Map Thread XIV
- Thread starter MorningDew
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Jcw3
Banned
Poorly, but better than in OTL. More cultural oppression than smallpox blankets, and often deportation so that the whites can get at the good land. There have been quite a few populations devastated by disease (and well-meaning but incompetent responses to that devastation), but overall, there will probably be more First Nations in Canada and the Americas than in OTL. In a few hundred years, there won't be much left of the native cultures, but there will be a noticeably browner/redder tint to the humans in Canada/the middle Americas.
The Arctic tribes are supposed to have autonomy, but American corporations are using that autonomy as a convenient way to exploit the area without Washington noticing.
They are colonizing Siberia. I just haven't finished anything outside of the Americas and Europe yet. I mentioned this, didn't I?
Thank you.
Americans weren't especially interested in empire building at the time. I think the compromise American society would reach is 'everything from Baffin Island to Ecuador is ours, keep the rest down, take a few useful places to exploit'. That's what I've been doing. Honestly, I think 1940 US would just be ecstatic they didn't have to worry about the commies, japs, or the nazis anymore, so I just drew what I think would be a more realistic American response rather than 'FREEDOM FOR EVERYONE!'.
France and Spain were supposed to be divided and occupied, but that project is being slowly abandoned. France is now a loyal ally, Castile is a grumbling neutral. The rest, well, Uncle Sam says frog, they jump into the stratosphere.
Poorly, but better than in OTL. More cultural oppression than smallpox blankets, and often deportation so that the whites can get at the good land. There have been quite a few populations devastated by disease (and well-meaning but incompetent responses to that devastation), but overall, there will probably be more First Nations in Canada and the Americas than in OTL. In a few hundred years, there won't be much left of the native cultures, but there will be a noticeably browner/redder tint to the humans in Canada/the middle Americas.
The Arctic tribes are supposed to have autonomy, but American corporations are using that autonomy as a convenient way to exploit the area without Washington noticing.
They are colonizing Siberia. I just haven't finished anything outside of the Americas and Europe yet. I mentioned this, didn't I?
Thank you.
Americans weren't especially interested in empire building at the time. I think the compromise American society would reach is 'everything from Baffin Island to Ecuador is ours, keep the rest down, take a few useful places to exploit'. That's what I've been doing. Honestly, I think 1940 US would just be ecstatic they didn't have to worry about the commies, japs, or the nazis anymore, so I just drew what I think would be a more realistic American response rather than 'FREEDOM FOR EVERYONE!'.
France and Spain were supposed to be divided and occupied, but that project is being slowly abandoned. France is now a loyal ally, Castile is a grumbling neutral. The rest, well, Uncle Sam says frog, they jump into the stratosphere. I haven't finished Siberia yet. Didn't you guys read where I said only the Americas and Europe were done?
The Americans needed a useful patsy for keeping control of Europe, since they didn't feel like continuing to expend the manpower and resources on occupying most of Central/Eastern Europe. Austria gleefully volunteered. They're probably tied with the Philippines (please note that Asia has not been started yet) as the second most powerful nation on Earth.
In the year Twenty-One Sixteen,
If seas are mostly clean,
If skies lack poison-green,
They may have seen...
(the same map, with a size increase of 300%)
If seas are mostly clean,
If skies lack poison-green,
They may have seen...
(the same map, with a size increase of 300%)
1) As the world was plunged into madness, the Haitian populace was divided between asking the Loa or Bondye for help. Those preferring Bondye won, and, of course, began their worship with the sacrifice of those Haitians who preferred the Loa. Surprisingly, the Haitians didn't go extinct - as surely should have happened, judging by their population numbers - but instead, went on to build a functional enough nation. The Vodouist Sèvitè does know one peculiarity; any and all of its inhabitants live in fear of the Grand Old Elephants that apparently caused the apocalypses to happen.
2) Madmaxico isn't really one nation, but then, it is no nation at all; clans of tribal warriors are in charge, the remnants of the cartels of old. The cartels, that switched from selling drugs to selling oil and nuclear materials, and that now drive around in highly unstable constructs resembling buggies, running mostly on oil (there are some with hydrogen-powered, coal-powered, or even nuclear engines though). Oil is recyclable, leading to an infinite source of oil - theoretically, for this process takes a year at the very least, and it is rather uncommon for an oil recycling tower to not be damaged during raids and attacks, which are daily occurrences. One would hope they could export this technology eastwards, to the old world, but all Madmaxico knows is that there's a deadly jungle to the south and barren desert and unending waters to the west and east.
3) Montazano and his Acolytes are perhaps the most powerful tribe of Madmaxico, actually somewhat interested in safeguarding infrastructure, constructing highways, and establishing a facsimile of a government.
4) They are on the verge of discovering that Madmaxico isn't the only one that inhabits the barren desert-continent; the Emergency Government of America has survived in high-tech fallout shelters and has started dwelling on the surface again, scavenging through the rubble and ruins of old cities, with Geiger counters in their hands. The scarcity of water has become a problem, so they're heading into the direction of the Great Lakes - pity that the Great Lakes have dried up.
