Editing FederalSpace:Peoples (section)

== The New Byzantine Sphere ==

'''Brainstorming:'''
* Roman Republic? "Athenian" cyber-assisted democracy, with completely anonymous posting? Single-party state?
* See previous economic caveat, but these are our Space Communists. Everyone works for the state. 
* Society to us would seem a strange mix of fragmented and homogenous:
** Everyone born and raised in public creches, to ensure equality of opportunity. You select your own parent-mentors when you reach the right age.
** Everyone belongs to multiple social groups, with privacy defended fiercely—you can gain social advantage by figuring out just who someone is friends with, so there are intricate social masks, and even spoofing by pretending to attend a group you're disinterested in… Lots of odd to us concepts of where the public and private spheres lie—possibly a person has ''multiple'' private spheres, kept compartmentalized from others. ("I didn't know you belonged to a band." "You had no need to know. I trust you with this part of me." "I accept your trust. No one shall learn of this from me.") Very Vancian, in some respects. 
** Careful distinctions made between mating, householding, sex, and love; you may be "married" to one person for the sake of appearance and property holding, and have a couple of regular sexual partners elsewhere—or even belong to a swinger's club—but your romantic confidant could be someone else entirely. And if they ''are'' your spouse or sex-partner, it's impolite to say so.
* Wide use of personal augmentation, paired with the principles of "with great power comes great responsibility" and "subtlety trumps blatancy." Top Byzantines are the smartest, healthiest, sexiest people you've ever met—and have a workload to match. On duty, they're expected to wear the uniform and blend in; in off hours, they ''really'' cut loose. Bottom-tier proles have minimum required service?
* Non-expansionist, but uncompromising on security. 
* Long policy of isolation now being abandoned in the hopes of attracting new blood and ideas. Approached with the gritted-teeth attitude of taking cough medicine—they hate this, but they know it'll make 'em better. Privately, many welcome the change (and many others want to sabotage it). 

'''Random Action Table (1d6):'''
# Say nothing.
# Consult one of your secret clubs.
# Say polite nothings with hidden meaning.
# Make a gratuitous demonstration of your official resources.
# Pass the buck.
# Seemingly retreat, then take action a moment later.

=== Commentary ===

'''Susanoo Orbatos:''' I also like the conflict between genetics and the human spirit seems very trekish, perhaps the ancient super nobles would work for the Romulan analogue it seems a bit Roman to have "divine" nobles.. and abit Indian to have more genetically enforced Castes. 

'''CasperLions:''' You could make the Romulans the "Emperor is the son of heaven" types. The Emperor doesn't have to do anything but face the sun, he's the platonic ideal of a meticulous social system that runs itself (well, with the help of the scholar-officials anyway).

I'd say you have enough bawdy Roman style noble houses in the Empire, so the Confucian "I got this bureaucratic position because I composed the best poem about warp-drives" might work better.


'''Shadowjack:''' Idea: ''secret'' biomods. Hmm. I'm thinking GATTACA. Ooh…


''Susanoo Orbatos:''' Re: "New Byzantium" for the name. Seems abit on the nose, maybe make them closer to Republican Rome than Imperial Rome to give a greater difference between them and the Grand Galatic Empire. Putting Republic in the name would also give another connection to China.

'''Shadowjack:''' Oo, Republican Rome. Nice. 

Heh. "People's Republic of New Byzantium"? And why not.

The TNG+ Romulans always did seem a little Soviet to me. They had commissars at one point, didn't they? That episode with Troi, undercover…? Maybe it was the haircuts.

'''Susanoo Orbatos:''' How about The People's Republic of Bruti as an a reference to he who through down the Roman kings?