Vetalia
| |
| Flag of Vetalia | |
| Motto: "Through Technology, All Things Are Possible" | |
| Region | World |
|---|---|
| Capital | Vetalia City, in the Province of Vintara |
| Official Language(s) | Vetalian Russian, English |
| Government | |
| - Praetor | Nikolai Ryzhkov |
| - Vice Praetor | Leonid Mendelev |
| Population | 4.6 billion |
| Currency | Vetalian Solaris, Symbol Ş (SOL)
|
| Internet TLD | .va |
| Calling code | +946
|
| ISO Code | VTLA
|
| NS Sunset XML | |
Contents
Overview
The Technocratic Union of Vetalia is a massive nation of over 4.5 billion people, known for its strong support of scientific research and commitment to the latest technologies. With one of the strongest economies in the world and a leadership position in many technological fields, the nation consistently has a competitive edge over many other economies. This has granted the nation a high standard of living as well as the funds to pursue its goals worldwide. In recent years, it has become more diplomatically active, reflecting the government's belief that a more proactive foreign policy will enable it to bolster its economic ties and reap the benefits of closer relationships with other nations worldwide.
History
For much of its history, Vetalia was primarily a loose collection of city states, villages, and various settlements of no organization higher than a local level. However, as the needs and economic development of the region pushed the city states together, they began to unite in to more and more cohesive blocs which laid the foundation for unity as a nation rather than on a local ldevel. The modern nation of Vetalia's origins are in the 15th century, when it was first led by collection of city states known as the Kievan Vetal. These city states were eventually united in to a true nation by Roman Ivanovich, who in 1514 established his new kingdom as the Empire of Vetalia and was declared Emperor by the wealthy boyars and streltsy of the united city states. This empire lasted for the next 441 years until the Revolution, which cast down the Emperor and established the nation as a federal republic in 1955.
Under the Republic, the Vetalian economy and nation expanded rapidly as a series of reformist politicians eliminated the problems and excesses that had characterised the late empire. A massive government effort in the 1950's and 1960's boosted literacy from 73% to nearly 100% in 15 years, and pro-science and pro-research legislation capitalized on Vetalia's already strong university system to create a research network that was among the best in the world. This enabled the nation to become one of the forerunners in the information technology and biotechnology, and a policy of deregulation and openness in the financial markets enabled it to gain a significant portion of the world financial markets as well. The Republic technically ended in 2001, when the nation declared itself the Technocratic Union, but all of the structures of the Republic were retained, making it effectively no different structurally. The name reflected more of a new ideological viewpoint than an actual change in government.
Since then, the Vetalian economy has considered its healthy economic expansion and has tapped in to the new markets that accelerating technological advancement has produced, including cybernetics, strong artificial intelligence, bionics and biomechanics, and advanced medical treatments. The government's commitment to a safe and strong progression in technology has further broadened its funding for research and development, and starting in 2010 the Praetor has been advised by an Office of Emerging Technology whose purpose is to keep them informed on new progress in sciences and applied technology. This continued support for technological progress is likely to contribue strongly to continued strong Vetalian economic growth in the times ahead.
