Fiction:Phero Ecumene

"Ah, yes, the great Phero Ecumene. Where shall I begin? If you're out in its outer rim without a decent carbine on you, chances are you'll be picked up and sold to the Underground. If you're in the middle rim, the feudal Magistrates can do just about anything they like with you. And as for the central rim and Capital Enclave, your every move is being monitored, processed, and used to assess how much of a threat you might pose. Do anything that makes them consider you dangerous, and you're gone, just like that. To be completely honest, if you don't see someone being dragged away in a black bag in the Ecumene, it hasn't been much of a day."

- Unknown

The Phero Ecumene (Pheroene:)is a large "pseudofeudal" empire located in the, comprised of 82 enclaves governed by magistrates, with an popularly elected Parliament and Prime Magistrate to function as a lord over the vassal magistrates. As a stratocracy, all government officials are commissioned officers and have the authority to command soldiers in battle if necessary, though actual military operations are generally handled by the Magistrates, who each control their own divisions of the largely decentralized Contention Forces. The population is regularly monitored by the advanced state surveillance systems, which are less entrenched in outer systems, a fact which has allowed the so-called Phero Underground to thrive in these systems.

The Ecumene was initially created by the Tvolin Conglomerate remnants and a collection of civilizations—the Twin Stars Coalition, the Empire, the Nech Moonweb, and the  Hegemony—which were all immediately threatened by the  and more belligerent powers of the Pal-Xalakk sector, many of which would later be absorbed into the Ecumene. The planet serves as the Ecumene's capital.

Unbeknownst to most, the Prime Magistrate and directors of certain ministries answer to the Quintet, a shadow government of five that survived their civilization's collapse and now seek to use the Ecumene as a means to regain control of Tuuros and complete their various other objectives. The one benefit to this covert union is the Ecumene's access to what remains of Psal'Jinnai weaponry and technology, both of which have given the Ecumene an edge in defending itself and conquering weaker species.

First Convergence War
Beginning in 1736 CE, the began relentlessly assaulting multiple civilizations native to the Pal-Xalakk, Khauiz-Tok, and Ton-Yato sectors of Tuuros, searching for the  that possessed the AI Kzejjyt, the only Tvolin AI capable of fully comprehending and using  and thus a valuable asset to the Convergence. Their first strike in Pal-Xalakk fell on the -held system of Voltrove, forcing the Oslun Empire and Hegemony to both mobilize rapidly in retaliation against this new threat, with the militaries of both often resorting to torture to extract information on the Convergence out of the scattered Tvolii. While the knowledge gathered through this slowed the advance of the biosynths, both empires continued losing worlds at an unacceptable rate, forcing them to pressure the nearby Twin Stars Coalition into aiding them. However, the Coalition's capital world of was attacked in a surprise mass-assault by the Convergence, forcing it to pour all its forces into removing the biosynthetic corruption from the system. The Moonweb, however, entered the war quite unexpectedly on the side of the Oslun and V'kirrn, forcing the Convergence to spread out its forces as it searched for Kzejjyt.

Unbeknownst to the Convergence and most of the factions now embroiled in the war, Kzejjyt was possessed by the former Tvolin admiral Xiaulzhos, who was guided by the almost undetectable meddling of Vi'taupheon to the unclaimed and uninhabited planet in 1737, a former fortress world of the  Symmetry (a fact much of the galaxy remained unaware of). The entry of Xiaul's ship into the Xao system alerted the Psal'Jinnai Thought-Ship sitting at the core of planet's largest moon, and thus awakened four of its five occupants, the last of their species and the group that would come to be called the Quintet. Azh'auvix began whispering to Xiaul through the Zemblite on board his ship, instructing him to land on Phero, where Azh had awoken a Nycotium through which he could guide and speak to the Tvolis.

Many parsecs from Phero, the loose Nech-Oslun-V'kirrn entente began construction of the Pal-Xalakk Wall, a semilinear array of planetary and deep-space installations that would use artificial gravitational fields to pull down anything attempting to cross into the sector along the Oma-Khauat border. However, the project was abandoned as the three empires were forced to divert the majority of their assets toward defending their home territories. At this point, Nech research teams on the fortress world Axolvol appeared to have broken the Psal'Jinnai seal on it, allowing it to be controlled by the Moonweb's military. In reality, the Quintet had remotely unlocked it for use by the Nech, whose Moon Council had been offered the strength of the Psal'Jinnai Symmetry in exchange for total subservience and secrecy. Their entry into the war had been a test of their civilization's innate strength, and despite the dramatic losses the Quintet deemed them and their allies worthy.

