Heirs of the Interstellar Wars
The Heirs of the Interstellar Wars is an Imperium-wide social organization open to anyone who can trace their ancestry back in an unbroken line to someone who fought in or contributed significantly to one or more of the Interstellar wars and "helped found the Rule of Man". HIW has chapters on many worlds in the Imperium. It is strongest in the Solomani Rim, but chapters exist on several worlds in the Spinward Marches, among them Lunion, Mora, Regina, Rhylanor, and Trin. HIW's motto is "In Truth Justice, In Justice Freedom". The first world chapter (on Capital) was founded on 194-0004 and the Imperial Society of HIW received an Imperial charter on 314-0037.
Many members of the HIW are ardent Authenticists, usually specializing in the era of their qualifying ancestor.
The Imperial Society of HIW split into two after the Solomani Rim War with the chapters in the Solomani Confederation and the Solomani-occupied part of the Imperium forming the Solomani Confederation Society of HIW. In recent years the two organizations have worked hard to promote peace and harmony betweenthe Imperium and the Confederation, many prominent members being Reconciliationists. Several events have been the target of attacks by pro-Solomani terrorists.
Eligibility
Membership of HIW is open to all who can trace their lineage back to an ancestor who contributed to the establishment of the Rule of Man, regardless of any other consideration. The Imperial Society of HIW is the final arbiter of the acceptability of all applications for membership.
Acceptable ancestors include various related categories of known historical figures, including:
* Signatories of the Terran Confederation Charter;
* Military veterans of any of the Interstellar Wars, including planetary
defense forces, local militias, privateers, and alien soldiers and spacers
who fought alongside Confederation forces;
* Civil servants of Confederation member worlds and allied worlds and
dependencies thereof;
* Free traders operating in the territory of the Siru Zirka at any time
between [2124 AD] and [2195 AD].
* Participants in the struggle against the Plague of Dushkur and similar
outbreaks;
* Prisoners of Siru Zirka authorities accused of partisan activities;
members of Red Cross, Red Cresent, Red Diamond, and Red Chaplet
organizations belonging to Confederation member worlds; doctors and nurses
who aided Confederation forces;
* Others who gave material or patriotic support to the Confederation cause.
Honorary membership may be extended to persons of non-Imperial allegiance who otherwise fulfill the criteria for eligibility.
Tracing Lineage
Except in a few rare cases, genealogical tracing funnels through the handful of worlds that maintained adequate information storage technology hroughout the Long Night and also preserved old records meticulously throughout the entire period. Prominent among them are Terra, Capital, and Vland.
Controversies
Adoptions
The Society rules require bloodline descent. Some records do not distinguish between natural and adopted children. Some chapters accordingly require a possible or plausible genetic code, positive links between ancestors and descendants becoming impossible after a number of generations.
False records
Doubts about the accuracy of certain records have been raised, especially in cases where different records are mutually exclusive. For instance, a remarkable number of people trace their ancestry back to Manuel Albadawi. In rare cases the Society has elected to accept alternate records on the grounds that it's impossible to determine which sets are genuine and which are not.
Charitable activity
HIW chapters support various charitable activities tailored to the needs of their respective worlds. Education is a particularily popular cause, although specifics vary from world to world. Support of arts and culture are likewise opular.
History of the Imperium Essay Contest
Each year, the HIW conducts an Imperium-wide Imperial history essay contest among 14 year old students. A topic is selected for use during the academic year, and essays are judged "for historical accuracy, adherence to topic, organization of materials, interest, originality, spelling, grammar, punctuation, and neatness." The contest is conducted locally by the HIW chapters, and chapter winners are judged at the duchy, sector, domain, and Imperium level, with chapter winners receiving scolarships to a university on their world, duchy winners to an Imperial university of their duchy, sector winners to one at the sector capital, domain winners at the domain capital, and Imperium winners on Capital.
Notable HIW members
Past members
*
*
*
* [Names not available at the moment]
*
*
*
Living members
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
References in popular culture
[snip]