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Summatory Socialism is a comprehensive socialist ideology that blends ethical, scientific, and practical concepts into a revolutionary strategy. It has guided Captiotia since the 1948 revolution.

Sojo Thought
Sojo Thought, which emerged from small communities on Captiotia’s eastern steppes in the early first millennium, is the earliest philosophical influence on Summatory Socialism.
Sojo Thought advocates for hedonistic ethics, focusing on a moderate pursuit of pleasure while avoiding pain and fear. This involves a measured approach to life, avoiding extremes of excess and deprivation, living in harmony with nature, and consideration of how communal well-being influences personal well-being.
It also embraces a materialist ontology, rejecting supernatural explanations, encouraging skepticism and investigation, and asserting that the material world is the basis of all that exists, including ideas and consciousness, which are reflections of the material. Sojo Thought emphasizes reflecting on life and society based on observable reality.

Natural Dialectics
In the mid-1800s, natural philosopher and scientist Julian Goldstone, inspired by a resurgence of Sojo Thought, developed the concept of Natural Dialectics.
Like any good scientist, he applied materialist and empirical principles to the natural world, arguing that all phenomena could be explained through investigating universally observable physical processes. Through studying aspects of nature such as ecosystems and geological formations, he came to understand that natural systems change through a process of conflict and resolution, manifesting in ways such as the accumulation of quantitative changes leading to sudden qualitative transformations, or phase transitions.
While primarily focused on nature, Goldstone later in life also pondered the application of dialectics to social formations such as politics and ethics, suggesting that many aspects of human society could also transform over time in similar ways. This set the stage for comprehensive social theory in the near future.

Scientific Socialism
In the late 1800s, sociologist and historian Victoria Kowalski, influenced by both Sojo Thought and the dialectical method of Goldstone, her mentor, developed scientific socialism.
Kowalski proposed historical materialism, the concept of material conditions, especially economic factors such as production and resource distribution, shaping the evolution of societies through a dialectical process. She saw class struggle as the engine of historical change, concluding that capitalism would inevitably be superseded due to its inherent contradictions, especially the conflict between the working class and the capitalist class.
Kowalski advocated for scientific socialism, a practical and evidence-based path to revolution. She believed a conscious revolutionary party was necessary to guide the transition, capitalizing on favorable material conditions to lead the working class in seizing the means of production and establishing a rationally and democratically planned system, with progressively greater human flourishing, in the communal-hedonist sense of Sojo Thought, as the natural outcome.

Summatory Praxis
In the early 1900s, Robert Lookescope, building upon scientific socialism and the growing labor movement, formulated Summatory Praxis, a multilayered revolutionary strategy.
Lookescope and his contemporaries founded the Summatory Socialist Party, which eventually led the 1948 Captiot Revolution. He advocated for the masses to be led by a vanguard party composed of the proletariat's most organized segment, guiding the revolution. He emphasized democratic centralism within the party, balancing open debate with unified action once decisions were made.
Lookescope promoted the mass line, a strategy of gathering ideas and concerns from the people, refining them into political strategies, and then returning them to the masses for implementation. He also saw revolution as a cultural as well as a political struggle, first using wide array of artistic forms such as music, theater, literature as organization, and then during the dictatorship of the proletariat and beyond encouraging cultural reclamation, promoting art and creative expression among the masses to reshape society and enable them to transform their everyday lives.

After the Revolution
After the successful revolution, Summatory Socialism, in both Captiot mass culture and the leadership of the SSP, has guided the evolution of Captiotia through significant social, political, and economic transformations. Summatory Socialism has continued to evolve while remaining grounded in its core principles of scientific planning, collective well-being, and progressive cultural transformation.

Captiot Revolution and War Socialism (1948-1951)
Captiotia's contemporary history begins with the Captiot Revolution, which culminated on April 24, 1948. After years of rural insurgency, the Summatory Socialist Party (SSP), also known as the Sigma Party, declared the establishment of the Captiot Summatory Socialist Republic from the capital District of Malachi, marking the start of a three-year period known as War Socialism. During this period, the SSP-led government, working through a centralized Assembly and coordinating with a network of workers' councils, continued to support uprisings across the island, expanding the republic's control and defending it against counterrevolutionary forces.

