In Commonwealth City, money does not decide who lives.
Housing, food access, healthcare, transit, and baseline cybernetics are guaranteed by civic infrastructure. Currency exists to regulate scarcity, preference, speed, and influence—not survival.
This distinction shapes the entire economy.
The City does not claim money is meaningless.
It refuses to let money become authority.
Currency measures:
Convenience
Customization
Privacy
Priority
Influence
Currency does not determine:
Citizenship
Legal protection
Access to survival systems
Ownership of infrastructure
The right to exist
Money creates advantages, not immunity.
Commonwealth City uses a layered currency model to keep everyday life fluid while preventing wealth from concentrating unchecked power.
High-Level Currency
Credits represent leverage, not ownership.
They are used for:
High-end or experimental cyberware
Rare or restricted equipment
Specialized professional services
Large-scale fabrication or customization
Long-term or high-risk contracts
Influence-adjacent transactions
Characteristics
Primarily digital
Heavily audited
Large balances trigger review
Can be delayed or frozen, but not seized without due process
Social Reality
Credits do not make you powerful.
They make you visible.
Everyday Currency
Marks are the most common unit of exchange.
They are used for:
Daily goods and services
Personal equipment
Entertainment
Craft labor
Transportation upgrades
Informal agreements
Characteristics
Digital-first, with optional physical tokens
Accepted almost everywhere
Light oversight
Frequently pooled within cooperatives or communities
Social Reality
Marks are how most people live comfortably.
They are functional, not aspirational.
Micro-Currency
Chits are designed for fast, low-friction exchange.
They are used for:
Street vendors and vending systems
Tips and gratuities
Minor favors
Temporary access
Informal transactions
Characteristics
Minimal oversight
Often anonymous
Frequently expire
Easy to counterfeit, easy to ignore
Social Reality
Chits are the language of the street.
They move constantly, but rarely accumulate.
Some of the most important forms of power cannot be bought.
Priority within civic systems:
Faster approvals
Restricted areas
Specialized services
Access is granted, earned, or revoked independently of currency.
Tracked socially, not centrally.
Determines who will work with you
Matters more than money in many districts
Cannot be directly purchased
Informal obligations between individuals or groups.
Not legally enforceable
Socially binding
Dangerous to default on
Currency behaves differently depending on location.
The Core: Credits dominate; transactions are slow and visible
Harborline: Marks and Credits mix; logistics outweigh price
Stackside: Marks, favors, and reputation matter most
Oldstone: Credits buy influence indirectly through institutions
Neon Row: Marks flow freely; attention often replaces payment
The Grayline: Access and favors outweigh currency
The Fringe: Chits, favors, and black-market value rule
Illegal economies do not replace official currency—they overlay it.
Common practices include:
Credit laundering through cooperatives
Mark pooling to obscure origin
Chit duplication and token spoofing
Favor chains that bypass money entirely
The City tolerates limited shadow activity because eliminating it would damage trust and functionality.
Commonwealth City does not cap how much wealth a person can hold.
It caps what wealth can do.
No amount of money can legally buy:
Citizenship
Control of public infrastructure
Exemption from law
Permanent authority
Another person
Attempts to do so are treated as systemic threats, not simple crimes.
Money still matters in the Unowned City.
It buys comfort, speed, and leverage.
It does not buy safety from consequence.
That is why people still want more of it.