Sandbox-Scarcity:BieselMainPage

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Federal Republic of Biesel
Biesel
Flag
Galactic Position
Capital Planet: Capital City	Biesel Mendell City
Language(s):	Tau Ceti Basic
Species:	Human (Majority) Dionae (Minority) IPC (Minority) Skrell (Minority) Tajara (Minority) Unathi (Minority) Vaurca (Minority)
Religion:	None
Demonym:	Biesellite, Republican
Government Head of State	Federal Republic President Ake Torvald
Legislature Upper House Lower House	Congress State Senate Tau Ceti Assembly of Spokespeople
Established:	May 5th 2452

Biesel seen from orbit.

A view of New Gibson.

In the core worlds of Humanity’s power, built upon a center of phoron deposits and trade, the Federal Republic of Biesel is an independent state and considered the economic and social centre of the Orion Spur. The young Republic as it is known today came to be in 2452, and since its independence it has only grown stronger, its population flourishing, ignorant or uncaring as NanoTrasen maintained a vice grip over the Republic not only economically, but politically and socially as well.

However, in recent years, that is changing. The ‘’’Phoron Scarcity’’’ has shaken the very foundations of the republic, not only in regards to NanoTrasen’s monopoly, but also the role it plays on the wider stage of the Orion Spur. Once only holding territory in Tau Ceti, today the Republic of Biesel extends across much of the formerly Solarian Middle and Outer Ring, reaching the new border of the massive Coalition of Colonies, creating the Corporate Reconstruction Zone. The Republic of Biesel's expansion into former Solarian territories was met with both applause and total rejection from its populace Combined with the mounting issues of the Phoron Scarcity, the CRZ would prove the final nail in the coffin for the Republic’s political establishment, which was shaken drastically in 2462. However, Tau Ceti remains one of the most populated systems in Human space, and easily the richest in the galaxy thanks to NanoTrasen, and now the Stellar Corporate Conglomerate.

The Effects of the Phoron Scarcity

When it comes to the Phoron Scarcity, nowhere is more intertwined with it, its effects, and its story than the Republic of Biesel. It has always been the nation with the largest phoron deposits and the largest phoron exports, but now it is one of only two nations in the entire Spur with phoron deposits; ontop of being practically, the only source of phoron to the wider spur, as it is the only nation which exports it outside of its borders. The Republic came to be because of phoron, and the influence of the company that extracted it.

As the primary system where commercial phoron mining occurs, Tau Ceti boasts the largest amount of phoronic industries than anywhere else in the Spur - including Elyra. The sheer scale of the operation NanoTrasen created for mining and then processing phoron cannot be overstated, and for logistical ease, they did as much as they could within the same system the phoron was mined in. In 2460, around 23% of the population of the system had a job tied to the phoronics industry specifically. Biesel’s economy and the livelihoods of its citizenry are dependent on phoron to retain their standards of living; it was the most “phoronized” system with the most advanced technology in the entire Spur. Understandably, when the public became aware of the scarcity, things began to get unstable; though NanoTrasen was still mining and processing phoron at only a slightly lower scale than previous, it introduced fear and doubt into if these industries would continue at all. As the lifeblood of Biesel, that introduced fear and doubt if the Republic would survive, concerns that came alarmingly close to being founded with the 35th's invasion. However, the Republic emerged stronger, seeing it have a short rejuvenation for a time, before beginning to slow and stagnate again. Five years since this all began, the phoron industries of Tau Ceti are still humming along, but far quieter as many facilities have since been shuttered, and every second they hum phoron continues to get rarer and rarer.

This is something the government is aware of, and President Torvald has enacted policies attempting to limit the damage of the situation, keep the economy afloat, and most importantly, keep the situation from slipping too far out of hand. Interest rates have dropped to near zero, bills have been signed into law that give substantial subsidies to any new facilities/industries built not related to phoronics, and many more fiscal and monetary policies have been implemented, but it’s only barely keeping the flood wall from breaking. At the end of the day, there’s just less phoron to go around. As a result, their most recent policy has been the most extreme yet. President Torvald, alongside all the megacorporations, has officially begun to institute rationing of phoron, beginning to once more add to the current strategic reserve of phoron held by Biesel. This is the official start of the rationing; however, in practice, it had been going on for years prior quietly, originating from a short few lines in the massive People's Protection Act. While this rationing has relieved the stresses of the scarcity from many people, it has done so by transferring it onto others, due to it's unequal nature.

President Torvald and the corporations have structured the rationing in such a way that the pinch is felt the least on middle and upper class citizens, primarily humans, skrell, and a minority of other alien species. This is not outright stated, with plausible deniability at every corner, but is the practical implementation of the mass of confusing legalise the President used in the introduction of rationing policies. However the differences between richer neighborhoods and those of lower status are clear as day. The worst the upper and middle classes might see of the scarcity is their repair shop saying certain parts are backordered indefinitely, as outright shortages are still rare for them, or more likely, the increase in prices of all kinds, as the day-to-day running of life gets more and more expensive. While these things aren’t great, they’re bearable - and better than conditions elsewhere in the spur for similar people.

