A proposal to the Sede... Sede...vaca... the "empty throne" people

Fiction Portal Intergalactic Summit
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I understand you go by many titles, so I shall use simply “Nauplius.”

Nauplius, it recently came to my attention that I, too, may have been batting for Team Slavery all along. It came as a shock, and I am not sure it is the opinion of a majority of Matari, or even many, or more than a half dozen self-appointed saviors. However, if there is even a minuscule possibility we might be on the same team, I should offer some free unsolicited advice.

I recently hired a boutique brand management agency. Having done so, I see the problem you confront more clearly. Your brand is tired. It is hard to shock people continuously for several years. Being reduced to making bad porn using sex-trafficking victims is also a little pitiful. Or a lot pitiful.

However, I have a solution.

What you need is some “Chains of Representative Democracy” sizzle.

I’ll set the scene: a warehouse district where your colonial subjects are forced to live in sacred squalor. What we in the Federation would call sub-grade omega. Yes, nothing has changed yet. But then! But then, you instruct the residents on how to hold an election.

Imagine the horror on their faces!

I would advise starting small. A planning commission. Tell the residents to choose five people from their own population to invest with the authority of determining which corners of which intersections should be available for falafel takeout.

Once you’ve gotten the hang of enslavement through representation, the heavens are the limit.

Just think of it: the current empress is an illegitimate proxy of a failed aristocracy that has lost God’s favor. Nothing short of the most insidious tool of oppression will suffice to purge the taint and identify the True Emperor. Yes, the old houses must be overthrown, their heirs beheaded in a public spectacle on the flattened palace of the deposed sovereign, and a fair, free election must be held to anoint God’s New President to a term of four years.

I know what you are thinking: one election every four years is not nearly oppressive enough.

You are correct! Every star system in Amarr will have its own election every two years to select people who will represent them in a legislative body. Let’s call it The Choir. I tingle with revulsion at the very possibility. From there, just keep getting smaller and smaller, until you have returned to that little warehouse district - which now has its own school board, commerce department, public library, and town council.

Never again will you have to lift a finger to shackle a recalcitrant minion. They will wallow in the bondage of representative democracy all by themselves.

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Or how’s about we don’t encourage him to talk about it? That’s a good option…

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Your point is fair.

However, precious few around here talk about precious little anymore, so the risks are low. In a separate conversation a couple of weeks ago, I attributed the radio silence in this venue on Nauplius having chased everyone away with repetitive atrocities, but that was potentially unfair. There is at least one other candidate whose continuous buzz saw noise almost certainly contributed to many people finding somewhere else to be.

All that aside, “Fill the Throne! Free and fair elections, now!” is an intoxicating prospect. I’m sure there is a federal office that provides election kits to individuals looking to form constitutional republics (small “r”). Perhaps I will draft a letter to our new president on behalf the Vacant Throne movement requesting assistance.

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This is an intriguing proposal. I suggest that all sedevacantists fill out their election registry at the nearest Ministry of Internal Order office.

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No.

While the coming of the True Emperor will be greeted with popular acclaim, such acclaim is by no means necessary to establish his authority, for that authority comes from God. Nor will elections be necessary for the continuing legitimacy of the True Emperor’s rule, for that legitimacy comes from God.

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I understand your reservations. At first look, the idea seems preposterous. Even at the second look.

However, the primary function of this election would not be the establishment of legitimate authority, or even an end to a need for human sacrifice in order to ensure a transition of power. Instead, and this came as a shock to me, so I do not fault you in the least for not understanding it, either, the purpose of this election is to explore new frontiers in oppressive authoritarianism.

You see, we are assured (by at least a handful of philosophers) that the period of time during which the Republic had a form of government that was actually a Republic represented “just another era of enslavement.”

You are skeptical.

But there is no harm in trying. I am confident Mlle. Strife is correct, and that the Ministry of Internal Order would be delighted to receive petitions to impose upon the Amarrian population the insidious brutality of being asked to select, from among their own members, a number of individuals who would enact and execute laws on their behalf (subject to constitutional limitations)

You might consider writing to the Office Of The President, Villore, and requesting assistance in establishing local elections in one or more of your far-flung colonies as a test.

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Your approach is flawed in that you seem to think Nauplius views human sacrifice as a necessary evil that would, were it not necessary, preferably be avoided. He doesn’t. It’s not something he has to do.

He views it as something he gets to do. He enjoys it. The human sacrifice is the entire point that the rest of his various shifting heresies have all existed to give him an excuse for.

