Brass Chimes, Ringing
That ancient image; the statue with a crown of gold and feet of mud, might as well be entitled the Harus Hephoi Story. The Yanii president and his government might have achieved grand things abroad and made Yan a force to be reckoned with right across the stars of the Segmentum, but at home they seem beset with poor planning and error. The vast suite of loans from the Lessor Orion Financial Group that had secure this new Yanii economy were doubled down on, with Hephoi receiving an equally large shipment of funds in this year, but the explanation and PR for them still lagged behind. The reasoning that the government had been so lax with supplying last year was that the relics were most definitely merely on loan for the Banks to study and help finding more. Of course pasting over can never really repair the political damage of earlier scandals, and a series of persistent and well-substantiated rumours continued to dog the governments heels. First was that the whole thing made little sense the bank was merely a bank after all, what could they do that the full might of the Datha scientific establishment couldnt? Second were leaks and images that hinted the bank was not being very respectful in its treatment of the relics, laughing and joking with them and subjecting them to positron disassembly. Third and most dangerous were the rumours coming from the wider sector xenoarchaeology and the states and institutions interested in them are a relatively small pool after all and gossip and trade talk seemed to indicate the LOFG were making enquiries for sale not purchase. Each wave of rumours brought Hephoi under more and more pressure and alienated the government from the people.
Hephoi of course reacted with the utmost tact and wisdom when it comes to an angry proletariat and ordered the dismantling of a large swath of housing in the heavily populated glades region. The offer of alternative high density housing (the program was part of a larger scheme to reduce environmental footprint) did little to assuage the anger of people who have had their wishes trampled by the government yet again and really didnt want to be crowded into high density cities. The issue that the government was still spending vast amounts of tax payer funds to try and lure immigrants in, even engaging in a lengthy expensive and pointless legal battle in the Csserian courts to try and recoup their losses from last years balked efforts.
Hephoi being assassinated came as something of a relief all round, with others in his government glad of the opportunity to lose the divisive figure and start fresh, as well as having an excuse to crack down on civil liberties. When the mob broke into the presidential palace a few weeks later, they changed their opinion somewhat. The failure of Hephois removal to catalyse made the religious decide that strong action to reform the government was needed. With the nigh complete lack of ground level militarisation on Yan (which had of course been a notoriously peaceful place before Hephoi slammed it on the pressure cooker and turned up the heat) the rioters were often operating on a level equal with the security forces (many of which joined the religious rioters) and were able to leverage numbers to make up for lack of armaments. Before a few months had passed the cities of Yan had descended into low level chaos as the religious and the corporate cabal fought over power, wrecking productivity and the provision of services.
Towards the end of the year a third faction started to make itself felt, dubbed the Legitmatists by observers for lack of a better word. The elitist cabal gathered the true sympathies of maybe 10% of the population or less (albeit those with the most resources at their call), and the religious enough the riot maybe 30% more. The remaining majority had some religious sympathies but also appreciated that Hephoi had been democratically elect (despite being a lying awful turd sandwich) and brought some prosperity to Yan. As they grew more organised they have driven both the Religious and the Corporates from some cities and towns, and demand a return to normalcy. Whichever of these groups manages to organise a proper military force and reassert control over the common lands of Yan will be able to set the tone for the Yanii polity for decades to come. All agree that the loan was not worth the trouble, and that whatever faction wins out should get on securing its return right away.
The Atooans looked on the chaos of the once peaceful world with horror and made lots of talk about the superstitious Yanii needing guidance. Their sympathies obviously lay with the corporate cabal, many of whose leaders had sought refuge on the Dathic moon. After a long refurbishment program to retool their production lines for more primitive materials and designs, the Atooans and the Hearthstone Dathics were able to get some defensive ships online at last, unveiling some powerful and rugged robotic drones to keep their worlds safe.
