Commonalitarianism
11-02-2006, 22:03
Note: This is the first time I am doing this. I am new to this type of thing. Please let me know how it reads and point out any critical mistakes or problems. I have always wanted to write a bit of science fiction. The setting is near future tech, very hard science fiction. Things must be technically possible in the near future. This is not space age technology, but sea age technology, which I think will happen before the space age. Not too many people write about this.
History
The Commonalitarianism started as a group of free floating barges in the Paxarific Ocean in the 1930s.
It was a mix of refugees, free thinkers, and industrialists seeking refuge on the high seas. There was
a wide mix of nationalities Ming, Cruonian, Britonian, Ohyayian, and Paxarian. Many had come to escape the
incessant warfare on the mainland. Their countries had collapsed from war, or they had escaped from corporate
police states. Still others came from failed political or social experiments.
It was the "wild west" of the seas. There was little order at first. Rogue industrialists took advantage of the
chaos and lack of taxes to bring in automotive barges. The refugees formed a pool of cheap labor.
Then an event happened, a young boy, Milton Toast, was caught in the crossfire of rival gangs on the barges. This
event led to the formation of the first civic self protection organizations. There were no police. The citizens began to form groups to take back the barges. These were not political groups at first. First these associations approached business, they received some help from the Cruon familiy, but little help from other families. It had gotten so bad that children as young as six were being recruited for rum running, bootlegging and murder ( This is the 1930s). The civic associations became desperate and approached the two large criminal syndicates Ming and Bonanni to help them "take back the streets".
Unexpectedly tired of the chaos, the syndicates agreed to help. Thus the barge wars started. A bloody period of three
years where the civic associations and syndicates fought the barge gangs and smaller syndicates for control of the streets. The civic associations won. After a few months, the civic associations decided to hold a week long summit. They called the summit, the "Citizens Assembly" to make life better and invited the Cruon Family and the Ming and Bonanni Syndicates. They were going to help legitimize them as large businesses.
During the time of the assembly, Bob Blithe, owner of the automotive barges decided to leave. He feared he might get government and taxation if he stayed. However, he made the mistake of not leaving quietly in the middle of the night. He told all the people on the automotive barges they had to go home. 2/3 of the population worked there. They learned quickly that he planned to not come back. He had notifed too many people that he was leaving.
The workers on the barges rioted overpowering the security guards, they took most of the barges, tossing many of the middle and senior management into the ocean. One of the barges went down in flames. Bob Blithe became enraged. He hired mercenaries to get the automotive barges back, telling them it would be easy to do. They arrived in a couple of days. When the mercenaries tried to take the automotive barges, the civic associations and syndicates recently armed from the "barge wars" joined in driving off the mercenaries. Bob Blithe hired two more rounds of mercenaries to take back the barges. During this time, the "Citizens Assembly", syndicates, and automotive workers went around in press gangs and forced everyone between 16 to 30 to join in defending the barges. This became a permanent practice-- everyone between 18 and 21 joins the civil militia or civil navy. One of the barges was also converted into a light arms manufacturing plant.
In a fit of pride, the now formed Citizens Assembly, tried to nationalize the barges. However, the remaining technical union members and management were the only ones capable of running the factories. The citizens realized this and came up with a compromise, it would be partially government owned and partially union and managment run. The government would own stock in the company and so would the union, management and workers. The first PPC-- Public Private Consortium, Dynamic Motors was born.
During one of the attacks a rocket hit a small fishing cooperative, a young man name Demian (an alternate version of R. Buckminster Fuller) convinced the fishery to build a metal dome of his design to protect the fishery. This became a popular design and it started to spread around the city. The Citizens Assembly awarded Demian an architectural scholarship for his achievement. He became obsessed with building a giant domed city while in architectural school. Demian was kicked out of school at the end of his final year because of this. They thought he was mad but likable.
There was a short period of peace where the barges formed into a kind of Direct Democracy, an open forum-- (which people started calling the Commons) where the Civil Assembly debated issues, Civic Protective Associations to Watch the Streets, Three large business enterprises which were now registered as legitimate businesses with the government Cruon Commercial House, Bonanni Commercial House, and Ming Commercial House, a newly formed Civil Militia and Navy, and freedom to practice what you wanted.
Then shortly after Demian returned something happened. The religious theocracy which the city was anchored off of changed. A new leader arose who denounced the Commonalitarianism as a "Cesspit of vice, a place of little virtue which should be burned to the ground." He threatened to bomb it out of existence. But, luckily the Commonalitarianism provided a large portion of the automobiles to the Theocracy of Fudd. They managed to convince them that they would move out of their waters. The only place to go was into the High Seas. The country on the right side of Fudd was a Military Slave State of Begone, and the country on the left was the Hippy Commune State of Oh Yah and neither one wanted them in their waters.
It was at this point that Demian intervened. In a fit of wild enthusiasm and demagoguery, he showed the Citizens Assembly his plans which he had been working on the last five years for changing barges into a giant domed city. It was a way they could survive out on the deep seas. After looking over the designs which turned out to be technically feasible (this is after all is an alternate version of R. Buckminster Fuller), they began building the city. Many of the assets, except for the automobile barges were sold off and they built a huge dome, sea wall, and other architectural supports to make the barges into a city, as well as the first fish farms and hydroponic gardens so they would have food on the open ocean. It was a monumental project, but Fudd amazed by their industry let them finish it and leave.
