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Clan Society, Structure, and Government:
Clan Society:
Nicholas' new order carried his father's words to an extreme.
He gave his father's Hidden Hope Doctrine to the survivors once again,
admonishing them to grow, mature, and eliminate the greed that had caused
them so much misery.
He promised that one day their great-grandchildren, united and strong,
would return to the Inner Sphere and restore the Star League.
He said:
"But the first step on that road is to devote our efforts toward personal
and Clan growth.
We must destroy our greed and false patriotism when building the Clans,
We will purge our old ideals and ethics; those belong to the corrupt stars
of the Inner Sphere, and will not serve as we begin anew.
Now, while our minds are open and yearning for new insight, we must remold
them and fill them with the truth of our destiny. For we are destined to
be not only different from those we left behind, but better.
My father knew this, and saved us from the holocaust of the Inner Sphere.
I accept it as truth, and have returned to lead you, the survivors of this
most bitter trial.
I am certain that, in our heart of hearts, we all realize our vital
importance to the future of all humanity."
True to his word, Nicholas began to purge all vestiges of the Inner Sphere
and the old ways.
One of his first actions was to scatter the survivors of the Exodus Civil
War, relocating them among the Pentagon and cluster worlds to make
certain that old affiliations to Inner Sphere societies would not be
revived. He formally outlawed any loyalties outside the Clans.
He erased all mention of prior residence or lineage from every personal
record, replacing them with Clan affiliation and current residence.
Every survivor, civilian and military alike,
was assigned to one of the 20 Clans.
Public mention of the Inner Sphere, except to criticize it,
was made a punishable offense.
What is amazing is not the lengths to which Nicholas went in shaping his
new society; other despots have gone just as far.
What made his efforts unique was the absolute lack of resistance, a sure
sign that the Exodus Civil War was fully as traumatic as
The Remembrance reports.
The survivors were willing to do anything to avoid a repetition of the
war's devastation.
Even taking that into account, it is difficult to understand these
peoples' blind acceptance of Nicholas' new order.
They were brothers and sisters to our own ancestors 250 years ago, yet
have been tempered by a stronger flame.
Now they are so utterly alien that it is hard to accept that they are
human. They are still our brothers and sisters, but hardened to a point
that we fear even in our nightmares.
Nicholas strengthened the warriors of the Clans with edicts based on the
writings of his father, which he gave his own unique interpretation.
Nicholas imposed many rules derived from such works as "A Primer of
Tactics and Strategy" and "Applied Concepts of Attack and Defense,"
both written by his father.
The general's "Twelve Principles of Command" seems to be the basis of the
Clans' internal bidding process for tests of combat, and General Order 137
is the basis for Clan justice.
These edicts are written and presented in a way that more resembles divine
revelation than orders from a commanding officer.
Nicholas seems to have adopted this tone deliberately;
he was trying to instill in his people a sense of religious devotion toward
the Clans.
Nicholas believed that unless the Clans were fully functional and firmly
established before he died, they would revert back to the old, corrupt ways
upon his death.
He realized that 800 Clan warriors was not enough to fulfill his goals,
nor would normal birth rates expand their number quickly enough.
Nicholas needed a way to accelerate the growth of his new society.
For civilians, Nicholas instituted an ambitious breeding program that gave
each Clan the right to arrange mandatory marriages within trades, such as
merchant with merchant or laborer with laborer. He also mandated the number
of children each match could produce.
The children of these marriages were eligible for only a narrow range of
professions, based upon their parents' trade, but only if they tested
successfully; those who failed were sent to a lower trade, or "caste."
Occasionally, a child tested so well that he was placed in a higher caste.
These exceptional offspring are infrequent, but are considered vital to the
quality of the gene pool.
Within a few years, Nicholas swept aside the concepts of marriage for love
and free choice of jobs, replacing them with arranged marriages and a rigid
caste system.
If the civilians chafed under the new rules and regulations governing
their lives, they could still be thankful they were not members of the
warrior caste.
Nicholas envisioned his warriors as the true standard--bearers of their
Star League heritage--but knew that all his efforts would come to nothing
if their number could not be quickly increased.
Before returning to the Pentagon worlds, he spent long hours consulting
with his scientists.
