|
|
Overview: |
The Seven Kingdoms of Andrutia is the oldest empire in the Alliance of Light. It was founded nearly twenty thousand years ago, during what is today called the Second War of Ascension. However, despite the time that has passed since its founding, the ideal which was the original cause of the War still remains the strongest pillar of the Empire. This ideal is that of the creation of a 'super race' of genetically superior beings who will rule with a mandate from the god of the new era: science.
From the end of the War until present day, the Andrutians have been bred into two separate groups which over the course of millennia of separation have evolved into two separate races: the Gai'Kain and the Gjak. The Gai'Kain are the elite of the Empire. Only those Andrutians who have no genetic defects and have displayed exceptional physical or mental development during their early childhood are allowed into the Gai'Kain. Reproduction within the Gai'Kain is arranged to ensure that those with complementary attributes are bred together to create a child with the better attributes of both parents. Membership in the Gai'Kain is not hereditary, in so far as a Gai'Kain child with a genetic defect will become a Gjak. It is impossible for a Gjak child to become part of the Gai'Kain. However, the wealth and power of the Empire is completely concentrated in the Gai'Kain. They live either on private moons or on space stations to avoid association with the Gjak. Plus, all roles of authority belong to the Gai'Kain. Hence, it is common for one who would not normally be eligible to remain in the super race to be allowed to due to political power of his or her parents. The Gjak performs all the functions of the Empire which are deemed to be below the Gai'Kain. They serve in all but the highest military offices, produce all the goods and materials used in the Empire, and constitute most of its population. Since efficiency is not a large concern to the Gai'Kain, a large work force of Gjak is needed to keep Imperial output at the necessary levels. During buildup or war periods, such as the current Shadakar War, the Gai'Kain will often begin Rapid Breeding Programs. These programs increase the growth rate of the Gjak population from its normal increase of 10% per OSY to roughly 75% per OSY. This allows for greatly increased production, however, the numbers of the Gjak have grown to such a degree that living space is becoming a serious problem. Overcrowding has become a huge problem in many of the larger systems of the United Kingdom. However, there is also no statement from the leadership of the Empire as to any proposed solution to this problem. |
Navigation:CoLC Index |
Index:Q-dex / Technology / Magic
|
Q-dex: |
T 506.9473/142.594O M 555.7635/778.46 |
Technology: |
Technological development is very slow within the Empire. However, this is not due so much to an inherent genetic flaw with the race, as it is due to the division that exists between the classes. With a large, free and subservient lower class, the Gai'Kain has had no reason to promote the development of means of increasing worker efficiency of the development of more effective military technology. The view is that if production needs to be increased, one should allocate more Gjak to working by hand, not allocate the resources to build an automated factory. Or, if a war needs to be won, one will simply recruit more Gjak into the army, not design a more effective weapon.
Although this relatively simple-minded system has meant that the vast majority of the Slave Empire's technology and methods are outdated, the vast numbers of Gjak and the Rapid Breeding Programs put into place by the Gai'Kain have to date allowed Andrutia to remain competitive with its more advanced neighbors. |
Magic: |
The Andrutian race is inherently unskilled in the arcane arts. In some noble families, the trait has been bred to be stronger, however, the effects of this breeding are still minimal. According to Gai'Kain records, no Gjak are able to use magic. It is, though, much more likely that there are many Gjak who can use magic and keep it secret to prevent themselves from being removed from the genetic pool. Should the trait become strong enough, a magic-based revolt against the Gia'Kain could be a major threat to the Slave Empire.
The Gai'Kain use magic for entertainment, creating little lights at parties or making it rain indoors or causing someone's shuttle to explode 'spontaneously.' However, its use for any practical purpose has not even been considered by those who hold power. |
Size & Population: |
The Seven Kingdoms are the largest Empires in the Alliance of Light, although their massive size and population remains in very primitive conditions, thereby preventing them from becoming a dominant power in the area.
