Reformentia
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| Flag of Reformentia | |
| Motto: Progressus infinitus | |
| No Map Available Yet | |
| Region | Aarmania |
|---|---|
| Capital | Evolutopia |
| Official Language(s) | English |
| Leader | The Supreme Governing Council |
| Population | Over 2 Billion |
| Currency | Credit |
| NS Sunset XML | |
The Supreme Imperium of Reformentia is a relatively powerful nation flourishing in the middle of a rather barren island group in Central Aarmania. It is known throughout the region for progressive social policies, strong economic performance, admirable political freedoms and a borderline fanatical advocacy of the neverending pursuit of the advancement of scientific and technological knowledge at the slightest opportunity 1.
Contents
History
The Supreme Imperium was one of the many nations to rise up out of the aftermath of what its citizens have come to call the Portal Wars, a conflict with a significantly technologically superior civilization which resulted in the initial quick defeat of their ancestors and their subsequent enslavement and oppression which nearly wiped them out before a later revolution led by a research scientist turned guerilla fighter, who has since come to take on near messianic status in the people's psyche, drove the invading forces out.
Recent:
More recently, after developing into a significant power in the Crowbar Gulf, Reformentia along with all of it's Imperial Core Colonies (see below) initiated a mass relocation now known as the Great Migration to a new home in the region of Aarmania in the hopes of building a more vital and thriving region of nations than what was becoming of the steadily decaying Gulf.
Society
Most aspects of Reformentian society can be traced directly back to the Portal wars and the period of enslavement that followed. The surviving population of the time was forbidden even the most basic of personal freedoms, with even reproduction being forcibly prevented (History texts are unclear on why it is that the invading forces didn't want their slaves reproducing and replenishing the work force... there are several competing theories on this). The total universal repression of any civil liberties whatsoever during that period served to instill in the descendents of that population a burning drive never to have such things denied to them again.
This desire is also a primary factor in the Reformentian drive towards constant scientific and technological advancement. The defeat and subsequent oppression of their ancestors came at the hands of an adversary who was able to completely overwhelm them with relative ease in a short period of time due in large part to the crushing tactical and strategic advantages their advanced technology provided them with and this is something the Reformentians have every intention of securing themselves against in the future. High-level scientific and technological research, and of course outfitting and maintaining a strong military defense force, is a costly endeavour... and so the economic prosperity of the nation is also given high priority.
In addition to all these factors however there must also be considered the influence of that now legendary freedom fighter who is credited with launching the rebellion and eventually ejecting the invaders. He is rarely spoken of by name, instead being referred to as "The One Free Man". Curiously no record of actual direct statements made by him seem to exist anywhere, and yet an entire philosophical movement has grown up around his teachings, which appear to be inferred entirely from the example set by his actions. His chosen scientific field has also come to hold a special prominence in Reformentia's many massive universities... and Reformentia produces more theoretical physicists as a percentage of university graduates than any other known nation outside Aarmania.
Government
The government of Reformentia is, at first glance, a fairly typical representative democracy but on closer inspection even there the lingering aftereffects of the Portal Wars can be seen. Although Reformentians almost universally acknowledge the overwhelming military dssadvantage they were faced with when the invasion occured it is still a commonly held belief that a much stronger resistance could have been mounted were it not for the actions of a man now referred to only as the "Administrator" who engineered a surrender almost as soon as the fighting had begun. Like the "One Free Man" this "Administrator" had also been involved in scientific research, but his had been a purely administrative role. He was a bureaucrat and politician more than he was a scientist.
The terms "bureaucrat" and "politician" are considered invectives bordering on profanity on the streets of Reformentia today.
As a result candidates for public office are required to pass regular competency exams to maintain their active status as qualified professionals in their fields, and are expected to campaign for any given office based only on their qualifications in the specific areas for which they would be responsible should they win election. Deviation from this convention is... frowned upon2. As a result career politicians are not found in Reformentian society.
Because of this candidates for higher level office, which entail very wide ranging responsibilities, have spent a great deal of their lives both studying and accumulating practical field experience. It was determined in the early going that expecting anyone to be sufficiently qualified to hold a single highest office was unrealistic and so responsibilities at the uppermost level of the Reformentian government are partitioned among an elected ruling committee, the Supreme Governing Council, which is made up of some of the most highly respected professionals in the nation.
Military
Force Composition
As a safeguard against any future act of aggression Refomentia maintains a sizeable standing defense force, The Imperial Guard, which is regularily upgraded with the latest in weapons technology being turned out by the nations extensive Research and Development programs. Active duty combat forces are maintained at a steady 2% of the national population during peace-time with additional heavy reliance on widespread automated defense systems and heavy border fortifications as force multipliers in any defensive engagement. Terms of military service are non-compulsory, however there is a widespread tradition among the Reformentian citizenry of volunteering for a single term (3 years) of military service early in life, which provides the nation with a proportionally large ready reserve of trained combat personnel in time of need.
