After that cup of coffee together, discussion with Erica became very productive in clarifying what Harrison Armory wanted following slight public humiliation. It was something that I ordinarily wouldn't hesitate in providing, namely a request of the hacker's head on a platter for the megacorp. By all means, they're the criminal who thought they could piss all over John Harrison and get away with it.
I'm not even being snarky, that's actually the CEO's name. Harrison the Third. I think I remember that there was some short story about him, but can't quite recall the details. Eh, I'd doubt it'd be relevant to me. Hopefully.
That being said, when I gave the idea some more thought, I also realized then that I just couldn't give up an accused Cavia citizen if it came to it. Extradition without due process was absolutely a terrible precedent to set. Let alone the optics of doing it to appease a megacorp.
Ugghhhh.
I think that's a line that even the progressives would be hesitant to cross, because then it opens up that very slippery slope to anybody getting deported on a whim. Can't have that. So that meant needing to establish a proper paperwork procedure in which a criminal record is properly entered and citizenship retracted, forcing them to be considered a foreigner on our lands.
But then what rights did such technical aliens have on our worlds then? What sort of protections would be afforded, or lack thereof? Bah!
I messed by spending my political capital in establishing a Department of Broadcast before a Department of Law. In 4x game slang, I picked the wrong node to start with. Bleh, nothing to it I guessed. Wished I could offload this to a proper director to handle but seeing as there were none suited, the Premier would have to handle it himself.
With nobody to offload this duty to, I took on the daunting prospect of forging the Cavia Committee's legal code.
At least Veronica was a wonderful aide in providing me with necessary context to study the existing framework. Something that I wanted to analyze and understand first, so as to make an informed decision on whether it was something that just needed to be totally overhauled, or if I could get away with only a few tweaks into full adaptation. It was also a chance for me to try and infer whatever Lancer as a setting thought was a 'working' adaptation of a legal system.
I mean, I highly doubt that every GM out there was also on the bar, so actual real life practicality might even just be gone. The most they've probably had to deal with are rules lawyers, but I'm getting away from the topic now. Back to studying what was currently being employed in the Cavia system.
It was a hybrid of military and civilian processes, a mix between court-martial and civil law. The former was probably something picked up from our presence, the former Seventh Expeditionary Fleet. Any serious crimes like murder was immediately kicked over to Major Rowles and the army to prosecute as if the accused was a soldier in her service. Which usually translated into a tribunal to determine both guilt and consequences once all investigation was completed.
Hey, at least it isn't something like trial by arms. I'm pretty sure that's probably enshrined in some place run by the Karrakin Trade Baronies.
Ahem. Moving back to the topic, I believe I've mentioned it before that the Cavian people did technically establish their own way of resolving things otherwise. Because they didn't want House Hessin to get involved, on the very reasonable assumption that they would only make it worse, they'd developed an ad-hoc system of ruling things quietly between themselves so long as it wasn't something serious. Less homicide, more petty thievery which was honestly something I was more okay with letting slide.
But the issue was that the judgment on these really did depend on whoever was most 'senior' in those local communities. Be it the mayor, elected representative, whatever. I wasn't so keen on the fact that it was probably somebody who's main point was charisma or seniority over legal understanding.
Similarly, I also had to point out that processing our most serious cases as military procedures was probably not such a good idea. Sure, Rowles could probably handle the odd case or two that came her way- but we didn't exactly have a surplus of military police to tackle on all these investigations.
Not to mention that I can't help but worry about the optics. Having the military be the ones to decide on the fate of a murder case feels like a setup for a miscarriage of justice. Like if the tribunal decides to drop a prosecution due to lacking evidence to properly convince the officers, then what would the average person see or believe?
Let's nip that in the bud before that could blossom.
The NHP also presented for reference the structure used by the Union's own legal process, specifically the Department of Justice and Human Rights. It was an...interesting look into how my own label as an alleged war criminal went, given how this was likely how they were approaching handling the entire muck-up with the Half Committee. Especially given that my former organization had somehow struck one of the precious Metropolitan worlds and left them reeling briefly.
