The Federation of Democratic Planetary Communes, boogey man of the capitalist world, leader of the galaxy's worker's liberation movements. Reviled by many, adored by millions, its red flag and bronze hammer and cog had stood proudly next to the Imperial eagle and the Sonran planet and stars on the galactic scene. Its armies had faced and defeated the Order's forces and stood on par with the galaxy's most powerful militaries. Its industrial might had stood unchallenged for centuries, its innumerable factories, quarries, mines and power stations marvels all to themselves. Its well-ordered, egalitarian and free society had served as a possible alternative to the imperialist and capitalist world that seemed to dominate most of the galaxy.
As the decades went past, the Federation grew in power and influence, spreading its ideology and way of life to other parts of the galaxy. New socialist nations arose from revolutions, and the North of the galaxy was soon painted a uniform shade of defiant red. The Communist Block arose in defiance to the Imperium, and a long period of conflict arose from the rekindled tensions. Wars of varying amplitude broke out between the Imperial Block and the Communist Block, but neither side ever seemed to gain a real advantage. It almost seemed like the Commonwealth's dreams of status quo and prolonged galactic peace were going to become a reality.
But then, the Communist Block and its leader, unbeknownst to outside observers, began to lose momentum. Paranoia built-up over the decades as well as recent military setbacks prompted the rise of isolationist political figures, and partisans of "the construction of communism in one country". The Federation progressively lost its internationalist stance, with the most visible change being the drastic reduction of activity in Communist Parties through the galaxy, as they were reduced to simple observers. Several uprisings happened during that time, but none of them received Federal help. Soon enough, the workers' movement began to lose energy as the tremendous backing of the Federation became less felt.
By the year 2283, the Communist Block was showing serious signs of weakness: stagnation, an increasingly authoritarian and inefficient leadership and government corruption. The outside world waited with baited breath as the Federation stumbled like a drunken man. Many failed to predict the fate of the red giant, as it seemed impossible for it to simply vanish from the galactic scene.
And yet, when the year 2284 came, the Federation entered a period of unrest and strife. A huge pan-Federal strike of the industrial and transport sectors took the world entirely by surprise. It soon became apparent that the Federal people's quality of life had gone downhill. Channel 7 reporters managed to get footage of barely functional factories, decaying hab blocks and enormous queues in front of formerly well-stocked food and clothing stores. In the smaller socialist nations, dissent and discontent became rampant, and a sudden wave of rebellion swept the Communist Block. Foreign observers were amazed when, one by one, the Federation's former faithful supporters turned their backs on the Federal way and reverted back to the old ways. In a desperate gamble to preserve its waning political influence, the Federation sent troops en masse to its allies. This soon proved to be a disaster, as several of the countries collapsed into civil war.
The new drain on the Federation's weak economy as well as the steadily increasing death toll and demoralistation of the troops sent to "keep the peace and restore the revolutionary governments" created an enormous backlash against the Federal government. Workers in armament factories soon went on a strike of their own, and soldiers mutinied. The last straw was a bloody riot in the Federation's capital city, and, only a month after said riot, the Pan-Federal Congress was called up to discuss the future of the F.D.P.C.
Little did they know that it would be the last ever congress.
Many were in favour of saving the Federation, possibly by drafting a new constitution and reworking its crippled and stagnant economy and political system. In a week, seven projects were drafted, but none of them were approved. As the debate dragged on, a small but vocal faction soon made their voices heard: abandon the doomed communist pipe dream and build a new nation, the Trantorian Federation.
As the debate became more and more venomous, an extremist branch of the military took action. Grav tanks and cyborg troopers marched on the Palace of the Federation, demanding that power be handed over to them. Brutal fighting between the PoSeFed special intervention units, loyalist sections of the Federal Army and the Trantorian Communal Defence Forces broke out, accompanied by riots. The Palace of the Union was besieged, and the footage of the famous building's upper floors burning as light artillery shelled it shocked the galaxy. After four days of fighting, most of the forces supporting the coup had surrendered, leaving only the cyborg troopers, among them famous veteran Aya Valmora. Trapped in the headquarters of the People's Herald, the cyborgs refused to surrender to the PoSeFed, which lead to a brutal siege. In the end, all of the besieged were killed, and the Red Maiden was captured. In the confusion of the siege's aftermath, Aya Valmora was taken into a back yard by PoSeFed units and shot without trial.
