Inaugral Freespace Summit A Success
New Eden - On Sunday 1st June the inaugral Freespace Summit and race took place. The summit had been organised by Heartstone a member of Jericho Fraction (JERIC) which is a part of The Star Fraction Alliance (-SF-), and was attended by some well known capsuleers such as The Cosmopolite and Jade Constantine.
For those who could attend in person the summit and the start of the race were hosted in the system that gives its name to the universe in which we live, New Eden, for the people not fortunate enough to be able to make the journey to the system, a special holo-feed link was setup.
The summit was opened by The Cosmopolite with these words:
"Pilots, Freecaptains, Transhumans and Infomorphs, in short, my fellow Capsuleers, I bid you welcome to the inaugural Freespace Summit on behalf of Jericho Fraction, today celebrating 5 years as an independent corporation. Although the Star Fraction alliance is hosting this event...we have several speakers from diverse organisations with at least a passing interest in the subject of freespace and [the] wider freespace movement. We welcome all these speakers, their fellows and indeed all who have chosen to attend, whether in person or by the medium of holographic simulation. It is our hope that tonight will prove stimulating and promote greater understanding of the cause of freespace."
The Cosmopolite went on to explain what is meant by the term Freespace
"Freespace is a simple enough concept yet it would seem the implications are complex, so often is it misunderstood...'freespace' is the principle of absolute freedom of movement and action with respect to that which cannot properly be said to be any one entity's property...Space cannot be owned. Any given volume can only transiently be occupied by a given body. Any volume of space, no matter how small or large, not currently occupied is available to all...Space is not the property of any one individual, any one corporation, any one alliance. Nor is it 'property in common', for that retains the notion that it is property at all."
At the end of his opening speech The Cosmopolite declared the summit open for debate and for the race to begin. At this time the floor was opened to questions and the first to be put to The Cosmopolite was by Ugleb of the Ushra'Khan; "Do you consider the movement to be gaining ground over these past five years?". The Cosmopolite responded, "...a very pertinent question and my answer is, yes...I believe the movement has gained ground in the landscape of the mind.". Further questions were fielded at some length before the next speaker, Tatsue Nuko of Stimulus (STIM) took to her virtual podium.
Ms Nuko, who is in her own words "...part of the more revolutionary side of the freespace movement," described her corporations as "revolutionaries, paramilitaries, saboteurs [that] take pride in being considered criminals by some." She went on to add "I am proud to be a freespacer, because I consider that we are a movement that for all its diversity - indeed arguably through its diversity - has begun the difficult task of seeing what humanity can do. As capsuleers we have the ability to spread like a vapour, be as ever present as the hydrogen gases of the stellar medium we inhabit. For we have come to conquer death. We are taking the first maiden steps into a reality where death is not much more than material damage."
Ugleb a member of the Ushra'Khan (UNITY) Council spoke next. He started by saying that his alliance "stands for freedom of all. Every man and woman in this galaxy should be free to choose his or her own destiny. Once the institutions of slavery are broken then, and only then, the Ushra'khan can rest. This is the only goal that we pursue." This is a view that is common among the Freespace movement, one of "individual sovereignty", the freedom to be able to live your life without outside interference.
Ugleb was followed by James Lyrus CEO of Lyrus Associates who only recently joined The Star Fraction. He spoke about their Outpost construction projects in their former alliance, ISS. "They were aimed to provide a way to develop free trade in previously underused constellations and regions...The idea was to provide an outpost that was free to all to come and trade, and all that one needed to do was put aside differences long enough to do so."
The penultimate speaker was Ashar KorAzor an Abbess in the Order of the Blessed Sisters of Amarr. Ms KorAzor spoke a message of restraint against the backdrop of taking action for a greater cause. "A capsuleer has immense potential...We are perhaps the most potent force for creation and destruction...We build capital fleets; we sink them...We are the proverbial butterfly that, with a flutter of its wings, will cause the windstorm to mount and gather. And because of that, out of fear, we should run off and seclude ourselves away? What a horrid waste of potential. What a letdown, what a thing to regret...It's not even enough that we'd cop out like fearful children, that we wouldn't give collaboration one large-scale shot. We'd then get to regret something we didn't do, as opposed to something we actually fouled up. Seems a good way to waste millennia to me...Honestly, what would the Jove think?"
The final speaker of the summit was Jade Constantine CEO and Founder of Jericho Fraction (JERIC) and Executor of Star Fraction (-SF-) alliance. She opened her speech by saying "Well it’s been five years today since the first free-spacers of Jericho Fraction went to space...we've seen hopes burn brightly...we've seen the finest intentions twisted to the petty evils of xenophobia and territorial control...[but] Our truest victory is in perseverance and keeping the beacon of hope alive." Ms Constantine brought her speech and the summit to a conclusion with these words "The Freespace movement is yours. It always has been. It always will be. And it’s my great pleasure to bring this summit to a close with a toast to you all:
Freedom my friends, freedom above all, freedom before death, and freedom in all things, lets this be our oath and our faith and all the reason we need to strive and embrace the true legacy of our race transcendent!"
The Race started and finished in New Eden. It was down to the racers, Khanid Voltar, Sakura Nihil, Slendora, SwoopingHawkeye, Tareen Kashaar, Yartick and Warpig 88, to choose which route was best for them; the only requirements were that they had to go via the following systems, considered to be icons of territorial control: X-70MU, EC-P8R, NOL-M9, FAT-6P and AZN-D2. The winners of the race were declared by Mr Heartstone "Ladies and Gentlemen it seems we have conformation for all checkpoints. Your winners are: Khanid Voltar and Tareen Kashaar. Well done to you all. And I hope you had a good time."
Due to the success of this summit there are rumours of more being held in the future.
External GalNet References
External reference to speech transcripts
