General Domestic Issues

[jonisilk]

Latest figures for 4022-4027 are now up on the PCG homepage.

The appeal of the Martian Ocean has given a significant boost to the Tourism Industry and the emergence of a small but considerable market presence for Organic Produce has seen the agricultural industry emerge as the other notable success story for the period.

We are also very pleased to announce that following an intensive repayment plan, the PCG has finally repaid almost the entirety (19 trn) of the 20 trillion cc fund that was granted to us nearly 30 years ago by the ACFR.

We would like to extend our most heartfelt thanks and utmost gratitude for this generous loan, that has allowed the PCG take great strides forward in the last three decades and with which we were able to invest in addressing some of our most pressing concerns as a young and emerging power.

In peace and plenty, for all.


Dayen Shelby, Director (Financial) of the PCG & Member of the governing body.

[narwhalwarlord]

A series of reforms has been initiated on Venus in order to champion democracy and civil order, two of our primary virtues. This will reduce the presence of security forces, cut the political influence of the military, and devolve authority to local areas.

Each Province is now required to organize, train, and arm according to centrally-mandated standards a militia of no less than 1% of its population. This militia will train on weekends and undergo maneuvers training on one off day per month. Militia will be called up solely by Provincial authority in times deemed by that given province to be one of strife, civil unrest, revolt, invasion, societal collapse, chaos, disaster, or emergency. The province will compensate both employers and militia for any days missed due to call-ups. Militia must be ready to report to barracks at any time. All commissioned officers are professionals under the employ of the Province.

This will hopefully break the state monopoly on armed force and provide a balancing factor between the military and the security services while also increasing the country's potential strength.

The security service's budget is to be slashed by one per cent, which will be put towards economic stimulus. It will be required to cut down on numbers of agents and completely cease offworld actions against Venusian citizens. Offworld-based branches will be placed under the control of the Outer Reaches Authority. All customs and off-planet smuggling cases are now the domain of the VTEA. All current on-planet directly affiliated corporate assets are to be sold off.

HFPE: The economic stimulus will go towards the Sub-Committee for State Sector Investment, a subsidiary of the Ministry of the Economy controlled by the SSC. Its duty will be to acquire covert funding channels for the SSC via new front corporations. Sold-off front corporations are solely those known to the public. They will be acquired by the SSC under a new set of front organizations. Offworld-based branches will retain the same personnel, operating methods, equipment, and actual loyalties while being subsumed into the ORA's command chain. With the vast majority of the Venusian population having acquired at some point cybernetic eyes or brain functions, a program will be instituted which edits SSC covert agents out from sight.

The construction of a unified Venusian language based on a Cytherian-Argentine mixture is underway. It will not be enforced upon any group. Instead, it will be set up as everyone's third language. After all, most citizens of the planet already know their own local language along with one foreign tongue, typically either Cytherian or Argentine. This third language will be mostly used in higher-level government functions and will be offered as a mandatory course for all students starting at Grade Seven and an optional starting at Grade Ten.

A mandatory physical activity regimen for all citizens is to be instituted. Too many jobs are mechanized and require no physical effort, and as a result despite all gene-modding there is a chance that health may decline. Therefore, all citizens must complete at least 30 minutes of government-planned physical activity per day during the week and one hour of government-planned physical activity per day on weekends unless said citizen is a member of the Militia. Tax credits for children's sport activities will be offered.

A new policy of total freedom of movement for all individuals excepting criminals or state enemies is to be instituted, creating a faster flow of goods and labour through the nation. HFPE: After all, it's really cheap Pallian work that keeps the Argentine industrial sector running in the face of ever-expanding Northern competitiveness, and without that their cities would quickly become even poorer than they already are. Not HFPE: Sections of all cities with significant immigrant flow will be officially designated as "low-income immigrant integration zones". These will be targeted for the construction of low-cost, low-rent government housing, highly increased community policing, and larger amounts of transit directed exclusively at work zones. This will provide opportunity for work-seeking poor, allowing them to main dignity and stay in their own communities while seeking a better life and keeping non-mechanized industries booming.