There are sixteen systems in the United Kingdom that contain over one hundred billion Gjak, ten more that contain over fifty billion, and nearly twenty newly colonized systems with fifteen billion or less Gjak living there. The total population count for the Gjak is listed in Imperial records as two trillion three hundred billion. The current population growth rate of the Gjak is nearly 50% per OSY due to the Rapid Growth Programs that are in effect as a buildup to a second possible Shadakar War. The Gjak themselves are generally relatively short and very strong. Years of natural selection, favoring those who are stronger and more able to do difficult physical labor, have culled all of the weak from the Gjak. However, aside from the stunted growth caused by chronic malnutrition, their strength and their plight, the Gjak have very little to justify their existence as a single race. Since every Gjak ancestor had some genetic defect which forced him into the class, their genetic material is by no means uniform. Mutations ranging from two hearts, to three arms, to no face, to no skull, to only half a brain are common. Visitors will most likely find the mere act of walking down the main street on a Gjak planet to be an experience startlingly horrific in its absolute perversion of nature. The Gai'Kain live on remote moons or space stations all across the empire. These systems are rarely stationary, except for the capitol of Solaris, which is located at the center of the Kingdom of Leshain. The total population of Gai'Kain in the Empire is roughly fifty billion. The population growth of the Gai'Kain is roughly 5% per OSY. The Gai'Kain were founded with the intent of creating a race that is superior in both physical and mental characteristics. However, the years of inter-breeding have weakened the gene pool to the point that many of the Gai'Kain have severe physical weakness. Mentally, the thinning of the gene pool has not has as strong of an effect, however, cases of insanity within the Gai'Kain are growing yearly. However, with the wealth and power of an empire, the Gai'Kain are able to correct most of the problems caused by their shrinking gene pool -- at least in so far as to make it unnoticeable to anyone who is not looking for them. |
Climate and Geography: |
The climates of the worlds of the United Kingdom are, as the society separated by class. Those worlds on which live the Gjak are usually so polluted and hostile that many of the weaker Gai'Kain would be unable to survive on them. However, years of genetic mutations have bred traits into the Gjak which make them able to survive in and in some cases dependent on the corrupted nature of their worlds to survive.
Most Gjak worlds are completely covered in structures that are at least five hundred feet tall, in the less developed areas. In the cities on these worlds, the buildings will often stretch a mile into the air. This development is necessary to support the vast populations of Gjak that live on these worlds. All types of industry, including those which produce harmful or deadly materials or waste products, are also included in these virtual hives of Andrutians with no space allocated to allow these materials to dissipate before coming into contact with the population. Most of the worlds have a permanent smog-like cloud covering the surface, as no pollution controls are implemented anywhere in the Empire. To save space, the mass transit network on the worlds is underground. However, for short trips, there are streets -- although most of them are surrounded by so many high-rise buildings that they never see the light of day. Along these streets is also some of the best night-life in the sector, if one does not mind the Gjak. The climate of the Gai'Kain moons is varied, but in all cases unspoiled by any pollution. They are often terraformed, in order to cater to a particular lords desire and reterraformed, if his son has slightly different taste. Only developed enough to cater to the particular needs of the lord, they often provide havens for the more exotic creatures of the Empire that would not have survived on the barren Gjak worlds. Many Gai'Kain also live in space stations, which are some of the most luxurious in the known galaxy. |
Flora and Fauna: |
There is very little flora or fauna remaining on the Gjak worlds, as the over-development and over-population has killed off all but the hardiest of creatures. However, the moons of the Gai'Kain often contain zoos and natural reserves which contain much of the diversity of the plant and animal life of the Slave Empire that would have been lost otherwise. |
History: |
Being the oldest empire in the Alliance of Light, and quite possibly in the sector, the Seven Kingdoms of Andrutia have a long and colorful history. It was founded over twenty-thousand years ago during the Second War of Ascension on the home world of Geragan. Two factions, one led by the Algoran Pact, in an attempt to revitalize what they viewed as their stagnating political system advocated the creation of a world-government to lead the Andrutians out of their decadence and on to new glories. This radical philosophy was widely opposed by the better entrenched governments of the world. The Pact, however, refused to back down and a war broke out. With the military defensive technology far more effective than the offensive, the war was brutal. Millions were sent out in futile attempts to break through enemy lines, only to be plowed down before they were able to return fire. Finally, after 5 years, the war ended with the surrender of the Algoran Pact due to a lack of supplies and money. With the taste of bitter defeat came massive humiliation at the hands of the victors, and as a result of this combined with the weakness of their economies and political systems, all but one of the nations in the Algoran Pact collapsed.
