Gorkon
05-02-2005, 18:14
Click Here for Gorkonian Military Information (http://forums.jolt.co.uk/showthread.php?t=393522)
Click Here for Gorkonian Diplomacy (http://forums.jolt.co.uk/showthread.php?p=6805901)
Overview -- The Military Nation of Gorkon
Gorkon is a nation ruled by a compassionate Military. Whilst there is no democratic process, the Military Government affords the people of Gorkon a great many civil and economical rights, with most laws being universal morals (e.g. murder, rape, theft, etc...). Unlike traditional Military 'dictatorships', the Gorkonian Military often polls the people on their opinion on the issues and acts on the results. These polls are conducted as fairly as any democratic process, with no bias or intimidation, nor any corruption of the results. The Military, by definition, exists to protect the people of Gorkon and thus serves them wherever it is practical to do so. The nature of the Military also prevents elections from occurring, however -- a distinct chain of command is maintained, as with any other armed force. This is both a blessing and a curse, but for the most part the people are represented fairly.
The Military Government maintains a capitalist economy. Whilst they do maintain hospitals and schools, almost everything else is totally privatised. Taxation rates are low, and most of the money raised through taxation goes to funding the Military, schools and hospitals. Most loyalty comes from the traditional patriotism. Throughout history, people have considered the Military to be the symbol of Gorkon, and when the Military rose up and executed their oppressive Monarch, this secured the people's faith in them.
The current Commander-in-Chief of the Gorkonian Military, and thus, the whole nation, is Commander-in-Chief Benjamin Greeson. He replaced Commander-in-Chief Maxson shortly after the 1987 Civil War, when a member of the Elite Guard managed to assassinate him.
Gorkonian society is often a bleak one. Beset by an eternal winter, Gorkon is plunged into darkness for 6 months every year, due to its extremely southern position on the planet. This leads to the people largely being pessimistic. Religion is almost completely absent from the Gorkonian people, and has been for the past few centuries. The only real drive the Gorkonians seem to have on a collective level is a high degree of patriotism, verging on extreme nationalism.
Due to impressive investment in schools, the Gorkonian Military Government has turned the population from the backward people they were under the Monarchy into a highly intelligent, modern society of skilled workers. Universities see attendance rates of nearly 45%, and high-tech industries are on the rise. Most technologies used in the Gorkonian Military, for example, are purely home-grown regardless of their similarities to outside technologies.
And given their extreme weather conditions, Gorkonians are experts at temperature management, having developed some rather ingenious central heating systems. Gorkonian cars are also amongst the most luxurious and have some of the best handling on the planet -- when the outside world is as cold and unwelcoming as Gorkon, one needs to feel warm and comfortable when driving. And when the roads are consistently covered with ice and snow, their cars need to be able to handle brilliantly to prevent accidents. Gorkonians are particularly proud of their automobile industry.
Gorkon's primary import is food. The sometimes-lethal landscape is bitter and unwelcoming, and prevents most forms of agriculture from developing. This was a major problem under the Monarchy, as they refused to purchase food from abroad. This created serious starvation problems in all social classes. Since Military rule began, this problem has since been rectified and foreign food companies now import vast quantities of a variety of foods. Other luxury goods are also high on the priority list.
Geography -- Gorkon and Colonies
Gorkon is located in the Antarctic Ocean, not far away from the South Pole itself. As such, Gorkon is not a warm country, and is frequently covered in snow. In addition to this, for a large chunk of the year, most of Gorkon is plunged into a period of eternal night.
The colonies are part of the Lost Island chain. Although there are four other islands besides the mainland, only three of them are inhabited by civilians. The south-east island was taken over by the Gorkonian Intelligence Division 100 years ago and now serves as their base of operations. It has been transformed into a nearly-impenetrable fortress, which not even Gorkonian Military vehicles can approach without being damaged or destroyed.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v248/MattLever/Gorkon/map.jpg
Key:
Man-Made:
Black Lines: Main Highways/Motorways
Grey Lines: Underwater Tunnels (Road + Rail)
Purple: Urban Centres
Natural:
Blue: Ocean/Sea
Green: Ground; Sea Level/Low (0 - 100 metres)
Cream-Yellow: Ground; Above Sea Level/Small Hills (100 - 500 metres)
Orange-Red: Ground; Very High/Mountains (500 - 800 metres)
Please note that there are a lot more towns and cities than the ones listed, and only main roads are shown. Major cities and major roads are displayed.
