Two Visions of Empire

[Golan2072]

This post is about two similar visions of a Traveller (or maybe Stars Without Number?) space-opera setting. So far my main Traveller setting is Outer Veil, which is relatively hard sci-fi near-future in the vein of Alien(s), Outland, System Shock and Firefly; it is EXTREMELY FUN to write for, and, hopefully, sooner or later I'll run a PbP game set in this universe (as the local roleplayers seem too keen on playing D&D 3.5E, or, at most, ACKS, rather than sci-fi games). The ideas I'll present here are very different from Outer Veil - as they belong to a different genre, of proper space-opera, with living aliens, star-spanning empires, big-scale space battles, epic plots... Just like my favourite space-opera computer games Star Control 2 and Mass Effect, like the epic Babylon 5 of my youth, or books such as Dune or the Hyperion Cantos. A little bit of this I already do in my Alkonost setting for Stars Without Number, but Alkonost is a small pond where four pocket-empires fight for dominance. What I'll present here is of a bigger scope.

This is about space empires. Outer Veil, modernist and down-to-earth, laughs in the face of such space feudalism. But space-opera, a different genre, need space empires, huge fleet battles, and epic wars of galactic conquest. It needs its Talanas, Londo Mollaris and Matriarch Benezias. It also needs a menagerie of alien species, exotic planets and exciting gadgets. So here is my vision of two potential Classic Traveller settings with a Space Empire, space-opera theme.

How does a Space Empire Work?
There was an intense discussion on the SFRPG boards about how the Official Traveller Universe's Third Imperium actually works. Here I present an Empire which is somewhat different from the default Traveller Imperium, though also somewhat similar in spirit. Whether this is an alien Empire (as in Vision #1) or a Terran Empire (as in Vision #2), my basic idea for them is the same. The idea is this: An Empire of Zaibatsus. The Empire is ruled by the Major Houses, as well as Minor Houses; each House is a massive, family-owned, semi-monopolist megacorp, similar to the Zaibatsus of Imperial Japan, though with even bigger political clout. Eventually, these Houses - initially mercantile and industrial combines - have ossified themselves into the very political fabric of the Empire, with various fancy titles of nobility foisted on their controlling, old-money families, and a pseudo-feudal mystique and culture surrounding them. But, at the most basic level, the Empire is not feudal per se - it is not ruled by a class of land-owners - but rather more like highly monopolized capitalism.

So each House is essentially a corporation, with a single extended family controlling it. Each House owns a very wide variety of subsidiaries, industries and outlets, and also has the right to govern planets, subsectors or even sectors. When communications are limited to the speed of travel and the speed of travel is, at most, 6 parsecs per week, it means that planetary business, even when owned by an interstellar corporation, must run itself almost independently. So how does the controlling family make sure that all its interstellar holdings are run in its interest? By appointing relatives, or, at least, members of long-time allied families (i.e. retainers) to run businesses, planets and subsectors. It's all in the family, you see.

The Empire is 9 Sectors in size (3x3), with each of the 8 peripheral Sectors controlled by one Major House, and the central Sector controlled by the biggest and richest of the Houses, the Imperial Family. Major Houses have much autonomy in how they run their Sectors, and are relatively self-sufficient, at least in basic goods. Inter-sector trade is in luxuries, high-tech items, rare earthes and other things which the local industrial World or Asteroid Belt couldn't simply produce.

Minor Houses own smaller businesses, typically on the Subsector level; some are independent and provide services which the Major Houses do not see profitable enough to monopolize; others are, in essence, independent subsidiaries ("vassals") of Major Houses. Free Traders also have their place, as highly ossified monopolies cannot always cater to each and every need of multiple disparate planets, so these holes in the system are plugged by independents, as well as smugglers, who, as small companies, are much more flexible in their response to the market.

