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Contact Light: A universe of rainbow imperialism

"judiciocracy" [that's not a word],
I believe you want kritocracy from krites judge, umpire.
Minister of Government Organisation: Who is responsible for the Civil Service that takes charge of all the massive organisation needed to ensure that Government runs smoothly at all levels? Why, this Minister! Always recommended by the Civil Service, always theoretically from the biggest party in government, their loyalty is always to the Civil Service above all
Hopefully there's a very loyal worker called Bernard working here!
 
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The "Serene Seesaw" of centre-left Liberals and centre-right Conservatives couldn't last. Adopted out of a fear that radicals could upset the fragile, barely recovered, democracy, it quickly devolved into an eternal Grand Coalition. Pressure from within led to the allowance of formation of other imperial parties, and the major underground left-wing newspaper Socialist Voice, managed by the Skywalker dynasty that begat three Premiers [two says the Empire. Three says them and basically every single voter. Nobody forgot That Day when the Empire voted for Nikki Skywalker to be Premier, but she ended up dead in a ditch instead], announced that it would be forming itself into a party. Another organisation, the far-right People's Will, formed too. The New Communist Party was banned and denied the opportunity to enter elections

But the elections were as always unfair and overwhelmingly benefited the Big Two which continued on their Grand Coalition, managing election results so that they would exchange positions and switch who led the coalition. But after the sudden death of Emperor Frederick the Mousy, his son Daniel [later known as Daniel the Magnificient], announced that the standard procedure of holding an election upon the death of the Monarch was to be suspended, and he dismissed Premier Maura Gadhavi saying that he needed someone who could dismantle the structure that formed the "Serene Seesaw", and put Wanda Leibowitz - the "Lady of Numbers" of Crownsland - in. She would do an excellent job and after the election of 343 would be ennobled as the Lady Leibowitz and sit in the House of Peers

The 343 election was the first one without the "Serene Seesaw", and it was predictable for the Liberals and Conservatives. Without the corrupt system benefiting them, they both lost most of their seats, and the Socialists gained much due to their vocal opposition to the Seesaw and the corrupt system. Also because a lot of people still had family memories of where they were That Day. Bobby Skywalker, as the grandson of Nikki, obviously won a lot of votes because people wanted to somehow avenge that terrible day. The high soaring ideals of Nikki was carried over in the assertive, passionate, devastatingly sincere speeches of Bobby. Yet they didn't win

In first place was the religious-democratic party the Democratic and Social Centre. Aware of people's memories of That Day, they didn't attack Bobby nor his party, but presented themselves as "the continuity but change" party, taking advantage of a rise in religiosity to rally templegoing voters and successfully won a majority. Apart from the big four, the far-right People's Will gained 20 seats but didn't gain much in votes and the re-legalised New Communists comfortably won 38 seats and announced that they would work tentatively with the Socialists

A new dawn was here, and the old system now laid in ruins
 
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This is fantastic, Tibby! Wonderfully ambitious and engrossing! :) I really like reading about this world. Familiar themes but all combined in an original way with similar but creatively and originally used things like wikiboxes or cat-people

More please :)
 
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The first election after the consolidation of the several regions and cities into the Most Solemn and Incorporated City-County of Vaduva and the Pleasant Pastures was held between 4 and 6 May 7501, to allow for the most citizens as possible to vote, would return no majority

The system that was set up for the election to the City Council made this likely, of course, but it was now an unpleasant reality. How did it happen? Well, the system was a slightly byzantine one in which 43% of the seats would be allocated to FPTP, 31% to proportional and to acknowledge the City's diverse nature, 26% to "community" seats where if you were a member of a specific "community", your vote would be counted for the community seats which would be worked out proportionally. Some criticised this as going against the idea of "One Vaduva" but it happened

