Paper

bureaucratic lifeblood

Overview

The vnou are a highly bureaucratic people by nature and do not trust the convenience of digital records since they can be easily altered by the very family who backed much of the technological revolution : Zhu'Drahinuaw. Drahinuaw is the single authority when it comes to networks, coding, and hacking – and since no other family can compete in this sphere, digital records are not considered official nor binding. Rather, they’re used as quick reference and ease of access in that regard, but nothing stored digitally or that exists purely online will uphold in court.

In a world where the powerful can alter the memories and even real-time perception of other vnou, hard-copy documentation has always been king. It isn’t exactly foolproof, nothing is, but the complicated and complex bureaucratic layers are meant to be safe guards against tampering of information or the unauthorized alteration of records.

Rarity

In the present day, paper is not rare but it is no less culturally significant. Though the common vnou might not wholly understand why everything must be done on paper and mailed in to the various offices around the world, it’s one of those things has always been. Even if it can become tedious and frustrating for even them. There are some that understand that it gives both order and assurance to records in the event that a vnou might tamper with another – but such crimes are incredibly rare amongst the common vnou so many might feel it an unnecessary safeguard. A hold over from an older age, especially moving into the technological age.

The further back in history you go, the rarer paper becomes, the more narrow the scope of who was able to use it. That doesn’t lessen its significance today, since noble vnou use documentation in the present in much the same way they did in the past. Verified records are just another weapon in the vnou nobility’s arsenal.

Creation

Unlike almost everything else in the vnou’s world, there is no agreed upon creator of paper nor family of origin. Zhu'Shpazh will insist upon it as one of the oldest families though their family isn’t exactly known for the production of things. Sid'Thovaych has made an equal claim to this cultural cornerstone but they’ve no more proof than Shpazh – the age of their family, the wealth and power backing them.

The most likely creator, or at least the initial origin of paper, is Pra'Stazrach. This noble family has long been established in jungles surrounded by bamboo and are known for their craftsman – in weaponry, but also in clothing and art. The difference between Stazrach and the previous two families is that they don’t feel the need to boast upon something they know to be true while the others insist it must be them.

An End to Violence

For much of the vnou’s history, before the Reconstruction, violence and atrocities committed against one another was almost the norm. It was survival of the strong, subjugation of the weak. A time of assassinations and conflicts that usually ended poorly for the common vnou that happen to be in the vicinity. Around the year 1245, the development of firearms began in earnest. They became the equalizer the common vnou would need for their rebellion.

The Reconstruction brought about a lot of change for the vnou. Prior to, there was still the use of documentation and paperwork to maintain family records but it wouldn’t became a primary weapon or crux of the nobility until after. When the dust settled from the Reconstruction, fire arms were forgotten from the collective vnou mind, and there was an agreed upon system the nobility would subscribe to. This took their bureaucratic bent and amplified it one hundred fold.

It would be the importance and implementation of paper records after the Reconstruction that would ultimately signal the end to large scale violence. It became a social check against even the most powerful families and a way to provide illusionary control to the common vnou.