Let's Read: Traveller, 1977 Edition, Starships, page 2

On to page 2. Interplanetary travel is mentioned again as being infrequent, but possible with small ships (boats, cutters, pinnaces, etc.). Interplanetary trips have to be charted, and the price is set by the ship’s owner (who might be a PC).

Interstellar travel, however, is less flexible. We get High and Low Passage again, but there are two other kinds mentioned on the page: Middle and Working Passage. High Passage is your typical first-class travel, and it’s pricy at 10,000 CR. You can bring up to a ton of stuff with you (no word on whether that includes weapons), and it’s basically a cruise ship idea.

Middle Passage is coach, or close enough. It’s still pricy at 8,000 CR, but you don’t get nearly as much value for your money. For some reason, that extra 2,000 CR really makes a difference. Maybe the 8,000 is just the bare minimum to keep the ship flying. You also get a baggage allowance of only 100 kg, and you might get bumped, as per today’s airlines, if someone more important than you (i.e., someone who pays more) shows up and takes your spot. Some things never change.

Working Passage is just what it says: You can hire on as a ship’s worker for a short term to get from System A to System B. But if you stick around for more than three jumps, you’re treated as being a hired worker with standard salary, whatever that may be. Obviously, you have to be useful to get this option; if you’re training is in gunnery, don’t expect to get the navigator position to work your passage. Oh, and you also get to bring a ton of stuff with you, so it’s like High Passage, without the cost. Or the entertainment.

Finally, there’s Low Passage. Again, I would never, ever use this. Seriously, it sucks. You’re in suspended animation, and while it’s cheap and you don’t age or otherwise interact with time, there’s a chance that you’re not coming out of it. And it’s not a tiny chance; it’s a roll of 5 or better to survive, unless there’s a well-trained medic present (skill level 2 or more), which makes it 4 or better. If you’ve got low endurance, you’re at -1 to your roll. Quite bluntly, that is Russian roulette with a laser pistol.

Oh, it gets better: If you die, there’s no refund, and your heirs can’t sue the transport for your death. Basically, you know what you’re getting into. And just in case you don’t, the last paragraph on this page makes it clear: It is actually customary, as in normal behavior, for the captain to have a betting pool as to how many Low Passage passengers are going to come out alive. And it’s the Low Passage passengers who are making the bets! And best of all, if you guess right about how many survivors there are, but you’re not one of them, the captain gets to keep the money himself. Isn’t that special?

Seriously, why in the hell would anyone EVER use Low Passage unless they were beyond desperate? It’s insane. I’m not familiar with the Traveller source material, but this has got to have come out of some sci-fi book from the 1950s or 1960s.

Alright, that wraps it up for this page. If you are a sci-fi fan (and if you’re not, why are you reading this?), please check out my new sci-fi book, Bard Conley’s Adventures Across the Solar System, available now on Amazon in both ebook and paperback format. It’s action, adventure, and fun, and best of all, there’s no Low Passage anywhere in the book.