The Palentine
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| Flag of The Palentine | |
| Motto: "Cry Havok! and let slip the Dogs of War!" | |
| No Map Available Yet | |
| Region | Antarctic Oasis |
|---|---|
| Capital | The 'Burgh |
| Official Language(s) | English and Pittsburghese |
| Leader | Emperor Captain Spaulding I |
| Population | 500 million |
| Currency | greenback |
| NS Sunset XML | |
Contents
History
The nation that would be known as the Holy Empire of the Palentine was founded by the mighty warrior queen Komoniwannalaya in 1812 when she united the nomadic peoples of the land. The nation pretty much stayed isolated under the mostly apathetic rule of the heirs of the queen. Then one day the last heir on the dynasty died off. The people looked for a savior to protect them from more agressive nations. Then one day a mysterious stranger arrived in the land. Some said he was a military officer; others said he was an explorer; still others said he was a degenerate. One thing was for sure ... he was eccentric. He looked around and uttered the immortal words, "Sod this! Lets go where the action is!" Such statements are the stuff leaders are made of; the population unanimously offered him the crown. At that point he became Emperor Captain Spaulding I, ruler of the Holy Empire of the Palentine. The nation moved to Antarctic Oasis shortly afterwards.
Founded as a right-wing utopia, the Palentine is currently an inoffensive centrist democracy. However it has toyed with being a moralistic democracy from time to time. Do not be fooled by labels; the Palentine is a staunchly pro-capitalist, pro-military, evil conservative state. Arms manufacturing and gambling are the primary industries. Mad Scientists ... err, "Science Advisors" are also welcome in the Palentine. The population is armed and has some political and civil rights, but in truth, the government prefers not to intrude too much in its citizens' private lives.
Government and Politics
The Palentine is an empire, and thus ultimate power and authority comes from the Emperor. The Emeror is assisted buy three bodies: The House of Lords, the Imperial Senate, and the Imperial Auditors.
The House of Lords
This august body is made up of the heads of the major and minor noble houses. It was started at a time when it was accepted that the Emperor needed the cooperation of the nobility to rule. However this branch has eventually become more of a good old boys network, like a stuffy upper class genlemen's club, with no political power.
The Imperial Senate
This government body is made up of 300 citizens from all classes and sexes. Each serves a six year term, with elections being held for one third of the senate every two years. It proposes legislation, and advises the Emperor. Once again as the Emperor holds ultimate veto power and authority the senate has little power. However this is the best place for political advancement and opportunity because the Emperor awards competant, hard working, and talented senators with Imperial appointment to abassadorships and Imperial offices(like Prime Minister, and Imperial Auditor).
Imperial Auditors
This position is rather murky. They have no connection to financial resposibility. The job of the auditors is to act as the Emperor's ears and eyes, a combination of watchdog and wolfhound. They are given authority to act in the Emperor's name to protect the empire from internal and external threats. They are not a secret police though. The Emperor assigns the auditors a task when he needs information, or is busy elsewhere. The Auditors themselves are made up of 9 positions: 8 permanate and 1 temporary. The appointment is for life or the Emperor's pleasure, except for the ninth position which is filled as needed. The aditors are made up of military officers, senators, scientists or businessmen, or people with special knowlage and or training(one never knows what assignment one will be given). Intellegence, discipline, and ingenuity are prized abilities among the auditors.
The Land and Miscellaneous Tourist Information
The Palentine is a wonderful albeit a little strange place to visit, and can be disorienting to a tourist. The technology is a bizzare combination of modern and steampunk. Clock-work mechcanisms and automatons share the world with modern computers and electronics. Large helium filled rigid airships fly in the skies along with modern aircraft. One possible reason for this strange phenomena is the large concentration of Mad Scientists per capita. Of all the nations in the Antarctic Oasis only Lois-Must-Die is reputed to have more Mad Scientists. Consequently all tourists are asked to follow the lead of citizens, and ignore any explosions, and quickly keep out of the way of lab expeiments running amok. Tourists are warned to keep away from the native penguin population, as most of the little buggers are rather viscous. Only the domesticated house penguins are considered safe to approach. The Palentine's national anthem is the rousing song 'Hooray for Captian Spaulding!' and tourists are requested to remove their hats when the song is played. Failure to do so may result in getting beaten up by a very patriotic citizen of the Palentine.Tourists shoud also be aware that a strange dialect called Pittsburghese is spoken here. It is similar to standard english with minor variations.[1]
