Okay, so ... this is a very good IGS topic, right here.
https://forums.eveonline.com/default.aspx?g=posts&t=236349&p=2It is, however, also one running on a bare minimum of PF.
This sort of gray zone is an area where CCP has been known to just adopt player-created canon wholesale, so we should be careful how we approach it.
A few initial thoughts:
* We have little to no indication that the Achura are or have historically been a repressed minority. They joined the State voluntarily, apparently on account of largely shared values.
* Though they joined the Caldari, they were part of the Federation first-- so they knew the Gallente, and chose to side with the Caldari. This bespeaks a deeply conservative culture suspicious of individualism.
* However, they are also deeply spiritual people and much less materialistic than the Caldari. I've explained this in my own (naturally subject to change) quasi-canon as being a result of Saisio's tendency to "break things." The Caldari came of age on a snowball; the Achura came of age amid tectonic instability and fierce storms, rendering property transient. What an Achur knows in more important than what an Achur owns.
* In spite of which, their homeworld appears to be in SuVee's corporate fiefdom. SuVee is Practical, meaning more materialistic than the average mega, not less. This is not a recipe for peace and harmony unless SuVee is being
very careful in its dealings with the Achura.
Gwen's interpretation, that SuVee's initial involvement on the Achur homeworld was a wee bit ham-fisted, would make a certain amount of sense canonically (and would mesh well with Aria's general opposition to SuVee's continued involvement with her homeworld-- the Achura, like the Caldari, have long memories). There are hints of tension between the Achura and Caldari, largely surrounding the (retconned?) Creator's Rod and the White Song. More specific accounts are lacking, but Gwen's version of events is plausible.
An interesting possibility (since Achur White Songbirds are apparently a "politically-correct" thing to have for lunch on Jita 4-4) is that the real threat to the White Song was habitat destruction-- megacorporate interests going, "Hm. Nice forest, but, nicer minerals underneath, so...." and the Achura going, "Wait, what? Sacred animal habitat! Keep your stinking materialistic hands OFF!" Then somebody says, "Hey, wait. We want you to leave White Song habitat alone, but we don't have a problem with people eating them so long as their population doesn't plummet. Haven't you Caldari guys been looking for an answer to the hanging long-limb?"
SuVee goes, "Ooo, profit-- and better relations with the natives. Eh, probably for the best." And a new Caldari delicacy is born.
Moving on:
* Exactly how high up the corporate totem pole Achura climb is a little ambiguous. It's also a little ambiguous how many of them want to; their starting Charisma is rock-bottom and most of the PF suggests that they admire teachers and scientists more than businesspeople.
* Exactly how well Achur underlings are treated by megacorporate superiors is also a little ambiguous. This was a big problem among the ethnic Caldari before Heth's rise, but we don't get much sense that the Achura were really taking sides there. Possibly, SuVee (and any other employers) has worked out that the Achura tend not to care too much about the pay as long as they get to go home to their families at night, the company treads lightly on intellectual property issues (I wouldn't put it past them to basically own the whole intellectual ferment of Saisio, permitting Achur scientists to publish their work freely among their own-- the whole planet's scientific dialog is all in-house), and nobody goes stomping on their religious practices.
* Actually, that's one important note: I (anti-corporate so-and-so that I am) tend to regard corporate entities OOC as psychopaths at worst,
smart psychopaths at best. This does not, however, mean that even a truly ruthless corporation might not notice the value of
keeping a society of scholars and scientists happy. The Achura are like a little conclave of academia tucked in the middle of a massive corporate sea-- they're a goose that lays golden eggs. Give them research grants, high-tech toys, room to breathe, enough money to live comfortably on, and just generally stay out of their lives, and they'll occasionally hand you miracles. Even for the Practicals, that's got to sound like a pretty good deal.
The question, if that's an accurate read, is how long it took them to notice. It does seem likely that SuVee, when it first turned up, barely knew who the Achura were-- hardly anybody did. They kept to themselves. Likely, SuVee was sharpening up its cutlery and tying a napkin around its neck, and it probably took a few bites before noticing that the meal before it was substantially more interesting than the average ball of resources.
* One more thing to consider before I bring my little bit of brain-spillage to a close here: religion is ubiquitous on Achura. It is pervasive. Offworld, however, it is rare-- I know of maybe four practicing Achura in game right now, and one of those is a convert (if Vikarion is still practicing). There's got to be some reason for this, and the best I can think of right now is that religion on Achura is very much a community activity. Most Achura off-world feel cut off from their faith, and (being more than a little conformist) tend to adopt the beliefs of those around them, whether those be the Way of the Winds or a flatly secular outlook.
Thoughts?
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Topic: Caldari / Achur relations (Read 16001 times)