Difference between revisions of "Scolopendra"

Revision as of 03:40, 3 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.

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

XXI Century

The Federated Segments of Scolopendra is a direct result of the massive shift of power from the nation-state to the international corporation which began late in the twentieth century and progressed throughout the twenty-first to its logical extreme sometime in the twenty-second century. Earth, still troubled by pollution and overcrowding and the traditional woes of humanity, was split up into blocs of power based not so much on military or political strength as in the past but on economic and market-building strength. The strongest of these blocs, in no particular order, were the United American Conglomerate (UAC) consisting of the American supercontinent, the European Union consisting of Western and Eastern Europe, and Confederate South-East Asea (CSEA) consisting of China, Indochina, and most of Malaysia. While these superpowers controlled most of the worlds major economies and therefore monies, there were fortunes to be made off the trade between these major economic blocs. Thus did the Capricorn Group, a conglomerate of multinational corporations based around the Mediterranean Basin, find itself growing rich off of essentially regulating sea trade between the EU and CSEA and orbital trade (having access to the prime equatorial launch sites of North Africa) of the entire world.

XXII Century

By the twenty-second century, environmental sciences had advanced sufficiently to at least maintain Earth's present state of disrepair and actually fix it for those who had the capital to expend. However, "present state of disrepair" was rather bad indeed and was the every-day existence of the average proletarian. In yet another historic precedent of the Marxist-view of unregulated capitalism--oppression to subsistence--triumphing over the far older and far more starry-eyed Adam Smith-view--rising tides raise all boats--the workers of the world were essentially forced to eke out their meager lives in the squalid filth that was most of Earth while the rich and powerful maintained lives of luxuries either in private arcologies or orbital facilities. This state of affairs filled up another century of history, generally peaceful but not well loved, the Pax Economica.

XXIII Century

The Revolution

In the middle twenty-third century, enough was enough. Idealists from across the world, especially from the UAC, fed up with the conditions they were surrounded by congregated in Turkey for several generations, nestled comfortably between the benignly competing interests of the economic blocs. Once there, they used positions in the Capricorn Group and the money those positions entailed to create connections, to spread ideas of revolution across the Mediterranean Basin, undermining the very megacorporations which paid them. Beginning first as a whisper, and then scattered examples of minor unrest, the Revolution spread, quietly and subtly trying to wrest control from the Capricorn Group. The Capricorn was wise and had paid off most of the Islamic imams in the area to preach its glories, thus subverting the traditional overpiety of the region to its control. One night, a major Revolutionary group struck at the Capricorn Group's major monetary stockpiles in Venice, equipping the Revolutionaries with all the funds they needed.

Ghostwriter

Later that year the imams suddenly began extolling the virtues of freedom of speech, congregation, worship, and democracy; of the equitable sharing of wealth and the welfare of the masses. While there is no documentation to prove that the Revolutionaries counter-paid the imams and thus used the Capricorn's own strategy against itself, this "Ghostwriter" conspiracy theory is generally accepted as probable history, although the importance of Maria Rostov (who would later become the first Intelligence Advisor of the Segments) is probably overplayed. This grass-roots support is what the Revolution needed and, in a well-timed operation planned for years, the Revolution struck out against major Capricorn Group and local government assets simultaneously on Revolution Day. Overwhelmed, Capricorn Group private armies and the meager governmental defenses quickly surrendered and accepted pay from the Revolution, and within several months pactically the entire Mediterranean Basin had seceeded from its European and African national governments (the Middle East came as a large unified bloc due to the works of the imams).

Fall of European Nationalism

The consequences of this were wide-ranging. Local national governments lost power due to the successful secession, and therefore the European Union federal structure became more powerful. The newly seceded territories, united by language and cause, quickly came together in Istanbul to build their new nation, understanding that time was of the essence if they were to defend it successfully. They chose the Latin for "centipede," Scolopendra, because it was a generally neutral term and their new nation resembled the myriapod; unified strength was necessary so they built a federation; continued economic growth was a must and so they decided upon enacting a pseudosocialist economy with socialist workfare policies towards its citizenry and capitalist policies towards the growth of capital. It tended more towards the former than the latter at first, but this was to be expected from a reaction to massive corporate abuses. The new Scolopendrans immediately began studying the secrets of advanced terraformation and biome reclamation and began to implement it on a large scale, cutting costs by increasing supply and attempting to make their chunk of Earth decently livable again.

For years, things continued as they had previously. Scolopendra maintained the Capricorn Group's foreign policies, with some price cuts to boot, keeping the economic superpowers happy; however, unlike the Capricorn, the Segments shared the wealth among its citizens. Having a large territory to defend quickly, it built up a military orbital presence, first using the orbital platforms of the rich before cannibalizing those into the ungainly yet solidly-built circular Mobile Infantry drop-platform discs that became the symbol for Scolopendran world-wide deployment capability over the years. Thus did the twenty-third century pass to make way for the twenty-fourth.

XXIV Century

NeoCommunism and Economic Warfare

Seeing the success of a pseudosocialist states, the Ukranian and Russian territories, still basking in the reflective glories of centuries-old communism, tried again with Neocommunist policies. The European Union, still remembering the pain that the first Soviet Union caused, used its greater federal power to attempt economic warfare on the new Neocommunist states, economically eliminating their means of production without ever firing a shot.

