I've picked some bits out of CT Library Data. will come back to it with comments in a bit.
"Feudalism: With such great distances separating stellar systems, individual responsibility and authority become of great importance.* The lmperium is divided into sectors (twenty of them), each about 32 parsecs by 40 parsecs in size. Each sector is divided into sixteen subsectors (8 by 10 parsecs). And within a (sub)sector* are perhaps thirty or forty systems, each with a star, worlds, and satellites. Individual worlds, and even entire systems, are free to govern themselves as they desire, provided that ultimate power is always accorded the Imperium.*** Interstellar government begins at the subsector level - on one world designated the subsector capital. The ruling figure at the subsector capital is a high-ranking noble selected by higher levels of government.**** This duke has a free hand in government, and is subject only to broad guidelines from his superiors.***** But at the same time, the duke owes fealty to the higher levels of government, ultimately to the Emperor himself.
The feudal approach depends greatly on. a sense of honor, one cultivated by the hereditary aristocracy. This sense of honor is very strong within the Imperium; it has proven essential to the survival of such a far-flung community."
*individual authority and the responsibility to use it in accordance with Imperial rules
**should be subsector not sector
***this is where it all starts going horribly wrong. It should say on the frontier, as it will do so later...
****are the higher levels of government higher ranking nobles or are we missing something, does the sector and above Imperial bureaucracy have a say in who is the appointed noble? Who are the faceless bureaucrats oabve the subsector level that run the Ministries and Imperial government apparatus?
*****at this point either the authors are trolling us or they are being deliberately unreliable narrators.
And lest you think these men of honour are all piety and virtue
"Instead, the sector government came up with the idea, and implemented it at the highest levels.* Given a population of 783 billion in the Marches (under direct Imperial rule)**, children in school amount to about 10% of that population. Assuming a contribution of a quarter credit per student, the campaign could produce the sum of 19.575 billion credits.
The bureaucracy simply deducted this sum from funds budgeted to education***; the responsibility for replenishment fell upon educational administrators, who could solicit donations from students (or others) for the shipbuilding campaign.
Aside from the initial notification from sector government, no further effort was necessary, no further credit transfers were needed, and the campaign was allowed to go on' for however long was necessary. Reportedly, some backwater school districts still collect for the "Starship Fund.****"
*the sector government of the Marches appears to be able to get away with quite a bit here, ignoring subsector dukes' authority.
**and there we have it ladies and gentlemen, it is all a sham, all of this talk of autonomy and home rule, the worlds of the Marches are under direct Imperial rule, they re just granted the illusion of self determination...
***the beurocracy, not the sector duke, and this bureaucracy is able to instruct education departmants all across the worlds of the Marches. The sector bureaucracy has a budget for the education of the citizens on the sector's worlds. This implies the Imperium controls the curriculum of the education establishments across the Marches, I wonder what they have to teach?
Does the sector duke set policy for the bureaucracy?
****nice to know political grift is still alive and well in the 57th century
Look what shows up again:
"On the frontiers, extensive home rule provisions allow planetary governments to choose their own forms of government, raise and maintain their own armed forces for local security, pass and enforce laws governing local conduct, and regulate (within limits) commerce."
Which, as we have seen above, is a sham. Wonder if the Marches are still being used as a psychohistory test area?
Then there is this bit about the relationship between megacorporations and the Imperium:
"A small number of lmperial regulatory agencies have power over megacorporations, and they are subject to any applicable local taxes, but, provided they do not blatantly violate lmperial sovereignty, regional managers can usually conduct their company's business as they see fit. Because a direct confrontation with the lmperium would be bad for business, intentional violation of lmperial laws is done only on a covert basis."
I wonder which agencies?
On to the next Library Data book.
"The lmperium is best considered to rule the space that separates the stars rather than the worlds themselves.* Individual worlds are left to their own devices, providing they pay their taxes, acknowledge the power of the Imperium, and obey the basic laws it promulgates.** The lmperium wields power in space, protecting trade, encouraging travel and commerce, and controlling diplomatic relations.*** lmperial power is present on worlds in the form of consulates, bureaucratic offices, and bases; occasionally larger enclaves of lmperial power are placed where they can enhance the empire's strength.*****"
*a load of old twaddle
**we now know this is explicitly false
***which includes the diplomatic relations between adjacent worlds...
****consulates - diplomats, nobles, bureaucrats; bureaucratic offices - the Ministries?; bases - Naval bases, depots, waystations, scout bases
*****larger enclaves? the personal estates of Imperial nobles?
Odd that in an Imperium that doesn't rule worlds:
"Archdukes maintain their hereditary lands and their incomes"
So at some point the Imperium came into possession of land it could grant in perpetuity.
Core sector is very different to frontier sectors...
"After thirty years of economic and diplomatic maneuvering (and occasional military action), Cleon had increased the size of the Federation, extending its control to the edge of what is now Core sector."
Note that the Federation directly controls the worlds it rules, so this little tidbit may prove that the Core sector should be all Imperial owned, controlled, and governed worlds. After a couple of centuries the entire domain of the Archduke of Sylea is likely to directly under the Archduke's control.
Now something else that is contradicted by modern authors:
"However, attempts by extra-planetary forces to seize control of a world's affairs are beyond the scope of the "safety valve" rationale. Recognizing that often some community of interest exists between a faction or state on a planet and some off-planet organization, the lmperium tolerates "assistance" as long as it is deemed appropriate to the level of legitimate interest in the affairs of the world held by the extraplanetary
organization. When it has appeared that the primary burden for the conduct of the war has been carried by an extra-planetary power, the lmperium has intervened."
This surely also means one member world can not invade another member world without the Imperium becoming involved?
One or two things noticeably absent - Ministries and the bureaucracy - especially how they tie in with the "feudal" system.
Ministies are mentioned in S:3, the bureaucracy remains a completely faceless entity.
