Greater Deregulation

A 131-post collection

Challenge #02750-G193: What Evil Sows...

Human's blood is a well-known weapon. Full of leucocytes ready to protect human body from disease and foreign invaders. While used on other forms of life it can act like acid; burning and destroying skin. Blood isn't a cheap thing, because selling it is forbidden everywhere. But black market found a way to produce enough blood to gain on it — blood farms. Cages where humans are drugged so they won't fight back. Everything begins to fall apart when one of farm workers didn't drug their victims and humans finally started to realise what is happening around them. -- Anon Guest

[AN: It isn't just the acid and the leucocytes, Human blood is loaded with pathogens that breed once removed from the body and left in certain conditions. Look up forensic cleaning sometime if you really want to learn about the nasties that happen because of blood spatter. Offensensitivity warning for drug use in the story below.]

Humans are Deathworlders. This is known. Their very bodies are factories of pathogens in multiple forms. Their mouths are cesspools of bacteria. Their bodily fluids are acidic. As for their blood... it is truly a font of chemical warfare. Even a healthy Human's blood is loaded with pathogens, antibodies, enzymes and so forth. A biological cornucopia that's one crucial tilt away from attacking its own host in confusion. All of this is known.

If someone could find a way to create in abundance what a Human body does naturally, they could reign in terror over multiple Havenworlder, and even normal Galactic worlds. This, too, is known. There are unethical sorts who will sell Humans to interested parties... some of them are also Human. This, despite everything, is known. The CRC repeatedly attempt to stop them, but there are always more.

Given all this, it was no surprise that a facility like Rapture Farms would arise. Take one Greater Deregulation, rife with dissidents who do not like living in a world where even clean air is taxed. Add a pinch of knowledge, which is always a dangerous thing. Stir well with the Dunning-Kruger effect, and you inevitably get Rapture Farms.

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Challenge #02694-G137: A Deserved Education

One of the Greater Deregulation planets found itself short of breeding stock and extended offers to girl's schools to come study abroad at their planet. St. Trinians accepted their offer. Greater Deregulation never saw what was coming next. -- Anon Guest

[AN: Since I really don't want to nick anyone else's IP, for my universe -excepting guest cameos- I shall have to use a St. Trinian's expy for this tale]

"They can't be serious," said Dame Lorx. "An extended offer to add

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Challenge #02673-G116: A Calm and Hostile Takeover

She was an avid inventor, had been ever since she was a small child. She had been born on a world controlled by DeReggers but her family had moved away from that place and into Galactic Alliance space finally settling on a haven world that allowed for havenworlders and deathworlders to live together. When she was 9, she'd found a way to improve upon the translators that allowed for better communication with other species. When she was 13, she'd graduated from school

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Challenge #02551-F361: You Hear Me

“Get back to work and if I see you with something in your ears again you’re fired!”

The human just stared blankly

“Do you understand me? Is your universal translator even working?”

It took the human a moment then wrote something down

‘My translator is with my hearing aids you took’ -- Anon Guest

In all things, communication is important. This is why any given traveller will find far more accessibility options available in Galactic space than many other places. It

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Challenge #02203-F013: Pride Goeth...

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=IhnUgAaea4M -- Anon Guest

[AN: Offensensitivity warning for anglo-saxon four-letter words in the lyrics]

If there is any sign of a sickening nation, it is national egotism. Every time a nation gets a metaphorical big head, it is destined for collapse. Britannia did, once, rule the waves. Then it's empire collapsed in a rash of independence after the nation nearly collapsed due to two multinational wars in rapid succession.

