Re: Gov codes

A thread of 2 messages, 4 June 1993 to 4 June 1993, in the order they were sent.

#5568 Re: Gov codes

Derek Wildstar · 4 June 1993

>   IMHO it is good to have the info in the basic world data somewhere, instead
> of having to scan through the extra data for each world to find it.

It would be nice, but I didn't have the canonical list of government
codes, so I had to solve the problem without creating a new government
type code.

Also, I'm not convinced that a TED is really anything different than a
lot of Non-Charismatic Leaders, Totalitarian Oligarchies, Religous
Dictators/Oligarchies, and Feudal Technocracies that we had in the
Classic Imperium.  It's just that instead of "Governments will be
Governments" the attitude towards them is "It's Clobberin' Time!".  Or
in other words, what makes a TED is in the eyes of the beholder, and not
necessicarily a characteristic of the government.

As an example, note the description of Montezuma starting on T:TNE
pp.98; the narrator herself notes that the world's government is not
particularly ornerous (but comments that *in her opinion* it may become
so at some future time); the farmers are not yet peasants, there is
currently a merchant class, and the world enjoys offworld trade on what
seems to be a regular (if infrequent) basis.  But the RCES seems to
have decided that the world is a TED, and that they're going to liberate
the not-yet-peasants from their not-yet-masters!

[email removed]
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                                                 Science-Fiction Adventure
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#5569 Re: Gov codes

Bertil Jonell · 4 June 1993 · reply to #5568

>>   IMHO it is good to have the info in the basic world data somewhere, instead
>> of having to scan through the extra data for each world to find it.
>
> It would be nice, but I didn't have the canonical list of government
> codes, so I had to solve the problem without creating a new government
> type code.

  I include the trade classifications area and the alliegance field in 'basic
world data'. It's when one has to go to another sheet of paper that it gets
onerous.

> But the RCES seems to
> have decided that the world is a TED, and that they're going to liberate
> the not-yet-peasants from their not-yet-masters!

  At least in the case of the areas surrounding the RC, we might assume that
any teddy mark in the world lists is a statement by the RCES giving any
official or quasi-official party an 'open season' on the government and that
the mark in the world list reflects a current or future RCES classification,
just like the Amber and Red zones were classifications actually issued by TAS
reflecting their judgement and info about interdictions, instead of 'just'
a game-mechanic.

  It is like a 'most favoured nation' status in reverse. 'Government Non Grata',
'Hunting Licence'.

  (to the tune or 'run wabbit')

  "Run teddy! Run teddy!
   run! run! run!
   Here comes the RCES's with
   guns! guns! guns!"

   (Howabout that Scott?:)

  Now this system might be abused in several ways. The threat of being 'teddy
marked' might be wielded by those who hold the power against individual
worlds in various nefarious ways. I can think of several plots resulting from
this.

  TED's away from the RCES's area of influence are more problematic. Either we
have to trace the word from a commonly known pre-virus source (Ililek Kuligaan
perhaps predicted them and called them TED's, or TED is a word used by
historians describing similar phenomenas during the Long Night) or say that
"Teddy marking means that the RCES would regard the world as being under the
 control of a TED if they had known about it."

> [email removed]

- -bertil-
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