The Long Peace-- 1950-1970
This was a period of isolation except for a few brief bursts of outside contact.
1950s
The first initiative of the Commonalitarianism was to survive. Aquaculture was developed extensively including
fish farms, kelp farms, pearl and coral culturing, and other marine industries. Also sea technology to survive out
on the ocean became necessary, sea water purification systems, navigational technologies, and many other oceanic technologies were developed. Oil was a major problem. It simply was too costly to buy in massive quantities by the Commonalitarianism. In 1951, tidal generators and ocean wind farms were first built in the Commonalitarianism, in 1953 kelp ethanol was discovered by a Doctor Klinger. By 1955 major initiatives were in place to develop under sea mining, construction and submarine technologies.
1960s
In the 1960s the Hippy Commune Country of Oh Yay was invaded by the Military Slave State of Begone. Many fled to the Commonalitarianism taking their assets with them. They established a system of communal restaurants, cafes, and markets throughout the Commonalitarianism as well as increased the industry of "pharmaceuticals" which are not illegal in the Commonalitarianism. Abouth this time the Sanctuary Movement was established to bring intellectuals and scientists from "repressive" regimes into the country. This is a private secretive effort not controlled by the government. It is not an armed secret government organization. A national shared television network for Civil Assembly auditoriums was built. Second sea going city of Commonalitarianism is built, Beauty which functions as its own city state.
1970s
Major breakthroughs in undersea mining and deep sea submersibles. Polymetallic sea nodule mining proves to be successful vastly increasing the metallic resources of the Commonalitarianism. This leads to a major industrial boom in sea construction. High pressure super dense hulls and underwater life support systems developed for submarines. First undersea geothermal energy plant developed near volcanic vents.
1980s
Mass production of civilian cargo and transport submarines begins. Breakthroughs in electromagnetic research occur leading to new materials and technology. Development of first alternative fuel and hybrid automobile technology for foreign export.
1990s
1990-- Undersea jet technology developed making it possible to have fast sea transportation and bringing Commonalitarianism closer together. Runs around 120 knots for a small underwater fighter. 1995-- Wireless Internet Technology allows the Commonalitarianism to build an electronic commons to connect all allied city states together in a huge Virtual Private Network built for the common use of all citizens. This effectively interconnects the political process in all the floating cities in the Commonalitarianism. Further all political information is loaded onto VPN, effectively creating a second layer of government for citizens. 1998 Trenchtown in the Mariana trench is built, first undersea town in Commonalitarianism. Current population 120,000 . Rumors exist of large undersea military base.
2000
Commonalitarianism begans major trade initiative to open trade, scientific, and cultural exchanges. Remains militarily isolationist and territorial. Unexplained major quake occurs in Commonalitarianism with massive tidal surge. Rumors of weaponry testing.
2006
Explosive Growth. Mariana Engineering and Technical College Opens, 2 mile long railgun satellite launch system is put in place. Communication and Image satellite system is launched to backup and improve ground wireless internet system.
Territory: The Commonalitarianism claims travel and ownership rights to all of the Paxarific Ocean covering 15.57 million square kilometers. It claims all the Paxarific ocean to the edge of 300 nautical miles from land. It also claims many small uninhabited islands, volcanos, and coral reefs in the Paxarific ocean. We also claim mining rights to the ocean floor for polymetallic nodules and methane hydrates.
Environmental Problems: Overfishing, Deep Sea Mining Plumes, Ocean Dumping, Endangered Species, and Marine Habitat Preservation.
Environmental Hazards: Typhoons, Earthquakes, Tidal Waves, Storms, Volcanic Eruptions
Resources: Polymetallic Nodules-- Cobalt, iron, copper, manganese. Aquaculture-- Fish, Shrimp, Kelp, Kelp Ethanol, Cultured Pearls, Cultured Coral, Gravel, Sand
Education: Mandatory education to high school. Three year military conscription service includes equivalent training to 2 year Associate of Arts Degree or a 2 year technical degree. (All citizens) There is a military academy at Liberty Arcology. There is also the Marianis Engineering College and Technical School in Trenchtown in the Marianis Trench.
Military: The Commonalitarianism is militant isolationist. They are zealous of their borders which are basically undefinable according to current international law. They have problems with piracy. Sometimes unknowingly nuclear submarines approach their cities too closely because they are operating in "international" waters. They have launched 2 radar satellites to track this problem. They want nuclear weapons to counter the problem of the wandering submarines in their territory. They have mostly kept silent on this problem. It may lead to a deadly international incident. The nuclear submarine problem has led them to recently build a fleet of state of the art submarine carriers. Their military is mostly a Civil Navy. Until recently there was no central command, each allied city state armed itself They have very little airforce. They are seeking to upgrade a central airforce. They are also seeking to build a small amount of armor to protect their land positions. They have lots of armored trucks which Dynamic Motors, PPC produces for export. I need a little help with these figures.
Central Airforce
5 Yak 38 VTOL Fighters.
5 SH-60R Seahawk Helicopters
Central Submersible Navy-- Classified build plans.
