Who the Union isThe Union is a one of the larger of the Stellar Nations, and it's one of the newer of the Stellar Nations at that having only emerged within the last 10 years as a fully independent entity in the wake of the Verge Consortium civil war. As such, it's barely had a chance to find its footing yet, but in those 10 years, it's managed to pull itself together much better than some of the other failed stellar nations that arose out of the same conflict. While it's vogue to call the Union "fascist" this isn't entirely accurate; the Union is obsessed with eugenics and the proper care of the population, but the Union isn't anti-democratic, and it promotes a type of post-scarcity dirigism that appears to be influenced at least in part by Haleism. In fact, the Union is strongly pro-democratic - it just happens to believe that only those who serve in the military, the navy, the coast guard, or the aerospace force deserve the right to vote. Those who don't serve don't have the right and the eugenics movement is an outgrowth of the desire to ensure that everyone can serve - and therefore, everyone can vote.
Ideals of the UnionThe Australis Union is found mostly in Marisus and San Candoval, two worlds that have extremely similar cultures and are considered the "twin jewels" of the Union. San Candoval is a much more pleasant world than Marisus is. In either situation, the Union government is unitary, and is a very centralized authority. The Union government can will departments into and out of existence at any time since they have no power, although there is some minor devolution within the outermost reaches, where the war may not be entirely over. This unitary nature speeds reaction time by the state somewhat, since the central government can issue a ruling without having to worry about any semi-autonomous territory rejecting it. The Union Government was originally a more federal structure, but the war ended the experiment with federalism and the PMC sought to unify the state into something much more solid.
Structure of the UnionThe Union is a semi-presidential system with a unicameral parliament (the National Assembly) for the legislative branch and a dual executive office consisting of a prime minister and a president. The president is elected by the popular vote, while the premier and cabinet positions are chosen by the president, but must be voted on by the National Assembly. The National Assembly can remove the premier and the cabinet at any time with a vote of no confidence. Generally speaking, the president oversees foreign affairs (including military intervention, defense issues, diplomatic issues, and the like) while the premier is responsible for issues on the home front (such as economic issues and domestic policy). Since the Union does not have a constitution, these roles are not explicitly spelled out, although the Supreme Court of the Union seems to favor this division. All of this is standard parliamentary government.
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Non-Violence in a PMC StateThe only way to be considered a citizen in the Union is to serve in the military. However, this doesn't necessarily mean combat roles; there are plenty other roles in the military that pacifists and those opposed to violence can serve in that are just as important. Service within the Australis Corps of Engineering counts towards one's service within the military; and while they can sometimes see combat, the primary purpose of the Corps of Engineering is not to fight but to construct the infrastructure necessary for a modern war, including the construction of satellite networks, mesh networks, and physical infrastructure like airstrips, bunkers, bases and the like. For those who reject any potential combat but still want to serve can serve within the Australis Medical Corps. The Medical Corps is one of the major bodies researching new medical advances within the Union, in addition to healing bodies. They design new cyberwear, biowear, nano-implants, and the like to help make combat even more. For those who seek a non-combatant role, this is one of the best avenues. Once an individual leaves the military, they typically find a job that ties into the job they did in the military; for many, service in the military can just be seen as a extended type of schooling mixed with on-the-job training, and that's how most citizens treat it. |
Union History
Much of the Australis Union was actually part of the much older San Candoval and Marisus Republics, two large republics that were the result of a settlement effort by the Philippines, North Africa, Argentina, and parts of Europe including France and Spain. During Le Belle Epoque these republics remained relatively minor players even in local affairs (older records refer to them as the Virginis Union, although at various points in its history, Cordoba and a handful of other stars were aligned with different meta-empires, such as the Borealis Technocracy and the Sino-Civ, despite them never diverging culturally from the baseline), although towards the end of the Utopian Era, the San Candoval Republic began to grow in power and influence with the Viriginis Union, until eventually the nearby stars - including Chara, Beta Virginis, Fucino, and others, were part of the San Candoval Republic. Historians and sociologists largely consider this period to be the major reason why the culture throughout the Union is so uniform. This lasted until the Ascension Crisis, when the Swarms wiped out much of the economy and crippled the Republic. Requiring assistance, they turned to the Verge Consortium for economic help, and the Verge Consortium agreed. They eventually became long term members in good standing.
