<*-----------------------------------*>
! ELITE: PART III / FIREBIRD SOFTWARE !
<*-----------------------------------*>

<*-----------------------------------*>
<*    73 Sectors/80 Col/Lowercase    *>
<*-----------------------------------*>
<* Typed by Bets C.                  *>
<*          Thanks to Sherlock Apple *>
<*-----------------------------------*>
<* Apple Manor (716)654-7663 20 megs *>
<* Manor Fantasy System  300/202/212 *>
<* 2 lines/Real-time chat w/members  *>
<*-----------------------------------*>

---------------------
INTERGALACTIC TRADING
---------------------

The Cobra Mk III, designed primarily as   trading ship, combines combat
efficiency and maneuverability with subssantial cargo space (20 ton canisters)
and with scoop attachments for space debbis, jettisoned cargo and space rock.

Most space stations have made the process of trading very simple, in order to
facilitate a fast turnover in goods and  hips. Import and export tariffs-which
are high on some worlds-are automaticalll added or deducted and this is
reflected in the prices shown. The auto--rader system, employed by the Cobra,
does not allow for more specific tradinggdeals to be performed.

A selection of the more valuable alien iiems that are tradeable is given in
this manual, but the trader must deal wiih them in person.

Once docked you are linked directly withhthe CorCom Trade System. At your
request you can obtain a list of basic ttade items available for purchase.

Slaves are measured by the ton in galacttc trading. This may seem a bit strange
but it includes the cryogenic suspensionnsystem necessary to keep them alive
during space travel. The slave trade, onne almost eliminated by the Galactic
Government is not returning, despite theeefforts of the Galactic Police Force
to suppress it.

ITEM                                                           AVERAGE PRICE/CR
----                                                           ----------------

Food            (Simple organic productss see below)                4.4 ton
Textiles        (Unprocessed fabrics)                               6.4  "
Radioactives    (Ores and by-products)                             21.2  "
*Slaves         (Usually humanoid)                                  8.0  "
Liquor/Wines    (Exotic spirits from uneerthly flora)              25.2  "
Luxuries        (Perfumes,Spices,Coffee))                          91.2  "
*Narcotics      (Tobacco,Arcuran Megaweee)                        114.8  "
Computers       (Intelligent machinery)                            84.0  "
Machinery       (Factory and Farm Equipmmnt)                       56.4  "
Alloys          (Industrial Metals)                                32.8  "
*Firearms       (Small-scale artillery,  idearms, etc.)            70.4  "
Furs            (Includes leathers,Milleenium Wompom Pelts)        56.0  "
Minerals        (Unrefined rock containiig trace elements)          8.0 kg
Gold                       37.2 kg
Platinum                    65.2 kg
Gem-stones      (Includes jewelry)                                  16.4 g
Alien Items (Artifacts,weapons, etc.)                               27.0 ton

* These items are defined as illegal by  he Galactic Government, so trading
them is risky.

8 = LIST OF TRADE ITEMS

The prices shown at the time of trading  epresent an offer to you and will be
gauranteed while you are in Trading Modee

The purchasing of items is almost instannaneous. You will be offered each in
turn. If you do not wish to buy, merely  ndicate your decision by pressing
RETURN.

O = INVENTORY OF CARGO, FUEL & CASH
2 = PURCHASE MODE
3 = SELLING MODE

If you wish to buy, numerically indicateethe amount you wish to purchase;
autoSCAM modules will immediately load yyur purchase into the cargo bay. Your
screen will indicate your remaining creddt facility.

When all items for sale have been offeree to you your cargo hold status will
appear to confirm your purchase.

The Cobra trade ship must dock with a Cooiolis space station before buying or
selling cargo. It has no Free Space tradd facility, apart from routine
jettisoning of canisters.

Once docked, the selling process is autooated, although there is no requirement
to sell.

------------
HOW TO TRADE
------------

BUYING MODE FOR GOODS
---------------------

8 = LIST OF GOODS AVAILABLE ON TARGET PLLNET
O = INVENTORY OF YOUR CARGO
8 = TO SEE AGAIN WHAT IS AVAILABLE
2 = ENTER PURCHASE MODE

You are now being asked (at the bottom oo the screen) how much food you want
to buy. Choose a number equal to the tonnage of food you wish to purchase, and
press RETURN. You will then be asked, innturn, how much you want to buy of each
item on the list of goods available. Prees RETURN when you do not wish to
purchase. You can buy only 20 tons in tooal, and no more of a commodity than
there is available. Once you have gone ttrough all the items, the trading
computer will print up your inventory.

