Francopolis Prime
19-10-2008, 00:53
((OOC: Alright, people...it's been a LOONG ASS time since I've Roleplayed ANYTHING, much less in something as fancy as NS...my last foray into NS was years ago, and went a bit overboard with the godmoding. More recent RPs have been a bitm ore balanced, but if there's any flaws or major plot holes or anything, point them out. This is Scifi, so it's not ultrarealistic, but I do want it to be up to the NS standard (if there is such a thing) so constructive criticism welcomed!))
FRANCOPOLIS PRIME WORLD FACTBOOK
The Banner of Francopolis (http://img293.imageshack.us/img293/6520/fpflagbk9.png)
OVERVIEW:
Founded officially as Francopolis Prime, originally the territories of
Plaid Zone. Francopolis is a supplier of industrial goods and arms for
the rest of the world, as well as a major investor in many of the
world's markets. Francopolis Prime is a corporate-run technocracy,
wherein genetic research, computer technologies, and biomodification
are commonplace. The citizen populace are referred to as 'human
resources' by the high-ups, and treated as nothing more than a
workforce. Every citizen is implanted with a 'blue crown', a wireless
device that tracks citizen movement and activities, such as purchasing
habits and daily routines. The police and military get similar
equipment, although weapons are vastly different depending on the role
of the transhuman soldier.
HISTORY:
The downfall of Plaid Zone
Years ago, there existed a lone nation known as Plaid Zone. Plaid Zone
was an offshoot of several refugee nations wanting peace, brought
together by the 'democratic dictator', Thoreu Plaidy, who is somewhat
of a folk hero in modern times. Under his leadership, the economic
situation became balanced, there was free healthcare, and booze was
plentiful. Although the nation was democratic, president Plaidy was
re-elected every term throughout the entirety of PZs existence. When
his term limit expired, the populace moved for the term limit to be
raised. Although supposedly a bit mad in his personal policies and
love of the occult, Plaid Zone was a peaceful place under his rule. It
wasn't until later that Plaid Zone's lack of military became apparent.
PZs frail military was easily overwhelmed during the 'battle for free
speech', a war that began protecting the free speech and ended with PZ
challenging the sovereignty of a much larger nation. They were wiped
out to the last man, and with the military disbanded, Plaid Zone
ceased to exist. President Plaidy fled via aeronautical whoosawhatsit
(the most high-tech thing in PZ) and either exploded during flight or
was moved to another plane of the material universe by 'the unknown
means'. The topic of Plaidy's death/disappearance is a conspiracy
amongst many, and speculations range from him never actually launching
the craft and getting killed by enemy assassins, to flipping upside-
down mid flight and being warped to another dimension by
incomprehensible powers. Either way, neither the aircraft nor the
president were found.
High Chancellor Lars Bel Draconiam was left to pick up the pieces.
Most of the populace evacuated, leaving for a better life in other
nations. A small breakoff, preserving Plaid Zone ideals, formed the nation of
Zanzibar Land. Some of the populace, however, stayed in the dustbowl that
was PZs un-annexed territory. Worthless to the larger nations as it
had been bombed into an ecological wasteland, it remained the home to
PZs now minute populace. The government struggled to retain control,
fighting against the other bandit organizations and cartels that ran
throughout the dustbowls. This continued until the economy was far
gone, the people's health was jeopardized, and natural resources were
waning. Within the span of 20 years after the initial collapse of the
nation, the situation had become dire. Lars Bel Draconiam made the
gamble of declaring PZ a constitutional monarchy, which at the time
was a nearly unannounced decision, in order to leave the government in
the hands of Agustus Bel Draconiam, his son, out of fear he would be
killed. Lars was assassinated, soon after, by a rebel group known as
the 'Killer 50'. The attempted assassination of Agustus, however, was
thwarted, and the assassins were killed during the incursion. Agustus,
unprepared for his task of ruling, did his best to lead the newly
founded 'kingdom'. Unlike his father, he didn't have the people in
mind as much as rebuilding the economy: to him, economic stability was
more important to the nation than the populace at large. It was an
outside group, however, that changed things for good.
