Aseni Republic of Vega

असेनिया के शाकाहारी गणराज्य

The Aseni Republic of Vega is a relatively newly formed state in the Aseni Sector. The Vegan Republic as it is sometimes called was formed out of a counterrevolutionary movement seeking to overturn the Stelsoc revolution that occurred in the Aseni Sector Authority. It failed, with it and the Aseni Popular Republic, becoming independent states which have spend the remaining decades locked in a cold war over influence within the sector. For some, the Aseni Republic of Vega is seen as a bulwark against the expansion of Stelsoc, though this critical support has not yet meant any material aid for the Republic.

Culture

The Vegan Republic's majority populations can trace their origins back to the peoples of India, Pakistan, Nepal, Sri Lanka, and other South Asian nations from Old Earth, though as is the case with most interstellar colonies, this initial population became increasingly more diverse as the Age of Unity continued. There is also a concerted effort to inculcate a decidedly pro-Frentierist bent into Vegan culture, something which has been aided with the efforts of Scipion Studio Enterprises. The Vegan Republic has tried to expand its cultural reach, but aside from a SSE affiliated film studio, has not be particularly successful in this regard.

History

The first colonization of the region that would eventually become the Aseni Republic of Vega happened relatively in interstellar human history, with the first colonies established being established in the first half of the 24th century (3rd century AU). These initial colonization efforts would be early beneficiaries of the completion of Project Isis and Project Kan Loan, and although the processes were relatively crude, would be terraformed into a somewhat more livable state for all but the first settlers on ther worlds in the region. This would benefit the Line Worlds greatly, and many millions would find themselves moving into the region by the time that The Troubles started in earnest. During the Troubles, a growing independence movement took hold, particularly in the later part of the era. A confederation of colonies in the Line Worlds region rose up against the United Nations of Earth in AU 396. This rebellion lasted over fifty years of high intensity conflict, as the UNE fought planet to planet putting down large Planetary Defense Forces. As the years of the conflict wore on, the conflict would eventually peter out into guerilla warfare in the wilder lands of the Line Worlds, however, despite the failure of the rebellion to secure its independence from Earth, it did result in a change in the internal politics of the United Nations of Earth culminating in its replacement with the Transolar Union in the 26th century (5th century AU). In the later parts of the Age of Unity, the Line Worlds would steadily become increasingly like the Core Worlds, developing rapidly and with enormous population growth with billions moving into the colonies from their homes, particularly from South Asia. To many, the Line Worlds were part of the galactic core. Despite this surface level of development, poltical moves, such as the establishment of Aseni as a major world, and, after the Third Great Human Civil War, the conglomeration of the Line Worlds and Minh into the Aseni Sector, and the insistence on forcing the Colonial SBT Database on the Line Worlds indicated less faith, and less willingness to develop them. The Line Worlds would be heavily impact by influxes of refugees fleeing from the Jred Scourge, this dramatic change to the region rocked their society, and nearly caused another civil war within the territory. When the Great Cataclysm struck, and the Line Worlds found themselves cut off, and the resulting unrest and lack of resources tore them apart, requiring the creation of the Aseni Sector Authority, and a crackdown on civil unrest. When the Aseni Sector Authority's central government collapsed in a revolution, many of those opposed to it fled to the Line Worlds, away from the capital, and towards a viable production center. After a brief period, these dissidents would initiate civil war against the Aseni Popular Republic. This conflict lasted roughly twenty years with the two opposing forces gradually weakening throughout the conflict. Instead of managing to overthrow the Popular Republic, the two factions of the conflict agree to a separation, with the rebels forming the Aseni Republic of Vega, as they began to settle into a Cold War. In the years following the Aseni Civil War, the Vegan Republic has been attempting to build up its economic and military capabilities, to secure diplomatic partnerships, and to battle for influence in the Aseni Sector against the Popular Republic. It has been modestly successful at the first objective, initially surpassing the capabilities of their rivals. In diplomacy however, they have been less successful, obtaining fewer allies, and not outperforming the Popular Republic in the Cold War, they have so far only managed to maintain parity, but not superiority.

Demography and Population

The Aseni Republic of Vega is believed to be the most populous state in the Aseni Sector, though exact population counts are hard to come by. The overall population of the Republic is estimated to be in the low tens of billions, likely between twenty and twenty two billion. The population of the Republic is, relatively evenly dispersed with a fair number of systems with populations in the billions and the hundreds of millions, and relatively few small colonies with populations of less than a million. The majority of the population originates primarily from the South Asian governate, with a mixture of ethnicities relatively proportionate to the extant population of South Asia in the 26th century, though populations have become more diverse in the centuries after initial colonization.

