Zoner No Fire Zones Update

[Dane Summers]

I wrote this: With sovereignty comes responsibility.
This is very obviouse in RL! A big power gives a damn about some other powers sovereignty if responsibility is denied or ignored. 2 Namedroppings get you right there in its center in real: Afghanistan & Al-Qaeda. We all know...
If you know USA, you know what happend next was inevitabl.
Its "natural" to the bigger to treat a to bold thumb nose into a bloody nose eventualy. You better dont push!

I didnt really understand some of this - the grammar was kinda mulched.

But heres my take on this, and my pair o' pennies in regards to how this relates to freelancer, Zoners, and Freeports.

One - Space is pretty big - So is Sirius. Freelancer is kinda double edged in realism - by one hand, its not realistic - on the other, we try to approach its setting from a realistic perspective.

So, from a realistic perspective to Sovereignty - heres what i gather...

Space, being big, is also full of non-life supporting nothing - ships must take their means to support crew life with them, with only a man-made hull of metal to protect against a violent death.

Ports are way-stations of life-support in an otherwise barren and inhospitable environment. With the space between planets what they are, and the spaces between House Territories being what they are - a Port can save your life.

Think of it like the age of sail - in those days, navigation was flawed, seawater cannot support life, and without wind, you will die. Crossing vast stretches of water was a tremendous risk of being lost, sunk, or stranded.

Space, in its own way, is very similar.

So, now i come to Freeports.

Imagine your the captain of a trade vessel deep in space, away from law and order, with damage to your ship, life support on the fritz, and an engine only half working - you've got a crew of 300 to think about, and they are all looking at you with hope.

Now, lets say your trade vessel is a smuggling vessel, and your not in deep space, but in house space.

On both occasions, a Freeport is a blessing.

Now, lets say that Freeports are the waystations between Governments, that, out of the goodness of their hearts, will shelter and support your trade vessels when they need it - keep up communication lines through hostile space - and act as nice neutral zones to conduct clandestine business.

In the end, the House Governments and lawful agencies rely on Freeports just as much as the common space-fairing citizen. they aren't going to roll in and take over anything (referencing afghanistan) - they want to continue to keep this resource, that they don't have to pay for. Space Stations cost a lot of money to keep in place, and Freeports are not paid for by Houses - its a win-win for house governments - and what they lose, is not that much in truth.

What people really dont get, is that a Freeport is FREE - it can be the angel that saves you from asphyxiation in space, or a the savior when you've been trapped in a sabre cockpit, and you really need to take a leak. Or your little freighter is out of rations except for synthpaste, and you really want a cheeseburger - or you need to meet a terrorist agent to discuss secret funding against your enemies.

And a Freeport isnt going to search your cargo hold, dont care what your carrying, what your bounty is, and you can sit down next to a bounty hunter (while your a corsair) and have a burger & a coke together.

Oh yeah - and i gotta imagine that house ports charge you some sorta docking tax, trade tariff - while i imagine freeports not doing so.

Just my take.

Anyway - as for the NFZ - i have no opinion. its there to fix problems, i trust you guys know how serious those problems were, and that this is the right fix.

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