The rise of the Umbra
Many businesses set up in other nations after the collapse of PZ. The
Umbra Corporation was one of said businesses. Returning to Plaid Zone,
they saw quite the opportunity for advancement. The information
technology company hadn't done too badly for themselves during the
collapse, playing the market during the war in order to generate the
maximum amount of profits. The CEO, Fio Morgalla, saw an opportunity
to take command of the rebuilding country, and took it. UmbraCorp
shifted its business to arms production, and equipped the PZ
government to better deal with incursions from outside forces. The
training and weaponry that became standard prepared PZ for dealing
with raiders, and government stability was now becoming commonplace.
Better and better dealings emerged between Umbra and PZ government.
Often, the populace became concerned that Umbra was in bed with
government officials. This became far more accurate than anyone could
have guessed, as the diplomatic marriage between Agustus Bel Draconiam
and Fio Morgalla became the signature on the agreement: Umbra and PZ
were no longer separate entities. The years that followed were a
convoluted wreck to the average citizen, as corporate and government
policies adapted to one another in order to fit more comfortably. Fio
and Agustus had a child soon after marriage, Franco Bel Draconiam
(named for Francopolis, Plaid Zone's capital at the time). Fio and
Agustus are often referred to as the 'leaders of the 1st dynasty'.
Their personal regiment, the 1337th, was infamous for their training.
Speaking multiple languages, trained in the use of multiple firearms,
hopped up on combat drugs, and practitioners of deadly Anstasuken
Karate (the national sport of old Plaid Zone), the 1337th became the
framework for the military reforms to come.
The rule of Franco Bel Draconiam
Franco's inheritance of the nation led to the development of a
stronger military. Whilst the economy's growth was still
unprecedented, the government budget shifted towards research and the
military. Franco introduced the 1337 crew, a new police/military given
the exact training as the 1337th. The citizen guard, although still
commonplace, were outranked by this new force. The citizen guard was
aggressively pushed on the populace. Becoming a citizen guard member
was not only patriotic: it offered you access to a larger income and
better living conditions than those the citizen populace were ever
allowed access to. Similarly, citizen guard were told to become 1337
crew, and in some provinces it became mandatory. What remained unsaid
about the 1337 crew was that brainwashing was slowly entering the
training protocol for all 1337 crew members.
The average 1337 crew operative. (http://img147.imageshack.us/img147/7224/agentqx9.jpg)
Expansion began. PZ was expanding into other territories, small
nation states out in the desert, and the indigenous tribes in the
surrounding area. Corruption in the military was rampant, but largely
ignored. The march of technology continued, researchers were making
their first plunges into the field of genetic engineering. As both the
military and the economy grew, as did the territory. The surrounding
metahuman populace of the desert was systematically absorbed and
integrated, or destroyed and systematically forgotten. Propaganda
began to spread; 'God is with the Umbra Corporatum!' became the slogan
for a new Plaid Zone. As the capital city became more and more of an
economic hub, it was mandated that Plaid Zone was Now Francopolis
Prime. the new name and image was supposed to be a revitalization, a
shedding of old ways and progression as a whole. With a still-growing
economy and a population spike in progress, not a soul could have
predicted what the aftershocks of this would bring.
The unbridled patriotism this brought about in the populace was
staggering. Those that dissented or opposed government actions were
normally harassed or even assaulted, and the government turned a blind
eye. Citizen guard and 1337 crew recruitment was unprecedented. This
period of heated support brought about two new, major changes in PZ
history. The first was the Elite act. Genetic research had allowed for
the construction of the first supersoldiers. Primitive compared to
modern means, the procedures were state of the art in those times.
Amplified speed and strength, increased awareness, and the ability to
think under great stress. This new 1337 crew was identified by their
red sunglasses and mechanical demeanor. This rapidly became the new
standard. Although invasive, the populace at large was too enveloped
in its overwhelmingly patriotic viewpoint to protest. The other change
was the Draconiam act.
The Draconiam act removed privacy from the populace. Tracking devices
were implemented (the Mark 1 blue crown), searches and wiretapping
were legalized, and the government began to draft able-bodied citizens
in order to meet a military recruitment quota of 60,000 new 1337 crew
agents by year's end. This was glazed over in the public eye, however,
as it also abolished drug and prostitution laws, the government now
regulating/controlling both markets. The first mag-engines were
developed, allowing for propulsion and flight of large aircraft using
planetary magnetism as lift. The first military application airships
were designed.