Economy
For postwar Vetalian reconstruction, see Postwar Reconstruction in Vetalia
Overview
The Vetalian economy is one of the strongest in the world, with a GDP of over $176 trillion and per capita output of over $40,000. Unemployment is low at 3.3%, and productivity is among the highest in the world thanks to technological innovation and bioenhancement , both of which have contributed nearly 2-3% of Vetalia's GDP growth each year. The bulk of GDP comes from services, especially in science and technology, although other fields like high-tech manufactuing and logistics make important contributions at roughly 15% of GDP. Government as a share of GDP is at around 30%, although the government wishes to reduce this to around 20% in order to reduce the effects of crowding out on private investment and improve overall economic performance. The country's agricultural sector is highly automated and industrialized, meeting the country's needs as well as producing sizable surpluses for export, and Vetalia's biotechnology industry is responsible for constantly enhancing agricultural productivity above and beyond what would be possible with machinery alone. Natural resources are generally sufficient for domestic needs, although Vetalia does import some products like coal and oil, along with some rare metals like platinum and germanium for its technological components. The nation exports primarily technology products, food and food producing equipment, and machinery, and imports primarily raw materials, consumer goods, textiles and automobiles. Vetalia runs a sizable current account deficit of around $3 trillion per year, but this is balanced by its government surpluses which provide funds to cover the deficit without weakening the Solaris, the national currency. Tourism is also common in the northern and eastern regions, especially during the summers when the comfortably hot weather and sunny skies attract tourists to the beaches and the nature preserves. The tourism sector is fairly small, at around 1% of GDP, but efforts to boost this are underway, especially in the northern regions where there is abundant land for development and good sites for future airports, seaports, and even spaceports. Vetalia's efficient immigration system, open markets, and abundant airports have opened up new markets the world over, and its construction of the first large-scale commercial spaceports reflects its goal of having economic human colonization of space within a decade, which will undoubtedly boost its economy and give it an edge on claiming the resources of space.
Monetary, Financial and Fiscal Policy
Monetary policy is managed by the Vetalian Central Bank, and the Ministry of Finance is responsible for producing currency, regulating financial markets, and tracking the state of the macroeconomy through economic statistics. Other ministries, like the Ministry of Trade or Natural Resources, track significant sectors within the economy as well as conduct negotiations with foreign producers to open up their markets to Vetalian trade and investment. The Vetalian government's policy is free trade, although with an emphasis on protecting labor and environmental rights in its trade partners that the government feels constitutes true competition between markets. It has worked to dismantle corporate subsidies and return the money to consumers in the form of tax breaks, preferring that consumers determine corporate performance rather than government politicians. The government is also an active participant in the GASN and other aid agencies, donating a considerable amount of money to international development, although the private sector generates far more revenue compared to the government for these purposes. The nation and its businesses are also notable for their donations of technology equipment and engineers to these organizations and its funding of research institutes around the world. Vetalia is one of the largest producers of engineering graduates in the world, a fact which makes it a major investment site for foreign corporations seeking highly skilled workers.
The tax structure is flat with a negative tax provision to provide incentive for low income workers to work. By far, the largest shares of government money are spent on defense, education, and security, primarily due to the nation's need to be at the forefront of intellectual property rights and industrial security, since its economy depends on innovation and invention in order to maintain its economic edge. In recent years, the government has reduced the flat tax rate from around 25% to 21%, with a goal of eventually levelling out at 20% in order to stimulate the economy and reduce the budget surplus, which has grown too large and put undesirable upward pressure on the solaris, to around $2.47:1, as opposed to the $1.75 -$2.00 to one solaris that the government targets. The centrist government has also boosted spending on social programs in order to meet its targets for income inequality and to expand access to new technology in low-income areas. The government is also hiring strong AI programs for its security systems, with the goal being to cut costs and relieve some of the burden that this field has on its budget.
Government
Vetalia is a federal Technocratic Republic, which the government defines as "emphasizing the role of science and technology as practical policy-making tools and as a means of maximizing civil, economic, social, religious, and political freedom". The government is organized in to three branches, the first of which is an executive branch consiting of the Praetor, Vice Praetor, the Cabinet, the Special Security Bureau, and several other organizations. The second is the Senate of Vetalia, headed by the Tribune who acts as the Speaker of the unicameral legislature. The third is the judicial, comprised of the Supreme Court of Vetalia, as well as the regional, provincial, local, and city courts that make up the system. The executive branch is the most powerful one, since laws drafted by the Praetor require at least a 66% nay vote in the Senate to override unless ruled unconstitutional by the Supreme Court. The legislative branch is weakest, acting more as an advisory for the Praetor and drafting budgets and legislation for the Praetor to veto or approve. The Cabinet of Vetalia, comprised of the Proconsuls for the various ministries, is the main advisory board for the Praetor and often acts outside of the Senate's oversight.
