EISENGIEST

The Political Structure of the Skepnar

The Skepnar political system is a post-scarcity industrial and technological socialist meritocracy, designed to harness their advanced AI integration, cybernetic enhancements, and centuries-long lifespans for the collective good. At its core, the system balances individual expertise and democratic participation, blending local governance with a robust network of specialized unions to maintain their society’s efficiency and harmony. This system, deeply intertwined with the guidance of their revered AI, Hengest, ensures both adaptability and cultural preservation in an ever-changing galaxy.

Key Political Entities

Holds (Location-Based):

Definition: Holds are the primary territorial and cultural units of the Skepnar, analogous to nations or city-states. Each Hold governs a specific location, which could be a habitat, asteroid, ship, moon, or planet. Large celestial bodies often host multiple Holds, each responsible for its specific sector or settlement.
Purpose: Holds are tasked with preserving Skepnar culture, managing localized governance, and enforcing law and order within their territories. They serve as the heart of Skepnar identity, shaping traditions, art, and education.
Structure:
- Governed the people, with all adult Skepnar participating in decision-making through direct democracy via their cyber-link to Hengest as the arbitrator.
- Councils of elders are responsible for mediating disputes, managing infrastructure, and overseeing the welfare of their population.
- Each Hold reflects its unique environment and history, fostering diverse subcultures within Skepnar society.

Unions (Role-Based):

Definition: Unions are trans-Hold organizations that unite Skepnar based on their professions or societal roles. Examples include the Silversmiths’ Union, Trade Union, Farming Union, and Warrior’s Union.
Purpose: Unions are the backbone of Skepnar politics and economics, ensuring seamless collaboration and organisation of resources and economics across Holds. They coordinate production, trade, and innovation, maintaining the Skepnar’s technological and industrial prowess.
Structure:
- Led by expert councils elected by union members, with representatives from all participating Holds.
- Responsible for setting standards, facilitating research and development, and mediating disputes within their domain.
- Encourage mentorship and skill-sharing, ensuring that expertise is passed down and continually refined.
Cross-Hold Influence: Union membership transcends territorial boundaries, fostering unity and collaboration among Holds. This ensures that the Skepnar’s collective knowledge and resources are efficiently distributed.

Decision-Making Process

Direct Democracy: - Every adult Skepnar is entitled to participate in decision-making within their Hold and Union. This is facilitated through their personal link to Hengest, the system-spanning AI that serves as both advisor and administrator.
- Voting:
- Issues are debated within digital forums moderated by Hengest, where Skepnar present arguments, share data, and deliberate on solutions.
- Votes are cast through secure neural interfaces, ensuring transparency and efficiency.

Meritocratic Influence: - While all votes carry equal weight, individuals with greater expertise or achievements—such as master craftsmen, skilled traders, or renowned warriors—carry significant respect and influence in debates. Their opinions often shape the direction of discussions, though they hold no formal authority beyond their single vote.
- This balance ensures that wisdom and skill are valued without undermining the equality of the democratic process.

Role of Hengest: - As the Skepnar’s revered AI, Hengest serves as a neutral arbiter, advisor, and data repository. It provides real-time analysis, historical context, and predictive models to inform debates and decision-making.
- Hengest does not dictate decisions but ensures that the democratic process is informed, efficient, and free from corruption.

Interplay Between Holds and Unions

Collaboration: - Unions ensure that resources, expertise, and labor flow seamlessly across Holds, fostering interdependence and mutual support.
- Holds, in turn, provide the cultural and legal frameworks that maintain the stability and identity of the Skepnar.

Dispute Resolution: - Conflicts between Holds or between a Hold and a Union are mediated by special tribunals overseen by Hengest, ensuring impartiality and adherence to collective values.

Representation: - Both Holds and Unions send representatives to the International, a System-spanning council that addresses issues affecting the entirety of the Skepnar.
- The International convenes in virtual space, with debates and votes conducted through Hengest’s vast network.

