Igni Irae
OUT OF CHARACTER INFORMATION
- Intent: To sub the capital of Tephrike
- Image Credit: Here. Article by Dan Howarth. 'Ralph Olivier's photographs of North Korea reveal Pyongyang's unique architecture', found on dezeen.com.
- Canon: N/A
- Links: The dystopian novel Nineteen Eighty-Four by George Orwell served as an inspiration, both for naming of certain organisations and the general feel. Wikipedia link here. It also owes a bit to Brave New World by Aldous Huxley, though people probably have more fun there. Wikipedia link here.
- City Name: Nexus City
- Classification: Urban Centre
- Location: Tephrike
- Affiliation: Governed by the Dominion of Light, the official government of Tephrike. Not affiliated with any non-Tephriki faction.
- Demographics: The distribution between humans and aliens is about even, with humans having a slight majority. While the Windians are responsible for many unpleasant or frankly insane policies, they are not racist. After all, Tephrike's first Jedi Lord, Zaras Dant, was a Duros, and her successor Tiyan Kree was a Devaronian. Humanocentric racism looked upon poorly. However, Quarren and Nautolans are discriminated against because many of them support the Republican Guard. Few of them live in Nexus City, and those that do are under constant pressure to prove their loyalty.
- Wealth: Low. Even the richest of Jedi Lords own little of real value to the galaxy, and most people barely have anything. Credits and other forms of money have been abolished. Instead, citizens receive a fixed amount of coupons. They can only use these coupons for specific things. For instance, one coupon is for food, another for clothes and so on and so forth.
- Stability: High. Dissent is ruthlessly squashed. From the moment they're born in state-run nurseries, citizens have tracking devices implanted. Security cameras, surveillance drones and the like monitor the inhabitants. The monitoring does not stop in public places, but continues in the habitation complexes the citizens inhabit. Furthermore, they must present their IDs at security checkpoints manned by militia. Having an invalid ID is cause for arrest and detention in the Ministry of Harmony. An inhabitant of Nexus City is constantly bombarded with propaganda, and the kindly visage of the Grandmaster and Lord of Light looks down upon him from posters on public buildings. Unbelievers, deviants and lawbreakers are executed, detained and reeducated, deported to labour camps or banished into the wilderness, where they often die. Reeducation is a euphemism for brainwashing, and can include mindwipes. Not reporting to the Ministry of Healing for egg/sperm harvesting and sterilisation is one of the many transgressions a citizen should not commit. As citizens are encouraged to report those who show insufficient faith and deviate from the holy laws, fear, suspicion and conformism are pervasive in the city. Hoarding, violating the universal dress code, simply not showing up at a parade or appearing insufficiently patriotic are all considered heretical acts. Citizens who find themselves experiencing 'wicked thoughts' are strongly advised to report to the Ministry of Harmony so that they can be purified before the dark side enslaves them. That said, the city has been plagued by terrorist activity, as both the Republican Guard and the Disciples of the Vader have been able to infiltrate agents, despite the draconian security measures.
- Description: Nexus City is the official capital of Tephrike and the largest city on the planet. It is the centre of power of the Dominion of Light and the Windian Jedi that rule it. The city is filled with enormous buildings and monuments. In many ways, the builders tried to create an idealised version of Coruscant, though on a far smaller scale. While grand spires reach towards the sky and past Jedi heroes are glorified with massive statues, the living conditions of the common citizens are rather poor. The habitation complexes are drab, and lacking in comfort. All aspects of daily life are monitored by the totalitarian government. Due to the ongoing civil war, security is very tight.
Galactic Senate: The architects did their best to copy Coruscant's Galactic Senate Dome. Here, Senators are supposed to make laws for the good of all. However, the grandiose building has never been used. After all, the peasants do not need a semi-oligarchic legislature when the benevolent Lord of Light rules over them. Moreover, the Jedi overlords did not take into account that the soil would be unable to support the enormous structure. As a result, the dome is in a poor state and has partly caved in. This is blamed on dark side machinations.
