The Quick Questions About World Building Thread

Modern one, with elected representatives. One representative per country.

Edited by ArcticDog18 on Dec 15th 2019 at 3:59:48 PM

There's no way to like, make fascism and monarchy "nice"

It's still an authoritarian regime where citizens have no power over their government.

Electing a representative is meaningless if they're still loyal to a person and not a constitution that has power over all individuals, especially if that person isn't elected and rules by birthright or by violence.

Any government that rules by violence ultimately needs to be oppressive. After all, what's to stop the commoners from gathering enough wealth to buy a bigger army?

Well, one can have a representative monarchy like the UK, Sweden, Norway, Belgium and the Netherlands.

Yes but all of those monarchs have their actual legislative and martial power reduced so much that they don't even count as figureheads.

They want a proper autocracy and monarchy with genuine absolute power.

(Technically all governments rule by violence.)

In a democracy that's a right and a mandate given to them with the consent of the governed.

You know what I meant

Okay, I see I goofed up a bit. But, thanks for pointing that out.
Let me explain. The purpose of Dominion Senate is not only serve as a cabinet of advisers to the Autarch. In time of crisis, if the Autarch can't deal with the situation or if Autarch is abusing his or her power, the Senate can effectively stop him. If such thing happens, they can ask their countries to withdraw their support to the Autarch. When that occurs, they can legally depose the Autarch and elect a new one among themselves. Let's throw "swear fealty to the Autarch on behest of their countries" part into the trash can.

Cooperation between the Senate and the Autarch is imperative. They are not allowed to think or pursue personal goals. Their mission is to bring prosperity and peace to the Dominion, guide it into a bright future and never repeat the mistakes of the past.

Yes, I know this sounds too idealistic and perhaps impossible. But, the founder of the Dominion and all other Autarchs after him know this, and yet they still try.

So if the Autarch isn't up to task, you summon the elector counts the Dominion Senate and impeach them? Sounds reasonable. Do you have any idea of the scope and limits of the Autarch's powers? Do they get a supranational cabinet to help them out? When do they get to supersede the authority of the national governments, and when do they step aside?

We really need a thread for governments alone. It's a pretty complicated topic.

As for the topic on hand, how are taxes collected and money distributed? Via Dominion or Via member state? What keeps one from withholding funds from the other?

Regarding Autarch's power.
If it weren't for the Dominion Senate, the Autarch could potentially wield absolute power. That's why the founder of the Dominion created it in the first place. If something were to happen to the representatives (for example most of them died in a terrorist attack), presidents of member countries could step in as temporary replacements until new candidates have been elected.

Aside from the Senate, I was thinking to implement other Dominion institutions to help Autarch in decision making. Military, Science, Culture, Finance, Judiciary. Maybe we should talk about this later.

The Autarch can temporarily supersede the authority of the national government if they prove to be too incompetent or worse, corrupt. In worst case scenario, Autarch can disband an entire government and force a new election. The ruling party that was removed from power, for obvious reasons, is not allowed to participate in the election. Autarch can only do this once a sufficient evidence is presented to them and the Senate and they approve such action. This only happened once, with Poland. The situation was so bad, that Poland's representative, who was a member of that political party, issued such a request.
Once the situation stabilizes, the Autarch willingly steps aside. They prefer to not get too involved in domestic affairs of member countries.

Autarchs could potentially reign for life, but they always resign after reaching a certain age or when they feel they can't lead the Dominion properly, or for both reasons. The Senate can try to make them reconsider, but a such decision ultimately belongs to the Autarch. Former Autarchs can privately advice their successors however.

ADDENDUM:(because I was writing most of this as a reply to eagleoftheninth) Regarding taxes, they are collected via member states. And, part of these taxes is collected by the Dominion. The Dominion's Ministry of Finance is keeping a watchful eye over this.

Wow, I think you might be right Belisaurius. I think we may need a special thread here on World Building for designing governments.

For a setting that is at least 20 Minutes into the Future, what differences in comparison to our modern-day world would be needed for Tomb Raider-style "adventure-archaeology" (or "grave-robbing" if you're highly averse to euphemism) to be treated as a legitimate and somewhat respectable "profession"/occupation (though not necessarily free of all controversy and criticism)?

For clarity's sake, I envision a legalized Adventurer Archaeologist (as opposed to a through-and-through "grave-robber") by the following:

• "Finders, keepers" — there is no legal barrier to keeping for yourself what artifacts or treasure that you've found if they're not the legally recognized property of a specific individual or group. Example: An ancient statue in the middle of a non-abandoned town is off-limits, but one that's found in a long-abandoned ruin in the mountains outside the legally defined borders of said town is not, even if they decide to send some of their own to guard the ruin. Speaking of which...
• You are not legally liable for any deaths that you cause in the course of your "adventure-archaeologizing" if nobody could provide sufficient legally recognizable evidence of you doing so without provocation, i.e. the burden is on your accusers to prove that you were engaging in unjustified aggression (more or less the same reason why wars of aggression are verboten in international law).
  • Note that this includes killing wild animals or plants that are considered to be endangered.
  • This also extends to clashing with criminal organizations or even agents of The Government in the course of your activities... especially if they're put in a Scylla and Charybdis dilemma between providing the necessary evidence to convict you and exposing secrets that they need to keep under wraps.
• You are not legally liable for any collateral damages that occur in the course of defending yourself from rival "adventurer-archaeologists" trying to steal the artifact that you've already secured for yourself (usually by resorting to lethal force). All the damages lie upon the ones who attacked you... if you can provide sufficient evidence of their actions and identity. Then again, even if you fail, it's highly unlikely that someone could actually prove that you were involved, because such attackers tend to simply kill all potential eyewitnesses (read: any and all bystanders) to avoid loose ends that could put them in legal jeopardy.