During their time with the VC, the private defense contractor and miltech megacorporation, Austrin-Ontis United, established a headquarters on San Candoval, and began investing heavily in San Candoval City (Cuidad de San Candoval). AOU became a major player in local affairs, and with AOU working with the government, the Republic once again began to see its fortunes change. The Republic established very close ties with the AOU, and by the time of the Verge Consortium "civil war," the two were practically the same, with the AOU responsible for a type of post-scarcity etairism throughout the Republic.
The circumstances between the Verge Consortium "civil war" are far too complicated to get into here, but in the early stages it involved Austrin-Ontis, StarMech, Omnicorp, and several major governments and entities that left the Republics economically destroyed. At the end of conflict, the AOU, StarMech, and several others were expelled from the Verge Consortium and the economic shock collapsed the San Candoval government. This left Austrin-Ontis as the sole inheritor of remains of the state, and the leadership acted quickly, integrating aspects of the state into aspects of the miltech company. As a result, the state was quickly absorbed into the megacorporation, and the two became one in the same, with Austrin-Ontis renaming itself the Australis Union as a result.
During their time with the VC, the private defense contractor and miltech megacorporation, Austrin-Ontis United, established a headquarters on San Candoval, and began investing heavily in San Candoval City (Cuidad de San Candoval). AOU became a major player in local affairs, and with AOU working with the government, the Republic once again began to see its fortunes change. The Republic established very close ties with the AOU, and by the time of the Verge Consortium "civil war," the two were practically the same, with the AOU responsible for a type of post-scarcity etairism throughout the Republic.
The circumstances between the Verge Consortium "civil war" are far too complicated to get into here, but in the early stages it involved Austrin-Ontis, StarMech, Omnicorp, and several major governments and entities that left the Republics economically destroyed. At the end of conflict, the AOU, StarMech, and several others were expelled from the Verge Consortium and the economic shock collapsed the San Candoval government. This left Austrin-Ontis as the sole inheritor of remains of the state, and the leadership acted quickly, integrating aspects of the state into aspects of the miltech company. As a result, the state was quickly absorbed into the megacorporation, and the two became one in the same, with Austrin-Ontis renaming itself the Australis Union as a result.
Union CUlture
The culture of the Union is, despite its size and scope, relatively uniform. There are no spheres of influence and there are no odd cultural outliers; the region that the Australis Union controls today was at one time a relatively unified Republic established by the same private second-wave fleet which settled it. As a result, the culture does not appear to be highly divergent at all, which is unusual for an entity the size of the Union, but predictable when it's taken into consideration that the republic the Union took over was less than a few centuries old by the time they took it over. However, sociologists have defined some cultural differences between Marisus and Aracuna, with a few leading them to believe that given time, two divergent trains of cultural influence could emerge from the Union - one influenced by Marisus and one influenced by Aracuna.
Union SociologyEconomically, the Union is strongly post-scarcity dirigisme, but only citizens have access to the public fabricators. This means that people who have never served in the Union military cannot access the post-scarcity element of their society, acting as another impediment for those who don't bother serving in the military.
