Currency Systems: The Many Faces of Value

Holographic currency exchange with floating Token symbols and exchange rates

In a world where consciousness can be copied, attention measured, and processing power is the ultimate resource, currency has evolved beyond simple credit accounts. The Sprawl runs on multiple overlapping systems—what you spend in Nexus Central won't work in Zephyria, and everywhere, alternative systems compete to capture human activity in measurable, tradeable form.

The Token Standard

T

One Token = One Petaflop-Second

Tokens are simultaneously money and processing power. The Treaty of Shared Currency (2148) pegged value to computation—the one thing all megacorporations needed.

Definition 1 x 1015 FLOPS of processing time
Storage Quantum-secured ledgers (all three megacorps)
Transaction Fees 0.1% - 2% by jurisdiction

Token Denominations

Unit Symbol Value Common Usage
Microtoken uT 0.000001 T Attention micro-payments
Millitoken mT 0.001 T Small purchases, tips
Token T 1 T Daily unskilled wage
Kilotoken kT 1,000 T Monthly rent, major purchases
Megatoken MT 1,000,000 T Corporate transactions, real estate
Gigatoken GT 1,000,000,000 T Acquisitions, infrastructure

Living Costs (2184)

Survival

Sector 7G 200-400 T/month

Basic shelter, food, network access. Existence at the edge.

Working Class

800-1,500 T/month

Decent housing, regular food, basic healthcare. Stable but precarious.

Middle Class

3,000-8,000 T/month

Comfortable living, attention protection, savings capacity.

Professional

15,000-50,000 T/month

Premium services, investment capacity, real choice.

Corporate Elite

200,000+ T/month

Full ad-blocking, consciousness backup, everything available.

Corporate Currencies

Nexus Credits (NC)

1:1 with Tokens

40% of Nexus employee compensation. Redeemable at Nexus facilities only. Converts with fees.

Ironclad Marks (IM)

0.98:1 with Tokens

Ironclad workers paid 60% IM, 40% Tokens. Cannot legally transfer outside Ironclad territory.

Helix Points (HP)

Conversion requires medical justification

Wellness currency from Helix. Earned for "healthy behaviors." Healthcare tied to company loyalty.

The Scrip Trap

  1. Corporation pays partial wages in internal currency
  2. Internal currency only usable at company facilities
  3. Company prices absorb all scrip
  4. Worker left with minimal Tokens for outside expenses
  5. Worker cannot afford to leave without losing scrip value
  6. Effective compensation drops 15-30%

Technically legal under Treaty of Shared Currency (40% Token minimum). Enforcement is minimal.

The Seven Rothwell Currencies

The Rothwell corporations pioneered "lifestyle currencies" that tie spending to their products:

Good Fortune
Fortune Points: Banking rewards, non-convertible Lucky Credits: Gaming currency, 50B T circulating
Triumph
Prestige Points: Earned by social engagement, spent on reputation
Guardian
Security Credits: Bundled with insurance, security services
Wholesome
Comfort Credits: Food delivery lock-in
Wellness
Beauty Tokens: Enhancement rewards, non-convertible
Relief
Ease Points: Subscription credits, lock-in
Inspire
Goal Points: Achievement gamification

Each Rothwell currency captures a specific life domain. Cross-conversion is intentionally difficult, forcing customers to maintain multiple accounts.

Consciousness-Based Currencies

Verified Attention Units (VAU)

~60 VAU = 1 Token

Measured by neural interface. Average person generates 50-100 VAU/hour. Corporations buy VAU for guaranteed conscious ad exposure. Poor individuals subsist by selling attention constantly.

Future Processing Hours (FPH)

50-100 Tokens per hour pledged

From temporal debt systems. Pledges of future cognitive labor. Tradeable between lenders.

Cognitive Capacity Liens

~10,000 Tokens per 1% capacity

Permanent claims on neural processing. Cannot be "paid off"—only sold or transferred. Creates permanent economic relationships.

Experience Rights

500-5,000 Tokens/month

Forward contracts on future experiences. From memory markets. Premium experiences trade at high values.

Alternative & Underground Currencies

The Marina

Zephyria

~0.4 Tokens (free-floating)

Named for founder Marina Orosco. Not backed by computation—backed by Zephyrian production. Represents economic independence. Corporations refuse to hold Marina.

Waste Barter Systems

The Wastes
Water Rights: 1 liter = ~0.5-2 T equivalent Ammunition: Standard rounds as currency Salvage Weight: Material value by mass (Duchess Steel rates) Favor Ledgers: Informal obligation tracking (The Shepherd's networks)

Underground Token Economy

Black Tokens: Laundered, 5-15% premium. Collective operational funding. Physical Tokens: Offline storage, untraceable but risky Dead Drops: Pre-established caches, no electronic record Ghost Coin: Rumored Collective cryptocurrency. No verified traces. May be legend—or perfect OpSec.

Exchange Rates

Currency To Tokens From Tokens Notes
Nexus Credit (NC) 1:1 1:1 Direct in Nexus territory
Ironclad Mark (IM) 0.98:1 1:1.02 Slight discount outside Ironclad
Helix Point (HP) 1:1 1:1 Parity via healthcare pricing
Marina 2.5:1 1:0.4 Zephyria independent currency
Black Tokens Varies Varies 5-15% laundering premium

Faction Positions

Nexus

Hostile to alternatives. Seeks monetary control. Primary: Tokens, NC.

Ironclad

Tolerates alternatives for Waste dealings. Primary: Tokens, IM.

Helix

Uses health-tied currency for control. Primary: Tokens, HP.

Good Fortune

Profits from all systems. Sells debt instruments everywhere.

Zephyria

Maintains independence. Marina currency. Refuses corporate integration.

The Collective

Operates outside tracking. Black Tokens, favors.

Flatline Purists

Reject all electronic currency. Barter or physical trade only.

"The corps will tell you Tokens are neutral—just numbers in a ledger. But every currency is a choice about what we value. Tokens value computation. Scrip values loyalty. Attention values your consciousness. And favors? Favors value your word.

In the Wastes, a person who breaks their word has no currency at all. Maybe that's more honest than anything they're trading in Nexus Central." — Viktor Kaine, explaining economics to a new arrival