Under the Shattered Stars

Under the Shattered Stars

File:Shattered stars.png Faldarunic translit cover
Author	Klara Bókormur
Cover artist	Marianne Arzt
Country	Faldarun
Language	Faldarunic
Genre	Dystopian, alternate history, political fiction
Publisher	Hvíturfáninn Publishing Cooperative
Publication date	10 August 1979
Media type	Print (hardback and paperback)
Awards	Rykborg Valkyrie Top 100 Faldarunic Fictional Novels

Under the Shattered Stars is a dystopian alternate history novel published in 1979 by Faldarunic author Klara Bókormur. Set in the fiftieth district of Grand Valeya, informally known as Rykborg, the novel depicts an alternate outcome to the Lost Revolutions of the early 20th century. The fiftieth district is a constituent part of the Federation of Grand Valeya; a military dictatorship that engages in omnipresent surveillance, unrestricted militarism and the suppression of individualism. Grand Valeya is one of three hyperpowers present in the world; the others being Greater Khornera and Transescaria. All three states, which are engaged in a perpetual war, are controlled in some way by a privileged few of military origin, and all three states purportedly follow a political ideology that has been nominally adopted by a military regime to solidify control.

Grand Valeya was nominally a federation of Valeyan nations, but since it's foundation in practice has controlled by it's military, who subverted it's revolution in order to attain their power. A cult of personality is formed around a mysterious figure known as the Great Uniter; the nominal leader of the state and apparent famed military general, however it is hinted at that his very existence may be a fabrication by the state to solidify their power. Society in Grand Valeya is structured under the military; the Great Uniter sitting at the top of the pyramid, his closest generals and officers below him forming the Junta, the soldiers and state servants below them forming the Overclass, and the Underclass of common citizens at the bottom. While the underclass is mostly controlled indirectly by propaganda, fervent nationalism and appeasement, they are also often controlled directly in the form of purges, pogroms and reeducation programs. The novel centres on Hakón Hvermaður, a state servant who works at the Organisation for Patriotism, and is tasked daily with controlling the flow of information to the masses; a key aspect of his job is to edit or remove information that is critical about the state or military. Though a member of the overclass tasked with preventing revolutionary thoughts in the underclass, Hvermaður himself finds it difficult to follow the extreme patriotism and militarism of the Junta, and secretly believes - and hopes - that the Great Uniter will be ultimately overthrown by the underclass in a violent revolution.

Widely considered to be a scathing criticism of then-Lawspeaker Miki Nakahara and her Totalist agenda, especially following the Kaigan Incident, the novel is also seen as an attack on militarism, nationalism and statist totalitarianism in general. Many concepts and terms from the book, such as thoughtcrime, doublethink, underclass and Vitharism, have entered into common use since its publication in 1979, and the novel is believed to have popularised both the alternate history and dystopian genres across Ordis. The adjective Bokormurism, describing the subversion of revolutions by military and establishment forces, was also popularised by the book. In it's years of existence, it has received numerous awards both in Faldarun and across the globe and is positively regarded worldwide. It was ranked first in the Rykborg Valkyrie's Top 100 Faldarunic Fictional Novels.

Background

The novel is set in Grand Valeya, one of three inter-continental superstates that divided the world after an alternate outcome of the First Endwar and Lost Revolutions.

Characters

Main characters

• Hakón Hvermaður — the everyman protagonist who consistently struggles to reconcile his job as a propagandist with his fundamentally libertarian and egalitarian values.
• Kóri — a longtime friend and, more recently, lover of Hakón. A member of the Overclass, he too harbours revolutionary attitudes, but hides these beneath a staunchly masculine patriotic facade.
• the Great Uniter — unknown as to whether he is a true person or an idea, he is the idealised supreme leader of Grand Valeya, and purported to be a military and political genius.
• Villa — a high-ranking general and member of the Junta who poses as a political dissident in order to deceive and capture suspected dissidents; such as Hakón.
• Gudrun Sannleikur - one of the leaders and theorists behind the initial revolution; reportedly hanged by the regime after she was convicted of supposed crimes against the revolution. The Underground instead insists that she is alive in exile, and plots to overthrow the regime. It is suggested that, like the Great Uniter, while it is possible she is a true individual, it is just as possible that she is a fictional character created to galvinise support for the regime and to catch suspected dissidents.

