Alien Polities

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Magister Militum
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Alien Polities

Post by Magister Militum »

Here you will be able to find general information on the alien polities, both pan-galactic and regional, or minor, in scale, that inhabit the Milky Way. In-depth information regarding specific elements of these polities will also be found here within their own article*


*Or possibly not. I'll have to see if those elements should belong here. Chances are they probably will though, but just to be sure, look out for any changes.
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Re: Alien Polities

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The Alien Empires

Long before humanities rise in power, the known galaxy was dominated by sixteen different nations. Of those sixteen, however, five great pan-galactic empires would be the ones that would ultimately rule the galaxy, with the other minor powers acting as regional enforcers of the will of the great empires. While prosperous and powerful, thousands of years of the status quo would result in their stagnation, as no new competition threatned to emerge. That would all soon change with the appearence of the Great and Minor powers of humanity. Knocked off from their lofty status as untouchable, the alien empires would shake off the countless years of stagnation in order to counter the seemingly unceasing expansion of humanity. While much larger than any one human polity, or, indeed, groups of human polities, the alien empires could no longer count on their sheer size to prosper, and thus they have turned themselves into the modern polities that they are today. They now seek to increase their wealth and power through the exploitation of the satellite galaxies, and are more than ready to compete with both their human counterparts adn each other.


6th Imperium

Of all the pan-galactic alien empires, the 6th Imperium is perhaps the most iconic due to its venerable age, as well as its position as one of the more powerful of the Pan-Galactics in the Southern Cluster (although some may argue it is slowly slipping). The history of the 6th Imperium goes back thousands upon thousands of years ago, long before humanity had taken their first steps in space. During this time, the 6th Imperium, or rather its predecessors, existed as a large collection of independent states; kingdoms, grand duchies, principalities, electorates, and other polities (e.g. aristocratic republics, oligarchies, planet-states) all existed and warred with each other for ultimate control of their local space, and, at the time, any notion of uniting seemed unlikely. However, one of the dominant powers of the galactic core, the Kindgom of Lorenthal, came to view the conept of a unified empire in the core (led by them, of course) as a highly attractive conept. United, this Grand Imperium could enforce its will all throughout known space, and, one day, the whole galaxy. More importantly, though, was that such an empire could bring something that was sorely missing from the political scene of the time: stability.

Through economic enticement, coercion, and military blackmailing, the Lorenthalian-created Imperial Confederation of the Core, the precursor to the 1st Imperium, would set out to unite most of the divided polities. As the Confederation's power and wealth began to increase, many of the still independent polities would either willingly join the Confederation or would find themselves roped in by the growing hegemony. A few refused to bow down to the Confederation's desires, however, and would fight to retain their total independence. Siding with the other major superpower of the core, the Holy Eternal Empire of the Altamakian Nation, and styling itself as the Grand Coalition, those polities would put up a brave fight, but with the titanic industry and military force available to the Confederation, the Grand Coalition was brutally crushed. Those members of the Coalition that weren't immediately crushed would take what they could and flee to wild space, abandoning their ancestral homes and power bases and hoping to create a new home for themselves in the process.

With its wars of unification complete, the Confederation would crown its first King-Emperor, and would establish the Most Serene and Noble Imperium of the Core, uniting most of Imperium-explored space. Soon enough, the Imperium and its successors would conquer much of the galactic core through either the barrel of a gun of the power of the purse. Not satisfied with ruling over the core, the ruling monarch of the time, Queen-Empress Serava XXIV, would spearhead an aggressive campaign to explore the rest of the galaxy. Militant tendencies turned to a lust for exploration, as great colonization and scouting fleets went out into the unknown to tame it. Through various methods, the Imperium would become the pan-galactic superpower of the day, dominating the affairs of the galaxy. The appearance and explosive expansion of the empires of man, however, would change all of that, as the 6th Imperium would find its coveted dominance of the galaxy lost, especially after its defeat in the epic cold war/occasionally hot war known as the Infinite War. Having fully recovered since then, the 6th Imperium now finds itself at the forefront of a new era of Imperialism, an era the Imperium hopes will be dominated by it.

