General setting notes
Furries are all roughly human-scale, but those derived from particularly large or small animals will tend towards the larger or smaller end of the scale. Herbivores and Carnivores retain their diets and herbivore furries are edible by carnivore furries.
The Universal Concord is an interplanetary nation-state controlling 62 inhabited planets and moons, 23 large-scale space stations and a total of 253 planetary systems.
The UC is a predator-supremacist nation. The position of prey varies from planet to planet but at best they are second-class citizens.
Planetary governments have a great deal of leeway in how they run their domain, as long as they meet certain conditions:
* They must maintain the natural primacy of predator species over prey
* They must adhere to (a relatively low number of) common UC laws
* They must remain in contact with the central UC government on planet Valtung and send representatives to UC governing bodies and councils
* They must remain integrated with the wider UC economy and maintain the UC Credit as their unit of currency
* They must maintain UC standard as one of their official languages, preferably the primary language
The most common religion within the UC (and the state religion of many planets) is the Path of Man. This faith holds that Man and Woman, creator deities of no known mammal species, uplifted animals and made them people after their own nature. It is held to be the duty of all animals to follow in the footsteps left by Man before them.
This has some roots in the historical truth, as indeed many myths and legends do. Humans created furries as a slave species thousands of years ago, in a context that resembles modern day/near future Earth. They were programmed to be happy as slaves, and this programming was reinforced by societal conditioning. The furries persisted in this slavery, and remained entirely content within it.
Some species of fur have certain traits of their animal ancestors. Or, perhaps it is more accurate to say that they have romanticised, idealised or otherwise appealing traits of those ancestors. This was originally a marketing strategy, as much as anything - it's easier to sell an anthro dog as a slave if that slave will occasionally act like a dog, but only in ways that people think are cute. Any inconvenient traits were not carried over, or at least not deliberately carried over. Hyenas, for instance, lack their whole hemipenis thing.
Now it is the DISTANT SPACEFUTURE and humankind is but a distant memory. It is still understood that humans created furries, but this is understood in a religious/mythological sense. On any given planet Humans, or the deities Man and Woman, are generally believed to have walked the earth uplifting animals to be their servants. The servants inherited the earth, and with religious rituals they honour their creators.
Furries remember the slave past, and at least some of the programming remains, especially in the ex-herbivore species. Simply put, furries as a whole believe that slavery is a natural part and function of society. It is a repeated element in various offshoots of the furry races that slavery exists, always with predators as masters over prey and on some planets men as masters over women. This is more common on the less technologically advanced planets, but it remains as technology improves, and is never less than uncommon. Even people who believe firmly in gender equality would not be terribly shocked to see a gentleman from off-world followed by a naked mouse girl in a collar.
Technology levels are wildly variant across the galaxy, from DISTANT SPACEFUTURE to Quasi-Mediaeval History. Many UC planets maintain most of their population at a tech level broadly equivalent to 20th Century Earth, while the ruling elites live what might be called a Star Trek lifestyle. The degree to which one can move up or down the social strata varies from planet to planet. Furries from different planets can interact, which can lead to peasants meeting spacemen - or being sold to them. Even on the planets that have regressed historically, some elements of more advanced civilisation will often remain. The important part is that so much time has passed that even the most jarring dichotomy (to us) will seem entirely normal to the locals.
A crime against a slave is generally considered to be a crime against its owner. Thus abusing a slave is vandalism, maiming or killing a slave is destruction of property and raping a slave without asking the owner first is legal but considered rude.
Some species are much more common than others. Mice, Rabbits, Foxes and Wolves are universal, but Dragons exist only here and there, for instance. Largely this is because real animals could be uplifted while fantasy creatures had to be invented.
SEX AND SEXUALITY
As another result of their programming, furs are by default bisexual. This is not universal, but any other sexuality is uncommon. The reason for this is that furs were slaves and (as evidenced by several popular websites) at least some people are interested in sleeping with them. The intent was for all furs to be true 50/50 bisexuals, but we're talking about the biology and psychology of creatures equivalent to humans - it was never going to be that easy. So heterosexual and homosexual furs do exist, but they're rare. More common, but still in the minority are furs who (while bisexual) have a strong leaning towards one side or the other.
Age of consent laws can vary considerably from planet to planet but on most a fur is considered to have reached the age of consent at the same time that they reach puberty. Sexual exploration between younger children is generally considered a harmless part of the process of growing up, especially prey animals who are often heavily represented in sex work, sexual slavery, and use as sexual appliances. It is often considered acceptable for a slave-owner to have sex with a prey slave who is younger than the age of consent - it's his property, after all, he can do what he likes with it.
Trans and non-binary furs have not yet appeared in any of my stories, but I am sure they exist within the setting. We just haven't met any yet.
SAMPLE PLANETS
Sauvere is an extreme example of inequality and repression, in which a small aristocratic caste of predators rules and maintains contact with the wider UC while the bulk of the population (including other predators) is kept in mediaeval ignorance. Sauvere exports fuel oil, rare metals and slaves.
Glantzy is the most liberal planet in the UC. Among other indulgences, prey citizens are allowed to vote. Of course, a prey vote only counts for 1/3 of a real vote, because if prey were put on an even footing with predators then there would surely be chaos. Glantzy exports computers, home electronics and luxury vehicles.
The central UC government contains several prey individuals, all of whom proudly and cheerfully maintain predator supremacy within the UC because it is best for everyone. That being said, prey who are aware of the wider situation tend to view Glantzy as an ideal for the rest of the UC to work towards.
Coluro suffered a mishap in the early days of its colonisation by UC furs that lead to technological regression to a pre-nuclear level and a large population of escaped prey animals on the planet's Western continent. In recent years the preds surviving on the Eastern and Southern continents have advenced back up to more civilised levels and have re-colonised their wayward property. Prey on the Western continent are now almost entirely confined to work camps. Coluro exports textiles, refined chemical products and kitchen white goods.
