In politics, always look under the surface...The Frostkracken GovernmentEternal Rule
Hover over cards for details, click for permalink
7gr 7h2 7h2 7h2 7h2 7q0 7q0 7q0 7q0 7q0 7q5 7q5 7q7 7q7 7q8 7q8 7qu 7qu 7qu 7qu 7qu 7qu 7ri 7ri 7ri 7ri 7ri 7ri 7ri 7ri 8ppThe
squid represents the Emperor and the whole inner cabinet. On its own it would be vulnerable to many forms of attack, and thus, like any good empire based around a single leader, possibly a dictatorship, the rest of the government has been formed mostly as a protection of the leader.
IdeologyFirst, it has been made clear to everyone that JonathanCrazyJ will reign for
eternity, which in itself 'turns away' many threats.
Time flies when you have eternal reign, and this allows the emperor to take my time over offensive and defensive decisions,
turning the sands of time on a whim.
ParliamentThe two houses of parliament, The Shell of Anubis and The Shell of Steam are mainly puppets.
The Shell of
Anubis are the highest level of government beneath the Emperor, simply agree with whatever JonathanCrazyJ tells them to, protecting his interests.
The Shell of
Steam is less aware of their true role. They argue and fight amongst themselves, unaware that all their discussion will be overruled or twisted by The Shell of Anubis and the Emperor to suit the Emperor's wants. However, they are at their most powerful when their arguing reaches fever pitch, because even though they are ultimately puppets, they believe so strongly they are part of a democracy that they fiercely fight any uprising, thinking they are doing good.
With all of these clever devices in place, they emperor is always ready to squash any uprising...
The Frostkracken PeopleHoards of the Abyss
Hover over cards for details, click for permalink
74a 74a 74c 74d 74d 74i 74i 74i 75m 75m 75m 75m 75m 75m 75m 7an 7ap 7ap 7bu 7bu 7bu 7bu 7bu 7bu 7gm 7gm 7gm 7gm 7gm 7gm 8ppWhile there are many enslaved and colonized areas under our rule, our true people are the creatures of the deep.
The Emperor likes to make them feel like they matter. It is easier to control a civilization who believe their voices are being heard. However, when voices of decent are heard, it is possible that their
number will grow.
Keep Them SmallFeelings of resentment breed and multiply, and soon enough whispers become shouts, and the rebellion goes into
overdrive.
Ours is a strong people. They are proud and brave, and when excited, their
adrenaline can make them feel
unstoppable.
Keep Them HappyThe
force of their anger can break their enemies if they go unchecked.
The sheer multitude of creatures of the deep, and strength of their numbers make them a
titan of an enemy.
The Regent's Diary*All words hereafter have been written by the most trusted royal scribe, as the Emperor-Regent is illiterate*
'The Emperor's Fourth Sucker' they call me. Right now I feel like 'The Emperor's Last Ink-Splat'.
The people are unhappy. Somehow The Emperor's absence is giving them a sense of unrest. While I was respected and loved as a champion of the people, now that it is I alone at the helm of their government, I worry that they will see through the measures our leader has in place for keeping the rabble peaceful.
I spoke with the Shell of Anubis today, away from the prying eyes of the Shell of Steam. They explained the intricacies of the Emperor's 'government'.
Essentially, it's all down to him. He is not a cruel leader, at least not to those in his original kingdom before the colonies started, yet he knows the importance of keeping the people in a balance of love and fear.
First, to stop them from even thinking of rebellion, it has been made clear to everyone that the Empire is eternal. It will endure forever. This gives the people a sense of acceptance, quashing the idea that another way of life is even possible. Then the government itself it seems is mere puppetry. In the public's mind, all laws the emperor comes up with are put before The Shell of Steam, which is made up of elected representatives of the people. They argue their arguments and speak their speeches, and pass on a glossy version of the law to The Shell of Anubis, who make final tweaks using their experience and knowledge of the empire (as ex-members of The Shell of Steam) and publish it as constitutional law.
What actually happens is that once the law reaches The Shell of Anubis, they are bribed, pampered and threatened to essentially turn the law back to what The Emperor originally proposed. When I spoke to them, they seemed quite happy with the situation.
The pretense of democracy is the important thing, and the people respond to this. It's a good system.
Yet now, with The Emperor absent and war rationing in place, I hear grumbles rising from the abyss. I look at the sheer numbers in our dominion, and wonder what would happen if they were to truly revolt en masse.
The Shell of Anubis seemed to dislike this hypothetical, but answered me, grudgingly. They appear to think it's a 50/50 fight. Essentially our defenses against the masses would be in quelling the uprising by propaganda, reinforcing the eternal nature of the Empire. While we would work in that way, the Shell of Steam would shout louder and louder that they were indeed representatives of the people, and eventually their voices would allow the rebellion to falter and fade out.
Of course, if our words of eternity were unheard, and The Shell of Steam acted too slowly, a rapid, explosive riot could be our end.
It's all rather worrying. The important thing to think about is that an uprising is unlikely to ever begin in the first place. Very unlikely. Surely close to impossible. Nobody would try it.
Surely.
All the same, I'll have the Military Intelligence Laboratory run some simulations of how an uprising might go down...
Rebellion Simulations from the Frostkracken Institute of Military Intelligence