The 6th Imperium is perhaps best known for its superstable political structure in place. Individual Imperium’s can last for thousands of years, and once an Imperium collapses into a collection of fiefdoms, a new Imperium, thanks in part to the nostalgia for “the good old days,” rises out of the ashes of the old one. Such an ancient and almost continuous polity as the 6th Imperium has resulted in the development of a meticulously detailed and complex political structure that holds it together. An imperial federation, the 6th Imperium is composed of some 4,000 polities of varying levels of autonomy and size that are all ruled over by the King-Emperor and the democratically elected Prime Minister. Through the Imperial Parliament, the constituents of the 6th Imperium set forth the policies that the constituent member-polities, colonies, autonomous republics, associated realms, mandates, private enterprise territories, etc. all follow. While all polities have a say on how the Imperium should be managed, most of the political power rests in the hands of the so-called group of nine, the nine major constituent powers that, together, dominate the politics of the 6th Imperium.

The Royal and Imperial Armed Forces of the 6th Imperium have always placed a considerable amount of emphasis on military tradition and ceremony, not to mention pomp and circumstance. Its warships are adorned with mighty pillars and heroic murals depicting glorious past battles, while AFV's and fighter craft proudly wear the heraldic patterns of their patrons as they charge headlong into battle. Likewise, the officers of the Imperium, rather than being treated as managers of a business-like organization, are treated as scientists and artists of the old sort, focusing on the complex nature of military science and setting an example for their men by leading from the front (the naturally high casualty rate is compensated by the large nature of the Imperial Officer Corps). In terms of actual substance, the R&I Armed Forces are just as effective as any other polities, although the General Staff tends to be more conservative (or as Commonwealth's Space Lord Militants put it, “hidebound reactionaries”) when it comes to newer innovations. Still, they are a highly resilient and potent force, capable of dueling American or Commonwealth superdreadnoughts with their own in the galactic core or crushing Cortallian incursions into their fortress-enclaves in the Large Magellanic Cloud before striking back with massive numbers and overwhelming torrents of firepower.


Unified Consortium of Allied Nations

A staggeringly vast and diverse power, the Unified Consortium of Allied Nations (referred to often as the Allied Nations), like many other supranational governments, owes its existence to the ever alluring promise of economic prosperity and astropolitcal domination of its region. While the dozens of polities of the Inner Sphere, the name of their collective territory, were relatively well off, the situation outside of the Inner Sphere was anything but normal. Highly aggressive regional powers, pirate kingdoms, and warlord cliques (the remnants of a long-dead empire) surrounded the Inner Sphere and constantly eyed the wealthy nations that called it home lustfully. Indeed, the constant raids on their commerce lanes and near perpetual skirmishes on the borders proved to be nothing more than a prelude to the eventual sacking of the major powers of the Inner Sphere. Knowing this and knowing that they were destined to lose in their fractured state, the major powers of the Inner Sphere banded together to form a supranational bloc known as the Unified Consortium of Allied Nations, a major powerhouse of a polity that would have the strength “ to permanently cleanse the sea of despotism that surrounds us,” as its first Chancellor would so boldly declare to the galaxy.

Mobilizing for total war, the Allied Nations, along with those polities that were allied to it (and would eventually join the Consortium), set to work on reclaiming their space by launching a bold offensive against the rouge nations that surrounded them. One by one, many of the weaker aggressors were crushed by the gargantuan war industry of the Consortium and pacified. The Consortium would directly annex some, while others would be made into protectorates of the new superpower. Seeing the phenomenal success of the Allied Nations, many formally neutral polities would soon petition for membership into the Consortium, while those hostile to the Consortium’s goals began to consider the creation of a grand alliance to end the threat to their way of life. Centering around the strongest of the warlords and regional empires, the Outer Union, as it styled itself, destroyed the peace the Allied Nations had forged by invading the still-young polity, kicking off the long and brutal Sixty Years War. Characterized by siege warfare and the mass use of mercenary armies, the vast hordes of the Union proved unable to overrun the smaller, yet vastly more advanced and disciplined forces of the Consortium, who dealt crippling blows to the Union military before conquering the would-be galactic hegemon.

