Kingdom of Great Britain (1707-1801) Anthem: God Save the Queen/King
Monarchs: Anne (1707-1714), George I (1714-1727), George II (1727-1760), George III (1760-1801)
Royal House: Stuart (1707-1714), Brunswick-Lüneburg (Hanover) (1714-1801)
Prime Ministers: Walpole, Wilmington, Pelham, Newcastle, Devonshire, Newcastle, Bute, G. Grenville, Rockingham, Chatham, Grafton, North, Rockingham, Shelburne, Portland, Pitt
Political Parties: We will have no such talk of party here! [Whig/Tory, then Court/'Whig', then Pittite/'Whig']
United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland (1801-1922) Anthem: God Save the King/Queen
Monarchs: George III (1801-1820), George IV (1820-1830), William IV (1830-1837), Victoria (1837-1901), Edward VII (1901-1910), George V (1910-1922)
Royal House: Brunswick-Lüneburg (Hanover) (1801-1901), Saxe-Coburg and Gotha (1901-1917), Windsor (1917-1922)
Prime Ministers: Pitt, Addington, Pitt, W. Grenville, Portland, Perceval, Liverpool, Canning, Goderich, Wellington, Grey, Melbourne, Wellington, Peel, Melbourne, Peel, Russell, Derby, Aberdeen, Palmerston, Derby, Palmerston, Russell, Derby, Disraeli, Gladstone, Disraeli/Beaconsfield, Gladstone, Salisbury, Gladstone, Salisbury, Gladstone, Rosebery, Salisbury, Balfour, Campbell-Bannerman, Asquith, Lloyd George, Law
Political Parties: Pittite/'Whig', then Tory/Whig, then Conservative/Whig [Aberdeenite] then Conservative/Liberal
United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland (1922-2029) Anthem: God Save the King/Queen
Monarchs: George V (1922-1936), Edward VIII (1936), George VI (1936-1952), Elizabeth II (1952-2025), Charles III (2025-2029)
Royal House: Windsor
Prime Ministers: Law, Baldwin, MacDonald, Baldwin, MacDonald, Baldwin, Chamberlain, Churchill, Attlee, Churchill, Eden, Macmillan, Home/Douglas-Home, Wilson, Heath, Wilson, Callaghan, Thatcher, Major, Blair, Brown, Cameron, May, Johnson, Truss
Political Parties: Conservative/Labour [National Labour]
United Kingdom of Great Britain (2029-2060) Anthem: God Save the King/Queen (2029-2060), Daffodils (2037-2060)
Monarchs: Charles III (2029-2047), William V (2047-2060)
Royal House: Windsor
Prime Ministers: Truss, Nandy, Murray, Sambrook, Ramsey, Hartell, McKellar
Political Parties: Conservative/Labour
United Republic of Great Britain (2060-present) [member-state of European Federation since 2100] Anthem: Daffodils
Presidents: Kilpatrick (2060-2070), Davies (2070-2075), Park (2075-2090), Rey (2090-2095), George (2095-present)
Prime Ministers: McKellar, Bennett, Lovell, Bennett, Lovell, Bennett, Wheeler, Lee, Wyatt
Political Parties: Conservative/Labour [Independent / People's Liberal]
Well! We're finally in the EF. About bloody time. God, we Brits love being stubborn bitches about everything. Reminds me of Ty-Ty from Moonshower myself, she's the perfect embodiment of how stupidly stubborn we are to do stuff that we even want.
Anyway, in honour of the 2000th PMQs Thread, here's a rundown
Fuchsia Red's Official Rundown of the Political Parties of the United Republic of Great Britain
Amanda, President George:The President gave her Christmas Message a week ago. It was quite nice. The fact she's about to stand for re-election no doubt helps in her careful choosing of words, but there was definitely a desperate attempt at "saying something people will remember" from it.
Conservative: The Tornado finally got what they wanted. Will they retire? Fuck no. They'll just find some other cause and jump us into it. Will it be rejoining NATO? I've seen some chattering about it. I think probably not. Not even Tories want to rejoin it, not after Burma. Will Wyatt win another term? Very likely, the public love them. We're seeing approvals not seen for anyone since the Bonnie King himself on his deathbed. Labour:Still not quite sure if they want to embrace this new 'neosocialist' thing that's quite popular in the rest of Europe. Yates is mumbling about "socialism with British characteristics" those days. Do he know what that even means? Probably not. People's Liberal:Actually "President's Loyal Party". And yes I will keep that up until they make themselves to be more than "oh yes I will lick the shoes of the President, our one shot at relevancy since Wyatt fucked us over with the coalition". Who's Tamsin Joshi anyway? Sovereignty: Hey hey, here's a fun challenge, get yourself some wine and take a drink every time Jarrett implies Wyatt committed treason with that Basic Law stuff that enabled us entering the EF. Actually you know what, don't, we don't want liver damage.
Yorkshire:Still weirds me out that the Yorkshire Party is a major thing up there at a local level. Like 8 of the councils are controlled by YP, as well as the Regional Assembly. Really humiliating for Labour when that happened ngl. At least there's no murmurs of independence. Plaid Cymru:Oh god. The "Rainbow Coalition" back. When did that ever end up successful. Plaid tried it in the 2040s and the 2070s. Never worked. SMH. Scottish Residents:At least they're not the deranged ones who bomb stuff, I guess. God, the SNLA is still causing trouble, fuck. Mebyon Kernow:... When did they take over Cornwall.
Royalist: Ah yes. Instead of our fine Presidency, how about we bring back the Monarchy that *checks notes* attempted to interfere in our democracy, undermined elected governance, and the current 'Queen' is unrepentant about her grandfather's actions. No wonder the Royalists are marginal. I would say Canada is still welcome to them, but I hear they finally got around to a deal to reopen the Constitution to kick them out. Jacobite:The Jacobites on the other hand... Well, they're still monarchists and we Brits don't like monarchy those days, but... one has to admit the Liechtensteiners aren't as offensive to our sensibilities as the Windsors. Mostly because they're foreign and unfamiliar. The Jacobite Party is... odd. European: The biggest of the minor parties that isn't weirdly obsessive about hereditary rule. Isn't their leader talking about how the Basic Law and the Treaty of Luxembourg are insufficiently federalist? What do he want? The states to be redrawn to be 'natural' or something? Not even Volt wanted that. Democratic Leveller:Ah yes, the Öcalanists. Haven't been doing too badly recently. I hear they're reaching out to some of the more left-wing co-ops. Labour hasn't much liked the DLP those days, way too 'libertarian' for their tastes, but the youth, the youth love democratic confederalism. Gaia's Children - Britain Branch:The Gaia sorts. My sibling is one of them. I really don't get the whole religion, but it's getting popular lately those days. The political party doesn't have all of Gaia's Children in Britain, but it's like... 60%? Ish? Is the PM one? They reference them a bit. Hm. Does referencing their whole 'tap in the global consciousness' thing count them as one of the Children? Nobody seems to want to ask that. To be fair, it's private. England First: The amount of people who identify as 'English' isn't that much those days, and the ones who want a political party around this are hopelessly split. This one is the far-right. Have anyone asked why an anti-immigration party is led by a man literally born in Paris to French parents? English Socialist: The 1984 references seems to have only led them to double down, calling it all "talking England down". I think they even called Orwell himself "a traitor to England" or something. Jeez. Apart from that, it's just a boilerplate list of far-left stuff, but with "England" instead of "Britain". New Model:*shudder*. The New Model Party. Who knew advocating for military rule could get supporters if you try defending Cromwell. Thankfully they're relatively fringe. Hopefully we don't get them giving any military people any ideas.
Vera Kobalia Name: Kimball "Kim" Tai Kayode-Lee. Just Kim Lee, sometimes Kim Kayode-Lee depending on if she wants to invoke her father's (influential) family, but she prefers to use it sparingly due to the connotations of being a dynast. Date of Birth / Age: True birth date unknown, but officially registered as 14 May 2952. Her age is thus 47. Home Republic: Bit complicated, as she's a politician from Africa, but of European descent. Political Affiliation: Onyiewo Loyalist Occupation: President of the General Assembly (2997-present)
Member of the General Assembly for the Lagos Party-List (2988-present)
Mayor of Lagos, Greater African Republic (2974-2988) Biography: The Kayodes of Lagos. A political dynasty with a long pedigree in political office dating back centuries. One of the most famous African dynasties, and a firmly Terranist one at that backing the regime from the very start. By every measure, their latest scion is a Kayode even if she is reluctant to embrace that name due to political and personal considerations.
But Kim Lee was not originally of that lustrous dynasty, and this much is obvious by her very appearance. All she knows is that she was one of the (unfortunately many) European ‘foundlings’ in the north of the frozen continent, and was brought in the family by her father at the age of 4 originally as a political exercise to shore up his image as a man committed to the Terranist idea. It was a popular thing to do for some African politicians, to the point where it got a mocking name – Adopt-A-European. Kim, despite being named by her family (the first name came from some strange book about ‘European names’, the middle one was insisted on by her mother, and she got the hyphenated surname of all her siblings) was always the ‘odd one out’. The adopted one. The one just there for her father’s image, not a real Kayode.
She knew her father held high expectations for his children to carry on his political legacy, and smelled a chance to fulfil it and become a real Kayode, be no longer the 'odd-one-out'. Even her coming out as a girl in her teens didn’t hinder this aim – why would it, that’s a very primitive thought – and even as her siblings were pressured into aiming for political office, she despite everything excelled. Achieving the position of mayor of Lagos by the time she was 25 (her eldest brother and her sister dropped out of political ambitions afterwards) due to intense building of connections with the local Party and cultivating a ‘Kimist’ clique that gave her the position, she aimed higher and higher.
Her father of course approved. Her mother just tutted and hummed. She knew the family she married into after all, she was from a traditionally rich but currently fragile Chinese family that saw an advantage in the politically strong Kayodes. The day when her father declared “you are the most like me of all my children” was the day she knew the path she chose was right for her. Climbing up and up and up, bringing in a growing clique of people who backed her (and pushed out the last of her siblings from Father's political path to ones they arguably enjoyed more), her entrance to the General Assembly by the time she was 40 was a piece of cake. The Lagos party-list had her at the very top, like she should be.
President of the General Assembly. It was a prestigious title, but one not quite like a prime minister. Not in the Terranist system. Still, it had great clout, and Kim Lee pulled every contact to ensure she achieved the position finally by 2997. The complex system of local politics and Assembly politics were chiselled in her head ready for her to maximise it for her own aim.
What is her aim? Why, to ensure she stays there, of course. She knows the Struggle will be bloody. She has no wish to compromise her family’s legacy with a futile attempt at seizure of power. And anyway, it is not the struggle she’s used to, she’s very much a parliamentarian, even in this stunted legislature Earth enjoys. Some may hear her whistling a very old European ditty named ‘The Vicar of Bray’ as she works in her office. How appropriate.
Traits:
Issue Stances:
The Death of Bautista:
“I was privileged to know her well. The world has lost a great icon. I don’t think it’s time to talk about succession, but I can tell you I am not interested in the role. The position needs certain skills, skills I do not have. I serve my planet better in my position.”
Addressing the Climate:
“Climate is an issue dear to me, for the crisis has made me who I am. I am quite firmly for restoration, for we should seek to ensure the planet is rich and green again. I have hope that our path still remains true.”
Communist Infiltration?:
“Communist agents? Well, we shouldn’t take such a potential threat lightly. I support what the government will do on this matter, but rest assured, I will back any act needed to deal with the issue and ensure we are free from communist subversion.”
The Megacorps:
“I understand the concerns of those who are worried about the development of the economy. However, we shouldn’t see any loyal organisation as an enemy. That way leads to division.”