The Union tends to be ontologically conservative, a consequence of the strong influence that Candovalian Catholicism has had on the culture. There is only one reality, and that's the reality that God created and the one that the people are currently experiencing. Similarly, AGIs and mind emulations are not treated as people, and instead are treated as software. |
the State, Eugenics, and FitnessThe Union values democracy and liberty, and firmly believes that both must be defended from outside threats. It also believe the overall health of the state depends on the health of the people within it. As a result, the state tends to place a premium on healthy individuals. However, where states like it in the past may have just outright killed disabled children, the Union takes a different tact, using positive eugenics and states subsidies to encourage parents to have their child's genome cleaned from all the different things that the Union considers "disabilities" - and they have a very long and strict list that every doctor and medical facility has access to. As a result, there are practically no baseline humans in the Union; the most common genotypes tend to be Orions and Alphas, which handle military service well, although among the families who have more money due to them being higher rank in the military, more exotic genotypes are common. Groups who advocate for disabled rights often refer to this as a type of genocide, but the Union argues back that it's unethical and cruel to allow a child to be born in such a way that their life will be hindered. Naturally, the counter to that is that the state should adapt so that disabilities won't be a hinderance, but the Union has no interest in doing that, so the debate ends there. |
Union Memes and Culture
While it's easy to characterize the Union as "military, navy, aerospace force", there is a culture under it, and this culture does change, contribute, and evolve over time, despite being as highly regimented as it is.
Bukanism
Type: Fashion/Architectural Style
Bukanism is a type of architectural style that emerged to contrast Neo-Militarism; it promotes open spaces that are left available to nature and seeks to erase the distinction between buildings and nature, creating a feeling as if one is living at peace with the greater natural world. The style is very popular on worlds with more temperate climes, like San Candoval, and less popular on worlds like Marisus, which has worse weather. As a fashion, it tends to promote less clothing to no clothing at all, seeing such things as impediments towards being one with the natural environment.
Full Cyberism
Type: Social Movement
The Full Cyberism movement rejects many of the bioconserative tendencies of the Verge and Bleed and goes full speed ahead into replacing the entire biological body with a robotic one, designed to function in the same way that a biological body was. This becomes unique when it gets paired with the Union idea that mind uploading destroys the soul and as a result, the only proper way to go full machine while keeping the soul in place is a brain transplant. While it's rare, some individuals choose to get implanted into pods, instead, especially high quality pods that aren't as notorious for failing.
Kayapaanism
Type: Ideology/Political Movement
Nobody appreciates peace better than someone who's been to war, and given how many citizens of the Union have been to war, it makes sense that they would value peace and see war as a last result only. Kayapaanism is a movement that holds individuals should always seek nonviolent solutions to problems, and that violence is a failure of everyone if it's resorted to. Some believe that violence is a result of miscommunication and as a result, only communicate through their AI companions, minimizing the chance for misinterpretation and therefor, violence. They also seek to ban weapons from society, holding that an armed society is not a polite society and one should not have weapons unless they intend to use them, which is counter to the goal of peace and living together.
Neo-Militarism
Type: Fashion/Artistic Movement/Architectural/Ideology
Neo-Militarism is one of those movements that comes in and out of fashion, at various points across the Stellar Nation, with it currently being high fashion among much of it. As a style, both artistic, it presents a clean and domineering aesthetic with an air of practical luxury and sleek elegance that places substance over style and emphasizes force, functionality, and high-quality; architecturally, the term "severe" is also used, which is designed to be separate from nature, to be comfortable, and to be protected. As an ideology, it values sacrifice and honor, as well as integrity, hierarchy, and strength of character and will, and expects that these traits be reflected back upon the State as well.
New Virginity
Type: Social Movement
The influence of the Candoval Catholic Church cannot be understated in the culture of the Union, and as a consequence, some of the traditional values of the church, including purity culture, creeps up from time to time. This social movement encourages individuals to abstain from physical sexual contact (given that individuals can be cloned and grown in vats, this doesn't pose a threat to the overall population), but allowing them to engage in sexual contact through DNIs and similar implants, often in virtual environments. There's no stigma attached to digital encounters since they aren't physical. This allows individuals to retain their "sexual purity" until marriage, and some well after (especially if they take the Nullo route and remove all their physical sex characteristics). This is usually attached to a vow to avoid drugs, alcohol, mind altering substances, and the like, allowing one to lead a completely celibate life.