The conquest of the Union and the subsequent unification with the remaining independent polities in the region would result in the Consortium becoming the undisputed master of both the Inner and Outer Sphere, i.e., the full extent of explored and settled space. For a time, the Allied Nations would be content with their holdings, but soon an insatiable desire to explore the unknown and exploit the vast riches of the galaxy would result in a vast campaign of exploration and colonization. New systems would be brought under Consortium control, new polities would join the Allied Nations, and new enemies and rivals would be encountered. Now a full-fledged pan-galactic power, the Consortium stands ready to expand its influence across the Local Group and forge a superpower like no other known. Only time will tell if the Allied Nations can carry out such a audacious goal.

The government of the Allied Nations has changed quite a bit from its inception, mostly due to refinements from the original format (essentially a tight military/political bloc), but also due to the times and the political situation of the Milky Way. The UCAN has experienced everything, from a rigidly centralized empire to a coalition of completely independent supranational factions (similar to the modern day Pan Galactic Commonwealth). Currently, the government structure is a federation of autonomous polities that devote their collective resources to key areas, such as defense, foreign relations, economics, and others. There is no requirement as to what type of government the Consortium's constituents must be. The only real requirement is that they abide by a set of unalienable rights that all sophonts are entitled to. As a result of such a loose structure, the Allied Nations have played host to a large number of diverse constituents; everything from corporate states, elected monarchies, demarcies, and federal republics can be found in the Consortium. Overseen by the Chancellor, who is ultimately responsible to the Council of Nations, the central government itself has relatively limited power; the government is limited to declaring war, levying and collecting taxes, conducting foreign relations, providing a military, upkeeping Consortium infrastructure, and other duties.

The military of the UCAN has also gone through many changes over its lifetime. Originally starting out as fully independent militaries called upon in times of war, the UCAN Armed Defense Force has evolved into an impressive military machine that is still influenced by the events of the Sixty Years War. A fortress mentality still prevails among the officer corps of the ADF-UCAN, and, as a result, fortress worlds and orbital strongholds are highly common and well developed throughout Consortium military zones, particularly in the volatile expansion zone and border marches. In practice, said strongholds, alongside the military forces of the member-states (which can be quite impressive for some), act as the primary means to defense against enemy incursions and are expected to resist enemy encroachments until the vast and long-range armies and fleets of the Armed Defense Force can relive them. In addition, the use of mercenary forces, referred to in military parlance as Armed Volunteers, is a tradition that is still quite common within the Consortium. Depending on the situation, the ADF can make use of anything ranging from Clanate Titans to Soviet privateer fleets.


Greater Republic of Cortallia

A vast, diverse nation centered around the Sagittarius Arm, the Republic of the Greater Arm is a brash, ideologically aggressive star nation that was born in the fires of revolution. It also happens to be one of the youngest of the alien empires, as its current iteration has only existed for some four thousand years. Long before the Republic even existed there was the Imperial State of Cortallia, an autocratic regime that ruled over a respectable portion of space. While the Cortallian government had been a benevolent one long ago, that time had long since disappeared, as the reactionary monarchists exploited its subjects without mercy to increase their own vast wealth. Sickened by the excesses of their ruling caste, and armed by both the Unified Consortium and the recently discovered United Turkish Republic (who would be the first human nation to intervene in the affairs of an power on the scale of Cortallia), the hundreds of subject species and polities would unite to overthrow their tyrannical masters in an explosive civil war.

Outnumbering the monarchists and controlling the nations industry, the republicans smashed the armies and fleets of the Empire within short time, forcing the surviving aristocracy to flee to the relatively young 6th Imperium, a neighbor of Cortallia. Achieving total victory, the newly christened Greater Republic of Cortallia immediately faced widespread challenges, as the 6th Imperium and its various minor allies (and, covertly, the Third Empire of France and the Spanish Star Imperium), fearful of the revolutionaries goal of demolishing the monarchies of the galaxy, declared war on the fledgling republic in the name of establishing order. The various interventions to restore the monarchy ultimately failed, as the GRC, raising titanic armies and armadas, repulsed each monarchist invasion (although not after suffering a horrifying level of casualties in the early years) and would manage to seize stretches of space from the 6th Imperium and others before they sued for peace. Preserving their revolution, the lessons of the Cortallian Revolutionary Wars would not only bring the break-away colonial states, fearful of foreign conquest, back under Cortallian control, but would solidify the ideals of the revolution. The Greater Republic of Cortallia is determined to “export the revolution” across the universe, and it is ready to fight to challenge those who threaten its way of life.

