Tavrchedl'

An organization and social service operating across the Zhodani Consulate.

See also: Dictionary:Tavrchedl'

Overview

The infamous "Thought Police" are a branch of the Zhodani government charged with maintaining right thought in the population. Primarily an internal attitude and security police, their responsibility is internal order within the Zhodani Consulate. Effectively, from an outsider's viewpoint, they operate as a secret police force constantly spying on the population with psionics. From the viewpoint of the Zhodani themselves, they are a form of medical specialist as much as they are security, ensuring that the population are comfortable and content. Their mission is to identify -- to catch, outsiders might say -- anyone who is discontented with the system, their lot in life, or their superiors, and to adjust their thinking to ensure they are comfortable -- or, as outsiders might prefer, brainwash them into acceptance of the system. This brainwashing is known as re-education.

The key concept in discussion of the Tavrchedl' is a distinction between Zhodani and other Humans in terms of legal rights. Zhodani Proles have no right to privacy or liberty; instead, they have a right to happiness. This contrasts with, say, Solomani ideals, in which someone may have the right to pursue happiness as a side-effect of their right to privacy and liberty, but it is not guaranteed. Non-Zhodani inevitably view the Zhodani system as tyranny, while Zhodani view other Human social systems as literal insanity.

The Tavrchedl' are also charged with locating and removing agents of external powers from the Zhodani Consulate, and are thus the standard counter-intelligence arm of the government.

As a para-military organization, the Tavrchedl' serves several roles supportive of the military in peacetime, and as a military government on occupied worlds (until they can be absorbed into the Zhodani Consulate) during wartime.

History & Background (Dossier)

During the Frontier Wars, the Thought Police were responsible for the administration of occupied Imperial worlds.

Zhodani military governments are concerned primarily with maintaining a safe and docile population, and proven methods of achieving such a condition include some brutal exploits to prove they are serious, followed by inclusion of locals into the governing process.

Apprehended suspects (people) often receive a quick re-education and then take their position with sincerity and dedication to the Zhodani cause. To the rest of the population, the individual appears to be brainwashed or coerced.

Locations of Note

A facility at Friebeblinz is maintained by the Consulate authorities to hold and study those few individuals who cannot be reeducated.

References

This list of sources was used by the Traveller Wiki Editorial Team and individual contributors to compose this article. Copyrighted material is used under license from Mongoose Publishing or by permission of the author. The page history lists all of the contributions.

• J. Andrew Keith, Marc Miller, John Harshman. Zhodani (Game Designers Workshop, 1985), .
• Don McKinney. Zhodani (Mongoose Publishing, 2011), .
• Martin Dougherty. Flashpoints (Mongoose Publishing, 2024), 133.