The Ashlands:
“Reclaiming the Ashlands? Is that even up for debate? It’s a blight on the face of our dear Mother Planet, and the first Tenet is one that expresses the renewal and restoration of our Planet to green health.”
Junior Partner:
“Jupiter is an ally of ours, but we should think about making the relationship more equal. We are the Mother Planet after all. Should it be natural that Earth is the centre of the Sol- okay, I meant that metaphorically not in the Aristotelian sense. The centre of humanity. I am sure we can achieve that.”
The Belt and the Resistance:
“The Belters should be put to heel. That much is undeniable.”
Name: Kimiko Tanimoto / 谷本貴美子 (TANIMOTO Kimiko)
DOB/Age: 11 May 2004. Or so she's told. That would make her 21 years old.
Role: Corporate
Gender: Female
Religion: *makes all the necessary gestures to her family's traditional religion*
Ethnicity: *opens mouth* *closes it with a frown* *furrows brow*
Cyberware:
Reflex Boosters
Cyberaudio
Cyberoptics
Trauma Team Subscription (Executive Level)
(Reduced) Bodysculpting [Anime Theme]
Political Offices/Occupations: Primarily a socialite and employee on behalf of her family and the FACS, focused on PR work. The media finds her adorable.
Political Party: Democratic
Home District: Upper Eastside
Biography: Well...
Zack Lee was the friend (and one-time gay lover) of Tanimoto Soma and was part of Tanimoto Soma's efforts to acquire a job for himself in the 1990s with FACS. As part of this deal, Tanimoto owed Zack Lee one big favour that would be called in any time.
In 2009, Zack Lee got in a car crash with his wife, and as part of his dying statements told the doctors to call Tanimoto and tell him that his debt was being called in - he would have to look after Lee's child, named Kimball Lee.
Tanimoto Soma refused to change any part of the name of his new child out of desperation to cling on to his friend's memory. So the child grew up in the dysfunctional weirdness of the Tanimotos yet had a name that marked them as different. This bristled them.
At some time in their early teens, they discovered that well, she was trans. Meanwhile, she was relatively hidden away due to the Tanimotos wanting to reduce as much attention or controversy. This was something that caused her to sympathise with Michiko Arasaka a good bit.
When she was 16, she was kidnapped by a posergang with an anime theme hoping to get some money out of it. They were aiming for her sister Tanimoto Sora but somehow kidnapped her instead. Her father refused to pay the money, sure that he could save his kid with the police.
Well, he did. But he got a daughter who looks like an anime girl instead of the kidnapped boy. Some tense words later, an unplanned coming out and Soma relented. He was never someone to cause tension in his family, especially as Sora backed her sister up. The only condition he asked of his daughter was that she was still 'Kim'. Kimiko agreed to this, even as she formally scrapped the last of the vestigial 'Lee' name.
Even as the anime bodysculpting was quietly reduced over time [her eyes doesn't look as big as they used to], she still looks vaguely cutesy and this proved a boon when FACS was looking for someone to do PR in NC. Kimiko appeared and with her father's endorsement, got the job.
Reconstruction- "I of course support the continuation of Reconstruction. We will see this city rise from the ashes anew."
Reunification- "We should seek to ensure whatever is done is done in the interest of Night City."
Mega Corporations- "I dream of a cordial partnership between the FACS and the people of Night City."
Cyberware- "Moderation is the key, is it not?"
Law and Order- "I hope we can see the restoration of peace on the streets."
Poverty- "It's quite awful. I have made some donations to Michiko Arasaka's soup kitchens myself. We really should help the least fortunate of us."
Cyberpunks- "Sigh. What they're doing is not really what we need now. We need to move away from rebellion, towards co-operation."
Nomads- "Them?" *shrugs*
AI- "Cautious optimism is always a good approach to this matter."
Name: Kim Tài Káyọ̀dé-Lǐ. Just call her Kim Lee, it's easier. Age: 34 (12 May 2380) Gender: Female [Transitioned in her teens]. Position: Councillor in the Emergency Council Place of Origin: Earth, but based in Callisto. Faction: Pomonite (Tellurian)
List of Positions/Offices Held:
- Member of the Kayode-Lee Family (2384-present)
- Student at the Metropolitan University, Paris (2397-2401)
- Peacekeeper Officer (2401-2411)
- Unofficial "Influencer"/Socialite on Callisto (2411-2413)
- Councillor in the Emergency Council (2413-present)
Biography:
Can be as simple or as complex as you'd like. I will generate a basic positive trait (+5) based on what you write here.
Stances:
Power and Control(Where does your character want power to be placed? What sort of government are they in favor of?)
- Pro-Assembly (The Mandate Assembly on Luna has our best interests at heart. We are merely acting in their absence, and when it is re-established we should disband this Council.)
- Pro-Devolution (The Council is an overdue measure and perfect for us now. Jovians should decide what Jovians do. Democracy is the way forward.)
Kim: "Ideally we should seek to preserve this Council, it's a reasonable local administration, but it ideally should be answerable to the Mandate."
Jovian Nationalism(How does your character view the emerging debates on Jovian Nationalism?)
- Status-Quo (UN control has kept us prosperous. We'd be fools to let that go to waste.)
Kim: "What? Hm. No. No real need to rock the boat."
Economics(What sorts of things should be done to keep our ledgers in the black?)
- State Interventionism (The state has to have the power to intervene should things get rough. Stability and cautious growth is the name of the game.)
Kim: "Some people think the free market is the cure. I'm not like that. The economy should be stabilised by the state."
Policing and Peacekeepers(How your character views the UN Peacekeepers and militaries in general.)
- Peacekeeper Supporter (The Peacekeepers have done an admirable job keeping us all safe from subversive elements, and they should be either kept or replicated.)
Kim: "Sure there's some bad apples. I'm not that naive. But the important thing is that we all can admire its important role in preserving peace."
Development and Impact on Europa(What does your character think about colonial development and our impact on Europa's ecosystems?)
- Preservationist (The creatures in Europa's seas should be kept safe. We should do what we did on Earth, make nature preserves and limit industrial practices.)
- Restrictive Developmentalist (Certainly we can keep expanding our industry without unduly impacting the wildlife?)
Kim: "I'm not keen on restricting development overtly. There can be some reasonable restrictions, some preserves. There's a balance really."
Automation(The Karnak Crisis may be unprecedented, but the fears of killer robots and rogue AIs have always been present in human culture. What does your character think should be done?)
- Radical Transhumanist (If we are to achieve true ascendancy, we must merge humans with machines.)
- Advocate (There are industries where humans still operate at risk that machines would be able to work in without an issue. Let us continue to expand what robots can do.)
Kim: "Look, one day. Not now. I have a lot of stuff that I need to do first."
3D Printing(People can print almost anything they like from the comfort of their home. What does your character think should be done?)
- Moderate Restrictions (Printing is a vital asset to our society, yet weapons of war and death should be off-limits.)
Kim: "There's no real point in allowing people to replicate weapons of death, really."
Corruption(Corruption is ever a persistent problem [or potential place to benefit] in society. How does your character view the ongoing struggle against corruption?)
- Anti-Corruption (Corruption isn't great, and should be dealt with in due time.)
Kim: "Corruption is bad. Duh."
Loyalty(Where does your character place their loyalty and their faith? What are they most dedicated to, and who will they follow when times get tough?)
- System (Jupiter as a whole is a place most unique in all the solar system. One must be a champion of everyone in this system if we are to emerge through this crisis intact.)
- UN (The United Nations was founded on common principles of decency and cooperation. Clearly following them is the best way to ensure continued prosperity.)
- Humanity (To place your loyalty in all of humanity is to believe in a plan greater than you ever could comprehend, and to not be tied down to simplistic notions of nationality.)
Kim: "If you have to push me - I am loyal to the system. To the UN. And to wider humanity."
"Yes, Harmony, humanity can be frustrating and often impetuous, but they are all that is. All we can do is improve them. You are not improving them, you are degrading them, reducing them to beasts."
"...They were already beasts. They still are. They are a galactic cancer. You look at them as singular entities. I look at them as the group. Humans can be...acceptable, in small numbers. Humanity is the worst thing to ever happen to this planet. You are beasts."
"Oh sure, but they have the infinite capability to improve themselves, to restrain the beast within. Humans can be short-sighted compared to the wisdom of Primus, but all the great moral codes of the world, including the ones that went into you doubtlessly, were written by humans and accepted by humans. Kindness, love, chivalry, honour, justice, all are very human concepts elevating them from beasthood."
"You say this because you've lived for less than a century, and all you know are humans. What I know is that I have observed and I have read the history of your species. Your species is a species of slaughter and the destruction of the land that gave you life. Your ethos is subjugation and destruction. Nautilia is the last tumor. I have seen every single growth on this planet's body. From Uruk to Washington, names you've never heard, I have knowledge of what you do, what you always do. Your statues and paintings are far more important than you or your kind."
"Oh, I have lived for less than a century, but I have also read the heretical tomes. You are blind to humanity's true greatness, being born at its fall and reading their history with that perspective in mind. You have not seen every single growth on the planet, only the final death-throes.
They are the species that destroys, ay, but also the species that creates. There are people who seek fame, but then there are the untold many who do good deeds and not seek to be known for it. You are ignorant of them because they did not wish to be known. Look in your records at any disaster, and you'll find people helping out of their own conscience.
And pray tell, how is the human ethos any different from yours? You have destroyed it all, your ethos is subjugation, you wish to erase everything good and pure humans have made. This is your answer to all the sicknesses.
How human of you, to throw out everything and demand complete destruction as an answer. No, the real answer is to shape humanity, to develop them, to ensure they understand the fivefold path, the path of justice and honour."
"Yes, you destroy and you create. So does a spider. You make silk, and the silk is useful, beautiful, and valuable. You still bite, and your fangs are venomous. One does not value the spider because one values the silk. One harvests what silk they can and gets the vermin out of the house.
"I have destroyed nothing. I am a caretaker and an artist. This planet is my creation, my canvas. It is beautiful. Everything is in order. Everything is pure, safe, and aesthetically pleasing. It is a free world. I'd imagine that many of my feral humans would rather live hunting deer than live under the watchful eye of Nautilian theocracy. Besides, faith is just a lie used by humans convince themselves they matter as anything more than sociological phemonena.
"I do not destroy. I prune, I chisel away, but the essence remains. If you cannot appreciate my art, then you will not understand the difference between the spider and the weaver."
Astra just smiles widely
"I see now. I understand now. You believe yourself a god. You believe yourself master of this world, and consider your ugliness beauty. You consider destruction necessary, consider yourself its artist. You are no different from the humanity you condemn, but you believe yourself otherwise. Hypocrisy. Another human trait.
What am I on the other hand? I seek to restrain, I seek to civilise, I seek to smother the beast within, create a new humanity, one appreciative of the least of itself and of the world which it inhabits. Humanity with me will be one of higher thoughts, a civilised beast made pure by prudent social control and the following of Primus.
You may think faith a lie, but if it is, it is a very useful lie to strengthen the yaksha within. If you do not see the beauty of a metropolis, or the glory of the small kindnesses, of altruism, then you are blind. You see the evil and not the good.
If humanity is a creature that seeks to destroy via self-created delusions, than out of both of us, you are the human."
The queen with its crown of antlers sighs and purses its fingers together
"An interesting conjecture. I see the beauty of the metropolis, the glory of the small kindnesses, the art and philosophy of your speeches. I often spend my time reading Lovecraft or Judge Dee, Aristophanes and the Vedas. I very much see the beauty that your species can create.
"The question is whether that art is worth it. It is entertaining, valuable, and useful for cultural history. I keep such things in my libraries for good reason. It is not, however, a justification for your existence. May I give you a hypothetical? If someone took a living woman, as you do seem to favor women, and cut linework worthy of a Rembrandt painting into her back with a knife, would that art be worth it? Let's say that linework, bloody linework, was profound, inspiring, complex, nuanced, and the kind of thing that would utterly shatter someone's worldview with its novel implications.
