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Terrans are omnivorous, bipedal mammals. They are virtually hairless, with skin coloration varying widely between individuals. Terrans range from approximately 1.0 to 2.0 meters in height and possess two arms, each ending in a single hand with four fingers and a single opposable thumb. Sexual dimorphism is easily noted, though it is not as pronounced as in some other races. While they retain no prominent body weaponry from their early ancestors, "martial arts" - particularly those pertaining to weaponless combat are better developed amongst Terrans than among most sentient races.
The outstanding Terran characteristic is diversity. The sheer number of ways Terrans differ from each other, much less alien species, constantly bewilders other races. This diversity produces an unusual amount of friction between Terran groups, compared to, say, Orions, but it also means they tend to try an incredible number of solutions to any given problem. Eventually, by hit or miss, if nothing else, they seem to find a "best" way of accomplishing any given task. For example, Terran industry is the most efficient and productive in the known galaxy, and Khan Liharnow the Great was once quoted as saying "If Terrans could only stop arguing with one another, the rest of us would be in serious trouble."
Like almost every other aspect of their society, Terran family structures vary widely from subgroup to subgroup, although there are currently three general "family philosophies." These philosophies are a sociological development stemming from the peculiar circumstances of the Terran Federation's development.
The so-called "Core Worlds" or "Heart Worlds" maintain a free-form family structure. Under this type of organization, the family may take almost any conceivable form so long as:
(1) It provides a stable relationship for the children of the family, regardless of the marital/mate arrangement of the parents;
(2) It insures a relatively orderly resolution of maternal and paternal inheritance.
Within those two criteria, there is an incredible profusion of family organizations - more than for any other known sentient race - from polyandry, monogamy, and polygamy to "line marriages," "clan marriages," "third-person marriages," etc. Childrearing may be the responsibility of either parent or, in a surprisingly large number of cases, may be arranged for institutionally.
The "Corporate World" family is much less free-form than that of the Heart Worlds. The Corporate World family is generally nuclear and rigidly oriented towards the proprietary/feudal/institutional requirements of Corporate World society. Childless couples are joined under an agreement known as a "mutual agreement obligatory contract." This indicates that the couple (which may be male and female or male and male or female and female) has agreed to share certain social and economic obligations. As long as there are no offspring, the bond may be dissolved by either partner without reference to outside authority.
Once a Corporate World couple bears children, it must make an immediate decision on childrearing. Under most Corporate World legal systems, the child may be immediately placed in the care of one of the state-run crèches or retained to be reared by the biological parents. If the second option is selected, the "mutual agreement obligatory contract" becomes an "obligatory contract," which may be dissolved only by mutual consent and the agreement of the legal system, until such time as all children attain their majority. Inheritance customs are of primary legal importance among Corporate World families, with other considerations taking on a secondary importance.
Among the "Fringe Worlds," family organization tends to be much more traditional. The type of family organization adopted generally depends upon the specific ethnic background of the Fringe World. Since Fringe Worlds are generally more exposed to danger from hostile environments and/or encounters with alien races, there tends to be much greater social pressure on each individual world for conformity to the family structure "norm." The one family characteristic absolutely uniform among all Fringe Worlds is the importance attached to the rearing and protection of children. Unlike Heart and Corporate Worlds, Fringe Worlds generally have very sparse populations. Fringe Worlders regard children as guarantors of the future of their planet, and thus children's well-beingwellbeing are the primary concern.
Terran religious structures are so varied that there is little point in attempting to detail them. Other races find the plethora of Terran religions, denominations, and sects so bewildering that many of them suspect the Terrans themselves cannot understand them. It has been estimated that, given the present population of the Federation, a new religion is born approximately every two standard months.
As with religion, Terran schools of philosophy are also widely varied. However, the Terran Federation Constitution enshrines what is still called "western philosophy," a term whose origin refers to a period when the western hemisphere of Old Terra dominated the rest of the home world. Historical purists argue that the term is effectively meaningless after so long, yet the philosophy behind the Federal Constitution maintains a clear "western" emphasis on the rights of individuals over the convenience of the state.
