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Mantis

James – Mantis (T1, E0, R1)

SYSTEM ASPECTS:

Alternate aspects:

GAME LEADS

History: In the beginning of the written record after the last great textdump, they know that the government changed from a Republic (the elusive “Late Republic,” which could be late for many things) to a Monarchy, under a military coup. The leader gained the status of the praetor. While in its progressive era, all previous social classes were abolished, the military made an alliance with the academic centers to educate every civilian, and vast resources went into developing tidier research methods and more effective pedagogical tools.

The Praetorship never realized that it was gradually handing over all control to what would turn out to be a technocracy, led by leading researchers for the sake of furthering technological aptitude and spreading knowledge across all its citizens. As every function of government came under their umbra, the Praetor became a central ceremonial figure, leader of a military subsumed under the planetary defense forces, and guardian of civic virtue. The selfless Cincinnatus in question is Praetōr 4-Lecsãrdá (field commander at arms and scholast-magistrate Alexandra IV). With the full quinternary of dimplomatesr forties, has no offspring, and spends her time outside of ceremony modeling dispraxic potentialia within isotropic historiographies.

Her grace Praetor 4-Lecsãrdá Supine Digamma

Society:

The society has no inherited social class system. Every child, upon birth, is born equally and treated equal up until the age of 16. Testing starts at age 3, and education regimens begin thereafter. Equal emphasis is placed upon cultural literacy, humanistic inquiry, and scientific acumen – no artificial division between the three exists, as possessing and using the highest form of technology is assumed to be one of the most virtuous modes of living.

At 16, a child is sufficiently trained to enter a profession. Their intelligence rating (IR) at that point entitles them to certain privileges at that point, and here a certain class system comes into effect. Smart people are required for every profession. Even the laborers must have intelligence and initiative enough to build the highest-quality buildings and ships. Most coming out are at least competent in their skills, therefore, but for every standard deviation above the norm they get preferential treatment in society. Officially, all citizens are equal. But there are no laws against restricting access to certain groups and clubs based on IR.

Even then, the class system is as fluid as human experience. Yearly testing ensures that one is using their mind to their ability, and maintaining its sensitive synapses. For those who suffer debilitating mental ailments, as well as those who are pedagogically unsuitable, the southern archipelago serves as an adequate exile. Their culture is insular, idyllic, and due to sterilization, the population is firmly controlled.

No jobs are particularly looked down upon, but both engineering and scientific pursuits are the most revered. To publish in a main scientific journal is to achieve fame.

Everything Else:

Though all citizens are relatively equal, and knowledge-sharing is surprisingly open within the planetary bounds, the system has developed a tendency to not share such knowledge with its neighbors. Upon discovering the possibility of slipstream technology after observing a Volcana military scout ship fifty years prior, the technocracy geared its research goals towards discovering it. The recent discovery of a small cache of legacy drives pre-textdump enabled Mantis to start giving the ships out for unlimited use with only one requirement: tell us what’s out there. Known as The Oath, all spacefaring citizens are required to report any technological discovery to the authorities, for proper study. Most ships engage in trade, while a few hop between systems conducting scientific research on various anomalies. This was done only once the drives were determined to be impossible to reverse-engineer without destroying, with only a small chance of success.

This has also given way to espionage, as intelligence and counter-intelligence agents try to ensure that the planet’s present advancements are kept secret. It also tries, at its deepest levels, to get the technology of other systems, like Volcana’s slipstreams and energy weapons. It has had very limited success thus far, especially compared to the civilian slipstream ships.

Also, the main planet is designed so as to funnel all trade through a central space port away from the industrial and population centers. A modest population serves this space port, and a sizeable diplomatic staff, but only a small university exists here with several magisters-emerita, doing research in non-essential areas like xenobiology. Access to other areas is granted only after an interview with an intelligence member and an IR test.

The secret-keeping inclinations make them particularly apprehensive of the Gaians, who could easily invade their mind, they think. The diplomats that deal with them have had no contact with the scientists, trained in relative isolation at the university spaceport. Research into methods to block the telepathy are ongoing.

Yunus: Opt-outs of the IR test and the entire meritocracy can go live on the southern continent where they perfect the art of sun tea, write the great Mantan novel, and blow glass drug pipes.

See: Mantan Ships

Connections to Gaia, SysOneCo, and Celebes

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Define external redirect: Azure Chamber