Since writing is like building a muscle, I've decided to exercise it with this story. It's likely doing to be rather short, as I have another work going on. But that doesn't means I can't have fun! This will far less structured and planned than my other works. So far more room for experimentation. And the inclusion of suggestions from comments for plot stuff.
If you want to add something, don't be shy. I've OK'd anon comments (at my own peril) so you don't need an account.
Have fun reading!
Year AFGE 17 (After the Founding of the Galactic Empire) – 1050 AG (Earth standard)
I know it's odd but... I like writing in the old way... with dates and stuff ok? It's something I don't do much in school. I do it. I guess, sometimes in class. But... never while being watched. I might write a date down in the AG format, then quickly erase the writing away as if it never happened.
And I always make sure to erase all of it. When I was younger, I had forgotten to do that, and… I still remember the pain of the 10 lashes on the back I was given for my error. Or, rather for being caught. It wasn't an error. There is nothing wrong with writing in my native script. It's not my fault that many of Earth's anti-Imperial Nationalists also happen to use it as well.
And if I keep telling myself that, maybe my hands will shake less as I write this.
I'm not supposed to do this kind of thing at all. That's because I'm supposed to set an example. A normal kid would get 3 lashes but… I'm not normal.
Anyway so… Why do I feel guilty about typing on a force darned (gosh- it gosh or am I forgetting the phrases we used as well?) Datapad (No! It's called a tablet. Tablet is what we call it here).
Breath in *inhale* and out *exhale*. I'm in a totally neutral place, my room. I'm not in my school dormitory. I'm staying at my house for the night. It is Sunday. A schoolmaster or matron isn't going to hit me if I decide to use the word 'tablet', or the phrase 'Gosh darn' here, or write in Latin script like I'm doing now, rather than Galactic Basic script.
It's ok. It's ok. They aren't going to yell at me for 'not being proud enough of the Empire' or 'not being patriotic enough'. Or accuse me of failing on purpose.
Yea, a bit unnecessary but.. it gets the nerves I have out.
So, my name is Robin Washington. I'm writing this on a data… no, - tablet. Here. Alone in my room. It's 01:00 right now.
Oh, you got to be… I used the time format I always use in school, rather than what I was taught before the well- take over of our planet. I even heard the time in my head as 'Oh three hundred' and not 1 AM.
What is even the point of writing in a book to preserve what I'm forgetting when I barely remember anything of importance?
Or rather, I do remember, but everything has been forcibly painted over with new phrases, and words, and formats and history. So yeah, I'm looking around my completely darkened room making sure no one sees me writing this.
I've already committed many willful offenses. First, with the writing of the dates and lastly by not calling the conquest of my home planet by the term 'Reunification of Humanity' that always appears on the state-run Holonet. I don't even want to imagine the number of lashings I'd get for writing this. If anyone catches me with this…
I can't let anyone catch me with this.
So…, for future reference, let me explain. So currently, (right now as I type) future me, I am 17 years old. I will soon turn 18. I'll graduate and do… I'm not really sure what. I haven't planned it out yet. I can get into any kind of school I want, given my high grades, good test scores, and solid class rank.
So the thing is, I want to write down things that I like about Earth. Things I might forget. That's because things change so much around here. This is in addition to having a place to groan and moan about my life. I can't ever really do that. Complaining out loud isn't something I'm allowed to do.
But yeah, things have changed so much in the last few years. I worry I won't remember the times beforehand.
And wouldn't it be a shame to leave the memory of Earth only to Imperials who have zero connection to this planet at all? I can contribute what I can remember later as well. But, it wouldn't get published. No way would this pass the regulatory board. But maybe in a few years, when the use of Earth-specific slang, formats, and scripts, isn't seen as political or as holding a kid back, I'll be able to write a book on it or something. If they let me.
But yea things have changed so much and it bothers me. Oh, what is wrong with me? Why do I care so much? No one else seems to.
Ok, my Dad seemed to care, but he's gone now, and it seems only some old people really bother with these thoughts that I have.
The standard explanation for this feeling older adults have is, is that older adults simply don't 'get it'. Most Imperials I know respond by saying 'it's not their fault. Adjusting from a planetary perspective to a galactic one is hard'. They think they are being compassionate. It just sounds condescending to me, though.
This change in perspective is also the reason why every one of school-age must go to the new schools that were built following the takeover. A lot of kids have to travel pretty far to their assigned school. Like, the other side of the world far. Like, don't go home until Spring, Winter, and Summer break far. I'm far luckier. I can walk home from school. However, it is still required that I live there.
My school is stern and austere. It was a big kick in the backside compared to the Montessori school I went to when I was younger. I have to wake up before sunrise every day, stand at attention, and go through the inspection of my bed area along with everyone else in the dormitory. Then go outside, raise the Imperial flag in a ceremony, sing the anthem, pledge allegiance to the Empire and Emperor Palpatine, and then we are allowed breakfast. After, it's a constant barrage of orders, walking in lines and saying "Yes, Sir," or "No, Mam," all day.
The teacher asks you the answer to a question? Stand up, say "Yes, sir," answer the question, and sit down. Make it snappy too, because being slow could get you demerits. Pretty much anything can though. Forgot a pen for class? Demerits. Didn't do your homework? Double demerits and a run. Existing in the hallways 5 picoseconds after classes start? Demerits. Tapping your feet in class or not following along with lessons? Yeah, you get the point.
All these demerits can lead to more running, detention, being made to clean, or lastly being hit. No one wanted to get to the point where they got that many demerits though. The only way to 'refresh' your demerit count is to max yours out and get hit, which starts you back at zero.