History -- Monarchy - Military
129 B.C. - 989 A.D. -- Tribal Gorkon. The people of Gorkon were largely nomadic, living in clans and tribes and frequently waging war with other clans and tribes. A few static settlements existed, but nothing substantial.
991 A.D. - 1105 A.D. -- Civil War. The major tribes absorbed smaller ones and began a war of conquest against other major tribes. By 1101 A.D., only two tribes remained autonomous; the Gorkonites and the Klarsons.
1105 A.D. -- The Gorkonites defeated the Klarsons at the Battle of Langford. Phillus Gorkon I assumed the title of Monarch over all the lands of the newly-named Nation of Gorkon, and set about bringing the remaining nomads under his control.
1124 A.D. -- Monarch Phillus Gorkon I established the 'Great Military of Gorkon', the first standing army to exist in Gorkon, and the ancestor organisation of the current Military. He gave them a degree of autonomy not usually found in a nation's military.
1125 A.D. -- Monarch Phillus Gorkon I added a Navy to the Military, and funded a small fleet of wooden longships.
1125 A.D. -- Aware that creating a Military capable of operating independently meant that he might find himself undefended at some point, Phillus established the Elite Guard. The first batches of Elite Guard were Royalists. Afterwards, the Elite Guard were to be children taken from birth. Being brainwashed from the moment they could stand meant that they were 100% loyal to the Monarch, and being trained for a similar period of time made them highly skilled, more so than the Military. Their numbers were smaller, though. The Elite Guard were under the direct command of the Monarch, unlike the Military.
1436 A.D. -- Monarch Illvius "The Butcher" Gorkon II took the throne, and began a program of genocide; wiping out those of Southern origins. He believed that their totally-white complexion (nearly 0% colour, in fact literally, white, not just pale skin) was a disease that needed to be wiped out.
1691 A.D. -- 'Civil Protection' wing of the Gorkonian Military was established, for greater control and enforcement of the law. The Civil Protection force drew all-new personnel rather than dividing the Military.
1701 A.D. -- The Military finally adopted gunpowder weapons as their staple system, completely disregarding bow-and-arrow counterparts. Melee weapons still featured heavily.
1704 A.D. - 1705 A.D. -- Second Gorkonian Civil War. As Monarch Jono Gorkon I died, his two sons Leonard and Karl both claimed his throne. They each drew upon their own contingents of Elite Guard and waged war against each other. The Military did not participate, instead ensuring that troops were on patrol to keep the general population out of harms way.
1878 A.D. -- Monarch Phillus Juli "The Demon" Gorkon II took the throne. A particularly harsh Monarch, he frequently rounded up people at random and executed them, to demonstrate his power. He increased taxation rates to unbearable levels to satisfy his own personal greed.
1904 A.D. -- The Military received an Airforce.
1931 A.D. -- The Military began deploying submarines in their Navy.
1947 A.D. -- Monarch Phillus Juli II died. His son, Monarch Janus "The Torturer" Gorkon, assumed the throne. His mandate from the beginning was to continue his father's work of tightening control over the people, yet also he had intentions of limiting the power of the Military. He set up veritable 'death camps', which had no apparent purpose other than torturing people to bring fear to the general population.
1979 A.D. -- Monarch Janus cut funding to the Military by 25% and ordered the Commander-in-Chief at the time to be hung. The Military refused to comply.
1981 A.D -- The Slaughter at Geralia City. Monarch Janus tested Gorkon's first nuclear weapon on Geralia City (no longer on the map, for obvious reasons). When the explosion died down, Elite Guard fighter craft swept the area for survivors and killed them.
