Difference between revisions of "Culture of the Liamist States"

Revision as of 06:46, 11 April 2005

Using a mixture of the ideas of Liamism and Urbanism, one can get an idea of how Liamists tick. Combine this with key cultural aspects, a person can get an overview of Liamist culture.

Much of this article refers to the Liamist States directly but can be accurately applied to the rest of the Empire, with only a few regional alterations.

People & Demographics

Nationality: Liamist(s)

Adjective: Liamist

• Age structure - 0-14 years: 22.0%, 15-64 years: 54.2%, 65 years and over: 23.8%
• Gender structure - Male: 47.2%, Female: 48.3%, Transgender: 4.5%
• Population growth - <0.01%
• Life expectancy - Male: 84.5 years, Female: 88.2 years
• Birth/Death rate (per million) - 12.22/10.38
• Fertility - 1.12 children/woman
• Immigration/Emmigration (per million) - 7.42/1.03
• Background - 89% Liamist, 7% Tableleg, 4% Other*
• Primary Languages - 45% English, 34% Tablelandian, 11% Old Liamist, 7% French, 3% Other**
• Religion - 69% Atheist/Agnostic, 24% Liamist, 7% Other

*A resident is considered of Liamist Background, when they and their parents are born in the Liamist States. Only around half of the Liamist Background population can trace their genealogy back to pre-Liamist States Liamists. **Most Liamists are capable of speaking more than one language.

Liamism

Liamism is the essential embodiment of all things Liam. Liamism can be taken in one of two ways:

• As a lifestyle philosophy.
• As a religion.

As a lifestyle philosophy, Liamism has shaped all of the peoples of the Liamist States. It essentially means that people are proud of all things that they are associated with but respectful of one another. The Liamists are proud of their nation, what it has achieved, its culture but also themselves, their achievements, their families and any institutions that they are a part of. They are not blinded by this pride, frequently recognising problems that are swiftly addressed and corrected, making the Liamists some of the most progressive people in NationStates.

While many strike up rivalries with people in opposing factions, it is usually friendly and restricted to verbal slinging matches. That is, of course, unless they are not officially a Liamist and still considered foreign, where they will usually be considered fairly culturally deficient and lacking the knowledge any Liamist should know. These foreigners are not excluded for their deficiency but brought in closer to social groups for Liamist training. Those who cannot be trained or are still foreign are ostracised. The Liamists as such are often perceived as arrogant people.

Liamism is also a very individualist philosophy with a strong sense of self-belief that leads to most Liamists thinking that they are the most important person who is in control of their own destiny. Despite this reality-grounded self-importanism, most will happily discomfort themselves for the gain of another needier person. Liamists recognise the individual, such as Liam himself, as the one who is often responsible for mass ripples of change through history.

Liamists tend to be hardworking. While they work thirty hour weeks, enjoying every minute they get away from work, but often achieve what most nationalities do in forty or even fifty hours of work. If work needs doing during breaks in work time, Liamists will often forgo personal needs to get their jobs done. When not working, Liamists try to be relaxed; however, the nation has high stress and associated disease rates.

As a religion, Liamism embodies all the above beliefs as the word of Liam, who is considered an all-powerful, all-knowing, all-seeing being. He is responsible for the creation of the universe and the setting up of the laws of physics, which he can change at any time. He has chosen the Liamists as his people and will lead them to a nirvana.

Many people, including Liam himself, refute this as the truth and as such, many of the Liamists are either atheistic or agnostic (unsure of whether religion is false, Liamism is the path or whether another minority religion is the way). Under a quarter of the population confirms themselves as Liamists, refusing to accept Liam’s own testimony that Liamism was actually a method of grabbing power when the Liamist States was first formed and instead pointing out his somewhat mythical (and subject to many conspiracy theories) longevity.

On a side note, the remainder of the religious population mostly consists of equal numbers of Christians, Muslims, Buddhists, Hindus, Jews, Sikhs and a miscellaneous group. Each religion is generally accepted and adds to the Liamist cultural tapestry.

