Humanity is a religious animal. From our earliest times we believed in gods. And we believe in gods even now. They are not in many cases the same gods, but we do believe in them nevertheless. Many of us believe in the God of the Bible or the Torah and we try to follow the dictates of that God. Many of us follow Jesus and try to follow his teachings. But there are many who turn away from that God and say that they are moving to a new and better post-religion society. But remember on this weekend that God sent a piece of himself to Earth to teach us to be kind to one another and we hung him on a cross. Most people who turn away from God do not live a peaceful agnostic life. Most choose new gods to follow, and they make sacrifices to their new gods.
San Santiago itself was the center of unrest in the sector. Nearly a century of investment from rich Corporate interests and Colonists looking for a better life on the edge of civilization butted heads with Central Council administrators who wanted to maintain Homeworlds control. San Santiago had long since crossed the threshold into self-governance, but the Presidency had passed back and forth between Council and Corporate candidates that generally compromised with each other over the exact nature of their governance. But as Colonial unrest grew, the young and rich son of a Corporate magnate ran for President on a platform promoting the interests of the forgotten Colonists. Everyone treated him as a joke candidate until the election returns came in and he won.
As the San Santiago Sector grew more wealthy, an independence movement grew with it. Young men and women wanting to build a new life out on the fringes of civilization soon found that civilization followed them with rules and regulations that made no sense out there. That shouldn’t even exist according to the Union Charter, but Central Council colonial officials imposed them and Central Council judges approved them. The colonial populations became more restive as the century came to a close. And the more restive they got, the more colonial officials pressed back with more onerous restrictions and punishments. The San Santiago Sector was rich with both resources and resentment as the new century dawned, and that was not good for anybody.
The San Santiago Sector became prosperous and heavily populated as the decades went by. One colony after another petitioned for and gained a seat on the Union Council, until they had a clear majority on the Council. But the Central Council vetoed far too many of their initiatives, promoting Homeworlds projects over distant Colonial projects. The colonies did not appreciate that dynamic, and after much protest the Central Council invited some of the most populous colonies into the Central Council. A few. Not enough to lose Homeworlds control of the Central Council. They claimed they were following simple population guidelines, but the outer colonies did not miss the trick. They knew it was meant to keep them in their place, and they did not appreciate that.