History of Human settlement of Quarace, part 2

The end of the war with Earth brought a multitude of sentiments on Quarace. For the executives of the major corporations, it was seen as a great victory. Earth had abandoned the struggle, horrified of the moral vacuum displayed by the AQR, though the AQR themselves perceived this as a retreat caused by intimidation and sheepishness on the behalf of the people of Earth. The AQR saw their victory as the manifestation of the supremacy of their un-governed freedom.
The people of Quarace, however, were affected differently by the ending of the war. Much of the prosperity of the planet had relied on the immense demand for raw materials on Earth and her colonies, a demand which had been filled by the appetite of the AQR war machine during the Great War for Peace. With the war over, suddenly the immense industrial capacity created on Quarace had little to do. The living conditions on Quarace were bad enough with the oppression and general corruption of the AQR, but with so little demand for output anymore, the planet was plunged into mass-poverty. Many quickly starved or froze to death, while others put their entire families to work for the massive AQR operations, just to make ends meet.
These conditions weren't very good for the ruling AQR, either. While their lifestyle was largely unaffected- they could still enjoy all the luxuries they had before- the people of Quarace, especially in cities, were becoming less and less controllable as poverty skyrocketed. Within a few months, it was apparent that the people would revolt if not quickly oppressed and put to work. Desperate to maintain the unrestricted freedom they had fought so hard for, the generals who had recently won the war for the AQR were deployed to regions around the planet in order to make sure that any revolt was quelled before word could spread very quickly. These generals were given direct control over these territories, and mostly left to their own devices. These generals had mostly had one job- to keep the people in line.
Meanwhile, the AQR re-assessed their situation. Given the lower demand for output, they had to scale back their operation, something they were quite reluctant to do. Many mining and refining operations were shut down, and businesses were consolidated for maximum efficiency. Any areas rich in untapped resources were monitored closely in order to maintain the AQR'S monopoly on Quarace's wealth. In addition, any power plants operated by anyone other than the AQR were destroyed, dismantled, or taken over directly by the company. At this point, the AQR held control over all of the planet's natural resources and energy.
To ease the poverty and create somewhat better urban and economic conditions on Quarace, the AQR implemented great public works projects and initiated the construction of new cities and towns where the poor could live and work for the AQR. Citizens were encouraged to build new, huge structures and develop the new settlements as fast as they could. Procreation was encouraged among the citizens. The population grew and expanded, and for a time there was relative peace and, for the first time in a long time, a lingering hope that perhaps the same greed which had driven the AQR to commit the atrocities in the war could also bring new life to the impoverished planet- maybe these companies were right all along.
And in a way, they were, since the AQR knew how to stimulate a struggling economy on a planet such as Quarace. Expansion continued, and leveled off after about sixty or seventy years, with the AQR bearing profits all around- they held a total monopoly on all of the planet's resources and energy production. Any building materials used in the expansion of Quaran colonies and cities came at direct profit to the AQR. Anything that was built, be one's house or the chairs in their living room, gave a measure of profit to the AQR. Turning on the lights meant that the AQR would make money- who else was allowed to produce energy on this planet? Even gathering rainwater was a crime. Over time, the AQR grew to care less and less for the troubles of the people themselves, sinking further and further into isolation from the rest of the planet. Their income was constant, and without competition their jobs had become increasingly simple- there was no need to increase efficiency, really, since the companies were reaping all profits from the markets they dominated. If their pricing and marketing were flawed- who cared? The consumers were trapped, and there was nothing the AQR could do to lose business. They descended into isolation, caring less and less for the troubles of the outside world, with those on top doing very little work and spending their days in blissful debauchery, bored and basking in the opulence won by their forebears and delegating more and more work to the men under them. The generals they had put in place to keep the peace were now the rulers of the land, perfectly content to be the subjects of the Executives since their power over the regions was almost absolute- they were relatively unrestricted as long as order was maintained and the great monopolies went unchallenged, which was hardly a difficult task. The Generals were perfectly content to defend this system since its benefits to them were so plentiful.
And so it was that the planet descended into feudalism- the citizens defaulted to the Generals, the generals defaulted to AQR delegates, and the Delegates, who did the bidding of the Executives, who were really kings, but still referred to themselves by the antiquated title.
The AQR cared very little for the well-being of the people, or even the Generals for that matter. As long as Generals existed to do the Generals' job, the AQR were happy. When the Generals fought amongst themselves over territory, all the better! Wars consumed resources and massive amounts of energy. No matter who won or lost a war, the AQR profited. Their situation was perfect. Where we set our stage, the rule of the AQR has lasted for four hundred years.