Despite the massive backlash against its policies at home, the corporate faction of the Yanii continued to secure great success in the interstellar sphere. Their long term strategy to gain bases in the Lipsid Beta and Gamma systems was nearing completion with the opening and massive development of the Lipsid Gamma VIII worldlet as a supply base, producer of materials, and network backbone. The last aspect allowed the advantage in the Lipsid Gamma market conquest to swing back towards the Yanii, and they soon managed to secure a great deal of media market share away from the Corans competitors, as well as advancing rapidly in other markets. The majority of the Gamma systems liquid wealth is flowing through the Yanii base by the years end, and considerable numbers of Yanii have migrated to work there (the government inducements and the semi-civil war back on Yan certainly encourage this move). The Beta base is scheduled for completion next year, and the Yanii manage to maintain their hold on the Cathedrals financial markets in the meantime. Even the disruption of semi-civil war doesnt hit the Lipsid Alpha markets that hard, as the cities of the Glades (a name made ironic by the paving over so much of the old forests) remain open, and several companies have relocated some operations to Atooa during the time of the crisis.
The Yanii also finish off the organisation of their long planned shipping route to the Handmaiden resource production centres, bringing considerable funds to the various Hankish supply bases along the way. It is a measure of the Yanii cabals need for control and micromanagement that they feel such a massive investment is necessary, and the religious critics say all this effort could be avoided by a more parsimonious attitude at home and exploitation of the resources of the Spinwards stars. For the cause of saving a few percentage points on their vitally needed resource shipment, the Yanii corporate overlords have created a massive security bubble that could be popped by a single hostile incursion at Sigma Relay or the entirely undefended SAF3. The planners behind the shipping route also receive criticism from the other direction in their own imperialist business faction, who want the Yanii to not rely on foreign resource producers but instead connect to wholly Yanii owned enterprises. It is unknown what the far flung business operation of the Yanii will do if either the religious or legitimist groups win the struggle. Most seem to be far too entwined with Yan to abandon their homeworld, so will likely just bow down to a new governments dictates.
The Yanii are not the only ones involved in the vast trunkline that has sprung up to connect the resources of the Handmaidens with the buying power of the Spinwards worlds. The initial pioneers of the routes were of course the forthright traders of the Hank-Sobor Corporation, but their profits and success has encouraged many others to dive into the shipping business as well. The Hankish open market stance, whereby they offer resupply and aide to all who visit their stations, certainly makes things easier for the other powers. Some Hank-Sobor internals are quite critical of the policy, pointing out it is directly enabling the Yanii and others to skip vast amounts of potential Hankish shipping dues for absolutely no recompense. Not that Hank-Sobor is doing particularly badly out the arrangements, as all the flows of material out of the Handmaiden stars still consolidate at Sigma Relay before moving onwards to Lipsid Beta, and the Hankish remain the major trading actor in the Handmaidens (Yanii plans derailed by their civil troubles notwithstanding) and the vast flow of trade is smoothing out any economic problems that might be spreading from toxic investments in the Forest. The open ports policy do also make Hanksville something of a hotspot for smuggling, crime, and undesirables out of the Forest rather to the annoyance of its citizenry, and rumour has it some high profile losers in the Standardite coup are hiding out there.
This issue is merely one among hundreds being discussed in Hanksville this year as the majority of the population has come round to the idea that enough is enough and a more organised government body needs to be set up. The environment around Hanksville continues to suffer, as sandstorms and soil collapse wrecks the productivity of the outlying farms. As people leave the increasingly unpleasant outer districts of Hanksville for the cities on the moon of Hearthstone, a move financed by one branch of the corporation, the Hankish polity merely exchanges the problem of environmental footprint for one of social anger and cohesion as people crowd into the poorly serviced cities cut out of the farside of Hearthstones regolith. The lack of strong reason to stay might also see the people come flooding back to Hanksville once the environmental crisis is over or if the Corporation stops spending money on encouraging them to stay. The utter lack of a defensive presence and the Corporations seeming willingness to roll over to every foreign powers whim also concerns many citizens, as acting as a poorly paid courier for competitors or a middleman with no strong presence or strategy doesnt seem like a long term winning situation. A more coordinated state might have their political class try and spin such developments as positives, but the Hankish lack such sophisticated self-serving instruments. Instead Hank-Sobor freely admits the problems and has begun working with the activists. Although no one is quite sure on the direction these talks will take beyond a representative government, they are certainly moving swiftly, with the expectation that a new system will be in place within the next few years. The more radical terraforming advocates under Thoms, who are positioning themselves as the opposition and critic in the developing political structure (the natural liberal party being those managers who are trying to turn themselves into politicians) are very unhappy to have their fears vindicated by the losses to Hanksvilles farms. They complain that even as the transition is occurring those in charge only give lip service and offer meaningless big words to the terraforming issue empty promises to make a world as beautiful as Datha was. They say that instead the managers continue to care far more about the fleet trade in distant systems.