Election of Senators and the Praetor are done by direct election, as are elections for local administrative bodies and legislatures. The Vetalian Constitution, originally drafted in 1955 but revised in 1977 and 2009, provides the basic law of the land and cannot be amended or changed except through an 66% yea vote by the Senate as well as approval by 75% of provinces. In recent years, the Praetors have expanded the role of the Senate, giving it more power to pass legislation and veto praetorial proposals, but it is still tightly controlled compared to legislatures in other nations.
The Vetalian government operates on a fiscal year starting in October like many other governments, although it is notable in that the budgeted funds are not fixed and can fluctuate fairly easily. At present, Vetalia runs a surplus of around $8 trillion per year, although the government wants to reduce this to around $4 trillion per year in order to fix some of the currency imbalances caused by the large surplus. Taxation for individuals and businesses are assessed on a flat tax system, and collections, audits, and budget projections are done by the Ministry of Finance. The Vetalian government plans to gradually phase out the capital gains tax in exchange for a slight increase in overall corporate taxes, and will totally eliminate the estate tax by 2035 in reflection of soaring life expectancy, which has made the tax increasingly ineffective and costly as a source of revenue.
Environment, Climate, and Geography
Vetalia is primarily tropical, with some northern provinces falling in to the subtropical zone and some milder climate zones along the western coastline. Rainfall and humidity are generally in bands, with the northern provinces recieving less rainfall and overall drier conditions and the southern provinces recieving far heavier rainfall and more humid weather. Nationwide, the patterns are primarily monsoon-like, with rain levels peaking in winter months and declining to lower levels in the summer. Much of its economic activity is centered in the tropical south, along the coasts and navigable, deep rivers that provide valuable commercial ports. Much of the south is mixed vegetation, with several major forested regions north of Vetalia City providing valuable timber and other resources. Farther north, the more arid climate is reflected in the thick grasslands of the savanna, whose fertile soil is productive farming and herding land when properly managed. The savannas are also home to rich biodiversity, with the region's herds of gazelle, lions, elephants, birds and other organisms attracting millions of tourists each year.
Geographically, much of the nation is flat or slightly hilly, with some higher mountains in the central provinces reaching fairly significant peaks at around 2-3 kilometers. These mountains are the main source of materials like iron and copper in Vetalia, and several major uranium mines are located in the foothills of the Keremovo Mountains. Important rivers include the Moldava, the Xilar, and the Rhyzova, which flow through three of the major cities in the nation and serve as its main sea-based trade conduits.
Vetalia's environmental history has been one of destruction, rehabilitation, and revitalization. During the Imperial era, the furious pace of industrialization led to serious economic damage as forests were overlogged, waterways were polluted with industrial wastes and even sewage from the growing cities, and the mountains were scarred from open-pit mining. Following the Revolution, the government tried to contain these abuses but were forced to stay their hand due to the sheer economic needs of reconstruction and the need to modernize the economy. However, by the late 1960's it was clear that something had to be done. A series of nine acts, called the Environmental Recovery Acts, set up a group of "schedules" that were imposed over 20 years with the goal of stopping and reversing environmental damage. Other acts like the Clean Water Act, the Biodiversity Act, the Forestry Act and the Omnibus Industrial Wastes Act all made major steps in helping to improve the environment. By the mid 1970's, many of the problems had slown and noticeable improvements in heavily damaged regions were noticed.
Recovery accelerated in the 1980's, and by the 1990's many of the polluted industrial sites were in cleanup and pollution the waterways had dropped to levels not seen in over 60 years. As of the present, overall environmental health has almost reached preindustrial levels in many indicators, although some sectors like smog and garbage production still lag. Poaching and encroachment are also problems in the rural areas and the rapidly growing suburbs, and it will likely take continued efforts at smarter growth and more security for nature preserves in order to keep these problems in line. Overall, however, Vetalia's environment is healthy and continues to improve with each passing year, and the loss of biodiversity has slown markedly, with Vetalian bioscience looking for ways to possibly repair the damage through technological methods like cloning.
