Bad habits that die hard: Smoking in the Wing Commander universe.

[-danr-]

Don't think this topic has been thrown up before. Yesterday, during a game of Privateer, I started pondering about the use of Tobacco in the WC universe, and figured it's worth talking about given the number of times it pops up. So, if anyone can add to the list, these are the references to cigs that I've found so far:

Hunter (2654) - Seen to be smoking what appears to be a cigar/cigarillo in the Rec room of the Tiger's Claw. St. John was always portrayed as a maverick - particularly in WC1, but there's no way he'd get away with smoking aboard a frontline carrier were it not permitted. Interestingly, his cig appears to have been removed in the SNES version. Deductable canon: Smoking was legal aboard (at least one or some) Confed ships by 2654.

Downtown (2665) - Seen to be smoking at the Niven base, no mention is made to the substance, nor is he seen to be doing it at any point aboard the Concordia.

Hunter & others (2668) - From Fleet Action:

Richards led them over to his command booth and offered a couple of cups of coffee to his guests. Jason noticed that these people seemed to live on Caffeine, and a fair number of them were addicted to Ian's habit of tobacco, a practise he found totally mystifying and somewhat disgusting.

This possibly confirms that whatever Hunter was smoking 14 years before aboard the 'Claw was a Tobacco product, rather than some 27th century alternative. That said, the above quote makes no reference to the Tobacco actually being smoked (instead of say, chewed) the second reference however, is perhaps clearer:

Doomsday - Fleet Action, (2668)

Doomsday pulled out a lighter and puffed the cigar to life, Kruger, Richards and Paladin cursed him as they poured another drink.

Deductible canon: Smoking appears to be permitted aboard Landreich vessels, and it's definitely Tobacco.

Privateer - (2669) The guild master in the Merchants' Guild office appears to be puffing, or chewing on a cigar. Curiously though, Tobacco is classified as contraband by the Gemini Insys and Confed, and is available for purchase and smuggling from the pirate bases.

Deductible, er, conjecture: Tobacco is to some degree illegal. POSSIBLY it is only legally available from regulated outlets, hence (as in real life) smuggling and selling the product yourself is outlawed. Another possibility is that Tobacco is only illegal in the Gemini Sector. This would indicate the Guild master is either flaunting the rules, or that by 2669, all of Confed Space was smoke free - which might figure, since we see no smoking in WCIII, IV or Prophecy.

Can anyone find any more references to cigarettes/tobacco anywhere in the games, fiction, or academy series?

 

[HotJob]

Ah, Gemini Sector. My home...

According to page 42 of the Privateer manual, tobacco is not legal, but you can sell everywhere except New Constantinople and Perry Naval Station. Canon claims it is because the entire system is automated. Canon ALSO claims that each Commodity Exchange is state run. To me, this says that each individual planet or station runs the the Commodity Exchange, which CAN be programmed to reject contraband transactions, but Confed and In-System Security (InSys) runs space cargo laws. Thus it seems logical to presume that each individual planet decides if tobacco is legal although Confed has decreed that tobacco cannot be transported between planets or used by Confed personnel (thus the ban on Perry).

Reconciling the Fleet Action, Heart of the Tiger, and Privateer timelines, it seems to me that tobacco was banned by Confed sometime in 2668 to 2669. Maybe immediately after the Battle of Terra, when a bunch of war resolutions were being passed? It might still be up to each planet to decide if tobacco were legal, and the Landreich might keep tobacco legal just because The Terran Confederation had banned it.

Got any Brilliance? Want some?

 

[Bandit LOAF]

Re: Hunter and Fleet Action. Hunter's cigar is interesting because the novels really do a lot with that little graphic of him at his table with a cigar. Fleet Action actually turns it into a pretty emotional arc.

Kevin notes that he finally understands Huter's "disgusting" habit of chewing on a cigar when he's in a tight spot. Then Hunter takes out his cigar and chews it when he knows he's about to die. Then we have Doomsday who was given a cigar by Hunter earlier chewing on it into battle at Hell Hole as a talisman... and then finally smoking what's left of it at the end of the book. Bear calls it 'mystifying and somewhat disgusting,' Kevin calls it disgusting and then Kruger, Richards and Paladin all 'curse' Doomsday for smoking at the end.

I don't think you can draw much of a conclusion about the end of the book with regards to anything as specific as smoking being allowed on Landreich ships... it's all just friendly banter. (Also, they're not on a Landreich ship, they're on the Concordia. It's more of a joke about passing the buck on Tolwyn's part.)

Peter Telep also picked up on this, and Hunter's 'habit of chewing an unlit cigar' makes an appearance throughout the movie novelization (and once in Pilgrim Stars.) There's even a scene where Blair makes fun of it.

