The Guidebook To Most Serene Celestial Confederation

by **The Merchant Republics** » Mon Oct 25, 2010 5:29 pm

The Factbook and Guide to the Most Serene Confederation of the Merchant Republics

"Every Man Is His Own King"

.......The Most Serene Merchant Republics are a Confederation of Autonomous Interstellar States, Planets, Nations, Organizations and People united under a common banner of liberty for mutual protection and prosperity. Its origin is in a collection of free human states fleeing the fiery quagmire of Earth in their third and final world conflict, at its climax the Free Human States fled to space in a mass exodus, leaving their precious and beautiful world to be consumed in Atomic Fire. They searched 50 years for a refuge only to be thrown into the calamity of Interstellar Warfare once they had found it, as humans courageously defended a homeland that was not theirs for a race of people who were not their own. Here in the bloody forge of the First Contact War, the Celestial Union was born and under her banner the free states of the Union have stretched the stars bringing with them the torch of Liberty, Reason and Sovereignty to new peoples, species and entire worlds. Holding it aloft as a symbol of peace, prosperity and freedom.

The motto of the Merchant Republics is one of voluntary organization, for nothing in the Celestial Union is brought about by coercion, and every action is one of individual choice. That man (and xeno) should never be made to bow to anyone else except by his own personal choice. No state shall be held to the Union except by the will of it's people, no state shall exist without the consent of its citizens, no man shall be made party to a ruling which was not his. These are the ethos of the Union and of the Free Merchant Republics of the Confederation.

Dear Reader,
I thank you for taking the time to learn more about the Most Serene Republics, whether your are Citizen, Denizen or Foreigner, Scholar or Rouge, regardless of your creed, I welcome you to this bank of knowledge as a friend. I will be your guide so to speak to our most Glorious Celestial Union. I shall endeavour to provide you with the most comprehensive and thorough overview of this nation, its people, politics, economics and history to the best of our available knowledge. I will also intend to provide you with more then a guide, and indeed a real voice and insight into our unique nation.

I dearly love this nation and I hope to impart that love on you, dear reader. Through our exploration of the wonders of Mercantorum Society.

Editor-In-Chief, Robert J. Garnet

Table of Contents

I. Introductions & Overview

II. Political System

III. Notable Documents & The Celestial Constitution

IV. The Mercatorum History

V. Notable Organizations and Republics

VI. Economics & Trade

VII. Armed Forces

VIII. People

IX. Culture and Customs

X. Tourist Information

XI. A Tour in Pictures

XII. Q&A + F.A.Q.

XIII. A Day in The Life

XIV. Glossary and Disassociated Miscellany

This holobook was written in cooperation with the Celestial Information Bureau and Mercatorum Historic Society and brought to you free of charge thanks to the charitable donation of Illium Publishing Limited and viewers like you.

Note: The IRL writer of this Factbook has a rather severe assortment of mental issues. So if your wondering why half these pages are half-completed, the reason is probably something to do with that.

by **The Merchant Republics** » Sun Nov 14, 2010 9:48 pm

Section I: Overview

The Merchant Republics

The Merchant Republics are the direct descendants of the Humans who fled Earth in the event known as the Exodus, when the last free peoples of Earth were forced to leave Earth to the destruction of Socialist Tyranny, the then "Free Nations Coalition" left en mass in a massive fleet built to carry nearly 2 billion people, however the nature of the technology they used to escape Earth was not well-tested, and upon exiting hyperspace the exodus fleet had been scattered across the galaxy. The Exodus ships would spend the next fifty years roaming through space in hopes of finding each other and the large world-ships that would allow them to terraform a new home, some ships remained lost for decades, others happened upon habitable worlds and set up colonies for themselves, waiting until we would rediscover them. To this day there are twelve ships and a total of 30 million people left unaccounted, it is presumed they were destroyed. In 2172 the last of the 4 world-ships were discovered and the Exodus Fleet chose to settle in the Eden Starcluster, colonizing four clustered habitable worlds that would eventually become the centre of the Mecatorum society; Terra Nova, New Zion, Sierrium and Arcadia. It would be here that they founded the New Merchant Republics and together sign the first Celestial Charter in hopes of constructing a society that would not fall to the evils that claimed Earth. A nation that would secure freedom, self-sovereignty and prosperity for all mankind.
It would be only 8 years later that a survey fleet searching for lost ships would happen upon a desperate war between the Orinean peoples and a powerful but savage enemy known only as the Vodar. The fledgling Republics banded together and bravely fought at great risk to themselves to defend the beleaguered alien peoples. The war was costly, but saved the Orinean people from genocide at the hands of the savage Vodar. The culmination of this First Interstellar War would bring about an alliance between the two peoples, an alliance would eventually blossom into the Celestial Union, and herald the formation of the Confederation as it exists today. But this would not be the end of the difficulties that would face our nation, soon the Vodar returned in devoting the entirety of it;s war effort, beginning the second and final Interstellar War, which would see the razing of New Zion before it's end. The Republics vowed revenge and at the end of the war, the Vodar Empire would be utterly destroyed, it's remaining peoples scattered into warbands that continue to raid our frontiers to this day. It would be from the ashes of this war, that the Confederation would rise and ascend it's role as a true galactic power.

Official Name: The Most Serene Confederation of The Merchant Republics/Serenissimi Reipublicae Mercator, otherwise The Most Serene Celestial Confederation
Informal Name: The Merchant Republics, The Celestial Confederation
Capital: Veritium, Arcadia
Demonym: Mercatorum (Plural) Mercatoran (Singular)
Type of Government: Confederation of Independent Republics, States and Free Peoples, united in a constitutional framework of loosely anarchic principles, governed by meritocratic representation and led by an executive triumvirate.
Head(s) of Government: A Triumvirate of Three Positions; The Consul of the Senate: Marcus Antillius Kaine, The Grand Chancellor of the Council: Aiko Samnite Honorious, and the Princeps of the People: Johnathan Tarquin Von Hessenburg

Total Population: 420,000,000,000 est.
Human: 79% 289,100,000,000 est.
Orinean: 8% 82,1000,000,000 est.
Golarian: 5% 16,4000,000,000 est.
Other: 5%

Total Permanently Colonized Planets: 103

Inner Colonies: 14
Outer Colonies : 22
Fringe Colonies: 47

The Mercatorum Proper*: 83
Orinean Commonwealth: 5

¹

Caovar Alliance: 4
Independent Commonwealths²: 7

* Mercatorum proper is a catch-all term for planets principally dominated by the Mercatorum culture.
1: Their homeplanet, Valinor is shared with the Svardeans.
2: Independent Commonwealths include both planets whose culture is considered outside the Mercatorum norm and those dominated by minor alien civilizations.

The Merchant Republics On:

Overview
Nation name: The Most Serene Celestial Confederation of the Merchant Republics
Nation leader: A Triumvirate of Three Executives, the Consul of the Senate, the Grand Chancellor of the Council and the popularly elected Primarch
Form of Government: Constitutional Republic operating on Anarchist principles.
Economic System: Free Market; mostly Capitalist/Corporate with a minority of Cooperative Firms

Views on systems of government
Representative Democracy: Mostly Approve; prone to corruption and the frailties of a democracy but ultimately a necessity for a secure society
Direct Democracy: Mostly Approve: inefficient and prone to mob rule and the failings of such a system, nonetheless it best approximates the will of society when needed.
Republics: Strongly Approve: All government should be based ultimately upon the consent of it's members, a Republic best approximates a true free society.
Federalism: Disapprove: Federalism places far too much control upon the "federal" state, which runs the risk of allowing a strong centralized state which is the first step towards the tyrannical state.
Constitutional Monarchism: Neutral: The presence of a monarch is not necessarily the antithesis to a free society, so long as the monarchy is restricted in it's powers by constitution. Still it cannot be said to be wholly good either, as no man should be forced to bow before even the most benevolent king, except by his own will.
Absolute Monarchism: Disapprove: An absolute monarch may be benevolent or malevolent, but with the unrestricted ability to utilize the force of arms and control his people it may be said that he should lean towards tyranny and away from freedom, and thus an absolute monarch is in all respects little more than a dictator with blue blood.
Dictatorship: Strongly Disapprove: Dictators lack the nobless oblige and pretenses of ownership which otherwise impel kings to treat their subjects with care, instead because their position is not clear and maintained by force of arms a dictator must always practice tyranny to keep his control. Thus it is abhorrent to a free society.
Minarchism: Approve; If the state is to be considered a necessary evil, it should be kept to it's absolute minimum and relegated to the duties of protection and order. The Merchant Republics are said to tread the line between minarchy and anarchy.
Anarchism: Strongly Approve; anarchy ultimately should be considered the ideal society, being total freedom and total self-determination.
Oligarchies: Disapprove; Rule by the elite has some advantages, the elite are intelligent and being in competition with each other will rarely allow collusion between state and economy, but ultimately such societies will decline into naked tyranny and hostility.
Military Juntas: Strongly Disapprove; Unstable naked tyranny, completely without merit as a system of governance.
Fascism: Strongly Disapprove; Fascism is the antithesis of a free society and thus can be utterly dismissed.
Presidential System: Disapprove; presidential executives are given powers not unlike a king, but have no similar sense of ownership, in stable societies the result will merely be corruption and cults of personality, but in less stable societies little separates a president from a dictator.
Parliamentary System: Approve: The parliamentary system of representation removes the similar cult of personality that surrounds a president by absorbing the Prime Minister into his party as opposed to his own stand out. The Republics however does not operate on such a system.

Economic Systems
Capitalism: Strongly Approve: Capitalism is the natural result of a free market economy, as it represents the most efficient form of capital establishment, any sufficiently advanced and truly free society will naturally become or at least incorporate capitalist features if it wishes to survive.
Socialism: Strongly Disapprove: In it's non-market variants socialism is nothing more than tyranny, regardless of whether it's democratic or despotic, it robs society of all virtue and subjugates it's people to collective slavery.
Mixed Economy: Disapprove: a mixed economy is nothing more than the legal exercise of illegal state powers, that said, they are certainly freer than many so called socialist societies.
Laissez-faire: Strongly Approve; Laissez-Faire is the only sane policy of any state which wishes for the maximum strength, growth and wealth of it's society.
Syndicalism (trade unionism): Approve; Unions so long as they remain voluntary organizations are perfectly legitimate means of worker's representation among their capitalist employers. The dynamic between labour and capital need only be that of any other client relationship and ideally all sides should benefit from their trade.
Planned Economy: Strongly Disapprove: A planned economy is doubly abhorrent, it cannot hope to match the efficiency and just distribution of a market society and in the process of attempting such totally controlled economies can only result in tyranny.
Grassroots economics: Approve; Economies should always be organic and bottom-up orchestrated.
Globalization: Strongly Approve; only fools stand in the way of progress.
Feudalism: Disapprove: an antiquated system of economic tyranny.
Corporatism: Disapprove; The state should never have control over capital or labour and the control of either can only result ultimately in tyranny.
Participatory Economics: Approve; all societies should be dependent upon voluntary participation, that applies to their economies as well.
Gift Economy: Neutral; While impossible to maintain on any feasible level lacking any sensible method of distribution, no one would say that a society with charity should be looked down upon.
Traditional Economy: Disapprove: "Traditional" is a fancy word for barbaric.

Social Philosophies
Authoritarianism: Disapprove
Conservatism: Neutral: One should not seek to conserve for the sake of conserving, and such a philosophy is ridiculous, conserving a free society however should always be preferred
Liberalism: Approve; In it's true classical sense liberalism seeks the ultimate free society, and thus can only be good, progressive liberalism however has divorced itself from such notions of a free society instead courting corporatism and central planning for the supposed "good" of society.
Libertarianism: Strongly Approve
Militarism: Disapprove: A free society that wishes peace must be armed to fight against barbarians who would seek to destroy it, but never fight for fighting's sake.
Pacifism: Approve: peace is the most desirable state among men.
Nationalism: Petty and occasionally dangerous but human.
Internationalism: We are better off for seeing ourselves as individuals above nations and arbitrary lines that attempt to divide us.
Secularism: Approve; the state should never enforce a moral code upon it's people.
Theocracy: Disapprove; the state should never enforce a moral code upon it's people.
Racism: Abhorrent and barbaric.
Egalitarianism: Disapprove; People are not equal and should not be treated as such, we should however treat each other as individuals with respect and care.
Individualism: Strongly Approve; Society is nothing but the collection of many millions of individual wills, it is the most important aspect of humanity.
Collectivism: Strongly Disapprove; for the reason listed above, their is no true collective will or collective good, attempts at finding it will ultimately descend to mob rule.
Environmentalism: Approve; The environment should be respect and cherished as property.
Consumerism: Strongly Approve; Consumerism is the word barbarians use for common people fulfilling their wants and needs. It is a wholly good thing. Mind of course, that everything best comes in moderation.

