Eternal Father
OUT OF CHARACTER INFORMATION
- Intent: Create a piece of written work to encapsulate Darth Carnifex's political ideology
- Image Credit:
- Canon: N/A
- Permissions: N/A
- Links: N/A
- Media Name: Sith-Imperialism and the Foundations of Eternal Rule
- Format: Holobook / HoloNet Article
- Distribution: Common
- Length: Medium
- Description: Sith-Imperialism and the Foundations of Eternal Rule, colloquially known as just the Foundations, was a political and theological treatise authored by Kaine Zambrano, better known as Darth Carnifex, to convey His political ideology. Written and edited over the course of four decades, the Foundations encapsulated all that Carnifex had come to know and understand during and after His tenure as Sith Emperor. His writing covered political theory, ideas on government structure, how to govern, how He successfully synthesized prior implementations of Imperialism with His own understanding of Sith philosophy, and various declarations of antagonism to what's described as 'degenerate' ideologies, organizations, and individuals.
- Author: Darth Carnifex
- Publisher: Darth Carnifex
- Reception: The Foundations were received divisively upon publication, with three prevailing reactions depending on the reader's political orientation.
- To those who followed Carnifex and believed in His teachings, the Foundations were considered a seminal work; the pinnacle of Sith and Imperial philosophy joined together in a single treatise. Each of it's passages were upheld as scripture, with new scholars arising just to study and understand the Dark Lord's writings.
- Rejection of the Dark Lord's philosophy came from those who were diametrically opposed to the Sith and the Dark Side, such as the Jedi and those who supported republicanism as a form of government. They wholesale condemn the Foundations, rejecting every passage and every section whole-cloth.
- To the Sith and Imperials who were opposed to Darth Carnifex, they found merit within certain passages but still disavowed the more personality cult aspects of His writings. They did not believe that Carnifex had any right to lead the Sith or the Imperials, deriding the Twice-Emperor for His perceived and real past failings.
- All copies of Sith-Imperialism and the Foundations of Eternal Rule are distributed via either physical holobooks or as documents on the HoloNet.
- Each version is broken down into sections with further subdivisions within each section, all titled in accordance with their contents.
- Several editions of the text exist across the galaxy, being first, second, and third editions. First editions are entirely holobook and were distributed by Darth Carnifex to His allies and most loyal followers.
- I. - Systems and Beliefs: This section primarily focuses on political ideology, conveying Darth Carnifex's various syncretic ideas that He'd accumulated over the course of several decades.
- Ia. - Sith Paternalism: Rooted in the belief of a Sith's right to rule, Sith Paternalism is the prevailing ideology found in most Sith groups across the galaxy and across history. Paternalism describes the policies of a ruling group restricting the freedom and responsibilities of those subordinate to them. Therefore, Sith Paternalism is this concept applied to the Sith's rule over non-Sith, with the Sith taking a leading role among society and solely wielding absolute authority.
- Ib. - Sith-Imperialism: Created and developed by Darth Carnifex during His second tenure as Sith Emperor, Sith-Imperialism refers to the policies of the Tenth Sith Empire; in which Sith philosophy was tightly conjoined with Imperial policies and civic functions. Previously Imperial-ordained organizations were co-opted by the Sith and used to further entrench their rule through Sith mandated curriculum, targeting propaganda, and a pervasive surveillance culture. This was viewed as the natural culmination of Imperialism in the galaxy.
- Ic. - Eternal Rule: Following the Tenth Sith Empire's dissolution in the Third Imperial Civil War, Darth Carnifex refined His beliefs in accordance with what He'd learned during the conflict. The result was Eternal Rule, an evolution of Sith Paternalism and Sith-Imperialism that posited that only through Darth Carnifex's guidance could the Sith achieve their ultimate goals. It became the guiding ideology of the Kainate thereafter, entrenched among Darth Carnifex's devoted followers.
- Id. - Syncretism of Thought: Darth Carnifex goes into great detail about how He arrived at the conclusions described previously, tracking the evolution of Eternal Rule from it's origins as a subset of the Kraytist Rule of One to it's current position as one of the leading Sith ideologies in the galaxy. He also details what beliefs were reinforced and what were ultimately abandoned over the course of time.
- Ie. - The Ordering of Government: Here, Darth Carnifex outlays His beliefs for the most advantageous Sith government, the functions of each organ, and how power was centralized in the position of a powerful ruling Dark Lord or Emperor. He further went to describe how the functions of this government were primarily used to bolster it's military, which was to be utterly faithful to the Dark Lord above all else. Violence as a means of curtailing dissent and foreign agitation was emphasized.