Of course, the most notable minority in the City was the Nekomimi, which mostly lived in the "Nekomimi Bailiwicks" in the south-east, the former Province of Sunstar, and their major parties from the Province would be expected to play an important role in the first election and they did not disappoint. The centre-left Community FIRST and right-wing Neko Interest dominated the returns from the Bailiwicks and returned 21 and 17 seats respectively. Surprisingly enough, the centrist Nekomimi Liberal Alliance failed to win any seats, a humiliating and crushing defeat for what once was the dominant party of the Bailiwicks back when it was Sunstar. Surprising some, the religious-socialist Social Democratic Party - SPIRIT won 11 seats, showing that even in a city known for hedonism and capitalism, there was still people yearning out for faith and for socialism

And disappointing many communists, the Workers' Alternative flopped and only won 2 seats thanks to their base being mostly consumed by another party that rose high. The WA just couldn't compete, not with their hilariously dated pamphlets and rhetoric. Ditto for the far-right True Vaduvians, which hoped to exploit people's distrust of the community seats, but was outcompeted by the rising local-oriented Vaduvian Residents' Association, a party that argued for decentralisation, for traditional values and for local concerns to be put above any talk of radical projects such as building a lot of housing. For them, that was threatening local values

Coming out hitting hard against the Residents' Association was the rising Green Party - Team Mollie Milburn, led by Mollie Milburn (duh). She hailed from Ascendant Heights, a "skyscraper slum" once offered to working class people by their bosses in order to be near their work and over time due to the wealthy people's disinterest the skyscraper housing turned into giant towering slums where people lived and died in filth. Mollie Milburn grew up there and through grit and determination climbed out of that existence, reinventing herself into a successful businesswoman. But she never forgot where she came from, and set up Team Mollie Milburn in order to rally people against the existence of the skyscraper slums, instead promising to allocate money to build clean housing where there were space and investment in public transit so to erase the last need to live in filthy conditions. The Green Party, a small but respectable-size party jumped on the Mollie train and merged their party with hers, giving her infrastructure she needed to soar high in polling and spread the word of the absolute disaster situation many were in

You would expect the Association of Rural Parties to be against the idea of building houses on rural grounds, would you? Well, they were actually for it, as long as farmers were reasonably compensed and public transit be geared to help farmers deliver goods as well. This got the Residents to label them as "traitors to local values" or some thing. The Residents are weird. But not as weird as the Nonpartisan League, which upon on being given an issue, said "well, both sides have good points". They say that about everything. Seriously. Ask them if they want to go down the pub for a pint, they'll say "well, both sides have good points", it's their answer to absolutely everything

But the main two parties [apart from the times when Mollie Milburn's Motley Mob, as some people who think they're funny calls it, surpassed one of them in the polls], the Municipal Empowerment League and iNNOVATION were at work trying to get in first. The MEL were firmly liberal, for good business, for decentralisation of powers to borough councils [and perhaps something above the dozens of them, like regions] while iNNOVATION were hard for science, for technology and for fiscal conservatism. Both were pro-business in other words

In the end, Mollie Milburn's team won every constituency that was based in a skyscraper slum, showing that the people who lived in them were very much ready to end their lives there in favour of something better, something Mollie Milburn promised. And that did not go unnoticed, even as the MEL's leader Olympia Paszek was sworn in as the first Portreeve of the consolidated City-County of Vaduva
 
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Cities and Regions before the Consolidation into the City-County of Vaduva
Red - Steelville. Very industrial, very workerist, that sort of stuff. Diverse
Brown - Piedmont. Rural as heck
Yellow - Grand Brabant. Local and has a very intense identity, basically forced into merging
Dark Red - Berryport. Industrial, but in a more nautical, docky way than Steelville, also has lots of skyscraper slums
Blue - Old Vaduva, the core of the new city-county
Gray - Carnatia, think smug middle-class suburbia
Lime - Puerto Altai, more tourist-y and liberal, think Brighton
Orange - Sunstar, the Nekomimi-majority city that almost didn't join
Purple - Pleasant Pastures, an island with a strong identity, but very linked via trade
White - Ceded to Vaduva from councils not incorporated

