Lokken Mechanists
The Lokken Mechanists are a major interstellar government organised as a rational consensus. Its capital is Lokkur, located in the Dal-Lokkur System, where the reptilian Lok evolved. The population of the Lokken Mechanists prize efficiency, discipline, and science above all else, and believe individuals should be judged based on their merit over anything else. The Lokken Mechanists are ruled by a Director-General, who is democratically elected by the population. The Lok lead the galaxy in robotics development, having created robots even before they achieved spaceflight. Their society is organised strongly along scienfitic and rational lines, and individuals are promoted based on their ability and talent. Diplomatically, the Lokken Mechanists value exploration and discovery over expansion, and are a member of the Interstellar Concord.
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Government
The Lokken Mechanists are structured as a unitary technocratic republic. It is typically classified as a semi-liberal mixed-market democracy, with low levels of corruption.The Lokken government is a hybrid of a technocratic and democratic system. Officials are expected (though not necessarily required) to be experts in their respective fields, while continual opinion polling and elections create democratic accountability. Additionally, the political process is extremely transparent, allowing the public to observe (although not interfere with) even high-level decision-making, except for matters of national security.
The executive of the Lokken government is the Director-General, who is elected on an 8-year basis by popular vote. All Lokken citizens are eligible to vote, including synthetics and xenos. The Director-General is charged with working with government departments to implement policies that benefit the nation and its people in the long term. Unlike other democracies, the Lokken government has no formal legislative body or official opposition. Instead, the legislative process is handled directly by government departments, who participate in periods of public debate and fact-gathering before crafting law.
Many Lokken political scientists credit the success of their political system to their strong education, which emphasises discipline, rationality, efficiency, and skepticism in all Lokks. The government is overseen by an independent governmental anti-corruption organ, charged with ensuring the government does not abuse its power. Additionally, non-governmental watchdog groups and the media keep the public apprised of ongoing developments, thanks to the constitutionally-required open access.
History
Early Lokken civilisations developed in the river valleys of their homeworld of Lokkur, having permanently descended from the mesa plateaus upon which their ancestors had evolved. Access to fresh water allowed agriculture to flourish, leading to division of labour and urbanisation. From this point, Lokken civilisation developed along mostly similar lines to other known species.A significant portion of pre-modern Lokken history was dominated by spiritualism and religion (or as many Lokks refer to it, ignorance and superstition). Although many scientific advancements were made during this time, modern Lokks consider it to be an extended dark age in theiry history. This changed in the 17th century CE with an intellectual movement that swept across the planet, approximately equivalent to the Human Enlightenment. This movement was popular amongst both the working and merchant classes, and many of the planet's longest-lasting kingdoms collapsed in popular revolt.
The republics that emerged from this tumultuous period of Lokken history were dedicated to science, individual rights, rationalism, the rule of law, and "rejection of supersitition" (atheism). In particular, the renewed focus on scienfitic advancement at an early period in the Lokken developmental history saw a number of alternate development paths that other civilisations did not take. The commencement of the industrial revolution (earlier than other comparable species) and refinement of steam engines caused a civilisational excitement with the technology, resulting in more efficient technological paths (such as hydrocarbons, nuclear, and solar power) being delayed.
The rapid economic, political, technological, and cultural changes associated with the Industrial Age caused great upheavel in Lokken society, but their rationalist values remained constant. One development of consequence was an obsession with the idea of automation beyond the factory. This sprouted from a series of popular speculative fiction novels that detailed a utopian future where Lokks were tended to by metallic automatons. Many political and scientific leaders were enthralled by the idea, as was the emerging mass media, which led to a glut of funding for robotics research. Although extremely primitive, the first bipedal Lokken robots emerged from production lines in the early 20th century CE.
However, the long industrial revolution had resulted in deficiencies in other fields: Lokks did not reach space until the late 20th century CE, and early atomic power was decades after that. The 21st century CE saw gradual global unification amongst the nations of Lokkur, alongside rapid advancements in robotics technology. Global governance was truly established in the late 21st century CE, where nations were abolished in favour of a single government that represented the entire Lokken population.
Despite the early neglection of space travel, the 22nd century CE was a period of rapid expansion throughout the Dal-Lokkur System. Aided by advanced (for the time) robots and widespread exoskeletion adoption, Lokken scientists were able to establish research outposts on many planets within their star system. However, increasing automation and quality of life led to a drastic drop in birth rates, causing the population to steadily decline throughout the century. It wouldn't be until the discovery of FTL travel 2200 CE and establishment of interstellar colonies in the following years that the population would quickly rebound.
