Ask 'em.
Khazan is an island nation in the Southern Atlantic.
Khazan City is the capital city, and it is the largest city in the country.
Hit me with your questions.
Questions about Khazan
Started by
Guest_Ivan_*
, Oct 28 2009 11:15 PM
55 replies to this topic
#2
treacherous
-
- Administrators
-
- 15,493 posts
Good...Bad...I'm the guy with the Hammer
- Gender:Male
- Location:In front of the T.V. mostly
- Interests:Stuff and stuff.
Posted 29 October 2009 - 05:51 AM
EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE! Sorry, got excited.
#3
Kinetic War
-
- Members
-
- 696 posts
Don't feed him after midnight
- Gender:Male
- Location:The deepest corners of my wicked mind
- Interests:This article is too long. Consider splitting it into separate articles.
Posted 29 October 2009 - 06:40 AM
Population? Form of government? Official language? Religion(s)? What about import and export? How's the state of education and health care? What are the most immediate challenges the country has to face during recession?
Sorry, got carried away.
Sorry, got carried away.
#4
Guest_Ivan_*
Guest_Ivan_*
-
- Guests
Posted 29 October 2009 - 05:22 PM
Population? Form of government? Official language? Religion(s)? What about import and export? How's the state of education and health care? What are the most immediate challenges the country has to face during recession?
Sorry, got carried away.
Well, I was kinda hoping you'd ask me about something relevant to the story, not just to list random statistics. Still...
Population: of the city or the entire country? The city probably has a population of around 3.14 million people. You heard me. Pi Million people live there. Deal with it. At any given time in the city of Pi Million, only about 250 or so have superhuman abilities. That is less than a thousandth of a percent of the population.
Form of Government: Khazan is a Socialist Democracy.
Religions: As a former European colony, various forms of Christianity are strong in places, although Buddhism is also extremely popular. There are dozens of minor cults dedicated to the exaltation of everything from Radiation to Internet Memes. There is even a Discordian church, although nobody has ever been seen going in or out.
Import and Export: Khazan grows a surplus of grain and produce most of which it offers as humanitarian aid to countries in need. Computers and electronics, copper, zinc, and precious metals are its' major exports. The country has recently passed sweeping legislation to reduce its' dependency on paper products, although timber remains one of its' chief imports, it is largely used in construction. Khazan's currency is printed on a cotton/rubber hybrid paper that is waterproof and will not tear. The material also makes it incredibly expensive and difficult to counterfeit. Its technical and financial strength make it a world player on the open market, It is the fourth strongest economy in the world after America, China, and the European Union, bolstered largely by its position as a center for shipping.
Khazan's public education system is highly invested in math and science, and students tend to excel in those areas when compared to their counterparts in other countries. The dominant language taught in Khazan is English, although students are expected to be fluent in another state-recognized language of their choice (there are over thirty) by graduation. It's unique position as a historic center for trade has also caused it to produce an extreme variety of capable translators. A sizeable portion of the Khazanian population has a continuing secondary education of some kind, although many are vocationally trained craftsmen or artisans with job-specific skillsets. Khazan, like most "first world" countries, has an extensive University system as well.
Health care: Basic healthcare is essentially free for soldiers and civil servants, and many Khazanians wind up working off their hospital debts by working for the government in some manner, usually as a second job or in their free time. Khazanians are typically civic-minded and prefer to manage their affairs on a local level. The variety of local approaches to governance allows natives to move to an area that best suits their own political ideals. As such national elections tend to be extremely polarized along geographic lines. Most Khazanians think gerrymandering is a dead American comedian.
Challenges during the recession: What recession?
#5
The Seeker of Stuff
-
- CBUB Character Admin
-
- 225 posts
Captain Wonderful
- Gender:Male
- Location:Nashville, TN
Posted 29 October 2009 - 05:58 PM
So it is an utopia on the surface?
#6
Guest_Ivan_*
Guest_Ivan_*
-
- Guests
Posted 29 October 2009 - 06:45 PM
So it is an utopia on the surface?
