We used to be simple merchants, bartering with each other. We had everything we wanted, lived in harmony, you know the story. And then the king died. Assassinated, they said he was. Of course, there was no proof. Died in front of his vidset. No bullet holes, no poison, no trace. They never found out who set in motion the downfall of our planet. The next in line to the throne was Gumaelsius. Didn’t want to live in his father’s shadow, wanted to shake things up. So he uprooted our entire way of life. Outlawed bartering, introduced money,  jobs, and awkward water cooler conversations about the big game. Was wildly unpopular at first, but our technology advanced even further under him. People like me are a rarity now.

All I wanted was a peaceful life on this planet. Surely you can't take that away from me, Doctor? I want the company gone as well, but surely there's another way. Please. They'll kill me.

I think you misunderstood me. It’s a corporation ship, but not all of us work for them. I’m a trader, as is everybody outside the palace. We were permitted passage here by the Corporation. So long as we can pay. A lot of us came here to start a new life. Go back to the old traditions. Some of us still practice in the little habitable environment left outside the cities. I came here to esacpe the new regime. They killed my family. I'm the only one left.