Talk:Imperial Bureaucracy
Links (2015)
- External Link: CotI Thread
- External Link: Yahoo Thread
Notes (2016)
ImpBu Background Metahistory
- IBIS (Imperial Bureau of Internal Security) was published in Dragon #35 in March 1980 by Kenneth Burke as part of a group of Traveller articles, and is described as
"...the Imperium's combination secret police, intelligence gathering agency and law enforcement agency; it is answerable to no one but the Emperor himself."
- IRIS (the Imperial Regency of Intelligence and Security) was published in Challenge 33 by Charles Gannon, IRIS character generation followed in issue 34.
- IRIS was created to deal with the lessons of the Barracks Emperors and was ".. an independent, invisible force with the power to eliminate individuals who would contest the lawful Emperor or his/her succesors."
- IRIS had five mandates: (quoted from Challenge)
- Ensure and enforce the smooth and lawful succession of rightful heirs to the Imperial Throne.
- Prevent "unreliable" individuals from gaining direct access/proximity to the person of the Emperor.
- Check and compare all information relayed to the Emperor against IRIS' own independent sources.
- Identify all significant anti-Imperial covert activities initiated by foreign powers. Formulate and expedite responses thereto.
- Conduct and maintain covert activities in foreign territories, pursuant to ensuring the security of the Imperium.
- So IRIS is:
- 1. the authority to determine rightful rulership of the Imperium AND in control until a new ruler is crowned.
- 2. the royal bodyguards.
- 3. an intelligence agency to confirm data from the competing Army, Marine, Navy and Scout branches.
- 4. counter-intelligence against foreign spies.
- 5. the Imperial spy agency.
The failure to stop Dulinor comes when popular opinion,following the Fifth Frontier War, believed that normal humans were superior to psionic talents. This opinion was very strong in the Illelish sector. Eventually there were requests that the Emperor do away with psionic screening. IRIS voluntarily withdrew, which resulted in an increase of certain nobles at court. IRIS joined the nobles in advising not to appoint Dulinor to the Archdukedom. IRIS intelligence spotted suspicious ship movements in Dulinor's forces, but could not reach Strephon in time. The senior regent was killed just before the assassination and courier delays prevented IRIS from taking appropriate action until after Lucan's ascension.
Sidenote: In the early 80's, maybe in White Dwarf #40, there was an article creating the "Covert Survey Bureau" an intelligence/covert ops branch of the Scout service. According to Book 6, the closest official section is the Security Branch of the IISS which has "...great authority to arrest, detain, or question individuals suspected of violations of Imperial law, and can demand cooperation from local authorities as the need arises."
- BlackBat242