"I loved number three"? I think I'm missing that reference.
Hm...yes, Zarek being president in my AU is one of those things I have to work out. I think when I actually bought it, I didn't really see his character arc going in this direction. Hatch has said he sees Zarek as sort of a Nelson Mandela figure, and I sort of assumed more of that than evil dictator when plotting Edge and its sequel. I mean, Zarek is corrupt in Edge, but he works with the system, instead of shooting it.
I guess I'm positing it on the idea that if Roslin died in a time of comparative calm (as opposed to the chaos when she disappeared and the demoralization of finding a nuked earth) that Zarek would be more conniving and more likely to outmaneuver a grieving Adama than launch a coup. So instead of assuming the presidency, he agrees to hold an election early (by my calculations it'd only be a year from the next scheduled one anyways). Adama agrees, and thinks Zarek can't win. (Not sure who ran against him, Cantrell maybe?) Only Zarek commits fraud or something (but it can't be proved) and wins and Adama can't quite bring himself to depose the president just for being a man he despises.
Instead he gathers the civilian ships together and forms a Council of Captains. In effect, he tries to isolate Zarek and his Quorum from having any real power and to an extent he succeeds. So the government is divided between two forces--a central government that is democratic in name only, and a military-led, quasi fedual system.
None of that is 100% set in stone. The beauty of back story is that until it makes it into the actual prose, I can come up with a better idea and as long as it's consistent with everything I've said in the story, it's ok to change my mind!
"I loved number three"? I think I'm missing that reference. Yeah, my bad. Kelly was "second" I guess. I had to rewatch episode 201 to find out the chain of command. When Adama was shot in CiC, Gaeta informed Kelly that The Colonel was in command and he (Kelly) is second. (So I guess in normal times, AND when wasn't in the brig he was THREE in charge = 3iC).
Only Zarek commits fraud or something (but it can't be proved) and wins and Adama can't quite bring himself to depose the president just for being a man he despises. Instead he gathers the civilian ships together and forms a Council of Captains. In effect, he tries to isolate Zarek and his Quorum from having any real power and to an extent he succeeds. So the government is divided between two forces--a central government that is democratic in name only, and a military-led, quasi fedual system.
Interesting! I love that Council of Captains - its very much like my thoughts, you know about the ship captains essentially being governors.
The beauty of back story is that until it makes it into the actual prose, I can come up with a better idea and as long as it's consistent with everything I've said in the story, it's ok to change my mind! Well I hope you update EDGE very soon!
I'm going to send you the next chapter tonight, I hope. I made a ton of edits. But even once I update, it'd be out of character for Petra to randomly starting pondering recent political history, so it can be a bit flexible until it becomes a plot point or something.
As for the council of Captains, I always thought that would be more realistic than the Quorum anyways, but I think the Quorum would still be around, even if it's sort of vestigial, because no one wants to actually dissolve it. I think the Captains of the ships would be more amendable to working with Adama. The whole "The Captain is the absolute authority on his (or her) ship" tradition isn't just a military thing. (Maybe that's why Zarek wanted to be the judge himself in 'Blood on the Scales.' He thought the captains might let Adama off.)
I think the Quorum would still be around, even if it's sort of vestigial, because no one wants to actually dissolve it. I've imagined that the Quorum or the Articles of Colonization would guarantee basic human rights (like not allowing a person to starve of get kicked off a ship), distribution/allocation of goods/services, esp. like education and medical services, and inter-ship transactions. Because while Captains are the masters of their homes, the population would then be vulnerable to abuses if no one else keeps an eye on them.
Hm...yes, Zarek being president in my AU is one of those things I have to work out. I think when I actually bought it, I didn't really see his character arc going in this direction. Hatch has said he sees Zarek as sort of a Nelson Mandela figure, and I sort of assumed more of that than evil dictator when plotting Edge and its sequel. I mean, Zarek is corrupt in Edge, but he works with the system, instead of shooting it.
I guess I'm positing it on the idea that if Roslin died in a time of comparative calm (as opposed to the chaos when she disappeared and the demoralization of finding a nuked earth) that Zarek would be more conniving and more likely to outmaneuver a grieving Adama than launch a coup. So instead of assuming the presidency, he agrees to hold an election early (by my calculations it'd only be a year from the next scheduled one anyways). Adama agrees, and thinks Zarek can't win. (Not sure who ran against him, Cantrell maybe?) Only Zarek commits fraud or something (but it can't be proved) and wins and Adama can't quite bring himself to depose the president just for being a man he despises.
Instead he gathers the civilian ships together and forms a Council of Captains. In effect, he tries to isolate Zarek and his Quorum from having any real power and to an extent he succeeds. So the government is divided between two forces--a central government that is democratic in name only, and a military-led, quasi fedual system.
None of that is 100% set in stone. The beauty of back story is that until it makes it into the actual prose, I can come up with a better idea and as long as it's consistent with everything I've said in the story, it's ok to change my mind!
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Yeah, my bad. Kelly was "second" I guess. I had to rewatch episode 201 to find out the chain of command. When Adama was shot in CiC, Gaeta informed Kelly that The Colonel was in command and he (Kelly) is second. (So I guess in normal times, AND when wasn't in the brig he was THREE in charge = 3iC).
Only Zarek commits fraud or something (but it can't be proved) and wins and Adama can't quite bring himself to depose the president just for being a man he despises. Instead he gathers the civilian ships together and forms a Council of Captains. In effect, he tries to isolate Zarek and his Quorum from having any real power and to an extent he succeeds. So the government is divided between two forces--a central government that is democratic in name only, and a military-led, quasi fedual system.
Interesting! I love that Council of Captains - its very much like my thoughts, you know about the ship captains essentially being governors.
The beauty of back story is that until it makes it into the actual prose, I can come up with a better idea and as long as it's consistent with everything I've said in the story, it's ok to change my mind! Well I hope you update EDGE very soon!
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As for the council of Captains, I always thought that would be more realistic than the Quorum anyways, but I think the Quorum would still be around, even if it's sort of vestigial, because no one wants to actually dissolve it. I think the Captains of the ships would be more amendable to working with Adama. The whole "The Captain is the absolute authority on his (or her) ship" tradition isn't just a military thing. (Maybe that's why Zarek wanted to be the judge himself in 'Blood on the Scales.' He thought the captains might let Adama off.)
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