Hygiene is not something we think about very often, and even when we do think about it, it is in the context of space flight, where every cubic centimeter of space in a ship is valuable. Before the invention of the fresher, beings had to dispose of waste and deal with hygienic concerns in different ways. Waste takes on different forms depending on the species, but let's not also forget different cultural and even religious standards for how we treat such materials.
And even from the context of waste disposal, there are still other hygienic needs that need to be met. Many species require bathing, which itself can take on many forms. Laundry is a concern as well. Even things like taking care of one's teeth, beak, and snout requires the usage of space within a limited area such as a space ship.
What do all of these things tend to have in common, however?
Water.
Water is a necessity for every species in the galaxy and water is absolutely vital for space travel. Water is such a necessity that ships require entire water tankards and water reclamation systems that can provide for an entire crew and then some.
The fresher's impact on space travel cannot be overstated. The fresher, originally designed by Alvalon Drive Dynamics around 130PD, was at first a simple thought experiment by a group of engineers trying to figure out the best way to compartmentalize all the necessary utilities needed by a spacer in as small a space as possible. Soon enough, ships developed by Alvalon Drive Dynamics began to include freshers as a standard item of equipment for their ships. The technology became so demanded that the company eventually split off fresher development into its own program and licensed designs and sold consumer-level units to those who needed them, including other ship works.
What made the fresher so, for a lack of a better word, attractive, was that these cubic chambers were able to handle a vast majority of what an individual would need for personal comfort. That included bathing, necessary waste disposal, and laundry, all in a single enclosed unit. Even more important was that these freshers were self-contained systems that used rudimentary AI, not only for the fresher's functions but recycling the water. Freshers, while having their own tanks, generally, are remarkably water-efficient, utilizing multi-level recycling processes to reclaim a great deal of spent water with no hint of such water having been recycled.
This is all while freshers have become more affordable and reduced in the necessary space required. When Alvalon Drive Dynamics was obligated to put their first fresher model schematics into the public domain by the Alliance it led to a boom of engineering resulting in a bustling market. The fresher, by then, had become an important element to troop morale and hygiene across all sides of the Diving War a couple of decades later.
While early freshers were a technological leap, they have only become more convenient as technology has developed. For singular freshers, the AI systems are now capable of using biometric profiles to customize usage as needed by any anatomical and environmental concerns. Some freshers are on the market with various adaptors and multi-form fixtures to accommodate any method of... evacuation. There are even deluxe freshers that are moving into the market that include more powerful laundering technology allowing for the simultaneous cleaning of two to even three articles of clothing.
What is most exciting is the emergence of diagnostic freshers that utilize AI to tend to illness in an environment that can be sterilized instantly. There is some hesitation in some parts of the galaxy regarding the increasing usage of such AI, but the prospect of a fresher that can diagnose the flu and begin treating it as part of a morning constitutional process just goes to show the march of technology.
Over the past two centuries, the fresher has all but replaced the traditional bathing and waste-relieving structures of the past. Those older solutions to galactic hygiene are either a sign of antiquation, or of status, where access to water is not a concern. Laundry systems are still around to deal with laundry on a vast scale, of course, as a fresher can only handle a single item at a time. But, for the most part, freshers are a universal part of life in the Silver Spiral. Everywhere from starships, to hostels, to offices, and private residences either has one or several freshers.
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