Agares Tretiak

I want to see what they do with Coriolanus re-interpreted for modern audiences.

I am moving. More specifically, to Portland, Oregon. If anyone, I mean anyone, knows anything about the area, specifically neighborhoods and the area's prospects, I'd be much obliged. Other information, like good places to eat, things to do, amusing anecdotes will all be also appreciated. If you live in the Portland area, You might even (gasp!) get to meet me. Possibly. Actually, almost certainly. You just might not know it's me. Seriously though. Any help would be appreciated. I and a family member are moving there. On extremely short notice. We do not have any place to stay or even jobs there....yet. We have funds sufficient to last about 2-3 months, but information about apartments, neighborhoods, etc would help narrow our search down considerably. Thank you!

:D I think we all feel you probably deserve an even greater demonstration of our appreciation and loyalty, but it's definitely a fitting offering.

I bloody well hate chavs.

My current (brief) access to the internet was punctuated with an interrogation and subsequent confession from Zrazor. The truth be known. My art kills.

Vis et gloria imperatoris Magna bellum praetorianus imperatorum superato Titanis Sunt vocem nomina æterna victoremque servi Princeps Vesperia

I would point out, yes. It is wrong that an officer to allow themselves be demeaned in any manner. Tolerance is not always a good thing, when you take on the position of an officer. There must be lines drawn, and that anyone would let themselves be treated in this way, friend or no is questionable. But it is also wrong to believe you could get away with insulting an officer in public, no matter how 'friendly' it is. It's not that someone who you perceived as a friend took you down a peg on the issue, it's that you were told such actions are no longer acceptable. Projecting your own reasoning on to another person does not make that projection any more true. The only perceived hypocrisy was someone tolerating your own faulty behavior, until they had enough of such behavior. The only reason previous punishments were withheld, is because they used their discretion, and choose not to have you punished in the past. That that changed, suddenly, is why this thread exists: It's because you're angry you got told it wasn't going to be tolerated anymore.

Thread Necromancy is tantamount to heresy.

I hope your trip was restive and fun!

I've been pretty stoked about Heroes of Stalingrad for a while. I've loved the original RO games for a years and years, so I'm eager to see how they're going to make things even more incredible.

[media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d8u4CEBVq7s

MMM. SMELL THAT? IT'S CRASH BEING TOSSED INTO A BRONZE BULL. />http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brazen_bull

I think it's time we purge the ranks of heresy, again.

To add: Thus, while there may be individual dissent, it is generally fairly low key and isolated to a few areas for each Imperial World. The Imperium's brutal response developed over a very long history, where earlier, softer measures were found to encourage dissent elsewhere, and resulted in civil wars where anywhere from a couple hundred billion to several trillion citizens dieing in the course of combat.. Considering the human cost of a rebellion, the Senate and the vast majority of the Imperium feel that the possible brutal repression of dissent on an established world is relatively minor to that scale of destruction. Most Imperial worlds are populated by as few as a few hundred million, to somewhere around 2-3 billion. There are larger and smaller populations, but the general average for a standard Imperial System world is 750 million. Sector and regional capitals tend to have much higher populations, as they represent very well established (and old) systems that are the cultural, military, and economic strong points of the Imperium. Earth (or Terra) is home to some 15 billion citizens, making it one of the top ten most heavily populated planets, not excluding the extensive settlements within the Sol System. The total, including the reterraformed Mars and Venus, as well as numerous settlements, of the Sol System is something like 37 billion citizens. The Sol System represents an influential and very powerful political and military power, but declined after the choice to move the whole of the Imperial court and the Senate to the "Throne World" System after the near total collapse of the 1st Republic. The Throne World (currently unnamed by Tiri and I till we come up with a sufficient name) houses the Senate, the Imperial Curia (Which is the overall administrative arm of the Senate and the Imperator, and includes the Curia Milites as the military branch, which is essentially the Curia we know and love), the Great Houses of the Servant Nobility, and the House of the Imperator, as well as the Imperial Palace (which is currently vacant, as Aryte has so far refused to accept the role of Emperor). The Throne World proper has 3 moons and is slightly more massive in terms of actual planetary circumference to the earth, though it's actual gravitational pull is nearly the same (1.08 G) on the surface. It has a large portion of actual land, but the aside from the main continent, is punctuated by large bodies of water. The ratio of land to water is almost exactly 50/50. Two of the moons around the Throne world have been turned into massive orbiting space stations. Only the most important people are permitted to directly land a vessel on the planet: Most must dock at one of the two moons and then take a shuttle to the surface. Exceptions are made for Senators, members of the Great Houses, the Imperator, and the 2nd Praetorian Legion, which remains constantly on duty in the Throne World System. The two moons may also serve as a harbor for a sizeable fleet and houses docks for the construction of many ratings of warship. As a result, these moons house Trade houses and Lesser Houses that operate as shipwrights and construction firms, not just for the Imperator's Ordo Imperialis, but also for commercial and civilian vessels. The Third moon operates as a fortified data repository. Though not officially confirmed, it gathers, processes, and stores information from the entirety of the Imperium, though for unspecified reasons. The total population for the Throne World and the three moons is something like 2 billion citizens. In the system itself, it has 3 other inhabitable worlds, one of which houses the High Imperial Military Academy and a vast number of training facilities and installations. Another one is something of a paradise world, used as a retreat and meeting center for various organizations able to pay the fees to be permitted use of the otherwise exclusive planet. Several famous peace treaties and trade agreements were made there (Think something like a cross between Versailles, Camp David, and a convention center) and it offers a welcome change from the bustle and heady formality of the Throne World. The final planet was originally a mining world, but was re-terraformed after the vast majority of its mineral wealth was used up, and turned into a fairly pastoral agricultural world, markedly famous for it's high quality wines and produce, which helps feed the Throne World (think of something like the south of France and Tuscany, perhaps parts of Spain). The total population for these three planets is somewhere around 3 billion, which will also include a series of void stations that operate as unceasing guardians of the Imperium's Central government. Rumors abound of secret research or data installations throughout the system, though all are denied.

