There is much to be said on the topic of politics, especially on Mars. But perhaps it's most appropriate to begin with what it looks like. The Martian Federal System Mars is a federal state. It has a senate which presides over "reserved powers" such as taxation but it also provisions many powers to the regional authorities. Each region is defined by a "sector", of which there are a dozen sectors on Mars. The authority of each sector is provisioned to an elected governor, whom represents their people within the sector, but not the senate. This is the design of the Martian federal system. Elections There are two types of election that occurs on Mars at different intervals. There are the regional elections (to select a new governor) and the senatorial (federal) elections. The regional elections occur every four years (2,748 days). Whereas federal elections occur every eight years (5,496 days). Every citizen of Mars has the right to vote and to stand for election. As a citizen of Mars, you'll have the opportunity to do both. The Law As I said earlier, Martian law is divided into federal powers and regional powers. The law applies to matters such as criminal activity, taxation, war and conscription, drugs, weapons, employment, among other things. Citizens of Mars, including you, will be expected to understand and follow the law or face punishment if caught. Political Figures Governors and senators are considered "political figures". These people are elected based upon their qualities during a campaign. Their qualities are determined by their background. If their qualities align with those desired by a society then they are more likely to be elected. However, there are several other factors that can affect this outcome. Policy Outcomes Every politician (both federal and regional) has the opportunity to push for changes to the law. They're more likely to push for change if they feel strongly about the subject. This is determined by their qualities. The policy changes that they push for might be substantial or insubstantial, this is dependent on their desire for change. Political Intrigue If you have a strong desire to make political change then it is unnecessary to wait for an election. There are several actions that you can take in order to shift policy outcomes in your favour. One such action is bribery (or lobbying, if you want to make it sound less morally corrupt); another, more extreme, action is to assassinate your political opponents. That's all for today There's plenty more to talk about but that'll have to do for now. As always, if you have any questions then please post them here and if I have an answer then I will try to respond. I'm also in the process of setting up a discord server for "Premonitions" and "The Merchants of Sol". The link will be made available with the next update so check that out if you feel inclined. It'll be a more convenient way to get consistent updates about The Merchants of Sol and a means to chat if you have any questions or want to talk about Premonitions. Thanks for all the support, Jessica

The Merchants of Sol

The Story

Your actions matter.

• War - For as long as the resources flow across the system, to the colonies, then peace is maintained. Colonies will fight planetary and interplanetary wars over resources and territories. These wars can be lucrative but can also be disastrous for the movement of goods.
  
• Death - For many colonies, their basic needs are met by the merchants. Food, water, oxygen, medical supplies, among other things cannot be produced on fledgling colonies without the resources or equipment to do it. Sure, death can be bad for business but necessity drives profits.
  
• Prosperity - Of course, you could also provide everything that a colony needs and see them prosper. After all, a prosperous colony is a rich one. And a rich colony is ripe for abuse.

Tools to success

• OSINT such as procedurally generated news for regional and system wide information.
  
• Market charts for stock exchange and market manipulation.
  
• Insider trading can be effective. Getting friendly with the owners and operators of regional businesses can give you valuable information into the market.
  
• Signing contracts to fulfil tasks for government or private businesses can give a steady flow of income. But be sure to complete these assignments or you might face a breach of contract.
  
• Use criminal, or morally objectionable, activities to make more money! Bribe government officials to favour a certain course of action, plot to murder those that get in your way, fund propaganda campaigns to further your aims, smuggle illegal products through planetary blockades, forge visa papers or government documents to access restricted areas, there's many ways in which you can go about making money.

A living, breathing universe.

• OS: Ubuntu
• Processor: AMD Athlon 1000Memory: 500 MB RAMStorage: 100 MB available spaceSound Card: N/AAdditional Notes: Tested on Ubuntu 20.04.4 64-bit
• Memory: 500 MB RAMStorage: 100 MB available spaceSound Card: N/AAdditional Notes: Tested on Ubuntu 20.04.4 64-bit
• Storage: 100 MB available space