Lifecycle of a typical civilian

For most civilians that cannot afford personal health care, their children are born in community clinics at the expense of the Federation. As with all basic medical services provided by the government, this process is quick, effective and handled by competent, fully trained healthcare professionals in a hospital environment. In the case of child birth, the emphasis is the safety of the mother and her quick return to her daily routine. Infants delivered at a community clinic are well cared for and all nutrition and medical aid is provided from the moment of birth.

Infants are civilian members, regardless of the status of their parents, of the Federation at the time of delivery and registered with Social Services within 24 hours. This puts the newborn in the Federation’s census and assigns them a Federal Identification Code (FIC) instantly. Once Social Services have approved the parent’s suitability for custody the mother leaves the clinic with her newborn little civilian already on their way to being a productive member of society.

The first years of a civilian child’s life depends strongly on the wealth and social position of his parents. While prominent or affluent parents usually have their children home educated to some degree before school age – four years old in most parts of the Federation, the child of an average citizen is merely reared in the home before beginning standard public education. While parents can petition to have their offspring begin schooling at an earlier or at a later age such petitions are generally denied unless extraordinary circumstances exist.

Childhood & Education

Assuming a youth is not identified as a psychic or develops some form of mental disorder or learning disability, he is placed in the Federal education system unless his parents can afford private schooling. Public schooling is an immersive experience that lasts a total of ten months with a one month break in the summer and several smaller holidays (like Federation Day) to make up the balance of the year. Children reside on the school campus and are only released back to their parents for holidays lasting one week or more; visitations are also available during the weekend.

Standard education lasts 12 years and incorporates numerous Federal programs and instruction between normal class work. Students live in shared housing that ranges from two to four per room, depending on the size of the school and its current level of funding. Children learn basic mathematics up to algebra, language skills and earth and life sciences. Once the student has reached nine years old, he can select a single elective learning program that usually consists of a music, arts or personal studies course.

At the end of this 12 year long education process, students take a battery of standardised tests designed to determine potential, level of information retention and futurevocational aptitudes. Those that score poorly on these tests are removed from the education system and placed in basic vocations that will be their assigned work for at least four years and potentially the rest of their lives. These students also have the option of immediate enlistment in SICON, a chance most take as it is generally preferable to facility maintenance (janitorial serve) or sustenance engineering (food preparation and disposal).

Students that pass a minimum grade requirement on the testing cycle are given several options. They are allowed to join the military and continue their education in special SICON camps designed to capitalise on minds with potential for leadership roles or technical services. If they wish to stay in school, they are transferred to a secondary education facility where they undergo a further four more years of advanced training and skill development. Children of citizens and influential civilians are also given the option to return to their parents and serve the Federation in whatever way their means might allow.

After these four more years of secondary schooling, assuming a student can pass the three yearly tests that qualify them to return for the next semester, a civilian must either enrol in a college that accepts him as a student, join SICON or request a vocational assignment. It is common for children of influential civilians and citizens to have had work secured for him by a corporate recruiter or through his parent’s connections. This idle period between school and the rest of a former student’s adult life can last up to one year, after which time a mandatory employment assignment is generated for him automatically.

Employment; Service Brings Its Own Rewards

Assuming a civilian does not choose to join SICON, something any civilian can do at any time in his life until the age of 50, employment and a housing assignment determine his immediate future. While this process rarely requires a civilian to move out of his home city, it does occasionally occur when positions matching a civilian’s aptitudes are not available or housing is fi lled; an unlikely, but not unknown occurrence.

Just like every facet of a civilian’s life, no one is forced to accept these assignments. A civilian can refuse a vocation and request another, but as Social Services generally assigns the most advantageous work roles to a civilian first, any secondary option is almost always less preferable and comes with fewer rewards. Housing can also be refused but also runs the risk of being downgrading for the same reasons. Civilians are strongly encouraged to accept their first option, but there is no overt penalty for not doing so.

