I Know Better Than You
| |
| Flag of I Know Better Than You | |
| Motto: "We want ROOM SERVICE" | |
| Coming soon. | |
| Region | The Spectrum |
|---|---|
| Capital | Orien |
| Official Language(s) | English |
| Leader | unknown |
| Population | 1.783 billion (as of 13/3/07) |
| Currency | nick-el |
| NS Sunset XML | |
The Shiny Consumerocracy of I Know Better Than You is a massive, economically powerful nation, notable for its barren, inhospitable landscape. Its hard-nosed, hard-working, cynical population of 1.783 billion are rabid consumers, partly through choice and partly because the government tells them to and dissenters tend to vanish from their homes at night.
The medium-sized, corrupt government juggles the competing demands of Defence, Law & Order, and Commerce. Income tax is unheard of. A powerhouse of a private sector is led by the Uranium Mining industry, followed by Information Technology and Gambling.
Shanty towns are forming in the suburbs of major cities, the state subsidizes liposuction, the military has had to quell a recent insurrection by uninsured revolutionaries, and the latest Harry Potter book is a bestseller. Crime -- especially youth-related -- is totally unknown, thanks to the all-pervasive police force. I Know Better Than You's national animal is the horn-toothed doormouse, which teeters on the brink of extinction due to widespread deforestation.
History
Ancient period
Civilisation in the Media region of The Spectrum can be traced back to c. 4000BC when the Western deserts and mountains were populated by nomadic tribes known as the Borra. These people are thought to have lived initially in small family groups, but in time they began to amalgamate and as the mountain passes that allowed passage from the summer camps of the highlands to the winter camps in the north plains forced groups into close proximity, communities began to form.
The Borra kept cattle and would drive them hundreds of miles, to escape the deep winter freeze of the mountains in favour of the desert rainy season in autumn and to the meltwater rivers from the desert heat in the spring. However as communities became increasingly large, the logistics of this bi-annual migration made it impractical and the remains of entire groups have been found in valleys where the heavy snowfall would have made the route impassable later in the autumn. The first evidence of permanent settlement was found at Borrego Springs (which takes it's name from the first documented leader of the settled tribes) where cereals were grown in the fertile ground.
Settlement in the Demetrian region predates the Borra civilisation as the fertile plains and the bountiful Saronic Gulf lent themselves to more permanent centers of population. City-states sprang up from the Kaftor mountains in the West to the edges of the Eastern desert, walled acropoli forming many of the major cities and much of the land beyond the walls being given over to farming. Despite the primarily mercantile culture that existed between the city-states, each city had its own army, although degrees of professionalism varied greatly between cities.
Historians consider the end of the ancient period to be around about 1800BC when the construction of the Colossusi at Saron, Kaftor and Orien began, marking the start of the Classical period.
Classical Period
As the trade routes across the Median planes became almost entirely free from bandits, the city states grew to remarkable prosperity and without concerns of drought or famine and with many natural defenses attentions were turned towards philosophy and the arts.
Theatre and debate became a popular pass-time for the increasingly educated populace and it was because of this that what is now termed "democracy" began to take shape. While each city was ruled by a "king" there was the constant threat of the populists that would draw vast crowds to the Forums of the cities to hear their public criticism of the incumbent government. Most cities in Media were tolerant of this and rather than suppress the dissenters, the kings found that while there were men that would argue against them, there were also those that would argue for them and so debate ensued. The inflexible kings were invariably removed through populist uprising and replaced (although not always by those that spoke against them) and the kings that remained in power did so by appeasing the masses.
The Median League was formally formed in 1790BC as a defensive alliance, as all the city-states of the Median plain had an interest in ensuring the natural borders remained unbreached. Signal towers were established in each city to relay messages across the League faster than any messenger could run, but went unused for hundreds of years as the Median League went largely unchallenged due to its lack of expansion.
The Colossi
In 1580BC the architect Annocles, with the help of the natural philosopher Merides, requested permission from the King of Oriens to construct a Colossus at the Eastern gate of the city, facing the Kaftor Mountains. Due to the expenses and the seeming impossibility of such a large construction, Oriens decided it was an unrealistic vision, although this did not dissuade other cities that were eager to succeed in making the Colossus a reality where the leading member of the League had dared not try.
The mountain city of Kaftor was the first to begin construction of a Colossus, 160 feet tall at completion and standing astride the Pass of Kaftor at the Eastern gate of the city, it depicted, in bronze, a Kaftori guerilla armed with a shield and javelin with a machette at it's waist and a fur cloak around it's shoulders. Despite the isolation of Kaftor in the mountains, it was able to monopolise the trade of many rarer commodities that could only be found in the east, so it was capable of accumulating enough wealth to begin such a project.
Construction of the Colossus at Oriens started two years later and after the final height of the the Kaftor Colossus could be estimated. Not content with having a Colossus that would surpass the Kaftor monument by a whole 30 feet, the Orien Colossus was armed with a bow and arrow, the head of which was tipped with a large clear quartz crystal that caught and reflected sunlight across the city from dawn til dusk. A beacon could be lit behind the crystal and metal salts added to increase the intensity or change the colour, an idea later adopted by the rest of the League.
The Colossus at Saron stands at the mouth of the Saronic Gulf, with one hand raised palm up to the sky holding a vast oil beacon, 16 feet across, upon it's finger tips. Unlike the rest of the beacons of Media, it is lit every night to mark the mouth of gulf to approaching vessels and light the precipitous coastline. Keeping the beacon lit is an almost fanatical preoccupation of the Order of Helle. Without any ladders or pulleys in place to hoist oil up to the beacon the city warrior cult spend hours a day climbing the statue, carrying oil in skins tied to their waists. As a maritime city the Immortals of Helle were primarily seamen and the physical strength and endurance developed on the Colossus made swinging from the rigging of ships armed and armoured seem like a holiday. Though there were no permanent ropeworks on the Colossus, so as not to disrupt its aesthetics, the Immortals were skilled in the use of ropes to ascend the structure.
