Terran titles and forms of address

The Terran Federation makes use of an extensive number of titles. These are not noble titles, but instead titles used by officials, scientists and military officers. There are also so-called undertitles, which include things such as citizen, and therefore include nearly the entire population. They are used in almost all legal matters and can even affect one's voting weight in elections.

Most of these titles have standard forms of address, which are expected to be respected, especially in official documents. Some titles and forms of address are reminiscent of noble titles, but this is only in name.

The standard greeting in the Federation no matter a person's title is the Latin "Ave", often with a Roman salute.

The only real noble titles in the Federation are often those of foreign diplomats. Nations such as the Ur-Han, Mirdesh Federation and some of the Dominions still have nobility, and diplomats are often nobles. The Federation however does not recognize any human nobility, be it national or foreign.

## Types of titles

### Undertitles

Undertitles are titles held by nearly the entire population. These include the titles citizen, resident, child and criminal. They define the basic rights and privileges of a person. There are no formal forms of address for undertitles.

Citizen is the most common undertitle, around 75% of the population carries it. Citizenship is also a very important principle in Terran society, as being a "good citizen" is highly regarded. Citizens can vote, run for office, enter the military, create companies, and are entitled to protection by the State if their rights were to be endangered. Citizenship is automatically granted to any human reaching 16 years of age. Aliens can obtain citizenship by fulfilling certain conditions and if they make a demand.

Residents are aliens who are given the right to live and work within the Federation. Until recently, aliens couldn't become citizens. Residents are allowed to work, live and even create companies within the Federation. They are however unable to vote, join the military or run for office. Residents include aliens who are underage, by the standards of their species. Residents make up the bulk of the alien population of the Federation, with around 65% of Terran aliens being residents. Residents are not taken into account in censuses.

Children include all humans younger than 16 Terran standard years. Children receive protection under the law, but are unable to be charged with criminal penalties on their own. Children also require a guardian. Children are also obligated to attend Terran schools. Most children become citizens upon reaching the age of 16. They make up around a fifth of the total population.

Criminal is the undertitle which is given to individuals comitting high offences, but not the highest. This includes one time murderers and rapists, traitors (excluding high treason) and corruption. They are stripped of their citizen rights of vote, running for office, entering the military and creating companies. They however are however protected by the law. Criminals most often serve forced labour penalties. For the worst offenders, such as serial rapists, murderers and accounts of high treason, a person can be stripped of their citizenship completely. These people, sometimes called "castless", are almost always sent to execute forced labour sentences. C

cas ess" make up less than 0.003% of the total population.

### Military titles

Military titles are titles given to members or ex-members of the military. These are however not to be confused with military grades and ranks. These include reservists, soldiers, officers and executive officers. Additionally, most military distinctions come with their own title as well. A person with a military title doesn't inherently have a right to command others in the military. Individuals with military titles are usually referred to by their rank along their name.

Reservist is the most common military title. This is given to any individual which has gone through basic military service, which is non-mandatory and a year long. Reservists are entitled to a yearly pension equal to 3000 Sols/year. There are around 6 billion reservists in the Federation.

Soldiers are people who are professional soldiers. They spend at least 6 years in military service. They are entitled to a yearly pension equal to 16000 Sols/year. People who have 3 to 6 years of service are sometimes referred to as Senior Reservists or Junior soldiers, and receive a 7500 Sols/year pension. There are around 200 million soldiers in the Federation, around 75% of them are retired.

Officers are people with at least 12 years of military service. These are not necessarily actual officers within the military, as the title is received exclusively due to time spent in service. They are entitled to a yearly pension equal to 24000 Sols/year. Their votes in elections also count double. There are around 23 million officers.

Executive officer is the only title to coincide with actual military ranks. Executive officers are a military rank class of both the navy and the army. These include commodores and admirals in the navy, generals and marshalls for the army. This title is unrelated to their service period, but officers rarely get promoted to executives if they have less than 20 years of service. They are entitled to a yearly pension equal to 90000 Sols/year. Executives vote counts for five in elections. Executives are also usually allowed restricted files and dossiers which are not allowed for other citizens, even if they're retired. There are generally no more than 100000 executive officers at a time.

*Note that pensions are separate from the wage a person gets for being part of the military. This means that a Soldier with 10 years of military service receives his military wage, around 3500 Sols monthly, alongside the 16000 Sols yearly from the pension.*

### Honorary titles

There are many honorary titles of the Terran Federation. Terran heroes, the Legion of Honour and Purple heart are some of the most well-known ones.

Being awarded the title of Terran Hero is considered to be the highest honour a person can obtain. It is always given posthumously, to people who have achieved great deeds for humanity. Heroes are divided into historical and new heroes. Historical heroes are people who lived and died before the forming of the First Commonwealth. These were mostly nominated by the Custodian. Most of them are statesmen, scientists, artists, thinkers and more rarely military figures. There are 94 historical heroes. The most notable are Einstein, Voltaire, Tesla or Marie Curie. Out of those 94, 89 were nominated within the lifetime of the Custodian. There are only 17 new heroes. The Custodian's closest advisors make up 6 of these new heroes. Terran heroes receive a statue in the Pantheon of Heroes in Rome, and become elligible to have schools and other public buildings named after them. The Custodian himself never became a Terran Hero.

The Legion of Honour is an evolution of the French and later European Legion of Honour. It is now mostly a military honour, but is occasionally still awarded to civillians. It is generally not attributed to scientists. The order is virtually the same as the 21st century French and later European one. There are up to 50 thousand members at a time. They receive pensions, increasing with their rank (from 30000 Sols/year to 720000 Sols/year).

Purple hearts are people who have been injured or killed in military action. This is a successor to the homonymous American Purple heart designation. Purple heart receivers immediately receive the title of Soldier, no matter the length of their service. They are also entitled to be first in line for healthcare.

Nobel laureates are the greatest scientists and artists of the Federation. It has been expanded to have 8 categories: Physics, Mathematics, Chemistry, Physiology & Medicine, Biology, Psychology, Literature & Poetry and Peace. Peace prizes are now fairly rare, and are mostly reserved for eminent diplomats of the Federation, and sometimes even foreigners.

There are many more Honorary titles, most of them granting a pension and great honours.

### Executives/Officials

Executive titles and official titles are titles which are given to people *ex officio* serving in an office of the Federation. These do not grant a person any special privileges or rights, but designate how it is appropriate to refer to them. "Your Eminence" is a form of address acceptable for any higher Terran official.

### Scientific

Scientists receive different titles depending on where they work, what position they hold and what they've achieved. The most well-known and only truly important scientific title is that of Honoured Scientist.

Honoured Scientists are great scientists who are elligible to be randomly elected to join the Senate, and even the Council. This is given out by the Ministry of Science and Technology. They are given the title for their services to science and the nation. They receive a 540000 Sols/year pension. Their vote counts for 50 in elections. There are usually only around 2000 honoured scientists at a time, but this may vary. Honoured Scientists are often also Nobel Laureates and Legion of Honour members. They are to be referred to as "Your Brilliance".

### Judicial

Judicial titles are titles given to judges. These do not grant a person any special privileges or rights, but designate how it is appropriate to refer to them. All judges are to to be addressed as "Your Honour", with the exception of Supreme Court judges and Constitutional Court judges, who are to be addressed as "Your Great/High Honour".

### Cosmopolitans

The title of Cosmopolitan is given to members of the Cosmopolitan family, relatives of the Custodian. This grants no privileges or rights, but is a great honour. Cosmopolitans are referred to by their name, preceded by Cosmopolitan.