The death of the Red Maiden and the brutal battle fought in Trantor's streets caused an uproar in the Federation. As it turned out, the Maiden's death was due to an error in the orders given to the PoSeFed that day, but the Federal media as well as Imperial and Sonran media contributed to whipping up a storm of hatred aimed at the government, now perceived as ineffective and weak, as well as at the PoSeFe. Police stations were attacked and the PoSeFed's headquarters on Trantor were fire-bombed. The Congress, interrupted by the coup and the fighting, resumed in the blackened and battered hulk of the Palace of the Federation.
With many planetary representants dead, killed in the fighting of the previous days, the Congress tottered unsteadily along until the final, shocking moment of Federal history: Marc Zator, Federal Premier, made a fateful speech, revoking the ideas that the Federation had followed so faithfully for centuries and saying that the F.D.P.C. as a whole had proved to be a failure. With that, he stepped down from the partially burned tribune, and let the leader of the anti-socialist faction take his place.
Thus the end of the Federation came. Soon after the speech and Zator's resignation, many of the planetary representants left. Albert Zetichkin, newly proclaimed Federal Premier soon began to try and dismantle the Federation. The red flag stamped with the bronze hammer and cog that floated proudly over the Palace and had done so for centuries, was slowly lowered that night. Angry crowds tried to storm the Palace, but were beaten back by newly created disciplinary units.
For a few weeks, the Federation teetered on the brink of civil war. Valdor was the first of the Communes to threaten to mobilise its armies against the new government on Trantor, and it was soon joined by Kronstadt, Vangelis, Massalia and Ava. Other planets and systems threatened to secede. To everyone's shock, the new Premier declared he would fight the "red scum" that opposed the "path to change". As the anti-government coalition reluctantly prepared for war, the Imperium stepped in and declared that it would back the new Federal government. With their army split, the country in turmoil and the economy in chaos, the anti-government coalition realised that they could not win a civil war. Worse, a civil war would devastate the Federation, leaving it at the mercy of the Imperium.
And so, the final obstacle to the Federation's collapse stepped down and relented. Valdor officially seceded, accompanied by Vangelis and Kronstadt, whereas Massalia chose to stay. The Consitution of the Federation of Democratic Planetary Communes was revoked, and the F.D.P.C. officially ceased to exist. The new government renamed the Trantoran Federal Republic, and put into effect a radical economic program designed to turn the ex-F.D.P.C. away from its former social and economic model. The collective system was first to go down, and was accompanied by bitter resistance from the syndicates. Next, the government attacked the collectives and cooperatives, encouraging people to abandon the old democratic, egalitarian model in favour of a boss-based competitive one. Behind the curtains, the S.I.A. and SUPRA were declared illegal, and all their members who refused to pledge loyalty to the T.F.R. were arrested and imprisoned. Many S.I.A. and SUPRA members managed to escape to Valdor and other secessionist systems, but many more, unbeknownst to the public, were executed. Battles broke out in certain areas where SUPRA, loyalist PoSeFed units and S.I.A. agents refused to flee or cooperate with the new government.
Strikes broke out again as workers protested the unpopular reforms, but the increasingly authoritarian Trantoran government pushed on, receiving covert help from the Sonrans and Imperials. Soon, State and Cooperative ownership was revoked, and the Federation's industry soon found itself open for sale to foreigners. Workers did their best to save their factories from falling into Imperial or Sonran hands, pooling their wealth to buy them out. The medical sector was quickly torn apart by Imperial and Sonran buyers, who wanted to get at the Federation's very advanced medical robotics. Evidently, the most devastating policy was the introduction of currency.