Xiaul, meanwhile, was informed of his role in the grander scheme of the Quintet: he would be the head of a new order designed to ensure the loyalty of numerous races, primarily those embroiled in the war with the Convergence, while granting the Quintet total but covert control, exercised primarily through the central leader Xiaul would become. Easily swayed by promise of authority and power for him to exercise within the boundaries of their design, Xiaul was granted access to Phero's ship-forges, with which he produced an incredibly powerful fleet, which would then be staffed by the various Atriants, Lieschi, and Tvolii that had also been called to Phero by Vi'taupehon. When the fleet finally left the Xao system in 1740 CE, also taking two mobile war-moons with it, Kzejjyt was placed in stasis deep within Phero, far beyond the Convergence's reach.

The arrival of Xiaul's fleet at the Siege of Coelyss, the nearest fragment of the war to Phero itself, turned the tide in mere hours, breaking the Convergence forces surrounding the unaffiliated world. Though grateful for his intervention, the governing Tribunal was reluctant to sign a pact of temporary submission which granted Xiaul total control over their military assets and system-wide resources, though Coelyss itself was deemed off-limits for mining. Taking what he could, Xiaul moved on, carving a path of devastation through the Convergence line until he reached Vortrove, where even after four years the Oslun had held out against the relentless onslaught. Coincidentally, the Strategic Mind in charge of attacking and searching Pal-Xalakk chose this as the perfect moment to strike down Xiaul, who had become the greatest threat to the Convergence's objective. The Liberation of Voltrove would go on for nearly a year, with Xiaul's armada facing an overpowering threat that likely would have ended his campaign, were it not for the intervention of the Nech. Brininging their own fleet outfitted with deadly Psal'Jinnai weaponry, they tipped the scales enough for the Pal-Xalakk natives to destroy the majority of Convergence forces in their sector, including the Strategic Mind before it could flee back to Xalakk-Xittan. Subsequent skirmishes over the next year would finish off the remainder of the invaders.

Tyle'an Assault and Dawn of the Ecumene
As one of the dominant powers in Pal-Xalakk at the time, the Tyle'an Dictation had been able to easily fend off the Convergence assault relative to the rest of the sector. Seeing many of their neighbors weakened by the war, they quickly sent a massive invasion force to establish their sovereignty over the rest of Pal-Xalakk's species. Succeeding in their conquest of much of the broken V'kirrn Hegemony, the Tyle'ans pushed into the Oslun Empire, Nech Moonweb, and Twin Stars Coalition with great confidence. However, the still-mobilized armada of Xiaul and the Nech, both of which the Tyle'ans were largely unaware of, routed the new invaders in six months. And with the recalcitrant V'kirrn Hegemony and numerous provinces within the Dictation rebelling in this moment of federal weakness, the Tyle'ans were effectively held hostage by the technologically superior flotilla which had proceeded to blockade their capital.

At this point, Xiaul and the Nech Moon Council presented their outline for the establishment of the Phero Ecumene, a massive interstellar government which outwardly appealed to the desires of all involved parties as best it could. Seeing that their disorganized and divided state had lead to their near-fall to two threats over the past decade, the Dictation, Enpire, Moonweb, Coalition, and Hegemony gave their sovereignty over to the new system. Xiaul, as luck would have it, was elected to be the first Prime Magistrate. At the protest of the Tribunal of Coelyss, he created the Ministry of Autonomous Worlds, allowing the planet more autonomy alongside the security granted by the Ecumene.

Government and Politics
The Ecumene government is best defined as a "pseudofeudal democratic stratocracy," featuring a tricameral Parliament which elects a Prime Magistrate to serve as a feudal lord over enclaval magistrates. As a stratocracy, all government employees have military ranks and some training.

