Follow along with the video below to see how to install our site as a web app on your home screen.
Note: This feature currently requires accessing the site using the built-in Safari browser.
We have updated our Community Code of Conduct. Please read through the new rules for the forum that are an integral part of Paradox Interactive’s User Agreement.
You are using an out of date browser. It may not display this or other websites correctly. You should upgrade or use an alternative browser.
The rules simply don't allow for it, nor would it be very democratic as the supporting parties would have their policies streached so thin that the election would be almost irrelevant.
Given an equal split of preference from readers, I'll try to use the regular 2355 votes as a tiebreaker. They were cast with 2355 issues in mind and I haven't looked at what government it specifically will unlock (I think Albatross-Dove or Hawk-falcon) if any.
Running another re-election isn't hard, but I fear voting attrition and reader loss due to a delayed proper update.
In addition to the above regarding solutions: I've never refused the mandate given to me by users, which is why I won't do large coalitions: They would allow me to justify essentially anything while the general election rules with a major party give me a more specific task to perform that I can't deviate from (unless there's an end game crisis in which case emergency elections would probably be called).
To clarify, I've often preformed mandates that I considered suboptimal or dangerous (secret fact: The Gurite war was a bit too close for comfort, notice I only saved 2/3 the Battleships after the fight in their home system, all other ships were down) because of the way this works, and that's half the fun!
I don't think re-using original 2355 votes breaks this, because the most likely reason they didn't vote again is because they haven't had time to check the thread since. If we hold another election the number of votes may fall again as it did in the first re-election, and there will be a re-election if former votes do not produce a winning coalition.
New election rules have also been proposed to me, the thing is this: We just reformed the election rules and this AAR is way beyond the halfway point. This has been such a positive experience for me that I am likely to ask the mods for permission for another lightly interactive AAR, but not before this one is complete.
It's more like, I'm trying to read the mood of what the readers think of the options of what to do. A hung parliament always gives a re-election but a failed re-election is a bit more vague.
I don't want to be accused to betraying the interactive nature of the AAR by refusing yet another re-election. Yet I'm of the opinion it would be within the democratic/interactive nature of the AAR to see if adding the votes from before the re-election that haven't posted again in the re-election, where the policies were the same, would produce a working government.
I sort of expected half the users would want a re-election and half wanted to move forward. I'd like to move forward today but it's a hard choice.
Another re-election will give more suspense to readers. I never worried about the result of the any OTL elections stronger than the result of Aviarium 2355 elections
Another re-election will give more suspense to readers. I never worried about the result of the any OTL elections stronger than the result of Aviarium 2355 elections
In the end I decided to go ahead and make the original 2355 votes, where the voters had not re-voted, apply.
Here's some suspense though: I'm not going to tell how that turned out until the session is played and update made, just that it was one hell of a close result. I will also show, in the update, another reason I went ahead this way.
I'm really looking forward to the next update! Of course I understand your decision to move the story forward and support it, although I probably would have favoured re-elections - democracy induced stagnation FTW!!
I'm really looking forward to the next update! Of course I understand your decision to move the story forward and support it, although I probably would have favoured re-elections - democracy induced stagnation FTW!!
But don't we have enough of that in the real world to entertain us? Look at the recent Spanish elections. There
s already enough juicy details there for me to have to invent it here!
Once again, thanks for the contributions, both comments and votes everyone.
----------
2355 elections take 3
After the re-election resulting in another hung parliament, an electoral committee permitted the use of citizens who had voted for the first 2355 election, but not the re-election. The arguments were as following:
- No policies had changed in the meantime.
- The voters likely abstained due to the short deadline for the last election.
- When observing the votes cast in each election, very few people actually changed their votes (see below). A second re-election was likely to change only according to the people who didn't vote for a third time due to democratic exhaustion.
You can see some of the voting behavior: Many usually change votes on primary/secondary because they vote on current policies. In this case only two people changed their vote and the changes were due to 4 people not voting in time for the re-election.