Edited by MarqFJA on Dec 18th 2019 at 9:15:10 PM

Any tips for designing believable aliens? By believable, I mean aliens who evolved based on the conditions of their planet such as atmosphere, gravity, etc.

I have an ice planet and I want an indigenous species of humanoid aliens to have evolved on it. However, I don't want them to be covered in fur or looking like Yeti.

On of the concept species I have in mind for now is based on seals and they have blubber to keep warm so they don't need fur.

I want it to make sense without getting into actual hard sci-fi territory.

Well, yeah, you’re off to a good start with using marine-mammal adaptations if you don’t want heavy fur.

The basic guide of believable aliens is to look at real-life Earth climates and see how our animals have adapted in the first place.

One idea might be to look for biological processes that could be interestingly repurposed.

For example, consider the bio-chemical reaction that bombardier beetles use as a defence mechanism. Perhaps your aliens might use some analogous process, but instead of generating a blast, it merely produces a controlled, low-level exothermic reaction in some internal cavity for the purposes of heating.

(I imagine that this would call for a diet that could support such consistent reaction, of course.)

Another thought: if the planet has been icy for as long as it's had life, then how has life overall adapted? That might inform how your humanoids have developed.

Just letting you know that the Inuit have a HUGELY fat and meat-based diet, which is a pretty handy cultural adaptation to both the cold and the lack of vegetation. As many cooks have found out in their early days, fat is VERY combustible and you could easily make up some type of "second stomach" or "heat-organ" where the fat from meals is burned instead of digested.

Edited by Sharysa on Jan 2nd 2020 at 4:34:42 AM

Kinda inefficient. Fat is a good insulator and oxidation is a typical metabolic function.

Huh, that's a cool plot twist. Thanks for letting me know.

I have another question regarding my planned novel. European Dominion. This time, it concerns education for Parahumans, people with powers. I haven't polished this idea yet, so expect some glaring flaws, which I hope you could help me iron out.

My initial idea was that when a Parahuman first manifest their powers, they get transferred to a specialized school where, aside from receiving basic education, would be trained in controlling their powers. While the training is harsh, it is necessary so they wouldn't harm themselves or others. They are divided in classes based on the nature of their powers. While it still a draft, the current classes are: Therianthrope (includes human-animal hybrids, ranging from Little Bit Beastly to Werebeasts), Elementalists, Psychics (Psychic Powers and Technopath), Metas (physical mutations or enhancements), Esoterics (abilities that do not fit to those categories, like Time Manipulation or Portal Creating) [once we clear things out, I'll head out to "What is a good name for this" Thread for better names].
In addition to basic education and power-controlling training, Parahumans receive extra mandatory lessons in subjects that align with their powers, in order to help them understand their abilities further and give them an idea how to safely utilize them in service to society.

In addition to that, all Parahumans also receive 1,5 year of military training once they reach age of 19. Depending on their powers, they will be assigned to a different military branch. For example, someone with aquakinetic powers could be assigned to Navy, while someone with an ability to render themselves invisible will be assigned to Special Forces.

While all of this training can be straining and can result in trauma, it is seen as Necessary Evil, as some Parahumans are capable of leveling a city block.

I wish to ask you for ideas how to improve the concept, expand on it and eliminate as many flaws as possible.

Ok so... the parahumans have pretty much no way of avoiding the military after their training? I'm guessing parahumans with weaker abilities or abilities that don't lend themselves too well to either stealth, healing or combat might end up with desk jobs in the military?

Nope. Military training is unavoidable for Parahumans. And, if their powers are not useful in combat situation, they might end up in normal units and fight like a normal human, or they will be assigned to a non-combat role. Desk job, cook, quartermaster, etc. They will find a use for them.

Ok I'd say even if they accept the training as a Necessary Evil some at lease will take being forced into the military badly. Not just parahumans, but parents of children who may be parahumans maybe as well.

I forgot to add some things regarding the military:

• In times of war, most Parahumans who went through their training are conscripted into army. Diplomats, scientists and factory workers (especially those who are producing weapons) are usually safe;
• After military training, they don't have to necessarily stay in military. They could pursue other jobs. But, their job options are always limited based on their powers. That said, they usually have better chance at getting jobs from this limited pool. It's unheard of for a Parahuman in European Dominion to be unemployed.

What happens to Parahumans who outright refuse to take part in military training for whatever reason, for example - ideological reasons like being a conscientious objector?

They could end up in prison or even receive capital punishment, depending on how strong their powers are (stronger power = harsher punishment). The same goes for those, who would refuse to serve during war. Some of the characters who served during Eurasian War didn't want to participate, but with the threat of imprisonment or death penalty, they reluctantly obeyed.

Yes, it is extremely harsh, but this law was passed for a reason. After all the damage caused by Parahumans in the past, they want to make sure it won't happen again. But, there were attempts to abolish or at least change the law a bit, so the punishment wouldn't be so severe.