Each House has its own military, and is expected to take care of its Sector's defences on its own. The Emperor also owns several high-tech Legions and Imperial Fleets, whom he uses to keep the Houses in line, as well as take care of emergencies that the local Houses cannot deal with (such as major invasions or massive rebellions). These are mostly kept in the Core, though some squadrons patrol the Periphery to show the flag and remind the Houses who is in charge. But usually the ones to face the initial thrust of foreign invasions and rebellions are House troops, with the Imperial forces intervening only as the last resort.

While each planet in the Empire is ruled by a member of a House (i.e. a noble), the actual government, and thus the Traveller government code, varies, as not all nobles rule in the same way. The ideal (from the Imperial viewpoint, that is) planetary administration is Traveller Government 5 (Feudal Technocracy), but some rulers take a more direct hand (Govs A-B) or let their servants run things for them (Govs 8-9); sometimes the world is split between several Houses (Gov 7), sometimes the ruling family runs things rather than a proper Zaibatsu subsidiary (Gov 3) and sometimes (rarely) the ruler steps back and, as long as the taxes are flowing, lets the local run their own lives (Govs 2 and 4).

 

[Golan2072]

Vision #1: The Reticulan Empire and the United Terran Republic
In this Vision, Humanity has missed its chance to start its own interstellar state. In the hyper-consumerist 21st century, apart from some privately-owned space tourist outfits and some abortive attempts at belt mining, we Humans did not pay much attention to space, preferring instead to focus on our day-to-day lives here on Earth. Space programs were cut back, and the single manned Mars landing in 2043 was not followed by any further exploration. But then the Reticulans came.

In 2082, several Reticulan (more particularly, House Thiragin) capital ships appeared in Earth orbit, sending a wave of smaller saucers to hover above Earth's major cities. Soon enough, through promises of advanced technology and access to vast wealth through interstellar trade, most Earth governments signed pacts with the alien visitors. In a matter of months, Earth was transformed from a chaotic collection of independent states into one big client-state of the Reticulan House Thiragin, ruled by the Earth Federal Administration (EFA). A few Earthlings did resist this economic and political takeover, however, under the umbrella of the hastily-formed Terran Defence Committee (TDC), which, for several years, launched covert operations against the aliens and their collaborators, until hunted down and defeated by the EFA's bio-augmented Federal Security Apparatus (FSA), better known as the Men in Black.

While self-administered and allowed to build its own armed forces - mostly to serve as auxiliary troops for House Thiragin - Terra was under the alien thumb, its economy and resources exploited by the alien Thiragin, some of its people used by Thiragin scientists as lab-rats for various bio-tech experiments, and its soldiers send off to fight distant wars on the behalf of its alien masters. the EFA allowed relatively little freedom to its citizens, but, on the other hand, developed its own sphere of space around Earth with nine new colonies settled by Mankind, exporting goods to the Thiragin monopoly and the larger Reticulan Empire.

But then, in 2232, Humanity had enough. After a century and a half of subjugation, massive protests against the EFA's unfair tax burden and tyrannical practices turned into open rebellion on Terra and the nine major colonies. Out of the chaos, rose the United Terran Republic (UTR), which declared itself an independent state, and, soon after, called for the Reticulans' other thralls and client states to rise up in rebellion as well, towards a free Interstellar Republic.

The Reticulans responded by trying to crush this impudent uprising, sending their own Thiragin Huscarls as well as Cicek mercenaries. Thus began the Terran Liberation War. Stubborn Terran military resistance, as well as diplomatic efforts, found, however, their success, as parts of the Cicek hordes broke off from their own, Reticulan-dominated client-state, forming what was first known as the Cicek Democracy and later as the Cicek Confederacy. The combined might of Terran troops and allied Cicek dissidents crushed, in 2239, House Thiragin's might, breaking through the defensive lines and approaching Zeta 2 Reticuli, House Thiragin's Sector Capital. Until then, however, the other Reticulan houses, content to see their Thiragin competitors embroiled in what was seen as a minor rebellion of barbarians and thus weakened, have not intervened. Only when UTR and Cicek Confederation troops were two jumps away from Zeta 2 Reticuli, the Empress herself sent her Legions, supported by numerous auxiliaries, to crush the rebellion.

