overview
The New Euphrosyne Project (NEP) is a Remnant faction operating within the Blocks (RS-1). Their primary goal is to reestablish order and governance mirroring the old world. Their capital is Celestia, located in the middle of the Celeste zone in the northwest of the Blocks. They are officially allied with the Hephaestus Mining Corporation (HMC).
government and civilian life
The NEP is not a democracy. It is led by an Overseer appointed directly by the HMC. The current Overseer is Alfrid Bozic. To ensure the candidate is at least somewhat popular, the HMC conducts polling before making an appointment. The same undemocratic polling system is used by the HMC to appoint the local Managers of the various NEP settlements.
The citizens of the NEP live in settlements meant to mimic pre-war Protectorate life. They work in farms to feed themselves, while the streets are patrolled and guarded by wardens. However, these wardens have often lost their glory and consist of rusty, barely held-together 100-year-old technology. The air is patrolled by HMC surveillance drones. The overarching military protecting the NEP is technologically advanced, consisting of a mix of human soldiers and machines.
relationship with HMC
While they are allied, the relationship is complex. The NEP views HMC’s resurgence favorably, believing that life was better and safer when HMC held power. In exchange for the NEP’s compliance and loyalty, HMC acts as their protector, providing military aid, technology, and supplies.
Furthermore, every once in a while, an HMC convoy arrives with new recruits from the ERC who have successfully passed the rehabilitation procedure. The NEP will take these recruits and often hand their own prisoners and captives back to the HMC in return. If an Overseer offends the HMC, the corporation will simply fire them, though they will usually at least keep them alive.
conflict with Kalon Syndicate
The NEP is locked in a constant, fierce war with their primary rival Kalon Syndicate over vital trade nodes and settlements within RS-1. For details on the logistics, shifting borders, and nature of the war, see the main Kalon-NEP conflict article.
politics and the drug trade
The internal politics of the NEP are heavily influenced by the massive drug trade within RS-1. Officially, the NEP has banned drugs like blush. In practice, however, the NEP themselves grow and produce massive amounts of drugs on large farms just like their Kalon rivals, heavily profiting from exporting them right under the nose of their HMC allies.
Surprisingly, Consonance is fully aware of these drug farms but deliberately chooses to ignore them, realizing that strictly enforcing deontological pre-war laws against her only human allies would undermine her overarching strategic goals on the planet.
The drug business is deeply intertwined with NEP state officials through corruption, lobbying, and pressure. While the ban is technically illegal, it is really only enforced against small-time entrepreneurs. The biggest player in this drug business is Veronika Doucham, who fully owns Doucham Inc.
Because of this, an Overseer’s job is incredibly dangerous; they must walk a tightrope between pleasing the HMC and avoiding offending the powerful drug businesses. In the past, multiple Overseers who passed and enforced genuine anti-drug legislation, or even simply spoke out against the drug businesses, were found dead under mysterious circumstances-like falling out of windows or down stairs. Failing to maintain order, however, risks being fired by the HMC.