Lore:Cliques - Revision history

GreytideSkye: /* Production Clique */ whoops, you have to put the CD

2026-09-08T08:17:51Z

Production Clique: whoops, you have to put the CD

← Older revision		Revision as of 08:17, 8 September 2026
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	Unsurprisingly Syndicate-sympathetic at times.		Unsurprisingly Syndicate-sympathetic at times.

	~~Significant overlap with the Progress Clique, potentially 100%. (I'm still reading the Ancient Texts)~~

	= Progress Clique =		= Progress Clique =

GreytideSkye: /* Colored Chart Of Favoritism */

2026-09-08T07:31:20Z

Colored Chart Of Favoritism

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 = Colored Chart Of Favoritism =
-{| class="wikitable"
+{{:Lore:Cliques/Chart}}
 {{LoreFooter}}

GreytideSkye: dunno why it did that with links

2026-09-08T07:29:36Z

dunno why it did that with links

← Older revision		Revision as of 07:29, 8 September 2026
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	Formally, Cliques hold no presence on the SolFed L3 Federal Assembly station. They are issued no chamber, no allotted headcount for staff, no voice or power to call votes. In practice, member nations offer their own Council resources to further the clique; replacing their nation's secretary with a Clique Steward, filling half their chamber with Clique business, calling votes on the Clique's behalf... Hell, several nations are courted into cliques on the ''sole'' basis that their office is adjacent to other members, so them giving consent to deconstruct the walls between them means the clique has a better office.		Formally, Cliques hold no presence on the SolFed L3 Federal Assembly station. They are issued no chamber, no allotted headcount for staff, no voice or power to call votes. In practice, member nations offer their own Council resources to further the clique; replacing their nation's secretary with a Clique Steward, filling half their chamber with Clique business, calling votes on the Clique's behalf... Hell, several nations are courted into cliques on the ''sole'' basis that their office is adjacent to other members, so them giving consent to deconstruct the walls between them means the clique has a better office.

	If you ask your automated Navigator the way to the [[~~User:GreytideSkye/Sandbox/Lore:Cliques~~#Plasma Clique\|Plasma Clique]]'s office, it will point you nowhere, but if you ask aloud, you'll get directed to obvious wall signs conveniently embedded in a nearby nation's Extended Livery. Bet you didn't know that the proud Blue and Gold flag of the [[~~User:GreytideSkye/Sandbox/Lore:Cliques~~#Cheren Path\|Cheren Path]] is only the abridged Naval Flag, and their full flag also has a big purple arrow to the right labeled <font color="purple">''"Trade C. Office 6 aisles clockwise 2 hallways coreward -->''"</font>.		If you ask your automated Navigator the way to the [[#Plasma Clique\|Plasma Clique]]'s office, it will point you nowhere, but if you ask aloud, you'll get directed to obvious wall signs conveniently embedded in a nearby nation's Extended Livery. Bet you didn't know that the proud Blue and Gold flag of the [[#Cheren Path\|Cheren Path]] is only the abridged Naval Flag, and their full flag also has a big purple arrow to the right labeled <font color="purple">''"Trade C. Office 6 aisles clockwise 2 hallways coreward -->''"</font>.

	== Why are Cliques needed? ==		== Why are Cliques needed? ==
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	Some say it is LARPing a secret society for the sake of coolness, some say it's a fetish, some say they believe Hemophages are the path to Eternal Life and Eternal Power (despite the numerous other [[Lore:Death#Avoiding Death\|life extension options]] available to folk as influential as them). Some say this is the evolution of ancient secret orders from Earth, some say it is a cringe mockery of the idea done by baby-headed loser dweebs.		Some say it is LARPing a secret society for the sake of coolness, some say it's a fetish, some say they believe Hemophages are the path to Eternal Life and Eternal Power (despite the numerous other [[Lore:Death#Avoiding Death\|life extension options]] available to folk as influential as them). Some say this is the evolution of ancient secret orders from Earth, some say it is a cringe mockery of the idea done by baby-headed loser dweebs.

	The purpose of the Coven is to keep the Clique cohesive and social. The Coven also guides leaders to technology and methods to become an immortal elite. The [[~~User:GreytideSkye/Sandbox/Lore:Cliques~~#Progress Clique\|Progress Clique]] really fucking hates that.		The purpose of the Coven is to keep the Clique cohesive and social. The Coven also guides leaders to technology and methods to become an immortal elite. The [[#Progress Clique\|Progress Clique]] really fucking hates that.