This one dude managed to not get hit all semester. But he had a rough last week and really racked up the demerits. On the last day before break, in the last hour, he was caught looking out the window. So, before anyone could go home, everyone had to watch the guy get hit for reaching the maximum because all punishments involving hitting are public.
How else are they supposed to scare the daylights out of us?
Note, some 'crimes' like contradicting a teacher automatically lead to someone being hit, but without it counting to the demerits score. So, the count isn't refreshed.
It has happened more than once that a guy gets hit for disrespecting a teacher and then again for reaching his demerits ceiling for something completely unrelated, on the same day.
The lash they use is made of some sort of animal hide. More importantly, it has absolutely zero flexibility. Thus, your skin will break, long before the lash does. This makes it extremely long-lasting and assists in its use as a means of terror.
Personally, I hate it there... Still, I'll live. I've been there a while. I'll be leaving soon anyway.
I guess the only good thing about the school is that I've learned a lot. We do a lot of learning by rote by saying facts over and over until they're memorized. When I first entered at 10, I didn't know how to read or write Galactic Basic, now I can give a decent lecture on the Economy of Naboo.
Even so, I often wonder how much of what the textbooks say is actually true. It's pretty common for governments to edit stuff out. This was one of the justifications the Empire gave for closing all of our old schools and aligning everyone's curriculum with the Galactic standard. Even still, just because it's the Empire writing the book, that doesn't mean the incentives have changed.
I often can't really be sure though. Everything I've read agrees with Holonet. And I don't know anyone outside of Earth that I can ask to ensure that everything in the book is factual. I don't know for sure if, as the books say, the Republic really was a decadent and corrupted thing that needed to go. Ok, maybe local Imperials, but I doubt they're unbiased.
So I live with my Mom, Brother, Sister, and Stepfather Terrareence (pronounced TER-RARE-RENCE). I think Terrareence hates me, though. Often, when we are posing as a family for propaganda photo ops, he's all smiles, until he looks at me and then frowns for a good ten seconds. Then, he remembers himself and smiles again.
I get it. He's blue-eyed. I have dull browns. He has red hair, mine is a shadowy black. We clearly aren't related. I was only a part of the deal when he married my Mom and came along for the ride.
He seems fine with my sister who looks like my mom. And of course, he has no issues with my little brother seeing as he's a perfect clone of the man, only smaller. Force knows where the other recessive gene came from for him to get red hair.
So yeah, I just want -I just want a place to write. And just be... without people acting weird.
Often saying things like:
"Oh, you're that boy from the Holo advertisements that came on at 09:00 in my system." When I don't know them, haven't ever seen them, and didn't approach them.
Or...
"You're human like us... But from Earth? How exotic! I bet you're glad that your Stepdad is an Imperial huh? Can't beat the benefits and especially the deals on travel with all those reduced fare prices. I kind of dislike it, but it makes sense, So few of you have ever stepped foot off of your planet, before. They especially give the best benefits to mixed families like yourself."
Do they even hear themselves? Who would be happy that their Dad was suddenly out of the picture? For travel benefits? Are you kidding me?
OK, maybe... I should be a bit kinder to them.
it's not their fault. My Holo backstory only says that my father divorced my mom and then they cut to my mom's marriage ceremony.
They didn't know. The Holo didn't talk about what happened in between.
No. Instead only speaking of a fateful reuniting of human brothers and sisters from across the Galaxy. It sounded so sappy it made me sick. And I wasn't a cynical kid.
The fact that Mom married an Imperial so soon after the conquest (it was not a reunion-no matter what they say) made us a perfect family to use during advertisements that play between dramas and movies.
The damn thing was so cheesy and ridiculous! The music? Too dramatic. The lighting? Schizophrenic. Anyone with even an ounce of film sense would have toned it down.
But yeah, 6 minutes of an ad played between shows was enough to make us all famous.
The photo of myself, my sister, and mom next to my stepfather, while posing for the wedding, was placed on channel after channel. The thing was used over and over and was contorted for whatever purpose they wanted the video or photo to serve at the moment.
It was pretty multi-faceted.
Sometimes, it would be used to promote strong families. This was key as many of the Empire's strongest supporters believed in Humanity being a gigantic family. This family, they reasoned, had to have a head leader. To them, that was the emperor. To those who believe strongly in hierarchies and order, the Empire served as a bulwark against the misguided naivety of liberalism.
It could also be used to promote "Humanity's shared greatness'". That is the term the Human Supremacists and media are using. Human Supremacists loved trotting that one out. They loved to brag about how 'harmonious' and loyal Earthlings were, compared to the denizens of other planets, particularly non-human majority planets.
"Look at how quickly they integrate into our Empire," They say. "These Earthlings who have been alone for thousands of years are quicker to integrate than aliens that have encountered the Galaxy their entire lives! Clearly, this is a testament to the superiority of Man," they'd argue.
Humanity's inherent superiority was also a reason given by a hawkish senator to strip Wookies of the designation of sentient beings, reducing them to animal status.
According to this senator, Wookies are "a lesser species utterly incapable of civilization. Fit only for bondage and or being protected in various reserves. "
He also said
"If they [Wookies] are allowed to join the military, it would create chaos as the Army would require tasks beyond their mental capacity. Additionally, they would be targets for less charitable soldiers who would realize their mental weakness and exploit it. Leading to them being a burden on the soldiers who defend them."
Another said, "They are undisciplined and brutish. Lacking all mental refinement, they rebel at the civilizing force of the Empire, as they don't understand the gift benignly bestowed on them. Until this changes, and Wookies stop their childish rebellions. They can't be trusted."
These are direct quotes from my school's datapad. How do I know these quotes? Because I had to memorize quotes like these and others in school, along with everyone else in the class. These are the 'facts' we have to memorize for school.