Ultimately, they failed. Fighting raged for a decade more, with the lines moving back and forth between the Terran-Cicek alliance and the Reticulan Empire, but, in January 2250, the fabled Terran Guard, supported by Colonial Troops and a heavy Cicek fleet, smashed through the Reticulan lines, capturing Zeta 2 Reticuli and thus declaring the entire Reticuli Sector (now Terra Sector) their own.

The Empire had to capitulate. In June 2250, they signed a treaty with the UTR, recognizing its sovereignty, as well as its conquest of the Reticuli Sector, and setting up a Demilitarized Zone between the two states, where ships above 5,000 tons were disallowed to enter (the war saw ships as big as 50,000 tons in action). Furthermore, Terra forced the Reticulans' hand into allowing the various minor races of the Demilitarized Zone to secede, if desired, from the Empire.

Now it is 2258. After two decades of war and eight years of recovery, a large part of the Terran military is being demobilized. Your characters were among those who were mustered out (anyone serving 3 or more Traveller terms have actually fought in the Terran Liberation War!). Opportunities for civilian, or mercenary life abound in the far reaches of the Demilitarized Zone. Between petty squabbles of newly-independent worlds and the two major powers' attempts to covertly exert their influence into the DMZ, there is a big market for mercs, spies-for-hire, and, on the other hand, merchants opening up new markets on distant worlds. Adventures await!

Technologically speaking, the current Reticulan Empire is squarely at Traveller TL13, the UTR at most at TL12 for civilian applications with some TL13 military gear (especially starship weapons and Jump-4 military couriers) and the Cicek TL11 for the most part.

 

[Golan2072]

Vision #2: Decline and Fall of the Terran Empire
In this Vision, most earth governments of the early-mid 21st century did indeed cut deep into their space budgets, preferring to focus on more terrestrial matters instead. However, space exploration was taken up by Terran corporations, who saw the new frontier as a means for gaining vast wealth. And wealth they found indeed. Operating under Terran 'flags of convenience', they soon found their way into the asteroid belt, growing rich from its ore. In 2091, a faster-than-light engine, dubbed the 'Jump Drive', was invented, seemingly simultaneously, by several of the corporations. Soon enough, they were all over the nearby stars, exploring and exploiting their resources and colonizing distant planets.

By the mid-22nd century, ten stable megacorporations, each owned by a single family, arose from this exploration - the so-called Zaibatsus. Each laid claim to a major slice of explored and unexplored space, and held a vertical, as well as horizontal, monopoly over the majority of goods produced and consumed in that slice Inter-corporation trade was mostly in rare earth elements, radioactives and specialized technologies. It was by the early 23rd centurt that the Zaibatsus deemed their old Terran 'flags of convenience' to be an inconvenience themselves. Ossified and highly monopolized, in 2233 they used their enormous economic clout to manoeuvre the various Earth governments into forming Terra's first world-state: the Terran Empire. Upon their fossilized and highly nepotist corporate machines they foisted traditional titles from Earth's past, and the richest of all Zaibatsu families - the Durnhal family - became the Imperial Household. A major air of nostalgic pseudo-feudal mystique was stirred up by the Great Houses, with a strong rhetoric of honour and tradition. But, at its heart, the Terran Empire was a glorified price-fixing scheme, a deal between monopolies to divide known space between their interests.

For three centuries things went well, with the empire growing and expanding, making contact with the Reticulan Technate, with the Cicek Tribes, the Sselessian Hegemony, the Fanja-Kanja Condfederation, the Ph'noonk Cooperative and the nomadic Zhuzzh. The era between the Empire's stabilization in 2239 and the Great Stagnation beginning in 2526 was called the Terran Golden Age. While Great House nepotism and bureaucracy made scientific discoveries slow, trade with the alien neighbours brought new ideas to Terra, and technology progressed up to Traveller TL13, albeit in a conservative fashion. Apart from the occasional border skirmish with alien polities, as well as the growing threat of piracy, the single greatest military threat to the Terran Empire was the Matriarchate, a posthuman polity formed by dissident belters in the far reaches of space, and embraced cybertechnology to the hilt (unlike the conservative Empire), up to an including creating a synthetic shared consciousness of their group. And, indeed, the threat of the utterly alien (though of Human origin) Matriarchate served as a whip to keep Imperial citizens in line for several generations. The Matriarchate supremacy in electronic warfare also fuelled the Empire's technological conservativism, as advanced, integrated computer networks with wireless capabilities were easy prey for Matriarchate computer virii.

