Esoterium
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| Flag of Esoterium | |
| Motto: The world is not yours, Tony Montana... | |
| Region | The Revolutionary Alliance |
|---|---|
| Capital | New Washington |
| Official Language(s) | English and French |
| Leader | Grand Master Thompson |
| Population | 283,000,000 |
| Currency | Esoteric Dollar |
| NS Sunset XML | |
National Profile
The Republic of Esoterium, founded on June 6, 2007, is a huge, socially progressive nation, renowned for its complete lack of prisons. Its hard-nosed, intelligent population of 283,000,000 people are free to do what they want with their own bodies, and vote for whoever they like in elections; if they go into business, however, they are regulated to within an inch of their lives. The nation is the founding member of The Revolutionary Alliance, a region dedicated to the Enlightened principles which inspired the foundation of the United States.
The large government juggles the competing demands of Social Welfare, Education, and Healthcare. The average income tax rate is 26%, but much higher for the wealthy. A healthy private sector is led by the Information Technology, Woodchip Exports, and Door-to-Door Insurance Sales industries.
Murderers frequently escape punishment by claiming they were protecting their honour, drug distribution is tightly controlled by the government, the government helps teach children how to kill a man from six paces, and the nation is experiencing a severe shortage of sporting events. Crime is moderate, probably because of the country's utter lack of prisons. Esoterium's national animal is the Master Mason, which teeters on the brink of extinction due to widespread deforestation, and its currency is the Esoteric Dollar.
History
Origins
Esoterium was established by leaders of two dissolved nations. The Confederacy of Anti-Masonic Paranoia and The Incorporated States of Freemasonica once existed within the borders of the new republic. These two nations had greatly varying systems of government. One was a centrist democracy, the other was a corporate police state. The common bond which connected them, however, was the influence that Freemasonry and other secret societies had on the two nations. Both were founded by members of secret societies, albeit rival organizations with agendas that transcended largely superficial political divides. Shortly after its foundation, Anti-Masonic Paranoia outlawed Freemasonry and persecuted all members of the society. At its peak, the country had a population of 435,000,000 people and executed or imprisoned over 2,000 alleged Freemasons each month. Anti-Masonic Paranoia had originally existed on the outskirts of Gatesville, and had participated in the region's anti-interventionist activities. But after becoming disillusioned with Gatesville's lack of commitment to military action, the nation helped found the First Revolutionary Council. The leader of Anti-Masonic Paranoia broke off ties with Gatesville, ensuring that the fate of his nation and that of Gatesville would be forever separate from each other.
In the aftermath of the dissolution of The First Revolutionary Council, Anti-Masonic Paranoia likewise fell into anarchy. After over a year of civil war, Freemasons finally emerged from hiding and established a new order, with the city of Esoterium as their capital. However, their vision for the new nation was corrupted after a time, and Freemasonica became a corporate police state. Free expression and civil rights were non-existent, while the completely deregulated economy allowed megacorporations to form and thrive at the expense of the people. This order was tolerated for only a short time, until the Freemasons rose again.
The Third Order
The Freemasons at last founded a free nation, based on the principles which inspired their foundation of the United States of America in another dimension. The Republic of Esoterium was and is dedicated to remaining a free and open society. This is the true legacy of the Founding Fathers of Esoterium; their influence, while secretive, while at some times confusing and even suspicious, is a benevolent one. It will certainly continue to shape the face of Esoterium in this new era.
In its short history, Esoterium has led The Second Revolutionary Council, which was later replaced by The Revolutionary Alliance (TRA) on June 10, 2007. This growing region is dedicated to halting the influence of interventionist nations, regions, and organizations, including the UN. As Chairman of TRA, Grand Master Thompson, the newly elected leader of Esoterium, has moved to improve diplomatic relations with other regions and gather intelligence more efficiently then previous iterations of The Revolutionary Council. The future of Esoterium and TRA is uncertain, but it is doubtful that either body will be irrelevant in a changing world.