Another phrase they like to promote is 'The Empires Glorious Freeing Of Others From Ignorance'. In propaganda it's showed using showing pictures of young children (always human by the way) from earth learning in newly built schools. They often use an image of a sad child in a decrepit school and immediately contrasted that with the new facilities they had provided.
For our part, we are often seen in propaganda photos looking amazed as my Stepdad in full Imperial regalia looked to be explaining things to us. This was often in a planetarium setting, or around the dinner table. This image was then plastered with the phrase 'The Empires Glorious Freeing Of Others From Ignorance' at the bottom.
Other, older, pictures showed me smiling while being lifted by my stepfather with that caption written as well. They also liked to add in an image of a Star Destroyer being flown above.
Notably, in the photos, it was always my Stepfather who seemed to be regaling us with tales about the Galaxy. He was the one who'd point at a map of the Galaxy and look to be explaining things. My mother could and did do such things on her own, but that didn't fit the image. This was to be a photo about the glorious Empire lifting hapless Earthlings out of ignorance, it wouldn't fit if it showed us being competent.
Finally, Human Supremacists and the Empire (which seems a bit redundant as they are the same thing.) liked to use the video to promote 'Humanities adaptivity'.
Many images used were clips from various parts of the film, this was captioned with things like the following: 'Humans were isolated on an unknown planet with 100 different climates for thousands of years alone. Yet, they were able to have computational technology, buildings, cites, and permanent civilizations. What did the (insert species here) achieve with all of the benefits lavished on them by the Republic?' This was tagged with the term Species Realism.
These sorts of photos weren't promoted by official news but were allowed to freely flow on Holonet and our earth internet. This while all references to human-alien hybrids are blocked on both. Even though human-alien hybrids actually exist! So it wasn't like they couldn't shut it down, they just didn't care to.
As you could expect, the Species Realists are jerks who don't know the first thing about science. Usually, what they do is troll the Holonet, and send tons of photos stating that or this species was interior. This is then used to justify taking all their lands and getting rid of all political representation, such as in the case of Wookies.
They also liked to use these same photos whenever anyone wanted to talk at all on the HoloNet about inequality in access to resources across different species. Even if the POV given was nuanced, the activists not arguing that everyone should get personal planets for themselves, but rather about ensuring everyone has access to clean water, food, and environments safe from pollution, they still disrupted forum conversations with nonsense. It's extremely annoying.
Still, reading online articles about getting aliens necessary resources and donating part of my allowance to my favorite charities is as political as I get. As everyone with a brain knows, all internet activity is being surveilled by the Empire. So I avoid posting about controversial things.
I'm also very careful about how I phrase my search terms as well. Simply Moogling the term "The Empire sucks" won't do at all. I instead rephrase that as "criticism of Imperial Project X". Due to an inside source, I know that the Empire deletes searches and stored web histories more than a month old from their databases. There were simply too many searches occurring to store them all. So I don't worry about searches from years ago putting me in prison.
Also, every now and then, I click on the Imperial Anthem and State-News and let it play for a while. I don't actually listen. I generally go to another room to do chores. So why play it? To give off the appearance of being a loyal, content, citizen. I know there are algorithms that exist to find 'traitors' before they offend, based on search history. This and other pro-Empire searches help reduce my risk of that happening to me. This is an increased threat to me, as I am thoroughly scrutinized due to my fame.
There is a department of the government devoted to the monitoring of famous persons. This is to reduce the risk they will use their popularity to recruit people to The Rebellion. In fact, one such agent is assigned to live near us at all times. Her name is Claudia. Or at least, that's what she says her name is. She is a part spy and part PR manager. She tells us of any events we have to go to, which photoshoots we are to attend, and so on. She also has full warrantless access to our home at any time.
The act of refusing her entry to our house is considered suspicious. So we don't do that. Suspicious people disappear after a while after all.
Every now and then, she looks at her computer for information about our communications that get sent to her automatically. This is information on all electronics registered to our address which sends this data automatically. This is everything, internet history, power usage, network data usage, information from all smart devices that I am sure aren't just gifts. We can't disable these settings. And while we can turn off our internet and Holos, that would be suspicious in itself. The excuse of the power going out or me tripping over a cord is only going to work so often.
Note, the only reason why anyone cares about this in our case is due to our fame. No one cares if a homeless person's technology use is weird. This is also the reason why my friends pirated films with ease while I got browbeaten by Claudia whenever someone sent me a pirated book.
"You're not supposed to engage in that sort of behavior. You're a role model for teens across the Galaxy." She'd say.
She isn't a bad person. I know she sees herself as helping us. She doesn't think that we are traitors and sees the monitoring as a routine thing done, but unnecessary in our case. She, also always, knocks before coming in. There's a lot of trust between us. She is more interested in making more and better propaganda films and photos featuring us than spying. This was to inspire others to sacrifice for the Empire and know its greatness. That's pretty much a paraphrase of what she told me anyway.
So in the wedding film, our first bit of propaganda, we were dressed up for the occasion. I wasn't very thrilled about the whole thing but gave a smile to the cameras. I just didn't trust my Stepdad since I wasn't sure of his intentions. He wasn't mean to me before or anything... We didn't talk at all. I wore a standard suit. My little bro didn't exist yet. My sister, at her request, wore a blue dress that mixed Naboo and Earth aesthetics. Mom had a standard white Earth wedding dress, with a veil, and my stepdad his Imperial garb. The black fabric contrasted with her finery nicely. This wasn't to be the case at first though. But the director figured that it would be more 'visually striking' if he kept his uniform.
Did my Mom and Stepdad have a choice in the matter? Yes, and no. Sure, they could have refused but then no doubt the refusal would be kept as a black mark on my Stepdad's record. It would've harmed his reputation. Why would a loyal Imperial man refuse such an honor? The gossip would've never ended.
