=Ceres (1 Ceres)= 
**Allegiance:** [[Extropians|Extropian]] (primarily)
**Primary Languages:** English, Portuguese, Spanish, Tagalog,
**Population:** 1,000,000
As a dwarf planet and the largest asteroid in the [[Main Belt]], Ceres is the single largest chunk of planetary real estate located between [[Mars]] and [[Jupiter]]. With a diameter of 950 kilometers, Ceres is large enough to have differentiated into several layers. Similar to [[Europa]], Ceres features an icy mantle, 100 kilometers thick, below which is an unfrozen ocean, 20 kilometers deep, that separates the surface from a rocky core. The subcrustal “Hidden Sea” has a temperature well below the freezing point, but the concentration of ammonia in the water keeps it in a liquid state.
The surface of Ceres is relatively warm for an asteroid at a balmy –38 C. A number of dome settlements are stationed on the icy surface. Two of these, Aventine and Occator, serve as the primary elevator heads for transport to and from the Hidden Sea. Below the crust, the population resides in warren and icicle habs cut into the ice or bathyscaphe hydrohabitats tethered to the ice above or settled on the ocean ﬂoor.
==Economy== 
Most of the colonies on Ceres are run on Extropian anarcho-capitalist principles. The economy here is primarily contract-based and offers a lot of opportunities for freelancers and entrepreneurs. Though Ceres is metal and volatiles rich, the primary product of Ceres is water, exported to stations around the Belt. The free market is not so free when it comes to water extraction operations on Ceres, however. Access to the Hidden Sea itself is monopolized and tightly controlled by the Cerean Transcrustal Authority (CTA), constructors and operators of the main elevator shafts, but everyone knows the CTA are just the bought-and-paid-for lackeys of the Hidden Concern, the real power brokers of Ceres. Operations that harvest water and volatiles from the icy surface or mine for metals are theoretically unrestricted, but even these are subject to protection harassment from Hidden Concern thugs.
==Aventine/Wujec== 
Aventine is the largest surface settlement on Ceres, home to the largest transcrustal elevator operation. Life in Aventine can charitably be described as dull, given that the station is primarily a transit waystation and shipping hub, lacking in luxuries or decent entertainment. Most residents are contracted workers for the CTA and various other corporations. A mass driver outside the settlement launches payloads to the Piazzi station in Ceres orbit.
The Aventine elevator connects to Wujec, a combined ice warren and bathyscaphe habitat in the Hidden Sea. Wujec is far larger, more interesting, and prosperous, home to several major bioscience outﬁts and a major cultural outpost for aquatic uplifts.
==Proserpina== 
This undersea icicle habitat is the headquarters of the Prosperity Group and a focal point for their aquaculture and pharmaceuticals research. This Consortium hypercorp actually controls a half dozen habitats around Ceres, both above and below the ice, devoted to aquafarming, drug development, hydroponics, and vat-cultured food products.
==Piazzi== 
This torus habitat in geosynchronous orbit over Aventine is a major “gas station” for ships passing through the Belt, providing water and volatiles for reaction fuel mass. It is also the centerpoint for the Hidden Concern’s smuggling operations, enabling the cartel to transfer goods throughout the Belt and beyond.
==The Hidden Concern== 
Most transhumans are aware that the Hidden Concern, which is run by a group of uplifted octopi, maintains several undersea bases and controls all of the traffic up and down the wells to the surface. Unfortunately, the Hidden Concern, which some miners refer to as “the only concern,” takes an interest in all extraction operations on Ceres regardless of who’s involved—whether they were asked to interfere or not. The mesh is rife with reports of sabotage, theft, and random attacks because someone wasn’t playing by the Concern’s rules and paying the appropriate “security” fees.
In truth, this cartel has their tentacles wrapped in almost every aspect of transhuman life on Ceres. Even in the contract-based Extropian environment, they have managed to assert themselves as an unofficial if unspoken-of authority. Ensuring their dominance with a casual brutality seldom found in the rest of the solar system, they also maintain legitimate business ties with dozens of clients, many of whom hold their noses at having to deal with such unscrupulous business partners. Despite being some of the wealthiest beings in the Main Belt, the Hidden Concern prefers to keep a very low proﬁle. As they continue to expand their cartel operations off Ceres and throughout the Belt, however, they are ﬁnding it increasingly difficult to maintain that low proﬁle, especially when running up against competing criminal networks.
===Sidebar: Open Concerns=== 
[Incoming Message received. Source: Unknown]
[Quantum Analysis: No Interception Detected]
[Decryption Complete]
Sentinel Aneki,
We have decrypted a portion of the mesh communications found on the suspected Ozma agent you captured several weeks ago. Unfortunately the agent herself was able to activate some sort of ego-erasure virus and is no longer in our keep.
Our decrypts show that she was working deep undercover on Ceres investigating the Hidden Concern. While much of her information was already known to us we did ﬁnd out a few new things. First off, the Hidden Concern has sent multiple operatives through the Fissure Gate to visit the exoplanet research lab Fortean. They seem also to have been major investors in Feral Robot’s takko project. Finally over the last three years they’ve apparently been on an acquisition spree, getting a hold of various uplift experts, dozens of resleeving techs, and large shipments of medical tech, all of which has disappeared down the elevators into the Hidden Sea.
There’s no indication if Ozma knows what the cartel is up to down there, but they’re obviously interested. And if Ozma’s interested, I’m assuming you are too.
I’ll let you know what else we manage to uncover, if anything.
[End Message]
[This Message Has Self-Erased]

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