Something I've really come to appreciate in ME1 is how all three Council members are consistently and coherently characterized during what little interactions we have with them, and especially how they are different shades of pragmatism.
Now this is interesting because when you delineate characters through foil dynamics, you usually give them contrasting traits : a pragmatic character would be contrasted with an idealistic one. Yet since we're talking politicians, idealism is unlikely. What do we get instead ?
Valern's pragmatism is very much all about short-term efficiency : getting the mission done is the only thing that counts. Results are the only things that counts. He's a textbook example of what a cynical pragmatist might be depicted as ; which is perhaps why Esheel, in a Renegade!Timeline ME3, seems to have nothing but contempt for him.
Sparatus' pragmatism, on the other hand, always manifests itself as caution. Did you take this in consideration ? Do you have proof to back up what you claim ? Can you stop being a maverick for two seconds ? Can you conclusively demonstrate to me that you took every other possibility into account and that you did, in fact, make the best available decision ? It's pragmatism but focused on the long term, on not jeopardizing the future for the sake of the present. Strategy instead of tactics.
And as for Tevos, she usually has the last word, always mediating the reactions of her co-Councilors and the Council's responses as a whole. The feeling you get is that her pragmatism is all about flexibility and compromise : what's done is done, what's most important is that we agree on a mutually beneficial course of action. She juggles egos, unruffles feathers and calms everyone down so that they can move forward.
This is very nice because, in a sense, each of them is a perfect vanilla representation of their respective governments, in keeping with ME1's heavy worldbuilding duties : Tevos is very much the compromising centrist asari are supposed to be, favoring people working together (at practically any cost) over what they're working for ; Valern is all about the short-term mentality of the salarians, and the certainty any problem they cause can be fixed no matter what, in a never-ending parade of problems whose resolution cause other problems ; and Sparatus is risk-averse and perhaps the most conservative of the three, in that he is very afraid of any significant change upsetting the status quo, always calculating how this or that decision might change the grand strategic stage of the galaxy.
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[LITERATURE] Matriarch Benezia’s Writings To Be Auctioned
cross-posted via Republics Today
In pursuit of a means to alleviate their debts, the asari republic of Drushana has announced they will put up for auction a collection of writings from the late Matriarch Benezia, in one week's time.
Now known best as 'the Matriarch who sided with the Reapers', Benezia was once seen as a model asari elder whose writings were valued by many. Following the revelation that she was working with the Reapers, Benezia's writings are no longer disseminated, and in the intervening years they have been subject to intense scrutiny as scholars try to determine exactly when she became indoctrinated. The dating and origin of the collection being auctioned remain unclear, but the sale is expected to draw interest from numerous institutions and universities across the Asari Republics, not to mention private collectors.
Also to be included in the auction are assorted artifacts and relics from the Batarian Hegemony, as well as other items of historical significance long held in museums and other public institutions of Drushana.
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Hey Mass Effect nerds, a question : is there any indication as to what are the mutual obligations of Council species in times of war ?
On the one hand, all Citadel species are bound by the Citadel Conventions, which dictate, among other things, what weapons they can use, or whether mercenaries are allowed on the battlefield, so there are at least some Rules of War ; but that's clearly only to a degree, since we know of at least two Council polities - the Systems Alliance and the Salarian Union - who each retain their own discrete way of conducting legitimate wars : humans declare wars before prosecuting them, whereas salarians consider that naive and never do.
On the other hand, each Council species is clearly required to handle matters that concern only them without any help (see also : the reason the Council does not consider helping the Alliance during the Collector crisis something they have to do). But there isn't a strict cujus regio, ejus religio ("you don't tell me how I deal with my problems, and I won't tell you how you should deal with yours") situation either : after all, the reason the Alliance doesn't get curb-stomped by the turians in 2157 is because the asari and salarians step in and negotiate a stop first to hostilities - "forcing a truce" - then to the war itself. In other words, there are some standards - whether formal or informal - to which all three Council species are held which can decide whether a war is allowed or not.