Freedoms
Abortion: Disapproved of by the greater society but legal in order to keep the mother safe.
Same Sex Marriage: The state has no say in marriage, one can list themselves married to a shoe if they so choose, so same-sex is hardly important, mainstream churches will rarely volunteer to provide marriage services
Polgamy/Polyamory/Group Marriage: ^ As above, the state does not intervene in marriage, except during arbitration.
LGBTQP (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgendered, Questioning, Pansexual) Rights: The state has no business in the sexual lives of it's citizens so long it remains consensual and legal. Society at large makes little concern towards non-standard sexual partnership, though monogamy is stressed.
Alcohol: Socially the consumption of alcohol is done only in moderation, drinking to excess being considered a sign of weak moral character, the state does not have any business in it's citizen's consumption naturally
Tobacco: Tobacco products are quite popular in the Republics, particularly cigars and pipes, mostly due to medical technology rendering the risks negligible.
Marijuana: As a mind-altering narcotic marijuana is relegated to the fringe of society and is socially frowned upon, no laws restrict it's sale.
"Soft Drugs": As with marijuana, tolerated but not popular. Legal of course.
"Hard Drugs": Socially abhorred and utterly condemned, usage is rare though legal.
Age of consent: Is 16 or at Emancipation (which can be any point before that age), socially one does not engage in sexual behaviour until marriage, and marriage usually waits one's early twenties.
Gun control: Tyranny, a government should derive it's mandate from the will of it's people, a government which deprives it's people of arms is essentially depriving them of their ability to resist and therefore their consent to rule. The right to self-defence and self-protection with any weapons is considered sacrosanct in the Republics, nearly the entire adult population of the Republics own a weapon, with as much as 1/4 carrying them on their person, daily, it is considered a sign of personal acceptance of responsibility and maturity.
Religion: Conscience and thought are not within the government's control, the Republics is quite religious however.
Private Automobiles: Shirley you jest? Of course our people may own automobiles.
Freedom of Speech: Of course.
Freedom of Press: Naturally, the state may not even own or regulate the media industry
Public Nudity: Within the right contexts (beaches, bathes, water in general) nudity is not just legal but encouraged, however outside of these specific contexts nudity is consider unhygienic and strange.
Animal Rights: Animals occupy a strange position in Mercatoran Law, when unowned and travelling through public property they are essentially treated as individual humans, killing them would be murder (of course with less punishment). However an owned animal or an animal living on a person's private property may be killed legally.
Human Rights: In the notion that every man/woman has the right to their own self-determination and freedom? Yes. In the barbaric notion that one person owes another on the account of their existence? No.
Prostitution: Legal but frowned upon of course.
Flag Burning: Legal

Other
To what extent does racial discrimination exist in your nation? Entirely negligible, totally unknown between humans but some still exists among the Orinean species and between humans and vodar.
To what extent does gender discrimination exist in your nation? Negligible gender roles exist but no significant social stigma exists for being outside them.
To what extent does sexuality discrimination exist in your nation?
To what extent does class discrimination exist in your nation? Almost none, capital and labour are seen as nothing more than any other client/provider relationship, and economic class is understood by all to be a matter of merit and luck not coercion and oppression.
To what extent does religious discrimination exist in your nation? One of the founding tenants of the largest church in the Republics; the Venetian Orthodoxy, is tolerance and peaceful coexistence of all faiths, this social more is well transferred into the Mercatorum.
To what extent does political discrimination exist in your nation? None, there are no political parties in the Republics, representatives are elected by their Republic individually and sent to the Council and Senate were they are to serve without forming any parties.
Do you have a national religion, and if so what? No, the Venetian Orthodoxy actually strongly supports the separation of church and state.
What are some things that are viewed as taboo within your society? Drunkenness or drug use, casual sex, casual dress (A suit with tie and fedora is considered bare minimum for an adult), accepting charity or gifts without offering something in return (more a cultural formality than genuine gesture).
What are some things your society allows that others may consider taboo? Public nude bathing, carrying weapons in public, smoking in general, being rich.

by **The Merchant Republics** » Fri Dec 03, 2010 8:36 pm

Section I: Political Structure and Philosophy

"The philosophy of Mercatorum Governance is that it is the society and more importantly the individuals within it which are sovereign, and the government is merely a single instrument of the people, the power to govern thus is granted not by sheer force or mob rule but on the consent of each individual to be subject to will of others. We are not a traditional anarchy by any means; having recognized governance, however one's membership to a state is entirely voluntary, it's contractual, one opts to become a citizen of a state and one can just as easily opt out. We like to say we didn't get rid of the social contract we just individualized it."
- John Tarquin Hammond, Prominent Industrialist, Socialite and Philosopher

General Philosophy and Overview

The first key to understanding the make-up of the Confederation's governance is to realize that with exception to the overarching framework of the constitution, the entire conception of governance is bottom-up, starting with each and every individual person. Every individual upon his emancipation*, under the Celestial Constitution is considered to himself a sovereign entity and is designated a "Free Man" or "Denizen" of the Greater Confederation.

As a Denizen, he may choose to live and travel wherever he may please and be free to conduct his business in peace and without interference from the state. Should he choose too, he may completely isolate himself on his own sovereign property, supplying his own needs and living on his own or with those he invites on his property and so long as all those on his property remain free to leave and safe from harm he may live completely outside of all other persons and the state.

However such an isolated lifestyle is hardly beneficial to anyone and is rarely safe. As such it is far more advantageous for individual free men to band together in common agreement to defend their property and person from outside threats as well as to come together for mutual trade. From here of course, we see that society becomes more and more complex, eventually they may reach such a size and complexity that they may be called justly a state unto their own. From here, it is up to the decision of these land-owners whether or not to forsake their free status for the greater protections of a Republic.

Under the Celestial Confederation any such sufficiently large group of cooperating property owners may apply to become a full-fledged Republic, though in order to be acknowledged as a Republic they must prove their worth to the Confederation. To become a Republic is a great feat, one with many benefits and many responsibilities, thus to weed out the fledgling and opportunistic formation of nascent republics that would serve the Confederation no benefit, all would-be Republics must prove themselves in some manner valuable to the greater Confederation. The principle method of which is to provide a worthy tribute or act of service for the Council.

Once acknowledged it receives all the advantages and protections of a Republic including at least one representative seat in the Citizen's Council, the principal legislative house of the Confederation, whose decisions concern the operation, defence and maintenance of law and order throughout the entirety of the Celestial Union and resolving disputes among it's members. The amount of seats and representation a Republic receives is variable, dependent upon the value of their tribute and service to the Confederation. Thus a Republic's representation is decided principally by their dedication and value to the Celestial Confederation, in this way, a Republic with a small but dedicated population may receive a larger voice in the Council than a large but disinterested one. Seats may be traded among Republics, though any such trade must be approved by the Council. Certain acts of service may warrant an incredibly valuable seat in the Senate, the principal judicial and secondary legislative house. The Senate is to be staffed exclusively by great minds, and any new senator must be approved by all previous senators and the Triumvirate.

At the apex of Confederation Government lies the Executive Triumvirate, which consists of three members each representative of an integral part of Mercatorum Governance. The first is the Grand Chancellor of the Citizen's Council is elected from within the Council to serve as the primary voice of the Republics. The Second is Consul of Senate, chosen again from the Senate and considered the Voice of the Senate, Confederation and Constitution as an entity. The Final Member of the Triumvirate is the Primarch, who is chosen to represent the principal voice of the people themselves, the Primarch is elected by plebliscite of every person in the Republics, both citizen and denizen.

* Emancipation will be covered in later sections, but it is important to note that there is no age of emancipation in the Republic, it is established simply by the act of becoming a freeman or a citizen of your own, so long as you choose to be, you could remain under the authority of your parents your entire life or leave as early as you choose.
** Editor's Note: While you may have assumed this already, it is important to note that it is practice in Mercatorum literature; this Guidebook included, to use the masculine gender whenever referring to people in general, a Free Man therefore would encompass also a "Free Woman" and people of all other kinds, the catch all is simply for dislike of the use the "-person" suffix that is considered bulky and excessively inoffensive. This is to clarify, that women just as much as men, may hold this status.

Citizens and Denizens: In Depth

"A citizen is not born, he is made, forged in service and bound in brotherhood. "
- Primarch Gregory Mercati Vincenzo

The concept of the individual as sovereign to himself makes up the foundation upon which rests the bulk of political philosophy and is singularly cherished as the cornerstone to a free and prosperous society. This concept is applied in practice through the distinction of two political classes of Citizens and Denizens.

A Denizen or "Free Man" is the living embodiment of this concept of sole sovereignty, he may choose to live however he may please, where-ever he may please, with whomever for whatever reason, his only limitation being that he may not harm the Citizen of any Republic at which time the Republic may seek amends violently. So long as he refrains himself from this harm, he pays no taxes, services no government and lives only in accordance with his own will. However his status is tenuous, his freedoms exist only at the mercy of others, he has no legal protection nor representation in government, any crime committed upon him is a crime only upon his body and any amends he seeks must be done solely through his own power, he cannot access the services of state except by paying for them himself usually at a premium cost.
A Citizen however is one who has of his own will surrendered some amount of that sole sovereignty over himself and his property in order to receive the protections, benefits and responsibilities of a government. Though the exact terms of the responsibilities and benefits of his Citizenship will vary, principally all citizens can expect the legal rights to redress any harms to himself or his property and common defence of his society. Many Republics also offer to utilize their citizens taxed dollars towards positive social goals like education and social safety nets*, to guarantee the protect and well-being of their least able and unfortunate.
In return however a Citizen must pay taxes, follow the codes of his government strictly and most importantly any person who wishes to receive his own citizenship must undertake some service to his Republic in order to earn his rights, of which the most common is to give oneself as a tribute of the nation to the Celestial Legions for a three year period of service or otherwise serve in the Republic's own military.
This requirement of service is perhaps the strongest division between dedicated free men and citizens, as well as a necessary safeguard against those who might opportunistically attempt to take the benefits of citizenship and leave before they had to pay their share.

While it is said that every man is born free not every person is of course born a denizen. Indeed the majority are born to citizen parents, however citizenship cannot be hereditary in the Confederation, the child of a citizen therefore does not receive the rights of a citizen, he is instead a ward of the citizen and the only benefits he receives are that of his guardians, he cannot vote, he cannot own property and he cannot seek legal redress or sign legal contracts except through his guardian, whom has legal power over him until emancipation. Emancipation is the process by which a ward becomes a free man, leaving his families securities to live on his own, legally this may be done at anytime and at any age as there is no minimum or maximum age for a ward*, however the ward's capability of consent and living on his own may come into play if very young. Upon emancipation many in the Mercatorum choose to live to live several years (even decades) as denizens, enjoying the immediate benefits of their youth freely travelling among the Republics, while others upon emancipation immediately seek citizenship of their own.

*I will make note here, that these concepts are different in the Republics than you may be familiar, for one public ownership of education is strictly forbidden by the constitution as well as public (de jure) monopoly of any single industry, not even law enforcement. A government which helps pay for education will instead guarantee costs or similar schemes.
**Theoretically, one could remain a ward of one's parents until they die or become the ward of another person at any age, however for a capable adult free man status is usually preferable. An odd bit of fact, a citizen may take a companion as a ward and if they are married the couple would share citizenship but if they later divorced only one party may keep it. Fortunately, "citizen-diggers" are generally dissuaded both by social mores regarding marriage & divorce as well as legal bias against giving citizenship to the unearned party without due cause.