5) On Bermuda, the Old World's brightest scientists are kept alive - well, some died, and that may have been a blessing, but most are centuries old and still alive - and working on reverting the apocalypses that befell the world. The Noosphere has been particularly interesting to them, and for some reason, they all have an urge to travel to Chernobyl, strongly believing that the answer to all their problems lies there.
6) With the recent increase in Colombians fleeing northwards, from island to island, trade between Havanagadime and Colombia has increased. The Pyromancers of Havanagadime are now eagerly using Madmaxico's knowledge of petroleum and oil to develop incendiary weapons for export - they don't ask much, only the odd human now and then to feed to the volcanoes.
7) Colombia invaded Venezuela and did pretty well afterwards, selling slaves (mostly Venezuelans) to Havanagadime and Madmaxico, and having a jolly time with piracy and tropic beaches. A piece of the Old World surviving in the New World.
8) Venezuela, on the other hand, is enclosed by massive electrical fences (that barely ever have any charge), and Venezuelans live in constant fear of 1) the Forest and 2) Colombia. Colombia provides Venezulea with food and weaponry (never enough by far to threaten Colombia), so that Colombia doesn't have to worry about the Forest. A symbiotic relationship, and one that is threatening to fall apart; in mere weeks, the Forest took over half of Venezuela and even parts of Colombia. Both countries have no idea what to do about this, but Colombian pirates and privateers have all been ordered to acquire napalm and nuclear material at any cost.
9) Eden is an example of human technology exploiting the new natural world... Sort of. Initially, Eden - and indeed, most of Ameridosul (South America) - consisted of many thousands of small tribes, hunting and gathering, and, more often than not, being killed by the treacherous tropical rainforest that had conquered almost the whole continent. Eden scientists now suspect the Forest is actually a sentient organism, consciously growing human-eating plants, consciously creating traps to trap humans in, and consciously spreading itself by seeding areas with spores. Before scientists could come to this conclusion, however, the profession of 'scientist' needed to exist - and really, hunter-gatherer tribes don't have scientists as a rule. It is suspected that, deep within the Forest, lay the ruins of a forgotten top secret military base, by the name of Castelobruxo. And within this top secret military base, lay a highly advanced - but perhaps not human-level? - AI. And when the Forest met this AI... Well, who knows what happened - but the AI attained sentience, sapience, consciousness, and other such fancy terms, and all that on a level slightly more advanced than humanity.
For reasons unknown, this AI was and is - seems to be, say conspiracy theorists - hostile against the Forest. In mere decades, the first force fields walled off small settlements, evaporating the Forest's spores. In a few more decades, brightly blue pulsating domes cloaked towering megacities amidst vibrant green wilderness. Eden, under the guidance of O Presidente João Henrique Eden - the AI - was a continental superpower, and was rapidly conquering the Forest. Well, 'rapidly'... The megacities are extremely efficient, and that, combined with the tiny human populace - what do you expect, after an apocalypse and after living in a human-hunting rainforest - means that there aren't even a dozen megacities across all of Eden. Most of these megacities are surprisingly quiet and empty even - it is possible to spend a day without meeting anyone else - yet these cities still house a few million people in total. The result of Eden's efficient planning and construction of gigantic towering cities.
10) It is likely that Eden has started breeding programs to further populate his lands. He has certainly started acting differently; his expansion southwards consists of primitive villages, not constructed of shining white metal, nor completely domed in by force fields, but instead, tropical hardwood and haphazardly constructed small force field walls. He also lets humans run these settlements, instead of imposing his own highly efficient and coldly utilitarian will upon the inhabitants (not that life is bad per se in the megacities... Think of a benevolent-ish-ish absolutely totalitarian surveillance state). Some humans have actually moved out of the megacities to found their own small settlements, and Eden has assisted in this by constructing small force field walls - sometimes. Indeed, this desire for freedom and independence is spreading quite rapidly in the southern parts of Eden. This does make people suspicious, however; is Eden 'dying', has he 'lost his mind', or, what is his plan? But God's - Eden's - plans are unknowable to mere humans, of course, say his adherents (although these same adherents would posit that Eden is trying to spread humanity through the continent, so as to completely defeat the Forest, and indeed, defeat nature herself). Conspiracy theorists talk about experiments with spores and mutations, and about finding the optimum mix of liberty versus security, based on an old quote, as something to stave of boredom.
11) But Eden isn't alone in Ameridosul, far from it; in the more hospitable parts, where the Forest isn't as thick and dense, and hasn't penetrated as far, lies... That is a good question. There is no real name for this place, but it is often called the Borderlands, and in older times, it was known as the Refuge. Here, thousands - perhaps even a few million - of humans survive in tribes and clans, living life much like the tribes that lived there many centuries ago. Almost nude, perhaps clothed in some leaves or bright coloured plants, armed with bamboo pipes and venomous arrows - oh, and 'molotov cocktails'. Turns out the Forest has produced a lot of inflammable substances that can be used to quickly ignite large swathes of the Forest. This is how the humans here carve out a refuge for themselves, even though Eden is by now a far safer refuge, of course. Well, except for the various rumours and conspiracy theories; breeding, abduction, experiments... Curious that these rumours only become more and more common. Regardless, some kind of extremely convoluted tribal council is in place, with many, many, many sub-sub-sub-sub-sub-sub-sub-sub-sub-you get the idea-divisions, so as to make governing such a chaotic and fluid area consisting of thousands of tribes somewhat possible. Democracy is the lifeblood of the people here - democracy and fire. And sometimes, the people have a bit too much of one, the other, or both, and anarchy and tribal warfare ensues.
