Space Cows

In 2086, in the early days before the establishment of Aetherial and the recognition of Belter as a national identity; a geneticist couple Mary and John O’Raven, decided to seek a more simple life in the asteroid 'outback'. Their ship, the Freedom Flown, had a uranium nuclear core that powered their lab and left them with surplus energy. The ship itself was mostly a lab where they began modifying crops to use in space. Within a few years they had been able to grow corn and potatoes in pressurised glass bubbles left out in space. They chose to only barter for what they need, asking only for what people could afford to give, often saving other Belters from starvation. They became very popular and prospered in the heart of the outback community with the first 'space farm'. They were the last generation wide eyed enough to put the word 'space' in front of everything they did.

In 2097 they had secured the purchase of two glass domes and in it, created their first space cow. Like all the plants, the space cow requires the same atmospheric pressure found on earth to live normally, but can survive briefly in zero pressure. They are also designed to live in a zero g environment, happily floating around with other cows. Their legs are short and stumpy but quite thick with excellent meat. Their skin is thick and tough in Jersey brown colours in a Friesian pattern, creating the Raven breed as named by the industry some time later. Incidentally Mary and John only wanted to call them 'space cows' and were disappointed the industry dropped the 'O' from their name. The cows themselves have an extra set of very strong muscles providing an ability to close their nose and ears so they can be completely unharmed if spaced. The cows can also compress the methane gas in their stomachs and so can float about if a little gravity is acting on the atmosphere, like on a dwarf planet. They can also burp and fart in a way as to provide propulsion.

If spaced, the cows still need to breathe oxygen, so they hold their breath until either they die or atmosphere is re-established. They can also have a cow helmet placed over their head and so a herd can easily move between ships providing one of the most surreal sights humanity has ever seen. Space cows love eating grass and being milked. Either makes them very happy. All in all, space cows are very happy in herd, look incredibly cute and are incredibly funny, the way they fart around and wiggle their little legs.

Outraged at the genetic engineering and supposed animal cruelty, the animal rights group Life Paramount was setup, looking to ban the use of these cows. They adopted the space cow as their emblem, which was a colossal marketing mistake as it encouraged farming; and their demands for banning slaughter was met with threats to engineer a short lifespan so every year some of the herd would die of natural causes.