Bloc
The Belt Republic
Independent since 2449; ~0.7 bn; capital Ceres, the largest city in the solar system; one Vault; aligned with the Open Cities. Its founding law lets Raised citizens sign, the price of Freehold's support for independence. Its embargo on Vesta brought the Vesta Crisis of the 2480s.
Read more in The Mirror Race
The Belt Republic holds no seeds on Mercury, which the four blocs divide. It sits in the Anchorage for its ice, its fuel routes and its own Vault, and array power is slowly wearing that weight down.
Everyday network access
Level 1 protected access is free to everyone, including basic communication, essential services and purchases, education and a public reference library. Level 1 also includes civic information and discussion, petitions, consultations and voting where eligible. Public terminals and loan interfaces serve people without working equipment. Level 2 adds wider public forums, hosted games and entertainment, and wider commerce for a fee (see Two levels of access, in Everyday technology).