The Danford Doctrine

To: His Imperial Majesty, Emperor Jonah

From: Governor Chris Danford, Secretary of Defense Timothy Danford

Regarding: Increasing the security of the Empire

Your Majesty:It has recently come to my attention that what had previously been the quiet grumbling of malcontents on backwater countries has become dissidence in more civilized countries. Your Majesty will forgive me if I am repeating foundless rumors, but I have heard there is even armed defiance in some sectors.

Coupled with increased resistance to your plans from hot-headed young citizens this situation has given me pause to think about our long term security arrangements. I myself have been frustrated chasing pirate bands in my sector, only to have them leap deep into a neighboring sector where my forces cannot follow without running into conflict with another Governor. If the scattered armed resistance should become organized, it will doubtless follow the example of its criminal brethren. Granting any rebel group the advantage of elusiveness is foolhardy at best. At worst, it could lead to our destruction.

Even the excellent pace with which His Majesty is increasing the size of the Imperial Fleet can scarcely hope to provide all-encompassing security should a significant number of planets decide to defy your New Order. We are years—perhaps decades—away from a force vast enough to secure every system and every country simultaneously.

Therefore, I present the following recommendations for your consideration:
To provide a swift, systematic response to rebellion as it appears and before it has time to entrench, I suggest the formation of Oversectors—sectors consisting of countries in which rebellion is newly born, or systems which maintain frequent contact with systems in chronic unrest. These Oversectors would be formed without regard to current sector boundaries. With the freedom to cross outdated political borders, Oversector forces would be able to respond to threats quickly, while they are still small and manageable.Liquidating a dozen small threats is easier than rooting out one well-established center of defiance. As an Oversector is created only across problem sectors, they must be given a greater quantity of forces than a normal sector. Three Sector Groups should suffice.

Command of an Oversector should be given to a single individual who reports directly to His Majesty. This will bypass any delays caused by political opportunism in your advisors.
Cannibalize existing TV transceivers, modify them, and put them in the flagship of every Sector Group in an Oversector command. Place similar facilities within His Majesty's command base and within the Royal Palaces of Imperial City. This will enable forces to respond to threats almost as quickly as they are reported. Imperial forces will be able to coordinate to a degree impossible among an enemy whose fastest means of communication is an ever changing rendezvous point somewhere on the Earth.

Rule through the fear of force rather than through force itself. If we use our strength wisely, we shall cow thousands of citizens with the example of a select few. These examples would need to be in highly visible countries, where punishment would be further revealed through our control of information via the media.

Your Majesty, it has long been my contention that your New Order needs one undeniable and overwhelming symbol to impress and, yes, frighten the masses. The average citizen has no grasp of numbers nor a head for calculation. I maintain that the effectiveness of the IMF stems from not only its massive firepower, but from its ability. When citizens look at the IMF and then compare it to the men who might be mustered to attack it, they have a tendency to dismiss such a notion as suicidal rather than approach the problem tactically.This natural state can be exploited to a far greater degree, as the average citizen deals in symbols, not rational analysis. If we present the Earth with a weapon so powerful, so immense as to defy all conceivable opposition against it, a weapon invulnerable and invincible in battle, then that weapon shall become the symbol of the Empire. We need only a handful, perhaps as few as one, of these weapons to subjugate a Billion people. It must have force enough to dispatch an entire country, power enough to shatter mountains. The fear such a weapon will inspire will be great enough for you to rule the Earth unchallenged. What do you need with the Senate when you can give direct control of territories to your hand-picked regional governors? Sweep away the last remnants of the Old Rule and let fear keep the local countries in line—fear of our ultimate weapon.


I am ready to begin work to implement these steps at your word.