So! Some time ago someone in this thread, I think it was
@ManusDomine, requested I do a quick writeup on what the law and justice systems of Autochthonia would look like, just judging from the scraps we know and some of the tangential setting fluff I've
been laying out in various forms. And this... is not
quite so quick, and kind of ballooned into "All about the Olgotary." However, I'd be the first to tell you that civil law, crime and punishment is not my forte. So bearing in mind the majority of this comes from a good deal of research and best-guessing, hopefully this all serves as more of a
starting point for those more knowledgeable than I am to engage with and run from there. That said, here goes nothing!
Left-Hand Rule
It would be inaccurate to say that the laws which govern the lives of the eight nation's people are codified within the Tome of the Great Maker, so much as the scriptures contain a religious-ethical system of legal reasoning and argument, meant to detail standards of good conduct, social imperatives, customs and observances which all Autochthon's chosen people are expected to uphold. Drafted in the earliest days of the Tripartite from the eight tribal doctrines, the view established by the Tome is that humanity is afforded a special place within the domain of the Great Maker as his honored guests, and thus are subject to his benevolent grace and hospitality. Therefore only the highest respect and esteem are granted to Autochthon as both divine host and trusting provider, and a grateful humanity rigorously self-polices any behavior which would draw the ire of the primordial for this display of humbling vulnerability.
Though this way of law is highly demanding in-theory, it is not practiced as ironclad as its patron's grip over the actions of his spiritual agents. The prevailing view decreed by the Olgotary is that humanity cannot be held to utmost Clarified perfection that Autochthon's hierarchy embodies, and attempting to guide the Octet as programmed automata would be foolish and demoralizing upon the Great Maker's chosen people. Doctrine issued by the Theomachracy largely agrees, and instead a measure of leeway is granted for the fallibility of mortal life in the presence of the mechanistic divine. Even laws made with righteous intentions will doubtlessly be transgressed, proper etiquette mishandled and observances unwittingly ignored, and so this should be seen as an expected, if non-ideal, outcome for would-be lawmakers. Cast against the vastness of the Grand Design these brief missteps are as transitory as the mortal lives contained within it, but insignificance on this scale creates necessary perspective.
Any citizen who falls short knows there always lies a path back to redemption through skill, time and labors, though some will find the path more difficult to walk than others. Machines can be mended, scrap recycled and bones knit back together, but lives composed of distinct experiences and learned expertise cannot be replaced so interchangeably. Furthermore the Tripartite knows full well how much resources it expends annually to clothe, feed, house and educate a new Populat worker before she will finally return on that investment to become a replacement asset to the citizenry. So maintaining a consistent and healthy workforce in the face of sudden accidents, misfortune and the enduring march of time means that every man, woman and child is crucial to upholding the state and nation it serves.
After all, the text within the Tome of the Great Maker insists that Autochthon brought with him no more than those souls which he foresaw as meaningful actors in the coming implementation of his unknowable Grand Design. He understood the upper limits of his divine needs, and issued this compact of mutual benefit prepared to aid mankind in forging his most loyal adherents into a standing force capable of fulfilling his service. Not surprisingly, functionaries of the state within both the Olgotary and Theomachracy see sustaining the Grand Design as imperative above all other factors, and thus all mortals within the primordial's body should seek to abide by his judgment of essential dignity and duly submit to the graciousness of Autochthon's reception as assistants in achieving these lofty goals.
Outside of the scriptures, what are seen as formalized civil and criminal laws are an archive of precedence in history and conditional rulings made to insure the core tenets of divine respect and etiquette remain acknowledged for all time. Each was once an event which required an authoritative answer, then proposed by the combined efforts of the plutarchs and clerics to equally help fulfill societal and religious needs as well as those of Autochthon, administered a verdict by one or more experienced adjudicators on a case-by-case basis. Although the first word always lies within the Tome, it is never the final one. Each community within the eight nations is informed by the shared consensus on this law issued by its local courts, past and present, recounted and recorded through dozens of additional volumes of literature, scholarly analysis and associated peer-review.