12) To the east, coming from far farther east, the Congolese Cleansing Contingent has fortified itself. Wearing thick metal armour - power armour, though without power - and wielding gargantuan weapons almost impossible to lift by normal humans, they have escaped the horrors of the Congolese forest and now seek to stop the Brazilian forest. They will undoubtedly succeed, with their liquid nitrogen sprayers, their handheld napalm artillery, and whatnot. It's just a pity all those humans are in the way. I mean, a few million casualties are no problem if it means that the Forest is exterminated, but their weaponry and ammunition is very limited. As is their manpower, and worse, they have split up in three groups. Though they haven't resorted to fighting each other, and it is very unlikely that that will happen, one does wonder how a few hundred 'super soldiers' can withstand a few million - and another few million after that - 'regular humans'. Some few tribes have joined the CCC though; in one case, the existing tribes merged and acquired a few CCC soldiers for heavy firepower, and in the other case, a few tribes were basically regulated to cleaning duties because the CCC had little use for them. Oh, and a bunch of CCC soldiers officially aligned themselves with the Borderlands and opted to become part of the convoluted democratic governmental process.
13) To the south is a wholly different contingent of African soldiers; from Angola, and they come in peace. Not to fight the Forest, but to settle down and live a safer life. They do, however, supply their northern neighbours with napalm and explosives; bounding mines are surprisingly effective against the Forest, and Bouncing Betty is making a comeback under the name 'Angolan Air burst'.
14) The Silver Kingdom may occasionally wage a small war against the Falcon Kingdom (supposedly, the falcon is the archenemy of silver, and only by taking control of Falcon Island can silver conquer the falcon and bring peace and prosperity to all, or so the Silver Kingdom says - the Falcon Kingdom would say more or less the same, but with the roles switched), but all in all, these kingdoms of mountains and plains are perfectly fine at peace without inconveniencing themselves with the Forest, thank you very much.
15) The Falcon Island, origin of the Falcon Kingdom. Allegedly, there's a far larger island for to the north-east, by the name of Albion, where wonders undreamed of exist. And indeed; Old World mythology refers to an island known as 'Atlantis', which seems to be the very same island.
16) The Kingdom of the Iron Mountain views itself as superior to the other mountain kingdoms, since they have stable relations with Eden, and have acquired quite some juicy technology and information from there, leading to this kingdom quickly becoming the wealthiest of all kingdoms (and still growing wealthier ever on).
17) The Kingdom of the Sunlit Terraces views itself as superior to the other mountain kingdoms, since they descend from the very first mountain-dwellers; the Inca, who, clearly, were 'in ca', 'in mountains'. They have decided to seek a closer relationship with the Kingdom of the Iron Mountain, so that the two of them together can counter the influence (and military power) of the Silver Kingdom. If only they could secretly contact the Falcon Kingdom.
18) Ecuador survives on the Galápagos Islands. Daring raiders sail to the old homeland to gather the necessary supplies (and sometimes people, but that really ticked off the Kingdom of the Sunlit Terraces, so Ecuador quickly discouraged that). The forest is less deadly here (although it is darker and scarier), and there are small communities of Ecuadorian raiders that permanently live there. The Kingdom of the Sunlit Terraces supports them occasionally, for they prefer not having to deal with the Forest.
19) A convenient place to dump inconvenient people on a personal use basis, be they your in-laws or the guy who just tried to murder you. Sometimes someone organises something akin to the Hunger Games for the whole population, as there are roughly a hundred people here at any given moment.
20) Many important business(wo)men, government officials, and scientists fled towards 'here'. There is no official name for this tropical (summer) and polar (winter) climate zone masquerading as a vaguely unified country, but the cabal secretly in power calls itself the Illuminate, and talks about the many aeons its Illuminate will last - so perhaps this 'country' could be called the 'Aeon Illuminate'? Sharks prowl the tropical summer waters and cut their way through the winter ice, while geysers and volcanoes, guarded by automated defence mechanisms such as cameras, machine guns, and lasers, provide warmth for humans. Warmth, and lairs to develop and execute evil mastermind plans, and dungeons to experiment without ethics and recover lost knowledge. 'Stereotypical Archvillain Land' would perhaps be a good name for this place - if only James Bond was alive.
21) No, Europa Universalis doesn't at all think it is outrageous to claim these lands; they're Europe! More or less... Those who live their lives in Europe travel by gigantic trains of ancient origin, now powered by coals, of which surprisingly many can be found in the mountains. Of course, only a handful of trains and train tunnels survive, so most actually travel by zeppelin. Zeppelins that are all too easily grabbed by the polar winds and crushed into the (literally) inhabitable icy wasteland. And, of course, though the zeppelins are as shielded from the elements as they can be, that isn't as perfect as one might wish for; don't take a zeppelin trip longer than 30 minutes, or you'll be frozen to death - 20 minutes if you want to be safe. However, inside the stone towers and pseudo-castles that dot the inhabited landscape of Europe, one is often save from the elements, with warm water flowing deep underground, bringing warmth - at least, if properly exploited - to the frozen wasteland above. Technology here very much resembles clockpunk and steampunk, but, speaking generously, Europe mostly resembles the high medieval period.