On the eve of their departure, he announced that as warrior offspring
were to carry on the legacy of the Star League, they must be brought forth
into the universe as quickly as possible.
The warriors were required to donate genetic materials to what can only
be described as baby factories.
A systematic eugenics program placed sperm and ova in artificial wombs,
called "canisters" or "iron wombs" by Clan warriors, and produced a new
generation selected and bred to be superior to the previous one.
Using this process, the scientists produced 20 children per birthing
from the genetic material of one pair. Following Nicholas' directives,
the pair's Clan then raised this "sibko" (sibling company), using
continual testing and education to weed out those not fit for the
warrior caste.
New generations were produced in this fashion every ten years, creating
thousands of new Clan warriors and adding to the ranks of the citizenry.
Though Nicholas was careful to state that the motive of this forced breeding
program was to enable the Clan return to the Inner Sphere,
he must also have been trying to produce sufficient warriors to control
any future unrest.
Another reliable source indicates that most of what I have reported
concerning the warrior caste system is of questionable accuracy.
Sources indicated that it was formed from only 600, not 800, warriors,
and that a typical sibko consists of 100 sibkin, not 20.
Sibkin are also not necessarily always genetically related.
My source recently died under questionable circumstances, so I may never
discover the truth about the warrior caste.
Sibko children face continual testing of their abilities.
On the average, fewer than one-tenth of any given sibko actually become
warriors.
Those who cannot pass the testing are assigned to or of the lower castes,
as their talents dictate.
An unspoken but obvious goal of the eugenics program is the removal of
"tainted" genes.
Nicholas determined that anyone who remained on the Pentagon worlds
during the Exodus Civil War was suspect, and so that person's genes would
not be passed on.
By limiting the number of "freebirths" (uncontrolled births) among the
descendants these families, and by favoring the descendants of loyal
warriors who entered the lower castes, the program eventually included
only the genetic legacy of those followers Nicholas deemed unquestionably
loyal: 800 warriors and 600 civilian families.
Clan Castes:
Five castes make up the structure of Clan society:
warrior, scientist, merchant, technician, and laborer.
A sixth caste, called the dark, or bandit, caste, exists unofficially
for those who cannot or will not fit into mainstream society.
Each caste has myriad sub-castes based on specialties within a
professional field.
A Mechanic (technician caste) being given an order by a Jade Falcon Warrior. |
Warrior Caste -
Warriors are obviously the most powerful caste.
The vast majority of warriors proudly trace their lineage directly to the
800 Bloodnamed.
Each looks like the product of the genetic breeding program.
Clan MechWarriors are robust, with lightning-quick reflexes and quicker
intelligence.
Fighter pilots are thin, their heads disproportionately large and with
far-seeing eyes.
Elementals, the Clan infantry, are huge, unusually strong soldiers
possessed of grace and speed far exceeding what is expected of people
of such intimidating size.
The warrior caste's eugenics program is a completely alien means of
reproduction.
It seems cold and analytical, making no allowance for the passion and
love we consider necessary to a full life.
Warriors, however, gain great comfort and strength from their sense of
belonging to the sibko, and from their unbroken lineage to Kerensky's 800.
Each warrior's lineage is recorded in his codex, a copy of which is
electronically stored in a band worn on his right forearm.
A warrior's career, from his first sibko test to his dying oath,
is recorded by the codex and analyzed by his Clan.
If a warrior's deeds are judged worthy, his genetic material helps create
the next generation.
Failure means the termination of his or her line.
It is little wonder that the drive to excel overshadows all other
considerations.
Seldom do freebirths, those not born from the eugenics program,
win a chance to join the warrior caste. Those who do are usually
consigned to garrison and paramilitary police units, with little hope
of advancing to a level where their genes would be incorporated into the
warrior pool.
This disregard for freebirth warriors may be changing.
The growing responsibility given freebirth warriors in recent decades
is best exemplified by Jaime and Joshua Wolf's command of the Wolf Dragoons.
Scientist Caste -
The scientist caste has two responsibilities: continued technological
development and genetic control of the population.
The warriors' eugenics program naturally occupies a place of prime
importance in their work.
Assignment to the scientist caste is considered a high honor for civilians
because it literally holds the future of the Clans in its hands.
This caste is also responsible for educating and testing all freebirths.
