Mensa League

دوري منسا

The Mensa League, also known as Allied Potamic Suns are a loosely affiliated Confederation of commercially focused worlds in the coreward reaches of the Gemini Sector. The APS generally is focused on building a trade network in the rimward reaches of Civilized Space, and becoming the dominant power player for trade routes leading back into the Sol Sector. Because of its commanding position in control of Jumpgate lanes back to the Union of Sol, and the Centauri Republic, both states have contested each other for influence over the League.

Culture

The Mensa League has a cosmopolitan culture due to the relatively political autonomy of its worlds. Though initially colonized by peoples largely from the Arabian peninsula, and with most immigrants having assimilated since arriving, there remains a large number of traders passing through, and a broad enough expression of the different subcultures from the Old Earth Arab Governate that each member world seems different. Currently there is a growing conflict between traditionalist elements, which largely support the current order, and the Harakat Alnahda, a broadly progressive, pro-human, pro-worker movement which has grown in influence, particularly among the working classes.

History

The systems that would comprise the Mensa League were settled in the First Expansion, though settlement was not a particularly steady nor necessarily a lasting process, and, despite being technically a part of the home region, these worlds would struggle until successful colonies would finally be established as the first major project of the Transolar Union. Thanks to the developments made by Project Konsu, the member worlds with strange atmospheres could be made livable, while the exotic gases that they possessed could still be harvested. The Mesopotamia System would quickly become the most culturally important part of the region, becoming a commercial and industrial hub. Development, particularly later in the Second Expansion, increased rapidly with most of the Potamic Systems becoming large, successful colonies before the Despair of the latter life of the Transolar Union kicked in. During the Third Great Human Civil War, the Potamic worlds were fought over intesnely by Frentierist and Tradsoc factions of the conflict, and millions of Mesopotamians, Leventians, and New Syrians died in the fighting. When the war finally came to an end, the Potamic worlds were left a shadow of their former selves, with the emphasis shifted towards Torkostan, which became a major production center towards the end of the conflict, as the new most important world in the region. The Potamic worlds would be the subject of a reconstruction effort early during the Reconstruction period after the War. Despite the heavy destruction of Potamic ecosystems, and through enormous effort worlds had been reconstructed. However, aside from Torkostan, these worlds couldn't really be utilized for industrial or resource harvesting purposes, having been thoroughly compromised in the war, and instead they became major trade hubs, assisting in the spread of humanity to the rimward reaches in the Third expansion. This renaissance would come to a crashing end in the Jred Scourge, with billions of people fleeing the Jred, and the Jred themselves creeping steadily towards the Potamic worlds. New Syria itself would also be nearly completely destroyed by the Jred, and was in fact so thoroughly damaged, that it has not even come close to recovery. In the years after the Great Cataclysm, the Potamic worlds struggled, fading steadily into obscurity, it was Galactic Surveyor's Guild constructing several jumpgates in the core worlds of the region, that saved them. With jumplanes running into them, and trade flowing along with the Potamic worlds became more prosperous once again. In order to protect their interests the oligarchs that ruled the various worlds, particularly the leading council of Mesopotamia, Torkostan, and Levantia in the region formed a unified Confederation to guarantee the security of each one, and to present a unified front in trade negotiations. After its formation, the Mensa League as it eventually came to be called grew to encompass two additional systems. It was a minor participant in the 3rd Solar-Centauri War, as well as its subject, and was forced, for the first time in its history to break its generally neutral position and favor one power, Union of Sol, over the other, the Centauri Republic. This in particular has been a challenge to the sovereignty, and something that quite possibly will force a change in the civilization of the Mensa League, though only time will tell.

Demography and Population

The Mensa League's population is hard to get an accurate count of, due to the complete lack of almost any central governing institutions, and the relatively lackluster account of citizens living in member worlds, only a rough estimate is possible. According to the most recent available records, the population of the League lies in the low tens of billions. The population distribution is, by the standards of interstellar space, surprisingly even with two worlds with populations of more than one billion, two in the hundreds of millions, and only one with less. Most denizens of the League originated from the MENA region of Old Earth, particularly the wealthiest states of the Arabic Peninsula, and the Turkic regions, millennia of immigration have changed this ethnic heritage, though most immigrants have assimilated into that dominant culture.