There may indeed be quite a lot of truth in that, but at least the managers are doing a good job when it comes to those distant systems, as the traders worm deeper into the markets of the Forest and the Handmaidens. Not for the Hankish are the showy economic coups and clashes of the Csserians and Yanii, instead the corporation seeks to advance quietly and incrementally in each of a score of systems. From the crystalline habitats of Glon to the chthonic den of Praxis/SAF6, the Hankish are picking up dribs and drabs of trade and contracts, all of which add up to quite the pretty penny. There have been no shakeups to the Hankish merchant routing either, as the corporation has decided the current set up (Handmaidens-Spinwards Trunk, with side-lines into the developed Forest systems) is more than adequate for future growth to build on, and that further expansion would leave the trade network vulnerable.
The Dardareo continue to be a quiet cog in the wider economic machine; fulfilling all their scheduled agreements and purchasing some extra food at the inflated Deluger pricing, but otherwise doing little of note. They might be waiting to evaluate the results of their forays into the banking world, as the repayments continue to roll in. With the Cathedral banks seemingly all tied up in Spinwards and Forest operations, and the looming bubble of the Yanii possibly failing to meet repayments, there certainly seems a niche in offering financing to the Handmaidens polities. The Dardareo could possibly invest in the Hankish terraforming projects, if the Hankish do ever actually get round to doing anything on that score. If Hearthfire starts producing a food surplus that would certainly be a useful security and surety for the Dardareo.
Also undergoing a restructuring, if a rather more sedate one, is the Order of the Deluge. Despite becoming quite prosperous from being one of the major resource producers in the grand trunkline, their economic development is being stalled by uncertainty and lack of large scale coordination. Of the many ways in which this issue could be solved, the Deluger councils have decided the most appropriate is greater intervention in the economy from the governing bodies; providing the coordinating and organising role in a top down manner. This is accepted with hardly a ripple by the general populace, who after all hold their trusted religious leaders in high esteem, and feel that other such top down projects have worked very well in recent years. Perhaps ironically the decision to move to a more planned economy coincided with the lowest taxation rate in decades. The transition is also intended to take place over quite a considerable time period, the Delugers showing considerable insight in how to behave during boom times by not rocking the boat with sudden and drastic changes. Another thing which certainly wasnt a departure from previous behaviours was the Delugers getting the better of a foreign power this time the Csserians who seem so desperate to not rely on the vulnerable Torpor that they will go all the way to SAH7 and pay exorbitant transport fees to secure a supply.
Despite all the solid success on the economic front, the Delugers also were making strides on more high minded ventures. Breakthroughs in the areas of ship construction have opened up whole new types of ship building options to the Deluger designers, as well being the first of the societies in the Segmentum to reach a competency level when handling antimatter in the context of a space faring vessel. Antimatter production still remains beyond their grasp however. As well as advancing their potential future ships, their existing ships have performed admirably in being the first (at least the first recorded in the current era) to penetrate deep enough into the nebula to reach one of the stars of the Fingers. The bright yellow sun of Digitum Alpha certainly made a contrast to the dim dwarfs of the Handmaidens, but beyond that the Delugers have kept the results of their expedition very close to their chest. Some amongst the ecumenical council urge the publishing of the data as a public relations effort to raise the Orders profile doing great and interesting deeds would certainly impress those wishing to invest in the Order, and be a major help in adding credibility to their on-going missionary efforts. Having secured themselves a place in the Segmentum the Order certainly wishes to spread the good word; the Tumult worship (the gravity waves being the thoughts of God reshaping the universe) is quite a broad range of teachings that can be adapted to many context - the aquatic conversion the Delugers undergo being only one aspect and a non-essential one at that, and can be dispensed with as long as the faith is there.