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Some theologians argue that human sacrifice is symbolic, representing and metaphorically reenacting when Amash-Akura sacrificed Molok the Deceiver on the altar, thusly reestablishing the covenant with God.

Others then argue that sacrificing any animal, or indeed any meat product would then suffice. A claim refuted by many, as the point was that Molok was a grand sinner, and thus the action is of explicitly rejecting sin, and because e.g. blackfowl don’t really commit sins, then putting a blackfowl on the altar isn’t really as meaningful.

Others, like many of the blood raider covenant, are just edgelord jerkwads who think the blood is the point, and who revel in their depravity.

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Your framing of human sacrifice is appreciated, Doctor Valate. To reassure nervous Amarrians everywhere, the statement (emphasis added):

makes it clear human sacrifice would retain its honored role in Amarrian life.

In fact, once the yoke of enslavement through representative democracy was clamped around the necks of the Amarrian population, the JMPop entertainment juggernaut can come in to raise human sacrifice into a commercially exploitable mega laser hit.

Picture, if you will, “Vacant101.”

Each region in Amarr selects 101 noble contestants. Drone crews film the contestants going about their daily lives, and the audience gains familiarity with them. Then, the nobles perform skits doing Amarr noble stuff, and the audience votes.

Save us, Holy God! Voting is just like slavery!

Yes, precisely. The 10 nobles who receive the lowest votes are vaporized on a mega laser.

This happens once each week, until only one noble remains in each region.

The winners are then flown to Slave Emperor Castle. In another venue, Mssr. Mort introduced me to Zaragram Two. I am thinking Slave Emperor Castle should be constructed above the City of God.

Each day, the remaining nobles perform skits of noble stuff above Zaragram’s space rocks, and the audience votes. Holy God! Have mercy!

The noble receiving the lowest votes is vaporized on a mega laser.

Think of the tension! Think of the ratings! Think of the ad share and sponsorship revenues! Auctioning the right to press the big red “vaporize an Amarrian noble” button would generate mega bank from the Tribal Confederacy alone.

The last remaining heir is crowned Slave Emperor. Some number of years later, not fewer than two or more than six, the Slave Emperor is loaded into a titan and blown up by whoever bids the highest to play the role of Drifter Fleet.

The whole cycle repeats.

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Point of clarification: The Amarrian Orthodox Church, Sedevacantist does not presently practice the ritual sacrifice of Minmatar or anyone else.

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I was not expecting that. Will the true emperor no longer require the human sacrifice of less worthy nobility?

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It is quite probable that the coming of the True Emperor will be associated with ritual sacrifice. For example, once the Reclaiming is resumed and the Minmatar conquered and re-enslaved, Maleatu Shakor will be sacrificed upon the the Altar of God like Molok the Deceiver before him. Certain high ranking libertine and decadent holders will likely be sacrificed as well.

However, high profile sacrifices like this are different than the routine and frequent sacrifices of low ranking personages practiced, for example, by the Sani Sabik. It is this routine, commonplace form of ritual sacrifice that the Amarrian Orthodox Church, Sedevacantist does not currently practice.

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There is some nuance to your quest. Instead of satire, I will offer a parable:

There was a land holder who built a dam to make a lake for pleasure sailing. He was not competent at building dams, but was very competent at bribing officials. He built his dam badly. Inspectors looked the other way. The dam burst, flooding a valley and killing thousands.

The dam builder pointed at the water and said “it is evil! May God smite the water!”

Government officials, eager to keep their corruption secret, likewise pointed at the water. “It is evil! May God smite the water!”

God did not smite the water, the land holder was not punished, and the government went on collecting bribes.

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So do I.

The idea behind Nauplius and other religious beliefs is that they are built on transcendental basis, that’s a main difference between physics and metaphysics. First can be verified by experiment, while second simply can’t. Whatever God would it be, Amarr God, Red God, Maker, Creator, a flying talking teapot inside deadspace bubble in the abyss space - there is no way you can actually prove or refute that. You can only believe in that or… not believe, apparently.

Keeping slavery empowered by solid religious belief is enough without any shocking mechanisms - almost what you have suggested… almost, since the proposed doctrine can’t be as solid as religious and will crumple apart very soon. In that regard, whip and cookie approach will work way better.

Lets move Nauplius ideas aside for a moment and analyze instead what you are offering.

