| abstract | - Knowing every victory of diplomacy spares them a potentially costly military campaign, the Ethereals and Water Caste attempt to appeal to every level of Imperial society by emphasizing the many different aspects of the Greater Good. To broaden the appeal of membership in the Tau Empire, the Tau guarantee protection from Imperial retribution to rebellious Planetary Governors. They also promise the nobility who control planetary commerce lucrative new sources of income and new technologies in the Tau Empire where they will be free from the mandatory tithes and excessive bureaucracy of the Imperium. The Tau also promise that all humans will be allowed to enjoy the freedom of religion, so long as the practice of that faith does not conflict with the Greater Good. This is a freedom that is unimaginable on Imperial worlds, where rigid adherence to the Imperial Cult is always enforced. Perhaps the most alluring aspect of the Greater Good to the common Imperial citizen is the belief that all those who contribute towards it have a meaningful and valued place within Tau society. In place of the relatively low value the Imperium places on the individual human life, the Tau seem to believe that everyone has a place, and everyone matters. A perfect example of this process occurred during the Taros Campaign. When the desert mining world of Taros was annexed by the Tau Empire, not only did the population of Taros not oppose the move since the world had developed an extremely lucrative trade in strategic ores with the Tau, but the Tarosian Planetary Defence Force actually fought against the Imperial forces sent to reclaim the world for the Emperor as Gue'vesa, shoulder to shoulder with their new Tau allies. Many of the Gue'vesa can trace their origins back to the Damocles Gulf Crusade. When the first Imperial war against the Tau ground to a stalemate, the Imperial forces decided to retreat and redeploy their troops against a much more pressing threat in the Eastern Fringes of the galaxy, namely the Tyranid Hive Fleet Behemoth. The withdrawal was so fast, however, that many troops of the Imperial Guard were simply abandoned in Tau-controlled regions of space. O'Shovah, or Commander Farsight as he is known in the Imperium, gave these humans the option of joining the Tau Empire, an offer that most accepted. They were treated well by the Tau, and were even allowed to continue worshiping the God-Emperor and maintain their faith in the Imperial Cult, though this version of the faith was purged of the fanatic and xenophobic sentiments that were commonplace in the Imperium. As time passed, these humans and their children turned from being reluctant converts to enthusiastic believers in the Greater Good. They now hope to spread the Greater Good and what they view as the extraordinary benefits of the Tau Empire to all of their fellow human beings across the galaxy.
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