With half of Geragan in chaos, the world-wide economic political system was unable to offer any aid to the Algoran Pact members, and so they languished. After ten years, radical movements had taken over every major member of the Pact, and from the ashes of the Algorans had risen seven new kingdoms: Dherak, Shemai, Polonoria, Gaikaran, Kaintre, Ytribus, and Nuralean. With their only hope for survival in their ability to unite and inflame the people towards a common goal, the seven nations created the Alliance of the Seven Kingdoms with the stated goal of creating a natural, super-race of Andrutians that would be able to lead the entire race up from its current chaos, stagnation and poverty into a new era of power, glory and riches. The other nations of Geragan were so weakened by the economic chaos of the time, that they were able to make no response to the aggressive actions of the Alliance. It was not until the leader of the old Alliance against the Algoran Pact was attacked that war was declared against the Seven Kingdoms. The war went well, as the old Alliance was severely weakened, and most of the world was under the control of the Seven Kingdoms within two years. The final stronghold of the old Alliance, and its capitol -- Dei'rakan, stood the longest. However, in a final, land, air and sea attack, it too was taken over by the Alliance of the Seven Kingdoms. With the entire world now under their control, the Alliance decided to revive the patriotism of the Algoran Pact, as well as increase their own power, by fulfilling the Pacts goal of uniting the world under one government, named after the worlds new rulers: the Seven Kingdoms of Andrutia. A few abortive attempts were made to begin the super-race, now known as the Gai'Kain, through genetic manipulation. However, accidents soon made this method too unpopular to continue. So, instead, the Seven Kingdoms resolved to create the Gai'Kain through selective breeding. Every citizen of the United Kingdom was required to submit a sample of their DNA, and through exhaustive research, the race was divided into those who had no defects and certain desired attributes -- the Gai'Kain -- and those who either had specific defects or were merely average -- the Gjak. Obviously, all the major leaders of the world were placed in the Gai'Kain, and the Gai'Kain was given rulership over the planet. This was also a brilliant political move, as it gave the current leadership an excuse to create a hereditary monarchy, instead of their current, partially-democratic system. With the Gai'Kain established, stability returned to Geragan and most Andrutians were content to leave things as they were so long as peace reigned. Gradually, the selective breeding programs began to show results in both the Gjak and the Gai'Kain. The Gai'Kain showed consistently higher intelligence and strength than the Gjak, and as these attributes became more and more pronounced, it became relatively common belief that the Gai'Kain did in fact have a mandate to rule. With the prosperity and peace of the Age of Glory, many Gai'Kain felt that it was time to expand beyond the confines of their solar system and begin colonizing other stars. With their genetically enhanced intelligence, the Gai'Kain scientists were able to develop the technology necessary for interstellar flight in a remarkably short time. Within twenty years, the construction of the starship Enterprise was underway. The ship took roughly three years to build, and on the five hundredth anniversary of the founding of the United Kingdom, it was launched. The mission was successful, and a colony was established on the newly named planet of Gaikaran. It grew slowly, but within fifty years, each of the major kingdoms had launched a starship to colonize a planet of their own. Led by the Gai'Kain, interstellar expansion went well for the Empire, and for roughly five thousand years the Seven Kingdoms expanded their control over their region of space. Socially, this time was one of great peace. The Gjak were treated well by the Gai'Kain, and although the Gjak were mostly employed in relatively low-class jobs, their lives were, in general, good. The Gai'Kain did live in luxury, but not excessively, and their artificially created genetic superiority was at its pinnacle. The arts flourished, and culture was available to all citizens of the United Kingdom. Personal freedoms were granted, and prosperity reigned throughout the empire, fueled by its constant expansion. This is known as the Golden Age of the Kingdom. However, this was all brought to an abrupt halt with the Andrutian's first contact with an alien race: the Al'Shan. The existence of alien races had been a topic of debate for many years, but the viewpoint, strongly encouraged by the Gai'Kain, that in fact the probability of life evolving on other planets was prohibitively small was pervasive by this time. The discovery that alien races did exist brought into question the validity of the Gai'Kain's rule -- as they were no longer the undisputedly genetically superior race. The thousands of years of promoting the belief that genetic superiority was the mandate to rule backfired on the Gai'Kain as the Gjak began to demand that genetic comparisons be made between Gai'Kain and Al'Shan to determine who was superior and hence who was the rightful rulership of the empire. The United Kingdom exploded into the first major wave of unrest since the colonization of Gaikaran, and for the first time in its history, the rule of the Gai'Kain stood on uncertain footing. Realizing the urgency of the situation, the Gai'Kain acted quickly. Negotiations were immediately begun and an exchange of genetic material was effected within the week. The results of these tests were never announced, because three days after the exchange, the Gai'Paraini -- the governing body of the Seven Kingdoms -- declared that a state of war existed between the Al'Shan and the Andrutians. In a brilliant mobilization, the Gai'Kain managed to meet the first wave of the Al'Shan attacks inside of Al'Shan territory and stop them. However, despite their aggressive start, the Gai'Kain were well aware that the larger Al'Shan, once mobilized, would be able to easily defeat a fleet. So, while the Andrutian fleet fought off Al'Shan attacks outside the United Kingdom's borders, a massive defensive system was set up along the frontiers of the Seven Kingdoms. With that was completed, the United Offensive Fleet was called back to man the defensive perimeter, just in time to meet and hold against the first major Al'Shan offensive. For the next