Epilogue: United Forenia
It is February, 1936. The dust has mostly settled since the Battle of the Embassy. As word spread of High Command's willingness to betray their trusted generals, spies and engineers as scapegoats for the war, soldiers turned to the rebel faction. People directly loyal to High Command themselves renounced their loyalty when High Command was killed- the charisma and leadership of High Command depended on a steady stream of propaganda and scapegoats, and the scapegoat supply had been dwindling rapidly since the end of the war. A few nationalists have continued fighting, but they have retreated to the mountains and remote places. The Arstotzkans are led by a former engineer who escaped from prison, and the Moskurgs by one of the old generals. To most of Forenia, though, these are just crazy people in the hills. Civilians are becoming comfortable with the idea of peace, and soldiers have begun returning home to begin the rebuilding process. Much of former Moskurg's territory is in ruins, and Arstotzka's economy is spread thin from pouring all available resources into weapons, and every man that can be spared into the army. There is little government though, the Rebels mostly served to evict High Command without a strong plan from there. Moskurg citizens have returned to Moskurg territory and Arstotzkan citizens to Arstotzkan territory, with only the beginnings of a trade system between the two population centers.
Civilian Life
As both nations rebuild, technology is naturally spreading between them. Travel on the damaged road and rail system in central Forenia can be trying, but some merchants make great sums of money bringing things back and forth. Moskurg (now simply North Forenia, all the use of Moskurg and Arstotzka to describe the continent's two major cities persists) has enjoyed the use of gas grills since shortly after flamethrowers became common on the front lines, and Moskurg citizens cook kebabs, seafood and American-style hamburgers and sausage in their yards under the warm sun. Gas is beginning to see use in Arstotzka as indoor heating. Moskurg's civilian sector also manufactures the best radios, batteries, telescopes and lenses on Forenia, all of which is highly desirable in Arstotzka. Moskurg also has seen the invention of several varieties of mechanical calculator for business and scientific use, which are highly sought after throughout the continent. Moskurg's fine kitchen cutlery is exported to Arstotzka and countries outside of Forenia. Arstotzka's motor vehicles are regarded as the best in Forenia, and Moskurg's citizens eagerly buy them up when they are available in favor of Moskurg knock-offs (with the exception of the Tiger truck). Arstotzkan fireworks and rockets are a very popular import in Moskurg, a staple at parties. Most aircraft in use are of Arstotzkan design.
Radio broadcasting has begun to grow into a business in Forenia, complete with advertisements, and music not written with the express goal of glorifying national leaders. Astronomy has grown into a popular hobby, and Forenian astronomers (not to mention those in the rest of the world) are fascinated with nothing more than AS-SS1935X, The Star in Front of the Moon. After its launch, the formerly secret Rocket Club had eagerly told the world about their near-achievement. Now Forenians speculate about the nature of the craft and its crew- could they have survived the forces in the launch? How much food, water and air can you really fit into a spacecraft that size? When you look at it through a telescope, can you see movement through a porthole, or is it just a trick of the light? These questions might never be answered, the Rocket Club has had no success finding the resources to build another rocket without a central government to take it from the people, and everything is a bit scarce as cities are rebuilt from rubble. The massive amounts of surplus weaponry has led to shooting sports, hunting, and such all being popular for Forenian civilians. Crimes like armed robbery often turn into shootouts with automatic weaponry, or even tanks. Collateral damage (from violent crime or drunken tank joyrides) is a common occurrence. Law enforcement is largely carried by community-appointed sheriffs, vigilantes and mercenaries. Surplus weapons have found their way all over the world into unscrupulous hands, unregulated by any real government, and Forenia gains an international reputation as an arms dealer to pirates, mercenaries and gangsters.
The Outside World
Japan left the League of Nations after their embarrassment with the invasion of Manchuria. Hitler's Nazi Germany is gaining power, and even now his AS-AR34-armed soldiers are marching into the Rhineland in violation of the Treaty of Versailles. Most of the western world is still reeling from the great depression, the United States especially, where the dust bowl rages. Some people come to Forenia to help rebuild, or to make money buying surplus weapons and selling them internationally. Their cost or benefit to Forenia is hotly debated, and as has been historically the case, these arguments are occasionally settled with flamethrowers. Stalin is making steady changes to Russian society, building industry and purging everyone who looks at him funny.
A New Constitution
All of this leads up to the important bit: The former Rebel Alliance has gathered to draft a constitution for the new government of United Forenia. The nation is in need of leadership to keep its populace safe, build roads and rails and runways, provide services like police, firemen and hospitals, and regulate trade and immigration, among other things. The people know this, and are supportive of leadership from the people who helped orchestrate the downfall of the old High Command. There are many questions to be answered though- What form will the leadership take- a parliament, a presidency, or something else? The judicial system? How will taxes be gathered, and what civic services will be controlled by the government? This concerns not just traditional things like power and police and transportation, but also education, scientific research, social security and health regulations on those American hamburgers people are importing. How big of an army should be kept, and should cities keep militia? Will immigrants require passports that become increasingly complicated with each day? Perhaps more importantly, how will new laws be made and the constitution be amended?
It falls, in part, to you to draft a new constitution for United Forenia. If you did not die (or hell, even if you did, you could justifiably be a different character), and wish to return to Forenia, you may write a constitution, propose changes, and vote in favor one. As one of High Command's "guilty parties", Engineers are welcome at the drafting table. However, it is not only you voting. The generals and spies are present, as well as governors, businessmen, rebel leaders, and some other people you don't immediately recognize. Some of them have expressed interest in passing a constitution sooner rather than later. Therefore, a constitution may be passed without a majority of player votes, provided the other people present like it. When the constitution is passed, it will affect the nature of Forenia (either in great detail or abstractly) in future forum games, should I in fact do a future forum game in the setting.
I will watch the thread for the next week or so and pick out a constitution with majority votes, or that I like, when I feel like it. I might not even come back to this setting. Maybe I'll do something where players run a business instead of an army, competing for market share in manufacturing guns, cars or what-have-you. We shall see.
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Topic: Arms Race, OOC [Completed] Now with Arms Race III, against another forum! (Read 217547 times)