The Factbook of the Interstellar Empires of Adria (Closed)

by **The Adrian Empire** » Mon Apr 12, 2010 11:00 pm

The Factbook of the Most Serene and Glorious United Interstellar Empires of Adria

"What Price is Prosperity? Eternal Vigilance"

Introduction

The United Adrian Empires or formally the Most Serene and Glorious United Interstellar Empires of Adria, is a federation of diverse interstellar states united by a common flag name and government; specifically that of it's most prominent member, the Adrian Empire which is the largest in terms of size, military power and economy, and the most prominent culturally. The Adrian Empire, born in the ashes of Rome survived only to be forced from the fiery quagmire of Earth following the Third World War, escaping in the great Exodus Fleet of our forefathers to search the stars for a new home. The United Adrian Empires was officially formed with the treaty of Imperium Fraternus*, or Imperial Brotherhood Signed between the original Adrian Empire, and the Kingdoms of Altmaria, the Dunmarii Confederation and the Grand Forest Duchies of the Bosmerians following the First Contact War, when the courageous, chivalrous and valiant Exodus Fleet risked the very future of humanity to save an alien race then unknown to them.
Stretching the Stars, the Empire is a land of Paradoxical Wonder, Technology and Tradition, Freedom and Responsibility, Ambition and Ethics, Industry and Nature, it's culture has withstood the test of time. Despite having spanned almost 2000 years of history, it's government, constitution and culture have endured, that of course isn't to say we are stagnant, we value change but are apprehensive to it, taking only what has been carefully considered and weighed, however such caution is not as evident in the Adrian entrepreneurial spirit, and Adrians are keenly skilled at invention and adaptation.
One of the most striking of the features in the United Adrian Empires is the class system, a voluntary meritocratic system. Every person regardless of where or to whom they are born is a denizen in the Empire, equal under and beholden to only to the very basic laws of society. Should they perform service to the Empire, through the Imperial Citizenship Program, they volunteer the rights and responsibilities of that class, those whose actions merit great reward are offered the Patrician Class, with the greater responsibilities and rewards; nothing save the law is mandatory. The words that "A Man Chooses, A Slave Obeys" are the foundations of Imperial Society where even freedom isn't mandatory, should one decide to enter into a contract of servitude.

* OOC: Please forgive my use of Cainus Latinum (Dog Latin), I love the language, but I can't speak more then a word of it

by **The Adrian Empire** » Sun Apr 18, 2010 9:24 am

Overview

The Imperial Standard:

National Information:

by **The Adrian Empire** » Sun Apr 18, 2010 11:58 pm

History

The Adrian Empire and it's Client Kingdoms are thousands of years old, the Empire itself is well-over 2000 years old, that is in continuous rule of the same Imperial Family. Due to the nature of Imperial Federalism, it is prudent to point out that history of the Union is one of a great-sized period of history in which the individual states were completely unaware of each other's existence, as such the histories of each state must be explained. In a time-line sort of manner separately until their unification, given the sheer number of Alien races it is imprudent that we include all, but for the major races and states, we shall give a brief time-line. As for the Adrian Empire herself, we shall give her one most suiting her glory:

The History of the Adrian Empire

Greek Colonial Period 620-530 BC
The first to land on the Mediterranean Isle would be Grecian colonists, their first colony built on the Eastern portion of the island around 620 BC, the Eastern side while now accessible remained equally rocky and bluffed as it did before; as such the colony was well hidden among the rocks from pirates, this safety, along with the from riches from the iron mines and lumber on the East Coast, as well as the many exotic animals and fertile farmlands attracted many settlers and there first began prestigious Grecian Society, they traded throughout the Mediterranean and Adriatic but there prosperity had come at a price, they became soft on the riches of their trade and did little in the trade of arms, the rich and poorly defended colonies fell easy to prey to pirates, who wrestled with Greeks over the strategic use of the colonies. Despite major Greek land victories, the pirates ultimately won the sea, and fighting off relief parties starved the colonies into submission. When the Greeks capitulated in 540 BC, the Pirates were not gentle, they razed the cities to the ground and took the entire population for slaves, this ended Greek colonization efforts on the Adria, Pirates began to use the alcoves for bases, but they too were often destroyed. It would not be for almost 200 years that Adria would be permanently colonized again.