2 Hammerhead Submarine Carriers (classified)
2 Narwhal Submarine Carriers
10 Squid Undersea Jet Torpedo and Missile Carriers
10 Jaws Undersea Jet Torpedo and Undersea Rail and Gauss Gun Ships (Gauss and Railguns can function underwater if built right.)
40 Sea Scorpion 2 man attack fighters.
50 Undersea Troop Submarines-- Stealthed Unarmed capable of landing up to 100 soldiers anywhere.
8 ECM and Special Operation Submarines
Each city has a Grange broken into several buildings to avoid being easily destroyed-- a kind of mutual military association and training grounds. There are also small arms depots built into the police buildings in case of invasion. This is attached to a harbor which contains a mix of small fast attack boats, 60 man double hulled armored catamarans with five basic builds-- Gun ship, troop carrier, anti-submarine boat, Torpedo and Missile Boat, and Anti Aircraft Battery, and recently with the mass production of submarines most city states will have a few medium 80 ton armed submarines, and 40 ton submarine mine layers and sweepers. The domes of the city states are armored and can take tidal waves, volcanic ash, typhoon force winds, light arms fire, and some heavier arms fire. There are gun emplacements, anti missile antiaircraft, and antisubmarine emplacements on most cities. It is hard to calculate numbers because these have been in place for a long time. They do not represent the newest technology, but an accretion of weapons over years. The satellite system tracks all ingoing and outgoing sea traffic. Also some satellites use radar to track submarines.
With Conscription between 18 and 21 there is a huge number of soldiers available 12% of the population, Plus an officers core, Special Forces, and Regular Military-- a very large navy.
Culture: The Commonalitarianism has had limited contact with the outside world. They have spent a bit too much time on the high seas. Therefore many aspects of culture have varied wildly from other nations. The Commonalitarianism values its botanic gardens, flower gardens and public parks highly. These are very carefully cultivated and tended. Almost all of the material has to be imported. There are bicycle paths and small artificial lagoons for boating. In addition two of the Commonalitarianism cities have artificial hunting for ducks and deer. Fishing is very popular in the parks as well on the boating lagoons. Also there is a system of cafes and small restaurants which serve a wide variety of aquaculture and green house products. It is possible to buy mild "over the counter pharmaceuticals" in the cafes. Music has taken a kind of strange turn. There is tremendous variety of electronic music with sounds that are not normally found on the mainland. Coffee is a very popular imported drink. There are a huge number of small registered family cooperatives which is one of the not so visible mainstays of the Commonalitarianism. Paper is an expensive imported product so most literature is disseminated online. Poetry is extremely popular in the Commonalitarianism so is History, and Military Literature.
There is freedom of Religion: The Commonalitarianism has developed some changes in religion as well. The First Universal Church of Deism makes up 10% of the population, Also the New Harmonites have gained a foothold here as well 5% of the population. A dangerous sect has come up it is called The Church of the Arisen Man with a charismatic prophet. She proposes uplifting man to enlightenment through genetic engineering 1% and is prepared to use violence to do it. The main religious grouping is an even split between buddhism 30%, and christianity 30%, islam 5%, atheist 5%, other 4%.
Politics: The Commonalitarianism is a direct democracy. It is one man one vote. Issues are voted for directly in a public forum. Issues are debated both in the electronic commons and the Civil Assembly. They both can interact through video and audio channels. All non-classified government information is available through an electronic commons on issues. Voters have the choice of registering their votes either through the electronic commons or at the Civil Assembly. The electronic commons is a massive Virtual Private Network which is readily available in many areas of the Commonalitariarnism. It is hardened against attack and only available to citizens. It is not connected to the internet and has a different set of protocols. Citizens in addition to voting can be called up to serve on government committees. This is generally done through the electronic commons with some meetings in the assembly. There are political parties but I haven't defined them yet. There are some political problems anti-war protesters, environmental protesters, pro-warfare zealots, drug legalization issues.
Economy: This is a worker ownership society. Most companies are organized around direct stock ownership, or cooperative ownership of companies either by families, unions, or individuals. There are three large registered family syndicates-- Cruon, Ming, and Bonanni. Ming Commercial House is a dangerous company, it produces most of the small arms in the Commonalitarianism, as well as a lot of the military and police equipment. It does not yet sell outside the Commonalitarianism. Bonanni is focused on durable goods. Companies are not given a huge amount of "rights" like modern corporations. Companies are viewed suspiciously as businesses not people. This is due to the experience of many of the citizens with the Corporate Slave State of Begone, especially the hippy communes of Ohyayians. There are two exceptions to this. The government is a civil service meritocracy with standardized testing. Also many essential industries are PPCs-- Private Public Consortiums a mix of government, family, union or cooperative ownership. This includes the automobile industry, pharmacies, and hospitals so far. There is an emphasis on trading for raw materials which the Commonalitarianism has a lack of wood, gold, cattle, crops, gems and other land based resources.
Industry:
These are some of the Industrial Companies in The Commonalitarianism that sell to the outside world.