five hundred years, the Al'Shan fought the Andrutians along this line, with little change in the front on either side. The social repercussions of the war were swift and very successful for the Gai'Kain. When the Seven Kingdoms declared war, the Gjak's faith in their leadership was restored, as the rumors were rife that the genetic tests had been in favor of the Andrutians and that now they were going to extend their rule over the inferior Al'Shan race. As the war went on, the Gjak's faith diminished, but reports from the Gai'Kain High Command that the war was going well and that the only problem was the immense size of the Al'Shan that had to be conquered combined with the Gjak's relative naively about the actual course of the war, kept the lower class' support strong enough to keep production high and threat of revolution low. Plus, the incredible breeding programs which were used to supply the star-fleet with its much needed reinforcements and the massive industrial needs of the war kept every Gjak busy for every waking hour -- leaving them no time to ponder the situation in depth. The military history of the war is a relatively mystery, since the Gai'Kain destroyed all records concerning casualties and front movements after the war, presumably because of dangerous information contained there. The Al'Shan also have no records of the war, since the government that fought it is no longer in existence. However, we do know that it lasted for roughly five hundred years, that during the entire course of the war the front never changes and that it only ended when the Al'Shan Empire began to experience strain from its over-expansion into other areas. At this point, the Al'Shan offensives were toned down, and the Gai'Kain initiated negotiations. The end result of these talks was an agreement that the Seven Kingdoms would pay the Al'Shan a large sum of money (in the form of raw materials) in exchange for the Al'Shan publicly admitting defeat by the United Kingdom. The borders were set at pre-war systems. This ploy worked brilliantly for the Gai'Kain and proved disastrous for the Al'Shan. With the Gai'Kain's racial superiority proven to the Gjak by their defeat of the Al'Shan, parades, gatherings, parties, and speeches were held all over the Kingdoms to celebrate the victory of the Gai'Kain. Meanwhile, the admitted defeat was proving politically disastrous for the Al'Shan. With all their neighboring states seeing the Al'Shan finally beaten, empire after empire declared war on the Al'Shan, beginning the war that would eventually lead to the collapse of the Al'Shan. During the celebration, the Gai'Kain moved quickly. The members of the Gjak that had been in the star-fleet, and therefore knew the truth about the war, were shipped off to remote moons where they were ordered to establish defense bases. This task proved, as the Gai'Kain intended, impossible with the supplies that the military had and most perished. With that threat removed, the Gai'Kain took the final generation that had been created by the breeding programs and moved them to several newly created military training worlds. They were taught to be fanatically loyal to the Gai'Kain on the basis of heredity, not genetic superiority. The training was swift and brutal, but every Gjak that survived the training was brutally loyal to the Gai'Kain and the United Kingdom. As the celebrations died down and unrest began to rise as the truth about the war became slowly known, the Gai'Kain's new army was swiftly and quietly deployed throughout the Empire. When the first protests came, they were brutally suppressed by the Imperial Army. Any who resisted were killed. This was known as the Great Realignment because at this point, the rule of the Gai'Kain changed from enlightened rulership of a genetically superior elite to the oppression of the masses through military force and cunning. This was the end of the great experiment which had been begun by the Alliance of the Seven Kingdoms so many thousands of years ago. This is dated in the year 7,623 AV. From this point until today, which is dated at 19,411 AV, by the Royal Calendar of House Gaikaran, the fundamentals of the United Kingdom have remained unchanged. When, in the year 8,000 at the octo-millenial festival in celebration of the founding of the United Kingdom, riots broke out, the Emperor decreed that the Gjak no longer had the right to meet publicly. In response, protests broke out across the Empire, but after their brutal suppression by the army and threats of massive retaliatory violence by the major houses, the fires of revolution were doused by fear. For the next five hundred years, the Gai'Kain gradually reduced the will-power and the rights of the Gjak, until, on the five hundredth anniversary of the Limitation Proclamation, the Emperor made another proclamation that all remaining rights of the Gjak were nullified. This proclamation met with no reaction from the lower classes. There are rumors that after the proclamation, the Gai'Kain intentionally began breeding programs that encouraged diminished intelligence in the Gjak, but these rumors are unverified. However, whether or not these programs were actually begun, the Gai'Kain, over the course of the next ten thousand years, worked tirelessly to destroy the one thing in the Gjak that had been the equal of the Gai'Kain -- their spirit. With brutal measures, starvations, separation from family, grueling workdays, and impossible sleeping conditions, the Gai'Kain continue to strive to break the spirit of the Gjak as a whole in order to ensure the domination of the Empire forever. Foreign policy from the time of the Domination Proclamation has been as sparse as possible. After the collapse of the Al'Shan, there were few major empire remaining for the Andrutians to conduct talks with. As the newer empire have arisen, the Andrutians have remained on neutral terms with them, opening trade treaties and non-aggression pacts while remaining free from entangling alliances. Through this action, the Gai'Kain hoped to remain out of conflict which could stroke the fires of revolution within their nation or cause their defeat from outside. The Gai'Kain have managed to do this mainly through political maneuvering, as the intrigues of negotiation and court life are taught to them from childhood. However, all their political arts were unable to prevent their inevitable conflict with the Shadakar which has finally forced them to act. When the Elessar first made their overtures for alliance in the area, the Andrutians were at best unresponsive. However, as the