Secondary characters

• Signý Hnífaftur — a member of the overclass and secret police agent posing as a prostitute in order to capture dissidents.
• Erlingr Trúgrjarn — underclass acquaintance of Hakón, known to be fiercely patriotic and loyal to the Great Uniter. He is essentially considered a model citizen of Grand Valeya; he embodies the ideal underclass Valeyan in the eyes of the Junta, in that he is loyal to the military and state without a fault, and does not question his place.
• Julie Cabra — a Delmarese individual mentioned only on radio broadcasts and propaganda posters as an arrested traitor funded by the Khornerans. Later in the novel, it is instead claimed that she was funded by the Transescarians, in a case of doublethink.
• Völund Þórirsson — the ration officer in Hakón's sub-district. Also secretly a member of the secret police.
• Gunnarr — a colleague of Hakón at the Organisation for Patriotism who is revealed to be a member of the secret police, but then becomes an unperson after his own loyalty is called into question.
• Lúðvík — the replacement for Gunnarr after he becomes an unperson.

Alternate history

Under the Shattered Stars was perhaps the first alternate history novel to truly enter popular culture, and essentially popularised the genre. The world of Under the Shattered Stars utilities the Lost Revolutions of the 20th centuries as it's point of divergence. In Faldarun, the fermenting revolution is swiftly crushed by the Imperial Army with the arrest of Dagur Ingolfsson, avoiding the Faldarunic Civil War and allowing Faldarun to continue it's war with Khornera. Despite this however, an underground anarchist resistance remains, and causes trouble for the Imperial regime. By 1924, although both sides believe the war to be ultimately unwinnable, the war continues due to mutual stubbornness. It is in 1925 however brought to a close with the detonation of an experimental military weapon - known as the Chosen Hammer - over the Khorneran capital. The Holy Khorneran Empire capitulates, however before any Faldarunic occupation can be begun it succumbs to a republican revolution that leads to civil war. Faldarun instead focuses on it's own internal affairs.

In the midst of this, the Empire of Yeongseon - dealing with an internal recession - succumbs to it's own revolution, in which junior military officer Park Nam-Ju seizes control in a military coup, before being overthrown by his subordinate officer Han Ji-Hoon. Han proceeds to restructure Yeongseon under it's ideology of 'National Corporatism', a militaristic ideology that subverts the 'hard leftist' ideology of the revolution before it's adoption by the military. After the crushing of a Flaucese rebellion and a brief war with Shirakawa, Yeongseon finds itself in control of much of Escar, and reforms into the Heavenly Union of Transescaria. In Khornera, the civil war is soon halted after the remains of the military under General Erthas betrays the Emperor and sides with the revolutionaries, soon hijacking the revolution and transforming the initially republican ideology into 'Neo-Republicanism', a far more militaristic subversion of the ideology which places Erthas as 'Protector in Infinitum' of what, after expansion into Orda, is now declared Greater Khornera.

All the while the Imperial regime in Faldarun continues to struggle against the underground anarchist insurgency. After a heart attack, Vilhjálmur II is declared dead, and the succession crisis surrounding his death leads the anarchist resistance to enter into open revolt with the Regency Council. After inconclusive fighting, Field Marshal Ottó Sigurðsson marshes on the capital with the intent to crush the rebellion and restore order, however he is betrayed by his attache - assumed to be Benedikt Mikaelsson - who declares himself for the rebellion before capturing the Vetrarhöllin and inviting the anarchist leaders to a constitutional convention. Using the momentum of the revolution and his prestige after the capture of the palace, the attache finds himself as leader of the rebellion, and soon subverts the revolution to his own will; transforming Faldarunic insurrectionist anarchism into 'national equitism'. After purging his genuinely revolutionary co-leaders, the attache proceeds to - mostly via military means - unite Valeya under national equitism. He is declared the Great Uniter and proclaims the Federation of Grand Valeya.