And why would they have refused anyway? The Holomakers came to our home, a modest apartment, and offered everything. They offered to pay for invitations, food, outfits, even a live band. All that we had to do was get dressed up, pose for a few videos, and they'd edit in the rest. Yes, there were some stipulations on appropriate attire but otherwise, it seemed like a free ride. Neither of my parents are rich so the party thrown was far beyond their means.
We just didn't expect to be so popular! We went viral on the HoloNet. The Holomakers sensed that they struck gold and kept asking for more and more videos. My parents were of course, handsomely compensated for this (serving the Empire well, does indeed pay). That's how we ended up living in such a wealthy neighborhood. And not just any wealthy neighborhood, but a mostly Imperial wealthy neighborhood. Here there are large houses for the super big shots and their families. But there are also stylish apartments with pools and other amenities for those of a more middling status. That's where we are.
Many would think this would mean that I would be picked on by other kids. You would be very wrong. Since everyone here is an outsider, everyone is trying to establish bonds and friendships at the same time. Plus, my Earth background makes me a 'local' and thus far cooler than anyone else. That on top of the Holos I was in means I have to turn down party requests. We are very popular.
Sure, the kids and adults may ask dumb questions or act condescending by mistake, but there was never any intentional malice. While they figured we were ignorant of things, the idea of stigmatizing us for our home planet didn't occur. Most did buy the propaganda on reuniting and figured that anyone who joined Rebel groups had to be a small percent of the population. So they didn't apply such a stereotype to the locals. Of course, it helped that they saw local people everywhere and constantly worked with them.
Still, it was a very very good thing that we happened to be human too. I've heard things about Clawdites that would make the worst bigots in my class blush. They seemed to have all the hate many here possess for other groups of humans but applied it to nonhumans. If they grew up only around humans, it is easy to believe the stereotypes given. This sort of thinking about nonhumans seems to be endemic among military personnel, endemic and systemic.
Additionally, since many aliens can't speak or can only speak languages that humans can't speak, it is easy for mistrust to set in. How would a hypothetical Civil Rights Movement be set up when humans and nonhumans can't even communicate? How could the other side learn that they have shared interests and goals? They don't. Additionally, there were so many species! Often, with their own rivalries and conflicts. It would be almost impossible to organize.
Finally, humans are so numerous that even in a fair democracy, they'd outnumber every other group by far. That built-in numerical advantage gave them ridiculous levels of power during the Republic, on top of controlling the richest planets in the Core. Thus, even then, it was easy to never consider nonhuman and non-core interests.
It's like how if only one family member is a vegetarian, many family members won't go to the trouble of accommodating their diet. Their minority status reduces their power. That said, if everyone but one family member is a vegetarian, the dynamic will be reversed.
The problem, of course, is that one's species isn't a lifestyle choice. It's a permanent unchanging part of life. Put in this light, I can see why so many aliens went Separatist. Still, the consequences of that choice are and were severe. Most, don't see aliens as trustworthy.
So Robin, if this is the case and you don't know any non-humans, how are you not brainwashed, you ask? Well you see, I do this thing called reading.
I first heard about Wookies from another apartment dweller. She called them "Savage beasts", which made me morbidly curious. Did they have claws and fangs? What made them beastly?
So, I searched for the term. While the Holonet does actively promote pro-human content, it (generally) doesn't censor factual information about nonhumans. It does sometimes if the content is labeled 'treasonous', but most things are fine.
And I just inhaled page after page about Wookie culture, language, and sociology. It seemed pretty weird to me that these 'backward' aliens seemed just as interesting and as complex as humans with their own motives. They didn't seem savage and sure, the fur was off-putting, but nothing beastly. It made me think of a giant teddy bear. So they had to not be savages.
It felt like a mistake. An error that everyone seemed to agree with. I was naive, so it didn't seem intentional. Maybe it was because the people who write the books are misinformed. So I looked them up. That's odd, I thought. None of the writers seemed to be experts in anything but human history.
So there were a lot of misinformed people, even those who wrote the textbooks, I figured. Where did they get this stuff from? With a lot of digging, I accidentally stumbled on a video from the Republic Era on Wookies. It had all the things I had read about in it. And the weird thing was, it was made by the Republic for use in education.
So, some people knew the truth. Then, why lie? With more snooping, I tracked all official textbooks used for years online, searching their contents. At first, the information on Wookies was all the same. Very generic. Then, bam! The lies about the Wookies came. Right after the beginning of the Empire.
So what changed? The Wookies didn't. Their history and culture didn't. The Galaxy at large retained much of its culture too, overall. The only major difference was... the government.
So the Empire wanted to lie about Wookies. Make us think they are bad and untrustworthy. Why? What happened in that year? I wondered. I searched again under Wookies, this time for a timeline of events.
A rebellion. It happened on their home planet of Kashyyyk. They had refused to accept the rule of the Emperor, according to the online news source. This was of course state propaganda, but I was getting better at understanding how it operated. The thinking Imperials around me helped a lot with that. According to them, propaganda spun things but generally avoided blatant lies. Plus, a revolt after someone crowning themselves Emperor was plausible.
So, either the Wookies were a political threat due to revolting and were cracked down on, were a political threat for another reason and the revolt is just an excuse, or they were a political threat and the revolt didn't happen. Thus, it was all lies, which they used to crack down on them.
Alternately, everything could be a lie, they could've been no threat at all, but then I wondered, why go to the trouble? The change happened right after the Empire began. The Galaxy was still half-destroyed, why go to the trouble of harming them at that moment? Why lie? So, I assumed they were a political threat that had to be eradicated.