The problem of the Cytherianized, Pallian-influenced Jerseyan isles administrated by an Argentine ruling class is swiftly growing, with civil unrest and popular dissatisfaction. In order to tackle this, the provincial governments of the two isles have opted to establish Argentine as the the official language of government. The Province of Tucuman's First Minister, Luis Santana de San Miguel, stated that in the establishment of Argentine as the common language a "dialect of commonality has been created which all the fragmented groups can use to communicate with each other has been established". However, the local SSC Section One (its coordination branch) cadre head, Colonel-General Karasan Dyne, expressed serious doubts as to the usefulness of this project. "Hating the Argentines is a national sport for these islands", she said during an interview. "They hated them from when the Argentines first invaded. They hated them because of the Twenty Day's War between Argentina and New Hope, as they were considered by New Hope command to be the stepping-stone into the Argentine West. They hated them during the Separation because that's where all the hardcore New Hope nationalists went. They hated them later because of the continued warfare and the humiliation of their hand-over to Argentina. It's part of the local ideology that New Hope was forced to do so by the foreigners - and, in particular, the Argentines - and so they hate Argentina for that. And now they're under an Argentine ruling elite which is, while very permissive and certainly not domineering towards the locals, without a doubt a symbol of foreign control."

Several other analysts at the National Integration Research Centre of Buenos Aires expressed their opinion in a recent paper entitled Argentine - Language of Compromise that due to its connection to the Howtian Church and the current de facto rule of the Argentine-speaking political apparatus, it would eventually be accepted without complaint. Local polling suggested that roughly 15% of the population would support Argentine being the language of government, 5% would support Pallian, 25% would support Cytherian, 40% would support Jerseyan, and 10% would support a new Venusian language. Of these, 30% would be willing to compromise on language, while 20% said that they would accept anything but Argentine and 8% said that Argentine alone could be the official language. 42% suggested that all officials should be required to be fluent in Jerseyan and Cytherian, regardless of original language.

[narwhalwarlord]

In another reform aimed at increasing our contributions to humanity as a whole, Venus is now creating a new award, the Star of Valour, which will be issued once per decade to a non-Venusian who performs a great service to humanity or exhibits exceptional valour when in a situation of danger. If none are deemed to be worthy, the Star will not be handed out. The recipient of the Star will be determined by a joint commission chaired by the President and Prime Minister. We look forward to our first award ceremony, whenever that may be.

[anaupr]

You can have a space whale. If you can befriend it. Careful, they have a tendency to eat people they don't like.

You won't give me a dragon or something? I applied to join mobius, I think. You guys never got back to me with a final decision.

Hmmmm, I think a dragon might be able to be arranged... It might have to glow neon pink though...

OOC: Ok, real talk about joining Mobius (or any SP) for a second. Talking as Zander the player not Zander the NVC leader dOOd. This applies to all the NPs, which is why I am throwing this out here instead of in PM.

Joining Mobius is a big commitment. You are more or less bound by our foreign policy and lose control over several aspects of your nation. This is not necessarily a bad thing, but it does mean that you will be participating in events as a member of a lethargic, long-term oriented hegemonic superpower instead of a new upstart nation with little to lose. Due to risk aversion, most of Mobius politics involves indirect confrontation and long-term technological maneuvering. Our "exciting" play style involves doing something, then waiting two months IRL, then dealing with the reactions to that thing you did two months ago. We fight almost no wars because the people that we could fight are either in a mutually assured destruction relationship with us (the SPs) or are people that we would simply be dicks for fighting (newer players.) The other SPs are in a similar situation.

What I'm getting at is being an SP is kind of boring a lot of the time. Well, its interesting, but it isn't action-packed. You are currently in the NP stage where you may be bottom of the pack, but you also get to have a ton of fun if you want to. Like, you can actually fight wars and stuff. If you lose, so what? You may lose a few weeks of progress, you may even have to abandon a nation and start over, but when you are new losing is cheap.

If you are really, really eager to jump into SP status then resend the PM and the council will discuss specifics in private. However, I suggest you play things out a bit first as an NP and if you really want to join Mobius in a month or two, then we can talk then.

My emperor would like a pet dragon. Is it possible for it to glow purple? That's his favorite color.