Merchant Caste -
The merchant caste is powerful because it controls all commerce within
the Clans.
The merchants' economic power is held in check by the warrior caste's
monopoly over JumpShip travel.
Though merchants own their own vessels, explicit laws require that
all vessels carry warriors for protection.
Long journeys are allowed only with a naval escort.
This arrangement effectively prevents merchants from gaining too much
power.
The merchants still feel free, however, to indirectly criticize the
warrior caste for the way the merchant caste's affairs are handled.
Indeed, many suggest that the impetus for the invasion of the
Inner Sphere originated in the merchant caste, which was eager to
pursue new monetary endeavors.
The merchants are the most rebellious of the lower castes, though some
have suffered severe punishment for their protests.
The Clan Widowmaker merchants, for example, precipitated an internal
dispute with the warrior caste that ultimately led to the whole Clan's
annihilation.
This is described more fully in the next chapter.
Technican Caste -
The technician caste is less defined than the others.
In general, a member of the technician caste is responsible for the upkeep,
repair, and operation of complicated equipment, including everything from a
cyclotron to an agribot to a BattleMech.
In fact, a technician's status in Clan society is directly related to the
caste he is supporting.
Thus, technicians assigned as support for a BattleMech Star are much
higher in status than technicians assigned to maintain agribots, even
though the two groups possess the same skills.
Laborer Caste -
The laborer caste is both the largest and lowest-level caste in the
official Clan hierarchy.
This caste farms the fields, operates the factories, and provides all
basic services.
In short, it is composed of the common citizens.
During my stay with the Clans, I never encountered a member of this caste,
except for the "bondsmen" (captured warriors of other Clans serving as
laborers while working to regain their warrior status) aboard their ships.
Bandit Caste -
This caste is not recognized by Clan society, yet it exists.
Sometimes referred to as the "dark caste," it supports the failures of
Clan society, the unwanted, and the rejects.
How or where they live is unknown, but Clan literature is filled with
stories of malcontents who fled to the bandit caste and came to
unsavory ends.
Warriors who fail to test up or who grow too old to be of service
sometimes slip away to this caste, as do scientists whose discoveries
are deemed counterproductive to the Clans.
The dark caste has no voice in Clan affairs because their group is not
sanctioned.
Bandit caste atrocities are the stuff of legends, but it is difficult
to believe that the caste is strong enough to be more than a minor
nuisance to the Clans.
Cynics suggest that the bandit caste exists solely to sharpen developing
warriors' fighting edge.
Clan Government:
Each Clan is ruled by a council composed of its Bloodnamed warriors.
The Clan Council elects two ruling Khans. One Khan serves as the Clan's
senior military commander and the executor of that Clan's bureaucracy.
The other Khan's position is more nebulous. He or she is second-in-command
and enjoys a high status within the Clan, but the position does not
include specific duties. These must be assigned by the "senior" Khan.
Clan Councils control their warriors and the members of all other castes
belonging to that Clan. The interaction between a Clan Council and the
various caste governments is extremely convoluted, but when necessary,
the Clan Council can invoke the satarra, an overriding veto.
The Khans of all the Clans form the Grand Council, which passes
judgment on matters affecting Clan society as a whole. Nicholas Kerensky
erected the Hall of Khans on Strana Mechty for this important governing
body. His father's tomb dominates a small chapel on one side of the Hall.
Nearby are smaller, though no less impressive, halls for each Clan.
The supreme ruler of the Clans is the ilKhan. This position is filled
only when the Clans must coordinate their efforts for some task, or
during times of great internal or external threat. A simple majority
vote in the Grand Council can elect an ilKhan. However, those who
oppose the election can and usually do demand a Trial of Refusal.
Nicholas Kerensky appointed himself the first ilKhan of the Clans in
the summer of 2815. He was unopposed.
One of the most far-reaching measures Nicholas instituted was the
elimination of surnames. Surnames were too closely associated with the
corruption of the Inner Sphere. Kerensky allowed only the loyal 800 to
retain their surnames. These 800 family names are the basis for the
Bloodnames. In fact, it is considered a deliberate affront to society
to give a child two names or to adopt a second personal name, unless
it is an earned Bloodname. The second name can only be interpreted as
an intentional slur on the honor and dignity of Bloodnames. | 