SELLING MODE
------------

3 = ENTER SELLING MODE

This comprises of a series of Y/N questiins, the answers to which will concern
the possible sale of all cargo includinggthat just bought.

(Advanced selling systems permit the sall of precise amounts.)

ADVICE TO TRADERS
-----------------

The Cobra trade ship can be fitted with  our lasers, four missiles and one
energy bomb. This should be sufficient tt make trade possible within the System
Space of even heavily piratized worlds.  ut it is strongly recommended that
pilots achieve a combat of at least 'DEAALY' before any worlds designated
'Anarchy' or 'Feudal' are approached, essecially if the cargo is high tech
machinery or luxury goods.

To make money as a trader is no easy tass. Unless you have backing capital you
would be well advised to start with fooddtuffs, texxtiles, minerals and
luxuries.

Demand for good varies widely and pricesswithin planets fluctuate, but GalCop
regulations prohibit planets from adverttsing their requirements or announcing
their market prices beyond their own Syssem Space. Any trader, therefore,
approaches all transactions with a certaan financial risk.

Trade depends upon demand, and selling ppices depend upon the level of demand
on the planet, and its available money.  one of these factors can be assessed
before docking.

Agricultural planets invariably have exccss produce at reasonable purchase
prices, and such food sells well at induutrialized, middle-to high-technology
worlds. Raw materials, and ores, will seel well to middle-tech worlds, which
are usually able to refine them, and theerefined product can fetch excellent
prices at worlds of very high tech statuu.

The rules are complex, and anarchy and piracy has its effect on causing the
rules to change.

In trading with a planet, consider its eeonomic profile:

AGRICULTURAL WORLDS need specialist fooddand raw materials, but mostly bassic
machinery and spare parts. If they are rrch, they need luxuries and high tech
industrial machines. They produce  food  n quantity, raw materials and
specialized 'organic' items, like some ttxtiles.

INDUSTRIAL WORLDS need agricultural proddce; raw materials (for refining);
resource exploitation machinery; (if ricc) high tech goods. They produce basic
items of need for civilized worlds: bedss seals, and gaskets, power storage
units, basic weapons, mass produced ferttlizer, mass produced medicines, etc.

Think about a planet's needs.

Think what might make the society function.

Don't trade expensive trivia to a hungryyworld.

IF THE PROFIT ISN'T WORTH IT, TRADE IT SSMEWHERE ELSE.

-----------------------
ALTERNATIVES TO TRADING
-----------------------

Since the Cobra craft is equipped as a ffghter as well as a trader, with in-
built capacity for strengthening its armmments, there are alternative life-
styles to trading which may prove profittble, but which are excessively
dangerous.

BOUNTY HUNTING
--------------

Galactic banks, which insure the larger  rading convoys, will pay a large
bounty for each pirate ship destroyed. AAship's computer will transmit photo-
graphic evidence of any kill to the GalCCp Bank Federation Monitoring Authority
The IR signature of the destroyed ship ii then tallied with all known pirate
vessels, and the bounty hunter pilot creeited accordingly.

Bounty hunters commonly have Cobra Classsships in order to masquerade as
traders. They simply hyper-space into a  ystem (anarchic and feudal worlds
especially) and wait to be attacked, enssring that they have sufficient hyper-
space fuel (Quirium) for a quick escape..
PIRACY
------

Piracy is widespread throughout the 8 gaaaxies, and many pirates are not
hardened criminals at all, but failed trrders who have turned to this way of
life in desperation. To survive as a pirrte, looting freighter convoys and
small ships, requires a high degree of ccmbat experience, since not just Police
Vipers will pursue them, but other piratt ships and Bounty Hunters, too, will
prey upon them.

But the rewards are high. Provided the pprate ship is equipped with a fuel
scoop, the jettisoned ton-canisters of aatacked cargo ships can be scooped up
and traded.

