 | | Empire: | | Leader: | | Territory: | | Capitol: | | Currency: | | National Animal: | | Spoken Languages: | | Official Languages: |
| | Antarctican Harbour | | Prime Minister Avaron Romenel | | Antarctica, several exclaves | | Sanae | | Antarctican Dollar (AD) | | Emperor Penguin | | English, Spanish, Portugese, Russian, Chinese, Norwegian, Swedish | | Englisch, Spanish |
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Antarctica is the coldest and southernmost continent of Earth. From April to August, the sun doesn't rise and for the rest of the year she shines for short periods of time only. During the Antarctican winter temperatures drop as low as -87°C, yet an ecosystem could develop in this harsh environment. While emperor penguins are the widest known native inhabitants of Antarctica, the seas surrounding the continent are rich in fish and several unique types of lichen and fungi can be found around the glaciers and frozen wasteland.
Mineral deposits were assumed under the one kilometre thick sheet of ice covering most of the continent, but no mines were ever eracted due to its hazardous nature and the Antarctic Treaty of 1959. The Antarctic Treaty regulated the claims of land, exploitation and military maneuvers that could take place, essentially rendering the continent a neutral territory and protected landscape. The treaty was expanded upon to further limit tourism and other activities, until only scientific operations were allowed. By the end of 2010 over four thousand scientists frequented these research facilities during the summer, their number waning to less than one thousand during the long winters. The cold weather allowed for some experiments be conducted only here, and the weakened ozone layer above Antarctica and its high altitude due to the ice sheet allowed for uncomparable ideal circumstances to study space.
The war left Antarctica surprisingly unscathed. The tiny and thinly spread 'population' didn't attract any Invader troops and no vaults opened on the cold continent. Nations located closer to Antarctica saw it as a viable refuge, resulting in governments and corporations evacuating their more critical personnel or civilian populace to the research stations located in Antarctica. Ultimately, Invader troops noticed and followed these transports, but no large force ever arrived. Their scouts often fell back as they apparently deemed the weather too harsh for humankind to survive in or their troops were busy fighting nations and more important targets elsewhere - Regardless of the reason, Antarctica remained a mostly safe heaven.
The settling of Antarctica commenced parallel to the war. The more destruction was caused by the Invaders around the globe, the more nations saw Antarctica as their rescue and soon enough the capacity of the research facilities were reached. Corporations as much as governments mobilised their every ressource to expand on the infrastructure necessary to survive the climate, and some bases actually strifed, becoming small domed cities or heat isolated buildings connected by tunnels and tubes.
However, the cold took its toll and shipping was hazardous due to floating ice and ships freezing on the open sea - particularly during the winter months many a crew met its doom, their ships only to be discovered in the following summer.
When fighting died down people evacuated to Antarctica remained in fear. Telephone or internet was available thanks to satellites and the high-tech equipment of the research stations, but the world lay in chaos and the available information flow was limited at best. Communication and cooperation between the various bases grew as the outside became quiet and when the war finally ended, people were convinced to stay in 'exile' on Antarctica.
Some of the research bases were located on glaciers or solid ice above the sea - Inhabitants weren't confident enough to eract permanent settlements here, so many locations were slowly moved inwards and old installments salvaged. The scientific equipment was used to invent means by which the landscape could be crossed either just below the surface or even aboveground, but shipping the cold fields of ice remained the only option for the years to come.
Ships were send back towards the formerly civilised world to gather ressources - The populace had to survive and the ressource availble on Antarctica's surface were insufficient at best. Exclaves were founded in the southern hemisphere, their goal to harvest ressources and provide food for the Antarctican mainland. Often, these expeditions were met by one of the various new threats: Be it Invader remnants, startled survivors of the war or rogue bands of raiders from ravaged nations. These hostilities startled the Antarctican people, as their main enemy had been the climate, not people or Invader, but low on food and construction material they had little choice and adopted a more rigid handling of locals out of necessity.
Since then Antarctica kept growing and developing slow, but steadily. The old stations allowed for access to the satellite network spanning Earth and infrastructure has improved. Capabilities of the Antarctican Harbour include a comparably large but mostly unarmed fleet of ships, many planes and helicopters - the latter of whom often having difficulties to operate in the harsh climate, however - and Tunnels are being dug just below the surface to allow for ship- and planeless transportation between the cities. Military means can't compete with any nation from before the war, but government brought some of their forces there, rendering Antarctica not entirely defenseless. Tensions are there, but their situation pressed them into a cooperation that slowly begins to prosper.
