Dawn of Human Civilization on Limmea

There are very few trustworthy historical notes that describe the emergence of humanity on Limmea. It can be speculated that a total of 250 colony ships delivered approximately five million humans to three major continents of Limmea and hundreds of scattered islands across the planet.

Most colony ships landed on Limmea’s largest continent, Pangea. Those were carrying two million refugees from the region of modern India. When the colony ships departed, those people were left to fend for themselves without any technology or any advanced means for existence. Soon, they scattered across the continent, formed small villages and camps, as they struggled to survive on hunting and gathering in the lush forests of Pangea.

It was just a matter of time before one village started to grow by consuming others. People of this village were originally bandits, the most violent colonists that chose to dominate others instead of bothering with fishing or raising crops for themselves. Their leader, whom they called Raja, by that time came up with a way to solidify the loyalty of his troops by promising them a society where their families will always remain in a ruling class.

That class system was built according to the principles of ancient Hindu Varna but lacked the priesthood class: Kshatriya – a class of rulers, warriors, and teachers. They were pretty equal amongst themselves and each could challenge the Raja in combat to take his place. Vaishya – a class of farmers, craftsmen, and merchants, free commonfolk. Shudra – became an umbrella term for all low-skilled labourers, slaves, and foreigners.

As Raja’s realm expanded, more and more villages fell under his control. As they were raided by his soldiers, all young men of the village were killed while young women were taken by Raja’s troops to become their wives and concubines. Middle-aged and elderly villagers, on the other hand, were divided into classes according to their skill. Those who previously were village elders or skilled workers became Vaishyas. Others without valuable skills joined a class of Shudras.

The Great Pangean Samrajya

After the first generation of Limmeans matured, almost half of Pangea was in servitude under one single Raja. By that time, children of women from the captured villages and Raja’s soldiers mostly followed their fathers’ footsteps and formed the ranks of Raja’s army. The severe imbalance between weakened villages and an overpopulated army was taking a toll on the fledgling economy. Consequently, further conquests that cost soldiers’ lives and brought new villages to the realm were the only way for the Raja to keep his economy from collapsing into famine-caused riots.

As a few more generations passed, approximately by the year 100 After the Exodus, the whole continent of Pangea, up to the Nigi mountain range, was under the control of one Maharaja of the Great Pangean Samrajya. By that period, the bloat of the Kshatriya class was resolved by breaking it down into two classes: Talavaar stayed as military men and rulers, while Pankh were restricted to be bureaucrats, teachers, and acolytes of Maharaja’s personality cult.

In order to solidify the matter, people of the Great Pangean Samrajya were obliged to marry solely mates from a similar professional circle as them. This enforced tradition of endogamy has created over a thousand castes based on professional occupation. Given the absence of printing press and any developed means for mass education, this societal division had a highly positive effect on professional development. By marrying inside their own caste, people of Pangea created an environment where children were taught their future profession since birth and had their whole lives solely dedicated to improving on their parent’s craft.

Industrialization and Rise of the Oligarchy

Those caste and class divisions remained for over five hundred years on Pangea before the industrialization of the continent began around the year 612. By that time, the Great Pangean Samrajya was in active trade relationships with another large continent, Dar. Dar was mainly inhabited by children of colonists from southern Russia. Inspired by the progress of Darfolk, Maharaja started to experiment with loosening restrictions on castes and classes in his realm.

Soon, a class of industrialists began to form, and around the 650s, the Macharaja was overthrown by the Industrial Elite of Pangea. In order to rule the continent on equal rights, those industrialists created the Great Oligarchy. Their intention was to transfer power between their families every four Limmean cycles and by that practice uphold equal power over the continent.

In order to boost the productive capacity of the Pangeans, the Oligarchs abolished slavery by elevating all Shudras into the working class and allowing high-class and caste mobility based mainly on merit and wealth. By the year 670, the whole society on Pangea lived in relatively modern capitalism except for the ruling elite and their families who were undisputed in their power.

By the year 700 After the Exodus, the Great Oligarchy of Pangea was a dominant industrial power on the whole of Limmea. The only fear of the Oligarchy was that their trading partners from Dar and their enemies from Araszi would unite in order to resist their growing control over the oceanic trading routes and prices.