Demographics
Of the organic population in Lokken space, approximately 90% are Lokken. However, approximately 40% of the nation's total population is synthetic, rising past 50% when including non-physical sapient intelligences. The largest xeno populations include Humans, Voor, Oviron, and other member species of the Interstellar Concord. A significant majority of the population reside in urban areas, particularly in the largest urban agglomerations.Citizens enjoy long life expectancies, high incomes, and some of the best education outcomes in the galaxy, along with relatively low wealth inequality. Pollution can be fairly high, especially in densely-populated urban areas and industrial zones. Due to this, official guidance is to have cybernetic air filters installed or avoid the affected areas. Virtually all of the population is atheist or agnostic, and religious organisations are given no special privileges or rights by the government. Based on recent studies, pollution and anti-religious sentiment are the two biggest reasons that potential migrants do not choose to move to Lokken space.
Economy
The Lokken Mechanists are a medium-sized, post-industrial, semi-post-scarcity, mixed-market economy. Although nominally a market economy, there is significant government intervention to ensure a baseline level of stability and economic growth. While private enterprise is encouraged due to its perceieved short-term efficiency, government enterprise is responsible for long-term economic planning and development (especially infrastructure). The economy is highly automated, and most of the population works in specialist-strata jobs.Due to the cultural emphasis on discipline and efficiency, successive Lokken governments have resisted calls to enact the 'utopian' basic economic strategy employed by the United Nations of Earth. Individuals in Lokken space are expected to provide for themselves, though social assistance is provided to those who are unable to work. Education is entirely state-run, as it is the view of the Lokken government that "all citizens must have the same tools if they are to be equal". Healthcare, on the other hand, is a mixture of public and private providers.
Society
Above all else, Lokken society prizes discipline, efficiency, and rationality. These values are instilled from an early age in the Lokken education system, which includes robust civics and science classes. Many Lokks pride themselves on their education system, which they believe is what allows their government to function effectively.Merit is the primary driver of advancement across Lokken society, particularly in government and business. Lokks have little tolerance for incomptence, and advancement by social station or personal connection is virtually unheard of. Political and economic dynasties are heavily frowned upon, and many descendents of accomplished Lokks feel they must work extra hard to prove themselves as separate from their progenitors. In order to cultivate this meritocracy, the Lokken government offers a wide variety of free training courses to its citizens, as part of the state education system and post-graduation.
Of all professions, the sciences are held up as the peak of Lokken society. Culturally, they are the most desired, and as such, have the most competition to become a renowned scientist. Combined with a meritocratic culture, this has led Lokks to become some of the most renowned researchers in the galaxy, alongside the Voor and Lacertans. Non-scientists are expeced to use scientists as role models, thinking rationally and refusing to accept claims without sufficient evidence.
Compared to other societies, Lokks are very accepting of synthetics and artificial intelligences. The Lokken Mechanists were the first interstellar civilisation (aside from the Lacertan Techno-Protectorate, which is an outlier in the field) to formally recognise synthetics as sapient individuals and grant them citizenship. In recent years, Lokken scientists have developed procedures to transfer an organic mind into a synthetic body - a process commonly known as "transubstantiation synthesis". Highly controversial, even within the Lokken Mechanists, approximately two hundred million individuals have transitioned from biological to synthetic form since the 2330s CE.
Military
The Lokken Armed Forces are the principal military force of the Lokken state. They are divided into two components: the Lokken Army and the Lokken Starfleet. As their names suggest, they are responsible for planetary and spaceborne operations respectively. Although the Lokken military possesses some expeditionary capabilities, they are primarily responsible for the defence of Lokken and allied territory.The Lokken military is highly automated, featuring large numbers of optionally-crewed land vehicles, autonomous drones, robotic soldiers, and crew-reduced starships. Recruitment is theoretically open to all citizens of the Lokken Mechanists, including synthetics and xenos, although the latter are rarely recruited due to logistical concerns.
Type
Geopolitical, Technocracy
Capital
Government System
Democracy, Representative
Power Structure
Unitary state
Economic System
Mixed economy
Controlled Territories
Related Species
Comments