Killiekrankie

Killiekrankie is an independent system in quadrant 1, co-ordinates 453,118. There are six planets in the system and the third planet is the only one inhabited by humans, known as Dundee. It has an M25 of 23 AU and a population of just under 9 million.

This is the internal affairs questionaire that Jim usually uses this set of questions to get an idea of the nature of a polity - in particular its internal structure.

To what extent can any member of your population move to any part of your planet (or between systems); without reference to any form of authority (i.e. Customs, Police, or other authorities)?

A body can go where they please. However there are checks on entry to the system that those wishing access to the planetary surface are correctly attired with a personal weapon and tartan. These are available for hire or purchase in the orbital facility for a modest fee.

Movement of goods on and off the planetary surface is closely monitored by the Excise (so called because they'll excise a pound of flesh if they catch you).

Are there any portions of your population precluded from particular jobs or activities (i.e. Women, Blacks, ex-cons, etc)?

Generally a body can do what they please. However most jobs rely on a level of competence or ability to effectively perform and if you aren't up to it don't expect to be employed.

The military have very strict entrance requirements and it takes a week to complete the selection tests, which are a mix of intellectual, social and physical. It is alleged that potential recruits have to drink two bottles of Space Whisky before being accepted for training, this is clearly ridiculous as that much alcohol has 95% lethality in the human population.

In the political arena only those accepted by their clan have any hope of becoming a member of the Conventicle. This means that recent arrivals to the system have little opportunity to achieve high political office.

The Excise recruit only from outside the system or those known to be social outcasts. The policy exists because of the high social integration of Killiekrankie and the reluctance of the locals to intervene against a relative. The Polis get round this by recruiting sociopathic individuals and posting them to other parts of the planet.

If an individual or group were extremely critical of your Government's actions or policies, to the extent that it might affect your popularity, what steps would you take?

Politicians are widely thought to be like nappies, necessary but are eventually soiled and need to be changed. Anyone not criticising some aspect of the Government would be seen as suspect.

A body that was overly critical of his own clan may find himself eligible for a job with the Excise.

To what degree could you prevent the publication or transmission of information to the general public that you regard as detrimental either to your government, or to the welfare of the people?

The only method is for the First Minister, or one of the Council of State, to invoke their right as 'Clan Chief' over the appropriate editor. This is little used for two reasons. The first is that every editor needs to be individually silenced and the second is that the appeal involves the right to challenge for the position of 'Clan Chief' (it is only possible to succeed as 'Clan Chief' upon the death of the incumbent).

Are there any parts of the media that you have no direct editorial control over?

Effectively all of it. The media is known and prized for its biting satire, irreverance and total freedom. The quality varies from the totally scurrilous (Claverhouse Corantoe) to the insightful and well researched (Dundee Herald).

There have been no instances of this in the history of Killiekrankie. However where a body is killed by the action (accidental or deliberate) of another the family of the deceased must be supported by the other body. If they are unable or unwilling to do so then all their assets are seized and they are put to involuntary servitude until either the debt is paid off or all the dependants of the deceased no longer require to be supported.

This is comparatively rare. In cases where it does happen the offender is required to atone before the Kirk and pay a fine to the victim. Any injuries sustained by the rapist during the process of atonement fall outwith jurisdiction and it is not common for rapists to survive unscathed. The fine is set on a scale according to gender, virginity, age, social status. Usually the fine is sufficient to support the victim for life.

Property crime involves restitution of losses to the owner as if the items stolen were new. Additionally a period of service to the victim is compulsory amounting to 10% of the value of the stolen items.

Exclusion from Killiekrankie. The Navy drops the traitor on the surface of an uninhabited planet with a survival kit. Should they come back into favour (not unknown) then they can be reintegrated into society.

As c. above.

The victim should defend themself. All on the planet are required to carry a personal defence weapon, so assaults are rare and usually resolve themselves.

Laughter or respect depending on the quality of the exposed body part. This is seen as an essential part of freedom of speech (assuming that it is simply exposure and not attempted rape).

This isn't a problem. If you leave a vehicle somewhere that gets in a body's way then they may move it, which may cause damage to the vehicle. This is perfectly legal and the vehicle owner has no cause for restitution. The Polis often move vehicles from the Highway and tend to tip them over when doing so. Bodies therefore tend to think about where they park.

There are no illegal recreational drugs. However indulging in recreation while supposedly at work or in a position of responsibility may result in dismissal.

How would a defendant charged with one of the above crimes appeal against their sentence, and to whom?

The first instance the Kirk Session will review the sentence. Should that be unsuccesful then the Court of Session in Dundee will hear the case. In the final instance the Justiciar or the First Minister can pardon the body concerned.

