The Winter Manifesto
11 Sep 2020Brome
I wrote this a couple years ago for Federal United Command. Given current events, I think it bears repeating.As citizens of the Federation, we reject the antiquated and barbaric models of the Empire of Achenar. The Empire is based upon a system of lies and consolidation of power meant to keep the rich and wealthy in power, whilst keeping the underclasses in a state of perpetual poverty and slavery. Listed below are some of the reasons we choose to reject the Empire and work to undermine its existence.
1. The Imperial line of succession is not a legitimate form of government
The line of Imperial succession was not originally derived by a popular mandate from the people of Achenar. It came into being following the genocide of the original inhabitants of Achenar, and subsequent Sororicide committed by the traitor and kinslayer, Henson Duval. It is an institution designed to keep the power in the hands of the Duvals and their cronies by sheer use of force. Many of the rich and powerful elite of the Empire go along with this system because it benefits them, but not the people as a whole. It is a government by the rich, for the rich.
2. The institution of Imperial slavery is not a safety net for the poor
Imperial slavery is portrayed by the powerful members of the Empire as an honorable and preferable alternative to being in any form of debt. Through pervasive media control, brainwashing in education, and other deceitful means, the oligarchs of the Empire have convinced the citizenry that money and wealth are more important than rights or freedoms. Imperial slavery is a safety net, but not for the poor. It is a safety net for the rich. By brainwashing the underclass of the Empire, the rich have guaranteed a means to always make back their investment. In polite society, if you accrue debt you can’t repay, you can file for bankruptcy. Your credit score takes a hit, but you can get on with your life. Investors just have to accept the loss. Not so in the Empire, for they force their citizens into bondage in a barbaric practice that the rest of humanity outlawed centuries ago, all to protect their bottom line.
3. The Empire’s focus on wealth and luxury does not extend to the underclasses
The Empire lures in new citizens and systems with ostentatious displays of wealth and opulence, promising them that if they join the Empire, then they too can enjoy the high standard of living enjoyed by the upper classes. This is a farce, for only the upper elite of this society get to benefit. Of course it serves the 1% to convince the other 99% to go along with it, but this is purely an act of selfishness. The Empire prefers to keep outdated standards of labor, creating low quality jobs for its workers and slaves, jobs which are often automated in the Federation. For most citizens of the Empire, the only change they see is more polished white ships flying overhead, and more low skilled, low income jobs opening up. This is a continued part of the Empire’s culture of keeping the underclass in a cycle of poverty which they cannot break out of.
4. The class system of the Empire puts the powerful above the rule of law
Senators (a poor choice of name if ever there was one), Patrons, and other high ranked Imperial officials are almost never beholden to the Empire’s criminal justice system. Senators and their close families often commit murder or even genocidal crimes with little oversight. Only the Emperor herself is able to dole out punishment to these individuals, an action which she rarely performs, preferring instead to fabricate tales of corruption to expand her own political power.
5. The Empire does not value the lives of others
Nowhere is this more apparent than in the Prism System, where Imperial Ambassador Cuthrick Delaney authorized the use of nuclear weapons on the peaceful citizens of the Federation living on Chione. Subsequently, the Lorens were installed as the illegitimate rulers of Chione, and committed war crimes against the survivors of the original invasion, whilst plundering the planet’s natural resources. Despite citing some tenuous legal claims to the mining rights of Chione for Tantalum, their actions in Prism were acts of open war, and it is nothing short of disgraceful that Federation leadership at the time backed down from the Empire in the following negotiations.
(OOC: I blame Drew Wagar for this. His understanding of realpolitik and use of force is skewed and naive, the rest of Reclamation was alright though. But seriously, do you think the US would just have let it slide if the USSR nuked a US Aleutian island to access the oil?)
6. The cult of personality around the Imperial family is toxic
Even former Emperor Hengist Duval declared his own son unfit for the throne. This created a political crisis as the matter of succession fell between Aisling Duval and Arissa Lavigny. These two bandied for support from the upper crust of the Empire’s richest, not based on merit or popular support, but rather by how much money and political favors they could accrue. This is no means for a system of government, where the peaceful transition of power can be so easily corrupted.
7. The Empire regularly violates the sovereignty of other systems
The Emperor Arissa Lavigny-Duval expands her power by seeking out and in some cases outright fabricating tales of corruption in local system defense forces. Rather than inform the people, and let them sort this out themselves, she sends in her extrajudicial military force, the “Shield of Justice,” and has them illegally invade these systems to attack the local system defense forces. The Emperor cannot be allowed to continue to just waltz into systems like she owns them, and install herself as their new ruler. Such invasive actions give us cause to seek out and destroy the Empire’s forces wherever they appear.
Do what is right, not what is easy.