Emerald Springs
29-01-2009, 01:43
The city of New London could have been called one of the busiest cities in the known world with millions of people treading the streets for their dosages of coffee and cakes or to satisfy their thirst for culture and art. One may say that New London was a haven for those pursuing the hedonistic life or the finer things that one's existence may attain. It had been here that Emerald Springs was officially founded after the British colonies grouped themselves together at the behest of local statesmen who would, in later years, appoint a European royal to become their Emperor in the British fashion, that was to say, that the Emperor would function like Queen Victoria did during her reign. She, apparently, had no quarrel with the men and women of Emerald Springs basically separating themselves politically from their mother nation and, to the satisfaction of those same men and women, neither had Parliament. Within a short span of time, in what one could call an absolute miracle, Emerald Springs had become an industrial powerhouse with a responsible Parliamentary government at the helm. Such days were always taught to the children at the public and private schools which their parents had them enrolled in.
A new day came with the rising of the sun over the massive skyscrapers and lowly cafes of New London and the people would awake to the musical stylings of some well loved rock band or the voice of a local radio talk show host lambasting some government policy which he hadn't really liked. It was on this seemingly average day in New London that the Prime Minister had decided that it was time for a change in the nation. When you think of the man named Thomas Braithwaite, you would see the image of a devilishly handsome man with a passion for politics that began in the British based equivalent of high school when he delivered a thunderous speech on his ascension to the post of school president. Braithwaite was the leader of the Right Tories who were conservatives more inclined to preserving the national culture which meant, at the very least, exiling every illegal immigrant who dared to venture into their shores. On this day in New London, Braithwaite woke up as he always had prior to this day in his life, looking beside him to see his lovely Irish wife Angela sleeping soundly without concern, stretching his muscles and yawning before groggily looking for his clothes.
The House of Commons regularly convened at the massive palace specifically built to be the headquarters of Parliamentary Democracy in Emerald Springs with all the bitter debates and the swift condemnations one will often hear in those awe inspiring halls. For while a teacher may take her students through those halls to tell them about how lovely democracy was to the masses, she wouldn't tell them how bittersweet this lovely gift really was, at least, in her beloved homeland. Swiftly eating breakfast with wife and children, Braithwaite rushed off to the House of Commons to deal with the usual - people criticizing his plans to unveil Emerald Springs to the world. or, at the very least, urging him not to be so rash with such plans. When he got there, he was greeted by his Foreign Minister who was dressed in a regal looking suit that made him look more like a butler than a Member of Parliament - let alone a member of the Prime Minister's Cabinet. Edward Meyer was one of the veterans of the Right Tories who had spent many years crusading for the rights of the people under the cloak of conservative nationalism. It was Meyer who helped bring down the previous government with their scandals and horrible policies - well, he was one of the people who helped. "A fine day for a meeting of esteemed Members of Parliament, is it not?"
Meyer smiled as he watched Braithwaite walk into the lobby of Parliament with the usual smile upon his face, the smile suggesting he was pretty confident, confident that he'd be able to secure what he wanted and have it - for the sake of the masses, of course, since he wasn't just doing any of this just so he could say how great he was. No, he thought, the people would thrust that greatness upon him. "A part of me would rather be home with Angela but I knew I'd be separated from that woman when I took the post of Prime Minister," Braithwaite began with a sly smirk, "I'm pretty sure that we'll be able to crush the opposition without any significant problems. Why would people want to oppose enlightening ourselves about the outside world?"
Meyer laughed as they ventured deeper into the halls of Parliament where all sorts of men and women in suits were gathering to talk about the issues up for discussion - some of them eagerly greeted the Prime Minister while others seemed to scorn him. A portrait of the first Emperor of Emerald Springs hung on the walls and Braithwaite, looking at it, smiled. He proudly counted one of his ancestors as being one of the original founding fathers of Emerald Springs, Stephen Braithwaite who had given the nation its name after those lovely springs you'd find all over the land. Braithwaite hadn't been Prime Minister but, back in the days of Dickens and Darwin, he would head over to Britain to secure recognition of his nation's freedom from the hands of any of the world powers. It didn't take too long for the Members of Parliament, over 300 in total, to take their seats in the massive room. The flag of Britain and Emerald Springs hanged amidst the coat of arms while the honorable Speaker took his position with his pages.