Not even remotely. Historically lax trade restrictions have made Khazan a haven for pirates of all kinds. There is serious international pressure with concern to who it shares its' technology with. Credit fraud, for example, is an extreme problem because of the differing rulings put in place by various local levels of government. Terrorism and crime are bolstered by the existence of superpeople, and Khazan City boasts by far the largest concentration of superpowered individuals within a single city (nearly 18% of the global metahuman population live in Khazan City) which of course means the fallout of every conflict has the potential to be far more destructive than the original crime. The city's "black market" is internationally renowned, and it is theorized (correctly) that everything from nuclear weapons to sex slaves are available for purchase if one knows where to look. A large influx of immigrants is also consistently ranking issue, and the naturalization process becomes increasingly stringent with ever subsequent election, indicating the problem is far from solved.
Another issue facing the country is that these are typically all seen as "big city" problems, and the rest of Khazan tends to reflexively view itself as unimportant on the international scene. Khazanians have grasped "act locally," but most of them are unable or unwilling to "think globally," at least insofar as the balance of local benefit outweighing global cost.
Having said all that, it is still a pretty great place to live, all things considered. Khazanians experience personal liberties and freedoms rivaling any other citizenry on earth, and statistics like longevity, average household income, and the like are all on par with countries technologically advanced countries like Japan and the US.
#7
treacherous
-
- Administrators
-
- 15,493 posts
Good...Bad...I'm the guy with the Hammer
- Gender:Male
- Location:In front of the T.V. mostly
- Interests:Stuff and stuff.
Posted 29 October 2009 - 08:48 PM
Okay, nitty gritty. So, where did this Khazan come from? Is it still the nexus of all realities? If so, does the world at large know this? Does it tie in at all to the previous Khazan? How old is its history? What are the laws regarding superheroing in Khazan? Abroad? It was a former European colony, so what was it before that? Uh, that's all I got for now.
#8
Guest_Ivan_*
Guest_Ivan_*
-
- Guests
Posted 29 October 2009 - 11:00 PM
Okay, nitty gritty. So, where did this Khazan come from? Is it still the nexus of all realities? If so, does the world at large know this? Does it tie in at all to the previous Khazan? How old is its history? What are the laws regarding superheroing in Khazan? Abroad? It was a former European colony, so what was it before that? Uh, that's all I got for now.
Where did this Khazan come from?
Geologically, the island was a piece of pangea that existed between what is now southern Africa and South America and split off during the late Mesozoic. The southern Atlantic current sweeps across Africa, meets the island and pushes north across the hemisphere, eventually returning from South America to sweep down the western coast.
The other answer is more complicated. Khazan exists because it is logically necessary. It represents a sort of area of least resistance from other places, the various dimensions of the Arcanus Obliques, different realities, etc. It certainly wouldn't do to have a soft spot like that in the middle of the ocean where everyone who shows up keeps getting eaten by sharks all the time, so there is an island there.
Is it still the nexus of all realities?
It is SOME kind of nexus. It's a bit premature to go claiming it is the middle of Everything, with a capital E, but it certainly seems to be bumping against a number of other places. This phenomenon is not centered in Khazan City, mind you, and various specific parts of the Khazanian microcontinent have been in contact with a number of elsewheres. There are no permanent doorways, however. There is also no defined "nexus core" (for those of you who know your Khazan lore.)
If so, does the world at large know this?
The world at large regard Khazan as one of those kooky foreign powers that is really too far away to worry much about. It's a nice place to visit, but I wouldn't want to live there. That sort of thing. Bear in mind that superpeople and dimensional gateways aren't endemic to Khazan, and at least America, the UK, Japan, and China have been reported as having a number of kept supermen in their standing army.
Does it tie in at all to the previous Khazan?
Short answer: No.
Long answer: No.
Really long answer: You may see familiar faces and hear familiar names, but this isn't Marvel Ultimates. It would be more like comparing (for you Marvel fans) the Mangaverse to 1602. There is some minor degree of commonality, and people are going to resurrect their favorite characters and storylines, to a point. This is only natural. Don't look for any deep story connections however.
How old is its history?
Big breath.