That said, there's no question that he smokes his cigars and that they're tobacco. It's mentioned throughout Freedom Flight and he even explains to K'Kai at one point:

"A cigar," he explained. "Uh... dried tobacco leaves. You burn it and inhale the smoke. It's relaxing, like drinking alcoholic beverages. It isn't good for you, though... I'd say that smoking will kill me eventually, but I'm sure the Kilrathi will get me first."

He also notes at one point that the rest of the crew doesn't understand his habit.

Some other references from the novels (a few aren't to *smoking*, but to the terminology being used by the characters in other situations... which I think is important to note because it speaks to the idea that it's not something that's left the general culture):

- Two of the corvette crew in Milk Run smoke cigarettes. There's a "smoking lamp" which is supposed to clear the atmosphere (but doesn't work properly anymore.)

- "Many" of the crew operating the DS5 have Hunter's tobcco habit (you quoted this one, but didn't mention it was folks other than Hunter.)

- Another big one is Pliers' chewing tobacco, which seems to disgust Blair throughout the novel.

- Admiral Tolwyn is smoking a cigar in the Wing Commander IV novelization when he's first captured by the Border Worlds.

- Blair's inner monologue calls the Vesuvius' bays "cigar shaped."

- Turner smokes a pipe when he first meets Tolwyn and Richards.

- Sergeant Major Ulandi smokes cigars. After learning about the kilrathi plans he lights a cigar and specifically notes that it's "against regs to smoke it inside, but what the hell." He smokes another cigar ouside later, waiting to watch the Kilrathi bomb McAuliffe. At the end of the novel, having survived, he splits a final cigar in half to share it with Turner.

- The Landreich president's unnamed aide/crew chief is chewing an unlit cigar after reporting about repairs to the Lazarus.

- Igor, the gunner on the Phantom, is chewing tobacco when he dies.

- The helmsman of the Sindri makes a joke about not even getting to smoke a cigarette afterwards when they dock Karga. The captain calls it an ancient joke.

- Paladin explains the effects of a Pilgrim drug to Blair at one point, saying it has "a calming effect, similar to tobacco."

- Merlin, Blair's little hologram pal, smokes a "meerschaum tobacco pipe" in Pilgrim Truth.

Re: Gemini. My Privateer manual doesn't specifically mention tobacco, just says that drugs and slaves are contraband. I think it's entirely possible, though, that the illegallity isn't so much use as it is simply a Privateer buying/selling/transporting it.

 

[Quarto]

There are many things today that are legal to possess, but restricted in trade - for example, alcohol and, well, tobacco. In most countries, you need a special permit to produce and/or sell alcohol, and the same goes with tobacco. Keep in mind, long before the 20th century made possession of various substances illegal, 'contraband' had a somewhat different meaning - it just meant that you were smuggling and selling your cargo without the government's knowledge, and therefore without paying the relevant taxes, or without an appropriate license.

 

[-danr-]

Great posts everybody! Can't believe I missed all the Price of Freedom references, but reminding me of Tolwyn's capture has given me the urge to re-read it. I seem to recall being let down by Blair's portrayal as such a booze troubled weakling, but then again I was 16 last time I read it, and would probably have more of a mature outlook on the story this time around. I'll lose some fan-points with LOAF for this but I've never read Pilgrim Stars, or Milk Run for that matter, maybe I should go with them first.

I don't think you can draw much of a conclusion about the end of the book with regards to anything as specific as smoking being allowed on Landreich ships... it's all just friendly banter.

IIRC, the first reference to Tobacco is aboard the Tarawa just after they've set off, but at this point it's not specified as smoking.

There are many things today that are legal to possess, but restricted in trade - for example, alcohol and, well, tobacco. In most countries, you need a special permit to produce and/or sell alcohol, and the same goes with tobacco. Keep in mind, long before the 20th century made possession of various substances illegal, 'contraband' had a somewhat different meaning - it just meant that you were smuggling and selling your cargo without the government's knowledge, and therefore without paying the relevant taxes, or without an appropriate license.

So as I deduced, kind of like real life on Earth - one can buy cigarettes anywhere, but it's a widespread practise in the UK to take one's car across to mainland Europe, load up cheap cigarettes (they're less taxed on the continent) and return to Britain to either illegally sell them to your friends, or have a cheap stash for yourself. The government has really started clamping down on this lately, there are even billboards and posters that have started popping up on street corners and motorways signs.

Got any Brilliance? Want some?

Thanks but I'm more of an Ultimate man, bigger bucks for a shipful if you can make it to New Detroit. Nice Avatar BTW! The Galaxy is one of my all time favourite ships, always put me in mind of the Millenium Falcon.