Aren't you glad you don't live in this fictional society?
Posted: 2003-04-17 11:59pm
This is an excerpt from the Great Game Story Debate at Spacebattles. I just couldn't resist posting it here. It's BigBryan's power, the Holy Terran Empire, a universe where the Hapsburgs eventually became rulers of the world and expanded into the stars, and with no Protestant Reformation, almost all of Mankind is now Catholic.
Feel free to enjoy it, and hey, if you're interested, come on over and join the game. We could always use a new player or two (Although don't expect being allowed to control a "Great Power" in the grand scheme of things, we have more than enough of them as it is).
Withour further ado, I bring you this "political debate" written by Bryan:
Feel free to enjoy it, and hey, if you're interested, come on over and join the game. We could always use a new player or two (Although don't expect being allowed to control a "Great Power" in the grand scheme of things, we have more than enough of them as it is).
Withour further ado, I bring you this "political debate" written by Bryan:
God I'm so crazy.Terran News Network
The cameras panned out to show a young woman in her early thirties, the host of The Political Factor, Susan Conover On her right is Dr. Albert Ross, a renowned history professor at Hamburg University. On her left was Mr. George All’yun, an alien of the Exclesian species.
She was given her cue, and said, “Good afternoon, I am Susan Conover, and this is The Political Factor. Today we have guests Dr. Albert Ross, head Professor of History at Hamburg University, and Mr, George All’yun with the Independent Resource Groups think tank. Today our segment will be on the politics within the Empire. As many of our viewers are aware, over the weekend there were protests on Mars concerning Imperial military occupation of the Turon Imperium. While protest marches are nothing new or amazing in the Empire, many have been saying the reasons for those marches are different than in the past.
“In this segment of the Factor, we will be looking at why it is necessary for the Holy Terran Empire to conquer. Mr. All’yun, would you like to start us off?” She said, the camera panning to the alien sitting next to her.
“Yes, thank you Susan. The conquests of the HTE are necessary,” he began matter of factly, “because it is essential that the Empire and Emperor establish some sort of order to the galaxy... let me use my own race as an example. Now, some would say we were ‘conquered,’ but that is simply not true. When Emperor Maximilian III led his fleet of warships to our planet in 2109 my people, at first, were suspicious. We’d never seen aliens before, and to us humans were quite alien, just as the Excelsians would be to humans.” Indeed they were. The conquest of the Excelsians was the first conquest by the Holy Terran Empire of another sentient race. “Excelsia was a shattered planet when the Terrans arrived. We had divided ourselves into over one hundred different factions, or countries as they were once called. We had fought five world wars, ending in the deaths of a total three hundred million. Excelsia was overpopulated. There were over nine billion on our planet and the environment was collapsing.
“The display of friendship the Empire showed to us, as a while that is, as it was necessary to put down the nations that resisted for the better good and betterment of the whole, was phenomenal. The HTE used their technology to rebuild our ozone layer, clean our oceans, rivers, seas,and bring peace to our planet. Within five years of the HTE coming we held our first planetary elections for a governor.”
“So, to address the protestors that oppose the imperialism of the Empire, you’d say they are mistaken?”
“Absolutely,” All’yun said confidently. “Like I said, our planet was dying and in chaos. In Maximilian III hadn’t come there would have been great ecological disasters, more wars, more deaths. The HTE united us. Granted, some of that was done by force, but then force is necessary for the greater good.”
“Let me get in Dr. Ross here for a moment. Dr. Ross, your opinion of this issue?”
“I have to agree with my good friend George here, Susan. If you examine history, in our galaxy, you can see how conquest and liberation has been used for good and evil. The HTE has been using it for good throughout its history. Remember the Holy American Empire? They had a Manifest Destiny to expand westwards to California and the Pacific, and they did. Now, some of the Indians... they opposed the Americans... yet look at them when the entire country was formed. Indian life spans almost doubled due to the modernity, for that time, of American and European medicine.
“But the point is that no matter your intentions, people will always oppose their betterment by another group because it shows weakness. Take the Andorrans. When we made contact with them and began to unite them and the Empire, most of them initially opposed us. And quite violently as well. There were atrocities committed on both sides of the war, that’s a historical fact. Yet a fact that is also present is that once we won and liberated them from decadence and barbarism, the Andorrans became valuable members of the Empire.”
“That is true,” George said. “We have half a dozen Andorrans in our think tank, and we all agree that when the Empire came, it was, at first, well, for some, a bad day, but later on it was seen that the Emperors were right in their judgement.”
“Yes, of course,” Susan said. “As we are all aware the Emperor is appointed by God.”
“That brings up another interesting point, Susan,” George said. “Religion.” He paused for a moment. “Just like almost everyone in the Empire, I’m Catholic, and I thank God everyday for it. I’ve studied the pagan religion of old, and it’s silly and illogical. There is also the issue of races that oppose religion. The Dulruni are our main enemies in this, they are... they are atheists. They do not believe science and religion, two core values in our society, can co exist peacefully.”