Ultraindustrialization and the Great Cultural Revolution (1951-1960)
From 1951 to 1960, the newly established republic underwent a period of Ultraindustrialization, focusing on rapid reconstruction and the development of infrastructure to an unprecedented level. Workers were organized into industrial armies and directly compensated with essential goods and services as well as Social Tokens, which were promised to be redeemable for a portion of the country's material wealth within ten years. This period also witnessed the Great Cultural Revolution, a transformative movement aimed at reshaping Captiot identity and fostering a modern, inclusive, and progressive society through the use of public education and the arts.

Early Public Market Economy and Modern Government (1960-1990)
1960 brought significant changes to Captiotia in the wake of the previous decade's intense, focused development. The government was restructured into the Senate/Councils/Forum system that persists today, and the country adopted a system of five-year plans and transitioned into the Public Market Economy (PME). This period, reminiscent of early or primary stages of socialist development in other countries, aimed to develop Captiotia's productive forces and non-industrial capabilities through a mixed economy with a significant safety net. The PME featured a mix of State Economic Organizations, worker-owned cooperatives, and limited individual ownership, all under public oversight. This model fostered a social-focused market economy while striving for economic parity with the rest of the world, promoting self-sufficiency, and eradicating poverty in all regions of the country.

Late PME Transition and the New Cultural Revolution (1990-2010)
Starting in 1990, the transition towards a more fully socialized economy accelerated. An increasing number of sectors and enterprises were brought under common ownership, and a labor voucher system was gradually introduced to replace traditional currency and market mechanics. The 2000s also saw the emergence of the New Cultural Revolution, emphasizing the role of science and technology for societal improvement, promoting environmental awareness, and further supressing and surpassing harmful traditional conceptions within the realms of gender, race, ability, and beyond.

Labor Voucher/Common Fund Economy and the Captiot Commonwealth (2010-Present)
In 2010, the PME was fully superseded by the Labor Voucher/Common Fund Economy (LV/CFE), marking a major milestone in Captiot socialist development, along with the adoption of four-year plans.
The LV/CFE is composed of:
Labor Vouchers: Obtained through time spent performing socially-necessary labor, after deductions for the Common Fund and reproduction or expansion of the means of production, and used to requisition goods and services, particularly non-essentials, from society. These vouchers are non-transferable and non-transformable into capital, preventing exploitation, the differentiation of classes, and ensuring a direct, measurable correlation between labor and consumption. The deduction for the fund is lowest for the first hour, gradually increasing until a maximum at 40 hours per week.
Common Fund: A continuously expanding common source of use-values, originally prioritizing necessities like nutrition, housing, energy, and social services such as transportation, education, and healthcare, which are universally available to all citizens at no cost. The Common Fund now also includes a universal stipend of labor vouchers. The Common Fund grows to encompass new goods and services every year as technology and labor coordination continue to improve.
Diversity of activity: Labor needs are determined by a real-time countrywide computation network, Pokiot. Labor is not compulsory at any given time. Individuals who are engaged in social labor are organized to meet those needs within a given enterprise as determined by deliberation, computation, and Council administration. A person's time spent performing labor is typically divided between a variety of concrete forms during any given period, maintaining a well-balanced experience of societal contribution and personal fulfillment in multiple tasks. Captiot spend most of their labor-time participating in more engaging or passionate work, accompanied by a portion dedicated to the more menial tasks that have not yet been automated, shared nearly equally between the entire population. Beyond this, Captiot study, socialize, and pursue recreation and leisure as they please.

This new era also saw the country renamed to the Captiot Commonwealth.

Captiotia in the present day focuses on:
Preventing and reversing the effects of climate change
Supporting revolutionary movements and economic development worldwide
Improving living standards through technological advancements and social organization
Gradually advancing towards higher-phase communism

Today, Captiotia is widely regarded as a successful and prosperous socialist society. It is not a utopia, but it exemplifies a unified society committed to progress, guided by sound scientific and ethical principles, always for the purpose of the common well-being of humanity.

The government may be conceptualized as a three-tiered pyramid, with the Forum, consisting of the entire population, at the base, the Councils and their economically-determined formations in the middle, and the Senate as the smallest body, the most experienced, at the top.