The Federation Government itself is a changing entity. The original Constitution provided for a representative federal republic with an Executive (the Presidency), a bicameral Legislature (the Assembly and Senate), and an independent Judiciary. The President was elected by direct vote of all Federation citizens to serve a single, non-succeeding ten-yeartenyear term. Assemblymen (or women) were elected to five-yearfiveyear terms to represent the populations of Federated Worlds, but Senators were appointed for life by the Assembly from among those individuals who made major contributions to their race. (The idea was to create a "conscience of the race" not subject to normal political pressure. In theory, the Senate had the power to veto acts of the Assembly; in fact, it was discovered early on that the majority party in the Assembly could "pack" the Senate to prevent vetoes.) All Federal justices, including those of the Supreme Court, were originally appointed by the President with the advice and consent of the Senate.
There have been changes over the centuries. The most important ones are the complete disappearance of the Senate and the emergence of the office of Prime Minister.
The Senate was abolished in the 23rd Century at the same time the Constitution was specifically amended to permit President Howard Anderson to succeed himself. The existing Senators became Assemblymen Emeritus - non-elective, life-time members of the Assembly rather than a separate legislative chamber - and all Presidents automatically received Emeritus status upon leaving office. Although the Senate disappeared, this actually gave the ex-Senators more power, not less, because their chamber could no longer be packed and they had direct input into legislation as it was drafted.
Since the Theban War, the Corporate Worlds have launched a gradual assault on the powers of the Presidency. The Corporate Worlds currently control the major political parties within the Assembly but are unable to amass sufficient of the popular vote to control the Presidency. They are, however, aware of the Fringe Worlds' growing hostility towards their own control of the Assembly and are pushing for a "cabinet" form of government with a prime minister from the majority party within the Assembly. If they succeed - and it looks as if they will - the implications for control of the Executive and the Federation as a whole will be profound.
The Federation, however, is not the monolithic structure many other races (and some of its own citizens) seem to believe. In general terms, the Federation has been wise enough to realize that the Federal government can be little more than a template on which member worlds may interact with one another. Federal law governs relations between planets, and the Federal Constitution sets forth very specific rights and legal protections for ALL citizens. Beyond that point, however, the governments of member planets are their own affair and may be of almost any conceivable type, from hereditary monarchies to oligarchies to direct parliamentary democracies.
Recently, however, major and increasingly dangerous cleavage lines have begun developing within the Federation. At present, these lines create three primary blocs or political alignments: The Heart World Bloc, the Corporate World Bloc, and the Fringe World Bloc.
The Heart Worlds consist of Old Terra herself plus the oldest and most heavily populated colony planets, most of which have populations of two billion or greater. These worlds were settled under the direct supervision of the Bureau of Colonization (BuCol), whose policy was to foster cosmopolitan colonial populations by including representatives of almost all ethnic groups in each colony. These worlds thus tend to have homogeneous populations, bureaucratic planetary governments, and liberal societies. They represent the "old money" of the Federation and are regarded as the centers of culture and science.
Most of the Corporate Worlds (a notable exception was Galloway's World) did not have self-sufficient populations at the time of ISW-1. In fact, many had not even been explored at that time. These worlds were colonized as profit-making ventures by corporations chartered by the Assembly between 2207 and 2275 under the Chartered Colony Act and were organized from the start on a financial basis. They were called "Corporate Worlds" (originally only by their detractors) because the corporate fiscal structures and political structures are effectively identical. Corporate Worlds tend to be financial oligarchies with intense social and economic stratification. There are approximately twice as many Corporate as Heart Worlds, but their populations tend to be much smaller (there are perhaps three-quarters as many Corporate WorldersWoriders as Heart WorldersWoriders).
An important point about the Corporate Worlds (and what gives them their tremendous economic power) is their location. The government offered enormous additional subsidies to the chartered companies to encourage them to settle planets in strategic military locations - that is, where important warp lines merged in "choke points" - to provide vitally needed Fleet support bases against the Orions and other potential enemies. This means they are also well placed to influence, even control, the civilian use of those warp points, and the Corporate Worlds have a near stranglehold on the Federation's commercial traffic as a result. They represent enormously powerful, centralized industrial nodes and, despite their smaller populations, have a combined income that is greater than that of the Heart Worlds.