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"City-Regions" (very unofficial, but widely used and used in government in a roundabout way)
 
Presidents of the First Symphonian Republic
01: Andromeda Cass (Liberal Republican, supported by Socialists) 1184-1196
1184: def. Shaindel O'Berne (Viridian), Omar Brady, 2nd Viscount Barleybone (Monarchist)
1190: def. Kuwat Boyd (Viridian), Omar Brady, 2nd Viscount Barleybone (Monarchist)
02: Lucas Ewart (Independent, supported by Viridians and Monarchists) 1196-1208
1196: def. Mitra Azenov (Liberal Republican, supported by Socialists)
1202: def. Renata Napoletani (Liberal Republican), Edite Heath (Democratic Socialist)
03: Violet Leon (Independent, supported by Viridians and Monarchists) 1208-1214
1208: def. Edite Heath (Democratic Socialist, supported by Liberal Republicans)
04: Neptune Dirix (Independent, supported by Liberal Republicans and Democratic Socialists) 1214-1222
1214: def. Violet Leon (Independent, supported by Viridians and Monarchists)
05: Cristiano Van Hoorn (Union, then Union, supported by Community, then Republican Union) 1222-1251*
1222: def. Neptune Dirix (Independent, supported by Liberal Republicans), Govinda Yuen (Democratic Socialist)
1230: def. Astrid Molnar (Liberal Republican), Alexa Begbie (Democratic Socialist)
1238: def. Aura Stevens (Independent, supported by planetary councils), Ismini Ibbot (Liberal Republican, supported by Democratic Socialists)
1246: def. Elzbieta Siskin (Community), Takis Pekkanen (Development)
--: Tendai Lewis (Democratic Socialist) 1251-1252
--: Angelica Notoriano (Community) 1252-1254
06: Caron Bisset (Community, supported by Noruives Liberal League, then by Democratic Socialists and Liberal Republicans) 1254-1270

1254: def. Aura Stevens (Development, supported by planetary councils), Wilfrid Garret (Democratic Socialist), Andrina Kocsis (Liberal Republican)
1262: def. Takis Pekkanen (Development)
07: Laura Biancardi (Democratic Socialist, supported by Liberal Republicans (and Development before 1278)) 1270-1283
1270: def. Caron Bisset (Community, supported by "Maverick" Liberal Republicans, Democratic Socialists and Development)
1278: def. Polly Walton (Community, supported by Development)
--: Post of President suspended, post merged into Premier as part of the Second Republic
 
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Lamatida
Dry. Sweltering. Unpleasant. Paradise. That's the Solar Kingdom of Lamatida to you, a sprawling desert realm that is technically part of the Symphonian Empire but like many others, just pay tribute every year, vote in the required elections and don't pay any attention apart from that. They have three "races" - what they call "akata", or "castes", but it's not really that, it's just very very descended from that word

akat basak: Basic Humans. The "ilit ankan" of the Kingdom of Lamatida, they tend to enjoy a prestigious existence with poor basaki being unheard of, but they must exist. Tends to live in the north of the kingdom, but can be found in many places

akat reptil: Lizard people, the "reli ankan". One of the small minorities of Non-Humans in this sector, they were employed by the basaki as accountants, as spies, as the people who help keep the regime around. Those days, they're the least "popular" akat

akat kiti: Nekomini, the "pepli ankan". Lamatida is one of those places that the Empire don't much like to talk about. You know, one of those places where "enterprising" basaki take weapons and guns and submit the native kiti to their rule. kiti tend to be at the bottom of the ladder

While in other places of the Empire, class dominates the division, with race being more of a varying thing, Lamatida's social division is very much based on race - the akata. The Empire has a wish to see Lamatida united and as one, so when Lamatida fell into civil war [well civil wars], based on the akata falling out, the Empire intervenes and constructs a new agreement that lasts roughly a few hundred years before collapsing

