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| Society; Various quirks and features of Kualpuch society | |
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| Tweet Topic Started: Oct 4 2010, 09:51 PM (351 Views) | |
| Ma'ahes | Oct 4 2010, 09:51 PM Post #1 |
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Kualpuch Society: Time away from their war-like brethren has granted the Goa’uld of Kualpuch an unprecedented level of high society. While they still study war intently, knowing that the time may come when they are discovered and must defend themselves, often citizens seek knowledge of things not entirely pertaining to war. Art from conquered races of old have been studied and copied, both in an attempt to understand the dead race and to add the superior handiwork of the Goa’uld. Still, the idea of them as Gods was purged long ago. This was done not to eventually create a more liberal society, with Jaffa sharing equal rights, but rather to quell uprisings. If a Goa’uld had no title such as System Lord, then the constant warfare that plagued the outside world would be controlled and used to pursue more pressing interests. This is not to say that there is no hierarchy, however. There are four levels of society in the Kualpuch system, and a Goa’uld may belong to any one of them. A Jaffa may attain the highest level only by generations of honorable service by their family, and can easily be snatched away. Thus, Jaffa in “power” are merely figureheads, following the most popular opinion, though they enjoy numerous benefits. The levels are as follow, from lowest to highest: Citizen, Soldier, Duke, Senator. Citizen This denotes one who is able to vote on basic economic and societal issues through Referendums. They are the low and middle class, and makes up mostly the lower 30% of Goa’uld and 40% of Jaffa. Soldiers All those who currently serve in active-duty, even scientists (roughly 800.000 are scientists). This includes the 15% of Goa’uld who serve as Arianthoi, and 55% of Jaffa. They enjoy the same benefits as Citizens, but do not have the same tax requirements. Titles: Knight Herald-->Knight-->Knight Errand-->Squire-->Page-->Militia Orders: Order of the Beacon, Knights of Ehriu, Kivanarii, Order of the Sisters, Order of the Lion, Bastion Knights Upper Class Includes the large remainder of Goa’uld, and the higher Jaffa commanders of the military. These are normally respected members of society who have been granted the title through deeds that advance the society, or who have shown great intelligence for warfare. Titles: Archduke-->Grand Duke-->Duke-->Earl-->Baron Archduchess-->Grand Duchess-->Duchess-->Countess-->Baroness Senator: Only 2.000 Goa’uld and 300 Jaffa make up the Senate, and make the laws and edicts that govern the system. Since they are readily replaced by dukes and duchesses, they rarely rule on unpopular laws. They may be overruled by the Administrator once every 100 years if an edict wins a slight majority. They serve until they die, leading to a turnover rate of at least a dozen per year. In their search for efficiency and their guide to protect the knowledge of the Goa’uld, there are other quirks to this society. Hosts: Intrigued by the numerous hosts that their ancestors were required to use to survive and spurned on by great leaps in bioengineering, the Kualpuch system citizens have a wide variety of hosts. Most are humanoid, although some have taken hosts that most closely resemble Centaurs. A result of this engineering of hosts is heightened abilities and a host that is technically brain dead. There are few true humans left in the system, and most of them are personal assistants to Senators. Due to their inability to be changed in a radical form, they are not sought as hosts. No new Jaffa are “made,” and are instead encouraged to breed for at least two children. Balam: The council of Jaffa elders, a subset of the Senate. While not technically part of the Senate and drawn from those from the lower two classes, they meet with the Administrator weekly to discuss Jaffa grievances. They serve terms of two years. {Records of this system are still being recorded, and as such the above information may not be entirely correct or complete} Edited by Ma'ahes, Nov 21 2010, 04:47 PM.
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| Ma'ahes | Dec 2 2010, 03:26 PM Post #2 |
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The Ten Great Houses: The tiny system was founded by twenty Queens, of which Zial refused to found a House. She felt that, as the first Administrator, it would put too much power into a single House. This set a precedent, wherein the sitting Administrator is stripped of all duties and claims within their House. Each House is incredibly diverse and has its own eclectic collection of artists, warriors, scientists, and politicians. The leader of each House is the Queen, who has a lifespan of roughly 2000 years. Like the rest of the Goa'uld in Kualpuch, they have genetic markers that severely limit their lifespan. However, the Queens are allowed to live longer so that they may properly guide subsequent generations. The last act of a Queen is to create her successor; a perfect replication of their code that contains all their knowledge and memories. Queens are mostly figureheads in Kualpuch society, having little power over political life. Their children are made to be blank slates, with only a few genetic markers to ensure that they follow the system's mission. Other than that, they are strictly forbidden from siring those that would only serve the House. The second Civil War was started by a faction of six Queens that refused to do so, resulting in the eradication of their Houses. Alas, three other Queens were lost in the fighting, their DNA unable to be completely recovered. Afterward, what little code remained was absorbed by the surviving Queens, so that their Houses might live on in some way. The last ten Queens have their DNA now updated on a daily basis, overwriting previous sequences, but it is also forbidden to clone a Queen whilst she is alive. The remaining ten Houses are as follow: Attaleiates Notable persons include Ga'rus Vakarianm, the 2nd Administrator. Akropolites Has had the most amount of highly-published Librarians of any House. Briennius Noted for the legendary General Nicephorus, who won the strategic battle of Argemon during the 2nd Civil War. Eudoxia Due to its founding Queen's affection for the Arts, leans more towards the peaceful side of existence. Also, they throw one hell of a party. Gregoras Named actually for the famed General Gregoras who, in leading the founding fleet to safety, donated his genetic code in sacrifice to mend the ailing Queen Aelia. Himerius Revered for the role its long line of Dukes played in creating peace through treatises following the myriad of civil wars. Mavrocatalon Spearheaded the efforts to improve the traditional Ha'tak model...over the past 400 years, they have refined it to create the Xiatl. Oresme Alongside Zial, laid the foundations for the present-day Library. It is the only House allowed to have a residence on Haevris, situated on the southern side of the Library. Sophianos While it has no revered ancestors, the Queen is a direct descendant of Tethys, wife of Oceanus. Those from this House often work in tandem with the other Houses with ease, and are allowed their own private regional army of 3000. It is named after their cousins, House Oceanid. Verina Mostly a minor House in all walks of life, it burst onto the scene with Senator, and now Administrator, Kinich. The marriage between him and Ariel of House Eudoxia created a voting power bloc that was able to secure funding for a new fleet. Considering the recent chain of events, this was a boon for the system's future. Edited by Ma'ahes, Apr 26 2011, 03:09 PM.