[Subotai45]

Several Venusian provinces have made efforts to increase the use of the Argentine language. Many believe that the use of the more common language will allow for increased interprovincial trade and more job opportunities for the citizenry. The Provinces of Cordoba, La Pampa, Misiones, and Chaco implemented programs mandating that all students, starting in elementary school, adopt Argentine as their second language if it is not their first.

These programs have mixed reactions. Many inside the provinces, largely Argentine farmers who settled in the area to take advantage of the abundant land, as well as the more unionist Pallisians, strongly support the idea. John Brown*, the owner of a grocery store in Chaco province, argues in favor of the idea. "Argentine is simply a more useful language than Geenanite," Brown says in fluent Argentine, "Knowing the language allows me to communicate with the farmers who sell me their goods, keeping my prices more competitive. I can establish business partnerships with both Pallisians and Argentines. There's no reason not to make an effort to learn the language."

Others are not so supportive. The Geenanite National Preservation Front, which aims to secure more autonomy for the Geenanite people, denounce the efforts as "illegal actions taken by the zealot Communist imperialists ruling from Amman and Buenos Aries. Much like labor unions and the Hotwian Church, the Argentine language is a foreign influence that should be eradicated to preserve a pure Geenanite lifestyle." Their message doesn't resonate with the religious and socialist population of the former Pallisian regions, and their words have the opposite effect than that which was intended, driving more into the Argentine-language camp. Some conspiracy theorists believe that the GNPF, the largest Geenanite or Pallisian nationalist group, does not actually exist. They argue that it is in fact controlled by the government, who uses it to spew forth extreme positions that no nationalist, no matter how ardent, could support, forcing them to side with the government. The majority of the population just thinks that the GNPF is run by a collective of idiots, and their failure to attract voters has nothing to do with government conspiracy.

The militia also acts as a mode for the expansion of the Argentine language - although commands and training are available in Geenanite, most is done in Argentine. It is predicted that through the Hotwian Church, the military and militia, and the schools, the entire population of the western regions will be able to speak Argentine in a generation, and in two more, the Geenanite language will have entirely disappeared, becoming preserved as little more than a historical curiosity.

*OOC: Forgive me for the generic name. I don't recall a single Pallisian name ever being written down, nor could I find any. More reason for Argentine culture to completely steamroll the inferior Pallisian variety.

[jonisilk]

Phoenix Construction Enterprises.

A new and exciting business venture, aiming to capitalise on the construction techniques and facilities we have have acquired in recent years.

Our intention is to provide, high quality, low cost vehicles for public and private sector use, from beneath our oceans to beyond the stars above.

Our Marina Construction Yard in Langale Province (courtesy of Pacifica) will undergo an expansion to provide the base of operations for both our aquatic and land vehicle productions, while Corona (constructed in collaboration with The Republic of Pallas), our orbiting construction shipyard, will handle production of off-world vehicles (drawing on the engineering skills and ship-building techniques, acquired from working alongside KASM).

Marina Construction - A PCG Company

List of Marine Vessels.
Phoenix Deep-Sea Craft, Mk 1. (Dimensions: 100 x 70 x 40 meters).
Designed as a scientific study/exploration vessel (a fleet of 20 currently serves our own Martian ocean - these are pretty specialised vehicles and we don’t expect to make/sell many), based on a compartmentalisation technique that allows for re-allocation of sections to a variety of uses. It is also fully equipped to conduct deep sea test-mining operations
Cost - 3 bn cc each.

Phoenix Deep-Sea Craft, Mk 2. (Dimensions: 180 x 120 x 80 meters).
Basically the above craft in design, but greatly increased in size and minus all the specialised science tech and equipment, but still equipped for underwater-mining duties (only now on a commercially viable scale). Can also be adapted for a variety if other uses beneath the ocean waves.
Cost - 5 bn cc each.

