Modern World STGOD Concept

[Thanas]

Steve, if you want to have a new NPC then it should take the place of the Republics of Katr_Kana. The state is already pretty thought out so it might just remain as an NPC.

If that won't work, maybe Fin or Granadia might want it.

[Esquire]

Back from vacation and eager to get back into this. I'll come up with a proper nation profile ASAP, and see about coordinating history with people.

[Jub]

Is there anyway we could get reposts or a list of links to the history's of nations as they currently stand? I know I could just read the thread, but I figure getting things into one place now will hopefully mean that things stay in one place when the game actually opens.

[Eternal_Freedom]

Presented here:

History of the Kingdom of Orion

~4,000 BC: Massive volcanic eruption (the last known eruption to occur) destroys an early civilisation that had developed on the island. Modern scientists are amazed that anyone survived at all. The earliest of the Orion Tribes form in the wake of the eruption. It is believed that each tribe was formed from one or more influential extended family in the former Orion civilisation.

~4,000 BC – 1000 AD: The Tribes develop and war with each other over five thousand years. Population levels increase significantly but water shortages remain a common limit on the size of the Tribes

1002 AD: King Saiph ascends to the throne of the Hunter Tribe, the largest and most aggressive of the Orions. His reign is marked by the longest peace the Orions had ever known as he reached out to the other Kings and began forging new inter-tribe alliances.

1034 AD: The Orion Tribes unite as one nation, the Kingdom of Orion. Each Tribe remained mostly autonomous under their Kings or Queens, but agreed to work together and share resources under the Tribal Council’s orders, led by King Saiph. This cooperative effort allowed the population to increase substantially as resources were no longer wasted competing with other Tribes.

1055 AD: King Saiph dies after an unprecedented reign. For a brief time there is talk of the Kingdom collapsing back into inter-tribal warfare, but thanks to the determined efforts of Queen Bellatrix, Saiph’s bride, the Tribal Council agrees to continue with the collective mission. A series of inter-tribal contests is held to determine which Tribe’s King should lead the council.

1380 AD: By this time the Tribal Council is becoming a more close-knit group. Several inter-tribal marriages have united some of the smaller communities. The original contests of 1055 have become the regular Orion Games, although the winning tribe no longer becomes the Council Leader; that post instead being decided by the Council itself. King Saiph is now a legendary figure, although the Hunter Tribe has declined in power recently.

1556 AD: The first recorded contact with humans from beyond Orion. Explorers from a distant land arrive at Cape Betelgeuse (otherwise known as the Shoulder of Orion) and declare the island to now be property of their throne. The Tribal Council threatens to destroy the expedition unless they withdraw their claim. The explorers attempts to negotiate fail dismally when one member attempts to rape the youngest daughter of King Mintaka of the Hunters. The heads of the expedition are sent back to their ship with a demand that the explorers leave. The ship complies.

1556-1645 AD: During the years after the disastrous first contact, Orion has been visited seven times by foreign powers. Each time said power has attempted to unilaterally claim the island, and each time the Orions have dispelled that claim, sometimes with words and sometimes with swords. A reputation has grown that the Orions are violent savages who kill any outsider. Each expedition further unites the Tribes and gives them more examples of new weapons and other technology to investigate. The Council mandates that Orion be able to replicate the weapons or else they will be unable to repel future expeditions. The increasingly united Tribes strive to develop as quickly as possible in order to preserve their sovereignty against the Outlanders.

1645 AD: Emissaries from the Britonian Empire land at the city of Port Rigel. They had apparently learned of the Orion’s fierce reputation and believed that they could take advantage of these warriors. The emissaries were surprised to find a thriving civilization that was approaching a Renaissance level. Unlike previous expeditions, the Britonians made no claims and instead negotiated with the Tribal Council (a name retained for traditional reasons, by this time it was a larger body). After two months of patient diplomacy, the Treaty of Hephaestus was signed, bringing the Kingdom of Orion into the Britonian Empire.

1645-1850 AD: The Golden Years of Orion under the Britonian flag. Relations between the two powers grow closer and closer. What initially began as harbours to support Britons’ navy developed into shipyards to build and maintain their vessels. With a relative abundance of untapped resources Britonian corporations opened Orion branches, building and exporting everything from weapons to consumer goods. The native Orions grab onto new technology with gusto, eventually offering their own ideas and contributions. The great Hephaestus University is opened. The Orion Science Institute is founded. Britonian settlers intermarry with Orion natives, gradually shifting the balance of power in the Orion Council (the Tribal Council was replaced with a larger representative body under the overall authority of the Imperial Governor).

