- Affini (species) - the primary species of the Affini Compact, large shapeshifting plant xenos
- Beeple - the first pet species of the affini compact, co-evolved with the affini
- Core Worlds - The systems clustered around the Affini homeworld including the Affini homeworld
- Domestication - the process by which the Compact subjugates species/ or the process by which an affini takes a pet
- Human Domestication Treaty - the treaty that ended the terran pacification campaign
- Florets - affini pets!
- Limits of Affini Compact Technology - affini techonlogy has limits (see also Technology)
- Myths about the Affini (Feralism) - feralist myths about the affini
- Office of Transitional Neoxenoveterinary Archeobureaucracy - a branch of the Compact's bureaucracy focusing on documenting information about newly domesticated species
- Bureau of Xenosophont Wellness and Care - a branch focused on social work and ensuring the health and happiness of everyone under the Compact's protection
¶ Overview
The Affini Compact is a colossal, multi-galactic empire run by the affini, a race of hot domineering plant people originating from the Triangulum galaxy! It is bigger than any single sophont (even an affini!) can properly comprehend. 16+ galaxies already under their control by the time they found humanity. Yes, even the Andromeda galaxy!
They are intent on domesticating all the adorable little species of universe because they are so cute and in need of help and care. Being a precursor race, they have the better tech than any other civilization in the universe. Though a few get close in specific fields! They are a post scarcity society, thanks to technology like the atomic compiler. The Compact is around 80k-100k years old and is run on the universe's most efficient bureaucracy.
Due to the diversity of sophonts under the Compact, they have all sorts of living arrangements from ships, stations, and planets designed for aquatic life like the Xa'a-ackétøth, to ones built for digitized sophonts. Terrans often don't see such places as they can't comfortably visit or live in them without accommodations.
¶ The Government
Wing gestured around at the entire ship. “We took a vote. Two thousand four hundred and five for, three hundred two against. We take this stuff really seriously, Katie.”
[…]
“So when you say we, you mean… everyone?”
“Everyone who gets a vote, yes,” Wing scratched. “The florets get a separate vote, but it’s just for fun. They do check up on things if it’s ever a different result from the real vote, though. I voted yes in it, for what it’s worth.”
- Katie Aquae, Second Floret and Wing Cnidaria, assistant clerk, in Divaricated Interlude F by Annabool
The affini compact's governance differs for members of the compact, and members of domesticated protectorates. For the affini themselves ships and stations tend to be direct democracies running on what most terran historians would call anarcho-communist communes.
Every Compact citizen on a ship or station gets a vote! The florets even get their own votes just for fun. Whether that be for infrastructure changes, public events, intervening when a sophont is in need but won't voluntarily ask for assistance, and other important community management. When a member of a community sees something that needs work, or a gap their collective skills, someone is almost always ready to take the initiative in getting that thing done, or filling that role. Affini culture and the nature of the affini themselves for caring for others is the back bone of their self-governance.
These commune style communities also have elected, instantly recallable positions for situations that require some level of centralization, such as ship captains.
Now for some stations, colonies, and planets, a direct democracy breaks down when you have millions, billions, and sometimes trillions of sophonts living together. For larger scale governance, hierarchies of councils are formed. Specialists form councils overlooking their fields of expertise. General councils run more general governance while consulting the Bureaucracy on matters of standards and conventions for caring for all.
Protectorates are run differently than the Compact itself. For other species that have been subjugated, depending on how cooperative they were in handing over control to the affini, they may get to maintain some semblance of self-governance (as written out in each species' domestication treaty). In the case of the former Terran Accord (now Terran Protectorate), this is rather limited due to the Terrans having fought for 3 years (plus rebellious fleets refusing armistice afterwards!). At least the cute terrans got to choose their own flag! In all cases though, the affini believe that they know best.
¶ The Bureaucracy
“Fortunately or unfortunately depending on your look at it, affini culture has normalized the idea of having a raging fetish for bureaucratic busy work.”
- Solanum Vitis, in Abscission Chapter 32, by Fluxom
In the words of Wing Cnidaria, assistant clerk, "The heart of the Affini Compact, were the clerk's offices."
Behind the votes and committees of the affini compact lies the record keepers. There is paper work for everything, along with affini who'd absolutely love to help a cutie like you fill it out. The paperwork is to help folks, not hinder them. It is also used to flirt with any and everything the affini come across. Even with all the flirting, the Compact takes its paperwork very seriously.
For anxious and busy sophonts, some affini tend to hide the sheer volume of paper work going on in the background. But it's there.
Typically sophonts will interact with the bureaucracy through their local “Office of Rituals and Records”, which has files on absolutely everything you’ve ever done. Such offices can be found on nearly all affini ships and in your local domestication center.
Branches of the Bureaucracy include:
- Office of Transitional Neoxenoveterinary Archeobureaucracy - a branch of the Compact's bureaucracy focusing on documenting information about newly domesticated species
- Bureau of Xenosophont Wellness and Care - a branch focused on social work and ensuring the health and happiness of everyone under the Compact's protection
¶ Affini Armadas
The compact has massive armadas of interstellar vessels for exploration, leisure, and most importantly for domesticating every species they come across. See Ships and Vehicles.