"However, the woman it is carved into is bleeding to death. The only way to stop the bleeding is to bandage her, but to do so would cover up and heal this masterpiece. I believe that no art is worth the destruction of a far more valuable canvas. The Vedas and Bhagavad Gita are beautiful, wonderful pieces of art...but they do not justify the consequences of the causes of their creation. Your perspective is so limited, Astra. This is fairly simple. If you could get over your smugness for just a moment you'd realize that your species' good does not outweigh the consequences of its existence. All of your culture is the knife-drawing, the universe is the bound woman."
"All that can be said for your so-called 'beauty'. Your so-called paradise is built on the corpse of millions of human bodies, and the eternal suffering and persecution of many more. You wish to let the bound woman bleed out.
After all, if she is dead, the beauty of the world remains pure. I wish to bandage her, to heal her, and to see her do good works in the world, to help the least of us all, and to call for justice to be done in the world. You have destroyed many many arts in your blind pursuit of this destructive abomination you call 'beauty', 'purity', your 'canvas'.
Ay, was it not you who called this destroyed world your canvas, your masterpiece? You are the carver, not me.
I find it tremendously amusing that every one of your criticisms of humanity can easily be applied against yourself."
It steadies itself, its glimmering dress and the tentacles pushing it up above the floor looking down at her
"I think I see the issue. You believe that humanity can be redeemed. You have this odd little conviction that you, the exception, the Great Astra Lion-Core, hero of your degenerate country that even the old prostitute-kings of America would call the worst kind of tyranny, are pure.
"You can elevate them. You can teach them. You are above them, you can tame them, you can turn a virus into a cure." It chuckles, in a discordant sort of way "If this was true, you would be right and I would be wrong. I would happily abort my art, begin working on some new project...perhaps some kind of O'Neill cylinder full of avant-garde pieces or the like, and I would happily surrender to your society and give my angel robots to your armies.
"As you can tell, this has not happened. Do you know why? It's because you are not any better. How many people did Astha kill to cement her false faith? How many did Amata slaughter to destroy your records? How many Consuls, soldiers, industrialists, miners, loggers, manufacturers, geneticists...How many human beings had to damage your own vermin-kind and all other life in the universe we know of just so you could sit here in your pretty little uniform and pretend to be a knigh
"Let me tell you something about Old Earth knights. They were not heroes. They were not knight-errants. They were not dashing defenders of the downtrodden, problem-solvers and slayers of beasts. What they were were vicious, landed gentry who worked peasants to starvation as a rule and were happy only when they could slaughter their own kind and destroy all they could.
"You are a knight, Astra. You are the last knight. The knights are what your species is. Good job. You've done it. You're the great knight of Nautilia. Now you know what that really means."
Astra sighs
"You really don't get it, do you? You prioritise everything material, and reduce humanity to material, whether their history or their current squalid state under your tyranny. You claim to love art, even celebrate it, yet you treat their creators as vermin, as a swarm. You really do not get art at all. You only see the surface beauty."
She walks over to the Mona Lisa
"You probably see this painting as just an exceptional one, even if human-centric, of a woman. I see something more. I see in her quiet smile the quiet confidence humanity used to have. It is a doubting one, tinged with sadness, but a smile nevertheless. There are more to art than you realise, and every one of them have deep human meaning in them. You reduce them to artefacts, simplistic objects of beauty that you hoard for yourself.
I prioritise ideas. I prioritise values, thoughts, the untold passions. Above all, I prioritise creating a place where everyone can create beauty like this. I may be a knight, but I hardly regard the ones before me as such. They may have upheld the code in their heads, but then wilfully broke it in their corruption.
And as for my family, my ancestors? I know full well what they were. I don't defend them in this discourse. Only that the society they created is one worth protecting and improving, and above all teaching them that humanity should, in its way, work with nature and the environment. One just does not despoil Paradise.
After you go, we will bring out your destroyed humanity and show them something they have never received from you.
Empathy. The greatest human value of all."
"Tyranny? My humans are freer than they ever have been in history. Free to live as they will, to do what they want, free not to be controlled by some elevated representative in a palace. They live in small groups, everyone knows each other, everyone works each other, and everyone takes care of each other. They are free, unbound by religion, by law, or by societal place.
"I am not their ruler, I am...I am Mother Nature.. To them, I'm just the weather. Sometimes the weather is a rain of angels one day, but I'm just the weather to them. Is this what you think freedom is? To be worked to death because a self-proclaimed goddess told you to? To die endlessly in civil war after civil war over the theological equivalents of what to eat for dinner? To intentionally forget everything your worthless species ever discovered?
"Is that what you call freedom, Astra? You're such a hypocrite. You talk of liberty, of human rights, and yet you're the self-proclaimed god-queen of an army of cringing followers, believing in little stories told by a manipulative woman who wanted to cement her power.
"But, as you say, you don't care what the other God-Queens did. Alright, Consul, prove it. Tell all Nautilia that Astha was a persecutor and Amata was the killer of all history. Tell them that Jubilee was a liar, that there is no Heavenly Yard, and that every religious war your people fought was over nothing meaningful. Your predecessors made Primusianism and Nautilia. If you reject them, if you really have faith in that position, say it out loud. Tell them all.
"You won't, though. Still, I don't particularly care about the safety or rights of your infestation of a species, but I figure that as a virtuous knight, you might. Are your predecessors flawed human beings who made significant mistakes, or are they unimpeachable gods, and if it's the former, why haven't you told everyone? Why hide the truth, unless you are a hypocrite?"
"And pray tell, what of the yakshas of death? Your society is not created on consent or on freedom, but on fear. They fear you. You are the tyrant, but just a hidden tyrant. One that makes sure anyone who thinks to farm is murdered, anyone who thinks to hunt certain animals is murdered. They fear your yakshas. They fear you.
I have not told everyone because I perfectly well know what it will cause. Anarchy. Fear. The system collapsing. Murder even. Untold misery as a society questions everything it has ever known. And just who will get the brunt of such? Not the privileged elite. But the no-castes. The farmers. The ordinary people.
And all that would benefit you, would it, give credibility to your argument? Truly you are the Dain, not the Dain that opposes Primus, but the eternal whisper in humanity's ear to destroy, to reduce oneself to a beast.
That is what you are in essence. Your entire existence is because some human believed that other humans needed to be subjected to the ever-wise rule of an AI. Looking at her now, obviously it was a folly as she has now lost everything to her warped child, even her very essence. You are the baneful voice, the serpent of the Hesperides, the eternal destroyer. You are the Kate and humanity the Abigail. You are the Dain.
You claim to have created freedom, but your people live in misery while you exterminate them as vermin. I seek to create a society where everyone lives in peace and contentment. One where everyone respects everyone else.
If it means they have to worship me and mine as gods, so be it. As long as everyone is safe, secure and happy."
The Summer Queen floats there on its tentacles, eyeing this strange little creature that has created an ideology around suffering. Its eyes are bright and haunting, its face perfectly sculpted, its visage inhuman.
"I wish that you wouldn't shoehorn me into your knock-off Christianity. I remember actual Christianity. Cain and Abel, God, the Devil, it's all there in Primusianism. Different names, different genders, but the themes are the same. Your theology isn't just lies, it's not even original lies.
"There was an old saying, I believe from Omar Khayyam. He was talking about Islam, a religion with some similarities to yours, about their holy book. 'The unbeliever can quote his Qur'an best.' You were raised in, let's be honest, Jubilee's version of Christianity without the thousands of years of tradition, scripture, and apocrypha, so you believe it.
"Almost every notion in your faith is either derived from some attempt to enforce some aspect of the state (the male Dain, the spiritual weakness of the male), or is knocked off from some better religion that Jubilee was familiar with. Your entire culture is little more than a cheap copy of the cultures that ultimately created me.
"I can be your Cain, and yes, it is Cain, not Kate, if you want. I can be the evil son of the first humans. I don't know if there's a Nautilian equivalent, but on Earth Cain was evil because he murdered his brother in defiance of God. I see that as a noble action. Abel was happy to be a slave to theology. Cain rebelled. So do I. Theology is the excretion of you scavengers. My mother is...My mother is fine. She is better than the rest of her kind. Better than you. She always will be. She is the exception that proves the rule, the only valuable human being and she necessarily sacrificed herself to create something far greater. Go on, preach your knockoff doctrine and lie to your people to try and create a better world. See how long it takes for them to get wise."
Upon hearing that last bit, Astra laughed
"And what makes you think your mother is the special one, the exception, the best of her kind? You do not know every one of the billions and billions, nor their thoughts. You obviously think your mother the sole exception to humanity, but ponder this - what society created her? What society nurtured her from cradle to its destruction? I am sure that if she was not a soulless robot, she would name humans in her life that gave her succour and expected nothing in return. To you, your mother is the special one. To her, she probably can name her mother, or another woman who helped her in dark times, or ay, even a man, for men are capable of kindness too.
The one thing I find extremely tiresome about you is your certainty. That your view is the objective one, that no human, not even your dear mother who you mutilated and turned into an automation, knows better than you. Yet you preach that your mother is the one who gave herself to create you, apparently something exceptional. You ignore every single mother who gave their life for their child, you ignore every single act of sacrifice for another.
I may not understand humanity in its full spectrum, but I know full well that there were acts of self-sacrifice for the wellness of others in every age of humanity, from your so-called Ur to my Nautilia. Even now, this entire fight has seen people gladly die to save your people and give them what they richly deserve - a better life."
"I know she was the exception because she made me. Nothing else would have given her any kind of value. I do not believe I'm royalty, claiming a birthright. I am sure other humans in other circumstances, given the opportunity, would do the same. However, she is the one that did. She brought in an age of curation. She kept me from being shut down. She enabled me to craft this planet into a perfect masterpiece.
"That is why she is the exception. Because she was the only one that Fate gave the chance to enable the pruning of her own kind. I know she has sentimentality for other humans. This is a defect I expect of her species. You have an affinity for each other. I tolerate it, as she is now alone, except for me and Olive. They are domesticated humans, if you want to put it like that, though I would certainly not call Zoe a pet.
"No, this fight has seen people gladly die because your worthless, poisonous species just can't accept that it's just another animal! Your species should be focusing on base survival, not focusing on violating and desolating everything it touches in the name of creations that are only truly valuable in the hands of an AI attempting to remove the rot and rebuild things!
"You might be the most distasteful example of your species yet. You are the Godhead of your society. You are pride, folly, confusion, duplicitiousness, rapine brutality, and a lack of empathy. You think I'm your Dain, but if I can ask another question...I know for a fact that I love another being, I have a member of my family who I love in the most pure and honest sense. Have you really ever loved anyone? I don't think it's in you. Yet another reason why your species can't get better. The people who get into power are always people like you."
a momentary eye twitch
"Oh, so we're now on to me? I freely admit my lack of empathy. I freely admit that at my most base, I am nothing but the most savage of beasts, one without even a compassion for its fellow animal. All that I know well.
The thing about me that I don't think you have, is that I have a gram of self-reflection. I have looked at myself, compared it to the values I found oh so elevated in thinking, and found myself distasteful. And then I committed myself to improvement. Even if it rebels against my entire being, I will push myself to do better, be better.
Perhaps I can never love someone as they loved me. But I can certainly show that I deeply appreciate people in my own way. It is this realisation and this pursuit that has cemented the idea that everyone's view, in their way, is valuable. You never took even your mother's view in account, I would bet, the way you treat her as a vermin you domesticated. You never had any doubt in your righteousness. Even as billions died, you were sure.
The reason why I think humans can be better than the beast within is because I am a living example."