Finally, I concluded that likely the rebellion did happen. The Wookies, while good fighters, never seemed to be powerful enough to create a reason to subjugate them immediately. Most likely, they drew attention to themselves by revolting.
Either way, the result was the government turned against them and cast them in the worst possible light, even in textbooks.
Later, I did this cross-examination style analysis with other species and noted a pattern. The more human-looking a species was, the more positive their coverage in my textbooks. All of them. This corresponded exactly to how they were depicted in the news. However, the less human-looking a species was, the worse news coverage gotten, and the worse my textbooks spoke of them. And even crazier, I found that many of those aliens didn't revolt at all. Many didn't even become Separatists. They didn't renounce the Emperor. So, what was being held against them?
After many hours of thinking (and denying), I came to a disturbing conclusion:
The government dislikes non-humans. Good, bad, loyal, disloyal.
I figured I had to be wrong. An advanced civilization with faster than light travel couldn't have fallen prey to a bias so vulgar. They were helping so many of us get over our hatred and fear of those of different races, religions, and nationalities. That was a big benefit of my school, that they had a zero-tolerance policy for discrimination. Everyone had to treat others with respect, there was no choice. Also, kids from all over the world were assigned there to break boundaries and weaken pervasive stereotypes.
This happened in every new school they had created as well.
But if they didn't mind nonhumans… why couldn't even the 'good ones' serve in the army? Why were almost none of the highest officials nonhuman? Why was I gearing up to be sent on a trip to the Imperial Center and I only needed my Mom's ID and permission, while Wookies had to apply for permission to even leave their communities? The articles said it was for security reasons. But, a blaster works just as well whether it is a human or nonhuman controlling it.
Why did the Imperials welcome the chance to connect with, and teach us, humans, that have had no contact with them in ages, but hate Wookies who had been in the Republic since its inception? Why were we assumed to be model Imperials in training, while others were seen as thieves, traitors, and other forms of criminals?
The baseline they had when encountering us, given no outside information, was way different. Aliens were encountered with animosity. Us, with understanding.
Moreover, if many of the Outer Rim worlds were mostly populated by aliens, why weren't there any alien Moffs? On human worlds, Moffs were often locals of the system, chosen due to their cultural affinity and personal ties to the planet.
Our Moff for example is far more laid back than many others. We got our own Moff due to our remote location, despite only being one planet. Almost all countries are still allowed to still exist. Now as regional governments. The United States, for example, is still around, and we still elect our government. The day-to-day running of many things is left to us. The Imperials at times intervene, sure, but much of normal life gets to go on. I can go to a shop built before the invasion and still find the same owners and customers frequenting the place, often with new (Imperial) friends in tow.
Ours was not a total war. It seemed that armies fought, we lost, and beyond the loss in lives, and a bit of property damage, there were no lasting consequences.
The level of interference matched the level of political instability and 'backwardness' (in their view) of the region as well. So areas controlled by religious fundamentalists who think teaching women to read is forbidden, were quickly freed from such leaders. They were executed. Age of consent laws were universally made to 16 for both genders, as per Galactic Standard. This is also the new minimum age for marriage. Additionally, in this arrangement, both parties have to be under or equal to the age of 18.
So, a 16-year-old and 17-year-old can marry. A 16-year-old and an 18-year-old can marry. But a 50-year-old can not marry a 16-year-old. Additionally, the consent laws stated a dating couple if they were within 4 years of each other (assuming each is at least 14), won't be charged for a crime either. The days of the parents calling the police on their 16-year-old daughter's 18-year-old boyfriend were over.
Men (and to less frequent degree women) who married children, were executed. Rape laws no longer allowed the victim of a rape to be punished. All constitutions of all countries were made to mention that men and women were of equal value and had the same rights. Yeah, it seemed while some of the Empires dudes are a bit sexist, a lot of us here, are way worse. So that was a win for feminism. The rate of literacy for women has ballooned in many places now that it wasn't illegal to go to school.
Where slavery was still a thing, the slaves were freed and safe passage was granted elsewhere to those who still felt they had to get away. Literacy programs were arranged. The US was made to replace all lead piping and lead-poisoned homes in its borders.
It wasn't like we couldn't do it before, but no one wanted to pay for something that wasn't their concern. The state governments didn't want to fix county problems, the counties didn't want to pay for things, not in their districts, etc. This localization of costs meant that small poorer cities and towns suffered because they couldn't afford repairs.
The top-down directive from the Empire made the finding and removal of lead a priority of the entire nation. Getting it taken out of homes was as easy as posting a photo of it onto an app. The repair crew would be at the house in a day, and the family housed in alternate accommodations.
Basically, the goal of these things is to convert the population of Earth into loyal subjects of the Empire. Still, I often wonder(ed) why, why they weren't harsher to us.
I guess our also being human made them have empathy, plus they could feel better knowing they were 'helping' us. It corresponds with all current propaganda. We have shiny new schools built by Imperials for us, Imperials installed and connected us to the Holonet free of charge. We also got to keep our domestic internet as well. Our devices are modified so that we can use both. Diseases caused by a lack of sanitation were systematically eradicated. This is because of new water delivery projects. Cholera and Typhus are extinct. Or rather, extinct outside of laboratories.
As a result of all these changes, even the most rebellious of places had many pro-Empire hardliners. It's hard to argue against a lack of famine, disease, or endless conflicts. In many rural places, the Imperial-built school was the first school that they had ever had. So many people were finally given the chance to do more than simply survive.
That said, there are anti-Empire rebels. My dad is one of them. He isn't famous, so he isn't on any lists, and I haven't seen any wanted images of him. Still, I know he's fighting them. And frankly, I'm kind of conflicted. The good changes they are making are real. And I had never suffered from hunger, thirst, or disease. What did a spoiled brat like me know?