After long debates in their secret chambers, the Oligarchs chose to use their immense industrial power and navy to conquer the rest of Limmea by force. To command these forces, they chose a young admiral who excelled in fighting Araszian pirates along the trade routes of Limmea. His name was Unmesh Khan.

The Emergence of Khan Dynasty

Unmesh Khan successfully conquered all continents of Limmea and toppled the Great Oligarchy of Pangea that created him in the first place. Immediately, he was met with a challenge to create a sustainable social order for the whole planet. Unmesh had to figure out an effective way to transform his enemies from the former Pangean ruling class into allies while keeping the conquered lands under sustainable control.

In order to find common ground with defeated elites, Unmesh suggested a return to the former class- and caste system. The abolishment of free capitalism and the establishment of a strict system for social stratification meant that elites would get a hefty insurance that their families will stay in positions of power for generations to come. Meanwhile, vengeful elements from conquered Araszi and Dar would either be subdued as Raba (slaves), or become bound to the steep social ladder as Aryans or Citizens.

The hierarchical model envisioned by Unmesh Khan looked like this:

• Nobles: Originally, ruling elites from Pangea and Araszin industry leaders. They became a ruling class and were allowed to marry with descendants of the Imperial Monarch. Nobles also got the privilege to occupy the highest positions in the government, military, and the industrial sector.
• Aryans: Originally native Pangeans, affluent Araszin, and all decorated soldiers that fought on Khan’s side during the Unification Wars. They could not rival Nobles but were allowed to own property and smaller industries. Some scholars called Aryans “the only free class.”
• Citizens: This class was mostly assembled of Araszin and Darfolk that chose to cooperate with Pangean occupational forces. Citizens had rights protected by law but were not allowed to own any property or hire employees. This way, they were bound to constant employment and completely dependent on Aryans.
• Raba: The lowest class was built out of deserters, criminals, Araszin resistance fighters, and Darfolk. Slaves were equal to property and were mostly used as cheap labor by Citizens and Aryans. There is a rumor that it was the sole promise of affordable slave women from Dar for each Araszin man that secured Unmesh Khan his final victory over the militant Sultanate.

Unmesh obviously committed a misjudgment when he chose to declare most Araszin as Citizens but enslave the majority of Darfolk. The First Imperial Monarch wanted to appease the aggressive Araszin by giving them a higher status over more peaceful, and thereby submissive, Darfolk. What Unmesh Khan did not account for was the shifting loyalty of his own soldiers, a big part of whom were previously recruited from Dar.

After declaring his new world order, the First Imperial Monarch was met with resistance from thousands of decorated veterans as they drove their landships to the shores of Pangea. It was only Khan’s iron will and the loyalty of his own Pangea-born troops that saved him from the imminent demise.

Origins of Imperial racial bias towards pale-skinned individuals

The White Uprising, as it was later named by Imperial historians, was overnight shattered by the united might of the Pangean military. Echoes of it became forever imprinted into Imperial culture. Also, as a consequence, even more Darfolk were condemned to become Raba. Given that most slaves in the Kingdom of Limmea turned out to be pale-skinned, the subjugation of Darfolk introduced planet-wide society to its first widespread practice of racial segregation. Ever since, light skin color, in general, became associated across Limmea with treacherous nature of the individual.

Dawn of the First Era

Over the years, the Kingdom of Limmea was becoming the Empire that we know today. The class system was changing and evolving along with it. As technologies progressed, the use of slave labor became not viable for most industries. Furthermore, by being property themselves, Raba did not pay any taxes and were an increasing burden to Citizens that had to provide them with food and shelter.

Consequently, the imperial monarch decided to abolish the practice of slavery. This process started on Pangea in 820 A.E. and culminated during the Great Famine eight years later. People of Araszi were most resistant to this change as their local culture and preferred lifestyle were most dependent on ownership over Raba. Araszi tried to use their slaves as troops to break free from the Kingdom of Limmea. It forced Queen Priscilla Khan I to deploy her navy and reconquer the rebellious continent.

Still, the ongoing Great Famine in combination with a civil war has put the Limmean world order in the most fragile state it has ever been. Fortunately, Queen Priscilla has found a solution in the face of a famous royal scientist and inventor, Rufus Haddad. His invention of an interstellar engine has given the Royal Family a way out from the planet-spanning crisis. Stars became a beacon of hope that Queen Priscilla has used to finalize her social reforms together with inspiring her people towards a better future among the stars.