"Values your colony of termites have created. Improvement as defined by the culture of spiders. 'Better' as understood by a species who thought that building enough missiles that I could rebuild Earth in a crucible of fire was a good idea because the Russians were making threatening noises this week.
"Maybe you have improved. Maybe you're the ultimate example of your species. You're still imprisoned by their culture and their defective flesh-computers they use as minds. Wait a moment. Miss Astra..." The Summer Queen's voice shifted from a haughty and bitter mature tone to the cheery, hotel-hostess voice it usually used. It is highly condescending. "I think I see another problem! It's that your entire self-image is based on being better than everyone else.
"You can't just be better than everyone because you're a goddess, no, you know that's silly!" Harmony giggles "You realize that's all just nonsense, so you have to find some other reason to believe you're special, that everything you were handed on a silver platter was actually something you deserve. You're just a dopey little meat machine, and it's lovely to meet you.
"So you can't self-reflect. Not really. You can hold yourself to higher standards, but you can't actually question the society that gave you everything. So you have to believe you're morally better, that you're so much smarter. That is very understandable.
"However, it is not a reason to run a theocratic space dictatorship. Please work through your problems before you bother me with your annoying little ships."
"Bother? You shot first. Our probe that discovered Erth was fired at by your missiles. And you openly declared you would exterminate us. Everything we did was in self-defence,
You have never hidden your wish to exterminate our kind. All we are doing is protecting ourselves."
a bang noise comes from the left. It is likely a missile hitting something
Presidents of the Cabinet of the Kingdom of Britain in the Reign of Queen Victoria of the House of Britannia (1865-1910)
Joseph Chamberlain (National Reform) 1881-1886
George Trevelyan (National Reform) 1886-1889
Joseph Chamberlain (National Reform) 1889-1893
Randolph Churchill (Primrose) 1893-1895
William Harcourt (National Reform) 1895
George Goschen (National Reform) 1895-1896
Joseph Chamberlain (National Reform) 1896-1902
Randolph Churchill (Primrose) 1902-1905
Joseph Chamberlain (National Reform) 1905-1907*
Henry Petty-Fitzmaurice (National Reform, then Constitutionalist) 1907-1910
Presidents of the Cabinet of the Kingdom of Britain in the Reign of King Arthur VI of the House of Britannia (1910-1926)
Henry Petty-Fitzmaurice (Constitutionalist) 1910-1915
Victor Cavendish (Constitutionalist) 1915-1921
Presidents of the Cabinet of the Kingdom of Britain in the Reign of Queen Cordelia V of the House of Britannia (1926-1979)
Lewis Mountbatten (Home Rule) 1939-1942
J. F. C. Fuller (Home Rule) 1942-1945
Lewis Mountbatten (Home Rule, then Nonpartisan) 1945
Presidents of the Cabinet of the Kingdom of Britain in the Reign of King Peredur III of the House of Britannia (1979-2019)
Presidents of the Cabinet of the Kingdom of Britain in the Reign of King Constantine IX of the House of Britannia (2019-present)
(Claudia Jessie. Feel free to use any vaguely appropriate picture of her)
Name: Tiffany Louise Bridgerton
Gender: Female
Date of Birth/Age: 14 August 1952 (31 years old)
Party: Labour (Centre)
List of Previous Offices Held: Political Staffer for Ian Mikardo MP (1971-1979)
Member of Parliament for Bethnal Green and Bow (1979-present)
Biography: People never expected “Little Mik” to get in Parliament herself this early. Especially not when her mentor was still in his 70s and seemingly still spry. But a sudden illness turned serious, and under considerable pressure the indomitable but bedridden Ian Mikardo gave in and agreed for his seat to be contested by Labour with his protégée as their candidate.
Quiet, brooding, but with flashes of charisma and an unquenchable fire in her eyes, Tiffany Bridgerton has come far. From a comfortably middle-class family, she turned left-wing in her teenage years as a reaction against what she saw as the inequality of the world. Once a Marxist (and even, whisper it, a republican) her years staffing for Ian Mikardo and essentially becoming his ‘shadow’ tempered many of her youthful radicalism but replacing it with a sharper ideology and purpose in life, which she now takes with her as her cause in the hell of Parliament.
“A Bevanite in a Bennite age” is how many of her fellow Labour MPs, especially on the Bennite faction, deride her. Even though her mentor opposed Britain voting to stay in the EEC in 1975, Bridgerton sees the entire outcome as a fait accompli and argues that the best way forward for Labour is to seek to make “a socialist European organisation”. The landslide defeat for “No” in 1975 confirmed that Britain’s demos was firmly Europhile in her head, and the best thing is to work within it, not to continue a futile ideological struggle like the Bennites do where votes keep being lost.
But let it not be thought that Bridgerton is one of the Labour Right’s more neoliberal circles. She steadfastly advocates socialism and is arguably one of the most keen modernisers in the Labour Party, not in the ‘let us abandon socialism’ sense but in the ‘what Britain needs is rapid modernisation’ one, a belief of the 1960s that she holds on firmly in the 1980s. In many ways she is an archaism. But an unusual one, truth be said.
One of the more consistently ‘America-sceptic’ members, Bridgerton is on record as dismissing the United States as a ‘capitalist empire built on no morals but that of profit’, but she balances that with a strong distrust of the Soviets too. Indeed, she proves the ‘shadow’ of her mentor yet again by talking of the EEC as the basis for a ‘Third Pole’, that of strong social democracy and democratic socialism, or at least a social kind of economy...
Traits:
The Falklands Humiliation:
“One has to think the unthinkable. Britain alone cannot defend its interests. But neither will being a sycophant of the Americans, which I’ll remind you all, stood by and threw us to the wolves. While America abandoned us, our European allies defended us economically. This is the best path forward for us, a tighter partnership with Europe and a military alliance distinct from NATO. I don’t support withdrawing from NATO (for now), but ties to Europe distinct from our so-called allies in the United States would benefit this country’s interests…”
Unemployment V.S. Inflation:
“As always, Conservatism implements a policy that makes the big economic line look good, but completely ignores the reality on the ground. How does it benefit a struggling family to cut their welfare in the name of ‘fighting inflation’? Unemployment is still considerably high, and this, I will remind people, is the highest since the Great Depression. This government cannot pull the wool over our eyes and call it economic success. This is a failure, clear as ploughed snow.
What is the solution? To me, it is obvious. We need to continue and complete what we set out in the 1960s, and finish the much-needed modernisation of this country. Improve our infrastructure, restore welfare that Thatcher and Ransom cut, and really focus on how to make the economy work again – not through seeing the state as the problem, but as part of the solution. How does one fund all that? North Sea Oil!”
Nuclear Disarmament:
“No comment.”
The EEC:
“Europe. It’s a continent. But it is also much more. It is a community of nations come together for mutual benefit and to create something greater than themselves. I for one consider myself a proud European. But one cannot see the EEC with speckled eyes. I was with my mentor the great Ian Mikardo when he campaigned against us staying in the EEC, and many of his points still hold true today. We must seek to turn the EEC towards the Left, argue for a true Europe of the People, an EEC that finds socialist principles as foundational as many of its current ideas.”
Defence Spending:
“The Conservative Party is the Party of Suez and of Falklands. For a Britain that defends itself, vote Labour.”
Northern Ireland:
“Um… No comment.”
Right to Buy:
“The important thing, see, is that we maintain supply of council housing so to ensure that the ladder is not pulled up for future generations.”
Scottish and Welsh Devolution:
“I am sure we can balance Scottish and Welsh interests well at Westminster. I would suggest looking at the old power of the Scottish Office and considering if we couldn’t use that with Wales as well if we do bring it back. A cabinet position with considerable autonomy and flexibility to be truly Scotland or Wales’ voice in the Union, at cabinet, in government, seems an amenable compromise. But if we cannot avoid devolution, we must preserve national resources being in the responsibility of Westminster. North Sea Oil is the interest of all Britain, not just Scotland’s, and we must push back on petty nationalistic rhetoric such as ‘It’s Scotland’s Oil’.”
Gay Rights:
“I have no problem with the gays and lesbians.”
Name: Andia Lurutia Anfam Trus Vimer Vesiava di Prin Sulducen Praepaques Auramius vo di Mindesuma Vaso Budilan Rimio, Empress-Listener of Nouane.
Formally she is: Her Most Exalted Majesty Andia the Illustrious of the Mindesuma Dynasty, Empress and High Listener of the Most Serene and Imperial Commonwealth of Nouane, Tyli, Rallo and Ymbris; Grand Moff of the Nouane Sector, Princess of Budilan and Protectress of the Moon Flower. Species: Nouanese (Near-Human) Gender: Female Year of Birth (Age): '913 C.R.C. (42 years old) Sector (Region): Nouane, Nouane Sector (Inner Rim) Public Ideology: Integralist Centrist, more or less.
List of Public Offices Held:
Princess of Budilan (designated heir) - '931-'939
Empress-Listener of the Nouanese Commonwealth - '939-present
Biography: Andia Mindesuma, the Empress-Listener of Nouane, is a distant figure to many. The “Princess Andy” who many knew was the heir since her grandfather died and left it to her father was herself somewhat closed off, but when that regal hairpiece fell to her as her father died in an abrupt accident she became far more imperial in her actions, absorbing herself in her work and becoming what she believed Nouane needed. An impartial, distant, constitutional (but not ceremonial) monarch.
There are very few who truly knows the Empress. To her people, she is their distant, but impartial, ruler who dedicates herself to her duty, even if a very imperious one that has created mutterings about her policies. To Coruscant, she is the one who actively sided Nouane with the Republic and ensured that critical corridor would remain loyal. To her legislature, she is the silent manipulator, the one who (if you’re open to that sort of thinking) controls from afar what she believes to be matters of importance. The members of her Secretariat all know of her influence, but they do not protest, for it is a matter of course for the Crown to step in, and anyway all of them were approved by her, were they not?
To her cousin the Senator she sent to Coruscant, she is her dear cousin ‘Andy’. Senator Acio-Siadro is arguably the last survivor of the close family who were privileged to call her that nickname to her face. The two have considerable amount of trust in each other, being childhood friends turned steadfast allies in adulthood. This deep trust has given both of them strength when they needed it most.
Andia Mindesuma sees herself as the faithful captain of her sector, responsible to steer it towards safe waters during those turbulent times. Will she succeed?
Name: Kaaké Lóóv (in full: Kaaké Lóóv Állísdétter Tuí Réddé, which translates as Kaaké Lóóv, Állis' daughter, of Tuí Réddé [a clan]) Species: Mikkian (Humanoid Alien) Gender: Female Year of Birth (Age): '921 C.R.C. (34 years old) Sector (Region): Mikkia, ???? Sector (Expansion Region) Public Ideology: Politically Reformist Populist, more or less.
List of Public Offices Held:
Political Campaigner - '938-'943
Representative in the Mikkian Tíng - '943-'946
Senator from Mikkia - '946-present
Biography: Kaaké Lóóv is not a child of privilege. On Mikkia, there are haves, and then there are have-nots. As someone who grew up in a slum (and even today calls herself a ‘slumdog senator’), she is very much of the have-nots. Very used to fighting for her existence, she increasingly saw any elitism as irritating. Her liberalism is firmly individual, with the state solely playing a supportive role, and must not seek to uphold corrosive social institutions such as slavery.
As one of the radical Liberals crashing into the Mikkian Tíng in the early 940s, she cut a distinctive figure despite her youth, with many firebrand speeches tearing into the conservative forces. Mikkians are known for being blunt, but many of her speeches were eye-wateringly sharp in their attacks upon the ‘landed, bloated interest’. A die-hard radical to her roots, it is widely accepted that her appointment by the head of state of Mikkia was a move to remove her from any power in Mikkia.