Odyssey Class Deep-Sea Voyager. (Dimensions: 380 x 250 x 150 meters)
A passenger liner for cruises on and beneath the ocean. A recent addition to the Martian tourist industry and one that has proven a considerable contributor to the bottom-line since it’s introduction.
Cost - 60 bn cc each (estimated income - 5bn p/a)

Iliad Class D-S Voyager (Dimensions: 70 x 50 x 40 meters)
A smaller luxury vessel aimed at the executive market.
Cost - 15 bn cc each (estimated income - 2bn p/a)


Aqua Shuttles.
Once more, our compartmentalisation building technique allows for future modifications to these shuttles at cost effective prices, meaning there should never be a need to replace your existing shuttle, simply upgrade it every few years a your own personal circumstances dictate

Slipstream - civilian vehicle, a stylsh, up-market shuttle for the whole family. (seats 4, max capacity upgrade to 8)
Cost - 35,000 cc per shuttle

Glider - civilian vehicle, equivalent to the average family shuttle. Extra children on the way? Capacity modification adjustment from just 1,500cc!
Cost - from 16,000cc per shuttle (Seats 6, max capacity upgrade to 9)

Neptune - commercial vehicle, much larger, for a variety uses. Domestically, large numbers service the Oceanic industry, transporting goods between Atlantis and Langale Province. Also commonly adapted for use as public transport (Seats 76).
Cost - 50,000 cc per shuttle


List of Land Vehicles
Zip - A two person vehicle, the economical little car for the big city.
Costs - 8,000cc

Cruiser - A four to six person vehicle. The average family car.
Costs - 19,000cc

Atlas - An all-terrain, multipurpose vehicle, primarily used in the agricultural regions for transportation of heavy goods. Also the land-vehicle of choice of the Darius Initiative, which has considerably raised it’s off-world profile
Cost - 50,000cc


Corona Constructions - A PCG Company

List of Craft.
Nightingale Medical Frigate. (Dimensions: 400 x 200 x 150m)

The signature vessel of the Darius Initiative, with a crew of 260 (including security compliment of 100 troops) and a medical compliment of 6000 staff (maximum figure at full operating capacity - typically 2000).

These gigantic frigates have four large sections - two on each side - capable of detaching from the central skeleton (which comprises 40% of the total mass) of the vessel, for orbital deployment over conflict zones, meaning each frigate is capable of servicing up to 5 flashpoint areas across a planet.

Construction of these frigates is a joint venture with the Republic of Pallus (16.5% stake), who provide the following defensive techs (semi-HFPE until point of sale):
28c Warp
Kingston Pact Sublight
Anti-Virus AI
Standard Non-Sentient AI
RotA Comms
Multiple Hard Linked Arbitrator Computing Systems
Gravitron Anti-Warp
Fusion Auxillary Engines and Generators
NET-C
Anti-EMP
Cobalt Shielding
Standard Brass Tacks, Mirror, Refractive Plating, Adamantium Armour
El-0 Armor Overclocking
Cost - 150 Billion per vessel


Transport Shuttles.
Each of the shuttle below are available in a range of model sizes whose prices reflect their capacity

Shelby Mk 1.
The Standard PCG transport shuttle of Martian aesthetic design.

Maria Mk 1.
Transport shuttle of Venusian aesthetic design.

Mobius Mk 1.
Transport shuttle of Terran aesthetic design.

Costs
Model A (400k tonnes) - 250,000cc
Model B (200k tonnes) - 150,000cc
Model C (50k tonnes) - 75,000cc
Model D (10k tonnes) - 35,000cc

[jonisilk]

Having successfully relocated the oceanic industry beneath the waves to Atlantis, the coastline of Langale Province is now being undergoing significant re-development as we begin work on two more tourism hotspots for the region.

Work is already underway on these new leisure complexes and we expect them to be operational from mid-4034.

[musashisamurai]

The Pacifican government (HFPE in collaboration with ONI) has established a new police force, the so-called Turing Police, to maintain and protect the cybersecurity of our nation. Their specific focus is on AIs, as well as hackers (especially foreign). Many of their duties involve making sure things in Pacifica are up to date with security and fire walls, that networks or systems are isolated and information only flows as needed, that smart grids don't get too smart or lack checks, and to prevent AIs from becoming sentient within Pacifica. They also maintain a task force dedicated to the tracking of Pacifican 'feral AIs", AIs used in weapon targeting systems that only exist for the destruction of their target and who pose a unique threat to the human race.