22) Portugal survives! Mind, it does so in isolation, as a primitive tribe, completely cut off from the rest of the world. And these islands aren't a sustainable habitat; give it a few decades, and these will be uninhabited islands. But for now, Portugal still survives!
23) The Alpine Republic split apart into Oport, Castij, Najvar, and Arajo. Extinct historians would note the appropriation of Portugal, Castille, Navarre, and Aragon. Clearly, descending into faux-nationalistic strife is the best path to choose when faced with an unnatural ice age; think of all the temperamental hotheads blowing off steam!
24) The Swiss Elective is a direct democracy - and as there is no way people are going to risk death by continuously travelling to Winterfell, the capital, to vote on every issue, the Emperor-Elect enjoys his semi-absolute monarchy.
25) As it turns out, the ancient House of Hamburg used to rule a world-spanning empire, and all that from Austria! Austria, backed up by the Swiss - curious how the Emperor-Elect is the Lord of the House of Hamburg - would now like to annex Hungary as the first step on the road of reclaiming lost glory. Figuring out how to weaponise the Icebreakers is tough, but it's pleasant work while munching on an ancient delicatesse known as the Habsburger.
26) Hungary and Poland were both extremely militarised states before the Old World ended. They were also both extremely authoritarian, nationalistic, and so on. With their aggressive prowess, they managed to secure a place on the mountaintops, and they're now close allies. South Hungary would like to import as many Polish and North Hungarian bodies as it could, for it fears the Swiss and the Austrians.
27) Yeah, there was no way some uppity gypsies and Yugoslavian sleeper agents were getting a spot here. The Italian Tetrarchy would be thè superpower in Europe, if only it could figure out how to communicate reliably with all three parts - not to mention the many city-states (or equivalents) that all seem to act independently of each other and of the greater Italian realm. The southern two parts are undergoing a most curious - and barely unnoticeable - population drain that seems to correlate with an increase in population of the Free Cities dotting the Mediterranean coast.
28) For some reason, Chernobyl and the area surrounding it survive in pristine condition, with bright green grass, polished walls, and an overall look that is just too clean, too shiny, and too perfect to be natural. Adventurers from both Europe and Asia brave many dangers to come to Chernobyl, to enjoy life away from the harsh realities they face every single day, and despite the perhaps volatile mix of people in Chernobyl, they have all been very quick to band together as brothers and sisters, treating each other as family - calling themselves the Monolith and Chernobyl their wish granter.
29) Russia retains a lot of her industrial knowhow, factories, resources, land, and more - she could be equivalent to perhaps even an early twentieth century society, if not for the all the ice. Slowly, the ice is pushing southwards, just as the snow and hail is becoming colder and more intense. In the past, one could sleep - that is, not move - for six hours without danger of freezing, provided one was wrapped up in thick furs. Now, in most of Russia, that has been reduced to three. Floes are slowly but surely closing Russia's access to the water, and as more and more resources are used for warmth, less and less remain for other purposes - in fact, less and less remain for future warmth, too; Russia will run out of resources in but a small few years. Unless Russia could get its hand on a practically infinite source of energy; nuclear energy from Chernobyl.
30) Nova Zembla? No zembla! Deep cracks appeared in the Earth (originating from Tunguska?), and soon, the entire region was flooded by ice cold water. It gets warmer as one goes south, but then, entire glaciers are also moving south (and east) - at a glacial pace, so there is no need for panic just yet... Or maybe there is.
31) Germany is the pariah state of Europe, having been the first to invade its supposed allies to ensure its survival. Well, they succeeded, and many followed into their footsteps (most failed), but still, Germany is a convenient scapegoat. This is also why Germany still exists; a scapegoat and an existential threat (that really isn't an existential threat, as both Germany and the Balkan Union know) are useful to keep around.
32) The abused (your mileage may vary) Balkan nations banded together to secure their own livelihood under the banner of the Balkan Union. On the upside; there aren't thàt many tensions between the many Balkan peoples (ignore the Bulgarian dictator literally making the events from 1984 reality; he's been cut loose from the Balkan Union). On the downside; the Ionian Sea is a permanent host to Italian and Balkan ships fighting each other.
33) All that is left of Greece, surviving solely by the grace and the goodwill of the Free Cities - and Greece knows the Free Cities can easily crush Greece should they want to do so. Well, that's what happens when you don't pay your debts. Nope, this ice has nothing to do with our invasi- ahem, intervention, to protect your citizens from tyranny and corruption, don't be silly Greece, be happy that you still exist.
34) Why did Constantinople get the works? That's nobody's business but the
35) Say, Turkey, you wanted to join the European Union? Deal! You don't want to anymore? Now that's quite a shame... Are you sure you fully grasp the consequences of rejecting our most benevolent offer?