The "current" Agreement, as of 19,000 IE, is that of a parliament divided by akata

Set Akat Basak: 110
- Blok Tradi Fri Imperi (38 seats): The Free Trade with the Empire Bloc [most often just translated as the Imperial Free Trade Bloc] is a liberal-ish party. Sort of. It's not really "liberal", more "free trade means more money". So yah
- Blok Protisk Imperi (36 seats): Their rivals, the Protectionism with the Empire Bloc [or Imperial Protectionist Bloc] is a conservative-ish party. Sort of. They're really more "free trade means competition with our money". So yah
- Parti Herit Basak (21 seats): The Basic Heritage Party. Basically far-right nationalist wackos which are unpopular because they're not really a fan of Lamatida being separate from the Empire. They want full absorption, basically
- Parti Sokaredi (10 seats): Sokaredi is a particular concept in Lamatida that can be broadly translated as "social credit", but it's a thing of its own in Lamatida, emphasising Social Tradition, Economic Isolationism, Printing Money and... "Security Beneath the Watchful Eyes". Weird
- Lamati Yongi (5 seats): The "Young Lamati". Lamati is a generic name for people who live in Lamatida, ascending above the akata. The Young Lamati is a party that seeks to unite all Lamati behind their non-ethnic nationalism. They have limited success, mainly with the youth

Set Akat Reptli: 35
- Wi Es Al Lamati (15 seats):
"We Are All Lamati", they're the non-sectarian [well, they don't win any basaki seats...] working-class party arguing for fighting income inequality. Can be somewhat radical at times, they appeal here to the reptli working-class
- Blok Akat Reptli (15 seats):
"Reptli Caste Bloc", they're the "respectable" reptli party, the middle-class accountants. Tends to ally with the Free Traders to oppose the Protectionists. Very middle-class, very establishment
- Lamati Yongi (5 seats):
The Young Lamati are here too. Just like with the basaki, they win over young reptli voters. reptli LY people tend to be really passionate about the whole "Lamati Idea" due to the akat reptli being the most unpopular akat

Set Akat Kiti: 135
- Wi Es Al Lamati (41 seats):
The non-sectarian working-class party dominates the working-class-tending kiti seats, obviously. kiti WEAL supporters tend to be somewhat radical compared to the reptli ones, but not quite as radical as expected
- Blok Protisk Imperi (28 seats):
The Protectionists have an advantage over the Free Traders as their protectionist argument holds sway with a demographic distrustful of pro-business free trading. Although the Free Traders have been gaining...
- Blok Tradi Fri Imperi (23 seats):
The Free Traders have been gaining due to an effort to sell free trade to the kiti. One big argument in their favour is that it would encourage trade with galactic nekomimi society. Of course, that leads to kiti Free Traders being somewhat neko-nat...
- Klan Kiti (17 seats):
The... well, fascists for lack of a better sense. Originally a terrorist organisation that hunted down what they saw as "dangerous basaki" and "collaborationist reptli", they democratised, joined the Agreement and now they're just far-right xenophobes
- Kiti Sokiet Libbrit (16 seats):
The "Liberated Society for Kiti" or "Kiti Society for Liberation", it's a liberal, generally "free-thinking" society that runs as a political party to present a distinctive kiti answer to liberalism. Very cosmopolitan. Not popular
- Parti Kiti (6 seats):
If the KK are far-right xenophobes, this party is the outright separatists. Doesn't take their seats in the Parliament due to opposition to the whole idea of letting the reptli and basaki have a say
- Blok Akton Silekirk (4 seats):
A regional party arguing for a distinctive kiti minority that... well, was brought to Lamatida by the basaki. While some kiti don't see them as true kiti, most do due to common experience of discrimination

Total Parliament (280 seats)
Blok Protisk Imperi: 64
Blok Tradi Fri Imperi: 61
Wi Es Al Lamati: 56
Parti Herit Basak: 21
Klan Kiti: 17
Kiti Sokiet Libbrit: 16
Blok Akat Reptli: 15
Lamati Yongi: 10
Parti Sokaredi: 10
Parti Kiti: 6*
Blok Akton Silekirk: 4

