Candles-in-Shade
[Author's note: This is an incomplete first draft]
The culture of the Republic claims to epitomise the value of strength through competition. In its early days this was any form of strength. But in recent times as resources have dwindled, it has come to mean financial capacity. Education, healthcare, and any opportunity for advancement, all depend on the ability to pay for them. The sole exception to this rule is military enlistment.
Those unable to pay for accommodation live on the streets. Those unable to pay for medical care, die where they fall: Their scant possessions are quickly scavenged.Those unable to pay for food, subsist on the ubiquitous vermin: Rats, cockroaches, and on good days feral dogs and cats. Cannibalism is not unheard of: All driven by a ruthless pragmatism for survival and climbing the social ladder. There are no friends, only temporary allies. It is truly a culture in which "the strong do what they can, while the weak do what they must"- and the "strong" make very sure that they use that strength to hoard every resource possible for themselves.
Paradoxically, this has fostered a growing movement of altruism and self-improvement amongst the lowest classes, colloquially known as "Candles-in-Shade". Clandestine meetings teach literacy and foundation courses in the sciences, and books are bought on the black market to be eagerly shared. Texts of medicine are particularly valued, with self-taught practitioners serving the needs of this tiny community.
In profound contrast to most of Republican society, the fundamental ethos of Candles-in-Shade is that when one person shares, the whole is enriched.
But such attitudes are considered subversive and dangerous to a society that values strength through competition- a society starved of resources and struggling to grow despite encroachment from the Magistaerium Protectorate. Citizens are encouraged to inform on any of their neighbours harbouring "unRepublican" sentiments, and those found out are made into horrific examples: Punishments for membership include being burned alive in ridicule, "so that the whole may be illumined".
Hence outside these clandestine gatherings, members of Candles-in-Shade do everything in their power to appear to conform. It is their common, tragic belief that they must appear outwardly to be as "Republican", as competitive in spirit as possible, in order to survive to secretly do altruistic service. Yet even within their tiny community there is a growing group of dissidents who argue that this two-faced hypocrisy betrays their beliefs: That it is better to die a martyr preaching a better world, better to lead by example and spread the word- than to live in fear, shame and duplicity.
The culture of the Republic claims to epitomise the value of strength through competition. In its early days this was any form of strength. But in recent times as resources have dwindled, it has come to mean financial capacity. Education, healthcare, and any opportunity for advancement, all depend on the ability to pay for them. The sole exception to this rule is military enlistment.
Those unable to pay for accommodation live on the streets. Those unable to pay for medical care, die where they fall: Their scant possessions are quickly scavenged.Those unable to pay for food, subsist on the ubiquitous vermin: Rats, cockroaches, and on good days feral dogs and cats. Cannibalism is not unheard of: All driven by a ruthless pragmatism for survival and climbing the social ladder. There are no friends, only temporary allies. It is truly a culture in which "the strong do what they can, while the weak do what they must"- and the "strong" make very sure that they use that strength to hoard every resource possible for themselves.
Paradoxically, this has fostered a growing movement of altruism and self-improvement amongst the lowest classes, colloquially known as "Candles-in-Shade". Clandestine meetings teach literacy and foundation courses in the sciences, and books are bought on the black market to be eagerly shared. Texts of medicine are particularly valued, with self-taught practitioners serving the needs of this tiny community.
In profound contrast to most of Republican society, the fundamental ethos of Candles-in-Shade is that when one person shares, the whole is enriched.
But such attitudes are considered subversive and dangerous to a society that values strength through competition- a society starved of resources and struggling to grow despite encroachment from the Magistaerium Protectorate. Citizens are encouraged to inform on any of their neighbours harbouring "unRepublican" sentiments, and those found out are made into horrific examples: Punishments for membership include being burned alive in ridicule, "so that the whole may be illumined".
Hence outside these clandestine gatherings, members of Candles-in-Shade do everything in their power to appear to conform. It is their common, tragic belief that they must appear outwardly to be as "Republican", as competitive in spirit as possible, in order to survive to secretly do altruistic service. Yet even within their tiny community there is a growing group of dissidents who argue that this two-faced hypocrisy betrays their beliefs: That it is better to die a martyr preaching a better world, better to lead by example and spread the word- than to live in fear, shame and duplicity.
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