I must admit something. I did not know when I started writing this what the significance of "Nemo" was. I knew the word was evocative of characters and had a long literary and mythical tradition, but how it applied to this post industrial world was still a mystery to me until I thought about the history of the world, and the general attitude of people to unreasonable authority.

To start, a little mood music. I admit that Nightwish seems to be a group that manages to capture the feel of this world pretty well, so I'm continuing with it. Knopfler and other solo artist work also works well, since this is totally a gestalt world.

[video:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CwED4C5FJuo]

"Nemo" is a Trader/Captain's title of anonymity. It is similar to writing "John Smith" on a ledger. It is a blatant admission that you do not want your cargo to be run through official records, and are willing to pay for the privilege of doing business anonymously. This evolved during the height of surveillance and tracking, when every iota of cargo and person used to be tracked and monitored. There are MANY reasons for this.

Some Examples Include:

"Debtors" subject to immortal Corporate Debt, which the leinholders demand that all local law enforcement enforce and encourage through seizure percentages. (Debt has been made Hereditary, under tortured and totally unreasonable inheritance laws.)

"Contract workers" or "Criminals" on the Run who do not wish to be returned to the custody of a slaveholding prison.

Pirates who do not wish their cargo to be recorded as to the origin point.

Smugglers engaged in moving goods which are prohibited by local or federal Regulation. (Federal Regulation is seen as an archaic and ludicrous set of rules, but larger ports sometimes still have an American Imperial presence.)

An Affair.

Announcing your name as Captain "Nemo" is an offer that you will donate part of your cargo to the port or City-State, in return for them leaving you completely alone to do your business. There is an understanding upon taking the role of "Nemo" that you and your crew will not cause trouble in the port, and if you end up causing trouble for the local authorities the agreement is null and void.

As a result of this, Captain "Nemo" is one of the most wanted criminals in history, at least as far as official records go. Officials in Hitek locations believe it to be a cartel, or other organized crime ring, when in actuality it's just an agreement between struggling communities and struggling captains not to cause problems for each other. It also applies on land, and Caravans can and occasionally do use the title.

Other traditions that go along with the "Nemo" designation is the understanding that no-one among the crew uses their real name or origin. Crews often have fun with this, creating fictional histories for themselves, and occasionally over the top characters. Sea stories are extremely common as sources for pseudonyms and noms de guerre.

Phew. Ok, that was just a little fun for today, because I promised my son he could have the computer to play Subnautica. Tomorrow I believe I'll head back to the exploration of the world.

[video:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tNNmZFhCvH4]