in spite of the authoritarianism, there are several dissident movements at work that either help other dissenters (such as the earth people) or are actively working to unseat the ruling party. the government has established the special investigations department (sid) to deal with assorted dissidents but it also takes the lead in dealing with the earth people. the giant technology mostly resembles mid-20th century earth, but inconsistently: significantly more advanced in some episodes (e.g. cloning, cybernetics, force fields, magnetic stunners, androids, and teleporters) and slightly behind in others (no microelectronics, hearing aids, or manned space flight).