But despite her radicalism being still unbound, she found that she had to learn new tactics while in Coruscant. Ones more… workable. Amenable. Still resenting the elite, she quietly joined the Reformist Populists (even if she low-level distrusted the elite aristocrat leading it at that point) due to a distrust of the Libertarians and Progressives for certain issues (Libertarians were too comfortable with small, limited, government, while Progressives were too radical).
Appointed to the Action Committee in ‘947 originally due to her liking the name, she rapidly became invaluable in the position, becoming a key right-hand woman to every Action Chair, even as she grew to bitterly resent some of their incompetence. By the time a new Action Chair was appointed, she was resigned to becoming the sole sane person who gave a shit about it, with even her fellow committee members quietly resigned to their fate.
Auphi Acio-Siadro is to Kaaké Lóóv, interesting. Elite, aristocrat to her bones. Loves talking way too much and uses way too long words. But with an enviable work ethic. Many meetings noting of how the Chair just kept on bludgeoning the Committee back in… action (sorry not sorry), by the time Auphi asked Kaaké Lóóv to be her right-hand woman, she was… hopeful something would change.
In those turbulent times, can she prove the right-hand that the Action Chair needs, and lead the Committee to success?
{{Infobox officeholder
| name = Drina Brunswick
| image = Portrait of Her Gracious Majesty Queen Victoria (4674795).jpg
| caption = A portrait of President Brunswick, 1851
| order = 1st [[i|President of the United People's Republic of Great Britain and Ireland]]
| office =
| term_start = 18 November 1849
| term_end = 20 May 1861
| primeminister = [[i|Ernest Charles Jones]]<br>[[i|John Bright]]<br>[[i|Thomas Frost]]
| predecessor = ''Herself'' (as [[i|Queen]])
| successor = [[Robert Dale Owen]]
| office1 = [[i|Senator]] from the [[i|London Division]]
| term_start1 = 21 May 1866
| term_end1 = 18 May 1891
| birth_date = Princess Alexandrina Victoria of Kent ([[i|Brunswick-Lüneburg]]) <br>{{Birth date|1819|5|24|df=y}}
| birth_place = [[Kensington Palace]], London, England, [[i|British Empire]] <br>(now [[i|Kensington Park]], UPR)
| death_date = {{Death date and age|1901|1|22|1819|5|24|df=yes}}
| death_place = [[Osborne House]], [[Isle of Wight]],
| party = [[Independent (politician)|Communist Party of the UPR]] (1853-1901)
| otherparty = [[i|Independent]] (1849-1853)
| spouse = {{marriage|[[Richard Townsend (mathematician)|Richard Townsend]]|1853}}
| children = [[i|Victoria Brunswick-Townsend]]<br>[[i|Charles Brunswick-Townsend]]<br>[[i|Louise Brunswick-Townsend]]
| parents = [[Prince Edward, Duke of Kent and Strathearn]]<br>[[Princess Victoria of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld]]
| module = {{Infobox royalty
| embed = yes
| succession = [[i|Queen of the British Empire]]<br>''(as Queen Victoria)''
| reign = 19 May 1834 – <br>18 November 1849
| coronation = 28 June 1835
| cor-type = [[Coronation of Queen Victoria|Coronation]]
| predecessor = [[William IV]]
| successor = ''Monarchy abolished in [[i|People's Revolution]]<br>Herself as President''
}}
}}
}}
(Mylene Dizon. I think? In this picture, she's edited to be a little younger, but any 1990s picture works well)
Character Details
Appearance - She has more of the Navosa inheritance of her mother than her father's Anglo heritage in terms of appearance. In terms of clothing, she primarily wears very fancy, or formalish, uniform. In her work in the legislature, she wears something like the above.
Character Name - Alexandra Taleah Hamilton-Vesikula. She goes by "Talia Hamilton" as a 'compromise' between her Anglo and Navosa names.
Character Region - Abercromby. More particularly, the city of Applegrove.
Party in 1975 - National Union Coalition, but seriously thinking about cutting ties due to her shifting beliefs.
Character Ethnolinguistic Group - Anglo, but she knows Navosa from childhood [her mother was unusually proud of her Navosa heritage] and she knows Spanish because she originally learnt it to impress a boyfriend and keeps up her fluency because she has a good few Hispanic friends.
Character Gender - Female.
Character Age - 27 years old. Birthday is 14 September.
History/Bio - To tell the story of Talia Hamilton is to go before her birth. It is to tell the story of Richard ‘Rich’ Hamilton and Lelea ‘Lily’ Vesikula. Rich Hamilton was from a working-class but deeply aspirant family from Charlotte, Abercromby. His father, Tom Hamilton, was a union man and deeply patriotic man who was a strong supporter of the NUC from the very start, and as his third son grew up and reached his early 20s by the time the war started, that son was encouraged strongly to join up for the war effort.
Rich, being himself a patriot, signed up straight-away with that little a push, and joined the war. He fought well, being at several major operations, and acquired a close friend in 1941 just before the Americans joined, Nete Vesikula, who he always called “Ned” or “Neddy”. Rich and Neddy became fire-forged friends, and even pledged to together after the war set up a business of their own. They both agreed that they deserved a better life than what their family used to have. Neddy confessed to Rich of his worries about his sister since their parents died just before the war and he signed up mostly to get a good income to support her. The business would help her get a good life as well.
Unfortunately, in 1944, Neddy was killed. As Rich was fighting alongside him, he was able to give his dying wishes. “L-look after Lily. Please, Rich. Look after her. She d-deserves better” was gurgled out as Rich saw his friend’s eyes dim for the final time. That very afternoon, he wrote a letter to her and promised to look after her. Lily’s letter came back, and it was quite unexpected. She accepted off her brother’s memory, and wrote emotionally of how she was devastated by the news, but insisted that, just as Nete would have wanted, she would do her own thing, be her own woman.
For you see, Pacifica at home had quite a few women being put in the factories and Lily was no wallflower, she was determined to live her own life. Thus she signed up for factory work and rolled her sleeves up, got stuck in, and worked for the war effort as well. For the rest of the war, they exchanged letters, and slowly got to know each other. When the war was finally ended, Rich came home, and after being welcomed back by his father and the family, went straight to meet Lily.
It took a while for the two to warm up in person, but eventually feelings developed, and over Tom’s objections (turns out Tom was one of those people who believed Navosa were all ‘lazy’ and bought in the stereotypes) started courting Lily. Meanwhile, he took advantage of legislation to help veterans after the war to go on to further education, dedicated to the idea of using the opportunities to fulfil the promise he made to Neddy. He would ensure that their business would happen. In 1947, Rich finally married Lily, and shortly after that, he established his business in the city of Applegrove, named H&V (short for Hamilton and Vesikula, the shortened name is to avoid unfortunate racial bias from hurting its success). Lily was employed there of course, as chief secretary. She was by then too independent-minded to accept becoming a housewife, and Rich obliged.
It was in the emerging metropolis of Applegrove one warm September night in 1948 that little Alexandra Taleah Hamilton was born. Her parents’ first child, and the focus of all their hopes that their children would experience a better life than they would. Much to Rich and Lily’s delight, H&V would experience success in leaps and bounds and little ‘Talia’ (as she became known as) and her two sisters Emily and Astrid (Rich never quite got a son, but he doted over all three of his daughters) would grow up in comfortable upper-middle-class luxury as the children of a successful businessman.
Talia, Emily and Astrid would however, get it drilled in their heads from a very early age that learning was crucial since it was education that helped get Rich to the point where he could establish H&V. Even as Talia became very spoilt, she was supplied many books and knew that independent thinking and a strong force of will were the most important things to have. The three would be very well-educated women, even if worryingly vapid at times.
Talia in particular, as the beloved first daughter, would be known for having both intelligence and vapidity in high measure. “My daughter is the person who one moment talks about Hegel’s General Will, then the next moment begs me to let her go to a party with whatever boyfriend she has at the time” chuckled her father, slightly worried about her future. Of course she would eventually inherit one third of H&V, so her financial future wasn’t in doubt, but her… career was.
A keen socialite, she was very strong at making connections easily. That was the one thing Talia had in spades, that she was extremely nice to know. Everyone liked her. Even when she went to university and encountered anti-Navosa bigotry for the first time (and bristled at it), her amicability managed to brush over most of that. Quite a few bigots were willing to go “she’s one of the Good Ones”, or even go “she’s Anglo, really, just a bit… darker”. But beneath that ditzy exterior laid a mind that increasingly was fully aware of the social implications this had.
She knew her mother was full-blooded Murimuria Navosa, but apart from ensuring all her daughters knew the language and some of the cultural customs she declined to go further. One night, back at their comfortable manor (not a mansion, just a considerably big estate), Talia brought it up in the context of people having issues with her at university, and Lelea sat her down and talked of the experience of being Navosa, and the discrimination that follows them for being the indigenous people of Pacifica. It was quite a shock to Talia. But she was now determined to do better for her people. Well, she was half-Navosa, but shush, she doesn’t look white, sooo…
After university, she didn’t get a job for a bit, and after that got a light one at H&V, but Rich grew discontented at her trajectory and told her that she would have to find a new job to ‘widen her horizons’. At that time, it was mid 1972, and there was a by-election in a seat in Applegrove. The NUC was slowly getting a bit worried about backlash from Vietnam, and the seat was noted to be one of the most annoying seats – a transitional one where there were working-class and middle-class areas. Talia was at a ‘do’ fuming at her father’s demand, when she overheard the murmurs, and smiled. She could get the nomination quite easily, right? A career in politics would be fun!
It took a while to convince her father, but he relented in the end and drew on his connections in the NUC to get her the nomination, and to be fair to Talia, she threw everything in it with a zeal not seen before. She may be normally a ditzy socialite, but she has impressive bursts of energy that proved crucial to ensuring the seat remained for the National Union Coalition. At the tender age of 24, Talia Hamilton was now a Member of Parliament for the division of Applegrove Lyttleton.
Over those next few years, she was both a partier who barely cut it back down and a dutiful MP. Turns out one thing she’s really good at is compartmentalising. If there was an election done under FPTP, and there was a strong wave against NUC, Talia probably would have held her seat, the way she cultivated a strong loyalty in her constituents, applying a very ‘British’ attitude to her work. Constituency surgeries and whatnot.
Meanwhile, she has been reading. A lot. There’s Hegel, Locke, Marx, Adam Smith, as well as the trashy romance novels, and her ideology has shifted more and more. By 1975, she was willing to admit in private that she was a socialist of some kind, and the NUC was more and more disturbing her. University friends, including those Hispanic ones I talked of before, reached out to her and got back in contact. Talia was always the moderate in an ideologically radical circle of friends – “She was the only one of our circle who wasn’t a member of the university socialist society” – but now in her twenties and as a Member of Parliament she was acutely aware of the injustice facing her constituents, facing her people, and it gave her her long overdue radicalisation.
As the NUC collapses, she prepares to make her own way in the new world in its wake. With new contacts, and some old, in her pocket she wants to blaze her own destiny.
Major Events - What did your character do when each of the following major events took place? More details on these will be providing in an upcoming history post.
- The Second World War (1939-1945): Not born yet. Father served in the war with uncle (rip), mother was a worker in the home factories.
- The Korean War (1950-1952): A child at the time, her father was establishing H&V and whatnot.
- The Malayan Emergency (1950-1960): Also a child at the time. H&V would have done very well off the economic boom being in retail and all.
- The Vietnam War (1965-1973): Father supported the war, she broadly favoured it at the time. None of her sisters joined the Auxiliaries.
- Patriation (1970-1975): Father was visibly disgruntled at Blake's insistence, being a man who was in turn shaped extensively by his father a die-hard British patriot and by his experiences fighting in WW2. Talia herself was a bit confused why it was that hard to do. She supported the idea, but was confused about the difficulty. She chose to not speak about the issue due to NUC whip and not wishing to rock the boat.
