TEXT: The World 
  of 
  Burn
  by clash bowley
  copyright 2002,2003 Flying Mice 
  LLC
  StarCluster 2
  
  Physical Data
  Burn is the name of a star system between the
  Loop and Katmandu systems. Burn is a red sun
  and thus fairly cool, but the only planet in the
  system, also called Burn, lies in a close orbit
  around it and is rather warm. The world of Burn
  orbits its star at a radius of 52 million miles, or
  nominal Orbit 2. The orbit of Burn is slightly
  elliptical, and is synchronized with it's orbital
  inclination (25 degrees) so that perihelion always
  occurs during the southern winter. This means
  that southern summers are cooler than northern
  summers, and southern winters are warmer than
  northern winters.
  Burn is a thoroughly terrestrial world. The atmo-
  sphere is composed of 25 % oxygen, 70% Nitro-
  gen, and various trace gasses. 66% of the world's
  surface is covered with liquid water, much of it
  locked in the polar ice caps. The land is generally
  lush, covered with a sprawling green forest
  which looks black under the red sunlight. The
  life forms are also astonishingly terrestrial, but
  this is a case of convergent evolution rather than
  transplantation of Earth ecosystems, as hap-
  pened on Adma, Faren, Jalan, and Tamana.
  History
  Being located between two heavily populated
  systems - Katmandu has three Humanoid states
  and two Kertu-Drua states while Loop has one
  Humanoid state and four colonies as well as a
  Kertu-Drua state - the world of Burn and its
  moon Baby were long ago mapped and claimed.
  Unfortunately, both Katamaran and Loop
  claimed settlement rights to Burn, and a legal
  battle raged for over 100 years in the courts.
  Ultimately, the settlement rights to Burn were
  awarded to Katamaran, and settlement of Burn
  began in the year 50. The site chosen for the col-
  ony was a large peninsula of the antarctic conti-
  nent which projected into the southern
  temperate zone. As the original Diasporan set-
  tlers of Katamaran were of Northern European
  and Han extraction, that racial mix prevails on
  Burn also.
  
  The Settlement 
  of Burn
  The first settlement on Burn was made at Kor-
  land, at the base of a wide, island studded bay.
  The site is surrounded by hills and mountains,
  and threaded by well-watered river valleys. The
  scenery anywhere on Burn is stunning, and Kor-
  land was founded at one of the most beautiful
  places on Burn. Fifty thousand settlers were car-
  ried from Katamaran to Burn on the Colony
  Jumpship Theresa Wang, which remains in orbit
  as the Colony’s spaceport. The first settlers
  planted seeds from Katamaran, and struggled to
  push back the stubborn native flora. The native
  Burn plants and animals are, for the most part,
  edible to humanoids, and vise-versa, though
  there are some easily treatable allergen problems.
  The colonists found several native fruits and
  vegetables to their liking, notably Karfruit, Horn
  Melon, and Sweet Burr, and began cultivating
  them alongside their Katamaran-derived flora. 
  Meanwhile, others were carrying out the explo-
  ration of the hinterlands. Prospectors found
  gem quality corundum stones in the mountains
  behind Korland, and mining began quickly. Biol-
  ogists and explorers penetrated far into the pen-
  insular mountains, bringing back samples of
  native flora and fauna. Several local herbs were
  found to be medically useful, and a local drug
  industry began growing up to exploit them. A
  rancher named An Li Weiss began domesticating
  the native Pranzelope for meat with excellent
  results. These, along with fishing and a bit of
  eco-tourism, form the basis of Burn's native
  economy.
  
  At this point, the mining industry remains con-
  centrated in the mountains behind Korland. The
  stones mined for export are various corundum
  types and an astonishingly yellow variety of dia-
  mond. There are also commercially viable placer
  deposits of gold found near Emden at the
  mouth of the Linden River which are being
  worked. Iron is common around Leipzig, and
  some small ore extraction is performed there.
