New Amargosa
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| Flag of New Amargosa | |
| Motto: Discover Greatness in Yourself | |
| Map Pending | |
| Region | Europe |
|---|---|
| Capital | Atrus City |
| Official Language(s) | D'ni, English, Spanish |
| Leader | Prefect Jeff of the Surface |
| Population | 150 - 250 million |
| Currency | New Amargosan Credit |
| NS Sunset XML | |
Contents
General Information
For a brief description of New Amargosa please visit New Amargosa on NationStates.
New Amargosa is a member of the United Nations.
History
During a recent expedition to the ruined D'ni cavern, a group of 400 survivors had been located on an Age called Amargosa, linked to by a Book found in a secluded area on Ae'gura island. The expeditioners, having previously learned the D'ni language, planned with the survivors to make a new community where surface-dwellers and D'ni could co-exist, and the Art of Writing Ages could be passed on to a new generation.
The group settled in a small area of Europe and established their new home: Atrus City. The new city grew at a rapid rate as fans of the Myst games and D'ni culture settled there. Eventually, it became so large that new residents were forced to found new cities near the original. The city council of Atrus city decided to unite the nacent cities under a single government for their own mutual benefit. As a result, the Commonwealth of New Amargosa was born on Saturday, June 6, 2005 (Leebro 7, 9661 DE).
Government Structure
The supreme governing document of New Amargosa is called the New Amargosan Charter. It was originally drafted in order to unite Atrus City and its daughter cities under one government. The Charter outlines a representative democracy based on the old D'ni government and the governments of surface nations such as the United States of America and divides the government into three branches: legislative, executive, and judicial.
Legislative
The legislative branch is known as the Council of Grand Masters. Each grand master is elected to his or her position by the members of the respective guild. As a result, there is one grand master representing each guild in the Council. Since each citizen of New Amargosa is a member of a guild, this system ensures that each person recieves representation in the Council.
Executive
The executive branch is known as the Prefecture and is headed by the prefect. The prefect is chosen from among the grand masters by his or her piers through a secret ballot. A grand master can not vote for himself in the prefectorial elections, in order to prevent deadlocks. Traditionally, each grandmaster holds a plebiscite among the members of his guild to determine where his vote goes. However, this is not required. A grand master may vote of his own volition.
The prefect serves a similar role as the President of the United States. He ratifies bills proposed by the Council of Grand Masters, and appoints judges to the Tribunal of Elders. He also serves as the 'face' of the New Amargosan government. The current prefect is Jeff of the Surface (Guild of Linguists).
Judicial
The judicial branch of the government is called the Tribunal of Elders, and closely resembles the Supreme Court of the United States of America. The prefect chooses twenty-five candidates to serve as the pool for the eventual plebiscite. Each citizen then gets to vote for five out of the total of twenty-five. The five elders with the most votes win the seats of the tribunal and serve a term of twenty years.
The Tribunal of Elders interprets the laws outlined in the New Amargosan Charter and the legislation passed by the Council of Grand Masters. Any decision they make is then considered precedent for any future cases in the lower tribunals.
Description of the Flag
The Flag of New Amargosa was originally designed by Herat of Alsendar'en, winner of the New Amargosan Flag Design Contest. The following description of the flag's symbolism comes from Herat himself:
- "My entry consists of a black D'ni letter 'ah' on a field of white. While this design may seem simple, it contains symbolism appropriate to our new nation. The white field represents the white of the pages of our Linking Books, which are the basis of our culture. The black letter 'ah' represents the D'ni written word, which allows us to communicate and gives us access to the Ages. The 'ah' represents the first letter in 'Amargosa'."
Some critics have noted that the flag favors the D'ni minority while leaving out the surface-dweller majority. However, these complaints are rare; most citizens of surface-dweller descent are content with the flag. If a problem does arise in the future, The New Amargosan government has promised that if enough people become dissatisfied with the flag design, a plebiscite will be held to choose a new flag.
The Guild of Messengers News Network
The Guild of Messengers News Network, or GMNN, is the official news service of New Amargosa and is headed by Guildsman Cethus (Messengers). Originally the local news station for the Atrus City Federal Discrict, the government approved legislation to elevate the station to national status and fund it with government grants on 11 Leesahn 9661. The GMNN now has affiliate stations in the cities of Ae'gura Nee and Taygana, effectively broadcasting news to every television in New Amargosa. Plans are currently underway to add a news ticker to the KI-NET in the near future.
In addition to promoting the network's expansion, the government grant also imposes restrictions on the method in which the news is delivered. Partisan bias will forfeit the grant immediately and incur fines from the government, so in order to maintain a standard of neutrality, the GMNN administration has developed strict rules its anchors and commentators must follow. Residents of Atrus City may find the new reporting style a bit contrived at first, but Guildsman Cethus is certain that the GMNN will still be able to deliver informative news while keeping a politically neutral position.
The KI Builder Group
The KI Builder Group is one of the largest corporations in New Amargosa. The KBG specializes in making KI's: a small communication device with several unique properties. In addition to making KI's, the KBG makes holographic image projectors that can interface with handheld KI units. The KI-NET, a network of all handheld KI units, allows for instantaneous transmission over distances too great for real-time lightspeed communication. The KBG is headquartered in Taygana in the same location as the central nexus of the KI-NET.
Membership in the ASEN
New Amargosa applied for membership in the Association of Southern European Nations on 16 Leesahn 9661 DE. Upon entry into the association, Prefect Jeff appointed Adam Me'tharis as New Amargosan ambassador to the ASEN. New Amargosa's first official action in the ASEN was to ensorse the Treaty of Paris, also known as the ASEN Charter. Ambassador Me'tharis intends to uphold the New Amargosan ideals of equality, progressivism, and environmental conservation in the Council of Southern Europe.