Khazan the island/mini-continent, was first "discovered" in 1744 by Portugal's Higals Khazan. (Hence the name.) Its unique placement, combined with the vagaries of the southern atlantic currents, left it relatively undisturbed until nearly 150 years after the so-called age of discovery. Khazan wasn't circumnavigated and mapped until 1761, and its hard to reach location, lack of obvious natural resources, and a series of revolutions in Europe contributed to the relative isolation of the small English, French, Spanish, Dutch, Portuguese, and Aztec settlements that dotted its coast. The island itself was repeatedly annexed: first by Portugal in 1750, then by both Spain and England in 1754. The island gained partial independence from Spain in 1788 and from England in 1810, although the English government attempted (unsuccessfully) to restrict trade until 1834; English naval presence continued to be strong until the onset of the first World War, and island residents typically spoke English in addition to their native language.
Khazan gained a notorious reputation among slave traders when several slavers were publicly hanged in 1789, and Khazan was one of the first places in the world to adopt a philosophy of racial and religious tolerance. The distinct mix of cultures was augmented by the unlikely influx of Irish, Chinese, and free African immigrants in the early 1800's. The city of Khazan was built on the site of one of the original Dutch settlements. Artisans and craftsmen of all cultures flourished, and the free exchange of ideas was bolstered by the young nation's burgeoning interest in higher education and a marked lack of restriction on trade. The effects of the industrial revolution were felt early in Khazan, and the nation's love affair with technology continues to this day. The Khazan Renaissance was a period of intense development in the later part of the century, characterized by advances in art, architecture, literature, and technology. This period is romanticized in modern depictions, as Khazan was home to many colorful characters: great artists and literary minds, outlaw pirates, and immigrants from dozens of diverse world cultures. Period fiction about the country suffers greatly from "guest-star syndrome" since so many well known figures visited the island near the dawn of the 20th century. Khazanian architecture has always been notoriously schizophrenic, although the infusion of American Art Deco in the early 20th century greatly reduced this. The Kawoki Pagoda on the northeastern coast is an iconic temple with eight floors, each designed by an architect from a different culture.
The onset of the World War I turned Khazan into a haven for those seeking to escape the ravages of war. This continued through both World Wars and on into the 1950's. In the late 50's Khazan became a fiercely disputed Cold War territory for thirteen years until Nixon and Brezhnev signed the St. Lucius Accords, effectively halting nuclear proliferation; ironically in favor of a propaganda-fueled metahuman arms race. This period is seen as a "dark age" for many Khazanians, and local mistrust of both American and Soviet agendas led to demonstrations and rioting, although the local economy undoubtedly benefited from their presence.
Khazan developed into an economic powerhouse in the postwar years, Soviet and US Military money and a centralized location suitable for air freight helped several Khazan based corporations become global leaders in shipping, telecommunications, and travel. Khazan was on the cutting edge of technological innovation entering the 1980's, and was a strong competitor against American and Japanese technology on a global market. Historically lax trade restrictions also contributed to a huge influx of narcotics traffic in the 80's, although as a hub the country experienced little in the way of violent repercussion from this.
What are the laws regarding superheroing in Khazan? Abroad?
Because of Khazan's unique health care situation, most metahumans end up in the employ of the government in some capacity at some point in their life. The government goes a long way to provide strong incentives for these uniquely talented individuals, provided they maintain an acceptable code of conduct. This isn't perfect, but it seems as good as any other system currently in place in the world. American superheroes are treated like celebrities and have their own reality shows, Chinese superheroes are all treated like dangerous weapons and kept sequestered from their families, forced into an unending program of nationalist indoctrination. Canada has an organized metahuman rugby league, although there are several very unusual rules.
It was a former European colony, so what was it before that?
Empty. Realistically, before 1744 Khazan was just your average undiscovered mythical continent, full of wild flora and fauna but empty of indigenous peoples. It may be worth noting that paleontologists are unable to find fossil evidence of life in Khazan earlier than about 85 mya, the land was strangely barren before that time. Theories abound, although no single hypothesis has ever been able to satisfactorily explain it.