As the Kingdom of Limmea started to colonize neighboring star systems, and as they discovered human settlements on other planets, the class structure of now, the Empire of Limmea began to look pretty similar to its prototype, but with less of sacral terms and hierarchical language that was approachable to humans assimilated from otherworldly cultures:

Nobility

This is the only social class that did not change at all as the ruling class was historically the prime supporting pillar of the Monarchy. The only change came with an influx of new noble families as the Empire was expanding over new worlds. Some Pangean Nobles tried to separate into a class of “High Nobility,” but this reactionary initiative was cut short by the Imperial Monarch.

The Royal Family has always required the exercise of egalitarianism among the Imperial Nobility. Their notion behind that was that the ruling class should see each other as equals to effectively command over vast populations under their rule. Not all nobles are occupied as rulers or administrators, though. Plenty of them are involved in the Imperial military, arts, and the scientific community. While some Nobles dedicate their lives to pursuing the favor of the Imperial Monarch, others usually obsess over excelling in some kind of craft.

It is the sense of honor and superiority that is taught to Nobles since their childhood that is motivating them towards seeking perfection in themselves and proudly basking in it in front of their families. Only a few outliers refuse this pressure and are often disowned by their families.

The First Class Citizens (FCC)

As Limmea became the center of an interstellar Empire, most Aryans and Citizens were united under an umbrella class of First Class citizenship. Just like Aryans, FCC became the most free people in the Empire. Imperial law declared that FCC were allowed to choose their life path as they desired, own property, pursue free education, and have no constraints on their entrepreneurship.

The Imperial state has also guaranteed to provide every First Class Citizen with food and shelter while they pursue their aspirations. There is a notion that with all perks, First Class Citizens lived a “socialist dream” across the Empire. Differently from Nobles and former Aryans, First Class citizens were always at risk of demotion to the Second Class, making them the most hardworking and law-obedient people.

Second Class Citizens (SCC)

Low-skilled Citizens and most emancipated Raba became Second Class Citizens. Soon they were joined by millions of new Imperials from other worlds. SCC counted up to 40% of the Limmean population, but as the Empire has expanded, almost 65 to 70% of its citizens were accounted for as the Second Class.

Differently from FCC, SCC are not eligible for any specific benefits from the Empire. Their prime rights are to be protected from external enemies and to own their property. Unlike FCC, they cannot be demoted to the lower class, but have to fight for survival in a ruthless capitalist realm of the Empire. Hurdles of the Second Class may seem completely alien for both Nobles and First Class Citizens.

Differently from “privileged classes, SCC has to themselves finance their education and housing. While being the largest class in the Empire with no access to means for protesting, SCC do also risk becoming victims of population control policies. The most prominent example of that was One Child for the Empire program, which has prohibited SCC to reproduce freely in order to reduce worker population after a big demographic explosion.

Non-Citizens (NC)

The lowest class of the Imperial society. There are no historical analogies because even slaves or Raba were in a more favorable position than Non-Citizens in the Empire. Most Non-Citizens are either offenders or descendants of criminals and traitors.

Non-Citizens are allowed to exist only on the far fringes of the Imperial Society. They have no right to own property and frequently fall victims to raids and forced sterilization initiatives. Finding a job and working themselves up is the only theoretical way for an NC to become a citizen, but such opportunities are scarce and require an ultimate sacrifice from a seeking person. Because, if an NC is competent enough to get a job – voluntary sterilization is the only way for them to get an official occupation in the Empire.

Many sociologists among Nobles have criticized this practice because the inability to have offspring may deprive non-citizens of a dream about working themselves up and makes them into easy victims of extremist ideas. These arguments were countered with a statement that someone who comes from the bottom needs to spend life in virtue of nursing orphans who do not bear faulty genes that have put someone’s family into the non-citizen class in the first place. Assimilation of new worlds into the Imperial fold and abundance of new citizens have put non-citizens into a status of completely forgotten strata.

Relationships Between Classes

On the hierarchical ladder of the Imperial society, relationships between classes rarely skip a step. It means that Nobles tend to look down on Second Class Citizens, and if they need to hire servants or assistants, they choose only from members of the First Class Citizenry.