Roman Colonial Period 342 BC -120 AD
According to legend in 344 BC, Roman Merchants sailing towards the port of Tarentum were caught in a horrific sea storm and were forced to hit aground on the Veritium Peninsula, the Captain of the Ship allegedly believing the Island to be trick of his mind cried out "True Land" in his native tongue, looking around at the island he was convinced that he needed to start a colony there, and returning to Rome he did just that.
Regardless of the veracity of the story, Roman Colonists first founded Veritium two years later in 342 BC. The Veritium peninsula jutted out partially into the Mediterranean and partially in the Bay of Adria, its abundant fertile farmlands, rich mineral deposits in iron and especially an especially large silver supply soon attracted thousands of colonists, the island was soon a prosperous colony.

The Rise of the Adrian Empire 120 - 900 AD
----Pending------

by **The Adrian Empire** » Sat May 01, 2010 11:23 pm

Economy

The Empire is a highly advanced and versatile market economy, renowned for our near incorruptible businesses, highly-skilled and knowledgeable workers and ravenous but socially-conscious and intelligent consumer base.
the Economic Philosophy of the Adrian Empire is deep and centred around rational market forces, the Empire recognizes that the economy is made up entirely of human actions and that human actions are entirely encompassed by the economy, that every action undertaken is at it's base a matter of economics, and thus macro-management of the economy is as feasible as macro-management of every possible human action, for the same reason control of the nation is vested in the power of collective decision, the economy is vested to the power of individual choice.
Thus the Empire is strongly laissez-faire with a minimal minarchist state, the matters of the individual and his actions are left up to his own up and until the point in which they directly infringe upon the rights of others, no object nor action is illegal but rather the results of actions, to have and fire a gun in crowded place is not a crime, but the result a woman trampled, a man wounded these are strictly punished under the law. To drink and then drive is not the crime but rather to destroy someone else's property as a result of them.

Thus in our commitment to the banishment of evils of statist tyranny the Empire seeks to minimize government impact on the free market to the very slightest, the Adrian public sector takes up just under 4% of the workforce, including the 2.4% involved in the Armed Forces. Interference is done strictly and with the minimum possible impact, thus schooling vouchers are available to poorer students but are not compulsory, and all services privately provided, healthcare and policing in the same manners. There is but one nationalized industry, criminal law, civil law and arbitration too being a private affair (with albeit public funding) even the military is purposefully augmented with citizen militias and private companies. Choice is king in the Empire, the law of consequence it's only binding.

Educated Consumerism

Government regulation comes alone in the form of education to the public, through the ministry of communication which seeks to make certain that every individual is aware of the issues affecting the Empire. Whenever a private individual, news firm or even rival corporation discovers a business is performing illicit, degrading or unethical practices, they may choose to inform the government (naturally they may also choose to keep or release the information for themselves or save it to sell to highest bidder on the private news-market) for a reward based on the effect of the news, who then release the information to the public through news corporations and leaflets, they also provide semiannual consumer reports, concerning the largest news stories, while the private news market usually can be trusted for faster and better information.
The robust moral compass of the typical Adrian Citizen coupled with a highly ravenous and ethical consumer-conscious society means that the release of such negative press will usually bring about the destruction of the business, as most consumers and often employees leave the business for more ethical businesses.

This has led Adrian Companies to be renowned for their business ethics both abroad and domestically. Adrian Companies are famous for their competition to be the most socially responsible, many own vast tracts of forest, sponsor kid's parks, and build great works of art in Adrian Cities in order to impress upon consumers the image of a wholesome company.

