Ganidiirsi Aru
Ganidiirsi Aru, The Prophet as Warrior
The Old Life Born on Theron (Antares 0937), Aru joined the shugilii caste, and spent most of his career as a bureaucrat in Naasirka on a respectable climb up the corporate ladder. He had reached the subsector managerial level when his assigned physician gave him the bad news: his circulatory system was quietly, painfully falling apart, and death was inevitable in four years.
That was two years ago. Speaking with his local clan and caste elders, they came to a consensus that Aru would best spend his remaining years in strengthening the Vilani cultures in the neighboring Empty Quarter Sector. They respected the deep devotion the Vilani of the Quarter had to the Tradition – even holding their technology down to the levels of the Ziru Sirka, for extra compliance – but strongly felt that more could be done to insure the supremacy of Tradition, Consensus, and Prosperity. Especially in the face of all that inharmonious, dissenting Solomani noises about religion and race and tribe and freedom. That kind of talk was annoying at the best of times – and now, with the Imperium at war with the Solomani Confederation, there was simply no longer a place for such treasonous talk. Unity is the only way forward. The New Life A talented leader and an adaptable, energetic organizer – despite his physical weakness and secretly encroaching death – Aru has worked 10-14 hours days for long stretches since arriving in the Six Subsectors, ignoring his inability to lift more than a single fat book.
While bound and determined to strengthen the hand of the Vilani in the Empty Quarter, Aru is not as tightly tied to the needs of a centralized hierarchy as most local Vilani, nor does he shun innovation as vigorously – especially when it can assist the Vilani in their (currently non-kinetic, in-sector) cultural competition with the Solomani. Instead of a single centralized authority, Aru is propagating the need for the replication of Vilani culture everywhere: “Don’t think of One Massive Tradition: think of many, many Vilani societies, each of them shaping the essence of the Tradition to fit in with the local situation.”
This is cultural innovation: no different than heresy in the eyes of the hard-core Vilani Cultural Purists that dominate the Vilani of the Empty Quarter (The abomination that dominates Ushmigad (Empty Quarter 0638) excepted). But when fighting a powerful enemy, you have to use whatever weapons you can get your hands on. And the Vilani have had to innovate at need before, even the shugilii, when they lost control of planetary food production. “The faster the Vilani worlds of the Quarter follow the example of Vland herself – who abandoned the TL 11 framework of the First Imperium many centuries ago – the better it will be for all those who seek union with the Consensus.”
While Aru implores the local Vilani to face the pragmatic need to change in some ways to protect what is truly essential, he never patronizes them. Even his Vilani opponents will admit that Aru adores local Vilani culture, and wants nothing more than to see her triumph over all her foes. This is especially gratifying when you consider Aru’s Antarean origins (the denizens of Antares Sector have a long tradition of sneering at their impoverished, violent and poorly educated Imperial cousins in this sector.)
On the other hand, Aru has nothing but utter contempt for Solomani cultures – especially their self-serving moralism – and openly proclaims his eagerness to see the Imperial Fleets take Terra, and laughs at the coming breaking of the Solomani: the day they are finally forced to Comply and Conform will be a joy to behold….
Still, Aru is no racial supremacist, like Those People from Sol System. He’s willing to reach out to all species – ‘even those divisive Solomani’ – who wish to unite under the peaceful, prosperous traditions of Vilani culture.
Notes
Wherever Aru speaks, he gains more and more respect among the Vilani of the sector. He is one of the very few who can bring the renegade Vilani of Ushmigad, the straight edge Vilani of Pamushgar (Empty Quarter 1537), the Islamized Mixed Vilani of Lazisar (Empty Quarter 1233), and the Vilani-Bwap co-dominion world of Gudina (Empty Quarter 0334) all to the same table… and actually come to a consensus.
As Aru’s powerful words and forceful personality impacts the local Vilani, he is increasingly seen as not just a patriotic Vilani (“Sadly flawed by the spirit of Innovation and Change, but who is truly perfect?”), but as a Voice of the Tradition, a Vilani analogue to a Solomani saint or prophet. Aru is unarmed, bears no weapons, has no great power or authority beyond his stirring words and visionary ideas, and has no bodyguards. But he is greatly honored among the Vilani, and should he be assassinated by racially-, culturally-, or religiously-driven Solomani, there will be repercussions.
Count on it.
References and Contributors[edit]
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- Alvin Plummer. "Personality Profiles V." Stellar Reaches 26 (2017): 10.