'Imperial Culture' (non-canonista)

[jason taylor]

Originally Posted by Astromancer

The Imperial Orthographic Congress

Basically, every twenty years the Empire issues new standards of spelling for all Official Imperial documents and schools. This keeps the spelling of Gallan, Sylean, and other languages vital to the Third Imperium both standardized and phonetic.

They also work to keep the typefaces of the 3I standardized and readable.

As agents studying the languages of the 3I can show up anywhere, it's a solid cover for other sorts of agents.

Couldn't any lesser noble sneak his own agents into the system for his own purposes? In fact, except on Sylea proper, that may be more of an annoyance to private subjects than the Emperor's agents who can only afford to be interested in the doings of important people.

[Astromancer]

Originally Posted by jason taylor

Couldn't any lesser noble sneak his own agents into the system for his own purposes? In fact, except on Sylea proper, that may be more of an annoyance to private subjects than the Emperor's agents who can only afford to be interested in the doings of important people.

You could have fun that way. I see the IOC as one of a range of minor ministerial offices that can be used as cover or excuse. Imperial agents could be officially in one of these minor offices. If the Doctor showed up in the 3I he could use his psychic paper to convince folks he was with the office. Con Artists, spies from beyond the Imperium, and other fun rogues, could use forged documents for the same thing.

Just rent a copy of Danny Kaye"s The Inspector General and steal ideas freely.

[jason taylor]

Holding Lines:

This is a type of shipping franchise. Each ship is incorporated separately and shares are available public. Sometimes preferred shares are given supervoting rights to prevent a ship from being "legally hijacked". A central firm finances each ship and assigns it's ships to various enterprises, in return holding shares in every ship. The system is usually not used on proper lines as the regimented scheduling would not be born by individual skippers and owners. Instead it provides a league of privately subsidized free traders with a system for keeping them from poaching each other's turf, or alternately exploiting new opportunities.

[jason taylor]

Widowposts:

A telescopic station built into the houses of shipping families to scan for the return of loved ones. Named after the famed Widows Walks of pre-starflight Terra.

In practice of course, any Starport with sufficient infrastructure has a datanet, as well as beacons, communications as well as ship-to-ship, and ship-to-port gossip, advertisement, announcements, what have you. But Widowposts are often maintained there for tradition's sake.

[jason taylor]

Nearest Guards: Or colloquially "nearests".

These are bodyguard/servants trained to reside specifically at their employers household and form a last line of defense. They are distinct from Outer Guards who can be expected to do no more than keep unwelcome people away from entering within range of the Household which requires straightforward security skills but less tact. They act as normal nannies or pedagogues for children and valets or ladiesmaids for adults. And often as martial arts trainers to provide the employer means to be their own bodyguard or just to handle themselves in an affair of honor. As servants that is, they keep their employers privy accounts, handle luggage, give advice on social functions and so forth. They also aside from protecting from assassins keep a weather eye out for spies whether from rival houses or journalists. Not to mention approving food supplies and knowing basic first aid well enough if they are the only ones available at a critical situation. Obviously such paladins of servile virtue as the description paints do not come cheap when they come at all but reasonable approximation can be gotten for enough reward. Often the reward comes not just in money but in land, gifts or fictive kinship, things that recognize the fact that a Nearest has to be incorporated into a household's private life. One of the most important things expected is near absolute discretion. A Nearest cannot regard a householder as a proper subject for sexual approach without the Head's formal permission (which is why Nearest's from different races are often preferred; Aslan for human Nobles and vice-versa for instance assuming no known xenosexual inclination). Likewise a Nearest must be able to accompany a subject into acutely embarrassing situations (such as getting them home secretly and safely after a night of carrousing). And of course they must keep silent about the employer's private life. Conversely a Nearest who is obviously alienated enough to resign in protest reflects on the employer who it is presumed must have done something truely dreadful. Commonly there is more than one Nearest and equally they often have their own connections with each other; the stereotyped hereditary retainer does have an approximation in some circles even though the high-training needed preclude actual inherited service.

A Nearest can be made by combining a modification of the servant and bodyguard templates, plus adding Discretion (Household Life) to the CoH. Other traits can be added as desired including Quirk (stoic), Quirk: Unrequited Love, SoD (Employer), and so on. A possible model is Kevin Costner in The Bodyguard, though he should perhaps be more personable. Costner's Samurai romanticism is a great quirk for this though.

