My novel that's set in colonized Mars in the 2130s. In it, an American engineer who created and monopolized terraforming and geoengineering technology used it as leverage in order to create a new country in Mars with himself as dictator. Said country is a tax haven with legalized gambling, prostitution, etc surrounded by the colonies of New Hope (USA), Canada Territory, Mars PR China Territory, German Reich (yep, nazi sympathizers created their own state in Mars), African Union (ran jointly by Nigeria, South Africa and Botswana). It attracts tourists from Earth and other colonies ran by Earth's countries, as well as new nations that borders it. Since I envisioned it as a very expensive place where the people rich enough decide to live in order not to pay taxes, I believe it also needs to have a class of poor people that live there to work for said tycoons. The super inflated cost of living also means it must have a huge black market and thriving criminal underworld, no? I need the help of people with some understanding of criminal underworlds and black market economics to help me out.
Look into the way people with no wealth or leverage are treated in any society. It may be helpful to focus less on socialist democracies like the European ones, as they still have a historically robust welfare state in place. Even some of them are relevant if you focus on capital cities. Dubai is a good example, a strong pull over the last fifteen years for highly skilled engineers etc. Also came to be seen as a prestigious place to own property, a bit of a bubble. When you look at the way they treated migrant menial labour though it's a horror story. They had a trick that they would promise the earth to desperate migrants (colonists) when they arrived their passports were stolen from them and they were charged exhorbitant rates for food and accommodation. This placed them into debt bondage. Similar stories abound the oil rich states and really the major capitals of the world. Often some form of people trafficking is involved. What would drive you to take that risk? Once arrived how long would you keep your morals, some people have left children and vulnerable ones behind. Black market economics are just economics by the way. Something is selling something you want, need or they have just convinced you it is the answer to your problem. Think about debt and land/ accommodation and utilities ( air in total recall) Think about what drugs would make their way to mars. Which drugs would be manufactored there. How would you want to get off your face in this scenario? You could have all the same old ones plus something completely left of centre. This could be interesting and plot relevant. Read all Philip k dick if you haven't already. Think about your organised crime groups. Do you want a monopoly which requires administrative support and corruption? Maybe each culture drags their criminal enterprises along with them, you could have space triads fighting the Martian Italian Mafia if you like those tropes - it may make more sense to think about modern organic and flexible organised crime. Specialists flit from group to rival group within a network as needs must. It's helpful to take away any distinction between economics and black market economics. There is a large tobacco company who when the UK increased duty on cigarettes flooded nearby markets with a surplus, knowing those markets were on a smuggling route to the UK. Not proven in court and probably legal. A totally legit company. What is the main driver of the Martian economy? Minerals? Space? This was a long response. I love sci fi and terraforming.
When people want to buy goods, there will always be a market for them. Some of these goods will be... unsavory. But there will always be a market, somewhere. And those who facilitate it. The capitalists of the underworld -- no one gives them any recognition. They're businessmen and businesswomen just like anyone else. And their business activities can be quite... cut-throat. Though since they are already on the run from the law, why not break a few more when it's good for business? Business. That's all it is. At least until you end up on the wrong side of an airlock. Books to read: The Expanse, The Lies of Locke Lamora, Neuromancer.
During my novel my MC will need to purchase a piece of military built hardware in order to achieve his objective. Would such a thing believably cost a small fortune? And how would a normal person get in touch with a black market seller?
It probably depends on what exactly it is, and how illegal it is. Just about anything could be outlawed, depending on the policies of the government. If it can potentially cause mass destruction (explosives, bio-weapons, runaway nanotech, etc), then it will be heavily restricted.
That hardware could likely be sold by a corrupt military quartermaster either directly to the consumer, or a black market group that handles the sales end. I suppose the expense would depend on how rare and how in demand the item is. Rarity would be a function of how many were made and how securely the weapons are stored. If it’s so securely stored that the group must proactively acquire it through theft, that is quite expensive. And demand of course. How many organizations have need of it?
