Martian Guild-Feudalism
Approximately a millennium
elapsed between the breakup of the Martian colony government and the
emergence of the Dark Republic. After the second civil war in the
early 4100's, the Martian population stabilized and began to grow.
However, although there were periods of relative abundance, the
expansion of the industrial base was never able to outpace population
growth for very long, as intercolonial warfare or the periodic
reemergence of TYRANT servant-cults among the psychologically
vulnerable would inevitably destroy whatever progress had been made.
Martian society of the fifth
millennium is typically described as guild-feudalist. Skilled
occupations split into hereditary guilds, which jealously guarded
their prerogatives and operated the industrial apparatus. Ownership
of that apparatus, and control of the military, was held by a
hereditary, hierarchical noble class. The balance of the populace,
lacking skills or property, lived in destitution, serving as a
reservoir of manpower for the guilds and the military to draw on as
needed. The desire to maintain the privileges of the elite class
led to further mal-distribution of resources, such as refusal to
train additional workers in critical skills since it might mean
dilution of guild control. Although the details varied widely from
place to place and from time to time, the broad outlines were
remarkably consistent over the centuries.
Reminder:
Class elitism is a level five memetic hazard. If you feel inclined
to elitism, consult a qualified psychoneurologist for assistance.
Only through unity can we survive.
Martian politics was defined by
group separatism, with the various colonies wasting their energies
struggling amongst for resources and dominance. Alliances between
colonies were inevitably temporary and fractured the moment it became
politically expedient. Although the governments formally expressed
a desire to retake Earth from the Enemy, they took no action to
achieve this.
Political Boundaries on Mars
in 5,000 AD
(Image Credit:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geography_of_Mars)
Martian
Technological Regression Under Guild-Feudalism
Although little of humanity's
scientific knowledge was actually lost, much of it was sequestered in
closed archives, and much else could not be implemented due to lack
of materials or infrastructure. In particular, the crystal matrix
computers and batteries used during the Second Golden Age could not
be replicated by Martian industry, since necessary elements were not
available on Mars; Martian engineers reverted to using silicon-based
electronics and lithium-metal batteries that had been obsolete for
over a millennium.
Biologically, the Martian
populace benefited from substantial genetic modifications. These
modifications had been developed during the Second Golden Age to
support exploration of the Martian surface, using retroviral
inoculation: thick, rough, orange skin covered with a thin layer of
orange, brown, black, or gray fur, except around the face and
extremities; large, infrared-sensitive eyes with a transparant
coating to keep out dust; increased blood oxygen capacity; and a thin
layer of blubber around the crucial organs. These enhancements
allowed Martian colonists to survive for up to thirty minutes without
protection outside, and indefinitely with only a parka and airmask.
The only widely-used form of
nuerological engineering was the trimind. Triminds were a
predecessor technology to modern polyminds, produced by genetic
engineering of the zygote rather than by post-birth modification. A
trimind resembled a short, squat, fat Martian human with a small
head. They had three brains, mounted in their torsos rather than
their skulls, linked by a large nervous column. Each brain had
access to the same sensory information as the others, and the nervous
activity of one was relayed immediately to the others. Essentially,
a trimind was a single person, who could maintain three separate
tracks of thoughts simultaneously. Creating and maintaining them
required extensive medical support, and they typically lived for only
40-50 years, so they were not common. However, both guilds and
nobility found them extremely useful, particularly in planning and
operating the Martian city economies.
The Martian colonies relied
primarily on nuclear fission for energy. After the second civil
war, there were periodic attempts to revive space travel, usually for
military advantage, but the poor industrial base and sabotage by
competing factions meant few of these efforts were successful.
Military technology was primarily chemical energy weapons, including
projectiles and missiles, and low-power ultraviolet lasers, primarily
for defense. The ultimate weapon for the Martian colonies was the
fission/fusion bomb, typically delivered by short-range missile.
The short-sightedness, classism,
and separatism of the Martian techno-feudalism seems unthinkable to
all right-minded Republic Citizens today. However, the entrenched
power interests of the elite guildsmen and nobles perpetuated this
appalling state of affairs for centuries.
Reminder: Failure to find the Martian guild-feudalism appalling may indicate latent classist and/or separatist tendencies. Classism and separatism are level five memetic hazards. If you do not find the Martian techno-feudalism appalling, consult a qualified psychoneurologist to determine if you harbor latent classist and/or separatist tendencies. Only through unity can we survive.
Interrupt from Author: As a qualified psychoneurologist, let me just say that, for the most part, Martian techno-feudalism really was psyching awful. There was a brief period in the 5,900's when romanticization of the old nobility was all the rage. Every psyching funlit had a doomed, tragic noble as the antagonist, an honorable man tied to a dying system. I had to stop reading funlit for two decades until they got over it.
No comments:
Post a Comment