The old government officials that are still fighting the Imperials had been swept from power ages ago. Often, by their own citizens rebelling against them. Many were corrupt officials who perpetually made excuses. Often they did nothing for their citizens. Meanwhile, the people of these places often saw that places that had been absorbed by the Empire always had clean water, they saw that transit was being constructed, and noted that crime was far lower. Some moved and claimed citizenship, others started insurrections to bring the old government down.
A friend of mine, Yusef is from a country where the government was overthrown multiple times in a year, inflation was in the thousands of percent, and food was made scarce. When the Empire came, all of that changed. Things are stable now. His little sisters can safely play outside without worrying about bullet fire. The crime is down. He's a smart dude (as in born that way) who wasn't able to go to school for a long time. He had to work to support his family. The mandatory diagnostic tests detected that he was bright and sent him to our school. Now he's battling other kids for top ranks and is extremely pro-Empire. He knows his life wouldn't have been possible otherwise.
Another example, very close to home. Brice is another dude who had a terrible home life. His dad was in jail and his mom was an addict. Apparently, this was brought on after her weed was unknowingly spiked with cocaine multiple times. She was going to college and was making a life for herself, but it all ended, due to her addiction. This led to her getting pregnant at a young age. The schools in his area were underfunded and gang members ruled the halls. Worse, Brice was targeted because he was one of the few boys who had very high grades. He was beaten up a lot. He was also called slurs that are generally directed at homosexuals.
It seems many working-class men and boys think that doing well in school and reading is for girls. He was tested and taken to our school, where he does phenomenally. Where is he from? The South Bronx. Inequities in the school systems of even the richest countries were being mended. Even better, the new schools for normal kids were better in quality as well. As you would expect, Brice is also pro-Empire.
It seems being anti-Empire is a sign of privilege. The poorest who before had nothing to eat loved the Empire, the billionaires who were displaced by new elites hated it. But it is pretty easy to talk a lot about freedom when you never had to hear stories of neighbors going temporarily insane with hunger and eating their own children. In many cases, these same parents would scream their children's names, looking for them in the streets, while no one had the strength to tell them the truth.
This isn't Imperial propaganda, my own classmates told me these stories. This was a benefit of them forcing kids to leave home.
For the poorest, being under Imperial rule was a win. Yesteryears elites were too disconnected from their suffering. Thus, Imperials are welcomed guests in many poor communities. They had actually done something about local problems. Crime, starvation, drugs, urban blight, name it, they did something to help.
The result is that the recruitment pool for pro-earth nationalists is much smaller, even in wealthy countries. Many liberals admired the aid projects that were implemented. Many conservatives liked the lowering of crime and emphasis the Empire had on order, structure, and discipline. They ran a tight ship.
This combined with their general leaving alone of most day-to-day matters, meant that many soldiers switched their loyalties to the Empire overnight. Intellectuals were hooked on the knowledge obtained by seeing new worlds and strived to study hard enough to go to a university in The Core. Adventurers wanted to see the stars and wanted to travel faster than light. They happily took advantage of the subsidized hyperspace fares. There really was something for everyone.
Our Moff, as I said, is very hands-off and mostly preferred using enticements to change the behavior of non-rebels. Of course, some things were compelled. Many didn't want to expend their taxes/ resources on fixing lead pipes in other towns, for example. Many didn't want new transit lines to allow 'those people' to travel in 'their' cities and towns. Often, this scorn wasn't even directed at people from other countries. They hated the noise of the new high-speed trains. Many didn't want their children to go to school with all types of people. The response: Too bad. They wouldn't have a say. The same occurred involving child marriage.
Still, most things were addressed through the simple provision of resources, not force. Need to desegregate a neighborhood divided by religion? Buy up all the land, fix up all homes, and offer it first free to the locals in exchange for adhering to a quota system that ensured that the religions were distributed equally. Encourage companies to have workers of different faiths mingle with rewards. They had already jailed the extremists, so it generally went well. This was applied to other things that divide people.
Obesity problem? Create a new part of the department of health devoted to preventive health. This department sponsors free gyms, nutritionist visits, along with local fitness clubs. Make neighborhoods walkable and improve local transit. Result? Obesity has dropped by 10% here in the US and has completely disappeared in other places where the problem isn't as bad. Things are pretty relaxed here with our planetary Moff leadership.
That said, I thought it was pretty odd that on all worlds populated mostly by aliens, they always had Moffs that had a zero connection to the planet. We were an exception since none of us were Imperials, of course. But what about the others? It seemed the most common background for these Moffs wasn't experience in diplomacy or economics, like in The Core Worlds, or in our case of Earth, but rather in combat. These men were also paraded as war heroes in my school textbooks. So if they're war heroes… What war were they fighting? And who were they against?
I did more reading. The current Moff of the sector that contains Kashyyyk, it turns out, appeared in Holo news dating back to the attempted rebellion and was given an award for heroics. Then, he became the Moff of the sector. Right after.
I kept reading. News of a revolt was quickly followed by news of a new Moff who 'coincidentally' happened to be the person who put the revolt down. The old Moffs were also always executed, which didn't seem like a coincidence. They seemed to be given charges of fraud or corruption, but I suspected many of those charges were lies.
The only thing that made sense, in light of this, was the idea that the real job of a Moff is to stop revolts. Anyone who failed in this was ousted. Additionally, nonhuman worlds were seen as inherently suspicious and thus military might was stressed far more for leadership than anything else.
If I had to guess, these Moffs were likely the least empathic, and the least kind, due to the cruelty they needed to have to put down the original rebellion. It would stand to reason, that life under them would be harsher, and the punishments more severe. Nonhumans also seemed to have fewer rights and freedoms since these same Moffs often experimented with new regulations involving them.