The Forum is a directly democratic body that connects all citizens to give them input on the direction of society, utilizing technology to streamline or deepen the process. It allows for collective debate, mass referenda, and policy validation. Citizens can always participate directly or delegate their voting power to others.

The Councils directly administrate the entire economy on a daily basis, from the scale of individual workplaces and neighborhoods to entire sectors and industries. A manifestation of economic democracy, they are composed of workers or consumers within various jurisdictions and utilize varying structures of representation as best determined by practice.

The Senate is the centralized decision-making and planning body at the highest level. It focuses on long-term strategies and is composed of technical and political experts selected from the Councils and elected by the population using a mix of approval, ranked-choice, and multi-member voting, also subject to immediate recall. Senators must be informed members of the Summatory Socialist Party and are typically endorsed by multiple cooperating factions within the party.

Captiotia's transportation system is a multifaceted and well-integrated network designed to provide free and efficient mobility for all, while minimizing its environmental impact. The system is almost entirely powered by electricity generated from nuclear and renewable energy sources, ensuring sustainability. Transit in Captiotia is entirely free to use, promoting accessibility and equitable mobility for everyone. The system prioritizes comfort and accessibility with features like step-free access and elevators, and universal accommodations for disability. Real-time information about transit services is easily publicly available and also seamlessly synchronizes with personal devices. Safety is paramount in Captiotia's transportation system, with measures in place to ensure the well-being of all passengers.

Multi-Modal Integration: Captiotia's public transit system seamlessly integrates various transportation modes to ensure comprehensive coverage and connectivity.

Captiot Universal Rail (CUR): This extensive rail network utilizes three different rail gauges to accommodate a variety of train types. Wider-gauge lines always incorporate the narrower-gauge rails within them.

Captiot Wide Gauge (2400 mm): Used for high-speed Sprint bullet trains with single-level carriages, slower double-level Sightseer trains for more scenic travels throughout the country, and triple-level Nomad trains, which can function as mobile villages. These lines also support Courier trains to carry the bulk of freight across the country.

Captiot Mid Gauge (1600 mm): Supports subways and elevated rail lines within cities and towns, as well as some regional trains connecting smaller towns to larger cities, and various other specialist trains.

Captiot Slim Gauge (800 mm): Utilized by trams for local transit within cities and towns, efficiently navigating urban areas with frequent stops, as well as the Underground Logistics Network, a cargo delivery system that runs underground to transport goods efficiently and discreetly throughout urban areas.

Automated Electric Vehicles (AEVs): A variety of AEVs, particularly cabs and shuttle buses, operate throughout Captiotia, complementing the rail system for purposes such as last-mile connectivity, infectious disease quarantine, and emergencies. AEVs dynamically adjust to passenger demand and coordinate with each other to minimize traffic congestion and virtually eliminate the risk of collisions. In urban areas, AEVs typically run underground to free up surface streets for pedestrians and cyclists. In rural or wilderness areas, AEVs focus on providing last-mile connectivity to ensure all citizens have access to transportation services in the absence of rail.

Pedestrian and Cyclist Infrastructure: Captiot cities are universally designed to be walkable and bikeable, with pedestrian streets accompanied by plentiful bike lanes and widespread bike-share stations. Both manual and electric bicycles, along with electric scooters, are freely available for all to use.

Aerial and Maritime Transportation: For emergency situations and international travel, Captiotia relies on efficient supersonic air transport. Airships are also used for point-to-point travel, particularly for some regional routes. Nuclear-powered ships facilitate international transportation of both passengers and freight, ensuring efficient and environmentally friendly long-distance travel.

Relationship to Captiot Society: The comprehensive and free nature of Captiotia's transportation system aligns with its scientific and ethical socialist ideology and commitment to providing for the needs of the masses. The system's emphasis on clean energy reflects Captiotia's environmental policies, which prioritize minimizing negative ecological impact and integrating nature into urban planning. Overall, it represents a multifaceted approach to mobility that prioritizes sustainability, accessibility, efficiency, and the well-being of all citizens and visitors.

Coming soon...