  Farms are located all along the Verdana and Lin-
  den river valleys, with Sweet Burr farms prevail-
  ing in the Three Rivers area, and Horn Melon
  grown mostly in the sheltered Verdana Valley. 
  Karfruit orchards are found most notably along
  the steeply sloping southern shores of Lake
  Ximin in the Lake District. The drier and cooler
  Vos Valley uplands have most of the colony's
  Pranzelope ranches, along with the characteristic
  Katamaran Blue Sheep. Cattle ranches predomi-
  nate in the lower and wetter Dahlgren Basin.
  Pranzelope meat is exported as a luxury, but the
  beef cattle are raised entirely for domestic con-
  sumption.
  There are drug refining companies headquar-
  tered in the Korland area, and also near Dahl-
  gren and Leipzig. From here, herb harvesters fan
  out over the peninsula collecting the valuable
  native herbs. Fishing for export and domestic
  consumption is carried out from Lee on the
  Xadong Peninsula, where the boatbuilding
  industry is also headquartered. One may also
  hire sport fishing boats for hunting the danger-
  ous Red Snark, popular with adventurous tour-
  ists who don't mind signing the liability waiver.
  Hiking and climbing in the Capitol Range
  behind Korland is also a popular destination for
  tourists, but for those who long to see the 'real'
  Burn, the only solution is the expensive but
  rewarding Explorer Holidays. In these excur-
  sions, the tourists, with a guide, are flown off the
  relatively tame peninsula and out to one of the
  other continents, or to one of the offshore
  islands, to see the strange unmarred beauty of
  Burn as the first exploration expeditions found
  it. Usually, the tourists and guide make their way
  across a stretch of virgin wilderness for a period
  of time, and are collected at the end of that
  period at a rendezvous point.
  The Vos Valley
  The Vos River winds its was south from the
  Teutoberg Range north of Kassen to the Vos
  Gorge south of the town of Polk. The only city
  in the valley is Vosberg, situated on a bluff over-
  looking the Vos near it's confluence with the
  Dan River. A-Grav transit shuttles fly passenger
  routes from here to Korland and Dahlgren, and
  to the orbital spaceport.
  The main reasons for Vosberg's prosperity are
  the Pranzelope ranches in the higher reaches of
  the basin, around Ute, Grossefeld, Kassen, and
  Koln. The lower parts of the basin are home to
  the cattle and sheep ranches which supply the
  colony with meat and leather. The highly prized
  Pranzelope meat, which some epicures declare
  the most succulent of meats, is mostly sent off
  planet to help pay off the colony's debt.
  In the lower, more watered regions of the north-
  ern part of the valley, the Blue Sheep of Katama-
  ran are raised. Blue Sheep are wool sheep, raised
  primarily for their lustrous blue wool, but they
  are used for meat as well. The ranches around
  Baumgarten, Polen, and Nordvolk are enor-
  mous in size, and quite wealthy. The shepherds
  ride flycycles to keep the sheep herded. Their
  highly trained dogs, Rothunds for the most part,
  are also instrumental in keeping the herds under
  control.
  The southern part of the valley, near Danburg,
  Krona, and Polk, is mostly given over to cattle
  ranching. The cattle are raised for meat, and
  driven in great herds into Vosberg once a year.
  There the packing plants butcher and store the
  cattle carcasses to supply the colony for the next
  year. The leather is also used extensively, in
  clothing and in tools. The bones are ground, and
  used for fertilizer and in gelatin. Vosberg, the
  
  main city of the region, is situated in a high bluff
  overlooking the junction of the Vos and Dan
  rivers. The sandstone bluff is honeycombed with
  tunnels and storage areas on the lower levels.
  Along the face of the bluff are located most of
  the housing of the city, with the balance on the
  plateau at the top of the bluff. Inside the bulk of
  the bluff are the packing and fertilizer factories
  and the tanneries, along with cattle pens and
  huge water cisterns.