#9
Kinetic War
-
- Members
-
- 696 posts
Don't feed him after midnight
- Gender:Male
- Location:The deepest corners of my wicked mind
- Interests:This article is too long. Consider splitting it into separate articles.
Posted 30 October 2009 - 03:52 AM
Well, I was kinda hoping you'd ask me about something relevant to the story, not just to list random statistics. Still...
Thanks for the answers. They weren't random at all. Since I'm only learning this whole FPL stuff right now, those facts were sosiologically very important. Except the last one, which was more of a joke...
#10
Guest_Ivan_*
Guest_Ivan_*
-
- Guests
Posted 30 October 2009 - 11:13 PM
those facts were sosiologically very important.
Incorrect.
Knowing the sociopolitical statistics of a place doesn't really help you understand it.
I'm thinking of a well-known country that is a Parlaimentary Republic with roughly sixty million citizens, a good 90% of whom are Christian. This country's major exports are motor vehicles, chemicals, and energy.
Can you name this country based on these facts? Maybe, but none of the listed statistics above make it easily identifiable.
I'm thinking of the same country, the historic seat of a continent-spanning empire for over two thousand years. Home to many of the greatest artistic and scientific minds of the Renaissance. The Divine Comedy was written there. Home of the Lamborghini, pizza, and Comedia Dell'arte. S'got a great bloody tower that leans slightly to one side, and an entire city where all the roads are made of water. Great place to get an espresso.
Get the idea?
#11
Kinetic War
-
- Members
-
- 696 posts
Don't feed him after midnight
- Gender:Male
- Location:The deepest corners of my wicked mind
- Interests:This article is too long. Consider splitting it into separate articles.
Posted 31 October 2009 - 05:32 AM
Knowing the sociopolitical statistics of a place doesn't really help you understand it.
This is getting off-topic now, but I disagree. Recognizing a country based on certain well-known facts isn't the same as understanding it. You may even go to great lengths in describing the country's importance to culture and literature, its architectural design etc., something a tourist might be interested in. And why not, it helps understand its history, and it may tell something about the people's mindset. But really, that's just surface. You might almost as well say that knowing about Native Americans, the Civil War, the Statue of Liberty, hamburgers and John Wayne makes one understand USA. Of course everybody will recognize the country in question based on those random phenomena, but would someone living in the States really say to a European tourist: "Yeah, those things are exactly what we're about. You really get us!" The people might take pride in said things, and even joke about them being the essentials of their country, but no one with a decent amount of national pride (and some amount of intelligence) will agree that their country can be accurately described by a tourist who has never bothered to find out anything that can't be read in a second grade schoolbook.
Besides, I think you misunderstood me. Identifying a country by looking at simple statistics is difficult, because there are untold many countries that the statistics could refer to. In the statistical example you provided, common sense says that it must be a country either in Latin America or by the Mediterranean Sea, but really, what's the point? This isn't Trivial Pursuit. First knowing the country and then getting the statistical information about it will allow for one to quickly get some essential information. Understanding in a country comes from knowing about it and being interested in it. There are no unimportant facts if you know where to look. The statistics alone don't tell you squat, but knowing what the statistics stand for does.
Unless you know just how the country is ruled, you won't have a clue what happens behind the scenes, in what form corruption and organized crime presents itself. You won't understand the poverty situation, and who might be able to take advantage of the country's political state. Real life example: The former socialist countries of Europe all shared the same characteristics, and the privatization of assets towards the end of the 1980's and in the beginning of the 1990's suddenly created a whole new upper class of former bureaucrats and factory supervisors, for no other reason except that the former were mainly corrupted officials who used the old system to their advantage, and the latter just happened to be in the right place at the right time. Unless you know just how power manifested itself then and now, it appears random.
The education and health care systems go hand in hand when trying to understand the general well-being of a country. In a socialist democracy, both are held in high regard, and both are usually made available for all classes. By knowing how the essential services are paid for (progressive taxation, or perhaps the Khazanian-style debt system for health care), one can make pretty accurate speculations on where the country's main interests lie.
And you can't even begin to imagine how important main exports can be to a country's national identity...
