Difference between revisions of "Scolopendra"

Revision as of 18:53, 14 October 2004

Scolopendra

Flag of Scolopendra
Motto: "Idealism at Any Cost!"
Titan Map
Region	Titan
Capital	Stonozka
Official Language(s)	Arabic, English, multiple tertiary languages
Leader	Supreme Emperor Speaker-Rrit
Population	3.7 billion (as of 03 OCT)
Currency	workrep (WR)
NS Sunset XML

Overview

The Federated Segments of Scolopendra is an idealist socialist nation on Titan, the moon of Saturn, and is made up of a wide array of cultures, races, and religions. It is a major nation of the Triumvirate of Yut and is generally considered that alliance's de facto head. It is also a signatory to the KIST treaty.

National Information

• Traditional Long Form: The Federated Segments of Scolopendra
• Traditional Short Form: Scolopendra, The Segments, The Federated Segments
• Abbreviations: FS, FSS
• Form of Government: Unicameral Representative Democracy, strong Executive and many plebiscites
• Locations: Northeastern third of Primary Continent and Eastern Islands, Titan; Sectors 1 through 25 and 51 through 75, Ring habitats; Tarjeet Continent, Si'lat; Various Locations, Bright Morning; Olympus, Hillary

HISTORY

See Scolopendran History

GOVERNMENT

Important Personages

Executive Unit

• Chief of State (full title, technically also head of government): Supreme Emperor Speaker-Rrit
• Executive Officer (full title, also head of Internal Policy Section): PseudoEmperor Julius M Razak
• Foreign Relations Officer (full title): International Relations Advisor Automata Alshai Kommetrez
• Education and Research Officer (full title): Science Advisor Jon Owen Hertzfeldt
• Defense Officer (full title): Foot-to-Ass Advisor Lance Jason Hawke
• Intelligence Officer (full title): Intelligence Advisor Jamis Akikazu Garbo
• Trade Officer (full title): International Trade Advisor Raphael Vito Spoilsport (born SPOLETIANI) [KIA]

Legislative Unit

• Chief of Legislature (full title): Legislative Voice Nakpangi Sidibe (Idealist platform)
• Chairman, People's Money Committee: Legislator Jack Kerrigan (Idealist platform) [acting Trade Officer]

Judicial Unit

• Chief of Judiciary (full title): Presiding Head Arbiter Ilmatar Tero-pekka

Government Structure

The Scolopendran government is, at its core, a collection of small sets of direct democracies (usually on the neighborhood or town level) that build up into larger representative democratic regions (Segments) which, when combined, make the body politic of the whole nation. The federal government is split into three Units--the Executive, the Legislative, and the Judicial Units--and each unit has a specific set of functions it performs on a national level.

Executive Unit

The Executive Unit (ExU -- "ecks-yoo") is again split up into Sections, each responsible for a specific set of duties related either to international actions or the execution of Legislative mandates. The International Relations (IntRelate) Section is responsible for diplomacy with other nations; the International Trade (InterTrade) Section is responsible for regulating international trade; the Foot-to-Ass (FtA, formerly Defense) Section is responsible for organizing national defense and international power projection via both the Scolopendran Military Services and the Civilian Defense Corps; the Science Section is responsible for organizing national research projects, coordinating between local research centers, and determining the policies and basic curriculi of the state-run education system; and the Intelligence (Intel) Section is responsible for gathering and disseminating information concerning threats internal and external; and the Internal Policy (IntPoly) Section is responsible for the enforcement of the laws of the Legislature via the Federal Police. All Sections are led by an Advisor that directly reports to the Supreme Emperor, except for IntPoly which is led by the PseudoEmperor (as per LUM-4618 "Government Consolidation Act"). The Supreme Emperor is an extremely powerful executive leader, elected by plebiscite of federally-enfranchised citizens every five years, who has the authority to sign treaties, create Executive policy decisions to enforce Legislative Unit Mandates, deploy military forces, appoint Advisors and Arbiters, and determine Scolopendran foreign policy. All actions of the Supreme Emperor can be reviewed by the Legislative Unit if the legislature so desires, but this is generally limited to (by tradition) only when there is serious dispute as to what is in the best interest of the nation; some policies (such as entering into alliances such as the Triumvirate that draws monetary funding from Scolopendran federal resources and confirmation of choices for Scolopendran Arbiters) must be sent through the Legislative Unit for ratification. The qualification for running for Supreme Emperor is that the candidate must be federally enfranchised.