This is because the extra pain they should be feeling is instead dumped onto the poor of the nation, already struggling significantly with the base effects of the scarcity. Unemployment is at an all-time high, with sustainable jobs exceedingly rare, and as a crime has skyrocketed, with poorer neighborhoods having changed massively over the past five years. While there were always ghettos, there are now more of them than ever, and the originals, places such as D6, D11, and D12, look more run down than ever, with the phoron allocated for civilian usage of any kind is prioritized for the richer neighborhoods. The poorer areas of cities across Tau Ceti and the Republic at large are slowly slipping into anarchy, with brownouts and blackouts becoming more frequent occurrences, as their phoronics based infrastructure falls into disrepair. It has a cruel similarity to the Alliance's abandonment of their outer worlds during the collapse. Criminal Organizations have filled in the vacuum, allowed to run the districts as they see fit, and be unbothered by law enforcement, who only interfere when any violence within these areas spills out into other, less dilapidated parts of the city; in which case the standard response has been to violently bludgeon it back into containment. These criminal organizations are made up of old gangs who have long operated in certain areas, newer ones who have come to power, but the most interesting of all run a form of crime that has never really been seen in the Republic before: black markets and smugglers.

Loosely organized by their nature, Black Markets and the smugglers who supply them have exploded within the Republic, and though they are not yet utilized by the population at large, their growth has been massive. This rings especially true to those in the poorer areas of the nation, who are coming to rely on these Black Markets for everything from their food to new electronics, all of which is smuggled into the Republic along various routes. These routes connect at a common point, the port moon of Valkyrie. Operating primarily as a tradeport, Valkyrie has been hit especially hard by the economic slowdown experienced across the Spur, and its many port workers struggle to make ends meet; so it is no surprise that a great many of them have turned to corruption, looking the other way or ensuring certain ships are docked at certain berths for the right fee. While this was cracked down on hard during the early days, as the scarcity continues to worsen, it has started to be seen as a necessity to support their families or similar, and dockworkers or supervisors who can't look the other way as well often find themselves rapidly resigning, or go missing before being found dead several weeks later. While the outright corruption and level of smuggling seen on Valkyrie is not common throughout the Spur yet, smuggling as a whole is slowly becoming an extremely lucrative business, as the scarcity worsens and more government officials look for ways to make up their income by accepting bribes. These smugglers and black marketeers pay well for goods, so since the start of the scarcity Petty Theft of phoronics based equipment from the workplace has reached the top three reasons why an employee contract is terminated within Biesel, despite the unemployment crisis all but ensuring the fired employee will be unable to find another job. The simple fact of the matter is, prices won’t stop rising for all types of goods and services, and by now they have become practically unbearable for the lowest rung of corporate jobs; who knows what will happen if the trend continues and they become unbearable for the next leg up.

As one can imagine, all these factors combined have led to an increase in social unrest and public disturbances among Biesel's lower class, with police incredibly taxed just trying to keep such things confined to those low-class areas. The very limited handful of times they have failed, however, they've received assistance from the one organization in the Republic that has barely felt the scarcity, the military. At least officially, due to Ake Torvald’s coalition with the Conservative Party of Biesel, the current unstable state of the country ontop of the unstable state of the Spur, the military has been and remains very high on the priority list for phoron allocations under the rationing policies. Arms factories rarely have shortages of the material, the Fleets always have enough fluidic phoron for their bluespace drives, and those within the enlisted ranks of the TCAF find themselves better off than many of the middle class. President Torvald has promised these are temporary measures, and once the modernization of the TCAF is complete, priority will shift back towards civilian industries. Until then, as the military continues to receive increasing funding and priority, enlistment rates for the TCAF have soared, and it continues to grow despite the issues caused by the scarcity.

The last, but potentially most important thing for Biesel as a nation, but maybe not for its people, is changes in the political climate of the country. As a result of the scarcity, NanoTrasen’s power has waned, and other megacorporations have moved into the vacuum, and getting closer with the new Republican Government under Ake Torvald. Where NanoTrasen once had almost complete control over the Republic's Government by themselves, they now only have an extremely strong influence. It’s worth noting, the government no longer talks with just NanoTrasen or cooperates with just NanoTrasen; nowadays, it’s almost all the megacorporations jointly, excluding Einstein Engines.

Economics

The Republic of Biesel is a market capital economy, described as having strong investments in resource extraction, agriculture, shipping and handling, and manufacturing. In reality, its economy is based on two things: phoron and trade. Exporting phoron, and acting as a trade hub for the rest of the Spur. Both of which are currently under threat due to the scarcity, and have resulted in economic instability within the Republic. Early in the Scarcity, its currency saw some devaluation; however, it has since bounced back as subsidies, the slashing of interest rates, and other monetary policies have managed to keep its economy technically growing slowly for now, but the rate of that growth is falling rapidly year over year. It maintains the Biesel Standard Credit (电/CR) as its official currency, with some segments of the Corporate Reconstruction Zone still utilizing the Solarian Standard Credit. It sees usage outside of the Republic, within the Izweski Hegemony, who adopted it as their official currency following the collapse of the Solarian Alliance, and some sections of the Coalition of Colonies near the shared border, as well as the People's Republic of Adhomai. The BSC is available in electronic, bankcard and chip that have the symbol of a lit torch on them. Responsibility for the currency falls to the Central Biesel Banking Authority, which is located in District One of Mendell City, where it cooperates closely with Idris Incorporated to form monetary policies. Similar to the Solarian Standard Credit, the BSC is a fiat currency.