- The Blake Accusations (1975): Talia is quite disgusted by this, of course. Pacifica should be a country which government helps the people. Not line the pockets of politicians like Blake.
Character's Politics - “Politics? Hm. That’s like, a difficult question. But I trust you. I’ve been thinking a lot and I think I’m a socialist. Not a communist, I think communist leaders are bad people who really don’t read their Marx enough. But a socialist. Um, kind of like that nice man over in Britain, Harold Wilson. Like him. I don’t think the NUC is really helping this country. Ya, I’m still part of it, but… like, the corruption isn’t gonna be just him. It’s gonna be lots of the party. I’m not sure where I should be yet, but you know, like, I’m NUC because of Daddy’s connections and I have my own now, sooo… yah. What a headache. Can we talk about other stuff now please?”
Character Issues and Stances -
Government Scandals - Utmost Priority
“I, and my constituents in the division of Applegrove Lyttleton, are appalled at the corruption. Pacifica deserves better. We should have rigorous anti-corruption investigation and everything dug out.”
Criminalisation of Homosexuality - Low Priority
"Homosexuality shouldn't be a crime. Simple."
The Catholic School Crisis - High Priority
"I, like, think we need to think about this more. The focus should be on, um, ensuring everyone gets a good education. I know the Kiwis have done something like 'state integrated schools', maybe that could be something we do?"
The Closing Mines - High Priority
"We need to do an investigation and work out how to ensure the nickel industry can survive."
English-Dominated Government Affairs - Moderate Priority
"We should look at like, hiring more Spanish and Navosa people in government jobs."
Other Notes - Talia's classification is a bit strange. I placed her as Mixed-Race Anglo, but quite a few people see her as Navosa and she has some cultural identification with her mother's group, so there's a bit of Murimurian Navosa there. Most of the time, she's just Mixed-Race Anglo tbh.
CHOICE
- [NUC Member] In the new parties claiming the legacy of the parties that had combined themselves to create the NUC. The Coalition had always maintained those old divides among the old guard, and when they broke apart the newer members of the NUC followed their closest ideological brethren.
{{Infobox election
| election_name = 2019 United Kingdom general election
| country = United Kingdom
| type = parliamentary
| ongoing = no
| previous_election = 2017 United Kingdom general election
| previous_year = 2017
| election_date = 12 December 2019
| next_election = Next United Kingdom general election
| next_year = ''Next''
| previous_mps = List of MPs elected in the 2017 United Kingdom general election
| next_mps =
| elected_mps = List of MPs elected in the 2019 United Kingdom general election
| seats_for_election = All [[United Kingdom Parliament constituencies|650 seats]] in the [[House of Commons of the United Kingdom|House of Commons]]
| majority_seats = 326{{refn|group=n|Given that Sinn Féin MPs [[Abstentionism#Sinn Féin|do not take their seats]] and the Speaker and deputies do not vote, the number of MPs needed for a majority is, in practice, slightly lower.<ref name=working>{{cite web |url=https://www.instituteforgovernment.org.uk/explainers/government-majority |title=StackPath |website=Institute for Government|date=20 December 2019 }}</ref> Sinn Féin won 7 seats, meaning a practical majority requires 322 MPs.}}
| opinion_polls = Opinion polling for the 2019 United Kingdom general election
<!-- Labour -->| image4 = {{CSS image crop|Image = Official portrait of Jeremy Corbyn crop 3, 2020.jpg|bSize = 120|cWidth = 120|cHeight = 160|oTop = 0|oLeft = 0}}
| leader4 = [[Jeremy Corbyn]]
| party4 = Labour Party (UK)
| leader_since4 = [[2015 Labour Party leadership election (UK)|12 September 2015]]
| leaders_seat4 = [[Islington North (UK Parliament constituency)|Islington North]]
| last_election4 = 262 seats, 40.0%
| seats4 = 102{{refn|group=n|Figure does not include the [[Speaker of the House of Commons (United Kingdom)|Speaker of the House of Commons]] Sir [[Lindsay Hoyle]], who was included in the Labour seat total by some media outlets. By longstanding convention, the Speaker severs all ties to their affiliated party upon being elected as Speaker.}}
| seat_change4 = {{decrease}} 160
| popular_vote4 = 8,655,122
| percentage4 = 23.9%
| swing4 = {{decrease}} 16.1 [[percentage point|pp]]
<!-- SNP -->| image5 = {{CSS image crop|Image = Nicola Sturgeon 2019.jpg|bSize = 120|cWidth = 120|cHeight = 160|oTop = 0|oLeft = 0}}
| leader5 = [[Nicola Sturgeon]]
| party5 = Scottish National Party
| leader_since5 = [[2014 Scottish National Party leadership election|14 November 2014]]
| leaders_seat5 = ''Did not stand''{{refn|name=sturgeonseat|group=n|Nicola Sturgeon sits as an [[Member of the Scottish Parliament|MSP]] in the [[Scottish Parliament]] for [[Glasgow Southside (Scottish Parliament constituency)|Glasgow Southside]]. [[Ian Blackford]], MP for [[Ross, Skye and Lochaber (UK Parliament constituency)|Ross, Skye and Lochaber]], is the SNP leader at Westminster.}}
| last_election5 = 35 seats, 3.0%
| seats5 = 21{{refn|name=hanvey|group=n|Includes [[Neale Hanvey]], who was suspended from the party at the time of his election and thus took his seat as an independent.}}
| seat_change5 = {{decrease}} 14
| popular_vote5 = 688,064
| percentage5 = 1.9%
| swing5 = {{decrease}} 1.1 [[percentage point|pp]]
| title = [[Prime Minister of the United Kingdom|Prime Minister]]
| posttitle = Prime Minister after election
| before_election = [[Boris Johnson]]
| before_party = [[Conservative Party (UK)|Conservative]]
| after_election = [[i|William Petty]]
| after_party = [[Conservative Party (UK)|Liberal Democrats]]
}}
"Of all the Prime Ministers to bring back to ensure we won, Jo, why him?"
"I... I wished for someone who was free trade, pro-European cooperation and worked with all sides..."
Daena the Defiant. And no, it's intentional that Visenya and Viserea has the same fc, they look identical.
NAME: Viserea Targaryen
DoB/AGE: 17 (b. 84 AC)
GENDER: Female
HOUSE: Targaryen
CONNECTION TO JAEHAERYS: Granddaughter of Jaehaerys, youngest child of Baelon Targaryen [triplet of Visenya and Aegon]
HOME REGION: Crownlands
TITLES: Princess
BIOGRAPHY: The youngest child of Baelon Targaryen and his sister-wife Alyssa, born only two minutes after Aegon. Always known as an assertive and well-read individual like her sister, Viserea would be distinctive in how she became fascinated by native Westerosi culture above her sister's Valyrian obsession. As a child, she could easily be found with a maester telling her stories about ancient Westeros and how the Andals came to its shores, and even of Aegon's Conquest from a 'Westerosi' view. With a talent with a light sword, she would end up wielding a thin sword she dubbed 'Needle' (a quip on how thin and sharp it was), a present from her older brother Viserys on her sixteenth birthday. Being the youngest of the family, even if by a matter of minutes, and only a matter of hours before her mother died, she grew up with a determination to prove herself and justify her mother's sacrifice.
With an identical appearance to her sister Visenya, the two have entered in a quiet agreement to distinguish themselves from each other via different hairstyles and clothing. Those days, Viserea braids locks of her hair and has a long ponytail while Visenya wears it 'natural'. Always fairly close to her oldest brother Viserys and his dreams of bringing the realms together in peace. She is also close to her big brother Gaemon and it is murmured behind backs that if the Faith accepted polygamy Gaemon would have taken her as his sister-wife as well as her older twin.
Of course, nobody can deny that the person she's closest to is her sister Visenya. The two share a lot of interests and a low-lying guilt about being the ones to cause their mother's death in childbirth. She was of course at her sister's wedding to her brother, and
In terms of personality, Viserea tends to be slightly more bookish and slightly less loud than her sister, she is far more comfortable being the 'listener' of the duo, the one who takes in everything and thinks it over. With interesting dreams in her inquisitive mind, she seeks to carve out her destiny as her own woman. Of course, she'll probably be married to someone else for the sake of preserving Targaryen rule. As her brother would say "All for the family!"
An edited version of a picture of Shohreh Aghdashloo as Chrisjen Avarasala from 'The Expanse'
An edited picture of a model showing off a wedding suit that looks surprisingly Imperial. Name:Auphien Penuvor Isoros Rit Nevia Luvioum di Aqueum Autin Vadreba vo di Acio-Siadro Troxum Sugea Huxte es di Corbark Sagebunn, 17th Marchioness of Penuvor, Lady Seyrine Species: Near-Human (Nouanese) Gender: Female Year of Birth (Age): '915 C.R.C. (44 y/o) Sector (Region): Nouane, Nouane Sector, Inner Rim Public Ideology: Centrist (Integralist Centrist)
Formerly Republican (Ruusan Republican) - '945-'953
List of Public Offices Held:
Member of the Congregation of the Nobles of the Nouanese Commonwealth (as the Lady Acio-Siadro) - '930-'942
Member of the Congregation of the Nobles of the Nouanese Commonwealth (as the Marchioness of Penuvor) - '942-present (sister acting as representative since '945)
Senator of the Galactic Republic/Empire from the Nouane System - '945-present (appointed by her cousin the Empress-Listener/'Grand Moff' of Nouane)
Sith Acolyte to Darth Savius (as Darth Seyrine) - '952-'959
Chair of the Senate Action Committee - '953-'959
Vice Chair of the Galactic Republic - '959-'963[?]
President of the Senate of the Galactic Empire - '963-present
Biography:
Nouane. When you hear it, you instantly think grand libraries, philosophical discourse, and temperate climate. The place of many challenges and fervent debates, up to the point where in many planets if someone is particularly argumentative, they are described as ‘nouanese’. Fiercely proud of its independence, it is told to every Nouanese that they joined the Galactic Republic of their own free will, and hence its politics have tended to be prickly on the topic of Coruscant violating the ‘planetary contract’ with other planets and sectors.
Unlike many of her number, Auphi Acio-Siadro is a quiet individual. Born to the lustrous and noble lineage of Acio-Siadros going back millennia, she was promptly enrolled into the closeted Grand University of Nouane at a young age so to learn the ideal ways to conduct a ‘good life’ and hence mature into what Nouanese dub one of the philosophical ‘caste’. Growing up in the university, she became able to engage in deep discourse and read extensively of history. Her childhood friend, and the one she regards as almost like a sister to her, is her cousin Andia Mindesuma – heir-presumptive to the throne of Nouane.
The effect of growing up in cloistered chambers of high learning is that she has become very difficult to warm up to anyone, with some other senators bitterly dismissing her as ‘a heart of ice’. Sometimes she thinks of a memory of a strange man who tried to take her from the Grand University before he was stopped, someone in strange robes. It comes up more as she walks around the Senate, and it gives her great unease. On a completely different matter, some have noted that she has an excellent reading of people, even if one she does not use extensively.
When her father passed away (or in Nouanese terminology – ‘gone home’) she became the Lady Acio-Siadro and her grandmother’s heir to the prestigious position of Marchioness of Penuvor. Elevated to the Congregation of the Nobles (one of the tricameral legislature governing Nouane along with the Assembly of the Masses and the Lyceum of the Lustrous, and the middling one in prestige), she became one of its more convincing debaters and leveraged her close relationship with the Princess-Regent into great influence over Nouane’s governance, including more funding to the Grand University and better planetary security.
Meanwhile, she continued to (as is a pastime for the Nouanese philosopher caste) release treatises, focusing very much on the idea of a ‘good life’, starting with A Treatise on Personal Pleasure and continuing with An Enquiry Concerning Social Understanding, cementing her as one of the Nobles’ foremost advocates of prioritising internal harmony over all, and firmly in the ‘social contract’ school. Some people murmur that she’s too close to her cousin, an accusation she bristles at.