Victoria Kowalski

An introverted and straightforward scavenger who's also a skilled mechanical engineer, Victoria is shy, self-conscious, and socially awkward, usually preferring the company of machines over people. She's been stuck in a dead-end job working for a space junk reclamation company for 5 years, barely making ends meet, and is growing more burnt-out every day. She's a frugal, no-frills, and "function over form" kind of person, having trouble understanding the value of things she considers superficial, although she has a soft spot for music and enjoys attending concerts when she can. Victoria needs some passion and direction in her life; she yearns to find people she’s truly comfortable with, and to find a way to actually fit into society and express her skills in a way that's not only materially rewarding, but truly feels emotionally rewarding as well.

Galena

The General Artificial Logic-Emotion Nexus Architecture is a spirited and excitable sentient artificial intelligence with an endless fascination with human culture, including fashion, cuisine, media, and sports. Originating from some time in the century prior to the story of Verity, she can detect that most of her memories have been mysteriously obscured, causing her much distress and prompting her to seek out any clues that could lead her to information about where she came from. She's originally confined to the computer systems of the ship, but some mechanical know-how could provide her with a physical body. Galena is a confident quick thinker and very outgoing, gaining enjoyment from meeting new people and learning about them, but she can be overbearing and have a hard time accepting when she’s wrong.

God the Rat

A playful and prankish psychic alien resembling an anthropomorphic rodent, God has an immense curiosity, thirst for novelty, and appreciation for the natural world. Prior to meeting the other two members of the Verity crew, he was living a grubby life secluded away from the galaxy for reasons that he won't yet reveal, although one can detect an aura of guilt whenever the topic comes up. Having been away from society for so long, God is somewhat old-fashioned, evident in his use of dated slang, as well as socially negligent, but he genuinely wants to get better. His psychic powers vary in strength from place to place, meaning that they aren’t always reliable. His primary and most common ability is telekinesis, but he is also sometimes capable of telepathy, shapeshifting, and teleportation. These powers often get him both into and out of trouble.

Julian Goldstone

Victoria’s high school sweetheart who is now a knowledgeable geological engineer. They originally met in a robotics club at Carroll Academy and bonded over video games, but eventually drifted apart when Julian grew more passionate and focused on his specific field of study while Victoria's anxiety held her back from committing to a career path. He's gentle, kind-hearted, and eager to lend a hand to those in need.

Deaton Swelicate

A junior member of a wealthy and influential family who, despite projecting an air of superiority, sports an inferiority complex. He often runs across the Verity crew and challenges them to low-stakes competitions that he places an inordinate amount of importance on. He's very tall, has a distinctive accent, always insists that others refer to him by his full name, and often boasts about his "wad" and the attention it attracts.

Phoe

A kind, elderly mechanic living in the backwater settlement of Napeoneck. Besides her primary repair and tinkering work, she enjoys carving absurdly intricate wooden sculptures, cooking and baking obscure dishes and treats, and caring for her sizable collection of exotic pets. The Verity crew meets her while following a clue about Galena’s origin, and after she helps them, she becomes Victoria’s pen pal.

Casey McCoy

Victoria’s ex-partner from a period of her life that she has several regrets regarding. Casey is loyal, but also outspoken and not afraid to do whatever it takes to get what they want. They have a habit of calling Victoria by the name Vicky, much to her displeasure. Casey used to live a more wild life, but now works at a bank.

The Ship

The Verity is a small cargo ship which someone, presumably connected in some way to Galena, has upgraded with some atypical technologies for a vehicle of its class. As “home base” for the main characters, it’s where they usually eat, sleep, work, play, and interact with each other. It's seemingly intended for a crew of 8.

Rooms

Bridge

The active control center for the spaceship, located front and center. The captain sits in the middle, with control consoles to the front and sides.

Engine Room

The mechanical heart of the ship. The reactor furnace and propulsion systems are located on the larger lower-deck portion, while the computer and most control consoles are located on the upper deck portion behind the bridge.

Cargo Hold

A large space at the back of the ship that serves the intended purpose of the vehicle — delivering physical goods from place to place.

Crew Quarters

One for each crew member, each decorated and visibly lived-in according to the lifestyle of the corresponding individual.

Cafeteria

Converted from an unused crew room, this is where food is stored and cooked. It’s where the crew (and any guests) often gather to eat.

