Author's Note: Bwarg, I'm sorry this took so long! But the original was less than 150 words and I just couldn't bring myself to post it. So I spent time looking for more information to put in her, with a good bit of success.
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avatarjk137- Thank you! Although, I suppose this one wasn't all that fast in the posting.
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Kayota- Hee, thanks. But please remember most of this is just speculation combined with research. The part about the tinted vision is canon, though, based on a few seconds in The Fry Cook What Came From All That Space when we get to see from Zim's perspective and everything is tinted the same color as his eyes.
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Mommaleasey- Agast, look! It still be rather wordy! But hopefully not filled with economic jargon…
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ri2- Um, yup. Pretty much. I guess it might be kinda like a deity using a prophet- the prophet is just easier for the people to deal with and can therefore focus on the actual message being presented to them. As for where Control Brains come from, I would assume that they are specially made. I'd say that they are the minds of the greatest Irkens in history, except, as this chapter mentions, Irkens love their comforts. I think it wouldn't be very productive to have a Control Brain pining for snacks they can't digest of a comfortable seat that they can't feel because they have no nerve endings.
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SilverPhoenix-21- Thank you for the fave and the watch! Yes, I do try to research everything that's not complete and total fiction, although not necessarily in-depth, because all those years of schooling do leave a lot of information to be worked with.
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Dr-Lovekill- Thank you for the compliments; I'll be on the lookout for your work. As for the names, I was somewhat inspired to write this by the works of Edward Rutherfurd. It's not pure history, but I find the use of fictitious characters to make for a different sort of read.
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Economy
Because so much is provided to the population, the domestic Irken economy focuses largely on products of comfort. There is a wide spectrum to be covered, from Civilian Class, minimum wage workers, to the wealthy Elites. One of the largest sectors of the domestic economy is found in the production of snack foods. This not only covers the foods that Irkens enjoy so much, but the taste testing and a the people who create the ideas for new foods. Due to the demand for snacks, packaging is also a large market. In fact, the packaging market, despite being highly profitable, suffers under the weight of conformity. There are few Irkens in possession of the creativity needed to create a proper, highly appealing package. Due to this shortage, the 'creative' Irkens are usually hired to design packages for high-end, luxury food products and cheaper and generic brands have very simple, text-based packaging in one or two bright colors.
Behind food and its companion markets, furniture is actually a very lucrative market. Irkens enjoy comfort and, although they are provided with housing and basic furniture, the furniture they are given is only standard furniture and not all that comfortable. Couches and chairs are the best sellers within the market, but there is good money in beds as well, even though Irkens rarely need to sleep.
Foreign trade consists of goods produced for but not consumed by the Irkens and whatever else they feel like selling. The Irkens have a few trade agreements, but largely export under "protection contracts." Like a school bully or a gang, the Irkens use their military strength to force other planets to buy their exports. As long as the inhabitants of the planets buy a certain amount (price wise), their planet will be 'protected' from the Irkens. If they fail to buy as much as demanded, their planets will be taken over by the Irkens and put towards their own uses.
In this way, the Irkens have a near endless supply of consumers, resulting in a remarkably stable economy that can boom whenever needed and has only a few, minor recessions. Due to the consumerist habits of Irkens and the use of "protection contracts" depressions have, as far as economists can predict, essentially been eliminated from the Irken economic cycle. In addition, the annexation of planets that fail to uphold the 'contract' perpetuates their economy by allowing more room and work for a larger population, creating more domestic consumers to replace the foreign ones.
Reviewing the Irken economy by sector divisions, it is possible to understand the lifestyle of the Irkens. Irkens hardly have a primary sector, because that is the part of industry that deals with natural resources and raw materials. The only time Irkens have natural resources for use in production is the point at which they take over an alien planet. At that point the conquered planet is stripped off all resources before being terraformed to suit the Irkens' vision of the planet.
Irkens do, however, have an extraordinarily effective secondary sector of economic activity. This sector deals with turning raw material in to a finished, usable product; the final form of the materials used. Although this work is preformed on slave labor planets, the economic activity is still a part of the Empire. Using slave labor to produce goods continuously, the advanced technology of the Irken Empire allows efficiency above almost all other species. The result of technology and slave labor is Irkens being able to manufacture enough products to satisfy its population of billions.
The tertiary sector of the economy is supported largely by the government, because Irkens pay for very few services. All requests to franchise go through the government to ensure an Irken's qualifications and success. All restraints are zoned to ensure quality and that the restraints within an area have very little competition amongst themselves. News is provided by the governments through the PAKs and an assortment of free medias. All consulting is handled within the government. The public transportation system is constructed and maintained by the government with no fees to use. Healthcare and hospital stays are provided free of charge by the government. All that is left of the tertiary sector outside of the government is retailing, entertainment, and leisure, all of which are well supported by the Irken populace.
The quaternary sector of the economy deals with intellectual services and is therefore handled almost entirely by the Scholar and Scientist Classes.
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Next section: PAKs