Republics and Commonwealths: In Depth

"In the commons were freemen and citizens alike, and one could always tell the difference; the Republic life was worn on their backs with a quiet dignity and pride, yet in their eyes there yearned the lost adventure of a freeman. Though they knew better, for freedom can break a man as soon as liberate him and a citizen was no less strong. For to be a freeman is to trade your peace and security for your freedom, but to be a citizen is to sacrifice your freedom for the peace and security of all. "
- Excerpt from "The Lamentations of A Colonial Thomas" (2420) written by Harold H. Yancy

The Celestial Confederation: In Depth

by **The Merchant Republics** » Fri Dec 03, 2010 8:44 pm

Section III: Notable Documents of the Republics

The Constitution of the New Celestial Confederation of the Most Serene Merchant Republics

Let it be henceforth established here among the free peoples of mankind; in order to recognize and better protect the natural liberties of each individual; over his own person, property and his sovereignty of association; that form the constitution of these newly established Republics. This constitution shall be held as the supreme law between all duly consenting and recognized governments and their citizens. It's articles shall preside over all duties and tolerances of power which shall be granted to civil governments, without exception even to itself.

Article One: Supremacy and Reach of the Celestial Charter

Section I: To secure the foundations of our society upon the common principle of mutual agreement and freedom: let it be written that the authority of the Constitution and the rights and laws which it protects shall apply without exception between every individual who acknowledges and abides by it. The law of the constitution shall not be infringed nor limited except under the voluntary consent of those affected.

Section 2: In recognition that the highest principle of all liberty is that of self-direction; let it be written that no free agent under the authority of the Constitution shall be subject to the restrictions, duties or excises of any state he does not choose for himself to recognize. His wilful consent must be sought before his inclusion in any civil body, and within every civil body he shall retain his right to afterwards excuse himself, subject to the reasonable intervention of justice.

Section 3: Acknowledging that the formation of civil society and government is inevitable in any society of rational people; the Constitution shall recognize, protect and hold accountable any civil body founded upon mutual agreement and who so desires such protection so that in return these Republics may provide together for the protection of the greater Confederation.

Section 4: As acknowledged with men, let the state be acknowledged as well to be held to the constitution only so long as it's body politic agrees to be bound. A Republic may retain the right at anytime to surrender their status, so long as they are clear of debts. Let the confederation itself also retain the right to exclude any Republic which has offended the constitution beyond all reparation.

Article II: Limitations of Freedoms

Section 1: Proscribing the limitations of justice between all free agents of the Celestial Confederation; let it be written that the foundation of justice here rests upon the acknowledgement and protection of an individual's right to his own self-sovereignty and as such the only just limitations which can be imposed upon one man's sovereignty over his person and property occurs when he himself has first infringed upon the self-same sovereignty of another.

Section 2: Acknowledging that unlimited freedom is in itself a perilous balance of restrictions: Let it be written that the constitution shall abide certain limitations of it's articles when judged to be duly proportional and just in the defence of the citizenry. Let these limitations never exceed this balance, and security never put before liberty, but let liberty never infringe on liberty.

Section 3: Recognizing the rights of man to his own self-sovereignty, let no state charge a free man for any service which he himself did not partake in and let the charge not exceed the fair price for it's usage. In the self-same principle let no free man claim as right any service of the state. Let no freeman be held to the regulations of the state without consent, excepting that those regulations held specific to him.

Article III: Rights of Commerce

Section 1: Let it first be established that the supremacy of order and law is but a by-product of the supremacy of commerce in our realms, and that peace of arms is but a shadow to the peace of trade. Let then it be established that the peace between Republics rests upon the free trade of goods and services between all Republics, and that no Republic shall charge excise, detain or otherwise embargo the goods or merchants of another Republic, no tax shall be levied beyond that which is levied upon it's own merchants. No citizen of any republic shall be prevented from purchasing the goods, land or services within another republic.

Section 2: Let it hereafter be established that commerce and the state shall be duly separated, such that no nation shall lawfully monopolize the means of production, neither de jure or de facto, nor shall the state be allowed to unduly prevent private actors from entering the market. The state shall furthermore be restricted from monopolistic protection of any industry, essential or otherwise. Particularly pertaining to Education, Law Enforcement and Health Services, notwithstanding any non-monopolistic involvement.

Section 3: As between states so shall it be between citizens that no state shall unjustly interfere with the commerce of properly consenting and voluntary agents, no good nor service shall be prohibited by the state except that which causes an unknown and unjust harm to either party in a specific and real manner. The regulations of the state shall preside thereafter not as a prohibition of goods but the regulation of those corrupted agents.
In example, the sale and purchase of narcotics and opiate shall not be prohibited, but a state shall reserve the right to restrict it's citizens from the industry itself, provided it can prove such regulations just under the limitations clause.

Article IV: Rights of Citizen

Article V: Rights of State

Article VI: Rights of Freemen

The National Anthem and Other Patriotic Hymns

The Song of the Exodus

The Official National Anthem of the Merchant Republics and Celestial Confederation "The Song of the Exodus", was chosen to commemorate the Exodus Fleet and final years of Earth, reflected in the very solemn beginning, it chronicles the journey from a low and dark beginning to a triumphant rise towards our eventual arrival and establishment of our new Celestial Confederation. It is as you might imagine something not played before sports games. It is reserved usually for solemn occasions and national holidays.

The Oath of the Legionary

As a Legionary, I shall honour my Republic in tribute to the Confederation and with unwavering loyalty serve in its defence and the defence of the people, liberties and ideals for which it stands.
I shall not fail in my duties nor shall I bring disgrace to my Legion and Nation with acts of injustice or tyranny. For I shall bring justice to the oppressed and vindication to the innocent.
I shall not rest while the enemies of the Republics draw near nor shall I falter in face of danger. For I shall always serve with conviction and courage befitting my Legion and Nation.
I shall not forsake the honour and righteousness of my Legion and Nation with acts of cruelty and malice. For I shall bring mercy to my enemies and kindness to the weak.
I shall not stumble into anger and hatred for the barbarian nor shall I bare my sword in mindless wrath. For I shall always serve with the civility and tolerance befitting my Legion and Nation.
I shall never surrender to the enemies of civilization; to barbarism, injustice, cruelty and tyranny. For I shall endeavour always to keep the peace, fight the unjust, defend honourable and liberate the oppressed in all lands for all time.
For I am a Legionary; the sounding instrument of civilization, the herald of liberty, the sword of justice & the shield of the oppressed and until my dying breath I shall defend the Most Serene Confederation, her liberties, her justice and all her peoples.

To this I (Name), do solemnly and freely swear.

The Oath of the Citizen

As a Citizen, I shall honour my Republic by upholding its laws, codes and charters and where-ever I may go I shall seek to uphold justice and maintain the peace.I shall not seek quarrel between my fellows nor rob them of that which they rightly earned and keep. I shall not abide the presence of crime and vice nor falter in the defence of its victims. I shall not harm the weak nor seek injustice. I shall endeavour to benefit my nation and myself through the productive and gainful use of my skills.

To this I (Name) do solemnly and freely swear.

by **The Merchant Republics** » Fri Dec 03, 2010 8:49 pm

Section IV: History

Part I: Beginnings

The History of the Merchant Republics is a long story which has it's beginnings in the fall of the Western Roman Empire, just before Rome was sacked a series of notable victories in the Po Valley forced the Visigoths and Vandals out of region, allowing most of Italy to retain much of it's Roman Infrastructure and Order as it transitioned into Feudal Europe, a positive boon to the well-being of the average dark age Italian. Though the fraction of Northern Italy into city-states was inevitable the ensuing states were much closer in ties.

This proved advantageous when Charlemagne ascended the Frankish throne, their close associations led to a coherent and effective resistance against his Italian campaign, in 797 a truce was forged and Charlemagne instead focused his troops on Spain where he ended his expansion after a dismal campaign.

In the early 1100's the Venetian Doge Benesuto "Le Argento" Vedicci was elected to the Crown of Venice, Benesuto was a radical Duke who had much closer ties to the merchant class then the nobility and papacy, his reign saw Venice reach ascendancy among the City-States as a rich, cultural beacon and shaking off Byzantine ties. The outrage prompted the Byzantines to invade in an ambitious gambit to retake Italy after their last attempt failed due to the black plague.

The Doge knew he could not stand alone against the Byzantines, so he used his considerable clout in the Northern Italian-States and with Papal Blessing Forged a Coalition of the Italian City-States otherwise known as the Merchant Republics. The First Armies of the Merchant Republics blocked the Byzantine advance up the Eastern Italian Coast and with the help of Sicily defeated the numerically superior Byzantines. This victory forged a long-lasting bond between the City-States. However no single city-state was willing to give up their independence to any other, the struggle for power threatened to break the alliance before Doge Benesuto taking influence from Roman and Greek literature (still quite preserved) proposed a system of a constitutional alliance based primarily on the Delian League. The city-states would be required to pay tribute into a common defence fund or otherwise supply volunteer manpower.

The League of Merchant Republics was established, this coalition kept the peace in the traditionally divided Italian Republics allowing them to expand greatly across the Mediterranean and becoming a regional power of their own. By 1250 they controlled a great swath of Italy and Greece (including Crete and Rhodes) had moved in to challenge the Holy Roman Empire and allied themselves with the similarly independent-minded Swiss.

Their involvement in the Crusades was initially limited but after independent companies of faithful Italians managed to capture strategically convenient trade areas of the Holy Lands, the Merchant Republic became increasingly involved, unfortunately for them the Third Crusades failure forced the Italians out of most of their ports, though they had managed to negotiate with Saladin to keep the Middle-Eastern Trade Routes open to their Merchants, the effect enriched not just the Italians but the Muslims who used the wealth to take out Byzantines and secure Anatolia much earlier then otherwise. Though at the behest of the Pope, the Fourth Crusade was called to defend Constantinople from the encroaching Turks. A move which secured their eventual absorption of the former Byzantine Empire and Thracia into the Republics for most of the next hundred years.

Though in many ways the Empire had never died in the Republics, the Renaissance in the rest of Europe had nonetheless a immense effect in the Republics where wealth and education of the average citizen was now encroaching on the standards of Rome at it's height.

Though the Republics had excellent public sanitation and hygiene the Black Death still managed to take it's toll, the death toll however was half what it was in Northern Europe, this allowed the Italians to expand strategically northward, eventually taking Vienna from the HRE and Badenburgs. This would be the extent of their European growth however, as the papacy frowned upon their taking advantage of their northern Catholic brothers and the later effect of the Venetian Orthodox Reformation forced them against Catholic France and Spain which along with the Turks and Mongols (who had captured Thrace and made many moves towards Constantinople and Byzantine region in the coming years) to the East checked their growth.

The opening of the Americas led to a great deal of warfare with the Spanish who many times attempted to block the Italians into the Mediterranean. Eventually bypassed through an alliance with the Moroccan Caliphate, a move which led to the excommunication of the Merchant Republics and the formation of the Venetian Orthodox Church. The Republics was still hampered by the Spaniards and managed to take only a few Caribbean Colonies in most cases co-opted and defended by their Dutch Allies to their North.

The Republics and Swiss Confederacy formally joined together at the onset of the Thirty Years War in the HRE, having captured Austria the fighting was greatly tilted in favour of the Lutherans.

Like Paris and London, Venice and Milan became centres of the Enlightenment and Scientific Revolution thought. Many famous men like Voltaire and Decartes fled to the Republics to escape the Monarchy and tyranny in France. The Republics managed to pre-empt England to the Industrial Revolution by as much as 7 years, this revolutionized the Republics place in the world, though England took world ascendancy, the Republics remained the Richest and Most Technologically Advanced nation for most of the rest of Earth's history.

