Saxe - Part I

Saxe - Part I

By: Michael Bailey [email removed]

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Saxe: Welcome to the Gulag...

Saxe A763ABA-C

Saxe was heavily colonised in the initial wave of settlement that followed the Terran Confederation's victory over the Vilani in -2219. Two major groups were involved in the initial colonisation effort: the area north of the equatorial sea was colonised by a libertarian group that drew it's membership from Europe and North America. The southern hemisphere was colonised by a coalition of Arabic governments and corporations, as part of the Islamic Resurgence of the era.

Like many worlds in the Solomani Confederation, Anglic is not necessarily the main language on Saxe, although it is the 'official' language. Anglic is indeed the primary tongue in the north, although local groups also speak their own 'ethnic' tongue. In the south, Arabic predominates, although other languages include Farsi, Turkic and Bahasa Indonesia.

Saxe is heavily populated, despite it's apparent aridness. Although only 34% of the planet's surface is covered with water, there are extensive underground water systems, as well as highly advanced hydroponic and aeroponic farms. This reliance on technological farming methods cost Saxe dearly during the Collapse. 8 billion people were killed in the first decade following the Virus...only pre-stocked emergency caches and extremely ruthless measures prevented a total collapse. Saxe's population stabilised at around 7.5 billion in the early 1140's, and has since climbed to a fraction over 12 billion.

Government

Saxe's dogmatic, repressive and brutal Solomani Party government was toppled by a military coup in 1193. The new government, under General Yevgeniy Mikhailovitch Shabranov and a Military Council, is scarcely less repressive. The Emergency Measures enacted after the coup are still in force, and mass arrest and imprisonment is still commonplace. To make things worse, Solomani extremeists are still engaged in a campaign of terror against the military government. Life on Saxe is strict and regimented. Indeed, the ruling beauracracy was largely inherited from the previous regime and left in place - only the high-ranking Party officals were removed.

Saxe's rulers are under some pressure from other worlds in the Commonwealth to relax it's grip on the populace. General Shabranov has so far resisted this pressure, and Saxe's 5 representatives in the Commonwealth Senate are scornful of this 'soft liberalism'. Still, Saxe's current rulers are eager to co-operate with the other worlds of the Commonwealth...better to wait, and hope that reforms 'sink in'. This position doesn't sit well with a lot of people, but for now the pragmatists (and the Saxeans) have the majority in the Senate.

Laws

Saxe is a dangerous world to visit. Off-world visitors are restricted to so-called 'open zones', and are denied access to much of the world. They are forced to deal with 'official trade representatives' when conducting business. Possession of weapons is prohibited on Saxe, strict customs controls at Esfahan Starport enforce this decree.

Civilians on Saxe live in constant fear of arrest and imprisonment. The government is always looking for 'volunteer shock-workers' to man the off-world mining stations, as well as labour camps spread throughout the world. The entire penal apparatus was inherited intact from the Solomani Party, and has been put to good use.

Arrests are often made en-masse. Security forces will conduct a sweep of a given area, and imprison anyone who doesn't satsify their questions.

Resistance:

Resistance to this rule comes in two forms: on one hand, Solomani extremeists seek to restore the rule of the Solomani Party, and are willing to use any methods to secure their goals. The other group, commonly known as the 'refuseniks', seek democracy and freedom of expression. Even the refuseniks, who had renounced violence as a means toward their goals, are beginning to take up arms as their frustration grows. They thought that freedom would come after the coup of '93, instead all they got was a new set of masters.

Acts of terrorism are once again on the rise on Saxe. In some areas, the refuseniks have joined forces with the Solomani (at least for now).

Technology:

Although Saxe is listed as TL12, this tech. level is almost exclusively devoted to military production. Civilian production lags behind (at around TL6-7). Military spending consumes almost 20% of Saxe's GDP, half of it's industrial production and almost 80% of it's energy production.

There is currently only one starport on Saxe, it's shipbuilding yards have a 6000T capacity, and are in constant use. Construction of an orbital shipyard (capacity 4000T) is nearing completion, although problems with terrorists ahve delayed it's construction by almost a year.

Gaming on Saxe:

Saxe presents an interesting challenge to a party - they must be very careful, and hide their tracks well. Arrest is never far away, and the characters can bet their lives (literally) that at least one group of malcontents also has a beef with them. On the other hand, a character in the military has many opportunities to prove his worth - hunting down terrorists, putting down riots, or manning a starship in Saxe's expanding Navy.

(If you want an idea of what Saxe is like, Stalinist Russia is probably the closest example...indeed, a large part of the inspiration for Saxe was drawn from reading Solzhenitsyn's 'Gulag Archipelago'....a wonderful book that should be mandatory reading in every school on the planet.)

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