power of the Shadakar grew more and more threatening, the Andrutians reluctantly agreed to support the Elessar in their war effort. Their military has constituted a major portion of the armed forces of the Alliance of Light, as the army of the United Kingdom is the largest army in the alliance. However, despite its size, the Andrutian military is not well equipped and only met with nominal success in its fights against the Shadakar attacks. As with the rest of the fronts of the Shadakar War, the Andrutian/Shadakar border has remained silent since the fateful attack on Elessar Prime. However, there is evidence within the Empire that the Gjak are becoming more restless than they have in many thousands of years, and there is speculation among the Gai'Kain that the Shadakar are attempting to stir the lower classes to revolution. This is a great threat now, as the genetically weakened Gai'Kain would most likely be unable to fight such a revolution alone and would require outside help from the other Alliance of Light members to sustain their rulership. This would once again weaken the position of the Kingdom's government, as occurred after the Al'Shan War, from merely relying on its own military force to relying on alien governments for its continuance. Socially, the United Kingdom is dead. There is no art, music or culture created by the Gjak and that which is created by the Gai'Kain is usually very poor. Of all the empires in this area of Sector G, the Seven Kingdoms of Andrutia are those who have the most colorful and glorious past and the most grey and dismal future. Many speculate that the Gai'Kain will be unfit to rule within two generations and that the entire Empire may have one hundred years of life left in it -- and even now a single push might be enough to topple the ancient dream of achieving perfection in a universe where there is only gray. |
Government: |
The government of the Seven Kingdoms is completely under the control of the Gai'Kain. However, within the Gai'Kain there are many divisions of government. Local government is handled by the minor house which controls the area. The power of the minor houses is determined by how many Gjak live under their control. Since the major houses discourage actual fighting between minor houses, this is the only real classification for power. Hence, the minor houses will often be very unsympathetic to the overcrowding of Gjak, if another hundred million would make them a more powerful house than their neighbors. The minor houses do control land, however, their land holdings have not changed in many hundreds of years, and with the massive overpopulation the quantity and quality of free land has become so small and bad that minor houses no longer find it profitable. A moderately powerful house will control about ten billion Gjak.
The major houses measure their power in much less quantifiable terms. They rule over entire sections of the Empire, overseeing everything from the minor house power struggles to starship production. More information about the actual planets that are controlled by the major houses can be found in the Major Population Centers section. The major house are Dherak, Shemai, Polonoria, Gaikaran, Kaintre, Ytribus, and Nuralean. These houses are constantly feuding between one another for better positioning within the empire. There are three informal levels into which the power of the houses can be classified, and these are roughly determined by sheer production power -- or population. However, with the larger houses, there are other factors that can influence power than simply population and hence only general rankings can be made by population alone. The imperal houses -- those which have are competing for the Imperial throne -- are Gaikaran and Dherak. Their populations are roughly 650 billion. Currently, House Dherak is the Imperial house, but the current emperor is not a particularly effective one. While House Dherak's population was exceeded by House Gaikaran during the Rapid Breeding Programs, they have been able to maintain their power through the use of the Imperial position to grant themselves the control of the new raw material mining centers. The sale of these ores has given House Dherak the edge it has needed to maintain its rulership. House Gaikaran has, however, been making headway against House Dherak during the last thirty years through its massive development of its starship production centers. When the war broke out, Gaikaran accepted the contract from the dying Emperor to build the starships for the war. Since then, they have maintained the level of production and development, and through panic tactics have been able to keep the government buying. If the buildup were to continue for roughly ten years and the Emperor live that long, House Gaikaran would have significant chance of seizing the Imperial throne on the death of the current Emperor Aerius Dherak. The military houses -- those who oversee the military -- are House Kaintre, Shemai and Polonoria. Their populations are roughly 450 billion. Currently, House Kaintre is the most power of these houses because of their control over the system in which the Andrutian capitol of Solaris is located. Essentially through corruption and graft they have been able to guarantee that they receive the largest military contracts, and that they oversee the more elite legions of the Imperial army. Although House Polonoria has a significantly larger population than Kaintre or Shemai, inept leadership and lack of any particular jewels in their crown has left them the least powerful of the houses. Shemai's long line of extremely capable rulers, as well as its control over the Andrutian homeworld Geragan and therefore its control over granting permission to visit it, has given it a guaranteed place above the declining House Polonoria. The lesser houses of Neralean and Ytribus, with average populations of 300 billion, less than half that of the imperial houses, are treated almost as extremely large minor houses than as major houses. They control the outer regions of the Empire, and though most of the raw materials that are mined are mined within their territory, grants by the Emperor often leave them with a pitifully small share of the profits. Also, despite the fact that they collect the largest percent of the trading taxes due to their proximity Foreign Policy:The Foreign Policy of the Seven Kingdoms of Andrutia is relatively stagnant. They do not generally like outside engagements since they are very unsure as to the actual integrity of their own kingdom and as to their capabilities