Jehetma Dominion
The Jehetma Dominion is a major interstellar government organised as an elective monarchy. Its capital is Jehet Prime, located in the Jehet System. The primary population are Jehetma, a fungoid species that evolved on the tundra world of Jehet Prime. The population of the Jehetma Dominion are notable for their strong pacifism, as well as their authoritarian and hierarchical society. The Jehetma Dominion is ruled by a High King or High Queen, who is elected after the death of a previous monarch. Strong emphasis is placed on the monarch's knowledge and qualifications. The Dominion is also notable for its strong commitment to environmentalism, and seeks to coexists with nature as much as possible. Diplomatically, the Jehetma Dominion has renounced war as a policy measure, and strives to remain neutral in galactic affairs.
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Government
The Jehetma Dominion is structured as a federal elective monarchy. It is typically classified as an authoritarian planned-economy autocracy, with low-to-moderate levels of corruption.The ruler of the Dominion is the High King, a monarch charged with the protection of their realm and its inhabitants from harm. High Kings reign for life or until abdication from the throne. When the throne is vacated, the constituent kings of the Dominion assemble in a diet to determine the next High King. This diet can last for many days or even weeks, as the kings intensely debate each candidate. The only requirement for the throne is that the candidate is of noble status, but typically it is a king that becomes High King. Particular attention is placed on the character, qualifications, and knowledge of a prospective candidate, as it is the view of the entire Dominion that their High King must be the best of them. Once a High King is selected by the diet, they are coronated in a ceremony on Jehet Prime.
The High King is aided in their rule by an expansive bureaucracy and noble class. The kings of the Dominion rule over their inherited lands, but are constrained by the laws set forth by the High King - they do not have the substantial power than many nobles across the galaxy, such as in the Kingdom of Yondarim or the Rototavuul High Suzerainty. The High King relies on the bureaucracy to enforce their laws and decrees, and high-ranking bureaucratic officials serve as something of a privy council to the High King. Due to the size of the lands that the kings rule, they also employ smaller bureaucratic agencies.
History
Among the Jehetman species, there is an extremely rare mutation that causes both gigantism and extremely long lifespans. While most Jehetma had relatively standard lifespans, those with the mutation effectively lived forever (assuming they did not die of unnatural causes). These gigantic and old Jehetma dominated the politics of the civilisation's early centuries, effectively acting as god-emperors for their smaller and shorter-lived subjects. Due to the bond of experience shared between the few gigantic Jehetma, they often avoided conflict between their kingdoms wherever possible.However, as the smaller Jehetma began to more rapidly advance as they entered their Renaissance Age, their leaders began to fall out of touch. Many of these rulers had been in power since the Bronze Age, and their views on society had changed fairly little. Their ideology and that of the majority of Jehetma were mostly in synchronicity for thousands of years, as they could control their local information sphere, but the development of the printing press and mass communication changed that. While some of the elders resisted the change, many of them elected to adopt a different strategy: they would tutor the coming generations of rulers to serve and protect the people, just as they had.
The development of lasting institutions on Jehet Prime was a short and top-down affair, as the elders did their best to create them. As the planet moved into its Machine, Atomic, and Early Space Ages, the elders continued to be consulted by rulers and planetary elites on matters of statecraft. Although the elders maintained that the younger Jehetma should rule, they were happy to continue providing their millennia worth of advice. One particular piece of advice that the elders gave in the early 21st century CE was to crown a single king as ruler of the planet, so as to end the petty squabbling that had long afflicted the nation-states of Jehet Prime.
Despite some grievances, the majority of the planet's rulers eventually agreed. They elected a High King to rule over all the other kings of the planet in 2055 CE, who then formed a global bureaucracy to aid in ruling. Many of the elders expressed joy at this event, as they finally believed the younger Jehetma were able to venture into the future without their guidance. Still, they are sought out from time to time by the Kings and High Kings of the Jehetma Dominion for advice.
After a period of exploiting the Jehet System, Jehetma scientists developed the hyper drive in 2200 CE. Due to the sheer size of the elders, no spacecraft at the dawn of FTL travel was able to lift them from Jehet Prime. It wouldn't be until 2239 CE that a single elder, with great effort, was able to be moved to a Jehetma inner colony. Even as spacelifting technology has improved, it is rare than a Jehetma elder will leave their homeworld's surface.
