Last year, The Senate made the honorable and just decision to take the blame for a slew of miscarriages and birth defects. It was ultimately their fault, so they decided they should be the ones to pay for the lawsuits, and they made the standard of evidence low as to not inconvenience the victims.

What we’ve learned from this is that Senators aren’t nearly as wealthy as we’ve been led to believe. The changing circumstances of Protectorate society made everyone assume Senators were the peers of industrialists and businesselves, but they aren’t monetary equals.

Historically, the Peldak Senate was a formal meeting ground for nobles to decide issues without risking civil war.

Anyone can become a noble so long as they follow certain criteria. Achieving accolades in battle (nobody would follow a weak, untested elf) and rising through the bureaucracy (takes about 90 years, I could never do it). Making money was never something required for a noble. Whatever money they had was usually tied to the land they governed.

So, because they agreed to pay these lawsuits from their own coffers, and most Senators are technically in the lowest income bracket, they’re immediately facing bankruptcy.

This won’t affect their ability to perform their civic duties, but expect to see a lot of plain clothes on the Senate floor in the near future.

The extended families and loyal followers of these Senators are pitching in to cover the cost of their obligations, and I too considered donating before realizing I’m also technically poor. I own Peldan Star News, which is the largest news publication in the Local Cluster, but I don’t have a salary or assets. Travel expenses are paid for by the company, and I have a lot of friends whose couches I can sleep on for free.