The Codexian Saga LP

[The Barbarian]

If that occurs, the game will be ended.

 

[Undead Phoenix]

A

Even if we don't kill the Tyrant, we can prove to the people that he is only a mortal man and hopefully take out some of his top assistants as collateral.

 

[anus_pounder]

If that occurs, the game will be ended.

 

[uona]

I vote for C.

A will probably fail and in any case they already got one of our most able doodz to switch sides. Who's to say they wouldnt do the same to the assasins?

B will get us nowhere. This previous option was all about the talking.

Which leaves us with C. Honestly im predicting a lost battle with heavy casualties on our side while only light casualties for them. Still tho at least we start the war on our terms and not theirs. Hopefully all his support and groundwork will not have time to be laid yet.

Were not ready for a war right? hopefully they wont be too

 

[treave]

C will make it seem like we're butthurt about this Newman giving us a verbal dickslapping in the Plenary Congress, and have decided to respond with force.

A is only a chance to gain him even more popular support, as he parades the assassins around after capturing them, as fun as it is (I demand the assassin option become available for more updates!).

B, let's go Chamberlain all the way. We should see this policy of appeasement through to the end.

I figure if we can't stop him from rising, we shouldn't do all the wrong things in a futile attempt to bring him back down. Keep the moral high-ground, the populace will be more than pleased to back us once the Tyrant shows his true colours and starts... uh... Tyrant-ing around.

 

[LusciousPear]

C will make it seem like we're butthurt about this Newman giving us a verbal dickslapping in the Plenary Congress, and have decided to respond with force.

A is only a chance to gain him even more popular support, as he parades the assassins around after capturing them, as fun as it is (I demand the assassin option become available for more updates!).

B, let's go Chamberlain all the way. We should see this policy of appeasement through to the end.

I figure if we can't stop him from rising, we shouldn't do all the wrong things in a futile attempt to bring him back down. Keep the moral high-ground, the populace will be more than pleased to back us once the Tyrant shows his true colours and starts... uh... Tyrant-ing around.

Exactly...we have to plan for centuries in the future, which humanity is not known for.

 

[uona]

unless the "tyrant" is just a title and he ends up being a benevolent dictator. We could very well find that even with the morale high ground of appeasement, most of our populace will prefer his rule to ours.

 

[Nickless]

C will make it seem like we're butthurt about this Newman giving us a verbal dickslapping in the Plenary Congress, and have decided to respond with force.

A is only a chance to gain him even more popular support, as he parades the assassins around after capturing them, as fun as it is (I demand the assassin option become available for more updates!).

B, let's go Chamberlain all the way. We should see this policy of appeasement through to the end.

I figure if we can't stop him from rising, we shouldn't do all the wrong things in a futile attempt to bring him back down. Keep the moral high-ground, the populace will be more than pleased to back us once the Tyrant shows his true colours and starts... uh... Tyrant-ing around.

Exactly...we have to plan for centuries in the future, which humanity is not known for.

My concern with B is that he will use the legitimate processes in our government's system to put himself in power, and we will look like fools for allowing it within our system instead of taking direct action. I'd agree with B if we conclusively prove his guilt, yet the discontent ignore the verdict and take over, which, now that I think about it, is far more likely. Expect a flip-flop to B soon

 

[treave]

unless the "tyrant" is just a title and he ends up being a benevolent dictator. We could very well find that even with the morale high ground of appeasement, most of our populace will prefer his rule to ours.

If that is the case then Codexia is in better hands than it ever was in the Council's and we should gladly retire.

John Newman claims he and his ilk are as human as any of us. If he can rule with all the justice, fairness and mercy that humanity can muster, then he will be a fitting lord for Codexianity, will he not?

As things stand, I believe that John Newman is no Elder of the Church, and thus has no right to the gilded throne - peacefully, that is. There should be little risk in him taking over the mantle of the Respublica through some fool's election.

 

[The Barbarian]

As things stand, I believe that John Newman is no Elder of the Church, and thus has no right to the gilded throne - peacefully, that is. There should be little risk in him taking over the mantle of the Respublica through some fool's election.

This is a correct interpretation of Codexian governmental structure. Only high officials of the Church are eligible to be elected to the Auburn Chair. And only by other Church officials. There are no popular elections in the 2nd Respublica. Actual governing, though, is handled primarily by ministries staffed by civilians.

The most important of these are the Ministry of the Interior, Ministry of Defense, and the Ministry of Finance.

 

[LusciousPear]

What about the Ministry of Ministry: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GXCh9OhDiCI

 

[Conkrete Knight]

B

 

[wjw]

B!

 

[RandomLurker]

The most important of these are the Ministry of the Interior, Ministry of Defense, and the Ministry of Finance.

Wait... What happened to the ministry of Science And All Things Related? I thought that one was showered with money and extra influence too. Did they piss away all those things, or did that showering simply manage to uplift it to an actual, if unremarkable ministry (from basically a collection of sinecures, or simply a political dead end, I guess)?

