A Proposal for the Reformation of the Republic

Introduction

Our republic is on the brink. It is beset by nationalism on Mars and anarchism on the outer worlds. They hear the reports of the latest insurgency on Mars, and they question the capabilities of our armed forces. They read about the street fights in Atlantis, and they question whether the strength of the rule of law. These problems are not helped by the division between the three races of our great republic, as the blanks foment rebellion, and the Asiatics hate us as their conquerors. Our enemies lie in wait, preparing to partition us as soon as the tide of history allows.

This proposal was determined through a study begun by the High Commission in response to the second battle of Atlantis, with the purpose of this study being to determine the causes of the troubles which ail our republic. To properly perform this study, interviews were conducted throughout the domains of our empire from the twin capitals of Washington and Brussels, to the Lunar cities, Mars, and the outer worlds. The conclusions stated in this proposal are not meant to offend even if they may sound radical, rather they are meant to ensure that our republic is truly eternal, just as our founder General Jean-Baptiste intended it to be.

On Asiatics

The memory of the Asiatic empire is still fresh in their minds. To the Asiatics, we are unruly foreigners suppressing an ancient civilization. To us, they are archaic relics of a bygone era. While the rest of the world converted to the metal, they remain of the flesh; an achievement that was enabled by their protector.

Unfortunately for them, the Beijing massacre ended that, they have no protector. It is just us and them. Yet, we must be willing to treat them with mercy. It disturbs me that the High Commission has considered the employment of a Final Solution , there is no honor in such a massacre. While it is true that Jean- Baptiste himself undertook similar action in the African campaigns so long ago, he is also reported to have considered that his greatest regret. There is no sense in repeating his mistake.

Furthermore, it is widely held among the citizenry that our republic is a moral one. We are a democracy, the culmination of a struggle for liberty, that dates from the American and French revolutions to the Awakening of the 22ndcentury. We are the republic which united an entire solar system; putting an end to war and providing the universal sovereign that Machiavelli spoke of so long ago. Now, the myriad nationalities of the Sol system have a fair and just authority to appeal to. So, how would it look if this supposedly fair and just authority engaged in wholesale massacre?

Ergo, a Final Solution would alienate our electorate and would significantly damage our legitimacy and moral authority among our subjects. Hence, we must seek an alternative course of action. Specifically, bribery is likely to be the most effective course of action in dealing with the Asiatics. The facts of the matter are that the Asiatics hate us too much to ever truly accept us , to keep them docile, they are to be paid off. The resources of our republic are vast and the provision of bread and circuses for the Asiatics would be a pittance. It is true that our electorate would be annoyed by such a compromise, but they would begrudgingly accept if they can be convinced that it would prevent bloodshed.

Yet, the use of bread and circuses is an unacceptable policy in the long-term. While bribery is a useful tool to control the adult Asiatic population who I suspect could never be convinced to become servants of the republic, the children should not just be bribed. Instead, the children should be goaded into conversion.

In the Western world, the conversion of those of the flesh was conducted by denying advancement within the civil and military service. A similar approach can be employed in Asia. By granting the Asiatics the opportunity to garner wealth and power through conversion, we can co-opt the natural human drive for more into service for the Republic. This proposal may sound radical; however, it would be foolish not to pursue it as we would waste a preposterous level of human capital if we choose not to leverage the Asiatics. To not undertake this proposal would greatly damage our Republic’s capacity for innovation, economic growth, and combat effectiveness.

We must be wary of employing the same requirements used in the Western world. Chiefly, there should be no requirement for converts to kill their organic original . This requirement was successful in the West due to the prominence of the cult of the Eternal Machine. Unfortunately, this condition is not present in Asia where Taoism, Buddhism, and other traditional beliefs still hold sway. Therefore, it is important to enable citizens to convert while maintaining their human body; the legal implications of this course of action are troublesome as this means for each Asiatic convert, there is a machine copy and an organic original.

However, this legal complication can be resolved by treating the machine copy and the organic original as separate legal entities. The machine copy is to be regarded as a traditional Republican with the right to citizenship upon five years of military service followed by five years of civil service just like all Republicans. Meanwhile, the organic original shall be ineligible for these benefits but should be able to assert a right to a small portion of the machine copy’s government income provided that their copy consents. While this prevents the organic from receiving the power, prestige, and wealth that a full Republican can obtain, they can rest easy knowing that some version of themselves is fulfilling their potential. Of course, opportunities for self- euthanasia will be readily available for those who cannot bear this notion.

In regards to the full cost of the policy outlined above, the declining birth rate of the Asiatics must be taken into account. They are a dying race and that has been the case for 200 years. At their current rate, there will be no Asiatics in one hundred years, a number that our electorate shall surely be able to stomach. Of course, to hasten this, free contraceptives and payments for sterilization should be available.

On Blanks

On Mars and Europa, we are beset by Martian nationalism and Europan anarchism. When analyzing the demographics of these factions, their primary constituents are the blanks, whose bodies are of metal and whose minds are of artificial origin rather than organic origin.

The primary cause of this disloyalty is due to their lack of representation in government. When Jean-Baptiste developed our constitution, he was clear that all of the metal with minds of organic origin are equal. This statement is folly[JN1] , it should be amended such that all those of the metal are equal with no distinction made on the origin of the individual minds. This amendment will remove the most powerful recruiting tool that our enemies in the nationalist and anarchist parties have. It will prevent them from claiming that they are the ones who can bring equality between our races as we shall be the ones to do so.

It follows from this amendment that those privileges enjoyed by our race: exclusive access to the officer corps of the Grand Republican Army, privileged promotion in the Republican Civil Service, and citizenship must now also be available to our fellows in the blank diaspora. To continue the maintenance of these privileges would be hypocritical in the light of this egalitarian measure; hence, they[JN2] must be eliminated.

It is likely that our electorate shall be strongly opposed to such a radical measure. Any opposition from them should be ignored, our republic cannot survive if such a significant portion of our population is locked out of power. We must be willing to concede this to them so that our republic may live. If we do not, there shall be revolution on Mars, and there will be another battle of Atlantis, a battle they may not end in our favor. If we are to avoid such senseless bloodshed, this proposal must go through.

As a historical example, we can look to the Roman Republic. The Romans relied on the Italians Latins to bolster their armed forces with these Italians being barred from the citizenry. This was fine in the beginning as the discrepancy between the Romans and the Italians was not wide enough to produce much ill will in the Italians. Unfortunately for the Romans, this discrepancy grew due to the victories of the Romans in the Punic wars; ultimately, leading to the Social War in which the Roman Republic was brought to its knees by its erstwhile allies. Luckily, thanks to the skill of the Roman legions, and the willingness to concede many of the Italians’ demands. The Roman Republic was able to survive for a little while longer.[JN3]

We too should be willing to concede to the demands of those who we have locked out of power. The blanks as our foot soldiers and labourers, deserve a fair share of the spoils of our empire. There is no need for further dalliance on a subject that could bring peace to Mars and Europa.

It is necessary to understand that this measure will not eliminate our enemies in the solar system in an instant. These factions have established roots, and animosities between our races are old. Yet, by granting the blanks a greater share in the task of governance, we shall be granting power to those with the necessary connections and experience to truly understand our enemies; so, we will be able to push forward to victory.

Conclusion

The proposals outlined in this document may sound radical, but it is important to understand that our republic requires this in order to survive. Otherwise, the forces of discontent within our empire shall drive it apart. For our republic to be the eternal driving force of history, we as its legislature must be willing to push for radical changes.