"The North American Research League", © 1986, 1998-2005 by
Timothy B.
Brown, originally appeared in _Challenge_ #27 (pages 39-41),
and is reproduced here with the author's permission.
Text-entry & HTML:
Steve C.
During the latter half of the twentieth century, a time later to be considered the start of the peace and environmental preservation movement, several popular organizations emerged almost simultaneously. Though the languages and backgrounds of these organizations ran the gamut of the entire world community, their goals were essentially the same - to fight against the injustices and atrocities committed by humans against each other and the only planet then available.
These peace organizations gained popular support around the world, and thus, financial backing, through the media of the time; mainly television. Pictures on the evening news of volunteers in the face of impossible odds, battling with impersonal governments or corporations in the process of poisoning the environment, drove a charitable machine aimed at the betterment of the human condition. Historian François Dupage would later remark that the period of popular support for these organizations "rivaled both the American and French Revolutionary wars as a popular movement from the masses provided backing for these ecological rebels."
The world problems of the time were many. World hunger was attacked by the charitable machine until it was virtually wiped out of existence. The destruction of incredibly large numbers of animals for their fur pelts and other cosmetic purposes was appalling, and thus targeted by the ecological movement. Dumping of toxic materials and garbage into the oceans, the near panic of the ozone crisis of the late 1980s, unnecessary nuclear testing by the superpowers, and the placement of thousands of nuclear weapons near population centers in Europe were the chief issues of the time. However, no issue did more for the entire ecological movement than international whaling.
Since the 19th century, whaling was an important industry for many seafaring powers. However, by the 1970s there were only two significant participants remaining; Japan and the Soviet Union. Political and social pressures did nothing to end the wholesale slaughter of whales until the late 1980s when ecological organizations began to turn up the heat. The Soviets gave in to public pressure and ethical logic and got out of the whaling industry.
However, Japan held out until the infamous "night of blood" on May 18, 1993. In a well orchestrated move, antiwhaling fanatics doused the downtown areas of Tokyo, Osaka, and Nagasaki with thousands of gallons of whale blood collected from Japanese whaling stations. The gore of the scene appalled the Japanese public, sparking them into action. By October 3 of the same year, Japan was among the signatories of the international Whaling Ban. A blow had been struck for decency, and a great victory had been won.
A Foundation is Born: The very forces which backed the whaling movement, though, were so great as to be overwhelming. Endowments were so large that charitable contributions became an afterthought when compared to returns on investments. Investments were the key; ecological movements invested in ecological business and industry. Pro-environment became the byword for industry until the idea became ingrained in the psyche of world industrial leaders - so much so that the idea survived the destruction of the Third World War.
Industries most willing to conform to ecological points of view were predominantly centered in North America. Also, a large portion of the charitable support for the ecology movement was based in the United States. Before the war, the groundwork was laid for organizing most ecological groups into one entity - the North American Research League. The originator of the movement was Dr. John Fox. His efforts brought together fanatical and reasonable elements from all around the world to headquarters in New York and the League became quite famous for its distinguished supporters and members. Fox and most of his associates were killed in the aftermath of the war, but their contributions and their dreams were never forgotten by the faithful.
The immediate postwar world was not ready for the League or its good works. Survival took precedence and the environment was already in desparately poor shape. However, since the League was almost completely uninterested in investment in either military or petroleum industries, their investment base suffered little in the war. A large amount of money supported distribution of food and medical supplies. With the help of the Alberta Farmer's Cooperative, grain was shipped by an ad hoc fleet of rusty vessels around the world, spreading not only famine relief, but good will as well.
A Crisis of Management: Coexistence with the French government during the French Peace brought the League to its greatest power in the beginning of the 22nd century. However, partnership with the French was not without its problems as French interests began to take precedence over vital ecological issues. As an extension of French interests, League ethics were set aside in favor of political ends and the League lost the respect of the world for nearly a century.
During a time when League ideals were most necessary, when new planets were being discovered and colonized (and in many cases exploited) League management was "out to lunch," as it were. However, as French power in the world declined, its power over the League and its activities also waned, but slowly. The rebirth of the League was under the leadership of, ironically, a frenchwoman - Anne Bourge.