	=== Notable Kingdoms ===		=== Notable Kingdoms ===

GreytideSkye: GreytideSkye moved page User:GreytideSkye/Sandbox/Lore:Cliques to Lore:Cliques without leaving a redirect

2026-09-08T07:28:37Z

GreytideSkye moved page User:GreytideSkye/Sandbox/Lore:Cliques to Lore:Cliques without leaving a redirect

← Older revision	Revision as of 07:28, 8 September 2026
(No difference)

GreytideSkye: /* Plasma Clique */ I cast summary, in attack mode!

2026-09-08T07:26:46Z

Plasma Clique: I cast summary, in attack mode!

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 = Plasma Clique =
-Thou shalt not harvest Plasma in the dark, thou shalt only brave extraction in our light.
+They control the flow of Plasma in SolFed. Mining, distribution, and use. They regulate Plasma out of kindness, not greed, and try to make everyone a little more moral. They sell plasma and use the proceeds to do charity work.
-The only thing more dangerous than a monopoly is one that can't be controlled by profit.
+<font size=+2>Learn more at [[Lore:Plasma_Clique|the dedicated Plasma Clique page]]!</font>
-The Plasma Clique exists to control the production and distribution of Plasma. The Plasma Clique does not exist to control SolFed, render ungodly profit, to conquer or liberate.
+{{:Lore:Plasma_Clique}}
 = Monarchist Clique =

GreytideSkye: /* Center Clique */

2026-09-08T07:21:41Z

Center Clique

← Older revision		Revision as of 07:21, 8 September 2026
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	{{:Lore:Voting}}		{{:Lore:Voting}}

			= The Cliques =

			The following 8 are the main Cliques of SolFed, covering a good 95% of political power in the Federal Assembly. Smaller cliques do exist, but given that a Clique is a group of nations with enough voting power to influence SolFed itself, do smaller cliques ''actually'' exist?

	= Center Clique =		= Center Clique =

GreytideSkye: /* How Voting Works */ i'm gonna regret transcluding but here i am

2026-09-08T07:19:16Z

How Voting Works: i'm gonna regret transcluding but here i am

Show changes

GreytideSkye: We got a blockchain in this lorebase, and it only took 2 years.

2026-09-08T06:34:45Z

We got a blockchain in this lorebase, and it only took 2 years.

← Older revision		Revision as of 06:34, 8 September 2026
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	Formally, Cliques hold no presence on the SolFed L3 Federal Assembly station. They are issued no chamber, no allotted headcount for staff, no voice or power to call votes. In practice, member nations offer their own Council resources to further the clique; replacing their nation's secretary with a Clique Steward, filling half their chamber with Clique business, calling votes on the Clique's behalf... Hell, several nations are courted into cliques on the ''sole'' basis that their office is adjacent to other members, so them giving consent to deconstruct the walls between them means the clique has a better office.		Formally, Cliques hold no presence on the SolFed L3 Federal Assembly station. They are issued no chamber, no allotted headcount for staff, no voice or power to call votes. In practice, member nations offer their own Council resources to further the clique; replacing their nation's secretary with a Clique Steward, filling half their chamber with Clique business, calling votes on the Clique's behalf... Hell, several nations are courted into cliques on the ''sole'' basis that their office is adjacent to other members, so them giving consent to deconstruct the walls between them means the clique has a better office.

	If you ask your automated Navigator the way to the [[User:GreytideSkye/Sandbox/Lore:Cliques#Plasma Clique\|Plasma Clique]]'s office, it will point you nowhere, but if you ask aloud, you'll get directed to obvious wall signs conveniently embedded in a nearby nation's Extended Livery. Bet you didn't know that the proud Blue and Gold flag of the [[User:GreytideSkye/Sandbox/Lore:Cliques#Cheren Path\|Cheren Path]] is only the abridged Naval Flag, and their full flag also has a big purple arrow to the right labeled ''"Trade C. Office 6 aisles clockwise 2 hallways coreward -->''".		If you ask your automated Navigator the way to the [[User:GreytideSkye/Sandbox/Lore:Cliques#Plasma Clique\|Plasma Clique]]'s office, it will point you nowhere, but if you ask aloud, you'll get directed to obvious wall signs conveniently embedded in a nearby nation's Extended Livery. Bet you didn't know that the proud Blue and Gold flag of the [[User:GreytideSkye/Sandbox/Lore:Cliques#Cheren Path\|Cheren Path]] is only the abridged Naval Flag, and their full flag also has a big purple arrow to the right labeled <font color="purple">''"Trade C. Office 6 aisles clockwise 2 hallways coreward -->''"</font>.