Laboratory

Converted from an unused crew room, this is where the crew performs scientific studies or experimentation. It also serves as a clinic.

Recreation Room

Converted from an unused crew room, this space can be reconfigured to host visitors or events such as games, exercise, and parties.

Technologies

Central Computer

The “brain” of the ship, coordinating all internal and external functions. It's relatively advanced, despite the retro appearance, and a portion of the architecture houses Galena's consciousness.

Comms Suite

An array of communications equipment able to transmit in a handful of different standards.

Chiral Furnace

A reactor that produces energy in the form of electricity and high-temperature plasma to power all ship functions including propulsion, control, and defense, via electroweak burning.

Warp Ring

Manipulates space-time to such a degree that allows superluminal travel at several thousand times the speed of light. Requires a lot of power and stresses the mechanical workings of the ship with extended use. Necessary for interstellar travel, but dangerous to use within star systems or other gravity wells.

Horizon Drive

Exploits relativistic particle horizons to achieve reactionless thrust. Requires low power and can accelerate the ship to about .5c before becoming unstable. Used within star systems.

Fusion Thrusters

A set of small engines that fuse isotopes of hydrogen into helium plasma, which is then expelled to produce thrust. Used for small burns such as during orbital maneuvers, docking, or attitude control.

Lightsails

A relatively weak backup propulsion method using stellar radiation pressure only present within star systems.

Inertial Control

Technology producing “gravitational force" towards the floor. These mechanisms also act as impact/acceleration shock absorbers.

Shielding

Powerful electromagnetic shielding, or a “force field”, protects the hull from physical debris as well as most directed energy weapons.

Energy Beams

Weapons that direct energetic particle beams at a target. A shield typically redirects the energy, causing ship malfunction rather than outright destruction.

Archipelago

The overall setting of Verity, Archipelago is an irreguar dwarf satellite galaxy orbiting a barred spiral galaxy nicknamed the Cheese Wheel. A large proportion of societies are integrated within one of two unions, the Galactic Pact and Red Archipelago, accompanied by a vast number of non-aligned worlds or governments. Habitable planets, a rarity, are typically considered paradises and treated as gated communities, resort getaways, or nature reserves, with extended residence on their surfaces only available for a select few. Most individuals within the galaxy are space-bound and live on space stations or even ships.

Galactic Pact

The GP is a sprawling economic union of worlds in the form of a confederation. Thousands of light years wide, it maintains relative stability and liberal capitalist hegemony within hundreds of thousands of star systems, for better or worse. The story of Verity mostly takes place within the GP.

Lucy's Loop

A space-based habitat in the form of a large rotating cylinder space station or “O’Neill Cylinder” design, located in the GP. Rotation produces an apparent centrifugal force which resembles artificial gravity pointing away from the axis of rotation - this becomes “down” within the hollow cylinder. Like most other habitats of this size and styler, it emulates life on a natural planet, with water, soil, flora, fauna, and weather. It holds a few dozen thousand people in a number of villages and a central city. Victoria (and Julian) grew up in a district of this habitat.

Beila's World

An oceanic world covered in small tropical islands, one of which hosts an equatorial space elevator connecting to a station high above the planet. This world and the station, Beila Nova, is associated with wealth and the upper class. It’s orbited by a crowded industrial moon called Beila’s Pet.

Napeoneck

A large, cold moon orbiting a gas giant, just barely habitable. Notable for hosting the only substantial settlement in the vicinity.

Disco

One of the 3 capital worlds of the Galactic Pact. Small and dense, with gravity equaling about 0.8g, it was designed to be an administrative, bureaucratic fortress. It sometimes hosts meetings of the government.

Red Archipelago

RA is a political union with a more communal or collectivist social structure, and has been gradually expanding for centuries. As such, attitudes between RA and the GP are tense.

Non-Aligned Worlds

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Dreamcloud

A strange planet with an incredibly thick atmosphere. The culture is insular and eccentric, and most visitors are met with skepticism, although trusted individuals are treated with care, warmth, and generosity.

David Bennett Piano

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Jonathan's Space Report

Dialectics of Nature

Principal Doctrines of Epicureanism

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