Cruon Commercial House-- RFS-- Registered Family Syndicate, Energy Production, Aquaculture
Dynamic Motors-- PPC-- Public Private Consortium, Automobiles including Alternative Fuel Vehicles, Police Vehicles,
Armored Vehicles, Wide Variety of Boats, Satellite Launch Business. (Largest company in the Commonalitarianism)
International Ownership Bank of Commonalitarianism-- Loans for Worker Owned Business and Technology Companies.
International Undersea Salvage Cooperative-- Salvage of undersea materials, includes military salvage of biological, nuclear,
chemical materials.
Marianis Syndicate, RUS-- Registered Union Syndicate-- Submarine Transport, and Underwater Construction
Commonalitarianism Items For Sale:
Marianis Syndicate, RUS-- Registered Union Syndicate
Transport Submarines
The transport submarines are purely for civilian purposes and run at 12 knots all electric.
$3 million for a 40 ton submarine,
$6 million for an 80 ton submarine
$9 million for a 120 ton submarine.
A new civilian small submarine is being worked on currently.
Electromagnetic railgun satellite launch $15 million-- for a payload of up to 1000 kilograms. Flat rate. No military equipment. Fully inspected, scanned for biological agents, chemical agents, nuclear, drug aerosols, explosives, electro-magnetic pulse weaponry.
Automobiles
Plug in electric hybrid electric flexible fuel vehicles either gasoline/ethanol or biodiesel/diesel.
The cat a 4 door sedan, $20,000 time credits
The Shark -- A convertible $30,000 time credits
The turtle a 4 door family station wagon, $25,000 time credits
The Mick Truck, A flat bed 18 wheeler truck. $80,000 time credits -- trailer is separate.
The Slammer-- an armored military truck $150,000 time credits
The Long John-- A civilian bus $140,000 time credits.
We have just added a new vehicle--
The Smith-- a motorcycle for your traveling enjoyment $10,000 time credits.
We are currently working on the design for an ambulance and firetruck. These are in production.
Armored Car Production Starts
Ceramic Composite Lined-- harder and lighter than steel, Bulletproof hardened windows, Fire Resistant, paint resistant, light refractive black coating. Solid Puncture Resistant Tires, Key Code Lock, Full under armour. Tinted Windows. We have a full line of armored cars for executive and diplomatic protection. These are also plug in hybrid flexible fuel vehicles. The top of the line.
The Manta-- 4 Door Armored Luxury Car $180,000 time credits.
The Elephant-- 4 Door Armored Van $190,000 time credits.
All of our cars come with a four year warranty on parts and service.
Sincerely,
Dynamic Motors, PPC Public Private Consortium
Cruon Commercial House , RFS- Registered Family Syndicate Fish farms:
Tilapia 16 million tons -- $2400 per ton wholesale.
Shrimp 1 million tons -- $5600 per ton wholesale.
Cruon Commercial House, RFS-- Registered Family Syndicate, Energy-- We will build the following.
Offshore Wind Farms-- $1 million per megawatt.
Tidal energy generation turbines-- $3 million per megawatt.
Kelp ethanol-- comes in kelp biopolymer barrels-- $100 per barrel (50 gallon capacity) 1 million barrels currently available for export. Supply is limited.
International Ownership Bank of Commonalitarianism
We are providing loans and credit to form worked owned businesses. Some examples of this are Union Syndicates, ESOCs-- Employee Stock Ownership Companies, Family Syndicates, Cooperatives, and any directly family owned business.
We are also interested in providing funding so unions can buy their companies, providing funding to help employees buy closing plants, providing funds for employees to buy government companies that are being privatized. This is all subject to financial qualifications.
Credit, Financial History, Worker Background, Time Reliability, and Financial Assets will be checked.
We do not provide grants.
We are partnered with the following international organizations and companies Mondragon Cooperative Corporation, Science Applications International, Syndicate Bank, and the International Employee Ownership Initiative.
Our bank also has a venture capital arm for new technology ventures interested in forming worker owned or family syndicate companies.
We are currently providing funding in:
Alternative Energy--
Specifically Hydrogen Energy,
Improving Oceanic Tidal Generators
Solar Technology
High Durability Wind Barges
Sea Technology
Submarine Technology
Fisheries
Deep Sea Mining
Construction Robotics
Automotive
Alternative Fuel Vehicles-- Trucks, Big Rigs, Passenger Vehicles
Armored Vehicles
Special Issues:
Ceramic Composites
Electromagnetic Technology
For inquiries Contact:
First International Ownership Bank of the Commonalitarianism
50 Happy Lane Barge, Commercial District
Liberty Arcology, Commonalitarianism
Direct Democratic Commonality
Marianis College will help you prepare for an excellent well paying job. The Commonalitarianism economy is booming. There is a need for underwater welders, oceanic engineers, arcology planners, submarine transport experts, and many other jobs.
Marianis College offers five year degrees in:
Oceanic Engineering
Arcology Engineering
Maritime Management
Industrial Managment
Cooperative Planning
Fishery Management
Automotive Design
Automotive Engineering
Water Recreation
Oceanic Energy Management
Technical Degrees In:
Underwater Welding
Ship Construction
Submarine Transport
Automotive Assembly
Construction Robotics
Arcology Construction
Deep Sea Construction
Marianis College offers special credits for officers of the civil navy.
