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Contact Light: A universe of rainbow imperialism

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Lampsland
The Division of Lampsland is at once quiet, yet disorientingly eerie. Dominated by rich fertile plains, it has became one of the local breadbasket regions for the general sector, and has generally developed a reputation for being "the quiet place". People who want to retire go there

But there is a secret within Lampsland that locals Do Not Want To Talk About. Hmm, very insistent. The place is generally nice, the food filling, the politics generally "sensible" and kind of boring. Right? Right?

Division Assembly of Lampsland
I'm reliably told that this place has 201 seats. A nice low number for a reasonably populated but rural place. The woman who told me, has introduced herself as Crystal Douglas-Home, the leader of the Liberal Party (106 seats), and the Governor of this place. She has been very willing to show me around, as I've persuaded the Symphonian Government to send me around the planet of Rutland as a general envoy. Upon being asked what the Liberals were like, as I'm aware that Liberalism covers a lot of varying views, Douglas-Home explained it as "freedom to be" - freedom to be what you want to be, freedom to establish business, freedom to prosper. Upon prodding, she ultimately said "socially moderately-liberal, fiscally conservative with liberal mentality" which satisfied my curiousity

Entering the office of the Leader of the Opposition, one Warren Dubois, the man himself rose to shake my hand. The leader of the rather long-winded Social Democratic and Labour Party (41 seats) [although he said everyone calls them the Social Democrats] was in a generally defeated mood the day, which he explained away by the flagging poll numbers - "Douglas-Home is popular. Unfortunately". Upon being asked what the SDL was all about, he went into a lyrical retelling of the SDL standing and fighting for rural and urban workers, their paychecks, their right to unionise, all of that, before finally concluding with a "or at least that's what we sell ourselves on. We're basically the anti-Liberal party at this point". Upon me asking him if there were a Conservative party, as most places I've been to had them, Dubois grimaced and nodded "they're the third biggest party. Their office is across the street" before wishing to move on to better things such as why I was there as the envoy

Suzie Bellamy, the leader of the Conservative Party (21 seats), was not in the office that day, but I managed to get a call on my eyephone with her. She sounded mildly annoyed, but trying to not show it. She was apparently working in the field that day "unlike those city slickers Home and Dubois". Upon my introducing myself as the envoy from the Imperial Government, she asked me rather bluntly "have you any experience of anywhere that isn't that ridiculously huge city?" meaning Oruscat, the capital. I said that I was originally from a place in the suburbs but she interrupted me with a "so, not really" then moved on to "the questions you probably want to ask me". I asked her what the Conservatives stood for. And she gave me a fairly... well "radical"-tinted answer, talking about "the voice of the rural people, ignored by the city slickers. We stand up for values, for morality, for basic decency against social engineering and merciless cuts". Thanking her for her time, I went back to Douglas-Home [by this time eating her lunch and slightly irked at my inconvenient timing] what and where the fourth party of politics were - I was determined to find all parties and understand them so that I could understand the politics of a division I would be a regular visitor to

This was the Farmers and Fishermen League (12 seats). I instinctively felt that I was moving on from the "major" parties to the smaller ones when I entered their office and found a lot of rural-y and maritime-y posters around but not a lot of people. One man was there, a portly but sweet-disposed figure who introduced himself as Tony Wiebe, the leader of the FFL - "I heard you would want to talk to me, so I stayed around". How considerate of him. I told him that I've endured a rant from Bellamy about rural concerns and how the Conservatives were standing up for it. How is the FFL any different? He chuckled and told me that while the Conservatives stood for rural conservatism, leaving farmers alone, they were also the party most opposed to the idea of farming alliances, co-operatives and generally anything that violated their sense of conservatism. Upon me also pointing out that I heard Dubois talk on about standing up for farmers too, Wiebe explained that the FFL stood for the "middle way" between the right-wing Conservatives and left-wing SDL, as contrasting to the more urban Liberals. "Of course... that was in the past. Now?" he said, sighing. The Liberals' popularity must have dealt a big hit to the FFL's whole raison d'etre. Making excuses, I left

