Ad Interim

[James Greed]

With the abundance of wealth, comes decadence. This is said to be inevitable, and thus my family set up a trial decades, if not centuries ago. Once the offspring have reached their twentieth birthday, a hefty amount of credits and a ship was provided to them. From then on, they were to venture out into space and see the world for themselves. Have them decide on a goal in their life. Most ended up returning to the family in short order, upon realizing how much worse they could have it. Swiftly integrating back into the keiretsu. This little "exercise" is said to form one's character. A clever ploy to strengthen the supposed family ties. Of course, there were exceptions. Some splintered off to join various shipping companies, groups, or the naval forces. Generally, it worked out in favor of the family.

The nail that sticks out gets hammered down.


There was a shift, however. More and more decided to join the less lawful side of Kusari. Members of my family turned up in harshly different groups. Bad influence? Greed? Who knows. The previously mentioned countermeasure remained, with a slightly different purpose, yet effectively staying the same. It became a tradition to let the young explore, all in service of complete individuality.


This chain of events will likely end with me. Some families United, others joined with different views on this whole trial. Everyone before me stayed inside Kusari, settled down with a group, lawful or unlawful. Or so I was told. If possible, I'd like to extend this little trial and see what I can do on my own without clinging to the first group that seems vaguely acceptable.

Idealistic, I know. Especially from someone like me. Last in line, not blood-related, possibly choosing the wrong path to begin with.