Territories

The Aseni Republic of Vega maintains a territorial span of fifteen parsecs. This territory is fairly densely occupied with ten of those fifteen systems possessing star systems, all of which are currently inhabited. Most colonies are modestly sized with populations in the millions, a few with populations in the thousands, and fewer still with populations over one billion. Like its neighbor, the Vegan Republic nominally claims ownership over the whole of the Aseni Sector, though the Popular Republic disputes this claim, as does the independent worlds it tries to influence.

Military

The Vegan Military is a powerful organization, maintaining an extensive fleet and sizable mobile army. Its planetary garrisons tend to be lacking, expected only to hold out long enough for the mobile forces to arrive. The fleet largely still relies on older Standard Built Template designs for the bulk of its naval operations, as well as much of its planetary forces and mobile forces as well. The Republic has been attempting to modernize its arsenal, but its industrial base is poorly suited for producing military hardware. As a result it has turned to seeking out arms deals with foreign powers, for which the Centauri Republic has been the most amenable to trading advanced military equipment.

Technological Level

The Vegan Republic could broadly be described as a "mid-to-high tech" nation with the bulk of member systems possessing late Substellar technical bases, and a few with Stellar technical bases. The Republic is generally trying to advance the technological basis of most of its member worlds, but progress remains slow, particularly as the influence of techno-cults has created an air of mysticism surrounding advanced technology, even as they preserve examples of devices hailing from before the fall, and even limiting access to a few Standard Build Template databases.

Religion

The Vegan Republic is a nominally a secular nation, though there are strong tendencies towards religious favoritism among a number of parties within the Vegan legislature. Non-traditional faiths are relatively common, particularly doomsday cults and independent technocults being especially popular in the more ruralized systems of the Republic. Conversely the traditional faiths, particularly Hinduism, Buddhism, and Islam remain popular in the more populous, urbanized systems under Vegan control, with Reformed Vajrayana Buddhism the largest faith on Vega itself. Traditional faiths have been on the decline generally however, as post-Cataclysm faiths have become significantly stronger.

Foreign Relations

The Aseni Republic of Vega is staunchly anti-Stelsoc, and is opposed to any state associated with that ideology. This includes its neighbor, the Aseni Popular Republic, with which it is locked in a cold war. Though this position has granted a fair amount of goodwill with a number of similarly aligned states, this has not, unlike its neighbor, resulted in a meaningful measure of material support. It does however maintain a trade agreement with the Centauri Republic. The Vegan Republic has been expanding its influence in the Aseni Sector, and other nearby worlds, in an attempt to expand, and gain a position of dominance against the Popular Republic.

Laws

The Vegan Republic is a relatively lax state, legally speaking, in most cases, with relatively strong civil liberties, and almost no restrictions on trade and commerce. Foreigners are broadly welcome in the republic's territory, and foreign goods are actively welcomed in Vegan markets. There are three notable exceptions to the broadly libertine culture. First, Stelsoc ideology is actively stamped out by the Vegans, with any suspected socialist activities met immediately with state action. Second, Psionic persons are actively repressed, with many systems executing those with psionic abilities upon detection with starports being the only safe places. Last, the Vegan Republic is staunchly opposed to "unnatural intelligence" and will not allow clones, conscious AI, or even most advanced robots to enter their territory.

Agriculture & Industry

The Vegan Republic is self-sufficient, even more than that it is a net exporter of many diverse projects, something which is the case despite the relatively backwards and inefficient production methods employed by the Republic. It possesses a relatively strong and mixed network of agricultural and industrial systems, as well as robust trade and commercial centers, largely formed around the more advanced starports within the Republic's territories. The Republic has been trying to develop its capacity, but has found few partners willing to assist in this endeavor, and the already relatively high overall level of development leaves few opportunities for expansion beyond improving capacity in territories they already possess.

Education

The Vegan Republic does not have a national level education system, nor a nationally approved curriculum. Instead, matters of education are turned over to constituent member systems which have a broad degree of latitude in what they teach. Generally speaking, students will receive a basic education in literacy, the sciences, and maths, which is provided by the state. Education in the arts, culture, and other things not deemed essential must be paid for by the individual, as is tertiary and advanced vocational education. In-person schools are generally more popular than remote learning, but isolated colonies make extensive use of it to save resources that would otherwise be required.

Infrastructure

The Vegan Republic is relatively underdeveloped on an interstellar scale, receiving minimal attention from the Galactic Surveyor's Guild and its efforts to relink interstellar society, and lacking the capacity to build Jumpgates of their own mean that only the central sector spire, and a single additional lane going to Vega itself are in operation. High quality starports are generally fairly common, certainly more than Jumpgate presence would otherwise indicate, and is considered a necessity for keeping up Vegan economic activity.