HalKu

HalKu is believed to have been formed millions of years ago when, upon hearing the call of God, thousands of devout Halish-Kuthean's gathered, and set up their own nation. For hundreds and hundreds of years, HalKu has adopted an isolationist view, steadily growing in size, wealth, population, and power. At the height of it's power HalKu was 17,631,418 sq km, with 700,734,134 citizens. The "Golden Age" however ended in 1673, when the then leader - President Keane Jackson - became seriously ill. This was taken as a sign by many Halish-Kuthean's that it was no longer God's will for him to rule HalKu, despite the fact that Halish-Kuthean law states that once, elected the President must serve until he reaches the age of 65. A bitter civil war ensued for 200 years, with hundreds of millions of casualties. During this time the whole legal, and governmental system fell apart, and HalKu was a lawless nation, with a massive power vacuum. Eventually, after a vote by the Church of HalKu, President Samuel Peeps was elected in 1887. He quickly stopped the fighting, and united HalKu once again, but not before much damage has been done.

The Genetics

The people of HalKu, due to millions of years of seclusion have evolved tremendously from the humans which originally made up the race. Halish-Kuthean is now so wildly different from humans that it is considered a separate species. Halish-Kuthean men often reach a height of 7-8ft, and are incredibly strong. They have excellent eyesight, hearing, strength and tolerance to pain. The brain of a Halish-Kuthean male is on average 120% bigger that a human brain, making them "super-intelligent". The skin of Halish-Kuthean males is incredibly strong, almost inpenitrable to anything except the strongest of force. The skin however is made supple, and soft with the application of Sodium Hypochlorite, which causes no side affects. This skin regains its hardness after 4 hours unless Sodium Hypochlorite is reapplied. Sodium Hypochlorite is used mainly for medical operations. The insides of a Halish-Kuthean male are soft, and vulnerable (hence the strong skin). Halish-Kuthean males have 2 hearts, but both are needed because of the size of the body, and if either one were to stop then the male would die within minuits. All these features make Halish-Kuthean males perfect for military service, either as a front line soldier, or as a strategist...etc... It is for this reason that military tradition is at the fore-front of Halish-Kuthean culture, and vast amounts of money and resources are expended on the maintenance of a large military, and the development of weapons, and military equipment. Not all male however are in the military, many are needed in HalKu to keep the nation running (eg. Government jobs, civil service..etc...) and have "ordinary" jobs.

Halish-Kuthean females are very different. They are on average 5-6ft, thin, with thin, soft, and almost transparent skin. They are weak, but have the same excellent eyesight and hearing that the males possess. Their brains are also on average 120% larger than a human brain. The female body is very well adapted to reproduction, and childcare. It carries children in the same way that a human female does, and has the same reproductive organs (as the Halish-Kuthean men share the human male reproductive organs), a Halish-Kuthean have 4 wombs, and therefore can carry up to 4 foetus at any one time. This is why the birth rate is extremely high, and very large families are the norm. Halish-Kuthean females are also expected to have a job aswell as look after the family.

Both Halish-Kuthean males and females share the trait of longevity, and the nation average age is 189.6 years.

Major Cities

Capital: HalKu City Other Major Cities (in order of size):

• Benath
• Majoru
• Henath
• Hoth

Geography

Area:

• Total: 1,366,890 sq km
• Land: 1,363,101 sq km
• Water: 3,789 sq km

Coastline: 2,427 km

Climate:

• Generally mild Winters, and warm Summers, although heatwaves in the Summer are common.
• Occasional strong, cold, dry, north-to-northwesterly wind.
• Precipitation is common in Winter, with occasional rain in Summer.

Terrain: Mostly flat plains or gently rolling hills in north, west, and south. The east is very mountainous.

Elevation Extremes: Lowest point: Hasith River delta -5 m Highest point: Hatuath 14,807 m

Natural Resources:

• Coal
• Iron Ore
• Bauxite
• Zinc
• Uranium
• Plutonium
• Antimony
• Arsenic
• Potash
• Feldspar
• Fluorospar
• Timber
• Fish
• Oil
• Gold

Land use: arable land: 23.53% permanent crops: 2.07% other: 74.4%

Irrigated land: 15,000 sq km (est.)

Natural hazards:

• Flooding
• Avalanches
• Midwinter Windstorms
• Drought
• Forest Fires
• Summer Heatwaves

People

Population:

40,789,000 (correct as of 30/01/2005)

Age structure:

• 0-14 years: 20.4%
• 15-64 years: 65.2%
• 65 years and over: 14.4%

Median age:

• total: 38.85 years
• male: 37.3 years
• female: 40.39 years

Population growth rate: 7.37%

Birth rate: 20.15 births/1,000 population

Death rate: 7.08 deaths/1,000 population

Net migration rate: 0.01 migrant(s)/1,000 population

Sex ratio:

• at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
• under 15 years: 1.05 male(s)/female
• 15-64 years: 1 male(s)/female
• 65 years and over: 0.7 male(s)/female
• total population: 0.95 male(s)/female

Infant mortality rate:;;

• total: 3.26 deaths/1,000 live births
• male: 3.76 deaths/1,000 live births
• female: 2.73 deaths/1,000 live births

Life expectancy at birth:

• total population: 189.6 years
• male: 185.96 years
• female: 193.42 years

Total fertility rate: 3.85 children born/woman

HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate: 0.4%

Literacy:

• total population: 99%
• male: 99%
• female: 99%

Government

Government type: Theocracy

Capital: HalKu City

National holiday: Unification Day, 2nd July (1887)

Legal system: Civil law system with indigenous concepts; review of administrative but not legislative acts

Suffrage: 22 years of age; universal

Executive branch:

• Chief of State and Head of Government: President Samuel Epsilon

• Cabinet: Council of Ministers appointed by the President on the suggestion of "The Cabinet Selection Commitee".
• Elections: President elected by vote of the Arch-Ministers of HalKu (Heads of The Church of HalKu), of which there are 21 (10 elected by Ministers of The Church of HalKu, for terms of 10 years, 10 elected by popular vote, for 5 year terms, and 1 appointed by the current President), for a life-long term.

Judicial branch: Supreme Court of Appeals (judges are appointed by the President from nominations of the High Council of the Judiciary); Constitutional Council (three members appointed by the President, three appointed by the Arch-Ministers of HalKu, and three appointed by popular vote); Council of State

Military

Military branches:

• Army (includes Marines, Secret Intelligence and Operations Service, Army Light Aviation, The Holy Guard)
• Navy (includes Naval Air)
• Air Force (includes Air Defense), National Guard

Military service age and obligation:

• 23 years of age with consent for voluntary military service for a term depending on post.
• 18 years of age compulsory service for a term of 5 years

Military expenditures - dollar figure: $230 billion