Consulting these extraneous reference texts of historic judgments and philosophical commentaries by assorted Olgotary and Theomachracy officials is vital to the proper execution of the modern system, owing to troubling inconsistencies and uncertainty surrounding the origins of the first laws of the Octet. The lengths of time the newly-minted nations had to culturally diverge were considerable before all became united under one book of law and faith, alongside entirely reasonable conjecture on the possibility that different regions of the primordial's internal landscape could have been delivered slightly modified practices for what could be deemed 'acceptable conduct.' Changing urban circumstances also separate the industrialized nations from those impoverished early struggles, and must be continually addressed while still adhering to the spirit of the law at the time it was written.
As things now stand the resulting composite law code is unclear on which among these ancient rules were bestowed originally from studying the words and deeds of Autochthon's own subgods, and those which were later embellishments or well-meaning suggestions afforded by the earliest translators tasked with collecting and organizing the original Tome of the Great Maker. Scholars can only agree that the first category of law is immutable as the righteous word, and the latter must be granted respectful precedence as the divine will articulated by an ignorant mankind, even if the two cannot be separated so easily. Because no state functionary wishes to be a lone voice standing in opposition to the Great Maker's decree, however remote the chance, the oldest laws are wisely regarded as the most universally binding for this reason.
A House Divided
Upholding the spirit of these laws means wrestling a continually moving target, and especially so when a new addendum must be drafted or the old revised to meet with the unexpected realities of an evolving culture, needs of the populace, and required maintenance tasks for the Great Maker's health. Internal tensions between the extensively planned proposals of the plutarchs and ratification by the adjudicators to enforce those new laws are a fact of life within the Olgotary halls of any given city, with battle-lines drawn and redrawn over the course of decades. When the time comes for industrial or social reform, the two factions bitterly vie against eachother on the relevance of traditionalist or modern authorities. Barring input on religious doctrine by the clerics, each Olgotary community has its own unique ideals for what best determines how far the old laws might be stretched via reinterpretation, if not how precedence-shattering or redundant "innovative" standards and practices imported from distant cities and nations may become once given time to take root.
A large component of this heated debate stems from attempts to sway or contest the elected autocrat of the city, highest ranking among those within the Olgotary and lead governing official, holding the power of a final vote in any stalemate on policy grounds. Drawn from the aged and experienced veterans within any of the three branches, an autocrat with plutarch sympathies frequently paves the way for a slew of revisions and amendments, often too many to fight individually as sweeping political agendas are incrementally pushed forward through minor exceptions and loophole clauses. Autocrats coming from a background in the adjudicators typically take a more conservative and reactionary role in governance, actively impeding or refuting any long-standing alterations to status quo, serving to stonewall great expenses or movements capable of bringing uncertainty to contemporary life, for good or ill. Lastly, though not the most well-liked to assume the seat, a regulator head is normally an autocrat most diligent about the nature of law as a system communicated through orders. Such men and women hold fast to the knowledge that law must be policed on the street-level, and the difficulties which develop in what can be enforced by logistics and labor alone, rather than debated as an exercise in statistics and theoretical models behind closed doors.
Experienced Alchemical Exalted are often recruited as a mutual party or patsy to these internal intrigues, even recalled from independent fieldwork to weigh on these issues with her knowledgeable expertise or even make a decision at some critical impasse forecasting a watershed moment within her jurisdiction. Tacit approval of an adjudicator's veto or vocal disdain at opposing a given social platform can be the death knell for reform efforts, or vice-versa, depending on the Exalt and situation under consideration. While a Champion is forbidden from directly engaging with local lawmakers, for fear of attempting to sway the decision with heroic magnetism and Charms, her conclusions are watched and analyzed carefully. She might lack the requisite education on how precisely the legal process functions, but an Alchemical's status as a top mind and professional in her field easily make her the most visible hand embodying the proper protocols through her deeds and assignments as a figurehead of the state. If nothing else, the palpable presence of the Exalted at work gives welcome assurance that a proposal is being undertaken seriously enough to impact even the lives of demigods.
