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One thing you are overlooking is the deeply ingrained caste system. This sort of social structure is a self-reinforcing design. Both the God-Vessel & the Augmented are smaller & by cultural/caste mandate unable to wed within their own castes. The may only marry a Pure Ones caste member. This places the Pure Ones in the control seat. Neither caste can continue without the Pure Ones co-operation.Yeah, but I kind of think that setup would end up diluting the whole idea of the castes really fast.
Also, one would think Augmented would have more in common with other Augmented, etc.
I can sort of see it lasting once established, in a really tradition bound society, but why would it be set up that way in the first place?
Presumably there were no Augmented at one time, so the current caste system must have developed from something else...I realize that a caste social system is a bit alien to most American & Western European mentalities. Look at the Indian sub-continent for an ingrained caste system. To marry outside ones caste is to become a social, cultural, & familial exile. Now compound that pressure by an entire planetary society utilizing that caste/value system.And that might well have worked ... up till now. But now that one nation (Kashak) has broken the mold, I'd expect it to spread fast.
The are interconnected in their cultural beliefs & the necessities of continued racial survival.But I don't see how a system based on enshrining really inefficient labor-intensive low-tech means of food production helps them survive.
I mean, a system like that would certainly help some grassland/hedge species that can live in disturbed areas (ones that are declining on Earth now with huge monocultures) but...
And Verces has very limited arable land area so there should be a huge push for efficient farming. The whole 'ring' area would likely be totally managed, even the 'natural' areas, at their tech level.
Not all cultures believe technology = better. Many could feel that technology introduces more problems then it solves.
For example: Where do you build the facilities to manufacture the technological equipment to improve the farm-production? You have extremely limited space that is usable, you have no space for any waste byproducts. Dumping it on either the hot or the cold zones will just result in polluting the limited atmosphere (which the more "primitive" means of farming actually helps maintain & even increase.
Also as to the caste system evolving to meet the introduction of the Augmented is actually very likely. Reading the currently available history of the planet shows that the people seem to be less inclined to violence then humanity in general.
The caste system also could act as a means of birth control on a planetary scale, since pairing are not randomly occurring, & thus birth numbers are fairly constant & helps keep the population from exceeding the limited natural resources. The Augmented actually help control the population problem since then are more likely to meet early deaths (since the take more risks then say the Pure or the God-Vessel). Also the most rebellious would also find the Augmented caste more (more self-expressive, greater options for personal choice, etc...) appealing & thus are more likely to either;
a: Realize a good thing when they see it (i.e. their own culture), having been exposed to other "alien" cultures that are no where near as peaceful or advanced, or
b: Remove themselves from the population via early death or by emigration to other worlds, or
c: Lose their rebellious traits as they aged & gained a greater understanding & acceptance of their own culture.