Julian van der Meer

Julian was educated at the Nexus Academy of Social Governance, the premier institution for the children of the Fortrop's political and economic elite.

He holds dual degrees in Social Psychology and Rhetoric & Communications. His education focused entirely on the art of managing populations: propaganda theory, memetic engineering, public sentiment analysis, and the historical use of art and culture as tools of state control.

Julian's career was a masterclass in public relations. He never held a job involving physical labor or hard science.

He started as a junior producer for the Authority's official broadcast network, quickly rising to become its director. In this role, he sanitised news, created heroic documentaries about the Council, and designed public festivals that kept morale high.

His fame grew after he successfully "mediated" a series of labor disputes in Fabrik Station, a crisis he secretly instigated through planted rumors to create the opportunity for his public triumph.

He was elected Commander of Civil Affairs on the promise of "A Stable Ship, A United People," an election campaign that is still studied as a model of manipulative perfection.

Julian possesses a formidable emotional and social intellect.

He has an almost supernatural ability to read a room, gauge the mood of a crowd, and identify the key emotional levers to pull. He can craft a single speech that simultaneously offers hope to the Low-Deckers, validates the superiority of the Mid-Deckers, and reassures the elite of their security. His critical weakness is his profound disconnect from physical reality.

He genuinely believes that the perception of a problem is the problem itself, and thus, a logistical crisis like a water shortage can be solved not by fixing the pipes, but by convincing the public they aren't thirsty.

Julian's philosophy is Managed Realism.

He believes that objective truth is a dangerous and chaotic force. The survival and stability of the human race depend on a carefully constructed, universally accepted narrative.

His morality is therefore entirely divorced from truth and falsehood; an action is "good" if it reinforces the desired social harmony, and "evil" if it disrupts it.

He would orchestrate the public execution of an innocent scapegoat without a moment's hesitation if it quelled a panic, seeing it as a moral and necessary act to preserve order. To Julian, lies are not just a tool; they are the very foundation of civilization.

Julian wants to create a masterpiece. His medium is society, and his masterpiece is a perfectly placid, orderly, and beautiful civilization.

He is driven by a deep aesthetic revulsion to social ugliness. Riots, dissent, public suffering, and open conflict are blemishes on his canvas. He doesn't seek to save humanity from extinction; he seeks to save it from its own messy, chaotic, and imperfect nature.

His ultimate goal is to be the architect of a silent, smiling, and completely controlled populace.

Julian presents the image of a perfect family man.

His wife, Elara, and their two children are prominent fixtures in his public broadcasts, always depicted as a loving, ideal family unit. In private, the relationship is a hollow arrangement. Elara is a partner in his ambition, and their marriage is a political alliance. The children are raised to be assets, their lives managed and curated for public consumption. His "love" is a performance he never breaks.

This is Julian's defining attribute. He is effortlessly charming, empathetic, and persuasive.

He has the rare ability to make every individual feel like they are the most important person in the room. This warmth, however, is a sophisticated and utterly cold technique. He builds vast networks of "allies" and informants based on charm and carefully distributed favors.

On the Council, his peers see through the facade; Kane finds him dishonest, Petrova finds him frivolous, and Thorne finds him intellectually vacant. Julian is aware of their contempt and finds it amusing, secure in the knowledge that while they may rule the ship, he rules the hearts of its people