With the Greater Republic of Cortallia inheriting the sheer diversity of the hundreds of subject species of the old Imperial State, the natural choice of government for the power was that of a classic federal republic. The GRC is composed of several thousand quasi-sovereign member-states, known as sovereignties in Cortallian political parlance. Each sovereignty maintains a not inconsiderable amount of power in deciding their government structure and internal affairs, although all sovereignties are ultimately democracies of some sort. In addition to duties such as raising their own defense forces (which can fall under federal control if necessary), the sovereignties also send both deputies and senators to the Chamber of Deputies, the lower house of the Cortallian National Convention, and the Senate, the upper house of the Cortallian National Convention, in order to be represented in the legislative branch. The Greater Republic of Cortallia is ultimately headed by the Consul of the Republic, the elected Head of State. In addition, the Republic also controls a number of puppet states and client republics, known in Cortallian propaganda pieces as 'sister republics,' through the Federation of United Republics (FUR). Although claimed by Cortallia to act as a bulwark against monarchist and autocratic aggression, FUR, in reality, is but another tool used by the Republic in order to expand its influence and power.

If anything, the fight the Armed Forces of the Greater Republic of Cortallia put up to protect and export the ideals of the revolution would leave several major influences on the Armed Forces. The collapse and near-total depletion of the aristocratic officer corps, for example, would result in the creation of a purely meritocratic officer corps (similar to that of the Russian Combine), which would conveniently result in a surplus of geniuses in all branches of the Armed Forces. In addition, the influx of Turkish naval advisors and their expertise in carrier warfare would result in the adoption of a strong carrier force alongside the traditional Wall of Battle of the Cortallian Republican Space Force (something the old Imperial State of Cortallia viewed as a waste of resources). By far the most notable consequence of the revolution, though, was the creation of a vast combat walker force, an unintentional side-effect of the pro-monarchist loyalists hoarding much of the conventional armor pool. By far the most potent combat walkers in use by any polity, the Cortallian Republican Army has expanded the walker paradigm to include everything from fast, bipedal scout walkers, to multi-legged monsters that rival Planetary Assault Vehicles or the infamous Titans of the barbarian empires that inhabit the Sagittarius dwarf galaxy in terms of size and sheer power. When grouped with infantry, conventional armor, and artillery/air support, these walkers can quickly become the end of fortified planets.


Holy Eternal Empire of the Altamakian Nation

For millennia, the galactic core had traditionally been divided between two different factions, one led by the juggernaut of the Kingdom of Lorenthal and the other by the Holy Eternal Empire of the Altamkaian Nation. Both factions viciously competed for total domination of the Core, and both would use whatever tricks were up their sleeves to increase their clout and power. Unfortunately for the Holy Eternal Empire, the Kingdom of Lorenthal had become increasingly powerful in military, political, and economic matters (at the expense of Altamak). Indeed, Lorenthal had become so powerful that it was now capable of doing what Altamak could not: uniting the polities of the Core around itself as a one massive empire. Knowing that the time for the Final War had come, the Holy Eternal Empire, alongside its allies and dependences, formed the Grand Coalition in order to defeat the Lorenthalian-created Imperial Confederation of the Core and crush its plans for total unity. While putting up a good fight, the Coalition simply could not defeat the vast military forces of the Confederation and ultimately succumbed to the onslaught, its armies broken and its industry ruined.