for production and military. Hence, they tend to remain isolated from any outside events unless they are forced into treaties. With the relatively general attack that the Shadakar made, and the phenomenal effectiveness that it had, the Seven Kingdoms were forced to join the Alliance of Light or be destroyed. However, they have always resented the fact that they were unable to defend themselves and do not consider their membership in the alliance any more than a temporary defense measure. This is the reason that they have been uncooperative with the alliance after the direct threat of the Shadakar has passed. However, once again, they do not wish to be caught off guard a second time, and will do whatever they need to to remain in the alliance, even if they will most likely be very disagreeable about their whole affair because of their hurt pride. Domestic Policy:Domestic policy within the Empire is relatively lacking. The minor houses are responsible for keeping the Gjak alive. However, so long as population remains large enough to maintain whatever projects the major houses are engaging in, the minor houses are left free to do whatever they need to to ensure that this happens. This is, in general, not very kind to the Gjak and only concerned with population expansion, but every system has its problems. The major houses are concerned with expansion of general production to maintain their power base, and trading to acquire the money to buy off the officials or companies that they need to in order to increase their power. On the Imperial level, there is almost no concern given to the domestic policy because the emperor is so far removed from the actual ruling of the people that he is rarely even considered responsible for it. In general, the minor houses are free to engage in whatever domestic policies that they prefer, so long as they meet the larger requirements of the major houses. |
Society: |
The society of the United Kingdom is completely dominated, as with everything else in the Empire, by the major houses and eventually the power struggles that occur between them. In general, although two classes are acknowledged by the Imperial Government -- the Gjak and the Gai'Kain -- there are many divisions within the two larger categories.
Generally, the Gai'Kain value the fine arts, such as music, painting, motion picture creation, dance, ect. They consider refinement to be the most important apparent values. Physical prowess, intelligence and charisma are considered to be the tools of the less refined and are looked down upon. However, as with most things in the society, the outside and apparent values also have their complements in the shadows. While someone must appear to be refined and delicate, one must also be able to strike with cunning ruthlessness. Hence, the society is extremely superficial and often misleading because while those who are most successful seem to be delicate and rather weak, they are in fact cunning, ruthless and often cruel individuals hiding behind a mask of refinement. The Gjak value whatever will give them a better place in society. Physical strength and cunning are most often these traits, but with little or no rights, no resources and no luxuries, preservation of tradition among the Gjak is virtually impossible. In actuality, the world of the Gjak is very like the world of the Gai'Kain, although the Gai'Kain would not appreciate or acknowledge the comparison. Both are, in the end, based upon who is the most cunning and able to bring the most people to support him, whatever the methods. The Gjak simply have much less with which to gloss over their ruthlessness than the Gai'Kain. Languages:The Official Imperial Language of the Seven Kingdoms of Andrutia is Dherakan, the language of house Dherak. The Gai'Kain are all taught this, however, each house has maintained -- since the creation of the United Kingdom from the seven separate nations -- its own language. Dherakan is usually spoken in casual settings between the houses. The house language, however, is spoken within the house, and often even in talks with other houses, which means that both houses must in fact talk through translators. This preservation of the identity of the houses, which was originally derived from the nation's independence, is no longer any more than tradition. However, it has become a point of honor for each house to be independent of the others, by using its own language or claiming its own area of space. Therefore, the Official Major Languages of the Seven Kingdoms of Andrutia are Dherakani (House Dherak), Shemian (House Shemai), Poloriana (House Polonoria), Galakain (House Gaikaran), Gerag (House Kaintre), Tribus (House Ytribus), and Seluralean (House Nuralean). The Gjak 'language' is a combination of the ancient dialects of the seven kingdoms. Depending on which house originally colonized the area, the language will tend to have more elements from that house language. But with no guidance and no significant written support, the languages have merged into a mishmash language that has very little rigid structure to it, and hundreds of dialects across the Empire. Most Gai'Kain are not able to speak the Gjak language, simply because it is so subjective that they refuse to use it. However, there are some higher Gjak that are taught either the house language or Dherakan that are used as translators by the Gai'Kain. Religion:Religion is not a particularly important part of the society of the Seven Kingdoms. Officially, the Empire is atheist because the Gai'Kain are supposed to be the perfect genetic race. Hence, there is no need or possibility of a higher being. However, after the Great Realignment the need to suppress religion for the preservation of the state became much less pressing. With the lives of the Gjak taking a strong turn for the worse, many new religious sects sprang up, professing a higher power for good or evil in the universe that would give the people a better life after this one ended. The Gai'Kain publicly denied the existence of these religions and gave them a token show of resistance. However, the Gai'Kain were, at this point, strongly hoping to provide the Gjak with a way to either take their minds of their plight or rebel in a way which did not cause harm to the Empire. Religion provided this, and so the sects were allowed virtually free reign. Currently, there are over three hundred large Gjak religious sects within the Seven Kingdoms. Most of them have been infiltrated to a high level with Gai'Kain operatives and are in fact very subservient to the Imperial desires. The