While NanoTrasen is still the undisputed most powerful megacorporation within the Republic, the Republic is no longer exclusive to them. This was made clear by a daring move of Noelle Lopez-Zhang, when Einstein Engines acquired NanoTrasen's holdings in the Biesellite city of Phoenixport. When the government cooperates with Megacorporations, it cooperates with almost all member corporations of the SCC on somewhat equal terms. Still, for now NanoTrasen holds significant economic power within the Republic, given their stranglehold on one of the most important aspects of the economy, Phoron. Phoron has made Tau Ceti and the Republic as a whole one of the wealthiest nations in the Spur, and has been integral to its very identity. This is, of course, now threatened by scarcity - something that has put pressure on not only the entire country but on NanoTrasen specifically, who tries their best to keep up the illusion that all is well.

Biesel has a significant presence in the medical technology industry, owing to the agreement signed between Zeng-Hu Pharmaceuticals and NanoTrasen a decade after the discovery of phoron. Its medical innovations spawned from this agreement include being the nation where dexalin and peridaxon were first synthesized.

Population and Planets

The Republic of Biesel has expanded greatly since the Solarian Collapse, moving from its home system of Tau Ceti to encompass what is now known as the Corporate Reconstruction Zone.

Biesel

The capital of the Republic and its namesake, Biesel is where many megacorporations have moved their primary base of operations to after the Solarian Collapse and recession. Biesel's first colony was established in 2147; a comfortable and temperate planet, it proved a valuable location for agriculture and manufacturing, and after the discovery of phoron in 2352, proved a very valuable location for all sorts of phoronics work. Since then Biesel has become the most wealthy and influential planet in human space. Biesel previously had many smaller corporations, however since the discovery of Phoron, these have either been gradually bought out or undermined by the larger megacorporations; in the contemporary Spur they no longer exist. Despite recent setbacks, NanoTrasen and its subsidiaries account for the majority of economic activity in Biesel and Tau Ceti today - though continue to slip lower.

Valkyrie

The moon of Biesel, the Commonwealth of Valkyrie, is a member-state of the Republic that contributes strongly to its economy through its status as a major shipping and trade port. Goods from all over the Spur, legal and illegal, can be found in the twisting streets of Valkyrie, and it acts as a layover for many tourist vessels and trade ships moving across the galaxy. Since the beginning of the scarcity it has also quickly become a hub for smuggler's as corruption runs rife throughout its ports.

New Gibson

New Gibson is the second exoplanet to be colonized by humanity, shortly after the initial success of Biesel's colonization attempt in 2147. It is the industrial workhorse of the Tau Ceti system, containing a rich and valuable resource pool with the highest concentrations of many valuable minerals of any planetary surface in Tau Ceti. While New Gibson has a complex dedicated to virtually all industries, its major players are shipbuilding and wide-ranging manufacturing adjacent to its titanic planetary mines. In the cavernous pitfalls and valleys of New Gibson resides both its thriving mining economy and its greatest dangers. Unlike its bigger brother Biesel, New Gibson hosts very few phoronics specific facilities like refineries and compounding factories - though it still uses immense amounts of phoron in its more regular industries, as they wish to create goods up to the 2400s standard of technology.

Mictlan

Formerly a Solarian colony, Mictlan had become integral to the Stellar Corporate Conglomerate’s plans for expanding its influence within the unstable region of the Orion Spur. However, violence followed the sudden shift to the Republic of Biesel, with deserters, terrorists, and paramilitaries taking up arms to forcefully push back against the perceived corporate occupation of their planet, eventually resulting in military intervention by the Republic of Biesel, as they instituted the Peacekeeper Mandate to begin to restore order.

After a protracted occupation by the Tau Ceti Armed forces, including a guerilla war between against the ex-Mictlani Defense Force run Samaritans (a paramilitary group) and a protracted anti-terrorist campaign against the Founding Movement (a political movement that turned towards violent extremism and terrorist tactics), in late 2465, after the leader of the founding movement was found lynched and the Republic Forces negotiated a surrender with the Samaritans following rising public unrest within Tau Ceti, Mictlan eventually managed to secure its status as an independent member-state within the Republic, and now sets it's own terms with the corporations. They have not left in their entirety, merely been somewhat restricted in their activity, and stratification and corporate influence still separates much of the population. Mictlan is the sight of the worst disparity of phoron rationing, with the corporate upper classes getting almost all of the allocated phoron and the anti-corporate lower classes getting little to none of it.

Port Antillia

A very recently settled planet, Port Antillia had great ambitions of being a vital port between the Jewel Worlds and the Serene Republic of Elyra. Due to its novel colonisation, it faced severe struggles, which were exacerbated by frequent natural disasters. Ultimately, this resulted in its early collapse, only really seeing itself somewhat stabilised nearly a century later. It has its roots within the nations which formed the Caribbean Federation, who found themselves facing extinction from the ecological crisis that Earth endured.

