Bio Augmentation: And how. While not exclusively their preserve by any means, the Imperials are so aggressively transsophontist that pretty much everyone you meet is a walking treasure-trove of millennia of biotechnological advancement.  Not that the original bioengineers, or the later nanoengineers, knew exactly which direction apotheosis lay in, but
âThe Microstatic Commission is the Impiesâ bad joke at the expense of the rest of us. You donât really think they care about thousands of tiny freeholds, do you? Itâs just another means they use to defeat anyoneâs attempt to build real institutions and real stability in
âŚand to push the bounds of my ârelevantâ category a little, but what we see here at, oh, 3:45 through 4:12 is now totally part of the mental image in my head when I imagine the Glorious Imperial Sky-Ship Fleet, back in the Age of Steel and Steam.
Binary Suns: Reality may be unrealistic, but thatâs the way it is.  Quite a decent number of the systems of the Associated Worlds, including many of the inhabited ones. Most prominent among these is the eldrae homeworld, EliĂŠra, which orbits one component of a far binary, with (essentially) the
As its end slipped clear of the ribosome, the protein folded once more, pivoting around now free-to-move bonds⌠snapping back against the already closely-folded main body. Brelyn Calaris muttered an imprecation upon the heads of all uncooperative fabzymes, paused the simulation, and grabbed the protein with both hands, peering muttering
Big Eater: Of course, this depends greatly on species, which in fairness doesnât count, because it applies equally to everyone of that species. It does apply â in its âthin kindâ form, mostly â to most transsophonts, though, simply because none of their modifications repeals the law of conservation of energy,
âThe Curia has heard the plaintiffsâ argument that they merely engaged in âcreative nonviolenceâ, and that therefore the use of force against them was unjustified.â âThe Curia unequivocally rejects this argument. The term itself betrays a profound misunderstanding of the Right of Defense as it exists in the Fundamental Contract.
Big Dumb Object: Oh, plenty. Leaving aside those belonging to elder races â and thus little known due to the ability to enforce the Do Not Taunt rule â the Empire has a partially completed Dyson Sphere in the works at CorĂcal Ailek (itâs where the Transcend keeps its brain; and
It is important to realize, when working in the Empire, that your connection to your employer is defined strictly by your contract. There are rarely benefits attached to it (the tax system does not advantage providing them, and the locals almost all prefer additional fungible money), nor are there specific
Big Brother Is Watching: And his name, in the Empire, is Citizen Oversight. Subverted, rather, inasmuch as itâs not principally a law enforcement instrumentality. It, and its extensive surveillance/geolocation/other-sensory grid, drones, etc. â in public spaces only, and privately-owned-but-open-to-the-public donât count (i.e., those places where, by
âOrder, Progress, Libertyâ â official, Charter-enshrined motto of the Empire âSecure against Eternity.â â corporate motto, Crystal Flame, ICC âAll debts must be paid.â â official motto of the Curia âBecause enough⌠is never enough.â â corporate motto, Decadence, ICC âThrough reason alone, we ascend.â â motto of the Eupraxic Collegium âEvery coin Our given
Where do you get these contracts? After all, if employment as such doesnât exist in the Empire, surely you wonât find any corporations employing hundreds, thousands, or millions of people? Quite correct. The Imperial corporation, from relatively small examples all the way up to the Big 26, is