“If I could jump in here,” Dr. Ross said, “I just need to point out a few things, a few. I agree with George that religion and science are inseparable and at the same time totally unlike the other. With all of our technology in the Empire and all our scientists, we have yet to determine what was before the Big Bang and what started it. The simple answer to that is that a being, God if you will, began the universe. Accelerated experimentations have determined the chances of evolution of thousands of species on thousands of planets in this galaxy and universe would be improbable. That’s was our science based society can co exist with religion, and why we do it so well. We aren’t arrogant like the Dulruni who attempt to rationalize which one cannot, and apply our logic to God. Theologians explain it well, why would God make himself obvious to us when faith is the biggest part of religion? In this age of science, religion is difficult for some, because they think, and think incorrectly, that science is the end all, and ignore the strange phenomena of the universe that we cannot explain through our best... our best scientific methods.”
“And this... is where we come into conflict with other races,” All’yun said. “The Dulruni decry our societal commitment to God, the Church, and Catholicism. Yet we are more technologically advanced then they are and the Empire as a whole has only been in space half the time.”
“And this produces the conflict?” Susan asked. “That other races are basically blinded by their arrogance and their fundamentalist devotion to science that they cannot see their own flaws?”
“Yes,” Dr. Ross said. “When one becomes so ingrained in their views that they cannot adapt, they need to force those who disagree and are actually right, to submit.”
“Very true,” George remarked.
“Well explained,” Susan said. “So we have the betterment of society and religion as two factors as to why the HTE must conquer others, but then again, some wouldn’t say these are valid answers, or justifications... that they are not sufficient if you will. Take the betterment of society for example... some say... some say that that we should adopt a policy of non interference. Responses?”
“By non interference we adopt a policy of moral cowardice,” Dr. Ross said. “It is cowardice because we do not take the responsibility, as a more advanced civilization, to bring civilization and protection to the races of the galaxy.”
“And if I can say something, again, look at my race. Three hundred million died in five world wars and we were destroying out planet. We weren’t civilized five hundred and fifty years ago, now we are. And my people are grateful to the Empire.
“And the Empire has never mistreated us, because we accept them. Excelsia is one of the richest planets in the Core regions. If the Empire never came to us then we would have all died.”
“That is true, but what about the star nations that are unified under single governments, and generally like the Empire?” Susan asked.
“Few races are like the Empire,” Dr. Ross stated. “When the HTE was formed, earth was a near paradise. Environmental replenishment technology made the planet clean, recycling technology made production easy, as well as space mining. Even with ten billion people on earth, it wasn’t crowded and decrepit. The Empire has brought this to other worlds. A case study I had some of my students do is on the societal development of the Gorn. When the Empire came their society was fractured, though they were able to have some small colonies on other planets and asteroids. A Gorn could not walk down the street or through a park at night without the risk of being mugged or murdered. After the Empire came, within twenty years all of that changed. Their planet was reclaimed and cleaned, police forces used newer crime deterrent technology, and within fifty years the planet is a near paradise.”
“And you can see that developing on many planets that the Empire comes to,” Susan noted. “Though studies do show that the crime rates on planets does rise as you go out from the Core and inner regions of the Empire.”
“Well, that is because the Empire hasn’t been there long enough,” Dr. Ross stated. “Like I said, given time every planet has the potential to become a paradise.”
“Now, moving away from that topic for a moment... as everyone is aware there are different forms of government that the people of the HTE have been exposed to, from the Rubicon. From such nations like the Alliance of ‘Democratic’ Nations, the United States of America, the Soviet United Federation of Planets, etc. How do you see this exposure as affecting the politics of the Empire?”
Dr. Ross smirked a little, and responded. “Little,” he stated. “Little because none are adopted for this galaxy. If you look at our galaxy all the democracies that once existed here no longer exist. The Strilg Republic, the last ‘true’ democracy was absorbed into the Druini Empire two hundred years ago. It’s because they can’t concentrate their political power uniformly. Policies change every so many years when new legislatures and heads of government/state are elected.”
“And using the Strilg as the example,” George interjected, “the major societal changes that occurred every so many years caused confusion and the downfall of their society. They had one faction that wanted a strong military and a conservative culture, and they had one for over three decades before their downfall. Then they had a radical shift and a liberal, weak government was elected. They slashed military spending an ushered in strange societal changes. They couldn’t compensate and their society was on the verge of self-destruction. The Druini took that opportunity to attack. And they succeeded. They conquered a Republic with over two hundred inhabited planetary systems in six months.”
“...That is why we should be grateful that we have Emperors,” Dr. Ross stated. “Our society has been basically conservative, strong, and powerful, for the last millennia. But then the argument from the others in the Nexus argue that a society such as our stagnates and becomes weak. Yet we’ve proven them wrong. Our conservative, and to them ‘rigid’ society is the most powerful in our galaxy and is the most vibrant. We have a rich culture. And that is because we are an Empire that all the loyal citizens are exposed to cultures from liberated and integrated peoples.”
“What about the influences of communism? Dr. Ross, you have, more then likely, have explained communism to your students, and its effects on a society. How do your students react to it?”
