[@ClocktowerEchos] So, small issue. [hider=Warning: Nitpicks Within] In your History section, you write: [quote]When Trifera was cut off from Mother Earth, chaos soon followed. As riots and panic protests broke out, opportunistic radicals with the help of fringe elements of the military took power.[/quote] And then shortly after: [quote]They had already mastered their own planet, so their egos told them it was nothing to dissect some dead giant monster.[/quote] See, these quotes make it sound like Trifera was colonized for a very long time before Earth collapsed. But as I tried to describe it in the OP, the colony ships were sent out right as Earth was already falling: [quote] A desperate government, equipped with technology that still outstrips anything seen in the galaxy today, threw the last of its resources into the making of the Gateways. Massive artificial wormholes, each one set to lead to a different location. Colonists were sent haphazardly through them. Humanity was scattered across the entire Milky Way: separated from eachother, lost, but determined to survive.[/quote] I understand that there could be some ambiguity, of course. But basically, the History section's phrasing makes the Trifera colony sound older than the rest of our nations. I wouldn't have mentioned it, except that most of the other Nation Sheets I've received all phrase their colonies as being established basically to replace Earth, and so I feel like it causes consistency issues. If you can rephrase that a bit, I'll be glad to accept it. :) [/hider] [@datadogie] Accepted! I've honestly always loved the idea of living in space, as much as it would probably be a nightmare in reality. [hr] And at that, my dudes, my NS is completed too. Well, minus the fact that I still have to make a flag, but by my authority as GM I order you all to ignore that. :lol [hider=Earth Cultural Union] [center] [color=00aeef]Nation Name[/color]: Earth Cultural Union [color=00aeef]Government Form[/color]: Noocracy ("Aristocracy of the Wise") [color=00aeef]Demographics[/color]: While all human, most of the ECU population has been exposed to radiation throughout their life, and the potential damage to DNA has been a source of great fear and concern. [color=00aeef]Population:[/color] 1.5 Billion. Colony founded with 150,000. --- [img]https://i.imgur.com/AesXIsN.png[/img] --- [/center] [color=39b54a]Planet Name and Description[/color]: New Hollywood. A world of dust, rust and ruins. Humans are not the first people to live on this planet. The predecessors (named Bezians, after the planet's original name: Bezia-72b) were a sentient race who, like humans, built cities, paved roads, and discovered the world around them. Then they blew it up. Nuclear war seems to have been the likely cause of the Bezian's extinction. Radiation levels have faded in the eons since it happened, but remain a hazard today. Along with the intense clutter of ruined cities, and the uncomfortable alien-ness of the environment, the ECU has been prompted to invest heavily in terraforming. To date, New Hollywood is five years into a complex process of being terraformed into an Earth-like paradise. Only time will tell if it succeeds. [color=39b54a]History[/color]: The history of New Hollywood is bloody. The first occupants, the Bezians, destroyed themselves. And the Noocracy has put down many potential uprisings and "Anti-Earth activities" in the time since. A rough timeline follows. [hider=Timeline] Year 0: The Champion, a small colony ship staffed largely by scientists and experts in STEM fields, lands on Bezia-72b. The Champion's captain, Cpt. Julia Oppenheimer, assumes command of the colony. Year 6: While gathering metals from a Bezian ruin, Oppenheimer and her team are killed by a collapsing building. Year 6-9: Debate rages regarding Oppenheimer's replacement. Being a society founded largely by academics, the residents of Bezia-72b push for a system governed by the rules of science and logic, facilitated by a council of proven intellectuals. Taking a page from Plato, this council is named the Noocracy. Year 10: The first Savant is elected: Chun Zhang. He attempts to lead the colony in a path "of respect for Earth's traditions and cultures," but faces much resistance from this group of forward-thinkers. Year 14: A large segment of Chun Zhang's rivals are assigned to a scouting expedition into an unstable ruin, and never return. Year 15: Zhang is reelected as Savant. Year 21: As the first Bezian ruin is cleared and used for the building of a permanent human habitation, a sense of intense patriotism and accomplishment sweeps the population. Year 22: Framing himself as the hero of this achievement, Zhang is finally able to consolidate power under himself, and push the populace into fully accepting his agenda. Year 22-25: Bezia-72b is renamed New Hollywood, and the Earth Cultural Union is officially formed. Year 26: Thus follows the only period of relative peace in New Hollywood history. Year 98: A scientist in the employ of the Noocracy, Dr. Amanda Yung, proposes a revolutionary new gene treatment that could combat the impact of New Hollywood's latent radiation. Year 105: Long-term trials of Yung's Treatment conclude, showing a small but permanent altering of the recipient's genetic structure. Year 106-108: Controversy ensues. Year 109: Savant Fredrick Byrne outlaws Yung's proposal. In a rare official speech, it is made clear that no alterations to the human genome, no matter how small, will ever be tolerated. Year 110: Dr. Amanda Yung is found dead. Despite being shot in the back, it is officially ruled a suicide. Year 140-145: Agitated by increased repressiveness from the Noocracy, protests break out across every city on New Hollywood. Year 141-143: The Noocracy attempts to combat these protests peacefully. Year 144: Violence occurs for the first time when a drunken protestor beats a policemen to death. Year 145: The Protectors, a dedicated new policing force unafraid to use violence, is formed. Uprisings are violently suppressed. Rebellion gradually dies down in all cities, with the exception of New Beijing. Year 146: New Beijing remains a hotspot for anti-government discourse for decades. Year 210: The first Holographic Suite is invented. Year 211-214: As a testing ground, Holographic Suites are used to indoctrinate Protectors in Noocratic thinking. Year 215: The Holgraphic Suite is released to the general public, to ecstatic reception. Year 216-220: Savant Kungawo Johannes encourages the construction of Holgraphic Suites in New Beijing, with an intense focus on patriotic messaging. Year 221: Tensions gradually die down in New Beijing. Year 270: A