Central Government
The Parliament of Phero is made up of three houses: the Magnus Synod, made up of ministers chosen by each magistrate, the Modus Synod, made up of ministers chosen by popular vote in individual enclaves, and the Vogus Synod, made up of ministers elected by each enclave based on population. Each house contains 246 ministers, three from each enclave in the first two and one to three per enclave depending on population in the third. A proposed law must pass in at least two houses and signed by the Prime Magistrate to be put into effect.

The Prime Magistrate is elected by a combined majority vote of all three houses. He or she oversees and appoints the directors of individual ministries, and acts as the supreme judicial authority in the Ecumene, often resolving disputes between magistrates.

Central Leadership
 Prime Magistrate Umbyrvraxa=




 * Name - Umbyrvraxa
 * Role - Prime Magistrate
 * In Office - 2760 CE - present

 is a female-identified Tvolis and current Prime Magistrate of the Phero Ecumene, functioning as the Parliament-elected feudal lord over all lesser magistrates and the apparent head of state and government. As a former Iconoclast for the Ministry of Occult Research and Security, she has seen firsthand the horrors that have come forth from Tuuros' Schism, and her resultant Frontierist views are shared by much of the population. She is also notably in favor of letting the Coelyss counterculture "bring life to her Ecumene," as she puts it, despite the repeated criticisms many of its members have of her and her government.

Policies:

Xenophobic Anti-Machinist · Ant- · Slight Militarist · Vigorously Anti-Schism · Pro-Surveillace · Pro-Counterculture



Minister Ameaux Sel-Axir=


 * Name - Ameaux vax Phero Sel-Axir
 * Role - Parliamentary Minister, First C'cysa Seat
 * In Office - 2794 CE - present

Ameaux vax Phero Sel-Axir is a male who serves as the Senior Minister in Parliament's Modus Synod, representing the C'cysa Enclave. In an effort to prevent the chaos caused by the death of her predecessor, Umbyrvraxa has officially designated him as her second-in-command in the event of her death or incapacitation. As a member of the Bio Platform, he is strongly against machine races reaching any sort of equality with organic races, advanced AIs included. He is also in favor of increased centralization and use of the military, particularly against the Tvolai Convergence.

Policies:

Vigorous Anti-Machinist · Strong Military Centralist · Strong Militarist · Anti-Schism · Pro-Surveillace · Strong Pro-Organic · Expansionist



Director Beurahl Goh Djazor=


 * Name - Beurahl Goh Djazor
 * Role - Director of Contention
 * In Office - 2788 CE - present

Beurahl Goh Djazor is a male serving as the current Director of Contention, tasked with oversight of the entire Ecumene military. In addition, Umbyrvraxa has granted him the position of standby Supreme Commander, and if she deems it necessary he will be granted full command of all the Ecumene's military assets. He is a seasoned veteran of the Second Convergence War, and has seen firsthand some of the bloodiest battles in Ecumene military history. Much like various other veterans and commander, he harbors strong anti-machinist views, and loathes the concept of machines having equality to or superiority over organic life.

Policies:

Strong Anti-Machinist · Strong Militarist · Vigorously Anti-Schism · Slightly Anti-Surveillace · Expansionist

Enclave Governments
Each enclave is governed by a nigh-autocratic magistrate with supreme legislative, judicial, executive, and military authority. Within the bounds of national law, he or she has total authority within his or her enclave, though the responsibility of governing individual planets or systems is often delegated to a locally elected tribunal, while the magistrate focuses on more general affairs.

The Capital Enclave is a unique enclave governed directly by the Prime Magistrate, who acts as the equivalent of an ordinary magistrate. This enclave is the smallest in the Ecumene, covering only the Xao system and its six immediate neighbors.

Prominent Magistrates
 Magistrate Cheñenvola=


 * Name - Cheñenvola
 * Role - Magistrate of C'cysa
 * In Office - 2812 CE - present

Cheñenvola is a male-identified Tvolis and current Magistrate of C'cysa, the inner enclave Umbyrvraxa herself is native to. He is one of the growing coalition of magistrates who oppose the increased centralization of the Contention Forces, though he has yet to openly call for the disbanding of the Ministry of Contention. However, both Umbyrvraxa and Director Goh Djazor suspect he may use his growing support to push for it in the near future, and have begun implementing strict Ecumene-first loyalty policies for all the Contention Forces to lessen or delay this possibility.