	== How Voting Works ==		== How Voting Works ==
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	After a short time, around '''6 Earth hours''', the ballot box closes, accounting for folk rushing to a box, etc. The votes are counted and tallied in a narratively satisfying amount of time, often a day. In theory a Recount can be called, and by all means someone always calls for it, but Real, Serious recounts where they actually have to break out the physical ballots are rare.		After a short time, around '''6 Earth hours''', the ballot box closes, accounting for folk rushing to a box, etc. The votes are counted and tallied in a narratively satisfying amount of time, often a day. In theory a Recount can be called, and by all means someone always calls for it, but Real, Serious recounts where they actually have to break out the physical ballots are rare.

			====VoteCoin====
			The Blockchain. Cliquetocurrency. An immutable ledger of bribes, favors, and votes codified into law through the daily proposals from the {{TooltipInline\|Bribe Clique\|They go by the Ledger Clique, but given how small they are, even calling them a "clique" is an exceptional stretch.}}. Any SolFed member can propose a bill outlining a transaction between that member and the unquantifiable concept of currency.

			Buying into the currency typically takes the form of "Nation X offers the vessel and crew for 120 squadrons for [[Lore:SFAF#Troops\|active SFAF patrol]], above and beyond their standing obligations or duties, and in doing so will gain Ten Votecoin." If this proposal {{TooltipInline\|passes Vote in the Federal Council\|The main reason it wouldn't is because the exchange rate proposed is awful, just absolute dogshit trolling.}}, then the army is raised, and Nation X can claim they have 10 additional Votecoin. Cashing out for various favors looks like "Nation X offers Nation Y five votecoin for this favor," which is immutably recorded in the ledger of successful bills once it is voted upon.

			The main use of Votecoin, however, comes in modifying the voting threshold for other proposals, in the form of "Nation X redeems 50 votecoins, and as such Proposal {{TooltipInline\|J7-335\|"Petition To Make Vending Machine Injuries Deemed Not The Vendor's Fault." Passed, then later amended with "J7-212: UNLESS USED AS A PROJECTILE!!"}} will require only a 35% 'Yea' vote to pass." Of course, this proposal itself needs to pass a standard vote, meaning that both the exchange rate and specific allowances are still subject to common sense and public sway. The longest chain of using Votecoins to make passing Votecoins easier to make passing Votecoins easier came in 2450, allowing for the dissolution of the {{anchor\|Nekomimetic}}{{Nekomimetic}} language to pass with a threshold of only {{TooltipInline\|5% 'yea' needed\|It passed with 5.6% of yea votes, formally dissolving the language. It wasn't clear at the time what dissolving an intangible concept of syllables and grammar would look like, but regardless, the language is no longer taught in schools.}}.

			Votecoin hold value as a currency for the sheer fact that none feel powerful enough to doubt the Votecoin. The first Proposal involving a {{TooltipInline\|"Votecoin"\|All permutations of capitalization are tolerated, so "Votecoin" and "VoteCoin" and "votecoin" and "VOTECOIN" are all understood to mean the same thing.}} was {{TooltipInline\|January 3rd, 2299\|"SMU-71: Petition to Make Votecoin A Thing."}}, early in SolFed's span. The Ledger Clique formed half a century later (2350, during the second Migration), as new investors saw the potential for a longer-term Federal Assembly currency.

			The Ledger Clique does two things:
			* Consolidate proposals into a single proposal, so nations need not spend their single daily Proposal on bookkeeping. This, of course, gives the Ledger Clique finer control over exchange rates, giving a centraler authority to a currency whose central authority was already the central authority of the galaxy. Common sense rules could be applied, with the Ledger Clique managing dollars and sense, ensuring that each included transaction in the proposal would not be so radically wild that the entire proposal would get voted down.
			* Keep track of Votecoin. By 2350, several jokesters had already attempted to exploit the system by redeeming votecoin they did not have, or "earning" votecoin for favors they did not perform, or conning folk into accepting {{TooltipInline\|"vatecoin"\|"Vapecoin" holds with diamond hands, however.}}, and so on. Trust in the Votecoin system, while already low, dropped even further until the Ledger Clique {{TooltipInline\|Declared\|Just regular "declared", but with a capital D for additional legitimacy.}} otherwise. The Ledger Clique now tracks the results of proposed contracts, adding an inconsequential "This Nation recognizes that the prior transaction between Nations X and Y from Proposal Z has been satisfied and the Votecoin transferred." to their conglomerated Proposals, which holds no legal precedent but makes everyone involved feel a little more legitimate.

