Terran Federation (Starship Troopers)

The Terran Federation is the fictional government of Earth and her Space Colonies from Robert A. Heinlein's 1959 science fiction novel Starship Troopers. It should not to be confused with the deliberately satirical version of it, the United Citizen Federation from the 1997 film of the same name.

Background

Although the book is vague on the details of how the world came to its current state, one is able to extract this information;

At the end of 20th century, national governments of the world collapse because of so-called unlimited democracies, the fraudulent Marxian definition of value from which "Communism derives" and civil unrest due to a "pre-scientific pseudo-professional class" who called themselves Social Workers and Child Psychologists banning Corporal Punishment.

In 1987 there is war between the Russo-Anglo-American Alliance and the Chinese Hegemony. Shortly before the war's end, a group of intellectuals perform a coup d'état in an attempt at creating a utopia, this incident came to be known as the Revolt of the Scientists, but as a regime failed also. At the end of the war the Treaty of New Delhi was signed. This treaty freed prisoners captured by the Russo-Anglo-American Alliance. However left approximately 65,000 civilians (Japanese, Filipino and Russian) and 2 divisions of British Paratroopers in Chinese incarceration to be sentenced for political crimes, forcing the abandoned prisoners to escape to gain freedom.

It should also be noted that at the end of the 20th Century, the North American Republic was brought down by raging illegal activity which took place all around the world, including Russia and the United Kingdom. Crime was at its peak for most of the second half of the 20th century, lasting up to the war between the Russo-Anglo-American Alliance and the Chinese Hegemony.

After the collapse of national governments, a group of veterans in Aberdeen, Scotland formed a vigilante group to stop rioting and looting. They hanged a few people (including 2 veterans) and decide to only allow veterans to join their committee due to a mistrust of politicians. This contingency plan became routine after a couple of generations, and this group of vigilantes was the start of the Terran Federation.

Government

The Terran Federation is a multicultural society that votes for a global leader, similar to a Representative democracy. However people of higher levels of authority also have to suffer tougher repercussions of their actions e.g. A Lieutenant could hang for making a mistake that a Private would merely be dismissed and maybe lashed for. Corporal and Capital Punishment are practised by the government as well as physical child rearing being standard use amongst the population.

A "History and Moral philosophy" instructor in the Army says "personal freedom for all is greatest in history, laws are few, taxes are low, living standards are as high as productivity permits, crime is at its lowest ebb." The same instructor also mentions that everyone pays a unique poll tax.

Federal Service

The people of the Terran Federation are made up of either "Citizens" or "Civilians". Everyone is born a "Civilian", and at age 18 every "Civilian" has the right to enroll for a minimal 2 year term of "Federal Service". In theory a completed term of Federal Service ensures a "Citizen" is willing to put the needs of the community before their own personal well-being. This is because Federal Service is tough and dangerous (by design). It can involve joining the Military, being a Human Guinea Pig, testing survival equipment or Manual Labour. The Federation makes it quite easy to quit a term of service before completion (even during war time), but once someone has quit they are never allowed to enroll again. This is to ensure that all volunteers are dedicated, whilst also discouraging people from leaving.

The opportunity is open to everyone able-bodied or not. A Doctor giving a medical examination says "if you came in here in a wheelchair and blind in both eyes and were silly enough to insist on enrolling, they would find you something silly to match. Counting the fuzz on a caterpillar by touch, maybe." The only way you can not join is if a psychiatrist decides you cannot understand the oath.

"Civilians" are neither discriminated against, nor deprived of legal rights other than that of the ballot. Several examples from the book bear this out, particularly the fact that Juan Rico's family is prosperous and lacks for nothing save the right to vote - that his father regards as useless.

Only after completing a term of Federal Service, "Civilians" then become "Citizens" and gain the right to vote.

Also in the movie it is mentioned that under the United Citizen Federation, "Civilians" must have a license in order to have offspring. These licenses are much easier to obtain if a civilian has served a term. However, the book makes no mention of such licenses.

Federal Service Oath

"I, being of legal age, of my own free will without coercion, promise, or inducement of any sort, after having been duly advised and warned of the meaning and consequences of this oath do now enroll in the Federal Service of the Terran Federation for a term of not less than two years and as much longer as may be required by the needs of the Service. I swear to uphold and defend the Constitutional liberties and privileges of all citizens and lawful residents of the Federation, its associated states and territories, to perform, on or off Terra, such duties of any lawful nature as may be assigned to me by lawful direct or delegated authority and to obey all lawful orders of the Commander-in-Chief of the Terran Service and of all officers or delegated persons placed over me and to require such obedience from all members of the Service or other persons or non-human beings lawfully placed under my orders and, on being honourably discharged at the completion of my full term of active service or upon being placed on inactive retired status after having completed such full term, to carry out all duties and obligations and to enjoy all privileges of Federation citizenship including but not limited to the duty obligation and privilege of exercising sovereign franchise for the rest of my natural life unless stripped of honour by verdict, finally sustained, of court of my sovereign peers."

Military

The Terran Federation's military appears to be divided into either Army or Navy (that use spacecraft instead of ships and double as an air force), with dozens of non-combat and support branches e.g logistics, biological/chemical weapons development, and terraforming. The "Sky Marshal" commands the entire military. To be eligible for the post of Sky Marshal, an officer must reach certain high ranks in both the Army and the Navy.

Once in the military a volunteer has the choice to "go career", choosing to devote 20 years of service to the Federation instead of the usual 2 years required to gain Citizenship. After these 20 years they can then leave and get a "reserved job", for example in the police. If they quit before then, after choosing the career path, the Federation is less supportive to them in the Civilian world. A minimal 2 year service can be extended if the Federation deems it so, as explicitly stated in the "Service Oath" taken on enrollment.

Distinctive units would be; the "Mobile Infantry" (a branch of the Army). They use "Powered Armour Suits" (and are featured largely in the book), these suits are very versatile and have made more common battlefield units obsolete e.g Tanks and Paratroopers. The "K9 Corps" act as a reconnaissance units using "Neodogs" via an emotional bond with them. A Neodog is an "artificially mutated symbiote derived from dog stock", it is able to speak and has the average intelligence of a child aged 8 - 12 years. The use of Clairvoyants and Psychics is also hinted. Whilst the Navy has powerful weapons capable of destroying planets etc e.g "Nova Bombs"; these weapons appear in the third film and are called "Q-Bombs".

In the films, the Navy is referred to as Fleet. As in the book, a majority of ranks are filled by females and the primary role is to provide transportation for infantry forces. It is effectively summed up in the first film with Johnny Rico proclaims "M.I. does the dying, Fleet just does the flying". In the third film, the headquarters of Fleet is a space station called Sanctuary; its exact location is known only to a handful of pilots, not even the Sky Marshal.

References

Starship Troopers, 1959. Robert A. Heinlein.

See also

• Starship Troopers
• Fictional Governments

External links

• ChrisW's Thoughts on Starship Troopers (A fan-written Essay on the Novel)
• The Nature of Federal Service(PDF File)