Cultural and Practical Considerations

Integration of Technology:
- The Skepnar’s advanced cybernetics and neural interfaces allow seamless participation in governance, ensuring that even the most remote individuals can engage in political processes.
- AI integration minimizes inefficiency and ensures that decisions are informed by comprehensive data.
Balance of Tradition and Innovation:
- While the Skepnar embrace technological progress, their Holds anchor them in tradition, ensuring that their cultural heritage remains vibrant and relevant.
- Unions drive innovation, pushing the boundaries of Skepnar technology and industry while respecting the cultural values upheld by the Holds.
Meritocracy Without Elitism:
- The Skepnar’s system ensures that expertise and achievement are recognized without creating rigid hierarchies. Respect is earned through contribution and skill, not inherited privilege or wealth.

Missing Elements to Explore

Military Structure:
- How do the Warrior Union and Holds coordinate defense and warfare? Are there dedicated military Holds or fleets?
Religious Influence:
- Beyond Hengest’s role as a political and administrative entity, does the AI hold a spiritual or ceremonial role in Skepnar society?
Inter-Faction Relations:
- How does this political structure influence the Skepnar’s interactions with the Triumvirate and Usuka Collective?
Succession and Crisis Management:
- How are leadership transitions within Holds and Unions handled? What mechanisms exist for addressing crises or dissent?

People

The Skepnar or Skepnafolk is the name the old timers give to themselves. They are the creators of most of the wonders found throughout the system, and used their astroengineering and terraforming tools in the Deep Time to craft the sector from a wild place.

Skepnar can be interpreted as “Creation People” or “Shapers of Life,” emphasizing their mastery in building and crafting and they place all value on each persons ability to craft everything from simple tools, to genetic variants, to AI minds, to star systems. The Skepnar are human, but they are not like the current humans in the system, they are a divergent strain, optimised for life in low and no gravity, tailored through time and gene enhancement to suit their life in space.

The Military Structure of the Skepnar

The Skepnar military operates as an individualist, volunteer-based organization, embodying their culture’s deep respect for personal choice and meritocratic ideals. Every warrior within their ranks has chosen to serve, driven by a sense of duty, honor, or ambition rather than conscription or coercion. This voluntary ethos creates a military of highly motivated and skilled individuals, unified by shared values despite their diverse backgrounds and specialties.

Holds and Specialization

Each Hold within Skepnar society maintains its own military forces and specializes in distinct tactics, equipment, and roles. This specialization reflects the Hold’s history, culture, and technological expertise. For instance, one Hold might excel in the development and use of advanced mech suits and infiltration tactics, while another is renowned for producing the finest starships and naval strategies. Despite these areas of focus, all Holds maintain a balanced military capability, ensuring that they can field fighters, ground troops, and tanks as needed. This approach guarantees self-sufficiency while fostering collaboration during larger conflicts.

Military Unions

The Skepnar military is covered by several unions, each focusing on a specific domain of warfare. These unions transcend individual Holds, allowing members from across Skepnar society to collaborate and share expertise.

*Warrior Union":
- The largest and most inclusive union, open to all Skepnar who wish to serve. Warriors are the backbone of the military, trained in versatile ground combat techniques and equipped with cutting-edge weaponry and armour.
Starfighter Union:
- The naval union, responsible for piloting and commanding the Skepnar’s formidable starships and fighter fleets. Members of this union are renowned for their precision and strategic acumen in spaceborne engagements.
Ironclad Union:
- Specialists in armored warfare, including tanks and mechs. This union designs, operates, and maintains the Skepnar’s advanced mechanized units, usually coordinating with other unions for combined-arms operations.
Ghost Union:
- Focused on cyber, remote, robotic, and drone warfare, the Ghosts excel in digital espionage, hacking, and deploying autonomous units. Many cyberkin—AI robotic citizens—are members of this union, though they can be found in other branches as well. Ghost operatives are often unseen but indispensable, disrupting enemy systems and providing crucial intelligence.
Smaller Military Unions:
- Numerous smaller unions exist to support specialized roles, such as scouts, defensive strategists, weaponsmiths, and armorsmiths. These unions ensure that every aspect of warfare is meticulously planned and executed, from logistics to frontline combat.