			In 2360, the Ledger Clique was publicly informed that the current implementation of "Votecoin" was not actually a cryptocurrency or a blockchain. To correct this:
			* The Ledger Clique does keep a ledger. Each of their conglomerated proposals states the proposal number of the previous conglomeration, providing a theoretically unbroken chain of Votecoin proposals stemming back to {{TooltipInline\|2352\|This does mean that the first conglomeration had a LOT of prior proposals to write down. It was not their finest hour.}}.
			* The Ledger Clique addresses Votecoin-related Proposals that, despite not going through them, somehow made it to vote and passed. If a nation wants to waste their daily Proposal on gaining Votecoin without involving the Ledger Clique, and all of SolFed fairly votes to accept that Proposal, the next conglomerate will remark that the Ledger Clique observes that this proposal Passed and that nation should be considered to have the Votecoin they were voted to have. Going outside the Trade Clique for this will, however, incur disfavor, leading to less favorable negotiations and potential stonewalling.
			* Several members of the [[#Coven_of_the_Affliction\|Monarchist Clique]] printed out paper copies of the Ledger Clique's ledger and sealed them in an elaborate mausoleum, later going back to inscribe them directly onto stone blocks. None of these copies hold any standing or significance, and it's not entirely understood why this was done. Still, there is technically a {{TooltipInline\|crypt o' currency\|You may boo. It helps with the spooky atmosphere.}} with VoteCoin.

			'''The Ledger Clique''' is barely noteworthy as a clique, holding few actual votes of their own and few external ambitions. Commonly confused as a subclique of the [[Lore:Cliques#Trade Clique\|Trade Clique]].

	= Center Clique =		= Center Clique =

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	= Monarchist Clique =		= Monarchist Clique =

	~~Name TBD.~~

	A Boys Club of dictators, warlords, anyone unequivocally charge of a nation and interested in staying as such. Individuals might have the best interests of their people at heart, as they're not ''necessarily'' evil, but it takes power to hold power, and when you've got that much power, there's few folk beneath you worthy of your trust. Best to seek it with others in an equally fragile state, your fellow kings and deities. Known for swapping their armies around, lest any one army get too emotionally attached to any one nation and decide to liberate it from the sovereign, or worse, "liberate" it.		A Boys Club of dictators, warlords, anyone unequivocally charge of a nation and interested in staying as such. Individuals might have the best interests of their people at heart, as they're not ''necessarily'' evil, but it takes power to hold power, and when you've got that much power, there's few folk beneath you worthy of your trust. Best to seek it with others in an equally fragile state, your fellow kings and deities. Known for swapping their armies around, lest any one army get too emotionally attached to any one nation and decide to liberate it from the sovereign, or worse, "liberate" it.
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	As far as voting goes, anything that lets them keep power is good, anything that's pro-competition or pro-equality is bad. The Plasma Clique hates them because they love democracy, but so long as they pay using their peasants' labor, they'll still receive as much Plasma as they need.		As far as voting goes, anything that lets them keep power is good, anything that's pro-competition or pro-equality is bad. The Plasma Clique hates them because they love democracy, but so long as they pay using their peasants' labor, they'll still receive as much Plasma as they need.

	More than a few Theocratic nations vote with them, but their heads, their gods rarely show up to the ~~barbeques~~.		More than a few Theocratic nations vote with them, but their heads, their gods rarely show up to the barbecues.