The Grand Jedi Temple: A fairly faithful copy of the Old Jedi Temple on Coruscant, though this ziggurat is a lot more grandiose. It is located in Skywalker Square, like many public buildings. The visitor is greeted by huge statues of legendary Jedi Masters such as Lord Hoth, Grandmaster Soda, Master Mace Windu, as well as of the Jedi Lords who ruled over Tephrike. Holographic projections of old Jedi recite lines of the Jedi Code, more or less inaccurate quotes of Jedi sages and general words of wisdom from Tephrike's rulers. It has training rooms, living quarters, an armoury, forgery, hangars, laboratories and medbays, council chambers, gardens and so on. Despite the heat, members of the order are still expected to wear baggy Jedi robes, no matter how impractical. Jedi Temple Guards and Inquisitors watch over all, always on the lookout for signs of heresy within and without. The Temple is protected against bombardment by a shield generator. Moreover, defensive emplacements have been set up. As lightsabres are very rare on Tephriki due to the lack of crystals, many Jedi use Force imbued or alchemised melee weapons. The Jedi Inquisition maintains its own wing in the temple, which only authorised personnel are allowed to enter. It includes a dungeon for unbelievers, though these are soon handed over to the Ministry of Harmony to keep them from contaminating the temple with their vile presence. To prevent jurisdictional friction, the Grand Inquisitor is dual-hatted as Minister of Harmony. Also of note is the Wall of Heroes, upon which the names of all Windian Jedi who died in the crusade against the dark side are engraved.
Jango Fett Cloning Facility: It may be considered odd that the Jedi would name something after Jango Fett, considering what happened on Geonosis. However, time has distorted facts, and so the Windians remember him differently. In their version of history, Jango was a Mandalorian Crusader who was redeemed by Mace Windu. Under the tutelage of the Jedi Master, he saw the light and abandoned the bloodthirsty ways of his brethren, volunteering to become the genetic donor of the Jedi's clone army. The clone troopers served the order faithfully, for they felt naught but reverence for their Jedi Masters. Alas, they were stabbed in the back and massacred by the evil Stormtroopers, who had been grown in secret by the Dark Lords. Thus it is only fitting the today's clone troopers continue his proud legacy. Appropriately, this is the place where they are grown and educated. They do this under the watchful eyes of twin statues of Mace and Jango, who are shown shaking hands. Sadly, the Dominion's cloning technology is very primitive, and so the clones have a low life expectancy. Clone madness is also an issue.
Palace of the Lord of Light: This grandiose building serves as the residence of the Grandmaster and Lord of Light. Pilgrims often come here to make obeisance before the grand statues. In the old days, the Grandmaster would greet his subjects from the balcony, waving and staring benevolently upon them. However, the present Grandmaster, like a number of his predecessors, is a puppet of the Jedi Battlemaster, who commands the clone army. Indeed, he's never left the palace since being appointed and so most citizens only know him from the propaganda posters. Since said posters have looked the same for a long time, no commoner really has much of an idea what he looks like. The palace is guarded by Jedi Guardians and clone troopers. Rumours claim that within these hallowed halls, the Grandmaster violates the vow of chastity that everyone is expected to follow.
Ministries of Harmony, Health, Enlightenment, Plenty and Peace: These ministries are all located in close proximity to one another in Skywalker Square, so they can be described as one. Harmony is responsible for ensuring ideological purity and controls the thought police. Here heretics are compelled to see the error in their ways. Health regulates all aspects related to healthcare, which includes the mandatory harvesting of eggs and sperm and the growth of new citizens in nursery complexes. As this too much to handle in one building, it has subsidiaries in several districts. Enlightenment is responsible for propaganda and education, Plenty regulates the economy, assigns citizens to their workplaces and doles out coupons, Peace runs the armed forces.
Elgin's Repository of Approved Mystical Items: The license of this shop was approved by the Ministry of Harmony. Here, the loyal citizen can purchase talismans, good-luck-charms and other Force imbued items that protect him or her against the temptations of the Dark Side. In actual fact, these items are pretty useless for the wearer. What they really do is weaken the wearer's mental resilience and make them more susceptible to Force-based suggestions, in other words mind tricks and the like. The wearer experiences a minor high and thus grows addicted to the item. This helps protect the wearer from wicked thoughts that could cause him to question his place in the Dominion.
