This section details non-human interstellar
governments that are comparable or larger that the Confederation in size.
At the time of this writing, the only such race that is active in the forum
is the Graffi Combine:
The Graffi Combine is a corporate state
headed by the Graffi (graf-ee), a race of shrewd businessmen and traders.
Several other alien races share the Combine banner with the Graffi. Territorial
disputes occasionally arise between the Confederation and the Combine.
The Graffi Combine is run by Tre-djan
Multistellar Corporation. A few thousand years ago, Tre-djan created FTL
travel in the form of a jump drive. The corporation chose to keep their
discovery secret until they made the first real test. After this, it carefully
controlled jump-drive technology, cornering the market on rare minerals
needed to create the jump actuators and only meting out small amounts of
its drive to others.
Meanwhile, Tre-djan was colonizing the
stars and exploiting their limitless resources. They bypassed the normal
government, which just controlled the homeworld, and built their own interstellar
nation. The homeworld government eventually capitulated and signed over
its authority to the corporation.
See the section on technology for details
on the Graffi jump drive.
As mentioned earlier, the Graffi Combine
has several races under its banner. The most prominent of these races
is, as the name infers, the Graffi.
Graffi Racial Description
The Graffi are bipedal, but can take
to all fours quite easily. They are vaguely dog or wolf-like in appearance,
but are for the most part humanoid. They have a smooth fur which covers
their entire heads, but have only sparse hair elsewhere. Graffi were once
fierce competitors with little regard for anyone else around them. Since
the establishment of the corporate state government, they have lost much
of their self-identity. Advancement in the corporation is still important,
but it must be done for the good of everyone.
Graffi Society
Essentially, the corporation controls
everything in a dystopian system similar to that described in George
Orwell's "1984". It is watchful of and oppressive to its citizens. Every
aspect of daily living must by approved by the corporation, and they give
any remotely suspicious activity first a warning, then successively stricter
punishment.
Meritocratic Hierarchy
The corporation rates individuals according
to their ability and places them accordingly in social structure. Those
with above-average intelligence are given the best educations, while below-average
individuals receive little or no education. Overall, Graffi are placed
one level above other races in any profession, effectively ensuring their
place in power.
Other Races of the Graffi Combine
Other races similarly gravitate toward
some positions. The Jakmephrin, for example, who make excellent warriors,
have far greater numbers in the military and in police forces than any
other area. The major portion of these races are as follows:
The Kaledrans- This race is very powerful. Some believe them to be
powerful enough to overthrow the Graffi. Kaledrans have a peculiar technology
base which stems almost entirely from psionics. Kaledrans were once powerful
psis. They developed psi-technology to a level where it replaced more conventional
technology.
Then, a few millennia ago, they began
to lose their natural abilities. They had enhanced and heightened their
powers beyond the ability of their minds and bodies to handle. When Kaledrans
began to be born without power, they came up with the neuro-psi implant,
which stimulates the brain to generate powers. Now only a handful remains
who have naturally occurring powers. Despite the overall weakening of the
race, they are still very strong comparatively.
Onarans- The traders. They are the ones that provide most of the outside
contact between Graffi and other races.
Spenrik- The workers. They are a brutish, less intelligent race which provides
most hard labor.
Chakari- The Scientists and Engineers. This race is very mathematically-minded,
with one big quirk: they are complete cowards.
Jakmephrin- The warriors. This race was found in a pre-sentient state and
gengineered by the Graffi and Kaledrans. They have limited psionics.