Total defeat and conquest was unacceptable, however, for Emperor Jaltar XXIIV, who could not bear see the Holy Eternal Empire die in such a fashion. With defeat imminent, The Coalition enacted a contingency plan it had developed years ago, a plan created in the event of the unthinkable occurring. Gathering everything they could take with them, the governments of the Coalition fled the Core and left Lorenthal with rubble as they searched for a new home in the galaxy. Settling down in a patch of space that had been secretly scouted out years ago, the Holy Eternal Empire and its allies did their best to rebuild their great civilizations. Through new conquests and vigorous imperialism, Altamak came to reclaim its dominant position in regional affairs. Strategic marriages with the ruling families of allied nations of the same species (Altamak, like humanity and Lorenthal, entered the space race Balkanized), economic enticement, military blackmail, and other tricks would result in Altamak coming to gain control of all polities, both those who fled with Altamak as well as the ones that were discovered, in their sphere of influence. Expanding at breakneck speed, The Holy Eternal Empire returned from its exile of pan-galactic politics with thunderous force, encountering both new allies and its most bitter and hated foe, the then 4th Imperium. Only time will tell, however, if the Holy Eternal Empire will ever succeed in their ultimate goal: the reconquest of their homelands and total and utter destruction of the 6th Imperium.

Like the 6th Imperium, the Holy Eternal Empire is also a state held together via dynastic ties, although, in Altamak's case, its structure is less federalized than the Imperium's. At the core of the Holy Eternal Empire are the core territories, i.e. those territories that would be a part of the original empire without regard to dynasty. In addition, there also exist the personal holdings of the nobility, known as the hereditary territories. Originally states that had no connection to the HEE save for dynastic ties, they have since evolved into a pseudo-protectorate status, with a unified administration, varying levels of autonomy, and representation in the Imperial Diet. It is these territories that form a core of population, power, and industry in which Altamkian domination of their sphere of influence rests. Finally there exist the associated states. Originally polities with a nominally sovereign government or ruled by cadet branches of various Houses, the associated states have since sworn their fealty (voluntarily or otherwise) to the Holy Eternal Empire. Their level of autonomy is usually considerable; they can maintain their own (limited) military and colonial structures (although they are unified with the Empire's structure in some capacity), have special seats in the Diet, and maintain a fully sovereign government structure of their choice, although Altamak ultimately holds all their reigns some way or another.

All this is overseen by the Head of the Holy Eternal Empire, the Emperor. While having various duties and power over certain areas, the day to day running of the government is done by the Imperial High Court, a council made up of the various ministers, high ranking military officers, heads from the most important Houses, and the Head of Government, the Chancellor. The Chancellor in particular is one of the main forces that keeps the Empire together, as well as balancing the diverse interests that exist, such as those of the Houses of the Empire, who vigorously compete with each other for not only the Emperor's favor, but also, should the throne become vacant, for the throne itself.

The military of the Holy Eternal Empire, like Altamak itself, is a complex creation. Tracing its origins from the military forces provided by the various Houses, the Imperial Altamakian Armed Forces, which include the Imperial Altamakian Surface Forces, Imperial Altamakian Marine Corps, and Imperial Altamakian Starfleet, have since then evolved into a competent force that can reliably provide defense for all its interests. Depending on the situation, the Ministry of War can call upon the militaries of the Holy Eternal Empire's constituents, hereditary lands, and associated states to aid in military operations and garrison duties; in fact, it is quite possible to have over a dozen different flags fly during major campaigns. Generally speaking, the Imperial Altamakian Surface Forces, which includes the Army, Maritime Force, and Aerospace Service, favors pitting strength against strength and using bold maneuvers to paralyze an enemy and destroy them quickly. The Imperial Altamkian Starfleet, on the other hand, follows a more conservative, attrition based approach to combat once the initial attack has been completed, although it does make heavy use of the gunboats and strikefighters of the Starfighter Corps to break enemy formations.


