The Puppeteers' renown for honesty in trading allowed the species to accumulate an expansive mercantile empire called General Products; since the human Bronze Age, the Puppeteers have ruled this empire including every race in the 60-LY sphere of Known Space. One of the most important items sold by General Products is the General Products Hull for spaceships. As one might expect from a Puppeteer, such a hull is completely impervious to everything except antimatter (which is not highly advertised but covered by a company warranty); the hull is transparent to visible light which can be alleviated by polarization or complete opacity; tidal forces and extreme gravitational force will not affect the hull but can kill the occupants, unless nullified by variable cabin gravity. The hulls are advertised as being capable of flying through the upper atmosphere of a star unscathed, although the contents will be cooked; as a protection against this particular contingency, the Puppeteers also provide a stasis field.