Tallon Empire
The Tallon Empire is a small nation in the Gamma Quadrant, consisting of approximately 1500 worlds. Despite being sized similarly to many irrelevant “petty states”, the Empire is able to operate on a scale similarly to that of the Federation and of New Terra, and is, proportionately, growing much faster. This is in part due to its rapid conquest of hostile territory, but also in part due to its Imperialistic nature and ability to create hundreds of small client states from small allies or conquered enemies that are too far away to rule directly without difficulty. The Tallon Empire is one of the most advanced nations in the galaxy, both socially and technologically, and seeks to use this technology to bring the rest of the galaxy up to their standards of advancement, enlightenment, and liberty, whether through peace or war. Of course, it views conquest as a necessary step in this goal, both to spread their ideas more efficiently, and to ensure that they remain a dominant power and thus can more easily maintain their influence and rate of advancement.
The Empire has a highly efficient government and military, both powerful but properly limited so as to avoid impeding people's freedoms, and able to do their jobs at far less cost than their organization and equipment would indicate. Almost all infrastructure is owned by the state, and in fact most people live in apartments that are part of state-owned complexes. Transportation is primarily by starship and by rail, as the Empire's warp drives and warp drives are among the fastest in the galaxy. There are also a large number of Spacers, due to the Empire having massive stations and voidships with reliable artificial gravity, and due to their limited territory, expansionist outlook, and the popular idea that adaptability and mobility are at least as important as endurance and stability.
Imperial society places high value on knowledge, advanced technology, and glory, with a common aesthetic drawn from sleek futuristic influences as well as old-fashioned Roman and Gothic styles. There is a strong emphasis on intellectual pursuits, military prowess, and political competence and activism. Imperials are taught to think very highly of themselves, both collectively and as individuals. Furthermore, they generally have a mindset in which each achievement is important, but is also the next step to an even greater achievement, even if that next achievement is by someone else entirely. Most Imperials are non-religious, but various forms of Buddhism, Protestant Christianity, and the Archaion faith are reasonably popular within their borders.
They are at the same self-righteous and arrogant and yet seek to improve the lives of everyone, even those not within Imperial space. At the same time, they both value order and a strong government, as well as liberty and change. To many, this seems contradictory, but they simply see it as an optimization problem: Order, when poorly implemented, can limit change, but it doesn't necessarily. A strong government can more easily restrict freedoms, but it's theoretically possible to limit corruption and implement proper checks and balances without rendering the government slow or ineffectual. They see themselves as better, but others as still having some lesser value, and that part of what makes them better is their willingness and ability to protect the weak and enlighten the ignorant around them.
They are willing to help foreigners, but still look at those outside the Empire with disdain and suspicion, though they would quickly and happily accept an outsider they thought would contribute to and fit in with Imperial society, which they see as directly benefiting humanity as a whole. They are very elitist and consider themselves superior to outsiders, but this consideration is based on merit rather than a belief in any inherent differences (aside from the enhancements Imperials receive, but these can easily be granted to immigrants.), and as such they have strict immigration standards, but happily accept anyone who passes, and will eagerly provide education for tourists and would-be immigrants until they can pass citizenship requirements, after which they are receiving free education simply for being citizens.
Structure
The Tallon Empire is a Unitary Constitutional Parliamentary Republic, though the office of Emperor exists and is currently filled, making it temporarily a Constitutional Monarchy. This office is intended to be left empty most of the time, and following the death of Augustus to only be filled in times of extreme emergency, as an Emperor may only be elected by a 5/6 majority or removed by a 1/2 majority. The power is relatively evenly distributed between the Senate, the lower offices, and the common citizens. (Said citizens are primarily soldiers, scholars, and other intellectual positions, menial tasks being thoroughly and efficiently automated. As such, the lower class is roughly equivalent to the upper-middle class in most of the galaxy.)
The Empire operates with what it calls a pure meritocracy: a strange hybrid of democracy and republic in which each person is given a vote, but those of scholars, military officers, and government officials simply count more than those of other citizens. It works very well for them, allowing their government to operate efficiently without corruption, and to be run by the people without tyranny by majority, the only trouble being the difficulty of administration required to keep everything running smoothly without one group or party taking over and redefining ‘merit' to fit their own agenda.
While the Empire is clearly a successful government, other smaller nations have tried and failed to imitate it, collapsing because unaugmented human brains simply cannot manage running it without a heavy level of computer assistance, the Empire fortunately having both augmentations and the requisite computer systems. As a result of this and their enhanced intelligence (and social status), the Augmented frequently hold key political offices and military positions, their two most powerful leaders being an Augmented and a metaphorical brain-in-a-jar hooked up to a vast computer system, who is for all intents and purposes an uploaded mind.
Another somewhat unique quality is that many positions within the Imperial government do not exist on their own, but instead many people are granted several offices, and as such often have titles reflective of this. Lord-General, for example, is not an official military rank, but merely the term used to refer to a general who has been recognized with lordship by the Senate. There is no limit on the number of titles one can acquire, and only a few sets of titles that cannot be held simultaneously. In fact, most government officials have several related positions. Relatedly, separation of powers is far different and the distinctions between branches far less clear than in most states. As single individuals may hold immense power, there exist many positions which serve little purpose other than to root out corruption and otherwise provide oversight for the government and the high-ranking military offices.
