NationStates Jolt Archive

OOC: I've decided to finally uplevel Random Kingdom technologically. RK will now play at Postmodern Tech, however if there are RPs/dilemnas outstanding with Random Kingdom which cannot be played at the new tech level RK will continue to play Modern Tech until those are resolved. For example, the HOA/RK RP will most probably be played with the old RK tech level. If this is godmoding or such I will go back to modern tech.

Note: If postmodern tech in the year 2020CE (2015RCE) is incorrect or unrealistic, I'll change it.

IC: Fifteen years can pass in a short interval. With Random Kingdom, that was the case. Even though the citizens were (and still are) under threat of being raided by the HOA, the nation has still somehow manaqed to cope. Even though RK has fallen backwards somewhat in technology (OOC: RK is at the border between Modern and Postmodern), it has managed to get far, and a scientific boom is expected sometime this or next decade.

Unfortunately, the Heart of Armageddon (Red Tide2's mafia) has maintained its positions and has managed to steal a large amount of the new weapons technology, and still poses a major threat.

The government has been slowly replaced with a new model. All areas in RK are divided into cellphone-like cells, or GIZs (Government Influence Zones). Each zone has a representative picked by its citizens. The representative is then given a live uplink to the parliament, and can then vote on proposals, or submit proposals himself. The governing body itself, the Core, is made up entirely of fairly primitive computers that tally up votes and send out orders based on resolutions to a body of selected people known as Enforcers - these work with the states of RK to make sure laws are obeyed.

More subtle changes have occured, but until further developments occur RK is for the most part the same nation it was a few years ago.

A new innovation is hidden in the currency of Random Kingdom, the New Credit. All Random Kingdom citizens start off life with a grant of 5NC by the government. Hardly anything special when houses cost around 100,000NC, but the 5NC costs the government huge amounts of money every year. However, this "starter" is stored in an online account, and after a person passes the first retirement cap of 60, the online account can be accessed as a pension. And if the person stays true to the law, an interest rate kicks in, turning that 5NC into something modest. Also, a percentage of that person's wage is stored in that account as a labour offset. The remarkable thing is that no cash is actually given or taken until retirement age -- it is all done on a terminal in New Hope. This also has its disadvantages - if the government can't afford the expanded 5NC at retirement age, (or the business paying the percentage can't afford that), there is no warning until the day it doesn't come.

RK weaponry is still mostly Modern Tech due to the slightly pacifist outlook on life by the former government, and the representatives carry on that stance. Thus, the changes to Random Kingdom are mostly social and economical.

Arcologies are increasing in popularity in Random Kingdom and there are plans to replace the capital, New Hope, with a self-sufficient model.

Random Kingdom is also beginning to resemble future earth models. Cities are becoming independant settlements, extending upward more than outward, yet most cities are still low-lying, sparse developments. In fact, most metropolises are beginning to resemble Union City (BASS) in the way that residential, commercial and industrial zones are separating onto different levels and into defined areas. City plans show that walls are due to spring up on city limits all over RK, separating the developed settlements from the rural areas outside, whilst plans for the future state that highways will become a common sight even in those areas.

Hydrogen-fuel and solar-power cars are becoming common on the roads RK already has, and scientists are constantly developing ways to improve transit.

Of course, the government is straining to pay for the development, so the traditional RK method of siphoning cash from other areas of the budget will be likely. Also, most of this development is on hiatus until funds to pay for it are collected.

Random Kingdom is also being prepared for the tourism industry. Of course, hostility in RK prevents tourism from becoming a major industry in the near future. The Random Kingdom Propoganda Factory has been assigned new devices capable of draining ink from used paper for use in their printers - the Core regularly dispatches recycling teams to collect old papers.

Also, a service is being trialled that allows citizens to hook up to the Core via internet and submit their vote. This will change the government from a republic to a democracy.

Of course, the above may seem odd for a liberal nation. However, with the completion of the citizen-core interface, the vote will be handed back down to the citizens of Random Kingdom.

The Core is constantly being developed, with an AI being written for it that will allow it to respond to ties. However, the Core can always be overridden.