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RvBOMally β Culture Profile: Protectorate of Mankind
Published: 2016-06-19 05:32:16 +0000 UTC; Views: 2651; Favourites: 35; Downloads: 0
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Description
The Protectorate of Mankind is a predominantly extraterritorial organization. Theoretically, its jurisdiction extends throughout the entire Milky Way and its satellite galaxies, but in practice it can only enforce galactic law within civilized space. Hostile regions, such as the Crazed Core or major alien empires, are de facto outside of the Protectorate's law. The Protectorate does own some worlds scattered throughout the galaxy, but the Protectorate's main habitats are orbitals of various forms. These orbitals were made during the days of the Second Empire, and are typically in orbit around inhabited worlds controlled by one galactic faction or another. Some astronomical megastructures, such as ringworlds and system spheres, are entirely under Protectorate control. Protectorate Command, the headquarters of the Protectorate, is a massive system sphere located in the Deep Core.The Protectorate heavily favors an outdated fashion style popular during the Protectorate's foundation. Protectorate clothing is very colorful, predominantly featuring colors such as greens, reds, blues and yellows. Some more outrageous clothes use bold designs revolving around simple shapes, such as triangles. The most common defining trait of Protectorate fashion are plastic rings, often worn around the neck or on the shoulder. These rings are held in place by small antigravity generators, and serve no practical purpose.
While most of the Protectorate's employees were born outside of Protectorate territory, some humans are born within it. These humans are typically taller, frailer and have paler skin than the predominant Galactic ethnicity, due to the low-gravity, low-sun environment of Protectorate orbitals. Only human species and subspecies are allowed to work for the Protectorate, and aliens are only allowed on Protectorate installations as special visitors.
The Protectorate of Mankind was originally intended to be a military alliance and a replacement government for the Second Empire, but its power never coalesced into a proper galactic government. However, its structure does retain some elements of a military alliance. The Protectorate has a single Chairman, who is elected by the Protectorate Council from within the Protectorate's vast native bureaucracy. The Protectorate Council was originally made up of sector representatives - now the Empire's Sector Lords - but now it is composed of representatives of the major galactic governments. The Third Empire and the Federation each have the ability to veto any resolution passed by the Council, frequently leading to political deadlock. Because the Protectorate is also dependent on its member states for funding, the organization has become powerless to stop large-scale political disputes such as the Tournament of Shadows.
The modern Protectorate still has the mission of protecting mankind from external threats, but its primary purpose is to serve as a neutral arbiter for disputes. The Protectorate Judiciary is the highest court in the entire galaxy, receiving high-profile cases and disputes between powerful actors. While the Protectorate Judiciary has no jurisdiction over disputes between two citizens of the same state, it does adjudicate disputes between citizens of different states. The Judiciary resolves issues such as minor territorial disputes and bank requisitions on a regular basis, as well as interpreting the Uniform Machine Code. Occasionally, the member states will adjudicate major political disputes through the Protectorate, but these adjudications are often ignored.
The Protectorate also serves as one of the primary enforcers of galactic law, the most important of which is the Uniform Machine Code. The Uniform Machine Code sets the floor for what is acceptable research into artificial intelligence and hedonic engines. The Protectorate's Space Cadets are charged with traveling throughout the stars to ensure that the Uniform Machine Code is enforced, and much of the Space Cadets' efforts go to inspecting machinery to ensure it is up to code.
Lastly, the Protectorate serves to defend mankind against alien threats. This was the original function of the Space Cadets, but it has been relegated to a secondary role given the dominance of the galactic militaries. Space Cadets still explore the stars for alien civilizations that may pose a threat to mankind. Whenever one is found, a Space Cadet will typically issue a call to arms, and join the locals in destroying the alien threat. Large threats, such as dormant Cog Lords, are reported directly to the Protectorate and handled on a much higher level.
The armed wing of the Protectorate is the Space Cadets, a special forces organization that recruits from all over the galaxy. While originally the cream of the crop, budget cuts and member states hoarding the best and brightest for their own armed forces have left the Space Cadets with the dregs of galactic society. Disgraced soldiers, war criminals, and other "undesirables" who once served in the galactic militaries are often given two options: punishment under the laws of their homeland, or exile among the Space Cadets. Adapting to this new reality, the Protectorate has placed Space Cadets under the strict watch of their officers, who are Protectorate natives and are trained from birth to be Space Cadets. Recruits from the galactic member states are also thrown threw rigorous training and mental reconditioning, but they are nonetheless difficult to control.
The Protectorate is an idealistic organization, believing that one day, humanity will be united under their banner and progress together for greater scientific understanding. The Second Empire is seen as a mistake, but one that can be fixed and surpassed through a better understanding of science and human nature. Much of the Protectorate's "citizens" and employees share this vision of a brighter tomorrow, but older people tend to be more cynical about mankind's future. This idealism is looked upon with mockery and derision from most of the galaxy, if only because they believe that they should be the unifiers of mankind, and that the Protectorate has no chance of being the organization to finally bring humanity back together.
