Manual - Pandora: First Contact - Proxy Studios

absence of this committee’s chairman who should have thecasting vote, it appears the secretary must decide. Now, whoshould I vote for? Hmm.” Pulling a ballot paper out of hisstack, he bent low to write a name into a box.—Across the fields, mines and factories, the traditional threechordtone blared, announcing important news. The peoplelooked up, half with weariness, half with interest. “TO THEDELIGHT OF THE PEOPLE AND THE JOY OF OUR BLESSED,LATE LEADER SHENG XI, HIS CHERISHED SON YUN XI HASBEEN ELECTED PRIME MINISTER TO THE PEOPLE. ALLHAIL YUN XI, LEADER OF THE SOLAR DYNASTY.”In the fields, they hardly felt the change.***The prevailing theme of the short twentieth century (1914-1991) was the clash of authoritarian ideologies. Communism,fascism and capitalism fought throughout the century, withnone of them emerging with its reputation intact. Indeed,the only ‘ism’ that did emerge successfully was authoritarianpragmatism – as practised effectively by the Chinese Communistparty from the late 1930s. By always acting in the interestof the majority over the interest of any single individual, theChinese state emerged with a brutally effective economy by thelate 20th century.But, as Plato observed, regimes always decay towards tyranny.Chinese communism was no exception, though the effortsof the National People’s Congress to execute and subjugateoverweening leaders to their authority until the early 2060swere impressively effective. It was only with the appointment47