Culture
Food and Drink
Vetalia's eating culture is exceptionally diverse, both due to its own fractured history as well as extensive immigration. Its cuisine is colorful and reflects an artistic attitude towards food that uses spices and various meats and vegetables to achieve a meal that is both aesthetic as well as delicious. Southern Vetalian cuisine tends to be extremely spicy, whereas western and northern foods use more savory herbs and spices, especially mint and cardamom. Eastern Vetalian food makes use of extensive amounts of seafood, even moreso than the coastal provinces of the south. Freshwater fish is consumed everywhere, as are beef and chicken. Other meats like lamb and goat are common in the hills of north Vetalia, such as the traditional holiday dish of minted lamb and chickpeas. Rice is a staple of southern cuisines, whereas more northern provinces make use of wheat and sorghum. Corn is primarily cultivated in the western provinces, where the more balanced rainfall encourages healthy crops. Common fruits include the banana, the passionfruit, and plantain, as well as pomengranates and lychee in the east, and the most common vegetables are potatoes, yams, groundnuts, and peppers.
Eating conventions in Vetalia are generally varied and relaxed, with the goal being an enjoyable eating experience for all participants. Generally, Vetalians avoid discussing controversial topics such as politics while eating, preferring to do so over coffee or tea, which are usually drunk multiple times a day, either at home or at coffee shops and cafes. Coffee and tea are the most consumed non-alcoholic drinks (other than water) in the entire country, and eastern Vetalia in particular is known for its fine arabica plantations. The country also produces a wide variety of alcoholic beverages, including palm wine, beers brewed from local starches, as well as more conventional beers and ales. The most famous beers are brewed in the New Arbat in Vetalia City, whose German population hosts an annual Oktoberfest that celebrates their beer brewing history and produces a variety of traditional styles for sale to festivalgoers. Wine and fortified wines are products of western Vetalia, where the climate is conducive to growing wine grapes and the local forests provide timber excellent for making the barrels needed to age them and give them their distinctive flavor. Roughly half of the wines produced are white, with Chenin Blanc, Cabernet Sauvignon, and Shriaz making up the most popular wines produced in the region. Aged Metovan brandy, known for its minimum 10 years aged in handmade barrels and pricey vintages up to 100 years old, is the most famous Vetalian brandy and the port wines produced in the foothills of Kalema are unrivaled in Vetalia and rank among some of the finest in the world. Stronger alcoholic beverages and distilled spirits are not as popular in Vetalia as in other places, although some drinks such as vodka and gin are popular among the expatriate communities.
Society
Socially, Vetalians are commonly percieved as aloof and focused on their work, but this in fact reflects only one half of their social dynamics. Most Vetalians prefer to cultivate several strong friendships to serve as their social core rather than have a large group of friends. Nevertheless, the culture emphasized professionalism and formality in the working environment, both as a way of keeping workers focused as well as discouraging the use of social networking rather than merit as the path to promotion. This strong meritocratic sentiment underlies the principles of their technocra However, local communities are essential and many Vetalians take pride in their communities, viewing them as part of an extended family. This has led to a strong, decentralized concept of government and society that was partially responsible for the country's eagerness to accept new technologies.
Arts and Entertainment
Entertainment in Vetalia has a long and varied history, with the country contributing to many different genres of music and performing arts. Virtually all styles of music, from traditional folk music, to classical, to rock and roll, to myriad versions of techno and R&B music, have their place in Vetalia. The nation's loose licensing laws for radio and broadcasting have led to a proliferation of these stations, and many also operate on the internet. A new trend has been neuromusic, which uses neural interfaces to produce a multi-media performance that combines visual stimuli, binaural sounds, and feelings to create an immersive musical experience. Many new composers and bands are moving in to this field, creating a new hybrid genre that has produced new experiences and sounds since its emergence in the 2010's.