The Fringe Worlds are the most numerous and least populous of the Federation's planets and represent the third wave of Terran colonization. Many Fringe Worlds were colonized with no support whatever from BuCol, and many Fringe Worlders are emigrants - one might say refugees - from the Corporate World system. Others emigrated from the Heart Worlds or Old Terra to preserve traditional ethnicities from the process of homogenization. Two-thirds of all Federation planets are Fringe Worlds, but they are sparsely populated, with less than a third of all Federation citizens. Many are on the edge of Federation Space; others are closer to the center but lack the strategic position or resources to attract the sort of massive financing which created the Corporate Worlds. For the most part, Fringe Worlders greatly resent the steadily growing political power of the Corporate World Bloc, which they believe (with reason) is being used to manipulate their economies in the interest of the Corporate Worlds.
As with family structures, Terran social structures vary widely. Heart Worlds tend toward societies which emphasize individual liberty and state intervention to alleviate poverty. Corporate World societies emphasize a sort of technocratic semi-feudalism based on economic status. Fringe World societies range from highly deferential, hierarchical ones to those which are virtual anarchies.
As might be expected, the Fringe Worlds are the most militant of the Terran Federation. The Heart Worlds, which have been secure from outer attack now for generations, tend to be much more pacifistic, while Corporate Worlders have a "businessman's" approach to war. They prefer "conquest by credit," a sort of creeping economic infiltration of potential enemies, and regard war as a financial and imperialistic tool of last resort. In the Corporate World view, wars should be fought only if they will show a net profit. The Fringe Worlds, however, form the Federation's outer perimeter and, as such, are most exposed to potentially hostile alien races, which probably explains why the Fringe, with one-third of the Federation's population, provides over half of all Federation military personnel. Regardless of the bloc to which a planet belongs, however, most Terran worlds have a relatively high militancy once war begins. They do not make war lightly, but they have no intention of losing one once it begins and will make great sacrifices to attain ultimate victory.
The Terran Federation, unlike many other galactic powers, does not have a single, unified military service. Through the end of ISW-3, the Federation's military was managed by the Joint Chiefs of Staff under the direction of the President, who serves as the military Commander in Chief. Following the Theban War, the Assembly created the post of Sky Marshal, a uniformed commander-in-chief of all services, but the President retains final command authority and the various services remain autonomous below the Sky Marshal's level.
The Terran armed services are:
(A)The Terran Federation Navy (TFN) and its two subordinate components: the Terran Federation Marine Corps (TFMC) and Terran Federation Navy Survey Command (TFNSC).
(B)The Terran Federation Fortress Command (TFFC).
(C)The Terran Federation Peaceforce Command (TFPC).
(D) The Terran Federation Customs Patrol (TFCP).
The TFN is unquestionably the senior service. It is responsible for planning and executing all Fleet operations in wartime and for coordination, under BuCol, of all survey work in peacetime. The TFFC's OWP designs are almost always worked out in close cooperation with the TFN's Bureau of Ship Design (BuShips), and the TFMC comes directly under the naval chain of command. In addition, the Sky Marshal is normally (though not always) a Navy man (or woman).
A very important reorganization of the TFN is currently underway as a result of experience in the Theban War. This is the operational division of the TFN's units into two distinct forces: Battle Fleet and Frontier Fleet. Battle Fleet is envisioned as eventually containing the Navy's entire battle-line, itslineits major offensive punch in the form of its heaviest combatants and largest carriers. Frontier Fleet will consist primarily of lighter units (the heaviest currently proposed is a battlecruiser), and its function will be to picket the frontiers and provide quick-reaction forces against hostile incursions while the axis of an enemy attack is determined and Battle Fleet mobilizes.
Fortress Command is responsible for the fixed defenses of all Federation planets, including planetary defense centers and OWPs. In addition, the TFFC provides all Federal garrison troops, including atmospheric and low-orbit support. In a major war, the TFFC may also supply support echelons for attacks on hostile planets, but actual assault operations lie well outside its normal sphere of operations. By tradition, Fortress Command personnel in a star system come under the tactical command of the senior TFN officer present in times of emergency. It should be noted that inhabited Federation planets almost never have planetary defense centers. Ever since ISW-1, the Federation has agreed with Howard Anderson that "War should be kept in space, where it belongs." As a result, planetary defenses are almost always orbital in nature in order to avoid the collateral civilian casualties space-to-planet bombardments of PDCs produce. By the same token, Terran OWPs tend to be extremely powerful.