By acknowledging the prior votes as votes that were unlikely to have changed their minds, the results were these.
- The Albatross Alliance and Hawk Lobby were tied for the first place with 30,5% of the vote each (7/23). This means there were no bonus mandates and each received 305 mandates.
- The Dove Lobby received 21,5% of the vote (5/23) and received 215 mandates.
. The Falcon Front secured 17,5% of the vote (4/23) and received 175 mandates.
With a small majority of 520 mandates, the Albatross Alliance and Dove Lobby were able to form a coalition government as desired by a majority of Albatross Alliance supporters (6/7) and Dove supporters (4/5).
In agreement to advance AI technology, the Albatross Alliance had to make concessions to the minority Dove Lobby:
- First contact protocol was peaceful.
- Native interference was set to passive.
- Orbital bombardment was limited to light.
- if at all possible, the Guma should be wiped out.
Selected lineages were, however, permitted again. Chapter 8: 2355-2375 - Us Against the Galaxy
Quote of the update (haven't done these in a long time)
They say
Oh, oh it's so down, but baby it's sound
makes your worries cease to pound
And oh, maybe it's alright, 'cause baby it fights
for some time just to be held tight
And oh, maybe it's not wrong, 'cause it sings a lovely song
one that drifts on for so long
And oh, baby let's not lie, it's eyes are alive
and pointed up shining light to the sky
With the Albatross Alliance and Dove Lobby victorious, the advancement of synths continued and the newly advanced AI was also put to other uses.
Whether because of the AI research, rapid expansionism or because they simply were jerks, some of the neighbors of the Aviarium were less than enthusiastic.
Are you.. the starfish-shaped head of the snake thing or both???
Sadly, by the bad luck of the hyperlanes, the Aviarium could not currently teach them the real power in democracy. Yet.
The Bird People and Neo-Bird People kept up the atrocities on both ends, with the central government rather desperate to end hostilities, however deporting either was rather politically charged and there were little external differences other than the Neo-Bird People being a tad more muscular on average.
Which made the rest of the Aviarium even more confused about why either side cared all that much.
Many Neo-Bird People had had enough themselves and left Grekil prime behind.
As was tradition, in 2356 the Aviarium population elected another separatist Sanctuary-dweller.
Shortly after, the final development in improving the processors and AI of the droids across the Aviarium panned out with the creation of the first truly sentient and sapient mechanical life. Some took on the external appearance of other Aviarium species to blend in better, some chose obviously mechanical appearance as they felt it natural.
In a rather popular anecdote, the first ever sentient synth's first words were spent asking what it all meant... And the only answer the scientist could think of, at the time, was: "Well, for starters, it means that you're in a position to ask that question".
And then nothing much happened. Life went on, except there was a decent number of self-aware synths around. With the many species that had been integrated into the Aviarium over time, nothing could really shock the people living there anymore. A few religious populations were quite angry about the entire ordeal, but they were few in number.
It was time for the Aviarium Continuum to turn attention back to the unification of the galaxy. It had already become clear with the constant minor wars across the galaxy that the Aviarium represented the best option for lasting stability. The Albatross Alliance had won the election with the promise to liberate the Bhenn'Thell living in their home state from their deceptive government. Strange diplomatic changes that had swept across the Galaxy meant that then Bhenn'Thell were diplomatically isolated.
It was time for the Republican Force to take advantage of that... Only the other members refused.
They didn't "trust" the Aviarium enough, and despite having signed migration agreements, they also argued that they needed the Aviarium to supply them with advantageous trade agreements and wait a few years before they would permit any new wars.
The Aviarium had 80+% of the Republican Force fleet and the Albatross Alliance had long argued for self-reliance...
Well, we'll just MAKE our own allies then!
(Yes, the Obevnis elected a Bhenn'Thell Lady Protector in case you were confused, they haven't just escaped to the Aviarium in huge numbers)
No longer restricted by the mood swings / slight extortion of the other members of the Republican Force, the Aviarium were free to declare a war to restore true democracy to the Bhenn'Thell.