Though the practice brings with it no
real authority to do more than roughly advise this rule of law and provide compelling evidence and counterargument, Olgotary members are oftentimes quick to leverage an Exalt's public image on behalf of the state as a show of progress and local pride, saying nothing of her role as mediator between Autochthon and mankind. Having a culture hero waiting in the wings is sometimes all the necessary gravitas required to push through a tense ideological deadlock. But that is assuming the opposing side does not also bring forward a Champion to challenge these claims with alternative findings, and that is where the social prowess of the Exalted is levied most usefully, in opposition against one another. It is not uncommon for an Alchemical to accidentally become a minor political figure this way, pulled out of active duty towards the home front to zealously defend her favored agendas from even the refutations of long-trusted allies within her own assembly. These proxy-debates between Champions may last for days, possibly longer if either the Olgotary or Theomachracy wishes to be exceptionally thorough, fighting no-quarter struggles on secular and doctrinal policy as brutal as any found in the Reaches and beyond.
Influxes of fresh resources cascading through public works projects, states of emergency declared against uncommon turbulence through the Great Maker's systems and similarly pressing matters of regional concern may draw the need for Exalted debate and guidance. Lacking the long memories and supernatural pattern-recognition the Champions carry, the leadership of the respective Tripartite branches observe the emotional pleas, formal defenses and activations of any cognitive or interpersonal Charms from a respectful distance, as well as analyzing the resulting effects or reasoning, to formally compile and address any administrative minutiae brought to the fore by such superhumanly-detailed examinations of the issue. The staged discussion becomes a private forum to identify flaws, unforeseen conclusions or outcomes which could not be guessed from a merely-mortal vantage point. Truly momentous events may gather all the Champions from a city to give statements, establishing the outstanding stakes and voices of interest before ultimately calling upon the great Alchemical core at the city's heart to give brief council, should it actually possess one. From this wealth of generational experience and accumulated knowledge of local heroes the final judgment falls to the autocrat to authorize the methods the new law will be enacted, if at all.
Once hearings are resolved and the ruling of law formalized, passed case judgments become as wholly binding for the immediate community as the oldest laws, and recorded among the rest to add its weight of precedence to history. Strict care must be paid to develop a harmonious and sensible ruling foremost to compliment the greater whole. Because while each township cultivates its own moral status quo and defends against contradictory interpretations, its findings may well be used to influence every similar case which calls upon it from that point on. Depending on the quality and significance of the decision made, and the esteem to which the acting officials are held, even the most minor change in interpretation can spread wider than that single community and be gradually adopted over time by other courts. Possibly even to law practices and Olgotary members in other cities, if not nations.
Exemptions and loopholes introduced into long-held standards can have cascading consequences years, decades, even generations down the line, far-flung from the case which sired it, and thus Octet lawmakers are ever-vigilant and conservative in what is allowed to filter down from state offices to the masses. In more hidebound nations like Jarish or the increasingly insular Sova, who disdain all outside influence but the writ of the Tome and the conclusions local clerics have drawn from it, some conditionally-appropriate laws may be ritualized to the letter as a matter of ideological purity than fair or accurate legal process. The exact suitability is never questioned until such a time as enough "proof" is gathered for alterations to be made, and even when this "proof" is provided in detail, partisans will undoubtedly insist that only the methods of executing the law could be in error, not the social order it enforces.
Proposed laws lacking regular enforcement or modification for several years may come under Olgotary review, leading to substantial reworkings or being quietly mothballed as though the law had never been. Junior members often spearhead these reforms, taking advantage of these stagnant regulations to build early careers of wise council and skill at drafting word of law which had seemingly been there all along. Unaware of the rotation, the Populat stays resultantly ignorant of any sweeping changes in policy when it does not come from the mouth of a shift chief, generalized summaries from weekly sermons, or the sound of boots from a regulator cadre. The Olgotary largely prefers operating this way in isolated secrecy, and a great deal of effort is spent maintaining the facade that the state and law remains ironclad as it has always been.