The Terran Marines perform the assault role for the Federation, as well as providing Fleet troop contingents for peacekeeping and security purposes. The TFMC maintains a powerful, organic force of support aircraft and trans-atmospheric support and operates ground armor of up to siege class. The Terran Marine Raiders, with their powered combat armor and powerful organic fire support units are arguably the most potent combat force, man-for-man, in the known galaxy... and they have the egos to go with it.
The Peaceforce is a separate organization which comes under Naval command only in cases of extreme emergency such as imminent invasion. The TFPC serves as both a military and police force on Federation planets - indeed, for many remote colonies, it is the only military or police force. Although not equipped with aircraft other than short-range, lightly armed transports, the TFPC does have a small, organic component of light armored vehicles. The TFPC often finds itself dealing with frontier situations not covered in "The Book" and thus regards itself (and rightly so) as something of an elite organization. (Even Marine Raiders will - grudgingly - admit this is a justified claim.)
The Federation Naval Survey Command is responsible for detection and exploration of new warp points and regular updates of existing charts and navigation manuals. Maintenance of Class One navigation beacons (but not communications beacons) also comes under the TFNSC's jurisdiction, yet Survey Command has no survey ships of its own. Most survey missions are carried out by regular TFN personnel detached to Survey Command to serve under TFNSC specialists aboard regular TFN warships. This practice reflects experience gained in ISW-1 and ISW-2, when survey casualties were extremely heavy. The Federation is determined to resist and survive attack by hostile aliens while surveying, and most survey missions are heavily escorted.
The Federation Customs Patrol is responsible for enforcement of customs regulations and the general policing of commerce. Its primary tasks in peacetime are the suppression of piracy and smuggling, and it frequently calls in TFN support if it encounters resistance capable of standing off its own relatively light units. (It should be noted, however, that the TFCP's motto - "Can Do!" - is drawn from an ancient maritime organization and continues to reflect the Customs Patrol's determination to perform its missions independent of outside aid under all but the most impossible circumstances.) In wartime, the TFCP comes under TFN command for local patrol and convoy escort duties as well as its normal tasks.
Terran military ranks are as followed, in ascending order:
Naval Forces Ground/Airforces
Midshipman Cadet/3rd Lieutenant
Lieutenant (Junior Grade) 2nd Lieutenant
Lieutenant (Senior Grade) 1st Lieutenant
Lieutenant Commander Captain
Commander Major
Captain Colonel
Commodore Brigadier General
Rear Admiral Major General
Vice Admiral Lieutenant General
Admiral General
Fleet Admiral Field/Air Marshal
Sky Marshal Sky Marshal
Naval ranks are used by the Navy, Fortress Command OWP personnel, Survey Command, and the Customs Patrol. The Marines, Fortress Command planetary combat forces, and Peaceforce use ground and airforce ranks.
The naval forces are very traditional in that they retain the archaic, braided sleeves of the old "wet navy" ranks for dress uniform. All branches of the Terran military, however, use the same collar insignia for equivalent ranks, though the color of the rank badges varies from service to service. Shoulder boards for the ground ranks are identical to collar insignia, but naval shoulder boards bear piping equivalent to dress sleeve braid.
Heart World and Fringe World military personnel are all volunteers, as are about 45% of Corporate World enlisted personnel. The remaining 55% of Corporate World enlisted personnel are drafted on a lottery basis. All officers are volunteers, though some Corporate World officers were originally conscripted as enlisted personnel and chose to go career.
Roughly 80% of all naval officers are graduates of one of the three major naval academies. New Annapolis, the oldest and most prestigious, graduates just over 65% of all TFN officers. Another 10% come from the Anderson Institute on Galloway's World, while most strikefighter pilots are regular graduates and/or "short course" OCS graduates of the Brisbane Flight School on Old Earth. The remaining 13% of the regular naval officer corps are "mustangs" and cross-transferredcrosstransferred Marine officers. Approximately 20% to 35% of all serving officers under full mobilization are reservists who hold merchant spacer commissions in peacetime. There is a certain degree of prejudice against the "Wavy Navy" (Reserve uniform sleeve rings have wavy edges), but the Reserve has proven its worth repeatedly in the Federation's wars.
Most Marine officers are long-term professionals. The TFMC is not intended to be a large force (at least on a galactic scale) and is trained to consider itself a corps d'elite with morale, traditions, and fighting spirit to match.
