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Behold, Planet Reasonable.

Planet Reasonable is a highly developed world nestled within an isolated and well-buffered section of the Segmentum Solar. The planet is temperate and lush, with colonisation having taken consideration of the world's natural beauty; meaning that many protected spots and grounds still exist, including well over 2,000 natural heritage sites.

The government is a representative democracy in which political consensus exists; the Imperium is a necessity for the protection of mankind and the promotion and protection of trade and prosperity. Thus both the main political parties, centrist and leftist respectively, swear allegiance to the Emperor in principle, enough to avoid being denounced heretics, but still offer generous platforms to their voters; turnout is high as the electorate is motivated and enthusiastic about politics as a whole.

The world enjoys good standards of living as well as high personal freedoms, so long as one at least pays lip-service to the Emperor, they can expect not to be persecuted. Affirmative-action campaigns ensure that Psykers are educated and intergrated into society alongside their normal brethren (at least until the Black Ships arrive). The cultural scene is aflame with many intellectually-fuelled plays and poems about the planet and Imperium at large.

Loyalty to the Imperium extends to the payment of tithes; although the world is unravaged by war, enough citizens join the strictly voluntary PDF to just about meet the tithe: Such individuals are motivated to do so through genuine compassion for those less fortunate than themselves that live on the more exposed planets the Imperium has to offer. Soldiers from Planet Reasonable serve only two year tours of duty, and upon return can expect a wide host of medical and psychological care.

The guardsmen of Planet Reasonable are well-noted for their usage of modern tactics: Rather than place the emphasis on mass-infantry and human wave tactics, Reasonable Recruits instead focus on squad-based fire and manoeuvre strategems, with Colonels only being willing to commit their men to battle if support is guaranteed; when it is so, squads can coordinate fire from orbit or basilisks by utilising the standardised voxcasters issued to all soldiers.

All in all, things look good for Planet Reasonable: The population is neither growing nor declining, the economy is booming, the welfare state expanding, taxes lowering, the deficit decreasing and the Reasonable System has yet to see a single enemy vessel.

I'd cut the IG part (Like serving 2 years etc) as that would never happen. The rest is easily feasible.


Automatically Appended Next Post:
It's also quite good. (Forgot to add that).

Sounds like Prospero, before the whole space wolves burning it thing.

Sound rather like a utopia, for 40k.
I would agree that the guard thing should be cut. Either no tithe of men or men that don't return.

I am curious as to why you have come up with this idea. army background? writing? just for kicks and giggles?

In honesty, the last point... I'd hoped to kickstart some debate between the more liberal fans and the grimdark types; oh well, c'est la vie.

There are probably plenty of planets that hve never seen an enemy ship. There are lots of planets.
If you meant the entire last paragraph then it is possible that the Planetary Governor is a nice guy who thinks the happier the people are the better they will work.

I just want to point out that an expanding welfare state is not the sign of a strong economy:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Welfare_state

If the presence of a large entity such as the government is required for the preservation and continuation of an economic system then that system is not stable. On the otherhand no matter what country you live in you've learned in history class what happens when the government stays out of business all together.

My real problem with your story is that I want to see your planet destroyed, or something to happen otherwise this is equal to saying "Once upon a time they lived happily ever after". There's no story.

that's because people like flaws in their stories, no one relates to a perfect person or place. You need some sort of issue or struggle the planet deals with, or something to catch a person's interest.

I agree, it needs some flaws to make it more...what's the word now again...oh, that's right. GRIMDARK.

It sounds good...BUT that planet paints a big target on itself to chaos. Tzeentch alone would have a hay-day slowly turning the planets population on each other. Like everyones been saying, the 2 years in the Guard? wouldnt happen. just way too much war to justify all theose men/women clocking out. Now if it was spend 2+ years off world in the service until the most current conflict is over, then apon your return home you never have to go off world again. Only serve in the PDF unless you request to re-up makes more 40k sence.

Matt65 wrote:It sounds good...BUT that planet paints a big target on itself to chaos. Tzeentch alone would have a hay-day slowly turning the planets population on each other.

That, or if its was by the border, Tau. I could see the planetary goverment going to towards to the more outwardly liberal Tau than sticking with the IoM.

