 December 6, 2011 - 11:00am | another gem from the list serv: circa Spring 1998 Subspace message from XCD Chance Terledrom, Fromeltar Vivevtik-Vre'Kor (Vf) announced her resignation from the Terledrom ruling council on Seventh day. The resignation was not entirely unexpected concerning her remarks a four-day ago when, during a holovid interview on the "Sunrise Show", she insulted the Dralasiie population of the planet. The interview was discussing the upcoming vote of the much debated "Dralk Welfare Bill". When asked whether she would vote for the bill she commented that "with the way Dralasites talk, we were lucky it got drafted in the first place, so I wouldn't count on a vote". This tops a month of racial tension between the Dralasite and Vrusk of Fromeltar. Urthek Driv (Dn), spokesperson of the Dralasite Organization Of Movement, sites this as "another case of Vrusk attempts to enslave the Dralasites of Fromeltar". On Day 374 the famous Dril murder trial ended in planet wide riots when murderers Dralif Fie (Dm) and Dralik Mor (Df) were conviceted, but their accomplice Viviete Vifi (Vm) was acquitted. The Dralasite response was all that more angry since Vifi was allowed a separate trial, while Fie's and Mor's request for separate trials were denied. Vre'Kor's resignation also comes at a bad time for the Vivevtik politicorp. Vivevtik acquired the Vir-Frie politicorp just before the death of their famed councillor Vivevtik Virso (Vm). Vre-Kor was supposed to be a protege of Virso, but her recent comments, combined with the political climate on Fromeltar, prematurely ended her career. The Vivevtik Politicorp had no comment on Vre'Kor's statements except to confirm her resignation. A replacement for the Vivevtik seat has not been announced, but sources claim that they may be looking at Samantha Forsythe (Hf) as a possible replacement. If so, Samantha would be the first Human councillor on Fromeltar Politicorps- The Politicorp is an invention of the Vrusk society. Always interested in business principles, the Vrusk have extended this practice into their politics. Politicorps differ from regular businesses only in their commodity: votes. Most politicorps occupy a single position (seat) in government which allows them to vote on a given bill. A few have multiple seats, but for those governmental structures where there are multiple Houses, a politicorp is expressly forbidden from owning, or maintaining a controlling share in a company which owns, a seat in an opposing house. The position of a politicorp is entirely dependent upon its clients, and can vary from bill to bill or month to month. Usually, a politicorp is contacted by an organization desiring some bill. They agree to a given fee (called a bid) for a given duration (either a time period, or the passing of a bill). They then represent that bill to the best of their abilities. In addition, each politicorp is required to donate a specific amount of "bids" to public service for causes that do not have the funds to normally hire a politicorp. The rules regarding politicorps are, like most Vrusk business dealings, complex and involved. Usually, a politicorp can be bought out and their seats "merged" with that of a rival politicorp, but the merging between politicorps is very regulated. Politicorps are at every level of Vrusk society, from school boards to planetary governments. As a politicorp rises up the Vrusk societal structure (local school board to regional school board, etc.), its stock and dividends, as well as its rates, increase. I might not be a dralasite, vrusk or yazirian but I do play one in Star Frontiers! |
 December 6, 2011 - 12:36pm | One question what if an individual had stock in multiple politicorps and used influence to manipulate votes not for the benefit of society but to increase their portfolio by playing different politicorps off of each other? Sounds like a great job but where did you say we had to go? |
 December 6, 2011 - 2:51pm | I have the same concerns but I think this is a human perspective. What if the manipulation of votes (and other things) were inherent to standard practices within vrusk society/companies/political structures? |
December 6, 2011 - 3:18pm | Couple of things, we need to try to rethink in terms of what the book described as vrusk trade houses not human style corporations. A trade house is focused on one thing exclusively: security, accounting, building air cars, etc. I think a politicorp would have to be a trade house and that part of the regulation governing them prevents them from being absorbed into a vrusk conglomerate. This said they probably can only take one bid at a time and can Olympic sell their vote once. CEOs of politicorps probably hold themselves to a strict code of ethics lest their reputation be tarnished and they go under because no one will do business with them any more. So to answer RatT I have to think that the aforementioned regulation must come into play to prevent that possibility. However, it sounds like that could be a plot hook. I might not be a dralasite, vrusk or yazirian but I do play one in Star Frontiers! |
 December 7, 2011 - 6:22am | I like the Politi-corp concept. I would say that they can work on as many bills and issues as their political seat allows them to vote on. However I see this self policing itself in Vrusk society by the fact that it is an open vrusk-centric practice. I see the politi-corp as publishing which issues it has been hired to work and which it wishes to be hired to work. Clients bid for the service and the winner (highest bidder) takes the contract. From that point no other client can get the politi-corp to work on the issue / bill / measure up for vote because they are contracted now to work for whomever hired them. They may or may not disclose who hired them base on the contract and potential laws for the particular issue. The issue I think is weather a client can hire more than one politi-corp to work an issue for them. I tend to think that it would be no. -iggy |
December 7, 2011 - 5:21pm | Corporate espionage plot hook; PCs are hired to break into the offices of Vrik'k politi-corp office and find out who contracted them and what their vote is to be on the upcoming legistlation. They can have mutliple contracts for each bit of legistlation and impeachment. I might not be a dralasite, vrusk or yazirian but I do play one in Star Frontiers! |