*doesn't take their seats due to policy of abstention
Government: Blok Tradi Fri Imperi-Wi Es Al Lamati-Kiti Sokiet Libbrit-Blok Akat Reptli "sokalibra" coalition
 
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Azarot
The Division of Azarot is an uneasy place. Torn between the inkada ["invaders"] and duela ["dwellers", namely the reptiles], it has ended up with a quasi-democratic structure as part of a "compromise" between the two. But this "compromise" is clearly weighed towards the inkada and their allies...

The Assembly of Azarot as of 18,000 IE, is represented by 70 AMs. 37 elected from "municipal" constituencies, 37 selected from "hinterland" ones

Municipal Constituency: A generally "settled", primarily-inkada place. The people cast their votes at stations on plastic ballots. Everything is treated "democratically". AMs are elected through First-Past-The-Post. The population of municipal seats are estimated to be 30%

Hinterland Constituency: Some would call those places "savage", but they're just as civilised as the municipal areas. They just... "function" differently, and in a way that doesn't benefit people from minor tribes. For you see, those primarily-duela places trust the tribal elders of the "major" tribes with deciding which AMs to send to the Assembly, fucking over their people and most of all, people from minor tribes which is denied a voice. The hinterland AMs are three from each constituency, personally picked by their tribal elders and has a veto on anything to do with tribal matters, such as the annoyingly persistent question of "democratising the hinterland" or "giving more tribes a say". The population is 70%

The parties in Azarot are... well, see for yourself

Municipal Parties
Imperial Legion (21 seats):
Heavily nationalistic conservatives with a zeal for the Empire, they're very much Human supremacist. But not by the standards of millennia ago. Their leader is a Neko. They think the duela are inferior and that the Agreement is merely to keep the place from going to chaos. For them, it's a plaster on a wound, an unpleasantly necessary thing
Sunburnt Ones (17 seats): Insufferably-smug inkada "liberals" who feel that Azarot is a dump. Hates the place, hates the duela, hates everything. Well, apart from why they're there in the first place. Namely, resources. They support reforming the system, but only to remove the veto the hinterland AMs have, so they can fully exploit the place for the good of the Empire. And their pockets too
Independent (1 seat): Toni Olguin used to be a member of the Sunburnt Ones, with all the arrogance and bigotry that entails. But then, in her words, she had a vision that told her of the people's suffering and that they should stop oppressing the place and all of that liberal claptrap that got in her head. Unfortunately for the Sunburnt Ones, she was pretty popular and people keep voting for her even when she was expelled

Hinterland Factions
Vines (21 seats):
So named for the jungle vine, they are the insular ones, the ones arguing that any co-operation with the inkada is dangerous. Some of them even support abolishing the Agreement. Some of the more... enlightened ones even argue that after they establish full duela rule, that perhaps all tribes could be called together to work something out. Very hostile to ideas of industrialisation
Rivers (15 seats): So named for the numerous rivers, they are the international ones, the ones arguing that co-operation could be beneficial to them. Some of them even argue for allowing some industry to be expanded and back less use of the tribal veto for that stuff. They tend to be the most hostile to ideas of democratisation of the hinterland, arguing that the elders' wisdom was the ways things worked and they saw no reason to stop

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Constituencies - municipal constituencies are denoted by the party that won them, hinterland constituencies are marked by "Little Mans"
 
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Have you got the number of Rivers representatives wrong, or have I missed a Hinterland seat?
 