Conclusion: All nonhuman worlds are in a state of permanent occupation.
And if the only determining variable that made a difference, is the type of population, then… the Empire really did hate nonhumans. New humans from across the Galaxy were fine, but aliens were terrible to them no matter the circumstance.
The Empire hated any trace of the nonhuman and did everything to avoid discussing them.
They were less smart than us, less loyal than us, less worthy of life than us. Even just our mere presence should be seen as a gift to them. This was the message I was taught, anyway, in school.
I had believed these things, but not with the typical hate. I just thought these were statements of fact. Humans were smarter than everyone. Still, I lacked any malice. It made sense to me. On Earth, humans are the smartest beings. It made sense that they were the smartest elsewhere. But, I didn't understand their animosity. I didn't get mad at a dog for not knowing how to add and subtract. If they have a mental limit, not of their choosing, so be it.
It turns out, humans weren't above other beings, other beings were rather, being held down by humans.
It completely changes your worldview when you realize that the only reason why you and your family are treated so well was because of a statistical miracle. We happened to be the same species as them. We happened to share enough characteristics that they deemed us worthy of joining the Empire as full citizens. They happened to have a strong political faction who believed in humans helping humans, so the funding given for projects was endless. They happened to mostly leave daily life alone in well-off countries and invest heavily in developing ones.
The only reason why any Imperial gave a darn about us was because we were human, and unique since we had no prior exposure to the Galaxy. To many Imperials, any planet where only humans held power was fit to be invested in, after all, that was the overall goal. Even better, due to our isolation, none of us had any contact with The Rebellion, so the thought of converting us seemed straightforward enough.
And when all of these things worked, when Imperials were welcomed into homes and treated as guests, everything accelerated. There was more integration of Earthlings into the Empire. We had to go to new schools. We were all given identity cards (even the formerly stateless) which gave us access to public resources. The HoloNet was installed everywhere, we often partnered with Imperials to solve issues. Heck, many found they preferred having local Imperials arbitrate between disagreements as they lacked conventional prejudices common on earth.
Imperials are superstars here and are treated very well. Most liked it a lot and so there was always something positive on HoloNet when speaking about Earth. We were a 'wonderful planet filled with wonderful, enduring people'. Were some arrogant? Sure. But most I've found, really want to help out. A lot of idealists volunteer for earth duty, after seeing the cringey propaganda. They weren't used to being regarded so warmly at home and loved it here. Were there conflicts and rebellions? Sure, but things overall went swimmingly.
And to think, these same people would have derided us as less than had we been born into another species. Had we not been human, like themselves, our lives would've been more like those on Kashyyyk. It was terrifying. To think, we were only helped and treated with empathy due to this coincidence. Otherwise, a life of subjugation and pure extraction of our resources with no investment in the planet would've been our future. This completely screwed with my naive kid brain.
And if they only cared about us due to our status as humans, they don't care about us or anyone at all. Not really. It was conditional on being a certain species, so they could project their technocratic dreams onto people. A dream of an all-human planet, free from aliens, rebels, and any form of dissent from the Empire. A perfect orderly planet, 100% loyal to the Empire. That's why so many resources were spent on the place. Heck, they are so serious about making this dream a reality, that they have banned all nonhumans from the entire solar system. Not just the planet, but the entire solar system.
Additionally, any nonhumans that are found are publicly executed, which yes, appears live on Holonet and our regular internet.
So yeah, from this point of view, Earth humans are merely clay to be shaped as they wished. A blank canvas to paint on. Essentially, we were seen as children to them since to them we needed to be taught and educated as to what is right and wrong. It even showed in how they spoke. Imperials spoke of 'protecting' us from rebel influence. We weren't yet "tainted" by having rebel sympathizers. We were in the "default natural state", as they put it, and deemed innocent. When anyone bought up our genocides where we killed millions of people the response was basically, 'Whatever kid, our bombardment last week just killed trillions, big deal.'
Thus, to avoid being 'tainted', Imperial Censorship here is far worse than anywhere else. Our censors are far more zealous about banning Holo content. Anything that even slightly suggested rebellion was banned, even if it wasn't against the Empire. Kids not doing homework? Banned. Kids sneaking out? Banned. Drugs? Banned. Any mention of The Rebellion that wasn't through official sources? The signal can't even be delivered. Internet censorship exists, but as it was all local, they were far less paranoid about it. Sure, maybe they'd need to stop an underaged marriage of a girl to a man, but as long as no rebels were on the planet, they could sleep a lot easier at night.
Everyone here is given pro-Empire propaganda only. The HoloNets of other systems are far less controlled. This is due to local rebelliousness leading them to reconfigure devices and less oversight overall. Many sectors had absentee Moffs whose only job was to get resources out of the planets and stop rebellions. So what did they care if the residents watched garbage?
Local Imperials always have workarounds for it though. Their Holos aren't as censored or they kept documents on shared devices. If you went to an Imperial volunteer media library, I can guarantee you that 50% of the material is alien-on-human pornography. Plus, they had contacts in the areas the news spoke about. They'd and thus we'd by extension know that we were losing a battle that the media was in denial about.
But less on the Government and more on me. My life due to my featuring in Imperial propaganda is very controlled. It wouldn't do if I didn't behave. I'm told what to do, where to go, how to sit, stand, and think very often.
"Do this Washington." I'd try to do it and...
"No! Not like that," They'd say.
Still, I'm used to it. I don't even get the urge to roll my eyes anymore. Celebrities have to follow a large number of regulations, and even more so for underage celebrities. No drinking, smoking, drugs, or skipping school is allowed.
I'm a role model after all. That's also the reason why I got 10 lashes for the mistake I mentioned earlier rather than only 3.