Exiting the FFL building, I crashed into a muscular black-shirted woman who said in a firm voice "Our Leader would like to see you". Upon my protestations, she lifted me up and threw me in the back seat of a car that immediately left. Upon our arrival to the destination, a suave bearded man opened the door and said in a gentle voice "My sincere apologies if Martha hurt you in any way, I expressly told her to be light", and then introduced himself as Jay Reilly, leader of the National Society (8 seats). "You may have heard of us as the Shirtless Ones. That was our moniker back when we were under different management". Recalling Dubois' muttering of them as "fascists, the whole lot of them", my approach was to be extremely diplomatic given what I already experienced. Asking him what the National Society stood for, he insisted on it being done over a meal which he furnished for us. Eating on rich Lampslander food, he described the NS' purpose as "standing for purity in an impure world, for truth in a truthless world, for values in a world that lost them" and emphasised that the NS was not a terrorist party which made me think they were one more. After our meal was finished, he told me "the next party you want to see is the commies. They're known as Voice of the something. The driver knows where they are, so just tell her to drive you there". Reilly is a nice man, but he leads a very dubious party

The headquarters of the next party was obvious. It was draped in red with symbols everywhere. The driver stopped a block away and dropped me off, before leaving. I entered the headquarters and was met by people in berets - "Halt, comrade. State your business". I explained to them that I was the envoy and I understood that I could meet the leader. After a while waiting and arguing between themselves what was the "proletariat" thing to do, they let me in. "Hello, comrade! Welcome! Sit down!" a dark-haired woman in a black shirt and bomber jacket topped by a red beret shouted to me and I obeyed her command. She introduced herself as Daisy Fitzroy, leader of the Voice of the Many (5 seats). Well, not technically leader, more something like "general secretary of the committee of the whatever", but "everyone treats me as the leader anyway". Upon on being asked what her party was about, in her words, she gladly told me "Communism! We stand for the liberation of the workers, as told so in the People's Manifesto! We follow Utkinite-Sonnenist thought very closely, as it is the answer to all our problems!". Well, I should have expected that. But her face turned less glad and asked me what purpose I was there. After I finished explaining that I was the envoy from the Empire, she said that I was a bourgeois agent and should leave at once. Well, I certainly obliged her request! But I couldn't help but ask what was the next smallest party after them. "The Scepticals. They're a bunch of bourgeois scum. They annoy us by having their building right opposite us. Fuck them"

Crossing the street while wondering why parties here set up headquarters very close to each other, I immediately saw that it was very sleek and modern, as contrast with the communists' more "archaic" set-up. There was even a receptionist. I asked if I could see the party leader and I was informed that she was at the Assembly. Nodding, I asked for a car to go there and the receptionist told me it was only five minutes walk. So that was why the buildings were so close. Walking there, I saw a tall, thin woman in a well-fitted suit exit. "Ah, you must be the envoy that others have told me of!" she said as she approached me. Introducing herself as Angie Ebdon, leader of the Sceptical Unionist Party (4 seats), she gestured to a near park and said "It's such a beautiful day. Why spend it indoors?". Nodding, we walked to a park bench and sat down. "So, I gather you've been asking others what their parties are like. Well, here's what my Scepticals are like. We are generally against radicalism. We want slow, steady, well-considered reforms. We don't want to repeal everything. We don't want to change everything. We want sustainable change, change that forms a consensus". Upon being asked why they're not Liberals or Conservatives, Ebdon chuckled and said "The Liberals are too wedded to liberal dogma, the Conservatives have nothing in common with us any longer. It's why we left". After a while conversing, I glanced down at my notebook and noticed that there were four more seats. One last party? Asking Ebdon of this, she stiffed up and firmly shook her head - "No. No such party exists. Those four are just independents, not worth your time". Sensing that something was up, I accepted her request and finished the talk