Romanticism and the rise of Nationalism severely threatened the power of the Republics, and they suffered many rebellions which led to critical (though mostly temporary) loses of territory. Though art and technology continued to flourish in the Republics. Capitalism was accepted enmasse by the people of the Republics and brought untold riches. However the Merchant Republics wealth soon attracted great envy world-wide, this envy particularly in Germany, Spain and Eastern Europe led to a fantastic boon to Socialist thought which found quite eager followers willing to pin their poverty on the riches of the Republics. Though the movement found little fertile ground in the Republics or Britain or in their American Colonies.

Bismarck's social welfare state comprimise started the catalyst to an inevitable world war as German and French Nationalism drew to a fever pitch. In 1902 Germany declared war on the Dutch bringing the British and Republics into a world-wide war with the German, French and Spanish. The Allies barely managed to achieve a stalemate over the next period of 20 years at an enormous manpower cost. In 1920 a ceasefire was called, The Russian Czar had been deposed and a Socialist Government took it's place, in Germany, Spain and France Socialist Revolutionaries easily convinced a War-Weary populace to revolt, though the revolutions were ultimately unsuccessful it brought a halt to the First World World.

Damaged greatly by the war, Britain and the Republics fell behind the United States of America in economic supremacy, though still vastly more economically advanced then their Real-Life counterparts (to compare the 1930's had almost comparable MT technology, by the 21st century technology had advanced to a similar area of complexity to what we may reach in 2100). In the East, almost all of Europe past the edge of Prussia fell under Soviet Influence, China was conquered in large swaths by Japan and India revolted under British rule becoming a the World second Socialist Republic, revolutions throughout Colonial Africa and America did the same, though the Dutch and Merchant Republics colony were mostly safe, Britain suffered a lose of most of it's colonies, including Canada to America (thankfully not Socialist), Spain suffered the worst, losing it's entire colonial empire to socialist revolution and by the 1950's it was forced to pick the dynamic of socialism or fascism it choose the latter, Spain became the first "fascist state" to succumb their semblance of liberty to protect themselves from the internal pressure of socialism. In 2000 Germany was divided by civil war, the West becoming Freer like the Republics, the left succumbing to Socialism.

In the Early 2010's however a radical fringe developed in response to Nuclear development and Colonial warfare the hippie generation, utterly unknown in the Republics it took Britain and America by storm, this however was not the peaceful hippies of our time, and hippies of the 21st century became siginificantly more warlike as time went on. In the late 2000's America was in full-blown civil war and Britain was battling increasing internal pressure. France had long fallen to socialism and Western Germany was a mere corridor of safe land for trade.

This ultimately culminated in the Great Apocalyptic War, in 2098 America had been lost and a massive influx of refugees began to reach the Republics, having no more room to accommodate the millions upon millions of refugees flowing in from around the world, the Republics began an ambitious project of colonizing space via satellites and moon colonies. These satellite cities became voluminous but it was soon clear that they could not be sustained on the miniscule resources still available to the Republics.

by **The Merchant Republics** » Fri Dec 03, 2010 8:51 pm

Section II: Notable Nations, Republics and Organizations

Social Guilds
Social Guilds or Orders are a prominent part of Mercatorum Society, they occupy an interesting political niche, acting in many respects like a state of their own but with much different capabilities. The scope, size and activities of a Republic are very restricted by constitutional limits; as NGOs, social foundations can bypass a great deal of these restrictions. Social Foundations are very popular among Denizens, because most offer assistance in crime investigation and criminal apprehension without the necessary taxation and military service. More so social foundations have a power to stretch between Republics and offer a very unifying element to the often decentralized and diverse Republics.

The EQUES Foundation

The EQUES Foundation is one of the most prominent and important social foundations within the Merchant Republics, though their own historians trace their lineage to Romulus and the founding of Rome it's first concrete beginnings are in an organization of chivalric orders of Medieval Italy, the EQVES (or Eques) Foundation espouses traditional knightly values of chivalry, nobility and honour. They are a very exclusive organization with elite membership which gives them power much above their actual representation in the population. Nonetheless their organization is very popular among even non-members in the citizenry for their charitable activities, support of the arts and for their efforts to preserve class and etiquette in the general society.
They have a long-standing, though amicable, rivalry with the Mercator Society and Faborum Union, this three-way rivalry manifests itself in many different open competitions held between the three organizations (among a few notable others), the Society has long been the champions of the shooting, tennis and rowing competitions and Faborum are undisputed as the top competitors in boxing, wrestling and baseball, the EQVES finally have long dominated Fencing, Chariot Races and Polo. Couples dancing, running, swimming, and football (soccer) are usually very fierce battles.

The Mercator Society

The Mercator Society has it's roots in the Merchant Guilds of the Medieval Period of Earth, though it's long expanded beyond that shell. The Mercator Society is much more open then the EQVES, accepting almost anyone who will pay the dues and follow their codes. The principle values of the Mercator Society are described as Innovation, Productivity, and Honesty but they have also come to represent the traditional values of the Mercantilian Middle-Class, with a large value placed on families and strong, loving relationships.

The Mercator Society is one of the most popular Guilds in terms of membership, representing large sections of the nation's blossoming middle class, offering a much wider-field of political and economic protections than the EQVES (whose emphasis is on the social and prestigious elements of a society) but not quite so strongly bound as the Faborum (whose focus is chiefly economic).

The Faborum Union

The Faborum Union most certainly traces it's own formation in labour unions during the Industrial Revolution, coming together much in the same way as the EQVES and the Society, the Faborum Union has come to be a representative of the working class and their values. Pride, Loyalty, Brotherhood and Craftsmenship. While like their fellow organizations the Faborum is involved in community and charity, the Union is perhaps the most involved in assisting it's members, offering not just health and criminal insurance coverage, but also it's own credit service and subsidized dispute court.

Dues are very low and membership generally easy to obtain so long as you abide by the standards.

by **The Merchant Republics** » Fri Dec 03, 2010 9:01 pm

Section VI: Economy & Technology

"Let it be known across the Republics; that The state has no stake in the fair and free transactions of men, no place in our industry. The policy now and forever is Laissez-Passer! Laissez-Faire!"
~Primarch Leonardo Flavius Benevuto, 1857 upon the passing of constitutional amendment XVII barring state intervention in the markets after a costly war between Genoa and Milan.

The Merchant Republics have an exceedingly wealthy, innovative and extremely powerful laissez-faire market economy, driven by expansive colonial development, domestic production and recently an influx of foreign trade. However for the given time the economy while massive is relatively insular, due to little contact with outside nations, domestic production has consistently provided for the entire demands of domestic consumption up until quite recently, this has given the Republics a very wide array of technological, manufacturing and service capabilities.Technological advancement, massive productive potential, ravenous consumer demand and newly open markets all fuel an economy which has not shrunk in three decades and has regularly grown in excess of 5% of GDP per year since the founding of the Four Colonies.

The Republics have a highly innovative and competitive market, with very few firms enjoying a considerable lead over their competitors, even massive conglomerates like Morgan & Caesar Unlimited and Hammond Interstellar only hold about 10% market shares in their most well known fields (banking and starship construction respectively). This constant competitive pressure however has generally dissuaded excessive market jockeying, because official policy has outright refused to grant any corporate privilege or subsidies, companies are largely forced to rely on shrewd growth strategies and marketing.

As a laissez-faire economy the majority of economic ownership and trade among the Mercatorum is private or corporate in nature, but a surprisingly large minority of cooperative businesses exist. These numbers are roughly 30%, 55% and 15% respectively. A rather notable aspect of the Merchant Economy is the surprising lack of trade unions, most corporations consider unions to be unwieldy and have instead opted to give their worker's organizations an active voice within the company by selling them shares of the company. This means strikes are relatively rare in the Republics as most workers have a very good incentive to increase their factories productivity.

The majority of employment in the Republics is in the Service Sector at 61%, but we retain a healthy secondary manufacturing sector at 34%, and at least 5% of the Population is involved in Primary Resource Collection and Farming. The intensity of capital investment in the Republic has led to unprecedented productivity, such that the GDP-Per Capita has reached roughly 25,000 Denarii ($112,500 USD) and the average family income is regularly above that at 32,000 Denarii ($134,000 USD).

Storefronts: Imports and Exports

Chief exports from the Republics are difficult to discern, as data is not quite strictly available to us as to what precisely other nations import, however it is widely known that the Mercatorum are renowned for our high-quality consumer goods, particularly high-end fashions and jewellery, technological gizmos and software, and high-tech manufacturing like starships and high-tension building supplies. A good portion of our money is earned through tourism and artistic production as well.

Several Mercatorum Industries have begun to gain notoriety in the greater universe for their superior quality, workmanship and technology. Particularly in the areas of fashion, starships, pre-fab colonies, professional quality art and certain military goods.

This guidebook will eventually include links to their main pages, at this time these links are:

Trois Demants Fashion Corporation: A Beacon of Fabulosity to the Civilized World (Under Construction)
--Pending Future Storefront Construction--

Banking & Currency

Currency and Banking in the Merchant Republics is different from many nations, largely because the lack of a single centralized banking system and the prevalence of Free Banking. There is no single legal currency in the Republics. Though Republics may establish what they consider to be legal tender in regards to their own debts and taxes. This official coin of government transfers is in the Republic known as the Denarius (plural: Denarii) and is based primarily upon the value of silver and alternatives withstanding is the single most popular currency in the Republics. Other popular currencies include the Aureus, which is exclusively a wealth store (being too valuable to be freely spent) and the Energy Credit, which is based on the fluctuating price of energy (less popular mostly for the heavy fluctuation in prices and for being virtual).

The approximate worth of a Denarius is relatively stable, standing around the average consumer price of a nicely-fixed and toasted submarine sandwich (or roughly $4.50 in present day America). The Denarius is divided into percentage notes, commonly called cents.

Charity and Social Welfare

-----Coming Soon----

by **The Merchant Republics** » Fri Dec 03, 2010 9:02 pm

Section VII: Armed Forces

The galaxy is a turbulent and dangerous place, which unfortunately necessitates the constant presence of armed military forces for the common defence of the people and property of the Merchant Republics, to this end there are many different providers of armed defence forces both state-provided and private, from trained standing armies to mercenaries to simple militias, this section will continue brief descriptions of these military organizations, their structure, armour and weaponry.

Civilian authority over the military is considered key to the security of lasting freedom, as such the Citizen's Council ultimately holds the power to authorize all official military operations the Merchant Republics, though the Triumvirate can order emergency action when necessary, subject thereafter to Council and Senatorial Review.

The Celestial Legions

The chief responsibility of the Celestial Confederation is to maintain the common defence of the Republics and it's people, to this end, it maintains a standing defense force and military in the Celestial Legions. Each Legion comprises it's very own independent and usually autonomous fighting force, with it's own leadership, headquarters and responsibilities, a Legion is expected to be capable of performing entire military campaigns unassisted.

Every Legion is drafted from a pool of tributes of both volunteer and professional soldiers from all of the Republics, this is done in a manner like sports training, where the tributes are reviewed and selected by Legion recruitment teams between each other. This allows Legions to competitively vie for the most talented soldiers or simply opt for large numbers of green but easily trained recruits. Most Legions employ a sensible mix of professional and volunteer recruits.

Except in times of emergency the Legions are rarely assigned to missions or campaigns directly, but rather will bid for them from the pool of assignments given out by the Unified Confederation Military Command Council (UC-MAC).

Numbers:

There are hundreds of Legions in the Celestial Confederation each Legion comprising roughly 2 million legionaries, including support and training staff. The total number of Legionaries represents 0.35% of the Mercatorum Population.
Further republic defence forces, active duty militias, mercenaries and auxiliaries represent an additional 0.90%, bringing the total military representation by population in the Republics to 1.25% of the population.

Ranks:

Unified Command Officers
Grand Marshall: Highest Position in all Mercatorum Forces second only to the Commander in Chief
Field/Fleet High Marshall: Highest Position of either LANCOM or NAVCOM, responsible for direction of procurement, appointing new commanders and other grand strategic level decisions.
Fleet/Field Marshall: Appointed to command wherever two or more Legions are engaged on a single front. Otherwise they fulfil subordinate roles to their High Marshalls.

