Editing TROS in the Hammer:Setting Political People (section)

==After the Gezag==
The invasion of the Gezag 50 years ago changed the culture of the People profoundly.  First, a large proportion (perhaps 20-30%) of the population of the southern and eastern portions of the People were made Bezit (property); half of these have remained behind as slaves working in various C.O.V. enterprises, and half were carted off back into the territory of the Gezag.  In some cases, entire tribes were enslaved; this was especially true of agricultural tribes who had the misfortune to be operating on lands near where the Gezag wanted to build an Inrichting (town/fortress/resource center/factory, a difficult word to translate).  Therefore, almost everyone who remains among the People has had a least one family member made a slave.  

Second, those that remain behind have a heavy tribute exacted on them, at various frequencies.  This is essentially a kind of extortion the Gezag perpetrates; "pay us what we want, or we will enslave some of you and kill the rest".  This has caused serious strains in the economic and social life of the People, as a large fraction of their net output of goods and materials is siphoned off to the Gezag.  

Third, a number of the People have essentially gone over to the Gezag, as Arbeiders (employees).  These Persons get a lot of special priviledges and wield a lot of power over the rest of the People.  However, not all work willingly; some are essentially given a choice between death, slavery, or taking a pay check, and simply don't have the courage to choose death or slavery.  This causes a number of strains as well, as loyalty to an outside group like the Gezag is foreign to the system of relationships between tribes that previously governed the People.  Some entire tribes have essentially turned coat and now work for the Gezag in almost their entirety.  This is particularly true of the Town Tribes (tribes whose niche was the administration and operation of towns and their organization) and some tribes whose niche was highly skilled labor, such as the coining and metal-working tribes.

Among those who are not Arbeider or enslaved, life continues in a similar fashion.  There is MUCH less trust among the People, and the old joy for things like courtship dances, son exchanges, etc. has faded.  But the Gezag tends to leave well enough alone; as long as the tribute is paid, no sign of brewing trouble, and no pressing need back home for more slaves or materials, they generally leave the People to themselves outside of the immediate area of the Inrichtingen.  However, the Gezag has its agents everywhere, including paid informants and the dreaded Poemavlaggen (Puma Banners); think Gestapo with rapiers and cougar masks.

In the Northern and Western reaches of the lands of the People, there are some tribes (often with ill-defined niches and very close to the original hunter-gatherer customs) that have been largely unaffected by the Gezag, mostly because they are farther away and don't have much the Gezag wants.