In contrast to the haphazard discussions of the Hankish and the slow transition of the Delugers, the Ilosian reaction to the new order is both precise and efficient. Seeing the Grand Trunkline as the future, they have deployed all their considerable hauler capacity to servicing it and are rapidly restructuring the economy towards maximum production. Spinning off the various minor worlds bases as quasi-separate corporate entities from the Phaeton holding corporation they hope to spur innovation and competition when it comes to production, if at the cost of making the minor habitats less salubrious places to live. They confidently predict that every increase in production will be able to find a buyer, and may very well be right despite the movement of the BIR to tie down the Spinwards and Forest metals market, and the potential for the Seffessians to flood the market with their vast reserves of that commodity. Due to the small and centralised nature of Ilosian operations the changeover is happening very rapidly, and could conceivable be completed next year. A recruitment and reorganisation effort to staff their facilities under the new organisation has also been high on the agenda for the Pentarchs this year.
The Ilosians also offer resupply services to the Yanii shippers, though unlike the Hankish this is not a statement of principle but rather a pragmatic considering of options. The Ilosian corporate oligarchs make it quite clear that this is a service that can be withdrawn at any point if the Yanii attempt anything disagreeable (which would of course be utterly uncharacteristic!). This guarded caution also extends to the Ilosian defensive position as some worry their wealth and position will attract unwanted visitors, and the changes to the economy will see more people moving to the capital as the outer bases become more business-like and high throughput. Whilst the various minor worlds are defended by their fixed planetary guns, Phaeton itself is entirely undefended, and so the Pentarchs have rolled out a large beam platform to defend the great orbital city. Whether this will be sufficient remains undecided, and the Pentarchs hit that future projects are certainly in the works. Other future projects, like the sustained expansion program in the Handmaidens, seem to have been put on hold for now.
The average Ilosian citizen is pretty ambivalent towards the changes, as it merely codifies and streamlines the existing corporate oligarchy. The prospect of losing the free movement between the minor bases is irksome to some, but most currently believe the promises of the Pentarchs that future opportunities for more interesting work are constantly being discovered out in the frontier, and that Ilosian exploration fleets will penetrate further and further into the nebula (despite the Delugers apparently having stolen a march on them). The Ilosian polity is still small and compact enough that more formal structures of government dont really seem necessary, and the ad hoc rule of Pentarchs is still in the best interests of every Ilosian.
The increasing flow of new traders into Glon, as Hankish and Yanii and others set up shop is continuing to coax the Glon Miners out of their insular shell with the prospect of working with fellow baselines and normal people. They certainly are on very good terms with the Hankish.