Economically, the Tallon Empire is a hybrid of many systems, including capitalism, state capitalism, socialism, and mercantilism. It has even been argued that their client state system is in many ways comparable to feudalism, not only economically but socially and politically as well. Whatever you want to call their system, it is well-regulated and efficient, yet with few major corporations, excepting the trade, charter, and mercenary companies that act primarily outside Imperial space and are more comparable to early colonial companies than proper corporations who have their role filled by the state itself. Of course, this being the Empire, it is supplemented with UBI and broad welfare systems.
Public Agenda
The Tallon Empire is highly expansionist and seeks to expand its influence and grow its power and territory, though this is not purely for its own sake. The Empire does sincerely seek to work towards the betterment of humanity, and sees its own rule as the best way to achieve this. Imperials consider others to be, in general, beneath them, but still seek to help them and elevate them to the same heights that they reach. They will even assist their enemies in wartime when they consider the benefit to humanity to outweigh the problems it causes for the war effort. This is perhaps the only reason their international reputation is not entirely horrible, though they will occasionally claim the worlds they defend, which is seen by their enemies as purely opportunistic conquest.
Assets
The Tallon Empire is, despite its small size, immensely wealthy to the point of being on the winning side of a war against the Federation and being a dominant economic force throughout the Galactic North. They hold approximately 1500 worlds, across which live just over 75 trillion humans and augmented, with smaller populations of some aliens in the Southwest. Despite high expenditure and low taxes, profits from trade and state industry allow the Empire to maintain a strong surplus, and by extension a large treasury to draw upon in times of need.
History
The Tallon Empire was born of the Confederacy of Interstellar Nations and of the international military supplier Tallon Industries. After the assassination of Nicea and Katina Tallon, the only surviving member of the family was their son John. John Tallon was highly ambitious and wanted more than money and the ear of unreliable congressmen, and not only this but he wanted to bring great wealth and power not only to himself, but to his nation and everyone in it. Born an American, and quite well-versed in history, he was quite aware of the constitution and its ideals that hod long-since been abandoned as "primitive, idealistic, and short-sighted" by the government and its various corporate backers.
John, as one of the most influential of these backers, easily grew his influence, and Tallon Industries was able to purchase outright a planet that John secretly had planned to later use as the staging ground for a coup. Within a decade, he was the sole owner of the American Government, and likewise for China and Russia. From here he created the Tallon Empire, working tirelessly to create the scientific utopia it is now. Cybernetic implants and portable nuclear reactors were made reliable, powerful, and affordable. Standards of living rose at an unprecedented rate, as did patriotism and loyalty to the government, as the economy boomed and rights thought gone for centuries were restored stronger than they had ever been.
Of course, the newly crowned John "Augustus" Tallon would not stop there. He was determined to build outward as much as inward, quickly doubling the size of the Empire to 250 worlds. Then a civil war broke out in the Federation, and many remnants of what once was the CIN took their sides. Augustus, however, anticipated that the rebels would eventually be defeated, though it would be a close fight. Rather than help the Federation to ensure the destruction of the rebels, he deliberately ensured that the conflict would set them both back as much as possible. It was actually this that allowed Isollis to rise to such power. And, of course, he took the opportunity to conquer those few independent CIN remnants that did not integrate into their choice of faction.
Despite not getting directly involved, the war still took a fair toll on Imperial lives and treasury. Augustus determined that cybernetics were not enough to keep Imperial forces alive in combat, and observed that genetic engineering research was flourishing, as well as fusion technology. He decided to play to his strengths, and created the Imperial Augmented program. The first generations were little different from his earlier cloned soldiers: Intelligent, but uncreative. Strong, but quickly destroyed their own bodies with heavy exertion. They were excellent soldiers but poor thinkers, and they had extraordinarily short lifespans.
In 2500 C.E., the first 'true' success came of the program, and a series of Augmented which were not only great thinkers as well as fighters, but showed little strain to their health from aging, heavy activity, and even combat. Of the original 25, all survived their first campaign, and lead a relatively small force to conquer an entire star system. Shortly after this conquest, they lead a proper army and brought the Empire to nearly 800 worlds in size. 13 of the original 25 are still alive now, their leader then-Captain Viria Civilis now the head of the Senate and of the Imperial Army.
Demography and Population
The Tallon Empire's population is almost exclusively human and Augmented, though the Southwest has small pockets of aliens friendly to their cause such as the Archaion.
Territories
The Empire holds approximately 1500 worlds in the galactic North, a tight cluster that wouldn't even appear on maps based on size alone. What makes them significant is their extreme population density, omnipresent urban industrialisation, and the high concentration of space stations within their space. However, their territory is growing exponentially, as new conquests are made and client states integrated.
Technological Level
The Empire is among the most advanced nations in the galaxy, from a level of automation and urban industrialisation that allows most citizens to enjoy something relatively close to post-scarcity, to the cold fusion and nanotechnology that allows this to occur in the first place, to the genetic and cybernetic augmentations that created the Imperial Augmented that lead the government and military. The Empire has access to almost every technology of human origin, and many or xeno origin as well, especially pertaining to the Archaion.
Religion
The Empire has no official religion, and indeed most Imperials are irreligious, though some religions are relatively popular within the Empire. The most prominent of these are Buddhism, Archaion Futurism, Confucianism, Islam, and Christianity.
Type
Geopolitical, Empire
Demonym
Tallon, or Imperial
Leader
Head of State
Head of Government
Government System
Meritocracy
Power Structure
Unitary state
Economic System
Mixed economy
Currency
Imperial Standard Dollars (ISD)
Legislative Body
Imperial Parliament
Judicial Body
Imperial Judiciary
Subsidiary Organizations
Related Ranks & Titles
Neighboring Nations
Notable Members
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