Braithwaite rose from his seat after the usual ritual was finished and began speaking specifically to his opposition, those parties which feared his allegedly fanatical devotion to getting what he wanted, those parties which, he said, could never understand his intentions. "Gentlemen and Ladies, it is the will of our party to bring Emerald Springs into the outside world. Why do you oppose us on this measure? What do we have to lose in letting foreign ambassadors tread our streets? We have already seen what diplomacy can do - its benefits far outnumber the curses. Even if we were to experience problems, this would be an inevitable thing for, indeed, no nation has ever gone by its existence without making enemies. When we look back at Emerald Springs' history, consider how many British officials were unwilling to let us have our freedom. They would have annexed us into the Empire rather than let us be what we wanted. My friends, what do you fear? Do you fear that foreign powers will attack us? The sterotypical dictators of cinema do not exist among the real nations of the world and, if they did, it wouldn't be long before they were overthrown. If we are to have our nation advance with the times, it must be alongside the nations of the world, it must work alongside them, it must always be with them. I leave it up to His Majesty the Emperor to give imperial assent to my proposal - that Emerald Springs open itself up to the world."
The other Members of Parliament began to debate vigorously amongst themselves about the pros and cons of Braithwaite's thinking and, eventually, one influential member of the opposition rose to reply to him. He was Takashi Sakamoto who was a descendant of the Japanese settlers. Japanese settlers came in boatloads to Emerald Springs and loved their newly acquired citizenship even if some officials only let them in because of some racially motivated preference for them. Sakamoto was a pretty well aged man but he still looked quite young and handsome in the eyes of some women who knew him. In a Japanese accent tempered with exposure to the dominant Anglophone influence in the nation, he spoke: "The Prime Minister is certainly correct and we must do what we can to support him. Think about how this can benefit the children of our society who will be able to learn so much more about the outside world - by experience rather than by mere examination of books. Think about how many tourists will come to see our nation and how much money will flow into our coffers as a result. Think about what we can accomplish rather than how much we can sink into isolation. The Founding Fathers themselves valued diplomacy as the way in which a nation may secure a place among others, friendships rather than mere acquaintances, prosperity rather than nothingness."
As Sakamoto took his seat again, there were more people who rose to the occassion to speak their minds about the situation and, soon enough, the session was adjourned and the Members of Parliament withdrew into their own worlds while keeping close eyes on Parliament for further developments. Braithwaite returned home to his family while the Emperor was notified of his need to consider bestowing assent - Emperor George II was one of those people loving royals who regularly made himself visible to the masses, the sort of monarch who wasn't afraid to speak his mind, the sort of monarch who was always willing to speak for the common man. At the Imperial Palace in New London, while he was spending time with friends, he recieved word of the need to bestow or withhold ascent - to which he replied, in simple terms, that he'd certainly bestow ascent and that he couldn't understand why people would oppose the Prime Minister's proposal. Once ascent went through and the Prime Minister was notified of this pleasant development, Edward Meyer immediately went to work in composing a little communique to the world's leaders - the usual formula of peace-and-friendship which had worked so many times before for many other leaders. The question on his mind was whether or not, however, it would be well recieved.
OOC: Just assume you've got the letter and make your posts as replies to that letter - it will be easier if you just do that. This nation is under new management. All previous threads/posts by Emerald Springs are pretty much null and void but if you've got concerns, TG them to me.
A new day came with the rising of the sun over the massive skyscrapers and lowly cafes of New London and the people would awake to the musical stylings of some well loved rock band or the voice of a local radio talk show host lambasting some government policy which he hadn't really liked. It was on this seemingly average day in New London that the Prime Minister had decided that it was time for a change in the nation. When you think of the man named Thomas Braithwaite, you would see the image of a devilishly handsome man with a passion for politics that began in the British based equivalent of high school when he delivered a thunderous speech on his ascension to the post of school president. Braithwaite was the leader of the Right Tories who were conservatives more inclined to preserving the national culture which meant, at the very least, exiling every illegal immigrant who dared to venture into their shores. On this day in New London, Braithwaite woke up as he always had prior to this day in his life, looking beside him to see his lovely Irish wife Angela sleeping soundly without concern, stretching his muscles and yawning before groggily looking for his clothes.
The House of Commons regularly convened at the massive palace specifically built to be the headquarters of Parliamentary Democracy in Emerald Springs with all the bitter debates and the swift condemnations one will often hear in those awe inspiring halls. For while a teacher may take her students through those halls to tell them about how lovely democracy was to the masses, she wouldn't tell them how bittersweet this lovely gift really was, at least, in her beloved homeland. Swiftly eating breakfast with wife and children, Braithwaite rushed off to the House of Commons to deal with the usual - people criticizing his plans to unveil Emerald Springs to the world. or, at the very least, urging him not to be so rash with such plans. When he got there, he was greeted by his Foreign Minister who was dressed in a regal looking suit that made him look more like a butler than a Member of Parliament - let alone a member of the Prime Minister's Cabinet. Edward Meyer was one of the veterans of the Right Tories who had spent many years crusading for the rights of the people under the cloak of conservative nationalism. It was Meyer who helped bring down the previous government with their scandals and horrible policies - well, he was one of the people who helped. "A fine day for a meeting of esteemed Members of Parliament, is it not?"