Strategic Officers (Field)
Legatus: Commander of a Legion and any auxillias attached to it, usually has a high degree of autonomy over his command, answering only to the CMCC and the Field High Marshall, unless a part of a front with multiple legions, in which case he is placed under the authority of the Field Marshall.
Prefectus Principalis/First Prefect: The most senior/skilled prefectus under the Legate, his default Second-in-Command
Prefectus: Equivalent to a Colonel, leads a Prefect of the army, roughly equivalent to a regiment.
Questar Equivalent to a Major, leads a Cohort roughly equivalent to a battalion. Likely the closest Strategic Officer to the field at any given time. This rank is also given to any officers involved in strategic administrative decisions like procurement and training. An Auxilia Officer of sufficient rank or commanding a sufficient number may be named a Questar Auxilia.

Tactical Officers (Field)
Centurion Primus: Elected from among the Centurions, the Primus is typically the most experienced officer and makes necessary tactical decisions within the Cohort as well as leading the most experienced or elite Century.
Centurion: Leads a Century (roughly a Company) in all tactical matters. He is the principal point of contact most enlisted men have with the officers.
Optione Principalis: Second to the Centurion within the Century roughly a First Lieutenant
Optione Miles: Other military officers within the Century, advisors to the Centurion.
Optione Auxilia: Any officer of an auxiliary force deployed in the field, is subordinate to all ranks above. Though they may in emergency issue orders to enlisted men.
Optione Immunes: Any officer with specialized duties within the Cohort such as Chief Engineers, Quartermasters, Chaplains and Doctors. So named as they immune from regular service and duties.

Enlisted (Field)
Decanus: Roughly equivalent to a Sargent, elected from his squad to act as a leader and represent them to the Centurion. If incapacitated rank transfers to the next most senior Legionary until a new vote can be held.
Specialist: Any soldier who performs a specific duty within the Cohort such as scouts, cooks, medics, sharpshooters, artillerymen and vehicle crew. They may issue orders to the Legionaries necessary to the accomplishment of their roles.
Legionary: The most basic enlisted rank of the Legion in the field.
Miles Auxilia: Any soldier serving alongside the Legion as auxilia, whether mercenary or militia. They are functionally subordinate to any Legionary, though in practice most will lean on the authority and experience of Mercenaries.
Initiate: Never seen in the field, prior to having completed basic training all soldiers are known as initiates.

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Naval Officers (Fleet)
Legate Admiral/Grand Admiral: The Commander of a Naval Legion often called a Grand Admiral for clarity.
Prefectus Principalis The Second in Command of a Naval Legion, usually in command of a secondary flagship in case the fleet needs to separate. Similar to a Vice Admiral.
Prefectus: Command individual battlegroups of ships within the fleet. Rough equivalent of a Commodore or Rear Admiral
Triarchus: Commander of a large ship, usually cruiser-class and above. Referred to as "captain" on board. In some cases may lead a smaller battlegroup or flotilla during long range-patrols. A Triarchus serves as the XO to an Admiral's or Praefectus' ship commanding the ship while they command the battle group.
Captain: Commander of a smaller ship class from frigate down to corvette class vessels.
Optione Principalis: First Officer, serves as the executive officer and second-in-command on board of a ship when commanded by a Triarchus or Captain. In some case the Optione Principalis may serve as Captain while the Triarchus manages the flotilla.
Optione Auxilia: Any officers from auxiliary forces, including the captains or admirals of auxiliary vessels and fleets, fall under this rank and are subordinate to all Fleet Commanding and Executive Officers.
Optione Classiarus: Any ship level officer involved in strategic decisions, including the Optione Volanarius (commander of the strike and launch craft) Chief Engineering, Science and Medical Officers as well as Marine Centurions.
Optione Immunes: Ship officers immune from basic work duties that serve specialized roles; again including medical, science and engineering officers, as well as others like chaplains and morale officers.

Enlisted (Fleet)
Decanus: Roughly equivalent to a Sargent, elected from his section (of crew, marines, pilots or specialists) to act as a leader and represent them in any shipwide meetings. If incapacitated rank transfers to the next most senior Marine or Crewman until a new vote can be held.
Volanarius: Pilots of strike and launch craft, enjoy a rank above specialist due to their exceptional importance.
Specialist: Any soldier who performs a specific duty within the Cohort such as scouts, medics, sharpshooters, artillerymen and vehicle crew. They may issue orders to the Legionaries necessary to the accomplishment of their roles.
Legionary Classiarus/Marine: Troops specialized in exo-atmospheric and ship-borne combat, may press and command crewmen to assist in repulsing attackers.
Crewman: The most basic enlisted rank of the Legion on board of a ship. Fulfilling all manner of roles within the ship and trained to basic military competency in arms.
Miles Auxilia: Any auxiliary serving on board a ship alongside others. A fairly rare sight. More often Auxilia serve on their own ships.
Initiate: Rarely seen on board, prior to having completed basic training all soldiers are known as initiates and hold equal rank. They may be trained on board in some circumstances particularly for marines.

Military Doctrine

Mercatorum Defensive Doctrine is what constitutes the basics of the comprehensive combat theories utilized by the Republics, taking into account the strengths and limitations of the typical Legionary force, these doctrines give Legionary commanders an overarching framework and guidelines* to operate within that is familiar enough to allow even an incompetent commander a basic strategic capability while giving the freedom necessary to allow brilliant commanders to adapt on the go, in addition the strategy allows soldiers on the ground a basic understanding of what to do even when communication with leadership is disrupted.

* I am sure, dear reader that you may have asked yourself, why it is that we are so freely discussing our military strategies with the greater world. I regret that I must inform you that we are not about to reveal any particular secrets, even a cursory reconnaissance of our military capabilities and previous conflicts would provide this information, the framework of these doctrines are at the core, just that frame works and Legionary Commanders are given more than enough freedom to change strategy and tactics to meet the needs of a particular enemy.

Foreign Occupation Doctrine: "The Teddy Bear Stratagem"

A feat of ruthless kindness, the Teddy Bear Stratagem is a unique doctrine that deals an inordinately crushing blow to our enemies' morale by robbing them of any plausible justification for fighting us. Celestial Legionary Commanders are well aware that the enemies we are fighting in any conflict are rarely the true representatives of their entire citizenry and population, who are usually tricked and scared into support or at least submission to their state's war effort, fear, lies and submission which would only be validated by inhumane and dishonourable behaviour by our part. It is from this realization that the "Teddy Bear Doctrine" was first written up.

The name expresses a dual meaning, first and foremost the principle element of the doctrine includes "bombing" major cities as far reachable as possible with the enemy's territory with gifts, among them prominently teddy bears and always attached to pamphlets outlining the Mercatorum ideal for self-governance and freedom sometimes with notes from Mercatorum school children expressing dissatisfaction with war and asking the populace why their mean governments continue to let their people be hurt when all we want to do is help. The effective of this charitable campaign is doubled particularly when our enemies have a particularly weak economy, when your enemy sends you food your government denies you, there is little that keeps you loyal.
The effective result of these campaigns will hopefully sap the war morale of the population and ideally leave their governments defenceless. As the only thing they can do strictly to prevent us from looking like the good guy by continually dropping gifts instead of bombs, is to start making themselves look like the bad guys by shooting us down. And it takes only a few incidents of children coming across the remains of charred stuffed animals addressed to them with love from the Mercatorum people for even the most stringent nationalist to start questioning the war effort. This is of course is where the other meaning comes in, a bear is a ferocious and dangerous animal, but teddy bears make a bear appear cuddly and soft. There is no doubt that the Celestial Legions are a formidable fighting force, but when we are cloaked in the soft cuddly skin of a teddy bear, we make illegitimate any attempts to resist us.

Alongside the massive smuggling, espionage and propaganda and other rebellion-inciting campaigns, this heart's and mind's strategy usually promises that by the time a Mercatorum invasion must occur in earnest, we're being welcomed as liberators and the citizenry of our target nation have all but given up their support for their previous state. Short clean and efficient. Not to mention cheap, perhaps unexpectedly to some, but bombs are much more expensive to manufacture than food and gifts.

Basic Ground Doctrine: "The Hammer & Anvil Stratagem"

In the refining of metal one tempers the slag of a metal by striking it with a hammer against a solid anvil, this process metaphorically becomes the doctrine of the Celestial Legions Ground Forces, to utilize the quick strikes of an agile hammer reinforced a solid anvil, allows us to shape our enemy into a position to our advantage.

The essential beauty of the Hammer & Anvil, is the marriage of mobility and unconventional warfare with conventional defences. The strategy calls for the Anvil, our regular forces (Guardsmen) bolstered by planetary militias and whatever other conventional forces might be available at hand to provide a solid line of defence which enemy forces must expend great sums of resources and manpower to resist, meanwhile serving as a refuge and protecting the supply lines for light infantry and auxilia which are deployed in highly mobile offences targeting hard-points in the enemies defences and harassing their supply lines, when overpowered "Hammer Forces" simply retreat back behind our hard lines of Regular "Anvil Forces" and from there repeat.
This continues until such a time that the enemy begins to weaken, allowing the "Anvil" to make a general advance, moving our lines forward until reaching the next enemy hard point and from there the process repeats yet again.

Basic Naval Doctrine: "The Zweilander Stratagem":

Named for the High Medieval Longsword, which was wielded with two-hands, the comprehensive strategy of the Zweilander Doctrine plays to the difficulty of defending many our many far-separated colonies enough to adequately protect them without stretching our forces to thin. Like the sword, it makes up for it's lack of defensive capabilities with a crushingly powerful offensive.

The Zweilander Doctrine for Naval command essentially decides that where a strong defence to attackers is impossible, the next best alternative is a much stronger response. Thus the majority of Celestial Fleets operate from single massive fortress-stations responding to any attack on nearby colonies with overwhelming retributive force. The strategy calls for any available garrison of the colony to resist their invaders only for the time it takes for the response fleets from the nearest Fleet Headquarters to relieve them, where upon the Navy with full information of the composition and capabilities of the attackers can respond with a force that is capable of easily dispatching the enemy force.

by **The Merchant Republics** » Fri Dec 03, 2010 9:05 pm

Section VIII: People & Species

Species like race and gender before it, is nothing but an artificial barrier of flesh and bone that supports what unites us all. A reasoning mind.
- Primarch Leonardo Crassus Devangelles

The Greater Human (Homo Sapiens Magis)

Greater Man, or Homo Sapiens Magis is what constitutes the Human Population of the Merchant Republics. Humanity has undergone some changes in the last 400 years of human history, the modern Mercatorum Human is the product of nearly 12 generations of advanced genetic engineering, he is significantly healthier, taller, stronger, more intelligent and more attractive then his 21st century counterpart, he has also gained many talents that most humans did not have before, including a receptivity to telekinetic power.

Dear Reader: Of course, I should not assume you already have familiarity with mankind (though one supposes you must, in order to comprehend our language), as such if you require a more in-depth understanding of what constitutes a human being, we shall refer you to this article on our species.

Human-Orinean Hybrid: Homo Sapiens Eulve
Technically considered humans under the official records, Human-Orinean Hybrids are very common in the Merchant Republics, following the First Contact War there was a great deal of intermarrying between the Humans and Orineans in large part due to the close bonds forged during the war. The product of these couplings were hybrid half-human, half-orinean beings. These hybrids are usually fertile or can be made to be with minimal prenatal genetic therapy. Hybrids usually inherit regardless of parentage the long pointed ears, skin tone and vibrant eye colours of the Orineans with slightly stockier bodies and features of humans, though anomalies exist.

Orinean or Eulves-kin (Homosimilius Sapiens)

The Homo Similus Sapiens, colloquially Orineans or Eulves peoples; are a species of space-faring anthropomorphous xenos, who due to a still unexplained phenomenon are nearly identical not just in appearance to human-kind, but also in defiance of all reason they share nearly 99% of human genetic information and can successfully hybridize with humans.