The Great Stagnation was cooking, in fact, since the mid-25th century. Ossified, decadent and introverted, the Imperial Core saw innovation as an inconvenience and progress as a threat. An economy and a society which is not moving forward, however, is bound to start sliding back. In 2526, the first Great House was forced to declare bankruptcy, an unprecedented event in Imperial history. Recession set in, and the power struggles between the Great Houses grew bitter. When Empress Elena II died an early death in 2539, despite TL13 medical technology, and left the line with no clear successor, the Empire fell into disarray, with the Great Houses scrambling to place themselves on the Terran Throne instead of the dying House Durnhal.

The actual Civil War, and the Terran Revolution which followed, were actually relatively short. Between 2539 and 2547, brief fire was exchanged between the major houses, and a major uprising had occurred in several parts of the Empire, including on Terra itself. But lacking economic strength to back up their war machines, the remaining Great Houses, as well as the Republican rebels, were unable to claim a victory. When the dust settled in 2547, the Terran Republic was no more, a weak Emperor found his way to the Terran Throne (ruling Terra itself and a handful of nearby worlds in bad economic shape); only three of the Great Houses remain in any measurable strength.

Into this vacuum came new forces seeking to gain ascendency from the chaos. First and foremost, Terran space was invaded by aliens, chief among them the Cicek, the Sselassians, the Zhuzzh and the Reticulans, seeking to expand their territories and grow rich from Imperial plunder; little or no Human forces were able to repel these invasions. Secondly, local warlords, as well as opportunistic Oligarchs - interstellar robber-barons feeding on the rotting carrion of the fallen Great Houses - rose and consolidated their local forces. The Republican armada and its rag-tag civilian followers, fleeing prosecution and near-defeat in the Core and the Coreward-Spinward by the remaining Great Houses, crossed known space into the utter Rimward, where they found sympathetic locals and established the New Terran Republic (NTR) - far from Terra itself.

The year is 2551 and the former Terran Empire lies in ruins. But out of the chaos, new opportunities arise for the brave, the enterprising and the opportunistic. Whether they serve one of the old Great Houses, align themselves with a warlord or Oligarch, join the Republican cause or strike out in their own, player characters have a chance for fame, glory and empire-building.

Technology is Traveller TL12 at best for most post-Imperial factions. The Empire was late TL13. The Reticulan Technate are early TL14; the old Reticulan State was TL16.

---

So, which of these would you, hypothetically, wish to play in? Which do you prefer?

(there is an expanded version of this on my blog with illustrations and hyperlinks)

 

[Magnus von Thornwood]

Yep, I fought in the Great War of Liberation.

Vision 1.

I like those settings that show Earth as the underdog or even defeated. Keeps us on our toes to be reminded that we could lose a fight. But then we get ourselves together and whip some alien butts. And with a still large and formidable enemy out there on the borders adventure is sure to happen.

 

[Enoki]

I look at the Imperium as being much like large empires in ancient Earth times. The Roman, Byzantine, or Mongol empires were ruled by a small number of sub-rulers who owed direct feality to the emperor. So, for the Imperium the real power lies with the Dukes who control various portions of the empire. They in turn are controlled by the emperor who plays them off against one and other as much as rules them.
It becomes a subtile balancing act.

Locally systems are ruled by Counts and Barons who have a number of lower nobles that hold feality to them. The Counts and Barons are the real economy. They are the ones who produce the wealth of the empire and retain power by being loyal to the Duke. Their feality to the emperor is tenious and based on the empire itself being stable.