Back at the far end of the Grand Trunkline; past bustling Sigma Relay and barren SAF3, are the Spinwards worlds that are buying all those resources. The Yanii have already been covered, but they are far from the only mover and shaker in that region. After a long period of lethargy the Quasi leaders have finally decided to commit to deeds. Long happy to be left alone, and self-sufficient except for a slight minerals deficit, they may have been spurred to action by the developing crowding issue in Salvador, and the rapidity with which the volatiles they put on the open market were cleared with a strong profit. With both need and opportunity they decided to work towards several different goals. The first of which was a drive to expand the somewhat neglected shipping trade between the Spinwards stars, creating a winding route that encompassed all four of the Spinwards worlds even the neglected Lipsid Iota. Even if no other peoples use the route, it is already proving its worth in equilibrating the resource stockpiles between the far scattered Quasi settlements, and allowing the Quasi to expand their share of the shipping markets in every Spinwards system except might Lipsid Beta. The other grand journey that theyve embarked on is towards a much more controlled and organised economy and society; justified by the need to be able to respond to the changes spilling out from the other powers. Their desire for a near complete command economy is inspired impart by the Quasis communalistic values, and part as a contrast to the excesses and amorality of the Yaniis external free-marketeering ways and cut throat dealing. The Quasi would act in accordance with their long held beliefs in [FAITH NOT FOUND] and act slowly, carefully, and morally. As a sidenote the Quasi are also poised to become local leaders in the field of propulsion technology and fluid physics, which might allow their newer and more open diplomacy to offer useful services and options to the surrounding states and settlements.
The Heph are certainly interested in the development of the Quasi shipping route though they are loathe to admit it explicitly to outsiders they are nearing the bottom of their volatiles supplies and are looking to make some fairly significant purchases over the next few years to top themselves up for the next decade or so. Whilst the Quasi certainly already have a working relationship with the Heph, there is the potential for other suppliers of a suitably upstanding character to get in on the sales if the rate is good enough.
At Lipsid Gamma the Zeran people look towards the new Quasi trade route with some interest, the poor bandwidth for getting their food products out to the wider Segmentum having been a perpetual problem for them. Conceivably the Zerans could now start shipping hundreds of units of foodstuffs to Sigma Relay and beyond, certainly at a low enough price to be competitive with the quite overpriced Deluger processed kelp products. This was certainly a positive outcome for the Zerans, as was the fact that when they settled down and stopped panicking it turned out their problems of stress and environmental damage werent that serious problems after all. Though some rather foolish people in the leadership talk about how all these easy going and calm actions and the massive lowering of taxes will lead to stagnation, the vast majority of the Zerans are certainly seeing the benefit in chilling out. Even the foreign relations problems the Zerans once had are beginning to fade as more recent acts of chaos and violence fill the media cycles of the developed powers.
As if continuing on the theme of tranquillity, the major project undertaken this year by the Zerans has been the construction of housing and infrastructure in the Eastern Fringe region as a way of alleviating the massive crowding of the Western Fringe. As if apologising for their former harshness the leadership has set out to make pleasant towns and cities for their people rather than just smashing their current housing by fiat. This certainly proved quite a successful policy with the new constructions filling up as quickly as they could be built, with people desperate to leave the favelas behind. The clean slate of the Eastern Fringe (the lightly populated region was spared the harshest calamities of the early poor Zeran leadership) has allowed new companies and greater productivity to get off to a flying start, even if per capita wealth still lags behind the Western Fringe and far behind the wider universe. Though the Zeran planners managed to achieve this exactly within their budget, their constant habit of never leaving any spare reserve or safety fund makes most financial analysts label them a terrible risk, massively exposed to any bubble or downturn. Neglected of course are the traditional communities of the Soupbowl, who still remain a simmering underclass in global politics despite their luxury products providing a significant fraction of Lipsid Gammas trade.
Finally the Zera have embarked on the journey many of the developing economies seem to have started this year a transition to a more codified government model. With their isolation and difficulties the only real government theyve had experience with is the theocracy of their Coran patrons, and it is towards this model (with Zeran trappings of course) that the government is working towards. The revolutionary clique that rules the Zera seem quite keen on retaining strong personal power under the religious trappings, and the Corans who pretty much sustain the Zeran economy at this point are of course very keen to move the Vineyard into the Light. The efforts of the Yanii, both before and after the move to their worldlet base, to offer different intellectual and cultural models have been rather undercut by their own civil troubles, which the Corans are quick to paint as innate to the democratic system. Whether the Zerans adopt a carbon copy of the Coran illumination remains to be seen given the difference in context between the open towns and villages of the Zerans and the enveloping dome cities of the Corans, but whatever happens the changeover itself is likely to be a decade or more in coming.