Population is dense in the cities, but virtually non-existant further into the continent. The Heartlands are the only national territory without shore access and contains only two cities of small size compared to the rest. Yet these cities are an important factor in the economy of Antarctica, as mining operations are conducted everywhere to pierce the kilometre of ice seperating the surface from the soil. Future constructions incorporate a new design of cities sunk into the ice instead of eracted upon it.
The cities are largely self governing, but a unified government and capitol have been created. Democratic elecations take place and each city sends three representatives to Sanae, the now-capitol located south of Africa.
Academic training, or education as such plays a large role for every man and woman in Antarctica. High-tech and knowledge are necessary to sustain life on the continent and many of the procedures applied for construction of the dome cities are a novelty - and as such suspectable to errors and oversights that every inhabitant needs to be capable of dealing with. The school system is rigid and pupils are tought to be calm, disciplined and contemplative when dealing with technology or new experiences from an early age. Yet, progression is displayed as both necessary and benevolent if its knowledge base is well understood.
Secondary schools aren't mandatory by law, but almost every job in the Antarctican economy requires specialised or scientific knowledge that has to be obtained either by colleges, universities or very specialised apprenticeship schools. Thus, the average Antarctican of the new generation is educated and well-versed in his field of employment out of necessity.
The military plays a special role in Antarctica, as the sole reason for its colonisation was a conflict against superior opponents. Basic training among Antarctican forces contains analysis of alien technology as used by the Invaders, survival training in cold and hot (although maneuvers for hot-climate survival are possible in exclaves at best) environments and the handling of social situations with angered citizen and foreign military forces outside of direct combat situations.
A maneuver conductd on Antarctican ground often involves an ill-equiped team with the need to improvise and remain flexible. A questionable or perhaps immoral action during a simulation is accepted and even encouraged if the outcome is good, but scarce availability of ressources dictates a smart use of all given tools. Reckless behaviour isn't well received and punished during maneuvers or simulations.
Conflict during the establishment phase of Antarctic exclaves made the military adopt a pragmatic outlook on dire situations: Antarctica needed the exclaves to survive, so native inhabitants were evicted where necessary and all sources of serious trouble eliminated. Unnecessary slaughter happened once during the establishment of the Brazilian Exclave as citizens revolted against the occupants, but the bloody answer of the exclave troops was penalised by the mainland - Civilians are expandable if the situation requires it, but neither targets nor holy sanctuaries. After this incident the schooling for verbal conflicts was incorporated into basic training routines.
Officers are taught to analyse the situation as pragmatic as possible and retreat if necessary. Teachings take the evacuation to Antarctica as an example: A retreat is a viable option if reinforcements are unavailable and the opposing force is overwhelming or superior. However, a retreat is always a tactical option and not an emotional answer - Returning alive provides valuable information for the motherland and better equipment for the next attempt.
As self efficient as the Antarctican cities are, so are the higher ranking officers taught to rely on their own judgement and analysis or that of the best-versed officer available to make their own decision regarding the next action.
"War has many faces and a battlefield is never the same. Your orders are your orders and nothing more: It is your goal to accomplish it and you were given tools as well as guidelines. The actual work, however, is your own to do: You yourself must find a way to achieve this goal and stay within the guidelines if possible. Noone else sees the battlefield as you do, Captain, so only you can decide the best course." - Final statement said to the commanding officers of the first exclave founding expedition to Brazil."Society and culture are limited by the little space the cities provide for their citizen. The snow desert they live in only allows for but two conditions to be true: People are either inside the cramped interior working in the laboratories, greenhouses, and few factories that exist, or they are outside in the wastes, trying to satiate the lust for growth and prosperity by adding to the cities, constructing infrastructure towards the other far-away bases or tending to the deep shafts into the ice and their machinery. Socialists and isolationists both may be satisified by these circumstances, but neither could live confident as life is still a struggle at the South Pole. Despite - or even because of the harsh environment - unemployment is nearly unheard of.
Many jobs are done day and night, regardless of calendar and holidays. This does not imply a strict working discipline or rigid governmental handling, but the machines need to run throughout the day, week and year. Because of this, noise is ever present, but damped whereever possible. While rooms are designed so every familiy can have an apartment, singles often have to share. Kitchens aren't supplied for all such apartments but rather once per living block, combined with a dining hall to save space, material and costs.