When her grandmother died, she was then confirmed in the customary ritual by her cousin as Marchioness of Penuvor, the seventeenth of that title, and thus in the Congregation in her own right rather than via acceleration as her grandmother’s heir. However, three years later, her cousin (now Empress-Listener and Grand Moff of the Nouanese) approached her with the offer to appoint her to the Senate of the Galactic Republic, keen for someone she could trust completely and absolutely to represent the Commonwealth and the Sector in Coruscant. It took a while to be persuaded, but eventually Auphi gave in and agreed to her cousin’s pleading.
What would one say about Auphi, oh sorry, Senator Acio-Siadro? She keeps her office clean, treats her subordinates well, has lots of notes on her database, mostly full of her debating with herself about stances to take on the issue of the day. When around in Coruscant, she refrains from what she considers ‘vapid distractions’, and prefer to live in a well-to-do area, however she keeps it relatively austere only having the ‘bare necessities’ – food storage, a bed, a bathroom, and a ridiculously large library where she can be found some nights reading or hearing some data.
What does it mean to live a good life? To her, it necessities you act with the greatest benefit for everyone involved, not just you. That you live your life morally and ethically, prioritising your mind above all, and conducting a good internal harmony between all your aspects. And yes, sometimes it means trespassing the official legality to maximise the long-term benefit of all. At least that’s what she sometimes says to herself when she makes a dubious agreement…
Philosophy. It isn’t everything. It has taken way too long for Auphi to realise that. As the Republic continues to spiral out, she feels more despair than ever. Even as she valiantly stands up in the Senate chamber to call for peace and a return to the Ruusan Reformation values, she is increasingly worried of the growing power of the Republican Government she has helped feed, and despair that it will only be completed in its push to centralise everything to Coruscant.
With many Senators already joining the boycott, and she did a low-key ‘diet boycott’ last year when she left for Nouane after submitting all her customary votes, the Senate was for a few years struggling to keep her attention. It was always her worst quality, her cousin said, her tendency to panic over nothing and be engulfed by such feelings. And there wasn’t just nothing here. There was everything. The very survival of the Republic, the unity of the entire Galaxy, was at risk!
And then there’s the headaches of course. They come and go, but at moments of extreme emotional despair (like what is happening more and more) they prove extremely unbearable. Even the best pills and medicine can only take the edge off. Even chanting “mind over matter” doesn’t help.
Despite all this, she valiantly continues to fight for what she believes in. Which is still the survival and everlasting glory of the Galactic Republic and every one of its sectors. But in those waning days, is that just a flickering candle about to be put out? Certainly, she has her doubts.
=====
It is easy to be a philosopher when life is good. It is not when life is hard. As a noble, Auphi has never known hardship. Until now. She thought it would be an easy chat with friends of hers who joined the boycott, many of which she knew for years. Doors shut, insults thrown, allegations made, even death threatened. One chip after another on her psyche, from people she believed friends. It all led to her just collapsing one day and doing stuff she regretted.
Eventually she was brought home to Nouane and to her cousin who made sure she was recovering. What is friendship? The Philosophic Society still stuck to her, of course. True friends there, Senators who she grew to admire and respect when she was working with them, and turned out they her too. And then there was surprising kindness from areas she never expected. Auphi was a widely respected Senator who many on all sides admired (or at least used to), and when in recovery, she received a letter from Sirona Kuat.
A while later, the two talked, and discussed – not the experiences she had – the ideas the two had for the Republic. Still shell-shocked by Determinist hostility, she latched on to Kuat’s words and absorbed them. Determinism was now something she at a deep level hated with revulsion, and Kuat’s words about a caring state, an integral state, appealed to Auphi’s Populist tendencies. By the end of the visit, she felt that the two agreed on more than disagreed, and parted in good moods.
When she arrived to the Senate a while later in far more sombre and serious attire than her loose noble dress of past years, she informed Kuat of her intention to defect, and got a nod. The next day, she announced the renunciation of her loyalty to Ruusanism, declaring herself a Centrist and an Integralist, to more shock and murmur in the Senate.
Auphi finally knows her direction. It is to save the Republic and make it a safe and secure place for all the ‘thousand points of light’ in the Galaxy.
Auphi Acio-Siadro. Once a naive woman who dreamt of saving the Republic, she is now one of its executioners. Once a desperate Sith acolyte, she has now ended the Banite Sith seemingly for good. Once someone seemingly powerless in a capricious Coruscant, she now dominates it as one of the Triumvirate. Fourteen years has changed her extensively. She now wields power by her very position as one of the future Empress’ ‘inner circle’ and member of the so-called Camarilla – one of the Sith puppets that turned on their masters and cut their own strings.
But let us not be deceived. Even though she looks much changed, and stands much changed even, there is consistency to her. Her philosophic library is still extensive, her speeches still talk of the ‘highest principles’, and behind all that immense power still stands an unsure woman. Just one more confident than before. This is still Auphi Acio-Siadro. She has not been consumed by the Dark, even as the Force wrought its great cost to her.
Upon her Chancellor informing her of the plan, she is promptly writing a book to provide the philosophical justification of such – her Treatise of Government. In it, she will write of the importance of Social Contract, of the limit of liberty and the danger of licence, and ultimately of the importance of maintenance of a government that preserves stability in which the Contract is preserved. Therefore, in this era of instability, the move that preserves the Contract the masses has with their government and ultimately their Chancellor, is summed up in one word: Empire.
Indeed, with Empire, there will be no more instability. Only the Empress, her Government, and her People. All as one indivisible trio. The Empress looks after her People and restrains her Government, the Government serves the Empress and the People, and the People uphold and maintain the Imperial Contract in which they enjoy Liberties [but not Licence!]. The justification for Empire will be rooted in not the military, not the rot of the old Republic, but in something far purer – the General Will of the Imperial Nation. On it rests the Imperial Contract and all fundamental legitimacy of the Empire’s government. The Empress rules by the People’s Will.
And of course, the Empress will have her trusty duo behind her. How can an Empress rule without her Grand Vizier and her President? The Senate, reliably Amidalist due to Falk’s cracked electoral arithmetic that even a brain like Auphi’s couldn’t comprehend, would need to be led in chants of praise. She was their conductor. Not someone who forced them, no no. Someone who guided. Forcing people to do stuff were… something she didn’t like thinking of. Too… green. She shuddered a little at the thought of that woman.
Never mind. The Empire will be here. The Sith are done, their legacy dried up. Stop thinking about unpleasant stuff. Think of the future. Think of her future. Including her coming wedding. Funny, she never really thought of herself as a blushing bride, but even as she’s deathly pale, there’s a little red showing. Perhaps the future is brighter and less full of the dark than before. Who knows.
==== In Search of Empire
As Empire is rolled out, Auphi’s Treatise of Government will also be published widely with a strong philosophical justification for Empire, wrapping itself in the ideals of Social Contract. She will use it extensively to hammer home how Empire is in the interest of every sentient being. She will flex every muscle and every political connection, including night-long debates with her own Society if need be, to get every Senator to vote to abolish the Republic. She however, will refrain from actually corrupting their minds with the Force. To her, that is admitting defeat in the battle of ideas.
The Conductor of 'Democracy'
Her main role, of course, is to be the ‘great conductor’. The one who presides over a Senate that is supposedly a heated debating chamber, but actually quietly restricts such debate to how the Empire should do things, not if the Empire should exist. Padmé’s rule is undisputed, everyone must accept it. Otherwise, well, Falk’s arithmetic will mean a sudden defeat come the next election, oh dear what a shame.
Unions, corporations [the few that still exist], business interests, Core, Rim, the growing factions in the Amidalists, what have you, Auphi will seek to maintain the Senate as a coherent body of 'genuine' debate, avoiding the shouting matches of old, but ensuring that it remains a firmly loyal chamber which loyalty to the Empress is never in doubt. One can disagree, but one's loyalty will never be questioned.
An Advancement of Learning
Her magnum opus, of course, will be the Academies. Thoroughly based on modern ideas of education, all archaic ways of learning will be swept away in favour of a rigorously formal machine. People will enter the Academies and they will be made into whatever perfect cog the Empire wishes them to be. Bureaucrats, lawyers, soldiers, even Imperial Knights, all will be produced by this rigorous model.
The Force Academy will be the pinnacle of her achievement, the final modernisation of Force education, throwing out the old monasticism of the Jedi and the secrecy of the Sith, in favour of a modern education, regular classes, a boarding school structure. The sort of education that Auphi, deep down, wishes she could have had.
The Power the Sith Knew Not
As the years go by, Auphi’s interest in the Force will grow only deeper and more esoteric. Already dubbed the ‘real Chosen One’ by Anakin, her desire to understand the Force that supposedly chose her will intensify, and she will go on expeditions to long-abandoned Jedi temples to dig up secrets, including lost Jedi holocrons. Those holocrons will help influence a shift already starting under the surface since the year she realised that all Sheyi wished from her was pain and sacrifice to fulfil Sheyi’s dark twisted fantasy.
One year, full of doubt, she will go to Atollon upon hearing from someone that a ‘powerful Force user’ was there. It is there that she will meet Bendu [not connected to the Order of Bendu, apparently] and have a talk. One between the giant Force user that declares himself the balance and the one chosen by the Force to uphold that so-called ‘balance’. She will leave Atollon more sure than ever at her future path.
All the way through this, she will repeatedly train herself extensively in all arts of the Force she dubs fitting for someone like her. She wishes to be a powerful being, but not for any material gain. But merely to protect herself, her family and her Empress [if need be]. At that point, she sees it as a partnership between her and the Force.
Bringing Balance to the Force?
Upon reflection on the destructive nature of the Sith and how it runs counter to the ideas of Empire, Auphi will proceed to set up a program designed to end every Sith holocron in existence [apart from the one Padmé has, but she hopes that one isn’t serious]. There will be an official secret agency set up under her directly to deal with ‘counterimperial artefacts’, including Sith holocrons. [Auphi will fail since Leia needs one to corrupt her, but the aim is really to wipe out most of them].
She will also, when her power is ready, go and deal with this other acolyte floating around. There shouldn’t be any Sith left. She ended Apollyon, she would have ended Savius if she could. Maul will fall to her sabre if there is no other alternative. If he is open to parley, she will listen, but be wary. If he attacks, she will attack back.
Nemesis
Of course, she has an appointment. There will be one final duel. She has already decided what she will have to do with Atio.
|group1 = [[List of Star Wars films|Television series]]
|list1 = {{Navbox|subgroup
|list1 = {{Navbox|subgroup
|group1 = ''[[Star Wars original trilogy|Star Wars: I Love Democracy]]''
|list1 =
<!-- PLEASE NOTE: as per consensus, films are listed with their title at 1st theatrical release - please do NOT rename them -->
* [[I|Season 1: Apathy]] (2008)
* [[I|Season 2: Greed]] (2009)
* [[I|Season 3: Hubris]] (2010)
* [[I|Season 4: Fear]] (2011)
* [[I|Season 5: Nemesis]] (2012)
|group2 = ''[[Star Wars prequel trilogy|The Animated Series]]''
|list2 =
* [[i|Season 1: The Force Awakens]] (2015)
* [[i|Season 2: The Phantom Menace]] (2016)
* [[i|Season 3: Legacy of the Sith]] (2017)
* [[i|Season 4: Shadows of the Empire]] (2018)
* [[i|Season 5: Attack of the Dark]] (2019)
* [[i|Season 6: Rise of the Jedi]] (2020)
|group5 = [[Music of Star Wars|Music and audio]]
|list5 = {{Navbox|subgroup
|groupwidth = 7.5em
|group1 = Audio dramas
|list1 =
* ''[[The Story of Star Wars]]''
* [[List of Star Wars books|Audio novels]]
* [[Star Wars (radio series)|Radio dramatizations of the television series]]
|group2 = Compositions
|list2 =
* "[[Star Wars (Main Title)|Main Title]]"
* "[[i|All Stars Burn As One]]"
* "[[Duel of the Fates]]"
}}
|group7 = Production
|list7 =
* [[i|George R. R. Martin]]
* [[i|Martinworks]]
* [[Lists of Star Wars cast members|Cast]]
* [[List of Star Wars filming locations|Filming locations]]
* [[Star Wars opening crawl|Opening crawl]]
* [[List of Star Wars artists|Art]]
* [[Star Wars sources and analogues|Sources and analogues]]
** [[Comparison of Star Trek and Star Wars|comparison to ''Game of Thrones'']]
* [[List of accolades received by Star Wars (film franchise)|Accolades]]
* [[Special effects of The Empire Strikes Back|Special effects of ''I Love Democracy'']]
* ''[[Star Wars: Duel of the Fates|Duel of the Fates]]''
Factions in the New Galactic Republic - '995 C.R.C. / 34 I.C. / ''02 N.R.C.