As the Populat would will it be, the law and its inner workings remain a seemingly forbidding fortress of objective reason with the Tome of the Great Maker at its center, timelessly enduring, strong and true. Suggesting that the holy word might be a subjective ideal, if not outright altered to fit unexpected circumstances, or that the modern law has grown and evolved alongside its people in ways that do not match up to events within living memory, would give unwelcome insight to the Populat and encourage more frequent demonstrations and labor strikes to correct these perceived flaws in social policy. Publicly justifying the necessity of a mutable law system is seen by many within the Olgotary as a waste of valuable time, when no amount of transparency or information will help alleviate the circumstances imposed upon it by international affairs, materials shortages, and the Great Maker's wildly sporadic health concerns. The Populat demand a level of peace and stability which the state simply cannot readily provide, and would sooner cast itself as the source of contention than lay bare the internal struggles against bigger complications it serves to address.
To express weakness or ineptitude in even one of these areas could only undermine the authority of the state far worse than any heavy-handed police action, and dash the confidence of the people that a merely-human hand of leadership could guide a sane course in the shadow of perfect Clarified supernatural intelligences. The plutarchs and the adjudicators unite together only in agreement that state duties are vastly easier without needing to submit to the blind appeals of a third party ignorant of the greater context outside Octet society, one which idealizes absolute cultural and ideological stasis under a clockwork regime. Except through anticipating and counteracting the vagaries of civil disobedience, it is better in the view of the Olgotary to stand aloof and cast the wide variance of interpretative law in the daily life of the Populat as selective levels of compliance to unseen and sensible regulations, which are relaxed and tightened as-needed for the public interest and health of the local region to remain secure.
At-Risk Management
Tantamount among the laws of the Octet is preservation of all productive mortal life, though not by any sense of innate sanctity, but adherence and reverence paid to the virtues of that life as a component of the Grand Design. Workplace conditions, food quality and maintenance standards, access to hygiene and medical or child-care, transport regulations and more are upheld and enforced by Olgotary law, insuring no Populat laborer's day-to-day activities go by without some small reminder of the state infrastructure that provides her with continued health and safety. But despite these broad aims the Tripartite is also a finite institution, and cannot hope to micromanage every worker who throngs the streets of the cities between shifts. Laxity and ennui are quiet killers, with carelessness and mishaps within the cramped confines of the manufactories claiming more lives regularly than any number of proxy wars, international intrigues or lurking dangers of the Reaches.
Modifications are made to aid accessibility in the urban environment, such as adding ankle-high guardrails or applying gritty coatings to slick surfaces for foot traffic, and preventative warnings are dramatized in grisly sermons about common occupational hazards, but the state cannot be everywhere at all times. Therefore the responsibility of public well-being is assigned to the worker herself, officially recognized as a personally liable steward for protecting her own life in Autochthon's service, should she be asleep or awake, put at-risk intentionally or unintentionally. For it was Autochthon who drew early-mankind out from a world of oppressive bleakness and lethargy of the soul, and within the assembled rabble he saw an untapped potential waiting to be utilized. No souls which followed him on the journey were deemed unfit for the labors he foretold, and thus it stands that those souls are also duly capable of bearing the weight of accountability towards achieving some measure of that divine work.
Extensiveness of colored hazard paints, illustrative glyph signage, audible chimes or alarms, coded lighting fixtures, and prevalence of nearby witnesses and aides throughout every industrial and residential area mean that all law is conducted under the impression that, by definition, a citizen of the Octet is one who is always forewarned and educated on the inherent dangers to her surroundings. Similarly, no one save Autochthon can say with absolute certainty if or when a given soul has yet accomplished this lifetime's noble service to the Grand Design, and thus each living person is held equally accountable under the law for the lives of her fellows, until such a time as her body and mind are no longer fit for the task. There exists no point when a worker should not be an engaged participant to the unsafe situations she finds herself within, assisting her shift crew to help alleviate those risks.
