Hello and welcome back to LORE BUILDER where we seek out and develop corners of uncharted lore with you, the community. As always, please review the updated caveats and background reading outlined in the fourteenth issue to get up to speed on what to expect and what’s already been established in the 星际公民 universe.
We’ve got a lot to get through this week, so let’s get started.
BEVERAGES
Last week, we posted ten great examples of beverages created by the community and had you vote on which one you liked the most. It was a remarkably close race, but BLACK MOUNTAIN squeaked out on top. Congratulations, Kodo, on creating the winning submission. Here are our reactions to the beverage:
Dave: “I really responded to the evocative writing. Aside from having a very clear image of what the drink looked and smelled like, I really got a sense of its texture. That last detail particularly grounded it in reality for me.”
Will: “What I liked about Black Mountain tea is picturing long haulers keeping a thermos of the stuff next to them to sip on, and how they would have to make sure to maintain a careful balance of how much they could drink without getting the shakes. I have family from Argentina, and the description reminded me in a lot of ways of how popular yerba mate is in South America. It is amazing how much tea some people will drink throughout the day, carrying around a thermos of hot water and the little traditional gourds to drink from. I can see Black Mountain having a similar passionate following in the ‘verse.”
Kodo, as the winner of last week’s poll, we will submit your write-up into the pipeline to get vetted and develop a logo. To reiterate, we have been collecting all of the beverages submitted in the comment section for an internal spreadsheet, so it’s definitely possible that the rest of you might still see your creation in a bar or on neon signs in the universe.
Now, on to this week’s topic.
THE LEGISLATIVE BRANCH OF THE UEE
Many call it a stagnant bureaucracy, while others view it as the lifeblood that allows Human civilization to continue to exist.
This is going to be a big discussion. In short, we’re going to look at the portion of the 地球联合帝国 government that handles the infrastructure of the Empire. Hopefully you are already familiar with how the UEE government is currently set up, but we would recommend rereading the Writer’s Guide issue as a refresher.
So what are we going to dig into?
In a nutshell, the UEE Senate is responsible for overseeing all of the departments, committees, subcommittees and divisions responsible for keeping the Empire churning.
Here are some examples that have already been established in the Lore:
TRADE & DEVELOPMENT DIVISION (TDD)
Department that handles trade and cargo. Checks imports and exports into the city/landing zone for ships, so anything coming onto or leaving the planet will pass through TDD inspection.
SUPPORT & SUPPLY AGENCY A lesser known department of the UEE responsible for procuring and transporting resources and supplies for the Empire’s infrastructure. This agency was briefly mentioned here.
So this week, we are looking for two things:
- What are the various departments, committees, etc. that the Senate manages and operates?
- Some of these systems might be handled by local governments, but all of those would receive their standards from an Imperial department. For example, City Sanitation would be a local matter and handled by local authorities (whether they are from the City itself or from the Governors Council), but there are still Health & Safety protocols that they have to adhere to that could come from an Imperial level.
- Sample ideas: What is the department that regulates spaceflight safety regulations? Who oversees protocols for spectrum broadcasting? Who maintains the standards for education/同等教育证书?
- For those of you who are interested in the macro: How are these departments/subcommittees/etc. organized?
- Do Senators officiate these departments, are they private sector, or are they run by committee?
- Is each department a standalone entity or are there subsidiaries? For example, does drug regulation exist under the province of Health & Safety?
Now, this will probably be the trickiest part because it’s very easy to get on a roll with the exploration and backstory of these topics, but we’re going to appeal for brevity in your responses.
Next week, we will review your submissions and highlight some suggestions for further discussion as we start building the infrastructure that handles infrastructure. Bureaucracy go!
UNTIL NEXT TIME …