NationStates Jolt Archive

Greetings!

Under the protection of The Regents of Xeraph, the Chaordic Developmental Group, LLC, has received it's charter from the government to form a new nation known as Terra Civitas.

Our two initial acts are the creation of the GeoData Alliance and the GeoSpatial Network.

Our goal is to gather research concerned with the narrow band of existence that forms what we call "Chaord": the overlapping of Chaos and Order.

I hereby invite any and all SERIOUS discussion.

regards,

Ken Wilbur, Director Prime

The room was abuzz with anticipation. A number of prominent scientists, researchers, educators and government officials were assembled for what was to be the first of four conferences in the new nation, Terra Civitas. Perhaps for the first time in history, a privately held corporation had been handed a Charter by it's government giving it both it's permission and it's blessing in the formation of a new sovereign nation, along with a generous grant of 167,698 square miles of semi-tropical land in the southern portion of the Empire.

The territory, which boasted approximately six hundred miles of pristine shoreline, had been unsettled for hundreds of years until now. In fact, no one had lived in this area for over 2,300 years save a few hardly souls who had no use for civilization. These folk were known locally as Anarchs, and were held in high esteem by the new "Civitans".

A man approached the podium, tapped on the mic for attention, and said, "Welcome, all, to this momentous gathering. Please be seated and we'll get on with this conference." The man was of medium height, about 5'9", shaved head, lean and fit with an air of tremendous intelligence. This was Director Prime Ken Wilbur, selected over his objections by the Regents of Xeraph to head up this new nation. Two of the Regents were seated to his left, noticeably out of place in their battle-garb, the traditional dress for Xeraphian rulers. Even though toned down, the black leather-and-chain mail get-up was eyed nervously by more than a few members of the conference. The Regents had forgone the AK47-aII rifles but held onto their Glock 9mm sidearms and the ever-present Katanas.

"Ladies and gentlemen, before my opening remarks, please welcome Lords Sethanis and Vlad, our Imperial guests." A smattering of applause greeted the Regents who remained seated. "Prince John could not be here today as he is in the middle of the restoration of the ancient capitol of Xeraphia." Xeraphia had been over-run nearly sixty years ago by the Hordes of Azulun, a rebellion that had to this day left scars across the nations of the Empire and their allies.

"The name of this conference is 'Between Order and Chaos'". There are a number of us who have been toying with the idea that the time-honored concept of Progressive Control is not naturally harmonious. Sort of putting the cart before the horse if you will. We are going to be laying the parameters of a new paradigm, that being a conceptual paradigm which states that before Control can be effectively accomplished, there must be a system in place that is complex, autocatalytic, self-organizing, non-linear, and adaptive. In the past, this concept has been generally known as the Chaos Theory."

The Director Prime paused for a moment, then continued. "We know that Chaos is ineffective as a model for a constructive evolution because the 'engine', if you will, is entropy which states that even as the universe unfolds it is simultaneously decaying. What we have come up with may interest some of you", he said with a slightly sarcastic tone.

Sethanis leaned over to Vlad and whispered. "How the hell did we get mixed up with these egg-heads?" Vlad grinned and said, "We got involved when one of our scientists succeeded in sending a mouse back in time 24 hours. That's what this is all about."

Seth glared at him. "Time-travel? And I'm just becoming aware of this now?"

"Relax, Seth. It's not time travel as is popularly thought of. It's....different. Sliding laterally to a place similar to this one, but...different. I'm not a friggin' scientist, so just be quiet and listen."

Wilbur continued. "When we take a look at Chaos Theory we can see that as complete a theory it is, it is only a theory. Unless we can devise a complimentary theory that will render both, symbiotically, feasible. So, what a few of us have done is come up with a statement which we will discuss, perhaps ad nauseum, over the next few days."

He punched a button on his laptop and an image of three inter-locking circles emerged in the air over his head. "From left to right, the first circle is Chaos, the second is Order, the third Control. As you can see there is a narrow band defining the area between Chaos and Order. This is where we have determined that this is where all living systems thrive. We call this area, and this system, CHAORD."