36) Oh, the irony; a wholly different kind of Eurabia happened, with European refugees (refugee armies, refugee governments...) swarming the Middle-East. At least fundamentalist terrorism and sectarian violence has been ended, what with Europa Universalis installing itself on the backs of the native peoples. 'Europe' is now not so much a continent anymore as it is a universal value that needs to be spread; cooperation, respect, acceptance, celebrating differences... And this sort of works. Culturally speaking, it does work, but more-than-occasionally selfishness overrules this; there's a bit of shame over the atrocities committed when Europe moved into the Middle-East, but, hey, that's a bygone era, and otherwise they'd have died, so what else were they supposed to do? It's a dangerous balance though; Europe hasn't reverted to nineteenth century white man's burden, but Europe is a bit too happy to bother itself with the internal affairs of her neighbours - Europe has good intentions, and is far closer to a social democracy as we know it than to a far-right nationalistic state, but the path to Hell is paved by these very same good intentions. Still, although the region lacks any resources at all to fuel anything remotely similar to an industrial revolution, surprisingly many artefacts of the Old World have survived, and those powered by wind or sun, for example, are a great boon for the Middle-East, making it the most developed region of the planet.
37) Russia has managed to survive elsewhere too; from left to right, the former Caucasus is home to the Dichotomically Interpretive Republic, the Rational State of Rus, and Transhuman Kovkas. The first has put doublethink into practice, reasoning that the physical world and the mental world are different, and that, if there are mental benefits to 'lying' - a concept that doesn't exist, actually - than there is nothing wrong with it. For instance, it pleases the people to know that they can vote and live in a republic with fair laws and whatnot. Now, the physical world may be different, but in the mental world, this is certainly true. The Rational State of Rus rejects this separation of realities, and strives to instead quantify literally everything, so that it may make the most people as happy as they can be, as efficiently as possible. The Transhuman Kovkas isn't quite so extreme, and relies on a fully working AI from the Old World to assign values and to make certain decisions - not the definition of 'transhuman' people would have once expected. The EU lets these three states be, respecting their unique ideologies and identities, despite their somewhat belligerent attitude towards the EU.
38) While Europe was busy exterminating terrorists and securing its own
39) Iran also ensured its own survival by fulfilling Europe's every wish. Initially, Iran seemed to be the big winner of the Middle-East, what with the EU imposing itself utterly and completely upon large swathes of the Middle-East, and what with the Arabian peninsula being a hotbed of chaos and anarchy. A generation later, however, Iran faced its own turmoil, as pro-EU forces - genuinely pro-EU, not mere pragmatic pro-survival - clashed with nationalists, conservatives, and more. Spearheaded by a movement for transgender rights, fundamentalist Muslims (anyone wearing a hijab, really) were harassed and attacked (because hijabs are sexist - and those who pointed out the bigotry of that statement were also... 'dealt with'), and eventually, civil war broke out. The pro-EU movement won, partly because a lot of Iranians opted to flee southwards and establish the Muslim Shahdom of Media. The EU watched the civil war play out, uneasily attempting to reign in the senseless violence and needless vitriol of the pro-EU movement. This succeeded in the end, and as Iran 'normalised' itself, all was well as far as the EU was concerned.
40) The EU reclaimed a fair bit of land here. It is technically administered by the EU, but the day to day work is handled by Iran, and people would see it as an example of cooperation and friendship.
41) Afghanistan was one of the better off nations, with the vast majority of its populace entirely self-sufficient. This also meant that the global apocalyptic events had no real stabilising or unifying effect on the already unstable nation. Eventually, most of Afghanistan would come to be part of Iran, with the surviving rump state also acting on the guidance of Iran.
42) Media is a dual monarchy, ruled by the Ayatollah and the Shahanshah. It's a benevolent enough Muslim theocracy that looks like a realm straight out of Arabian Nights. While it is a theocracy, there's the never-tested and never-challenged presumption that any inhabitant is a devout Muslim, which is convenient for the less (or not at all) devout Muslims.
43) The Badawi, desert dwellers, cling to the Old World's Arabia. Men wearing black abayas, dancing deadly dances with scimitars, expert assassins and warriors, and women wearing white niqabs, armed with sweet charm and cunning, seeming innocence, and an arsenal of poisons, experts at surviving the brutal Arabian deserts. A terrorist attack on Ar Riyad obliterated most of the Saudi family, and guided by Europa Universalis, the Kingdom of Saudi-Arabia turned into the Republic of Arabia. Further guided by Europa Universalis, Arabia is seeking to reconquer part of its eastern territory, held by the nomadic Badawi who instigated this brutal terrorist attack.
44) When the Kingdom of Saudi-Arabia became the Republic of Arabia, some tiny few surviving members of the House of Saud fled to side with the Badawi, presumably to get on the throne of Arabia. Their independent Kingdom of Saudi-Arabia was built on lands gifted to them by the Badawi, but, to the Badawi's utter disappointment, it turns out this new House of Saud has no interest in trying to conquer Arabia, being merely interested in having the power to rule over others. A betrayal for a betrayal.
45) Al-Hijaz has always been famous for the two cities of Mecca and Medina. Now, it's famous for the two nuked cities of Mecca and Medina, which are still uninhabitable. Nobody (publicly) knows how this happened, but it must be noted that the Egyptian army was exceedingly quick in occupying this region. Slaves wearing Hazmat suits are constructing gigantic obelisks and pyramids now, to properly worship Ra and the glorious splendour of his bombs of instant sunshine - but how did Egypt get access to these weapons, let alone use them?