Meyer smiled as he watched Braithwaite walk into the lobby of Parliament with the usual smile upon his face, the smile suggesting he was pretty confident, confident that he'd be able to secure what he wanted and have it - for the sake of the masses, of course, since he wasn't just doing any of this just so he could say how great he was. No, he thought, the people would thrust that greatness upon him. "A part of me would rather be home with Angela but I knew I'd be separated from that woman when I took the post of Prime Minister," Braithwaite began with a sly smirk, "I'm pretty sure that we'll be able to crush the opposition without any significant problems. Why would people want to oppose enlightening ourselves about the outside world?"
Meyer laughed as they ventured deeper into the halls of Parliament where all sorts of men and women in suits were gathering to talk about the issues up for discussion - some of them eagerly greeted the Prime Minister while others seemed to scorn him. A portrait of the first Emperor of Emerald Springs hung on the walls and Braithwaite, looking at it, smiled. He proudly counted one of his ancestors as being one of the original founding fathers of Emerald Springs, Stephen Braithwaite who had given the nation its name after those lovely springs you'd find all over the land. Braithwaite hadn't been Prime Minister but, back in the days of Dickens and Darwin, he would head over to Britain to secure recognition of his nation's freedom from the hands of any of the world powers. It didn't take too long for the Members of Parliament, over 300 in total, to take their seats in the massive room. The flag of Britain and Emerald Springs hanged amidst the coat of arms while the honorable Speaker took his position with his pages.
Braithwaite rose from his seat after the usual ritual was finished and began speaking specifically to his opposition, those parties which feared his allegedly fanatical devotion to getting what he wanted, those parties which, he said, could never understand his intentions. "Gentlemen and Ladies, it is the will of our party to bring Emerald Springs into the outside world. Why do you oppose us on this measure? What do we have to lose in letting foreign ambassadors tread our streets? We have already seen what diplomacy can do - its benefits far outnumber the curses. Even if we were to experience problems, this would be an inevitable thing for, indeed, no nation has ever gone by its existence without making enemies. When we look back at Emerald Springs' history, consider how many British officials were unwilling to let us have our freedom. They would have annexed us into the Empire rather than let us be what we wanted. My friends, what do you fear? Do you fear that foreign powers will attack us? The sterotypical dictators of cinema do not exist among the real nations of the world and, if they did, it wouldn't be long before they were overthrown. If we are to have our nation advance with the times, it must be alongside the nations of the world, it must work alongside them, it must always be with them. I leave it up to His Majesty the Emperor to give imperial assent to my proposal - that Emerald Springs open itself up to the world."
The other Members of Parliament began to debate vigorously amongst themselves about the pros and cons of Braithwaite's thinking and, eventually, one influential member of the opposition rose to reply to him. He was Takashi Sakamoto who was a descendant of the Japanese settlers. Japanese settlers came in boatloads to Emerald Springs and loved their newly acquired citizenship even if some officials only let them in because of some racially motivated preference for them. Sakamoto was a pretty well aged man but he still looked quite young and handsome in the eyes of some women who knew him. In a Japanese accent tempered with exposure to the dominant Anglophone influence in the nation, he spoke: "The Prime Minister is certainly correct and we must do what we can to support him. Think about how this can benefit the children of our society who will be able to learn so much more about the outside world - by experience rather than by mere examination of books. Think about how many tourists will come to see our nation and how much money will flow into our coffers as a result. Think about what we can accomplish rather than how much we can sink into isolation. The Founding Fathers themselves valued diplomacy as the way in which a nation may secure a place among others, friendships rather than mere acquaintances, prosperity rather than nothingness."
As Sakamoto took his seat again, there were more people who rose to the occassion to speak their minds about the situation and, soon enough, the session was adjourned and the Members of Parliament withdrew into their own worlds while keeping close eyes on Parliament for further developments. Braithwaite returned home to his family while the Emperor was notified of his need to consider bestowing assent - Emperor George II was one of those people loving royals who regularly made himself visible to the masses, the sort of monarch who wasn't afraid to speak his mind, the sort of monarch who was always willing to speak for the common man. At the Imperial Palace in New London, while he was spending time with friends, he recieved word of the need to bestow or withhold ascent - to which he replied, in simple terms, that he'd certainly bestow ascent and that he couldn't understand why people would oppose the Prime Minister's proposal. Once ascent went through and the Prime Minister was notified of this pleasant development, Edward Meyer immediately went to work in composing a little communique to the world's leaders - the usual formula of peace-and-friendship which had worked so many times before for many other leaders. The question on his mind was whether or not, however, it would be well recieved.
OOC: Just assume you've got the letter and make your posts as replies to that letter - it will be easier if you just do that. This nation is under new management. All previous threads/posts by Emerald Springs are pretty much null and void but if you've got concerns, TG them to me.