  Vosberg is the transport hub as well as commer-
  cial and retail hub of the region. The shuttleport
  is located on the back of the bluff, on the north
  of the city. A-Grav shuttles fly daily from here to
  Korland, Dahlgren, Emden, and Leipzig, and
  there is much private traffic. A-Grav freighters
  depart from here to Korland all the time, carry-
  ing meats and leather goods, as well as wool and
  fertilizer.
  The Dahlgren 
  Basin
  Further down south, the Vos runs through a
  steep sided valley near Xiaodong, and empties
  into Lake Dahlgren at Vosport. It flows out
  again in a southeasterly direction, then heads
  southwest and into the sea. The Dahlgren Basin
  is much more heavily settled than the Vos Valley.
  The land is lower, more sheltered, and much less
  arid. Some farming is done around the shores of
  the lake and along the Vos itself, but the main
  business of the basin is cattle ranching. These
  are not the tall, grey, long-horned, free ranging
  cattle of the upper Vos, but large meaty cattle of
  a deep black color, short legged and polled. The
  variety is known as Olsen Black, and was devel-
  oped in the years of isolation on Katamaran.
  The meat is fatter and softer in texture than the
  free-range beef of the north. The cattle are
  mostly kept in pens and fed on grain grown
  locally.
  Manure collected from the ranches is made into
  fertilizer shipped throughout the colony. This
  prevents nitrogen run-off from contaminating
  the lake, and augments the economy as well. The
  
  main fertilizer factories are located in Jaijien,
  south of the lake. The leather from the Olsen
  Black cattle is thin, and inferior to that of the
  grey long-horns, and thus is only of local use.
  Vinland and Trauben are both centers of wine
  production. The sheltered sandy soil is perfect
  for growing grapes for wine. Plentiful water is
  available from the river as well as from rain. The
  land elsewhere in the basin is not as suitable for
  grape growing as it is here. This wine is not
  export quality, but is suitable as a table wine
  locally. The city of Dahlgren is the center of
  trade in the basin. A-Grav shuttles run hourly to
  Korland and twice daily to both Vosberg and
  Konstans, and once daily to Praha and Emden. 
  The city itself sprawls out on rolling upland
  between the Vos and Nan Rivers. The smaller
  towns of Nanquin and Vosport are satellites of
  Dahlgren, and Vosport is Dahlgren's main water
  port. The city has a number of nice buildings in
  the downtown area designed by local architects
  out of the city's School of Architecture. The pre-
  dominant line is horizontal, with low, sweeping
  curves in the rooflines. It also hosts the Dahl-
  gren School of Pharmacology, as well as several
  drug refining factories.
  The Three Rivers
  The Three Rivers is a distinct region lying east
  of the Linden River. It is a well-watered land of
  gently rolling hills, with rich topsoil ideal for
  farming. It is a wide open region, with cool
  winds coming down from the mountains to the
  north and east. The Three Rivers, along with
  the Verdana Valley further south, has the best
  farmland in the colony. The principal export
  crop grown here is Sweet Burr, a native fruit
  which grows on low, thorny bushes. The burr
  itself is ovoid, about 5-6cm long and about 2-
  3cm in diameter. It is covered in a prickly outer
  sheath which secretes from its prickles a mildly
  hallucinogenic toxin known as "Burrfieberher-
  steller", or "Burrfie" for short. It provokes a
  loss of inhibitions and a low fever, with mild
  auditory and visual hallucinations. The sheath
  opens when the fruit ripens, and the fruit drops
  to the ground. The fruit is deep purple in color,
  and contains a number of tiny, edible seeds. It is
  firm but gelatinous in texture, and has a sharp,
  refreshing sweetness. The Sweet Burr fruit itself
  contains none of the toxin found in the sheaths.
  The fruit is harvested separately from the
  sheaths, and is made into jams and preserves,
  made into brandies and cordials, or placed
  immediately in time stasis containers.