The military was also deprived of the free supplies and upkeep it used to get in Federal times, and since there was no sufficient State funding for it and no private investors willing to invest in the ex-Federal Army, discipline and morale crashed. Many soldiers left the military, desperately trying to adapt to the new capitalistic system. Unpaid and starving, many soldiers also sold off huge quantities of weaponry and materiel on the black market, while others were drawn in by Imperial mercenary corps. From full employment, the Trantoran Federal Republic went to catastrophically high levels of unemployment as workers were fired by Sonran and Imperial bosses, "inviable" factories were closed down and cuts in the now privatised sectors of education and communication occurred. After generations of economic security and working pride, unemployment and poverty struck millions of ex-Federal citizens like a hammer to the face. Despair became prevalent, and previously controlled problems such as alcoholism, drug addiction and organised crime exploded. The health care system, now mostly privatised save for a small public enclave, did not help the millions of destitute people of all races, since few could afford medical treatment.
A new privileged class, an unspeakable blasphemy to the F.D.P.C., soon arose from the government and certain lucky families. Old and insalubre hab blocks were bought by the "New Federals" and turned into luxury hotels or demolished to make way for palaces copying Imperial style and opulence. All this while millions were kicked out of their homes and forced to live on the street or in hastily set up shelters.
Finally, the new government ended its attack on the spirit of the Federal peoples by attacking symbols of the vanished F.D.P.C. Statues of Marshal Ferrus and the Red Maiden were torn from their bases and dumped unceremoniously in gigantic "red land fills" alongside many other symbols of the socialist era. The old Minervan two-headed eagle also made a loathesome come-back in official imagery.
Seven years have passed since the fall of the F.D.P.C. The Sonran media is now talking about the "current Federal economic disaster and upcoming demographic catastrophe" and a debate is taking place about the demolition or restoration of the still badly damaged Palace of the Federation. Unemployment, poverty and squalor are rampant as well as corruption. The whole of the country seems to have lost the shine it had in its glorious past, its clean streets now littered with filth and refuse, massive factories now abandoned and scheduled for demolition, beggars lining the sidewalks despite the police's best efforts to lock them all up, and a general look of grey, crumbling decline put against the occasional, lurid contrast of the New Federals' wealth and excess.
Will the people pull through? Is the Federal Dream well and truly dead?
As the decades went past, the Federation grew in power and influence, spreading its ideology and way of life to other parts of the galaxy. New socialist nations arose from revolutions, and the North of the galaxy was soon painted a uniform shade of defiant red. The Communist Block arose in defiance to the Imperium, and a long period of conflict arose from the rekindled tensions. Wars of varying amplitude broke out between the Imperial Block and the Communist Block, but neither side ever seemed to gain a real advantage. It almost seemed like the Commonwealth's dreams of status quo and prolonged galactic peace were going to become a reality.
But then, the Communist Block and its leader, unbeknownst to outside observers, began to lose momentum. Paranoia built-up over the decades as well as recent military setbacks prompted the rise of isolationist political figures, and partisans of "the construction of communism in one country". The Federation progressively lost its internationalist stance, with the most visible change being the drastic reduction of activity in Communist Parties through the galaxy, as they were reduced to simple observers. Several uprisings happened during that time, but none of them received Federal help. Soon enough, the workers' movement began to lose energy as the tremendous backing of the Federation became less felt.
By the year 2283, the Communist Block was showing serious signs of weakness: stagnation, an increasingly authoritarian and inefficient leadership and government corruption. The outside world waited with baited breath as the Federation stumbled like a drunken man. Many failed to predict the fate of the red giant, as it seemed impossible for it to simply vanish from the galactic scene.
