NationStates Jolt Archive

The Confederacy was born. Now, it had to begin growing. Just like a newborn child, the first thing it did was grow very, very fast. But what concerned the Confederate Leadership more than anything else was the comparative lack of popularity of the Confederate institutions – its Army, Navy, Air Force, and Courts – as well as its leaders. And also recruitment levels for the CJAF.

Six ad companies – three in Allanea, two in ViZion, and one in Wagdog – were contacted, and a giant plan was hatched. Through the companies, hours upon hours of TV time were purchased in every Confederate country. Recruitment posters bearing the likeness of Alexander Kazansky, the General Secretary of the Confederacy of Sovereign States, were hung up by their thousands.

But there were also further moves. The Confederate Budget allocated forty billion dollars as a one-time donation for a million students from ViZion, Wagdog, Xeraph and other Confederate states to go study in Liberty-City, the capital of the Confederacy. Alexander Kazansky scheduled a trip through Confederate countries, hugging children, endowing schools (usually on his own money – easy for someone who salary pays a billion dollars a year), and on one occasion he even rescued a kitten from a tree – a moment carefully televised by ANN.

OOC: Some fluid-timing in this versus both running and planned plot points, but after the holiday season and its' impositions only to be expected.

SIC
Revolutionary Command Council Briefing Room A, Palace of the Revolution; Tailville DR, Wagdog

"So none object?" Somehow, General Secretary Charles D. Lind had figured it would be a more controversial proposal than that. Pushing for the recruitment of more manpower into a supranational army, and more civil talent into the civil branches of said Confederacy of Sovereign States, was hardly a minor thing or without its' consequences for Wagdog's own national counterparts to those institutions. Still, if those opposed figured the 'silent treatment' was going to goad him into shirking both obligation and opportunity, they were sadly mistaken.

So far, the two he'd most expected to register their protests had simply sat in consternation; namely Interior Secretary Elaine Williams and Defense Secretary Mario Iliescu. Both were somewhat 'old-school' in their personal politics compared to either the General Secretary or Deputy General Secretary; but the extensive powers given to the Secretariat plus recent years' Congressional elections returning pleasing gains for the more-liberal Revolutionary Party, Social Democrats and Greenwood Coalition had managed to keep any personal objections just that. There was certainly nothing against the law about MarkeTail Inc. working with their troika of Allanean and ViZionarian counterparts as it stood, and if any thought they could reverse that then they were many years and elections too late to do so. Well, legally anyway; which if they tried to dodge Charles Lind had his own measures in place to counter.

"Overall Comrade," Education Secretary Justina Stephens, visibly a much older woman since her last moment of major prominence during the Strator War of close to decades back, opined out. "We can't pass up this donation. Allanea opens up too many doors, and Confederate membership confers too many benefits, to simply ignore this opportunity." She didn't quite cluck or otherwise hector her point, but some might think so if they were inclined. "I can have 300,000 each of graduate and undergraduate university students of various grades, plus 400,000 high-schoolers, ready for exchange placements within the time frame projected by the campaign; if they're ready for this then I do say we are." She folded her thick arms in satisfaction, glad her job was gaining prominence again even if it had always been important and done well enough for her to avoid replacement despite the shifting political fortunes of more than a decade's worth in annual elections; something she had the indefinite term of the General Secretary absent him losing a vote of confidence and being compelled to hit the campaign trail against a rival from his own party, in these very chambers naturally were such a vote ever called, to thank for. There had been a few close calls yes, after various foreign faux pas of Lind's, but none had yet carried and besides Congress had been exercising itself progressively more anyway.

The foremost of those who occasionally could be heard grumbling about the pace of change, steady but nonetheless notable, chose to speak up. Defense Secretary Iliescu had no problem with Allanean culture; indeed, as a Vampire he recognized the importance of friends who didn't take alien biologies too amiss. Still, old political habits die hard, even if professional competence tends to compensate. "Well, in DoD we've received fully five-hundred thousand more volunteers of various ages for the CJAF; have to admit that the ads are working if nothing else." He might've been a bit sardonic, but the facts were what they were; and also what General Secretary Lind demanded of his appointed executive subordinates moreover. "Most are older veterans recently discharged from that Ennuisian trouble or other campaigns, still looking for some action in a second career; but enough would be recruits that I don't doubt they'd suffice for Confederate needs." Ever the professional, Iliescu wrapped.