Pan-Galactic Corporate Authority

Founded upon the soul-crushing item that is money, the Pan-Galactic Corporate Authority is perhaps one of the more bizarre of the alien empires to emerge due to its seemingly reverse origins. The earliest ancestor to the Authority can be traced back to the Corporate Authority of the Thasfold Expanse, a chartered company created by the Ghrel Hegemony in order to colonize, develop, and exploit the riches and populace of the newly discovered Thasfold Expanse (named after its first explorer, Jehar Kin'zek Thasfold). The Thasfold Authority, as it was known, would do its job well, colonizing and developing countless worlds, forming alliances with native rulers, managing trade routes and industry, and engaging in vicious warfare with other rivals in order to secure total domination of the Expanse in the name of the Ghrel Hegemony. Soon enough, the Thasfold Authority, which by this time was essentially a state within a state, began to accumulate significant amounts of power and influence within the Ghrel Hegemony, lending its army and navy to the Hegemony during times of conflict, influencing its foreign policy (so much so that it would dictate where the Hegemony sent its military) and bribing members of the Ghrel Legislative Council to vote in certain ways. Indeed, the system of patronage and increased dependency on the Authority by the Hegemony became so much that the recently elected Premier, Az'loav Borin, would begin to push a compaign to nationalize the Thasfold Authority and root out the corrupt elements of the government.

This proved to be a fatal mistake for Borin, who failed to recognize the lengths the Thasfold Authority would go to in order to preserve their independence and prosperity. Positioning its military forces in strategic areas and providing arms and funds to other charter colonies that had become tired of Ghrel rule, the Thasfold Authority would launch a mass surprise attack on Ghrel military formations all throughout the Hegemony. Unable to counter the superior military forces of the Authority, the Ghrel Hegemony would lose much of its mighty empire to the now-independent Thasfold Authority, who came to dominate the region (in a bitter note of irony, the Ghrel rump state would eventually become a protectorate of the Authority before being annexed outright later on). Coming out of its war for independence stronger than ever, the Thasfold Authority continued to do what it did best: explore, exploit, and conquer new territories. A series of reforms and other initiatives by subsequent Governor-Generals and Board of Directors would further refine the structure and nature of the newly-renamed Pan-Galactic Corporate Authority, as well as cement the 'polities' place in pan-galactic affairs. With the opening and colonization of the satellite galaxies, and the encountering of the large but militarily weak empires that reside there, the Company now seeks to tame and exploit the satellites as a prelude to maintaining total economic hegemony in the Milky Way. But with both the pan-galactics and regionals scrambling to set up shop in the satellites, the Company may find its lofty goal to be much harder to achieve.

The structure of the Pan-Galactic Corporate Authority is one that has evolved for thousands of years in order to better adapt to new changes. The territory of the company, which is expansive, is ruled over through a mix of local and direct rule. Those territories colonized and owned by The Company, as it refers to itself, are governed directly by the Company in a devolved fashion, while senior colonies are governed in a federal manner. Those polities that have entered into a treaty of protection with the Company, the so-called allied states, however, are fully autonomous in regards to internal affairs in exchange for Company access to their military and other benefits. This system is kept running through the Company's own form of democracy, which allows for all citizens to be able to elect members of their local councils and Lieutenant Governors, the Board of Directors, and the office of the Governor-General. Unlike the more traditional forms of democracy, however, the citizens of the Company vote based on the number of shares of stock that they own (all citizens are given shares regardless of their status). The fact that the votes of some individuals have a much greater weight than others due to the amount of stock they own is a point that has irked many outside of the Company.

The military of the Pan-Galactic Corporate Authority, through the bottomless coffers of the Company, is capable of fielding some of the best equipment and troops money can buy. The Corporate Authority Navy, the Senior Service of the Armed Forces, has always focused heavily on the Wall of Battle, preferring to plow through hordes of light and weak warships with massive battlewagons that could decimate star systems with trivial ease. Likewise, the Corporate Authority Army favors the use of super-heavy war engines alongside mobile theater-level battlescreen generators and anti-starship artillery to dominate planets and orbital structures. At the other end of the spectrum are the mercenary and allied state armies that can be called up to defend the Company. While lacking the sheer durability and firepower of the Corporate Regular Armed Forces, the Auxiliaries, as they are known, make up for it through numbers and, more importantly, their quick-response nature and expertise in specialized forms of warfare. When combined together, the regulars and auxiliary can very quickly dominate their opponents in a rapid fashion.
Last edited by Magister Militum on Fri Jun 12, 2009 1:42 am, edited 3 times in total.
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Re: Alien Polities

Post by Magister Militum »

