The Factions of the Conglomerate
The Conglomerate: A Vision of Future Humanity
The Conglomerate (or simply 'the Glom' for short) was one of the earliest elements I conceived of. The Conglomerate is both a quasi-federal space government of 6 human factions. The factions of the Conglomerate each have their own sovereignty but share a common set of laws for the purposes of conflict-resolution, commerce, and stability.
Dividing humanity up into factions is a common story-telling device, and for good reason. Each group has their own characteristics, customs, cultures, and motivations. It makes it easy to understand what a character is about on a surface level, though some characters are intentionally the antithesis of the faction they belong to at times. All of this creates contrast in a vast universe, where it could easily become difficult to track which character was from which planet and what group they belonged to.
Ceron is the 'America' of the Conglomerate, for lack of a better term. They're a constitutional republic with multiple colonies and a large, well organized military. In terms of their spacefaring capabilities, they have the most advanced fleet in the Glom, rivaled only by Mesav.
Ceron often finds themselves enforcing Conglomerate law among the other factions, a task that they often have to negotiate with their rivals. After the Grakhon war 30 years earlier, though, they have been the de facto Glom police force, overseeing much of Vay, Zorok, and Kridzen territory in addition to their own.
Chess is a central part of their culture, a game that was popular among their historic war heroes and generals. As a result, the ships in their fleet have designations based on chess pieces, with each having unique distinctions among their fleet.
As a society, Ceron values freedom, independence, and order. Colonies are permitted to have their own local governments, and the Ceron federal government's powers are relatively limited.
The Empire of Mesav is made up of a handful of royal houses that occupy the western side of Conglomerate space. Chief among these houses is House Chadrezzar, the family house of their supreme emperor, Nebenar.
Mesav is a patriarchal society, valuing dominance, power, and tradition. Mesav men in particular are part of a caste system, which determines the number of wives they are permitted to have.
At the top of Mesav hierarchy is the emperor, with hundreds of wives and concubines. While the bottom of the hierarchy contains men who have had their wives and property striped from them, either because of crimes they have committed or for their failures in service to the empire.
As a people, the Mesav are well adapted to high-gravity environments in which they thrive. On average they are taller and more muscled than most other humans, a set of traits that makes them deadly in hand-to-hand combat.
The moon world of Vay is a place of chaos and debauchery. Terribly mismanaged by a defunct and corrupt government, the people of Vay are largely under the control of local mafias, headed by matriarchal 'kingpins'. The rest are subjugated by government-run corporations with a monopoly on the means of production.
There is little that is not legal on Vay, making it a haven for smugglers, drug runners, and human trafficking in the Conglomerate.
The Vay people are part of a subset of humanity that is predisposed to genetic defects and other congenital conditions. Roughly 45% of the male population is affected by intellectual impairments to various degrees, and 25% are rendered completely infertile.
Vay isn't just a society in collapse, it's in free fall.
Reclusive and technocratic, the Kridzen are part of the Conglomerate in name only, preferring to keep to themselves rather than getting involved in the competition and posturing that the rest of the Conglomerate indulges in.
All members of Kridzen are part of a hive mind collective, their individuality suppressed and their minds connected through neural link. The aim of Kridzen society is to become one with the machines they create, finding harmony and balance in all things through the fusion of flesh and technology.
Yet some among them have refused to submit to the collective, becoming exiles forced to wander the Conglomerate where they are unwelcome.
Obsessed with profit, the Zorok have their fingers in every profit-making enterprise in the Glom. Hyper-capitalistic to a fault, the Zorok will go to almost any length to make a buck.
Most Zorok citizens lead simple lives, working in one of Zorok's many mining sites throughout the Conglomerate or trying to make a big score prospecting valuable resources.
The elite few who reside on Zorok Prime are the ruling class, formed around super-corporations controlled by their matriarchal executives. Businesses are passed down from mother to eldest daughter, ensuring that profits are kept within the family.
Nearly extinct, the people of Laneth now exist in small numbers primarily on Ceron and her colonies. Laneth was the first target of the Grakhon at the beginning of the war, some 30 years ago. Their home planet ravaged by the aggressive alien force, few were left surviving, but those who did told horror stories of the Grakhon's brutality and experimentation on their people.
Laneth and Ceron's relationship has always been close, the two sister civilizations having shared a common culture and values going back to their inception. Now without Laneth's guidance and wisdom, and without their key alliance to balance the other factions of the Conglomerate, Ceron's future is uncertain.
Before the Grakhon came, most Laneth lived off the land. The breadbasket of the Glom in her heyday, farming of produce and livestock was the majority of the Laneth economy.
Some, however, sought adventure outside of the country lifestyle, venturing out into the fringes of Conglomerate space to explore new worlds and secrets that were to be found. In this pursuit, they found what they were looking for, being the first to encounter the Grakhon in uncharted territories beyond the Glom.
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