Ecumenical Council on Non-Human Rights

The Ecumenical Council on Non-Human Rights is composed of two main fronts: the committees and the Upper Council. The backbone of the entire effort is the Upper Council, a ten-chaired organization of religious officials and alien experts appointed by divine decree to oversee the proceedings. This group is unique from the similar councils historically called before it, in that non-church officials from Aquila, Reticulum, Fornax, and The Confederation of the Upright Vagrant have been invited to sit alongside their theocratic allies on the bench.

It is to this bench of individuals that arguments, both from the committees of the Council, and from concerned third parties, will be made, and it is here that decisions on these vital topics would be reached.

## The Upper Council

1. Vanara Venator Reticulum Korrapati Citra, Huntmaster of the Venatorial Order of Nimfydd, Veteran of Three Cullings
2. Quaestionarius Prefect Auxilia Mandatum Dux Diomikato Aquila Plinius Alexis
3. High Priest of Aomori
4. High Priest of Diomikato
5. Hierophant of Convocation Archives
6. Exarch Observer
7. Palatinus to House Eridanus
8. Exarch Purist
9. High Inquisitor of Hong Lu
10. Ibrahim Syn, Palatinus to the Confederation

## Committees

### Purpose and Creation

In order to complete its task, the Upper Council empowers a series of independent committees to operate under its authority. These committees engage in debates, fact-finding operations, and general debate around the topics it is created to oversee. The information gathered from these groups is then presented to the Upper Council directly, so that they may make informed choices in the best interest of the Empire. Members of these committees would also, from time to time, be selected to engage with third parties who are presenting their own thoughts to the Upper Council.

### Created Committees

Below is a list of those committees which have been created by the Ecumenical Council on Non-Human Rights. Each is created with a specific scope and field of study in mind.

#### **Panel on the Social Impact of the Deliverance of Rights unto Aliens (PSIDRA)**

PSIDRA spends its focus on discussing the various social effects that giving rights to aliens (or denying them) would have on the Empire. It is the largest committee as its scope concerns the very fabric of the Empire itself. Administrative burdens? Social strife? Changing Demographics? These are all issues that PSIDRA must concern itself with.

#### **Panel on the Material Value of Alien Labour (PMVAL)**

PMVAL concerns itself with researching the various uses aliens could have in the workforce of the Empire. They receive first hand research from specialists and field workers to find answers to important questions such as, “How much more efficiently could an alien till a field than an automated worker?” They also receive scientifically tested information on things like the strength of alien carapaces, the nutritional value of alien meat and organs, and the potential for alien-based enzymes to be used as industrial-grade acid.

#### **Panel on the Intellectual Competency of Aliens (PICA)**

PICA has a very straightforward task compared to the other committees. Its job is to receive information on the intellectual capabilities of the other inferior lifeforms present in the sector. This information is gathered from scientifically valid tests performed on a wide range of alien fauna throughout the Empire.

#### **Board on the Viability of Alien Hybridization (BVAH)**

BVAH is in charge of debating whether or not a Human-Alien hybrid is viable. Unfortunately, it has proven difficult for this committee to have many meaningful discussions, as very few of its members find themselves capable of stomaching the topic of conversation.

#### **Virtue Measurement and Categorisation Committee (VMCC)**

The VMCC is the most philosophical of the panels that have organized thus far, focusing on determining whether or not the various alien species of Acheron Rho are capable of displaying any of the 10 Virtues of God. Not only do they discern these virtues, but they correlate the level of expression of said virtues to that of the average Human.

#### **Committee on the Elimination of Aliens from the Chain of Being (CEACB)**

The CEACB is more extreme than the other committees by far. This committee strives to answer the question, “Should Aliens be completely removed from the Chain of Being.” Many members of this committee believe that the wars of the Empire past did not go far enough in their pursuit of cementing Mankind as a mark above our alien neighbors.

#### **Advocacy for Aliens as Doctrinal Allegory (AADA)**

An organization of sceptics, deniers, and scrutinizers of the sacred texts, the members of the AADA are adamant that Acheron Rho is home to no aliens. Speculation abounds on whether the idea of aliens was introduced as a parable to illustrate the indomitable will of Humanity, an allegory for the difficulty in securing the many worlds of the sector, or if they are the result of frontier folk tales taking root in the very cultural backbone of the Empire. A very close knit group of like-minded philosophers, the AADA commonly quotes the phrase, “I didn’t choose AADA, AADA chose me,” to express their devotion to their beliefs.

## The Council's Final Order

After several months of deliberation and investigation, the Ecumenical Council presented their findings to the wider Church and the High Exarch. With the Ecumenical Council's purpose fulfilled, several of its recommendations ratified, and a pledge to continue to investigate the data gathered by the council, the High Church ordered the Council to be disbanded.

However, not wishing to lose the expertise gathered within the Ecumenical Council and pleased with the dedication of its members, the High Exarch delivered a Holy Charter to them:

They were instructed to form a new organisation, one that could ensure the findings of the Ecumenical Council were observed. The Houses Fornax, Reticulum, and Aquila, as well as the Confederation of the Upright Vagrant founded the Quorum for the Enforcement and Supervision of Aliens.