Jericho's lament
During the next phase of supersoldier engineering, a citizen guardsman
named Jericho Wimble went berserk, killing the entirety of his
regiment. Jericho became the largest rebel in Francopolis history,
sparking a rebellious insurgency through his actions. His regiment
commander survived the attack and hunted him down throughout his
actions (which included assassinating a local citizen guard commander,
assaulting a 1337 crew reassignment center, and eventually him and his
supporters assaulting the capitol city) ending his life within the
capitol citadel (half constructed at the time). The Jericho rebellion
almost brought Francopolis to its knees, but when the conflict had
ended, the Bel Draconiam regime used it as an excuse to further
weapons and bioengineering research. The supersoldier Mk2 was
introduced, and the citizen guard became obsolete: to enter the army,
you now had to succumb to basic re-education and genetic modification.
The Mk2 Supersoldier with geneboosting and basic cybernetics. (http://img93.imageshack.us/img93/1640/supersoldiermk1ao8.jpg)
Saudor and the Visitor
Out in the desert, a mysterious craft crash landed and was subsequently
recovered by the local metahuman tribes (who, upon reconfiguration and
reverse engineering of this ship, reformed into the Allied States of
Saudor). Encounters with this technology gave Francopolis something to
reverse engineer, resulting in the first small scale plasma weaponry.
Although now common, coherent plasma weapons had unprecedented power
and came to use weapons such as this on vehicles. Smaller plasma cells
were impractical and very few plasma-based small arms exist, even
nowadays. Those that are are horribly inaccurate or excessively short
-ranged. Personal mag-engines were also developed, allowing for
portable flight packs to be worn by troops.
As Franco's successor, Piers Bel Draconiam came to the throne,
magnetic, energy projection, and geneboosting were sufficiently
advanced to make the final leap to the modern military Francopolis
needed. The government (now the Umbra Corporatum) proposed the Mk3
supersoldier's development, and began to mass produce airships
(something far too costly to have been able to do previously, as
energy projection technology reduced fuel costs sufficiently), high-
tech firearms (as well as lower-tech or 'outdated' arms for sale to
other nations), and investing more heavily in the global market.
Genetic modification was now no longer limited to military
applications (Although supersoldiers remained the most modified).
Workers were now being supplied with bionics in order to complete
their jobs more efficiently. And as bad as Franco was for the
populace, Piers proved even worse. As addiction rates rose from
legalized narcotics, programs began that forced junkies to work
excessively for their next fix. Retirement was only available to those
aged 85 or higher...an age few reached. Citizen movement became even
more restricted, and was constantly computer-monitored. Increasingly
sophisticated artificial intelligences became the norm for regulating
business and populace activities. And as the population grew, so did
the oppression. Without a job, you no longer had rights to purchase
anything from Francopolis Prime's legal markets. When black markets
developed, the Corporatum infiltrated and took control of them. It
became commonplace for criminal organizations proliferating black
markets to actually be Corporatum-run operations, in order to keep
tabs on potential national threats.
The Mk3 (Modern) Francopolis supersoldier, complete with grafted power armor. (http://img161.imageshack.us/img161/7254/1stfrancopolisregimentya5.jpg)
Current day status
In the modern day, the average FP citizen spends most of the time
working, with leisure time spent watching brutal pit fights or street
races (dangerous national sports that usually result in one or both
competitors being injured or killed). Education is limited to whatever
is marketable or profitable. Francopolis is an industrial nightmare by
day and a pit of vice and corruption by night. Homes for many are a
coffin-sized tube with a monitor, stacked atop one another, merely a
place to sleep. The alloy citadel, in the capitol (renamed Alloy
during the rule of Piers Bel Draconiam, exalted CEO and Emperor of
the Umbra Corporatum), towers above the city, an intimidating sight to
many. Ground transport is usually through rail convoys, connecting
major and minor cities alike. Rail lines are heavily protected, as
bandits and natural threats in the desert are still commonplace.
