Clawing at the Stars
'... Brothers and sisters, for they were impure! They were the get of sin. They were the progeny of vanity, bonded to decadence. THEY put themselves above the Highest, the blasphemers. They reached for unlimited power, and the skies unleashed a nuclear torrent, in response - the tears of a heaven in turmoil. The Highest loves goodness, my brothers and sisters. The Highest loves irreproachably pure intention. He does not love you. There is no mercy in him for flesh. You have the love of the One only when you hav- ... only when you have cleansed yourselves of filth, and have become more than flesh! FLESH is the domain of the weak and the ersatz! The One does not accept the platitudes of the weak. He wants you to be strong! He does not coddle his children. Either you choose, here and today, that your life will be the search for spiritual perfection, or you abrogate your right to live in the Kingdom of the One - HIS Respublica! Our God does not cajole, he DEMANDS! Pay lip service at your peril; remain diligent or wither; be good, be pure, be the Sword of the One!'
- Wise Earl Neymar, recorded during the 12th Convocation of the People of the Respublica, 332AU
Between 328AU and 336AU the Marianites took steps to consolidate their power over the Respublica. In 330AU the Mandate passed into law. It was a deeply religious constitution for a stringently religious state. And it was to prove to be only the beginning. Those years also saw the empowerment of a retrograde movement that doomed the Adams, the Betties and the Charlies (AIs of the first and second generation) remaining in Old Codexia to 'oblivion'. Tech-mods fell into disuse - first amongst the general population, and then even in the military. Society was simply overhauled from the bottom up and problematic social actors were made to 'disappear' with unnerving regularity. Critique of the state (and, due to the wording of the Mandate, Marianism by extension) became unacceptable and was punished with extreme prejudice. By 340AU the faith could justify any excess under the banner of religious imperative. All this resulted in stagnation. Not only did the post-war economic recovery in Codexian space stall badly, it was further exacerbated by a principled refusal to trade with xenoforms. Tentative private initiatives on the part of Raumeni merchants were strongly rebuffed.
Neither the government/church or the adherents of the faith particularly cared. Economic stagnation was accepted nonchalantly by a population increasingly used to frugality. The old generation, which still remembered how things were when plenty was the norm, shrugged powerlessly. Consumer culture declined. The Golden Age of Codexia was characterized by Post-Fordist consumer micro-culture. Its New Age was to be a time of fervor and discipline. Meanwhile, the Commonwealth continued to strengthen. Another fifteen years of development saw it slowly become a burgeoning industrial powerhouse, in its own right. Commo citizens were getting rich, while their Respublican cousins wore their frugality like a badge of honor. There was no love lost between these increasingly divergent peoples. The situation in Raumen space remained complicated, with the Hin'in holding dominion over most of the Clans, in one way or another. Though the Raumen stayed belligerent and resentful, they had failed to take back their independence twice, already. Their strength had failed.
The ursine Phyr were increasingly aloof. Most had fled Codexian space in the aftermath of the Marianite Revolution and the Brotherly Conflict. They either settled in the Commo, or joined their pioneering kin resettling the Phyr Dead Zone. Several colonies were already doing quite well, by this time, although the Phyr would likely never even approximate their old power. For the Respublica, these alien activities were significant only insofar as they were perceived to be a threat to the Faith. Even if no conflict seems immediately forthcoming, underlying tensions inevitably drive Marianism into a confrontation with the Commo, at the very least. It is time to make a choice.
***
The following is a medium-term choice (2-10 years)
Do you... concentrate on rebuilding the economy? Frugality is all good and well, but ships don't pay for themselves!
OR
Do you... concentrate on rebuilding the military? We can afford to keep our promise to Codexia's proud military institution! Furthermore, we will give it a Marian complexion - our warriors should be the banner carriers of our religion.
OR
Do you... concentrate on strengthening the regime's grip on authority? Heretics, infidels, apostates and sinners are everywhere. This state is threatened from within. We must cleanse it, before we turn to outside threats! Our people will be incorruptible!
Please note: 'Concentrate' implies that all three policies will be pursued by the government
to some extent. The one chosen will be specially emphasized.