Currency

The Adrian Empire does not have a single formal currency, but recognizes the Imperial Denarii, as its primary note of commerce and prefers its , the Denarii itself is backed by the price of Silver, and is fully exchangeable to it, coins are made of nearly 90% Silver Ore. The Denarius is printed by the independent banks rather then a central authority, naturally these banks do not create more bills then they have stockpiles of silver keeping inflation very moderate.

This resource-backed dollar has also led the Denarius to value higher then most fiat currencies, consistently trading against the Dollar by more then 500%. Purchasing power is also very high, a single Denarius in the Empire can afford a simple meal for two.

While the Denarius is almost dominant in commerce there are far more currencies, the Aureus is the second to be formally recognized as note in the government, it is backed by gold, however the value of Gold in the Empire makes use of a Gold-Backed Currency difficult, a simple meal for two that is afforded by one denarius would be only a cent in Aureus value, thus the goods to make that meal would be valued in fractions of a cent. The Aureus as such is a note of record, kept by aristocracy and business men.

Slavery

Slavery in the Interstellar Union is a legal form of labour, however slavery in and of itself would be a misleading term, as slavery in the Empire is non-hereditary and is subject to many caveats and legal concerns, which will be addressed, slavery in the Empire is further divided into legal categories based on the persons involved, these are:

-------Pending------

by **The Adrian Empire** » Fri Jun 04, 2010 9:30 pm

The Imperial Government

The Empire is more then just a simple nation, it is a vast network of planets and star systems, an interstellar federation of many different nations joined under one single flag and name, that of it's principal and largest member, the Adrian Empire. Adria is the official head of the union, the decisions of its government apply across the entire federation provided they are constitutionally valid. However for all extensive purposes, the federation government has very few real duties outside in the matter of war and law. The only other important duty is record-keeping. However in the matters that do concern the federal government is highly efficient and streamlined.

by **The Adrian Empire** » Fri Jun 18, 2010 3:04 pm

People

Class System

The Adrian Empire has a very fluid but still highly visible class system, some levels of the class system are even recognized by Imperial Law, the most basic class divide is that of the Patrician, Citizen and Denizen classes; they are meritocratic in nature, with service to the government being rewarded with a higher class with greater privileges. The most principle divide between citizen and denizen is the private individual's voluntary support of the Empire and her government, it is entrenched in the Libertarian ideals of the Empire that every action should be a voluntary one, including the usually compulsory powers of the state, every person (or rather adult) in the Empire thus is a Denizen, unbeholden to the responsibilities and duties that the government asks outside of the rule of law. To be a Citizen is to be one who decides that he or she will take this responsibility and undertakes a service (usually militarily) to the Empire in return for the rights and responsibilities of a citizen, a Denizen is one who has not or will not undertaken this rite. The right to vote and participate in government, to benefit from it's assistance programs, not to mention pride; these are the rewards of citizenship but they must also heed the responsibility to be a morally upstanding, to be a role model to the future citizens of the Empire (Citizens who commit crimes lose said citizenship until they re-earn their citizenship), to participate in the democratic system dutifully and to pay what is within their means to the continual support of the government (see: Taxation). Whereas Denizens are exempt from all forms but the consumption tax.

Patrician Class: The Great People of Adrian Society, to become a Patrician is the public acknowledgement of your status as a person who has greatly increased the glory, knowledge, beauty or wealth of the Empire, among them are industrialists, scientists, courageous generals, great philosophers and masterful artists. In order to keep their population stable they elect from the citizenry every year 1 to 3 new members who have made outstanding achievements in the Empire. Only members of the Patrician Class may run for a seat in the Imperial Senate, and thus this class holds a great deal of political power. As symbols of their position they may wear sashes of linen with a purple stripe, and they may also buy purple fringed clothing. The Adrian Phrase "Earned Your Stripes" for recognizing an accomplishment stems from this. Purple being the colour of Imperial Nobility which they represent (and in the case of Elven Nobility this is doubly so), they are also awarded a special medal to wear signifying their rank.