new religious movement begins, based on the great religions of Earth's past. Year 271-273: The Noocracy tolerates this movement so long as it stays focused on traditional human beliefs. Year 272-280: "Mixtism" becomes an unofficial name for the spiritualist gathering, as views have mingled to a point where it is now something new, unique completely to New Hollywood. Year 280: Mixtism is declared a dangerous cult. Year 281: Religious individuals are forced into hiding. Thousands are believed to still be living in Bezian ruins. Year 290: A famous Oligarch writes an anti-Noocratic manifesto. By her command, it is broadcasted across much of the planet. Before authorities can apprehend her, she commits suicide. Year 295: The terraforming of New Hollywood begins. Year 300: Current day. [/hider] [color=39b54a]Culture and Society[/color]: Socially, the Earth Cultural Union is both incredibly diverse and incredibly traditional. The focus of the ECU, as always, is to preserve the cultures of Old Earth as they were before the Fall. With this in mind, the Noocracy has pushed "Earth Culture Parties" as a craze among the youth. These are large and intense gatherings where participants take on new names for an evening, speak in Old Earth slang, and eat New Hollywood's best approximations of Earth food. Not that the rest of New Hollywood doesn't "keep to the Culture." Even outside the parties, you could walk down any street in Neo London and see dozens wearing their sacred folk costumes of blue jeans and hoodies, Japanese kimonos, or lederhosen. If it's Earth, it's valid. And then, naturally, some of those street-walkers are probably headed towards a Holograph Suite, where they'll be given a list of options for a night of entertainment. They can watch Shakespeare premiere at the Globe Theatre, for example. Or they can have an intimate (pre-scripted) chat with Marilyn Monroe. These programs, as with everything in New Hollywood, come pre-approved by the Noocracy and represent Earth in only the best possibly light. A paradise. A place we should want to go back to. Home. [center] --- [/center] [color=f7941d]Governance and Politics[/color]: "Noocracy," as defined by Plato, is rule by philosophers. As defined by the ECU, it is rule by the intelligent. A subtle difference, but vitally important. The Earth Cultural Union ruling class, sometimes called the Oligarchy, maintains that its members represent the most intelligent and educated members of society. Early on in New Hollywood's history, entry into the Oligarchy required passing a rigorous technical exam, a certain level of required reading, and an I.Q. test rumored to break men's minds. Today, it requires you to be born the child of an Oligarch. Over the centuries, the standards of the Noocracy have gradually been corrupted. Whereas once one had to be an almost savant-like genius to gain real political power, now the Oligarchy is mostly an insular group of families and dedicated social climbers. But in order to maintain appearances, the Oligarchy still presents itself as representing intellectual refinement. Therefore, young Oligarchs often increase their social standing by walking around in public with books, or paying more genuine scientists to do research on their behalf. (In fact, most scientists on New Hollywood work for Oligarchs. They publish no finds the Noocracy doesn't approve.) If you ask an Oligarch if they have any hobbies, they'll sigh dramatically and confess "Tragically, my uncomplicated companion, I have not the freedom to engage in fanciful recreations. But I digress- my studies, the foul mistress, call me again." They spend most of their time at Earth Culture Parties. At least, that is the case for most Rulers of today. Lately, there seems to be one dangerous exception: James Heralds is a middle-aged Oligarch who is best described as "gray." His voice is gray, his thinking is gray, and his hair is gray. And he's terribly clever. He's managed to build up a power base among more weak-minded Oligarchs, and was just elected Savant (the formal head of the Noocracy) by a razor-thin margin. [color=f7941d]Technology Overview[/color]: With the Earth Cultural Union's obsession with preserving the past, no scrap of knowledge- no matter how trivial- has been allowed to go forgotten. Since reconstructing a damaged database carried on their Colony Ship, the ECU has been able to tell you everything from the lifespan of [i]Hericium Erinaceus[/i] (40 years) to the color of Johnny Depp's eyes (chocolate brown). And with the Noocracy's determination to prove their intellectual might, Oligarchs will often fund any number of scientific pet projects. Terraforming in particular is a specialty- the ECU has managed to transform sections of New Hollywood into Earth-like paradises, and they've gotten to be very good at it. There have been some rumors that, if New Hollywood can be brought back to life, perhaps Earth can as well. But it remains only speculation. Another field that has flourished in the Earth Cultural Union is the use of holographic simulations. The invention of Holographic Suites has allowed touchable holograms to bring any fiction to life, creating an entire world before the user's eyes. This is popularly used to both distract and indoctrinate the populace. (On the more practical side of things, scientists also use holograms for visualizing complex simulations. Before a new terraforming project gets underway, it's always run through the Holographic Suite a couple of hundred times, mapping out any potential side-effects.) New Hollywood does, however, remain "behind the curve" when it comes to two fields: robotic automation, and gene modification. This is primarily because their research is banned on New Hollywood, due to a fear that such inventions would lead to a new humanity- contrary to the ECU's mission to preserve humans as they are. [color=f7941d]Military Overview[/color]: The ECU has not needed an army for some time. There was a violent period, roughly 150 years ago, where a large policing force was developed to put down rebellions, but that time has passed. Today, the people are easily occupied with holographic fantasies and revelry, and rarely think of politics long enough to oppose the government in anything. The only exception remains the Protectors. Originally formed during the rebellions, the Protectors are a combination of soldiers and police. They are trained and indoctrinated by Holograph Suite programs which have been designed to teach them to love Earth, fear anything foreign, and practice violence without hesitation. Recently, these men have been placed formally under the control of Savant James Heralds. [/hider]