The whole thing is held together by the emperor and dukes having sufficent control to crush any single baron or count who steps out of line. The original Megatraveller scenario would be something beyond just the emperor's assassination caused the empire to collaspe into civil war.

This version means someone who is a baron really wields tremendous power and a count or duke can literally slag planets if necessary to keep the peace and public order.

 

[Reban]

Vision 2

As a history buff I like the shades of the fall of the Roman Empire and the invasion by "Barbarians" intent on getting their hands on the wealth of empire. That far away promised land of the Terran Republic is a great idea both as a goal for PCs or as a point of origin. It seems like a richer varied setting.

For me the "us vs. them" setting presented in Vision 1 isn't as appealing. The hard border of the demilitarized zone feels a little forced to create a sandbox to players.

I do love in both cases how you've created great sweeps of history with excellent description. And now I'm off to read older posts on your blog

 

[Duke Craig]

I look at the Imperium as being much like large empires in ancient Earth times. The Roman, Byzantine, or Mongol empires were ruled by a small number of sub-rulers who owed direct feality to the emperor. So, for the Imperium the real power lies with the Dukes who control various portions of the empire. They in turn are controlled by the emperor who plays them off against one and other as much as rules them.
It becomes a subtile balancing act.

I agree with this though drawing parallels between the Imperium, and ancients is tenuous at best, this is well worded as an example, and I think it works well, Thanks.

The Counts and Barons are the real economy. They are the ones who produce the wealth of the empire and retain power by being loyal to the Duke. Their feality to the emperor is tenious and based on the empire itself being stable.

This requires further explanation, Thanks.

IMTU, Marquis (F) enjoy higher rank than Barons (C) and Viscounts (D), Counts (E). (from the ancient European, when Marquis' were found on the frontier, while Counts were found in the main lands of the empire. (Tenuous ancient example above)) Thus obviously IMTU Duke's enjoy SOC G. There are also higher ranking nobility between Dukes and Archdukes, such as Prefect, Viceroy, and Chancellor. Subtlety is a prerequisite for role playing these higher ranks of nobility, of course. Thanks for reading, Enjoy!

 

[Golan2072]

Vision 1.

I like those settings that show Earth as the underdog or even defeated. Keeps us on our toes to be reminded that we could lose a fight. But then we get ourselves together and whip some alien butts. And with a still large and formidable enemy out there on the borders adventure is sure to happen.

Thanks. The main strength of Vision 1 is that it's emotionally and politically motivated - aliens came and made us their vassals, we rebelled, now we took back what is rightfully ours by the force of arms. We won the war, but we're still small fish in a big pond. The main thing which helped us win is that the size Empire made it very cumbersome, especially with the various Great Houses who were more than content to let House Thiragin - their competitor - get kicked by the upstart Earthlings. Only when the stability of the Empire itself was threatened, the Empress intervened and sent her own Legions, and even made some of the Great Houses send troops, but by then Terra was already armed and organized enough to fight back, and running a war from a Sector away is far more difficult than running a war a Subsector away

The Empire might be planning a revenge, and especially House Thiragin want revenge, and also some Terrans want to continue the war and smash the Empire once and for all (replacing it with a Universal Republic or a Terran Empire, depending on who you ask). On the other hand, the current Terran government is more interested in rebuilding the civilian economy rather than spend the massive amounts of resources necessary for preparing to another war.

So lots of politics.

Vision #2 is more about building your own wealth, power or even pocket-empire out of the ashes of the old Terran Empire.

I look at the Imperium as being much like large empires in ancient Earth times. The Roman, Byzantine, or Mongol empires were ruled by a small number of sub-rulers who owed direct feality to the emperor. So, for the Imperium the real power lies with the Dukes who control various portions of the empire. They in turn are controlled by the emperor who plays them off against one and other as much as rules them.
It becomes a subtile balancing act.

