System: Hiratsuka

In an advanced society like the Free Worlds League, “soft” products such as books, films and paintings are as important to the economy and to society as minerals and motor vehicles. Philosophers throughout the ages have argued that the truest measure of a nation’s success is the breadth of its cultural traditions. Without stability and riches, the arts struggle; with them, they flourish.

Some artists create for art’s sake. Others create to sell. The Free Worlds has numerous examples of both, ranging from the ultra-modern to traditions that date back millennia. Sculpture and painting are perennial favorites, traditional stoneworking and oil-on-canvas works being complemented with plastics engineering, laser-etching and dynamic art.

Museums, galleries and private homes are the major venues for such works, but many corporations have come to regard art as a business investment and acquire it to decorate their halls and boardrooms. Other artworks in the League are on a scale almost unprecedented in history. Massive installations like the Rock Gardens of Hiratsuka cover several square kilometers.

There are no functional factories located on this planet.