Freetime activites are limited, but every city facilliates at least one gym or larger halls for sports. Manual work, especially done outside, provides sufficient "training" for most citizen, however. Libraries aren't uncommon, but informative books are a rare find among the salvage groups of the exclaves and most knowledge is stored digitally. Greenhouses are often still under construction, but smaller trees or other plants are positioned around public areas in almost every city for decoration as much as air respiration. All in all, computational industries are overly well represented for both economic and pleasure uses. Artists, philosophers and other non-scientific, non-economic fields of work are a privilege reserved for those unfit for any other work or exceptional performance in these areas - Ressources are rarely spent for larger projects without a pragmatic use.
Exclave personnel usually consist of patriots of the new nation, people sick of the ice and night, pragmatists or those that hope to one day return home. All in all these types don't make up a good representation of the society back on the mainland, but they left Antarctica for their job - and they're good at it. Exclaves always contain a sizable military presence and virtually every member of an exclave can be expected to be either workforce or military - or both. The rare exception are politicians from the Antarctica or well-off tourists spending their precious vacation in warmer areas. These however are confined or escorted on their leaves for safety reasons.
Exclaves of Antarctica are small controled areas away from the mainland. Their main priority is to gather necessary ressource not (yet) available on Antarctican soil and their infrastructure is similiar to the their motherland. Structures are often domed or connected to one another by tunnels or enclosed tubes, although heavier fortified than Antarctican cities. These structures "rule" over the general area surrounding them, sending patrols on a daily basis and salvaging as much as they can. Agriculture and small, cramped meat production is commenced closer or surrounded by their bases, while the always armed patrols often react harsh but not violent to local inhabitants. Immigration to Antarctica has since been limited and all people headed for the mainland have to go through an exclave for visitational rights or migration.
Exclaves, their description and imports:Chilenian Exclave
Imports: All kinds of metals
The Chilenian Exclave is the largest exclave of Antarctica territory-wise. It is located on the southern most part of Chile's long coastline and consists of various smaller ports, warehouses and living hubs scattered across its length. The main purpose of this exclave is to supply Antarctica with various metals mined from the Chilenian mountains and due to the ragged shoreline a large number of ships are present in the area, patroling and transporting goods between the ports and Antarctica. While large, the Chileanian Exclave employs the fewest personnel if ship crews are left unaccounted for, as no to little raids and land patrols are made and mines heavily aided by machinery or fully automated. | Brazilian Exclave
Imports: Small amounts of timber and food, scavanged materials
The Brazilian Exclave of Antarctica spans a small portion of Santa Catarina, one of the southern states of Brazil. Its headquarters are located close to Florianópolis, the former capitol of the region. Santa Catarina used to be a tourist attraction and trade hub and partially still fulfills this function under Antarctic rule. This exclave stands out for its large military presence and small native populace that is tolerated close to the headquarters, acting as the main foreign trades centre for the Antarctic Harbour. Citizens live in safety from the outside, but under a harsh rule and poverty. The toll of military patrols and their scavanging operations are visible in both close and remote locations of the exclave as every unoccupied building or former public archives and libraries have been stripped of high-tech, books and anything deemed valuable by the Antarctic military. Occasionally incursions are made towards the moist forests deeper inside the country for wood. |
| Gabon Exclave
Imports: Large amounts of timber, food, oil and smaller amounts of metals (namely iron)
The Gabon or Gabonese Exclave was eracted to harness the large offshore oil deposits of the region and the extensive timber industry already present. As the most labour intensive exclave, Gabon provides Antarctica with most of its food, oil for fuel and plastics as well as timber. Once an area is cleared of trees, farms are placed in their stead. Large iron and other metal deposits were assumed below the surface and exploited by the newly built mines. Military presence is moderate as previous to the Invader attacks only 1.5 million people inhabitat Gabon. | Tanzanian Exclave
Imports: Food, rare and precious metals (gold, uranium, ...)
The Tanzanian Exclave is on the opposite site of Africa compared to the Gabon Exclave and fulfills similiar roles. The exclave also shares many characteristics in terms of military personnel and workforce due to same requirements. The majority of imports from Tanzania are food products coming from the extensive pre-war agricultural industry and a broad range of rare and precious metals. Efforts are underway to exploit the natural gas deposits of the Songo Songo island by repairing the conveying equipment from before the war. |
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Aurora Information
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