The unrested worker who dozes off alone, only to tumble from her walkway perch into the threshing gears below, is seen to have caused her own demise for lack of due diligence, whether by refusing the company of her associates who may have roused her to wakefulness, or in self-care by not managing her sleep more reasonably. Should she survive this misadventure, an injured worker may even be brought up on criminal charges of self-negligence and squandering of public resources for her emergency treatment, while severe inquiry is paid to those who allowed her the potential to thusly disable herself. Because just as there are laws restricting what degrees of danger one person can willingly assign another person or to the state-owned property under her control, so too are there limits on the manner of endangerment a citizen can place herself before she is seen to be asserting her own ignorant will above that of her unrealized significance in the Great Maker's ambitions.
Violation of these safety codes traditionally levy a suggested punishment ranging from enslavement and demotion to the Lumpen caste, even exile or execution, but this is generally spoken as more principle than practice. The explicit threat to life and livelihood from the state serves as a deterrent within the community and an illustration of the severity underlying the transgression, not the expectation of meting out additional harm as penance. It is generally accepted that anyone who has been rigorously educated about yet still willfully ignores these standards of personal and mutual welfare, either by shirking those protections or refusing the benefits to others, should acknowledge her own life as summarily forfeit by doing so. For this reason the preceptors regularly prowl outlier industries with unscheduled productivity checks, to make certain that correct protocols are being exercised in addition to locating potential vectors for workplace heresy.
Mortality rates of injury or sickness caused by lax enforcement and upkeep are assumed to eventually come back to haunt any who would cut such vitally necessary corners. Lector-led theater troupes regale the Populat continually with tragicomic stories of abusive mismanagement and short-sighted pursuit of high production quotas, which consume the bumbling mastermind behind the scheme as everything violently unravels. Such plays seek to formalize the offical stance on the meaningful role of individual workers as part of the whole, specifically those whose duties regularly intersect with dozens, possibly hundreds of other citizens from all walks of life and levels of society. Each of those citizens in turn influencing increasingly broader segments of the divine plan in motion around her in a cascade of interdependancy. To proclaim oneself as the single errant spark incapable of starting an uncontrollable fire is treated as the highest imaginable idiocy, and punishable only by forced removal from the society threatened by this poor conduct.
Counterbalancing these matters, attempted suicide is seen as a capital crime against Autochthon within the Octet, granted significance equal to premeditated murder. Alongside it lies conscious self-mutilation, inattentive or reckless refusal to seek medical care, or bribing another citizen to willingly assist in causing violence or death upon her person. Unlawful conduct such as this presumes that the accused does not ascribe her current life in the Great Maker's service the truly meaningful value it demands, breaking her legal responsibility for stewardship of her gifted soul. These troubled individuals are typically handed off to Theomachracy lectors for therapy and spiritual counseling as part of rehabilitation for the crimes of placing a soul in the weft of the Grand Design at risk of loss, with the intention of reintroducing her back into the workforce at a later date. If these self-destructive impulses persist despite this second chance, she faces the full sentence for her crimes, unrepentant and malcontent.
Summary use of the death penalty for these crimes, or body-enslavement via forfeiture of her soul, is deemed necessary only in the most extreme cases where the accused is deemed so incompetent or actively malignant that her impact on the Design could be foreseen as a net-negative for all parties. But this is a true rarity, and the eyes of the law always see a redemptive path for those who frequently defy safety measures and place undue danger on those around her. Even an exile may yet be blessed by the Great Maker's spirits and fulfill her divine contribution in some other ways far distant from her homeland, assuming death from exposure or happenstance does not find her first. If she must tread so staunchly outside mankind's laws to accomplish what Autochthon intends for her, then she walks his corridors alone where none other can follow.
Only an external accident or malign actor can absolve the injured or witnesses to an injury of inherent blame, but there exists a crucial exemption outside of becoming a victim or deliberate bystander where a citizen may defy all established laws of personal safety. Any attempt to preserve the life of another citizen lies outside of the judgment of man or god, and the Tome of the Great Maker explicitly empowers one among his chosen people to do everything within her ability to save productive life where it is threatened, even if she would clearly transgress social boundaries and legal protocol to do so. Interpretations differ on whether the lives of non-citizens may be held in similar regard, such as the tunnel dweller outcasts and those who reside within the Lumpen underclass, but many progressive nations agree it lies within the spirit of the law as outreach to fellow members of humanity, if not the letter specifically.