"So it is then." Lind knew that getting the appropriations for the donation to be spend would take a bit of time, but not unduly long. "Meeting adjourned everyone." His tone was pleasant and, no other business remaining, he and the others soon left after gathering their papers and trading some banter where they might.

IC
Across the nation, the effects took hold apace. Recruiting stations, TV networks, any and all media possible began carrying the ads for the CJAF. And surprisingly many, at least the number the Defense Secretary claimed, answered the call to arms. Given the progressive Allaneanization of Wagdian culture in recent years, even if not perhaps to the degree noted in Kahanistan, this was neither surprising nor unwelcome generally. Some grumbled about the possible effect this might have on the local economy, but ideally Confederate trade benefits would cancel out the short-term loss in labor on top of the original CJAF pledge; if not immediately then in the reasonable future.

Numbers for the recruitment of volunteers for other Confederate branches were less definite, though clearly breaching the million barrier taken altogether, and the effects only continued. Though jury trials had been introduced some time ago even before Wagdog's accession to the CSS, and were in compliance even if the presence of a judge each for prosecutorial, defense and evidentiary matters remained a local quirk of the tribunal legacy from years further back; not that this would likely hinder the nation's growth into its' new place in both the world at large as well as the Confederacy. The bench's role progressively diminishing to the standard 'jury babysitting' and 'ringmastery' as one might call it, not to mention the rise of more Social Democrats or conservative Greenwooders even if the ruling Revolutionary Party remained predominant upon what was by law required to be a professional rather than partisan judiciary anyway, all told those paralegals or law students and other volunteers for Confederate civil service would likely be fairly prepared for their duties even accounting for the inevitable adaptations to be required. Even quite a few retired judges expressed willingness to join up, which would doubtless aid matters.

All in all, the changes continued apace. They would last if Lind had anything to say about it, he being determined to make the CSS work well since he'd had no mean role in its' emergence. Many might not prefer it, but so far many more had overruled them; and he was not one to shirk their opinion idly. Walking back to his office even as this process was only beginning, he smiled thinly but substantially as he nudged his slight and bookish glasses into place; all was falling into plan as far as he knew. And as far as he didn't, well, he could handle that when and as it came.

Dungal Temporary Capital for the Grand Duchy of Tarlag


Prime-Minister Santo sat in the meeting as the other high ranking officials prepared for the meeting.
Santo looked around for a moment then started. "Gentlemen what do you have for me.
General Gayland Cox stood up and started " We have completed the loyalty checks on all personal above the rank of Sergent and dismissed about 200,000 personnel from the three branches of the military. Anyone who was remotely loyal to the rebel Lords has been dismissed."
Where does that leave us General?
"It has hurt us a lot, but if we kept them we would have been watching our backs for the next twenty years. The one problem we have is what do we do with them. A lot of them were combat veterans whose only crime was owing favors to one of the Lords."
"How do we stand military?"
"We are not in the best shape, however with us joining the CSS we at least have some stronger allies."
"Minister Homes how is the CSS playing to the people?" Asked Santo switching gears in mid conversation.
William Homes looked at his computer and spoke. "65% approval as of yesterday. The Duchesses speech supporting stronger foreign ties she made from her hospital bed last night helped."
"Good, with the Duke and Duchess supporting the CSS we should get a higher approval then we have now." leaning back in his chair Santo looked back at General Cox.
"Gayland what do you think those dismissed military personnel will do?"
"As of right now be unemployed. These people will not get pensions or military benefits so we are looking at a problem any way you look at it."
Santo smiled as an idea came to him. "General what if we turned these political embarresments over to the CSS. We would not have to watch our backs and these people would still have jobs. The real upside is that we help the CSS fill their personal rosters. Everyone wins."
"I will inform the CSS of our increase in our personal allotment."