handful that are actually and openly against the United Kingdom are actively, if not zealously, prosecuted. The Gai'Kain have no religion. Often, a noble will enshrine his own personal beliefs, creating a temporary outburst of worship for whatever that noble may espouse. However, these are uniformly short and shallow outbursts of a social type -- little true spiritual faith exists in them. Religion for the Gai'Kain is a touchy subject because it reminds them that they are in fact not the highest form of existence -- instead they are pitifully short of it. While they know this is true, and acknowledge is secretly to themselves, they do not take well to others reminding them of this fact. Castes:The Gai'Kain are divided into the minor and major houses. Minor houses have power that extends throughout the system that they are located in, and a very few have power in more than one system. Despite the fact that they rarely have huge stores of physical money, the huge slave workforce which each minor house controls gives it a lifestyle that is vastly above the galactic norm. The minor houses, however, cannot even be compared to the major houses. While a minor house might build a luxurious orbital space station to live in, a major house might very well construct a tailor-made moon just for a single party. The major houses have over ninety percent of the wealth and power of an empire of over three trillion people concentrated into seven groups, and the lavish splendor of the houses shows every ounce of it. Within each house, there are power struggles, however, those in the minor houses are generally less pronounced than those in the major houses. In general, a house is led by one person, although some houses are led by two or more people in either a council or co-rulership type system. The Gjak have almost no wealth or power, but within the Gjak there still exists many divisions. These divisions cause internal resentment and conflict, which is one of the reasons that the Gai'Kain are able to keep the Gjak subjugated. Those Gjak who are intelligent and educated enough plus have the necessary physical attributes to do certain jobs are often highly prized. The Gjak laborers who build microchips, for instance, are generally given much nicer accommodations than those who pour tritanite. There are no formal names for these classes of Gjak, but they do exist. However, as with other commodities, the relative importance of a Gjak is also determined by supply and demand. If a star-fleet is being built, then the Gjak who pour the tritanite hulls would temporarily become very valuable because their services would be needed. However, once the fleet was built, they would loose their importance since tritanite is no longer needed and their services are not innately difficult to provide and hence those who are able to provide them are plentiful. Many Gjak feel resentment towards those who are more skilled or more highly valued than they, and this resentment has been strongly encouraged by the Gai'Kain. At some points, the Gai'Kain have even allowed rioting mobs of Gjak to kill off some of the more valued Gjak workers in order to enflame division among the Gjak. This division is one of the main, if much more secretive, reasons that the Gai'Kain have been able to maintain their hegemony over the Gjak for so long. |
Economy: |
The economy of the Seven Kingdoms of Andrutia is relatively vibrant, except that only a very small portion of the population actually spends significant amounts of money. The Gjak are treated much like animals within the economy. The minor house that controls them purchases whatever food, clothing or other necessities of life are needed for their survival. This is then distributed to the Gjak in exchange for the work that the Gjak do. Roughly 15% of the Gjak population is dedicated to growing food for itself, although that population is usually concentrated in single, Food Houses. These houses then sell the food that they produce to the Production Houses in exchange for money. The Production Houses feed their Gjak with this food, and those Gjak are used to build and produce all of the materials needed by the Empire.
Those houses then put their goods on the general market and sell them to the houses that need it. These items can be anything from plates to test tubes to starships to space-stations to drinks. What is produced depends on the house. This accounts for about one third of the total money that is exchanged within the Empire, and including the food it accounts for about one half of the real value traded. The other fifty percent of the real value traded in the Empire is under the control of the seven major houses. The major houses gather this money through many regulations that have been passed through the Imperially controlled Gai'Paraini. A thirty percent tax is placed on any goods traded within the areas that are governed by that major house, and that accounts for roughly half of the total income of the major houses. The rest of the income is trade based. Any minor house that wishes to ship its goods out of the territory of one major house and into the territory of another must use a major house as a middle man. This allows the major houses to raise the prices on goods and make a profit off of the hike. Also, any inter-Imperial trading must be handled by the major houses, and hence they are able to raise the prices there as well. This plus bribes and other less well documented sources of income, and a very few specialized manufactured goods account for the other fifty percent of the value that changes hands within the Empire. |
Military: |
The military of the Seven Kingdoms of Andrutia is the largest in the Alliance of Light. In its current non-mobilized state, it contains nearly half a trillion Gjak. Roughly three hundred billion are ground troops, and are stationed on the Gjak worlds throughout the Empire. On average, these troops are poorly trained, and moderately well equipped -- although they often do not know how to maximize the effectiveness of the weapons that they have. They are fanatically loyal to the Gai'Kain and the Emperor, although as mentioned in History, this loyalty is not based on any particular fact. If the Empire were to go to war, however, only one third of these could be safely removed from their posts due to the need to keep the Gjak intimidated enough not to revolt. However, if the Empire were to go to war, the military would also initiated its Rapid Breeding Programs with the intent of swelling the armies numbers to a final mobilized size of one trillion Gjak.
