Conditions on Ersii are brutal. The sun boils the surface with an average
temperature of 109°C, forcing the twenty thousand inhabitants underground.
A tiny briny ocean survives at the north pole, though it is lifeless during
warmer months. Invertebrate lifeforms burrow deep in the mud to ride out the
summers. Winter temperatures cool long enough for a brief period of algal blooms
to resuscitate the food chain. The human inhabitants follow a similar pattern
as even summer nights are excruciating.
So why is it that anyone lives here? The original inhabitants were victims of a
colony scam perpetrated two millenia ago by a shadowy organization known as
Population Redeployment Inc. on Isbudin (Vland 2013), itself an
overpopulated world with an insidious atmosphere. Promised a fresh start on a
world where the atmosphere was breathable (in essence true, if it's cooled down
to a temperature that won't burn one's lungs), these colonists poured their life
savings into what amounted to little more than a large canister fitted with an
ablative aerobraking shield and sublight engines. Although jump engines with two
parsec performance were available, the colonists were told this was a better
way. They were then placed in low berths for the 14 light year trip, which took
300 years. Although the contract was honored and the world was legally deeded
to them, it was obvious that they'd been deceived. Unfortunately, the people
involved with Population Redeployment had long since vanished. Their identities
and assets untraceable.
The Ersiians persevered despite the cruel joke played upon them. They've pursued
different technologies (heat pumps, chemical rockets, etc.) to take advantage
of what their world offered them. They live modestly and use what little income
they acquire through meager trade to purchase that which they can not fabricate
locally. As such, no effort has been made to provide starport facilities despite
the lack of hydrogen in the system (Only a fool would attempt to skim the ocean
for it). They see no need to spend their hard earned capital to accommodate a
civilization of hucksters.
A sizable portion of each new generation escapes the claustrophobic subterranean
conditions to make lives for themselves elsewhere. Some send money home.
However, there is no resentment on the part of those that stay behind.