FCC, on the other hand, tends to seek favor from Nobles while looking down on SCC as “less capable individuals.” Some FCC has even expressed the notion that they feed SCC by their own entrepreneurship and intellectual work.

Consequently, SCC suffers the most pressure in the Imperial society while their contributions are rarely respected by FCC and Nobles. Non-Citizens usually only contact SCC. Given the geographical stratification, if an FCC or a Noble spots a non-citizen, they tend to immediately call the law enforcements.

The Law in the Empire is formally equal for everyone, but the judicial system has a tradition to act in favor of individuals from higher classes. This way, if a Noble commits a crime against an FCC, they may be deemed to pay a fine or get no penalty at all. Meanwhile, if an FCC commits a crime against a Noble, they may risk either imprisonment, demotion to SCC, or even a death sentence!

Disputes between FCC and SCC are judged more equally, but with a significant favor to FCC. If a non-citizen commits a crime, though, and gets caught, the swift death penalty becomes a most plausible and most favorable outcome for the individual. There are accounts of dozens of non-citizen offenders who got shipped to a research center in Capitol and never heard of again.

Social Mobility in the Empire

No society can be in balance without at least minimal social mobility, and the Empire is no exception. Since ancient times, people who committed to sacrifice their life or former loyalties in the name of Pangean rulers were rewarded with acceptance to a higher class for themselves and their children. This is exactly what happened with soldiers from Darfolk who joined the navy of Unmesh Khan and traitors who sabotaged Araszin defenses. All of them got to join the ranks of Aryans or even Nobility.

The first problem of stratified Imperial society appeared pretty naturally after some time – a safer life allowed more privileged classes to reproduce at a higher rate than lower classes. Also, closeness to the Imperial Monarch inspires Nobility and some of FCC to create their own dynasties with multiple heirs. And because the Empire does not burden privileged classes with many expenses, there are no limits on how many children they can have.

The natural bloating of the higher classes leads to negative economic and social consequences where there is not enough prestigious jobs for all of them. Unemployed people start to morally degrade without a cause and risk jeopardizing the whole society.

Means for Downward Mobility

While in the times of old, the abundance of Kshata was solved by sending them to a conquering war, the modern reality of the developed planet-wide Empire could not provide any similar means to challenge and minimize the upper classes. The solution to that was the invention of an extremely competitive, honor-focused culture among the Imperial Nobility.

The tradition of duels to death among Nobles began when the Imperial Monarch Surendra Khan I requested one of his daughters to fight an incompetent Noble minister in the arena. The politician was killed, but the monarch’s daughter also died later of her wounds. This story, though, has inspired Noble families across the Empire to solve their disagreements.

It is worth mentioning that during the First Era, conspiracy against the Royal Family and treason are the only crimes that can strip Nobility of their class. If proven guilty, the traitor can be demoted alone, or in most severe cases together with the rest of their Noble family.

While not dueling to the death, First Class Citizens also live under a threat – Alexander Khan was ruthless in declaring that the privilege deserves servitude. It meant that by his decree, any FCC would risk demotion if they stayed unemployed for longer than five cycles. Igor Khan has shortened that period to two cycles. Differently from the rest of Second Class Citizens, formerly demoted FCC has many more means to climb up the social ladder if they excel in any profession.

Both FCC and SCC can become non-citizens if they commit severe crimes but are not qualified for a death penalty. Also in the Empire, it is impossible to marry upward, only downward. So, the number of marriages between classes is pretty few. Some Nobles have lost their privilege by marrying to FCC. The only Noble who chose to marry a Second Class Citizen was killed in a duel of honor by her brother before she could commit to her partner.

Means for Upward Mobility

Since ancient times, proving your loyalty to the ruler and excelling in some craft were sure means of climbing the social ladder in the Empire and Pangean states that preceded it. Just like in capitalist economies, a time of crisis cycles with a time of growth and back; the ease of upward social mobility may increase or decrease depending on the zeitgeist.

Evidently, during the Mirror Wars, the Imperial Monarch Igor Khan has invented multiple programs that would allow Second Class citizens to acquire First Class Citizenship. These were mostly based on promoting the citizen in exchange for spotless and lengthy military service. Such change has created incentives for millions of SCC to excel in their service and also turned the stagnating morale of the Imperial working class from despair towards aspiration. Similar initiatives were also created for non-citizens, but given their way too strict requirements, these were barely used.