Urbanism

Urbanism is the prevailing social thought in the Liamist States. It involves the abolition of small localities in favour of establising large metropolises. This more of a general social movement than any governmental program, policy or legislation. Benefits are mostly related to environmental factors but some social benefits are also apparent. Environmentally, electricity is centralised and so power is saved via a lack of line resistance. Public transport is almost compulsory, as taxes on private vehicles are astronomical. Combine these with advances in recycling, heat retension, conduction and conversion to electricity, pollution control and restrictive zoning for industrial manufacturing, increasingly efficient water strategies and the hydroponification in agriculture and the increasing nuclearisation of energy production, means that the Liamist States Empire is almost heat, water and carbon neutral. Socially, due to the melting pot and lax immigration laws, racism is a thing of the past. Teenagers are also not a problem, having adequate entertainment and not having to turn to substance abuse or undereducated unsafe sex.

Urbanism became popular toward the end of the Reformation. Technological advances had made an Urban lifestyle an efficient and environmentally conscious choice. People flocked to the cities in ever greater numbers and abandoned the little towns. The mass humanity feel was contrasted with open spaced archetecture to prevent a feeling of oppression. Liamists were soon reveling in their own culture which has led to the Liamists becoming one of the most culturally proud peoples in NationStates.

There are six stages of Urbanisation:

• Rural (eg: Adali) - Very low population density. Dwellings are hundreds of kilometres apart. Inefficient facility reproductions.
• Fringal - Low population density. Dwellings on acreage and hundreds of metres apart. Some local commercial development present. Combination of Rural and SubUrban.
• SubUrban (eg: Trenport) - Low population density. Dwellings metres apart. Local commercial development present. Some facility sharing.
• Urban - Medium population density. Dwellings stacked to several stories. Local commercial develpoment is usually a part of dwellings. Public transport (usually an electric bus system that runs along train lines or EBS) integrated underneath developments.
• SuperUrban (eg: Liamopolis) - High population density. Dwellings stacked to tens of stories. Roads closed to cars, pedestrian only. Long distance travel is reliant on EBS. Water extensively recycled. Buildings further apart, releasing the sense of oppression and are integrated with greenery to beautify the canton or city.
• MegaUrban (eg: City de Liam) - Very high population density. Dwellings are in skyscraper form. Pedestrians walk on roads for short distance travel. Heading down to moving walkways on a subterrean level for medium distance travel and use the EBS (famous for running a bus every two minutes along a line) for long distance.

Environment & Marmadukes

Liamists are entitled to a right to a clean and healthy environment in which to live, even at the expense of enterprise. As such, the environment is covered by Economic Protectionist laws and is kept in a pristine condition. Marmadukes form an integral part of this environment. For more Marmaduke information, visit the Marmaduke article.

Sport

Sport is as large a part of Liamist culture as the artistic side is. But its not just humans who take part. Marmaduke, the national animals of the LSE, sports are just as important and usually score higher ratings on TV. Here are some of the more popular sports.

Human

Soccer/Football

Probably no human sport is known better than football, or soccer, as it is known in the Liamist States. Wikipedia describes football best as a "ball game played between two teams of 11 players, each attempting to win by scoring more goals than their opponent. A goal results when the ball passes over the goal line between the goalposts and under the crossbar. Football is played predominantly with the feet, but players may use any part of their body except their hands and arms to propel the ball. The goalkeeper is the only member of the team allowed to handle the ball in the field of play.

"Football is played at a professional level all over the LSE and millions of people regularly go to a football stadium to follow their home team, whilst millions more avidly watch the game on television. A very large number of people also play football at an amateur level." Professionals play for clubs which are subsidiaries of the Liamist Football Association (LFA) in one of three levels of play: Premier League, Major League and Minor League (top three club in the bottom two leagues are promoted up and the bottom three in the upper two leagues are relegated). In the Liamist Club Cup, all clubs get a go at each other regardless of league or nation. The football season is conducted in summer. The best Liamist players are selected to play for the Marmadukes, the national football side. Usually a canton has a club or two. For example, the Premier League contains sixteen the best known clubs in the Liamist States:

• Adali Fanatical (Adali)
• Alexandra (GLS)
• Canterbury (GLS)
• CDL United (City de Liam)
• City de Liam (City de Liam)
• East Trenport (Trenport)
• Fairbank CBD (Fairbank)
• Fairbank Centrale (Fairbank)
• Fairbank Vice (Fairbank)
• Gradburg North (Gradburg)
• LS Town (City de Liam)
• Mayfair (GLS)
• Sheffield (GLS)
• Trenport City (Trenport)
• Trenportsmouth (Trenport)
• York (GLS)

The Liamist States recently entered and won the Pre-WC21 Baptism of Fire and will enter their first World Cup, hoping to become regular fixtures. Liamopolis and Liamton run separate single-level competitions administered by the LFA.

Rugby

Unlike in other nations, rugby in the Liamist States actually refers to a reconciled and altered version of rugby league and rugby union. According to Wikipedia, "Distinctive features of rugby include the ovoid ball and the ban on passing the ball forwards, so that players can gain ground only by running with the ball or by kicking it." The game runs much faster than league but is more ordered than union. There are ten players a side, to encourage attacking, and when a player is tackled, the ball is placed where the tackle took place and play continues until the team has been tackled five times on which a turnover is given.

Scoring occurs by achieving either a try or a goal. A try involves grounding the ball over the goal line at the opponents' end of the field, giving the scorers five points. A goal results from kicking the ball over the crossbar between the upright goalposts. Three different types of kick at goal can score points: the goal kick after a try has been awarded, which if successful becomes a conversion (for two points), the penalty kick (for two points) and the field goal, kicked while in play for three points. A kicked ball that lands out will see a pass-in (a pass from the sideline to a teammate) from the sideline for the opposing side. If it’s out on the full, the opposing side gets a pass-in parallel to the where the kick was taken.

If the ball or a team is infringed on, a penalty (either a scrum, penalty goal or pass-in, the choice is that of the Captain) may be awarded. These are but a handful of the rules but because of the nature of the game (full bodily contact with little or no padding), the rugby world frowns on unsporting behaviour, since even a slight infringement of the rules may lead to serious injury or even death. As such, the Liamist Rugby Association (LRA) enforces the rules strictly.

An Empire-wide league is conducted by the LRA in fall. Each District, Liamopolis and Liamton send a team to compete.

Handball

Wikipedia writes that "Handball is played on a field forty metres long by twenty metres wide with a dividing line in the middle and a goal in the centre of either end. The goals are surrounded by a near-semicircular line that is generally six metres away from the goal. There is also a dashed near-semicircular line that is nine metres away from the goal.

"Only the defending goalkeeper is allowed to step inside the six metre perimeter, though any player may attempt to catch and touch the ball in the air within it. If a player should find himself in contact inside the goal perimeter he must immediately take the most direct path out of it. Should a defender make contact with an attacker while in the goal perimeter, their team is penalized with a direct attempt at the goal, with only one attacker on the seven-metre line and the defending goalkeeper involved.

"The ball is smaller than a football in order for the players to be able to hold and handle it with a single hand (though contact with both hands is perfectly allowed). It is transported by bouncing it between hands and floor — much as in basketball, except that a handball player may raise their hand above shoulder level while bouncing.

"A standard match duration consists of two periods of 30 minutes each, during which each team may call one time-out. If a game ends in a tie, two extension periods of 15 minutes are played, and if each of them ends in a tie as well, the tie-break is an individual shootout from the 7-meter line.

"The game is quite fast and includes much contact as the defenders try to bodily stop the attackers from approaching the goal. Only frontal contact by the defenders is allowed; when a defender stops an attacker with their arms on the side, the play is stopped and restarted from the nine metre line, with the attacking team in possession. If the contact between the players is particularly rough (even if it is indeed frontal), the referees may award a nine-metre penalty to the attacking team, or a seven-metre penalty. In more extreme cases, they give the defender a yellow (warning) or a red card (permanent expulsion). For rough fouls they can also order two-minute expulsions, and the third two-minute punishment for the same player automatically leads to a red card expulsion.