1986 A.D. -- Monarch Janus attempted to cut the Military funding again. The Military responded violently. Elite Guard sent to forcibly seize some Military assets were shot dead, and displayed on the front of Military Headquarters. The Civil War began.
1987 A.D. -- After a protracted seige, the Military finally gained access to the Palace of Monarchs. Monarch Janus was arrested and removed from power. Commander-in-Chief Maxson assumed control of Gorkon, and began to fight the remaining Elite Guard.
The Elite Guard knew of substantial underground caches of weapons, and began going underground and launching covert strikes against civilian targets and Military targets. At one point they captured an airbase, and began using fighters to bomb civilian cities.
An international task force consisting of Gorkon and Camewot, as well as two others, recaptured the airbase and temporarily drove the Elite Guard into hiding.
1988 A.D. -- Monarch Janus was executed in public, in the courtyard of his old palace. Commander-in-Chief Maxson was shot dead shortly afterwards by a member of the Elite Guard. General Benjamin Greeson was promoted to Commander-in-Chief, and his first duty was to move Gorkonian Military HQ to the Palace of Monarchs and begin repairing Gorkon's infrastructure.
1994 A.D. -- Benjamin Greeson announced that Gorkon was finally healed of its economic wounds, and indeed doing better than ever before. Media companies had begun broadcasting/distributing unbiased news, healthcare was in good-shape, the education system was in good working order and the Military was recruiting at record levels.
1999 A.D. -- Benjamin Greeson announced that the Military was to undergo a period of technological advancement to bring itself up-to-par with the rest of the world. Research on various new light arms and the Gladiator MBT was begun.
2004 A.D. -- The Military's modernisation scheme was nearly complete. The MA5B Assault Rifle was in standard production, and the first batches of Gladiator MBTs had been completed and were commencing active service. A variety of new and advanced light arms were completed shortly afterwards and entered production.
2005 A.D. -- The Military began a scheme of diplomacy again.
OOC: Unfinished. More to be added later.
Click Here for Gorkonian Diplomacy (http://forums.jolt.co.uk/showthread.php?p=6805901)
Overview -- The Military Nation of Gorkon
Gorkon is a nation ruled by a compassionate Military. Whilst there is no democratic process, the Military Government affords the people of Gorkon a great many civil and economical rights, with most laws being universal morals (e.g. murder, rape, theft, etc...). Unlike traditional Military 'dictatorships', the Gorkonian Military often polls the people on their opinion on the issues and acts on the results. These polls are conducted as fairly as any democratic process, with no bias or intimidation, nor any corruption of the results. The Military, by definition, exists to protect the people of Gorkon and thus serves them wherever it is practical to do so. The nature of the Military also prevents elections from occurring, however -- a distinct chain of command is maintained, as with any other armed force. This is both a blessing and a curse, but for the most part the people are represented fairly.
The Military Government maintains a capitalist economy. Whilst they do maintain hospitals and schools, almost everything else is totally privatised. Taxation rates are low, and most of the money raised through taxation goes to funding the Military, schools and hospitals. Most loyalty comes from the traditional patriotism. Throughout history, people have considered the Military to be the symbol of Gorkon, and when the Military rose up and executed their oppressive Monarch, this secured the people's faith in them.
The current Commander-in-Chief of the Gorkonian Military, and thus, the whole nation, is Commander-in-Chief Benjamin Greeson. He replaced Commander-in-Chief Maxson shortly after the 1987 Civil War, when a member of the Elite Guard managed to assassinate him.
Gorkonian society is often a bleak one. Beset by an eternal winter, Gorkon is plunged into darkness for 6 months every year, due to its extremely southern position on the planet. This leads to the people largely being pessimistic. Religion is almost completely absent from the Gorkonian people, and has been for the past few centuries. The only real drive the Gorkonians seem to have on a collective level is a high degree of patriotism, verging on extreme nationalism.