It took me hours of investigation, and the twin moons were now above me, but I found those four seats belonged to a party. Nobody were willing to tell me, insisting "it's just independents" or "you're mistaken". Douglas-Home even told me "I said 197, not 201" contradicting what I wrote down at the time. But when I reached Reilly, he just shook his head and sighed "You're going to regret it. But I can see you won't give up. My driver has been told to deliver you to... them. May the Gods have mercy on your soul". This from a leader of a fascist party, it made me momentarily reconsider my decision, but I forged on and entered the car which drove me out of the city and into the plains. There was a bonfire surrounded by hooded people in the distance that kept getting closer and closer until it was here. The driver shoved me out of the car and left suddenly

What fresh hell did I get myself into? The hooded people turned their heads at me. I stood up and shook the dust off my body before approaching them. "I... I'm the envoy to Rutland from Symphonia... I understand this is the smallest party in the Assembly?" I said nervously. A hooded figure came closer to me and lifted their hood to reveal a shaven-haired woman. "Hello. We have been expecting you". This once-hooded woman refused to tell me her name, but told me that she was the chief priest of the Pact of the Many-Eyed One (4 seats). Shakily asking her what was her party about, she told me quite frankly "protecting Lampsland from the Many-Eyed One's wrath". Pressing on, I asked her what that meant, hoping against hope that it was just some boring centrist party with a fetish for roleplaying. "Blood has to be shed to appease Them". What blood? Sensing my unspoken question, the woman gestured to a poor tied-up child, freshly killed and his blood draining in a bowl. Oh God! "Are you going to tell what you have seen here?" one of the hooded figures said. The leader added on to this by saying "Everyone in Lampsland knows of this price. They will not help you if you decide to go against us". So this was why the place felt eerie. "What is your decision?" My entire body shook as I felt violently sick at what I just witnessed. I said "i... I won't tell". The hooded figures then turned around to face the bonfire. The leader faced me as I fell unconscious before her

I woke up in the hospital, my body dead of any curiousity. I had enough of this place. I wanted to leave. Governor Douglas-Home shook her head and said "You should have listened" before confirming that arrangements have been made for my journey out of Lampsland
 
Okay, I was going to do something about an earl who somehow became first minister of Nekomimia despite being a Basic, but I'm stuck on the writing of that and I frankly need to write something more uplifting after the really shit societies I came up with in the past

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Malvina Port
I've been to many places, including... *shudders* Lampsland where there was something awful about it. Malvina Port? As much as I try, the place just seems... nice. Welcoming. It's the most awful thing about the place for me, that I feel tense about possibly finding something that makes the place look terrible and yet... never find any. The people are hospitable, the climate warm yet not overwhelmingly so, and their politics... charming?

On my fifth day here, I met with the mayor of Malvina Port, a chap by the name of Michael Vaughan. Radiating an aura of simple contentedness, he shook my hand and ushered me into his favourite place to eat, a small pastaria owned by his family for generations. After we ordered our meals, I decided to ask him "What's wrong with this place? I've been to places with towering slums, places brimming with sectarian tensions, places of bigoted imperialism, places where cults are behind it all. What's the big secret behind Malvina Port?". The man was disturbed by my attitude, but chose to answer it rather simply "The tourist money isn't going around equally. But we're working on that. It's why I was elected after all", finishing his statement with a smile that asked of me was that satisfactory? I struggled to come up with a reply before our meals arrived

Malvinian food isn't as filling as Lampslander food, but it sure is more... interesting in flavour, and in a good way. While Lampslander food were intense, they tended to be constant while Malvinian food played with your senses much more. I decided to ask the mayor what were the politics like, and he smiled at that - he was a man who smiled a lot - and nodded before wiping his mouth and starting to explain

Senate of the City and County of Malvina Port
"Well, there's 55 seats in our Senate. It represents the whole of Malvina Port and all of its citizens. The biggest is the party I was elected Mayor from - Malvina in Common (28 seats). It's a party that seeks to argue for generally direct democratic reforms and redistribution of tourist income so that we can invest into more poor parts of our beautiful city. We're actually a fairly new party, only first won power last election and all, so we might come across as a bit inexperienced, but we know our stuff" Sounds like a left-wing radical party

"Our opponents tend to be the Business Party (17 seats), which tends to be for big business and opposed to any reforms we do. They think we'll drive off any investors and crash tourism with what we're proposing, which I personally find to be bullshit, we've done studies and studies and they all say that investment back in the city means more people will be appealed to come" A bog-standard conservative party?