The arts are also rich, with opera and performance theatre dominating the stages of the country's many institutions and painting and literature known around the world. Another major field is the traditional arts, which are inspired by or come directly from the traditional community performances of Vetalian communities; one of the most popular currently is a revitalization of the storyteller, who performs on the street or in parks telling folktales and legends from Vetalian history to adults and children alike. Musicals are somewhat less popular than other forms of entertainment in Vetalia, although it has established itself in Vetalia City and other major metropolitan areas, especially in the Maktal district of Vetalia City. Films, including the emegent holofilm industry, are also important; the neighborhood of Octalis in the city of Novagrad is a major film producing site and home to many studios' headquarters. Literature is a major source of pride for Vetalians, with many bestselling authors coming from the country and its extensively equipped national libraries boasting a wide selection of books, including rare, historical and first-edition manuscripts. Painting and sculpture are also popular, with many major cities boasting world-class museums that display the latest in contemporary art as well as pieces from throughout history. Last, but not least, Vetalia's historical museums preserve artifacts from the various stages of its history and its universities have some of the best archaeology and history programs in the world. Its commitment to preserving and restoring its history have led to many discoveries as well as the faithful maintenance and reconstruction of many Imperial-era structures damaged or destroyed during the Revolution.
Sports, Travel, and Games
Games and sports in Vetalia are also generally popular, with football being one of the more popular sports. Others include swimming, baseball, basketball, and handball, as well as more outdoors activities like hiking, camping, and fishing. Professional sports teams are found in all major cities, with most universities, schools, and other educational institutions fielding teams to compete with each other. Also, most major cities have sports venues, with the largest open-air arena in the country being the Xilare Municipal Stadium, built in the 1970's and holding 120,000 people. A notable new stadium is the arena in the Trepov Tower, which can hold 100,000 people. In 2023, the city of Biratovo announced plans to construct a 140,000 seat stadium with the intent of stealing the title from Xilare and possibly gaining the Olympics some time in the 2030's. Other facilities, such as municipal pools, athletic and recreation centers, and many thousands of private gyms, health clubs, and other facilities are scattered across the nation and continue to expand healthily along with the population. Non-athletic entertainments such as computer, internet, and holovid gaming are all very popular, as are traditional boardgames like chess, backgammon, and go along with many others of various origin. Card games are not particularly popular, with most people preferring dominoes or dice-based games, with the exception of Xilare, where the situation is the reverse. Gambling's popularity varies according to region, with greater popularity in the south and less popularity in the north and west, which were traditionally more conservative than other regions. Gambling has been legal nationwide for over a century and a half, with several regions such as the Maktal in Vetalia City, the Kalinin Prospekt in Novagrad, and Xilare Beach all boasting a number of casinos and other entertainment venues. Nightclubs are popular in urban areas, especially in the east where the bath-like waters and comfortably warm nights of the Biretov Sea region allow 24-hour partying and attract tourists from around the world, especially university students during their spring breaks.
All in all, Vetalian culture is a mix between the formal, the open, the laid-back, the cultured, and the hard-working that produces a rich heritage that shapes the country to this day.
Foreign Affairs and Defense
Vetalia is generally a quietly non-interventionist nation, preferring simply to negotiate free-trade agreements, protect its borders, and let things develop on their own. However, in recent years, it has seen the potential of expanding its diplomatic ties and has begun to negotiate new treaties and diplomatic exchanges with foreign nations. However, it still retains a strongly defensive attitude and prefers to avoid intervening with its forces outside of the country's borders. The only place where it is actively expansionist is in space, where Vetalian military forces are staking out claims and developing ways to expand and defend their positions in space. However, since space and its resources are literally "big enough for everyone", this is not especially different from its policies on terra firma. Nevertheless, the nation does maintain a sizable military force of around 60 million soldiers, of whom 25 million are active duty and 35 million are reservists. The government plans to increase this to around 80 million by 2030, with about 5 million going in to active duty and 15 million in to the reserves, with the goal being to further enhance the country's ability to respond to incidents anywhere in the world. About 5% of GDP is spent on the military, roughly in line with many other nations; the government plans to hold expenditures to this level during the 2020-2030 period and then gradually allow them to decline to around 3-4% of GDP.
