HORELLI is a populous and highly urbanized planet that is ruled by an extensive religious hierarchy.  All Horellians are expected to serve Lapua faithfully by tithing up the chain and also performing public service one day in ten.  This system has worked adequately for centuries, and the stable government of Horelli has thus continued uninterrupted.  There does exist, however, an "Underground" which according to the official media consists of "saboteurs, spies, and thieves".  Alleged members of this Underground are frequently spotted in dark alleys between Horelli's many tall buildings.  Their crimes of sabotage seem to be limited to symbolic grafitti, though:  a star-shaped logo painted in inconspicuous locations.  Nor is anything of great value ever seen to be stolen by such thieves.  That leaves spying, which does fit the evidence very well.  The obvious comfort in which these Underground members live is perhaps intended to entice malcontents to join them, but they are widely assumed to be an entrapment operation by the upper echelons of the Lapua sect.

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5/21 '22 1 Comment