans who I knew were associated with SecUnit. The Free Preservation Institute of Discovery and Engineering was most helpful when I asked for a possible meeting with Survey Specialist Arada. They sent me complete information on your itinerary and team.* Chapter Eight, Network Effect.
9. ↑ *"Well, Ratthi has a reservation for the opening night of that new musical theater thing in Makeba Hall and he wants us all to go*." Chapter 8, Fugitive Telemetry.