However, Vetalia does maintain an excellent intelligence service, which monitors domestic affairs through the Ministry for Internal Security and external affairs through the Ministry for Foreign Intelligence. These ministries are also involved in more conventional law enforcement and foreign affairs purposes, a fact which sparks some concern among civil liberties groups. However, some of these concerns have been allayed by reforms which have detailed the responsibilities and powers of these organizations, and it is likely further reforms will clearly delinate foreign intelligence from internal intelligence from law enforcement.
Commercial Infrastructure
Transportation
Vetalia boasts a well-developed network of public transportation infrastructure that has been expanded aggressively in the past two decades to accommodate new technologies, especially mass transit options like maglevs and high-speed trains. Unlike other fields, the road network is entirely publically owned and toll roads have been purchased up by the government and transferred to their administration. Although some minarchist and free-market politicians have complained, this has in fact boosted the system's efficiency, ironically acting in the totally opposite direction of the successful deregulation in other fields. Important legislation like the Subway Expansion Project, the Superhighway Act, and the Omnibus Mass Transit Bill have expanded urban mass transit networks in most major cities, expanded the interprovincial and intercity highway networks, and developed plans to build a coastal subway/rail network linking Vetalia City and some of the other major ports along the coast. However, this rail network is still in its conceptual phases and may never get off of the ground due to the comparative low cost of a highway network. Despite investment in mass transit, Vetalia is primarily an automotive nation and this is evidenced in its excellent highways and well-maintained and efficient road networks. It boasts over 1 million kilometers of expressways and 70 million kilometers of regular roadways, all paved and maintained by regional authorities. Surprisingly, the country's automotive sector has not only weathered the decline in oil production successfully but is now growing even faster due to the successful expansion of alternative fuels, electricity, and hybrids as replacements for oil. This has had considerable benefit to air quality and the local economy. Nevertheless, the government has passed new legislation aimed at encouraging more walkable neighborhoods and upgrading suburban mass transit to make it as viable as urban mass transit, with the goal of managing traffic without more road expansion.
The country is serviced by nearly 3,000 major international airports, with the largest being the Leonov International Airport in Vetalia City, with nearly 120 million passengers per year and 2 million traffic movements per year. Local airports and private airports also provide service on an intranational scale, and the country has also begun construction on spaceports to tap in to the commercial space travel and settlement markets. The city also has a solid network of seaports and canals, including the Mirova Canal, which links the Moldava river with the Xilar north of Vetalia City. Further expansion of the seaport network will be necessary in the future to accommodate continued growth in commercial shipping.
Energy
Vetalia's huge economy consumes a massive amount of electricity, over 70 trillion kilowatt-hours per year transmitted over 4 million kilometers of transmission lines. Like its other markets, it is deregulated but with some government oversight in the transmission industry to promote competition and fair pricing, as well as to avoid manipulation in sensitive markets. Since the 1990's, the country has worked to diversify its power sources and so roughly 39% of power comes from coal, 21% from nuclear, 20% from renewables, 12% from natural gas, and 8% from hydroelectric and other sources. Since the 2000's, when the environmental and economic costs of fossil fuels began to rise, the country has worked to reduce its dependence on fossil fuels for electricity, cutting their share from 72% in 2000 to 51% today. It is expected that the country will be able to completely eliminate its natural gas power by 2040 and its coal consumption by 2075, mainly due to rapid growth in geothermal and tidal sources as well as continued growth in nuclear power. Distributed generation and energy efficiency have also had considerable effects on the energy sector, cutting demand and reducing the need for centralized power. Advances in cost and efficiency of underground transmission lines have proved a boon to the power industry, enabling them to construct needed transmission without significant public opposition. The reserve power grid in Vetalia City will be emulated on a national scale over the next two decades, with the goal being a totally reliable power infrastructure that can meet its future needs seamlessly. Some future energy plans, such as space-based solar power, are detailed in the nation's Plan 2100, the sustainable energy handbook used by the government to plan its policies.
