Karma

Karma is the basis of Florian society. At its most fundamental level, it means ‘work’, that is, anything from a small household task to one's lifelong productive contributions, and it also means the credit that one is given for work and its results. This credit is not like money since it cannot be spent, it is more like a rating, or a concretised form of reputation, what the old hanyo corps used to call 'goodwill'. Karma is based on feed-proof of one's having done the work claimed.

Gold and Silver
There are two kinds of karma, gold and silver, colloquially called 'honey' and 'sugar'. Silver karma is given for tasks that must be repeated, usually chores such as fetching and carrying, cleaning, tidying, etc. Mostly it is automated, that is, bots check the feeds and grant karma accrodingly. In some cases, there is a basic requiremetn of a certain kind of silver karma to get a particular privilege; for example, if one wishes to use the baths, one must have a minimum level of silver bath karma earned from workign at the baths within a reasonable period. Karma is transferable across locations; eg if one works at the baths of Basha A and then travels to Basha B, Basha B will accept the bath karma. Other silver privileges can be paid for with any silver karma, so picking up food in the forest can earn a nice dress, or a chance to go on a picnic or throw a party. The more intellectually and physically demanding the work, the more 'karma-rich' it is.

Flows, Pours and Soaks
Karma is also divided into flows, pours and soaks. Flows occur automatically, and are given by Karma mills for the most mundane and routine tasks. Pours are given by people to whom a service has been rendered, and the quantity is up to the receiver of the service within given limits. This is a voluntary donation, and must be given freely. Pestering someone for karma is known as karma stalking and usually attracts a shamesticky. A 'soak' is when one receives karma.

Karmatulas
At any level, if one feels one has produced an innovation or carried out a karma-ready task which is not already calculated for in the karmanet, one can call a karmatula. This is a council of thirteen seniors elected by their peers whose job it is to arbitrate karma. Wherever a nova occurs, they must set new karma parameters to produce automated karma for it in the future. They do this by constructing a karma mill, a virtual machine that channells and amplifies the karma pours according to set values.

Karmatulas may also decide in cases where the karma pourer is seen to have treated the karmasoaker badly, Here, they will determine whether the service given was indeed a good one, though disliked by its recipient, and then they will pour karma for the task on the karmapourer's behalf. They may add a multiplier to this as a reward to the soaker for behaving well during the proceedings. If the pourer behaves badly, they may get a shamesticky to work off. And vice versa.

Karmarang
The karmarang or karma colour is an informal social convention whereby one's karma level is matched to a wavelength of the visible electromagnetic spectrum. The zero colour for babies is pink, which is actually not a true colour. Youths are deep indigo, a colour usually accomplished by weaning time. From there, the colour lightens into true blue then through green and on up to the warmer half of the specturm. By the time of the Klimacteric the karmarang is black. Siddha karmarangs are shades of grey until the arahnat reaches pure white, usually around age 200 or so. After this point, one is liberated from karma. One may ask for anything, though of course the very old want very little.