  The vast majority of the Sweet Burr fruit harvest
  goes offworld, mostly to Katamaran. The
  sheaths are collected immediately after the fruit
  drops out, as they dry up in a day or two other-
  wise. The Burrfie toxin is collected and made
  into various drugs in the pharmaceutical labs in
  Korland and Liepzig. Burrfie toxin and the
  drugs derived from it are intended for medical
  use, but it is easily abused, and a substantial
  amount of the Burrfie toxin is sold on the black
  market.
  The district also produces a large portion of the
  colony's vegetable produce for local consump-
  tion, as well as the Sweet Burr. Horn Melon
  grows well in the southern parts of the region as
  
  well, around Lake Konstanz. A large part of the
  population of the region is uplifted animals and
  androids, who are working off their indenture.
  The Three Rivers is densely populated. After the
  Capital District around Korland, it holds the
  largest portion of the Burn population. Kon-
  stanz, the main city of the area, is itself not very
  large. It is the commercial and transportation
  hub of the district, but has less than half the
  population of Dahlgren. The population of the
  district is mostly distributed in a large number of
  towns and smaller cities like Juntao, Chouhai,
  Kemmer, Dammensburg, and Hertzgarten.
  Local A-Grav shuttles run hourly to Korland,
  twice daily to Dahlgren and Leipzig, and daily to
  Lee and Emden.
  The Lake District
  The largest lake in the colony area is Lake
  Ximin. It lies in a long valley north of the Capi-
  tol District. The Lake District is a peculiar
  micro-climate, as the lake is warmed by under-
  water thermal vents. The ever-present mists ris-
  ing off of the lake make the sight of the sun a
  rarity, but the warm, wet climate makes raising
  of Karfruit practical far to the south of its origi-
  nal range. Karfruit is a sub-tropical tree origi-
  nally found on the southern coast of the
  continent of Andersen by an exploration party.
  Seedlings were brought back to the Colony Area
  and planted in various sheltered places. None
  survived the winter except in the Lake District.
  The trees grow particularly well on the southern
  shore of the lake, on the steeply sloping hillsides
  from Liederburg to Vissel.
  The fruit itself is contained within a hard, woody
  pod about 20cm long, with a texture something
  like the shell of a Brazil nut. Inside the pod are
  two soft skinned fruits, one magenta, the other
  chartreuse. Both are quite flavorful, but differ-
  ent, the magenta fruit being more spicy and the
  chartreuse being almost minty. Contained within
  the fruits is a large pit or stone, flattened and
  heart shaped. This stone is the seed of the
  Karfruit tree, those from the magenta fruit
  growing into female plants, while the stones
  from the chartreuse fruits grow into male plants.
  
  The fruits are sold raw locally, and are quite pop-
  ular both as eating fruits and as ingredients in
  local dishes, but for export, the fruits are dis-
  tilled into liqueurs. These are the two colors of
  Karwasser, red and green. Karwasser is made in
  distilleries in Liepzig, and exported to the entire
  Cluster, where it has become quite popular.
  Karfruit orchards are not labor intensive, as they
  bear slowly but continuously throughout the
  year, but they are time and land intensive. The
  land suitable for their growth is very limited, and
  already Karfruit orchards are being started on
  marginal lands north of the lake. Karfruit trees
  also take twenty years to mature, and do not pro-
  duce any crop at all until then. On the north
  shore of the lake, in addition to the Karfuit
  orchards mentioned, grapes for wines are
  grown. These wines are also distilled into bran-
  dies, at small distilleries located in the vineyards
  themselves, each one producing a distinct local
  variety of brandy. These brandies are sold locally
  and on Katamaran under the Pelikan label. 
  To the west of the lake is the Pommer River,
  which feeds into the Linden just below where it
  exits the lake. The Pommer river valley is too
  cold for Karfruit, but grows large amounts of
  maize for local human and animal consumption.