46) Khemi-Masr min Iteru-Piaro has an interesting name... Most people simply call it 'Egypt'. Egypt decided, pretty early on, to relocate southwards, where the Nile hadn't dried up so much (pity about Sudan and all). These days, it's an interesting blend of Coptic and Muslim practices slapped onto a highly ritualistic framework of pharaoh-worshipping. Ancient Egypt's religion is back, with far more formalised rituals and whatnot - dozens upon dozens, each day again - and deviation from this results in being whipped. Pyramid-shaped buildings are in vogue, slavery is perfectly fine so long as it's the government that does it - to maintain public infrastructure, of course - and Allah is clearly the same as Ra.
47) Israel and Palestine are close allies, sandwiched as they are between the Solar Empire of Asahra, Europa Universalis, and Arabia.
48) The Solar Empire of the Asahra is a shining example of human adaptability; they have turned the increase of desertification into their source of power, and now roam through deserts on gigantic Landships (aircraft carrier-esque constructs with tracked wheels and solar sails). They are mostly nomadic, growing food in greenhouses within their Landships, and getting energy from the many solar sails both on their Landships and built in the desert - these can also serve as 'petrol stations'. Despite their vast territory, they are lacking when it comes to population; another reason for their nomadic lifestyle. Life in the Solar Empire is quite harsh, what with being confined to the interior of a Landship for most of one's life; the desert is deadlier than ever. Aircraft docked on Landships guard the Solar Empire against any potential incursions, but most Landships are active in the south.
49) The so-called Free Cities that have sprung up on the Mediterranean coast are grudgingly tolerated by the Solar Empire. Or perhaps not so grudgingly; they open up trade opportunities with the remnants of old Europe, and that can only bring prosperity to the Solar Empire - well, one can hope. Still, a curious number of young men and women of Italian and Greek heritage find themselves in the Free Cities, escorted by muscular men angrily whipping these enslave- ahem, migrated people.
50) Spain - Al-Spagna - is trying to reclaim its frozen homeland, but with its reliance on deserts and solar technology, that doesn't seem to be a very likely prospect. Besides, Al-Spagna might as well be populated by medieval Berbers instead of Old World Spaniards; the resemblance with Old World Spain is all but gone, and the king is wondering whether to rename the Kingdom of Al-Spagna to the Caliphate of Al-Spagna.
51) The Kingdom of Morocco and the Free Saharan State both survived, the latter . Now, the latter is in control of much of Morocco's coast, as well as the Canary Islands, and by denying Morocco the fruits of the sea, the Free Saharan State has imposed a very effective population control on Morocco. Revenge for decades of oppression, glory to the Sahara, glory to the republic (fun fact; the Free Saharan State is only a republic to contrast itself with the Moroccan monarchy)!
52) The nations to the south, however, believe that the Solar Empire is actively encouraging desertification, and as such, war is frequent and skirmishes a daily occurrence. Mauritania and Mali survive in a more or less recognisable shape, though Mali was pressured into ceding land to the Unity to the south and to the Tuareg people to the north. By now, however, Azawad and Mali are close allies, with the Tuareg being perhaps the fiercest fighters against the Solar Empire; they are the ones who see their nation slowly succumb to the growing desert.
53) Whereas Europa Universalis has its origins in the warmongering of far-right nationalistic extremism (or, perhaps simply 'survival'?), a lot of Europeans found this to be rather vile and rejected the mass invasion of the Middle-East and all the death and destruction that followed. These Europeans, disgusted by the perversion of European values, eventually found themselves here. Some European countries had old colonies they could count on (and if not, they made sure they could count on them...), and others, well, certain areas were haphazardly set aside for almost all of the EU-countries, including Ukraine, and that was that. Almost nobody was prepared for the huge drop in living standards, and the idealistic views of peace and happiness quickly evaporated. The Unity - it wasn't a >European< Union anymore, after all - by and large sealed itself off from the outside world, and one wonders if they even recognise how prosperous they are in this world; the poverty of stereotypical Africa within a twenty-first century framework is better than a lot of other places. Liberia, where some of the USA's populace fled to, was included within the Unity, and Liberia has been the primary driver of trying to establish contact with 'the other EU' (something people'd prefer to forget about; what if they were right, what if they are now living a good life?) - but how, what with a gigantic desert and a frozen Europe in the way?
54) The Land of Eclipsed Dawn is extremely isolationist, up to the point that many people in Azawad have no idea anything exists to the east; for miles, the borders of this strange land are barren, blasted, scorched wasteland, as if an already lifeless desert was horribly nuked. Of course, none travel - and none can travel; they'd die - through this wasteland, but if they would, they might perhaps stumble upon signs of civilisation, such as rubble, the odd brick and log, and perhaps even the tiniest amount of weed clinging to life. They might even find secret entrances to an underground bunker complex, wherein a surprising amount of people survive in a most Spartan manner imaginable, driven by an insatiable desire for vengeance against their colonial masters that forced them underground. One day, they will turn the entire world into an irradiated desert, and all the Faranse people will pay for their merciless exploitation. You see, while they have just managed to reverse engineer an atomic bomb, their maps are two centuries out of date; they believe the French are in firm control of western Africa. Their hatred burns so deep that some find it preferably to have no children than to give birth to a white child - unfortunately, spending an entire life underground has a way of draining people of colour, leaving them a pale white... Leaving them just like the Faranse...