Equestrian Class: This class is next in prestige to the Patricians being wealthy business owners, shareholders, merchant, CEO's and traders, typically one can call themselves a Equite if their net worth (or that of their families) exceeds 10,000 Aureas (400,000 Denarii or Roughly 1.2 Million NSD). They are the only upper class that does not by nature have to be a citizen of the Empire and by nature it is not unusual for them to remain Denizen throughout their lives. They typically wear gold/black bordered clothing, the colours of free market enterprise which they more then represent for the Empire.

Cavalier and Praetorian Class: While meaning the same approximate thing as the Equite Class, both stemming from the term "Horse Man", the French Term Cavalier was brought to Adria when English became it's dominant language to describe the separate class among Equite of Knighted Soldiers and Warriors, however this class also includes the subgroup of Praetorians who are former special forces members. The difference between the two is very subtle, originally the only separation was that a Chevalier (Equite at the time) was on horse, while Praetorians fought on the ground. Nowadays the difference is mostly one of command, with Officers becoming Cavaliers and Soldiers Praetorians.
This class is easily as respected if not more so then the Equite, but their prestige rarely resulted in substantial material wealth; they live well mind you, many of them get movie deals and almost all have action figures or cards but only a few become as wealthy as the Equite (and usually by the same process as them).
Cavaliers and Praetorians wear maroon borders on their clothing, the maroon obviously signifying bloodshed, it is interesting to note that a cavalier will rarely trade his borders for that of an Equites, but an Equites will do so for that of the bordered maroon. It is mostly out of respect, one does not pass up the maroon cloth without insulting the sacrifices of their class.

The Proletarius, The Denizen and The Slave make up the lowest class in terms of prestige, though none are reviled simply on class along, they simply lack the distinction of being a full citizen, and as such they cannot participate in the democratic rights of the Empire like attending the public forum or voting.

Denizens: A Denizen is any person who has not earned their citizenship, this may mean they are a new immigrant to the Empire or an Adrian-Born adult resident who has delayed or refused to undertake the Imperial Citizenship Program. This may be idealogical reasons like some who consider the flat 2% income tax applied to those who choose to become citizens to be stealing wealth (The Empire on the whole agrees with this sentiment, but consider the current system the most feasible and fair, particularly because it is not at least in sense a coercive tax since one volunteers with citizenship) or just an inherent disagreement with government service. Others are just delaying service to focus on their education or for some especially among the Equites that they do not need the services of the Empire and prefer to pay for their services from hospitals, schools and police. They do not wear a given border colour, though some proud denizens wear black for anarchy, most wear the collar of their respective economic class with black checkerboard lines to signify their status as Denizens. This doesn't apply to immigrants however since most stay denizens only so long enough to plant roots in their new community before undertaking the citizenship program.

Proletarii: The Landless Poor of the Empire, they are essentially the homeless and jobless of the Empire, we have never promised the folly of full employment or lie of equal prosperity and of course there are those who slip through the cracks, though the prosperity and opportunity of the Empire (as well as the legalization of slavery) have almost entirely minimized the population who live in this way the drug-addled and genuinely lazy, that 1% is no less a sad thing. They live travelling between private shelters and houses of refuge, they live nobly though; in the Adrian way, they follow a strict code of ethics, they dress with care even with their meagre funds, they take odd jobs or take up crafts when possible and they never panhandle; though the utter abhorrence of the typical Adrian to petty charity likely pays a role as Adrians prefer to help people in concrete ways, giving them food, and offer jobs for them rather then just giving them money which would likely only go to perpetuate some vice. They are much like the more noble rail-riders of the United States in many respects. The majority of these men, women and xenos are denizens, as citizens usually return to the military before considering become a Prole. They are treated in the way most people treat a person down on their luck, with a degree of pity and concern but in the same way many blow them off.

Slaves: Slaves as earlier mentioned in the Empire are usually citizens hard on their luck, selling their services and freedoms to another for a set period in return for absolution of debts. These men are given the same understanding any other person who is down on their luck would have, they much like the Proletarii are given a humbled respect, perhaps more because of their commitment to keep working. They wear a brown border collar to identify them as slaves.