Space Cadets have broad authority when enforcing galactic law; they are immune from national laws if their acts are in the furtherance of a legitimate mission, and they can requisition troops from any member state's military. However, if they overstep their bounds, they can be arrested by other Space Cadets or by a member state's officials. Some are even killed by local officials. Space Cadet officers do their best to keep their troops in line, but since foreign-origin Space Cadets are often criminals, Space Cadets often get into trouble with the locals.
The Protectorate maintains proprietary technologies that are unavailable to most of the galaxy. Because they are the enforcers of galactic technology law, the Protectorate gives itself a lot of leeway in scientific research. Some of the galaxy's best and brightest are attracted to the Protectorate, who wish to advance science further than the rest of the galaxy, which they do not trust. Using the power of transatomics - a lost technology in the rest of the galaxy - Protectorate technology is surprisingly powerful. Disintegrators, death rays and transatomic warheads make Protectorate spacecraft very deadly for their size, which is often diminutive in comparison to the major galactic powers. However, the Protectorate has limited means to repair or replace their technology, both due to the dearth of Protectorate-controlled factories, and because of budgetary issues. This means that the Protectorate must often rely on the aid of its member states when engaging particularly tough opponents.
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Comments: 17
Aww shit yeah! The Protectorate is finally here, and they're awesome!
Is the Protectorate technology and aesthetic "retro" in-universe too? That is, was there a time when raygun gothic spaceships and "transatomics" were more common that they are now (late Second Empire? Post-Second Empire?), or has the Protectorate culture evolved along with the rest of the galaxy?
So is a "system sphere" a genuine Dyson shell or more of a swarm/bubble kinda deal? Knowing the scales of this setting an actual shell wouldn't surprise me, although I have to wonder what kind of material they used to build it.
Hmm. I know that floating rings are supposed to be an 50's sci fi clichΓ©, but I can't actually recall where I've seen it. Do you know where it's supposed to be from? Β
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Thanks!
The Protectorate aesthetic is retro in-universe, and was the common aesthetic during the period when the Third Empire conquered the galaxy. The first emperors of the Third Empire looked like they robbed Ming the Merciless' wardrobe and hired his barber. Original Imperial vessels were also very raygun gothic, and gradually evolved to something resembling the designs in the Star Wars prequels (particularly the Naboo craft) by the time of the Federation's secession. It was here that the Empire and the Federation had a major split, based both on the disparate resources each had with their end of the galaxy, and the ideological split. The Empire went sharp and angular, exemplified by the Dondrukov-class, which replaced the more cone-like Endiran-class battleships used during the war. The Federation went sleek and shiny. The Protectorate's culture and aesthetic hasn't evolved much at all, and the rest of the galaxy looks at their designs much as we do at the Imperium of Man's: ridiculously backward and outdated.Β
A system sphere is a genuine Dyson shell. These once dotted the core of the Second Empire, along with matrioshka brains, that contained quintillions of humans. These were almost all destroyed during the War of the Cog Lords.Β
I know I've seen floaty rings with the Jetsons. And the Sonic restaurants. 
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Interesting! That makes a lot of sense, considering that both Star Trek and Star Wars grew out of the common space opera heritage of the mid-20th century. I'm actually noticing a lot of parallels with the Galactic Patrol from the Lensman series (apart from the xenophobia, of course). Was that intentional?
What was the relationship between the early Third Empire and the Protectorate? It seems they would have even less to do in a galaxy with only one significant power. Or were they the Imperial anti-alien military back then?
How does the modern galaxy view the technological and cultural evolution since the early Third Empire? Do they see society and science as progressing, as being static, or do they think they have declined since the "golden age" (which the Protectorate still represents)?
And how has the Third Empire itself evolved from its early days? Were they as authoritarian and hierarchical as they are now, or were the Imperials more chill back when they didn't have any significant enemy polities to worry about?
By the way, I'm not sure if you've mentioned it before, but how long ago was the Federation Revolution? And how did the Protectorate react to it at the time?
Oh damn, those are some pretty impressive feats of engineering! No wonder the Remnant are so OP. I like your approach of having Orion's Arm-levels of posthuman kek in the backstory to justify the rather disparate jumble of technology levels that is most non-hard sci fi.
Edit: If you want to give the Protectorate their own form of FTL (because, you know, everyone else has), one idea would be to use something like the Bergenholm drive from the Lensman books. The science behind it is nonsensical gobbledygook , but so are most sci fi tropes you're incorporating in this universe.
