Government in the Empire of Humanity

In accordance with M'Dorna's Hypothesis and M'Don's Equations, Imperial government is kept as small as realistically possible. The government provides military service, criminal justice, arbitration between parties in a dispute, investigative services (fee required in some instances), foreign relations, and that's about all.

The first thing to understand is that there are absolutely no inheritable Imperial ranks. The children of Nonuses and Guardians start with zero points, exactly the same as everyone else.

There are two types of civil rank or title. There are grades 'in rank' which are official but have no governmental power. 'In rank' designates those who are eligible for appointment to office. With the exception of Octus-in-rank, they carry precisely zero official power (although there are provisions for who takes official precedence and responsibility in the rare cases of an emergency situation out of contact). The 'in rank' designations simply convey that the holder has earned a certain number of civil points towards eligibility for official office. These points are earned by service in the military, successful service as or in service to government officials, successful completion of civil or government contracts, and by discretion of responsible government officials. Points are also lost for failed contracts, failures in service, or by official judgments for specific failures.

A Primus-in-rank is entitled to wear a dark blue equilateral triangle point down, two isixths on a side (slightly over 2cm). Note that they are entitled to wear it, not required (except on military uniforms), but most do. A Secundus-in-rank wears a gold triangle the same size, a Tertius-in-rank wears red, a Quartius wears green, and Quintus wears purple, a Sixtus wears white, a Septimus wears orange, and an Octus-in-rank wears gray. The only one of these ranks that carries any privileges at all is that achieving Octus-in-rank brings automatic membership in the Great Council, the supreme authority in the Empire. Octus-in-rank also carries eligibility for the ranks of Nonus and Guardian. There is one additional proviso, in that you are not required to accept a higher designation even if you have earned the points, as a Quintus-in-rank or higher with an active appointment is eligible to be legally assassinated. This includes all Octus-in-rank as they are members of the Great Council (active appointment!).

In addition to the points for an 'in rank' rating, common criteria for selecting actual 'in-fact' ratings are: time in the military, successful commercial careers, successful completion of contracts as the prime contractor, attainment of ranking in relevant academic disciplines, and successful service at the same or next lower 'in fact' ranking. The selecting official can be as discerning as they want, and the criteria are theirs to determine, as they will be responsible for the conduct of their appointee. That said, it is completely unheard-of for someone to be selected to Primus-in-fact or higher without successful military service at some point in their past.

A Primus-in-fact is responsible for a population district of approximately sixty to the fourth power (12,960,000 decimal) citizens, and they are the only official for that district. When acting in an official capacity, they are required to wear the emblem of a dark blue equilateral triangle, 4 isixths on a side, point up (if they have a higher 'in rank' designation, a smaller triangle is worn point down embedded within the larger triangle). They generally spend most of their official time in two pursuits: the largest portion as a judge, the second looking for opportunities to economically expand their district economy. Their compensation, both monetary and in terms of civil points, is determined bu how well they perform these functions. A Primus-in-fact is appointed by a Secundus-in-fact, and serves as long as both the individual serving desires continuation and the Secundus above them is happy with their performance.

A Secundus-in-fact is responsible for a population of approximately sixty to the fifth power (777,600,000) citizens, including approximately sixty Primus-in-fact. Their emblem of rank is gold. They spend less time as judges than Primus, generally serving as primary judge only when an issue affects the entire Secundus district, but they may also pre-empt jurisdiction if the Primus may have conflict of interest or the issue is particularly sensitive. Instead, they review the actions of their subordinates, and act as a court of appeal. Most civil contracts are awarded and worked at the level of the Secundus-in-fact, including police, investigative and care of legal children. They also spend significant time looking to expand their district economy (as do all levels above them). A Secundus-in-fact appoints their Primus subordinates and is appointed by the .Tertius above them.

A Tertius-in-fact is responsible for approximately sixty to the sixth power people (46 billion plus), and is generally the highest official on an 'ordinary' mature planet. As such, they may oversee and award planetary and even system-wide contracts in many cases. Their emblem of rank is red. They are appointed by the Quartius and in turn appoint their Secundi.

The emblem of the Quartius-in-fact is green. They are responsible for a district of approximately sixty to the seventh people (roughly 2.8 trillion in decimal terms. In general, add a factor of sixty to the population for each additional step up the pyramid).

The emblem of a Quintus-in-fact is purple. At this level and above, additional direct assistants rather than just contractors start becoming necessary. They act only on the orders of the Quintus unless the Quintus gives them direct viceregal authority (a Quintus can bestow authority up to Quartius grade). The most important of these are the so-called 'roving' assistants, intended as independent checks upon the ability of the lower levels of Imperial administration.

The emblem of a Sixtus-in-fact is white, of a Septimus-in-fact is orange, of an Octus-in-fact is gray, of a Nonus is brown, and of the Guardian is black. Since the population of the Empire is currently approximately equal to what would be expected of 120 Nonus districts, there is discussion of adding a new rank (Decius) between Nonus and Guardian. Note that ranks above Octus-in-fact do not include the 'in fact' designation, as there are no 'in rank' equivalents.

Technically above the Guardian is the Small Council, although the Guardian appoints all of the members of it, and therefore the Small Council never has and is not expected to ever over-rule the Guardian.

Above the Small Council is the Council of Heads. Membership in the Council of Heads is determined by net taxes paid and how much in tax proxies you have behind you. Voting power within the Council of Heads is restricted to the sixty members with the most in proxies, and is determined by total net taxes paid by proxies rather than per capita. The Council of Heads meets once per year and at additional times as determined by the membership, and is usually where the broadest issues of economic policy are decided. Unless an issue is raised within a session, the Council of Heads requires a three-fourths majority to over-rule the Guardian or the Small Council. The Council of Heads does not have the legal authority to remove the Guardian, but a Guardian without the confidence of the Council of Heads is unlikely to last long.

The highest body of all is the Great Council, consisting of all living humans who are currently Octus-in-rank. It meets at least once every two years or whenever called. The Great Council is the supreme authority of the Empire, but it is unwieldy and rarely acts, having too many members to undertake any but the most important policy decisions. Unless an issue is originally raised within a session of this Council, the Great Council requires a three-fourths majority to over-rule the Guardian or either of the subordinate councils. The Great Council elects the Guardian by two-thirds majority, and the Great Council may remove a Guardian (or any lesser official) by three-fourths vote. Like the Council of Heads, voting is not per capita among the members, but by however many service points they currently possess.