Traditionalist Jarish takes a hard-line stance on limiting what many call this "Martyr's Clause," declaring that any who would exist outside the protections of law are only fit to be judged by the Great Maker, while Kamak sees the preservation of endangered Lumpen as simply an intelligent allocation of public resources. Sova, with its recent turn towards regressive isolation, has made the controversial claim that its laws will prioritize only natural-born Sovans over other foreign ambassadors within its borders, while Estasia lacks a Lumpen class entirely and broadly extends this law to encompass would-be convicts. Estasian practice would sooner see the accused exonerate herself by trial of her own deeds to aid the state or its people in a mission absent of legal protection and observances, and in defying death this way prove her own innocence and worthiness of recognition by the law once again.
By virtue of the numerous faithful lifetimes powering Alchemical Exaltation, it can be said that the rather eclectic actions and views espoused by the Champions are always expressed with the intention to secure or preserve the continuation of mortal lives within the Octet. Thus Exalted lapses in social conduct are always subject to legal immunity through the Martyr's Clause, allowing an uncontested degree of freedom to conduct herself as she wishes. Those who regularly deny the trappings of a comfortable life to aspire towards similar heights in upholding the Martyr's Clause are seen as especially righteous, accepting both great hardships of ever-present danger and the rigid structure of safety code for the betterment of her city and people without actually forfeiting her life in doing so. As a form of figurative self-sacrifice, it is equated with acting as unsung heroes of the people rather than true martyrs, and lauded for piety and "giving of her soul" so fully to divine service.
The Human Component
On the ground level, the Populat mistrust the Olgotary as a rule and the laws it imposes by extension. The average worker is rarely given reason to second guess this outlook, thanks to the predominant silence when presented with legitimate grievances and workforce strikes, broken only by the sound of regulator demands to peacefully disperse, and the goodwill engendered by the Theomachracy's entertainment displays and outreach programs which portray the scripture as simply facts of life than legal writ. Even the least cynical manufactory director still knows very distinctly how her status as merely Populat affords her no special favors from the state, and despite decades of ambitious toil her value is nevertheless measured by how efficiently she can manage the manpower acting beneath her to meet necessary quota, nothing more.
As the branch of the Tripartite in charge of the economic base of a city, arranging production schedules and urban planning, the Olgotary occupies a position of 'necessary evil' to many who persist under its seemingly-arbitrary enforcement policies. The same structures of society which insure the materials and logistics needed for the factories to stay operational also keeps a chafingly tight grip on what formal requisitions are distributed from the efforts of the Conductors who heroically plumb the Reaches for new supplies, and what repairs will be prioritized to the Scholars when the time comes for expansive retrofits. When an unexpected change in procedure suddenly insists that all workers must run weekly decontamination drills until further notice, or power-usage becomes curtailed two out of every five shifts to help manage irregular electrical consumption, it comes naturally to cast the Olgotary as obstructionist busybodies standing between the faithful and accomplishing a fine days labors.
That so few among the Populat ever see the Olgotary at work firsthand only makes this impression more pronounced, with the most frequent interaction between the classes consisting of looking on from a distance as the regulators investigate and detain lawbreakers who have already caused harm which must now be cleaned up. Unwilling to work so closely alongside the Populat as the Sodalts do, or bolster the faith and morale of the people like the Theomachracy, the Olgotary and its lofty adherence on unseen protocol and regulation is derided as both presumptuous and unreliable, the laws capricious and oppressive. Particularly when held against the allegedly-meritocratic hierarchy of souls which places the experienced foreman scarred by hardships below that of hidebound paper-pushers in plush corner offices.
The plutarchs do not help staff the machines and heavy equipment where these supposed mortal dangers lie, nor do the adjudicators or the autocrat of the city recognize the values driving the populace as crucial qualities of life are thrown into question without prior warning. Most certainly the regulators do not spare much thought on how well-maintained the streets are kept, patrolling merely to enforce the consistency of social order within the nation, and not insure public welfare unless threatened by an external aggressor. So without a trustworthy authority to galvanize around, but reliant on the infrastructure of the state to function, the Populat turns aggressively inward onto itself.