Locally systems are ruled by Counts and Barons who have a number of lower nobles that hold feality to them. The Counts and Barons are the real economy. They are the ones who produce the wealth of the empire and retain power by being loyal to the Duke. Their feality to the emperor is tenious and based on the empire itself being stable.

The whole thing is held together by the emperor and dukes having sufficent control to crush any single baron or count who steps out of line. The original Megatraveller scenario would be something beyond just the emperor's assassination caused the empire to collaspe into civil war.

This version means someone who is a baron really wields tremendous power and a count or duke can literally slag planets if necessary to keep the peace and public order.

I took Imperial Japan and Dune as some of the inspiration for these settings; but your approach would work as well, with even planetary Barons being sovereign rulers. In your approach, Counts won't spend the time or resources running their Barons' domains, at least as long as the taxes and tribute troops keep flowing. And Barons can fight each other and the Count won't care as long as he gets his taxes and soldiers... Works as well as my version. And good for sandbox play as well.

 

[Golan2072]

I've posted a poll on my blog regarding the two Visions of Empire. Come and vote - which do you like better? Which would you like see developed?

 

[Golan2072]

Regarding my inspiration for this:

#1: X-COM series, Star Control 2, Roman Empire vs. the Barbarians (Terrans are the barbarians here), various anti-colonial struggles, Babylon 5 and Mass Effect.

#2: Fall of the Roman Empire, Collapse of the USSR, Battlestar Galactica, China in the 1930's, Firefly and some Mass Effect and Babylon 5.

The Matriarchate are a special case - inspired by Deus Ex: Invisible War, Dan Simmon's Ousters (from the Hyperion Cantos), Mass Effect's Geth, Battlestar Galactica's (2000's series) Cylon and a bit of Star Trek's original Borg...

 

[Enoki]

This requires further explanation, Thanks.

IMTU, Marquis (F) enjoy higher rank than Barons (C) and Viscounts (D), Counts (E). (from the ancient European, when Marquis' were found on the frontier, while Counts were found in the main lands of the empire. (Tenuous ancient example above)) Thus obviously IMTU Duke's enjoy SOC G. There are also higher ranking nobility between Dukes and Archdukes, such as Prefect, Viceroy, and Chancellor. Subtlety is a prerequisite for role playing these higher ranks of nobility, of course. Thanks for reading, Enjoy!

Barons usually run a world. That means in effect they control the system they are in and for all intents its economy. While this could also be a Marquis, it is unlikely to be a Count or Viscount.
The Count / Viscount are roughly the same. They are the local group of systems governors who have political power over the various Barons under them. Because of the slowness of star travel between them they hold the real economic power locally. They are the ones making economic decisions.
The Duke that contols that portion of the empire would be the military power that keeps the Counts in line.
Again, it comes down to a balancing act. The Barons and Counts have the cash and pay the Duke (in effect) to maintain the peace and keep rival nobility out of their business.
The local systems simply cannot afford to keep a big standing military so they let the Duke do it paying him for that. The Duke needs a large number of systems to get the capital (taxes) to pay for a powerful military.
The Dukes and Emperor have a mutual arrangement that keeps the empire together.
Low tech, low pop systems might just have a local noble like a Knight running things and be all but ignored by the empire for all intents. They just are not worth the trouble as long as they aren't causing any.

 

[SpaceBadger]

I really liked GURPS Space 3d Ed (have not looked at 4th Ed) for its generic summaries of many common space-opera tropes, outlining some of the implications and variations of each, giving some examples, and giving the GM who is trying to fit these into a setting (or design a setting from scratch) some reasonable choices to work from.

Haven't read this whole thread yet, just throwing that out there as a potential resource for a more space opera setting.

 

[Golan2072]

As a history buff I like the shades of the fall of the Roman Empire and the invasion by "Barbarians" intent on getting their hands on the wealth of empire. That far away promised land of the Terran Republic is a great idea both as a goal for PCs or as a point of origin. It seems like a richer varied setting.

This is essentially the Fall of the Roman Empire, mixed with the decline and fall of Imperial China (reaching the Warlord Era of the 1930's) and the fall of the Soviet Union (with all the attendant corruption, Oligarchs and organized crime). And yes, a perfect sandbox for empire-building by PCs.

