Excerpt from the transcript of the last State of the Empire Address
Original broadcast in German, translation provided by the Imperial Academy of Landung
Members of the Grand Council, the Lords Council, And the Knighthood,
We no longer know how long it has been since my ancestor, Admiral Heike Fuchs, brought us to this world. This terrible, sandblasted, dry rock, hurtling through the sky, only habitable through a combination of ingenuity and sheer willpower. Though the events which lead us here were terrible, I often wondered as a child; Was she right? Are we better off here than we would have been had we stayed?
Today, I can say without a doubt that we are. Though Wüste does its very best to kill us all each day, we have grown from so few, to a billion souls strong. No one goes thirsty or hungry. Our soldiers are strong, and loyal. Our industry produces increasingly efficient hardware. And today, I announce that the time has come. We have been preparing for generations, rebuilding on this harsh world, only leaving its arms to send small probes to pull ice asteroids in to bring in fresh water, though our recycling technologies have been steadily improving thanks to the University of Landing.
As of this morning, I have put forth orders for grand ships to be constructed. We will take back the stars, that so many generations ago were stolen from us due to war. Opportunities to provide service to Wüste will come, as each of your domes will find itself offered the chance to participate in the multiple construction projects begun.
Excerpt from The Political Structure of the Empire, written by Albrecht Frei
Translation provided by the Imperial Academy of Landung
The structure of the ruling class of the Empire may seem strange at first, but the intricate levels of it have a simplicity to them that makes the chain of command hold all of us tight.
To begin with, the Knighthood serves as most of the bureaucrats, officers, and business owners that keep our domes running. Most of these individuals have Life Titles, which will expire when they do, but occasionally they perform so exceptionally that they are granted a Lordship, and their family takes on increased duties. Those who become Lords serve on their local Council, which runs each dome and ensures that there are no problems. Above them, they report directly to the Reichsgraff who is directly in charge of the dome. In older times, he would have reported to a Landgraff who would be responsible for ensuring the safety and smooth operation of multiple domes, yet now many Landgraff find themselves serving as the sole rulers of specific domes which have great significance, such as the site of the Nordwerke.
All domes are part of the Seven Duchies, old families descending from the trusted captains who accompanied Admiral Fuchs during her evacuation efforts. These are effectively the rulers of the planet, alongside the Kaiser, operating on the Grand Council. Although the Grand Council seats 8, the Kaiser does not vote unless a Duke is absent due to illness or weather conditions preventing communication. Instead, he holds exclusive veto power on any decision, and maintains the right to claim complete power, if he feels it necessary to defend the Empire. In all of our history, this has yet to happen, due to continuing close relations between the families of the Grand Council.
