Empire of Gashikan

From Traveller Wiki - Science-Fiction Adventure in the Far future

Relations between human and Vargr are both the region's greatest shame and grandest triumph. The race wars following the Sack of Gashikan have long ended. Yet remnants of those hideous days and the old hatreds continue despite modern enlightenment. To best understand this aspect of the Julian Protectorate, a discussion must also include the Empire of Gashikan, which is its neighbor, predecessor, and in some ways the antithesis of modern Julian ideals.

From its height during the Long Night, the Second Empire of Gashikan declined into stagnation with the rise of the Julian Protectorate. Its individual worlds grew increasingly self-centered, but the shell of government continued until finally having been shattered by a civil war is 1070.

The Third Empire of Gashikan formed in 1078. Also called the Trenchan Empire, a cluster of worlds in Trenchan Sector dominated the new state rather than Gashikan itself. Many worlds of the Second Empire refused admission to the Third. All three confederations in Mendan Sector, formerly tied to Gashikan, instead associated themselves with the Julian Protectorate.

The Empire is not a serious overt threat to the dynamic Julian Protectorate. Although envious of the Julians, they have regressed technologically, economically, and militarily. None the less, like a specter from the region's past, they retain a subtle influence throughout the Protectorate and even on Asimikigir itself.

An odd dichotomy of ideals exists in the region, with Asimikigir at one pole and Gashikan the other. In most of the Asimikigir Confederation , Vargr and humans co-exist with a degree of harmony perhaps unmatched anywhere else. The cooperation between the two has brought both races prosperity.

On Gashikan, however, Vargr are killed on sight if any ever dare to travel there. Less reactionary worlds of the Empire still enslave Vargr. When it was learned Vargr were Terrestrial canines genetically manipulated by the Ancients, humans thereafter regarded them as dangerous animals or androids. Vargr were abominations rather than true sophonts, in their eyes, thus undeserving of basic rights.

Between these two lie the full range of attitudes, particularly well displayed in Mendan Sector. In contemporary times, Mendan Sector as a whole leans closer to the ideals found on Asimikigir than those on Gashikan. Even those Julian confederations formerly of Gashikan at least pay lip service to Vargr cooperation.

Curiously, the two opposing perspectives have a remarkable degree of tolerance for one another. During the Long Night, the Second Empire of Gashikan believed in its solemn duty to convince the rest of human space, by every means, of the Vargr threat. That degree of fervor had long ago died. Conversely, on Asimikigir, some individuals still openly display anti-Vargr practices, yet seldom face rebuke.

This article was copied or excerpted from the following copyrighted sources and used under license from Far Future Enterprises and by permission of the author.

– Michael R. Mikesh, Angus McDonald via Julian Protectorate