Ceres 3-Beta

"The short of it is that conditions in Ceres 3-Beta are deplorable. The long of it is that C3B is a window into life in the aftermath of the Primary Expansion. The starry-eyed hopes of a spacebound future for humanity exist only in the patronizing L&Z motto promising a universe of potential from every other available surface, meanwhile the workers of C3B to choke on the dust of industry, crushed beneath the boot of extractivism and corporate tyranny. Make no mistake, C3B (and the rest of the Belt with it) makes the twilight days of Martial occupation look serene."

-Winston J. Alekseev, investigative journalist for The Chasmata Times

Few names in the system are quite as notorious as Ceres 3-Beta. Located on the already infamous dwarf planet of Ceres, and operated by the famously exploitative Landsvik & Zhang Mineral Solutions, Ceres 3-Beta--known colloquially as C3B--is considered by many to be the worst place to live in the entire system. It is said that there are two types of people in C3B: those desperately trying to leave, and those who died before they got the chance.


C3B is largely a subterranean settlement, the habitation domes it was set up with having been relegated to transit hubs and dwellings for corporate higher ups while the majority of its populace and most of its industry is performed in the sprawling mess of underground tunnels beneath the surface. Many visitors have remarked on just how dark it is, with flickering old LEDs and worker's headlamps struggling to penetrate the thick haze of dust and smog clogging the tunnels, but even more omnipresent is the noise. The echo of heavy machinery and crumbling rock is inescapable, and it is rare to find a colonist without hearing damage--even among the more fortunate higher ups.


Still, there are flickers of life, humanity and resilience in the Depths. The rattle of decrepit old air filters and swatches of brightly colored cloth insulation fill the homes of those trapped on 3CB, and the people of Ceres have never given up on hope for a better future, even as that hope has turned into a bitter and bloody fury straining at the bars of the cage. Those who have managed to get offworld often wear their Cerean heritage as a badge of strength and endurance, and a surprisingly number of them remain willing to risk everything and return to C3B if it means even a slim chance of making things better for those who can't leave.

Government

C3B is effectively a massive company town, ruled by corporate dictatorship. Though much of the way it's run is illegal and in violation of countless laws and human rights statutes, system regulatory forces have never had the power or influence needed to enact meaningful change in Ceres 3-Beta or L&Z's other Belt mining colonies.

Tourism

Tourism to Ceres 3-Beta is effectively non-existent. Not only is there basically nothing that would attract tourists, but access to the colony is tightly controlled by Landsvik & Zhang. The few visitors who have gone to report on the conditions almost invariably were smuggled in by groups like The Tunnel Runners.

Alternative Name(s)

C3B, The Depths

Type

Conurbation

Inhabitant Demonym

Colonists, 3Bans

Location under

Ceres

Owning Organization

Landsvik & Zhang Mineral Solutions