We take international students.
Marianis Engineering College And Technical School
Admissions Department
College Town
Marianis Trench, Commonalitarianism
Direct Democratic Commonality
History
The Commonalitarianism started as a group of free floating barges in the Paxarific Ocean in the 1930s.
It was a mix of refugees, free thinkers, and industrialists seeking refuge on the high seas. There was
a wide mix of nationalities Ming, Cruonian, Britonian, Ohyayian, and Paxarian. Many had come to escape the
incessant warfare on the mainland. Their countries had collapsed from war, or they had escaped from corporate
police states. Still others came from failed political or social experiments.
It was the "wild west" of the seas. There was little order at first. Rogue industrialists took advantage of the
chaos and lack of taxes to bring in automotive barges. The refugees formed a pool of cheap labor.
Then an event happened, a young boy, Milton Toast, was caught in the crossfire of rival gangs on the barges. This
event led to the formation of the first civic self protection organizations. There were no police. The citizens began to form groups to take back the barges. These were not political groups at first. First these associations approached business, they received some help from the Cruon familiy, but little help from other families. It had gotten so bad that children as young as six were being recruited for rum running, bootlegging and murder ( This is the 1930s). The civic associations became desperate and approached the two large criminal syndicates Ming and Bonanni to help them "take back the streets".
Unexpectedly tired of the chaos, the syndicates agreed to help. Thus the barge wars started. A bloody period of three
years where the civic associations and syndicates fought the barge gangs and smaller syndicates for control of the streets. The civic associations won. After a few months, the civic associations decided to hold a week long summit. They called the summit, the "Citizens Assembly" to make life better and invited the Cruon Family and the Ming and Bonanni Syndicates. They were going to help legitimize them as large businesses.
During the time of the assembly, Bob Blithe, owner of the automotive barges decided to leave. He feared he might get government and taxation if he stayed. However, he made the mistake of not leaving quietly in the middle of the night. He told all the people on the automotive barges they had to go home. 2/3 of the population worked there. They learned quickly that he planned to not come back. He had notifed too many people that he was leaving.
The workers on the barges rioted overpowering the security guards, they took most of the barges, tossing many of the middle and senior management into the ocean. One of the barges went down in flames. Bob Blithe became enraged. He hired mercenaries to get the automotive barges back, telling them it would be easy to do. They arrived in a couple of days. When the mercenaries tried to take the automotive barges, the civic associations and syndicates recently armed from the "barge wars" joined in driving off the mercenaries. Bob Blithe hired two more rounds of mercenaries to take back the barges. During this time, the "Citizens Assembly", syndicates, and automotive workers went around in press gangs and forced everyone between 16 to 30 to join in defending the barges. This became a permanent practice-- everyone between 18 and 21 joins the civil militia or civil navy. One of the barges was also converted into a light arms manufacturing plant.
In a fit of pride, the now formed Citizens Assembly, tried to nationalize the barges. However, the remaining technical union members and management were the only ones capable of running the factories. The citizens realized this and came up with a compromise, it would be partially government owned and partially union and managment run. The government would own stock in the company and so would the union, management and workers. The first PPC-- Public Private Consortium, Dynamic Motors was born.
During one of the attacks a rocket hit a small fishing cooperative, a young man name Demian (an alternate version of R. Buckminster Fuller) convinced the fishery to build a metal dome of his design to protect the fishery. This became a popular design and it started to spread around the city. The Citizens Assembly awarded Demian an architectural scholarship for his achievement. He became obsessed with building a giant domed city while in architectural school. Demian was kicked out of school at the end of his final year because of this. They thought he was mad but likable.
There was a short period of peace where the barges formed into a kind of Direct Democracy, an open forum-- (which people started calling the Commons) where the Civil Assembly debated issues, Civic Protective Associations to Watch the Streets, Three large business enterprises which were now registered as legitimate businesses with the government Cruon Commercial House, Bonanni Commercial House, and Ming Commercial House, a newly formed Civil Militia and Navy, and freedom to practice what you wanted.
Then shortly after Demian returned something happened. The religious theocracy which the city was anchored off of changed. A new leader arose who denounced the Commonalitarianism as a "Cesspit of vice, a place of little virtue which should be burned to the ground." He threatened to bomb it out of existence. But, luckily the Commonalitarianism provided a large portion of the automobiles to the Theocracy of Fudd. They managed to convince them that they would move out of their waters. The only place to go was into the High Seas. The country on the right side of Fudd was a Military Slave State of Begone, and the country on the left was the Hippy Commune State of Oh Yah and neither one wanted them in their waters.
It was at this point that Demian intervened. In a fit of wild enthusiasm and demagoguery, he showed the Citizens Assembly his plans which he had been working on the last five years for changing barges into a giant domed city. It was a way they could survive out on the deep seas. After looking over the designs which turned out to be technically feasible (this is after all is an alternate version of R. Buckminster Fuller), they began building the city. Many of the assets, except for the automobile barges were sold off and they built a huge dome, sea wall, and other architectural supports to make the barges into a city, as well as the first fish farms and hydroponic gardens so they would have food on the open ocean. It was a monumental project, but Fudd amazed by their industry let them finish it and leave.