Because of just how large Union was, being an actual galaxy-spanning institution, legal matters and their execution thereof were basically assigned to various teams to tackle as their personal responsibility. They're the ones who decide everything, from how the investigation is conducted to how much of Union's overwhelming might is brought to bear against a possible issue. It's...huh.
The more I looked at it, the more I couldn't help but compare it to how megacorps oft like to operate. With divisions and subsections behind the company competing or collaborating in almost gang-like fashion to advance or usurp one another. Though for how it applied to the government in question, I suppose that since everybody was supposedly working for the better of all humanity, there probably was far less competition.
But far, far more stress. Especially when I got a glimpse of some publicly disclosed numbers and couldn't believe my eyes. I double-checked with Veronica, and yep. Holy shit.
The DOJ/HR had an insaneturnover rate among its lowest ranks. If you make it in as a public servant attached to that department, odds are that you'd actually leave at the end of the current season like it was just a temporary position. But from what exit polls note, this was usually not a voluntarily departure.
More than anything, Union politely tells them that they're on the verging of burning and crashing, so 'encourages' those with developing eye shadows to either transfer to a new, less intense department or accept an admittedly generous compensation package. Really, looking at the comp offered made me quite envious. Who wouldn't turn down a free cruise ticket to a pleasure planet of your choice?
Okay, but more seriously, it seemed that even the DOJ/HR understood that on a galactic scale, there was simply far too much. There was only so much a centralized government could do, so many plots and threats to handle for what was almost never enough public servants. Even assuming plenty of willing volunteers, again the interstellar setting showed how much the human spirit was but a tiny blip compared to the vastness of the stars themselves.
That was also just the critical cases themselves too, the ones that Union deemed important enough to take on. Little wonder why so many smaller injustices that might be sector threats themselves were relatively dismissed. One had to pick and choose their fights, though this was a never-ending war that I think would damper the most jingoist member of SecComm.
So then, the result was that oft times, these justice personnel really did work in an environment probably more fitting of an active war zone than a comfy desk job. Mandatory overtime, critical deadlines that could literally spell life and death...I actually felt bad for them. It clearly wasn't a job for everybody, no matter whatever bright-eyed person went in with only the purest intentions.
One either got chewed brutally up and spat back up as just a shell of themselves. Or they buckled down, developed probably more than a few bad habits, then got to work.
Eesh. It really was a department where you either stuck to your guns, or you hung them up and walked away to never return. Another casualty for the progress of a galactic human utopia.
Right, er, well. Hard for me to say that I can do anything less when it comes to trying to adapt parts of this ethic into our own legal code. Though, for rather understandable reasons in my opinion, I'd like to try and avoid our own government workers suffering the same sort of burnout or turnover. While there could be an argument said that a constant cycling of minds to maintain idealism was the best sort of space, I was going to point out that Cavia very understandably did not have that same scale in manpower to compete.
Union had the Metroplitans to infinitely draw upon. I, being the unfortunate leader of a single Diasporan system, did not have that luxury. Which meant treating our own with a lot more personal care and retention. An admittedly tall order, but one that I wanted to perhaps try and contest Union in to make sure we gave them every reason to stay and keep doing their best.
For now, what Veronica and I worked on drafting up was a guideline. One that my office would present to the congress as justification for funding an additional new department, a proposal to convince them to grant a new budget and commission for establishing more bureaucracy. What we came up with was something curbed from what we had being working with, what Union used, and what I envisioned was hopefully the best way forward.
If it wasn't, then screw it. I'd change and revise it as many times as need be until it would at least hopefully stand the test of my tenure at least. For however short that ended being.
We'd establish courts on differing levels that suited the severity of the situation, which also served as a means for immediate escalation and appeal. The plan called for first local courts to properly recognize and define themselves, structure it to however the locals did like but with consistency to their rules at least. This was going to be the most hands-off the state would get, allowing people to basically enter arbitration between themselves if it kept to mostly petty issues.
I wasn't going to intrude on community rights unless it turned out that said polity had something like 'murder is legal on Fridays technically.' At which point, then the new department would try to step in with common guidelines across all districts. Because yeah, we're not letting things like cults establish independent enclaves with their own laws on Cavia.