Despite millions becoming part of the colonisation effort, no one truly knew the dangers present on Port Antillia. Due to its relative youth on the cosmic scale, the planet experiences earthquakes rather frequently, which produce tsunamis that pose a threat to cities that dot the coasts of Port Antillia. Additionally, volcanic activity is yet another persistent danger with some of the largest eruptions across the inhabited parts of Orion Spur being registered to the planet. Many of the major population centres are equipped to deal with these problems, but there are still minor settlements that have to contend with the hostile geological activity of the planet, with most residents having accepted that they are simply a part of life on Port Antillia.

Corporate Reconstruction Zone

Formerly Solarian space, the Corporate Reconstruction Zone is the name for all systems occupied by the Republic of Biesel that are not within Tau Ceti's gravity well. These were occupied during the King of the World arc and its finale, and after the Solarian Alliance retracted all necessary support to them. Essentially, the Alliance cut these colonies' lifelines off, and only the Republic would step up to fill the void.

Culture and Demographics

See also: Biesellite Culture and Society

“The people of Biesel could all collectively protest for a century. It still won’t change anything, because power in the Republic does not lie with people. It lies with corporations.” - Hugo Beasley, “A Himean In Mendell City”, released 2464

Due to the many events of the past decade, the Republic of Biesel’s culture has drastically changed in recent years. They place emphasis on individual freedoms, inclusivity, and more recently, duty to uphold those previous two values. Originally a culture propped up by megacorporate entities, in the past decade's challenges, such as the Second Solarian Invasion, it is clear that the culture of the young nation has come into its own in many ways. Still, Republic Citizens are on average largely pro-megacorporation and rather anti-Solarian; the latter sentiment only continuing to increase due to Solarian Actions.

Languages

Although Tau Ceti Basic has prospered as the official language of Biesel ever since its founding, it has undergone a significant amount of change thanks to the linguistic and cultural additions of the Republic’s many immigrants. Linguists have noted that the original Solarian-born tongue is highly susceptible to both human and alien pronunciation, making accents easy to detect. Due to its multicultural roots, though, little was done to interfere with its natural progression in schools and the general population — Biesel’s government continues to frequently tout Tau Ceti Basic’s many forms to this day. Many actors and singers are especially famous for embracing (or in more dishonest cases, emulating) foreign accents to reach new target audiences or for plain clout. Unsurprisingly, these differences are also used by politicians to tie their voters together or draw lines between them. ‘Pure’ Biesellite accents are mostly a mark of prestige used by diplomats and influential business workers, usually obtained naturally through being born into long-established immigrant families, gradually eschewing their former pronunciation as a result of distance.

A noticeable byproduct of this multiculturalism is the abundance of foreign slang used by a wide range of Biesellite citizens. Drawn from just about every corner of the Spur, these words and sayings are often thrown into sentences with little care for grammar, with alien immigrants especially finding it hard to let go of old customs. Humans, who generally have an easier time with Tau Ceti Basic, are known to pick these remnants up through living and working close to alien-dense districts. Truly bizarre combinations of dialects and slang emerge from these relationships, which tend to confuse completely foreign listeners, but are the beating heart of culture for urban Biesellites.

Aliens in Tau Ceti

See also: Skrell in the Republic of Biesel, Unathi in the Republic of Biesel, Little Adhomai, Zo'ra in the Republic of Biesel, The Biesellian Choir

The Republic has among the most diverse and widespread populations of non-human species in the entire Orion Spur. From the district of Little Adhomai to the Zo'ra Hive's presence on Biesel and Caprice, Biesellite humans are no stranger to aliens in their streets. However districts primarily populated by aliens have a lower-than-average income than human-dominant districts, and are essentially ghettos. The condition and wealth divide in these districts is only continuing to worsen as the phoron rationing policies of Ake Torvald sees priority go towards wealthy neighborhoods. They look more run down than ever, as the crime rate has steadily been increasing and black markets begin to pop up more frequently. As a result, similarly to the human poor, recruitment in the Tau Ceti Armed Forces has become particularly popular.

Tau Ceti Synthetics and Citizenship

See also: IPCs in Biesel

A vast number of synthetics have, through various circumstances, found themselves calling the Republic their home, and their position in society remains a precarious one. While freedom, and even citizenship, for integrated positronic chassis is something the Republic takes pride in, there has been no real political movement to ban IPC ownership amongst the greater populace. Those that do get their freedom normally either do so through labor or the goodwill of their owners, and unfortunately for many, freedom usually involves a hard and at times, short existence. Free IPCs are afforded few actual opportunities to improve their lives, for while employers within the Republic are also “obligated” to pay free IPCs the same they would any human, in practice, there are many ways around this. Typically this comes in the form of increased costs for repairs, charging electricity, and similar things that IPCs - and only IPCs - require, allowing corporations to keep nominally free IPCs paid pennies on the dollar.

However, things seem to be improving. With the recent introduction of the Synthetic Residence Card by the government, free synthetics are able to more clearly and safely navigate through the process of staying in Tau Ceti, finding employment, owning property, and more. While free IPCs were previously allowed to own property without a card, they have been grandfathered in.