And yet, when the year 2284 came, the Federation entered a period of unrest and strife. A huge pan-Federal strike of the industrial and transport sectors took the world entirely by surprise. It soon became apparent that the Federal people's quality of life had gone downhill. Channel 7 reporters managed to get footage of barely functional factories, decaying hab blocks and enormous queues in front of formerly well-stocked food and clothing stores. In the smaller socialist nations, dissent and discontent became rampant, and a sudden wave of rebellion swept the Communist Block. Foreign observers were amazed when, one by one, the Federation's former faithful supporters turned their backs on the Federal way and reverted back to the old ways. In a desperate gamble to preserve its waning political influence, the Federation sent troops en masse to its allies. This soon proved to be a disaster, as several of the countries collapsed into civil war.
The new drain on the Federation's weak economy as well as the steadily increasing death toll and demoralistation of the troops sent to "keep the peace and restore the revolutionary governments" created an enormous backlash against the Federal government. Workers in armament factories soon went on a strike of their own, and soldiers mutinied. The last straw was a bloody riot in the Federation's capital city, and, only a month after said riot, the Pan-Federal Congress was called up to discuss the future of the F.D.P.C.
Little did they know that it would be the last ever congress.
Many were in favour of saving the Federation, possibly by drafting a new constitution and reworking its crippled and stagnant economy and political system. In a week, seven projects were drafted, but none of them were approved. As the debate dragged on, a small but vocal faction soon made their voices heard: abandon the doomed communist pipe dream and build a new nation, the Trantorian Federation.
As the debate became more and more venomous, an extremist branch of the military took action. Grav tanks and cyborg troopers marched on the Palace of the Federation, demanding that power be handed over to them. Brutal fighting between the PoSeFed special intervention units, loyalist sections of the Federal Army and the Trantorian Communal Defence Forces broke out, accompanied by riots. The Palace of the Union was besieged, and the footage of the famous building's upper floors burning as light artillery shelled it shocked the galaxy. After four days of fighting, most of the forces supporting the coup had surrendered, leaving only the cyborg troopers, among them famous veteran Aya Valmora. Trapped in the headquarters of the People's Herald, the cyborgs refused to surrender to the PoSeFed, which lead to a brutal siege. In the end, all of the besieged were killed, and the Red Maiden was captured. In the confusion of the siege's aftermath, Aya Valmora was taken into a back yard by PoSeFed units and shot without trial.
The death of the Red Maiden and the brutal battle fought in Trantor's streets caused an uproar in the Federation. As it turned out, the Maiden's death was due to an error in the orders given to the PoSeFed that day, but the Federal media as well as Imperial and Sonran media contributed to whipping up a storm of hatred aimed at the government, now perceived as ineffective and weak, as well as at the PoSeFe. Police stations were attacked and the PoSeFed's headquarters on Trantor were fire-bombed. The Congress, interrupted by the coup and the fighting, resumed in the blackened and battered hulk of the Palace of the Federation.
With many planetary representants dead, killed in the fighting of the previous days, the Congress tottered unsteadily along until the final, shocking moment of Federal history: Marc Zator, Federal Premier, made a fateful speech, revoking the ideas that the Federation had followed so faithfully for centuries and saying that the F.D.P.C. as a whole had proved to be a failure. With that, he stepped down from the partially burned tribune, and let the leader of the anti-socialist faction take his place.
Thus the end of the Federation came. Soon after the speech and Zator's resignation, many of the planetary representants left. Albert Zetichkin, newly proclaimed Federal Premier soon began to try and dismantle the Federation. The red flag stamped with the bronze hammer and cog that floated proudly over the Palace and had done so for centuries, was slowly lowered that night. Angry crowds tried to storm the Palace, but were beaten back by newly created disciplinary units.
For a few weeks, the Federation teetered on the brink of civil war. Valdor was the first of the Communes to threaten to mobilise its armies against the new government on Trantor, and it was soon joined by Kronstadt, Vangelis, Massalia and Ava. Other planets and systems threatened to secede. To everyone's shock, the new Premier declared he would fight the "red scum" that opposed the "path to change". As the anti-government coalition reluctantly prepared for war, the Imperium stepped in and declared that it would back the new Federal government. With their army split, the country in turmoil and the economy in chaos, the anti-government coalition realised that they could not win a civil war. Worse, a civil war would devastate the Federation, leaving it at the mercy of the Imperium.
