The Wagain delegation is hesitant to draw back the UCP's ground presence in Lucija, particularly at a time when humanitarian needs are growing. However, we agree that the safety of UCP personnel must be the organisation's primary concern, and agree that the breakdown in law and order in large parts of the country suggest staff safety cannot be guaranteed. As such, we vote AYE on this measure.
That said, Ambassador Guiracocha has offered an amendment seeking to change the location from Paris to Warsaw, where the Central & Eastern Europe region already operates a backup headquarters. While there is a significant UCP presence in Paris, facilities there are already at capacity. The secondary site at Warsaw is already prepped and has the additional advantage of being considerably closer to Lucija, where the bulk of the UCP's attention is needed. Minsk and Frankfurt would continue to be used as forward logistics bases by the UCP.
Cybus1 Aurora Morte has sent a custom designed pistol made to look like a revolver but actually being a semi auto pistol with a Drum magazine styled after a revolver cylinder based around the "Infinite Can" technology. It has a total magazine capacity of 200,000 rounds (same technology effectively makes the contained ammo weightless) making it for most intents and purposes unlimited, refilling the magazine is a slow process though requiring the custom loader the pistol came with to load in rounds 10 at a time. Attempting to manually load rounds would see them immediately ejected at a high velocity from the Negative Gravity environment inside the magazine. Aurora has already loaded it with 200,000 rounds of LasPlas ammunition designed to destroy one cubic foot of Biomass in one shot giving it good lethality against even evolved targets while limiting over penetration and possible collateral damage. This weapon being sent to Sarah as thanks for helping protect Confederate diplomats during the most recent crisis, and is accompanied with a letter explaining in detail the full operation of the pistol and loader as well as offering thanks in writing. Lastly she's also sent 200,000 Osperitas as payment for the cost of the deployment with the letter saying that if there's a remaining balance to bill her for the remainder.
This pistol is however only compatible with LasPlas ammunition with how it's designed. So additional ammo would need to be imported from West Africa.
Orsonian supremacy is a racist ideology purporting that biological Orsonians are physically and mentally superior to humans, and thus deserve to dominate all of humanity. It is a core tenet of the Aturorist Party.
Origins
Xenophobic sentiment toward foreign cultures has existed in Orson for centuries, though it was little different from xenophobia present in various societies and cultures at this time.
Most historians agree that the Orsonian supremacist ideology coalesced in the 19th century. Charles Darwin's theory of evolution, Social Darwinism, and the growing popularity of scientific racism greatly influenced its development. Early supremacists believed that Orsonians were more highly evolved than humans and should rule over them; attempts to change this hierarchy violated the fundamental laws of nature, in which the strong dominated and exploited the weak.
First Phase of Popularity (Late 19th century-1945)
Orsonian supremacists exerted immense influence in the Imperial Senate during the early 20th century, enacting laws which enforced strict racial segregation between humans and Orsonians while denying civil liberties to humans.
Orson's victory in World War One over the Central Powers confirmed the inherent dominance of biological Orsonians in the minds of supremacists. During the interwar period, the supremacist ideology developed further as adherents claimed biological Orsonians and the Nordic "race" of humans from northern Europe both originated from the Aryan "master race"; Japanese people were also considered honorary Aryans, due to the long-standing cultural ties between Orson and Japan.
As a consequence, Orson ended all ties with the Entente Powers and began a rapprochement with Nazi Germany in the 1930's, culminating with Orson, Germany, and Japan signing the Tripartite Pact and forming the Axis Powers. They planned to totally conquer and annex their mutual enemies, dividing the world into three spheres of influence.
After Orson's surrender in 1945, the ideology came under severe scrutiny, as members of the supposed master race had utterly failed in their attempt at world domination. Orson later experienced a period of social liberalization, granting all humans the right to vote by 1956, and easing enforcement of segregation laws. In the 1970's, Orson ended its period of post-war isolation and resumed trading with the international community.
Second Phase of Popularity (1990s-2021)
Orsonian supremacy experienced a resurgence in the latter 20th century, in reaction to the Separatist Crisis and growing political violence between leftists and rightists. The Aturorist Party rose in popularity in this time by blaming all of Orson's issues on foreigners and human citizens, who they accused of undermining the Empire by providing support to separatist movements or other extremist groups.