By combining different types of information I find myself more confident in knowing just what makes Khazan tick, and I might dare to send my character there one day.
#12
Guest_Ivan_*
Guest_Ivan_*
-
- Guests
Posted 01 November 2009 - 07:47 PM
Calling Khazan an effective Socialist Democracy doesn't really tell you the full story. I will attempt to clarify.
Khazan resembles a Socialist Democracy insofar as the wide-held national belief in personal equality under the law and equal access to information and the means of production.
Khazan resembles a Technocracy with regards to it's approach to new technology and the almost universal belief that most social problems can be solved through technological means. Many of the nation's most prominent scientific minds are volunteer members of the Council on Technological Advancements.
Khazan occupies a very bizarre niche in the economic spectrum. Typically, the country resembles a complete Laissez-Faire Capitalist state, with the very large caveat that the government itself is considered a corporate entity, free to engage in competitive unrestricted trade. In this sense the Khazanian Government represents the biggest dog on the block, and by being essentially a self-controlled potential monopoly in a fiercely competitive market, and pushing its weight around when need-be, the government is able to maintain an economic status-quo. A popular phrase offered to dissenters who view this as socialist constrained capitalism is "Don't like it? Then get your own economy."
Every government employee, (which-by logical extension of the health care system- is most of the country) is a member of a single national labor union called "National One." National One has taken great (if occasionally underhanded) strides to ensure it is the only powerful political lobby in place. Because of the impossibility of representing the diverse special interests of its membership, National One typically concerns itself with bettering the quality of life for all its' members which, as previously stated, is a sizable majority of the country. This typically manifests in improved infrastructure and boosted civic funding, since the majority of Khazanians are in favor of handling any affairs they can locally.
In Khazan the military and law enforcement are separate divisions of the same branch of government (a few National Law Enforcement officers actually rank above the nation's top generals.) Khazan's standing military has no draft law, but is bolstered by legions of mechanized drones. There is a rough equivalent of the GI Bill which helps those who have served to pay for college.
Khazan resembles a Socialist Democracy insofar as the wide-held national belief in personal equality under the law and equal access to information and the means of production.
Khazan resembles a Technocracy with regards to it's approach to new technology and the almost universal belief that most social problems can be solved through technological means. Many of the nation's most prominent scientific minds are volunteer members of the Council on Technological Advancements.
Khazan occupies a very bizarre niche in the economic spectrum. Typically, the country resembles a complete Laissez-Faire Capitalist state, with the very large caveat that the government itself is considered a corporate entity, free to engage in competitive unrestricted trade. In this sense the Khazanian Government represents the biggest dog on the block, and by being essentially a self-controlled potential monopoly in a fiercely competitive market, and pushing its weight around when need-be, the government is able to maintain an economic status-quo. A popular phrase offered to dissenters who view this as socialist constrained capitalism is "Don't like it? Then get your own economy."
Every government employee, (which-by logical extension of the health care system- is most of the country) is a member of a single national labor union called "National One." National One has taken great (if occasionally underhanded) strides to ensure it is the only powerful political lobby in place. Because of the impossibility of representing the diverse special interests of its membership, National One typically concerns itself with bettering the quality of life for all its' members which, as previously stated, is a sizable majority of the country. This typically manifests in improved infrastructure and boosted civic funding, since the majority of Khazanians are in favor of handling any affairs they can locally.
In Khazan the military and law enforcement are separate divisions of the same branch of government (a few National Law Enforcement officers actually rank above the nation's top generals.) Khazan's standing military has no draft law, but is bolstered by legions of mechanized drones. There is a rough equivalent of the GI Bill which helps those who have served to pay for college.
#13
Guest_Ivan_*
Guest_Ivan_*
-
- Guests
Posted 01 November 2009 - 11:49 PM
Another point of clarification: Although the free-market isn't really free at all, since the government's manipulation keeps a sort of status quo, the market does resemble the laissez-faire system on a certain microcosmic level.