Also, AIs. What's our status on that?

EDIT: Additionally, upon further consideration, I'm flip-flopping to B.

 

[The Barbarian]

Also, AIs. What's our status on that?

Exist, but are in a similar limbo - status-wise - to the trans-humans themselves. They are certainly not employed in an official capacity.

Wait... What happened to the ministry of Science And All Things Related? I thought that one was showered with money and extra influence too. Did they piss away all those things, or did that showering simply manage to uplift it to an actual, if unremarkable ministry (from basically a collection of sinecures, or simply a political dead end, I guess)?

It is still there - just not as important as Defense, Finance and Interior. The Ministry of the Interior has become especially prominent after the start of the troubles.

 

[DarkUnderlord]

The following filter will be useful for this thread:

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It will show only The Barbarian's posts.

 

[juggernaut]

voting option A, just to see whether Conan would actually kill his baby this early, no matter what the fallout

 

[Nickless]

The following filter will be useful for this thread:

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It will show only The Barbarian's posts.

Nice, I'd suggest making that available on page one for new readers.

 

[The Barbarian]

The next update is coming out tomorrow.

DarkUnderlord:

That just shows we Australians are truly the understated incline of the Codex.

EDIT: The next update is coming out as soon the Barbarian's plate clears. It is a succulent plate.

 

[anus_pounder]

Prepare your asses people, i have a feeling this is gonna be a rough ride.

 

[anus_pounder]

 

[entropy]

I created an account largely to beg you to continue this story, Barbarian. It is fantastically good, please don't let it die.

 

[The Barbarian]

To the Barbarian, death is just another state of rage.

Fear not, the hiatus is until this weekend, only.

 

[anus_pounder]

 

[The Barbarian]

Please Note:

Setting the stage, in this case, is a labor intensive process, but one that is required for making the story arc plausible. Though there is no actual choice for this installment, bear with the Barbarian. The next update will be fairly significant, choice wise.

***

The Hourglass of Sand

’Arise, you dispossessed and scourged! Arise, you broken and scarred! Take the freedom they will not give you! Earn the liberty you would enjoy!’

- Representative John Newman, speech delivered on 11/3/531AU

At some point during the 520s, Representative John Newman transformed himself from a nuisance and a thorn in the side of the Respublica to the greatest contemporary threat it had to face. On dozens of worlds, and in hundreds of millions of households, his word had become something akin to law; his speeches and gestures the subject of countless dinner conversations. It is relatively straightforward, today, and in an academic sense, to say that Newman was the center and subject of a booming ‘cult of personality’. It is quite another thing, however, to have lived in those times and to have experienced his inherent magnetism. Respublican church leaders were becoming increasingly ineffective, even as their policies took on a more civic, liberal aspect. Standing opposite them was a living icon, advocating human and trans-human rights under what was still a conservative, theocratic regime. Even an admitted association with the sometimes terroristic Freedom Army could not destroy – or even curb - his reputation. By 531AU, he was nigh untouchable.

And then the Respublican government elected to touch him. An in-depth criminal investigation was launched in April 531AU into Newman’s public and private dealings by the Ministry of the Interior. The intent behind it was proving that Newman was a corrupted official, possibly a terrorist and a definite public enemy, as part and parcel of his ties to the militant wing of the Freedom movement, with a view to prosecuting and imprisoning him on charges of treason. Information was gathered, accounts were forensically examined and known associates were arrested and interviewed. It was an undertaking involving thousands of Respublican police, intelligence officers and public servants. Unfortunately, it was also very much so ill-advised. To the surprise of many, Newman voluntarily surrendered himself to the authorities in late April, ready to refute the charges leveled against him in court. The Riots began mere hours later. Untold numbers of Codexians took to the streets in often violent protest. Even on Codexia itself, millions marched in support of a beloved ideological and political leader. It was all that Respublican public security forces could do, preventing a general social paralysis.

By the time of the first closed hearing in May, Newman’s supporters had made a mockery of the Respublican security apparatus. For the authorities, it was all very unbecoming. Torrents of humanity were making this individual out to be the next coming of Santi Maria Herself. They thronged the streets of Reunion City and picketed the government facility where the court was in session. It was absolute chaos. Counter-marchers took to the streets in response – skeptics who saw something unsettling in John Newman and his trans-human politics or otherwise conservative traditionalists who despised the rocking of the proverbial boat. The resulting clashes were bloody and sustained. As the weeks rolled by, tens of thousands were arriving from all over the human sphere, bolstering both sides of the divide with fresh anger and self-righteousness. Codexia had not seen that level of near-space congestion in a very long time, indeed, as shuttles inundated the homeworld.

