ConFree science has relegated aging and natural death into the pages of the history books. The control of the human body has resulted in the extension of a youthful, productive life virtually forever. All Legion recruits are rendered immortal upon enlistment. Despite this, Legion recruits often have short life spans—immortality does not ward off bullets.
The Cult of the Deadman thrives in the Legion, and sustains our troopers in their perilous endeavors. Deadman is a symbolic representation of all the Legion troopers who have died for the cause. The Legion Monument to the Dead lists every trooper who died for the Legion, and is reproduced in holo in every Legion chapel.
When the first Outworlder refugees approached the Outvac fleeing System oppression, the Crista Cluster beckoned them onwards with a view that appeared to form a mystical, starry cross in the vac. The Legion cross was later adopted as the symbol of ConFree. ConFree's ancestors settled those worlds as a free people and vowed in a Constitution written in blood to uphold liberty, justice and freedom, no matter what the cost, and to remain eternally vigilant against all forms of tyranny and slavery. The ConFree Legion was formed to accomplish those objectives.
The Legion chant originated during the war of ConFree Independence. It serves as the oath of enlistment for the Legion trooper. System hateprop has distorted the meaning of the chant, especially the phrase 'I believe in Evil.' What it means is that ConFree and the Legion have confronted Evil, and know that it is real. The phrase 'I will deliver us from Evil' reveals our intent.
Battle Chant of the Legion
"I am a Soldier of the Legion.
I believe in Evil —
The survival of the strong
And the death of the weak.
I am the guardian.
I am the sword of light
In the dark of the night.
I will deliver us from Evil.
"I accept life everlasting
And the death of my past.
I will trust no Earther worm
Nor any mortal man,
But only the mark of the Legion.
I have burnt the book of laws
To serve the Deadman's cause
As a soldier of the Legion."
"I am the slave of the Future
At the gateway to the stars,
Where I can see — Eternity.
For I walk in the shadow of death
And yet I fear no Evil
For I am the light in the dark
I am the watch on the mark
I am a soldier of the Legion."
"I will have no talk with Evil.
The arts of death are the tools of life
And in the end I will send
A maxburst to advise
The O's come by surprise
And though we kill them where they stand,
We know it's death's dark land
For a soldier of the Legion."
Throughout ConFree's over 300 years of history, interstellar conflict with the System has been a continuing theme. The War of ConFree Independence was followed by the Yellow War, the Popex and the Race Wars, in which ConFree successfully resisted System efforts to populate the Crista Cluster and the Outvac with their surplus population while eradicating the Outworlder race. ConFree has made it clear to the System that any infringements of ConFree sovereignty will result in an immediate response. The System represents the very antithesis of ConFree: slavery vs freedom, totalitarianism vs constitutional rule, empire and expansion vs free association, the dead hand of the past vs the promise of the future. The System makes their children pay for their sins, while we are willing to die to ensure our children's' future security. We believe history is with us, and that the petrified fossil of the System slave state is in its death throes.
The O's are a very real threat and the current hiatus in aggression will surely not last. Our ancestors died by the billions in combating these dangerous alien warriors of immense psychic powers. For 300 years the Legion has served as humanity's trip wire against the encroachment of these alien hordes. During the Plague War, Fleetcom outfought the Omni starships, and forced them into retreat, at a fearsome toll in human lives. When the O's move again ConFree, Fleetcom and the Legion will be there, whether or not the population of the Inners is still taught history.
ConFree and the Legion fight tyranny and slavery, without compromise. We regard the System's so-called Voluntary Servitude and taxation slavery as equally as repugnant and odious as involuntary slavery. Any incursions into ConFree vac by slavers are countered immediately by Fleetcom, and result in the immediate execution of the slavers and the freeing of the slaves.
The people of ConFree want only to live in peace, but they will never compromise their independence and will always respond vigorously to any threats to their sovereignty. We hope you enjoy your visit to ConFree.
UNCLASSIFIED
United System Alliance — Ministry of Truth
Date: 1444/01/45
To: All Ports of Entry — Inners, Gulf, Gassies / System, USICOM, All Milzones
Subject: United System Alliance — A Brief Summary for Visitors
Following is for distribution to ALL repeat ALL non-citizen visitors arriving at System Ports of Entry.
The United System Alliance: A Brief Summary for Visitors
Welcome to the United System Alliance. We hope it had a pleasant journey and we extend fraternal greetings from our State and People. Because of extensive hateprop disseminated by the CrimCon, we find it necessary to assist all visitors in understanding the truth about our thriving galactic society, a showcase for true democracy and equality.
The United System Alliance — a Democratic Empire
The United System Alliance (the System) is a universal, social democratic empire based on Goodlib humanitarian, egalitarian ideals and embracing over half of the inhabited galaxy. All of the Inners and almost all Gulf and Gassies worlds fall under the System's Rule of Law. Only the Outers worlds of the Criminal Conspiracy (CrimCon) still reject democratic ideals. The System represents galactic equality for all, and is the last best hope of everyone who embraces true equality and rejects false doctrines of individuality and greed.
Citizenship — A Mass Democracy
In System social democracy, citizenship is open to all, voting is universal and compulsory, and there are no class distinctions. We proudly contrast our egalitarian ideals to those of the CrimCon, where citizenship is the prerogative of a privileged class, and noncitizens do not even have the right to vote on matters affecting their future. Under the System, everyone votes, without age or other limitations. On Voting Day, the incarcerated, those with mental issues, schoolchildren and alien visitors all participate in choosing our government. The result is a progressive society in which there is a surprising degree of unanimity. Although anyone is free to contest the System, official candidates routinely poll above 98 percent of the vote.