(This was part of Project Wintermute)

[chrisman39]

The full, almost awe-inspiring, capacity of the station was, the admiral mused as he glided through the open production zone, only outshone by its creations. The structure was currently in orbit around Elysium, and carried enough production capacity to sustain Earth's basic needs for decades to come, should the Senate deem such an action necessary. Of course, the fleet had not yet begun to near completion, but even so, Stratos' trained eyes picked out the classes he had been briefed on prior to his arrival at Steamroller I. He silently noted the bare skeleton of a Tempest occupying a massive stretch of the station below him. Directly forward lay the monstrous, yet almost primitive shell of a Brutix. To his left, the smaller ships were already completing production. Invisible beams carried jet black lance-shaped Jaguars and Oracles from production berths into testing chambers. Ships had scarcely abandoned their chambers before robots scurried to fill the gaps with yet another space-borne killer. Stratos nodded in approval. Steamroller was speeding the efforts greatly, and the fleet, though it could not be built in a day, might be completed within the decade.

HFPE and subject to dramatic change:
Absolution-Class Weapons Interceptor: 75
Pulsar-Class Fleet Rally Point: 100
Guardian-Class Projection Ships: 250
Ark-Class Hospital Ships: 25
Evangelion-Class Repair Ships: 350
Mule-Class Tug: 1500
Siege-Class Interdictors: 15
Boar-Class Hauler: 2500 (various sizes)
Cryos-Class Mass Transport: 2000 (various sizes)

Tempest-Class Ship of the Line: 250
Cyclops-Class Mid Range Engagement (MRE) Ship: 200
Oracle-Class Boarding Ship: 200
Jaguar-Class Covert Boarding Ship: 100
Venatrix-Class Covert Operations Craft: 30
Brutix-Class Fire Ship: 50
Arcturus-Class Individual Combat Craft: 10

[jonisilk]

A thunderous clap echoed around the valley. At the edge of a mountain, a large crack rips along the ice running the length of the mountain… getting bigger, faster - parts of the ice start breaking away as water starts to push through from behind, suddenly it starts falling away in larger chunks, big, loud and heavy, falling from the side of the mountain and crashing into the bay below, dropping away in huge sheets to reveal the roaring water beneath the ice. This is no mountain, this is the majestic Frasta Falls, shedding its winter-skin as spring approaches.

The view from the lounge in the Frasta Falls Hotel, was absolutely breathtaking. A part of the Ucia holiday complex, the hotel was positioned directly next to the falls, but only the reception was visible at ground level. The other forty floors of the hotel hung over the edge of the canyon and descended down, with fully-transparent, curved exterior walls and the penthouse suite, situated on the bottom floor, featured a transparent floor with views of the canyon beneath. It was most definitely not a building for the faint of heart.

Several dozen guests watched the epic sight unfold from the comfort of the hotel lounge. Two men sitting next to an exterior wall, stood up from their seats for a better view and as the initial crack had ripped through the ice, it seemed to rush towards the hotel lounge itself, causing a few voices to be raised in alarm with fears that the hotel itself might fall away with the ice.

There was no need for alarm as the hotel was securely anchored to the cliff-face, but no one needed to tell the two men in the window that - they stood unflinching, as the ice seemingly beneath their feet began to fall away.

“Beautiful, isn’t it?”, asked the taller of the two.

“I see why you wanted to meet here”, replied the shorter man.

As the moment passed, they retook their seats, restoring them to parity in size. Based on their appearance, you wouldn’t have said these were two of the most powerful men outside of the governing body.

The shorter one might have been recognised. Not that he sought the public eye, but his name, if not his face, was known publicly. At Just 28, Ryan Ellison Jr, had become part of the Triumvirate (the governing body had decided that checks and balances could be better kept on military power by splitting it three ways) and had spent the last couple of years consolidating his position within the PCF, earning himself a reputation for resolution without conflict that had garnered him many admirers among the people and his troops.

It helped that he had the man opposite, working behind the scenes for him. Ander Reelman used to be his name. Now, he didn’t officially have one. No name, no life, no job, no file, he just didn’t exist… officially.