55) Nigerians either fled west, south to the islands of Cameroon, or to the halls of Death. Some would somehow survive and find themselves at the mercy of the Eclipsed Dawn - and those that survived the indoctrination they were subjected to, would continue to live in crushing hopelessness underneath their utterly obliterated homeland. However, the Nigerian wasteland was left in a slightly more hospitable state than that of the homeland of the Eclipsed Dawn, and in time, the barest of vegetation even started to grow. A handful of hunter-gatherer tribes now dwell on the surface, having emerged from their subterranean caverns, and some of them even retain memories passed to them from their ancestors of the world before the Eclipsed Dawn. As such, the Unity might soon receive visits from inhuman-looking creatures; pale, thin, hairy, able to survive on a hundredth of what a healthy human needs and with far regressed mental and emotional capabilities - the Eclipsed Dawn must be so proud of how it has driven human evolution in its subterranean lands.
56) The Jungle has made a bold attempt to spread even through the wastelands of Eclipsed Dawn - perhaps the first positive thing the Jungle has done; reintroducing a modicum of life to a land even Sauron wouldn't want to inhabit. While the Forest of Ameridosul isn't actively lethal for humans to inhabit, the Jungle spreads pheromones that cause humans to see colours brighter and brighter in the span of an hour, followed by dizziness, the imploding of one's eyes, the resulting loss of consciousness, and soon, death. No known cure exists.
57) The Central African Republic 'survives', in the sense that most of the country isn't quite entirely devoid of humans, though the total population barely reaches the two thousand. Still, with the Jungle forever growing ever so slowly...
58) Egypt might be able to help the Central African Republic - they did get their hands on a most interesting shipment of handheld napalm artillery thanks to Somali merchant-adventurers - but, as it turns out, these weapons are too heavy to be moved by humans alone. So while Egypt now has rolling wooden constructions with napalm cannons mounted on them, they are hardly mobile enough to aid the Central African Republic. They are, however, great as stationary weapons to fortify the Egyptian border against the Jungle - and if Somalia could find out whether there is any truth behind the existence of 'power armour' that allows humans to actually carry these gargantuan weapons...
59) The four Somali Merchant Republics are despotates where might makes right, and where so-called merchants and adventures - pirates and privateers - scour the shores for loot. Despite their internal turbulence, the four Somali states - which includes Djibouti - do mostly work together. Life is relatively well - for the early renaissance, at least - if one can find a good crew to grow rich with, and if one doesn't care too much about politics. Of course, the richest pirate lords inevitably attract those who would prefer if these pirate lords, these potential threats to their own power, would... Disappear.
60) Sudan (formerly South Sudan) has been alternately begging and threatening Egypt to help protect Sudan's borders. Threatened, because what's the worst Egypt could do? Invade Sudan? In which case Egypt would be directly responsible for Sudan's borders. Egypt has mostly complied though, not at all wanting the Jungle to cover even more of Egypt's own borders, but in the south-west of Sudan, the Jungle has started to grow regardless. Sudan has also begged and threatened Ethiopia and Somalia, but they have distanced themselves from the issue, preferring to watch as Sudan ever so slowly crumbles apart. Sudan is desperate, for it has seen how the Central African Republic is slowly being exterminated. But even if Ethiopia would have been inclined to help, it wouldn't be able to do so anyway.
61) Ethiopia is a hollow shell of what it once was, ever since all the Chinese labourers - and their knowledge - packed up and left the country. It now serves as a good training ground for Somali pirate lords seeking to improve their fighting on land, or simply for those seeking to carve out their own petty statelet (subservient to Somalia at large, of course).
62) Kenya has lost most of her heartland to the plundering Somali pirates, and would already be under the rule of a Somali lord or lady if they could agree to a 'fair' division of whom would control which part of Kenya.
63) Every so often, Congo announces the relocation of its borders, in line with how far the Jungle has advanced. Except that they're not in line at all, and it isn't rare for families to wonder how their loved ones are doing, not knowing that they have been long since swallowed by the Jungle.
64) Or evacuated to the lands down south, to the former Lake Victoria, which is now the last refuge of the fleeing Congolese. The actual Lake Victoria can be found just to the south. The only problem is that Warchief Bloodbathing Axe (of Burundi) and Warlord of the Thousand Slaughtering Spears (of Rwanda) keep enslaving the Congolese and keep encroaching upon their territory.
65) A free for all paradise for mercenaries, criminals, and in particular, the Somali pirates. These latter maintain hundreds of quasi-independent forts, all nominally under the authority of Somalia at large - enforced by a scavenged Chinese aircraft carrier, including airplanes and a very limited amount of fuel - and frequently conduct raids against each other. The most powerful are those who have instituted a feudal system, gaining indirect or direct control over important ports and passages. Congo has managed to leverage its former mineral wealth to at least buy some land - but when Congo's decidedly limited wealth runs out, will the Somali pirates come calling?
