Spektorism

**Spektorism** refers to the economic, philosophical, and sociological theories expounded by Ilja Spektor and the ideological movement which was born from them.

## Origins, or "Classical Spektorism"

Spektorism was conceived of initially as a result of Spektor's commission as administrator of a Human Conglomerate mining colony on Yutachika, but later grew to encompass an opposing set of principles on the organization of Galactic society as a whole. Spektor contended that the Conglomerate structure concentrated political and bureaucratic power too greatly in the major trade and business hubs of the galactic system, and was inherently unsustainable as a long-term solution to the problems of interstellar governance. He proposed a system that prioritized the establishment of a central political authority separate from the existing corporate structure, with much of the power of the existing Central Committee devolved to more direct system-and-planet level authorities, and with the central authority only being responsible for the resolution of escalated disputes between these devolved power structures. He combined this with a controversial and outspoken opposition to the power and influence wielded by the major corporations which formed the political center Conglomerate, describing them as "parasitic on a hitherto-unimagined scale" and "thoroughly inefficient at the deployment of resources in any direction but inward". His advocacy for the separation of political structures from the economic powerhouses that had been foundational to the reformation of society in the wake of the Terran Cataclysm and its subsequent conflicts was widely opposed within the Conglomerate, and he was branded a political exile and a radical for the remainder of his life, which he devoted to perfecting and expanding his theories of galactic governance.

## "Spektoritism"

Despite being roundly rejected as a proposal for reform within the Conglomerate, Spektor's theories gained traction in the handful of independent planets and separatist systems within the Galactic Interior which were not incorporated into the Conglomerate structure. These outliers were founded and governed by individuals and interests who had sought to escape the expanding power of the Conglomerate, and harbored ambitions of founding a distinct, second galactic superstate or coalition to resist its encroachment. Though culturally and ideologically disparate, and, thus divided, incapable of forming a united resistance to the Conglomerate's power, these systems saw a widespread adoption or admiration of Spektorism, or at least various interpretations of it. Ilja Spektor himself was initially in opposition to these new devotees of his work, declaring that their status as outlier, rogue colonies, separate from the system he sought to reform, precluded them from fully grasping the principles of his ideology.

"*...these shabby fiefdoms at the very edge of interstellar civilization, who take no part in the great communal effort of building and maintaining it, cannot conceive of its management or improvement, but only of its total destruction and replacement. They latch on to the idea of my positions as they imagine them; as partisan, revolutionary rhetoric, not as sober reflections upon the material conditions of the greater whole of humanity. If my field of critique is to be labelled, inevitably, 'Spektorism', and its adopters 'Spektorists', then of the rogue states and colonies who in turns massage and massacre its principles to manufacture a basis for their own political ambitions, I say only that they will not be 'Spektorists'. They have no interest in the science of my method, nor even its conclusions, but merely its perceived tone. They do not strive to untangle the Gordian Knot of our condition, but only to cut it, and they do not wish to listen to my assertions, but to wield me, scarecrow-like, as a figurehead of their own belligerence. They are not Spektorists, but 'Spektorites'; dull tribalists who have, in my absence, constructed in me the person of an arsonist, that they may seek validation for their own desire to see things burn."*

-Ilja Spektor, *On Spektorism and Spektoritism.*

However, after his support within the Conglomerate had collapsed, and he himself had been consigned to obscurity, Spektor in his later years was far more open to the overtures of the so-called "Spektorites", and even visited separatist space in the last years of his life, after which he wrote; "*If there is to be any engine by the power of which the corporatists are to be dislodged, then it is to be constructed outside our borders, and its fuel is to be the fear of subjugation yet held by those not born into it".*

## Radical Spektorism and "Rivers of Blood"

After Spektor's death, his ideas formed the basis of the ideological orthodoxy of the so-called Free Systems as a confrontation with the Conglomerate seemingly became inevitable. This ideology was not only partisan, but militant, with many leading political figures in the Systems advocating that Conglomeration be resisted with violence. One such figure, a young activist militant named Xu Liang, gave a speech at a radical Spektorite rally in which is reported to have proclaimed;

"*It falls to us, not only to resist the corporatists, as they overreach and grasp at us, but, having repelled them, to hunt them back to their lairs, drag them into the light, and then before the whole galaxy, to run their blood in rivers through the starways. Only through this can we let flow the power they hoard throughout all planets, as our brother, Ilja, has envisioned"*

As chance would have it, this rally was attended, incognito, by a political writer and reporter in the employ of the Conglomerate-affiliated news and entertainment corporation *Celestial Voice,* who published an account of the inflammatory rhetoric. The notorious "Rivers of Blood" speech, as it came to be known, not only raised the profile of Xu Liang amongst the militant Spektorites, but also raised the temperature of the entire public discourse on both sides of the divide. Free System partisans were invigorated and incensed by the forceful, violent and triumphalist sentiment, while the citizenry of Conglomerate Space were horrified by this new face of extremism set on the violent overthrow of their society.