The pressure on the government to release Newman was considerable, to say the least. By June, it was almost overpowering. Even Space Force commanders were sending in written statements in support of ‘civil rights’, and using their political clout in Newman’s favour. The ‘Turncoat’, former Master Governor General, Ferrero, arrived on planet with a cadre of Freedom leaders and the best lawyers money could buy. In July, after months of inconclusive wrangling in a court of law – and utterly impotent politicking – Elder Hertze finally caved in. The gambit had failed, and failed badly. Newman had won. To the jubilation of billions, and the contemptuous disgust of billions of others, he left police custody in late July. His ‘Victory Lap’ around Reunion City subsequently entered the realms of legend, as his people, flush with triumph, treated him to a parade characterized by its frenzied euphoria. All in all, it had been a masterful riposte. Newman well understood that the only way in which the Respublican government could save face was to publicly shame him. Giving himself up had been a risk, but he had correctly judged (and found wanting) the strength of will in his captors. Killing the trans-human leader, or sentencing him without trial, would have brought about some form of civil war – that much should be beyond doubt.

Thereafter, he returned to his power base in Old Phyrria, to consolidate his rule there. In Codexian history, this was a very strange period. Nominally still very much so Respublican, many colonies scoffed at the government’s authority. They took their autonomous status to mean more and more, with every passing day. Similarly, in what had been the Commonwealth, local leaders began looking askance at Newman, rather than the regional Respublican authority. Political legitimacy was slowly, but surely, slipping away from the Elders of the Marianite Church. Its response to the challenge was lethargic, at best. The vitality of the state was ebbing. The upstart Freedom movement had no formal place in Respublican politics, but it had already become the most powerful faction therein. A great many saw it as the only natural rival to the Church itself.

During the period of 531-536AU, this tenuous balance continued to hold. Newman built up his contacts and influence in every governmental department, even as the comically inept Hertze tried to have them constrained. But it was obvious that if the Upstarts were not to become the Usurpers, something decisive had to be done. Belatedly, Hertze opted to overplay his hand, in a move of historically and rightfully ridiculed desperation. Relying on an already feeble Respublican administrative grasp on Old Phyrria, the Church imposed a heavy new import tariff on its burgeoning colonies in 537AU. The ex-Commonwealth territories and Old Phyrria were the fastest growing, most rapidly developing parts of the human sphere, and the imposition of an import tariff on their resources heading to the core worlds would prove absolutely crushing to local economies.

Many regional leaders, in response – and quite likely in active collusion with Newman himself – essentially proclaimed that they no longer recognized the sovereign rights of the Respublican government on their worlds. Though not an outright secession, the colonies had thereby laid a challenge at the doorstep of the Respublica that could not go unanswered. Soon, troopships and Space Force elements were being rushed to the theatre. The sequence of events that followed is incredibly difficult to piece together in any concise way, but, in a basic sense, the Commonwealth worlds threw in their lot with Old Phyrria, and a third of Space Force would no longer respond to Respublican orders. The chain of command in the latter was broken beyond repair. John Newman and the Freedom Army, for its part, began evicting Respublican garrisons in Old Phyrria with extensive assistance from the renegade Space Force elements and local forces. In a number of cases, these incidents turned violent.

As matters span out of control, the violence steadily worsened. August 537AU saw the first fighting between the Loyalist Space Force elements, and those supporting Newman’s politics. The Respublican government quickly entered panic mode and instituted martial law right across the human sphere. Travel to and from Old Phyrria and the Commonwealth became extraordinarily restricted. In September, two garrisons on Gleiste that refused to be disarmed put up a fierce resistance to Freedom Army attempts to dislodge them from their barracks. The resulting battles saw hundreds killed, and widespread outrage. The whole system was approaching a terminal breakdown at breakneck speed. It was an absurd scenario. In one system, all would be well and order maintained, though the tension was nerve wracking. Just a few lightyears away, men fought tooth and nail over allegiance and ideology. It took many months for a semblance of the new status quo to emerge.

With Space Force in complete disarray, the government’s response to the robust Freedom play for sovereign rule had been meagre. This allowed the latter to carve out the first iteration of a state within a state, based on the majority of Old Phyrria, much of the Commonwealth and even a few core worlds by early 538AU. At the head of it all was John Newman and his Freedom cronies. Wheeling and dealing, they made their way across dozens of worlds, amalgamating local authorities into Freedom itself – or replacing them outright. Many observers noted that, by this time, Newman went nowhere without a full contingent of Freedom Army personnel – many of them hardened ex-Ground Force professionals, who were helping him make the Freedom Army into something more than a political militia. These contingents sometimes numbered into the thousands, and a combination of Newman’s popularity, personal magnetism and outright intimidation saw local leaders quickly fold, or face forceful removal. It was not incredibly liberal or civil of Newman and his new order, but most were quick to forgive, in consideration of the ‘harsh necessities of a critical time’.

The Freedom movement and its Army was becoming truly ubiquitous.

Part Two coming soon