Political geography

File:Shattered stars map.png

State of the world, circa 1979, according to the Organisation for Patriotism.

In the alternate timeline that the novel is set, three perpetually warring totalitarian hyperpowers control the world:

• Grand Valeya, centered on the continent of Valeya, espouses "National Equitism" and is home to District 50 - also known as Rykborg - the main setting of the novel. It is led by the Great Uniter.
• Greater Khornera, centered on the continent of Orda, espouses "Neo-Republicanism" and is the end result of the ahistorical Khorneran Civil War. It is led by the Protector in Infinitum.
• Transescaria, centered on the continent of Escar, espouses "National Corporatism" and is the result of both Yeongseonic expansionism and Shirakawan decline in Escar. It is led by the Heavenly Magnate.

There are four main regions that are, as of the beginning of the book, outside of the control of the three powers; 'the Divided Islands' in the Varunan Ocean, the interior of the continent of Osova, the arctic wastes of Tartarum to the north and the antarctic wastes of Haderica to the south. It is in these fourth regions, and the oceans of the world, that the conflict between the three powers generally takes place. Along the border between Greater Khornera and Transescaria is another conflict zone; the area so barren and desolate due to the war that it is scarcely recognizable as being of Ordis.

While it may be noted that the ideologies of the three main powers are nearly identical in their authoritarianism and rampant militarism, they are shown in each respective nation to be antithetical to the values of that nation. For example, while Neo-Republicanism and National Equitism ideologically agree more than they disagree, the underclass of Grand Valeya is taught that Neo-Republicanism is the eternal enemy of National Equitism. In a case of doublethink, they are later taught to believe that it is National Corporatism, not Neo-Republicanism, that is their ideological antithesis.

Influences

File:Miki Nakahara.png

Nakahara was viewed as a "tyrant in waiting" by Bókormur.

At the time of writing, the Confederation of Faldarun was led by Miki Nakahara; the first and, to this day, only Lawspeaker to come from the Totalist faction. Her platform - one of centralisation and militarisation - was not well-received by most Faldarunics. Her history as a military officer and aggressive, jingoistic foreign policy came to symbolise her as an attempted military dictator. While in actuality this was far from the truth, there was still fears that - should she be ousted by popular vote - she could use her influence in the military to cling onto power. Klara Bókormur, herself an Autonomist, was staunchly opposed to Nakahara from the outset; and the Kaigan Incident only served to further confirm her beliefs.

Envisioning a future where Nakahara did indeed maintain control through a military coup, Bókormur began drafting ideas for a novel showing the outcome of such events. While she initially wanted to use a possible Nakahara coup as a plot point, she instead decided to write a novel of alternate history, with the point of divergence set at the Lost Revolutions of the early 20th century. In terms of inspiration for the totalitarian regime she created - and it's military-led governance - she looked to Mendikea; a nominally socialist nation which a decade prior had been subject to a military coup. She also took inspiration from factions present during the Nerotysian Civil War, the Popular Revolutionary Republic of Flauc and Nakahara's own policies, platform and style of leadership, as well as that of the wider Totalist faction in general. The belligerent mood of the book is likely drawn from the Kaigan Incident.

Undoubtedly, the corruption of a genuinely moral revolution by genuinely amoral of immoral members of the military and establishment - a core theme of the book - is derived from the history and society of Mendikea. Grand Valeyan society draws noticeable parallels from Mendikean society after the 1969 coup; morality is eschewed in favour of a might-makes-right philosophy, the civilian government is controlled directly by and inseparable from the military, and what was previously a genuinely revolutionary ideology is hijacked by reactionary and traditionalist figures in order to maintain and, in many cases, expand their own power. Additionally, the personality and characterisation of the Great Uniter - as a self-proclaimed military and political genius with ties to both the military and political spheres - is no doubt derived from that of Nakahara; or rather, from that of her caricaturisation.