  In Leipzig are located the Karwasser distilleries
  as previously mentioned, along with granaries
  and mills for storage of the grain produced in
  the Pommer valley. What little manufacturing is
  done in the Lake District is done here in Leipzig,
  primarily iron smelting and steelmaking, as well
  as pharmaceutical manufacture. The local shuttle
  port is located to the west of town, along the
  shores of the lake. From here freighters head out
  to Korland carrying Karwasser and Karfruit,
  and to Vosberg carrying grain. 
  
  Regular passenger shuttle service is available to
  Konstanz and Emden twice daily, and hourly to
  Korland and Vosberg.
  The Verdana Val-
  ley
  The Verdana River arises in the highlands some
  50km west of Korland. From there it descends
  quickly into a lush, broad, high valley, where it
  pools into a large lake, also known as Verdana.
  The lake is some 100 km long, and irregularly
  shaped. Many other streams flow into the lake
  from the encircling mountains. The river leaves
  the lake heading south before turning to the
  southeast. It meets up with two other large
  streams, the Lars and the Lima, before itself
  emptying into the Linden River just north of
  Emden.
  The Verdana Valley District is thus defined by
  the river, and is divided naturally into 5 sections:
  The high valley which rings the lake, the lower
  valley from the lake to the Linden, the Lars Val-
  ley to the northeast, the Lima Valley to the
  southwest, and the lower course of the Linden
  from the confluence with the Verdana to the sea.
  The upper valley is home to a lot of mixed vege-
  table farming, but particularly the cultivation for
  export of Horn Melon, a native plant. The lower
  valley is the center of wheat cultivation, while
  barley and beans are raised in the Lima Valley.
  The Lars valley is particularly rich in dairy farms,
  with the excellent Lars Green and Sweet Ver-
  dana cheeses being exported to Katamaran. The
  lower Linden is the population center of the dis-
  trict, and holds all the manufacturing as well as a
  fair bit of placer gold mining near Emden. More
  than half the population of this district is
  android and uplifted animals, contracted to work
  on the farms.
  Horn Melon is a low plant, native to this region.
  It consists of a trailing vine which spreads out as
  ground cover in a 2 meter wide area from a cen-
  tral stalk. From the stalk a large, curving horn-
  shaped fruit grows starting in early summer. By
  the time it is harvested in the autumn, it can
  exceed one meter in length, and weigh up to ten
  kilos. The fruit is covered in wicked thorns of
  between 2 and 3 cm length. If it is not harvested,
  the stalk will break under the weight of the fruit,
  and the horn will come crashing down, breaking
  the fruit open to be eaten by the local fauna,
  with the seeds being spread in the droppings.
  Horn Melon has a delicious, bitingly sweet taste,
  with a firm but moist texture. When harvested
  too early it can be astringent, if one waits too
  long, the stalk breaks and the fruit is lost. Horn
  Melon does not keep well, and cannot be rip-
  ened off the vine. It is shipped in stasis boxes,
  and is thus quite expensive away from Burn.
  There is a distillery opening up in Emden to
  
  produce a liqueur from the melon, hopefully to
  enjoy the same success as the Karwasser distill-
  eries of Leipzig.
  The gravel beds near Emden contain a fair
  amount of gold, and are easily worked. The gold
  is used primarily in the local electronics industry,
  which is also centered in Emden. Most of the
  humanoid population of the district (almost all
  humans from Katamaran) lives in or around
  Emden. Here are located the shopping centers
  and industrial complexes of the district. Emden
  is the second largest city on Burn, and is home
  to two universities, the Emden Military Acad-
  emy, and the University of Emden. There is also
  the Burn Mining College in Imhoff across the
  Linden, and the Agricultural College of Burn in
  Llhasa, a couple kilometers south of town, mak-
  ing Emden the educational center of the colony.
  Emden is also the transportation hub of the dis-
  trict, with shuttles leaving hourly to Korland,
  twice daily to Leipzig, and daily to Konstanz,
  Dahlgren, Lee, and Vosberg. There is also a
  direct shuttle to the orbital spaceport available
  daily.