1850-1862 AD: There is growing dissent with the Empire’s increasingly exploitative taxation policies. Opposition to this policy comes from all quarters, from natives to settlers to corporations to the Council. A new Imperial Governor is appointed in 1860. Intended to keep the Kingdom in line, he instead begins secret talks with the Council leaders and various merchant leaders regarding a possible secession from the Empire. Support for this idea is widespread.

1862 AD: News arrives from Briton that they are at war with the nation of Rheinland. The Governor takes the opportunity to begin more open talk of secession, seeing that this was the perfect opportunity to achieve a clean break with the Empire.

1864 AD: The Governor declares himself the King of Orion, an independent state. Popular support is widespread but not universal. Three of the native Tribes (which still exist as a cultural institution) that had avoided intermarrying with settlers vehemently oppose this move, believing that a native Orion should be on the throne.

1870 AD: With no sign of the Britonians returning to reclaim their colony, the former Governor, now King Alexander the First, begins consolidating his power. A proposal to reach out and ally with the Rheinland proves the final straw. The three dissenting Tribes, joined by five more, withdraw their representatives from the Council. Two months of tense negotiation ends with the dissenters discovering that Alexander was massing the Army to crush the Tribes. Full-blown civil war breaks out.
1875 AD: After five years of fierce fighting, a peace settlement is reached when Alexander is killed in his palace in Hephaestus. A National Convention is called. A new constitutional monarchy is established. It was decided that James Cromwell, Orion’s foremost scientist, and sole surviving Inner Council member should ascend the throne as James the First, as a scientist would make decisions based on reason. In his coronation address, King James swore to uphold the legacy of King Saiph and lead the Orions into a prosperous future through science and reason.

1875-1941 AD: Orion continues to develop. Science and education become almost religiously followed. Great scientists are treated the way other nations might regard Prophets or Apostles. During this time close diplomatic relations and trade are established with the Kingdoms of Corona and Arcadia. After discovering details of Britons war against the Rheinland, Orion declares a state of war against the Britons in 1890. However, due to the distances involved, and the Orions own desire to be left alone to their increasingly-perfect system, very little actual conflict occurs.

1925 AD: Orion astronomers discover the redshift of other galaxies and conclude the universe is expanding. The following year the concept of the Big Bang is derived. Predictions are made that the after-image should be observable.

1941 AD: After witnessing the Briton’s bomber offensive, King Edward the Fifth declares the Britons and the Nipponese to be “Hostis Humani Generis” and declares it is the eternal duty of Orion to annihilate those two nations. He also, despite opposition in the Council, lays claim to the territories of those nations as the rightful successor state to their empire. Many in Orion oppose making these claims, and indeed oppose claiming to be a successor to the Empire that had seceded from. King Edward reasons that since Orion took a peaceful stand whilst the Empire went to war, it is the Britons that forfeited their moral high ground. These arguments rage throughout the remainder of the war.

1955 AD: Orion scientists develop the first successful thorium fission reactor, ushering in a new era of cheap electricity. Other scientists demonstrate that these reactors can power desalinisation plants that will finally end water shortages in Orion. A massive government-funded building program begins.

1957 AD: Astronomers observe the Big Bang’s “afterglow.”

1960 AD: Orion begins a space program, aiming to be the first nation into orbit.

1963 AD: Colonel John Ravensburg of the Orion Air Forces becomes the first Orion to orbit the planet.

1964-1980 AD: With continued development of thorium reactors, Orion becomes a global exporter of Thorium and other rare-Earth metals that are abundant in the volcanic soil of the island. Exports of reactor technology drive a clean energy revolution worldwide.

1980 AD: A new political movement known as the Paradise Party begins to gain power in Orion. They argue that the Kingdom has developed the perfect system and that other nations should follow our example. Those that don’t should be compelled to. Whilst the party itself is destroyed in a series of messy legal battles in 1984 the popular sentiment remains.

1989 AD: King James the Seventh dies under mysterious circumstances. He is succeeded by his brother, King Alexander the Second, who was one of the original members of the Paradise Party. He begins to steer Orion into a more militaristic state.