Xu Liang's political contemporary, Boetia Cray, later wrote of its effects; "*Before Liang, and his rivers of blood, there was perhaps still a belief amongst those of us leading and directing this young movement that the greatest victory to be hoped for was none at all, but a mutual accommodation. We did not relish the prospect of wagering all we valued against a force that so overawed us in its capacity for violence, and we believed then that the people were of one mind with us on this. After Liang, there was no accommodation. He had set that treaty ablaze before it was ever written. Now we were attempting to steer a wild and unruly beast, the scent of blood caught in its nostrils, hungry to rush to its prey, not knowing that it was itself the one bleeding"*

## Aftermath of the Conglomeration of the Free Systems

Despite the vigor of the Radical Spektorites, the Conglomerate was far and away the superior power militarily, politically and economically. When the decision was taken to demand the entry into the Conglomerate of the Free Systems, there was very little that the assorted regional political leaders could do to resist. Many simply acquiesced once contacted, others refused the request, but gave way when they saw the commissioned fleets of a Private Military Corporation in orbit above them. There were a handful of pockets of violent resistance, but these were met with overwhelming force; the superior, numbers, weaponry, training and discipline of the Conglomerate rendered these skirmishes little more than quick, one-sided bloodbaths. In just a short time, the loose alliance of Free Systems had been dissolved, and its constituents all integrated into the expanded borders of the Conglomerate.

In the wake of the Conglomeration of the Free Systems, radical Spektorism was harshly suppressed, with many militant leaders tried and executed as the responsible parties for the bloodshed during the Conglomeration. Xu Liang was among the many who went into hiding to escape this crackdown, and the Spektorite political tendency became more or less dormant over the next four decades, with only small illegal underground movements still maintaining it.

## Anomaly Incursions and the Fomorii Event

### Spektorite Revival

Over the next 40 years, radical Spektorism became a fringe ideology with little to no mainstream purchase. During this time, the main hubs of Spektorism which existed were highly secretive underground paramilitary organizations, which would conduct periodic acts of domestic terrorism against the Conglomerate in the Galactic Interior. The most influential of these was the New Spektorite Front, headed by Xu Liang, who remained an enduring symbol of the ambitions of militant Spektorite politics.

In the aftermath of the Fomorii Event, the Conglomerate heavily increased surveillance and CSF and PMC presence in near-Core sectors. This extended to many systems in the Galactic Interior, including those which formerly comprised the so-called Free Systems prior to Conglomeration. Officially, no reason was given by Conglomerate-affiliated sources for the visible escalation of armed forces in the sectors, which generated an increase in political tensions in these systems, contributing to the social climate which would produce the movement known as the Spektorite Revival. This Spektorite Revival saw a rehabilitation of radical and militant Spektorism in the public consciousness among residents of the Galactic Interior, particularly those in the former Free Systems, and an increased hostility towards the Conglomerate as a whole. This in turn led to flashpoints of anti-Conglomerate sentiment and demonstrations, which caused frequent low-level clashes with the local military presence.

As reports began to surface of sudden and unexplained colony collapses on near-Core worlds, the Conglomerate enacted a coordinated divestment of valuable Conglomerate assets and operations from near-Core and Interior space, which devastated the economies of many planets. This served only to exacerbate the issue of radical ant-Conglomerate sentiment among these populations, and created an environment in which the radical Spektorite Revival found a strong cultural foothold and widespread support.

### The Covenant Crisis

Following the leak of classified documents from Conglomerate military corporation *Zarathustra* exposing the details of the Fomorii Event, including the first documented evidence of what would become known as Fomoriian Anomalies, the Conglomerate faced a widespread crisis of authority within the Galactic Interior. This rapidly spiraled into multiple concurrent full-scale planetary uprisings against Conglomerate governance, as the New Spektorite Front conducted a series of coordinated acts of terrorism and guerilla attacks that destabilized Conglomerate control in several systems, as well as distributing weaponry among populations engaged in acts of civilian protest. The well coordinated nature of the NSF's attacks during this time, and their apparent state of readiness to capitalize on the crisis of the Covenant leaks, has lead many to conclude that the organization was in some way connected to the dissemination of the leaked files, though it is unclear whether or not they were involved with the procurement of the files, or were merely the recipients of the initial leak, and waited until they were prepared to capitalize before mass distribution.

### The Stellar Liberation Army

Following the Covenant Crisis Uprisings, several planets and eventually systems fell under the control of regional Spektorite and anti-Conglomerate paramilitaries. The NSF was the most powerful and well-positioned of these, and had strategically seized a number of critical points of military infrastructure in the sector, including weapons caches, starship ports, and Sling Stations, leaving it as the most well-outfitted and deeply entrenched of these rebel power centers. This allowed Xu Liang to call a summit of the various paramilitary leaderships that had found themselves in control post-crisis, and propose a unification of their forces before the inevitable Conglomerate counterattack could be deployed. The result of this summit was the formation of the Stellar Liberation Army, with Xu Liang as its Prime Commander, and the subsequent Declaration of Yutachika, which pronounced the re-establishment of the territory of the Free Systems within the Interior, and their secession from the Conglomerate of Humanity.