Planet Cleanup: In the absence of true League direction, colonization of the local neighborhood had gone unchecked by any ecological interest. Anne Bourge set the wheels of what was once a great organization into motion once more, using the cleanup of colony worlds as her goal. With a purpose in mind she was able to overcome French influence over League affairs, get the organization moving again, and break out into the stars all in one move.
Specific instances of exploiting the newfound wealth of the stars without regard to environmental impact are numerous. The chief offenders were nations virtually ripping planets apart in the desparate search for tantalum. One particular offender in this vein was the American government. Caught with the technology but not the tantalum reserves to fully enter the interstellar game at the onset, the Americans set out on a rampage in search of the vital material. Deposits confirmed on planetary bodies in the Clarkesstar and the DM-26 12026 systems were relentlessly exploited at the expense of lifeforms evolving peacefully there for millions of years. Direct intervention closed down these operations, at least temporarily, until correct life-preserving measures were taken to extract the tantalum without destroying the ecosystem.
Along the French Arm, Triad Industries had laid claim to a living planet in the Augereau system. Metal deposits virtually covered the surface of the world and extraction by strip-mining techniques was vastly profitable, even though most of the raw ore had to be transported back to markets on Earth or Tirane. Unfortunately, the sulpherous waste products of the mining project were carelessly dumped into the water oceans killing off the native (albeit primitive) lifeforms. League intervention into the Augereau-4 issue was too late to prevent the disaster, but legal action taken after the fact forced Triad Industries to settle out of court with the League setting up a trust fund and policing unit within its own ranks to prevent future mishaps of this nature.
Consciousness Raising: While specific instances still crop up which the League finds necessary to police, the greatest effort of the foundation is making the public aware of the problem. A long term program to do just this (over a century, in fact) has been quite successful. The consciousness of the human race has never been more ecology minded, both at home and for all human worlds. By changing the way people think before they act, the League is stopping problems before they begin. Eventually, foundation policy dictates, there will be no need for the League and its activities - its actions will slowly eliminate its necessity. However, a century is scarcely enough to perform such a task, and the need for the League and its ideals is very necessary in 2300.
Currently, the League is heavily involved in the moral issues concerning the Sung and their Xiang slaves in the DM+4 123 system (current exploits of the League on this front are described in detail below). Human public support for this mission is widespread and headstrong. The League is the moral guiding light in this issue and freeing the slaves from their oppressors has become the single issue which keeps the League in the limelight of public attention.
There are several types of support which are vital to the continued good works of the North American Research League.
The Support of the Public: Probably the most vital to the success of the organization. Individuals in the private sector include laymen and celebrities - celebrities often used to increase public support.
The Support of Governments: Without the good will of governments the League could scarcely carry on its works. Since governments are often the chief offenders in the mind of the League, the world court must often uphold their rulings. As a whole, however, the League enjoys great support from the nations of Earth and the human sphere of influence.
The Support of Industry: Industry is slightly more reluctant to show active support for the League. The dictates of the League which can be enforced are virtually always at the expense of industry. Profits often come first, to the point where it is not uncommon for the industry to conduct its activities in secret to avoid League intervention.
The League is organized very loosely considering the scope of its activities. There is a board of directors headed by a single person in the chairman's role. The board is responsible for allocating funds and organizing task forces, keeping overall control of the direction of the foundation.
Task forces are organized around a single issue (the Xiang slaves, for example, or a single planetary ecology). The board of directors appoints a single individual from the ranks of the organization to head the task force. These individuals have enormous latitude in how they wish to organize the foundation's efforts toward effecting changes in their areas.
The leaders of task forces within the League are characterized as being very charismatic figures, championing their specific causes with all their energies. Their direct control over the problems makes them much more accessible to both the press and to individuals, so that they are in the public eye more often than not. This is a great responsibility since it is public support which powers the League and its activities. Becoming the head of a task force within the League is the dream coveted by all League employees.
All other League operations fall directly under the control of specific task force leaders. Everything from public relations on a matter, to research, to disruption or intervention is organized and carried out by the task force. This makes the figure of a task force leader quite important - an individual often sought after for endorsements or other favors of an influential nature.
The League is involved in issues throughout human space. There are no human colony or outpost worlds where one cannot locate a League office of some sort.
Ships: The League owns and operates a number of vessels, mostly of an exploratory nature. Ships which have been discarded by governments or corporations because of age often find their way into League service. However, in the last 50 years there has been a movement in the foundation's leadership to modernize the fleet, mostly for public relations purposes, and several ships have been newly built for the League.