I'm asking because I'm considering whether the conflict between the Alliance and the Hegemony - kickstarted by Shepard's shenanigans in the Bahak system and which was about to start when the Reapers arrived from left-field and killed everyone - would have involved other species. I'm guessing that is not the case : the potential conflict in ME3 is described as strictly a matter opposing the humans to the batarians. At the same time, the reason I'm asking at all is that the Turian Hierarchy seems perfectly willing to signal that it stands ready to assist the Alliance against the Hegemony in at least some circumstances.
The batarians themselves go to great length to always attack the Alliance while maintaining at least a measure of plausible deniability (the Skyllian Blitz and the Asteroid X57 attack nominally being done by independent actors) ; the Alliance isn't fooled, but is the reason the Alliance doesn't go to war against the Hegemony that they don't want to go to war, that they are afraid they might lose the war (Joker in ME3 names the batarian navy as one of the heavy hitters of the galaxy, though that's obviously been widely overstated), or that they do want to go to war and think they can win it but need a casus belli to justify their position to their Citadel allies ? If the Batarian Hegemony had openly invaded the Systems Alliance in a war of aggression, could we have expected the turians to intervene immediately to defend the Alliance ? In which case, the destruction of the Bahak system by an Alliance officer would provide a casus belli to the Hegemony, making the intervention of the Hierarchy or any other Council power on the side of the Alliance scandalous at best ?
In other words, is it a matter of individual alliances between interstellar nations or - even likelier - ad hoc decisions dictated by the circumstances and public opinion ? Like, does it all depend on what your allies think is a "legitimate" war ?
Systems Alliance Office of Naval Intelligence - Xenological Threat Assessments
In the interest of preserving rare documents related to Mass Effect, I'm transcribing here the in-universe "Xenological Threat Assessments" of the Systems Alliance's ONI, made around 2183. IRL, they were published as a feature in GameSpy on October 4, 2007. Link here : http://xbox360.gamespy.com/xbox-360/mass-effect/825047p1.html
Those are an interesting feature, because in addition to lore details on which much of our understanding is sourced, they gauge how the Alliance perceived every major polity right as ME1 began.
Systems Alliance Office of Naval Intelligence
ONI-6078-A1: Xenological Threat Assessments
The Turian Hierarchy The turians are the greatest threat to Alliance interests. While the batarians are more openly hostile, they are a second-rate power. The Hierarchy is powerful, stable, and proactive in suppressing perceived threats. There is continued friction between jingoistic human and turian organizations, who wish to "settle" the diplomatically-resolved First Contact War.
Political Factors
The government is a hierarchical meritocracy, with promotion based on the assessments of superiors and peers. Orders from above are rarely disobeyed. Each member of the Council of Hierarchs commands an entire star cluster. It should be noted that the Treaty of Farixen, which the Alliance signed to gain an embassy on the Citadel, restricts our number of dreadnought-mass warships to 1/5th that of the turian fleet.
Economic Factors
The turian economy is vastly larger than ours, but cannot match the size and power of the asari. For many years, development was hampered by cultural disinterest in economics. When the turians accepted the volus as a client race, business development improved.
The military is supported by a well-developed infrastructure. Manufacturers such as Armax Arsenal and the Haliat Armory produce advanced, reliable equipment.
Cultural Factors
Turians are noted for their strong sense of public service. It is rare to find one who puts his needs ahead of the group. Every citizen from age 15 to 30 serves the state in some capacity, as anything from a soldier to an administrator, from a construction engineer to a sanitation worker.
Biological Factors
Turian genetic code is based on dextro-amino acids. If they attempt to ingest human food, which is based on levo-amino acids, they may enter anaphylactic shock. The army that occupied the Alliance colony of Shanxi in the First Contact War imported all its food, at great logistical expense.