1989-Present Day: Orion is gradually sliding into a fascist state, although every step taken has had massive popular support. A set of ideals emerge that the Orions have built Paradise, and that other nations can only achieve this by following their example. A belief that the Orions are better than other races has also begun to emerge. The Armed Forces have been considerably expanded, although a great emphasis has been placed on drone technology, as it is considered illogical to risk the superior minds of an Orion pilot. The Army has historically been the smallest service, and was almost disbanded after the Civil War. The Royal Navy and now the Royal Air Force are the dominant services, and get priority for funding. The Navy learned many lessons from the Rheinland’s 80 Year War, with a large force of submarines being a key element, supported by numerous aircraft carriers.
As the Kingdom moves further and further into a fascist state, relations with Corona have soured, although Arcadia remains a strong trading partner. A new distate for the City of San Dorado has emerged in recent years, with the inherent chaos and corruption being repellent to the Orions.

There, I've claimed credit for successful nuclear power, discovering the expansion of the universe and evidence for the Big Bang, and possibly the first man in space.

[Simon_Jester]

Hm. An island with a population of forty million would have problems being first into space. Economic base matters a lot; there's a reason Britain and France weren't serious contenders in the space race, although to be fair that had a lot to do with the damage from World War Two.

Taking credit for an abstract advance in theoretical science like the Big Bang theory and Hubble's (IRL) discovery of the redshift of distant galaxies, on the other hand, is very credible. And ANYONE persistent enough could have found the cosmic microwave background.

[Thanas]

Let's not descent into nations claiming credit for inventing things we all share. MAinly because I don't want us arguing about who invented what and who was first.

[Steve]

If it becomes a point we can try to share things out fairly, but as of now it's rather unmportant.

[Simon_Jester]

Yes.

That said- as I recall SDNW2 started with no one having a space program. Is that rule in place here? If not, every ever-loving one of us would probably like to have their own space program. The question is, what constraints are imposed on who can and can't afford it? Will there be any international collaborative programs a la ESA?

Umeria would almost certainly have developed its own satellite launch capability by now (and incidentally intermediate range ballistic missiles). Whether they've put men in orbit I haven't decided yet; they're a bit more developed than China but in absolute terms are a lot smaller and less prosperous.

[Skywalker_T-65]

To be fair, I can't think of anything I would want to claim as far as 'I got the tech first!' goes. Aside from the nuclear-powered battleship thing, and that's probably only because Arcadia is the only nation anachronistic awesome enough to want them

As for a space program, I imagine it would be either:

A. Minor, limited to satellites and such

B. Maybe gets a man in space every once in a while

[Jub]

If I was going for firsts I might want powered flight or first national telephone system.

My space program would likely be larger than my current nation would suggest something roughly the same as the current US program with the issue that Versahinveld holds two of the three launch sites that the nation controlled at its peak.

[Simon_Jester]

Hm.

I'd like to suggest that some of us team up and think about international collaborative space programs a la ESA. We've got a lot of nations that logically shouldn't have much more raw economic muscle than, say, India or Spain or whatever... but which could cooperate and jointly fund a space program with less trouble.

There's also probably a lot of room for, say, commercial heavy-lift rocketry; Siege, you up for that?

[TimothyC]

I'm sure there is some near-equatorial atoll with plenty of open water to the east that Hawai'i could lease out for launches.

[Jub]

My space program depends on my total GDP. Perhaps we should decide that before we hash out too much more story.

[Siege]

I don't find it very realistic to start space exploration from scratch in 2000, so let's just go with having decently developed near-Earth infrastructure, particularly since I imagine quite a few players are interested in running some form of space program, but maybe not so much in starting off from nothing.

I'd say no to moon bases or huge space stations at the start of the game though, and I don't want anyone so far ahead that they made it to the moon whilst no-one else did. So my suggestion would be that no-one's gotten to the moon quite yet, and the heavy lift to get there has yet to be developed. Chalk it up to a lack of a cold war space race in the sixties. This is a suggestion however, I'm open to hearing alternatives.

There's also probably a lot of room for, say, commercial heavy-lift rocketry; Siege, you up for that?

There's at least one corporation (Helix Highpoint, a Helix Industries subsidiary) with a space program and a launch facility on one of the islands of the Angel Archipelago, because that's looking to be very close to the equator. Their main focus would be on commercial light to medium lift, because the money is in plunking satellites into orbit for whoever can pay the fee. I'd be happy to develop bigger rockets though.

[Esquire]

I'd be down for a cooperative space program, if other people wanted to pool resources.

[Fingolfin_Noldor]

My country would likely be looking to its business partners for help to ressurect its space program and look for bilateral agreements.

[Thanas]

Rheinland would be willing to enter a collaborative space program, especially with the neighbours. One of my very first story posts will be the Kanzler proposing such a venture.