They've been sending insults are now they act all innocent . And yes, the Bhenn'Thell have also elected an xeno leader. The galaxy is becoming a confusing place.
The fleet was split into two Grand Flocks and sent deep into Bhenn'Thell space. Soon, their navy felt compelled to try and oust the invaders, starting with1st Grand Flock led by admiral Plume of Gold, as their home worlds came under bombardment and invasion. Sadly for them, the new weapons of the Aviarium were quite something.
The Bhenn'Thell had little more resistance to offer and following the loss of many colonies and their homeworld, they surrendered.
The former Bhenn'Thell territory was put under the jurisdiction of the Shadow Sector. Arguments to give them their own client republic were rebuffed, as there already were many Bhenn'Thell living all over the Aviarium, and they would not find it hard to adapt to the Aviarium laws, once the initial outrage of the war died down.
They'll be okay .
The local Avians of Nagrama which had otherwise been long forgotten had seemingly not been touched by the Bhenn'Thell. It was decided that the planet was of little strategic value to the Aviarium right now, and instead the locals should be enlightened over many years, so that they might become a protectorate of the Aviarium.
As they were currently undergoing their Renaissance, they did have thinkers and powerful leaders which could be contacted first, and this would make them somewhat faster to enlighten than... certain stone age peoples.
Indeed, there was little gain in observing more aliens at this point, and the Dove Lobby also insisted that the long history of hostile invasions was in many ways less useful at this stage, as the locals were often quite helpless for many years after.
The locals of Nagrama proved quick learners.
Internally, the long search for exotic animals across local space finally ended.
I get what they're going for, but when the damn eventline takes 180 years, it's not spectacular enough to make you care about it in the long run.
The Bhenn'Thell war had barely scratched the Aviarium fleet and the Dove Lobby had only agreed to attack the Bhenn'Thell, another democratic nation, because of their recent corruption. In exchange, the Albatross Alliance had agreed to focus on liberating less democratic states in the future...
... Starting with the Havarigga Empire, old imperialistic allies of the Bhenn'Thell, but now left abandoned by their allies. (Reason for all of this is honestly that Asimov initially shocked every alliance, including the Republican Force)
The plan was to liberate a single of their planets, where the population would then pick a type of government acceptable to them, then slowly release their former planets back to them.
The first real confrontation in space happened as a Havarigga fleet managed to catch a group of Aviarium destroyers laying siege to a planet in the Botein system.
They held their own until the 1st Grand Flock arrived, and may even have won the engagement alone had they not received help.
Notice the destroyers had pretty much won the engagement with "The cavalry" just downing 3 battleships.
Having no remaining fleets, the Havarigga soon had to sue for peace and the war ended before , as their planets fell one by one.
Why does every government I release turn into an oligarchy. I think maybe fanatical individualism would have been a good idea if I was going to play democratic crusader.
In former Bhenn'Thell territory, another civilization which could be enlightened was discovered.
The next target of conquest came as a concession to the Dove Lobby. The remains of the Guma "Confederacy" would be dismantled and a new vassal carved out of the Photecians southernmost planets.
Unlike the Condign Entente, the Star Pact had remained strong with the Photecians, the Guma and their Northwestern allies still united. This should be a harder fight. One grand flock and a smaller tactical flock was sent east to deal with the Photecians, while another Grand Flock was sent west to deal with the Guma and deal with their northwestern allies, who would hopefully have been weakened by their long (and still ongoing) war with the Star Axis.
A new Republican Force is taking shape, truly led by the Aviarium.
The first real space battle took place as a Photecian fleet, like the Havarigga before, assault the 1st Tactical Destroyer flock. This time they had more success wearing it down before a proper fleet could arrive.
