Difference between revisions of "The Wizarding World"

Revision as of 19:05, 8 September 2010

Not a faction most people would think was the third-largest one in Fenspace – Harry Potter is fantasy after all, not science-fiction or even space opera – but the combination of “magic” handwavium plus the Earthside crackdowns on private ownership thereof forced a mass migration of Potterites to Fenspace. Wizards tend to set up their own districts in larger settlements and stations, while the leadership and teaching of new wizards is done at Hogwarts (10 Hygiea, The Main Belt).

The Wizards are not actually “magical” beings, although they do rejoice in the membership of the majority of “perfect” were-fen (whom they call “animagi”). The mystical trappings of J.K. Rowlings’ seminal work here serve to provide a unifying theme for a society concerned with service, honour, and children. No-one is watched as closely, or backed up as firmly, as a Wizarding child.

The Wizards are allied with both the Senshi and the Fivers (who lump them in with the Technomages).

Government

Diverging from the canonical Wizarding Society, the “Ministry of Magic” of the Fenspace Wizards is an elected council, with elections handled by universal ballot (for those that have attained their majority) and district votes weighted as to their last censused populace.

There are seven seats on the Wizarding council, as follows.

Magical Law Enforcement (The Councilor For Law)

The Councilor for Law is the head administrator of the law enforcement and judicial arms of the Wizarding world, and is allowed to coordinate efforts with the Commissioner of the Space Patrol without needing to go through the Ministry of International Magical Cooperation.

To prevent the abuses of power or cases of blatant incompetence displayed in the source media, the Councilor For Law must operate under a Veil of Revealing. (This is one of the first laws passed by the Wizarding Council: an office or person operating under this law is recorded 24 hours a day for their tenure of office. Any given period of time is available to any adult Wizard for review, though it must first be vetted by a three-member panel of the Council.) It is notable that this three-member panel (which is chosen at random by the Ministry Mainframe, Jorkins) is currently in decision on only one footage request, with none pending. At no time in the Ministry’s active history has this queue gone above five footage requests or five days wait. The Vetting Panel for the Councilor For Law meets under one regulation: to safeguard the common privacy of the Councilor for Law, inasmuch as this does not harm the Wizarding World. The Councilor For Law can operate outside the Veil only by endorsement of the entire Council, or by endorsement of remaining Council members in event of malfeasance or death. (This requirement caused one Councilor to resign on his wedding day, as his bride had no desire to spend their honeymoon under the Veil.)

Magical Accidents and Catastrophes (The Councilor for Catastrophe)

This relatively easy Council position holds responsibility for emergency planning and services, including fire, famine, and attack. By unanimous decision, the Council has requested (and obtained) defense agreements from both the Warsies and the Federation in return for docking and child services. The department under the Councilor for Catastrophe does maintain armed vessels, though there aren’t many of them and they aren’t very powerful. They are almost always found either near Hogwarts or ferrying VIPs.

A minority of past Councilors for Catastrophe have been Blue Blazers.

Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures (The Councilor for Creatures)

The Councilor for Creatures is served with administering and regulating biomod and semi/nonsentient ’wavium creations. This department is also the local Turing authority for AI that Quicken in the Wizarding world, and (with the Department of International Magical Cooperation) offers this service to factions that do not or cannot hold their own Turing tests.

International Magical Cooperation (The Councilor for Cooperation)

The Department of International Magical Cooperation in the Fenspace Wizarding World is perhaps the most different from its source material. In Fenspace, this department is responsible for all “foreign relations,” including matters of jurisdiction, treaties and agreements, and “national level” public relations.

Magical Transportation (The Councilor for Transport)

This department is the registration authority for ships flying the Wizarding World flag. Wizarding space vehicles use the “H” prefix, making the Space Ship Sirius Black Was Innocent the HSS-19. Hogwarts School vessels are denoted with an “Hs” prefix, making the Headmaster Dumbledore the HsSS-1.

Magical Games and Sports (The Councilor for Games)

The sport of Quidditch, as well as several “re-themed” ’Dane sports, have been supported by the Wizarding World as athletic endeavors, spectacle, and team-building exercises. As such, this department is responsible for certification of tools and equipment for assisted sports, and rules certification for non-assisted sports (such as card games). The Councilor For Games recently made minor headlines outside of the sports pages, allowing for the first time since the inception of her department an entirely new type of Quidditch “Broom,” the Nebula series. Produced by Federation hobbyists, the new Nebula is the first broom to offer a micronized impulse drive, and compares well with the recent offerings in reaction drive brooms and reactionless brooms.

The Councilor For Games has also been recognized in headlines for their stated and official policy regarding recordings or video of the various official games it hosts: “For the first day, no non-Council broadcast is permitted, that way we can make at least some money off the feeds. After 24 hours, we’re dumping all available footage straight into public domain, you all have fun with that.”

Mysteries (The Councilor for Mysteries)

The Department of Mysteries is another greatly changed group from its origins. In Fenspace, this department is concerned with the maintenance and upkeep of “state” facilities such as Hogwarts, Hedwig, the Council Rock, and the small fleet of shuttles that the Catastrophe department carries. The Department of Mysteries also has an interesting facet to its charter – it’s bound by the original Council documents to “be responsible for any situation which may arise that cannot be unanimously assigned to another department.” This clause has been used to keep the founding and construction of new ships in this department, as Catastrophe and Transport argued long enough in session to irritate the remainder of the Council. It is believed that it was Sports and Games that called for the vote, as he had a zero-G “Person Pool” demonstration match to attend.