Secret Societies, Conspiracies, Cabals and Guilds

In the Third Imperium, there are countless organizations dedicated to the social, political, business, even academic advancement of their members. The oldest can exert generational influence, protecting themselves and promoting their members. The vast majority of these groups are private, using oaths of secrecy and hidden rituals to defend themselves and expand the scope of their power.

The overwhelming majority of organizations like this are local, like the local Society Club, or a planetwide Directorate composed of bureaucratic functionaries that make government function, or a system-wide Belters’ Syndicate. Nothing sinister, outside the small-time corruption of trading favors and bending the laws to benefit themselves.

Multi-system societies become exponentially complex to manage. Even with the fastest jump capable vessels, communications takes weeks between one system to another. But the scope at the Subsector scale is still manageable, just slow.

At the Sector scale, any group would be more akin to a franchise. The Sector leadership can command huge amounts of resources, but can’t exert any direct control. So an organization like the Dagudashag Fraternity of Loyal Kashdi Adap (Kashdi Adap is an old Vilani name for an animal similar to the Water Buffalo on Terra) might have GigaCredit or TeraCredit resources at their disposal. They might have Lodges in every system, or a small fleet of Starships for Fraternal use. But the Grand Poobah of the Loyal Kashdi Adap neither controls nor owns the sector.

Beyond the Sector scale there are a handful of organizations that can exert influence across polities and even into other, rival empires. However, there are far more conspiracies than there are actual organizations. Just keep in mind the speed of communication as Referee. Activating a nefarious plot like something out of a Dan Brown novel, or a James Bond flick takes over a year to unfold over these distances.

Secret Societies in the Ziru Sirka

Vilani society is steeped in tradition and conformity. The Secret Societies are guardians of those traditions and rituals which stretch back thousands of years to the original Ziru Sirka. Many of these organizations are domain-wide, and operate in Vland, Gushmege, Dagudashag, Corridor and Reft sectors.

Most citizens that observe Vilani culture belong to at least one of these societies. (Note, one does not have to be of the Vilani subspecies of Humaniti to be a part of Vilani culture.) Membership is often familial with invitations passed from one generation to the next. These “tradition” Societies are all very similar to one another, they pass on the same cultural lessons, roles, rituals and presentations.

In some ways they act similar to different denominations of Protestant Christianity in 21st Century Earth, teaching from the same scriptures and with a minimum of variance. In this way, the Secret Societies also resemble Mystery Cults. Passing on traditions in private. Although, like mentioned earlier, these secret societies in the Ziru Sirka are not “secret” so much as they are private. Unlike various denominations of religion, the mystery cult aspect of these organizations do not make them taboo or illegal.

Within the Megacorps of the Ziru Sirka, secret societies train and support all levels of employment and seniority. While close to a case system, upward mobility remains possible, with the secrets of upper corporate tiers hidden from those of the lower corporate tiers. Promoting from the laborer or technical pool to management will initiate the employee into the appropriate corporate fellowship. When promoted, the employee’s new fellowship will often place them in a new company or division, separating the newly promoted from the coworkers they left behind.

The Executive fellowships perform the function of support systems for the highest tiers of the Corporate pyramid. The corporate fellowships that serve the lowest tiers function more like Unions.

Psionics Institutes

In the Imperium and the Solomani Confederation, the Psionics Institutes are indeed secret societies. Since the Psionics Suppressions of 800 to 820 3i, the practice of Psionics in the Imperium has been criminalized and the Psionics Institutes were driven underground. In the Confederation, Psionics are likewise criminalized, popular perception being that human psionics are a “Zhodani development” and needs to be controlled by the Government. Psionics Institutes being independent organizations, are deemed threats to both the Imperial and Confederation authority and are poiced accordingly.

The blanket term “Psionics Institutes” are somewhat of a misnomer. The various Psionics Institutes that stretch across the Third Impirium and into the Solomani Confederation. As mentioned earlier, the logistics involved in managing an organizations, especially a private or secret organization over multiple sectors is exceedingly impractical. However, the legacy of the Suppressions has fed into the conspiracy theory that the Psionics Institutes are a “Hidden Empire” comprised of psionic superbeings, or a Zhodani Consulate fifth collumn that works to undermine society. In practical terms, the Psionics Institutes are local and cellular, and provide mutual support for one another only as far as travel and communications can reach.

Cults

Whether believers in a charismatic leader, a following of fringe religious movements, or membership in a non-conforming community. Cults are often hidden, and their inner functions are kept very secret and private. There are numerous such groups spread throughout charated space, some of them settle their own planets where they can exist without interaction or interference with outsiders. Others build compounds within colonies and settled worlds where members recruit among the wider population.

Cults that engage in forbidden or illegal activities can be found anywhere, and among all strata of society. Whether acting on the desires of their Cult Leader, or the interpretations of the perceived will of their gods, or demons, or angels, these cults are constantly on the prowl for new members, expanded resources, and sometimes, sacrifices.

Cults are also the subjects of conspiracies, bigotry and moral panics as we will discuss next. While functioning cults are widespread, they are quite rare. However the ideas of a Cult, an Imperium-wide-cult-of-Gozer-the-Gozarian, or Followers of the Ancients are widespread, and can be imagined anywhere and everywhere. Interpreting graffitti, or uncovered heiroglyphs, or made-up propaganda proposing the “real truth” behind the cosmos are all possible catalysts for scapegoating the martinalized groups in a system’s wider population.

Conspiracies, Bigotry, and Moral Panic

This section should be taken with care. The historical scapegoating of entire ethnic cultures is long and well documented. Real People have, and are currently enduring violence and oppression generated by bigoted lies promoted by governments and religions. The parallels between the world we live in in 2026 (the time of this writing) and the Far Future of Traveller are clear, and must be handled with care. Please keep in mind that someone at your table or in your community may either be living with the effects of Conspiracies, or have friends and family who are living under this shadow. Listen to your players when they express themselves to you about what they are comfortable with.

It’s part of the Human experience, to imagine puppeteers that are pulling the strings of events in the Galaxy. Star Chambers, Illuminati, Secret Masters, Hidden Empires, examples can be found everywhere. With the Assassination of Emperor Strephon by Archduke Dulinor in 1116 3i, Conspiracy theories flew fast and furious throughout 11,000 worlds. The fact that the Assassination was in itself, the execution of a years-long conspiracy in the Domain of Ilelish only added fuel to the fire during the Rebellion War and into the Hard Times. The Zhodani, Psionics Institute, Hiver Federation, Vilani Enclaves, and any group operating within the Third Imperium whose loyalty was in the least imagined doubt was blamed for being the “real” organization behind the Rebellion War.

Sadly, even in the Far Future of the Traveller Universe, bigotry remains alive and well. While Secret Societies arouse suspicion because of the deliberately hidden nature of their fellowships, bigotry is mostly directed at ethnicity and cultures that are misunderstood by the societies they exist within. Unfamiliar food, dialects, languages, dress, point out these cultures as being different, and easy targets for scapegoating, or pressing into menial professions that the majority culture doesn’t want to be involved with.

Moral Panics are yet another way that conspiracies target groups of people within society. Instead of using ethnic or cultural differences to justify their oppression, it is social criteria. Political, professional and social subgroups, any group that can be easily ostracized and targeted with all sorts of rumor and conjecture. Most of these groups are perceived to be too small to effectively refute any accusations, no matter how sensational or extreme.

The targets of bigotry and moral panics are not secret societies, though the pressures applied to them often force these groups underground and take on the attributes of hidden or secret societies as a matter of survival.