By elevating community leaders and shared faith, the people seek to best leverage the protections established under the Martyr's Clause and the safety codes. Loyalty to the holy writ coined by the Great Maker and his subgods are what encourages adherence to "Tome rule," not the heavy-handed demands of the state. There is an attitude promoted by elder directors and management who have long seen Olgotary regulations come and go in cycles, that by working together and to the utmost of her skill, a worker can circumvent legal overreach by rising above the means for it uses to exercise power. Living a peaceful life of humble labors, abiding by the scriptures and aspiring to enrich others and fulfill Autochthon's needs, even if these things alone do not fully immunize her from criminal prosecution before social tides change, would nevertheless make the arrest, sentencing and punishment of such a productive soul a suitably complicated affair that only a truly damning case would dare be broached.
Olgotary officials who try to orchestrate public relations campaigns and build rapport with everyday workers are frequently shocked when attempts to adopt similar aspirational messages, highlighting the benefits of an ideal Populat life, nevertheless fall flat to this otherwise receptive audience. What is spoken in confidence as a mutual pursuit of exceptionalism-in-adversity between members of the Populat instead becomes seen as patronizing finger-wagging from the powerful enforcing that adversity. Invariably the communication process breaks down, existing efforts seemingly devalued as not progressing rapidly enough for governmental oversight, the entire affair cast as a cynical ploy to squeeze out additional labor through bringing shame upon any refusing to exceed expectations, and motivating the offended workforce is reassigned back to the directors and shift chiefs. While the upper ranks of the Populat no longer toil alongside the workers down below, many would sooner trust the most hard-nosed foreman to see the duty roster as assembled from human beings, rather than a margin of economic statistics building too slowly towards scheduled quotas.
Occult of Personality
Yet not all among the Populat accept the romanticism inherent to compliant drudgery, or high-minded ideals about practicing saintly servitude to execute the decrees of divine etiquette. Rebellious factions formed of brash youth, social derelicts and expatriates from other nations spring up as minor cults, gathered together with the intentions of forcing the Olgotary to acknowledge the voice of the "lesser souls" it requires to sustain its factories and living conditions, no matter how strong the arm of regulators it can bring to bear. This has lead to something of an ongoing generational rift formed between the two competing Populat ideologies, the cults rightfully decrying the unfair insistence from aging shift chiefs to simply work, act and live in superior ways than the haughty upper classes to achieve some comparably peaceful life in these uncertain times. Firebrand demagogues rally up like-minded peers to denounce the moral cowardice seen in the usual pleas to weather the current climate with a resigned and humble silence, especially when word of strange and less-constricting foreign laws come to local ears.
As breakaway cells devoted to the facets of Tome canon which extol the virtues of one or more Divine Ministers, these cults see contact with the supernatural as a method to surpass the Theomachracy as spiritual brokers and directly appeal to the holy word. Sometimes this practice is even successful, delivering unexpected omens and favors to these disparate petitioners, allowing cult-leaders to proclaim that the subgods recognize a more true and sincere faith originating within the Populat than the overbearing religious hierarchy. Ultimately though, even unobtrusive cults like the Luxurites of Noi advocating "resistance through recreation," or the Progenate fertility sects of Kek'Tungsssha doting on immaculately-conceived birth-litters, will inevitably overstep what is deemed ideologically tolerable. Like the Winding Coil Uprising before it, the membership quickly becomes embroiled in intense investigations by state agents to help discourage the spread of potential heresies from ignorantly misinterpreting the approved scripture.
Despite the risks involved, all that would-be cultists know for certain is how even if the unseen voice that rises to meet petitioners is not of Autochthon proper, it still remains a source of supernatural sympathy which listens and answers to the wishes of the meek and downtrodden. That single fact alone provides a shred of hope in eventual societal change, a conclusive acknowledgment for the unsung lower classes as a people nonetheless worthy of divine comfort and compassion denied and obscured by Theomachracy propaganda. But for the average worker looking in from the outside towards the sum of its members, the ad-hoc structure of these groups and the secrecy surrounding the ways each worship and conduct arcane ritual practices make it almost impossible to judge the difference between radicalized movements fomenting political dissent and peaceful workers who have found common ground in rather peculiar lifestyle choices.