"Once, we were well-respected before the Calamity. We had prestige. We even got one of our clan to be leader of a whole country. But then the Calamity struck. Even as we were chained and enslaved, we never forgot our past, our heritage. We never forgot our blood

We never forgot that we were leaders, that we were earls. And as the old counting continued, with every eldest son keeping on the counting of how many Earls there were, it rose and rose. It was under the five-hundredth Earl that we finally was freed as the Mice disappeared

By that point, we were peasants. Peasants with a firm memory, yes, but peasants. As countless generations of Earls laboured in the fields for upstart newcomers, we plotted to take back our prestige. We were an ambitious family, hungry to claim our old esteem

The seven-hundred-and-eleventh Earl died millennia ago and it was handed to his offspring the seven-hundred-and-twelfth. Alexander, so named after our most esteemed ancestor, had immense ambition, more than previous Earls. And he had the right opportunity. For you see, Osecada was in a civil war - the so-called 'War of Rainbow Banners', over religion. Alexander, scenting opportunity, led a peasant rebellion against the Traditionalist lord that kept him and his family serfs for so long. As the lord and his upstart family were slain, Alexander declared the land to be that of his family, and allied firmly with the Renovatists which ended up winning the war. Asking for his family's counting to be acknowledged, he was ennobled such as the 712th Earl by the grateful King. Our family were now back where it belonged. On top

Of course, things fell apart after that. The 944th Earl sided with the wrong faction and was expelled from his home planet and his estate confiscated. We were now lost. We still had our prime spaceship, but nowhere to go. We ended up in Nekomimi space, where there was a massive crisis over how close the proposed 'Umbrella State' would be. The young and ambitious Douglas, the 945th Earl upon his father's death, involved himself deeply in Nekomimi politics, even learning fluent Nekomish and marrying a Nekomimi woman, and was the leader of the successful charge for a confederation. In recognition of his achievement, the Queen appointed him the first First Minister. So Nekomimia had as its first leader, a Basic Human

This didn't last long in the family. With Douglas and his sisters being the only Basics around, and they being decidedly not of the incest tendency - that was always other families' tendency, not ours - the family quickly over the next century or so became first hybrid then Nekomimi. And with official Nekomimi recognition of our millennia-old Earldom, we settled down easily. Time and time went on, and we became well respected in the Nekomimi community, with even two more of our family reaching the First Ministership and two even married into the Royal Family. Things were good. Unfortunately, we invested a lot in the war with Symphonia - we just couldn't let go of ancient grudges, we're the family that never forgets - and ended up bankrupt as a result. Cospatrick, the 1028th Earl, had to humiliatingly ask for a loan from the Nekomimi King at the time

As Nekomimi became absorbed in Symphonia, it was clear that the Earldom itself was under threat. Symphonia, being the new form of Osecada, saw the Earldom as forfeit. Ashley, the 1070th Earl, was determined that her daughter would be the 1071st Earl, and invested many of the now-thankfully-restored family fortune into getting the King to declare it no longer forfeit. So we were now recognised as what we truly were once again

The family has over time either been very invested in politics or chose to live a luxurious life, or a career in industry. We are a successful bunch. But none as successful, I would like to say, as myself. While Douglas the 945th Earl, Frederick the 975th Earl and Beatrice, the 1000th Earl, became First Ministers of Nekomimia, none has enjoyed the leadership of Symphonia until I. In moments of too much pride, I sometimes think myself eclipsing our esteemed ancestor, the 14th Earl. But perhaps that's just fantasy

What isn't fantasy is what I am. I am the Premier of the Symphonian Empire by the pleasure of His Imperial Majesty

I am Astrid Maia Douglas-Home, 1114th Earl of Home. And I am proud of that."
 
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That's just bonkers.
"Hey, what if we make Alec Douglas-Home's descendants somehow still know they're Earls after the whole of humanity was enslaved?"
"okay? not implausible, i guess"
"And we could have them lead a peasant rebellion and get back to their earldom"
"okay that's not implausible, but stretching it a bit"
"And then we'll have them expelled to catgirl space and become catgirls."
"wut"
"And then we end up with catgirl Earl of Home being Premier"
"seriously I wonder what I fucking smoke to come up with those"
 
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