Bukanism
Type: Fashion/Architectural Style
Bukanism is a type of architectural style that emerged to contrast Neo-Militarism; it promotes open spaces that are left available to nature and seeks to erase the distinction between buildings and nature, creating a feeling as if one is living at peace with the greater natural world. The style is very popular on worlds with more temperate climes, like San Candoval, and less popular on worlds like Marisus, which has worse weather. As a fashion, it tends to promote less clothing to no clothing at all, seeing such things as impediments towards being one with the natural environment.
Full Cyberism
Type: Social Movement
The Full Cyberism movement rejects many of the bioconserative tendencies of the Verge and Bleed and goes full speed ahead into replacing the entire biological body with a robotic one, designed to function in the same way that a biological body was. This becomes unique when it gets paired with the Union idea that mind uploading destroys the soul and as a result, the only proper way to go full machine while keeping the soul in place is a brain transplant. While it's rare, some individuals choose to get implanted into pods, instead, especially high quality pods that aren't as notorious for failing.
Kayapaanism
Type: Ideology/Political Movement
Nobody appreciates peace better than someone who's been to war, and given how many citizens of the Union have been to war, it makes sense that they would value peace and see war as a last result only. Kayapaanism is a movement that holds individuals should always seek nonviolent solutions to problems, and that violence is a failure of everyone if it's resorted to. Some believe that violence is a result of miscommunication and as a result, only communicate through their AI companions, minimizing the chance for misinterpretation and therefor, violence. They also seek to ban weapons from society, holding that an armed society is not a polite society and one should not have weapons unless they intend to use them, which is counter to the goal of peace and living together.
Neo-Militarism
Type: Fashion/Artistic Movement/Architectural/Ideology
Neo-Militarism is one of those movements that comes in and out of fashion, at various points across the Stellar Nation, with it currently being high fashion among much of it. As a style, both artistic, it presents a clean and domineering aesthetic with an air of practical luxury and sleek elegance that places substance over style and emphasizes force, functionality, and high-quality; architecturally, the term "severe" is also used, which is designed to be separate from nature, to be comfortable, and to be protected. As an ideology, it values sacrifice and honor, as well as integrity, hierarchy, and strength of character and will, and expects that these traits be reflected back upon the State as well.
New Virginity
Type: Social Movement
The influence of the Candoval Catholic Church cannot be understated in the culture of the Union, and as a consequence, some of the traditional values of the church, including purity culture, creeps up from time to time. This social movement encourages individuals to abstain from physical sexual contact (given that individuals can be cloned and grown in vats, this doesn't pose a threat to the overall population), but allowing them to engage in sexual contact through DNIs and similar implants, often in virtual environments. There's no stigma attached to digital encounters since they aren't physical. This allows individuals to retain their "sexual purity" until marriage, and some well after (especially if they take the Nullo route and remove all their physical sex characteristics). This is usually attached to a vow to avoid drugs, alcohol, mind altering substances, and the like, allowing one to lead a completely celibate life.
Union Culture Template . . . 20 points
Advantages and Perks
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Military Rank 0 [5]; and one of Fit [5], Flexible [5], Versatile [5], or any 5-point talent [5] ● 25 points from among ST +1 to +2 [10 to 20], DX +1 [20], IQ +1 [20], HT +1 to +2 [10 to 20], Will +1 to +4 [5/level], Per +1 to +4 [5/level], HP +1 to +4 [2/level], Charisma 1-4 [5/level], Combat Reflexes [15], Common Sense [10], Cybernetics (Any) [Varies], Danger Sense [15], Doodads [1/level], Eidetic Memory [5], Favor [Varies], Fearlessness 1-2 [2/level], Fit [5], Gizmos [5/level], G-Experience (Any) [1-10], High Manual Dexterity [5], High Pain Tolerance [10], Improved G-Tolerance (0.03 G) [5], Language Talent [10], Lightning Calculator [2] or Intuitive Mathematician [5], Silence 1-2 [5/level], Single-Minded [5], Temperature Tolerance 1-2 [1/level], Voice [10], or 10-points in any talent [5] ● Any three of the following Perks: Dabbler (any eight skills), Efficient (Skill), Focused (Task), Hyperspecialization (Skill), or Teamwork (Skill).