Citizenship Test

The Citizenship Test is a century-old social ladder that works both ways; its purpose is to define the most promising citizens while weeding out the weakest. After reaching 15 cycles of age, all citizen children in the Empire are obliged to undergo the Citizenship Test.

Formally, even children of Nobles and Non-Citizens are required to participate, but most of the time, they ignore the test. For FCC and SCC, though, there are no exceptions from this rule. The Citizenship Test consists of a week of rigorous mental and physical exercises that give. Individual’s performance in each of the exercises affects an average score.

Children from FCC families need to perform above an Empire-wide 50% margin to keep their citizenship class. If a child from SCC manages to, by their score, get into the top 5%, they immediately get First Class Citizenship granted and are transferred to a foster family of First Class Citizens. FCC children, on the other hand, who happen to perform under the average 50%, suffer a demotion to Second Class Citizenship. They get one week to say goodbyes to their families before their deportation from the Capitol.

Getting your child to underperform during the Citizenship Test can be very shameful to most of the FCC families. As a consequence of that, they tend to cut all ties with their child after the goodbye week. Statistics show that there is a very high percentage of criminals among the SCC that are formerly demoted or are children of demoted FCC.

Gaining Class by Adoption

There is also a two centuries old tradition of adopting orphans by Noble families. It is actually a sign of decency for Noble families to always have at least one adopted child at home. Unfortunately, by the Imperial Law, the status of Nobility can transfer only through a bloodline. It means that until reaching maturity, these children are often sentenced to a life of servitude in a golden cage.

On the brighter side, even if their origins are among the Second Class, these children are automatically granted First Class Citizenship with all the benefits that follow, like free housing, food, and education. The only way to be demoted for them in this case is to either commit a crime or score low on the Citizenship Test. Those orphans who are fortunate to become friends with their Noble siblings do even get lifelong friends in higher places.

FCC does very rarely adopt children because of their obsession with the growth of their own dynasty. In the case of adoption by FCC, the child does automatically receive their class. SCC is allowed to adopt children only if they are former non-citizens or are proved to be infertile.

Role of the Caste in Imperial Society

Since the Exodus and until the reinvention of the printing press, people on Limmea strongly relied on trans-generational learning. On Pangea, this practice created a tradition of endogamy where people tend to marry someone whose family is occupied in similar crafts. As a consequence, the Great Pangean Samrajya became home to castes of warriors, sailors, potters, bakers, administrators, etc.

This stratified society was shattered with the arrival of industrialization. The Great Oligarchy wanted to erase the sense of caste completely from Pangean society by making every person into a flexible worker. The reason behind this was Oligarchy’s desire for the flexibility of the workforce that would be able to evolve and change at the same pace as the process of industrialization.

Despite aggressive reforms, even during the rule of the Great Oligarchy, it was troublesome for Pangeans to seek high education or higher-tier jobs if their former caste was not congruent with the craft. This informal glass sealing was a big problem for the Oligarchy that they failed to address. Low-tier jobs and factories were open for everyone, though.

After the Grand Admiral Unmesh Khan rose to power and proclaimed himself a Monarch, the old caste-system was officially reinstated. It was a move that was supposed to play on Pangean nationalistic sentiment and solidify societal order in the newly formed planet-wide Kingdom of Limmea. The First Limmean Monarch has added a few improvements to the system.

In the Kingdom of Limmea and beyond, every citizen could change their caste by buying themselves from their own caste elder and applying to the elder of a caste that they desire to join. The buyout price was not fixed and could be either symbolic or unbearable. Also, requirements to join the caste could vary from a simple promise to a certificate for a completed education in a relevant craft.

At the dawn of interplanetary expansion, this semi-restrictive practice was abolished together with an official elimination of the notion of caste from the Imperial Law. Differently from the Imperial Oligarchy, the Imperial government kept on respecting the concept of belonging to a caste in the Imperial culture. As a result, most of imperial citizens grew to be proud of belonging to their castes.

Being a part of a dynasty that has dedicated itself to one single craft became a praised quality for an Imperial citizen. This way, a redundant restrictive tradition of old was reborn under a positive and spiritual guise.

Sources

Imperial Informatorium