Service Unionist Empire

"I was on holiday in London, shortly before the outbreak of the Third World War. I was staying with a fanatical Service Unionist, who had taken me along to one of the rallies that were held every week. Men and women in uniforms of black, grey and blue marched everywhere, carrying flags marked with eagles and that strange, crescent symbol. The entire place was filled with a sense of comradeship and I found myself to be enjoying the company of the Unionists, but... but I had to remember all the people I had passed on the way here..."

- Mary Caldwell, an account on the Service Unionists, 2020

The Service Unionist Empire is the area that is in the power of the Service Unionist Party. The Empire is the largest area on Earth that is controlled by a single faction. Life inside the Empire is good for those who agree with the aims of the Service Unionists, but the vast majority of the people forced to live and work inside it so that it can continue to exist, termed Residents, are incredibly unhappy. The Service stays in power uses a bizzare mixture of espoinage, secret police, terror, forced labour, propaganda, the power of the Council and an almost messianic belief in the power of the Master and the OverSeers, creating a cult of personality.

The Service Unionist Parties were present in Britain, Japan and Germany, the three countries who had suffered most as a result of the Oil War. Coming to power in the midst of economic collapse, the Service Unionists had amassed an army powerful enough to wage total war in 2020, and invaded France which was the catalyst to the Third World War. Any oppoisition to the Party is dealt with severely by the State Police, and the State Guard, the "asocials" sent to labour camps operated by the SG and CA or to the hellish facility of Strakenbrad, where Service scientists use them for experiments.

The Service has many secrets at it's centre, which is unbeenknownst to all but OverSeers, the High Commanders of the Army, Police and Guard, and a few other select individuals. These secrets include the existance of the Aehtyr, the Council, the Architechts and the World Engine. To the general population, and even some of the highest-ranking Unionists, these secrets are guarded on a life-or-death matter.

The Credit
The international currency of the Service is the Credit, which is used by all nations under it's control. One Credit is roughly equal to One Pound Sterling, and One Semi-Credit is equal to One Pence. As such, One Credit is composed of a hundered Semi-Credits.

Credits come either in coin form - small nickel coins marked with the Service crest one on side and the number on the other, and notes. These coins come in denominations of 1SC, 2SC, 5SC, 10SC, 50SC, 1C and 2C. Notes are similar in appearence to pre-war British notes, although instead of images of royalty and aristocracy they now contain images of whichever OverSeer governs the nation the note originates from. All Credits can be used anywhere in the Service Empire, regardless of it's origin. Notes are available in denomiations of 5C, 10C, 20C, 50C, 100C, 200C and 500C.

Cards can also be used to easily transfer credits, but they are generally only available to members of the Civil Authority, State Police or other state-employed individuals. Residents are banned from having these cards.

Poverty
The Service Unionist Empire is incredibly rich. However, almost all of it's money goes towards the military or Civil Authority, both of which combined churn up 70% of the money generated. The other 30% of money is used by individuals or to conduct shifty trade with the Free States of Africa. Less than 2% of the total turnover is used in health and welfare. As a result, most Residents live in horrifying poverty.

Trade
The only trade the Service conduct is with the Free States of Africa - and even then this is shaky and suspicious. Due to the mass industrialization imposed by the Service, there is very little natural material available - certainly not enough to sustain an empire. As such, the Service buys wood and plants in bulk.

Overview
It is hard to place Service Unionisim on the political scale, as it displays features that are common in both extreme-right and extreme-left movements. It is also not clear it is entirely correct to call Service Unionisim theocratic, as it has official denoucned religion, but party rallies are performed just like a religious ceremony, and some Unionists almost worship the Master, and accept his every word to be the truth.

All countries under Service Control are governed by a senior party official called an OverSeer, a man or woman who has complete control over that area, answering only to the Master.

Government Structure
The Service has several key components to it's political activity. These are the Master, the Chancellor, the Overseers, and the Ministries. The Council is not considered to be an official part of the government structure, although it has operated it polotics subtley via the Ministry of Enlightenment.

The Master
The uppermost level of authority in the Service Unionist Party, the Master has the right to do anything he likes in the Empire, even if it breaks the laws of his own party, as his word is considered above the law. However, the Master, who has been General Sands ever since the party came to power, seldom gets involved with any aspect of government, preffering to allow the Chancellor to take his place. The position of Master

The Chancellor
Second only to the Master, the Chancellor is effectively a second Head of State. Similary to the Master, the position of Chancellor is life-long, or until he is no longer considered fit for duty.

The Ministries
Like most governments, the Service Unionist Party make use of ministries. However, the number and form of minist