Legislative Unit

The Legislative Unit (LegU -- "lej-yoo") is a unicameral representative body whose members are elected via plebiscite of federally-enfranchised citizens in each Segment every three years; the number of representatives for each Segment is weighted by population. This Unit is primarily responsible for passing what laws seem to be necessary, verifying the policy decisions of the Executive Branch, and, most importantly, controlling funding for the federal government and its obligations via the People's Money Committee (the traditional Communist tradition of "People's String-Variable-Whatever" is reserved only for situations concerning wealth as a reminder). Currently, each representative represents five million people (as per LUM-4618 "Government Consolidation Act") which makes local governments vital to ensure the proper representation of each citizen in their daily lives. The Legislative Unit is presided over by an internally-elected Legislative Voice who runs the day-to-day workings of the LejU and acts as a liason to the Executive and Judicial Units. The LejU was originally bicameral in nature with a second Section based on territory; this Section was disbanded as unnecessary after the Break and the subsequent loss of all territories save Titanian Scolopendra (as per LUM-4419 "Emergency Government Realignment Act"). Now that Scolopendran colonial citizens are being represented, there is a growing movement to return the LegU to a bicameral system of a Population Section and a Territory Section so as to ensure that colonial interests are met and to prevent any possible fractionalization in the future.

Judicial Unit

The Judicial Unit (JudU -- "judd-yoo") is a simple meritocratic pyramidal system responsible of constitutionally evaluating the laws of the Legislative Unit and then enforcing them via the court system. Rehabilitation facilities are "run" by the Federal Police via a liason to the FtA Section, which truly runs them. The members of the Judicial Unit, known as Arbiters, are appointed by the Supreme Emperor and its designated secondaries from a basic metric of merits and qualifications--mostly a "rubber-stamping" process, except that then the Arbiters are confirmed by the Legislative Unit for more populist sensibilities. The court structure is simply pyramidal, the capstone being the Arbitration Council which is elected by plebiscite every seven years. The requirements for an Arbiter to be eligible for election into the Arbitration Council are service in the JudU for at leaest ten years and the approval of both the ExU and the JudU, making them pre-confirmed for election.

Enfranchisement

Federal enfranchisement is based on merit and a basic understanding of the basic values of civic virtue and its rights and responsibilities; local enfranchisement is based on the policy of each local government but is generally given due to birth by tradition. The capability to vote in federal elections is granted after a term of federal service. There is no mandatory federal service in Scolopendra; it is the right of every local citizen to opt out of federal service but there are consequences for such an action. Federal service can be either military via the Military Services or the Civilian Defense Corps (the most common method, organized under FtA), civil via the Civil Services (spanning all Units and Sections of the government), diplomatic via the Diplomatic Corps (organized under IntRelate), or even locally via the Federal Police or the Federal Emergency Corps of firefighters, paramedics, and the like (organized under the Federal Police and IntPoly). Federal enfranchisement averages around 80 percent of the population, and voting turnout is almost always the totality of that as the right has been earned despite general contentment (and its attendant apathy).

Due to advances in networking and digital democracy, gathering the vote of the electorate is a relatively simple affair, causing plebiscites to be common on issues of popular interest and internal policy.