	=== Coven of the Affliction ===		=== Coven of the Affliction ===
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	'''Her Living Cycle''': Theocratic Absolute Monarchy with an Assembly (The ruler is a woman who is hailed as a living Goddess. Doesn't have to actually be one. It's more the belief that she is)		'''Her Living Cycle''': Theocratic Absolute Monarchy with an Assembly (The ruler is a woman who is hailed as a living Goddess. Doesn't have to actually be one. It's more the belief that she is)

	'''The Cheren Path'''{{Anchor\|Cheren Path}}: A "democratic" ~~oligarchal~~ government ruled by a council of seven (or any similar odd number of) ~~councillors~~ with multiple layers to the government. The Puppetmaster (his formal title) attends the Clique meetings on behalf of the small group of leaders.		'''The Cheren Path'''{{Anchor\|Cheren Path}}: A "democratic" oligarchical government ruled by a council of seven (or any similar odd number of) councilors with multiple layers to the government. The Puppetmaster (his formal title) attends the Clique meetings on behalf of the small group of leaders.

	'''The Dark Souls''': A confederation of four kingdoms ruled by a quad-king government (the 4 Kings rule together). This government failed badly, but the Four Kings still hold enough influence and throw the best parties, so remain as a sign that the Clique protects its own.		'''The Dark Souls''': A confederation of four kingdoms ruled by a quad-king government (the 4 Kings rule together). This government failed badly, but the Four Kings still hold enough influence and throw the best parties, so remain as a sign that the Clique protects its own.

GreytideSkye: /* Colored Chart Of Favoritism */

2026-09-08T05:56:10Z

Colored Chart Of Favoritism

← Older revision		Revision as of 05:56, 8 September 2026
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	= Colored Chart Of Favoritism =		= Colored Chart Of Favoritism =

			{\| class="wikitable"
			\|+ {{TooltipInline\|Inter-Clique Relations (0-100)\|</b>Each row represents a clique, and each column in that row shows how that clique feels about the vertical clique. The feelings are rarely mutual.<b>}}