As a trade-off of the focus on a heavy defensive posture the Reformentian military sacrifices a significant degree of force-projection capability. In the words of the Chief of Staff of the Reformentian Armed Forces, Reformentians prefer to be secure in their own borders rather than make others insecure in theirs. This has been offset in recent times with the addition of the ancillary Imperial Guard units represented by the militaries of the Imperial protectorate colonies whose militaries were designed from their inception as fully integrated units of the Imperial Guard under central Reformentian command and control and which have greater focus on strategic offensive capabilities in their composition.
Chemical and Nuclear Capabilities
Upon the discovery of national uranium deposits the Reformentian Supreme Ruling Council authorized the development of nuclear weapons capability, focusing on low to mid yield relatively clean tactical warheads. This is accompanied by a fairly extensive store of various chemical agents.
Biological Capabilities
Reformentian research in biological weapons is strictly restricted to defensive applications and the production of more than trace levels of weaponized biological strains for the purposes of researching cures and vaccines is absolutely prohibited in accordance with the Reformentian understanding of UN resolution 113. This defensive research is performed in some of the highest security facilities in the nation, with multiple redundant levels of quarantine. The unstable and unpredictable nature of weaponry that can mutate itself upon it's release is seen as posing too great a risk to ever consider applying it in the field.
The Reformentian Supreme Ruling Council defines biological weaponry as organic infectious agents intended to kill or incapacitate the host. There is however no restriction on the development of weaponry which in some other way incorporates organic components. Although such technology was faced during the Portal Wars reverse engineering efforts have thus far met with very limited success in the development of practical prototypes suitable for large scale production and distribution, and as yet no such weaponry is issued in the Reformentian military.
Satellite Nations
Upon growing to a population approaching 800 million the Supreme Imperium embarked on an extended colonization program intended to expand its geographic sphere of influence and provide for an additional defense in depth against any posible future external security threats the Supreme Imperium might face.
The program began with the founding of a satellite colony on the northwestern border of the Crowbar Gulf (due north of Reformentia) . The Boreal Protectorate possesses a territorial government which is largely autonomous in daily domestic matters but general Protectorate governing policy remains closely congruent with that of the Supreme Imperium. In international affairs and matters concerning national security concerns Protectorate policy is governed by directive from the Reformentian Supreme Governing Council. This is the standard model on which all Reformentian satellite colonies are based.
The next phase of expansion in the program came when the Supreme Imperium's population reached 900 million. Both the Dextral Protectorate and Sinistral Protectorate were founded to the east and west respectively of the Supreme Imperium.
Upon growing to a population of 950 million the Supreme Imperium founded the Nether Protectorate to the south (on the southwestern border of the Crowbar Gulf). This represented the final phase of the Crowbar Gulf based expansions of the Supreme Imperium.
Collectively, these first four colonies are referred to as the Imperial Core Colonies. Now, following the Great Migration, they retain approximately the same positions in Aarmania relative to Reformentia as they did in the Gulf.
After the establishment of the Imperial Core Colonies Reformentian expansion efforts turned extraplanetary, with the establishment of the Lunar Protectorate on the Moon... Reformentia's central military command location for all spaceborn Imperial Guard forces. Recently further expansion to Mars was undertaken with the establishment of the Noctis Labyrinthus colony.
The Supreme Imperium also maintains observational outposts in the Pacific, North Pacific, East Pacific, South Pacific and West Pacific in order to keep well informed on events in those regions. Although the identity of these outposts is not strictly speaking a secret the Supreme Imperium considers it to be advantageous not to openly advertise their identities.
More: See Imperial Coalition
Miscellaneous Information of Interest
1 - One side effect of the Reformentian's fervent drive to pursue greater scientific knowledge and understanding is that Reformentian envoys can frequently be found in various forums of discussion and debate berating ("verbally flaying" has been a term some feel better describes the process) various purveyors of pseudo-science (especially young earth creationists) for their constant spreading of infactual data, misrepresented scientific arguments, grossly twisted and misquoted statements of scientists themselves, and various other endeavours which serve to misinform the public... all of which is the closest thing Reformentians have to blasphemy . They tend to look upon anyone engaged in such an activity as being one step away from metaphorical minions of hell3.
2 - Not too many years ago a candidate for a mid-level governing position in one of the northern cities attempted to bring up details of an opponent's personal life in a campaign speech rather than restricting himself to making a case based on his own and his opponents professional qualifications. He currently resides abroad and has expressed no plans of ever returning to Reformentia despite leaving behind many of his possessions during his rather hasty emmigration.
3 - Whether they consider that a step up or a step down is a matter of ongoing debate.