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Disadvantages and Quirks
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Sense of Duty (To State) [-10] ● One of Code of Honor (Soldier's) and Proud [-6] or Selfish (12) and Code of Honor (Soldier's Lite) [-6] ● -20 points from among Addiction (Any) [varies], Alcoholism [-5], Bad Temper [-10*], Combat Paralysis [-15*], Compulsively Checks Ammunition [-5*] or Airlocks [-5*], Disciplines of Faith (Mysticism) [-5], Fanaticism [-15], Honesty [-10*], Impulsiveness [-10*], Incurious [-5*], Intolerance (Politicians and Wealthy Elite who never fight in wars they start) [-5], Lecherousness [-15*], Nightmares [-5*], Overconfidence [-5*], Pacifism [Varies], Phobia [Varies], Post-Combat Shakes [-5*], Sense of Duty (Comrades) [-5], Wounded [-5] ● Two of Broadminded, Dull, Methodical, Organized, Distinctive Speech (Staccato Speech), Dress Code (Neo-Militarism), Involuntary Utterance (Yes sir! or Yes ma'am!), Superstitious (Any), or Token (Any), all [-1].
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Primary Skills
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Area Knowledge (Home Planet), Computer Operations, and Crewman (Any), all IQ [1]-10; Research and Soldier, both (A) IQ [2]-10 ● any three of Bioengineering, Chemistry, Computer Programming, Economics, Engineer (Any), Expert Skill (Any), Finance, History (Union), Intelligence Analysis, Law (Military), Physician, or Veterinary, all (H) IQ-1 [2]-9; Biology, Surgery, or Physics, all (H) IQ-1 [2]-9 ● one of Observation or Survival (Any), both (A) Per-1 [1]-9; Hiking or Running, both (A) HT-1 [1]-9.
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Secondary and Background Skills
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Guns (Pistol or Rifle) (E) DX+1 [2]-11 ● three of Armoury (Any), Electrician, Electronics Operation (Any) Electronics Repair (Any), Engineer (Any), Explosives (Any), Farming, Free Fall, Freight Handling, or Mechanic (Any), Merchant, all (A) IQ [2]-10; Driving (Any), Riding (Any), or Vacc Suit, all (A) DX [2]-10; Mathematics (Any), Psychology (Any), or Sociology, both (H) IQ-1 [2]-9; or two points in any primary skill.
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Features
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Citizenship (Union), Cultural Familiarity (Union), Language (Any, Native), and Home Gravity (0.5 - 1.2 G)
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Rocky RelationshipsCulturally, the Union has a very strong distaste for "elites" - which is to say, they have a deep dislike for wealthy and powerful individuals who start wars, finance wars, but never fight in those wars themselves. This describes the ruling oligarchic class of the San Candoval Republic before the AOU took over and seized the government, executing the wealthy elites and confiscating all their money and leaving their families broke and homeless, less they joined the military just one everyone else. However, many of those families fled to neighboring StarMech, which has a very similar culture but lacks the emphasis on militarism, honor, and the like, considering such things to be childish and the only thing that matters being the pursuit of wealth and power, regardless how one gets it. This act further cashed away investors, which resulted in a dearth of money flowing in; many of those investors took their wealth to StarMech. Because of this, there is a very strong enmity between StarMech and the Australis Union, to such a point that many who predict such things are predicting a war between the two before the century is out, and while time will tell if that truly is the case, their disdain for certain governments and government types is near universal. |
Union Departments
The union is large as far as Stellar Nations go, consisting of six major systems with a total of 11 provinces: there are 7 departments, two autonomous providences, and two special administrative districts. The departments are totally subject to the central authority on Marisus and San Candoval; they can be created and dismissed at will, and have very little in the way of administrative freedom. The two autonomous providences and two special administrative districts can be seen as devolved governments within the unitary system; they don't quite have the lateral freedom that members in a federation do, but they cannot be dismissed by the central authority in Marisus and San Candoval like the departments can be. They can establish many policies of their own, however, such as taxes, and most importantly, command aspects of the military independent of the central authority in Marisus and San Candoval, allowing them to respond to emergencies faster than the departments can (who have to wait for clearance from Marisus and/or San Candoval).