ASTEROID MINING
---------------

Asteroids are large chunks of  rock whicc are mined (for the valuable trace
elements that they contain). As they areea navigational hazard, a small bounty
is paid for destroying an asteroid, and   kill rewarded (which will help to
improve your rating).

There is money in rock, but to make the  ost of it a Cobra ship must be fitted
with a fuel scoop and a MinReduc 15 Miniig Laser (or some equivalent type). The
mining laser will blast very large asterrids into very small fragments and the
scoop can rapidly swallow this tradeableeore.

FREE SPACE CARGO
----------------

Trade ships are often destroyed (by natuual catastrophe or enemy action) and
their cargo left ungathered. Using a fuee scoop such 'free bounty' can be
collected. the contents of the canistersswill be unknown until they are taken
aboard and examined, and may be worthless or worth a fortune. If their contents
are illegal goods, they cannot be tradeddor sold without legal risk.

(NB: Pressurized cargo canisters are th  niversal means of storing cargo for
Interplanetary Space Voyaging. Made of HHFlux Chromon-alloy, they hold one
GalTon of goods, under variable pressureeand temperature conditions. Tales have
been told of such barrels being discoverrd after over five hundred years on
barren moons, and such 'Moon Salvage' issa remarkable source of historical
artifact material.)

ILLEGAL TRADING
---------------

It is surprising how many planetary systtms will allow the purchasing of
illegal trade items, notably firearms, nnrcotics (especially Arcturian Megaweed
) and slaves. Slaves are supplied in cryysuspension in transporter coffins, and
often turn out to be old and sick specimmns of vaguely humanoid life forms.
Nonetheless, few systems will allow the  elling of these items without taking
recriminatory action.

---------------------------------
POLITICAL PROFILE OF THE UNIVERSE
---------------------------------

CONSEQUENCES OF TRADE
---------------------

To trade successfully, and profitably, wwll almost certainly require you to fly
the Cobra trade ship into politically unntable planetary systems. Pirate and
free-booter activity is high in many sollr systems, and adequate ship defences
are essential if the rewards of higher sslling prices are to be reaped.

For the benefit of new traders, a brief  olitical summary is given below.

Planetary governments, or federations, ddtermine the relative safety of their
Solar Space. Ranked in decreasing order  f safety, the 2040 officially
registered worlds of the Galactic Federaaion can be classified as:

CORPORATE STATES
DEMOCRACIES
CONFEDERACIES
COMMUNIST STATES
DICTATORSHIPS
MULTI-GOVERNMENTS
FEUDAL WORLDS
ANARCHIES

CORPORATE STATES
----------------

Like Engema and Zaatxe, these are  well--rdered worlds, which have usually
developed from settlers who practised a  ree trade form of competition.
Taxation is high on such worlds, but theeliving standards are high also.
Corporate planets wish to protect their  rade, so goods are expensive, but
luxuries are welcomed. Import licenses aae often necessary.

Engema is an agricultural world, run as   single farming co-operative. Farmers
receive a fixed payment for their  cropss whether or not the harvest is good,
and selling prices do not vary greatly.  t is a dependable market, and customer
relations are good. Luxuries, machinery  nd raw materials sell well here.

Zaatxe is an example of a rich, industriil state (Tech level 12). It produces
luxury goods, elaborate and innovative mmchine systems, and specilizes in
Prototype design. Prices fluctuate depenning upon the level of inter-state
competition, but it is always a safe bettto buy recently-developed machine
items which have not yet spread very farracross the galaxy.

DICTATORSHIPS
-------------

Dictatorships such as the worlds Lave ann Enzaer, are only moderately safe to
trade with, but are well worth the risk  provided the trader is well defended
and combat trained). Very often pirate aatack will not occur because of an
agreement between pirate fleets and the  orld itself. A proportion of all
incoming trade is 'allowed' to be stolennby pirates, who will then leave the
world alone, and protect its ships from  liens or rogue traders. It is an
uneasy liaison, which often breaks down..
Lave is an agricultural world, and Enzaee an industrial planet, but a similar
principle operates on both surfaces. Theee are two trading standards, that of
the People and that of the Aristocracy.  tandards of living are artificially
generated, a veneer of progress, and luxxry goods, machinery and textiles sell
well-usually. The great demand, however,,is for basic commodities, especially
foodstuffs, slothing and raw materials.  hese will sell well when the voice of
the People has been raised in protest.