"OK, gentlemen, listen up. This here game is five card stud, deuces wild. You wanna play this game, it's gonna cost ya a grand to ante-up."

If looks could kill,the dealer wouldv'e been dead hours ago. Seth wasn't doing too good tonight. Down over a quarter-million. Seth glared at the man, but the dealer didn't flinch.

"C'mon Seth, you gonna play or what?" John Strickland was a bit tipsy. Unusual because the man was rarely seen with an adult beverage in his hand.

Sitting stock still, the third Regent of the Empire of Xeraph quietly surveyed the table. Vlad watched Sethanis and Strickland as a hunter would watch the slow, stately progress of a ten-point buck at fifty yards.

Sethanis grunted, ante-ed up, the dealer dealt, and the cards started speaking to the gamblers.

Silent until now, Seth said, "Hey, you guys hear about the, what did they call it, the referendum that the members of CSS were pitching to their citizens about the acceptance of CSS influences in their respective nations?"

Vlad answered, "Yes we did. So what? You know we have no such problems here. The citizens, such as they are, accept what WE accept."

"Hot damn, Vlad! For a split second there I thought Alaric was sitting here. Just what he woulda said." This from Prince John Strickland, High Commander of Imperial Forces.

"The point, John, is that this alliance we're part is largely a quasi-democratic alliance. Most nations have at least the semblance of their people having a say in their government. I was just wondering how it looks to the other member-nations to have an 'enlightened dictatorship' among themselves."

"When has Xeraph ever cared what other nations thought, Seth? I think by now, the world at large knows us for a reasonable, reliable ally. Not given to knee-jerk pronouncements or actions."

Seth said, "True, but how many realize that the Kingdom of Xeraph itself hasn't any population other than the ambassadorial segment and our troops? There are less than eighty million people in the Kingdom, 99% of which are military personnel on active DEF-3 alert? The other nations of the Empire are your standard pops, residential neighborhoods, some manufacturing, etc. What I'm getting at is that we're not the norm, not by a long shot."

Vlad considered what Sethanis of Black Shadows had said. "I see what your'e saying, Seth. But it hasn't been a problem. It's been over four hundred years since Alaric started carving out a name for himself and here we are, arguably one of the most prosperous nations on the planet."

Sethanis continued. "Does CSS realize that we obtain most of our resources from off-world sites? Do they know that in our little Empire here that we have segments of the citizenry that are not human? Do they know that there is an on-going element somewhere on this planet who are relentless haters of all things Xeraphian? And that periodically we have to combat that hatred when those elements become large enough to go after us? Shitfire! The last time it happened, we lost Alaric. The time before that over 17 billion people in thirteen nations were killed because of the rebels. Here's what I'm getting at: will our new-found friends have the same level of commitment to us that we have to them?"

John spoke up. "Well, shit. Seth, what're you worried about THAT for? You know as well as I do that the Empire by itself can hold off just about anything anyone can throw against it. Hell, we're nine nations with around 63 billion pop. Over 300 million military units. A small-to-medium sized FT presence and holdings in the Taieunn and Typhon Expanses. We've got OBPs over every major Imperial city. Shit, so what if there ARE a dozen or so nations who are arguably more powerful than us? Theyr'e not gonna mess with us. The cost would be too high."

Seth seemed to calm down a little. "Y'know, John, when your'e right, your'e right. We help CSS, they help us."

Just then Vlad threw down his hand. "Read 'em and weep, boys. Two pair, ladies and eights."

Seth grimaced. "Son of a bitch", he mumbled.........

Confederate Base Delta, ViZion

Alexander Kazansky paced along the long, long line of recruits – Tarlaqians, ViZionians, Wagdians, and others. He wore his parade dress uniform, decorated with awards from a variety of nations. Even with only the highest Allanean, Freekish, and other awards, he managed to look quite dignified – but avoided looking like a Christmas tree.

