Etchtown is much too small to have a space asset.
Asset #1: The Etchery
This is the eponymous asset of Etchtown; here, prints are designed, etched and printed. Every step of the process from the ingredients of the ink to the milling of the paper is carefully customized to fit each work’s artistic purpose. No step is automated.
Etch prints are characterized by extreme detail. Even in the larger prints cannot be fully appreciated without the aid of magnification. Small shaded parts are often, on closer inspection, vast webs of interconnected curves, works of art in their own right. Likewise, the texture, color, heft, and smell of the paper and ink are carefully chosen to complement each piece. Etch prints often also make frequent use of watermarks, which reveal further intricacies when exposed to light of varying colors and polarities. Yet, what make Etch prints extremely difficult to counterfeit are not their perfections, but their errors. Since every millimeter of an Etch print was engraved by human hands, every millimeter is full of imperfections--lines wobble, curves thicken, the heads of the tiny instruments carve too deep. They cannot be reproduced even by the artists who made them. Because of these qualities, Etch prints are extremely valuable in the outside world.
Mankind is often the subject of Etch art, in particular the human body and existential strife. As mentioned above, Etch artists also seem to be fascinated by complex geometric designs. Some prints are common enough that they are used as a paper currency in the outside world. While most of the planet participates in digital transactions, nothing can match the untraceability of cash.
Asset#2: The Fermentors
As lucrative as the Etchery is, it does not generate most of Etchtown’s income. The fermentors do. These are massive vats of biological broth which Etchers use to grow large quantities of biochemical products: antibiotics, pesticides, pharmaceuticals, narcotics, whisky etc. These are the primary exports of Etchtown. All Etchers participate in producing them.
Because of the quantity they can produce, Etchers often create knock-off versions of biochemicals created by other colonies, then undercut the patent holders with much cheaper prices. Outsiders speculate that fermentors must fill vast underground caverns in order to produce such volumes.
Etchers also grow most of their food products in the fermentors. However, (aside from whisky) these do not sell well outside Etchtown.
Asset #3: The Wind Farm
Etchtown is desolate and windy. These massive turbines produce all the energy the colony needs.
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