Not as large as its sister moon Titan, having a higher percentage of its composition made of ice rather than minerals, and its lack of an atmosphere saw Rhea vastly overshadowed in colonization of the outer solar system. Despite attracting far fewer colonists and far less investment, Rhea found a niche within the old system, the quiet and less risky, yet less profitable, counterpart to Titan. Smaller corporations, wishing access to Helium-3, yet unable to compete with big players on Titan, found outposts on Rhea more manageable. Rhea would also become the site of several scientific research centers and a military outpost of the UN, which would further draw in a civilian population to support the various activities ongoing within the moon.
As a relatively young colony, Rhea experienced the Collapse and resulting political anarchy quite differently than most other colonies. There was no singular authority on Rhea, with corporations, scientific interests, and habitats being generally self-governing within their specific interests. Further, though Astrosocialism had its proponents on Rhea, lack of coordination and doctrinal disputes prevented major action, unlike their more developed and organized counterparts on Titan. Instead Rhea would find itself under the control of Rear Admiral Gerrand Halleck. The UN navy in the outer system was thrown into chaos after losing contact with Earth, a situation only exacerbated by the subsequent revolution on Titan. With command unreachable, and his superiors dead after the Titan uprising, Halleck repositioned the portion of the fleet still under his command to Rhea, declaring a state of emergency for the outer planets, authorizing martial law to maintain control of other rebellious moons and stations.
Halleck quickly discovered that his authority began and ended at Rhea, with virtually the entirety of UN forces beyond the asteroid belt deserting or withdrawing to Luna as part of the reorganization of the UN. Despite this, Halleck refused to abandon Rhea, since it remained relatively stable, and had taken in a number of refugees from the Titan revolution. Considering the circumstances, most native Rheans were not even particularly in favor of independence, with nationalism not being particularly strong, and fears of domination by Titan hung over many, even some astrosocialists who differed ideologically from Titan. Even when communication was restored with the new UN on Luna, Halleck refused orders to withdraw from Rhea, since the UN saw maintaining a presence in the outer planets impractical in the circumstances, while Halleck saw otherwise.
Thus Halleck, though not formally declaring his regime on Rhea to be an independent state, began his de facto dictatorship. Lacking support from Luna, his first goal was to reorganize the decentralized systems of Rhea to support the fleet assets still under his command. New authorities were made, as a central governing system was constructed, directing the activities of individual habitats to be as productive and efficient as possible. Corporate assets, as lost as anyone else in the chaotic times, were nationalized and pressed into service for the industrial needs of Halleck's ships. In just a few years Rhea transformed from a loose collection of corporate, civilian, and scientific outposts into a centrally controlled military dictatorship in all but name.
This, obviously, did not come without creating a significant amount of resentment and opposition from the rest of the population. Few were content being forced into hard labor to support a war machine that didn't seem to serve a clear purpose. Still at odds with UN command, partially because of his disobedience when they ordered him to withdraw, partially because Halleck was having a power trip on being a dictator, Halleck would frequently vacillate about what exactly the Rhean military was going to be used for. Sometimes it was defenses from Titan, sometimes it was to eventually reconquer Titan, other times it was defense from the UN (even while he was nominally still acting on UN authority), and occasionally it was to bring the whole outer solar system into line.
Even Halleck's own officers grew discontent with his dictatorship, some because they feared he was engendering another astrosocialist uprising, others because he detested his lack of consistency in foreign policy (of which the very existence of a Rhean foreign policy was unclear, since it still was not a de jure sovereign nation). A confrontation between his leading subordinates and Halleck led him to a sobering realization that he was losing control of the situation on Rhea. Rather than risk losing the moon to Astrosocialists, or returning to a probable court martial on Luna, Halleck decided to take a radical course of action.
Calling up the leading scientific, civilian, and corporate minds to join him and his main officers, Halleck proposed a startling plan for a Rhean state. Aware of the growing technocratic movement on Earth centered in Nairobi, as well as the Social Darwinist system on Ganymede, Halleck sought a system that would borrow from both, with some personal adjustments to fit Rhea's circumstances. Recognizing the need for diverse focuses by the government to maintain public support, Halleck proposed for Rhea to be ruled by a council made up of the smartest, richest, and most able individuals of Rhea, those most able to advance the state in all fields. The old principles of democracy and egalitarianism were rejected as being the source of corruption that had brought down the UN, and created the Titan revolution. Halleck would become the head of state for the new Rhean Commonwealth, but his position on the Guiding Council would be as first among equals.