  The South Shore
  Extending along the coast of the Leanai Sea
  from the Xaodong Peninsula to the southward
  bend where the Laotung Peninsula bulges out is
  an area of wet forest and sand known as the
  South Shore. The principal output of this district
  is fish and lumber. The towns along the main-
  land are mostly logging towns, while the towns
  in the islands are concerned mostly with fishing.
  The soil in this area is too shallow and acidic to
  support much farming, with a few patches of
  gardens being typical in a settlement. The foggy,
  rainy, cool weather, however, supports a magnif-
  icent temperate rain forest.
  Damask and Sinterwood trees predominate, but
  the rare and beautiful Dusk tree also grows here
  in large numbers and to prodigious heights. Ver-
  tical extraction via A-Grav makes selective cut-
  ting of these giants practical and economic,
  reducing the ecological impact of the logging
  tremendously. These woods with their beautiful
  fine dark grains fetch prime prices offworld.
  Bulk timber is - of course - never exported.
  Instead, local furniture and woodcarving shops
  process the wood into gorgeous objects of very
  high quality.
  Fishing in the South Coast is mainly concerned
  with the huge runs of Hassod which spawn
  yearly in the small, clear streams and rivers of the
  district, and with the enormous schools of Bris-
  fisk taken by nets in the ocean nearby. Hassod is
  a fine eating fish which is canned, frozen, and
  stasised in enormous numbers over a three week
  period beginning in the early spring. It has a
  strong, unmistakable flavor, and is a favorite
  export. Hassod is taken mostly to supply the
  
  fishmeal and oil industries. It is a disagreeable
  eating fish, being very oily.
  The chief, and indeed only, city of the district is
  Praha on the island of Wessel, though there are
  many prosperous new towns. Praha is the new-
  est city on Burn, as the South coast is the latest
  district to be settled. Canning and stasis factories
  line the wharfs and piers of the harbor, and the
  winding streets lead upward towards the high
  ground in the island's center. There is a small
  College of Aquaculture less than five years old
  located here on the heights. The only other insti-
  tution of higher learning in the District is the
  well respected Forestry Institute located in Rich-
  ter on the mainland. Shuttles leave from Praha
  daily for Korland and Dahlgren.
  The Capitol Dis-
  trict
  The Capitol District is the area first settled on
  Burn, and is by far the most densely populated.
  Korland is the capital and site of the main shut-
  tleport, and is twice as large as Emden, the sec-
  ond largest city. The District consists of Korland
  Bay, a huge, island studded inlet of the Leanai
  Sea, and the land that drains into the bay. The
  bay is ringed with mountains, so the bay is pro-
  tected from the fierce winter storms that rage
  across the sea. The land is pleasant, fertile, and
  well-watered. The two main rivers, the Vlis run-
  ning from northwest and the Ort running from
  the northeast, meet 25 km above Dursen to
  form the tidal Durse River. The Vlis-Ort-Durse
  valley system is the main farming area for the
  capital, and the grain and vegetables harvested
  here form the main part of the diet of the citi-
  zens of Korland. Gems are mined in the moun-
  tains near Felix, Astin, and Danningen, and are
  exported to Katamaran. The miners are
  androids working out their birth contract. The
  Xaodong Peninsula forms the southern bound-
  ary of the bay. 
  The peninsula is heavily populated, with the
  large city of Lee situated near the tip. Lee is the
  center of the Altfisk fishing fleet. Altfisk is a
  huge, meaty fish, distinguished by it's long beard
  of barbels. It is a popular meal both domestically
  and on Katamaran, and the fishing is lucrative.
  Altfisk is shipped in stasis boxes directly from
  the fleet, arriving on Katamaran still alive. Alt-
  fisk can weigh upwards of 200 kg. each. Red
  Snark is also hunted from here, even though one
  out of 80 snark fishing boats never returns to
  Lee. 
