Royals Who Actually Do Something: Played straight with the Imperial Couple, who are indeed heads of government as well of heads of state, personally oversee the executive branch, chair the Council of the Star (the senior of the two Cabinet-equivalents; analogous if you will to the board of directors vis-a-vis
“EILAN (CRIMSON EXPANSE) – The Third Border War, or the Core War, is finally over. In amendments to the Republic-Worlds Demarcation Convention, signed today by Minister Plenipotentiary Elyse Phylarius for the Empire and the Worlds, and Admiral Irjen Tarvil for the Voniensa Republic, the belligerents agreed to a cease-fire in place,
One Nation Under Copyright: There are various forms of corporate-style governments found in the Associated Worlds – at least three distinct ones in the Empire alone. The first of these is the governing corporation – a government which organizes itself along corporate lines. (A distinct feature of this type of corporate government
Republic-Worlds Peace Conference Synchel ab Kamisir Negotation Center Eilan (Crimson Expanse) “You’re stalling.” This statement from Elyse Phylarius, the senior Imperial representative at the conference, fell flatly across the conference table. “I’m sure we don’t know what you -” “Of course you do not, gentlesophs,” she continued.
Mix-and-Match Man: Happened a lot more in the early days of genetic engineering – and still sometimes happens when the spouses in a multiple marriage of one schema or another wish to have a child that’s descended from all of them – but these days, if you want your child to
Oh, hey, it’s the last day of the month and I hadn’t even noticed. FAQ questions for February, Patreons all?
Many people have written in to ask, “What is that silvery, liquescent lining inside the pants of spacesuits we occasionally see on your broadcasts?” Well, viewers, that’s the sanitary nanopaste. You see, back in what we might call the pointy-stick era of spaceflight, the problem of the crew having
Mithril: The Empire’s so awash in exotic materials of the future (see: Unobtainium) that there’s almost certain to be one that matches mithril’s hypothetical properties pretty much one for one. I mean, sure, it’s some hideously complicated nanoformed metallic-glass composite, but “does the same, is the
“First, know yourself; and know your enemy, second. This is the first principle of victorious war.” – The Thousand Wise Analects of the Supreme Warlord, Xian Anandonos “It also doesn’t hurt to know what your enemy knows about yourself.” – Adm. InesmĂr Muetry-ith-Muetry, in conversation Netharn (Idrine Margin) System CS Unconquerable
Unobtainium: Of many kinds. Sophisticated materials science is one of the major areas of advancement in this particular universe. Of particular note: deuterium slush, metastable metallic hydrogen, helium-3 and antimatter (more specifically, antideuterium slush) for power, room-temperature superconductors, sapphiroids (the trade name for the high-grade kind is Adamant™ – not adamantium,
Mirror Chemistry: Played straight but in a much more complicated fashion. After all, on Earth, life – for the most part – uses levoproteins and dextrosugars. So there’s (trivially) four possible combinations right there, leaving aside more complex or dual arrangements, and that’s not even taking into account biochemistries that
For your envisioning pleasure – and also because I secretly hope someone will send me fan art along the lines of a classic Old West painting set on said Mars-type world (beautiful for spacious pink skies and vermilion mountains’ majesty above its fruited plain of mottled green and blue grass, although