Approximately 70% of all TFMC officers are graduates of New Sandhurst. Another 27% are "mustangs," and the remaining 3% are products of various college OTC programs and cross-transferred TFN personnel.
Customs Patrol officers are provided by transfer from the TFN (approximately 18%); graduates of the Alexander Hamilton Academy on New Detroit (56%); various OTC programs, especially among the Corporate Worlds (20%); and "mustang" commissions (6%).
Peaceforce officers are provided from various training programs operated by the Federation Government. The most famous of them, the Academie de Justinian on Nova Paris, supplies almost half of all officers for the service. TFPC training, unlike the other branches (with, of course, the exception of the Customs Patrol), emphasizes legal and law enforcement courses with military science and xenoanthropology as secondary fields.
Survey Command officers come entirely from the regular officer corps of the TFN. As a rule, the top 10% of each graduating class from New Annapolis will be assigned to an initial tour with the TFNSC, and those who show particular aptitude for the service will receive additional training after their initial tours to groom them for the sensitive job of survey ship commander. Enlisted personnel assigned to Survey Command are generally drawn from the top 15% of the TFN, based on efficiency ratings and experience.
Federation military protocol and ceremony derive from the long tradition of Old Terran military organizations. The TFN is noted for off-duty informality between officers and ratings, but, conversely, is second only to the Marines for strictness of discipline while on duty. Considering the highly technical training of modern military personnel, however, the days of martinet discipline are largely a thing of the past. As a rule, the Marines pride themselves on carrying through ceremonial and protocol functions with far more "snap" than any of the other services, even under combat conditions.
Navy, Survey Command, and Marine uniforms share very similar color schemes but are quite varied in cut and style.
Navy dress and undress uniforms are black with silver braid. Rank insignia on collar and shoulder boards are silver. Officer dress and semi-dress uniforms consist of space boots, bloused breeches, shirt, and tunic. Enlisted and NCO uniforms are simpler - one-piece coveralls which emphasize comfort and ease of movement - although "dress" coveralls are more sharply tailored. Officers wear peaked caps with white covers; other ranks normally wear "helmet liner" skullcaps with berets for dress occasions. Combat uniform for all ranks, of course, consists of vac suits which are color-coded by branch: gunnery personnel wear red; bridge personnel wear light blue; power room personnel wear black; other engineering personnel wear yellow; etc. Rank insignia and surnames are stenciled on the chest and helmet, and rank and full name are spelled out across the life support pack. Since the Theban War, officer uniform includes a laser sidearm at all times.
Marine uniforms are designed to emphasize the martial glory of elite assault troops. Dress uniform is space-black trousers, shirt, and tunic trimmed in gold. Trouser stripes of appropriate color denote branch (blue for line infantry; orange for air cav; yellow for armor; red for artillery/heavy weapons; blue banded with yellow for powered combat armor, etc.) Rank insignia are carried on collar and shoulder boards in gold. Undress uniform (planetary) is dark green trousers, light green shirt, and black tunic. Dress and undress headgear is a black beret with crossed starships and assault rifle. Powered armor is stenciled with name and rank, and line infantry and rear-echelon combat uniform consists of reactive camouflage combat smocks.
Survey Command uniforms are identical to those of the TFN except that braid and rank insignia are gold and caps bear the badge of an antique compass rose superimposed on a sextant between starships.
Fortress Command uniforms are tailored much like Marine Corps uniforms but are brown for ground forces and blue for aircrew. Their caps have no badges.
Of all the services, the Peaceforce has the widest range of officially authorized uniform variants, largely because it serves in such a wide range of planetary environments. "Official" dress uniform is dark green trousers, light green shirt, and maroon tunic with gold insignia and berets bearing the blindfolded figure of Justice as a cap badge. Undress and combat uniform is very similar to that of Fortress Command but may be green instead of brown for ground forces.
Customs Patrol uniforms are the color which was once called "airforce blue." They are by far the simplest of all Federation uniforms and emphasize comfort and efficiency even on dress occasions. Combat uniform is indistinguishable from TFN or TFNSC. Rank badges are gold except when mobilized under Navy command, when they are exchanged for silver to avoid confusion with Survey Command. Like the TFN, the Customs Patrol cap has no cap badge.
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