Policies:

Strongly Xenophobic · Vigorous Militarist · Strongly Anti-Schism · Strongly Pro-Surveillace · Slight Military Feudalist/Anti-Centralist



Magistrate Ti Alyani Viosoll=


 * Name - Ti Alyani Viosoll
 * Role - Magistrate of Nioxatana
 * In Office - 2798 CE - present

Ameaux vax Phero Sel-Axir is a female who rules over the mid-rim Nioxatana enclave. She is notably in favor of appointing family members to high-ranking positions, with her cousin being a notable example. As a prominent shareholder in Ecumene General Mining, she is a strong corporatist, believing few boundaries should exist between government and corporate cooperation. She has historically used her military might to protect private assets that are valuable to her, a fact which has sewn distaste with both Umbyrvraxa and Ao Ec'hian.

Policies:

Vigorous Anti-Machinist · Strong Hereditarian · Strong Militarist · Strong Corporatist · Vigorously Pro-Surveillace · Expansionist



Magistrate Katalax Dzhorol=




 * Name - Katalax Dzhorol
 * Role - Magistrate of Tzaiel, Dictator of Tylorthrus
 * In Office - 2819 CE - present

Katalax Dzhorol is a male Tyle'an and Magistrate of Tzaiel, an enclave straddling the border between the inner and mid-rim of the Ecumene. Known for his prosthetic limb, eye, and internal organs, he has no tolerance for what he deems nonsensical and maintains an extremely tight hold on his enclave, which has quickly risen to have the largest number of active Civil Security personnel in relative to the crime rate. He is vehemently opposed to corporate-government interaction, having outlawed private arms production within his enclave and ensuring his government relies only on its own assets.

Policies:

Vigorous Anti-Machinist · Strong Auhtoritarian · Vigorously Pro-Surveillance · Anti-Corporatist · Anti-Counterculture

Autonomous and Restricted Worlds
A number of planets within the Ecumene are designated as Autonomous; that is, independent of enclaval control and governed by an elective Autonomous Tribunal. The Ministry of Autonomous Worlds and its Director oversee these unique planets. Many of them, such as, are social or legal experiments designed to test the feasibility of certain government actions on the whole of the Ecumene.

Uninhabited planets in the Ecumene, such as, are often reserved for a variety of purposes by the central and enclaval governments, from mass automated mining to ecological preservation to advanced weapons testing. These planets have incredibly acute orbital scanning satellites, capable of picking up and object as small as ten meters across and shooting down any unauthorized ship that refuses to leave when contacted. Most Uninhabited Worlds are overseen by an AI, though those that experience more activity, often worlds reserved for weapons testing, will have direct oversight from whatever ministry has acquired the planet from the Ministry of Restricted Worlds.

Military
The Ecumene Contention Forces are fundamentally fused with the government itself. All government officials are commissioned officers, and the feudal magistrates have effectively total control over their own divisions of the military, commanding them on behalf of the Phero government during wars in exchange for authority over their enclaves. This system is both a blessing and a curse—while the mostly decentralized military is more unpredictable than conventional ones, such decentralization can hamper its effectiveness as a united fighting force. However, the Prime Magistrate has the authority to abolish feudal control of enclaval military divisions and place them under the more centralized control of a Supreme Commander, if it is deemed necessary to overcome an enemy. Though decentralized, each division follows the same basic organization of its forces.

Resident Species

 * Centauran Heskron
 * Meopall
 * Berraka
 * Atriants
 * Settans
 * Esu'imxa
 * Ilquaorlans
 * Meopall
 * Berraka
 * Atriants
 * Settans
 * Esu'imxa
 * Ilquaorlans
 * Meopall
 * Berraka
 * Atriants
 * Settans
 * Esu'imxa
 * Ilquaorlans

Economy
The Pheroene economy is based on the use of Zemblite (Pheroene: ), a form of programmable matter left in caches across Tuuros by the Psal'Jinnai, as currency. Once converted into a new state, such as part of a machine or a piece of hull plating, it is impossible to convert it back into "raw" Zemblite, increasing the demand as it is used. However, this demand is supplanted by the eerily regular finding and reactivating of new Zemblite caches both in and out of Ecumene territory. In addition to functioning as currency, Zemblite has information-gathering properties that send raw electromagnetic, auditory, and chemical data to a Psal'Jinnai organoserver, allowing the Quintet and Ministry of Information to monitor the locations, usage, and movement of all active Zemblite.