Due to impressive investment in schools, the Gorkonian Military Government has turned the population from the backward people they were under the Monarchy into a highly intelligent, modern society of skilled workers. Universities see attendance rates of nearly 45%, and high-tech industries are on the rise. Most technologies used in the Gorkonian Military, for example, are purely home-grown regardless of their similarities to outside technologies.
And given their extreme weather conditions, Gorkonians are experts at temperature management, having developed some rather ingenious central heating systems. Gorkonian cars are also amongst the most luxurious and have some of the best handling on the planet -- when the outside world is as cold and unwelcoming as Gorkon, one needs to feel warm and comfortable when driving. And when the roads are consistently covered with ice and snow, their cars need to be able to handle brilliantly to prevent accidents. Gorkonians are particularly proud of their automobile industry.
Gorkon's primary import is food. The sometimes-lethal landscape is bitter and unwelcoming, and prevents most forms of agriculture from developing. This was a major problem under the Monarchy, as they refused to purchase food from abroad. This created serious starvation problems in all social classes. Since Military rule began, this problem has since been rectified and foreign food companies now import vast quantities of a variety of foods. Other luxury goods are also high on the priority list.
Geography -- Gorkon and Colonies
Gorkon is located in the Antarctic Ocean, not far away from the South Pole itself. As such, Gorkon is not a warm country, and is frequently covered in snow. In addition to this, for a large chunk of the year, most of Gorkon is plunged into a period of eternal night.
The colonies are part of the Lost Island chain. Although there are four other islands besides the mainland, only three of them are inhabited by civilians. The south-east island was taken over by the Gorkonian Intelligence Division 100 years ago and now serves as their base of operations. It has been transformed into a nearly-impenetrable fortress, which not even Gorkonian Military vehicles can approach without being damaged or destroyed.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v248/MattLever/Gorkon/map.jpg
Key:
Man-Made:
Black Lines: Main Highways/Motorways
Grey Lines: Underwater Tunnels (Road + Rail)
Purple: Urban Centres
Natural:
Blue: Ocean/Sea
Green: Ground; Sea Level/Low (0 - 100 metres)
Cream-Yellow: Ground; Above Sea Level/Small Hills (100 - 500 metres)
Orange-Red: Ground; Very High/Mountains (500 - 800 metres)
Please note that there are a lot more towns and cities than the ones listed, and only main roads are shown. Major cities and major roads are displayed.
History -- Monarchy - Military
129 B.C. - 989 A.D. -- Tribal Gorkon. The people of Gorkon were largely nomadic, living in clans and tribes and frequently waging war with other clans and tribes. A few static settlements existed, but nothing substantial.
991 A.D. - 1105 A.D. -- Civil War. The major tribes absorbed smaller ones and began a war of conquest against other major tribes. By 1101 A.D., only two tribes remained autonomous; the Gorkonites and the Klarsons.
1105 A.D. -- The Gorkonites defeated the Klarsons at the Battle of Langford. Phillus Gorkon I assumed the title of Monarch over all the lands of the newly-named Nation of Gorkon, and set about bringing the remaining nomads under his control.
1124 A.D. -- Monarch Phillus Gorkon I established the 'Great Military of Gorkon', the first standing army to exist in Gorkon, and the ancestor organisation of the current Military. He gave them a degree of autonomy not usually found in a nation's military.
1125 A.D. -- Monarch Phillus Gorkon I added a Navy to the Military, and funded a small fleet of wooden longships.
1125 A.D. -- Aware that creating a Military capable of operating independently meant that he might find himself undefended at some point, Phillus established the Elite Guard. The first batches of Elite Guard were Royalists. Afterwards, the Elite Guard were to be children taken from birth. Being brainwashed from the moment they could stand meant that they were 100% loyal to the Monarch, and being trained for a similar period of time made them highly skilled, more so than the Military. Their numbers were smaller, though. The Elite Guard were under the direct command of the Monarch, unlike the Military.