The increased severity is a direct response to my popularity. It's crucial to my teachers, and school staff that I behave at all times. If I start acting recalcitrant, no doubt others will as well. The good news is due to my increased punishment, my lashings are never public. This is to avoid making others feel that the severity is unfair. As far as the others were concerned, I just never got hit. It wasn't true, but it fit my cultivated image, so no one asked questions.
According to the Holos, my role was designated as the 'smart, responsible eldest brother'. Claudia loved to show off anything that confirmed this. When my test scores were high enough to get into my school, they were immediately made public. I found out about my score from other people messaging me to congratulate me. Yea, seriously. No privacy, it's annoying.
Also, I should mention that while I wanted to be part of my school's book club, I hate that I was told to join the Young Imperials organization. Which basically serves the same purpose as the Hitler Youth did, but with fewer camping trips. Constant marching, and chanting. I hate it. I'd sworn my loyalty to the Empire so much I mentally joked if I'd lack any oaths to swear with when I got married.
I never said this joke out loud, of course.
Even worse, I had to lead it. They had even entered me into the competition for president without my consent! I of course won on name recognition alone. All to keep an image going.
The good news for me is that Young Imperials don't seem to need to do much thinking, even the leaders, as all activities were planned by supervisors in advance. I'd only have to do as I was told. Which of course I did and still do, like everything else in my life. It wasn't too hard. I'm not a natural rebel and the intense penalties I get for non-compliance make resistance seem pretty futile.
That doesn't mean I like it though. I hate, hate, hate it. I hate the fake photoshoots, I hated being around people I couldn't care less about during said photoshoots and of course, I hated how restrained my life has been. My sister didn't mind the fame. And that was a relief. Still, my little bro only knows this sort of life and it will take him ages to turn 18. Given what I'd seen on the results of child fame in documentaries, I'd have to keep a close eye on both of them. The common factors seemed to be drugs, alcohol, misery, and lastly suicide.
As far as I'm concerned, turning 18 and leaving will probably be my best bet for freedom. I'd have to get some work done to disguise myself, but I'd at least be able to be normal for a while.
Sometimes, I feel guilty about this wish of mine. Like sure I know, what I want is fine, on a conscious level. But, I feel so guilty. Probably because of all the stuff I've learned in school and the things other people tell me.
Sure. I don't completely believe the idea that I owe my loyalty to the Empire, but I still unintentionally buy into it the Imperial viewpoint in some ways. I feel guilty that I want to leave and have my own life. That I wouldn't be furthering Imperial propaganda anymore.
I may not hate nonhumans, but every now and then I have to remind myself to use the actual names of the species and not the slurs used at school. Ithorians for example, are not hammerheads or leathernecks. That said, I do call them hammerheads in school, I'd stand out too much otherwise. A lot of kids figured I only used nonhumans' actual species name to sound well-read and educated, so they weren't a problem. No, the issue was teachers who figured that anyone not degrading nonhumans was a "Xeno lover." Luckily, I picked up on this fact early on and immediately switched to calling them whatever was necessary to fit in. Why? Because I'm a coward. I'm not going to be shamed and bullied for refusing to denigrate organisms that aren't even nearby. I wasn't and am not willing to do that.
I have to remind myself often that even though life had improved in many ways since the Empire came, things weren't that way for nonhumans. It is so easy to fall into the ways of thinking that are required in school, to spout out the stuff I had to write papers on for years. And despite my knowledge, sometimes I still forget. If a package is held up due to alien smugglers holding up hyperspace while fighting, I have to remind myself that many were law-abiding citizens until the Empire torched their farms and forced them off the land without a credit. I have to remind myself not to default to the slurs and stereotypes taught to me in school. It is so easy to think 'they can't be trusted' and that's why they broke the law. It's a simplistic way of thinking that requires no consideration or thought from me. It's easy to not think of their struggles seeing as there are zero nonhumans on Earth.
Additionally, whenever anyone mentions The rebellion I can't help but get upset. I have never met a rebel in my life before, but I still clench my fists or glare when I think about them. I don't even know what they want, and I still get upset. So yeah if I had to guess, my years of schooling means I probably have a lot of issues to work through.
I want to leave home. I'm going to need to leave home to learn anything anyway. Everything I've written about the Empire is from the point of view of someone who hasn't actually been there. Sure, I've gone on class trips but everything was long scrubbed of anything unflattering to the Empire ages ago. I've never seen any oppression first hand so this is really only a composition of inferences. Honestly, I hope I'm wrong. Hopefully, I've misunderstood things for years. That urge to know things for certain is a big reason why I'm even considering going to the Imperial Academy. The best way to see the Galaxy and my government was in person. Even better it had the additional benefit of getting the press off my case without needing to get any work done. No photographer would dream of entering the Academy or an Imperial Base without permission. I'd only have to concern myself with my colleagues.
But if I am right... If the Empire is doing terrible things to nonhumans what should I do? Am I obligated to do anything? Should I avoid going into the military just in case I might be ordered to do something wrong, even though I know of the many good things that were done? It would benefit me to serve, I'd wanted to be in the military before when I was a kid and so the US army was simply replaced with the Imperial Military. I don't even like The Rebellion, I'd probably get assigned to fighting them, so, why care? If I worked in the Navy as I wanted, the acts of various planetary Moths wouldn't be my concern anyway. I had the intelligence to train for a nontechnical position. I wouldn't have to be on the front lines.
I have no idea what to do and so I've been keeping my options open as of late for my next move after graduation. I just don't have enough knowledge to make a good decision.
Well, it's getting late. I guess I'll update this later huh? I need to go back to school soon. And if I go to sleep now I'll get... 2 hours of sleep, yay.