Am I the only one who thinks the Avali Illuminate as described in Avali lore (or at least, the version of Avali lore described in Todd's Avali Lore Guide, which I'm referencing because it's the most complete and detailed accounting of Avali lore I've been able to find so far) seems...ideologically horrifying? But, like, specifically written in a way that makes it feel like the creator didn't intend for the Illuminate to be perceived as the bad guy?
The whole thing about the Illuminate being isolationist with respect to aliens (awful, also boring) but imperialistic with respect to Avali settlements not fully under its control really rubs me the wrong way. Like. Outlying Avali settlements have no choice but to be reliant on the Illuminate's stranglehold on production and even the digital currency they use, and the Illuminate still gives the Independent Tribes work orders, the final products of which the Independents often have to turn back over to the Illuminate. They don't get to benefit even a little bit from the fruits of their own labor!
And the Illuminate itself is in large part run by an AI that algorithmically sets production targets and such (yikes)...and it imposed population controls on the Avali public for some time, heavily encouraging them not to reproduce beyond a quota the Oracle AI set (the policy has since been "relaxed" which notably ISN'T "repealed"). Some Avali colonies still have breeding permits you have to get to have a kid. That's eugenics, baby.
And then there's the way that the Rogue Tribes are described as usually being either traditionalist Luddites or pirates and other troublemakers, as opposed to just being Avali who want nothing to do with the Illuminate and wish to live in peace beyond its reach (unlike the "Independent" Tribes, which still interact with and are dependent on the Illuminate). And if the Illuminate doesn't like the way a tribe is run, they can send in someone to take "corrective control" over the tribe. Like???
I love the species design/concept of the Avali and I love the aesthetic of their technology and fashion, but FUCK does the lore of their society feel bad.