There you have it, the miraculous transformation of Francopolis Prime from a small, unguarded democracy into a massive, fascist technocracy explained.
((More coming soon, stay on the lookout! For now...criticisms welcomed!))
FRANCOPOLIS PRIME WORLD FACTBOOK
The Banner of Francopolis (http://img293.imageshack.us/img293/6520/fpflagbk9.png)
OVERVIEW:
Founded officially as Francopolis Prime, originally the territories of
Plaid Zone. Francopolis is a supplier of industrial goods and arms for
the rest of the world, as well as a major investor in many of the
world's markets. Francopolis Prime is a corporate-run technocracy,
wherein genetic research, computer technologies, and biomodification
are commonplace. The citizen populace are referred to as 'human
resources' by the high-ups, and treated as nothing more than a
workforce. Every citizen is implanted with a 'blue crown', a wireless
device that tracks citizen movement and activities, such as purchasing
habits and daily routines. The police and military get similar
equipment, although weapons are vastly different depending on the role
of the transhuman soldier.
HISTORY:
The downfall of Plaid Zone
Years ago, there existed a lone nation known as Plaid Zone. Plaid Zone
was an offshoot of several refugee nations wanting peace, brought
together by the 'democratic dictator', Thoreu Plaidy, who is somewhat
of a folk hero in modern times. Under his leadership, the economic
situation became balanced, there was free healthcare, and booze was
plentiful. Although the nation was democratic, president Plaidy was
re-elected every term throughout the entirety of PZs existence. When
his term limit expired, the populace moved for the term limit to be
raised. Although supposedly a bit mad in his personal policies and
love of the occult, Plaid Zone was a peaceful place under his rule. It
wasn't until later that Plaid Zone's lack of military became apparent.
PZs frail military was easily overwhelmed during the 'battle for free
speech', a war that began protecting the free speech and ended with PZ
challenging the sovereignty of a much larger nation. They were wiped
out to the last man, and with the military disbanded, Plaid Zone
ceased to exist. President Plaidy fled via aeronautical whoosawhatsit
(the most high-tech thing in PZ) and either exploded during flight or
was moved to another plane of the material universe by 'the unknown
means'. The topic of Plaidy's death/disappearance is a conspiracy
amongst many, and speculations range from him never actually launching
the craft and getting killed by enemy assassins, to flipping upside-
down mid flight and being warped to another dimension by
incomprehensible powers. Either way, neither the aircraft nor the
president were found.
High Chancellor Lars Bel Draconiam was left to pick up the pieces.
Most of the populace evacuated, leaving for a better life in other
nations. A small breakoff, preserving Plaid Zone ideals, formed the nation of
Zanzibar Land. Some of the populace, however, stayed in the dustbowl that
was PZs un-annexed territory. Worthless to the larger nations as it
had been bombed into an ecological wasteland, it remained the home to
PZs now minute populace. The government struggled to retain control,
fighting against the other bandit organizations and cartels that ran
throughout the dustbowls. This continued until the economy was far
gone, the people's health was jeopardized, and natural resources were
waning. Within the span of 20 years after the initial collapse of the
nation, the situation had become dire. Lars Bel Draconiam made the
gamble of declaring PZ a constitutional monarchy, which at the time
was a nearly unannounced decision, in order to leave the government in
the hands of Agustus Bel Draconiam, his son, out of fear he would be
killed. Lars was assassinated, soon after, by a rebel group known as
the 'Killer 50'. The attempted assassination of Agustus, however, was
thwarted, and the assassins were killed during the incursion. Agustus,
unprepared for his task of ruling, did his best to lead the newly
founded 'kingdom'. Unlike his father, he didn't have the people in
mind as much as rebuilding the economy: to him, economic stability was
more important to the nation than the populace at large. It was an
outside group, however, that changed things for good.