For many free IPCs, citizenship is viewed as the ultimate goal in integrating into society. Citizenship entitles an IPC to increased legal protections, almost, if not on par with that of a natural-born organic citizen.

Obtaining citizenship is difficult, but straightforward. An IPC is eligible to apply for citizenship after meeting one of two criteria:

• An IPC has served within the Tau Ceti Armed Forces for three years.
• a presentation or some sort of career plan of how they'll contribute towards biesel. it only makes sense biesel cares that they're going to be a positive influence with tangible value. whether its a doctor, engineer, cop, open their own biesel business, etc. if approved they'll be following said plan as a citizen for x years. 2-3? 5? hard numbers in THIS context are more flexible
• An IPC has been employed as a free synthetic within an SCC constituent corporation for six years and has a command-level income.
  • This is to ensure that the IPC is a productive member of society and can pay taxes when made a full citizen.

In practice, the road to citizenship is far longer owing to the fact that the Republic has numerous applicants, as well as the red tape involved in the process. Preferential treatment is often given to IPCs that have served in the TCAF in recent years, or to those working for the corporations at a high level.

Synthetic Residence Card

The Synthetic Residence Card is a card that all IPCs within Tau Ceti are encouraged to receive once they gain freedom, as monitored by their tags. Possession of the card entitles an IPC to the right to own property, find employment, enlist in the Tau Ceti Foreign Legion, and gain additional legal protections against repossession. On the other hand, the IPC in question is expected to pay a flat residency fee, as well as a value tax on any property they own.

The initiative has been well-received by the pro-synthetic community as well as IPCs themselves, although critics have pointed out that the system awards too many rights to non-citizens, potentially shields runaway IPCs, and increases the overall tax burden on all Tau Ceti citizens.

Attaining Freedom

Integrated Positronic Chassis’ owned by both private individuals and corporations have a number of legal means of achieving their release. These measures and laws are regarded as very progressive owing to the fact that IPCs can attain freedom on their own merits. Regardless, it is still very difficult to attain because of the nebulous nature of the worth of an IPC’s work, its estimated value, along with loopholes exploited by their owners in order to keep them for as long as possible.

The government keeps track of all IPCs within Tau Ceti space via the usage of tags, and in the case of synthetics that reside in the Republic, these tags also track an IPC’s progress towards freedom through its estimated value, number of hours worked, and its actual age. In theory, this allows Tau Ceti to protect IPCs from being owned for too long and providing evidence in case a dispute over whether or not an IPC is eligible for freedom has to be settled.

In practice, the tags are only marginally effective in this purpose as owners tend to set arbitrary wages, assign inflated values to IPCs, or in some cases, simply untagging and hiding the synthetics. While smaller businesses or private owners are unlikely to get away with such behaviors owing to their limited resources, megacorporations are more prone to holding onto their IPCs owing to the influence and bargaining power they have.

Another way IPCs commonly gain freedom is that they are set free by their owners. This can happen for any number of reasons; an IPC getting too old to be cost effective, an act of charity by a sympathetic owner, or being purchased by a pro-synthetic group such as the Trinary Perfection explicitly for the purpose of being set free.

Politics and Government

In accordance with its Constitution, adopted after independence in 2452, the Republic of Biesel operates as a Federal Democracy. It has an elected president, currently Ake Torvald, a Congress divided into an upper and lower house, and a Supreme Court. Despite the fact that there are checks and balances between the branches of government, rumours persist that President Torvald has amassed political capital in order to have greater influence over the branches than stipulated in the constitution he is supposed to uphold. Most rumors credit the ability to do this as a result of backing from his Megacorporate sponsors.

The Republic of Biesel congress is composed of two divisions; the State Senate (upper chamber) and the Tau Ceti Assembly of Spokespeople (lower chamber) which together form the legislative branch, Congress. Legislation will typically be created and passed by the Tau Ceti Assembly of Spokespeople. On the other hand, the State Senate focuses on bills, resolutions, amendments, and treaties - usually legal items that could drastically change the Republic of Biesel. When mentioning both entities, they are often referred to as the Republican Congress.

The executive branch is composed of the presidency and the various ministerial departments that assist the presidency in running the government and implementing policies in the best interest of the citizens. All laws must be measured up to the Constitution of the Republic of Biesel, and those that can't pass this test are deemed null and void. This led to the creation of two apex courts, the Constitutional Court and the Supreme Court of Appeal, which function together to form the judicial branch.

Healthcare and insurance is closely tied with megacorporations, more frequently, Zavodskoi and Zeng-Hu instead of only NanoTrasen. Treatments beyond regular checkups tend to be costly, but are usually at least partially covered by insurance plans. Most insurance plans are offered by megacorporations when they are offered, and vary in their coverage, meaning an individual of a low economic class can easily be rendered bankrupt by a freak accident or unusual illness. Biesel, in particular Mendell City, has some of the most advanced medical technology available in the Spur owing to the many patent sharing and research agreements between Zeng-Hu Pharmaceuticals and NanoTrasen. However, medical doctorates and surgical degrees are carefully kept at near-shortage by the Republic; this is very likely due to corporate influence on parliament, to keep wages for degree-holders high.