Industrial Workers' Habitat 16A: All habitation complexes are assigned to members of a specific profession/caste. Thus this habitat can be considered a model for the average one. It is a high-rise apartment complex. Here people who perform factory work in the same district live. All apartments within the complex are provided by the state, which also provides furniture. They're small and all look the same. To ensure equality, the inhabitant is not allowed to furnish his apartment on his own. Thus liberated of the need to buy a bed, chairs and so on, the resident can concentrate more thoroughly on serving the Light. Kitchens and bathrooms are communal on every floor. Hoarding is considered a serious offence. Within his apartment, the resident has access to entertainment channels, but these are all provided by the Ministry of Enlightenment. Furthermore, he has a channel specifically dedicated to his work and job. It keeps him well-informed about the Windian Jedi Order's vision of a brave new world, the Dominion of Light's victories, and how dark the world outside of the Dominion is. Needless to say he is constantly monitored. Like every habitat, this one has a habitat warden, who is responsible for the conduct of every inhabitant. Under the supervision of the habitat warden, residents regularly meet for faith sessions in the communal room. They watch patriotic movies, proclaim their faith in the Dominion of Light and perform self-criticism. Every resident is encouraged to produce a statement detailing his or her ideological errors, no matter how minor those might be, and reaffirm their renewed belief in the Jedi. Sadly, this habitat is in a poor state and the building has seen better days. Power is unreliable and it is best to use the stairs rather than the lift, no matter how many time you have to climb.
Larn's Approved Medical Commissariat: A store located in one of the less reputable portions of town, the Sapphire District. Aside from the usual medication, it also sells various illegal and semilegal items,s such as mind-altering drugs. These are generally acquired via the Order of the Blessed Way, which harnesses the mushrooms located in the Ruhewald. Officially, these flower children are schismatics, and so many customers of the store have the feeling they're doing something illegal. However, in actual fact the government knows all about what is going on in the store. The happy pills help keep bad thoughts from the minds of their users. The owner of the shop has a deal with the Ministry of Harmony and keeps the Inquisitors abreast about customers who are in need of enlightenment.
Open Circle Grand Protection Fleet Base: Open Circle references a Clone Wars fleet. This the sole spaceport of Nexus City. However, there's no civilian traffic, as it is believed that everything outside of Tephrike is covered in darkness. So the military is the sole user of the base. But the 'fleet' is quite unimpressive since most of the ships are old and rusty. A few starfighters, bombers and subcapital ships are functional, but they are very dated and maintenance is poor. Moreover, the pilots lack experience in spaceflight. The gunships are good enough to drop napalm bombs on partisans in the jungle though. Or spray said jungle with herbidcides.
HISTORICAL INFORMATION
Today, Nexus City is the official capital of Tephrike. In practical terms, it's the capital city of the Jedi theocracy known as the Dominion of Light. This regime rules most of the planet, though its control over more remote provinces is shaky.
Construction of Nexus City began during the reign of Jedi Lord Tyian Kree, as the old capital Palmyra had been devastated during the civil war that ensued after the outbreak of the Gulag Virus. However, Kree died from a heart attack while laying siege to a rebellious Gungan city. So it was left to her successor, the human Norn Astur, to complete her work. Astur had been elected by the Jedi Generals in secret conclave and lacked the authority of his predecessors. To further legitimise his claim, he assumed the title of Grandmaster, in addition to that of Jedi Lord. For all he and his brethren knew, they were the last Jedi in the Galaxy after the Great Plague had brought civilisation to its knees.
Astur was less warlike than the previous Jedi Lords. This was partly due to necessity. After years of fighting, the army was tired and the Jedi Generals wanted to consolidate power. So he focused on building an 'enlightened society' in the territories the Jedi Militants controlled, leaving the more remote and often devastated areas to the rebels.
Nexus City was supposed to be the last bastion of civilisation, a shining example to the rest of Tephrike. The builders did their best to build a new Coruscant on the tropical planet, albeit on a far smaller scale. Furthermore, many Tephriki had lost their homes and livelihood during the war. They needed to be taken care of. At the same time, this was a welcome chance for the Windian Jedi Order's ideologues to build a 'perfect society' in their image. They could create a civilisation fully immersed in their warped perception of Jedi dogma, for they wielded absolute power.