"Now, the party that really hates us the most? That's the Liberal Party (6 seats). Before we came along, they were the main party that wasn't Business, and they... let just say they weren't the best at representing the working-class of this city. They did some controversial things, like authorising the bulldozing of a working-class neighbourhood to make way for condos. That was one of the things we campaigned against, and I'm proud to say that it was the first thing cancelled on my first day" A centrist bourgeois liberal party?

"Of course, the Business Party is the conservative party. But the more reactionary element has gone their own way and formed a party that I think is called the Historical Union (3 seats). Perhaps not that. I'm recollecting from memory and I generally don't pay attention to them. They were the ones screaming at me on my first day and I just laughed in their faces as I entered City Hall! I don't think anyone pays any attention to them honestly. They're sort of a joke at this point" Historical? Clearly an isolationist and culturally reactionary party

"Ah, waiter, can you get us the bill? Oh now where was I? Oh yes. The last party is our awkward ally and the party that used to represent working-class interests before we pulled the carpet from before their feet, the Democratic Party (1 seat). They're kind of boring. Used to be the party of unions, now they're the party of nothing but old has-beens who grumble that we're too inexperienced" A bog-standard soc-dem party?

"That's it. That's all of our parties."
"But... no secret weird cults?"
"Not that I know of. Goodness, what did Lampsland do to you?"
"I..."
"Go back to your hotel, you deserve a long rest from what you've told me already"
 
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Hiverner
Every day I wake up here, I regret not staying in Malvina Port. Oh, it isn't because of the people here. It's this climate. It's just so cold. I can't understand why they live here. Actually, I lied. The people here aren't as welcoming as the ones in Malvina Port. They just seem to see me as a nuisance and wish I would leave the place. Seeking to resolve this, I went to the Jarl

The Jarl of Hiverner is a thick-set, heavy-bearded man with an incredibly deep voice. He nodded at me as I entered his grand hall. I had two questions for him. First, as the envoy from the Empire, why was the people so incredibly disrespectful to such an esteemed figure as I?

"Well. We here in Hiverner treat others like they treat us. You hate this place and we know it. So we treat you with the minimum possible respect because you don't respect us or our home. Write off to Oruscat about this, it's the truth and I stand by it". Taken aback by his burlish manner, I decided to speak back by saying "In the Empire, you respect envoys and-" "And in Hiverner, that's not how respect works"

Already ill-disposed towards the Jarl, I decided to move on to my second question "You were the only contact I was given. Is there any democracy here or is it an absolute monarchy where you rule with an iron fist? Because if it's the second, Oruscat will be very interes-"

"Shut up."

"In this Empire, we expe-"

"Hiverner is a parliamentary democracy. We elect people to our Thing. They turn to me for unofficial guidance, but it's primarily your people who think we're absolute. I could give you the contact of the State-Minister, but she might not want to talk to you"

"She doesn't have a ch-"

"Oh fuck off, will you? Here's her contact, just go away and leave me in peace, you unpleasant piece of shit!" he said as he shoved me towards the door and back into the cold, cold damned hell I was condemned to. I would leave, but after hearing of my finding out of political parties and factions, the Ministry of Harmony and Unity got interested and asked me to do those for every place I went to. Fuck the Ministry

Walking towards a door the Jarl gave me directions to, I knocked on the door. What sort of woman was the State-Minister? Probably unpleasant like the whole lot of them. The door opened and a tall, somewhat slim, strikingly-bright blonde woman said "So, who are you?"

***

"Ah. Well, you could have been nicer." "It was this weather." "You have to get used to it." etcetera. Finally I sat down in a thick, comfortable chair and the State-Minister sat opposite me and said "So, why are you here? The last time we had an envoy was hundreds of years ago"

How the hell do I tell her I was filthy rich and decided to take on this job as a way to pass the time? Or that I originally applied for it when blind drunk and as a dare from my friends? "I wanted to see different places I was unfamiliar to" was the answer that finally went out of my mouth

She chuckled and said "That was the answer the last envoy said too. So, any questions about this place?" She sat back with a smug smile on her mouth, waiting to see what I would say. "I... Is there any political parties here?"