Political Ideologies

President Åke Torvald

While he is obviously not a political ideology himself, Åke Torvald deserves mention here as he is the current President of the Republic, and therefore shapes much of its policy and actions. He currently leads the government in a messy federal version of a coalition with the Cetain Conservative Party, as he is an independent. Most who know him only from debates during the presidential election would consider him a Cetian Conservative - after all, he parroted many of their points, and made their party leader his VP. However, nothing is so simple with Åke Torvald. News sources close to the administration often remark that there is a stark difference between Ake’s public personality and his private one, specifically how it can be difficult to tell if he’s just saying something for political gain or because it’s what he thinks. This extends to even his goals at times, as from an outside perspective, he is inconsistent with his positions and principles, seemingly at random. Something may be gleaned from a quote Ake has had inscribed on his desk

“Without a clear goal and efforts to reach it, no man can live.”

What has become clear since his election as president is that the best possible description of Ake Torvald when it comes to his life, personality, and politics is ruthlessly Machiavellian. The most publicly obvious examples of these traits are when members of the Cetain Conservative Party make the mistake of not toeing the President’s line publicly; a mistake that often finds them resigning in disgrace weeks later, after they were the subject of a massive scandal, or target of a BSSB investigation for any number of crimes which happened to get leaked to the press.It has become clear that President Torvald expects absolute loyalty from his coalition members and has no qualms about tearing them down by whatever means should they fail to live up to these expectations. Lastly, it is important to note that, unlike Dorn before him, Ake has a degree of independence from the true powers of Biesel, originally running against the megacorporate backed candidate and winning. What he will do with this limited independence is unknown, as no one is certain exactly what his end goals are.

Biesellite Corporatocracy

Rooted within the belief that the Republic of Biesel should strive to create an environment that incentivises economic growth and prosperity, Biesellite Corporatocracy sees the megacorporations – specifically NanoTrasen and the rest of the Stellar Corporate Conglomerate – having significant influence in the free market. Megacorporations see themselves replacing the services meant to be provided by the government, ranging from simple things such as basic amenities like water and power to even entirely sourcing welfare services through employment programmes. Though it has been criticised throughout the greater Orion Spur, Biesellite Corporatocracy is one of the more successful attempts at the ideology – with the Republic of Biesel maintaining its dominance as the economic hegemon of the Spur. Biesellite Corporotocracy advocates for equal rights across sentient species – including synthetics, most likely to increase the megacorporations’ available workforce.

Valkyrian Libertarianism

Founded on the ideals of freedom, equality and dignity, the Republic of Biesel frequently claims to protect the light of liberty and ensure that it keeps shining – which has seen it become a beacon for those fleeing both persecution and prosecution from their homes, or seeking greener pastures. Valkyrian Libertarianism strives to identify, protect and enforce the rights of sentient beings and minimise state encroachment and violations of sentient liberties. Valkyrian Libertarianism is a proponent for stimulating economic activity through incentivising business. A worrying policy that clashes with the Stellar Corporate Conglomerate as the advantages aren’t just aimed at them – but instead of any and all business, no matter the size. Valkyrian Liberatianism seeks to remove the Conglomerate’s monopoly and create an environment that would be advantageous to any entrepreneur, something that cannot be done as long as the Conglomerate maintains an iron fist on its economy. They are fierce advocates for synthetic rights, and regularly vote in a pro-synthetic manner.

Biesellite Hadiism

Theorized by the People's Republic of Adhomai's migrants, Biesellite Hadiism seeks to apply President Hadii's teachings to Tau Ceti's situation. This ideology supports the creation of a strong government supported by the existing megacorporations to provide its people with a robust welfare system. Biesellite Hadiism preaches equality for all species; a system built by immigrants from all races should ultimately provide to them all without discrimination. Unlike the Adhomian version, this Biesellite Hadiism abandoned the hopes of creating a superculture and merely believes in protecting each species' traditional values. This ideology is notorious for its authoritarian tendencies: Biesellite Hadiists want to concentrate unlimited powers in the hands of the President. Because of the Solarian Alliance’s stance on the Tajara, the ideology supports the expansion of the Tau Ceti Foreign Legion into a large military force.

Gibsonite Social Democracy

Arising sometime after the Crisis of 2294, Gibsonite Social Democracy is a movement that understands the necessity for a balance between the free market and a functioning welfare state – and that the two need not be mutually exclusive, and can exist in harmony with one another through changes in the current status quo. Seemingly a blending of Solarian Social Democracy and Xanusanii Social Democracy, Gibsonite Social Democracy has managed to spread across the Republic of Biesel, much to the dismay of the Stellar Corporate Conglomerate. It advocates for a more regulated economy, increased defence spending and stricter immigration policies to ensure that those coming to Tau Ceti will contribute to its growth, and not hinder it. It seeks to levy increased corporate taxes on the megacorporations, break their monopolies, and fund various welfare programmes instead of relying on the Conglomerate to fill the state’s shoes. Due to the presence of Skrell on New Gibson, the movement has seen anti-synthetic sentiments infiltrate its followers – and they are a proponent of restricted artificial intelligence, and are vehemently against granting synthetic rights.

