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These stories and patterns merge consistently with the events in the current conflict. When Republic troopers took control of Udun from the Administration, the contract of loyalty and protection was broken. Once the Administration had been deprived of the ability to protect the population of Udun, it also lost the obligation to. Furthermore, that very population became an extremely high priority threat, one that justified massive orbital strikes. The citizens of Udun were left with nobody they could trust. Most of the population has devolved to what looks like anarchy, with a productive power structure re-establishing itself gradually and organically. Given what we now know of Darlok social psychology, this organic re-establishment of productive power is actually ultimately emanating from the ability of our occupying forces to keep the populace safe from threats. These threats are both natural (famine, floods, etc) and external (raids from Darloks who now acknowledge no protectors). To the extent that the Republic intends to assimilate the world, it needs to encourage this and discourage reliance on power centers such as powerful local crime families. The ideals of the Republic will be sorely tested by this occupation, but the way forward—at least on paper—is clear. We owe them our best, and fortunately this aligns well with our general principles, at least for now. But the ideals of the occupying forces—us—are not really the most pressing issue here. The Darloks of Udun are quite possibly in the most dire straits the current set of Galactic civilizations have ever seen. They have no friends and precious few allies. Their world is being remade by the forces they've been trained for decades to hate and fear, and those who trained them to do so have turned on them as threats to the larger order. Those that do turn to the occupiers swiftly learn that the propaganda didn't go far enough. Stories of the Bulrathi are spotty, but the Cabal's stories of Bulrathi ruthlessness are borne out by the stories the Human occupiers tell. Before the Humans tore it down, the Bulrathi empire was built entirely on slavery. Even the slavemasters were slaves to the Emperor's will; the best they could hope for was that the Emperor's will would continue to (conditionally!) grant what privileges they enjoyed. If danger threatened, the stated agreement was that it was only the will of the Emperor that provided assistance. And the Humans—well. The Cabal had cast them as greedy and rapacious, organized into a machine that served the will of those other machines, the Meklar. More extended, unfiltered contact to Humans, though, shows that this isn't quite right. It's close enough—sober-minded Darloks don't think the Cabal were lying—but you can see more detail up close. Humans like to have things, and they like to give them away. They are as good at conversation and negotiation as a contact sport as any Darlok. But when a Darlok calls something "risky", they'll need to be forced into doing it. When a Human calls something "risky", it means they're working out the maximum price they're willing to pay. Humans are absurdly reckless. The Cabal offered protection in exchange for possibly dangerous service. Based on their contacts with the occupiers, the Republic appears to think dangerous service is an opportunity all its own. Humanity offers a world of no gods, no masters... and no refuge. They are chaos made flesh, uncontrollability as a virtue. They are the fire that burned a slave empire to ashes, but one does not praise an inferno for its devastation. (Postscript: The Mrrshan emphasis on personal trust and bidirectional accountability may be the alien mindset most compatible with stateless Darloks. This analysis may be easier to do if and when there are significant Darlok populations in stable and secure circumstances but not under Administration governance. The Cabal is not easy to analyze, but if we know that they are aware of them, and yet their propoaganda remains vague and spotty, this is evidence they want to hide that government from their people.) (Further aside, completely dropping the Xenorelations Committee hat and going OOC: if citizens of the Republic are the only aliens they've met, your average Darlok will consider the Charismatic trait baseline. After all, they've got it, and the only aliens they've directly dealt with have it. Any other aliens must be weird, repulsive outliers.) ManxomeBromide fucked around with this message at 10:13 on Jul 9, 2017 |
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Jul 9, 2017 10:10
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| # ¿ May 14, 2024 10:47 |
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