Orineans; as they refer to themselves, share the same approximate body shape as humans and almost identical body functions, small differences exist, Orineans are visibly more more slender and graceful then a human, their lithe appearance make them appear very attractive to human standards. Most curiously they have pointed, leaf-shaped ears this leads them to look like the classical interpretation of mythical Elves. An moniker which the Orinean people have taken to heart, to the point of the word "Eulve" being adopted into the Orinean Language. The most fascinating element of the Orinean species is their supernatural ability to influence space around them, which they themselves call magic, human science has preferred to call it telekinesis, whatever it is, the majority of Eulves have it. Some Orineans (and gifted members of other races) even dedicate their lives and set up schools to teach the practice of it.

There are three primary subraces of the Orineans.

Eridean (Homosimilus Sapiens Sol)

Also known as Sun or Golden Eulves, they are the tallest of the subraces, they have very fair skin of a particularly golden to silver hue, one of the more notable results of human-Eridean mating has been the introduction of the quite beautiful purple eyes common in Erideans into the Human gene pool. Erideans are probably the most lithe of the Orinean races and appear very slender. The Eridean Kingdoms originally dotted the Orinean homeworld of Valinor but have since spread across their nearby systems with the aid of Human technology. The Erideans are the most populace of all Orinean Races, though the Cydorean are very close.

Their species was the first to make friendly contact with the Humans during the First Contact War, they were engaged in a desperate struggle of survival against the Vodar, the human aid saved their homeworld and several colonies. Eridean Culture is highly elitist, they consider their culture to be superior to that of most others, with the noted exception of their liberators, humanity. With whom the Eridean Culture has a seeming obsession with, a particular love among Eridean Nobility has developed for the High Human Culture mixed with their own traditions*. Seen in the growth of the massive growth of Eridean Opera and in the simply enormous population of Human-Eridean hybrids. The social strata of the Eridean Kingdoms is that of a very large Aristocracy buoyed by a very larger middle class of artisans and merchants, the underclass especially since the arrival of Industrialism has increasingly been staffed by poorer Svardeans and Cydorean immigrants living in the Eridean nations.

*This obsession, termed the "Cult of Humanity" appears in almost every alien culture we have encountered but the Erideans are probably the most poignant example of a previously civilized and cultured race becoming utterly enamoured with our culture to the point of giving up many aspects of their own.

Svardean (HSS Silva)

Members of the Svardean claim to be the forefathers of both the Eridean and Cydorean species, a claim backed up by archaeological and genetic evidence. The Svardean Forest Duchies, the homeland of the Svardean people are located aptly in the Great Forest of Valinor which stretches the principal continent. However a great many Svardeans live in the Eridean Kingdoms for work. Svardeans have plainer but pleasant skin, usually of a luminescent white to light tan, their hair varies but quite commonly is blue or black, they are not as tall as Erideans but just as slender.

Cydorean (HSS Luna)

The Cydorean Sub-Race was said to have developed as separate from the other Orineans because of their use of the dark magical arts, however scientist theorize it has much more to do with the Cydoreans having travelled through unknown means to Valinor's twin planet Daerinor.
Cydoreans are as tall as Erideans but stockier, with dark skin tones of blue, green and purple. The Cydoreans are as the legend says, have a unique ability to manipulate through telekinesis the effects of light and the bodies of other (particularly dead) creatures.

Caovarans (Anthro-Lacertus)

Anthro-Lacertus or colloquially the Caovarans, are a family of Intelligent Humanoids which closely resemble Earth Lizards all of which hail from the planet Caovar, a lush garden world mired by swamps and seas supporting an unimaginable number of xenofauna, they are too many variations between the two major intelligent subspecies to state any traits here and alone.

Sindhar (Anthro-Lacertus Homo Similus)

The Sindhar are the most human like of the Golaran species and easily the ones most assimilated in Mercatorum Culture. It is hard to quickly explain the Sindhar body, suffice to say it is much like a scaled human in most areas, they give birth to live young and are relatively on par with capabilities of human intelligently.

Tuaton (Anthro-Lacertus Tuataran )

While at first it may appear as though the Tuatons are no befitting of the term "sapient" their lumbering, paced nature has wrongly cast them in a dim light, while it is true that they do not have the same academic capabilities as their Sindhar cousins, they've have made up for it in longevity and a great capability for independent learning, elder Tuatons compare favourably to the greatest minds of the Republics and were often placed in the elite circles of Caovar government.

Civilized Vodar (Vodar Sapiens)

The Vodar Sapiens, or what constitutes the small civilized portion of the very brutish and savage Vodar species, they are the few members of the species which are capable of controlling themselves to such a degree that they can successfully live in the greater Celestial Society. A Vodar is roughly the same size as a human, though their savage brethren rarely walk upright and so appear much shorter, they have grey-green leathery skin and rough features.

Savage Vodar culture is based on feudal tribalism and is extremely xenophobic, leaders are chosen by ritual combat among clans and is generally highly violent, this violent lifestyle has left little room for intellectual pursuits leaving Mercantilian scientists to question how this species managed to achieve FTL travel capabilities, it's clear that the Vodar use ramshackle and pieced-together technology so current theories suggest that the Vodar are either the remains of a once more advanced civilization or that the Vodar conquered another now unknown race and used their technology.

There is no clear genetic difference between a Savage and Civilized Vodar, it appears to be largely cultural, for instance several Vodar captured during the First Contact War became civilized after lengthy rehabilitation, after learning human language they provided a great deal of useful data about the Vodar Hordes which allowed for better strategies to be used against them.

In the present day, Civilized Vodar have earned their own place in Mercatorum society, although they face a great deal of distrust and prejudice. Strangely most Vodar have said themselves to be accepting of this distrust, even appreciative, friendliness is something Vodar must work very hard at, that most people give them a wide berth is actually there preference. Still all will agree that outright hatred benefits no one.

The Cult of Humanity

"Go then and seek these angels! They that have descended from on high in ships of fire to deliver us from death and wrought down the hordes in their righteous might and call them Iodean Danann (The Warrior Angels)."
~ King Cyrous of Eridea

Those familiar with the datalinks salvaged from Earth may be familiar with the concept of a "Cargo Cult", these were religions formed by primitive tribes that worshipped the technology and aid of advanced industrial nations. These primitives could not comprehend the technology and capabilities of their advanced peers and in their ignorance believed that pleasing their deities or imitating the rituals of advanced societies could provide them these technologies.

In our exploration of the universe, humanity has come across many races of sentient alien life, the greatest of these like the Orineans have since become stalwart allies and equals among human society, others like the Caovarans were raised by our technologies to form distinct societies of their own, some war-like and hostile species like the Vodar have been humbled by our might, many have simply been too different or primitive to adjust to our society. However across all these varied species of all these many planets, a singular fascination with humanity has arisen. Though the exact nature differs greatly from mimetic flattery to awed thankfulness even to the extreme of devout reverence, this phenomenon has been deemed by Mercatorum philosophers as "The Cult of Humanity".

While the term implies a religious devotion in practice the most common form of the so-called "Cult" is a much more mundane, the conception of the term arose as a term describing the fanatic devotion that developed among Erideans for Human Culture, everything from clothing styles to architecture and music was copied and adapted into the Eridean culture in the wake of the First Contact War. Though it is not without good reason that people ascribe a religious aspect to this devotion, the Eridish word for humanity to this day means "Warrior Angels".

by **The Merchant Republics** » Fri Dec 03, 2010 9:06 pm

Section IX: Culture & Society

"If our society is to be defined by one word, let it be the word of our ancestors "Ego"; Me, Myself and I, for the ego as the extension of the mind is the font of all creation, the conception of self is the most important distinction of intelligence, the necessary foundation for civilization, for art, for all pursuits of the mind and progress. Collectivists may have their soulless ant-farms of brutality and sacrifice. I will take a society built around "man", not "men"."
~Vanessa Honorius Van der Lyons, on Mercatorum Society

To many an uninformed viewer* the Merchant Republics may very well appear as if it sprang fully from the height of the American Art Moderne Movement in the Early to Middle 20th Century, indeed many important cultural elements of the Republics do have similarity to the "Art-Deco" period, but our culture could never be so wholly contained. What follows us here is an analysis of the unique culture of the Merchant Republics.

In a brief description, the culture of the Merchant Republics is one which places enormous importance on individual though, choice, expression, initiative and achievement, celebrating the results of their cooperation towards mutual happiness. However it is so much more than that, the Mercatorum possess an unshakable code of honour and self-responsibility which permeates our culture, a code not imposed as a duty but taken up as a conscientious decision to create a better world.

A world for the individual by the individual. A society whose pillars were built neither on the bloodied bones of the whip-borne many; nor upon the binds and broken-backs of the giant few. Where these great would not be constrained to bloody service in the chains and whips of the jealous small so they might in freedom stand upright and proudly lift the burdensome heavens from the backs of all men. A society based upon the values of reciprocation and respect, not theft and contempt. Where charity is not a duty enforced by the barrel of a gun but an act of brotherly love and compassion, where right is earned not taken, where the service of a man's interest is best made in the interest of others, in creating not destroying.
Yet it is still more than that for we are a society which embraces fruitful industry before wanton consumerism, values the search for epicurean joy over hedonistic pleasure and seeks companionship of the mind and the soul before the flesh. A society where what a man's owns is not his measure but the reflection of his potential and ability to create something greater out of his world. Here is where we find those who believe in modesty not in hatred of their bodies but love of their minds, who know the costs of excess are weighed on a tipping scale, for which every measure of undeserved pleasure is met by it's equal of share of pain. That honour is more than just a phrase to be cast aside at the first sign of adversity but a goal to be pursued to the bitter end. That no might can make right until it is used in the defence of the innocent and the derivation of any authority comes not from force of arms but of the mutual agreement and cooperation of men.

The Mercatorum are a society built principally on the notion that it is trade not the lash creates our wealth, cooperation not violence that rules us, love not duty that binds us, and excellence not pleasure that we find contentment in.

*Of course, for the unwashed barbarian, we doubt that they would even have the mind to comprehend such comparisons and our culture would just appear to them as indistinguishable from heavenly beings surrounded by a world of technology and beauty, indeed many of the minor alien cultures we have encountered in our expansion have treated us thusly. An effect which the Historical Society terms "The Cult of Humanity", which we will elaborate on later

Social Customs & Behavior

"There are three things you should remember when dealing with Mercatorum, your manners, your honour and your wallet."
~Frank Haldabard, American Businessman c. 1956

An important introduction into Mercatorum society is the nature of social custom in the Republics, the often wide differences between Mercatorum values and those of other nations require an explanation of the potential subtleties and differences which must be addressed before even going into the already subtle nature of our custom in specific.

Mercatorum relationships typically follow a basic hierarchy of acquaintance, friend/clansmen, companion/kin, which prescribes a slightly different behaviour at each level, starting from a warm but politely distant treatment of acquaintances, becoming more intimate and jovial as it progresses, to one's friends and clansmen (distant family) to the closest circle of one's companions and kin (near family). While it is very easy befriend a Mercatoran, and most having several hundred clan members. Mercatorans are very discerning about their companions, often only their spouse, immediate family and a small number of select friends are included in this relationship circle.
Greetings:
- Mercatorans consider handshakes (or similar gestures of greeting) to be important not just in first meetings but in all subsequent meetings, this will continue until they are consider each other friends in which case a short embrace is the rule, from there very close friends and family share a kiss on the cheek as standard. Of course on the street a simple tip of the hat is all that is needed for friends if you are busy; "kin" however merit a stop.

-Importantly a man should never kiss a married woman on the cheek without her husband present and vice-versa no matter how close they are, they should instead embrace shortly. Boys should never kiss their girlfriends anywhere but on the cheek in the presence of her male family members.

- On the topic of greetings, it is rude to offer your fist to a Mercatoran, as it is a sign of aggressiveness (foreigners of course are already considered barbarians so we don't take too much offence to their ignorance). Handshakes further are most commonly performed with the grabbing of forearms rather than hands and accompanied by a slight bow.

- Again in the same vein raising your hand in a "high-five" looks vaguely like the Celestial Legionary Salute and thus if you proceed to slap the hand of former legionary who salutes you in return... well it won't be pleasant.

Gift-Giving, Tipping and Charity
-It is customary to offer to pay or trade for any significant gift you receive, to which the customary answer is "your gratitude/respect/love (in order of acquaintance/clan/kin) is trade enough" or some variant upon it. The receiver should always accept the gift after, to do otherwise is a great disrespect. This ritual is religiously followed, even in marriage proposals.