Demographics
According to the latest census, 96% of the population of the Dominion is Jehetma. While the Dominion is not particularly xenophobic and permits xeno naturalisation, it is not considered a highly attractive destination for migrants. The two largest xeno populations within Dominion space are, ironically, Voor and Yondar, who both fit in well with the authoritarian government structure and generally colder inhabited planets. Non-Jehetman species are most commonly found on warmer and wetter worlds, where the fungoids have a harder time adapting.Most of the population lives in highly dense megacities connected by extensive road and rail networks. While this demographic phenomenon originated out of a scarcity of resources on the homeworld of Jehet Prime, it continues to be commonplace on the colonies for both tradition and environmental reasons. All Dominion citizens attend mandatory public schooling and have access to state-funded healthcare systems.
Economy
The Jehetma Dominion is a small, semi-post-industrial planned economy. The Royal Economic Advisory Ministry is responsible for directing the economy toward growth targets as per direction by the High King. It does this by utilising a combination of state-owned enterprises, incentives to private industry, and harsh penalties for the rare few businesses that step out of line. However, the Dominion does not typically consider the economy its top priority. Instead, the preservation of planetary environments takes priority over economic growth, as Jehetma elders are known to be sensitive toward severe environmental shocks. Planetside heavy industry is required to abide by strict emissions standards, so large parts of the Dominion industrial base is located in space.Although all citizens have access to state-funded healthcare and education, there is a severe level of inequality between the wealthiest citizens and the lower stratas. Most wealth in Dominion space is heavily concentrated in the nobility and non-noble business owners, the latter of which emerged as a class in the early 21st century CE. Wealth and assets are passed from generation to generation, allowing the wealthier stratas of society to maintain their economic advantage across centuries. Royal Economic Advisory Ministry reports have stated that, despite extensive anti-corruption efforts, the severe wealth inequality has led to unacceptably high levels of corruption beginning in the early 24th century CE. As such, tackling this issue has become a major issue of the High Kings, although wealth redistribution remains a divisive topic.
Society
For the lower stratas of Dominion society, devotion to the state and the common good is the highest virtue. Patriotism and obedience to the High King is one of the first things taught in schooling, and this continues all throughout a Jehetma's civic life. As such, the Dominion is considered one of the highest-trust societies in the galaxy, as its citizens have total faith in the state and its ability to protect and care for them. Citizens are permitted to act of their own accord within the bounds of the law, though they are expected to obey the government if the situation demands it - and in most instances, follow through on this expectation willingly.Dominion citizens with more wealth and independence from state control, particularly the nobility, are still expected to serve in the best interests of the state and its leadership. Most young nobles attend private learning institutions or are home tutored, rather than state schools, but even they are still subject to the cultural demands of voluntary obedience that permeate society. Nobles and other Jehetma in positions of power are expected to use their power to serve the people, and those who use their power for personal ends are targeted by anti-corruption authorities.
While Dominion society is dominated by the regularJehetma, there is still a great deal of reverence for the elders. With some having lived for the entirety of Jehetma civilisation (as far back as 4,000 years), they have a wealth of knowledge and experience that many young Jehetma draw from. Although their personal views are considered 'outdated' by many, they provide guidance to any who ask. On any given day, thousands of Jehetma line up before the elders to ask them questions, ranging from personal relationships to matters of statecraft.
Military
As a society, the Jehetma Dominion has sworn off of violence as a tool entirely. Both internationally and domestically, the Dominion attempts to use reason and diplomacy before resorting to what it considers an "evolutionary dead end". However, the state also understands that this is a view not shared by the rest of the galaxy, and must maintain a military to defend itself. As such, the Dominion Self-Defence Force is charged with defending Dominion space from threats external and internal, such as enemy invasions and piracy. It is divided into the Space Self-Defence Force, which operates a relatively small navy, and the Planetary Self-Defence Force, which garrisons the worlds of the Dominion. The DSDF is a volunteer force, but the High King reserves the right to activate conscription if the Dominion is faced with an existential threat.
Type
Geopolitical, Kingdom
Capital
Government System
Monarchy, Elective
Power Structure
Federation
Economic System
Command/Planned economy
Controlled Territories
Related Species
Cold
Hostile
The XT-489 warform is programmed to destroy all organic life in the galaxy.
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