"Conversely, if the attacker is at fault the possession of the ball can be awarded to the defending team. Players may also cause the possession to be lost if they make more than three steps per one bounce of the ball off the floor."

A winter domestic league is run by the Liamist Handball Association (LHA). Handball is yet to become a professional sport in Liamopolis and Liamton, although plans for an Empire-wide league are coming to fruition.

Formula Human Racing

Formula Human Racing (FHR) is the highest class of single-seat auto racing. It is an Empire-wide sport run by the Liamist Motor Sports Association (LMSA) in spring. Considered by many to be the pinnacle of automotive engineering, with engines putting out over a thousand kilowatts of power.

Unlike FMR, FHR is not a four-legged race. Rather the season is divided into four sections: Road Races (12), Circuit Cups (10), AGGPs (4) and Rally Runs (6). Road Races are conducted on motorbikes, on a (usually) closed off street circuit through some of the more scenic Cantons of the empire. Circuit Cups are four open-wheel racers that race around custom built tracks. AGGP stands for Anti-Gravity Grand Prix where racers take their game to the highest speeds, somewhere around 750 km/h mark, racing across the countryside of the Empire. Rally Runs take racers to the natural wonders of the Empire to spray mud up on the screaming spectators. Finishing in the top sections of a race will gain a driver, and his or her team, points. At the conclusion of each section, the driver with most points is crowned Champion Driver and the top team is awarded Champion Constructor. There is also an overall Champion Driver and Constructor awarded at the end of the season.

FHR is currently divided into a Major and Minor League, operating under similar rules to the Major and Minor Leagues in football. New teams start in the Minors until they are good enough to be promoted to the Majors. It’s not unusual for a driver to advance and fall much faster than any of his teams. No distinct dominating enterprise has emerged beyond a hold of three seasons.

Liamist Games

Much like the Athletion for Marmadukes, the Liamist Games is essentially a multi sport competition for Liamists. Men and women (surprisingly, neither sex really seems capable of dominating any sport for a great deal of time) compete together annually in a wide range of individual sports, including athletics, swimming, fencing, wrestling, skating, aerobatics (literally held in AG) and gymnastics. Athletes represent home Cantons and each District and Liamopolis and Liamton rotate in hosting duties. Most metropolises devote a large area in the centre to sporting grounds for use by both professional and amateur athletes.

Marmaduke

Superpolo

Main Article: Superpolo

Superpolo™ is the ultimate in team sports. It combines aspects of soccer, handball, water polo and rugby into one fast paced, action-packed extravaganza. The field changes constantly between ice, land, water, underwater and air. The aim of the game is to get the ball into the back of the net. Its played in a giant plastic rectangular prism, set in the middle of a stadium.

Each quarter, a randomly selected medium is chosen to play in. This means that the first quarter may be aerial, using AG (anti-gravity) packs attached to the Marmadukes, but the second quarter may be underwater with the Marmadukes using standard issue Oxygenators®. There is no standard order and once a medium is used, it may be used again in the same match - its random. To score a goal, a Marmaduke must get the ball in the back of the net, past the goalkeeper. They can carry the ball as far as they can and can use whatever body part they wish to propel the ball but must not use any other instruments. Team with the most goals wins.

While domestic Superpolo leagues exist, they are of diminished importance next to the new international setup.

Formula Marmaduke Racing

Main Article: Formula Marmaduke Racing

Formula Marmaduke Racing™ (FMR) is the future of motor sport in NationStates. It used to be that we took a small furry-feathery animal, strapped it into a superpowered small race car-like vehicle and let it loose to conquer the FMR world. Those days are gone. FMR is now much more sophisticated.

A FMR grand prix covers about 900 km and usually provides some spectacular vistas across the varied nations that it is held in. The race is divided into four legs, each designed to be about an hour long. They are 2 wheeler (motorbike), 4 wheeler (race car), 0 wheeler (anti-gravity racer) and R wheeler (rally), from which a driver will change vehicles three times in a single race in an effort to complete it. The simple aim of a FMR GP is to cover the 900 race kilometres as quickly as possible. This usually involves avoiding accidents with other drivers and man-made barriers.