Following the 1996 Financial Crisis, Orsonian supremacy once more became a mainstream idea, as biological Orsonians blamed humans for sabotaging the economy and creating terrible living conditions; wealthy human businesses were also accused of hoarding money and resources during the crisis, or forcing struggling small business owners out of the market. Capetonians were especially targeted, and the Aturorists promoted a conspiracy theory accusing Capetonians businessmen of causing the crisis.
Aturorists successfully won the 2000 elections, ultimately corrupting Orson's democratic system for their own nefarious ideology. Over the next 20 years, Orson was transformed into a totalitarian police state in which biological Orsonians held all political and economic power, while humans were once again forced into segregated communities and often lived in poverty.
Current Status
Orsonian supremacy was outlawed by the Communist Party following the 2021 Revolution. Communists are currently working to deradicalize Orsonian society, having banned all media and propaganda promoting racist beliefs and prohibited any form of segregation. Affirmative action plans have been implemented to aid humans in improving their economic and social status, while reparations were awarded to victims of Aturorist oppression.
Nevertheless, Neo-Aturorists remain a serious threat to the post-Imperial democratic government, continuing to plague the republic throughout the 21st century.
A group of European Oil and Gas executives have sent a joint letter to the Lujican Government asking for the delivery of crude and gas that were paid for in advance. Lucija has not delivered any crude or gas to Europe since January. Failure to complete the delivery under agreed upon terms would result in a breach of contract and could have geopolitical effects if Europe no longer is willing to import these products.
Additionally, it is the most significant source of foreign revenue for the regime.
Excellent work, Orson! It's quite interesting to see the historical development of Orsonian supremacy; particularly how it responded to the various crises and conflicts of the 20th century and set the scene for the tragic Cape Town massacre.
Out of curiosity, what is the role of Kāpok Orsonians in all of this? Were they persecuted at all given their 'impure' Orsonian ethnicity?
Excellent work Orson! As Novo already mentioned, it’s fascinating seeing how Orsonian supremacist views shifted over time, adapting the the changing times and theories.
Sarah has graciously accepted the new sidearm, but -wanting it to be able to interface with her Ryan cyberware to display an ammo count and target reticule on her cyberoptics- has requested that someone involved in the creation of the gun come -on her dime, at the individual’s convenience- to Malorian Arms so that he or she can help Paul Malour modify the weapon without potentially damaging or disrupting the unique magazine.
“Hello again, my sweet fellow Cybusians. I am Administrator Jakub Henryk Eckhart, the voice of JSR, the voice of the Empire, the voice of your heart. Time once again to reach into our JSR mailbag. This is a letter from Achim Bauer, a student from Kozrova. Let’s hear what he has to say.
“Dear Mr. Administrator,
My name is Achim Bauer. I am a 5th grade student at Makecheka Elementary School on Kozrova, and I have a question. What exactly is a Communist? One of my classmates is from a place called Vanlik and when we asked him what species he was, he said he was a Communist, and everyone laughed at him. What’s a Communist and how are they different from an Evolved? Thank you, and I’m sorry for bothering you.
Achim Bauer.”
Well, first of all, a thank you for your letter, young man. You display a curiosity about the word that your friends seem to lack, the same curiosity that propels our scientists, technicians, innovators, and explorers forward into the future. Now, to address your question. What is a Communist? A Communist is not too very different from us; they eat, they drink, they sleep, they laugh, they cry, they read. They are just like us, but they believe different things. Communists do not believe in private property. They do not believe in money. They do not believe in Lord Mercer, if you can believe that! Under communism, you cannot have your own home, your own possessions, your own business, buy anything, sell anything. Under communism, you cannot freely worship, except perhaps groveling before the almighty state that provides everything. Under communism, you are lumped in with everyone else just because you work, and if you own something worth anything, you are lumped into another group and deemed the enemy. You see, your new classmate has missed out on so much of what makes life worth living, Achim. Communism may be incompatible with so much we hold dear, but a Communist is simply misguided. Do not laugh at them, but go and show your new classmate - your new friend - how great it is to be a Cybusian! Now, it’s time for us to part, you and I; there is much work to be done by JSR. We bring happiness to your heart, knowledge to your mind, and enlightenment to your soul, and that requires a lot of effort. Rest assured, my dear Cybusians, that we are working around the clock on your behalf. This is Administrator Jakub Henryk Eckhart, signing off.”