In a conflict zone or anywhere near a conflict zone such things would be available. There was a journalist in Pakistan at the start of the Afghanistan war. There were market bazaars with Rog, grenades and AK-47 out in the open. You can buy a machine gun in the US, can't get a handgun in the UK. This one is purely up to you I think. Who can argue with what your character can get hold of on Mars?
It will be a component for a powered armor suit that's purpose built for an elite group that can wear said armor. (hundreds at most) I understood the economical parts explained here. Thank you. But what about getting in touch with said black market to purchase the item in question? They don't advertise their services, so if you don't know how to find them, how do you find people that do? That's kind of the doubt I have now.
As for the military parts, there have been several cases in the US where gangs recruited young people with clean records to join the military and become quartermasters or armorers with the specific purpose of getting the keys to the good stuff. The military has safeguards in place, of course, but nothing is perfect, and there have been a couple instances when the (usually reservist) troops showed up for drill only to find their armorers permanently AWOL and their boomsticks all gone. Meeting someone unsavory? They aren't hard to find, in any city you can generally locate a bar where there's a guy who always sits in the back drinking coffee and reading the paper, or a taxi office without any cars. Were I to go looking, I know a local restaurant that runs a (presumably) illegal sports book. Due to the nature of organized crime in Japan, I have no doubt that they pay a certain amount of street tax or insurance money up the chain for their "license" to do business. The hard part is convincing the black marketeers/mobsters that you're a legitimately illegitimate customer and not some sort of cop looking to make a bust. In places with very weak law enforcement, that might be easy, but in places with more government control, I'm not sure what the best tack would be to take. Also, the problem with specialized things like powered body armor are going to be traceability and the amount of heat they'll bring. Buying a black-market revolver or shotgun in the USA? No problem, but machine guns have all been registered since the 1930s, and there haven't been any new ones made for the civilian market since 1986, so if you light up a competitor with an M-16, the cops are going to have a pretty good idea where it came from and be very motivated to find out more.
On your Mars, who handles security, government or private sector. If we ever get to Mars ( as in sending people and not automata) it is highly likely the cost would drive out government from the race. They may have a "stake" and nominally be the law. In reality though the corporations would have things their own way. That means security contractors maybe With multiple competing nationalist colonies there may be a surfiet of arms. No but they market. They have to let people know the goods are in. I have been sent 2-1 offers on drugs delivered to my door by SMS text message in the past. I don't take drugs. I live in a massively regulated and lawful country. Context is key. Why is your character on world? What supporting characters are there? Are ( or can ) they be connected to the criminal underworld / revolution / independence party? What is the nature of military conflict between groups? Also who makes the parts and where? Shipped in? Then the customs guys are the way in Made in world? The manufacturer. Or rival groups, if your character intends to use the suit against the American colony, maybe the Chinese or russian counterparty would provide it to sow a little deniable chaos / terrorism
@Manuforti ImI glad you like it. Your feedback so far has been on point, thank you. The MC is american, however he works for a small country created on Mars by a wealthy engineer. He'll be lost in an uncharted area trying to find someone in an area that is disputed by muktiple powers. Thats when hellh need the component for his suit.
Yeah but cyber goth as well. So.... A little bit of the Dark Knight? Eccentric Chinese American survivalist out in the wilds of Mars who has rigged up a habitat in a meteor crater. American duck hunter type, camping out on the slopes of Olympus Mons, hunting Martian Bigfoot. Apocalyptic Russian- Martian cult leader, believes supporting the MC will trigger a political crisis. Soooo much fun...
If this is a disupted zone, maybe the component (or something similar) could be scavenged from a battlefield, or found with someone who's already looted it?
The "engineer" could create it for him. Accessing the Black Market is more a matter of who you know and who that person knows. It's like an onion that gets peeled until you are at the center or the dealer.
