[meta] A distinct imbalance of knowledge

[M Fnord]

Hm. Script doctor powers, ACTIVATE!

== A Brief History of Factions ==
Factions evolved from the groups - specifically the larger groups - who were the first to effectively exploit handwavium. Aside from outliers like [[Stellvia Corporation] (an effort funded in essence by one wealthy man) or the ''[[Grover's Corners]'' (consisting of a small group of close friends pooling resources) and individual efforts like [[Katz Schroedinger], most of the people who went to space and thrived there had the resources of a larger group backing them up. Most of these groups were fan clubs of one variety or another, and this gave the [[First Fen] factions a tendency towards self-selection. Star Trek fans would pool together with other Trek fans, Star Wars fans would do likewise, fandoms which were too diffuse would cluster around whoever seemed to be doing best at the time, etc.

The first half-decade of Fenspace saw the formation of the major factions as we know them today, mostly formed around the larger fan clubs of the pre-handwavium age, when such clubs existed. When they didn't Fen would gather under the banner of the nearest proactive group - the [[Crystal Millennium] became a major faction by absorbing anime and action-girl fandoms. The social dynamics leading to this fragmentation were put on hold during the [[Boskone War], as the necessities of the conflict forced all the factions to work together under the [[Fenspace Convention]. Increased cross-faction cooporation became the new normal during the war and after it, as institutions like [[Great Justice] and the [[Space Patrol] depended on trans-factional unity to keep going.

In the post-war period the factions continue to exist, but as time goes on they've become increasingly generalized beyond their respective "flagship fandoms:" The [[Trekkies] are evolving into a faction that focuses on deep space exploration and colonization, the [[Warsies] are evolving into the generic Space Navy faction, focused on defending Fenspace as a whole, and the [[Whedonites] and the [[Fivers] are evolving towards Space Settlement, backfilling the territory discovered by the Federation and defended by the Republic. Other factions like the [[Potterites] and [[Senshi] continue to grow by absorbing microfactions and individual Fen who want the security of numbers but don't fit into the science-fiction background of the other majors.

Absorption and consolidation is the major theme of factional dynamics in the 2020s. The merger of the [[Sozvezdie Soviet] with the Federation is only the most public example. Several microfactions devoted to the ''Macross'' series have become part of the Greenwood combine. Some observers think it only a matter of time before the Senshi, the [[Supers] and Stellvia unify. And of course there are cross-factional regional unification movements on [[Luna], the cislunar Lagrange points and [[Mars] that could see larger factions arising. A full-fledged unified Fenspace is not likely in the near-term, however.

Mr. Fnord interdimensional man of mystery

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