Tried to write a JSR broadcast. Thoughts? As you may remember from my post introducing Unity Through Joy, the current Administrator of JSR is actually Anton Morozov. “Jakub Henryk Eckhart” is actually a JSR AI used for broadcasting purposes. I envision “him” having a slightly upper class Outer Colonies (Southern) accent, or perhaps a Mid-Atlantic style accent, like in old movies. Notably, it takes care to distinguish Communism from Communists themselves.
Aurora has made a custom patch kit that would add quantum sensors to the barrel and a counting mechanism to the ejection mechanism that would allow a small transmitter compatible with cyberware to be attached under the barrel to transmit the data to the cyberware. It may slightly affect the precision of the weapon from original specs but her cyberware should be able to log the performance data of the weapon from test firings to have it automatically adjust for the modifications and fully calibrate the cyberoptic reticle. Additionally added are documentation on the design of the patch kit and how it interfaces with the weapon for proper installation.
Supremacists view Kāpok Orsonians as a useful tool against the human population, bolstering the societal dominance of biological Orsonians. As a consequence, they were typically given more privileges than humans.
To add further detail, below is the Imperial caste system, showing how various racial and social groups in Orson were stratified before the 2021 Revolution:
Emperor of Orson.
Nobility, politicians, and wealthy businessmen.
Biological or "pure-blood" Orsonians. Imperial law defines them as any citizen who can trace their genetic ancestry back to the Exiles- the original group of Orsonians who arrived on Earth over 20,000 years ago, and without any human lineage.
Honorary Aryans, or Honorary Orsonians. This group includes Japanese-Orsonians, Chinese-Orsonians, and others who have had this status bestowed upon them.
Human citizens.
Asocials. A category first used in Nazi Germany, Aturorists borrowed the term to describe anyone who could not conform to Imperial society, or otherwise acted as a burden on society. Those considered asocials included the mentally ill, physically disabled, LGBT individuals, homeless people, drug addicts, and prostitutes.
Capetonian subjects. Capetonians were stripped of their citizenship following the 2007 Siege of Capetown, and were effectively enslaved by the Aturorist government.
The vast majority of Orsonian immigrants in Wagondia would be human Orsonians, with a substantial minority of Kāpok Orsonians. The differences between these communities could be stark, however.
Human Orsonians tended to enter Wagondia either as economic migrants or refugees, with steep persecution and few opportunities to build wealth at home. Their numbers increased greatly in the 1990s, with most human Orsonian migrants today being either first- or second-generation immigrants. Many urban areas now strongly identified with the Orsonian diaspora, including Luanda, Manila, Buenos Aires, and East Santa Catalina, were transformed by this wave of settlement. Particularly prominent diasporic groups include Nigerians, Congolese, South Africans, Indians, Indonesians, and Mozambicans.
Compared to humans, who tended to work low-paying jobs, Kāpok Orsonians tended to be business owners, merchants, or professionals. Many migrated to coastal areas of Wagondia in the 19th century, establishing Kongsi enterprises and taking advantage of their ability to more assimilate into human society (compared to biological Orsonians). Many inter-married with prominent local families, adopting Latin surnames and forming a binational community of Orsonian-Wagains able to dominate lucrative trade routes to and from Orson. When human Orsonians travelled to Wagondia to find work, it was often Kāpoks who facilitated their migration and sponsored employment contracts. Today their higher degree of wealth and political power still distinguishes them from some of the newer arrivals from Orsonian Africa and India.
A fairly small community of biological Orsonians has been present in Wagondia since its foundation, typically connected to commerce or diplomacy (the Akenehi family being one example). Others fled due to their status as 'asocials' or political deviants during the Aturoist years, including thousands involved in the Federalist movement. Given their high social status back in Orson, these groups maintained strong ties to their homeland, and were less likely to settle permanently in Wagondia compared to Kāpok or human Orsonians.
Nice work, Cybus! The broadcast definitely has that 20th century transatlantic quality to it. JSR's approach certainly tracks with the general Cybusian attitude of using cultural power and commercial prowess to improve the empire's image abroad and spread the gospel of Cybusian capitalism.
10 Years Later... (1993) A combined flash of Red and Golden light occurred in the Sahara during the day, easily outshone by the Sun and going unnoticed. A man had appeared unconscious below the flash, and woke up within a couple moments. He had no memories, but he had an intact knowledge of language, math and Science. Nothing stellar in terms of his knowledge but it'd be Enough to get by in modern society. He stood up and looked around, in the distance through the shimmering of the desert air on the horizon he could make out what looked like some buildings.. A city perhaps. He ventured towards it.
