The EmpireA vast organisation made up of humans from various planets. It is rigidly caste-based—Imperial humans firmly believe that genetic heritage mostly determines ability and temperament. The main castes are Warrior, Scholar, Patrician and Worker (which is a nice way of saying "slave"). Castes are further broken down into specific genetic bloodlines. The Empire considers all humans in its space to be its subjects, whether they like it or not. While subject planets are in theory carefully assessed for their suitability for inclusion into different castes, in practice most primitive worlds are full of Workers with perhaps one or two puppet Patrician families governing them and a contingent of Warriors acting as enforcers. Movement between castes is not impossible, but is relatively rare and always controversial. Demotion is more common than promotion. Promotion usually does not extend to offspring, but demotion does. Interbreeding between castes is forbidden, as is any dilution of the more respected named bloodlines. Needless to say, interbreeding with non-humans is right out, and contact with non-humans is highly discouraged. Genetic modification is taboo, as is cybernetic augmentation and any kind of research into artificial intelligence—the natural human body and mind are considered to be the pinnacle of intelligent life. Cybernetic prosthetics are permitted in cases of limb loss and life-and-death situations, but people known to have them are social pariahs. Warriors may take advantage of them to extend their usefulness to the Empire, but Patricians often consider death or retirement to be preferable. The Warrior caste is probably the most progressive with regards to caste-mixing—Workers are regularly conscripted, and Warriors rather than Patricians fill important leadership posts in the military. This is considered scandalous within the more conservative Patrician caste, but the Empire is almost always at war with someone, and the Warriors have a lot of influence on the Imperial Council. The Scholar caste mostly doesn't involve itself in politics. It is reputed in some circles to be even more subversive than the Warrior caste, but it is polite enough to keep its dubious activities out of the public eye. Telepaths were once a bloodline within the Scholar caste, but the bloodline was proscribed when it was deemed prone to mental instability, and its few members were hunted down and exterminated. |