The Long Peace-- 1950-1970
This was a period of isolation except for a few brief bursts of outside contact.
1950s
The first initiative of the Commonalitarianism was to survive. Aquaculture was developed extensively including
fish farms, kelp farms, pearl and coral culturing, and other marine industries. Also sea technology to survive out
on the ocean became necessary, sea water purification systems, navigational technologies, and many other oceanic technologies were developed. Oil was a major problem. It simply was too costly to buy in massive quantities by the Commonalitarianism. In 1951, tidal generators and ocean wind farms were first built in the Commonalitarianism, in 1953 kelp ethanol was discovered by a Doctor Klinger. By 1955 major initiatives were in place to develop under sea mining, construction and submarine technologies.
1960s
In the 1960s the Hippy Commune Country of Oh Yay was invaded by the Military Slave State of Begone. Many fled to the Commonalitarianism taking their assets with them. They established a system of communal restaurants, cafes, and markets throughout the Commonalitarianism as well as increased the industry of "pharmaceuticals" which are not illegal in the Commonalitarianism. Abouth this time the Sanctuary Movement was established to bring intellectuals and scientists from "repressive" regimes into the country. This is a private secretive effort not controlled by the government. It is not an armed secret government organization. A national shared television network for Civil Assembly auditoriums was built. Second sea going city of Commonalitarianism is built, Beauty which functions as its own city state.
1970s
Major breakthroughs in undersea mining and deep sea submersibles. Polymetallic sea nodule mining proves to be successful vastly increasing the metallic resources of the Commonalitarianism. This leads to a major industrial boom in sea construction. High pressure super dense hulls and underwater life support systems developed for submarines. First undersea geothermal energy plant developed near volcanic vents.
1980s
Mass production of civilian cargo and transport submarines begins. Breakthroughs in electromagnetic research occur leading to new materials and technology. Development of first alternative fuel and hybrid automobile technology for foreign export.
1990s
1990-- Undersea jet technology developed making it possible to have fast sea transportation and bringing Commonalitarianism closer together. Runs around 120 knots for a small underwater fighter. 1995-- Wireless Internet Technology allows the Commonalitarianism to build an electronic commons to connect all allied city states together in a huge Virtual Private Network built for the common use of all citizens. This effectively interconnects the political process in all the floating cities in the Commonalitarianism. Further all political information is loaded onto VPN, effectively creating a second layer of government for citizens. 1998 Trenchtown in the Mariana trench is built, first undersea town in Commonalitarianism. Current population 120,000 . Rumors exist of large undersea military base.
2000
Commonalitarianism begans major trade initiative to open trade, scientific, and cultural exchanges. Remains militarily isolationist and territorial. Unexplained major quake occurs in Commonalitarianism with massive tidal surge. Rumors of weaponry testing.
2006
Explosive Growth. Mariana Engineering and Technical College Opens, 2 mile long railgun satellite launch system is put in place. Communication and Image satellite system is launched to backup and improve ground wireless internet system.
Territory: The Commonalitarianism claims travel and ownership rights to all of the Paxarific Ocean covering 15.57 million square kilometers. It claims all the Paxarific ocean to the edge of 300 nautical miles from land. It also claims many small uninhabited islands, volcanos, and coral reefs in the Paxarific ocean. We also claim mining rights to the ocean floor for polymetallic nodules and methane hydrates.
Environmental Problems: Overfishing, Deep Sea Mining Plumes, Ocean Dumping, Endangered Species, and Marine Habitat Preservation.
Environmental Hazards: Typhoons, Earthquakes, Tidal Waves, Storms, Volcanic Eruptions
Resources: Polymetallic Nodules-- Cobalt, iron, copper, manganese. Aquaculture-- Fish, Shrimp, Kelp, Kelp Ethanol, Cultured Pearls, Cultured Coral, Gravel, Sand
Education: Mandatory education to high school. Three year military conscription service includes equivalent training to 2 year Associate of Arts Degree or a 2 year technical degree. (All citizens) There is a military academy at Liberty Arcology. There is also the Marianis Engineering College and Technical School in Trenchtown in the Marianis Trench.
Military: The Commonalitarianism is militant isolationist. They are zealous of their borders which are basically undefinable according to current international law. They have problems with piracy. Sometimes unknowingly nuclear submarines approach their cities too closely because they are operating in "international" waters. They have launched 2 radar satellites to track this problem. They want nuclear weapons to counter the problem of the wandering submarines in their territory. They have mostly kept silent on this problem. It may lead to a deadly international incident. The nuclear submarine problem has led them to recently build a fleet of state of the art submarine carriers. Their military is mostly a Civil Navy. Until recently there was no central command, each allied city state armed itself They have very little airforce. They are seeking to upgrade a central airforce. They are also seeking to build a small amount of armor to protect their land positions. They have lots of armored trucks which Dynamic Motors, PPC produces for export. I need a little help with these figures.
Central Airforce
5 Yak 38 VTOL Fighters.
5 SH-60R Seahawk Helicopters
Central Submersible Navy-- Classified build plans.