PEOPLE

Overview

The people of Scolopendra are as widely varied as the cultural backgrounds of the nation, "natively" containing many of the cultures of Northern Africa, Southern Europe, and the Middle East and containing the cultures of the rest of the world via pre-Break immigration. Most citizens think of themselves as Scolopendran first and then whatever category they choose to fall into; however, Scolopendran secular culture is so minimalist that those subcategories shine through, making Scolopendra a vibrant "cultural salad." The nation's Arabic plurality and North African history gives the entire nation a definite Arabesque flair, from the common Moroccan arches integrated into the nominally Western Art Deco architecture to the muezzin calling faithful Muslims to prayer five times a day. Street bazaars abound, but have a definite sense of both commonality and multiculturalism to them; one street may hold Arabesque bazaars that would not be amiss in a Tunisian marketplace of a thousand years ago, while the next may have nothing but Chinese street markets labeled in English, Arabic, and Mandarin; the next could be a Greek agora in the same vein except with local Greek lettering and language. Originally based on trade that goes back thousands of years, Scolopendran ground-level culture could be described as all the great trading cities of the Mediterranean coalesced into one and thensome. Historically good relations with India leads to a high incidence of people of subcontinental Indian descent; its economic prosperity and open borders brought immigrants from subSaharan Africa; its inherent idealism and man-on-the-white-horse policies brought in idealists from the rest of the world. These multiple cultures interact peacefully with mutual curiosity and interest, core groups staying 'true' to their own particular culture with interesting mixes on the borders. All cultures are valued for their usefulness in seeing the same things in different lights, and as an excellent way of easily analyzing a subject from many different angles simultaneously. Debate between cultures is common and generally encouraged as long as it stays civil... which it generally does because Scolopendrans are difficult to offend--one of the few overarching Scolopendran traits is a quiet enjoyment of the ability to keep one's cool while watching others overreact over minor situations. Among themselves, Scolopendrans bandy about "racial slurs" as terms of endearment, with even personal nicknames being belittling in some form or another... but all are said with joviality and quite often some modicum of respect. It is an extreme compliment to receive and be referred to commonly by a respectful nickname. Still, it is generally understood that the conversation "Hey, nigger, what's happenin?" "Not much, you fool cracker! Yourself?" might raise eyebrows and is therefore discarded around foreigners. It is also a sign of respect and camraderie if that form of speech is taken up with an outsider... after asking first, of course. It is only polite and hospitable to defer for an outsider.

Ethnicity

• Semitic: 20%
  • Arabic: 60%
  • Asia Minor (Turkish): 23%
  • Eastern (Persian): 16%
• African: 19%
  • Western: 30%
  • Northern: 28%
  • Southern: 22%
  • Central: 20%
• European: 17%
  • Eastern: 20%
  • Baltic: 18%
  • Iberian: 15%
  • Western: 13%
  • Slavic: 12%
  • Northern: 10%
  • Basque: 7%
  • British Isles: 5%
• Indian: 16%
• Commonwealth Territories: 14%
  • English Extraction: 90%
  • Indiginous: 10%
• Asian: 11%
  • Japanese: 30%
  • Chinese: 23%
  • Indonesian: 17%
  • Southeast Asian: 13%
  • Mongolian: 7%
  • Pacific Islander: 6%
  • Kakadu: 4%
• Kzin: 1%
• Other: 1%
  • Elf (Noldor and otherwise): 42%
  • Metahuman: 35%
  • Nonhuman: 19%
  • Extrasolar: 4%

Species

The Segments are, by far, mostly made of baseline Humans, although mild cybernetic enhancement is growing in popularity among younger demographics. Only about a fiftieth of the nation would classify as something other than baseline human; and of that, the majority are the Kzinti.

Ideology

Personal Values

Scolopendran culture is extremely open-minded, with personal responsibility and service to others being their core values. The values of one individual are probably not the values of the other and may not be the values of the state, which are generally limited to those few that ensure the basic viability of any culture. Any person is free to do as they wish as long as they do not aggressively infringe upon the rights of others to do the same; free speech is lauded as well as free listening; there is no nudity taboo because there's no reason that anyone should stare. People are not to be protected from themselves, only from each other. Service comes to the fore in not only in public service, but also in the basic concepts of good citizenship, which, in Scolopendra, appears as a wider form of traditionally Arabic hospitality and familial fealty. All Scolopendrans are members of the greater Scolopendran family and thus generally look out for others; "good neighbor" policies are generally extended across the nation. Scolopendrans help others whenever they have the opportunity, and actually look forward to doing so.

Aesthetics

Simplicity and durability are also valued, and so Scolopendran items are often designed to be as simple and robust as possible and their aesthetics reflect this as well, usually quite utilitarian and geometric while rarely falling into the realm of ugly. Scolopendran vehicles, mainstream public art, and architecture generally follows the Art Deco and German Futurist modes of sleek, simple lines; resolving natural objects not into abstraction but rather geometrically simplified forms of themselves. All other forms of art are common in Scolopendra; these forms are simply the most prevalent and generally the most widely accepted.

