To the Ghnootu people of Alww Eitbhe, there is one overriding principle to which everyone is expected to contribute: family.
In any given circumstance, and for whatever reason, the needs of the family come first and foremost. Yet the family structures are unconventional, even for those in the Alw star system as a whole. The bonds that are shared between them are more than simply that of relative to relative, sibling to sibling, parent to child, friend to friend. An unyielding psychic link holds them like a steadfast chain, mooring them to the traditional ways that they had always known. Furthermore, as an ostensibly warrior culture, the bonds of military unity tend to override even those of blood relation. Private, unit specific, sub-links and channels tie them together in an intricate web of interconnected loyalty. It is unclear whether or not this connection is biological or sociological.
An interesting outcome of this is an almost complete and harmonious community responsibility. From the eldest sage or highest ranking ‘officer’ (for want of a better term) to the lowliest worker of the serf-caste, all are cared for and protected with the same reverence. Should tragedy befall one unit, others mourn the loss just as deeply. Somewhere through the tangled links and sub-links, each of them is somehow connected to the other.
From the perspective of a society, this has worked entirely to their advantage also. No other society is known to collaborate or work so harmoniously. Warfare is all but unknown, despite their warrior nature, and murder simply does not happen. Their population remains stable; each new birth linked directly to the death rate – with the exception of the occasional expansion or decline to suit the needs of the family as a whole. Technological growth is fuelled not by a desire for one-upmanship or personal gain, but for how it helped to overcome a shared problem.
This, despite the ever-encroaching imperialism of the Technocracy Consortium.
The TC, as it is more often known (Total Cunts, colloquially) has been working on this sector of the galaxy for centuries now. Intrepid explorer-hives send tendrils creeping across SC112, searching out valuable assets while simultaneously marking pathways for demolition. War-bots scour the inhabited planets for any signs of resistance, while demo-lites disintegrate entire star systems for the sake of a few light-years off a journey.
All in complete ‘secrecy’ of course. Precisely why SC112 is so important has never been made clear – even to those who are executing the planetary executions. Their mission is ostensibly for the betterment of all. But, as is so often the case with the utopian wet dreams of capitalist franchises, the needs of the few, naturally, outweigh the needs of the many – quite the antithesis of the Ghnootu sense of mutuality.
Some believe that maybe there is some clandestine agency that sought to ensnare the sector in its evil clutches. Military minds wondered if it would somehow benefit the HUB campaign, but considering the dice of war were not rolling in their favour that seemed unlikely. Other, more cynical, voices argued that both of these ideas were giving a little bit too much credit to the TC’s abilities of foresight. Whatever the reason, the ultimate effect could not so much be described as chaos but as simply shoddy management strategy.
Oddly, the Ghnootu seem to be the only ones that have the wherewithal to notice all of this. When Explorer Hive Nnthintw arrived on their doorsteps demanding compliance, they simply responded with: ‘Eh… No?’ The captain of the hive was so baffled by this simple rejection that he had no other recourse but to admit defeat and let them get on with it. The paperwork was bad enough as it was without trying to report on the report of a report ad infinitum just to get the war-bots to maybe swing by on their way to something more important.
So it is that, despite the odds, the Ghnootu retain their independence without ever having had to fire a shot. The family structures remain in place and one way or another it seems that they will never merit enough of a concern for the TC top brass to bother with. All things continue in an apparent harmony that neither side wishes to question. Understandably.
AHF Writes 