“Troops!” - he began -”Some of you may have asked why we broke up your original units and created mixed-national units. This is because this is a multinational force. It will not serve the selfish interests of Tarlaq, ViZion, or any nation. It will serve the Confederacy entire, and it will serve the Sovereignty and freedom of your nation through that. Betrayal of the interests of the Confederacy is treason in this force.”

“But let yourself not be deceived. I am hard, but I am fair. I will encourage you in any possible way to achieve, to improve, to become better soldiers. I now announce that a series of marksmanship contests will occur in all CJAF units within two months. The ten thousand people in the top scores – which is not a lot, given how many of you are in the Armed Forces here – will be given ten thousand dollars each, paid for by the Confederate Budget. The next ten thousand will receive a thousand dollars each. This is not many people, but not so few as to be unrealistic for you to compete.”

“Further, the winner of the contest will be given a hundred thousand dollars.”

Kazansky walked away smiling to himself as the troops cheered. It would cost only about a hundred million dollars in prizes – but would increase the popularity both of himseff and of the training complexes. Especially the latter.

In the coming days, he used his own wealth to a great effect. In ViZion City he tipped a waitress with a two-hundred-thousand dollar check. In Wagdog he endowed a local school. In Xeraph he paid for six musea. In Dacara he tipped another waiter with a pack of hundred-dollar bills, as well as spending sixty thousand dollars on a crew of strippers that entertained his honor guard of Confederate troops. He bought a driving school in Hamilay sixteen Firestorm SUVs.

Bizarrely, he also spent two hundred million dollars of his own cash to buy up artworks for the declared purpose of promoting young artists in Confederate countries. No 'modern' art was accepted though – impressionist and realist paintings were what the General Secretary had in mind for his collection.

Confederate Central Banking Corporation

While legally, no legal tender laws as they are normally understood exist in Allanea proper, and while the Constitution of the Confederacy of Sovereign States does not provide, in any way, for the establishment of a common currency, after consultation among the Confederate leadership, it was decided to establish the Confederate Central Banking Corporation, aka the Confederate Central Bank.

The Corporation will be held jointly by the leaders of the Confederacy. 50.5% will be held by General Secretary of the Confederacy, Alexander Kazansky. 20% of it will be held by Xavier Alexeitovich Andropov II, Chancellor and Treasurer of the Confederacy. 10% respectively be held by the Foreign Minister of the Confederacy, from Wagdog, the Chief Justice of the Confederacy, from Vizion, and 9.5% are yet to be distributed to appropriate Confederate officials. These people will control the bank and establish it's impartiality and fairness.

No nation will be forced to give legal tender status to the Confederate Frank – the not-very original name of the currency – and the following coinage will be minted:

One Frank: Bearing the Confederate Seal
Five Franks: Depicting the leader of Wagdog
Ten Franks: Depicting the leader of Derscon
Twenty Franks: Depicting the leader of ViZion
Fifty Franks: Depicting the leader of Foxton-Sunbury.
One Hundred Franks: Depicting Alexander Kazansky, General Secretary of the Confederacy
Two hundred Franks: Depicting the leader of Theoroshia

Ten billion Franks will be minted and sold on the open market at a rate of one Confederate Frank per two Standard Dollars, as an experiment. Additional currency will be minted should any nations agree to use it as legal tender, or to buy amounts of it.

Signed,

Alexander Kazansky, General-Secretary of the Confederacy
Xavier Alexeitovich Andropov II, Chancellor and Treasurer of the Confederacy
Lady Tiliel, Foreign Minister of the Confederacy.

To: Confederate Central Banking Corporation
From: Department of the Treasury, Supreme Directory; Revolutionary Commonwealth of Wagdog

Greetings,

On behalf of my nation's newly-opened democratic regime, it having essentially crystallized the reforms put in place prior to the unrest forced on us by the recent Vetakan troubles, I'm proud to complete the steps the honored Lady Tiliel began. The Revolutionary Commonwealth possesses some 50,000 tons in gold reserves backing our present currency supply; plus far more in demand deposits from the Wagdian Central Bank. As part of demonstrating Stewardess Christine Friedrich's continuing commitment to the Confederacy of Sovereign States taken up from her husband, Steward Consort Charles Lind a.k.a. the former General Secretary, my department's prepared to exchange our reserves for the equivalent in the first batch of Confederate Franks so as to begin the conversion of our currency to the unified standard.

