You think this city runs on money? That’s the prettiest lie the Corpos ever told. The Bastion doesn’t have an economy; it has a food chain, and you’re at the bottom. To survive, you need to understand the two currencies that matter: the one in your account, and the one attached to your name.
The Currency (Calories & Creds)
The founders, in their brutal wisdom, linked the city’s entire energy output—every watt from the Warmth Grid, every nutrient from the hydroponic farms—into a single, digitized unit. The foundational, unbreakable law of the city is:
1 Unit = 1 Standardized Calorie . Your bank balance isn’t money; it’s your ration of the city’s lifeblood. When it hits zero, they cut your heat and your food. It’s that simple .
You can tell everything you need to know about someone by what they call it:
- The Street calls it “Cal.” Runners and Outlanders, the people who live on the edge, know the truth. They call it Cal because that’s what it is: food, warmth, survival. It’s the hunger in your gut and the chill in your bones .
- The Elite call it “Creds.” The Vaulted have the luxury of forgetting what it’s for. They call it “Creds” to make it sound clean and sophisticated, a way to separate the idea of wealth from the grimy reality of staying alive .
The Ghost (Reputation)
This is the other currency, the one that isn’t on any books. Rep is the weight of your name, the value of your word . It’s the favor a ripperdoc owes you, the fear a gang leader has of crossing you. Cal can buy you a meal. Rep is what gets you a seat at the table when the doors are locked and the guns are out . You earn it by doing jobs and keeping your word. You lose it by being a liability.
The Grind (How to Earn)
So how do you get your Cal and build your Rep?
- The Straight Gig: The simplest way to stay alive is to work. Find a legitimate business, something like the mechanics at Wrench or the noodle stalls in Sputnik, and put in your hours. It’s a grind, and the Corpos will take their cut, but it guarantees a steady, weekly paycheck. It’s safe, it’s reliable, and it’ll keep you fed.
- The Illicit Angle: For every person earning an honest living, there are three others making a killing in the shadows. The black market for scavenged tech, stolen data, and illegal cybernetics is always booming. Work for a fixer, run a package for a syndicate, or pull a heist on a corporate transport. The risk is infinitely higher, but so is the reward.
Find your grind. Work for the man or work for the shadows. Just make sure your account doesn’t hit zero. In The Bastion, being broke is the same as being dead.