The Republicans are a decentralized political movement operating within the Smart Slums and peripheral districts of Neo-Europa. Fiercely opposed to the oligarchic rule of the Council of Nobles, the Republicans advocate for horizontal governance, civic equality, and the dismantling of the corporate-led caste system. Where the Royalists look to the past, the Republicans push toward a post-corporate, post-bloodline future.
Origins
The Republicans emerged from the social collapse of the lower districts following the expansion of the Ascension Project and the deepening stratification enforced by Ladder Points and corporate AI oversight. Initially formed as labor collectives and data rights assemblies, the Republicans grew into a militant-yet-fragmented ideology of resistance.
Their founding documents—known as the Slum Accords—were encoded in public murals and junk-code archives throughout Substructure-2 and the lower Veil layer.
Ideology
Republicans believe that Neo-Europa's hierarchical system—ruled by legacy corporations, nobility, and predictive algorithms—must be destroyed entirely. They seek to replace it with a decentralized, transparent republic built on civic participation, open-source infrastructure, and collective memory sovereignty.
Core tenets include:
- The abolition of the Council of Nobles and hereditary corporate rule
- Full deactivation of biosocial scoring systems like Ladder Points
- Free and universal access to Cypherspace for all citizens, including Nulls
- Ethical AI regulation and restoration of lost civic freedoms
The movement embraces both political theory and direct action, and often draws on historical republican ideals fused with cyber-anarchist principles.
Activities
Republican cells operate semi-autonomously and may:
- Organize illegal voting simulations in Veil Realms
- Hack Guild recruitment streams to broadcast dissenting ideologies
- Run education nodes in the slums teaching history, coding, and rights theory
- Sabotage corporate supply lines and neural infrastructure
- Smuggle defectors and Nulls out of risk zones
Relationship to Royalists
While both groups oppose the ruling system, the Republicans view the Royalists as archaic, elitist, and misguided in their nostalgia. Cooperation occasionally occurs for tactical raids, but the ideological divide runs deep. Republicans believe authority should be distributed, not enthroned.
Symbols and Slogans
- The Broken Ladder – Often drawn in slum graffiti or glitched Veil overlays
- The Red Echo – An encoded data packet passed peer-to-peer, containing the original Slum Accords
- Slogans:
* "No Lords. No Scores. No Chains." * "Kill the Crown, Burn the Code." * "Democracy is not a download—it's a rewrite."
Notable Figures
- David Sanderson – One of the founding voices of the movement, known for leading the mural riots in Lower District 9. Former Guild technician turned revolutionary.
- Veilspike-3 – An anonymous collective of Veil-based activists who hijack broadcast layers and lace Council feeds with subversive fragments.