Species Classification

As an Imperialistic Colony-Driven Interstellar Nation, the Adrian Empire has come into contact with many kinds of native life and fauna, some very obviously civilized and intelligent alien species, but we have also met some that straddle the line of sentience and civilization, so was born the Species Classification System. Operated by The Imperial Frontier Coalition, a private-public enterprise is largely responsible for establishing contact with the natives, through xenolinguists and biologists. In order to decide how we should approach their treatment, they are deemed to be either intelligent, non-intelligent or semi-intelligent. The following is a description of the classifications and their treatment:

¹ Reason, is considered the most important trait any species can have, in fact having reason alone will automatically give a + 25% score

by **The Adrian Empire** » Sat Jun 19, 2010 11:52 pm

A Picture Album of the Empire

Inner Colonies
A typical Inner Colonies City is an expansive urban metropolis, with massive buildings thousands of metres high, the towers usually have large terraces built around their midpoints, wide bridges connect these buildings together, these rather then the streets below (which are typically built with artificial rivers and natural parks) serve as the main centres of foot traffic and commerce, as such many of these cities (or groups within the cities) also build elaborate rail lines running along these wide terraces. These cities are usually very beautiful, with thousands of gardens, fountains and sculptures usually built by private organizations or with help from the civil service bureau, hovercars are somewhat atypical in these cities, limited parking space means that rentals and taxis are the most common forms, that said private cars are common enough that you will see one any given time you look up. Buses run by a variety of corporations also run high above the city with passengers. Cities typically combine the architecture of the Greco-Roman, Art-Deco and International and Futuristic Buildings, making Imperial Cities very Beautiful.

Old City Veritium, Sierrium

The Picture of a Standard Imperial City, taken from New Venetia, Calabrium

The Spartanum International Spaceport, Nova Laurus

Leaving the Central Plaza on Medizio, Vanalia

The Outlook From A Skybridge, Lobardia, Sierrium

Outer Colonies
The colonial city is built around a central structure formed by the landed colony ship, this central structure contains the basic administration buildings, homes for several thousand, a central business area, and an armoury for the civil defence or purchased mercenary forces. The starship engine is refitted to become a hydrogen power generator supplying enough power to supply a small city. The main structure itself is very strong and acts a stronghold in case of the city being attacked. From their the city branches off colonial cities are usually built with an expandable modular wall, which provides security for the inner buildings, which are typically similar to the Inner Colonies, but with more freestanding structures, terraces being typical in older cities, as the Empire tends to build up rather then out.
The River Outlook of Averium, on Cerecia

A New Colony, On Terra Nova

Narvinium on Gaira

Fringe Colonies
The Fringe City is very rarely built on planet surface, as they are harder to protect from slave raids, instead mining facilities will be located on planet while the main population lives in orbital satellites and terraformed asteroids around them. Satellite cities vary in construction pattern, some cities in fact are just ad-hoc constructs of derelict ships welded together. These plucky frontier cities are usually havens for vice and criminal behaviour, casinos, seedy night clubs and brothels offering services that would not be acceptable in the civilized inner colonies. These are not illegal in the Empire proper, but rather would see little clientèle due to the Adrian sense of Morality, out here is where the outcasts congregate. Pirates, Slavers and Gangs make the Fringes one of the most dangerous areas in the Empire, the unlucky traveller caught in the Fringes without a weapon is best advised to stick to the main stations, where in trouble they might be assisted by armed passersby, avoiding the darker areas where robberies, kidnappings and other salacious activity occurs, of course his best course of action is to get his hands on a gun, that is supposing he is a citizen or valid tourist permit holder.
A Typical Mining Colony

The Altmarian Kingdoms

An Overlook of Evindiale, Capital of the Altmarian Kingdom, the Palace of Jovine is in the Background

A Bosmerian Tree City, on Valeria

A Dunmerian Duchy

Caovan Council Worlds

Overlook of Tasuga, from the Caovan Council Building

The Factbook of the Interstellar Empires of Adria (Closed)

The Factbook of the Interstellar Empires of Adria (Closed)

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