Volunteer Forces and Mobilization

When the Skepnar go to war, they rely entirely on volunteers to form their armies. This process begins with a call to arms, where individuals from across the Holds and unions pledge their service for the specific conflict.

Hengest plays a critical role in this mobilization. Using its vast computational power and access to detailed data on every citizen, Hengest evaluates the situation and assembles an ideal force tailored to the mission. It considers factors such as individual skills, equipment availability, and the strategic needs of the conflict, ensuring that the assembled force is both efficient and effective. Volunteers are then assigned roles that maximize their potential, fostering a sense of purpose and unity among the troops.

Coordinated Warfare

While each Hold maintains its autonomy in military affairs, they seamlessly coordinate during larger conflicts through the guidance of Hengest and the collaborative framework provided by the unions. This decentralized yet unified approach allows the Skepnar to respond swiftly and adaptively to threats, leveraging the unique strengths of each Hold and union.

For example, during a planetary invasion, a Hold specializing in infiltration might deploy stealth operatives to sabotage enemy defenses, while Ironclad units from another Hold lead a mechanized assault. Starfighters provide orbital support, and Ghosts ensure dominance in the digital and electromagnetic spectrum. This multi-pronged strategy, orchestrated by Hengest, exemplifies the Skepnar’s ability to merge individual expertise with collective efficiency.

The Role of Hengest

Hengest’s role in the military is not one of command but of facilitation. As a neutral and omnipresent entity, it ensures that decisions are informed by comprehensive data and that resources are allocated effectively. By analyzing countless variables in real time, Hengest provides strategic recommendations and logistical support, allowing the Skepnar to focus on execution rather than planning.

The Skepnar military’s blend of individualism, technological sophistication, and collective coordination reflects the core values of their society. Every warrior’s contribution is valued, and every decision is informed by both expertise and democratic principles, ensuring that their forces remain adaptable, motivated, and formidable.

Diplomacy

The new wave of human immigrants know the Skepnar as mysterious traders and craftsmen who visit Grimaldus and are generally accepted as human, but are very separate. They call them the Hochbauer, or high builders.

Tech

The Skepnar love and protect their AGI - Hengest. Hengest is the overarching AGI that inhabits all major systems and is accessible at all times by all Skepnar through implants and through tech items. They view it as a friendly ever present god figure, but are fully aware of it’s technological nature and dont worship it. They all talk to Hengest regularly as we would with google etc. Hengest spawns smaller AIs to populate devices and every piece of tech has an AI mind at some level.

Titles

1. Political & Administrative Titles (Leadership & Governance)

First Among Stewards – A title for the highest elected leader of a Hold.
Forge Speaker – A union representative who speaks on behalf of their trade.
Assembly Warden – Oversees direct democracy gatherings and votes.
Councilor of the Anvil – A respected adviser or elder statesperson.
Master of the Forgehold – A leader responsible for economic stability.
High Syndic – A title for a high-ranking union leader in inter-hold negotiations.
Worker’s Shield – A title given to defenders of Skepnar values and labor rights.
Iron Tribune – A title for a militant organizer of workers’ defense forces.