Without some sign of lurking unrest bubbling beneath the surface, the uncompromising stance taken against the cults by the Olgotary only breeds hesitant fear and confusion as for why seemingly happy and productive workers or errant youth with no history of concern are suddenly rounded up for detainment or subject to unforeseen investigative scrutiny. Rumor quickly circulates suggesting these misguided faithful may have been preyed upon or recruited by a malicious gremlin presence, voidbringer cell or identity cult tapping into unspoken antipathy and belief in state corruption, poisoning the hearts and minds of friends and neighbors without notice. In the aftermath of such a raid by state agents all cultish activities become treated as somewhat suspect by the greater Populat, known members resultantly shunned or watched warily for signs of civil disobedience, pushing the cults to become ever more insular and exclusive.
Leveraging internal tensions this way suits Olgotary purposes perfectly fine, keeping the lower classes more preoccupied with self-policing suspicious outliers to the cultural norm than actively protesting new laws or changes to living quality. All investigations on active cults are summarily kept as covert as possible, veiled in rumor and misinformation, with the bulk majority never reaching the eye of the public. Even if a cult may be pushing the harmful agendas of malfunctioning spirits masquerading as divine messengers, the Populat need not know the extent of the problem, lest it cast the state as incompetent for letting a dangerous element lurk so long unseen. An authoritarian example is only made of an unaffiliated cult which has otherwise evaded notice long enough to assign itself some manner of "unofficial canon" conflicting with Theomachracy sermons among the people, or which threatens to disrupt productivity or future plans by the plutarchs in the process of popularizing these niche beliefs.
Walk With The Law
Into this intractable quagmire step the Alchemical Exalted, widely respected among the Populat for being the hand of the Great Maker made manifest, but also regarded with a measure of faint suspicion and wariness as acting agents of the state. Lasting solutions to entrenched cultural problems rarely come easily in the continually changing circumstances balanced between preserving Octet society, uniting fragmented ideologies and alleviating the Maker's varied needs. Though some might suggest otherwise, even Exalted civic analysts are continually vexed when time comes to weigh hammering out the important issues of the day against whether this would make for an uncertain state of affairs come tomorrow. Since Tripartite authority lends her no higher claim of integrity to aid in implementing these goals in the eyes of those she serves, often the first step for any Champion looking to ease social unrest begins on the ground, building a personable relationship with her people.
The Populat knows that it is the Olgotary who choose the role and intent behind constructing a new Alchemical, so an untested Exalt is gingerly held at some distance until it becomes clear whose vested interests she shares. Because the training, iconic equipment, performative emblems and aesthetic identity she receives are all carefully sculpted facets of a Machine manufactured by the state to embody a heroic, dynamic figurehead and create a commanding public face for the Tripartite and society, not a trustworthy one. In that respect skeptical observation is the only reasonable course of action when a Champion has been deployed to meet the masses in a transparent bid to strategically wield her emblem and Machine as to smooth over clashes between doctrinal disobedience and troublesome administrative mandates.
Should she apply an iron-clad boot and the calculated ease of a crossbow grip, awed deference and dutiful recognition towards her elevated station is all that can be hoped for, usually coming alongside those preparing for her eventual reassignment to some far-flung private sphere where her enforcement policies will not impact daily life so directly. Though she may not act with the law of state in mind, the Exalt nevertheless carries it with her as a symbol of the negative peace the Olgotary values so highly, an absence of class tensions without removal of the unjust principles fueling it. But should the Champion successfully prove her faith and support of the Populat cause, and earn her sobriquet through acknowledging the desires of her people and advocating justice even against the state and fellow Exalted, she can rapidly become a beloved culture figure and a local institution, like a living monument to the devotion the Theomachracy instills so strongly.
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Up next, Crime and Punishment!