EDIT: What was planned to be nothing more than some minor edits turned out to be a complete and total rewrite, which is pretty much what I planned anyways. This is definitely worth reading again, as the origins and history of all of the alien empires had been changed/redifined massively in order to keep with my theme of inserting historical analogies and such. Try to guess which real-life nation inspired their respective alien counterpart.
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Re: Alien Polities

Post by Booted Vulture »

Pretty nice article, MM. Though one has to asked if all this millitant aggressive powers have been around since before we were crawling and clubbing each other to death, how come no-one of them ever conquered/exploited the shit out of us? And can we actually hope to oppose them in armed combat?
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Re: Alien Polities

Post by Magister Militum »

There are two big reasons why we were never curbstomped. First, the area we inhabit was considered to be relatively backwater to the alien empires and was pretty much ignored, thus giving us time to grow and develop. Second, while the alien empires dwarfed (at least early on) their human counterparts in terms of size and numbers, they were completely stagnant in an industrial, political, economic, cultural, and military sense due to lack of competition. In contrast, while humanity was smaller, they were much more vicious and competitive, which led to conquests of large but weak polities, a very rapid growth of humanities total population, and the inducing of the technological singularity through artificial means*. By the time the alien empires made contact in the third millennium, they encountered a multitude of heavily-armed, aggresively imperialist powers that were more advanced then they were in a technological sense (unlike humanity, the alien empires didn't cheat and advanced in a much slower and controled manner, although stagnation prevented them from fully exploiting their advances). Suddenly, having a large (but inefficient) industry and vast (if somewhat unsophisticated) military wasn't going to cut it anymore.

It should be noted that this is all ancient history. The alien empires experienced their own second renaissance of sorts and have managed to close the technological gap to a profound extent. Likewise, humanity has managed to shorten the size gap that existed between them and the alien empires. The end result is that there exists a relative parity between them, although the alien empires are still somewhat bigger and humanity is still somewhat more advanced. In the end, though, the differences do not matter, as the alien polities are seen as another series of allies, rivals, and/or pawns to be exploited by anyone.

In case you can't guess your answer to your second question, then, yes, we can oppose them in open combat, although the alien empires will probably always have a numerical advantage when they fight against their human counterparts (with the possible exception of China).

If you think these guys are bad, Booted, then wait until you see what the empires of humanity have become. :twisted:


*When I say an artificial sense, I mean that we used certain tricks to reach it. What exactly those tricks are I haven't decided yet. It could be possible that humanity has some very powerful benefactors that would like to them prosper and thrive...
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Re: Alien Polities

Post by Ford Prefect »

A delightfully weighty article, and I was tickled to see you use the term 'Clanate', especially given that they apparently hail from the Saggitarius dwarf galaxy and I think Saggitarius is an awesome word. :D Also, correct me if I'm wrong, but is the Holy Eternal Empire supposed to reflect the Byzantine Empire? Obviously the PGCA is supposed to be an alien East India Company, and Cortallia reminds me of post-revolution France.
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Re: Alien Polities

Post by Magister Militum »

The Holy Eternal Empire does indeed invoke elements of Byzantium, except that Altamak was much more successful than the Byzantines were. Of course, the Holy Eternal Empire also has a certain amount of influence from the Holy Roman Empire and Austria. To continue the analogy, the 6th Imperium would be analogous to the German Empire, with Lorenthal being TEG's equivilant to Prussia (hence the Austrian connection to Altamak). The PGCA is indeed an incarnation of the East India Company, while Cortallia is a blending of both Revolutionary France and, to a certain extent, the early Soviet Union. Finally, the Allied Nations are a purely unique invention of mine and have no real historical counterpart to speak of.

And, yes, I too like the word 'Clanate,' hence my use of it. I'll be covering some elements of them in Gotterdammerung once I get to their introduction.

EDIT: Now that I think about it, I should probably post a list of historical counterparts for each polity in TEG's blog.
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Ford Prefect
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Re: Alien Polities

Post by Ford Prefect »

Magister Militum wrote:And, yes, I too like the word 'Clanate,' hence my use of it.
Hey, any reproduction of a word I invented is fine by me. :)
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