The Grand Court of the Creatures of Earth

The legislative branch of the Imperial Government is located within the interior of Zaquroum, taking up most of the volume as two hemispherical chambers adjacent to each other. Split into two chambers, the Grand Court receives the Imperial Majesty’s power of decree, and is responsible for creating laws and passing them up to Zaquroum for enforcement and implementation once they receive Royal Assent.   The two chambers differ in purpose, appointment method for Court Members, and powers.    

The Creatures’ Chamber, the Polupat

  The main chamber is the Polupat, where representatives of historical administrative units known as Baronies assemble from across the Weave of Worlds. These baronies divide the Weave of Worlds into administrative sub-units managed by Zaquroum, and are formed from habitats sharing culture, history, and identity; are of a similar age; are directly linked to each other by Weave wormhole connectors; and spawned from each other. A government department exists to define their boundaries, by determining the level of relationship between habitats.   Members of the Polupat are democratically elected by the people living in the habitat cluster they represent, using ranked choice voting. They serve for 144-year terms until re-election (which is 100 years in Rodinian base-twelve). They are referred to as Barons or Baronesses, from the old hereditary title once given by the Great Houses to those they bestowed lordship upon, along with the responsibility of ruling the smallest subdivisions of their domains.   The Polupat has the exclusive power to originate legislation – that’s to say, any bill intended to become law must first be introduced as a bill by a Baron/Baroness in the Polupat, and it must pass with a vote of 50%. This is based on the idea that law for the people is law by the people.   Due to the size of the Weave of Worlds, the Polupat is enormous, with a little over 3 million Barons/Baronesses representing as many baronies of roughly 1000 worlds/habitat spaces each. Due to its size, the debates, discussions and votes in the chamber consume an inordinate amount of time. Rodinians are extremely fast thinkers however, with huge cognitive capacities and the ability to communicate telepathically, which all help to cut bill passage time down to a few decades.    

The Telochat Technocracy

  The second chamber is the Telochat, far smaller is size than the Polupat. The Telochat is a technocratic chamber offering advice and amendments to bills, and in severe cases can block bills it finds to be nonsensical. Members of the Telochat, known as Counts or Countesses, are intended to be wise, knowledgeable and/or experienced Rodinians possessing one or more areas of expertise rising above the average Rodinian. Utilizing their backgrounds to scrutinize bills before they receive the Imperial Majesty’s Royal Assent, they’re viewed as being responsible for both protecting the people from their own stupidity (more apt in the Rodinians’ case to say their prejudices and emotions), and from saving the Imperial Majesty either the hassle of getting involved in the legislative process, or from needing to abolish a law they signed due to oversights in the process.   Counts and Countesses serve for life appointments until they resign from their seat (or die, which for Rodinians is extremely rare). Their title is again from the old administrative sub-domains of the Great Houses that encompassed several baronies, and hence outranked Barons and Baronesses in the system of Great House nobility. Nowadays they're appointed by the Instatum, a body of organizations each recognized by the Imperial Majesty as authorities in their respective fields. Examples include:  

• The Imperial Society for the Natural Sciences – Rodinians holding an Instat in Natural Science, i.e. a qualification combining physics, biology, chemistry and mathematics, all far beyond post-doctorate level. There’s no human equivalent, as no human could possibly learn, grasp or complete a Rodinian Instat in Natural Science.
 
• The Imperial Society of Psikinetics – Rodinians recognized as possessing great skill, experience or knowledge of Psikinetics. There’re academic qualifications granting membership, including exams grading raw Psikinetic talent. This institution is devoted to studying and furthering Psikinetics.
 
• The Church of Vaalbaran – Rodinia's largest organized religious faith holds a place in the Instatum following the reformations and political pressures of Vicar Uros Illynar. It’s argued that as religion plays a role in the majority of Rodinian’s lives that their faith should be represented in the Telochat, however this can be controversial depending on who’s asked. The Church in modern times by convention refrains from strong theological amendments, and instead offers suggestions based on its understanding of the soul and wishes of Mother Earth.
 
• The Starfaring Guild – A largely symbolic body in modern times, the Starfaring Guild is composed of Rodinian captains of all backgrounds. The only requirement for membership is ownership of a space faring, FTL capable vessel. They possess the largest and most complete maps of the universe and its many pocket dimensions and other spaces. If you pick a random set of coordinates anywhere in the universe, chances are good the Starfaring Guild can tell you exactly what’s there and what’s nearby, the best way to fold space to get there, and how long it’ll take. This institution played a central role in the operations of the Rodinian Empire.
 
• The Royal Mycorhizal Council – These are Rodinians specializing in the care of, and communion with, the great gestalt Mycelium.
 
• The Imperial Medical College – Rodinians possessing an Instat in Natural Sciences of exceptional grade and sufficient psikinetic prowess can progress further to become Medical Practitioners. This is about tailoring one’s psikinetics for healing the living bodies of other creatures, which is extremely difficult due to their dynamic, complex and fragile nature. This Institution also ensures the highest standards of professional, personal and medical conduct in its members.

    There're many more such organizations in the Telochat, covering membership organisations representing law, habitat and astro-engineering, commerce, charity, culture, and the arts. These institutions each hold an Imperial Instatum Great Seal given by the Imperial Majesty, recognizing their expertise and authority in such fields, and granting them voting power in the Instatum where they can appoint their own Counts/Countesses.   As it's a technocratic chamber not elected by the people, the Telochat is expected to eventually pass bills given to them by the Polupat. They can send a bill back to the Polupat a maximum of two times. On the third occasion a bill is re-sent to the Telochat, it’ll automatically pass the chamber to be signed into law by the Viceregal, granting Royal Assent on behalf of the Imperial Majesty.   In extreme circumstances the Telochat can block bills, but only if a Motion to Dismiss is passed on a vote of two-thirds of members present. This resets the counter on the number of times a bill has been sent back to the Polupat. The Speaker of the Polupat can appeal this to the Imperial Majesty directly, who will adjudicate. Often, the Imperial Majesty will not intervene unless there's a great outcry. When the Telochat refuses to admit a bill, it can indicate severe technical issues indicative of weak, sloppy, or harmful legislation. Such trivial matters of tedious line-by-line policy bickering are beneath the Imperial Majesty's station, and they would only intervene in cases where there's an accusation of conflict of interests between Counts/Countesses and the will of the people.   The Telochat is also responsible for vetting appointments made by the Viceregal to their cabinet of archministers, and for vetting arbiter appointments to the Inner Courts. They're expected to leverage their expertise to judge the suitability of a candidate based on the candidate’s background, knowledge and experience. If the Telochat refuses to confirm an appointment, then the Viceregal can appeal to the Imperial Majesty.   The Polupat and Telochat have the power to remove public office holders in Zaquroum, the Inner Courts, or within their own chambers, if required. All such removals begin in the Polupat; a case is brought before its members and they vote as its jury. Appeals from this process are then made to the Telochat, or the Imperial Majesty.      

In summary

 

• The Grand Court of the Creatures of Earth is insulated from capture by the Great Houses, as the upper chamber membership is appointed by organizations from the Instatum, membership of which is controlled by the Imperial Majesty.
 
• The lower chamber is made up from millions of democratically elected representatives most of which are from regions outside classic Great House territory.
 
• The Telochat can block extreme bills, and the Imperial Majesty arbitrates any dispute.
 
• The Imperial Majesty can adjourn one or both chambers, reconvene them, and call new elections.
 
• The Inner Courts can nullify illegal or unconstitutional laws, as can the Imperial Majesty by revoking their Assent.