Personnel: The League employs over 100,000 persons, scattered across all three arms of human exploration. The home office is in Chicago where roughly half the employees of the foundation work as public relations personnel and administrators. The board of directors works from here to direct the League's operations. Task force leaders most often travel to Earth to make their reports; rarely do board members actually leave Chicago.
Beyond Earth, employees range from photographers, to mechanics to space crews. For every employee on the frontier, however, there is usually at least one volunteer willing to do his part for the cause. Volunteers are encouraged to work with the League as opposed to being independent. Their efforts are rewarded with awards and certificates of recognition, and, occassionally, cash rewards.
Referee: What follow are ideas for adventuring with the League in your campaign. These can be used as they are, or they can be expanded upon. Their purpose is to get the League involved with the player characters and to impress upon the players the influence which foundations have on life in _Traveller:2300_.
Coverup: It is not uncommon for industries to keep certain activities secret, especially activities which are damaging the ecology of a planet. This is perfect material for an adventure involving the League.
League operatives will approach the player characters, pointing out that there is some reason to suspect the corporation in question of ruining a planetary ecology. The incentive for the player characters might be in the form of possible cash rewards, a previous beef with the corporation, or a simple sense of duty to protect planets from such damage. In any case, the characters will hook up with some number of League personnel and the group will travel to the system in question to gather evidence.
If the player characters do not possess a ship the League will provide one. Since the corporation in question wants to keep its operation quiet, it will either be very well hidden or very well protected. Either way, the mission is to gather evidence (hard evidence, photographs, documents, etc.) which will hang the corporation in the world courts, and return with it safely back to Earth.
Bodyguards: The life of a League task force leader is often in danger. His efforts can affect multi-million livre deals and disrupt business and profits. This makes him a good target for assassination or more covert actions.
Such a figure might approach the player characters with a job offer. A task force leader can always utilize the experience of talented individuals in a variety of missions. They might be called upon to accompany the leader to Earth so that he can present his progress to the board in person. They might be expected to run courier missions for him, or even travel to trouble spots to collect information independently of other League operatives.
The Xiang: The operation to free slaves from the Sung at DM+4 123 has been given priority by the League board of directors. However, Manchurian interests are also in play and their influence over the issue has been felt.
Specific missions to free slaves can be created: freeing some slaves from a remote mining operation in the system, for instance, or taking over a Sung ship and liberating some Xiang from their oppressors.
The Manchurian secret services are also keeping an eye on just what is going on between the League and the Sung. An adventure involving the Xiang liberation may not even involve them or the DM+4 123 system - it may be between the player characters and the League and the Manchurians, all far removed from the problem.
Exploration: The League likes to keep a constant flow of exploratory missions moving just outside the frontier, mapping planets and asteroid belts, checking orbits, and looking for new potentially profitable locations. However, League funds are not limitless, nor are their human and material resources. Oftentimes a task force leader charged with exploration of a certain area of space is given insufficient support from the League and must rely on locally recruited personnel and ships. This is where the player characters come in.
Nearly any system beyond the frontier worlds might be the subject of a League expedition. A scenario in which a task force leader hires a group of player characters and their ship to perform such a mission would be very straight forward. The leader would probably offer some cash reward for exploring a system, though this sum will probably not be very high. Payment might, however, be less tangible. For instance, the influence of a task force leader might get the player characters out of a tight spot at a future date, so they might consider accepting the mission as a favor. Also, it will be likely that the leader will want one or more League personnel to accompany the expedition to observe and assist.
The actual exploratory mission itself might involve just mapping out the system in question. Deeper missions might require the team to visit the life zone planets and examine any life they might find there. Specimens might be sought after, and would have to be captured and given proper life support on the return trip. The possibilities are virtually without limit.
Permanent Employment: The possibility of gaining permanent employment with the League is not completely out of the question. However, acceptance depends mostly on merit. League funding is often low, and they cannot afford an excess of personnel, no matter what their qualifications might be.
A player character who covets a position with the League will have to do volunteer work for them first. Any of the missions mentioned above would be appropriate. Making friends with a task force leader would also be helpful. The road will be a long one, but the League will recognize the service of a dedicated and skilled individual.
Timothy B. Brown