Manna

Union is not motivated by currency, and neither are its citizens on Capital worlds. The hegemon’s society is structured around a galvanizing mission: ensuring the survival of the human species through implementing the edicts of the Central Committee (which, in turn, is implementing the best-fit plan dictated to them by Forecast/GALSIM, though none but the Central Committee and Forecast/GALSIM know this). Union is post-scarcity and does not function as a market-based economy. An “economy” in Union is only understood as a historical or antiquated term, as your average Terran views capital and the exchange of currency for goods as a relic of an unsustainable past, one that led to a collapse that plunged humanity into thousands of years of self-inflicted darkness, violence, and misery. However, Union recognizes that not all of its client states have progressed to a post-capital society. In order to foster fair galactic trade and build a shared consciousness — rather than violently suppress monetization— Union’s Central Committee recognized early on the need for a galaxywide standardized currency: this they call Manna.

Utility

Cosmopolitans trade in Manna, as do states and any other entity that engages in trade across solar systems. Since the vast bulk of humanity still is bound to their home worlds, stations, moons, etc, the vast bulk of humanity still uses whatever their world’s currency is, and will only encounter Manna if they do business off-world (or with entities that are off-world).

Manufacturing

To create Manna, Union extracts an abstracted unit of value from its subject states through complex treaties and client-facing economic structures. Data, raw materials, human potential — tens of thousands of factors go into the creation of a single omni-digital unit of Manna. Manna’s exchange rate is relative to the currency for which it is being exchanged, or to the currency that is being exchanged for it. Wealthy, developed worlds are rich in Manna due to their data output, their raw human potential, and other factors. Small colony worlds also benefit from Manna’s formulae: their control over raw materials, projected development, and so on all contribute to a beneficial exchange value.

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