			\|-bgcolor="lightgrey" style="writing-mode: vertical-rl; text-align: right"
			\|bgcolor="white"\| \|\| [[#Center Clique\|Center]] \|\| [[#Unity Clique\|Unity]] \|\| [[#Frontier Clique\|Frontier]] \|\| [[#Trade Clique\|Trade]] \|\| [[#Production Clique\|Production]] \|\| [[#Progress Clique\|Progress]] \|\| [[#Plasma Clique\|Plasma]] \|\| [[#Monarchist_Clique\|Monarchist]]
			\|-
			\| bgcolor="lightgrey"\| [[#Center Clique\|Center]] {{CliqueChartEntry}} {{CliqueChartEntry\|20\|These Unity clowns are risking SolFed lives in pointless conflict, and more importantly, SolFed resources!}} {{CliqueChartEntry\|10\|These are the little guys. They're a drain of resources, producing little for SolFed. And if they ever grow up? Rivals!}} {{CliqueChartEntry\|60\|We want all the control, they want to make free trade, that's us giving up control. Still, it's nice they're getting us stuff.}} {{CliqueChartEntry\|70\|They're against the Trade Clique? They encourage us to make our own things, thus holding power over our own things? Sure, but do they also have to encourage our rivals to do the same? It's harder to crush someone under your boot when they're self-sufficient. All the same, we're gonna keep making normal stuff too.}} {{CliqueChartEntry\|30\|We're all for kick-ass technology, but they have this thing called "ethics" and we keep "breaking it"?}} {{CliqueChartEntry\|10\|Moralistic assholes. The more Plasma we have, the stronger we can be, and they're trying to cut us off? Limiting us to only "what we need?" Fuck these naive shitheads but we will take their Plasma anyways.}} {{CliqueChartEntry\|60\|These are nice strawmen to show that we could be worse. We have Democracy on our side, compared to these rigid, power-hungry bastards. We mostly do the same things, ethicswise, except we have enough leaders moving around that there's no individual to blame for how shitty we are. Monarchs, you love to hate 'em.}}
			\|-
			\|bgcolor="lightgrey"\| [[#Unity Clique\|Unity]] {{CliqueChartEntry\|0\|These cowards pulled us out of a war we were about to win! Our comrades' lives were thrown away for these pencil-pushing bureaucrat assholes to piss on. We wouldn't cross the street to piss on you if you were on fire.}} {{CliqueChartEntry}} {{CliqueChartEntry\|95\|Sweet, innocent Frontiersmen. We were once like you, before the anvil of war galvanized us into necessarily-focused ruthlessness. We do what we must so that Frontiersfolk like these never have to know hardship. Forgive us for what we must do.}} {{CliqueChartEntry\|70\|A useful pawn sometimes. A foreign power who's dependent on SolFed shipping routes is a power powerless to harm us. At the same time, a foreign power who uses SolFed shipping routes to grow stronger is a foreign power who's able to resist joining SolFed.}} {{CliqueChartEntry\|80\|They don't get in our way, and it's nice when SolFed gets stronger.}} {{CliqueChartEntry\|60\|Conquest needs innovation, but they've stonewalled us a few times for "immorality" and "not respecting the sovereign rights of other states?" That's what we do, we bring folk into SolFed through peace or in pieces. The ends justify the means, so give us that fucking laser already!!}} {{CliqueChartEntry\|30\|The perpetual war effort is costly, and the Plasma Clique often deems our efforts "excessive," thus charging us a strong premium for the plasma necessary to keep SolFed safe and secure.}} {{CliqueChartEntry\|50\|They get in our way about as much as they help us. Sometimes we can pitch conquest as a honorable glory and draw them into our fights, but like, these folk don't entirely buy into the idea of SolFed to begin with so like, once the entire galaxy is under SolFed, we might turn our sights on these folk?}}
			\|-
			\|bgcolor="lightgrey"\| [[#Frontier Clique\|Frontier]] {{CliqueChartEntry\|20\|They're the coreworlds and don't give a rat's ass about the little guys in the fringe. A lot of their policies, which they have the power to enforce, make it harder for Frontiersmen.}} {{CliqueChartEntry\|65\|They're fighting for us, but they're also putting us in the line of fire. Some of us are on good terms with our foreign neighbors and don't want the boat rocked.}} {{CliqueChartEntry\|}} {{CliqueChartEntry\|70\|Rather dependent on their whims; a Frontier colony lives and dies by the cargo shuttles coming its way. They don't always act in our interest, but what can we do?}} {{CliqueChartEntry\|95\|To be important enough to SolFed to defend, a Frontier colony needs a hook, a gimmick, something unique. The Production Clique is all about helping nations specialize into something unique.}} {{CliqueChartEntry\|80\|The social contract between folk is thinner in the Frontier, where you do what you gotta do to survive. The Progress clique takes advantage of that, doing social experiments and prototype tech out where there's less cultural baggage to deal with. Given their choice of ethics, though, this rarely turns out poorly for the frontier nation, and whatever downsides are usually worth the ongoing support. But there's also a lot of Synthetic Life in the Frontier, which can get awkward to address.}} {{CliqueChartEntry\|85\|They give us cheap plasma so we can thrive, and their ethical mandates aren't too awful. But if anyone has us by the balls, it's the Plasma Clique. Plasma's like the only reliable power source when you're far enough from a star, so colonies in deep space are effectively Plasma Clique vassals begging for their charity. Luckily, they're known for charity.}} {{CliqueChartEntry\|45\|They don't particularly care about small fries like us. Sometimes a Monarch will decide they want to "adopt" an impoverished frontier nation, either taking it as a pet project for a few years, or building a vacation home to abandon. Either way, their attention is disruptive, unwanted, and unpredictable, but rarely harmful.}}