Possible adventures can go from the dramatic to the comic. Comic adventures can center around accompanying the employer on a night of vice and rescuing them from a drug-addled party before the cops arrive. More serious troubles can come when loyalties are divided; if for instance the Head wishes for information on the doings of one of his dependents.

[Astromancer]

Bachelor Weddings

In the 19th century American West. Single sex groups, mainly male groups, had semiformal recognition of homoerotic relationships. These were called " Bachelor Weddings." They weren't seen as "Gay" as that concept didn't exist yet. And the idea of Homosexuality didn't show up in Europe until the 1890's ( and doesn't seem to have caught on widely in the USA until almost WW I). Although people knew about men having sex with men and in most areas sent people to jail for it.

Still, although the 3I is sexually egalitarian, single sex groups are part of the setting. People, who would otherwise be strictly heterosexual, might seek same sex relationships in these circumstances. In the highly formal aristocratic culture of the 3I there would be etiquette rules for such things.

Thus your macho spacehero could get stranded for a long time in an all male environment and find himself the target of flirtation from powerful aristocrats who wouldn't take a tactless no kindly. It simply extends the areas were social grace and etiquette are vital tools.

[Astromancer]

Popular Media

Hierarchical societies always seem to have issues with popular entertainment. Japan constantly put the harshest restrictions on the Kubuki theatre ( the aristocratic Noh drama fared far better). The actors, even when acknowledged as great artists, were treated as whores and often had to earn most of their livings as such. Christian Rome outlawed theatre, but kept gladitorial games. Islam didn't even allow the formation of live theatre traditions outside of Iran and often outlawed music. If a performer became too popular for the comfort of the scholar class in China, they were often exiled to poor districts. Too popular generally meant little more than name recognition.

Even Elizabethan England, known for its theatre, treated actors as beggars under law. And Scotland, which in the same period had its own brilliant theatre, often praised by the English who saw it as the equal of their own, got rid of all the manuscripts and printed little if any of its literature for religious reasons.

So the question would be, how does the 3I suppress popular art and media?

[Dr. Beckenstein]

Originally Posted by Astromancer

Popular Media

So the question would be, how does the 3I suppress popular art and media?

IMO, not at all.

The Imperium contains 11,000 worlds, with trillions of inhabitants, and it takes years for a ship (and so, for an idea) to cross the whole 3I. It is simply not a monolithic power or cultural block like Star Wars Empire or feudal Japan.

When some new and disturbing idea raises the eyebrows of a powerful-enough noble (say, a sector duke), the new fad has already run through the local cultures and made room for something new.

[Astromancer]

Originally Posted by Dr. Beckenstein

IMO, not at all.

The Imperium contains 11,000 worlds, with trillions of inhabitants, and it takes years for a ship (and so, for an idea) to cross the whole 3I. It is simply not a monolithic power or cultural block like Star Wars Empire or feudal Japan.

When some new and disturbing idea raises the eyebrows of a powerful-enough noble (say, a sector duke), the new fad has already run through the local cultures and made room for something new.

You'd think that but remember the song "Dancing in the Streets" was banned for years in England because the Establishment thought it would cause riots.

[jason taylor]

Originally Posted by Astromancer

Popular Media

Hierarchical societies always seem to have issues with popular entertainment. Japan constantly put the harshest restrictions on the Kubuki theatre ( the aristocratic Noh drama fared far better). The actors, even when acknowledged as great artists, were treated as whores and often had to earn most of their livings as such. Christian Rome outlawed theatre, but kept gladitorial games. Islam didn't even allow the formation of live theatre traditions outside of Iran and often outlawed music. If a performer became too popular for the comfort of the scholar class in China, they were often exiled to poor districts. Too popular generally meant little more than name recognition.

Even Elizabethan England, known for its theatre, treated actors as beggars under law. And Scotland, which in the same period had its own brilliant theatre, often praised by the English who saw it as the equal of their own, got rid of all the manuscripts and printed little if any of its literature for religious reasons.

So the question would be, how does the 3I suppress popular art and media?

Refusing to let it be carried on interstellar routes? Rather than suppress it they can quarantine it, assuming they care to.