Vastiva
09-08-2004, 05:46
Emissary Ihaba Svetlana von Steinberg straightened her burnoose for the twelfth time. There was simply nothing more to see out the windows then more and more ocean, and she was tired of reviewing forms and files. Her hand wandered over the intercom button, but what was there to say to the pilot she had not said before?
Bored, she reviewed the file on Vaniya again.
The People's Republic of Vaniya is a small, devout nation, remarkable for its compulsory military service. Its hard-nosed, hard-working, intelligent population of 16 million are effectively ruled by a group of massive corporations, who run for political office and provide their well-off citizens with world-class goods and services. Their poorer citizens, however, are mostly starving to death while being urged to go out and get real jobs. The populace has reasonably extensive civil rights, although these are mostly aimed at allowing them to buy whatever they like.
The small, corrupt, pro-business government juggles the competing demands of Education, Law & Order, and Religion & Spirituality. Citizens pay a flat income tax of 3%. A robust private sector is led by the Retail, Trout Farming, and Beef-Based Agriculture industries.
Marijuana is legal in the privacy of your own home, the death penalty has been reintroduced, organ donation rates are among the lowest in the region, and young children are regularly seen wagering pocket money at blackjack tables. Crime is moderate. Vaniya's national animal is the house elf, which teeters on the brink of extinction due to widespread deforestation, and its currency is the kenya.
“They’re independent, I’ll give them that…” she shook her head. There just wasn’t enough information here to do more then guess – and guess wasn’t the best way to get anything done.
She flipped over to the trade data she’d been given. Vastiva was always interested in new and different foodstuffs, as the recently appearing black market in cheese products proved. It was the hope of Voyate Shumash ben Allen that enough trout stock could be gotten to begin domestic production of the freshwater fish. Beef was another consideration entirely – there just weren’t the ranges those animals needed to prosper. Trade was the only plausible answer for the short term. On the opposite side, she saw immediately how the Vastivan powerhouse Book Publishing industry could aid Vaniya – education took books, law and order took books, religion took books. Considering the recent uneasy alliance between the Book Publishing and Information Technology sectors, whichever way the Vaniyans wanted their information, Vastiva could provide. For a price.
If it worked.
She put her head back and looked out the window at the endless blue expanse until she drifted off to sleep…
Bored, she reviewed the file on Vaniya again.
The People's Republic of Vaniya is a small, devout nation, remarkable for its compulsory military service. Its hard-nosed, hard-working, intelligent population of 16 million are effectively ruled by a group of massive corporations, who run for political office and provide their well-off citizens with world-class goods and services. Their poorer citizens, however, are mostly starving to death while being urged to go out and get real jobs. The populace has reasonably extensive civil rights, although these are mostly aimed at allowing them to buy whatever they like.
The small, corrupt, pro-business government juggles the competing demands of Education, Law & Order, and Religion & Spirituality. Citizens pay a flat income tax of 3%. A robust private sector is led by the Retail, Trout Farming, and Beef-Based Agriculture industries.
Marijuana is legal in the privacy of your own home, the death penalty has been reintroduced, organ donation rates are among the lowest in the region, and young children are regularly seen wagering pocket money at blackjack tables. Crime is moderate. Vaniya's national animal is the house elf, which teeters on the brink of extinction due to widespread deforestation, and its currency is the kenya.
“They’re independent, I’ll give them that…” she shook her head. There just wasn’t enough information here to do more then guess – and guess wasn’t the best way to get anything done.
She flipped over to the trade data she’d been given. Vastiva was always interested in new and different foodstuffs, as the recently appearing black market in cheese products proved. It was the hope of Voyate Shumash ben Allen that enough trout stock could be gotten to begin domestic production of the freshwater fish. Beef was another consideration entirely – there just weren’t the ranges those animals needed to prosper. Trade was the only plausible answer for the short term. On the opposite side, she saw immediately how the Vastivan powerhouse Book Publishing industry could aid Vaniya – education took books, law and order took books, religion took books. Considering the recent uneasy alliance between the Book Publishing and Information Technology sectors, whichever way the Vaniyans wanted their information, Vastiva could provide. For a price.
If it worked.
She put her head back and looked out the window at the endless blue expanse until she drifted off to sleep…