There are three ways to get in trouble in far reaches of Outer Space. One is by killing someone, as that law is universal. The second is to sell something which you don't own. If you can’t prove a thing is yours, it's better to barter it for something else. Goods can be traced once creds are involved in a transaction, and if they're traced back to someone other than their rightful owner, all persons involved risk going to jail.

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  But these two paths to a court date with the magistrate pale in comparison to the third. If any person transports a genetically modified plant or animal bred specifically for one planet to another, any citizen has the right—and some say the obligation—to shoot to kill. Terraforming has transformed dozens of planets and moons and asteroids into habitable worlds for all Mankind, and a critter bioengineered for one world set loose upon another could mean the death of everything.

  Everyone, and every thing.