Systems Alliance Office of Naval Intelligence
ONI-6078-A2: Xenological Threat Assessments
The Asari Republics
The asari are a moderate threat to Alliance interests. Their economic power and diplomatic reputation allow them to wield persuasive influence. Fortunately, their military is barely more than a collection of local warrior bands. Soldiers are well-armed and exceptionally skilled, but do not possess sufficient organization for large-scale military campaigns.
Political Factors
The asari have no government per se. Policy is decided through the ebb and flow of public opinion in a sprawling but well-organized electronic democracy. The closest analogue to an executive decision-making body is the opinion of the Matriarchs. In a crisis, the public turns to the experience of these millennia-old "wise women" for advice.
Economic Factors
The asari possess the largest single economy in the galaxy. They have extensive trade and social contacts. Craft guilds, such as those of the cities Serrice and Armali, hold a virtual monopoly on advanced biotic technology. Given their political influence, an embargo by the asari would prove disastrous to the Alliance.
Cultural Factors
Because of their long lifespan, asari are more comfortable with observation and study than immediate action. In diplomacy, this manifests in a tendency to centrism. The asari seek to maintain stable balances of economic, political, and military power. They prefer to work their will through cultural influence. They believe that their ideals and beliefs will inevitably shape the general galactic culture.
Biological Factors
The unique asari reproductive system naturally inclines them to biotic abilities. In fact, lack of biotic ability will exempt a young asari from military service. Asari biotic commandoes are more powerful than the best human adepts, and possess skills we cannot emulate.
Systems Alliance Office of Naval Intelligence
ONI-6078-A3: Xenological Threat Assessments
The Salarian Union
The salarians are considered a moderate threat to Alliance, but share certain similarities in mindset. They are politically liberal, often at odds with the conservative turians and centrist asari.
It is universally acknowledged that the salarians possess the finest intelligence services in the galaxy. Our own counterintelligence agencies are constantly uncovering salarian agents and cyberwarfare incursions.
Political Factors
The political structure of the salarians is almost medieval, and largely incomprehensible to outsiders. Political power is wielded by millions of cloistered female dynasts, who shape policy among themselves with little input from males. These clan leaders spread their influence through a tangled web of intermarriages and personal negotiation. Annoying one clan leader has a high risk of irritating ten more -- or a hundred more.
Economic Factors
The salarian economy is the smallest of the three Council races, but still far larger than the Alliance. It is based on "bleeding-edge" technologies; salarian industries are leaders in most fields. They make up for a lack of military quantity by holding a decisive superiority in quality.
Cultural Factors
Salarian culture wholly embraces the concept of the preemptive strike. They find the idea of a declaration of war foolish, and the idea of waiting for a known enemy to attack preposterous. In every war they have ever fought, they have struck first and without warning.
Biological Factors
The salarian metabolism works nearly twice as fast as that of humans, giving them faster reflexes and superior mental agility. They adapt to unexpected and rapidly developing situations with preternatural swiftness. By human standards, salarians seem hyperactive and restless. By salarian standards, we seem sluggish and dull-witted.
Systems Alliance Office of Naval Intelligence
ONI-6078-A4: Xenological Threat Assessments
The Illuminated Primacy (Hanar)
The hanar are an inoffensive third-rate power, and considered a minor threat to the Alliance. They have little interest in interacting with other cultures, due to a cultural obsession with manners and politeness that verges on monomania.
Political Factors
The hanar government is a benign theocracy. While tolerant of other creeds, the official state religion is the worship of the "Enkindlers" -- the Protheans. There are many Prothean ruins on their homeworld, and hanar believe the elder race civilized their ancestors. It is difficult for a hanar to view the Protheans as an actual race rather than idealized mythological figures.
Economic Factors
Few hanar are willing to deal with other species. Economic contacts are limited to a handful of trade stations on their borders. Due to this self-imposed isolation and the unique physiology of the race, their economy is small and isolated from the rest of the galaxy. Few standard technologies (designed for bipedal and fingered species) are available in their space, and they produce very few goods that are useable by others.