In many ways, Nexus City resembles Coruscant. The cityscape is characterised by huge towers, high-rise apartment complexes, and grandiose buildings, such as the Jedi Temple, the unused Senate Building, the Arch of Triumph and so on. A wide area of jungle was cleared to make room for the city. Intensive planting was done to support the new population. Unfortunately, the soil is quite thin and poor, made worse by inefficient farming techniques. Moreover, the soil is too weak to support a number of the more grandiose monuments, causing them to cave in. This has been blamed on dark side magic and terrorist activity, for it must obviously be the work of wreckers and sloths.
A succession of Grandmasters has ruled from this city. During the reign of Grandmaster Kolar, a vast palace was built to serve as residence. It was absurdly expensive, but conveniently the citizens of the Dominion of Light are paid in coupons. Incidentally, Kolar was also a puppet of his Jedi Battlemaster, much like most of the Grandmasters that succeeded him. When Grandmaster Kalija Grael tried to break out of the gilded cage and exercise true power, she was quietly eliminated. Since then few Grandmasters have left the palace after being put into power. Security was tightened further after a group of clone troopers mutinied and joined the rebels, forming the Republican Guard. Terrorist attacks committed by the darkside Vader cultists heightened paranoia in the city.
The régime was brought to the brink during the Netherworld Event, when mass disappearances threw the city into chaos. The event coincided with food shortages. Public protests on Skywalker Square turned violent when the régime's praetorians fired upon unarmed civilians. This day would become known as Bloody Sunday. The bloodletting caused some soldiers to join the protesters. Both the Republican Guard and the Vader cultists seized the chance, activating their agents inside the city. However, the loyalist forces were able to rally, exploiting the rebels' inability to cooperate. It did not help that the would-be Scions of Vader were often more interested in marauding than in pursuing a military campaign. While the Dominion was left weakened by these events, its crackdown in Nexus City succeeded. Since then the régime has become even more paranoid. Whereas there was a time in the past when enforcement of the religious laws was comparatively laxed, these days citizens are under extreme pressure to conform and broadcast their loyalty to the 'one true Jedi order'.
In this day and age, soldiers, militia and surveillance drones are present throughout the city. High-rise apartment complexes are prominent in the cityscape. Most of them are drab and rather bland, unless they happen to belong to the élite, though even the Jedi Lords own little the greater galaxy would be interested in. The Jedi Temple is an enormous ziggurat that in theory can be reached by a maglev train, but said train is less than reliable. Patriotic rallies and military parades often take place in Skywalker Square. A puppet Barsen'thor blesses the faithful. In the city of the faithful, citizens are born in government-controlled nurseries. They do not know their progenitors, because the miracle of life takes places in a medically sanctioned way in a lab, without sexual intercourse. Theoretically, they are all implanted with tracking ships upon birth, though the efficacy of these devices varies, as glitches can occur.
They learn their predetermined trade in government-controlled education complexes. After reaching the age of maturity, they are assigned a small apartment in a habitation complex and spend the rest of their lives repaying the Windian Jedi for their kindness by serving the order in whichever profession they've been assigned. They are paid in coupons, which exactly determine what they can buy with them. Barracks double as permanent habitats for soldiers, ensuring that they are always ready to serve the cause of the Light.
Despite the poor conditions, living in Nexus City is considered a privilege. The alternative is to live in one of the minor settlements, which are close to villages. When it comes to supplying the Dominion's citizens with food and other essential goods, Nexus City is prioritised. Those who live here generally do not need to worry about not having enough food, drink and other essentials, though there is very little to buy in the shops. This is why being exiled from the capital is commonly considered to be a death sentence. This, perhaps more than the surveillance state, is what causes most citizens to be compliant, no matter how much they might privately grumble about the totalitarian régime that seeks to dictate every aspect of their lives. Moreover, they are constantly bombarded by propaganda, which seeks to convince them that everything outside of the Dominion is hellish. After centuries of isolation, the average citizen might not be an enthusiastic zealot. But he or she simply does not know any better.