Cetian Conservatism

Created by the repeated onslaughts by the Solarian Alliance against the sovereignty of the Republic of Biesel, Cetian Conservatism seeks to transform the Republic from an economic hegemon and to become a military one. It is also a proponent for increased defence spending, and upholding the traditional values of the Republic of Biesel and what it was founded on – tracing back to its initial colonisation. Cetian Conservatism, similarly to its Solarian counterpart, advocates for increased federalism, where the overarching government should be restricted and prevented from infringing on the individual member-states of the Republic of Biesel, and not infringing on their authority regarding internal matters. They are ambivalent about the presence of megacorporations but do agree with other ideologies' desire to break up their monopolies. Similarly to Gibsonite Social Democracy, Cetian Conservatism is against any further granting of synthetic rights and wishes to see them removed.

Political Parties

Cetian Congress of Conservatives (38%)

The Cetian Congress of Conservatives has become a beacon for all those who believe the Republic of Biesel’s traditional values are no longer being upheld and must be defended, or those with a notable dislike of Solarians. Their belief in Cetian Conservatism inspires their desire for policy changes, such as expanding the Tau Ceti Armed Forces, increasing the defence budget, and further restricting the overarching government’s ability to interfere in the affairs of its member-states, some of which has been accomplished since they entered into a coalition with the new President, Ake Torvald. However, what has become clear is that while the party previously had its own beliefs, since entering a coalition with President Torvald, he expects the party to toe his line without question, and failure to do so will see one disgraced by scandal or investigation. It is officially led by Adalet Uysal, the current Vice President of the Republic, and a known mechanophobe – which seems to have proliferated throughout the party - though Uysal and all the members with any sense no longer express this openly. President Torvald disapproves of such thoughts being voiced publicly, and those too dim-witted to heed the President's warning found themselves being turned into examples; forced to resign in disgrace and be kicked out of the party after BSSB investigations revealed strong evidence of corruption. It was a far kinder fate than others which befell those who stood in the now President's way.

Cetian Social Democratic Front (33%)

Previously composed of several smaller parties that then formed a coalition in an attempt to gain additional sway within the politics of the Republic of Biesel, the Cetian Social Democratic Front is led by Gibsonite-born Skrell Zash Vi’tak, and currently leads the opposition parties against the current government “coalition” under Ake Torvald, a situation that sees them forming an awkward alliance with the Progressive Party of Biesel. Most of its desired policy changes see influence from its adherence to Gibsonite Social Democracy, such as its proposed economic empowerment programme that aims to level the playing field through the encouragement and incentivisation of hiring non-synthetics. The Cetian Social Democratic Front has been vocal in their support for a basic universal income, through the introduction of a heavily-modified Skrellian Social Compatibility Index system that would allocate more funds to those who find themselves in impoverished circumstances, through the levying of additional taxes on the megacorporations. The Front has made known its intention to break the Conglomerate’s monopolies but has had little success so far, though somewhat surprisingly, despite these goals, the Cetian Social Democratic Front and its members are rarely the target of scandals, BSSB investigations, or other such things, unlike Ake’s own party. While nothing had been said publicly, within the high ranks of the party, there is concern about what the President might want from them.

Progressive Party of Biesel (12%)

Led by Montgomery, an IPC, the Progressive Party of Biesel stands as the direct opposition to the Cetian Conservative party, being a more left-leaning organization based in Valkyrian Libertarianism who have a very different idea of what the traditional values of the Republic are. Their primary goals are to protect and codify the rights of all sentient beings into law, while also minimising state encroachment or violations of sentient liberties. They were one of the biggest dissenters against the Peacekeeper Mandate and are staunchly against restrictions on Biesel Citizenship, believing that universal suffrage should be awarded, regardless of status. They are allied to the Cetian Social Democratic Front in the current government.

Biesellite Free-Market Party (11%)

Adhering to Biesellite Corporatocracy, the Biesellite Free-Market Party advocates for its namesake, a free market economy, mostly through taking a laissez-faire approach through the deregulation of the economy and fostering an environment where the megacorporations can prosper. It had been vocal and resolute in its support of the Tau Ceti Foreign Legion and the Tau Ceti Armed Forces, as well as universal citizenship. Currently leaderless after Joesph Dorn's defeat in the presidential election of 2466, the party has yet to find its bearings again. Prior to the election of 2466 the Biesellite Free-Market Party had remained firmly in power since the nation’s independence, its immense influence within the politics of the Republic of Biesel coming from the extensive (and expensive) lobbying efforts of the Stellar Corporate Conglomerate, as well as a combination of other factors. The Zo’ra Hive and Unathi are now the only remaining solid voting bloc for the Biesellite Free-Market Party, mostly owing to their allegiances either to their Queens, or the megacorporations that brought them from their decaying homes. Though many have tried to sway these voters, they have ultimately been unsuccessful. Currently, these representatives are considered to be allied to the ruling coalition under Ake Torvald - and are controlled similarly to members of the Certain Conservative party.

