Mani - Holder Urist Satri has publicly charged his neighbor, Holder Loke Hatar, with heresy stemming from Lord Hatar's usage of transcranial microcontrollers on his slave population. Lord Satri made these comments during a public sermon conducted by the Holder regarding traditional values and the role of slaves in the Empire.

Unlike Lord Hatar, whose heretical methods weakens the future of the Empire, we use only the traditional, Scripturally-approved methods of slave control," Lord Satri said amid other comments regarding slavery. As the sermon was being broadcast across the Mani system to Lord Satri's many holdings in the system, many of Lord Hatar's supporters and underlings also saw it.

The two Holders - both of whom control large portions of the Mani solar system - have never seen eye-to-eye according to those familiar with the situation. However, these differences have previously been limited to disagreements over territory and business rights.

Lord Hatar offered a brief statement in response to the comments, saying, "Lord Satri's comments are foolish and backwards, representing the very things that have been holding our Empire back from truly achieving its destiny."

Transcranial microcontrollers are small implants that make a user believe themselves to be experiencing any one of a variety of different situations. They were originally developed by Ishukone as entertainment devices, but the Khanid Kingdom soon began employeing them as an alternative from of slave control. After their popularity grew in the Federation, however, the increased price forced the end of their use in the Kingdom. The recent hostilities between the Federation and State has led to a decrease in demand for them, allowing for their reintroduction into slave populations.