Errr. Background wise, the Ordo has a simple answer to any sedition, though it loathe to use it, aside from cases of clear armed resistance. It follows five stages: 1. Trade Sanctions - The Ordo has control over the vast majority of trade within the empire. While there are corporations and trading houses within the ORdo, they all must respond to a senatorial or Imperial edict, or lose their charter to trade. Losing thier charter is enforced by military might, I.E. Ordo patrols are given orders to fire on and destroy or seize any vessels registered within said company. Failing that from working... 2. System Blockade - The Ordo's military might is immense and a system blockade is more than easily done, since most systems also house patrol fleets, which while merely patrolling local space, are more than sufficient to effect a full blockade of all but the most populated or influential systems. 3. System Martial Law - Continued resistance results in martial law and the suspension of the terms and their rights to be represented in their regional galactic council world. Essentially, they're temporary stripped of all the legal and economic benefits of being a member of the Imperium. This also means any locally appointed government is suspended and replaced by an Imperial Commander who will delegate the system's affairs as needed. 4. Full-Scale military response - If the martial law provisions are not successful, the Ordo deploys a full scale military force to the planet and enforces severe sanctions and restricts many normal activities until the resistance is weeded out and executed for sedition. 5. Decimation of Populace - The system populace is forced to reaffirm their oath of service to the Senate and the Imperium. Otherwise, those who refuse are subjected to literal decimation, by taking every tenth person and having them beat to death by the other nine. They are then asked to reaffirm their oath. Mind you, steps 4 and 5 are extremely rare occurrences. And only once has a planet been so consumed in warfare as to require the invocation of outright destruction. The Imperium has been extremely effective in preventing various types of social unrest, especially on a planetary scale, by having a very gradual process of integration into the fold. First, perspective planet must petition the senate for acceptance as an "Tyro" state. Each tyro state is granted a 100 year period of minimum oversight to make necessary legal and social changes to permit for an imperial commander. They do not pay any taxes, but also do not receive full protection of Imperial law. After this state, there is a phase of transition, where the system in question becomes a Senatorial Administrative Territory, where a senate appointed imperial Governor continues the social and legal integration. They pay a low level set of taxes and receive protection from the imperial military, as well as receive trade boons from the regional area. The SAT is allowed to convene a system legislature under the oversight of the Governor. If the body votes, unanimously to cease the integration phase, it is offered the opportunity to be a protectorate, or all imperial presence, protection, etc, is withdrawn within 10 years. If they pass the SAT phase of integration, a second petition is issued to the Senate, as well as an official recommendation from the appointed Governor on the state and worth of the planet. Once this passes, a reciprocal approval from the system legislature must pass unanimously, before the System is appointed an imperial System and afforded all the legal rights and responsibilities of all other Imperial Worlds. A planet, once accepted into the Imperium, is federated. Essentially, it is not permitted to legally withdraw from the Imperium by any means. All Imperial Systems receive basic, Imperial education, infrastructure support, and trade benefits, as well as full military protection. THey must, in turn, meet tithes of materials and men for the muster of the imperial defense and the improvement of the entire empire. They are permitted the right to issue any form of government the populace wishes, provided it is loyal and dedicated to service of the Senate and Imperium, etc. They are all aware of what sedition and rebellion results in. This has not stopped various worlds from trying in the past, usually spurred forward by enemies of the Imperium on the outskirts of it's expansion. It's incredibly difficult to convince an established, Imperial system with all the immense benefits it receives from it's compliance, to turn on Terra.

:(

Ron was a bizzare Finnish military prototype super soldier. ...little did they know, they succeeded...

Ron has very effete hands. I'm somewhat surprised.

Desereck: Experimenting with hallucinogenic substances for the past few years would definitely explain a few of your personality quirks. And your current forum avatar.

And yes. That was made before his death.

PICTURES (Aryte is exempt, because I've seen his drawings before. My eyes still bleed)

To explain: I was doodling as I am likely to do when immensely bored, after filing a few more applications in my seemingly never ending search for a better job. As I was drawing, I was struck by the amusing interests I had as a child. Namely, when I was 12-14, I was a huge DBZ nerd. I am sad to admit this. So. I went home and drew a homage to this past interest. <<< Click for a bigger image! Needless to say, I was a bit of a dweeb, in hindsight. None the less, I issue the following challenge to all members of this forum: Draw a picture of a child hood interest from around the time you were 12 ( It doesn't need to be particularly good) using what ever program you like, and post it in this thread. The perquisites are that you must produce your own image!

Death is only the beginning. He will live forever. As a Zombie. [media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AMqPG4S80bo But seriously. That sucks. ;_;