The other two hundred billion members of the armed forces are part of the star-fleet. This fleet is, as with the army, poorly trained. Their ships would still qualify as moderately advanced, but definitely on the lower end of the spectrum. In general, they are divided into large battle groups that are spaced along the Shadakar front, however, there are some fleets interspersed throughout the Empire -- mainly near the major house capitols -- for fall-back defense. Again, if the Empire were to go to a state of war, then the Rapid Breeding Programs would be implemented and the size of the corps would be increased to half a trillion. The military already has ships to put these new recruits into, since instead of destroying the old military after the Shadakar War, they were simply put into reserve, in case the Shadakar attack again. In terms of performance, the military is, despite its size, very ineffective. During the Shadakar War, the other members of the Alliance of Light were required to send large reinforcements to the Andrutian front to prevent a total collapse of the Seven Kingdom's war effort. According to United Kingdom reports, this is because the Andrutians were receiving almost twice as many attacks as the other allies. However, this report is highly doubtful as there is no particular reason for the Shadakar to want to take over the Andrutians any more than the other races, and most of the allies do not acknowledge it. The Seven Kingdoms are kept in the Alliance of Light, however, because they provide massive production and raw materials which none of the other Empires can match. |
Sports and Leisure: |
Leisure does not exist for the Gjak. However, the Gai'Kain do devote a considerable amount of time to leisure. Sports are not considered important, since they only emphasize physical strength, which is considered a rough and relatively useless attribute by the Gai'Kain. Art, music, painting, acting, and many other fine arts are, however, strongly supported and indulged in by the Gai'Kain. |
Major Population Centers: |
There are many major population centers within the Seven Kingdoms. The size and population statistics are listed in the Size and Population section. The centers are relatively uniform and not particularly interesting. The major Gjak population centers are listed here by their house control, with their population in billions listed in parenthesis after them: House Dherak (634.4): Dhera (173.2), Laseflian (149.4), Dei'rakan (152.3), Selfian (78.1), Morocan (81.4); House Shemai (453.2): Geragan (194.7 - Andrutian Homeworld), Shemtralan (167.9), Arda (90.6); House Polonoria (483.4): Polonius (153.1), Paeraak (168.9), Hjia (83.2), Jeraom (78.2); House Gaikaran (651.3): Gaia (188.5), Karanor (182.1), Syrita (179.3), Oranganor (101.4); House Kaintre (456.2): Solaris (90.2 - Capitol), Jheran (184.2), Relticon (91.5), Armeria (90.3); House Ytribus (308.7): Armack (142.3), Geran (121.2), Trbis (45.2); House Nuralean (309.1): Feran (112.4), Oporium (142.4), Melainet (54.3).
There are also many space stations or starships that are scattered around in which the Gai'Karan live. However, the chances of visitors being allowed into these are small. For those interested in seeing the sights of the Seven Kingdoms, I would advise visiting the Capitol of Solaris and the major house capitols throughout the Empire. For more information about these areas, please contact Vestis Kelis Sherali on Elessar Prime. |
Chronic Problems: |
The society of the Andrutians is decaying by each generation. With the imminent genetic collapse of the Gai'Karan ruling class and the ineptitude with which they are ruling even now, the Seven Kingdoms are very weak. Their economy, while strong, is only surviving because of luxuries for the upper class. Should anything go wrong with the Gai'Karan the entire economy of the nation would collapse.
Plus, the discontent of the Gjak has forced the Empire to place continual guards on their subject peoples. With the weakening power of the military, the Gjak revolt as well as outside incursion is a grave threat to the security of the Seven Kingdoms. Without a strong military supporting it, the entire system that is the Seven Kingdoms of Andrutia would collapse under the weight of its own decay. For now, the Alliance of Light is providing the force necessary to support them, however, even their allies are becoming tired of using their own forces to support the dying Andrutian Empire. |
Submission Information: |
Submitter's Name: John Caranto
|