Cultural Factors
The hanar are reserved and polite, with ancient customs dictating all aspects of conversation. They find the speech of other races to be rude. Most consider other species to be uncouth barbarians and lack the patience to "unlearn" their tendency to take offense. It is strongly recommended that Alliance personnel avoid direct contact with hanar, and defer to specially-trained diplomats.
Biological Factors
The invertebrate, water-native hanar cannot support their own weight in normal gravity. When interacting with mainstream galactic society, they rely on mass effect contra-gravitic levitation packs. Their limbs can grip tightly, but are not strong enough to lift more than a few hundred grams each.
Systems Alliance Office of Naval Intelligence
ONI-6078-A5: Xenological Threat Assessments
The Vol Protectorate
On their own, the volus are a minor threat to Alliance interests. However, several hundred years ago they became a turian client race, exchanging their mercantile prowess for turian military protection.
Political Factors
The turians left the volus government independent. The Hierarchy is content to let them rule themselves as they wish, so long as they pay their taxes and contribute auxiliary units to the turian military. The volus will support the turians in any war they might pursue, and vice-versa.
Economic Factors
Like the ancient Venetians or Dutch, the volus possess an economy out of proportion to their modest resource base. They are aggressive traders and industrialists with a keen grasp of exchange and finance. Many of the galaxy's largest banks, holding corporations, and manufacturing cartels, such as the Elkoss Combine, are owned or managed by volus. They also regulate the Citadel's complex galactic economy.
Cultural Factors
Since the dawn of their recorded history, the volus tribes have bartered resources, land, and even people to gain status. This culture of exchange inclines them to economic pursuits. Though some interpret the bartering of tribe members as slavery, it is, in practice, no more odious than arranged marriages.
Biological Factors
The volus homeworld has an ammonia-based ecology with a high-pressure atmosphere. To interact with the carbon-based species of the galaxy, the volus must wear full-enclosing pressure suits. Without them, they could not breathe, and might actually burst open.
Systems Alliance Office of Naval Intelligence
ONI-6078-A6: Xenological Threat Assessments
The Courts of Dekuun (Elcor)
While the elcor are territorial about any area they consider theirs, they have no interest in aggressive expansion. They have a small military and are no threat to Alliance interests.
Political Factors
The elcor follow the recommendations of their Elders, who spend years poring over ancient records of jurisprudence to determine the precedent that should be followed in any given situation. The Elders record closely argued and minutely detailed instructions on what course to follow in any theoretical crisis. These are filed away in huge libraries of data discs and consulted at need. This makes elcor policies very predictable, provided one has done a great deal of research.
Economic Factors
The elcor economy is small, only slightly larger than the Alliance's, but extremely well-developed. They see no point to rushing things, and are fond of making thorough, century-long development plans. They don't need to trade for any resource - they have all they require to supply their own needs, and trade only in finished goods. Any attempt to embargo their space would be fruitless.
Cultural Factors
Elcor psychology is deliberate and conservative. They are incapable of making spur-of-the-moment decisions, and rely on sophisticated virtually intelligent combat systems. These autonomous war machines can choose between thousands of gambits developed and polished over centuries by elcor strategists.
Biological Factors
The massive bodies of the elcor cannot move quickly. Fortunately, they are extremely tough-skinned, and can carry incredibly heavy equipment. Elcor warriors don't dodge incoming fire; they shrug it off or endure it. They don't carry small arms; their broad shoulders serve as a stable platform for the same size of weapons typically mounted on Alliance fighting vehicles.
Systems Alliance Office of Naval Intelligence
ONI-6078-A7: Xenological Threat Assessments
Quarian Migrant Fleet
The quarian Migrant Fleet includes several hundred warships, but due to their precarious existence, cannot be considered a creditable threat. The quarian military does not attack others; it defends the Fleet. Thus far, the Alliance has not been required to block quarian access to human-claimed systems.