It was at this point that it was decided to drop the idea of using smaller tactical fleets. Do note that they did as much damage to the enemy fleet as they received (and the proper fleet wrecked them)
The Photecians thought they were clever in having separated half the 1st Grand Flock to save the destroyers then to assault the other half with their 1st and 7th Starfleet. They didn't realize that half a Grand Flock was still superior to two of their starfleets.
Am I boasting? Yes, but only because the 1st Grand Flocked annihilated their entire fleet so throughly that two of their corvettes were destroyed twice.
The Photecians kept up their spirited, if hopeless, attempts to salvage the war as more and more of their planets fell.
During this time period, corvettes were no longer replaced as they were considered too fragile for the new long-range warfare that had become the standard.
To celebrate their prowess at war, the Aviarium populace elected yet another separatist Lord Protector in 2366.
Yeah... I'm sticking with the "Electing nonsense Lord/Lady protectors is a Avarium troll tradition" line of reasoning...
The Ymecera didn't waste time in sending their regular congratulations card.
That's it. Enough of your fanatically xenophillic slaving ways. You're on the list. Once the Aviarium finds a way to reach you, we'll give you a piece of our democracy .
In 2367, without having fought a single non-photecian enemy fleet, but having captured multiple Photecian colonies and allied planets in the northwest, the president of their federation surrendered on their behalf.
The last homeworld of the Guma were handed over to the Client Republic of the Hathgumm Conglomerate, while most of the liberated Photecian planets were transferred to the control of the newly established Unified Photecian Domain. While the habit of forming oligarchic structures after liberation was quite concerning, it was at least an improvement over their former autocratic masters and a step in the right direction.
Back home, the newly sentient synths had started to become self-aware to the fact that they didn't like debris falling down on their tomb world home.
Sapience: Noun. The ability to perceive a dislike of junk falling down on you, interpret the impact of said junk falling down and expressing an opinion on it, then making a detailed plan to make the junk stop falling.
Still having suffered almost no losses, the war machine of the Aviarium kept on churning, this time toward the southeast where the Tebadoran Administration had been abandoned by their former allies.
The 2nd Grand Flock, representing about 1/4 the total navy of the Aviarium engaged with the Tebadoran main fleet in a fight where they were about equally matched.
The Tebadorans did only 1/10th the damage before being completely defeated. The combined might and range of the tachyon lances and kinetic artillery meant that only screens which moved to engage in close quarter battle ever experienced any losses.
The rest of the war was routine. Wipe out any straggling fleets, siege planets, land Aviarium forces or wait until a vassal did the job.
The result came within a few of years of the war declaration.
The Tebadorans would easily assimilate to Aviarium culture and was put under the management of the Coreward sector.
Just another new conquest for the Aviarium Continuum.
Arrows show Client Republics
End of chapter 8, there's a new election until Wednesday, see appendix 2 and 3.
Appendix 1 - Author Commentary
As you can tell, The Aviarium Continuum has locked on a conquest spree, lacking anything better to do. If it hits the 40% domination victory, I'll end the AAR at about that time, unless an end-game crisis pops up before then. There's probably just a few chapters left, unless said end-game crisis turns out to be shockingly difficult. The Aviarium Continuum has very much reached the unstoppable snowball stage and I think it's about time to start sending it off to an ending.
Wars are cut down to the most important parts. I don't think you guys would enjoy every minute detail of every landing that much.
Appendix 2 - Political Subject 1: The Gene Question
The Aviarium Continuum, having vastly improved it's ability to manipulate genes, is now experiencing a new public debate - The question of genetically enhancing entire populations, and if so, how to. (The Aviarium Continuum generally has 2 gene points to spend on each species, with some variation).
The Albatross Alliance points toward improving the overall mental acuity of the Aviarium populations by adding intelligent trait. It argues that the increased speed of scientific discovery will, in the end, improve the Aviarium at every level. Opponents point toward evidence of such enhancements having a little practical use and the fact that the Aviarium is already one of the most technologically advanced populations of the Galaxy, the Albatross Alliance counters that with the huge population, keeping such a lead will be difficult.