Either way, hotbed of heresy in need of immediate cleansing.

Dissension appears during strife, as long as the world stays prosperous, then heretical cults will stay at a low.

Mr Nobody wrote:that's because people like flaws in their stories, no one relates to a perfect person or place. You need some sort of issue or struggle the planet deals with, or something to catch a person's interest.

Indeed. Theres no hook in the story. There's plenty of planets and settings in 40k And wider sci fi settings that depict places that seem to be near utopias. But under the surface lies a dark secret or rotting underbelly of society long forsaken and waiting for the right chance to make its self known again. Or a slave race that revolts against its masters. That I could find more believable than a planet where people get along all the time and the government is 100% reliable and genuinely cares for its people. But having said that you write well OP. Keep at it.

Or its a necron tomb world.

Why does there have to be a hook?
Can't the planet simply exist?

No. Someday the Necrons will eat their souls. Then the Inquisition will purge the planet with cyclonic torpedoes.

purplefood wrote:Why does there have to be a hook?

Because good stories have conflict.

Yeah, what MekanobSamael said. Think about, if the characters in any book or movie acted in any logical or reasonable manner, then there wouldn't be any more of a story. When was the last time you read a book where everything was perfect all throughout, and you actually enjoyed it? Even utopian literature features conflict of some sort.

Fun fact btw, Thomas Moore, the person who coined the term Utopia, was actually trying to illustrate the fact that no such place can exist, hence the word. It is derived from the Words U, topos, and ia, literal translation: 'not exist place'

probably such a planet can exist... but when you talk about progress and expanding welfare, do not forget that progress itself is heresy in the IoM. You can't invent new technology... you can't theorize new political ideas... coz respectively the mechanicus and the amalathians inquisitors wouldn't be happy... we can anyway imagine a world where the planetary governor act as a prefect for th IoM, constantly interacting with th planet elected representative and children at school have lesser techpriest teaching the basis of technology and phisics (probably calling the electricity in some hesoterical name such as "spirit of the mighty machine " but... basically speaking of it) excetera... maybe a fiery warrior tradition is the basis of such a liberal lifestyle,and an enlightened chapter of the adeptus astartes protect the planet from the most grimdark menaces...
Note that Ultramar in reality in organized in a similar fashion...

@ computergeek... don't know who told this thing about welfare... personally I wouldnt ever exchange my welfare state for different system... And an entire branch of economy explain why things are better in a welfare state.... (jonh maynard keynes, the whole german school, various economists explaining the european economic boom of the sixties...)

It's pretty good keep it up.

punkow wrote:

@ computergeek... don't know who told this thing about welfare... personally I wouldnt ever exchange my welfare state for different system... And an entire branch of economy explain why things are better in a welfare state.... (jonh maynard keynes, the whole german school, various economists explaining the european economic boom of the sixties...)

An entire branch of economics is wrong.

I refer you to Carl Menger and his followers (who essentially invented modern economics), Henry Hazlitt, and other such economists. In short, a welfare state is, economically, the worst thing that can happen to a country short of out-and-out warfare.

purplefood wrote:Why does there have to be a hook?
Can't the planet simply exist?

Because then there's nothing interesting about it. Even Ultramar being as close as I've read to a happy/fair society in 40k has its conflicts. Nearly being eaten up by Behemoth save for the efforts of the ultramarines and many PDF regiments sacrificing themselves to halt its advance. Even prosperous/well off planets have chaos cults and the like as well. The nobles dallying with such things just to alleviate their boredom when they don't realize the very real danger their in. For themselves and possibly the world they inhabit.

BeRzErKeR wrote:

punkow wrote:

@ computergeek... don't know who told this thing about welfare... personally I wouldnt ever exchange my welfare state for different system... And an entire branch of economy explain why things are better in a welfare state.... (jonh maynard keynes, the whole german school, various economists explaining the european economic boom of the sixties...)

An entire branch of economics is wrong.

I refer you to Carl Menger and his followers (who essentially invented modern economics), Henry Hazlitt, and other such economists. In short, a welfare state is, economically, the worst thing that can happen to a country short of out-and-out warfare.

If economists could produce indisputable facts, then we wouldn't have ideological contention, would we?

True that.