The Milieu-0 setting is a time of great growth and expansion. Not only of star systems and territories but also of the human spirit. It is also a time of nationalism, jingoism and Imperial-centric pride. Cleon's Empire is not the Empire of the later 3rd Imperium. The later Imperium is large, contains many interests, and consequently has many laws to keep the great and large diversity of people able to work together. Cleon's Empire is starting from one ethnic whole. One who believes that the stars are their birthright and theirs to claim. One that believes they are the civilizing influence in the galaxy. Other pocket empires may have arising, but they are naturally inferior and should be adsorbed and "civilized" by the Imperium.

If you are looking for historical material to give you ideas for a Milieu-0 campaign you will find fertile ground in the Victorian idealistic period and, very pertinently, the Manifest Destiny movement in the United States. This movement started during the Presidency of James Madison and believed that it was the divine mission of the United States to spread democracy across all of America from coast to coast. This was used to push settlement, development, exploration and establishment of new outposts of America. Of course it also resulted in forced migration of native peoples, mass extinctions of profitable or inconvenient wildlife, and exploitation of all concerned. It was a time of burgeoning national pride, patriotism, and all sorts of high stakes politics shrouded within this.

In short, an amazing setting full of adventure!

There wasn't a whole lot of material published for Milieu-0 compared to the late Third Imperium. However there is much that can be deduced. People only make laws to stop people doing things. No one makes a law to outlaw things that no one does. For every law or custom discussed in the late Imperium there was a time when that law didn't exist and a reason for it existing. Since Milieu-0 is at the start of everything, one can assume that the law was not there at the time.

Flipping through the Megatraveller Imperial Encyclopedia gives many such ideas:

Imperial Palace

This was built in the reign of Cleon. That means that in a Milieu-0 setting it is either being constructed, or being discussed. Since this is a culture new to empire one might guess it was controversial. Perhaps people wanted an Empire, but not the trappings of Empire, lest its Emperors get out of hand.

Anglic

This is the official language of the 3rd Imperium. When was it made official? Perhaps the early Empire tried to have no official language, supporting all equally. Perhaps some other language, like Vilani, was first picked until it became unworkable. Maybe, to be fair, a new, constructed language, neo-Esperanto, was used.

Imperial Currency

When was this established? Another point where the assumptions of the late empire can be overturned for players.

Humaniti

This is the late Imperial spelling of Humanity. But when was it established? In the Sylean-centric early expansion period might have used language to push its values. This could be a later compromise. Expanding on this further you can paint a early Imperium absent of all the political correctness of the late Imperium. Pictures, iconography, and even building constructs could be human-centric. Aliens might not be specifically excluded, but that's just how the system works.

Imperial Rule of War

These are explicitly based on the Imperium's experience of intra-system conflicts. In Milieu-0 they have no such experience. Consequently there are no guidelines. Interesting adventures could be in places or reacting to incidents that are covered by this later. Nukes might be allowed. Or forced migration of native people. Or maybe the opposite, that no local militia's are tolerated. Officially only the Imperium can have arms. For every clause there is a reason. Work out those reasons and write an adventure based on what happens if you don't have that clause.

Psionic Supersessions

These have not happened in Milieu-0. So it is quite possible for people to have psionics openly. They are not necessarily well understood. A good model for this would be Victorian Mysticism. It was very popular in high society during that time though quacks and charlatans were common.

Psychohistory

The text does not directly mention it, but this seems very much in the spirit of the early Imperium. Compare how the Theory of Evolution was used in Victorian times to depict humanity (specifically white colonists) as moving ever onwards and ever upwards, getting better and better and rising above the animals to take custody of the world. It would be a good campaign background for a similar use of psychohistory showing that the Sylean federation is destined to unite the empire and take its rightful place ruling the stars.

Solomani Hypothesis

This was first proposed in 64. Perhaps the Imperial Destiny propaganda lead to looking at the concept of the origin of humanity seriously. Perhaps the research was done to try to take the rhetoric a step down by proving a non-Sylean origin and, as such, was controversial. Perhaps it was in support of the government, who would be tracing its roots to Terra. For an analog consider the upsurge in interest in genealogy following the broadcast of ROOTS in the 70s.

And more

This is just the surface. You can turn almost any time-honored aspect of the late 3rd Imperium on its head for Milieu-0. Some referees and players might take some offence to drawing inspiration from some of the worst actions of our own history. Playing out such things in a setting or portraying a setting with these values is not an endorsement of these values. This is one of the great values of role-playing. By examining the values and actions of people in these positions we gain a greater understanding of how and why these actions took place in our own history. By understanding history, we are free not to repeat it.

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