First of all, I doubt that the proposal of election will cause any horror, more like tired eyes lifted up on you with confusion “What another useless dumb show this old man asks us to do for his entertainment…”

The idea of that so-called Choir will imply that some sort of incompetent slaves who were trained to work in mines or kitchen suddenly will have to participate in legislative process, basically - writing new laws, without understanding what exactly their new laws will affect and how, without knowledge of other laws.

You will start wasting tremendous amount of resources for choosing incompetent people for critical positions. The only merit these people would have is that they represent the group who have chosen them. But is this a merit at all? It’s absolutely insignificant and plays no role! Proper manager, lawyer, leader doesn’t have to represent anyone, they should organize things and make them done - that’s what is required from a good leader or law writer, not this useless and absolutely redundant representation. No really, what that representation could even change? Nothing, not a single bit, not growing colder and warmer, it’s utterly useless concept.

Besides, why do you think they would wallow in that bondage? Quite otherwise, they will soon understand that it’s just nonsence, that their leaders are meritless buffons and can’t organize their own security, they will have no desire to follow them, because it will be just a stupid show without neither logical nor religious background, and without actual physical enforcing of the structure.

Result: anarchy, freedom, everyone runs away, everything falls apart, everyone dies from mutual fighting or starvation.

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Adversary Kim, I initially shared your conviction actual slavery worked better as a tool for oppression than representative democracy. This is in no small part due to what you identify as representative democracy’s central flaw, which is in fact its primary design feature: ineffectiveness.

If one takes the view, supported by the overwhelming weight of human history, that all forms of government are awful, then by reducing the effectiveness of the government, one reduces how awful it can be. Apologists for despotism do occasionally appear to insist despots make freighters arrive on time. In reality, that wry observation is intended to avoid being shot for pointing out despots can’t even make freighters arrive on time.

Whether or not allowing your population to choose, from among its own members, persons to legislate and execute laws is slavery, however… it is indisputable an election for the position of emperor would be a miracle.

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Incorrect. Slavery is a penal punishment and extends only on criminals, while representative democracy stretches on everyone. Which makes representative democracy a tool of oppression, and not slavery.

Well, if the ineffectiveness is a design feature, this means that the whole design is flawed, and below I will show how.

And now, this is a total misconception. Maybe indeed there is no ideal form of government, and we are just striving for perfection, unable to reach it, yet… reducing the effectiveness of the government only makes it more awful - just because effective government does things, and ineffective… barely does anything, consuming more resources for its function, but giving little results, in other words - it’s embezzlement. Of course, there is a second factor of awfulness of the government: it is how moronic it is.

For example, you can have effective govrnment that will build a new production facility, will plan new fields for crops growth, will allocate resources for new fleet constructions, will build new spacestation, create workplaces…
And you can have a different effective government, who will order all people to celebrate King’s miraculous (automated) shuttle landing in the station, and will make everyone jumping on one leg and yelling, “Yey, our King is the Best!”, enforcing it quite strictly in very efficient manner. But that’s what will make it a ‘moronic’ government, because its function doesn’t create profit for citizens, while first efficient government will create profit for citizens.

Returning back to the representative democracy - it is both inefficient and moronic (just because choices of that government equate voice of scientist to voice of a janitor). Both inefficiency and stupidity of the government prevents it creating profit for its citizens and thus makes it more awful.

As a conclusion, representative democracy is one of the most awful government systems.

Well, despotism is a completely different government form, and I don’t know why you even bring that to the discussion? Just as example? There are more government forms that that which are better than despotism and democracy, and those that are better than democracy but worse than despotism.

Not sure I want to switch to a discussion of a different management system, because it might make you think I am trying to choose despotism, which is… quite subpar form (again, not as bad as representative democracy), yet… I see quite a flaw in your reasoning again. With despot’s power you can shoot freighters that don’t come in time instead of those who points they don’t arrive on time, because, really, that would be way more logical way of enforcing government politics, while your suggested approach suits more organizations like Black Eagles: when your government tells one thing, while some semi-legal organization eliminates those who they disagree with, but can’t deal with according to government morals. Despots don’t need that, they shoot those who disobey order (of arriving in time in that case) instead of those who point on the flaw… and, actually, quite counterwise, despotic regimes often are backed up by whistleblowers, because you can’t put a guard on every corner of every street to watch for everyone. Which comes to conclusion, that despot rewards one who points out at freighters not arriving on time, catches their pilots and executes them publically… something like that.

I will repeat once again, shooting those who tells the truth that contradicts government is a method of Gallenteans, of Black Eagles, not of despots.

There is that thing, that government in any its form can operate only while it is backed by people. If a despot will try to hide truth, it will eventually start sipping out, people will get angry, and they will topple the government.