Political Factors
The quarian government is an amalgam of ship-based representative councils and military dictatorship. Fleet operations are directed by the military. The Admiralty Board allows the civilian government to run society, but has the authority to overrule them in an emergency.
Economic Factors
The quarian economy exists at a subsistence level. The government is obliged to provide air, food, and water to every citizen to ensure survival of the species. The greatest quarian asset is technical ability. Quarians are skilled space miners, technicians, and mechanics, and are often hired by space industries seeking cheap, skilled labor. This frequently causes protests and riots among native workers.
Cultural Factors
The greatest influences on quarian culture are the creation and revolt of the geth and the loss of the quarian homeworld. In contrast to other races, quarians are reluctant to trust virtually- or artificially-intelligent machines, but they are far more likely to treat them as if they were living beings.
Biological Factors
Little is known of quarian biology. Like the turians, they possess a dextro-amino acid biology, and cannot consume human food. Outside of their own vessels, they always wear a protective, fully-sealed environment suit. No one has ever been allowed to board a quarian ship; they claim they cannot risk outside contamination.
Systems Alliance Office of Naval Intelligence
ONI-6078-AA: Xenological Threat Assessments
Appendix: Keepers
The "keepers" of the Citadel are not considered a threat by Alliance Intelligence. They appear to be genetic constructs, simple-minded biological androids created by the Protheans to maintain the structure of the Citadel station. When the asari discovered the Citadel, the keepers were already doing their duties. They continue to do so to this day, following apparently-instinctive routines and blithely ignoring the millions of aliens that have settled in their home.
There is no known way to communicate with the keepers. Attempts to take them into custody for study cause the creatures to undergo a sudden "self-destruct," with a form of acid being released internally. The affected keeper literally melts into a puddle of proteins and minerals in less than a minute.
No matter how many keepers die due to old age, violence, or accident, they maintain a constant number. No one has discovered the source of new keepers, but some believe they are grown deep within the inaccessible core of the Citadel.
Headcanon Wednesday : Asari socioeconomic ideology and structures (Part 1)
Economic ideology : The asari are quasi-liberal (as in, their hegemonic ideology is close enough to human-style liberalism in the area that concerns us here that I can call it asari quasi-liberalism), with a heavy emphasis on decentralization and diversity in culture and politics for each polity (the Asari Republics are very much a loose confederacy, as their military suggests, alongside the plural and the implication that Gataly is a constitutional monarchy). Economically, this translates with very few (if any) regulations at the inter-republican level, and likewise on the galactic level. In short, they are very much pro-capitalism.
That being said, there are a lot of safety nets and measures in place which makes this capitalism bearable. These measures are not imposed from above by a meta-Republican government, but independently chosen by the synedria (legislative forums) of each constituent Republic and harmonized ; each synedrion, at any time, can strike them down with a majority vote.
Due note : the decentralized nature of the Republics means there isn't much systemic redistribution above the individual Republic level : broadly, wealthy Republics stay wealthy, poor Republics stay poor. That being said : with humans, competition is the name of the game, whereas with asari it's cooperation. At any given time, treaties, accords and arrangements ensure that the most fortunate Republics help the least fortunate, in a "I help you now, you help someone else later" mentality. The goal is for each Republic to develop enough to stand on its own two feet, so that no exchange of wealth is necessary. This is planned out over centuries, if not millennia.
Naturally, Thessia is the wealthiest and most stable of all the worlds in the Asari Republics.
Basic salary and maximum wage : Nearly all adult asari can choose whether to work or to live on basic salary. Basic salary ("Basic") is the revenue an asari can earn in order to live correctly ; this allows an asari to abandon her job should it leave her unsatisfied without wondering if she'll have enough money to survive, or to devote her life to her passion even if it's not lucrative at all.
