Galactic Havoc: The Solar Federation

Galactic Havoc: The Solar Federation

The introduction to the setting revolved around the Solar Federation, the "main" human faction of the galaxy. I'd like to try describing it in more detail. While it is the largest human polity, it definitely is not the only one - it can serve both as a protagonist faction and as an antagonist faction.

    Solar Federation

    Capital World: Sol II (Venus).

    Major Species: Humans.

    Languages: Pansol.

    TL: 10.

    The Solar Federation is the largest human political entity in the galaxy that used to comprise countless thousands of worlds. The hyperspace flux that permeated the cosmos during the Era of Silence shrunk it down to just the Sol system and several near-Sol colonies. After the flux abated, the reclamation wars started, and the Solar Federation grew to an immense size yet again, even though it was still much smaller than it was before the flux.

    Since the original human homeworld, Earth, was turned into an uninhabitable wasteland by treacherous aliens, Venus is considered the federal capital world, where floating habitats had nearly the same environmental conditions as Earth. The Federation is governed by the Federal Senate that is composed of representatives from each federal sector, with the elected Grand Marshal at its head. Due to the federal wartime law, a new Grand Marshal can only be elected if the old one has perished or five years after wartime has been officially over. Since peace is something that hasn't been a thing for thousands of years, the latter clause has never been invoked. The current Grand Marshal Carl Polero VII from Venus, known for being especially ruthless, has been in this position for 35 years. Each federal sector is self-governed, but has an appointed federal overseer.

    Humans of the Solar Federation are known to be intolerant of anything they deem unhuman. Most of the time, aliens are exterminated on sight, and only in situations when cooperation is necessary to fight an even bigger threat a short-lived, uneasy alliance may be formed. Even humans that have diverged  too far from the "pure" humans are usually treated no better than aliens. Many former Federal worlds have changed a lot during the Era of Silence, both in terms of genetics and ideology, so many of these so-called divergents are purged and replaced with humans from conformist worlds. Less radical genetic modifications may allow the person to be a second-class citizen (which usually is equal to cannon fodder). Minor genetic alterations, such as a genetweak to remove bone degeneration in zero-G, are tolerated. There is one exception, however, the hoplites - genetically modified super-soldiers that serve as the elite troops of the Solar Federation. They are not abhorred, but tolerated and even venerated by the Solars (this is the result of a long memetic engineering campaign). Cybernetic enhancements are tolerated, unless they affect the nervous system.

    The main language of the Solar Federation is Pansol - a former conlang created after the colonization of the Sol system. During the Era of Silence, most isolated worlds developed their own diverse languages, but most Solars know Pansol as a lingua franca.

    Technologically, most Federal worlds are TL10, but there are many worlds that have degraded during the Era of Silence. Fusion power plants and nanofabricators make life better for people, but most of these resources have to be allocated to military needs. Biotechnology is developed unevenly - genetic manipulation is generally ignored (aside from the hoplite project), but tissue engineering, medicine, reocvery and combat drugs make recovery quick for injured soldiers. AI use and development is strictly regulated - nothing smarter than a dedicated AI (a "smart tool") is allowed, especially in the military. All warfare-related technologies are gives more attention in the Solar Federation. While common solders usually are equipped with ETC slugthrowers or laser weapons, hoplites and other elite troops can be seen wielding cutting-edge particle beams and plasma weapons and wearing powered armor. Combat robots and drones are almost non-existent due to the fear of AI going rogue. Exotic technologies include artificial gravity and FTL hyperspace drives that are commonplace in the galaxy. Subspace communications allow for "slow" FTL communication.

    In terms of the supernatural, the Solar Federation is almost undeveloped. Prejudice against anything unhuman includes psionics and especially magic. However, yet again thanks to memetic manipulations, some "psychics" are tolerated if they are useful in the military - this usually means telepaths, ESPers, and anti-psis. Magic, however, is seen as something way too unpredictable and incomprehensible to sceptic Solars. Magic-using cults that have appeared during the Era of Silence are subject to extermination. Religiously, the Solar Federation is very diverse. When space exploration and colonization becamse advanced and the human population began to count dozens of billions, and then trillions of people, many religious movements began to appear. Some had roots in the old faiths of the Earth but changed to the point of being almost unrecognizable, but most were completely new. However, only religious teachings recognized by the Federal Faith Bureau are allowed due to some movements having their members develop divine powers that are simply incompatible with the federal no-magic policy.