Taylor System

Biodata

Background / History

The Taylor System is a major power in humanity's space political sphere. Its stated purpose is not to function as an ordinary nation, but to provide Feng Taylor with the means to carry out his Wallfacer Plan and prepare humanity for the Trisolaran threat 109 182.

Following the Kuiper Belt campaign, the System's military and industrial capabilities expanded dramatically. It possessed five combat-ready fleets, each larger than the major Space Force fleets of three decades earlier, making it one of the most formidable single factions in human civilization 154.

Its rise provoked repeated conflict with the Solar System Fleet Joint Conference and other human powers. When asked to hand its armed forces over to the Space Force, Lin Feng refused; he was subsequently removed from the Wallfacer program, though the Taylor System continued to regard itself as the executor of his plan 154 155.

The System later became one pole in a prolonged rivalry with the Alliance. Lin Feng considered political polarization necessary to preserve humanity's sense of crisis and prevent complacency before a future war 177 178 233.

After the Sun Ascension Plan and humanity's atomization, the Taylor System retained a seat on the Ten-person Council of the Unified Collective, alongside representatives of Earth, Mars, the Space City Federation, the Space Force, and Trisolarans 315 366.

Governance and Society

Wallfacer-centered mandate

The Taylor System's authority is centered on Feng Taylor rather than popular sovereignty. Its core members regard the System as an instrument for implementing his plan, and no internal body is described as having authority to veto his decisions 182 311.

• Core members manage the System's fleets, industry, diplomacy, and space cities.
• The System adopted a governance model suited to space survival rather than directly copying an Earth political system 159.
• Its administration is described as resembling a military structure: each position has defined duties, personnel are responsible for their work, and operations prioritize safety and efficiency 159.

Economic model

The Taylor System abolished the conventional capitalist merchant class within its space cities. The System itself serves as the sole merchant: residents work for it, receive compensation from it, and purchase goods through it 160.

• Saving is discouraged; money is intended to circulate rather than be accumulated 160.
• Financial securities, stocks, and bonds are prohibited within the System 171.
• The Audit Department uses Thought Imprints to deter corruption, though the technology is not applied universally because of its risks 160.
• Its later Wealth Liquefaction policy redistributed wealth through debt transfers, debt write-offs, and taxation, despite widespread public opposition 253.

Education and labor

The System emphasizes practical education and space-survival skills. Its population is trained for engineering, construction, ship operation, and industrial work, producing an unusually broad base of skilled technical labor 171 175 233.

• Brain-computer interface transplants can rapidly teach spaceship-operation skills to incoming workers 171.
• Space-city residents are expected to learn basic construction and spacecraft-related skills 171.
• Its strict educational foundation made advanced industrial talent commonplace and contributed to the System's logistical strength 175.
• Electronic Humans gained citizenship and greater social standing in part through the System's advocacy and need for engineering and colonization labor 180.

Democratic reform crisis

During Lin Feng's hibernation, lower-class residents demanded democratic reforms and the right for space cities to reject his orders. The movement gained broad support, and three Taylor System space cities declared independence 181 180.

Lin Feng ended direct suppression but ordered supporters of reform exiled to other Solar System polities; those unwilling to leave could be forcibly removed with tranquilizer guns 182. Later investigations found that multiple outside human factions had covertly encouraged the movement to weaken the Taylor System 184.

Territory, Forces, and Infrastructure

• Space-city sphere — Controls or administers space cities from the Jupiter region through Neptune; this position gave it influence over four of the Solar System's eight planets 159.
• Headquarters — Maintains a headquarters in Jupiter orbit 248 249.
• Combat fleets — Fielded five combat-ready fleets after the Kuiper Belt campaign 154.
• Industrial and transport fleets — Its ostensibly non-combat fleets can operate with main-fleet-level military capability, a major source of other factions' concern 158.
• Venus industry — Venusian resource extraction doubled monthly after development began, rapidly restoring the System's industrial strength 282.
• Atomic computers — Possessed 500 billion atomic computers before the Sun Ascension Plan, enabled by Trisolaran technology and nano-scale industry 312.

Major Arcs

Relationships

• Lin Feng / Feng Taylor — The System's central authority and the Wallfacer whose plan defines its purpose; its leadership follows his directives even when they are controversial or catastrophic 182 311.
• Dai Weisi — Electronic Human core member and interim head during Lin Feng's hibernations; advocates for Electronic Human rights and collaborates with Lin Feng on System policy 161 180 353.
• Laura — Emissary and assistant who briefs Lin Feng on the System's military, political, and economic affairs 154 160.
• Davis — Electronic Human successor to the original Davis; represents the System in major negotiations and publicly defends its decisions 154 312.
• William Family — Longstanding allied family whose leadership places its core interests with the Taylor System rather than Earth-based profits 249.
• Solar System Fleet Joint Conference — Political rival that sought to disarm the System and limit its fleet movements 154 158.
• Unified Collective — Successor government of atomized humans and Trisolarans; the Taylor System holds one of its council seats 315 366.