[video]

[ironface]

[The console turns on to show a curious-looking Isabeau, chin resting on interlaced fingers.]

I've been thinking, and I have a question for you all.

How does the system of government work on your world? What do you think of it?

[Is she even allowed to ask that here? Well, whatever. Too late now.]

Comments

[depicted]

[Dorian is actually kind of amused. But then, he had managed to stay agreeable when he spoke with Isabeau. It's only at Jehan that he sulked about having to explain things.] For someone who says she isn't a student of politics, you really have a remarkable interest in it.

[ironface]

[She laughs.]

It's as I said; I never had the time to pursue interests. Should I invest my curiosity elsewhere?

[depicted]

There is a world beyond government—several, as it happens, and all of them far more interesting. For example: art.

[Dorian Gray is not biased about the importance of art.]

voice

[justlittle]

On my world, the Earth's government was united to face an alien threat. Now that that threat is defeated, however, I fear the countries will go right back to their old rivalries.

voice

[ironface]

[She takes a moment or two to digest this.]

I hope they're healthy rivalries - mostly, at least.

voice

[justlittle]

I doubt that's really possible when we're talking world governments.

video;

[demon_brat]

There are various systems of government in the world I come from, from absolute monarchy to carefully maintained democracy, depending on country.

Would you like to know about one type or another more specifically?

video;

[ironface]

I'm really only familiar with a monarchy. The way things... played out, most people on my world hardly know enough about other systems in general to even begin asking more.

video;

[demon_brat]

I will assume you mean absolute monarchy, in that case? Where all the power is centralized in a single person, and, while they usually have one sort of government or another, they are more advisers, rather than a governing body of themselves?

An intermediate step are the so-called constitutional monarchies. They have a law, or set of laws, which mandate the rights of the people, as well as a governing body. They have certain powers - legislative, and sometimes judiciary. Usually, the executive power, or a part of it, remains with the monarch. Parts of those governing bodies might be appointed, or inherited; others are generally elected.

The end of that evolution are democracies. There, in one way or another, the populace elects the government. There is a more extensive set of legislation that regulates matters, and people almost never hold authority for more than a set period of time, usually in the range of four to eight years. Even the small power of being a single person in a governing body of maybe two hundred.

There are multiple variations, but those are the three general principles.

video;

[cmdreffingshepard]

Depends on which species you're talking about, in my world. They each have their own variations, though a number of species, including my own, have allied under a similar set of guiding practices about basic rights of all sentient beings.

video;

[ironface]

Oh? [That sounds fascinating and a bit unbelievable.]

How does that alliance work?

video;

[cmdreffingshepard]

Precariously. [She laughs a little, though it's somewhat wry.] It's a diplomatic relationship. Like all diplomatic relationships, it's pretty tenuous. There are all kinds of competing interests at play. Usually, though, they balance each other out. It works, more or less.

video;

[strategisch]

It's... Something that works out of necessity, I guess. Some parts of it are corrupted to the point of dysfunction, and I can't agree with every decision that is made...

[He pauses, and swallows his bitterness.]

But there are still people alive within it, and that's worthy of some recognition. My world is not an easy one.

video;

[ironface]

I was taken just as it became easy - not so much, I'm sure, but compared to what had come before? It is much more so.

Keeping people alive through whatever means necessary... it's a good motivation, if only it didn't have to come to that.

video;

[strategisch]

Then do you feel some relief?

[He closes his eyes almost reverently.]

I couldn't agree more.

[leviathaned]

Depends on where, there isn't just the one country to be governed.

But in general, none of them work particularly well.

[ironface]

Is that true for your country?

[video] I apologize for this massive tag, this is just sorta Eridan's thing...

[unconchonable]

My planet's system a gowernment is pretty fuckin' complicated an' I ain't all sure a human like you would hawe the sponge to grasp it proper.

[He looks very dismissive, maybe a little bored.] But I'll humor you.

First off, I come from a planet called Alternia, and I'm what you'd call a troll. My world is gowerned by a Empress who keeps her throne till she is killed by her successor, but this has not happened for hundreds a sweeps. All of us are ruled by a caste system called the hemospectrum, which as I am sure you can at the wery least guess, it's a caste system dependent upon our blood. The color, to be exact.

[He pauses to let that sink in, before he continues:]

The colors range from maroon, which is peasant status, to magenta, which is the Empress. It works sorta like a rainbow as far as caste order goes. I personally am a the wiolet hue, which puts me below no one but the Empress an' her heiress. See, both castes belong to seadwellers, while the rest are pathetic landdwellers. Basically, the royal and highbloods are free to do as they wish, kill, pillage, etcetera, to those below them, seein' as they're worthless. While those a lower castes are typically slawes, or just part a the labor forces. If any a the castes act out a line, they typically are killed by a highblood, or brought to justice by the legislacerators, and tried in front a His Honorable Tyranny. Which, usually results in enslawement or death. Mostly death.

[Another pause, though this time he considering something from the looks of it.]

Anyway, we follow the Empress without a fuckin' second thought, seein' as she has a right stranglehold on us with her lusus bein' able to wipe out ewery one of us if we plan a rewolt, not that any could. We got purple bloods who act as enforcers, if you will. Keepin' any a the lower castes away from thoughts a rebellion by strikin' terror in 'em. We're a militant species, galactic conquest bein' our primary function for the most part. Which means once we come a age, we're expected to take part in the conquest, there ain't no choice in the matter. Not that there should be any...

[He trails off a bit. Honestly, he could go on forever about troll society, but he supposes a huge info dump will just fry the poor inferior human's mind, so, he figures there is a good place to stop.]

As for what I think a my gowernment... For as harsh as our society is, I completely agree with it. I can't see any other way a species could thriwe as we did without that sort of structure. I suppose you'll hawe questions? If so, I'll be more than willin' to educate you on anythin' you don't understand. Perhaps you'll hawe the think pan to handle it.

voice scream don't apologize it's perfect

[ironface]

[Questions? Oh yes. For starters:]

Did your empress initiate that system with her ascension, or was it that way even before?

voice; ok ;u;

[unconchonable]

Nah, it was always a thing, she just enforced it without a iota a hesitance or reluctance. She's been Empress for hundreds a sweeps, so needless to say it's worked well for her.

[solo_patria]

I must admit, much as we've talked about this, I am curious to what others will have to say. [Have a slight smile there.] I think I may watch this with interest.

[ironface]

I hope I don't bore you.

[solo_patria]

You do not at all. It's good to learn the differences in other places, to see how they function, try out what may actually be best. Of course I've found that it is often not so simple as just that.

video; where's the "it's complicated" in the drop-down menu?

[dashesanddots]

Well... [where to begin, how to start.]

I was a resident of a city that was once part of the United States. Then an overzealous reverend decided his people were better than the rest of the country and proceeded to hire a physicist so that he could take the city and simply move it somewhere else, seceding from the union.

And to be honest, I thought it was pretty awful, but I never really bothered with much of Columbia at large.

[ironface]

[What.]

An entire city simply moved? How?