  Many Guide services operate out of Korland,
  bringing tourists everywhere in the Colony and
  out to the non-colonized lands outside. Tourism
  is a huge part of Burn's economy, and most of
  the money goes towards retiring the colony's siz-
  able debt to Katamaran. Hiking holidays are
  very popular, and rich tourists pay hundreds of
  credits to take Explorer Holidays to exotic
  locales, many discovering new wonders as they
  go. Pleasure sailing in the bay and on the ocean
  is also a popular tourist recreation. 
  Korland is the center of the colony's huge phar-
  maceutical complex. Drugs refined from native
  plants are shipped out to the parent companies
  on Katamaran, realizing excellent profits.
  Trained plant collectors travel around the world
  in small a-grav vehicles, collecting the raw mate-
  rial and finding new plants. The Colonial Birth
  Labs are also located here, a government
  
  monopoly operated by the Hauser Com-
  pany. The labs are the only legal source of
  android workers for the colony, and the
  only place where pre-birth modifications
  may be performed for citizens.
  There are two Universities in Korland, the
  University of Burn, and the Physical Insti-
  tute of Korland. The University offers a
  liberal arts education, while the Institute
  concentrates on the Sciences. There is an
  Ichthyological Institute at Lee, which stud-
  ies the native 'fish', and at Danningen is the
  Burn Mining School.
  Korland is also the center of administra-
  tion, with the Governor and bureaucracy
  sitting here. The taxes generated go to pay
  for improved infrastructure and debt retire-
  ment, and towards settlement of new areas
  when it is appropriate. Almost two million
  people live in the Capitol District, and
  there are at least four million more in the
  rest of the colony.
  Woodrunners
  There are also those who have left the colonial
  area, and are living in the wild. There are run-
  away workers who have despaired of earning
  their freedom from indenture, adventurers and
  guides who have fallen in love with living in the
  wild, and opponents of the Colonial Administra-
  tion who have chosen to flee the settled areas.
  The Government estimates that about 2% of the
  population of Burn, or about 130 thousand indi-
  viduals, live in the wilderness areas. Explorers
  and tourists in these areas are continually notic-
  ing signs of habitation in these areas, sometimes
  coming into visual contact with these people as
  they flee. The Government advises they be left
  alone and reported only to the authorities, but
  people talk. These wilderness folk are called
  "Woodrunners" among the people of Burn.
  
  Characters 
  from Burn
  Characters from Burn all have the Mother's Milk
  skill of operate, as so much of the colony is
  mechanized. There are no roads as such on
  Burn, as the entire colony was planned with A-
  Grav in mind. Thus all characters receive the
  skills of driving and orient 3D so that they may
  move about. The other Mother's Milk skill
  depends on the district the character was raised
  in. The only exception to this rule is with woo-
  drunners, as detailed below. 
  •
  All characters raised in the major cities, no 
  matter which district they are in, have the 
  same Mother's Milk skills. Networking and 
  knowledge are key to life in any large society, 
  so these characters receive a bonus skill of 
  streetwise.
  •
  Characters from the Vos Valley are indepen-
  dent ranch hands. As such they learn early 
  on to ride the characteristic flycycle deriva-
  tive of Burn, called a "stunter", to herd their 
  animals. They therefore receive a bonus skill 
  of ride.
  •
  The Dahlgren Basin has characters of a 
  more settled sort. Here the focus is on rais-
  ing food of a more domestic type. Thus 
  characters from this district receive the 
  bonus skill of husbandry.
  •
  Characters from the Three Rivers raise 
  Sweet Burr as a cash crop, more for the 
  toxin than for the fruit. These characters 
  receive a bonus skill of either drug or biol-
  ogy, their choice.
  •
  Those from the Lake District are familiar 
  with both orchard cultivation and with distil-
  lation, so these characters can receive the 
  bonus skills of either grow or brewing, 
  their choice.