Territories

As the Mensa League is comprised of member worlds that are voluntarily part of it, it maintains a small, but extremely dense territory. The League is in control of five parsecs of space. Each of these worlds, is home to a populated star system, most of which are fairly well developed, with populations in the hundreds of millions or higher, though with a Substellar, or early Stellar technological level. The League doesn't contain any empty systems, as it lacks the ability to permanently project power and control over territory without anything in it, though it does engage in interdiction operations for the uninhabited worlds near its territory.

Military

The Mensa League doesn't have a proper standing military, lacking the necessary governing infrastructure to maintain a proper national armed force. For the most part, member worlds must defend themselves with whatever they can muster in terms of system defense boats and planetary forces. The largest of the member worlds do maintain small fleets of interstellar warships. Though most of these are small customs vessels meant to fight off pirates, there are a few old cruisers in the League's possession that could stand up to proper warships. Most of the League's military apparatus however, is geared towards suppressing rebellion and hunting pirates that towards fighting other military forces.

Technological Level

The Mensa League can be considered a mid to high tech society by most standards with the technical base of most of the league's member worlds hovering at around Substellar, to Early Stellar level. This means that, for the most part the most advanced technologies around, such as starships, jumpgate assemblies, and other such contraptions tend to need to be important, but the member worlds have the league have enough access to things such as computers and fusion reactors to have evolved beyond early industrial civilizations, and can largely sustain themselves on fairly limited resources.

Religion

Though the Mensa League lacks the inclination, or indeed even the ability to enforce a state religion, there is a clear majoritarian consensus towards Islam. Most non-traditional religions have minimal interaction with the Mensa League. There has been a rapid growth in the Harakat Alnahda Islamic movement, something which has been of great concern to the Oligarchs of the main member worlds as the movement's humanitarian, progressive, and worker friendly views stand opposed to the crushing weight of the League. Instead, Mensa has been championing, indirectly more conservative Islamic movements, and in many cases have been actively harassing Harakat Alnahda, including the execution of prominent members.

Foreign Relations

The Mensa League is not a properly functioning state, and therefore individual member worlds are, at least, in theory entitled to pursue their own diplomatic relations. However, as a matter of practicality, League member worlds do meet regularly to create a somewhat cohesive party line regarding foreign powers. The League is primarily interested in trade, and establishing dominance over trade in its galactic neighborhood. The League maintains relatively friendly with most of its neighbors, including major trade agreements with the Union of Sol and the Centauri Republic, though by treaty between those two powers, the Union of Sol's deal is more equal than that with the Centauri.

Laws

The dominating oligarchies of the Mensa League are concerned first and foremost with the free flow of trade across their worlds, and to outsiders this would make them appear as bastions of freedom and the frontier spirit. However, securing that free flow of trade, particularly in the face of dissident movements necessitates brutal suppression of the civil rights for its own citizens, and as a result laws for citizens are much stricter than those for passing traders. On average, one can expect laws pertaining to the flow of information, free movement, and privacy to be extremely strict, while goods possession, except for weapons and armor, are comparatively lax. However, even here, that light hand mostly applies to spaceports with most of the worlds subject to strictures only mildly looser than the norm.

Agriculture & Industry

The Mensa League is a mid-tier power economically, with ample, if somewhat outdated industrial and agricultural production. It is self-sufficient both in terms of feeding itself, and of supplying most needs of the average citizens. However, higher tech goods are always in high demand, and in relatively low supply in local markets. Instead, the Mensa League derives most of its economic might from commerce, dominating trade going into the Sol Sector from the Gemini and Neuve Lorraine sector. It is also home to a number of important religious sites, the tourism of which helps stabilize the market.

Education

The Mensa League doesn't have any sort of formal education system, instead leaving the particulars to individual member systems. This level of neglect continues to further devolved levels of government, with no member systems, save Mesopotamia, providing any public education to its citizens. Instead, a complex system of private academies exist to supply the needs of the middle and upper classes, and grossly underfunded charity schools try to ensure some minimum standard of education for common people. Basic education in literacy is almost the only thing that can be considered somewhat universal. Generally teaching is done in person, though remote learning does happen in some cases.

Infrastructure

The Mensa League is, despite being lackluster in a number of other respects, actually in position of a fairly solid transportation infrastructuture, with three of its five constituent systems in lying within the Jumpgate network. This allows for relatively efficent travel and communications between the various member worlds. The League also has relatively advanced Starports throughout most of its territory with only the port at Levantia being considered Average under the precepts of the The Universal Identification System.