Unofficially, he worked in the shadows for the governing body, reporting exclusively to the President herself - that amused him, especially given how badly they’d gotten off on the wrong foot, but the old girl had softened toward him over the last decade and had certainly made full use of his range of skills, even those she had once admonished him for.

Normally, he’d go to her with this information, but this was not something she would take well. It was beyond sensitive and extremely personal. There was little doubt in his mind that this was not something she could be objective about. Ellison was his only other person he trusted with this information, the only other person who knew who he was and what he did, even if he had little idea about exactly how he did it.

With an obvious familiarity, the two settled back into the conversation where they had left off - discussing their days at the academy and the influence upon them of the late, June Unurka.

“I think about the talks we used to have, when we were at the academy”, Reelman said with affection. “No one man did more to change my perspective than he did, no matter how ridiculous he looked in those robes”, he allowed himself to smile at the memory.

“I don’t think I’d have ever gotten through it if he hadn’t turned up”, Ellison allowed himself to reminisce, “sometimes I think getting caught breaking into that lab was the best thing that ever happened to us”, he said.

“I remember you didn’t feel that way at the time!”, came the instant reply.

They both laugh with warmth, before Reelman continued.

”I remember he told me about his own father and the mindset… the way the people used to think, back before the corporation. For centuries people thought the Mobians and Venusians would just wipe each other out, so this mentality of isolation took over - distancing themselves from the conflict and seeing how it played out - ”

“People still think like that”, Ellison interjected.

“That’s true, but it’s not my point. What I meant was, this mentality affected the way we viewed ourselves, in relation to off-worlders - a lot of people had the mentality that eventually Venus and Mobius would destroy each other and Martians would end up carrying the torch for humanity”

Ellsion remembered his cultural histories class - “Yeah, so we had the ‘Better Tomorrow’ declaration - we started consciously constructing the kind of society that would end violence, promote peace, all that stuff - I haven’t thought about that in years”, he added as an afterthought.

“Yeah, so for centuries, we sat and waited, with the understanding that our society would be the one to eventually win-out and then thrive - generations came and went where this apocalyptic battle never ever happened, but what this did was create a divisive barrier that took the founding fathers decades to break down before they could unify the regions and emerge as a genuine power. June told me about his own father and the way he used to think - the way they all did - until only the last couple of generations and he told me he was glad that this way of thinking was now - for the most part - in decline”, he paused to make sure his friend was still following the train of thought and could see he was on-board, “but even after unification, there was still this whole Us v Them mentality, especially about off-worlders, just bubbling under the surface”.

“And again, there still is”, Ellison said in reply, “there are many increasingly vocal groups out there, claiming the superiority of Martian morality”.

“Yeah”, he confirmed, fixing his gaze on his friend, “but what if the people with that mentality started acting upon it?”

Ellison realised that his friend was getting at something.

“Would you care to elaborate?”, he asked.

“Not here”, he said, knocking back the last of his drink.

The two men turned the conversation away to small talk for a few minutes, before Ellison finished his drink and the two of them left the lounge to discuss things in a more private setting.


-----------------


An hour later, in a private hotel room, Ellison sat forward with his elbows resting on his knees and his fingers massaging his temples, looking down at a number of documents spread out on the table before him. Reelman paces around in the kitchen, fixing them a drink each.

“Who else knows about this?” Ellison asked, as he looked up from the documents in front of him, taking the glass being offered.

“You, me, my sources and everyone implicated in those files, which involves a number of your men”, replied Reelman.

There were several names that jumped out of the files he had read through, including one of the Triumvirate, several high-ranking PCF officers he knew personally and at least two - if not three or more - members of the governing body were also implicated.

“Who are your sources?” he asked.

“I’m not going to give-up my sources, not even to you.” There was a cold, matter-of-fact tone in the statement.

Ellison was a little taken aback for a second, but given the information he was looking at, he understood his friends caution, “How do you know you can trust them?”, came the next question.

“The same way I know I can trust you.” Reelman countered, the same matter-of-fact tone in his delivery.

Ellison looked back down at the files again. The more he read, the less pleasant the reading became.

“How did this happen? Why was this allowed to…” he never finished the sentence, he just kept on reading, appalled by the words that leapt from the pages.