Housing and vocation are directly linked. Workers assigned to the same factory almost always get assigned housing in the same set of complexes, for instance. The higher the pay scale of a given job, the nicer the accommodations provided. Very few housing units in the Federation fall below minimum standards for cleanliness and safety, but there are always a few areas were unappreciative or unmotivated civilians have damaged their homes and made life unpleasant for everyone assigned there. Social Services is always vigilant for such poor conditions but some areas can go months or years without significant repairs because of the size of the Federation and its backlog of work.

In general, life for an average civilian is quite good. Housing is provided and work is guaranteed as long as performance is up to certain basic standards. It is possible for a civilian to lose his job, but it requires failure to comply with posted work minimums and three boards of employment review. This is usually more than enough time and motivation for a civilian to correct any errant behaviour and thus retain his position.

As long as a civilian remains employed, he also has a revolving food credit to ensure that he never has to go hungry. Usually, this meal credit is used to purchase food in the commissary of his employment centre or in one of thousands of Social Service dining halls throughout the Federation. Of course, a civilian can use his employment earning to buy any food and drink within his means. Most civilians, however, choose to either save their funds for large or luxury purchases such as transportation, better lodging, premium or non-standard utilities such as increased access to entertainment channels in addition to the normal content on FedNet.

Maintaining employment is critical to the rest of a civilian’s access to Social Service benefits. The United Citizens’ Federation never alludes or claims that any of its programs are free; every benefit comes with a responsibility and that cost is the continued contribution of each civilian to the betterment of themselves and their neighbours. Civilians that become injured are given lighter duties or allowances until they heal, but everyone is expected to do their part.

As a final option for any civilian unable to keep their assigned employment for whatever reason (other than crippling illness or injury), military service is always available. Eschewing this last chance means falling outside the protection of the Federation – a fate no civilian should desire. Without healthcare, housing rights or employment, these social radicals sometimes earn a meagre living working for any citizen or civilian that might illegally hire them, but most simply disappear into the cracks and are lost to the Federation forever.

Retirement

The Federation understands that civilians cannot work forever; eventually age and illness prevent a civilian from contributing to the greater whole. As long as the civilian is not avoiding work for selfish reasons, there are circumstantial waivers that allow continued Social Service support. Retirement is usually a celebrated accomplishment and considered an important turning point in a civilian’s life. They have given the Federation their entire lives and can enjoy the rest they have earned for the remainder of their days.

There is no mandatory retirement age in the United Citizens’ Federation. As long as a civilian can retain employment and perform acceptably, he may continue to serve and reap the rewards for doing so. Retirement wages are somewhat curtailed from what a given worker used to earn, so most hold out for as long as they can before choosing the option. Once a civilian reaches 70 years of age, he may voluntarily retire with benefits. Before this age, retirement is strictly granted at the judgement of a Social Services officer assigned to the civilian’s case.

Once a civilian retires, whether willingly or by Social Service mandate, he is no longer eligible to become a citizen by any means other than meritorious service. Enrolment into the military is not an option for any retired civilian of any age, though during times of war this restriction can be relaxed for physically fit retirees that can meet a greatly reduced set of fitness requirements.

Retired civilians tend to live out the remainder of their lives in their housing units, entertaining their children and grandchildren with stories of their youth or engaged in personal hobbies. They have very few responsibilities to the Federation save for compliance with social programs like the yearly census or emergency response to civil issues if they are physically capable of doing so. The last years of a civilian’s life is enjoyed in well-deserved leisure.

Death in the Federation

The final disposition of deceased civilians is also dependant on their means and social position. Important or notable civilians with the wealth to do so can be buried in small plots in exclusive cemeteries, even on colony worlds were space is limited. Of course, colony burials tend to be far more expensive than ones on Earth, but even the latter carries a cost that would bankrupt an average civilian and still leave his children indebted for the remainder of the cost.

Thus, most civilians, and even some citizens, as citizenship and a franchise are not solid guarantees of wealth or influence, are cremated in accordance with the corporal disposal laws enforced by the Federation. The benefit to this service is that it costs nothing and includes a memorial service and entombment of the ashes either in an urn for a family member to retain or a community mausoleum. There are more elegant options for those who can afford it, but the vast majority of civilians simply take this standard option and choose to pass what funds they might possess at the time of their death to their loved ones.