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Most of the Lensman stuff comes in with the Second Empire, particularly in the scale of weapons used. Anything else would be a result of common scifi tropes being used.Β
The early Protectorate was the NATO to the Third Empire's United States. It was an alliance of human states (including the Citizens' Alliance) that agreed to mutual defense and, maybe, eventual union. That was gradually thrown out the window as the Empire expanded to control practically the entire galaxy, and it was clear that a united Protectorate would be dominated by the Empire.Β
Depends on the society. The Federation, Solarians and Duzhonev think they're progressing and that's a good thing, the Empire thinks things are static (since the Federal Revolution) and that's a good thing. Only the Protectorate thinks there's been a decline.Β
The original Third Empire was more centralized and focused on Dondrukovskrad. The System Lords had almost no power, and the emperors ruled more or less directly through the Imperial military. They were less concerned with ideology because there was no competing ideology. The feudalism set in after the wars of conquest ended and governance became almost impossible from a central position, and the ideological angle came in after the Federal Revolution.Β
It was at least ten thousand years in the past. Yes, the Empire has been around for a very long time. At the time, the Protectorate could not intervene, since it was a matter of internal Imperial politics (which is what the Empire had to insist upon, otherwise they'd give the Federation legitimacy). The Federation was a pariah for a few thousand years after that, but eventually joined the Protectorate after they joined a war against a major alien empire.Β
Yep, it's a useful plot device.
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In that case, I guess the Federation seceding was a good thing for the Protectorate, since it gave it some reason to continue to exist. 
Ten thousand years, and they still think their Revolution will conquer the galaxy? And here I thought Christians were optimistic about Jesus coming back any minute now! All these super-old empires must have some pretty impressive memetic engineering skills, if they manage to keep their ideologies and goals relatively clear over such enormous time scales. 
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The Protectorate was doing what it does now: adjudicate disputes, look out for aliens, and enforce the Uniform Machine Code.
The Protectorate sees itself as the inevitable governing body of all of mankind, but knows it won't happen anytime soon.Β
The Federation's entire raison d'etre is the Revolution, and unifying mankind under its rule. By this point, it's mostly lip service, but new generations of fanatics always get things going again. You also have to keep in mind that cultural changes in general don't generally happen. Technology is advancing at a snail's pace, even with the innovative Consortium, Protectorate and Duzhonevians, so we don't see the great social upheavals we saw during the Industrial Revolution and the Information Revolution. The great institutions were established at a time when technological society was about the same as it is in the modern day, so they don't have to change. The only big game changers were the planet and star killers, but those just stopped the constant Empire-Federation wars and replaced it with a cold war. The Empire may be the only state that's openly feudal, but the entire galaxy is in a medieval stasis.Β
Cultural changes are frowned upon throughout the galaxy, and there are institutions that actively monitor societal change and attempt to stop it. Those areas that aren't closely monitored evolve more, but the cores of these empires are so engineered that they don't change. And these worlds are the ones that define galactic culture. Reactionary elements always outnumber reformist ones, so every step "forward" is taken back.Β
I should do a visual timeline. That isn't a bad idea at all....
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I'm surprised they can get so much done with such a small budget. The Protectorate's finances are so bad, in fact, that they are forced to hawk candy bars to make ends meet!
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They're up to their eyeballs in debt to the Consortium's banks, which is why their courts almost always adjudicate in favor of repossession. And yes, they do hawk crap for the megacorps. There's also a trend of Protectorate-cleansed alien worlds getting bought out by a megacorporation, and the occasional piece of alien or archaeotech disappearing into some defense contractor's vaults. Of course, there's always some corrupt Space Cadet (typically some rapist or otherwise unsavory character to begin with) to take the fall.Β
Their finances are bad enough that they are using equipment thousands of years old, although it is upgraded with new toys their well-funded science division comes up with. They can't patent or sell this tech, because the Protectorate thinks that it may encourage too much scientific development with "irresponsible" types (ignoring the fact that the most irresponsible parties ignore them anyway). Some of the ships the Protectorate uses were flying around during the Federation Revolution.Β
I've also worked out a lot of galactic tech development post-War of the Cog Lords. It also explains why redshirts wore red shirts in combat during the Revolution, why Imperial stormtroopers can't seem to hit anything, and why blasters are actually terrible weapons but are used anyway.Β
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So the Protectorate rule over orbital habitats and stellar megastructures. I was wondering where those raygun gothic, Jetsons-style cities are located.
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Said stations are very raygun gothic.
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Am I sensing some of Genius: The Transgression's Atomists in the Protectorate's outlook?
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It's really just optimistic early science fiction to contrast with the subversions of such attitudes and the modern, gritty outlooks on scifi that the rest of the galaxy runs on.Β
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So I guess they're the "good guys" of Space Cadet? Only their too weak to enforce much beyond what the other, more powerful governments allow them to?
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Well, they do have the titular organization, so of course they're the "good guys."
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Are there any defining factors that make a non-human civilization a threat? Or are all alien civilizations objectively considered threats?
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Spacefaring alien civilizations are always considered a threat. Planetbound ones are judged on a case-to-case basis.
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