The so called Desert People are a distinct, extreme and nomadic subculture of the Humans in the Gamma Age. Unwilling to conform to the laws and regulations of the Federal Confederation but also avoiding a criminal status like the Outlaws , they have chosen a life of self-imposed exile on the inhospitable Desert Side of planet VOI 700 D.

The Desert People are staunch individualists who reject the confines of both the Communard and Individualist ideologies. Their philosophy is often described as radical autonomy, emphasizing complete self-reliance and minimal interference in the lives of others. They view the Desert Side as the ultimate test of human endurance and adaptability, a place where only the strongest can survive.

The Desert People have adapted a nomadic lifestyle, designed for mobility and minimal footprint, primarily to evade detection by the authorities of the Federal Confederation. A permanent settlement would make them vulnerable, so they continually move, often with no pattern that authorities could predict. But as radical individualists they do not live in an tribe or community alike organization. They live more like autonomous entities which cooperate with another.

• Self-sufficiency: Every individual is a jack-of-all-trades, skilled in rudimentary medicine, basic mechanical repairs, and essential survival techniques.

• Moisture Harvesters: Each Desert Person owns a moisture harvester. These are rudimentary but effective, typically fashioned from scavenged materials and buried to collect dew or condensation during the cooler hours.

• Natural Communication: Instead of relying on technical devices, the Desert People have established a system of coded signals using mirrors and smoke to warn each other about approaching dangers, such as Federal Deputies or predatory creatures. This method utilizes natural elements and is discreet enough to evade detection from the more technologically advanced civilization.

• Scavenged Solar Technology: There are a total of 20 solar chargers that the tribe has scavenged from the crash site of the spaceship Last Frontier. These are hidden in special, secret caches in the desert, away from their temporary encampments. They are communal property and are only used in emergency situations (like electronic splints for broken bones or digital diagnostic tools) or to power crafting tools used to repair or manufacture essential gear like moisture harvesters, simple weapons, or clothing.

The Desert People operate in a legal gray area, strictly speaking in violation of the terms of the Peace Treaty with the Native Tribes, which restricts human habitation to designated reservations. Despite this illegality, enforcement has been lax for several reasons:

• Resource Limitations: The office of the Federal Sheriff, burdened by a scarcity of deputies, finds it impractical to allocate substantial resources to apprehending the Desert People.
• Evasion Skills: The Desert People are intimately familiar with the Desert Side's harsh terrain and are adept at evading capture, turning any enforcement attempts into complex games of hide and seek.
• Stable Population: The number of Desert People has not been increasing significantly, reducing the urgency for the Federal Confederation to intervene.
• Non-disruptive Nature: The Desert People neither engage in criminal activity nor pose any harm to the Native Tribes or to other human communities, further diminishing the priority of their capture in the eyes of the Federal Confederation.

Given these factors, neither the Native Tribes nor the Federal Confederation have taken serious steps to remove the Desert People from the Desert Side. Although the Federal Sheriff initially made efforts to enforce the terms of the Peace Treaty, the complexities mentioned above have made it increasingly impractical to do so.

The human society and social subcultures in the Gamma Age