1436 A.D. -- Monarch Illvius "The Butcher" Gorkon II took the throne, and began a program of genocide; wiping out those of Southern origins. He believed that their totally-white complexion (nearly 0% colour, in fact literally, white, not just pale skin) was a disease that needed to be wiped out.
1691 A.D. -- 'Civil Protection' wing of the Gorkonian Military was established, for greater control and enforcement of the law. The Civil Protection force drew all-new personnel rather than dividing the Military.
1701 A.D. -- The Military finally adopted gunpowder weapons as their staple system, completely disregarding bow-and-arrow counterparts. Melee weapons still featured heavily.
1704 A.D. - 1705 A.D. -- Second Gorkonian Civil War. As Monarch Jono Gorkon I died, his two sons Leonard and Karl both claimed his throne. They each drew upon their own contingents of Elite Guard and waged war against each other. The Military did not participate, instead ensuring that troops were on patrol to keep the general population out of harms way.
1878 A.D. -- Monarch Phillus Juli "The Demon" Gorkon II took the throne. A particularly harsh Monarch, he frequently rounded up people at random and executed them, to demonstrate his power. He increased taxation rates to unbearable levels to satisfy his own personal greed.
1904 A.D. -- The Military received an Airforce.
1931 A.D. -- The Military began deploying submarines in their Navy.
1947 A.D. -- Monarch Phillus Juli II died. His son, Monarch Janus "The Torturer" Gorkon, assumed the throne. His mandate from the beginning was to continue his father's work of tightening control over the people, yet also he had intentions of limiting the power of the Military. He set up veritable 'death camps', which had no apparent purpose other than torturing people to bring fear to the general population.
1979 A.D. -- Monarch Janus cut funding to the Military by 25% and ordered the Commander-in-Chief at the time to be hung. The Military refused to comply.
1981 A.D -- The Slaughter at Geralia City. Monarch Janus tested Gorkon's first nuclear weapon on Geralia City (no longer on the map, for obvious reasons). When the explosion died down, Elite Guard fighter craft swept the area for survivors and killed them.
1986 A.D. -- Monarch Janus attempted to cut the Military funding again. The Military responded violently. Elite Guard sent to forcibly seize some Military assets were shot dead, and displayed on the front of Military Headquarters. The Civil War began.
1987 A.D. -- After a protracted seige, the Military finally gained access to the Palace of Monarchs. Monarch Janus was arrested and removed from power. Commander-in-Chief Maxson assumed control of Gorkon, and began to fight the remaining Elite Guard.
The Elite Guard knew of substantial underground caches of weapons, and began going underground and launching covert strikes against civilian targets and Military targets. At one point they captured an airbase, and began using fighters to bomb civilian cities.
An international task force consisting of Gorkon and Camewot, as well as two others, recaptured the airbase and temporarily drove the Elite Guard into hiding.
1988 A.D. -- Monarch Janus was executed in public, in the courtyard of his old palace. Commander-in-Chief Maxson was shot dead shortly afterwards by a member of the Elite Guard. General Benjamin Greeson was promoted to Commander-in-Chief, and his first duty was to move Gorkonian Military HQ to the Palace of Monarchs and begin repairing Gorkon's infrastructure.
1994 A.D. -- Benjamin Greeson announced that Gorkon was finally healed of its economic wounds, and indeed doing better than ever before. Media companies had begun broadcasting/distributing unbiased news, healthcare was in good-shape, the education system was in good working order and the Military was recruiting at record levels.
1999 A.D. -- Benjamin Greeson announced that the Military was to undergo a period of technological advancement to bring itself up-to-par with the rest of the world. Research on various new light arms and the Gladiator MBT was begun.
2004 A.D. -- The Military's modernisation scheme was nearly complete. The MA5B Assault Rifle was in standard production, and the first batches of Gladiator MBTs had been completed and were commencing active service. A variety of new and advanced light arms were completed shortly afterwards and entered production.
2005 A.D. -- The Military began a scheme of diplomacy again.
OOC: Unfinished. More to be added later.