This man would upon arrival be picked up by the Secret Staff Office and after a thorough investigation be ruled a lucky survivor of an Anomaly.. Eventually he'd become the head of the SSO's successor organization the OAI.
Despite the vote taken by the local munciaplity in SC, construction and the opening timeline for Universal is on time. Here are some details: The permits for construction and construction is still on time. Given that the development agreement was already excueted with the City and bonds were already issued, the permits and the development agreement is still valid. In addition, the permits for operation and construction are valid as welll. The permits were issued by the city of Santa Cantlian, not the local municpality.
For the bonds to be paid off, they require the operation of the income generated from the special economic district. As a result, Universal and their partners will be paying higher taxes than those outside of the district. Universal and their partners are also resposible for fullfilling their olbilgations including for housing, education, job development, and other goals.
According to Universal Santa Cantlina Project Manager," The vote taken before has no legal effect. Our permits are issued by the city, our agreement is with the local muncipality, but also with the city itself. Since bonds were already issued, they and us cannot renege on the deal. We are excited about the future. We also have committed an additional $500 million to affordable housing projects throughout the city. One of our partners, Asiana, will be opening up an aqauarim in the District as well. We are proud to be part of the fabric of this community of East Santa Cantlina."
Takeoff: The Novoian areospace company, Libre-viajar, based out of Cuba, unvelied their new three planes. One is a wide-body jet similar to the 747 and a380, another is a compeitor to the Boeing 737, and the third is a plane similar to the Boeing 787 dreamliner.
What makes this company unique? It is the Novoian, homegrown response to the Timmian based companies, Airbus and Boeing. About 80% of the componets are sourced from Novo, Cybus, and Oceara. With the remaining 20% coming from Orson and TC.
Libre- Viajar is based out Havana, Cuba, with research and development offices in Holgun and Gutuantanamo, Cuba and Buenos Aires, Argentina. Production is based out of Gutuantanamo, Cuba and Mali, Oceara.
Libre- Viajar is in talks with Brazillian and Venezuelan authorities for a third production site in South America. Libre-Viajar employs thousands of Novoians, some of whom are of Orsonian descent.
Going to Space: The joint Malian-Novoian space company, Orbition, will attempt to launch their first home-made rocket from the Alcântara Space Center in northeast Brazil. Orbition is jointly based in both countries and aims to compete against SpaceX for commerical supremacy of space.
Triton Cosmic Engineering develops Synthetic Alternative to the Exotic Matter used by Null-G technology! While working on a more efficient Casimir Effect based Negative Gravity Material for their work on FTL Travel, Triton Cosmic Engineering had begun development of a "Micronium" which would be the lowest mass material for the most surface area to use to make material requirements for construction of Casimir Effect based time accelerators as low as possible. This was achieved with a modified Rydberg Matter which was able to create Casimir Forces inside itself which exceeded the Gravitational forces of itself creating a negative mass material. The orientation of the Negative Gravity Wells is such that their repulsion effect on the particles in the Matter cancels itself out and makes the Matter more stable rather than less stable and allows more efficient gravity manipulation technologies.
Already there's great ambition in the application of this so called Micronium in FTL, More efficient Casimir-Rydberg Chips, Energy Shields, Armor, and in more cost effective Wormhole Generator cores.
Unbeknownst to TCE, This had already been invented by SIGMA in it's self-upgrading capacity to more efficiently expand it's own hardware. However with the secrecy around SIGMA and it's sudden disappearance, such wouldn't become known.
A number of Malian-Wagain protestors have organized themselves together and have formed human barriers to block vehicle access to the Universal project in Santa Catalina. The group justify their actions as a "Community Injunction" against what they believe to be an illegal continuation of construction.
I hate to bust SpaceX’s bubble, but id say the Cybs already have commercial supremacy of space. There are regular offworld routes to a wide variety of destinations, from several competitors, Taggart Trans-Imperial and The Barit Group being the largest.
The construction workers have respected the right of the protestors, but the one of the foremans have come over to explain to them that they are currently removing abestsos and are working with dynomite and have formally advised the group to put on protective equipment to protect themeselves or risk exposure and their own safety. They are also asking them to move to a public area or risk arrest for coming to private property without permission.
As the rightful owners of the land the Santa Cantlina East Economic Development Group did not give permission to those persons to enter private property. Even if they did not have permits, the ownership group retains all rights that come with custodianship, including the right to permit or not permit entrance to property. Police have been called to ensure compliance and safety of the persons involded. The construction crew has resumed their work by using the other entrances.