2 Hammerhead Submarine Carriers (classified)
2 Narwhal Submarine Carriers
10 Squid Undersea Jet Torpedo and Missile Carriers
10 Jaws Undersea Jet Torpedo and Undersea Rail and Gauss Gun Ships (Gauss and Railguns can function underwater if built right.)
40 Sea Scorpion 2 man attack fighters.
50 Undersea Troop Submarines-- Stealthed Unarmed capable of landing up to 100 soldiers anywhere.
8 ECM and Special Operation Submarines
Each city has a Grange broken into several buildings to avoid being easily destroyed-- a kind of mutual military association and training grounds. There are also small arms depots built into the police buildings in case of invasion. This is attached to a harbor which contains a mix of small fast attack boats, 60 man double hulled armored catamarans with five basic builds-- Gun ship, troop carrier, anti-submarine boat, Torpedo and Missile Boat, and Anti Aircraft Battery, and recently with the mass production of submarines most city states will have a few medium 80 ton armed submarines, and 40 ton submarine mine layers and sweepers. The domes of the city states are armored and can take tidal waves, volcanic ash, typhoon force winds, light arms fire, and some heavier arms fire. There are gun emplacements, anti missile antiaircraft, and antisubmarine emplacements on most cities. It is hard to calculate numbers because these have been in place for a long time. They do not represent the newest technology, but an accretion of weapons over years. The satellite system tracks all ingoing and outgoing sea traffic. Also some satellites use radar to track submarines.
With Conscription between 18 and 21 there is a huge number of soldiers available 12% of the population, Plus an officers core, Special Forces, and Regular Military-- a very large navy.
Culture: The Commonalitarianism has had limited contact with the outside world. They have spent a bit too much time on the high seas. Therefore many aspects of culture have varied wildly from other nations. The Commonalitarianism values its botanic gardens, flower gardens and public parks highly. These are very carefully cultivated and tended. Almost all of the material has to be imported. There are bicycle paths and small artificial lagoons for boating. In addition two of the Commonalitarianism cities have artificial hunting for ducks and deer. Fishing is very popular in the parks as well on the boating lagoons. Also there is a system of cafes and small restaurants which serve a wide variety of aquaculture and green house products. It is possible to buy mild "over the counter pharmaceuticals" in the cafes. Music has taken a kind of strange turn. There is tremendous variety of electronic music with sounds that are not normally found on the mainland. Coffee is a very popular imported drink. There are a huge number of small registered family cooperatives which is one of the not so visible mainstays of the Commonalitarianism. Paper is an expensive imported product so most literature is disseminated online. Poetry is extremely popular in the Commonalitarianism so is History, and Military Literature.
There is freedom of Religion: The Commonalitarianism has developed some changes in religion as well. The First Universal Church of Deism makes up 10% of the population, Also the New Harmonites have gained a foothold here as well 5% of the population. A dangerous sect has come up it is called The Church of the Arisen Man with a charismatic prophet. She proposes uplifting man to enlightenment through genetic engineering 1% and is prepared to use violence to do it. The main religious grouping is an even split between buddhism 30%, and christianity 30%, islam 5%, atheist 5%, other 4%.
Politics: The Commonalitarianism is a direct democracy. It is one man one vote. Issues are voted for directly in a public forum. Issues are debated both in the electronic commons and the Civil Assembly. They both can interact through video and audio channels. All non-classified government information is available through an electronic commons on issues. Voters have the choice of registering their votes either through the electronic commons or at the Civil Assembly. The electronic commons is a massive Virtual Private Network which is readily available in many areas of the Commonalitariarnism. It is hardened against attack and only available to citizens. It is not connected to the internet and has a different set of protocols. Citizens in addition to voting can be called up to serve on government committees. This is generally done through the electronic commons with some meetings in the assembly. There are political parties but I haven't defined them yet. There are some political problems anti-war protesters, environmental protesters, pro-warfare zealots, drug legalization issues.
Economy: This is a worker ownership society. Most companies are organized around direct stock ownership, or cooperative ownership of companies either by families, unions, or individuals. There are three large registered family syndicates-- Cruon, Ming, and Bonanni. Ming Commercial House is a dangerous company, it produces most of the small arms in the Commonalitarianism, as well as a lot of the military and police equipment. It does not yet sell outside the Commonalitarianism. Bonanni is focused on durable goods. Companies are not given a huge amount of "rights" like modern corporations. Companies are viewed suspiciously as businesses not people. This is due to the experience of many of the citizens with the Corporate Slave State of Begone, especially the hippy communes of Ohyayians. There are two exceptions to this. The government is a civil service meritocracy with standardized testing. Also many essential industries are PPCs-- Private Public Consortiums a mix of government, family, union or cooperative ownership. This includes the automobile industry, pharmacies, and hospitals so far. There is an emphasis on trading for raw materials which the Commonalitarianism has a lack of wood, gold, cattle, crops, gems and other land based resources.
Industry:
These are some of the Industrial Companies in The Commonalitarianism that sell to the outside world.
Cruon Commercial House-- RFS-- Registered Family Syndicate, Energy Production, Aquaculture
Dynamic Motors-- PPC-- Public Private Consortium, Automobiles including Alternative Fuel Vehicles, Police Vehicles,
Armored Vehicles, Wide Variety of Boats, Satellite Launch Business. (Largest company in the Commonalitarianism)
International Ownership Bank of Commonalitarianism-- Loans for Worker Owned Business and Technology Companies.