This has two principal effects. The first is that this creates a pressure on employers to create a situation that is suitable to employees or would-be employees, in a rather different fashion from the situation in an unfettered capitalist economy where an employee, when faced with a difficult situation imposed from above, can either submit or quit, with the pall of poverty hanging over that choice.
The second is that, on average, young adults enter the workforce very late, as they strive to first enjoy life and find themselves in the centuries that immediately follow their legal majority. This is one of the reasons asari Maidens are overly represented among dancers and sex workers.
Some Republics have instituted a maximum wage, which puts a hard limit on wealth disparity between employees and executives. The popularity of this measure has waxed and waned over the last millennia.
Cooperatives : A significant number of asari corporations are cooperatives, meaning that employees, upon joining the cooperative, are awarded a "usufruct share" in the business and a vote. In representative cooperatives, this is a vote to elect the members of the board of directors, on the basis of contractual campaign engagements (if any asari is elected, they are contractually obligated to uphold their campaign promises) ; in direct cooperatives, the more frequent kind, this is a vote in the management assemblies (held frequently, usually every decan, every two decans or every month), when all employees vote on the way the cooperative should be managed. Moreover, Republican law enshrines the right of cooperatives to revise their constitution at any time should they reach a majority vote.
Most cooperatives in Republic space are allowed to sell shares to outside investors, but are usually legally obligated to preserve the supermajority of combined usufruct shares ; by law, no cooperative employee can sell their usufruct share, as it belongs to the cooperative as a whole and is merely entrusted to them as long as they are employed.
Cartels : More often than not, asari corporations form cartels that are somewhat similar to the keiretsu of 20th century Japan. The central principle of a cartel is to foster horizontal relationships of association and coordination. To simplify a complicated matter, direct competitors buy shares in each other's companies and develop a system of interlocking directorships.
The purpose of this practice is twofold. First, it helps reduce the pressure on management to achieve short-term goals at the expense of long-term growth.
Second, interlocking of shares serves as a tool for monitoring and disciplining the group's firms. The level of group orientation or strength between the member companies is determined by the "interlocking shares ratio" (the ratio of shares owned by other group firms to total shares issued) and the "intragroup loans ratio" (the ratio of loans received from financial institutions in the group to total loans received).
There are pros and cons to this approach. The cartel system, by definition, achieves a de facto cooperative monopoly through total horizontal integration, then expanding vertically in "branches" to control the supply chain like salarian kithesprai ; in short, it smothers competition and accrues capital, allowing it to maintain prices at a high level. However, in such a work environment, the probability of an employee working in the same company for her entire working life is very high. Moreover, this framework allows rapid co-operative development (sharing vital information, reduction in cost of R&D and higher quality products, etc) within a cartel.
To put it succinctly, an asari cartel is a decentralized monopoly achieved through interlocking of shares, while a salarian kithespran is a vertically integrated business conglomerate controlled by a family-owned holding company ; kithesprai have usually formed subsidiaries to produce components for exports while cartels employ outside contractors. In other words, asari cartels are more like keiretsu, while salarian kithesprai are more like zaibatsu or chaebols.
However, unlike keiretsu or kithesprai, cartels cannot have their own banks, as the Asari Republics individually and collectively prefer to spread risk and increase their leverage over the banks in areas such as credit allocation.
Professional organizations : There is a mind-boggling amount of organizations related to professions in the Asari Republics ; what's important to remember is that, beside the focus on trade, these organizations are a fixture of their community. Professional organizations, among which guilds are the most prominent because of their wealth, patronize specific temples and bars, put on plays and festivals related in some manner to their trade or city, and march in parades or compete in sport and martial events. They have their own colours and emblems, represented in livery and banners, and often they even have their own motto.
The official militia of a city-state is funded in large part by the local guilds, depending on the wealth of a specific colony and how much money the state takes in taxes and invests in the militia, those guild funds may account for a significant percentage of all the money available to the militia every year. The militia and the local huntress band (which cannot be funded by anyone but the political community it answers to) are very much a part of community life like guilds.