Politics and Economics

Generally, Scolopendrans do have the ethnocentric view that their way is best; they are fiercely, yet sublimely, patriotic, democratic, and egalitarian. Still, the values of one society are probably not the values of the other, and so they do not interfere in other cultures that appear to work for those cultures with a minimum of oppression. They tolerate autocracies but do not quite like them; they tolerate large corporations but also do not necessarily trust them implicitly. While most Scolopendrans are quite liberal and libertarian, their opinions on economics can vary, usually ranging from a slight historic mistrust of corporations (the larger, the worse). They generally believe that wealth is the means to an end and so there are very few liquid-assets rich in Scolopendra; although government taxing schemes keep the difference between "rich" and "poor" relatively small with the difference based more on merit instead of business.

Religion

• Islam: 33.5%
  • "Leading" Sufi: Dervish Mullah Kadira ibnat Neelam Alzeshi Tunisiyyatun
  • "Leading" Sunni: Mufti Heydar bin Hamed Somayli Ridyahiyyun
  • "Leading" Shi'a: Imam Sharad ibn Rigel Elouahabu Karbalaiyyun
• Buddhism: 18.7%
• Hinduism: 12.5%
• Deism ("Intellectualism"): 10.1%
• Nondenominational Christianity: 7.1%
• Roman Catholicism: 5.2%
  • President: The Most Reverend Estevão Xadreque Castelbranco, Primate of Stonozka
• Taoism ("Natural Way"): 3.1%
• Protestantism: 2.4%
• Orthodox Christianity: 1.8%
• Agnosticism: 1.5%
• Shintoism: 1.1%
• Wicca ("Pagan"): 1.0%
• Judaism: 0.8%
• Kzedf'sraz (Cult of the Fanged God): 0.7%
  • Head priest: Hrazkagk wtunu zhu Kzsuzttukz T'kizhb (Priest of the Dark Pelt) Sizhfa-Ch'johr (Prayer-Writer)
• Atheism: 0.6%
• Cults of Personality: Trace

Spirituality

Scolopendra is an unusually spiritual country for as independently secular as its government is and as technologically advanced as it is. As could be expected from the Arabic plurality, Islam is the most common religion, instantly obvious to any observer given the regular density of mosques with their distinctive minarets. Of the three major Islamic schools of thought, Sufi Islam with its emphasis on universal love and the multifaceted nature of Allah is the most powerful, making up eighty percent of all Scolopendran Muslims. Along those same lines, spiritualist religions are far more common than more "traditional" (in a Western sense) dogmatic religions. Buddhism and Hinduism, concentrating as they do on self-improvement and duty to others, round out the top three religions. Intellectual religions make up a tenth of the population, followed by more traditional dogmatic religions. Given Mediterranean Scolopendra's unique collection of locations, members of the Abrahamic religions tend to quietly think of themselves as the truest believers of those forms in the multiverse--Muslims because of Scolopendran control of Mecca and its unification of Arabian Islam into a singluar cohesive group; Roman Catholicism because of the Vatican City's presence inside Scolopendran Italy (there are conspiracy theories concerning Maria Rostov paying off the Pope and starting a long tradition of the Intelligence Section using the Pope as a puppet, except that Roman Catholicism stayed true to its dogma and opposed secular Scolopendran opinions ninety percent of the time). Historically, Israel held poor relations with Scolopendra, considering it an Arab nation, and thus Judaism is relatively rare in Scolopendra.

Church and State

Religions get along quite well in Scolopendra, all treated equally by the secular government... just like any other collection of citizens. There is, of course, some friction; however, this is usually used as the basis of (sometimes rather heated) televised debates which are a sort of national pastime. The one form of religion which carries a general stigma are the religions of "Cults of Personality" which include Sirthilism and the Church of Angelus, among others. Scolopendrans, in a surprising reversal from a common condition, generally refuse to believe in anything they can experience as holy or sacred. While these cults do exist and are quite benign, they are considered as jokes by the national community, harmless but amusing idiosyncracies.