Zopoque

The Zopoque is a Lacertian nation in Lowiras. It was formed in 5,488 CE to explore and colonize other worlds. It was preceded by smaller Lacertian nations which had not explored far into space. It is a Technocracy, where candidates are selected based on knowledge and experience in their department, and campaigning is handled by separate officials. Of the nations in Lowiras, the Zopoque has the highest tensions with Celeas due to their divided views on the use of Neuromancy in government.

Government

Overview

The Zopoque is Technocratic. Candidates are chosen by the current leaders, promoted by dedicated campaigners, and voted for by citizens. These candidates are elected to a council and manage the department for which they were chosen. From every city to planet to the Ghenon itself, the Zopoquan government works under common rules. The leaders of the nation are known as Ghenonets.

Election

Ghenon elections are held every 50 years. The current members of the Ghenon spend 5 years before the election looking for successors. Often, one of the successors is an apprentice of the Ghenonet. However, Ghenonets are required to look for candidates with whom they have no personal relationship, and since candidates can not fund their own campaigns and their campaigners are randomly assigned, the benefit of a candidate's relationship with a Ghenonet is allegedly reduced.

Departments

There are many departments in the Ghenon, and local governments often borrow from this list.

Department of Legislation

The Department of Legislation handles the making of federal law. It has to work with the Department of Justice and Department of Provinces to make laws that are agreeable to the nation.

Department of Justice

The Department of Justice is the department of the Zopoque governing judicial affairs. It holds the highest federal court.

Department of Exploration

The Department of Exploration is responsible for the scouting and surveying of planets. They do not colonize or settle the planets themselves.

Department of Provinces

The Department of Provinces manages and interacts with the local governments of the Zopoque. It is responsible for establishing colonies and provinces and negotiating taxes, laws, and assigned industries.

Department of Energy Production

The Department of Energy Production governs the generation of energy and the development of more efficient energy generation. Nuclear energy, solar energy, and geothermal energy are all common choices for power plants on planets. On starships, nuclear energy is far more common than any other.

Technologies

The Zopoque led to the improvement and development of several technologies

Gyrocompass

The Gyrocompass was an early Lacertian invention which fell out of use after the development of satellite-based navigation. However, as alien worlds became targets of exploration, the Gyrocompass became useful in early colonization. This new version was much smaller and could be integrated into cybernetics.

Fission Reclamation System

The Fission Reclamation System was a system which converted nuclear waste into more nuclear fuel. It created more efficient—though less powerful—nuclear fuel. This fuel could be reused in an automated system which could run for much longer without new fuel.

Advanced Cybernetics

The Zopoque has had an elevated interest in cybernetics since its inception. Cybernetic enhancements are extremely common.

Society

Life in the Zopoque is dull. Every second spent interacting with others is a second spent working. Everything adheres to strict schedules. Scientific corruption is common as experts become politicians. After work is over, all free time is spent alone, trying to recover, but as meaningless work will continue, so does burnout. The schedules are organized to prevent loss of efficiency, but maintaining oneself outside of work is not accounted for.

The Zopoque is intertwined heavily with the education system. National exams, occurring several times in a person's life, are used as a signifier of social status. The education system has been criticized as being domineering, stagnant, and teaching people not how to think critically, but only how to accept and regurgitate information. A less popular viewpoint is that this is done intentionally to repress the population.

Contract-making and record-keeping are both extremely important within the Zopoque. Almost every decision requires paperwork, and Lacertians typically do not consider one another friends unless they have signed a contract about it, including responsibilities as friends. While paperwork is mostly filled out digitally, usually on personal tablets, physical records of all documents are kept in archives, fabricated out of a durable crystalline microfilm that lasts almost a millennium. There is a distinct believe in perfect, rational objectivity within the Zopoque.

Countercultural movements such as the Temple of the Parietal Eye and Forked Tongue (TemPEFT) prioritize subjective experience and spiritual understanding. TemPEFT uses Neuromancy to transmit information and memories down generations and is responsible for most of the teaching of Neuromancy throughout the Zopopue.

History

Summary

The Zopoque was formed in 95884 CE to unite the Lacertians in their efforts to reach new worlds and overcome a crisis. This goal led the Zopoque to make contact with Celeas, and the two nations are at odds with each other, due to having opposing views on individual rights and the use of psionics by the government.

Formation: 54800s CE

On Calyion,