EMPRESS JAMYL I MAKES HISTORIC EMANCIPATION ANNOUNCEMENT
DAM-TORSAD – Empress Jamyl I this afternoon made a special nationwide address to the people of the Empire wherein it was announced that, in a historic turning point for Amarr, a significant portion of the Empire’s slaves are being “emancipated from their obligations to our nation and our Lord.”
“Out there on the event horizon, a new age races toward us,” said the Empress in her announcement, “and it is approaching fast. The Lord in his infinite grace has instructed me that the chains that fetter us will no longer be necessary in this new age of light and reason, neither the chains of hatred that restrain our minds nor the chains of indenture that restrain those less fortunate than ourselves.”
According to the Empress’s announcement, the emancipation extends to every Minmatar slave of ninth generation and up, along with Minmatar academics and religious figures. It is unclear at this time exactly how many slaves are being set free in total, but all experts thus polled so far agree that the number will reach into the hundreds of millions.
“That’s going to be between six and seven hundred million slaves,” said Betancour Soraine, a senior analyst at the Federal Readjustment for Extraditions and Escapees program on Gallente Prime. “Who knows what crises that’s going to cause for the Empire? How they intend to replenish that kind of work force is beyond me. And, I mean, these aren’t glaive-collared factory drones, these are educated people, these are specialists. This is a brain trust we're talking about here.”
Others, meanwhile, seem to disagree. “There’s no real loss here,” said Jakunda Mishar, a senior operative at the independent Agency for Indenturee Rehabilitation in Dam-Torsad. “Academics are easily replaced, and most of truly indispensable ones will end up staying anyway. Besides, if you’re ninth-generation, you, your parents and all the ancestors you know of will have known nothing but the Empire. The Republic is a distant and frightening dream to these people. Where do you think they’re going to go?”
The announcement has caused turmoil in parts of the Empire, most notably in areas with significant slave populations. Small-scale rioting broke out earlier today on some of the Empire’s largest slave colonies, but Holders had been notified in advance of the Empress’s decree and were prepared with additional security measures which mostly sufficed to bring matters under control before they escalated.
Similarly, areas with high-generation slave populations were witness to massive celebrations as newly emancipated Minmatar took to the streets in large numbers. In several of these areas, makeshift statues and other artwork depicting Empress Jamyl I have been erected or otherwise brought into being, and her name is widely sung and chanted among the multitudes.
No comment has yet been forthcoming from any of the other nations of New Eden, save for a short announcement from King Khanid II this afternoon, wherein he commended the Empress for “making major strides toward a stronger Empire.”