The rise of the Umbra
Many businesses set up in other nations after the collapse of PZ. The
Umbra Corporation was one of said businesses. Returning to Plaid Zone,
they saw quite the opportunity for advancement. The information
technology company hadn't done too badly for themselves during the
collapse, playing the market during the war in order to generate the
maximum amount of profits. The CEO, Fio Morgalla, saw an opportunity
to take command of the rebuilding country, and took it. UmbraCorp
shifted its business to arms production, and equipped the PZ
government to better deal with incursions from outside forces. The
training and weaponry that became standard prepared PZ for dealing
with raiders, and government stability was now becoming commonplace.
Better and better dealings emerged between Umbra and PZ government.
Often, the populace became concerned that Umbra was in bed with
government officials. This became far more accurate than anyone could
have guessed, as the diplomatic marriage between Agustus Bel Draconiam
and Fio Morgalla became the signature on the agreement: Umbra and PZ
were no longer separate entities. The years that followed were a
convoluted wreck to the average citizen, as corporate and government
policies adapted to one another in order to fit more comfortably. Fio
and Agustus had a child soon after marriage, Franco Bel Draconiam
(named for Francopolis, Plaid Zone's capital at the time). Fio and
Agustus are often referred to as the 'leaders of the 1st dynasty'.
Their personal regiment, the 1337th, was infamous for their training.
Speaking multiple languages, trained in the use of multiple firearms,
hopped up on combat drugs, and practitioners of deadly Anstasuken
Karate (the national sport of old Plaid Zone), the 1337th became the
framework for the military reforms to come.
The rule of Franco Bel Draconiam
Franco's inheritance of the nation led to the development of a
stronger military. Whilst the economy's growth was still
unprecedented, the government budget shifted towards research and the
military. Franco introduced the 1337 crew, a new police/military given
the exact training as the 1337th. The citizen guard, although still
commonplace, were outranked by this new force. The citizen guard was
aggressively pushed on the populace. Becoming a citizen guard member
was not only patriotic: it offered you access to a larger income and
better living conditions than those the citizen populace were ever
allowed access to. Similarly, citizen guard were told to become 1337
crew, and in some provinces it became mandatory. What remained unsaid
about the 1337 crew was that brainwashing was slowly entering the
training protocol for all 1337 crew members.
The average 1337 crew operative. (http://img147.imageshack.us/img147/7224/agentqx9.jpg)
Expansion began. PZ was expanding into other territories, small
nation states out in the desert, and the indigenous tribes in the
surrounding area. Corruption in the military was rampant, but largely
ignored. The march of technology continued, researchers were making
their first plunges into the field of genetic engineering. As both the
military and the economy grew, as did the territory. The surrounding
metahuman populace of the desert was systematically absorbed and
integrated, or destroyed and systematically forgotten. Propaganda
began to spread; 'God is with the Umbra Corporatum!' became the slogan
for a new Plaid Zone. As the capital city became more and more of an
economic hub, it was mandated that Plaid Zone was Now Francopolis
Prime. the new name and image was supposed to be a revitalization, a
shedding of old ways and progression as a whole. With a still-growing
economy and a population spike in progress, not a soul could have
predicted what the aftershocks of this would bring.
The unbridled patriotism this brought about in the populace was
staggering. Those that dissented or opposed government actions were
normally harassed or even assaulted, and the government turned a blind
eye. Citizen guard and 1337 crew recruitment was unprecedented. This
period of heated support brought about two new, major changes in PZ
history. The first was the Elite act. Genetic research had allowed for
the construction of the first supersoldiers. Primitive compared to
modern means, the procedures were state of the art in those times.
Amplified speed and strength, increased awareness, and the ability to
think under great stress. This new 1337 crew was identified by their
red sunglasses and mechanical demeanor. This rapidly became the new
standard. Although invasive, the populace at large was too enveloped
in its overwhelmingly patriotic viewpoint to protest. The other change
was the Draconiam act.
The Draconiam act removed privacy from the populace. Tracking devices
were implemented (the Mark 1 blue crown), searches and wiretapping
were legalized, and the government began to draft able-bodied citizens
in order to meet a military recruitment quota of 60,000 new 1337 crew
agents by year's end. This was glazed over in the public eye, however,
as it also abolished drug and prostitution laws, the government now
regulating/controlling both markets. The first mag-engines were
developed, allowing for propulsion and flight of large aircraft using
planetary magnetism as lift. The first military application airships
were designed.