Dr. Ross let of a slight laugh and nodded. “They are horrified by it, and rightly so. I always say a good story to scare kids is to give them a story about Stalin and his Five Year Plans, our Il Sung and his communist Korea, or Tojo and his communist Japan. We go into vivid detail of the atrocities that the communists had committed against their people. For example in Stalin’s various Five Years Plans, which every elementary school students knows, killed over thirty million people combined. In Korea, Il Sung killed millions and in Japan Tojo launched a genocidal war on the democracy in China, and killed a quarter of their 250 million population.
“And don’t forget that the Warsaw Pact nations with their Pacific Pact allies, began the Third world War by attacking Hungary. The HRE was overrun and their military withdrew to Britian, Siciliy, Africa, and Sardinia. The Japanese attacked the American military base at Pearl Harbor and the Soviets launched an invasion of Alaska and Canada.
“They murdered over one hundred million in the countries they occupied before American reinforcements, with the Australians, Argentinians, Mexicans, Brazilians, and South Africans were able to drive them from Europe, the Middle East, and strike into their heartlands. They forced the HAE to use fifteen nuclear bombs, which killed ten million. The communists drove us into a war that lasted twelve years and ended in the deaths of two hundred million.
“So we see this history and then look at the history that is being written by the communists today. In the universe with the United Nations, the Race Alliance, I forget its name, there is a Warsaw Pact. The Soviets force them to defend their territory. I’ve read American accounts of Soviet atrocities in that universe, they are nearly the same. The fear and the torture, the oppression that a communist society lives under. It’s horrifying. Barbaric.”
“And we had a sort of ideology on Excelsia as well. They too oppressed their own populace and killed millions and started wars. I think we can rest assured that communism cannot take any form of grip on our society. We’ve fought wars against them. And communism is atheistic, they are heathens, and they are against monarchs. And I can say with pride that I am loyal to the Emperor, respect Him, and admire Him. And I can speak for many, many others and say they feel the same.”
“So, do you two see the ideas for the other universes as having the ability to hurt our society and our culture? For example, the Alliance of ‘Democratic’ Nations allows homosexual and perverts to accumulate in their society without genetic curing of these disorder.” Susan state, with obvious disgust. “How could these... ideas... affect the HTE?”
George All’yun nodded a few times, and shuddered slightly. “Well, let me answer in a few short words. I’m disgusted by homosexuals and I cannot comprehend how any society can let such a disgusting and perverted group of people... a term I use lightly... to not have their genetics cured. It’s a simple procedure. Well, I think it speaks ill for a society.”
“The Romans became decadent and it led to their downfall. Homosexuals and perverts ran their society. I think that speaks for itself. A society will little or no morals is a corrupt society. I know that the citizens of the HTE will recognize this and reject these perverts.”
“What about the arguments that it is not genetic, that it is a ‘choice’... as some say,” said Susan.
“I’m not a psychologist,” said Dr. Ross, “but who would want to be perverted and do unnatural acts?”
“I think we can leave it at that,” said George All’yun. “And this is also a reason why the Empire brings civilization to the galaxy. Perversion like this are unacceptable to the people of the Empire, we can’t tolerate them.”
“What about a policy of live and let live in regards to those of other universes?” Susan asked.
“I really don’ have a problem with that,” stated Dr. Ross. “But I wouldn’t be surprised if the democracies or communists attacked us. They’re known for that. A democracy can’t survive when other ideas that run contrary to it are so... glaring. According to some in the democracies our Empire shouldn’t exist at all, yet it does! That’s a political threat to them. And democracies need to deal with these political threats, be it through subversion, economic war, or general war. I see no quarrel the Empire has with the democracies because they’ve been realtively peaceful, contrary to the Federal Republic of Earth, but that one does not speak for the rest. It’s just a difference in ideology for me. You know, in other universes democracies may work, yet they don’t in our galaxy, our universe, and that is a fact. So as long as the democracies try not to import their flawed ideologies and perversions to the people of the Empire, I have no problem with them.”
“Well, I have to disagree with you there Al,” George said. “I think eventually there will be a war between us and our allies an some of the democracies. I wont name any, but some are hypocritical, militaristic, and imperialistic. They hide behind their ‘morals’ (which they lack) to attack others. Unlike the Empire, we are open with our conquests and bringing civilization to the galaxy, the democracies do not admit this, which is dangerous. The Firgrove Treaty Organization is one of the primary examples. In various histories that I have studied, the alliance system has led to the escalation of conflicts. On many earths it is called the First World War in 1914 with the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand by a Serbian national. The alliance system led more and more nations to declare war on each other, until all of Europe was at war. Now because of that we had to form our own Triple Alliance, which is only defensive in nature.”
“Gentlemen. Thank you for coming on the Political Factor today. We’ve discussed the betterment of societies due to the Empire liberating them from themselves, the current differences in social and political ideologies of the Empire and democracies, why religion is such an influencing factor, and other reasons why the Empire has been right in its actions over hundreds of years. To our viewers, thank you for watching. For the Political Factor, I am Susan Conover. Join us next week for our discussion on the Alliance of Six and the future of Imperial relations with them.”