Catamarca Department
Type: Subunit of a unitary government San Cagayan Department
Type: Subunit of a unitary government San Juan Department
Type: Subunit of a unitary government San Samar Department
Type: Subunit of a unitary government Santiago Department
Type: Subunit of a unitary government Tarlac Autonomous Province
Type: Devolved government of a unitary government |
Marisus Special Administrative District
Type: Devolved government in a unitary government San Candoval Special Administrative District
Type: Devolved government in a unitary government San Luis Department
Type: Subunit of a unitary government Santa Cruz Department
Type: Subunit of a unitary government Surigao Autonomous Province
Type: Devolved government of in a unitary government Liberty is never inalienable; it must be redeemed regularly with the blood of devoted patriots and warriors or it vanishes. Of all the so-called 'natural rights' that humanity has conjured out of the fabric of the universe, liberty is the most fragile, and the one that is never free. |
Departments and Current Events
Catamarca Department
Current Affairs: Catamarca Department is currently the site for a number of space-based training facilities, as well as some computerized and digital facilities, so allowing the Union to train soldiers away from the eye of potential spies. San Candoval SAD
Current Affairs: San Candoval is in the process of restoring much of its orbital infrastructure, as well as repairing much of the ground-based infrastructure, following the end of the last war. This is improving the local economy. San Samar Department
Current Affairs: San Samar is currently rebuilding as a result of the Verge Consortium civil war, although the economic shock on Marisus has recently tanked their economy as well, causing general malaise among the population. Suriago Autonomous Province
Current Affairs: Suriago has seen a massive build up of military forcers in recent memory, with what seems like the bulk of the Union's regional military stationing on its border with StarMech. Some fear another war as a result. |
Marisus SAD
Current Affairs: Marisus is currently attempting to recover from an economic shock that has hobbled this part of the Union's economy, and lead to some unrest among the general population, who blame it on StarMech. San Juan Department
Current Affairs: San Juan is currently undergoing a mining revival, as several large asteroids that orbit around the star are in the process of being strip-mined and their resources shipped to San Candoval, Catamarca, or another district. Santa Cruz Department
Current Affairs: Following recent government investment, Santa Cruz is going to be ground zero for several new antimatter generation plants, along with Praxis' new headquarters. Tarlac Autonomous Province
Current Affairs: The border with the VC is finally stabilized, and as a result, Tarlac has begun investing more money into infrastructure and into rebuilding the ruined cities and damaged habitats that dot its half of the system. |
San Cagayan Department
Current Affairs: San Cagayan is the site of several ongoing environmental support and restoration programs, in an attempt to clean up and restore the environment of San Cagayan to its previous state to the VC civil war. San Luis Department
Current Affairs: The VC civil war never ended on San Luis, which is home to numerous automated drones constantly fighting one another on the terraformed world while the population live under martial law. Santiago Department
Current Affairs: Santiago is home to a future terraforming project that the Union plans to undertake some day, once their economy is stabilized and the wounds left by the VC civil war are healed. Until then, it's underpopulated. |