-Tipping is encouraged, practically everywhere, but especially in Restaurants and Hotels. There is no standard amount, generally you are encouraged to give at least 5% of your bill and up to 20% depending on their service.

-When asked over to a Mercatoran's house it is customary to bring a small appropriate gift, such as fruit baskets, chocolates, cigars or wine are all acceptable but anything larger would be obtuse. The above gift-giving rule applies.

-Do not give money to pan-handlers; especially in tourist areas, there are very few legitimate panhandlers in the Republics, most of them are drug-addled, the rest are con artists, usually work in cahoots with pickpockets and muggers. Mercatorum poor are rarely so ignoble as to beg for charity; especially in the open. If you want to help the poor there are many respected charities in the Republics where your money will go to the right place. You are welcome to support street performers however, as it is considered a well-respected profession.

Editor's Note: If you see a person that seems to be legitimately hungry, surprising though it may be we do welcome you to offer food. Just keep your wits about you in regard to your belongings.

Art & Architecture

Look around you at the staggering feats accomplished in the world that surround us, it is a rapturous beauty that envelops us even as it radiantly flows from the font of our own minds. We live now in an age of Eternal Renaissance; where the artist's only limitation is that of his own imagination.
~ Helena Honorius Vandregetti, Artist, Patroness and Founder of the Mercatorum Academy of Art.

Art is no simple hobby in the Republics, it is imbued within the very foundation of our society and culture. To the Mercatorum the act of creating art is one of the clearest expressions of the mind and imagination, upon which we place immense value.

The culture of the Merchant Republics cherishes artists greatly, such that artistry is considered among the noblest of careers for both men and women, art is ubiquitous to the Republics, it is in the parks, it is in the plazas, it is in our buildings, our homes and in the many hundreds of galleries. The art gallery, like the opera house is a staple of any established city worth it's name.

Give me towering cities; filled with those tall temples of commerce and luxury, build them up until they scrape the heavens themselves and the clouds are my balcony. And here among the pulsating masses, I will find a greater serenity then in the calmest meadow.
~ Civil Architect Fredrick Octavius Armati on Mercatorum Cities

There is an immediately recognizable and distinct style in Mercatorum Architecture, influenced by the very strong artistic values of society is notable for the combination of symmetry and streamlined form with highly detailed artistic flairs like friezes, statues and murals. Often with opulent white, gold, brown and ochre colour schemes, that make cities appear as though they sparkle from a distance.

The style is very much influenced by art-deco and greco-roman influences but has developed beyond it, indeed Mercatorum cities are built from the ground up in a way that compliments artistic style, parks and businesses.

The top level of most Mercatorum cities is almost always entirely pedestrian, then there are usually two levels of subterranean highway: one for residential use and one for commercial and industrial traffic. The roadways only merge and return to the surface at the very edges of the city. The pedestrian streets are lined with trees down the centre the sides are filled with cafes, restaurants and stores. There are a lot of street performers, kiosks, street vendors and artists, although not usually too many in a single area due to competition.

Most cities are built around either their space-elevator or the train terminal which leads to one. The obvious practical reasons for that are evident, so I won't elaborate on that. They are almost exclusively built near sources of water to compensate for the massive demands. The presence of water is a make or break for any potential colony unless it is ridiculously resource rich. After that the city tends to flow out modularly. With sections built up in piecemeal. Not many cities grow like they do here on Earth, although it's still quite natural, the skip between low-density and high-density tends to occur instantaneously. The Mercatorum are a very cosmopolitan and urbane sort of culture. We prefer city living.

Residential buildings are usually built as super-complexes: massive structures with built-in schools, shops, gyms and recreation centres for children. These are often built around a large central atrium that serves not only as a lobby, meeting place and secure park for the residents, but also as heat dissipation and a rain-water collector to help. Businesses tend to be built along the bottom-floors facing outside. Activity centres, gyms, schools and dining halls are placed at the next level and residences begin at the third floor.
Commercial areas usually follow a pattern of interconnected massive commercial buildings usually structured around a much larger central square or outdoor plaza, with offices usually built on top of elaborate malls.

There are a lot of green spaces too, although often they are commercially-owned and interspersed with money-making pavillions and plazas. Some are also built in the middle of residential areas by cooperation between the residents to create what is essential a super-atrium shared between all of them. It is also particularly common for roof-tops to be decorated and greened with flowerbeds and gardens. The ubiquity of these manicured gardens and parks has led residential districts to often take the moniker of the city's "green quarters" as opposed to the commercial's "gold quarter".

All recognized republics are required to build a forum where the common citizenry can voice their opinions and argue policy among themselves and with the leadership of the republic. For many Republics, almost all political power is drawn from the forum, in what is essentially a direct democracy. In other cases the former is instead more of a sounding board for policy coming down from higher officials. Though there is no single necessary design most follow a rather simple ampitheatre design and usually occupy the ground floors of whatever government offices the Republic owns.

Religion & Social Mores

"It truly pains my heart to hear the shouts from fervent and pious believers for the establishment of moral laws, for the Earthly punishment of sins, for conversion by force, for the punishment, exclusion and maltreatment of non-believers, Jews, Muslims and Heretics alike.
This idea of theocracy, is wholly abominable; yes, mankind should live piously and reverent to laws of God, but should we not do so for the Love of God? Rather than in fear of our Earthly rulers. If we are to live in a society where every man is made to follow the law of God by force, how should we know the pious from the fearful?"
~Arch-Bishop Antoine I, the Peaceful, addressing the Papal College circa 1541 (mere months before the Venetian Orthodox Schism)

Religion is a very important part of Mercatorum Culture, the majority of Mercatorum follow a religion and most attend religious services regularly, despite this the approach to religion in the Republics is very secular and individualistic, something which is very much supported by the Council of Faiths, the nominal representative and forum of religious thought and interfaith discussion in the Republics.

The dominant and culturally relevant religious belief in the Republics, is that of the Mercatorum Orthodox Church, an Orthodox Christian Church which separated from the Catholic Church in protest for their treatment of Martin Luther and similar reformers among many other grievances . It's formal separation being declared in Venice's St. Mark's Bassilica by it's appointed Arch-Bishop Antoine I, from that point the Basilica became the headquarters of the Faith.
Principally, the Orthodox Mercatorum Church has been a strong supporter of religious tolerance and individual salvation, eschewing much of traditional Catholic dogma, including many much more controversial issues of the traditional church. Most remarkably there is no requirement for clerical celibacy and that woman may join the priesthood. However in most rites and rituals as well as the general interpretation of scripture the Mercatorum Church it is much closer to the Orthodox faith.

Cuisine & Dining

"There is little doubt that greatest among all the motivators of mankind is his stomach, that which brought men to till the soils and hunt the beasts of earth and that which made men brave danger and conflict over pepper and spices is that what drove him to every success, but it's more than survival, it's luxury.
~ Food Critic and Editor for Mercatorum Food Weekly Samuel Cyrus MacKennaheh

Cuisine in the Republics

Dining
- Meals are usually provided as smorgasbord, however you are welcome to take as much as you want right away, expect that people will attempt to trade their food for yours. Generally most meals are three course.

- A toast is to be performed before eating by the person paying for the meal, in casual settings it is a simple "Salute" "Good Friends, Good Food and Good Company" or "Bon Appetite" however more formal meals might have a longer winded speech. This will be followed typically by a quick Christian prayer, it is polite to simply bow your head, whatever your religion, if you are of a different religion, you may be invited to say your own prayer*.

*Editor's Note: There are some humorous anecdotes of atheists visiting from prominently irreligious nations being asked to perform their own prayers and in order to appease their hosts, attempt to butcher their way through a half-concocted prayer to the religious figures of Atheism. These are rather unlikely stories however as atheism is well-known as a philosophy in the Republics even if it is not very commonly followed.

Music & Dance

"There's one difference between music and sound and that difference is swing. without the swing, the head-bopping, the toe-tapping, it's all just sound"
~Richard "D" Scipio Bastelli, Famous Mercatoran Composer and Trumpet Player

When you talk about music in the Merchant Republics, you're talking about Swing and Jazz; Big Band,

Vocal and Traditional have always topped the music charts of the Merchant Republics, to the point of near domination, Big Band Swing is typical at any Mercatorian Nightclub. Though it has been centuries since the first masters of the music started singing Frank Sinatra, Sammy Davis Jr, Ella Fitzgerald, Glenn Miller and John Coltrane are all household names in the Republics, as well as the the many Mercatorian Masters of Jazz that came after them: Nicolas Vineo Casvanni, Micheal Armand Holt, and Lillian Van Wassel among them. Jazz and the Mid-19th Century Culture are inextricably linked to the Mercatorum Persona. Swing is most certainly the most popular form of dance in the Republics as well, and is widely popular between classes; swing and it's varients are seen from the lowly community centre to the popular nightclubs and high class music halls.

Jazz however does not hold sole monopoly in Republic and many other forms of music are popular. Aurora Music, as it is called, a sort of new age techno, is popular chamber music among some of the equestrian sophisticate. True to it's symphonic origin, Aurora simply mixes newer instruments and digital tailoring, the effect of this music is still quite soothing perhaps more so, if less dedicated in spirit. Its Alternate forms are also popular in the more hedonistic and liberal fringe colonies where it is danced to in what Mercatorum musical historians compare to Rave Music of the 21st Century. While this music is looked down upon it still has a fair level of popularity.

The Mercatorum hold the highest respect for the fine arts and this applies to music with no exception Opera and Orchestral Music is extremely popular not just among the Rich and Influential but across all classes. A Grand Opera Hall is a must have in any self-respecting city and the Republics are well-known in the Galactic community for their superior musicians.

Cinema & Mass Media

"If I've learned anything over my career, it's that the old adage was wrong. It's life that imitates art."
~Director & Producer for Centauri Cinema Antonius Clarus Van Grotten

The presence of Media in the Mercatorum society has reached such a point in which it might rightly be considered supersaturated, from the moment we wake to the second we sleep and every moment in between we are but a second away from the massing pulse of information that exists in the data networks and extralinks which connect the Republics across the Stars. For nearly every Mercatoran young and old owns a personal wrist mounted virtual intelligence matrix (usually called Personal Arm-Band Linknodes or PALs for short), capable of updates in real time on such things as social networking, calls, weather, traffic and other important events.

Ironically in becoming so inundated by the virtual, Mercatorum have found that the constant virtual communication left many hollow and unfulfilled, inspiring many to turn away from excessive use of any technological entertainment. Today's Mercatoran's watch less television and read more books than 21st Century humans, despite boasting the capability to blast it straight into one's brain.

by **The Merchant Republics** » Fri Dec 03, 2010 9:06 pm

Section X: Tourist Information

The Merchant Republics wrote:The Tourism Guild of the Merchant Republics has several tips for new visitors to the Republics, concerning personal safety, unfamiliar customs, proper dress and leisure advice, of which can be found below.

Hitch A Ride On A Star(gate): The Republics maintain key trade stations in just about every major interstellar nation, booking a voyage to a major Mercatoran city should be as easy as making your way to one of these ports and booking a flight. Only trusted allies are allowed to utilize the hyperspace generators that link to our Inner Colonies, so unless you know your nation to be a friend of the Confederation, finding a Mercatoran flight will usually be substantially easier.
The Inner Colonies or Bust: While we do appreciate your adventurous spirit in choosing a Mercatoran destination, you must temper your desire to explore, the Inner Colonies are a paradise and perfectly safe for travellers, but as one heads into the fringes, the Outer Colonies become progressively less secure from roving threats like pirates and rogue aliens, if you are willing to risk it, the Outer Colonies hold many wonders, but watch out for shady scam artists and thieves.
Planning is Key: Talk to your travel advisor or a Tourist Guild affiliate before making your trip, the many variables of Republic life can mean disaster for the ill-prepared.