Is there anywhere that your police cannot go, and if there are limits, what are they?

The Polis are not popular and every body is armed. It is legal to prevent access by the Polis to private property without a warrant. This can involve the use of force and any injuries sustained by the Polis cannot be redressed judicially if they were acting in excess of their powers. It is not unknown for the Polis to be excluded from public areas by groups of citizenry.

Under what circumstances may the police arrest and detain?

When they feel brave enough. Mostly the Polis will only take a body into custody if they wish to attend voluntarily. In other circumstances they will merely report the matter to the Clan Chief or local Justice for them to summon the individual. For offences against the person it is permissible for the Polis to disarm a body and take them into custody even against their will.

To whom are the police accountable, and by what means may the general public complain or object to their activities?

The Polis are accountable to the Clan Chiefs, the Justices and the Kirk Session. It is not unknown for the public to complain directly when they perceive that the Polis are acting outwith their powers (using lethal force in some instances). The legal framework allows the public to physically prevent the Polis acting outwith their powers without fear of punishment.

What sort of Government activities are kept secret from the general public?

Generally speaking the media find out about everything sooner or later and don't hesitate to publish anything that might be critical. However the Navy tends to take a personal view of criticism and several editors have suffered accidents following unfavourable articles. This probably accounts for their extremely high level of popularity in the media.

In 3080 Chief Executive Clarence Priest was watching some now forgotten ancient classic about space exploration. He observed that the superlative chief engineer was supposedly Scottish. This struck a chord as his own chief engineer was from Scotland also. After some rapid datamining where he discovered, amongst other things, that the oldest faculty of engineering was Scottish. Priest decided to set up a colony of Scots where Priest Engineering could have a guaranteed workforce.

Many other colony schemes were on at the same time. The closest suitable world was [TA85] which was duly re-named 'Killiekrankie' as a suitably Scottish sounding name. Priest then went to all the Universities in Scotland with an Engineering Faculty and recruited 2000 colonists, a third of whom were engineers of some kind. The remainder included medical staff and all the other specialisms necessary for a successful colony. One of the largest groups turned out to be philosophy students.

The colonists first landed on Killiekrankie III on 3081.143. They decided to call the planet 'Dundee' after an ancient leader who had died at Killiekrankie. The initial settlement went well and the colony rapidly established itself as a corporate enclave.

Eight years in, after an exceptional harvest, it was decided to try to make some Whisky. This was put in hand and barley and a cooper were ordered from Sol. These both arrived in time for the harvest of 3090 which was also very good. The brewing & distilling went smoothly and the casks were laid up to mature.

A by product of the whisky industry was the need to store wine in casks to season them. Some of this was exported at the end of 3090 and sold well back on Sol. To save space it had been freeze de-hydrated and was labelled as 'space wine'. The intention had always been to re-hydrate it before it went to the consumer market. However it was sold to a major retailing corporation who put it on the shelf undiluted. All 10,000 litres sold out within a week.

This transformed the economy of Killiekrankie over the next three years to the point where alcohol overtook engineering as the largest sector of the economy. In 3097 the first batch of whisky came on stream (25,000 litres as it had been decided to keep half the batch back for 12, 18, 21 & 25 years to see if it made a difference). It was decided to sell 80% of the batch as 'Space Whisky' given the success of 'Space Wine'. This was effectively only slightly stronger than 'cask strength'.

Almost immediately there were reports of 'Space Whisky' causing uncontrollable violence, personality disorders, coma &, in one case, death. None of these claims could be substantiated in a court, but the impact was to change the market demographic from rich connisseurs of fine single malts (which the diluted version still sold to in limited quantities) to a more downmarket clientele. (Although still highly profitable). As with the wine production had been scaled up and 'Space Whisky' became one of the staple spirits in a certain kind of bar. Many other producers followed suit.

Economic success ensured the viability of the colony and a trickle of new colonists. In the first 10 years of the colony births outstripped other arrivals (the first two thousand excepted). By the time of the first census in 3091 the colony had 3,138 inhabitants, 967 of whom had been born on Killiekrankie. (The first born Killiekrankian¹⁾, John Graham Claverhouse, is still alive as at 3202.150).

The next major event in the colony was an influx of secondary colonists from New Scotland in 3104. Most of these had left as a result of the accession of New Scotland into the Earth Empire although some clearly thought economic prospects were better on Killiekrankie and a few were clearly one step ahead of Earth law. The majority of these settlers started their own colony on the hitherto uninhabited larger Western Continent. They called their main settlement 'New Glasgow'. This caused a certain amount of wrangling about access to resources, but stopped short of all out war.

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