Or, as a good friend of mine pointed out:
"Realize that the US and state governments are not constrained from being market participants. see, e.g., public universities. That (Khazan) uses their public funding and muscle to bolster competition might be considered socialism light or enhanced capitalism, but it implies the opposite of laissez faire. Adam smith talked about the "invisible hand" of the market -- here you have the very palpable hand of the government slapping the invisible hand."
(dibs on the term "The Palpable Hand" for a character name, by the way.)
Or, as a good friend of mine pointed out:
"Realize that the US and state governments are not constrained from being market participants. see, e.g., public universities. That (Khazan) uses their public funding and muscle to bolster competition might be considered socialism light or enhanced capitalism, but it implies the opposite of laissez faire. Adam smith talked about the "invisible hand" of the market -- here you have the very palpable hand of the government slapping the invisible hand."
(dibs on the term "The Palpable Hand" for a character name, by the way.)
#14
Guest_Ivan_*
Guest_Ivan_*
-
- Guests
Posted 02 November 2009 - 10:22 PM
Keep 'em coming. They don't have to be specifically about the government of Khazan. Ask all kinds of things!
#15
treacherous
-
- Administrators
-
- 15,493 posts
Good...Bad...I'm the guy with the Hammer
- Gender:Male
- Location:In front of the T.V. mostly
- Interests:Stuff and stuff.
Posted 05 November 2009 - 05:02 PM
What's the military look like in comparison to other nations? Is there strength in numbers (China), technology/money (America), Terror attacks (Middle Eastern countries) or something else? Who are the chief superhero team? Are they government sponsored?
#16
Shilane
-
- Members
-
- 154 posts
SPOOOON!
- Gender:Female
- Location:Arcadia
- Interests:Drawing comics and pinups. At times, writing. Being a Spriest. Stuff. Mr. Graves <3
Posted 06 November 2009 - 02:11 AM
Even though they're generally considered socialist and all, how much does affluence affect one's status? Is there major classism? Would money earn one more respect than say an honourable family history? How do they feel about the nouveau riche? I guess I'm mostly curious about what would gain someone status in general by Khazanian standards.
#17
The Seeker of Stuff
-
- CBUB Character Admin
-
- 225 posts
Captain Wonderful
- Gender:Male
- Location:Nashville, TN
Posted 06 November 2009 - 10:10 AM
What are the biggest sports in the country?
#18
Guest_Ivan_*
Guest_Ivan_*
-
- Guests
Posted 06 November 2009 - 04:45 PM
What's the military look like in comparison to other nations? Is there strength in numbers (China), technology/money (America), Terror attacks (Middle Eastern countries) or something else? Who are the chief superhero team? Are they government sponsored?
Super Important Note: After the St. Lucius accords (see previous posts,) the major powers went a little meta- crazy. The entire world is somewhat deadlocked in a Metahuman Cold War, although virtually every nation on earth has given up any ideas of conquest in the past fifty years- everyone seems resigned to solidify their current holdings. Any act of willful aggression would invite reprisal from an untold number of various enemies, and this Unilaterally Assured Destruction has resulted in what most people consider the closest realistic possibility to actual world peace. Strangely enough, in the past ten years most of the superpowers have begun the slow march toward cautiously dismantling the more obvious aspects of their military strength. Day to day life in most countries resembles its 21st century real-life analogue (at least to a point.)
Having said that…
The (former) Soviet Union still collapsed in 1991, largely due to a philosophical rift between the privileged state-sponsored metas called Cheka (referred to unflatteringly in Western Media as "the Oligarchy") and a small number of powerful metahuman Communist idealists called the Novaya Oprichnika (similarly known to western countries as "N.O." or "Naysayers.") Since the collapse, the Novaya Oprichnika has claimed the irradiated Chernobyl region in Ukraine as their home (a point of pride, as membership in the N.O. requires the ability to survive there.) Cheka has lost a good deal of international credibility due to largely ineffective actions against them. Both sides still talk a good game though, and both have enough power to seriously threaten other countries if their interests are ever directed internationally. As such, a noteworthy portion of US espionage funding goes to keeping these guys at odds with one another as well as with the neighboring Chinese. The current Russian military is dotted with a few metahuman commanders supported by vast legions of heavily armed mundane troops on the eastern front and a single powerful Cheka member codenamed Tvadok on the Chinese front. Tvadok commands an army of thinking stone golems of his own creation. Obviously, Tvadok is a lynchpin of the Russian military strategy and is kept hidden in a secret bunker in Siberia, the location of which is known only to him and the handful of powerful psychics who guard him. The two-front pissing contest keeps the Russians busy for the time being.
