Sauran Solidarity (Branding)

Sauran Solidarity

Ideology
Sauran societal structure is centred around science, philosophy, and the arts, especially as they pertain to nature. Although aliens sometimes mistake it for a state religion or political ideology, the unifying force of Sauran society is in fact far more ingrained, comprehensive and arguably connate. It could best be described as a kind of ‘holistic natural philosophy’ which encompasses communalism, ecophenomenology, and their collective creed of environmental stewardship. These ideals are normalised and widespread in their collective consciousness and extend far back in their history, long before the Sauran first made contact with other sapient species. Consequently, the Sauran react to the anthropocentric, imperialistic or aggressively industrial belief systems of alien civilisations with ambivalence and disdain.

Underlying this Sauran philosophy is an unorthodox conceptualisation of relationality which does not distinguish between ‘organic and synthetic’ or ‘natural and man-made’. Despite their unique sapience, Sauran do not regard themselves as exceptional relative to the other lifeforms which evolved on their native planet and reserve a healthy respect and reverence for all life. They believe that in order to survive and prosper, sapient beings must find ways to work within the natural ecosystems of the galaxy. In a state of equilibrium without the influence of aberrant external forces, any given ecosystem can remain stable in perpetuity. Witnessing aliens’ exploitative activity on foreign planets on a massive scale was horrifying to the Sauran in the dawn of their interstellar exploration because ecological degradation is indistinguishable from genocide in their philosophy.

The providence of the Sauran obsession with ecology is not difficult to trace. The unmitigated industrial expansion that occurred globally prior to their development of space travel had a deleterious effect on Aaradan’s climate, resulting in famine, mass migration and drought. Forays into genetic engineering and terraforming alleviated some of the desolation but only radical deindustrialisation served to halt the problem. Even then, the extinction of numerous native species and the rendering of many parts of the planet inhospitable had taught the Sauran species lessons they would never forget. Their brush with total ecological collapse had knocked Sauran civilisation back centuries in some aspects but also fundamentally diverged their route to becoming a spacefaring race.

The Solidarity’s emergence into the stars was a boon to their unconventional way of life because the void of space allows them to operate with far more freedom without risk of impact on planetary ecosystems. While the Sauran do establish terrestrial colonies, much of their population live on satellites and colony ships which can survive as closed environments by autonomously sustaining their atmosphere and supply of food. Artificial satellites inhabited by the Sauran have been designed implicitly with their holistic philosophy in mind, with lush gardens and farms seamlessly integrated into their blueprints where other races might see such things as frivolous.