Halleck did not merely propose a new system of central government though, he also gave increased autonomy to the corporations, habitats, and newly formed scientific consortiums. By giving them autonomy, and in the process scaling back on his major military build-up scheme, it was hoped that resentment against the regime would decline, and standards of living would improve for the common people enough that the probability of uprising would become remote. While Halleck had intended for his proposal to be a placating offer that he would have to convince those assembled to accept, he was surprised that they quickly came to the agreement that his vision for a new Rhea was not radical enough in its restructuring.
Many who had been gathered by Halleck were of great intellect and grand ambition. Some had fled Titan and yearned for old powers restored. Some had been scientists working on Rhea for decades, removed from regular human contact, and convinced that the woes of humanity were the result of ignorant fanatics. Some were radical intellectuals trying to formulate a new ideology for a stellar humanity that was not astrosocialism. Regardless of origins, when these individuals gathered together with Halleck, they became convinced that a radical new society was needed for Rhea, and possibly humanity as a whole. Going even further than the Nairobi technocrats in some respects, the gathered began to theorize of a society utterly dominated by the idea of merit. A new caste system based upon said merit, an emphatic rejection of any idea of human equality, and the dissolution of the family unit were the main results of the impromptu brainstorming session that Halleck had inadvertently started.
Halleck was floored by this turn of events. He had not expected the gathered group to have such radical views, and indeed, they individually did not, or at least, had not prior to the meeting. But the sudden proposal of Halleck's, combined with the general crisis of ideology much of humanity, and Rhea in particular, was suffering, and the confluence of opinions within the group all came together in a much more radical whole. Halleck managed to convince the assembled group to settle for a more gradual introduction of their program, mostly regarding the merit-based caste system and the dissolution of the family unit, but it was clear that the rechristened Rhean High Council would not be an assembly of lackeys to rubber stamp Halleck's decisions.
Internationally the declaration of the Rhean Commonwealth was taken without fanfare, as it had been de facto independent in all but name since the Collapse. The oddity of its new proclaimed ideology of "meritocracy" was more surprising, but few cared enough about distant Rhea to give it much mind. More importantly the Commonwealth was sold to the populace at large as the end of a period of authoritarianism and stagnation, and the beginning of a new period of growth and improvement of wellbeing. Crucially, the ideology of meritocracy was presented as the ultimate truth, the ability for any individual to improve their standing and wealth through intelligence, talent, or hard work, which was the best path to a strong society, opposed to the evils of Astrosocialism, which demanded all be pulled down to be equal to the lowest of society. Opportunity and freedom from the past were the watchwords for the new Rhean regime, and though many remained cautious towards this new ideology, more embraced it as the path to salvation for a humanity thrown to the brink.
Rhea today is the continuation and consolidation of its initial meritocratic founding. Halleck died ten years ago, and his position as first among equals in the Council was abolished. An informal caste system has developed, where scientists, corporate suits, administrators, and high ranking officers have total freedom and live in relative luxury, while the crippled, the dumb, and the unfortunate scrape by in gutters. Everyone in Rhea is expected to pull their own weight, promised rewards for success, and poverty for failure. Families still exist, to the ire of the Council, but under heavy government urging, most children are raised by Government owned and operated education centers, which instill devotion to the state and its meritocratic ideology in their impressionable young minds.
Astrosocialist resistance remains, but has suffered many setbacks. Most notably was the decision of the Council, at the height of Astrosocialist terrorism, to offer high ranking positions within the Commonwealth to leading members of the terrorists, in recognition of their unusual kind of merit. Though scoffed at by most, one did take up the offer, and subsequently sold out his old comrades, resulting in an effective purge of their leadership. Any sort of trust among remaining Astrosocialists was shot as a result of this, with any potential leader being seen as a likely turncoat, all the more so since the initial traitor has since risen to become a member of the Rhean High Council, proving the benefit of his action. As Titan looks outwards once again though, the threat of Astrosocialism may rise up again.
Though Rhea is scientifically advanced, increasingly well developed, and maintains a relatively large military, its small population and limited natural resources greatly hamper its position and future growth. The idea of expansion to secure resources is growing, with many looking to the other moons of Saturn or the Kuiper belt, while others postulate the idea of striking a deal with the Belters to get access to their resources. The more ideological members of the Council even propose embarking upon a campaign to spread meritocracy to the farthest reaches of the solar system, by force if necessary. Many think that any outwards expansion is foolish and sure to bring danger down upon Rhea though, and instead argue for continued neutrality. Debate over the future of the Commonwealth rages, but one path or another will surely be chosen.