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| Ma'ahes | Dec 13 2010, 10:12 PM Post #3 |
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Social Nuances: While the storing of knowledge is the major undercurrent in Kualpuch society, the usage of such knowledge to keep it alive is just as important to its citizens. Since the 1st Dynasty was spread across tens of thousands of unique worlds, this means that there are no less than two hundred languages being used at any one time within a single quarter of the Ehriu Spire. It often seems like a veritable Tower of Babel, yet most people speak at least twenty languages. At the very least, there are two languages that are required learning: military and common. As their names suggest, one is used exclusively by the military to convey large amounts of information in as few words as possible, and the other is used as a universal language birthed from an estimated ten others. There are other common languages: diplomatic, jaffa slang, and karashtet. The latter is the language of choice of one of the first Administrators, Ga'rus Vakarian. He studied a lizard people whose uprising had been quelled by the complete annihilation of their species nearly two centuries before Atok's death. Inspired by their courage and ingenuity, he implemented a number of their society's aspects into Kualpuch's. The pseudo-caste system used by those aliens was used as the blueprint for Kualpuch's own compromise with the jaffa. Art within the system cannot be described through common words; each "style" often corresponds with a specific race, language, and culture. When such art melds ideas from dozens of races, it takes a keen mind to truly appreciate the effort put into the work. A current Senator gained his post by creating a new tile mural for the Library that combined artistic traits of eighty-nine different races. Since the mastery of the human genome and that of other similar species, cloning has been all the rage for citizens. It also allows the society to ignore the general issue of human hosts, who for quite some time held a shaky and ill-talked-about status in society. It then comes to no surprise that citizens will buys clones that resemble long-extinct species, so that they may properly speak the alien tongue. These clones are used exclusively by civilians, as the military has a strict limit to the degree of genetic tampering. Disowned sons find themselves pulled from their expensive clones and shoved into identical Anariathos bodies. As they show prowess on the battle field, they are allowed minor adjustments to their bodies...but within limits. |
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| Ma'ahes | Dec 13 2010, 11:19 PM Post #4 |
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Cities and Landmarks: Mictlan Otherwise known as the city of the dead, this was built in a massive diamond mine on the planet Xibalba. It is roughly 1.3 miles deep, and is designed as an upside-down cone with a dome on top. Every time a person dies within the system, the next hour is crucial: the symbiote is removed (if Goa'uld), and then both bodies' minds are scanned and saved to a data crystal. These crystals are then copied so that one's life is saved within the Library; the other goes to the glowing tomb of the dead. Tlalocan This is the main city on the Wewita moon of Nahual. Built to honor the founding queens, it houses the upper class of Kualpuch society. Tehuantepec Known as the sacred hill of the jaguar, this is also known as the Citadel on Xibalba. Mani This is the jaffa moon world, where there are no principle cities; instead, there are a loose collection of villages and towns that practically blend in with the encroaching landscapes. The Balam hold their councils here. Eion-Chrysopolis Otherwise known as The Spire, this beauty and engineering marvel was built over the course of three centuries; it stretches deep from a 3-mile-deep ocean chasm to tower almost two miles into the sky. The circular base is over fifty miles in diameter, and spirals like a staircase stretching into the heavens. |
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| Ma'ahes | Jun 11 2011, 11:02 PM Post #5 |
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Minor Houses At first glance, it would seem odd that the population contains many more Jaffa than Goa'uld. After all, each member of society is expected to contribute equally. To "throw away" a life through ritual cannibalism is not allowed in Kualpuch life, and as such a compromise was reached; the minor houses. For each great House, ten minor houses are linked. Each minor house has a figurehead Matriarch that is infertile, and thus gains its members from the overarching House. When a House Matriarch sires a brood, each minor house gains an equal number of members. A Goa'uld symbiote is then distributed to a requisite Jaffa that is a member of the House. Once the symbiote comes of age, it obtains a clone host to prove itself. Each is given two hundred years to be seen as a boon to the House and therefore given a genetic extension to their life. Otherwise, the killswitch gene is activated and the symbiote will suffer decay and then death within a few years. The curious thing is that the entire Anariathoi ranks are technically loyal to these minor houses--that is, most members have not proven themselves worthy. On the other hand, the Jaffa are fiercely loyal to the House overall, as the Matriarch gives them life with new brood. Thus, the minor houses have little political power, though they theoretically maintain a massive force of highly-skilled warriors. There are many rumblings about the current system, but when it ever comes to a vote, the Senate always declares the system works as intended. In the aftermath of the Kualpuch Siege, many Houses found themselves without a Matriarch but plentiful in minor house populations. With many infertile Matriarchs able to obtain gene manipulation to continue the House, the resulting political fight threatened to spill into the military realm. |
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2:01 PM Jul 11