  •
  Characters raised in the Verdana Valley have 
  the peculiar cash crop of Horn Melon. They 
  receive a bonus skill of either grow or hus-
  bandry, their choice.
  •
  Those characters from the South Shore can 
  be from either a fishing or timber back-
  ground. Thus, they have the choice of either 
  forestry or extract.
  •
  Those from the Capitol District have the 
  widest choice. They can be from mining, 
  tech, or farming backgrounds, and thus have 
  the bonus skills of either extract, repair, or 
  grow, as they choose.
  •
  Woodrunners are a special case. They do not 
  take part in the mechanized, A-Grav world 
  of the settled areas of Burn, thus they have 
  different Mother's Milk skills entirely. These 
  are herbalism, to learn the uses of native 
  plants, snare to capture food animals, bow 
  for hunting, and the choice of either melee 
  or blade for defence from predators.
  
  The Situation c.150 
  (Game Master's Sec-
  tion)
  The population of Burn is far more than is offi-
  cially accounted for. From the beginning of the
  colony, indentured workers have bolted from
  their work and gone into the bush. Because
  Burn is so hospitable to humanoids, they have
  multiplied in the woods and mountains. Official
  reaction has been to become stricter and stricter
  with the indentured animals and androids, with
  workers being held under close supervision at all
  times. The mining is particularly hellish, with a
  10% mortality rate yearly. The indenture con-
  tract is being twisted in many subtle ways to eke
  out a longer servitude, and the workers know it.
  The people of Burn are basically good natured
  folk, and many have assisted the indentured
  workers in running away, hurting production so
  much that the civilian governor has been
  replaced by a military governor, with 10,000
  Katamaran troopers located as follows: 2500 in
  Korland and Emden, 1500 in Konstanz and Lee,
  1000 in Leipzig, 500 in Praha and 500 in Dahl-
  gren.
  The runaway workers, along with many political
  outcasts from the colony, have formed a rebel
  guerilla force. This force funds itself largely by
  diverting a fat percentage of the Burrfie drug
  trade into the black market. The guerilla force is
  estimated to be about 10000 strong, but far less
  well equipped than the Katamaran troopers,
  who are elite professionals. They are moreover
  spread out in small bands throughout the larger
  colony area, living in camouflaged villages deep
  in the native forests.
  The rebels are merely the tiniest tip of the actual
  non-official population. There are more than 3
  million sentients roaming the woods of Burn,
  mostly uplifted animals, as the androids cannot
  breed, but also including a large number of dis-
  affected humanoids. Many settlers just leave and
  "go native" under the enormous pressures of
  colonial debt. The officials are actively hunting
  the "native" settlers as well as the rebels, but
  even 4 million people is a dusting on a whole
  planet. The very terrestrially which allows the
  colony to thrive also allows the colonials to
  effectively disperse with little or no trace. The
  government is proposing a new colonial area on
  some islands to the northwest of the original
  peninsula. This area will be used to 'resettle'
  those who are rounded up by the troopers.
  The military governor and the higher ranking
  officials of the planetary bureaucracy are entirely
  corrupt. They are making vast sums of money
  siphoning off underreported fees and taxes.
  They do not want to be removed from power,
  but have prepared for it with large deposits in
  secret accounts in Thieve's World banks. The
  colony as a whole is slowly increasing in senti-
  ment for independence. It is against Katama-
  ran's interests to allow Burn independence, and
  the official population figures allow them to
  deny it legally. They do not know the truth, but
  they are not eager to find out. The military gov-
  ernment knows the truth, and is frantic to pre-
  vent it from being found out. Even the ‘natives’
  have no idea just how many of them there are. In
  fact, Burn could, if an accurate census were
  taken, show compliance with all minimum stan-
  dards for admission to SaVaHuTa as a State.
  
SOURCE: textdata/thevault/Starcluster/Starcluster 2 The World of Burn.pdf