Egalitarian Coalition of Biesel (4%)

The Egalitarian Coalition of Biesel, led by Harbinger of Peaceful Purposes, has a growing foothold within the Republic of Biesel and has seen a fast uptick in supporters following the annexation of the Corporate Reconstruction Zone. Though initially founded on Valkyrie, the Egalitarian Coalition of Biesel found itself pushed into the limelight thanks to the efforts of the Eternal Church and the Trinary Perfection – utilizing videos of their charity work to spread their values and ideals. It is a staunch follower of Valkyrian Libertarianism and seeks to ensure that sentient liberties are upheld, and ultimately preserve sentient rights through equality. Due to their links to both the Eternal Church and the Trinary Perfection, the Egalitarian Coalition is a proponent for sentient rights, and welfare programmes to help those that have been overlooked by the state – of which the party sees as a reason for their advocacy for regulated state interference. They are a strong proponent of decreased immigration controls. They are currently unaligned, though share closely held beliefs with the Progressive Party, something that often sees the two co-sponsoring bills.

Hadiist Party of Biesel (2%)

Originally founded by the People's Republic of Adhomai migrants, the Hadiist Party of Biesel is one of the smallest existing parties, but thanks to its idiosyncrasies, it attracted a lot of attention. While it is considered to be nothing but a curiosity in Tau Ceti's political system, the Hadiist Party of Biesel, because of its policies of supporting the Tajaran population, is becoming increasingly popular with the Tajara. Its current leader is Chairman Matvei Karakhan, a People's Republic of Adhomai migrant who also created the Party and is the main proponent of Biesellite Hadiism. They are currently unaligned.

Syndicated Union of Labourers (Banned)

The Syndicated Union of Labourers is an antithesis to the Biesellite Corporacratic Party. Adhering to a more left-wing approach to Cetian Conservatism with elements of Himean Syndicalism, Valkarian Libertarianism and Gibsonite Social Democracy, the Syndicated Union of Labourers proposes to completely revolutionize the Republic of Biesel – shifting it away from the depraved, exploitive practices of the megacorporations and giving rise to more associated worker rights. They seek to ultimately completely alter the Republican landscape with their manifesto and weaken the influence of the megacorporations – including Einstein Engines. They regularly hold demonstrations across Tau Ceti but have recently attempted to establish a foothold within the Corporate Reconstruction Zone in order to expand its supporter base. Due to its relative newness, it is unknown how they view sentient rights or non-human immigration. They were banned thanks to their links to the Samaritans and Founding Movement; those associated with them are often charged with anti-corporate sentiment.

Military

See also: Tau Ceti Armed Forces

A recruitment poster for the Tau Ceti Foreign Legion.

The Republic of Biesel's sovereignty is currently protected by the Tau Ceti Armed Forces, which were formed in 2465 in response to the long and difficult fight against insurgency in the Corporate Reconstruction Zone, replacing their ineffective predecessors in the Tau Ceti Foreign Legion. An amendment to the People's Protection Act saw the creation of the TCAF, alongside the new branches of the Tau Ceti Minutemen (Army), Republican Fleets (Space Fleet), and the Corporate Auxiliary Forces (Corporate Paramilitaries). Since President Torvald’s election, the TCAF has seen it’s funding increase dramatically, and be prioritized for phoron after the president instituted soft-rationing, which has led the military to see a surge in recruitment numbers, while retaining access to some of the best technology and equipment available in the spur; enough to where by most estimates, they could put up a real fight against their current regional threat, the reconstituted Solarian Alliance.

Non-citizens seeking citizenship in Tau Ceti can acquire it through service in the Armed Forces.

Their current operations extend as far as the borders of the Corporate Reconstruction Zone, and generally drop off from there, except their previous involvement in the S'rend'marr Coalition at NanoTrasen’s request almost half a decade ago.

Technology

Phoronics: The Republic of Biesel's technological advancements are owed to the vast deposits of phoron in the Romanovich Cloud, and what would become the republic was the birthplace of the “Phoronic Revelotion” a technological revolution that followed the discovery of phoron for almost fifty years, and laid the foundations for the technology of the Spur to become what it is today. Even in the midst of the scarcity, Biesel still has some of the most advanced technology in the Spur thanks to its large supply of phoron - including a large supply of phoron WMDs and Phoron Warheads, planet killers and city killers respectively.

Robotics: The relative freedom of synthetics within Biesellite space has also inspired a great degree of research into refining and developing positronics. While many megacorporations still have primary positronic facilities in the Alliance, with some even purchasing Shell frames from Einstein Engines, NanoTrasen and Zeng-Hu Pharmaceuticals in particular have begun to invest in positronic and frame manufacturing plants on Valkyrie, New Gibson, and Reade.

Anomalies Studies: The Republic's other greatest scientific advancement is the study of the anomalous properties of bluespace. Xenoarchaeology and the study of Alden-Saraspova activity within the Romanovich Cloud is a well-established field in Tau Ceti, and many aspiring anomalists and bluespace researchers venture into Tau Ceti to study the high amount of anomalous items and artifacts that are unearthed within the Romanovich Cloud. Strangely, the rates of anomalous activity emanating from the Romanovich Cloud have steadily increased as phoron has been mined.