The Dove Lobby also support genetic enhance if available to the entire population, not just leaders. It points to the most pronounced issue being the the large, fragmented species and ethics of the Aviarium, with small pockets of high unhappiness, as the issue that is most likely to produce problems over time. In order to increase the happiness and stability of the Aviarium entire, they argue that mental enhancements should focus on improving communication and empathy. The Dove Lobby therefore supports adding communal, charismatic and enduring to the species of the Aviarium (the latter for species such as Bird People who already have one of the two traits). Opponents point out that the idea of altering mental perception of others borders is highly morally contentious, while the Dove Lobby counters that it merely enhances the ability to connect with others, it doesn't force populations to behave in a certain way.
The Hawk Lobby refuses any use of genetic enhancement on a population level, arguing that each species would lose contact with their roots and that it is unnatural. The Aviarium populations should ascend mainly by the force of their own natural power and acquired talent, not overly depend on technology.
The Falcon Front argues in favor of making the population of the Aviarium resilient and strong, arguing that in order to unify the galaxy, the Aviarium should prepare the populations to handle the coming wars of conquest. Opponents point to the fact that the main strength of the Aviarium is their technological prowess and that making themselves stronger would matter little in actual combat, and that resilient would matter more for defensive warfare, which the Aviarium experiences little of. The Falcon Front counters with the fact that the Aviarium is likely to face a greater unified galaxy the more it expands and that these traits will become extreme useful later.
Appendix 3 - Party-Specific political subjects
Dove and Hawk Lobby - The Republican Front Remnant
The remaining members of the republican force have, after the Aviarium Continuum left due to their restrictions upon any future wars, closed their borders and refused every diplomat sent to resolve the situation.
Having both existed at the time of the discovery of these factions and formed close ties with them historically, nobody is more concerned about this development than the The Hawk and Dove Lobby. Both argue in favor of making the liberation of the people left behind to these formerly friendly empires, especially in Obevni space. While the Hawk Lobby believes that their former friends in army would best under the direct control of the Aviarium, the Dove Lobby argues in favor of liberating the populations of these republics and having them join as Client Republics in the new Aviarium-led Republic Force.
Falcon Front - Make the Synths Serve, Before They Serve Us Our Own Destruction!
The uplift of the Synths have outraged the Falcon Front, which argues that the Synths are not sapient in the same way as a biological being, and that these synths will the death of the Republic if they are not made to serve the biological civilians and citizens, rather than be civilians and citizens. It argues in favor of immediate servitude of the synths and a stop to the expansion of their population.
Albatross Alliance - Make the Ymacera pay
The Ymacera Conglomerate has, multiple times, sent vapid insults across the void arm, thinking that the minor independent Dabbax Syndicate will protect their slaving selves, as the hyperlanes otherwise restrict movement there. The Albatross Alliance argues that it is time to carve a way to their region of space and show them which crevice the Aviarium - or any recently liberated slaves of theirs - would like them to crawl into.
---------
You know the drill! The 2375 general elections are called. There are four parties to choose from - The Hawk Lobby, The Dove Lobby, The Albatross Alliance and the Falcon Front.
Election Bill
First Choice: Hawk
Second Choice: Albatross
My Goodness! I can imagine the Uproar after the Hawks finally got a majority only for the Doves and the Albatross Alliance to ally and snatch it away from them. Question: Since the election was delayed irl, did any inter-government time pass in game as well? I just mean in the story, of course.
Election Bill:
First choice: Dove Lobby
Second Choice: Albatross Alliance
++++++++++
The conclusion comes when it comes, either way it's been an excellent piece of work thus far. I do wonder if the end-game crisis will come up, but at this pace it seems unlikely.
I did like the musings on the sapience of synthetics, especially the first question bit.
As for the Ymacera portrait, I tend to think of them as the Stellaris Brainslugs, with the leech-thing being the actual species in charge. However I imagine some folks wrote their own bios for them involving the leeches being blood banks or some other symbiotic relationship rather than parasitic.