For me the "us vs. them" setting presented in Vision 1 isn't as appealing. The hard border of the demilitarized zone feels a little forced to create a sandbox to players.

I might get rid of the Demilitarized Zone altogether and just play up the cold war along the Terran/Reticulan border, as well as the various newly-independent worlds. But yes, a strong "Us vs. Them" theme is both the big strength and big weakness of this setting - on one hand, you have clear sides to take, and a strong political narrative, but, on the other hand, it is far less of the free-for-all sandbox for Vision #2.

I do love in both cases how you've created great sweeps of history with excellent description. And now I'm off to read older posts on your blog

Thanks! Also don't forget to vote on my poll!

 

[SnichtheWalrus]

Vision 2

I like Vision 2. More opportunity for empire building

 

[Golan2072]

One of the alien species for this setting are the Cicek - bipedal, though horizontally-oriented (think modern representation of theropods) warm-blooded reptilian-equivalents. Their ur-species predecessors were pouncers, mostly carnivorous though technically omnivorous, of approximately 100kg (200 pounds) each in weight, about 2 meters in length, balancing tail included. The body is covered with scales (color ranges from green to reddish-yellow depending on morph), and the jaws and teeth are well-developed for killing prey and tearing its flesh. They are originally grassland dwellers, and do not climb well, but spread into lightly forested areas as well before achieving full sentience.

Cicek show strong sexual dimorphism - the female is about 75kg and much smaller than the 100kg male. The overriding social instinct of the ur-species were highly different between males and females. Females were social, tolerated each other and cooperated in hunting, while males were highly antagonistic towards each other, and highly territorial, trying to kill and each other at sight. When climatic change and the introduction of larger prey into their habitat forced them into social units larger than a single male and his harem of several females, the males had to conquer their instinctive antagonism towards each other in order to cooperate. So Cicek culture, especially in regard to males, revolves around mitigating this aggression, though very elaborate and highly ritualized systems of politeness and honor which have evolved during early sentience in order to prevent cannibalism between the males of the same tribe. Despite all of this, even the modern Cicek male sees all other males as rivals; culture teaches him how to channel this rivalry into (usually) non-lethal avenues, such as competing for honor and (usually) non-lethal duels, but, at his most basic impulse, he is full of aggression towards any other male.

Female and male social systems work differently. Male social organization is hierarchical, with the weaker male submitting to the stronger male, while all the time looking for an opportunity to best him and take his place, while the dominant male sees his subordinates both as a resource and a threat. This is not just a physical competition, but also a social one; if a subordinate gains significantly more honor than his superior, he will replace him, possibly without a serious fight. Female society, on the other hand, is far less competitive, and far more egalitarian: a female sees her female tribe-mates as sisters, not as rivals. Females think of the good of their tribe and only then of their own good; males think of their own position in the ever-changing hierarchy and only then of the good of their tribe. Even today, Cicek possess somewhat differentiated economic and social systems for both sexes, competitive for males and cooperative for females.

The Cicek led, until relatively recently (several centuries before the current timeline), a TL1 tribal existence on their homeworld, bound into tribes of a few thousand Cicek each, possessing primitive metalworking techniques and agriculture based on herding. But then the Reticulans came - aliens who'd rather see others fight for them, than fight themselves; and, to them the 100-kg Cicek male, in all his predatory might and temper to match, looked like a great shock-trooper to fight Reticulan wars. So the Reticulans uplifted the Cicek, providing high-tech weapons and equipment to friendly tribes in return for recruiting Cicek mercenaries to fight for the Reticulans. This had a profound impact on Cicek society. While other species, such as Humans and Reticulans, have gone through millennia of cultural evolution to support more and more complex social forms and collective identities, the Cicek have received modern technology ready-made without all of this. Culturally, the Cicek are still strongly tribal, and have difficulties to form any higher collective identity - concepts such as "nation" or "Cicek-Kind" mean little to them, despite the fact that both Reticulans and Humans tried to introduce them into Cicek society. The modern Cicek is typically very loyal to his or her tribe, but feels very little affinity to any larger body of Cicek or even to the whole species. The introduction of modern technology also meant that within a few years, almost all tribes on the Cicek homeworld were using tanks and plasma guns to fight wars which, only a short while before that, were fought using bronze axes and composite bows. The homeworld became a very dangerous place indeed... So many Cicek tribes were quick to put their hands on starships (bought from Reticulan traders) and emigrate to far-away stars. The tribal nature of the whole affairs also meant that very soon, the Reticulans had only partial control over the Cicek tribes, as each tribe has its own independent will. Soon enough, Cicek mercenaries and pirates became very common all over known space.