The Santa Cantalina East Economic Development Group has informed the protestors that their work is not illegal. The development agreement and permits are issued by seperate entities. Permits are not issued by the local municpality but are issued by the city of SC and the construction permits are valid. The development agreement is also valid because it takes the uniamous agreement of all three parties: the local municpality, city of SC, and Development partners to terminate the agreement. Seeing as the parties have not agreed to terminate the development agreement, it is still valid.
In addition, since bonds have already been issued for the project by the economic district, they must be paid by the district or paid off by the city of SC. The City cannot charge a higher tax to the development partners without raising taxes on everyone else or it is considered unequal treatment.
Finally, the local municaplity is currently in pre-ligatiion negoations with the development partners. Subject to the termination clause, the local municapolity has recongized that their vote was not part of the termination process and has begun negoations to avoid costly ligttation. Till then, the permits and agreement are in full force.
They're not on private property, they're in the roads blocking where the road connects to the construction site. As such, workers and what they are carrying can get through via sidewalk but vehicles would be unable to get in or out of the construction site.
The Strategic Blacklight Institute (SBI) is an agency of the Healthcare Commission, tasked with studying the Blacklight virus and storing donations of blood from biological and kāpok Orsonians.
The SBI was established in 1990 to create a centralized administration for blood banks. Prior to its creation, each medical institution in Orson had their own unique policy for handling Orsonian blood and samples of the Blacklight virus, leading to confusion and frustration among scientists trying to study the virus and creating the potential for accidental contamination. The Institute established a single, nationwide regulatory framework. Additionally, the SBI has conducted research into the Orsonian genome, with the eventual aim of restoring Orsonians to their full genetic potential.
Since 2004, all military personnel, government employees, and prison inmates who are biological or kāpok Orsonians are required to give regular donations of blood, ensuring that the Institute had enough blood in storage for a major war or disaster. The SBI also issues notices to a certain number of randomly-selected citizens per month, mandating them to donate blood.
Black Projects
In clandestine research facilities, the SBI has experimented with altering strains of the Blacklight virus via genetic engineering in an attempt to weaponize it for battlefield deployment. During Turner's reign, the Institute succeeded in creating two customized strains:
Strain S: A version of the Blacklight virus designed to only target reproductive organs, consuming sperm and egg cells while otherwise leaving the subject unharmed. Aturorists planned to sterilize the entire human population of Earth with this strain, ensuring the ultimate victory of Orsonians over humanity. After successful experiments on human prisoners, the Imperial Army planned to begin mass deployment in 2023, but the Empire had already collapsed by this time. All stockpiles of Strain S have since been destroyed to ensure Aturorist cells cannot obtain it for use in bioterrorist attacks.
Strain C: A version of the Blacklight virus that is much more efficient in consuming organic matter. This strain was used to create a self-replicating biological superweapon codenamed Deluge, capable of destroying all organic life. Upon infecting organic matter, the virus hijacks living cells to produce more copies of itself, permitting it to spread endlessly until organic matter is exhausted. Deluge was not ready in time for deployment in WW3, and Imperial High Command was hesitant about its use, as it could easily spread out of control and cause catastrophic damage within Orsonian territory.
The Crossroad The strange place of dark clouds outlined in crimson flowing amongst clouds that looked much like clouds you might see at dawn seemed to stretch and contort as thin lines of black metal seemed to undergo greater and greater stress as though being pulled on both ends on one end the line of black metal would steadily turn a golden color. Finally the metal snapped at the halfway point and each end was sucked into far ends of existence itself entirely disappearing as a shard of concept corruption diffused amongst the black clouds. The space stopped twisting and returned to normal. This place, this.. Crossroads seemed to be difficult to enter and even more difficult to stay inside of as though it were only existant in an absolute equilibrium.
Came home from work to find out I've earned... 14 new banners!
I'm particularly proud of 'cave-ripened'. I have known for years that Wagain cheeses are the very finest in the EOAverse, so I'm glad the WA have now recognised this for themselves.
The Imperio Constitucional of Novo Wagondia
The Semi-Direct Democracy of Oceara
The People's Republic of The Orson Empire
The To Whom It Tolls of Timmy City
The Infinite Empire of Cybus1
The Democratic Republic of The Unified Nations of Felucia
The Tsardom of Santa Lucija
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