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Interest Check: Cyberpunk Space Opera Meritocracy


Guest burningbridges19
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Guest burningbridges19

I originally worked on this idea for a very brief period of time way back in the beginning of 2018 on WorldAnvil. It is at a very, very, very early stage in formation, so I don't have a whole lot to tell you at the moment, but here's the base idea:

 

Basic Information

It is the 6th millennium A.D. All living beings of the universe currently live together in peace and harmony after being tormented by an intergalactic war for millennia, the war itself being caused by the human race after it began expanding outside of it's solar system. The human race itself was among the first to be eradicated, as it was eons behind most other spacefaring civilizations in terms of technological and scientific development. The civilizations of space have formed an all-encompassing federation and now work towards a common greater good, all considered equal. Due to how greedy the humans were and given the fact human greed was what started the greatest conflict space had ever seen, intergalactic society was brought together and reformed as a meritocracy. This means that the ones in power are no longer the ones with the most money or assets, but the ones who contribute the most to the greater good.

 

Social System

One's contribution to the greater good is calculated by taking into account both one's individual achievements and the achievements of one's ancestors. An individual's merit affects every facet of their life; the kind of jobs they can pursue, the kind of housing available to them, where they may attain their education, which planets they may travel to... Certain actions, such as attaining an education or surpassing their quota at work, can increase one's Merit, while other things, such as antisocial behavior, laziness and breaking laws can decrease it.

 

Economy and Cooperation

In the name of the greater good, each civilization contributes to and helps all the others. All resources and products are pooled and distributed equally throughout the universe, so as to avoid the overexploitation of  natural resources on planets, which was what prompted the humans to venture out into space. Each civilization has it's own specialty; some are amazing artists, others have a knack for invention and handywork, others again prefer to devote their time to meditation and spiritual guidance and so on. (Think of this as the districts from the Hunger Games series, only with each district spanning several planets and being home to a different race of sentient being.)

 

Government

All of the different civilizations have formed a federation together. While they still self-govern in their own territories, there is also a central government which they answer to and are represented before by whoever their leaders are; some races are democratic, others are monarchies, and some are dictatorships or theocracies. The central government is, however, comprised of the individuals with the highest merit in the universe. Not every race is necessarily represented in the core government. The central government has the power to veto any decision made by any of the individual civilizations' government if the central government feels as if said decisions may endanger the common good. (This system of governance is fundamentally flawed, as the central government officials have merit scores basically unattainable by a vast majority of other people and the fact an individual's merit score takes into account the merit of one's ancestors allows for a thoroughly dynastic structure).

 

This is all I ever really came up with before I stopped working on the concept. The characters you would play as would be members of the different civilizations. Let me know what you think. I think it could make quite the interesting RP board.

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