Much of the Ecumene's mining and manufacturing is automated with some organic oversight, though a number of corporations have deals with the that allow them to use worker-caste Okra as cheap physical laborers. However, the fact that the Okra are not an Ecumene resident species means they are not protected by regulations that would otherwise keep workers from being abused, leading to a sort of semi-legal slavery, which is kept secret from the Inalvial by the corporations indulging in it. However, most Okra that live past a month as adults are without any severe mental defects that could make them rebellious, and almost all torment inflicted upon them is due to the sadism of corporate overseers. Atriants are also known to be used in a slave-like way, with corporations often purchasing illegally reprogrammed Atriants from Underground markets and seemingly hiring them on the surface.

No overall measurement of regulation can be assigned to all Pheroene corporations, as each industry is regulated differently in each enclave. Some corporations have monopolies in all laissez-faire enclaves, while others suffer tight regulations or even ownership by one or more magistrates. Ecumene General Mining, for instance, is owned by the Magistrate of Dhoss, with the Magistrates of Tsolen and Nioxatana also holding shares in the company which are directly tied to the positions, as opposed to the individuals in them.

Underground
The Phero Underground (not to be confused with the Phero Subterranean Transit and Commercial Network, which is also referred to as the Phero Underground) is a massive web of contract killers, contraband salesmen, slave markets, hacker cells, radical cults, organized criminals, and others working outside the law. Its presence is most obvious in outer-rim slum and frontier worlds, where federal and enclaval surveillance infrastructure isn't as developed as it is in the inner systems.

Nevertheless, the term "Phero Underground" can often be taken literally, as almost 50% of its physical substance exists in unmonitored but sophisticated subterranean tunnels. In most cases, an individual will strike a deal on the Ecumene's darknet from a planet's surface, then travel underground to finalize the transaction. While this may sound like an easy process, dark markets will often enlist hackers to review a customer's personal information to ensure the Underground is not found by security forces. If a detective or security officer attempts to sneak into the Underground, they will either be rejected immediately online or lured into a trap before being sold on a slave market, interrogated, or harvested for organs.

Unbeknownst to the public, the Quintet and Prime Magistrate are actually fully aware of the extent of the Underground through hypercovert Psal'Jinnai surveillance systems left behind by the old Psal'Jinnai civilization. They allow the Underground to exist as part of a private deal with the uncomfortably nearby, allowing the dark market slavers to do business with the Order to stave off a potential invasion.

Counterculture
The Phero Counterculture is an anti-urbanization, anti-surveillance, anti-militarization subculture that has gained widespread popularity among inner/mid-rim youths of all species within the Ecumene, with the Autonomous World of being a focal point of the phenomenon. Notable features of this subculture include extreme political and social activism, anti-urbanization and anti-industry sentiment, and disconnection from technology in protest of both immoral industry practices and the mass surveillance conducted by the government.

Favorable
"We show benevolence. We expect you to reciprocate it."



Covert Deals
"We have an arrangement."



Neutral
"Our eyes are upon you."



Unfavorable
"Provoke us and face ruin."



At War
"You have made a terrible mistake."



Quotes
"A new order in its infantile state."

- Azh'auvix

"Know that whatever walls are built by the weak have no foundation. All walls that exist outside of our own exist merely to be knocked down."

- Lord-General Sarhadraxantal of the

"They're smart; that much is obvious. Dangerous? Perhaps. The Phero Undeground, however? Well...business is business."

Trivia

 * The Phero Ecumene was the hardest faction to come up with a flag design for, according to.
 * The initial concept and aesthetic of the Ecumene was inspired by Destiny's Cabal Empire. While it was changed dramatically before being brought into the Fiction Universe, this initial concept lives on in the Oslun, a species partly inspired by the Cabal. This iteration was also notably less dystopian and more democratic than the final draft.
 * In addition, the original Ecumene would have been located in the, and would have likely absorbed much of Parazrael's extant fictions present there. Due to its pre-implementation relocation to Tuuros, this is now highly unlikely.
 * Unlike most fictional surveillance states, the Phero Ecumene is not explicitly collectivist or fascist.