China's strategy, somewhat in keeping with their Communist ideology, is in collecting metas who have the equivalent of "buffs," that is those who can increase the basic abilities of their soldiers. As a result of applied sorcery, cybernetics, steroids, gene-therapy, martial arts training, and a brutal daily regimen the average Chinese soldier is stronger, faster, tougher, and more combat specialized than any soldier in history. The sheer numerical limitations of this process mean China actually has the smallest standing army of any major world power. In all likelihood it is also the most powerful. Uniquely powered metahumans whose abilities cannot be shared or duplicated are often pitted against Chinese soldiers in training exercises, with the intention of making this army the best prepared to fight outside metahuman forces. This is a notoriously deadly practice for all involved, and frighteningly effective. The Chinese Army is fiercely indoctrinated with propaganda (the same could be said for US troops, although the approach is more subtle.) The Chinese Navy and Air Force are as vast as ever, and supported by five mythical Dragons, whose mere presence is enough to rally the country's flagging nationalism in the face of rampant social injustices. In between patrolling the Russo/Chinese border and boosting local morale, the Five Dragons work stridently to maintain a psychic shield that makes espionage and satellite surveillance next to impossible. The US in particular divests a good deal of time and energy into attempts to simultaneously undermine and duplicate this effect. For the time being, however, China's secrets remain steadfastly her own.
America, for it's part has spent a pretty fortune collecting and keeping some of the most powerful metas on earth, a team which views itself as a global police force (Team America, anyone?) American heroes are revered with celebrity status. As a result of this paparazzi obsession, many of their weaknesses are widely known and publicized. This has become something of an issue lately. The American military is known for its ranks of armored marines, each one a walking arsenal in his own right. A late 70's secret government program helped partially unlock the mysteries of America's innate sympathetic magic. The effects of this are undeniably powerful (if extremely vague,) although a noticeably unexpected side effect of this is that the country, on whole, keeps subconsciously trying to gravitate toward the idyllic postwar 1950's. This has had a measurable (and somewhat schizophrenic) effect on national psychology, and is blamed for everything from the current generational rift to the US coming in a distant third to Khazan and Japan in terms of technology. America maintains a large and powerful armed forces including the traditional Army, Navy, and Air Force units. Additionally, any of the high tech armored Marines are technically allowed to "earn" various upgrades (such as flight) by passing a series of stringent tests. A major reason for the difficulty of these tests is that the upgrades are expensive and even at the current 96th percentile test standard the government is having trouble meeting the demand. American intelligence, counter-intelligence, digital countermeasures (state-sponsored hackers,) and psi-ops are the most extensive and advanced in the world, although certain nations like China and England are still able to effectively safeguard most of their national secrets.
Aside from these three countries, most other nations of the world, including Japan, Canada, Khazan, and most of the European Union have a largely untested standing army comprised mainly of semi-intelligent robots. This strategy has proved questionable in the past, as mass-produced soldiers can obviously all share the same glaring weakness. This is compensated for in various ways, from those as simple as moving vital components every ten thousand units produced (India, France, Germany) to continuously coming up with updated models (Japan, Sweden) to a clever focus on self-repair (Canada, Australia) to simply painting the robots different colors and claiming all of the above (Pakistan, Iran, others.) One notable exception to the robot craze is the UK. British military strategy is paper thin, at least on the surface. It appears that there is only a small team of Government-sponsored metahumans, kept busy dealing with local issues. In reality the country is almost entirely run by a large consortium of hidden psychics whose names are unknown even to one another, and whose plans, meetings, and decisions are entirely untraceable. They move among the populace, hidden from view, a cabal of puppet masters indistinguishable from the rest of society. The rest of the world is aware of this, on an ancillary level, but even the wildest conspiracy theories only ever scratch the surface.
