Scavenger

Scavengers, also known as scavvers (especially among torens) are people who salvage old and abandoned objects throughout the Starweb. Often considered low-class and criminal, scavengers nonetheless provide important economic services and numerous cultures and organizations centered on scavenging have emerged.

History

Modern scavenging has a great deal of connection with the toren species, uplifted raccoons who gained their independence following the End of Earth and promptly set about picking over the remains of humanity's first global civilization.

During the Interstellar Dark Ages, scavenging became vitally important to the few spacefaring technological societies which survived the apocalyptic end of the Second Interstellar Period. With the Starweb shattered and precious little industrial capacity remaining, scavenging was often the only source of some high-tech items. Many toren scavenging clans were established during this time, some of which continue to exist in the present day.

In the Stellar Compact era the economic importance of scavenging has greatly decreased, though scavenging of advanced paleotech such as what is found in Claver space remains as important as ever, since mainstream Starweb civilization has yet to replicate the scientific feats of these paleocivilizations.

Practice

Scavengers often come into conflict with the law as they seek to establish a liberal definition of what counts as "abandoned" and able to be ethically appropriated for salvage, whereas property owners will often try to hold onto disused items as long as possible. Relics such as derelict spacecraft and old planetary bases from the Second Interstellar Period and earlier are usually safe in this regard, though these are not as advanced as modern Starweb technology and new finds are becoming increasingly scarce. Virtually every scavenger dreams of making the "one big find", such as a historical artifact or piece of wondrous paleotech, that will set them up for life. (Or a good few lives, at least.)

The torens have built whole cultures around scavenging, and devote a significant portion of their legal code to it. Experts at recycling and reuse of old components, they have carved out an economic niche repurposing the abandoned detritus of the Starweb's other civilizations.