FMR was a totally Liamist-only zone but is now completely international.

Athletion

Main Article: Athletion

The Athletion™ is the Marmaduke sports equivalent of the Olympics. We put the best amateur Marmadukes of the world to an arduous test of their respective skills. Over one weekend of solid, intense international competition, the MSA gives out sixty-five gold medals in sixteen disciplines, including the infamous Athletion itself - the ultimate competition that takes athletes and tests them over every single individual discipline. Disciplines include running, throwing, swimming, skating, fencing and gymnastics.

The Athletion was a totally Liamist-only zone but is now completely international.

Art

The Liamist States features a thriving artistic scene, which includes a non-commercial (commonly known as alternative) music industry, painting, sculpture, live performance and modern art, which seems to be evolving into a mix of all of the above and utilising new digital multimedia methods of communication. Artistic expression is protected by the Constitution and mostly supported by the government through STAE grants.

Technology

Due to the nature of the Liamist States grants to the scientific community, technology is moderately advanced compared to the so-called “Real World” standard.

Advances have been made in:

• Carbon recycling: Almost any form of carbon can have the carbon extracted and reused in another form. This is especially true of garbage and carbon monoxide and dioxide.
• Water recycling: In the Liamist States, it rains, ends up in a dam or a stormwater drain, is cleaned, used in a shower or sink, re-piped through to the toilet, piped back out, cleaned and reused. If there's an oversupply of rain water, the black water is used over the natural resource stocks, which are merely released into the environment when dams are over capacity.
• Heat recycling: Sources of extreme heat energy, nuclear power plants, industrial areas, etc, are wrapped in a piezoelectric plastic wrap that absorbs heat and radiation. The energy is retained and conducted to a converter that takes the heat/radiation and changes it into electricity, which is then pumped into the general grid. Power plants are then run at partial production as the system feeds on itself.
• Nuclear Waste recycling: It has recently been made possible to synthesise Uranium-238 from nuclear waste. The remaining waste is, of course, useless. It has no carbon, water, heat or radioactive properties and cannot be recycled further. It is, however, a powerful solvent and has industrial and home applications.
• Fundamental Forces: Liamists have mastered the electroweak and gravity forces but not strong nuclear. This means that pro- and anti-gravity applications are common (in building supports and transport) and electromagnetism and weak nuclear forces are conquered, resulting in micronucleics and anti-mag fields. Fusion will be possible when Strong Nuclear is inevitably mastered and is considered the missing link in unifying gravity and electroweak forces. Some breakthroughs in this field are top secret.
• Civil engineering: Advances in civil engineering make buildings in the hundred of stories. 300, 600 or even 1200 metre tall buildings exist. The tallest Liamist States building is 1, 512m high.
• Robotics: Robot labour has almost entirely displaced human labour across the Liamist States. Robots are still supervised on farms and in factories but are saving humans a lot of time. Since low level work has been robotiscised, many Liamists are highly trained in technological fields, with up to 75% of Liamists university trained. Knowledge, technology and expertise are important exports, along with agricultural products and electronic components.
• Acoustics & Imaging: Some of the most sensitive phonics and high resolution imaging equipment are found in the Liamist States, giving them a supreme edge in espionage. Just about any detail can be seen on a face and anything above a conversational whisper can be heard by a Liamist satellite in at a height of 100 km.
• Oxygenators: Runs a sample of water through complete electrolysis and provides oxygen from the water around. Fits in a Marmadukes mouth.
• Hydroponics: The main reason why agriculture is dying. Superior fruits and vegetables can be produced in a relatively small space, when compared to inefficient agriculture with relatively little labour and water.

The Liamist States has not made a great deal of progress militarily. No weapons beyond nuclear projectiles and very limited space military capabilities, although space exploration and utilisation is well underway for the Liamist States Space Agency (LSSA).

More Information

• Liamist States Empire