Terinu AU, The Vulpine Imperium, Part Two
Nov. 20th, 2009 04:38 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
jeriendhalThe Imperium Today
Culture: The Vulpine race divides itself into roughly three castes.
The Industrial Lords are the rulers of Imperium, the only ones allowed to own land, industrial or commercial facilities. Infighting among the lesser Lords is common, as each attempts to gain the most profit at the expense of their rivals. This is mitigated somewhat by the stabilizing force of the Countesses, who have a formalized system of power division that they rarely deviate from, lest the be ganged up upon by their rivals seeking to hold to the status quo.
The Military Caste serves as the backbone of the Vulpine forces. The serve as the main defense against the Hive, and to a lesser extent as internal sercurity against the occasional uprising among the lesser races. They do not intermarry with the Industrial Lords, though if an officer shows considerable accomplishment he might be co-opted and made a Lord before he can gather too great a power base in the military to cause trouble.
The Serf Caste, once the backbone of the Imperium, is a rapidly shrinking segment of the population. With plenty of strong Creo backs around to serve in industry, and the Galen and other races as a mid-level administrative force, there is little need for lowest of the Vulpine race in ordinary tasks, except in areas of personal interaction where a Lord would find it distasteful to deal directly with aliens. Occasionally there's talk of eliminating their ability to reproduce entirely, and just cloning them as needed, but Vulpine scientists caution against this due to the dangers of genetic stagnation (lordly by-blows still occuring occasionally).
About the politest thing one can say about this setup is that the Vulpine are serious about merit based promotion. Each Military general gained his position after starting as a lowly private. Each minor Lord or Countess' offspring has to prove they're worthy to lead, through sherparding segments of their domain's responsibilities. Those who fail at their tasks are demoted. Those who cause the Imperioum serious harm are eliminated, whether they be a lowly Serf or a Countess' heir.
Relations With Other Races
For the most part, the Imperium's relations with their subject races aren't much different from the Varn Dominion's old ways. The only difference is that no one is expected to worship their new Wise Lords, just obey. Those who serve well are rewarded with relative luxury. Those who try to rebel find their worlds or asteriod olonie rapidly Hell Bombed.
Some notable exceptions are:
The Manzi were eliminated early after the War For Freedom. Noting that these scientist-centaurs were obsessive about research, the decision was made to exterminate them rather run the risk of their skills being used by potential future rebels. This has slowed down the Imperium's rate of scientific reseach, but given the closed minded nature of the Ardactavian Hive toward science, this has not proved any great difficulty.
The Maud are only used in basic accounting tasks these days, their great wealth being co-opted by the Vulpine for themselves to pay for their new industrial facilities.
The Ferin faired worst of all. Disgusted by the Varn's pets' tendency towards laziness and frivolity when not put to work in the power cells, the Imperium rapidly disassembled their habitat domes and placed them in far more efficient (and smaller) kennel facilities, where they are kept until needed for power service.
As for humanity, the Vulpine encountered them some eight hundred years after the War For Freedom. Noting their tendency towrds violence and development of nuclear weapons, Earth was hell bombed into glass without direct contact ever being attempted.
Culture: The Vulpine race divides itself into roughly three castes.
The Industrial Lords are the rulers of Imperium, the only ones allowed to own land, industrial or commercial facilities. Infighting among the lesser Lords is common, as each attempts to gain the most profit at the expense of their rivals. This is mitigated somewhat by the stabilizing force of the Countesses, who have a formalized system of power division that they rarely deviate from, lest the be ganged up upon by their rivals seeking to hold to the status quo.
The Military Caste serves as the backbone of the Vulpine forces. The serve as the main defense against the Hive, and to a lesser extent as internal sercurity against the occasional uprising among the lesser races. They do not intermarry with the Industrial Lords, though if an officer shows considerable accomplishment he might be co-opted and made a Lord before he can gather too great a power base in the military to cause trouble.
The Serf Caste, once the backbone of the Imperium, is a rapidly shrinking segment of the population. With plenty of strong Creo backs around to serve in industry, and the Galen and other races as a mid-level administrative force, there is little need for lowest of the Vulpine race in ordinary tasks, except in areas of personal interaction where a Lord would find it distasteful to deal directly with aliens. Occasionally there's talk of eliminating their ability to reproduce entirely, and just cloning them as needed, but Vulpine scientists caution against this due to the dangers of genetic stagnation (lordly by-blows still occuring occasionally).