The transportation sector runs primarily on PHEVs and electric vehicles, with most liquid fuels demand met by natural gas. This has lumped much of the sector's needs in to the electricity industry, simplifying the energy market and reducing costs to consumers. The country still consumes roughly 21 million bpd of oil although this has been declining at around 2% per year since oil production peaked in the 2010's. Plastics, fertilizers, and other fossil-dependent industries have mostly shifted to biomaterials and other sources, including coal-to-liquids and syngas synthesis of hydrocarbons. Coal demand is still increasing at around 1% per year although the government wants to cut it by 10% by 2040 with an eye towards a total phaseout by 2075. Other energy sources' demand figures are growing in line with the need for energy, which is increasing at an average 2-3% pace per year. By and large, demand growth is in line with what Vetalia sees as manageable and sustainable, and it will likely be capable of meeting its 2100 goals.
Telecommunications
A vast, modern network of telecommunications is the hallmark of Vetalia. This market is totally deregulated, with the government having little role in its management beyond antitrust financial/corporate ethics oversight. Broadband penetration is almost universal, and the government wants neural interface penetration to hit at least 25% from the current 11% within the next 10 years; its tax credits for these implants as well as funding to research agencies to make them smaller and more powerful have increased public interest in them, and it is likely that the government will reach its target, especially given the strong growth in the sector in recent years. Conventional telecommunications are also excellent, with state of the art fibre-optic networks delivering excellent entertainment, telephone and data services to commercial and residential clients at low cost. Bellatrix Telecommunications has also revolutionized the internet with its network nodes, large computing centers that use strong AI to optimize system performance. Currently, laws are in the works to grant these AIs and all future versions of them personhood by 2030 and will likely come in to force next year. The AIs' support for these protections is generally well known, and their position as major overseers of the internet gives them exceptional leverage. Bellatrix and its competitors, most notably QuantaNet, plan to use the results of their work and the help of their AI programs to develop a radical overhaul of the entire system, integrating multiple platforms and systems in a single, dynamic neural interface system that will offer far more flexible tools for developers and richer experiences for users.
Water Management
Water management and treatment systems have been continuously improved by the government in order to meet population needs as well as economic and health needs. These programs are well funded and make use of the most advanced technologies available in order to cut down on pollution and manage the need for clean, affordable drinking water for use by the country's people. The system is a hybrid public-private cooperation, with tight oversight by the government and strict standards in exchange for a private investment and operation market. This system has proven to be generally effective, and strengthening of the government's hand in the Water Quality Act of 2003 further improved the functionality of this method. The Vetalian government has been able to meet its environmental needs as well as provide state-of-the-art service to its citizens; its current goal is to improve water efficiency and reduce strain on aquifiers, as well as teach and enforce better water management programs on agriculture and industry. Compared to prior eras, the Vetalian water system has improved its efficiency markedly and reduced the number of strained or depleted aquifiers by 32% compared to 2000.
The government has also paid close attention to maintaining natural aquifiers, with a goal of maximizing natural water quality control. To this end, they have mandated new standards for bridge and road construction, most notably banning the construction of new causeways and providing funds to convert them to new designs that resume normal water circulation. Similar funds have been provided to upgrade dams to minimize their impact on waterways and fish, and the Wetlands Acts of 1980 and 2009 have greatly reduced the destruction of wetlands and successfully rehabilitated them in some critical areas. Other projects, such as flood control levees and flash-flood control systems have also helped maintain healthy waterflow. The goal is to further improve upon these successes as well as build up sustainable waterways and healthy surface water while still keeping them open and inexpensive to use.