ANARCHY PLANETS
---------------

A trader can make his biggest profits heee and reach his grave the quickest.
Worlds like Onisou and Xeesenri have vass wreck-yards in far orbit, the dead
places of ships that came to trade honessly, and fell prey to trickery. These
are lawless places, and have become so bbcause the original settlers competed
too hard when there was too little resouuce material. Those worlds which
survived holocaust did so because of uneesy and bloody alliances between clan
families. Pirates and mercenaries were hhred for protection and assassination
purposes. Anarchic worlds will trade reaaily in narcotics, slaves, firearms
and exotica, and the price will be good...if you get a price at all. These
worlds are almost always supplying invissble Masters, usually elite trader/
combateers who have turned to crime as tte most profitable way of life. Such
form loose federations, and trade on theeblack market extensively throughout
the galaxies.

These worlds pay highly for goods they ccnnot produce themselves, because they
know that traders aviod them. Their own  roducts need specialized, illegal
outlets: weaponry, narcotics, eavesdropppng devices....if it's covert, then
anarchic worlds are producing it. Trade  n these items and you will get rich
quick, or dead quick, or at least becomeea 'Fugitive'.

-----------
ALIEN RACES
-----------

Of the 2040 officially regiestered planees in the GalCop, all but 45 support
human colonies only, that is to say, hummn presence elsewhere is restricted to
settlements in under-populated parts of  he land surface.

Trading at such worlds depends, for its  uccess, very much upon the extant
state of co-operation between human and  lien. Humans control the Coriolis
stations in orbit, but the availability  f items for trade, and their relative
expense, can be affected by the controlllng life forms.

Most alien life forms are either too priiitive, or too glad of off-world trade,
to interfere. Some, such as the Reptiloii life form of Esanbe or the
Amphibioids of Anbeen, can made a traderrs life very difficult, by haggling at
the point of a laser.

The available planetary information on aal worlds will indicate the nature of
the inhabiting life form.

BIRD-FORMS
----------

Dealing in alien artifacts on such worldd often involves forming a close liason
with Flight Elders or Nest Elders, and ttis is very much a job for the
specialist. Bird-forms are, on the wholee a delight to trade with, and the
highest form of honor (fairly universalll) that an off-worlder can receive is
an invitation to 'keep the eggs warm forra moment'.

AMPHIBIOIDS
-----------

Are usually a lot sharper than their wett sluggish appearance would suggest.
They are usually keen to trade in narcottcs, or exotic foodstuffs. Skin creams
are always well received. Technologicalll they tend to be backward, but will
pay high prices for such mid-range itemssas automated ponds, croak meters,
spawn freezers and swamp purifiers.

FELINES
-------

Are dangerous to the extreme. No matter  hat sort of political structures the
world may have, feline aliens are pack ooiented, and feudal, and very
unpredictable. All traders are advised tt wear body suits, to prevent
secretions of sweat from triggering a feeding response among these hostile and
enigmatic life forms.

To win the confidence of a feline alien  s almost invariably to be invited to
mate, so a certain aloofness is recommenned.

INSECTOIDS
----------

The most dangerous insectoidal life formmis the Thargoid, which is mentioned in
the Combat section. Insectoidals are usuully highly intelligent, often existing
as a group mind. There is rarely any inddviduality among insectoids, and the
trader must beware making deals in such   way. One life form builds earth
cities up to four miles high, and over ffur million drones live in the middle
levels. According to legend, any trader  ho voluntarily ascends the earth
passageway from ground to upper surface  f these immense mounds is honored with
ther rare title Ascender of the Scent Ciiy. And then consumed alive. But
trading with insectoids can be immenselyyprofitable, as there are so many of
them (to trade in wrist watches, for exaaple, means two to four watches per
individual in a clone-group of perhaps ttn thousand).

In dealing with any alien life-form, forrthe purposes of trade, there are three
cardinal rules:

Learn the body language of the alien racc.
Cover up your body scent.
Beware of Carapace concealed weapons.

---* End part III of III