Once this department got involved too, then it was considered an automatic escalation from a local into a federal issue that we would take on without question. It didn't matter whatever lawyers wanted, this was when the government had to put on the gloves and handle things directly. This part was something a bit more abstract currently, with the NHP and I arguing on how we aught structure teams and divisions to the matter. She wanted them based on total experience, I wanted them focused on individual fields.
We'll hash it out in time or kick it over to whatever poor soul would be the first director of the department. Speaking of which, they, the military, and my office would be the final authority regarding any cases that escalate big enough to hit the respective desks of our cabinet. We weren't going to leave our lower ranks to hang if things got bad enough. The buck literally stopped with us, as our executive positions meant we were pretty much the supreme authority on any matter.
Of course, I recognized that this did have the potential to overwhelm me with cases. But at the same time, it was my hope that these lower courts and the department teams would be able to at least filter most of them long before they hit my desk. I'd also think that I at least could get a head's up regarding potential escalating issues as they climbed through the ranks.
The system probably wasn't perfect. I could already see the flaw that thanks to this appeal system, things might take a long while to resolve at times if it passed from team to team, from one jurisdiction to another. But it was my hope that it should mean that everybody should feel like they're making a difference, which was a curious little fact that Union's DOJ/HR loved to tout. That they always were making a difference.
I'm sure they were. I just wanted to know if they were willing to admit the price for such progress to everybody else, because those figures Veronica dug up were very buried beneath an avalanche of stories about their effectiveness over stories about their failures. I'm surprised that she found them at all.
Well, she's got a great hand at unearthing records, so I'll chalk it up to that. And probably tell her to also take a break herself.
Unfortunately for both her and myself, we didn't have that sort of luxury. Because not long after we completed the first draft of this presentation to congress, there's been a significant development on our insurgency hunt. Something that was immediately forwarded to Veronica, who then dutifully brought it up to my attention.
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"As per your orders, local informants have been keeping an eye on relative bandwidth usage throughout the settlements on Cavia," the holographic avatar began. "While there were a few false positives, the process was eventually refined until a threshold for abnormal data activity was established. This certain figure has just been triggered for the first time since the protocol was put in place."
"It seems to have come from the outskirts of Kavgarad no less," I considered, brow furrowing. "If that's our insurgency, that's especially bold. And risky."
"Given we had not been actively monitoring data traffic so closely previously, then it makes sense that they slipped under our radar until now." Her tone shifted slightly. "Sir, congratulations."
"Hm?"
"This is your discovery, without a doubt. We had been mostly focused on the idea beforehand that support for this movement would be through conventional means such as local procurement or smuggled imports." Her eyes seemed to glowed briefly for a moment. "You however redirected your attentions into a field few would have considered beforehand and have henceforth found out the real point of interest. Thus giving us finally success in the matter."
I blinked, then raised a hand in a calming motion. "You're giving me too much credit. I'm sure sooner or later, somebody would see the commonality in the records regarding HORUS that they really favor using the omninet for their activities." The only cheat I had, if you could call it, was knowing all about said organization's preference from the overwhelming memes about it. "More importantly as well, do we know what caused the data spike? It could be very important."
Especially if it's something like downloading the designs to make another HORUS machine. There were...a few that I'd rather like to avoid. Preferably by being in an entire sector over if possible.
"The decryption just finished and I've scanned it thoroughly for viruses too. None of the files flag anything in my databases. Would you like to proceed still?"
I pressed my lips together, prayed that I wasn't going to be turned into a memetic gibbering mess. Hm, really should've insisted on having a quarantined digital environment for this. But well, if Veronica cleared it, it was probably fine. So I nodded. "Show it."
The hologram projector flickered and the first of the files was brought up. A video started playing.
And I let out a long suffering sigh at the music echoing through the speakers. No, this was worst, I decided.
"Sir? Is something the matter?"
"No, please just continue." I let out a groan at the tune that I recognize absolutely from my first life, wondering how the hell a remix of it somehow survived into the far future. Some things were truly timeless, I suppose, no matter how many times it gets redone.
Hm. But perhaps there was a message embedded in the title itself. Or was I just paranoid in thinking this meme song about never giving a love up was a bigger psyop. Just to be sure, I guess I really ought to review the rest. Stars, I better see some fresher memes than this at least.