International Undersea Salvage Cooperative-- Salvage of undersea materials, includes military salvage of biological, nuclear,
chemical materials.
Marianis Syndicate, RUS-- Registered Union Syndicate-- Submarine Transport, and Underwater Construction
Commonalitarianism Items For Sale:
Marianis Syndicate, RUS-- Registered Union Syndicate
Transport Submarines
The transport submarines are purely for civilian purposes and run at 12 knots all electric.
$3 million for a 40 ton submarine,
$6 million for an 80 ton submarine
$9 million for a 120 ton submarine.
A new civilian small submarine is being worked on currently.
Electromagnetic railgun satellite launch $15 million-- for a payload of up to 1000 kilograms. Flat rate. No military equipment. Fully inspected, scanned for biological agents, chemical agents, nuclear, drug aerosols, explosives, electro-magnetic pulse weaponry.
Automobiles
Plug in electric hybrid electric flexible fuel vehicles either gasoline/ethanol or biodiesel/diesel.
The cat a 4 door sedan, $20,000 time credits
The Shark -- A convertible $30,000 time credits
The turtle a 4 door family station wagon, $25,000 time credits
The Mick Truck, A flat bed 18 wheeler truck. $80,000 time credits -- trailer is separate.
The Slammer-- an armored military truck $150,000 time credits
The Long John-- A civilian bus $140,000 time credits.
We have just added a new vehicle--
The Smith-- a motorcycle for your traveling enjoyment $10,000 time credits.
We are currently working on the design for an ambulance and firetruck. These are in production.
Armored Car Production Starts
Ceramic Composite Lined-- harder and lighter than steel, Bulletproof hardened windows, Fire Resistant, paint resistant, light refractive black coating. Solid Puncture Resistant Tires, Key Code Lock, Full under armour. Tinted Windows. We have a full line of armored cars for executive and diplomatic protection. These are also plug in hybrid flexible fuel vehicles. The top of the line.
The Manta-- 4 Door Armored Luxury Car $180,000 time credits.
The Elephant-- 4 Door Armored Van $190,000 time credits.
All of our cars come with a four year warranty on parts and service.
Sincerely,
Dynamic Motors, PPC Public Private Consortium
Cruon Commercial House , RFS- Registered Family Syndicate Fish farms:
Tilapia 16 million tons -- $2400 per ton wholesale.
Shrimp 1 million tons -- $5600 per ton wholesale.
Cruon Commercial House, RFS-- Registered Family Syndicate, Energy-- We will build the following.
Offshore Wind Farms-- $1 million per megawatt.
Tidal energy generation turbines-- $3 million per megawatt.
Kelp ethanol-- comes in kelp biopolymer barrels-- $100 per barrel (50 gallon capacity) 1 million barrels currently available for export. Supply is limited.
International Ownership Bank of Commonalitarianism
We are providing loans and credit to form worked owned businesses. Some examples of this are Union Syndicates, ESOCs-- Employee Stock Ownership Companies, Family Syndicates, Cooperatives, and any directly family owned business.
We are also interested in providing funding so unions can buy their companies, providing funding to help employees buy closing plants, providing funds for employees to buy government companies that are being privatized. This is all subject to financial qualifications.
Credit, Financial History, Worker Background, Time Reliability, and Financial Assets will be checked.
We do not provide grants.
We are partnered with the following international organizations and companies Mondragon Cooperative Corporation, Science Applications International, Syndicate Bank, and the International Employee Ownership Initiative.
Our bank also has a venture capital arm for new technology ventures interested in forming worker owned or family syndicate companies.
We are currently providing funding in:
Alternative Energy--
Specifically Hydrogen Energy,
Improving Oceanic Tidal Generators
Solar Technology
High Durability Wind Barges
Sea Technology
Submarine Technology
Fisheries
Deep Sea Mining
Construction Robotics
Automotive
Alternative Fuel Vehicles-- Trucks, Big Rigs, Passenger Vehicles
Armored Vehicles
Special Issues:
Ceramic Composites
Electromagnetic Technology
For inquiries Contact:
First International Ownership Bank of the Commonalitarianism
50 Happy Lane Barge, Commercial District
Liberty Arcology, Commonalitarianism
Direct Democratic Commonality
Marianis College will help you prepare for an excellent well paying job. The Commonalitarianism economy is booming. There is a need for underwater welders, oceanic engineers, arcology planners, submarine transport experts, and many other jobs.
Marianis College offers five year degrees in:
Oceanic Engineering
Arcology Engineering
Maritime Management
Industrial Managment
Cooperative Planning
Fishery Management
Automotive Design
Automotive Engineering
Water Recreation
Oceanic Energy Management
Technical Degrees In:
Underwater Welding
Ship Construction
Submarine Transport
Automotive Assembly
Construction Robotics
Arcology Construction
Deep Sea Construction
Marianis College offers special credits for officers of the civil navy.
We take international students.
Marianis Engineering College And Technical School
Admissions Department
College Town
Marianis Trench, Commonalitarianism
Direct Democratic Commonality