But if democracy will try to hide the truth, they will squeal: but you choosed them! They represent you! Which means it’s you responsible as well for hiding that truth! Just look at that Federation again, where you can find truth in there? 24/7 all their citizens are brainwashed through their media, in advertisements, musics, holos, games, books - literally everywhere they are trying to beat into people’s brains that “freedom is good”. And you get as result a crowd of brainwashed cattle, who still believes that freedom is good and worship it. Try to open their eyes about what actually fredom is, what it DOES to people, and they just starts pouring on you buckets of insults, and you’ll be lucky if they don’t grab rifles… or pitchforks.

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This is fascinating! Building a production facility does sound effective. It may be a problem if there is no labor. But an effective government can always find labor. There might be no consumers for the widgets produced. But then again, an effective government could always buy the widgets itself.

How did the effective government decide between building a production facility, a field for crops, or a spaceport?

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If you need to find labor you’re already not efficient government. Why would you waste billions of facility in maker-forsaken space if there are no people to profit from new workplaces and products from that? Your task as a manager to make sure all citizens are employed, so you build your facility to provide income for your people, and to produce goods your people will buy with that income. Very efficient government will make sure all citizens are employed, that everyone have food, place to live, comfort, entertainment, will keep them well fed and happy. Inefficient government will build a facility and then will starts scratching head: where to find people to work there to produce new “WE LOVE OUR LEADER” t-shirts…

Again, that’s what a moronic government will do.
Production shall be dictated by demand and supply. Providing supply without demand is quite dumb move and will mean your government is not merited enough to take leadership positions.

Again, that’s not effective government, that’s embezzlement and quite moronic move. Government by itself should consume as little as it can and provide as much as it can - just like any other facility. What it really should spend on and things it shall buy are military technologies in order to provide security for the citizens. Though, again, there could be independent security contractor, like you can see in our State, where the government itself doesn’t bother with military and security by itself, simply relaying it to other contractors. Megas fund security branches, and CEP funds Caldari Navy, where corporations itself buy and build infrastructure they need to provide security of the Citizens in case of Mega security corps, and whole State in case of the Navy.

Well, it’s actually quite easy question on which I have already given reply above. You decide what to build by studying supply and demand. You see a lot of planetary traffic congestion - you build spaceport there. You see a planet imports too much food, while it has natural resources for own food production? You build crop fields there.Prices for cloth rise? You build cloth production facility, and so on.

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Astounding! Although it cannot be disputed the Federation is the least competent of the four primary powers, it has always struck me as odd that almost everyone, regardless of ethnic or cultural background, knows how our system of government works. When it comes to the political functioning of more competent powers, however, we invariably get nonsense made up on the spot to fit the moment’s talking point. It is refreshing to finally be digging into how one of these more competent governments actually works.

When you say “you,” Adversary Kim, who is the “you” in question? Is it literally a singular “you?” How did this “you,” singular or not, “see” a lot of planetary traffic congestion?

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Sorry, I didn’t realize your language didn’t distinguish between singular and plural you.
Anyway, under ‘you’ in this example I meant a hypothetical ruler from whose point of view it’s better to see this problem to understand ruler’s decisions, not you personally or your group. I should have added before that: “Imagine yourself a ruler”, please excuse me, I was mistaken that I thought it was obvious.

I have to admit, however, that I have little of actual knowledge of how Federation government works, in fact, I am surprised it works at all and doesn’t just crumble into dust under its own weight. I am aware, however, about basic principles of democracy and the faults and misconceptions it has been built on. As for the practical realization… I know the Federation has a President, who is a head of the State; Navy HQ which controls Navy military forces; Black Eagles division that enforces Federal ideals of democracy, freedom disregarding Federation own laws by eliminating opposition; and the Senate - which I have literally no knowledge about except it is some sort of government facility in the Villore and shall be one of the primary targets during military invasion into Federation as well. As well I know that Federal government is probably the heaviest and largest resource consuming machine in whole New Eden, embezzling a lot of funds on all these elections and on organization to make it at least somehow work. A crutches on the crutches supporting other crutches, making a very difficult system to work and comprehend.

In the State we do study management a lot, we play leadership games, we are taught how to rule, how to make decisions, how to allocate resources - and we play a lot of competetive games to find out who has better leadership qualities to take positions of power in the future. But for sure we don’t study how actual governments work, would it be our own or Federal. Only those who ascend high enough and close to government positions get the corresponding training.

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