			\|-
			\|bgcolor="lightgrey"\| [[#Trade Clique\|Trade]] {{CliqueChartEntry\|80\|Bunch of consumers. Good buyers, but it's always a fight for control over shipping rights, etc. Not ideal customers but they're a good chunk of SolFed.}} {{CliqueChartEntry\|90\|[[wikipedia:Rules_of_Acquisition\|Rule of Acquisition]] [https://memory-alpha.fandom.com/wiki/Rules_of_Acquisition 34]: War is good for business.}} {{CliqueChartEntry\|40\|They're a captive market, sure, but they're also not the richest customers. There's a lot of space to cover with them, and not a lot of profit to be made.}} {{CliqueChartEntry}} {{CliqueChartEntry\|20\|These communists are actively trying to discourage dependence on trade!! But at the same time, they're encouraging the development of unique products, which elitists will pay a fortune to source.}} {{CliqueChartEntry\|70\|Any advancement is a product waiting to be sold, but the prejudice against AIs is... shutting out valid paying customers.}} {{CliqueChartEntry\|40\|They don't mess with us as much as they could. Yeah, it'd be nice to put Plasma, the greatest commodity ever, on the free market, but letting them have the one market means they don't interfere with the rest of galactic trade. Besides, they use our shipping lanes and they sell to us too.}} {{CliqueChartEntry\|70\|These guys are always buying something weird. The advantage of having a single head of state is that there's only one person to con into a big sale. On the other hand, they're notoriously unstable, changing heads every 50 years or so, and whims much more often than that, so securing a reliable trade relationship is a rare thing indeed.}}
			\|-
			\|bgcolor="lightgrey"\| [[#Production Clique\|Production]] {{CliqueChartEntry\|35\|They're willing to invest a little in making unique products, but afraid to take risks and rely on others, so they're never going to really understand. They'll co-opt our ideals and steal the best products from our folk.}} {{CliqueChartEntry\|65\|A war effort needs a lot of gun factories. Still, as soon as the conflict ends, there's a lot of gun factories with no one to sell to.}} {{CliqueChartEntry\|75\|Frontier colonies love the idea of self-sufficiency and are willing to specialize if it gets our aid. They've got to take risks to survive, and focusing on a single product is a huge risk. We're providing them more aid than they're giving back, but it's worth it for our ideals.}} {{CliqueChartEntry\|25\|They want a dependent worker-class who can't survive without their oversight, their routes. And god damn it, they've won. As much as we can fight to have folk self-sufficient, if they're going to prosper on a galactic scale, they need to sell to someone... and the Trade Clique's the only someone out there big enough. They're assholes, metaphorical slavers, the devil to deal with, but damn if they're not too big to ignore.}} {{CliqueChartEntry}} {{CliqueChartEntry\|95\|Every new innovation could be the next big product that can drive an entire planet to greatness. It takes a scientist to make a new product, but it takes the Production Clique to turn that into a new industry.}} {{CliqueChartEntry\|75\|They're an instrument for power production. Relying on the charity of a pious plasma prick isn't exactly "self-sufficient," but it's usually easier than building your own power grid - which they will help with anyways for some reason??}} {{CliqueChartEntry\|90\|Monarchs love it when they have a claim to fame. They're practically champing at the bit for a niche industry to monopolize, and are quick to invest great deals of cash into things they don't understand.}}
			\|-
			\|bgcolor="lightgrey"\| [[#Progress Clique\|Progress]] {{CliqueChartEntry\|35\|"Technological progress at the expense of everything but morals." The Center Clique enjoys the data showing how they can retain power, but they value power over progress. They'll regulate threats to them holding power, and if the data shows that they're not the best power-holders for the situation, you can expect a smashed laptop and a death mark, not progress. Still, it's a good look for them to at least pretend to like you, even if you do have this thing called "ethics" that they keep breaking.}} {{CliqueChartEntry\|80\|Their heart's in the right place: peace is good. The data shows that the leading cause of war is having two nations, so the math technically supports going to war to fix that, and it strongly supports going to peace to make two nations into one.}} {{CliqueChartEntry\|50\|Folk who are willing to take risks and support technology, but also folk who are really sentimental about their homelands and aren't willing to take risks. It's entirely a grab bag and it averages out to "indifferent."}} {{CliqueChartEntry\|70\|The Free Market is inherently a rational, mathematical science. Economics is science. The Progress Clique should be their biggest glazers, but it's also economical to be unethical.}} {{CliqueChartEntry\|90\|It's nice to have an idea and be able to watch someone make it into a reality. It's less nice to watch them butcher your intentions for cost-cutting or sentimental reasons.}} {{CliqueChartEntry}} {{CliqueChartEntry\|40\|They abhor excess. Science is about trying things that aren't always viable. They get pissed when we "throw away" good plasma at learning something new. They always want to judge the quality of our intentions, always fighting against our proposals, always denying us enough plasma to see this next experiment through... It's an uphill battle, but at the end of the day we do need their Plasma.}} {{CliqueChartEntry\|70\|It hurts to lie, but a good statistician can make any graph say anything. If a graph has more than 4 colors and 5 lines on it, the bozo King'll almost always throw enough funding and manpower at us to make it a reality. Still, these kings rule extremely inefficiently and it's downright painful manipulating them into doing the right thing sometimes.}}