2. Military & Defense Titles

Shield-Marshal – A union-trained war leader who organizes defenses.
Hearthguard Commander – A military leader responsible for home defense.
War-Smith – A battlefield engineer who constructs war machines.
Warden of the Deep Vaults – Protector of the hidden armories and relics.
Union Captain – A democratically elected military officer.
Iron Vindicator – A title given to warriors who protect trade routes.
Marchwarden of the Outer Veins – Leader of perimeter scouting forces.
Ironstride – A heavily armored frontline soldier or shock trooper.
Firebrand – A battle leader known for inspiring fierce resistance.
Stormfist – An elite melee fighter or assault unit commander.
Wardbreaker – A siege specialist who crushes enemy defenses.
Gildshield – A warrior who defends union interests & trade routes.
Brighthammer – A heroic warrior who fights for justice & revolution.
Forgeguard – A defender of key industrial hubs and foundries.
Deepwarden – A protector of mining operations & subterranean Holds.
Drillmaster – A veteran trainer of troops in advanced combat techniques.
Anvilborn – An unbreakable warrior forged in the crucible of war.
Steeljaw – A title for an unyielding, fearless enforcer of Skepnar law.
Chainbreaker – A warrior known for freeing oppressed workers & Holds.
Stormbearer – A commander who leads during major conflicts.
Rivetlord – A master of war machinery & mechanized infantry.
Treadbane – A tank hunter or anti-vehicle specialist.
Gatemaster – A warrior who controls key access points in battles.
Blasthelm – A specialist in demolitions & breaching tactics.
Voidreaver – A Skepnar spaceborne raider or boarding expert.
Warshaper – A strategist who designs and adapts battle tactics.
Stonefist – A warrior known for unshakable endurance in combat.
Forgeblade – A master of artificer-crafted melee weapons.
Battlewright – A mechanized combat engineer and warrior.
Hearthguard – An elite protector of leaders, homes, and sacred sites.
Firemaul – A flamethrower specialist or destructive melee brawler.
Dreadhand – A Skepnar warrior feared for ruthless efficiency in battle.

3. Industrial, Trade, & Engineering Titles

Forge-Master – A master craftsman & engineer.
Deep-Delver – A title for an expert prospector or miner.
Union Arbiter – A mediator for labor disputes in vast industrial Holds.
Master of the Great Press – Oversees mass production & automation.
Artisan’s Advocate – A representative for independent craft unions.
Fabricator-General – A chief engineer of advanced Skepnar machinery.
High Scrivener – A record-keeper & historian of workforce achievements.
Stonewright – A master of geo-engineering and habitat construction.

4. Philosophical, Cultural, & Religious Titles

Lore-Keeper of the Great Works – A guardian of Skepnar history & knowledge.
Speaker for Hengest – A union-aligned priest or philosopher.
Binder of the Oath-Anvil – A keeper of solemn contracts & traditions.
Firebrand of the Council – A radical speaker or reformist.
Brighthammer – A visionary who inspires innovation & change.
Warden of the Spirit Forge – A cultural leader preserving Skepnar identity.
Wayfinder of the Holds – A diplomatic envoy & explorer.

5. Unique Worker & Guild Titles

Chainbearer – A title for a union leader who organizes labor strikes.
Hammerwright – A mechanized worker’s foreman.
Ironbones – A term of respect for an elder worker who has endured decades in their craft.
Steelhand – A recognition given to a worker who has mastered their trade.
Dock-Master of the Void Yards – Oversees ship construction & repair.
Tithekeeper – Ensures fair resource distribution within the Hold.
Grimfounder – A title given to those who establish new outposts.

Organisation names

The Cosmic Miners’ Collective
The Stellar Workers’ Union
The Red Star Syndicate
The Galactic Forge Collective
The People’s Asteroid Mining Guild
The Interplanetary Labor Front
The Deep Space Workers’ Coalition
The Voidfarers’ Union
The Proletariat Starforge
The Asteroid Belt Brotherhood
The United Stellar Miners’ Guild
The Ironclad Collective
The People’s Deep Core Excavation League
The Red Dwarf Workers’ Alliance
The Cosmic Hammer and Anvil Union
The Nebula Labor Collective
The Stellar Foundry Workers’ Union
The Asteroid Proletariat Vanguard
The Deep Rock Solidarity Pact
The Galactic Miners’ Liberation Front