- II. - Economic Functions: This section primarily focuses on economic theory, Darth Carnifex detailing how the Sith government laid out in the previous section was to direct and manage it's national economy.
- IIa. - Direction of the State Economy: Darth Carnifex believed that an economy should be managed entirely by the state, with only limited market mechanisms being implemented for use by aligned corporations. All resources within the state's territory should be thoroughly nationalized and placed under the control of state-created bodies led by experts in the requisite field. The state would retain the right to allot limited privileges to corporations to mine / harvest resources under strict state surveillance.
- IIb. - Role of Corporations and Trade Unions: While the Sith economy was to be managed by the state itself, Darth Carnifex stressed the importance of allowing limited participation of corporations in the economy. The Sith State should strive to achieve autarky in everything it realistically can, and only rely on corporations and trade to shore up aspects of industry it could not perform itself. Secondary was the function of trade unions, which would be created and led entirely by the state and would include both workers and managers. Unions could only exist by permission of the state, and had to be solely organized alone industry and trade professions.
- IIc. - The Righteousness of Slavery: As a Sith, Darth Carnifex believed that the natural order of things revolved around the weak submitting to the strong. In this, Darth Carnifex fiercely advocated for not just the engagement of slavery, but it's active expansion into new territories. Darth Carnifex did not particularly stress any differentiation between slavery based on species or gender, but rather noted that all non-Sith were equally permissible as slaves within the Sith state. He also noted several different castes of slaves, each group made to serve a specific function within society; from labor, entertainment, and many others.
- III. - Organization of Society: This section primarily focuses on how a society was to be organized under Sith direction, from the social strata of castes to the fate of conquered people.
- IIIa. - Societal Castes: Darth Carnifex writes how society should be sorted into a strictly hierarchical caste system, with the Sith situated at the top of this system. Great distinction is given between non-Sith who are citizens of the Sith state and non-Sith who are situated outside of it, with the latter being viewed as inherently lesser for their lack of citizenship. Slaves are placed at the bottom of this system, being inherently subservient to those above them. Darth Carnifex wrote at length about the managerial and technical class that would exist above the ordinary citizen, but below the military aristocracy that would arise. Society, in Carnifex's view, would be both highly technocratic and stratocratic, with technical experts and military officers holding positions of high privilege below the Sith ruling class.
- IIIb. - The Pitfalls of Xenophobia: Darth Carnifex never placed a high value on discrimination by species, a strangely egalitarian viewpoint for one such as He to hold. Rather, He believed that all species could exist within the Sith State, so long as they were subordinate to it's rule-based order. In fact, Darth Carnifex viewed the myriad species of the galaxy as having their own unique sets of strengths and weaknesses, which could be easily exploited by savvy Sith Lords to strengthen their holdings. Species with inherent strength could be used as soldiers and laborers, while species with increased mental capacities could be used for research, management, and organization. It was the Sith's duty to sift through the species of the galaxy, and allot them their place within the empire.
- IIIc. - The Burden of the Sith to Rule: One of the core principles of Darth Carnifex's beliefs was the inherent and inviolable right of the Sith to rule over all the galaxy. He attributed this belief to the concept of Divine Providence, whereby their very nature of existence the Sith were pre-destined to serve as rulers of the known and unknown universe. He further explained that though the galaxy was currently divided between competing interests and society, the Sith's rule over the galaxy underpinned everything else; and that the Sith were already rulers of the galaxy even if those living within the galaxy had not come to realize it.
- IIId. - Integration of Conquered Subjects: Owing to Darth Carnifex's Epicanthix nature, He wrote profusely about the concept of assimilating the culture and traditions of conquered people into the Sith state. However, He did stress that the core function of the Sith state was to remain inerrant and unchangeable, but that the beliefs of those annexed into the empire could be syncretized with Sith-Imperial thought and reflected back at the conquered people. This would create a tapestry of varying social fabric, wherein the differing cultures of those conquered by the empire would be woven together with the thread of Sith-Imperialism, harmonizing an otherwise defeated people into proud citizens of the Sith Empire.
- IIIe. - Total Abnegation of the Individual: The nation is supreme and sacred and it is the duty of the individual to pledge themselves to the protection of national interests. A citizen of the Empire must forsake all earthly and individual pleasures, coming to the realization that the duty of every Sith-Imperial is to serve the Empire and ensure that it will be strong forevermore. The masses of the Empire are of one mind, their actions are as of one body, and their will that of the Sith who guide them to glory and prestige. Salvation for the Empire can only be secured through the ceaseless servitude of its people, all of whom benefit from an Empire rich and strong -- deprived of corruptible foreign influences. All for the Empire, the Empire is all.