She laughed at that. "Of course! We're not some backwards place!"

Thing of the Realm of Hiverner
"We have 31 seats in our Thing. There's three parties. We tend to have unusual names for them, but generally you have the Social Democratic Workers' Party (12 seats), my party. Everyone calls us the Firebearers though, because of our very old logo which is a torch. That and us being the party using red as our colour. Our people wear red coats in the Thing to mark us out as Firebearers" Firebearers?! What a ridiculous name

"Our opponent is the Moderate Coalition (11 seats). They were originally a bunch of different parties but merged together to stop us winning all the time. They're called the Icebreakers due to people contrasting them with us. That and one of their first leaders said that their ice would quench our fire, which obviously didn't happen. They wear blue coats in the Thing" Seriously, how far do they go with those names?!

"The third party, and our coalition partner, is the Green Alliance (8 seats), most often just called the Leafblowers. Ironically enough, I think they banned that not that long ago for being bad for people's health. I think they're generally centrist sort of people who want us all to grow more in greenhouses and not pollute the place. They of course wear green coats in the Thing" I give up, this place makes no sense

"So, any more questions?"

"No, thank you. I have better go now. I have to arrange my leave out of here."

"How long have you been here?"

"Too long" I said as I left the building. Finally I had the names. I now can leave this goddamn place for ever

What was next? I glanced down at my watchphone showing the list of places I had to go

Noxland: A city under the surface

FML. Why can't I go back to Malvina Port? Fuck this job, I should not have taken it
 

Cospatrick Charles Sapphire Douglas-Home, 1028th Earl of Home
Cospatrick was a military man, who was at home on the battlefield. He invested millions of the family fortune into the war against Symphonia, up to bankrupting the family in the process. A patriot to the core, he twice refused offers from the King to pay off his debts or to hand over ownership of profitable crown-owned businesses to him. The third time, he arrived to the royal court in rags and was told point-blank that it was an order from the Crown to accept the King's offer. He loved his country so much he would rather live austerely and patch up his clothes than to drain from the country's coffers. Remembered rather unfairly as "the Earl who had to beg the King", mainly because of his heir's, his son's, rather frosty view of him as a "clueless fool"

Bit dumb, but Cospatrick was a very earnest man, firm in his loyalties and willing to give up everything for his country
 
Thought this was dead? Nope :p

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The 83 Symphonian elections was odd. The centrist Liberals and centre-left Progressives decided to merge in 81 to finally topple the now 24-year-long Conservative dominance [often with their allies the rural-libertarian-oriented Faith in Democracy]. The new Liberal and Progressive Union, normally referred to as the Liberal-Progressive Party, went into the 83 election the strong favoured winners and won big.

But to say they did it without any losses is to make a mistake. They ultimately lost votes, even as FPTP delivered them a majority with one united front what it didn't with two separate parties. The prime splinter was the Marketeer Association, a classical-liberal organisation heavily sceptical of the new left-wing turn the Liberals have taken, decrying it as betraying the Liberals' raison d'etre and selling out to far-left radicals. Their leader Purnima Klaasen condemned the LPU as "merely socialism in a new dress".

Meanwhile, the actual socialists, the Labour Party, under long-suffering leader Malcolm Skywalker, saw the LPU finally assert dominance over the left and with Catlin's call for "an united front of change", many Labour voters and some unions too, defected to them, delivering yet another blow for the once-glorious Labour Party. Skywalker glumly returned to the bottle, his only comfort from his depression.

Faith in Democracy lost votes to the Conservatives as Premier Vemulakonda called for all voters to tactically vote Tory to stop the LPU. This did much to staunch Tory loss, but also greatly soured the relationship between the Tories and the Democrats for years afterwards. Braune declared his plan to resign as leader by the end of the year, eventually handing over to Jacobina Bosch on 14 November.
 
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