Trope-a-Day: Everyone Is Armed

Everyone Is Armed: Due to cultural tradition and the mutual agreement in the Imperial Charter that you will defend the rights of other citizen-shareholders as if they were your own, played very straight in the Empire.  (See also: Guns in Church and Apathetic Citizens.)  It’s actually a not inconsiderable social faux pas not to be armed (for the traditional fashion, see Choice of Two Weapons), in fact, especially when you go calling on someone.

(The Empire’s spectacularly low rate of violent crime, even in the pre-Transcend days, had a lot to do with the lack of people who were that (a) insane or (b) completely unable to grasp the concept of, or (c) recognize a force majeure when they saw one; much the same goes for why their military forces aren’t the only reason people are reluctant to consider invading.)