America, once, was a great nation. Then

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Challenge #02174-E345: Unstoppable Argument vs Unflappable Opposition

Automatic skills, once acquired you can just do them. Touch typing, knitting and my personal favourite the cat owner's foot sweep and fridge door close manoeuvre. -- Knitnan

Muscle memory is an amazing thing. A skill set repetitive enough can wander into the back-brain and just... remain there. Encamped. Ensconced. Set into stone once done often or regularly enough. So much so that the being involved in such thorough learning can employ them whilst employed in another activity. This phenomenon is most

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Challenge #02083-E259: Nonhostile Takeover

Their faces were caked with color, like they had heard of make up and tried to use it, but weren't quite sure what went where. -- OohLookShiny

This is space - theoretically, there's room for everyone. The only caveat is that most times, you have to build it. This is Ambassador Jess. She is negotiating with the owners of an otherwise boring asteroid so she can turn it into a semi-profitable habitat. This is the problem - the owners belong to Greater

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Challenge #01654-D193: Puppet Power

Ventriloquist dummies, Muppets, they allow their handlers to be someone quite different. Some of the more famous being Kermit the Frog, Miss Piggy, Topo Giglio the Mouse and charlie McCarthy and his handler Edgar Bergan, (the puppet is now in the smithsonian)... -- Anon Guest

They say, If you want to find the truth of a man, give him a mask to wear. And this is, to a degree, true. But if you want to weigh the nature of a soul, give

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Challenge #01626-D165: A Conversation About the Greater Deregulations

"Is this an argument you actually want to win?"

"No, but - "

"Then stop talking about it," -- RecklessPrudence

"But it's still an issue," countered Praal. "There are entire planets dedicated to hatred and spite."

"And you would stop them with more hatred and spite?"

"No, but--"

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Challenge #01602-D141: Farewell Letter

[TITLE: Constant vigilance or endless confusion.] One of those sayings that are only too true, put your own spin on this one. -- Knitnan

They say, It's not paranoia if they really are out to get you. They say, pesimists are rarely disappointed. They are frequently right about this sort of thing. They really are out to get me. And I am very rarely disappointed in my expectations. Any day, they will find me. They will do horrible things. It's what they

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Challenge #01593-D132: Understanding on the Brink of a Fall

"The stars died so that you could be here today." —Lawrence M. Krauss -- RecklessPrudence

Shayde found Ambassador Gunther on one of the uppermost balconies of the Elemeno, looking down at the bottom in a way she knew too well. There was a time when the word "Jump!" was a cruel joke, and a time when it would be taken as a serious suggestion. This was one of the latter cases.

Much though she'd love to see all the Greater Deregulations and

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Challenge #01588-D127: Culture Clash

how to be a good (Insert name here) Citizen. Let's hear it from one of the Lizard cultures. --Knitnan

"And who's your daddy, little one?"

Preek didn't understand the human's question. She had never known the word before this moment. "I have a Pripa and a Seppa[1]."

"I have trouble with all these new words," confessed the human. "It's so confusing. What's wrong with 'he' and 'she' and 'mommy' and 'daddy'?"

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Challenge #01586-D125: Not the Best Intentions

The "nanny" in "nanny state" isn't for you. They're to keep the oligarchs from trashing every toy in the nursery and peeing on the ceiling. -- RecklessPrudence

"What this new world needs is the elimination of this Nanny State!"

Those who the government selected to start this world in their own image... reacted exactly as they should. They cheered and hooted and eventually overthrew the people who stood for reason and regulation. Those who stood to gain the most did indeed gain.

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Challenge #01502-D041: Inconvenienced

“In my opinion, a problem derails your life and an inconvenience is not being able to get a nice seat on the un-derailed train.” - Carrie Fisher -- RecklessPrudence

"This is an enormous problem," opined the Ambassador for Greater Deregulation (Second West). "ANd if we have a problem, then you're going to have a problem."

This sounded like a threat... but the logic behind it escaped Drixal. "I beg your pardon," she said. "I was under the impression that you needed vital

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Challenge #01449-C354: Sorry, I'm Redacted

[Person #1, in an actual, audible conversation]: [Person #2], I know you're frustrated, and I feel very ████ about that, but █████ ███████████ to ██████████ ██████ with ████████████ ██████████ ████ █████████

[Person #2]: STOP DOING THAT!!! -- RecklessPrudence

"I really can't, El. Ever since I signed a ND contract with ███████████, they installed an auto-redactor in my █████████████ so that no industry secrets can accidentally escape."

"Well, at least try to keep away from industry secrets, Vi."

"I would, but they've even copyrighted words like ████, and that's one of my favourites. I wish

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