The Republics are For Lovers: Whether you visit New Venezia, Mevisa, Veritium, Argenople, Ravenna or Caesaria, you will find that the culture, scenery and class of the Mercatorum make it an excellent Romantic destination for any couple. Candle-lit dinners in luxurious restaurants, nights at the Opera, the finest cinema, watching fantastic space oddities or natural scenery from a cruise ship and of course enjoying the breath-taking views of a Mercatorum Skyline, all of these are just a taste of what the Republics has to offer.
No Need To Leave The Kids At Home: While romance may be our calling, families will not be disappointed children are much loved in the Republics, popular events like carnivals and circuses, often featuring great acrobats and many wonderful games can be found-year round in most of the major Republics, and trips to zoos, aquariums and space stations will all delight your children. While our mass media characters haven't penetrated far beyond our borders there are many quite wonderful theme parks dedicated to them in the Republics, your local travel adviser or Tourism Guild official can point you to the more foreigner friendly ones like Terraland and Castelloworld.
La Vie De La Metropole: Mercatorum Cities can rightfully be called massive, most cities stretch for miles on end and miles up in height, this leaves for many breath-taking views and a nation filled to the brim with activity. You'll never be far from the hustle and bustle, unless you try.
The Eternal Renaissance: As we've often coined our unique culture is always alive in the Republics, museums fill to the very rafters with the finest of art and creation that one can imagine not to mention the art shops, operas, theatre shows and symphonies are a nightly affair, the greatest of the Mercatoran Silver Screen and the swingingest swing clubs since the speakeasies. Dance, laugh, watch and enjoy the Republics, you won't regret it.
Big Game Reserves: Hunting is a well-appreciated sport in the Republics, whose terraformed worlds are often rife with forests and many enterprises cater to the dreams of big game hunters and nature-lovers alike by offering safari tours. You should always check ahead though, nature preserves and gaming reserves are very different entities, and no one will appreciate you showing up to a preserve rifle in hand.
Your Price, Your Pleasure: The Republics maintain a very lax laws concerning substances and services and as such the enterprising person can easily find a business catering to almost any of their desires, though it may not always be around the corner. Whether substance or stimulation we can provide. Of course, don't think us immoral, we have plenty of wholesome services looking to cater to families and other upright and proper people.

Dress with Respect: The Republics apparently one of those few nations which retain the common decency to wear more than their underwear in public, as you may well guess from the moment you arrive if you do not want to stand out like a communist at market day, you will require at least a suit and tie for men (a quality fedora will make the look), women have a little bit more range, dresses and skirts will blend you in, but you won't get sideways looks with a nice pair of dress slacks. Of course, why pack all these things when you can buy them here, we fully encourage you to indulge in the local fashion scene, the Republics is one of the premiere fashion exporters in the multiverse and we will love to dress you in the very best.
If you would prefer to wear your traditional garb, please make sure it is respectful, in most public areas covering at least the sensitive areas, do anticipate many questions, we love the exotic and will want to know what it is and why your wearing it.
Bathing Suits: It may surprise after reading the above, but bathing suits are very much optional in any public beach, bath or pool. A strange custom to some, but the Mercatorum think wearing clothes in water is just a waste of good clothing or a sign of some absurd ascetic poverty. That said, keep your hands to yourself, or they'll end up broken.
Greetings: A handshake (or to be very apt to our culture a joining of hands to each other forearms) is the standard greeting throughout the Republics followed by a simple "Hello" ("Ave" will earn you points), protruding your fist at a person (as in a fist bump) is perceived as mildly threatening and "high fives" will be misunderstood as military salutes (and hitting a saluting person's hand will not end well for you)
Tipping: Tipping is encouraged for any good service, but is expected out of civility not obligation (so don't grumble about it). The standard varies with 5% considered the lowest acceptable and +20% is considered somewhat excessive (not that your hostess will complain).
Public Displays of Affection: While not prohibited we ask out of common decency, you refrain from any excessive petting, kissing or (for those less inhibited) sex in public, a hug or peck on the mouth or cheek between lovers and family will never be outside of acceptability. Just keep your kisses within reason.
Manners: The Mercatorum are considered impeccably polite and gentile, when possible emulate them, thank you and please, sorry and excuse me are expected whenever appropriate. Open doors for ladies and gentleman alike, but let the next gentleman you see take the door.
Conversation: The Mercatorum are well-read, often highly educated and always avid conversationalists. We will love to chat with you about just about anything that you wish, however opinions run deep in the Republics, so avoid politics and economics, unless you're in for a debate. Ask about our culture, we love talking about it.
Haggling: Trade is engrained in our culture and the Mercatorum adore bartering, and there is nothing in the market that can't be negiotiated, knowing that watch-out merchants usually aim high with their listed price and you can end up paying almost twice as much as most. Quick advice offer to buy a cheap item for the full price and then ask for a deal on something more expensive, you'll end up saving more.
Public Drunkeness: Avoid it, please. It is considered a poor sign of character, and will not reflect well upon you. Drinking until your just a little "tipsy" won't bother anyone though. Just be sure to be moderate. The same likewise with any other narcotics or drugs.

Fringe Colonies: While the more hedonistic tourist may be inclined to travel to the Fringe Colonies in search of our so called "Pleasure Cities" the region is fraught with danger for the unwary, as such we encourage all tourists to book their trips to these areas only with a registered and respected travel agency that will provide you with security and personal assurances. If at all possible we do encourage to bring and carry a weapon when dealing in these areas. As they are known for high criminal and pirate activity.
On Medical Care: The Confederation has made certain deals with allied nations to tourist's medical and judicial expenses. When that is the case, your passport will be sufficient to cover basic medical expenses. If you are not from such a nation we advise purchasing travel insurance, the tourist guild offers a fair package, but there are others available, check with your travel adviser before leaving for an updated list on this, as well as any possible inoculations you may need.
On Crime: As above many Republics will pay for the investigation of any crimes which occur to your person and property during your stay, however some may not, private investigation is usually affordable and crime relatively unknown outside the fringe, you may want to check and choose to avoid these Republics if you worry about possible expenses.
Drugs: All forms of narcotics are legal (if rarely used) in the Republics. As such we suggest you be sure to check your bags as you leave the Republics, things that are legal here, will not always be so in your home nation.

Travel: Most Mercatorum Cities are highly pedestrian friendly with little to no roadways for conventional ground vehicles, taxis and other personal vehicles travel by air, public transportation in the form of light rail and air-bus are affordable and common-place. Cross-planet travel is almost always by rail and interplanetary travel is fast, though interplanetary by definition and as such not necessarily cheap.
Smoking: Is rather common in the Republics, lung cancer is easily treatable here, so the risks of smoking no longer exceed reward, if you are uncomfortable, many restaurants and hotels cater to non-smokers.
Blend In: The Mercatorum rightly consider ourselves to be the very shining beacon of civilization and splendour in the universe. We are a very prideful society and will tend towards overt condescension with those we perceive as uncultured or worse yet barbaric, this can be subtle but if the more uncultured you seem the more outright hostile we'll be towards you. However if you know us well enough to blend in like one of us or can hold some claim to being a civilized individual yourself then you should be treated with the utmost respect. Quick tip, know your Mercatorum Art, mentioning the great masters like Richard Vhanerius and Serrini Van Wassel (both intellectuals and painters of great renown) should put you in good, if all else fails simple but educated flattery will keep you in our good graces.
Or Stand Out: If you can't fit into our cultural standards, then try to stand out, be exotic, we'll adore it. Though it means fielding a great many more questions and being treated as an oddity, it is a lot better than being cast aside as a barbarian.

Finally be mindful that while Mercatorans are friendly, welcoming and sometimes even overbearingly polite, we're also prone to arrogance, expect a few unintentional insults directed at pretty much every element of your nation, culture and person until you are well accepted, being called a barbarian is pretty much par for the course unless you're from a well known nation. It's not that we don't like you, it's that we are trying to help you to better yourself. Better specifically; means more like us.

by **The Merchant Republics** » Sun Dec 12, 2010 12:21 pm

Section XI: The Celestial Union, A Tour In Pictures

by **The Merchant Republics** » Sun Dec 12, 2010 12:27 pm

Section XII: Frequently Asked Questions and Q&A

OOC: Have A Question You Want Answered? TG me, and I'll get right on it. However Posting Questions On This Thread is For the Meantime not apropos.

1. Wait, are you anarcho-capitalist or just minarchist?
The Merchant Republics are free market voluntaryists, we have no problem specifically joining together to form state-like apparatuses, but we disapprove of the state being able to aggressively coerce people who just happen to live around it, a central feature of the Merchant Republics philosophy is the ability to simply opt out of the state, paying no taxes (except when necessary direct levies for services rendered), and being free to do as they please without regard to state intervention.

1A. So wouldn't criminals just opt out of the state to avoid punishment?
Denizens are free to live as the please, so long as they do not harm a citizen directly, in which case the state may indeed seek restitution.

2. How come you refer to yourself as the Celestial Confederation, the Merchant Republics and the Mercatorum?
Well, as you might have read by now, the Celestial Confederation is the official name of the federal government, the Merchant Republics is the formal name for the collection of the individual republics and the "Mercatorum" is the name for the culture, society and people who live in the Celestial Confederation.

So what, your culture has been in some kind of stasis since the 1940's?
Not at all, many things have changed, a indeed our 1940's was nothing like Real History, our culture has many unique features, the style of dress we wear may resemble that of people from that time, but the actual culture is quite different.

by **The Merchant Republics** » Tue Aug 23, 2011 6:20 pm

Section XIII: A Day in the Life

by **The Merchant Republics** » Wed Jan 04, 2012 11:30 am

Section XIII: Glossary and Disassociated Miscellany

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There are no true political parties, candidates instead vie for the endorsement of our great society guilds, but even these aren't mutually exclusive and in fact can be dizzyingly odd. For instance there are no less than fifty senators that are endorsed equally by the Faborum (the traditional voice of the working class) and the EQVES (which tends to represent the rich corporate elite).

The closest facsimile to a ruling political party within the Confederation might best be decided by which society is the most influential or the one which has the most endorsed candidates in the Senate and Council, in which case there is little doubt that the Mercator Society is what comes closest to the ruling political force in the Republics, by a rather wide margin, this is unsurprising as the Mercator Society has the highest membership among Mercatorum, the endorsement of the Mercator is the most sought after by far for candidates, less than 30% of Senators, and only 20% of Councillors have been elected without an endorsement. With that said, a person could read those statistics and take the wrong impression home, as the Mercator tends not to be very exclusive with their endorsements. It is quite frequent for the Mercator to endorse two or more candidates in a single electoral race, this is especially true (and again quite frequent) when several of the candidates are in fact each active Society members, rather than being divisive and creating rivalries with the society, the guild instead chooses to endorse all as equally valid choices and leave the membership to their own conscience.

Which may mean a better measure would be which society candidates work the hardest to receive endorsement from, in that case it would probably be the EQVES, since they represent a very small but immensely influential segment of society, and they tend to produce very few candidates from their own ranks (since politics is considered a somewhat distasteful career for the elites) they are also by far the most reserved in their endorsements; a spotless record of commitment to Mercatorum values, boundless charitable endeavours and proof positive of being a paragon of laissez-faire tradition are just the basics. To be endorsed by the EQVES essentially signals a candidate as worthy of highest office, however it actually does very little for their own election chances, an EQVES endorsement puts a politician on the fast track to the grand committees, but only if he has the popular support to get an office in the first place.

Another means of decoding the society with the most influence to the political process might be the one's whose endorsements most often tip the scale in a candidates favour, a distinction which simply must go to the Faborum, although the working class also tend to associate with the Mercator Society, the Faborum represent the closest thing to a left-wing party in the Republics and as such represent the most likely people to vote differently from the other societies, they are much harder to please but when they do, you tend to be the only candidate who did, and as such are almost guaranteed 10-20% of the votes.

So in short, there is no ruling party within the Confederation, but each of the three great Society Guilds in their own respect decide the political landscape of the Mercatorum through their endorsements. The Mercator make a candidate viable, the Faborum give the candidate the edge, EQVES gives the winners the path to higher office.

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The Guidebook To Most Serene Celestial Confederation

The Guidebook To Most Serene Celestial Confederation

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