And so, the final obstacle to the Federation's collapse stepped down and relented. Valdor officially seceded, accompanied by Vangelis and Kronstadt, whereas Massalia chose to stay. The Consitution of the Federation of Democratic Planetary Communes was revoked, and the F.D.P.C. officially ceased to exist. The new government renamed the Trantoran Federal Republic, and put into effect a radical economic program designed to turn the ex-F.D.P.C. away from its former social and economic model. The collective system was first to go down, and was accompanied by bitter resistance from the syndicates. Next, the government attacked the collectives and cooperatives, encouraging people to abandon the old democratic, egalitarian model in favour of a boss-based competitive one. Behind the curtains, the S.I.A. and SUPRA were declared illegal, and all their members who refused to pledge loyalty to the T.F.R. were arrested and imprisoned. Many S.I.A. and SUPRA members managed to escape to Valdor and other secessionist systems, but many more, unbeknownst to the public, were executed. Battles broke out in certain areas where SUPRA, loyalist PoSeFed units and S.I.A. agents refused to flee or cooperate with the new government.
Strikes broke out again as workers protested the unpopular reforms, but the increasingly authoritarian Trantoran government pushed on, receiving covert help from the Sonrans and Imperials. Soon, State and Cooperative ownership was revoked, and the Federation's industry soon found itself open for sale to foreigners. Workers did their best to save their factories from falling into Imperial or Sonran hands, pooling their wealth to buy them out. The medical sector was quickly torn apart by Imperial and Sonran buyers, who wanted to get at the Federation's very advanced medical robotics. Evidently, the most devastating policy was the introduction of currency.
The military was also deprived of the free supplies and upkeep it used to get in Federal times, and since there was no sufficient State funding for it and no private investors willing to invest in the ex-Federal Army, discipline and morale crashed. Many soldiers left the military, desperately trying to adapt to the new capitalistic system. Unpaid and starving, many soldiers also sold off huge quantities of weaponry and materiel on the black market, while others were drawn in by Imperial mercenary corps. From full employment, the Trantoran Federal Republic went to catastrophically high levels of unemployment as workers were fired by Sonran and Imperial bosses, "inviable" factories were closed down and cuts in the now privatised sectors of education and communication occurred. After generations of economic security and working pride, unemployment and poverty struck millions of ex-Federal citizens like a hammer to the face. Despair became prevalent, and previously controlled problems such as alcoholism, drug addiction and organised crime exploded. The health care system, now mostly privatised save for a small public enclave, did not help the millions of destitute people of all races, since few could afford medical treatment.
A new privileged class, an unspeakable blasphemy to the F.D.P.C., soon arose from the government and certain lucky families. Old and insalubre hab blocks were bought by the "New Federals" and turned into luxury hotels or demolished to make way for palaces copying Imperial style and opulence. All this while millions were kicked out of their homes and forced to live on the street or in hastily set up shelters.
Finally, the new government ended its attack on the spirit of the Federal peoples by attacking symbols of the vanished F.D.P.C. Statues of Marshal Ferrus and the Red Maiden were torn from their bases and dumped unceremoniously in gigantic "red land fills" alongside many other symbols of the socialist era. The old Minervan two-headed eagle also made a loathesome come-back in official imagery.
Seven years have passed since the fall of the F.D.P.C. The Sonran media is now talking about the "current Federal economic disaster and upcoming demographic catastrophe" and a debate is taking place about the demolition or restoration of the still badly damaged Palace of the Federation. Unemployment, poverty and squalor are rampant as well as corruption. The whole of the country seems to have lost the shine it had in its glorious past, its clean streets now littered with filth and refuse, massive factories now abandoned and scheduled for demolition, beggars lining the sidewalks despite the police's best efforts to lock them all up, and a general look of grey, crumbling decline put against the occasional, lurid contrast of the New Federals' wealth and excess.
Will the people pull through? Is the Federal Dream well and truly dead?