About the politest thing one can say about this setup is that the Vulpine are serious about merit based promotion. Each Military general gained his position after starting as a lowly private. Each minor Lord or Countess' offspring has to prove they're worthy to lead, through sherparding segments of their domain's responsibilities. Those who fail at their tasks are demoted. Those who cause the Imperioum serious harm are eliminated, whether they be a lowly Serf or a Countess' heir.
Relations With Other Races
For the most part, the Imperium's relations with their subject races aren't much different from the Varn Dominion's old ways. The only difference is that no one is expected to worship their new Wise Lords, just obey. Those who serve well are rewarded with relative luxury. Those who try to rebel find their worlds or asteriod olonie rapidly Hell Bombed.
Some notable exceptions are:
The Manzi were eliminated early after the War For Freedom. Noting that these scientist-centaurs were obsessive about research, the decision was made to exterminate them rather run the risk of their skills being used by potential future rebels. This has slowed down the Imperium's rate of scientific reseach, but given the closed minded nature of the Ardactavian Hive toward science, this has not proved any great difficulty.
The Maud are only used in basic accounting tasks these days, their great wealth being co-opted by the Vulpine for themselves to pay for their new industrial facilities.
The Ferin faired worst of all. Disgusted by the Varn's pets' tendency towards laziness and frivolity when not put to work in the power cells, the Imperium rapidly disassembled their habitat domes and placed them in far more efficient (and smaller) kennel facilities, where they are kept until needed for power service.
As for humanity, the Vulpine encountered them some eight hundred years after the War For Freedom. Noting their tendency towrds violence and development of nuclear weapons, Earth was hell bombed into glass without direct contact ever being attempted.
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no subject
Date: 2009-11-20 10:58 pm (UTC)Am I to take it that it is a Bad Thing™ for a non-Vulpine to be seen to to competent or popular. Sort of a, Very Successful Vulpine=Good, Very Successful Non-Vulpine=Risk, rule of thumb?
no subject
Date: 2009-11-20 11:58 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-11-21 01:00 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-11-21 01:52 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-11-21 02:06 am (UTC)(Ouch.)
no subject
Date: 2009-11-22 10:50 pm (UTC)The Manzi wiped out? Maybe the Vulpine couldn't tolerate the fact there was a race more intelligent then they... bit of elitism there as well. But as you say, the Hive are technologically stymed at the place they are now, due to instinctive adherance to traditionalism and the group mind thwarting inspiration that comes with individuality. So, no great handicap there. Given that the human race would be on par... or dare I say even more inovative when it comes to warfare that was a pretty good call by the vulpine, if extremely paranoid. But given that their mind set in this universe would never allow them to see humans as equals and open trade relations with them that's a pretty logical course of action.
And my ferin! My gawd. I thought I was being brutal with them!
Now I can't get the picture out of my mind of Rufus in a quasi nazi uniform and Melika dressed in black leathers with a whip hung from her belt.
no subject
Date: 2009-11-23 12:30 am (UTC)Great minds... ect. Sorry to distract you so badly.
Er, no I'm not. ;p
no subject
Date: 2009-11-23 11:25 pm (UTC)But I think there might (might I said - not is) be a tactical error in that picture...
...since they came about earth about three hundered years (or more? could be even eight hundered years later) later as the Varn did the humans must have developed much better space craft than they had when the Varn came — and then they should have been able to see the attack coming and also prevent destruction from happening...
(...maybe even launching a counter attack – if they suspect the asteroid was not a natural occurance...)
...as for timeline: I am not sure but if I recall it right:
As I said I might have some dates wrong – but that is how I picture the timelines...
(Peta, please correct me where I am wrong...)
mjkj
no subject
Date: 2009-11-24 01:19 am (UTC)And the alt-Vulpine didn't use an asteriod. They just kept dropping dirty atomic bombs until the surface resembled Jupiter's moon Io.
no subject
Date: 2009-11-24 10:35 am (UTC)so they basically hit earth at the same time as the Varn did in-canon...
mjkj