Bretton
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| Flag of Bretton | |
| Motto: We Kill For Peace | |
| classified | |
| Region | |
|---|---|
| Capital | Brettonia |
| Official Language(s) | English, German, Russian |
| Leader | "Fearless Leader"; Chancellor Gerhard Donner |
| Population | 5,775,000,000 |
| Currency | Jion |
| NS Sunset XML | |
Bretton is a cold, ancient nation, born through strife and fire. Its pale, stone-faced people might see the sun for two months out of the calendar year, but even still, they remain productive and pleasant to foreigners.
Contents
Government
As a Fortress State, the government and military are nearly indistinguishable. While not quite homogenous yet, it is safe to assume that anyone in a governmental position is or was in the armed forces at some point. This section will refer to the civilian-equivalent aspects of the government, as well as those not directly considered to be armed forces.
Head of State
Since the Glorious Revolution 167 years ago, the name of the army officer most often credited with being the lynchpin in the operation has been lost to history. To the modern Brettonian, he is simply referred to as "Fearless Leader." In earlier years, Fearless Leader had turned out to observe the yearly anniversary of the Glorious Revolution, which in Brettonian tradition, involved a massive parade of military hardware of all shapes and sizes through Brettonia's main thoroughfare. As the years went on, Fearless Leader continued to issue public edicts and made appearances, but they became progressively fewer in number. Fearless Leader has not made an appearance in many decades, and some speculate he may well no longer be among the living.
Enter the Chancellor. Originally no more than a speaker for Fearless Leader, as he began disappearing into the veil of secrecy, the Chancellor continued to become a more powerful position. In addition to being the governmental leader, the Chancellor is also the commander-in-chief of the armed forces. In the past, such dual-purpose leaderships have produced less-than-spectacular results. In the case of the Brettonian Chancellor, this has not yet come to pass, mostly on account of the fact that the Chancellor himself is a General first and a politician second. A new Chancellor is picked via a military council, based on both his service in the forces and his political skill.
The current occupant of the position, Chancellor Gerhard Donner, has ruled "as if the voice of Fearless Leader himself" and enjoys a staunch backing of the military. The population has always viewed their leaders with at least a modicum of skepticism, but nationalism remains a front-burner issue for most Brettonian citizens.
Ministry of Information
Whenever something occurs that the public and international community must know of, the Ministry of Information puts out the brightly colored posters and public news releases. Effectively,the Ministry of Information acts as the entire nation's combined Public Relations office. It is responsible for everything from recruitment posters for the armed forces to the latest batch of propaganda sent to other world leaders about this crisis and that event. The Ministry of Information is widely criticized by most other branches of government as a bunch of pompous windbags and media moguls.
Ministry of Foreign Affairs
A more refined branch that the Ministry of Information, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs deals with other national governments on a man-to-man, level-headed basis, and is mostly free of the blind nationalism of the Ministry of Information.
Ministry of Justice
Responsible for maintaining order within the homeland, the Ministry of Justice drafts, approves, and enforces law. Cases of civil matters and those unaffiliated with national security are handled by citizen juries, attorneys, and are carried out in a relatively western, modern fashion. Terrorists, antipartisans, spies, and military criminals, on the other hand, are prosecuted by the military directly; their trials are typically conducted in secret.
Capital punishment is mandated for all serious crimes committed against the government, and is also often metered out in an "eye for an eye" fashion. Public executions are quite popular, and are carried out via petitions from the local population. Common criminals are executed via the "seven cent solution" (the cost of one .45 Auto cartridge, delivered to the head), whereas high profile enemies of state, such as spies, traitors, mass murderers, etc, are done away with via a firing squad. A bullet (or several) to the head is considered to be the most humane way of dealing capital punishment.
Prisons, usually referred to as "reeducation facilities" tend to be operated by the private sector, though heavy security is provided by the government. Emphasis is placed on rehabilitating criminals to be returned to society as quickly as possible, and thus a wide variety of corrective procedures and policies are metered out rapidly. Criminals who do nothing but occupy space in a cell are a waste of funding. To this effect, convincts who are unresponsive to reeducation methods may be used as labor for both public and private sectors, or in the case of the criminally insane, executed.
Ministry of Transportation
While private transportation is heavily encouraged by the government (automobile manufacturers sometimes recieve government stipends to keep their prices within reach for the average citizen), Bretton's incredibly massive and intricate rail network also serves as a basis for public transportation. Though its origins come from the enormous need to reliably yet cheaply move industrial supplies and military hardware, public rail transit has become a significant factor in recent decades.
Ministry of Health
The good health of the Brettonian populace is essential to its continued growth as a military and industrial power. It's no understatement to say that pollution in the Brettonian homeland is prevalent around population centers; this, among the already harsh climate, is what has sent most of the population underground. However, people yearn for open space, and the artifical skies of even the finest underground agoras are still just that: artificial. The Ministry of Health is responsible for keeping the Brettonian people healthy, even as they go about their business in its unhealthy areas. It provides basic healthcare to Brettonian citizens (though the more well off can opt out of this coverage in exchange for a lower tax rate), while private firms handle the more specialized procedures, including cyronics, cloning, and gene therapy.
Military
The armed forces are first and foremost on the Brettonian government's priority. While all citizens are required to serve a two-year term in the reserves, the active duty military is volunteer. Due to good pay and the great emphasis on personel defense, recruiters rarely face a failure to meet their annual quotas of enlistees. High-ranking officers carry an almost nobility-like status in society, and constitute a fair portion of the wealthy upper class.
Army
By far the largest branch of the military, the Army recieves the most funding and deadliest weapons.