[Fingolfin_Noldor]

Rheinland would be willing to enter a collaborative space program, especially with the neighbours. One of my very first story posts will be the Kanzler proposing such a venture.

You can count me in for that one, since both of us are going to be doing lots of rebuilding.

[Eternal_Freedom]

I'll happily go into a collaborative venture, although naturally my nation will be smugly arrogant about it, and our worsening diplomatic situation would make for some interesting stories there I think.

As I noted, I only said I got a man into orbit, not that we were first. I suppose that after the initial burst of "damn we're awesome" funding was diverted to other things, like our military and our nuclear power program.

[Force Lord]

Steve, if you want to have a new NPC then it should take the place of the Republics of Katr_Kana. The state is already pretty thought out so it might just remain as an NPC.

If that won't work, maybe Fin or Granadia might want it.

Or maybe Fin and I can partition it, if he's interested.

EDIT: Regarding Omnia, Granadia tried to conquer the whole of it during the Second Great World War, but it had other fronts to deal with and in the end was forced to pull back.

[Simon_Jester]

Part of my problem is that I don't have a good sense for who, if anyone, my country might partner with in a space program.

Right now Umeria is a country which is finally hitting the fast-growth part of the development curve (like China, but a little further along the curve)... but is still struggling to get top of the line industries set up (they don't have their own high end semiconductor fabricator, for instance).

They are very eager to get their aerospace industry up to developed world standards and see space spending as a part of that... but who would it be helpful for them to partner with? They don't just want occasional Umerian astronauts getting a ride to an international space station; they want their own native capacity to build and launch their own things.

Hm. Actually, because of the many countries that might want to participate, having an international space station (not necessarily the only such station) would make a lot of sense. How many are game for that?

[Eternal_Freedom]

I'm certainly game. As for a nation that can help you with development, the Kingdom of Orion would be happy to assist you. After all, it is only logical to help a less developed country advance, especially if we can show them the advantages of science leading the way.

[Fingolfin_Noldor]

Steve, if you want to have a new NPC then it should take the place of the Republics of Katr_Kana. The state is already pretty thought out so it might just remain as an NPC.

If that won't work, maybe Fin or Granadia might want it.

Or maybe Fin and I can partition it, if he's interested.

EDIT: Regarding Omnia, Granadia tried to conquer the whole of it during the Second Great World War, but it had other fronts to deal with and in the end was forced to pull back.

Sure why not. Might be nice to write up a story for that.

[Siege]

We're not gonna show you how to build your own rockets, because that would we're putting ourselves out of business. We can launch your stuff for you, and we can contract with this space agency, but that's about it.

Regarding Omnia, Granadia tried to conquer the whole of it during the Second Great World War, but it had other fronts to deal with and in the end was forced to pull back.

The other day Steve and I were throwing around some ideas. One I came up with was that the last time somebody made a genuine effort to conquer all of Omnia one PMC whose divisions were about to be overrun took a cargo ship, fitted it with radio controls, crammed it chock full of explosives, sailed it into the offending party's harbor and detonated the whole shebang, causing a frankly obscene amount of devastation. As a warning shot, you see. One that could be heard all the way back in San Dorado.

Unfortunately I haven't found the right target yet to have subjected to this Fireship Deluxe. Might you be willing to volunteer?

[Thanas]

I'll happily go into a collaborative venture, although naturally my nation will be smugly arrogant about it, and our worsening diplomatic situation would make for some interesting stories there I think.

As I noted, I only said I got a man into orbit, not that we were first. I suppose that after the initial burst of "damn we're awesome" funding was diverted to other things, like our military and our nuclear power program.

Well, I don't think we will be quite so keen to enter into it with a nation who demands part of our territories but we can't deal with that in IC.

Part of my problem is that I don't have a good sense for who, if anyone, my country might partner with in a space program.

Right now Umeria is a country which is finally hitting the fast-growth part of the development curve (like China, but a little further along the curve)... but is still struggling to get top of the line industries set up (they don't have their own high end semiconductor fabricator, for instance).

They are very eager to get their aerospace industry up to developed world standards and see space spending as a part of that... but who would it be helpful for them to partner with? They don't just want occasional Umerian astronauts getting a ride to an international space station; they want their own native capacity to build and launch their own things.

Hm. Actually, because of the many countries that might want to participate, having an international space station (not necessarily the only such station) would make a lot of sense. How many are game for that?

Rheinland would not be willing to export their capabilities because after all, what would they be getting from it? Does your nation have something Rheinland wants, like resources?

We'd be sharing capabilities with neighbours because we like to keep them happy.