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			\|bgcolor="lightgrey"\| [[#Plasma Clique\|Plasma]] {{CliqueChartEntry\|60\|They're the biggest customers, but also the most likely to breach our ethical demands. When they listen to us, everyone listens to us.}} {{CliqueChartEntry\|50\|Conflict is a great way to burn through a lot of Plasma, but the neighbors they fight already aren't listening to our decrees and regulations, so honestly the Unity's goals are the fastest way to get these neighbors to listen. Even if a lot of plasma is wasted in warfare, our message follows them into battle.}} {{CliqueChartEntry\|60\|Whiny little shits. Never agree with our assessment of what a "necessary" amount of Plasma is. But there's only so much resistance you can put up when you're this isolated from SolFed. They grumble, but they kneel all the same.}} {{CliqueChartEntry\|40\|They earn their standing through encouraging excess and lavish lifestyles, but they do respect our monopoly on Plasma.}} {{CliqueChartEntry\|70\|Self-sufficiency is good, but these folk never stop and settle down. THE FACTORY MUST GROW means demands always grow. Always more power needed. If they can harness renewable powers like nuclear or solar, great! But they never do.}} {{CliqueChartEntry\|90\|Incredible innovators! Every single new transistor they invent is a great power savings for the entire galaxy, which means the galaxy needs less plasma. Every so often, we fight over the direction their research goes, how they're wasting good energy on useless prospects, but there's not really anyone else in the galaxy who truly understands the ethics of great power and great responsibility.}} {{CliqueChartEntry}} {{CliqueChartEntry\|30\|These Monarchs are prone to waste and are the very definition of excessive lifestyle, but their peasants are perfectly fine and certainly deserve the charity we fight to bring them. Besides, no King is large enough to disobey us outright without starving their people into an uprising.}}
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			\|bgcolor="lightgrey"\| [[#Monarchist_Clique\|Monarchist]] {{CliqueChartEntry\|70\|We could be worse, we could be these guys. It's nice to have someone to point at and claim democracy doesn't work, so we can keep our Divine Mandate or whatever. They don't bother us much, and there's always a few "elected" officials who want to party with us.}} {{CliqueChartEntry\|70\|They're out there squashing threats to our power? For free? And if we help their efforts out, sometimes we get some free vassal states? Their ideas don't make sense but working with them does.}} {{CliqueChartEntry\|60\|Mostly beneath us, but it feels so Noble and Kind to go out and uplift some of these poor, pathetic, defenseless dirt-farmers, so we can show the galaxy how Benevolent and Deserving Of Power we are.}} {{CliqueChartEntry\|80\|We pay for things, they bring us things. With so much deception and treachery, it's refreshing to have a straightforward relationship with someone.}} {{CliqueChartEntry\|90\|We're prepared to offer you 500,000 credits and an entire moon for 80% of your business. And - snerk - a ''royalty deal'', 50cr for every product sold.}} {{CliqueChartEntry\|90\|Sometimes you just need a Trusted Advisor to tell you you're doing a good job.}} {{CliqueChartEntry\|30\|Enough with the preaching and get back to the tithing! Hand your Plasma over.}} {{CliqueChartEntry}}
			\|}
			Each row represents a clique, and each column in that row shows how that clique feels {{TooltipInline\|about the other clique\|So Center feels 20 about Unity, but Unity feels 0 about Center.}}. The feelings are rarely mutual.

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GreytideSkye at 02:56, 8 September 2026

2026-09-08T02:56:02Z

← Older revision		Revision as of 02:56, 8 September 2026
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	'''The Cheren Path'''{{Anchor\|Cheren Path}}: A "democratic" oligarchal government ruled by a council of seven (or any similar odd number of) councillors with multiple layers to the government. The Puppetmaster (his formal title) attends the Clique meetings on behalf of the small group of leaders.		'''The Cheren Path'''{{Anchor\|Cheren Path}}: A "democratic" oligarchal government ruled by a council of seven (or any similar odd number of) councillors with multiple layers to the government. The Puppetmaster (his formal title) attends the Clique meetings on behalf of the small group of leaders.

	'''The Dark Souls''': A confederation of four kingdoms ruled by a quad-king government (the 4 Kings rule together). This government failed badly, but the Four Kings still hold enough influence and throw the best parties, so remain as a sign that the Clique protects its own.{{LoreFooter}}		'''The Dark Souls''': A confederation of four kingdoms ruled by a quad-king government (the 4 Kings rule together). This government failed badly, but the Four Kings still hold enough influence and throw the best parties, so remain as a sign that the Clique protects its own.

			= Colored Chart Of Favoritism =


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