We who compile this document do not claim to see the future. But we can identify trends, and trends suggest that the Periphery March's quiet autonomy faces challenges in the years ahead.
The Republic of the Sphere:
Devlin Stone's Republic represents something genuinely new — an attempt to transcend the old national boundaries and build something better. Whether it will succeed remains unclear. What is clear is that the Republic's existence changes calculations for everyone, including the Periphery March.
If the Republic thrives, it may offer an alternative to Federated Suns membership that the Periphery March would find attractive. If the Republic fails, the resulting chaos will threaten everyone nearby.
Watch the Republic carefully.
The Taurian Question:
The Periphery March's relationship with the Concordat remains its most valuable external asset and its greatest potential vulnerability. New Avalon has never approved of this relationship, and a future First Prince might decide to do something about it.
Deeper integration with the Concordat offers economic benefits and strategic depth. It also offers New Avalon a pretext for intervention. The balance must be managed carefully.
Internal Succession:
The current leadership of the Periphery March is aging. Tennessee Star is no longer young. TriStar's board has seen significant turnover. The institutions built by one generation must be maintained by the next.
This is not a crisis — succession planning has been ongoing for decades — but it is a transition. Transitions create vulnerabilities. Enemies who have been patient may see opportunity.
Ultimately, the Periphery March's future depends on decisions made on New Avalon.
A wise First Prince would recognize the Periphery March as an asset: a stable, self-sufficient region that defends itself, pays its taxes, and causes no problems. Such a prince would leave well enough alone, accepting informal autonomy in exchange for formal loyalty.
A foolish First Prince might see the Periphery March as a threat: an alternative power center that challenges Davion authority by its mere existence. Such a prince might demand submission, integration, or punishment.
History suggests that Davion princes are distributed across the wisdom spectrum like princes everywhere. The Periphery March cannot control who rules on New Avalon. It can only prepare for various possibilities.
Preparation continues.
The Order of the Open Book does not advocate for any particular political outcome. We are not separatists, not revolutionaries, not agents of any faction.
We believe in truth. We believe that people make better decisions when they have accurate information. We believe that the official histories serve power rather than understanding.
We have tried to present the history of the Periphery March as it actually happened: not a story of heroes and villains, but a story of people doing what they had to do to survive and build something worth having.
Whether that story continues — whether the Periphery March thrives, is absorbed, or collapses — depends on choices that have not yet been made.
We will be watching. We will be recording.
The book is never finished.
— Order of the Open Book
Memphis, 3087
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