Jericho's lament
During the next phase of supersoldier engineering, a citizen guardsman
named Jericho Wimble went berserk, killing the entirety of his
regiment. Jericho became the largest rebel in Francopolis history,
sparking a rebellious insurgency through his actions. His regiment
commander survived the attack and hunted him down throughout his
actions (which included assassinating a local citizen guard commander,
assaulting a 1337 crew reassignment center, and eventually him and his
supporters assaulting the capitol city) ending his life within the
capitol citadel (half constructed at the time). The Jericho rebellion
almost brought Francopolis to its knees, but when the conflict had
ended, the Bel Draconiam regime used it as an excuse to further
weapons and bioengineering research. The supersoldier Mk2 was
introduced, and the citizen guard became obsolete: to enter the army,
you now had to succumb to basic re-education and genetic modification.
The Mk2 Supersoldier with geneboosting and basic cybernetics. (http://img93.imageshack.us/img93/1640/supersoldiermk1ao8.jpg)
Saudor and the Visitor
Out in the desert, a mysterious craft crash landed and was subsequently
recovered by the local metahuman tribes (who, upon reconfiguration and
reverse engineering of this ship, reformed into the Allied States of
Saudor). Encounters with this technology gave Francopolis something to
reverse engineer, resulting in the first small scale plasma weaponry.
Although now common, coherent plasma weapons had unprecedented power
and came to use weapons such as this on vehicles. Smaller plasma cells
were impractical and very few plasma-based small arms exist, even
nowadays. Those that are are horribly inaccurate or excessively short
-ranged. Personal mag-engines were also developed, allowing for
portable flight packs to be worn by troops.
As Franco's successor, Piers Bel Draconiam came to the throne,
magnetic, energy projection, and geneboosting were sufficiently
advanced to make the final leap to the modern military Francopolis
needed. The government (now the Umbra Corporatum) proposed the Mk3
supersoldier's development, and began to mass produce airships
(something far too costly to have been able to do previously, as
energy projection technology reduced fuel costs sufficiently), high-
tech firearms (as well as lower-tech or 'outdated' arms for sale to
other nations), and investing more heavily in the global market.
Genetic modification was now no longer limited to military
applications (Although supersoldiers remained the most modified).
Workers were now being supplied with bionics in order to complete
their jobs more efficiently. And as bad as Franco was for the
populace, Piers proved even worse. As addiction rates rose from
legalized narcotics, programs began that forced junkies to work
excessively for their next fix. Retirement was only available to those
aged 85 or higher...an age few reached. Citizen movement became even
more restricted, and was constantly computer-monitored. Increasingly
sophisticated artificial intelligences became the norm for regulating
business and populace activities. And as the population grew, so did
the oppression. Without a job, you no longer had rights to purchase
anything from Francopolis Prime's legal markets. When black markets
developed, the Corporatum infiltrated and took control of them. It
became commonplace for criminal organizations proliferating black
markets to actually be Corporatum-run operations, in order to keep
tabs on potential national threats.
The Mk3 (Modern) Francopolis supersoldier, complete with grafted power armor. (http://img161.imageshack.us/img161/7254/1stfrancopolisregimentya5.jpg)
Current day status
In the modern day, the average FP citizen spends most of the time
working, with leisure time spent watching brutal pit fights or street
races (dangerous national sports that usually result in one or both
competitors being injured or killed). Education is limited to whatever
is marketable or profitable. Francopolis is an industrial nightmare by
day and a pit of vice and corruption by night. Homes for many are a
coffin-sized tube with a monitor, stacked atop one another, merely a
place to sleep. The alloy citadel, in the capitol (renamed Alloy
during the rule of Piers Bel Draconiam, exalted CEO and Emperor of
the Umbra Corporatum), towers above the city, an intimidating sight to
many. Ground transport is usually through rail convoys, connecting
major and minor cities alike. Rail lines are heavily protected, as
bandits and natural threats in the desert are still commonplace.
There you have it, the miraculous transformation of Francopolis Prime from a small, unguarded democracy into a massive, fascist technocracy explained.
((More coming soon, stay on the lookout! For now...criticisms welcomed!))