Naturally, this will not be an idle endeavor or perhaps an easy one; but the unity achieved by this will outweigh the initial costs we are sure. Becoming part of so large a free-trade area, united by one currency even beneath the values of liberty that transcend it, our nation can only grow. I'm prepared to finish the deed, so all I need to know is what our reserves are worth in the new currency and we can begin the transition thereafter.

In Thanks and Compact,
Arseny Vulpix
Chairman and CEO, Wagdian Central Bank
Secretary of the Treasury, Supreme Directory

Alexander Kazansky pondered for a minute the profits from the latest enormous transaction. It was clear he would not ever need all of that money, or even most of it. But he intended to make sure at least some of it would be spent for good purposes. And so he began to underwrite a variety of charity efforts, some in Allanea, others world-wide.

In Allanea, the Feanor Memorial School for Girls was established in Liberty-City, with an operating founding budget of 350 million dollars, designed to be a place for orphaned girls from all across the country. Five hundred million dollars went to establish 12 Christian schools for boys, each named after a different Apostle.

Concord University found itself on the receiving end of a five-billion-dollar grant, which went to the construction of a giant 165-story dormitory building and the construction of what came to be known the Linus Torvalds Informatics Faculty.

Surprisingly, a large sum of money was donated to a foreign organization – Prodigy Entertainment Industries, a charitable porn company in MassPwnage that donated all its profits to promote sexual freedom all over thee world. Kazansky’s men simply drove through their front gate one day, carrying three billion dollars in cash in huge trucks.

In Praetonia, a billion dollars were spent to create the Allanea-Praetonia Friendship Fund, which had the goal of providing free tuition for any Praetonians who wished to study in Allanean colleges. Two Praetonians and three Allaneans sat on the board of directors. Further, a list of the ten thousand leading scientists in Praetonia’s various academic fields was compiled, and awards – of one hundred thousand dollars each - were given to each and every one of them. Some criticized the list for focusing too much on the humanities – 65% of the professors chosen were humanitarians – but Kazansky didn’t really care.

Back in Allanea, other projects existed as well. Kazansky sunk ten billion into the Kazansky Natural Preserves Fund, designed to create hundreds of thousands of acres of hunting land across Allanea. Exotic animals were imported for this purpose from MassPwnage, the Karain continent, and even off-world.

There was a billion dollars in small awards - for TAREN developers, movie artists, writers, directors, producers, musicians throughout the country. The TAREN foundation received two hundred million dollars of this. Ten billion were distributed to the Allanean Red Cross, the Homeschooling Foundation of Allanea, and the Demented Schooling Corporation.

The ViZionarian, Dersconi, MKnootian, HURDist, and Prestonian Red Cross organizations received two billion dollars each. So did the MassPwnage Red Corvax and the Imperial Yaforite Aid Foundation. Cancer Research Spizania, the Prestonian United Way, Aaron Preston Foundation, Prestonian Cancer Society received a billion dollar each. So did the Questarian Industry Orphans, the Royal Assosciation For the Continuation of Questarian Culture, Christian Aid, and the Christian Family Union of Questers.

In Cravan, Kazansky donated four billion dollars in total to the Foundation of the Arts and Literature of the Greater Continentian Empire, The Lonsworth Children's Foundation, Greefield Center, and the Organization of Firearm Enthusiasts of Cravan.

Kazansky invested into more subtle forms of charity as well. He gave out 35 billion dollars to a variety of Internet providers throughout Allanea to enhance bandwidth and to lower the costs of communications, and five billion dollars to lower the costs of education in private humanitarian colleges in that country.

And that was only the first move…