 

[Jason M Durkish]

I like both .

 

[Golan2072]

Thanks!

 

[Jason M Durkish]

Can you describe your other races ?

 

[Golan2072]

Reticulans are small, slender humanoids similar to the archetypal "Grey Aliens": standing approximately 140cm tall, with large heads and almond-shaped multifaceted eyes, little or no nose and a small, toothy mouth. They exhibit both mammalian, reptilian and insectoid characteristics, and are typically dressed in a utilitarian harness carrying tools.

The Reticulans were shaped by two main biological facts about their species: they reproduce asexually through parthenogenesis (similarly to aphids and certain species of whiptail lizards on Earth), and, originally, were scavengers who ate prey long after the predators killed it and ate their share.

All Reticulans are "female" - each lays eggs several times in "her" life, each egg eventually hatching a Reticulan hatchling. No sexual contact with other individuals is required for this form of reproduction. This creates relatively less genetic variety than sexual reproduction, but the hatchlings are not exact clones of their "mother" (though they are pretty similar to "her"). This led to the original hypothesis that the Reticulans are all artificial clones - but, in reality, they are not. But the implication of this is that all the social constructs based on sexual reproduction, such as family, love and so on found in Humans, are alien to Reticulans. The basic social unit is the "mother" and her "daughters", and, eventually, a genetic "line" tracing back to a single progenitor "mother". There is never a question put to a Reticulan's parentage: whoever laid the egg is the "mother". It also means that a single healthy Reticulan can colonize a planet in several generations' time.

Originally, the Reticulans were scavengers, eating remains of the prey of bigger predators. They never fought the predator, or the various hijackers, but rather waited for them to finish, then moved to feed on the remains. This made them relatively un-adapted to physical fighting; lacking a reason to fight over mates (due to a-sexual reproduction) made even less evolutionary reason for them to be efficient physical fighters. Tool use allowed them to chase away predators from prey, and thus get a bigger part of the carcass, and, eventually, hunt themselves, and, later on, raise livestock. But poor fighters they remained - except for using various machines to fight the sporadic wars between groups. But, generally speaking, if possible, Reticulans see tools and technology as a solution to things, and their rulers are typically "tool-makers" (in modern times, scientists, engineers and entrepreneurs) rather than warrior-types. As a spacefaring civilization, they fight using robots, as well as alien auxiliary troops and alien mercenaries. They can fight, but lack the instincts or muscle mass to be efficient soldiers (they are better as spies or as behind-the-scenes tacticians).

The archetypal Reticulan government is a technocracy; if an Empire, it is led by monopolist Great Houses (each controlled by a genetic line), and, on top of that, an Imperial line controlling the biggest corporation. If a Technate, they are ruled by scientists and engineers, and usually order their society "logically" for maximum efficiency. A certain level of caste differentiation is common in most of their societies.

There is only one psionic "line", or caste, and these serve the Technate in this function, and also as "priestesses" of a sort.

 

[Cryton]

I would suggest their homeworld have a dense atmosphere, as that would help prevent each "single line" from becoming an individual species. Some form of genetic-exchange is required to homogenize a species to prevent genetic drift that would cause new species from arising in a population.

In essence, you need some form of genetic exchange for your progeny to remain the same species.

Just sayin.