They were more successful than they could have hoped. The Ukraine and Russia immediately fell apart into collections of petty warlords, the NeoRus, fighting randomly in a sort of repeat of both the Germanic Holy Roman States and feudal China. These warlords, some still holding on to the nuclear legacies left them by the long dead Soviet Union (no, the bombs were not the same, but the stance maintained), fought with every means at their disposal, utterly destabilizing northern Eurasia. Some discovered the EU's hand in their new situation and retaliated by annihilating major EU trading centers; lacking the arsenal to retaliate effectively and the money to continue, the European Union collapsed as its member nations desired guns over butter.

The Beginning of the Idealism Militant

Fifteen years before The Break, the Federated Segments started its famed Extraction Campaigns, trying to rescue entire populations from the ravages of the NeoRus in the Crimea and from the de facto slavery of UAC exploitation forces in Europe. Using superior mobility and tecnology, the relatively small Scolopendran Military Forces were able to consistently thwart the powers that opposed them, finally making the Segments a realized threat on the international scene. Pressure increased from the economic superpowers, and three nations--the Federated Segments, Suunto suffering from both the NeoRus and CSEA, and Karmabaijan, pressed between the UAC and CSEA--formed an alliance of opportunity they called the Triumvirate of Yut. With Suunto's Siberian resources, Karmabaijan's international business skill, and Scolopendran technology, they started on an ambitious plan to escape their foes, rebuild, and return. Ten years before The Break, the Economic Alliance of Africa (EAA) formed itself and began pushing northward against southern Scolopendra. Spurred on by a lack of funds and an absolute need for the stable markets of North Africa, the EAA launched full armored assaults into Egypt along the Nile river basin, always stopped, repelled, and annihilated by orbit-deployed Scolopendran forces.

The Kzin

Five years before The Break, radio contact was made with a previously unknown culture in the Tibetan Highlands that called itself the Kzin under attack by CSEA exploitation forces. A division of Mobile Infantry under the command of Colonel Julius M Razak landed in the Highlands to extract the Kzin and, accidentally, Colonel Razak made first contact with the Segments' first nonhuman sapient species. In the resulting conflict, the M.I. succeeded in extracting the Kzinti population but failed to protect their Patriarch, thus causing (at the time) irrevocable damage to the Kzinti culture. The Scolopendran war machine retaliated against this loss, annihilating the CSEA forces arrayed in Tibet and practically breaking that power's back as a regional power. This increased the Scolopendrans' threat level in the eyes of the remaining superpower, which stepped up its economic attacks and military adventurism.

The Escape

Finally, the Triumvirate's first joint project was complete. Project Labyrinth, the colonization and terraformation of Titan, launched and landed at its destination when The Break occured. In a flash of warping reality, the Earth that the colonists had known had disappeared, leaving behind only the colonists and a do-or-die situation. Time, space, the very fabric of nature and geography itself, had become the broken fractal mix of paradox and unreality that is the multiverse. The last of the Old Wave of the Triumvirate Extraction Campaigns ripped away from Earth just in time, the saving of a few mechatronic cores from Arabian Zero-One before it was bombarded into nothingness by UAC strategic assets.

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 JANUS 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. Extracted from the Tibetan Highlands to save them from the oppression of Confederate SouthEast Asia, the Kzinti share no apparent genetic connections to Terrestrial biology despite their resemblance to Terrestrial tigers. Theories concerning this are generally shrugged off as conjecture, but the most popular schools of thought are that they are an extrasolar species that found itself isolated on Earth or else were the first indication of The Break. Physically, Kzinti are bipedal felinids, standing about two and a half meters tall on average with a noticable slouch, with retractable claws on both their hands and feet, fleshy ears resembling bat-wings and long, prehensile segmented rat-like tails, normally naked (although a short coat of fur is an uncommon genetic variety). They have long or short coats of fur ranging from pale yellow-oranges to bright red-oranges, all with stripes of some sort ranging from brown to black. Body coloration does tend to follow the pattern of Terrestrial tigers with lighter-colored muzzles, fronts, hands, and feet. They can walk comfortably either on two or four feet, and have very flexible spines which allow them surprising flexibility. Their faces have far more complex musculature than a terrestrial cat, allowing a kzin to match most human facial expressions except smiles are notoriously difficult (flapping or twitching ears is an equivalent gesture). They have adapted to human culture while maintaining their identity, having absorbed almost all human body language except, most notably, grins. Exposed teeth are a traditional threat among kzin and while there have not been any incidents due to it since The Break grinning at the kzin is not recommended--for that reason, most Scolopendrans tend not to grin. A male kzin is a "kzintosh" and female kzin is a "kzinret," and to a non-Scolopendran they look extremely similar; kzinrets are usually built just -slightly- slighter and are usually only distinguisable via waist size to outsiders. Human Scolopendrans have no trouble distinguishing kzin gender; scientists believe that Scolopendran humans have been trained to pick up on the same physical cues that kzin do. Psychologically, they tend to be (baseline) more aggressive and impulsive than humans, but they make up for this with almost plodding nature, thinking methodically. The Break acted as an unnatural culling, leaving those who were the best at anger-management. Culturally, all kzin are members of the Kzin Hierarchy (currently called the "Patriarchy" due to its male head); the Hierarchy is responsible for granting names based on merit. Due to the historic high mortality rate of kzin children (no longer a concern due to the change in circumstances), they are not given names as most other children are at birth; instead, they take on the name of their parent with the suffix -Child and are constantly renamed through life to match their profession. Half-names and full-names, random (and thus personified) syllables assigned as recognition for meritorious service, are high honors. Full-names can only be granted by the leader of the Hierarchy him or herself.

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 (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.