Founding of the UPC

## White Orchid Assembly Hall Meeting

The White Orchid Assembly Hall meeting was a meeting on Imperial Prime, where the Unified People's Collective was founded in 3181, as a reaction to the terrible massacre at Gats. People from everywhere in the Empire came to Imperial Prime to discuss the state of the Empire.

The meeting itself happened on Rooms Avenue, on the corner of Forest Street, in one of the bigger empty theaters called *The White Orchid Assembly Hall*. The meeting itself took 10 days from start to finish.

### Participants

Both individuals and organizations were participating in the meeting: representatives for various planetary rebel groups; philosophers; rich sponsors of the idea of freedom; incognito nobles sympathizing with the fate of serfs; deserters of the army; and others shocked by the recent Bombing of Gats.

Many of the participants of this first meeting became members of the UPC and have important roles in it:

* "The Admiral", who is now one of the Speakers of the UPC.
* His then closest friend Rex, now member of the UPC Council.
* Wolfgang Braumwein of the Interstellar Confederation of Syndicates (ICS), now member of the UPC Council. At the time of the Meeting he was standing in as ICS Spokesperson for C.M. Henry, who was imprisoned after the Demnoph Collective Uprising
* Karl Engels and Kajal, two philosophers who helped in shaping the ideas behind the UPC.
* Members of the Planetary Liberation Front (PLF).
* Representatives of various paramilitary groups.

### Goals of the Meeting

The purpose of the meeting was to form an alliance between all the people who were not happy with the state of the Empire and want to change it. Although different participants had different plans for accomplishing that change, they had the common goal of reforming the current political system and bringing freedom and peace to the core worlds of the sector.

### Meeting Procedure

After the participants arrived in the the White Orchid Assembly Hall, they convened as the *Council of Discussion*. Everyone could speak their mind about the state of the Empire and how to change it. After 9 days of discussion and speeches, they agreed on the *Declaration of the White Orchid*, also known as *White Orchid Manifesto*.

## White Orchid Manifesto

The Declaration of the White Orchid on the first of May 3181 marks the founding of the UPC. It comprises six points and avoids controversial points as much as possible:

1. The Members of Council of Discussion at The White Orchid Assembly Hall hereby formally establish the Unified People's Collective. The Unified People's Collective is an alliance of all who oppose the status quo of the Empire and who work towards change.
2. The Unified People's Collective first goal is it to win the People for their cause.
3. The Unified People's Collective second goal is to do all in their power to prevent mass murder and planetary destruction like the Bombing of Gats.
4. The Unified People's Collective third goal is it to recruit to their ranks additional groups opposed to the status quo of the Empire and working towards change.
5. The Unified People's Collective fourth goal is to establish a Council that can help to coordinate the actions of all the movements and individuals of the Unified People's Collective, thereby enabling them to join forces in their work towards change.
6. The Unified People's Collective, remembering the atrocity of the Bombing of Gats, expressing the firm belief that all are created equal and that everyone deserves rights, adopts the motto: *Empathy, Equality, Emancipation*.

## Aftermath

While most of the Points of the The Declaration of White Orchid were accepted by the members of the UPC, the forming of the Council had its problems. Very different ideas about the nature of the Council led to a delay of more than 2 years until the decision was made to have every member of the UPC vote for a five person Council. At this time House Cygnus had relocated to Imperial Prime and was under attack there.

Not until after the assassination of the Emperor and the silent takeover of Yakiyah by the AWU, the IUWC and others, the first council meeting was held.

## References

1. ↑ For more information on the crafting of the White Orchid Manifesto, see Memetics Engineering: Embrace the Void - Resisting Tidal Forces in high-dimensional Platonic manifolds. A post-mortem analysis of the White Orchid Manifesto by Kajal, UPC Theorist.