At the risk of sounding like a Loroi cheerleader, I'd like to address what appear to be some misconceptions and outright misrepresentations.
First, a reminder: a large percentage of the current governments on the real Earth are still military dictatorships, including those of some of the largest and most populous nations on the planet. To assert that this form of government is somehow fundamentally repugnant to humankind seems... insufficiently demonstrated.
Arent wrote:Elves in fantasy/fiction are in general depicted as xenophobic or feudal. Transferred to science fiction you arrive at the Elerians of master of orion, which are... xenophobic and feudal
While this has little impact on the current discussion... the Elerians actually didn't have the xenophobic trait.
entity2636 wrote:You know what the loroi like doing most when not having to fight for their very existence against The Bugs? To fight among themselves in civil wars, ideological wars between their "countries" and against whoever looked at the other funny between clans/families/individuals.
Prior to the start of the Umiak war, the Loroi had 340 years of peace. Real-world humanity is currently at war with itself, and has been pretty much continuously for its entire history. Which is the more warlike species?
Arent wrote:That's actually an aspect of the story I find highly illogical. You don't kill people because someone "looks at the other funnily".
Neither do Loroi.
Tempo mentioned that Loroi honesty has historically had a negative effect on diplomacy; it can be difficult to reach agreements under tense negotiations when neither side has any concept of basic politeness. This does not imply that random Loroi kill each other on the street.
entity2636 wrote:I would argue that the Loroi military and the Navy in particular, although very large by comparison with the TCA, is not too impressive when looking at the big picture. Although the Loroi have won wars against true "warrior species" like the Delrias and Mannadi, the loroi military could not beat the Arekka and Nissek and are have gotten their asses handed to them repeatedly by the Umiak. The only thing that keeps the Loroi afloat is their Farseeing device, so they can cheat and intercept an enemy attack exactly where it happens.
The Umiak are very difficult opponent. Even though their Farseer advantage allows the Loroi to concentrate their forces at the point of attack, they are still engaging and defeating fleets that at times substantially outnumber them.
The Loroi never fought the Nissek. The two nations were briefly at war through alliances, but they never met in combat.
The Loroi decisively beat the Arekka wherever they fought. What prevented complete conquest of Arekka territory was merely the fact local geography (higher ISM density and therefore shorter jump links) slowed the Loroi advance, and the war ended prematurely due to a political settlement.
entity2636 wrote:Also do note, that Loroi have outsourced most of their key industry to their union members, Barsam and Golim (heavy industry and ship building), Neridi (administration), Pipolsid (high energy systems) or Delrias (weapon systems).
This is incorrect; a substantial portion of Union war production comes from Loroi worlds. Many of the weapons and systems were designed by their allies, but this does not mean that the Loroi cannot manufacture them. In particular, the advanced systems derived from the Historian technology exchange are produced almost exclusively by the Loroi.
entity2636 wrote:civilians are the loroi version of subhumans, at least they are viewed so by the military.
Loroi civilians are viewed as second-class citizens, but they are not viewed as subhuman. Loroi workers are no lower on the social class hierarchy than workers in most traditional human societies.