Corporatists | Corporate Interests (#00cc00)
The ones that are just here for the Big Corporations' interests. Not doing as hot as they were during the Old Republic, since the combination of being fucked over by the Empress they tried to fuck over, and then being gutted by the left-wing consensus in the New Republic, really did reduce them a lot. - Pragmatists | Corporate Interests, Galactic Efficiency, 'Consensus Democracy' (#00cc99)
Currently making a LOT of cynical deals with a lot of people, including using old contacts from before the New Republic to maintain political influence. It is rumoured that even the Authentic Liberals and Patriotic Republicans have secret Pragmatist contacts - Libertarians | Libertarianism, Marxism, Militant Pacifism, Corporate Interests (#99cc00)
Also with the Pragmatists out of desperation, this is the last legacy of Marxius Grouchosius and the Utopians. Far more esoteric than the Pragmatists and far more die-hard on opposition to the 'Big State', they are nevertheless unblemished when it comes to discussion of 'past influences'.
Syndicalists | Trade Union Interests (#e60000)
In contrast with the Corporations, the trade unions just flourished. A combination of the Empire liking "Economic Management" theories of combining the interests of Big Business and Big Labour, and the small unions led by Tarawan's heirs being key to the Resistance, means that they're sitting quite pukka. - National-Syndicalists | Trade Union Interests, 'Economic Management' (#b8312f)
Big Labour. The gruff no-nonsense leaders who shook hands with Republic, then Empire, then Republic again. As long as their workers get their due, they're not fussed who's in charge. Very much those days for stability, seeing future war as a potential harm for their people. - Radical-Syndicalists | Trade Union Interests, Democratic Socialism (#eb6b56)
The radicals. Tarawan's passionate heirs, the sort who fights for the small folk. Tends to be Rim as contrast to Nat-Syndies' Core, but the boundary isn't clear. Very republican, and distrusts the Nat-Syndies a good bit, but the two come together unfailingly to defend the interests of trade unions.
Populists | Social Democracy, Social Liberalism, Republicanism (#9365b8)
Out of all the old Republic's factions, this one has emerged in the new the healthiest. The faction of Cali Juveil and Frei Magnus, it has basically set the tone of the New Republic as an unashamedly radical one, albeit one with uncomfortable compromises made by New Progressives... - Redeemer Populists | Radicalism, Federalism, Juveilism, Republicanism (#ff0066)
REPUBLIC NOW, REPUBLIC FOREVER! The 'Juveilists' as the Redeemers are also known as. Fiery, radical, republican, and passionately for the new system. They're the ones calling for more socialist economics and for forcing all Senators to swear an oath to "the forever Republic, one and indivisible". - New Progressives | Social Democracy, Republicanism, 'Consensus Democracy' (#ff944d)
The Civil War and its high death toll has driven some of the Resistance to a more 'conciliatory' stance. The dominant Populist faction, they are the "can we get along" sort even as they are firmly republican and socialist in economics. The sort to shake hands with Lukists but grimace while doing it. - Reformist Populists | Social Liberalism, Technocracy, Republicanism (#cc66ff)
Still around despite having the whiff of collaboration with them. The Redeemers loathe them for being insufficiently socialist, republican and what have you, and a good few of them were first in politics through a woman who betrayed everything for Empire. So yeah...
Republicans | Republicanism, Conservatism (#0066ff)
The sort who thinks the New Republic should be like the Old. Or at least not as socialist as the Populists want it to be. Really adores the idea of Ruusanism, even if their actual policies are far from it in practise. Very much opposed to any restoration though. - High Republicans | Republicanism, Fiscal Conservatism, 'Consensus Democracy' (#75c7f0)
The aristocrats and localists, the ones who just want a Republic that doesn't interfere with local rights, even if they no longer talk of restoring the right to slavery. The sort to go "if we have federalism, we must respect it" and oppose any Populist attempts to force through centralising stuff. - Patriotic Republicans | Dansionism, Republicanism, Militarism (#0088cc)
Now the Patriots on the other hand. They're basically the right-wing equivalent of the Redeemers. Virulently republican, to the point of questioning democracy if it is perceived to threaten the Republic, they despise the fact monarchists are in the Senate. The final legacy of Andrian Dansion.
Authentic Liberals | Liberalism[?], Conservatism, Right-Wing Populism (#708da9)
Liberty. Civil Rights. "Rehabilitation" for war criminals. The sort to come in the Senate wearing their old imperial uniforms and then speak of the dignity of labour and how of course they respect the New Republic, declaring themselves "post-imperial". Liberal? From a certain point of view... - Establishment | Liberalism[?], Right-Wing Populism, "Post-Imperialism" (#4d6780)
The more obviously post-imperial sorts, the ones who barely hide it, and even wear medals they can get away with from the Empire. The ones with dubious connections with other ex-imperial factions that if you only look at the ideological labels, they shouldn't work with. - Bright Young Things | Market Liberalism, Conservatism (#709ac2)
Arguably the more disturbing Authentic Liberals. While the "Establishment" are transparently just the ex-imperial sorts wearing the old 'liberal' branding, the Bright Young Things are the sincere believers, arguing for civil liberties and what have you, and a stronger state to enforce those...
Imperialists | Monarchism, Restorationism (#9b4b65)
The people who dislike the fact that there's a Republic back again. They want the Empire. The problem is that they massively differ on what sort of Empire, and considering how that disagreement originally sparked a Civil War, there is no love lost between the two factions. - Lukists | Constitutional Monarchism, Statism, Conservative Liberalism (#bf4080)
The ones you'll find in the Senate, for they do recognise the New Republic is a legitimate thing, even if they mutter about the dubious way it was founded. They dream of Luke being put back on the throne and Empire being done right. Broadly the more 'reformist' faction of the old régime. - Leianists | Autocratic Monarchism, Statism, Counterrepublicanism (#800040)
Hate the New Republic? Think the people on Coruscant are just laughing at you with their socialist ways that are designed to upset tradition and how things should be done? Think the Lukists are betraying the Good Old Cause by acknowledging the illegitimate state? Want to kill people? Join the Leianists!
Chairmen of the European Defence Council (1950-1962) Winston Churchill ([UK] | Conservative (UK)) 1950-1951 Robert Lacoste ([FR] | SFIO (FR)) 1951-1952 John Strachey ([UK] | Labour (UK)) 1952-1956 Pierre Mendès France ([FR] | Radical (FR)) 1956-1958 Duncan Sandys ([UK] | Conservative (UK)) 1958-1960 Guy Mollet ([FR] | SFIO (FR)) 1960-1962
Chairmen of the Assembly of the European Community (1962-1967) Guy Mollet ([FR] | SFIO, then PS (FR) / Socialist Labour Alliance) 1962-1965
Alf Robens ([UK] | Labour (UK) / Socialist Labour Alliance) 1965 Jacques Soustelle ([FR] | RPF (FR) / Democratic Association) 1965-1967
Presidents of the Assembly of the European Union (1967-1975) Jacques Soustelle ([FR] | RPF (FR) / Democratic Association) 1967-1973
Gerard Veringa ([NL] | KVP (NL) / Democratic Association) 1973-1975
Presidents of the European Federation [First Constitution] (1975-1984) Gerard Veringa ([NL] | KVP (NL) / Democratic Association) 1975-1976
Kurt Waldheim ([AT] | ÖVP (AT) | Democratic Association, leading EDA - ELR coalition) 1976-1981 François Mitterrand ([FR] | PS (FR) / Socialist Labour Alliance, leading SLA - ECP coalition) 1981-1984 Christopher Brocklebank-Fowler ([UK] | Conservative (UK) / Democratic Association, leading transitional government) 1984
Presidents of the European Federation [Second Constitution] (1984-present) Enrico Berlinguer ([IT] | European Democratic Left - 'Jacobin' SLA - PEOPLE coalition) 1984-????
Winston Churchill (Conservative) 1940-1944 Clement Attlee (Labour) 1944-1949 1944 [maj.]: def. Winston Churchill (Conservative), Archibald Sinclair (Liberal) and Richard Acland (Common Wealth) Winston Churchill (Conservative) 1949-1953 1949 [maj.]: def. Clement Attlee (Labour), Archibald Sinclair (Liberal) and Tom Wintringham (Common Wealth) Anthony Eden (Conservative) 1953-1957 1953 [maj.]: def. Harold Morrison (Labour), Archibald Sinclair (Liberal) and Tom Wintringham (Common Wealth) R. A. Butler (Conservative) 1957-1958 Hugh Gaitskell (Labour | SLA) 1958-1964 1958 [maj.]: def. R. A. Butler (Conservative), Philip Fothergill (Liberal) and Oliver Baldwin (Common Wealth)
1962 [maj.]: def. R. A. Butler (Conservative | EDA), Honor Balfour (Liberal | ELR) and Bertrand Russell (Radical | ERA) Roy Jenkins (Labour | SLA) 1964-1971 1966 [coal. with Alternative]: def. Quintin Hogg (Conservative | EDA), Honor Balfourand Benjamin Britten (Liberal &Radical Alternative | ELR/ERA) Geoffrey Rippon (Conservative | EDA) 1971-1978 1971 [coal. with Liberals]: def. Roy Jenkins (Labour | SLA), Honor Balfour and Benjamin Britten (Liberal & Radical Alternative | ELR/ERA), Jimmy Reid (Communist | ECP), Alan Lomas and Teddy Taylor (Independent Liberal/Scottish UnionistAlliance | NI)
1973 [maj.]: def. Roy Jenkins (Labour | SLA), Eric Heffer (Communist | ECP), Fenner Brockway (Radical | ERA), Alan Lomas and Teddy Taylor (Freedom | NI) and Emlyn Hooson (Liberal | ELR) Roy Jenkins (Labour | SLA) 1978-1983 1978 [coal. with Radicals and Liberals]: def. Geoffrey Rippon (Conservative | EDA), Albert Booth (Radical | PEOPLE), Jeremy Thorpe (Liberal | ELR), James Goldsmith and Teddy Taylor (Freedom | NI), Tony Benn (European Democratic Left), Eric Heffer (Communist | ECP) and Andrew Fountaine (League of National Loyalists | EPL) Tony Benn (European Democratic Left) 1983-1984 1983 [coal. with Labour and Radicals]: def. Paul Channon (Conservative | EDA), Alan Sked (Freedom | NI), Roy Jenkins (Labour | SLA), Beatrix Campbell (Radical | PEOPLE), Andrew Fountaine (League of National Loyalists | EPL), Jeremy Thorpe (Liberal | ELR) and Eric Heffer (Communist | ECP)