Khazan's own robotic military falls somewhere between the Japanese and Canadian strategies (with a healthy dose of the American battle-suit mentality for many of its human soldiers.) Intelligence suggests it has the world's fifth most powerful psi-force (counting the Chinese Dragons, Britain, America, and Russia.) Khazan is home to the United Nations; it bears the responsibility of hosting Everyone Else, and as such has made a pointed diplomatic effort not to keep its military on display. In one method of thinking every man, woman, and child is theoretically a member of Khazan's military force. In a (diplomatically necessary) logical contravention of that, Khazan has no military except in time of war, it merely employs a rather large number of specialized law enforcement personnel. Within the city of Khazan, the KPD has the most extensive training in combat against metahumans of any police or military force in the world (outside China.) Khazan is internationally renowned as something of a haven for those seeking a fresh start, specifically metahuman criminals, although the country's reluctance to extradite those seeking asylum is definitely an international sticking-point.
Another Super Important Note to consider: In strictest terms, there are fewer than 2,000 true metahumans worldwide. Of those, less than twenty are at or above Superman level, and three fourths of those are already spoken for. (Tvarok is one of them. You will meet a few more when the first official cannon FPL fic is posted.) The number of "enhanced humans" is close to two hundred thousand, nearly half of which are members of the Chinese Army.
Of course, there are Gods and Other Things that don't fall within the bounds of the FPL power spectrum. These things, by their very existence, threaten our ability to tell a decent story and it is easier to just ignore them for now.
As a reiteration of the previously mentioned Super Important Note, "Day to day life in most countries resembles its 21st century real-life analogue (at least to a point.)" Except for along the Chinese/Russian border, and a few other historically embattled places (Afghanistan, The West Bank, some Balkan States, Sudan, etc) military power is not immediately apparent. The world's peace may be predicated on the somewhat uneasy notion that a minor international disagreement could theoretically End It All, but the vast majority of power in the world is arrayed against that possibility.
For personal reasons (as in the unrevealed plot first official FPL cannon story,) I don't want to get into the chief superhero team just yet.
#19
Guest_Ivan_*
Guest_Ivan_*
-
- Guests
Posted 06 November 2009 - 05:38 PM
Even though they're generally considered socialist and all, how much does affluence affect one's status? Is there major classism? Would money earn one more respect than say an honourable family history? How do they feel about the nouveau riche? I guess I'm mostly curious about what would gain someone status in general by Khazanian standards.
In Khazan specifically, being a metahuman is the surest mark of status. If there is any sense of classism, it exists in the subconscious national opinion that superpeople are somehow better than regular people. Your average Khazanian would look at your funny if you accused him of this outright, but the thought is still there tucked in at the edges of society.
Money is viewed as a means to an end, and the possession of large amounts of money isn't noteworthy unless you DO something with it. Patronage of various non-profits and research institutions is hugely popular, and the wealthiest Khazanians tend to collect charities instead of cars or houses. Most money in Khazan is New Money, with the exception of a few of the historic trading companies. There isn't enough "old money" for the distinction to mean anything.
The surest way to gain status by Khazanian standards is to graduate with a degree in one of the sciences and then invent something useful. Patents are not only lucrative, they're a powerful mark of social standing.
#20
Guest_Ivan_*
Guest_Ivan_*
-
- Guests
Posted 06 November 2009 - 05:57 PM
What are the biggest sports in the country?
Khazan and Canada are home to the only two sports leagues that allow enhanced and metahuman participants. Both leagues play a version of rugby with amended rules, and an intraleague championship has been popular for the last decade.
Although there are no scholastic sports leagues in Khazan, club leagues exist for (in order of popularity) Soccer, Basketball, and Swimming.
A popular game among Khazanian youth (imported from Japan) involves the use of a holographic projector and specialized card decks. Players use the information on the cards to field a specialized team of combatants and/or alter the rules of the game. Holographic projections play the game out in real time, presumably to amuse any spectators. This game is extraordinarily popular among adolescent males.
0 user(s) are reading this topic
0 members, 0 guests, 0 anonymous users
