The Low Lottery

Cryostasis is an exceedingly safe medical technology for humans and a vast majority of alien species. Repeated cycling through cryostasis via continual low passage jumps can be lethal however, with the patient usually suffering a mishap during stasis resulting in immense cellular and tissue damage once the person is brought out of stasis. Official Traveller Society statistics claim this is a 1 in 2.7 million chance. However poor maintenance of equipment, reuse of cryostasis fluids, and other poor operating practices increases this probability (although most would claim it’s still within the range of 1 in a million). Because of this rare chance of mishap, most passengers see low passage as a cheap, but somewhat desperate means of travel. Mid to high passage options are more preferred among galactic travelers.

The military however doesn’t have much of a choice in using low passage. It is no surprise then with soldiers going on multiple jumps, long deployments, and few opportunities to spend paychecks, that creative opportunities to spend cash are practiced. One such tradition is the low lottery.

Every jump, soldiers contribute 1-5 credits into a company pool. If there ever is a mishap and a soldier dies during cryostasis, 75% of the pool would go to the soldier's family and loved ones, while the remaining 25% would be spent by the company for a wake in remembrance of the departed. Given the frequency of jumps, number of personnel, and rare occurrences of fatalities, these pools could end up being quite a fortune.

However as the low lottery made its way over to civilian circles, it took a darker form. Like the military practice, a crew would contribute to a pool however they would also wager on a particular passenger. If a mishap occurred and the passenger died, the ‘winning’ choice would claim the pool or split among other crew members that made the same passenger selection. This dark game is kept off any official records, but anyone spending enough time in star ports among ship crews and merchant marines will find the occasional ship that runs a low lottery.

An even darker practice are captains and crews that actually fix a low lottery, randomly selecting a low passenger to have some misfortune during a jump. This criminal activity is practically considered an urban legend. The Traveller Society views this in addition to homicide as a form of traveler insurance fraud (where beneficiaries would collect insurance for an improperly claimed accidental death), and aggressively conducts a thorough investigation if a person dies during low passage. However get a Traveller Society insurance investigator filled up with enough drinks, they might let slip that this type of crime does indeed happen, even if it’s tremendously rare.

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