- IV. - Enemies of Order: This section primarily focuses on those Darth Carnifex perceives as enemies of the Sith and are thus illegitimate as galactic rulers.
- IVa. - The Cult of Democracy: Darth Carnifex has never hid His disdain for democracy, viewing it as the weak directing and restraining the strong. Popular rule has never been His aim, only the domination of the masses by the Sith. He details several notable governments which had held a democratic mandate and stood against the Sith Empires, such as the Galactic Republic and the Galactic Alliance. He goes into the particulars about the current Galactic Alliance, detailing it's government structure and pointing out what He views as irreconcilable flaws.
- IVb. - The Jedi Order: Ancient adversary of the Sith Order, Darth Carnifex does not hold back on His hatred for the Jedi. He goes into several tirades about how the Jedi are unfit to rule the galaxy, how they are often both the lapdogs and the masters of the aforementioned democracy-cultists. He writes about how their slavish devotion to peace weakens the entire galaxy, leading to complacency and the absence of progress in exchange for the absence of conflict and strife; components of what He believes are crucial for the galaxy to evolve. He then notes that how the Sith are often reborn from within the Jedi's own ranks, their very existence perpetuating the Eternal Conflict between them.
- IVc. - The Mandalorian Clans: The Dark Lord's animosity for the Mandalorian people was near-equal with His hatred for the Jedi Order. He's spent many decades fighting against the Mandalorians, eradicating their people wherever He could find them, and erasing their memory from world after world. He wrote at length about how Mandalorians were little more than animals, hardly even considered sentient creatures, and that their eradication from the galaxy was an imperative. Carnifex then added details about the weakness of their culture and how to exploit it, and how to twist elements of that culture for the benefit of the Sith.
- IVd. - Rogue Imperials: Following the Third Imperial Civil War, Darth Carnifex's opinions on Imperials soured. Before, He had often attempted to elevate them to high positions within the Empire, but when those same Imperials turned against the Sith He came to the conclusion that Imperials were not designed to lead, but to serve. Henceforth, Imperials would forever hold a position of subservience within the Sith state, never allowed to rise to the same prominence as those who instigated the Civil War. They would still be considered foundational to the Sith state's establishment, but never it's leading figures.
- IVe. - Wayward Heretics: Ubiquitous would be the element of Sith heretics amongst the galaxy, those who rejected Carnifex's truths and embraced lies of their own or other's designs. Carnifex goes into detail about the most notable examples, their founders, and what they believe in. He then goes on to refute these beliefs in a systematic fashion, pitting His own theology against theirs. He then goes on to note that some Sith can be converted to Eternal Rule, but that priority was given to their eradication rather than their conversion.
The formulation of Eternal Rule took place over the course of several decades, and was born from the political experimentation of Darth Carnifex during the period of the Tenth Sith Empire. As the ruling Sith Emperor, Darth Carnifex had an unfettered hand in shaping the government, economy, and culture of the Sith Empire to His liking. The Sith Empire would shift through many different iterations during it's existence under the auspices of Emperor Carnifex, as He tested new political and economic theories and adjusted them as He saw fit.
Throughout this period, Carnifex would formulate both the ideas of Sith-Imperialism and Eternal Rule, although the former came long before the latter. When the Empire teetered upon it's own collapse, Carnifex had already begun to synthesize the next strain of political thought that would guide the next iteration of Empire. He would finally give names to these ideas as He began writing His political treatise, Sith-Imperialism and the Foundations of Eternal Rule.
It is in this manifesto that Carnifex laid out all that He had come to learn through His many years of both servitude and rulership within the Sith Empire. Many of these ideas had been systematically tested by the Empires He had been a part of, the Dark Lord refining each one as flaws were exposed and strengths emboldened. He believed that if the next Sith Empire was to survive beyond those that came before, and truly achieve that the Sith desired, then it would have to be one built atop His foundations.
Initially, His ideas were contested and rejected by the Sith Order that arose after the fall of His Sith Empire. However, after a lengthy period of struggle and reorganization, Carnifex's ideas began to take root in the fledgling Empire. Sith-Imperialism caught on more steadfastly than Eternal Rule did, forcing the Dark Lord to concentrated the purest expression of His ideology within the Kainate. Nonetheless, the Sith Empire that took shape around Jutrand and began to rapidly expand in all directions was heavily influenced by His teachings, and with the Sith Emperor
Darth Empyrean
focusing less and less on the governance of his Empire, Carnifex found fertile ground for a revival of Eternal Rule in the Empire.
Darth Empyrean
focusing less and less on the governance of his Empire, Carnifex found fertile ground for a revival of Eternal Rule in the Empire.