66) The Democratic People's Republic of Red Kongo hoped that Marxism-Leninism could solve all the world's problems. Now an army with a state - it's easier for the state if citizens can feed themselves by foraging in the fields, instead of relying on food production, which is non-existent - Red Kongo remains committed to solving all the world's problems by violent expansion and military invasion. Which works well against the disunited Somali pirates and against the more united but far less advanced Burundi warchiefs.
67) Tanzania - and later, Zambia - became somewhat of a safe haven for the East African Community as everything started to fall to pieces. Both Tanzania and Zambia are committed to democracy - though it is more similar to ancient Athens than to anything more modern - and they both have a surprisingly large populace, thanks to the flight of the East African Community. This also means they have a surprisingly large army, and so far, the Somali pirates haven't pushed their luck. But that can easily change.
68) Angola's wealth - in money, produce, and natural resources - allowed it to at least somewhat protect its citizens against the horrors that happened. Now an island fortress, Angola - or Angleland - stylises itself as a new England, busy with inventing galleons or frigates to colonise the new world. The first few voyages have been made already, by those whom would otherwise be put to death by the government for not adapting to 'English' culture well enough.
69) Angola's first colony. Imagine the surprise when Angola discovered humans - Congolese and Angolians - actually still clung to life here. But then, they were sitting on a military depot chock-full of napalm and liquid nitrogen. Some of them sailed off westwards, when Angola declared this statelet to be under its control.
70) Mozambique desperately tried to increase its food production - be it with farms or with fish - but when that was not as successful as desired, Mozambique opted to simply decrease its population. Now, the north is an extension of Tanzania and Zambia, for all intents and purposes, while the south is an extension of Zimbabwe. Considering the almost dichotomous opposition of these countries' ideals, Mozambique as one united nation isn't long for the world.
71) Zimbabwe and South Africa are rather well off, especially when compared to their northern neighbours. They leave each other alone, knowing that war between them would ruin them both. As such, Zimbabwe, busy trying to create the Empire of Great Zimbabwe, was forced to seek out another target for war, that being Namidia. Zimbabwe has also been in contact with the Red Khmer and Angola. The former is potential expendable manpower, but the latter is of a similar mind as Zimbabwe is. However, aside from their curious fetishation of 'English' culture, the Angolese seem to be a bit too benevolent, actually caring about living standards and survival and all, instead of maximising the resources the elite can enjoy. Must be their proximity to the Jungle - but perhaps Zimbabwe can teach them.
72) The Union of South Africa has abandoned its halfhearted attempts of propping up Namidia, and has now turned inwards. In specific, to the autonomous enclave meant for the warrior races - the Zulu, as they are collectively called - once freely intermingling with the rest of South Africa's populace, now segregated and trained from birth for nothing but war. On that note, a cache of Roman military books was recently unearthed.
73) This Somali pirate lady opted to set sail to unknown lands, so that she might rule her own islands without interference from others; it's not as if they'd know where she was. Now she is a big nuisance to Madagascar's fishing fleets, and looking to expand north-eastwards. She is also further proof of the wisdom of total isolation - though a select few South African traders are allowed entrance into Madagascar's waters, occasionally.
74) Many Indians fled to the Arabian peninsula. Initially, they tried to keep in contact with the Indian subcontinent that had torn itself off the mainland and started floating away, but as uncountable floodings washed over the land, and as a multitude of promptly-erupting volcanoes formed, the Arabian Indians quickly lost interest in their wandering former homeland.
75) Pakistan has done very well for itself, with most of the desert now as lush as the Indus river basin. Friendly ties with Iran, as well as the gradual moderation of the more fundamentalist Muslims, helped as well.
76) This nomadic tribe - they aren't a horde prone to war, relative to the others - is kept on a tight leash by Xizang, which doesn't want anything to hamper its efforts of attracting both Middle-Eastern and Chinese merchants, connecting these two worlds together.
77) Refugees from Turkmenistan live here, self-segregated from the fundamentalist Muslims that call for holy war against Afghanistan (and Iran) to liberate the oppressed populace from the infidel regime. Iran has been quietly asking the EU to do something about these extremists.
78) Tashkent - a surprisingly large port city, and also the name of the country it is the capital of - is an important trading partner of the EU, and profits greatly from it.
79) The western Kazaktar are slowly coming around to the idea of settling in permanent places and living of agriculture and fishing, seeing the (relative) riches Tashkent has accumulated, while the eastern Kazaktar wonder why they don't ride in and simply take the riches. Soon, the Kazaktar will undoubtedly split in two and wage war until one side is vanquished, as so many have done before.
80) A very rough - and probably inaccurate - indication of which lands belong to which nomadic tribe (or, horde). Some, such as the Ulanqabi to the north-east (coincidentally also the closest to an actual Mongolian successor state), are slowly becoming sedentary as they grow in power and land, while others, such as the Xinzhou to the south, have become mercenaries on the payroll of Dynasty of the Sea Dragon, which lacked a proper land force but had jade aplenty to pay with.
81) Xizang deserves special mention, having established an actual state - government, bureaucracy, a road network to be proud of - and will soon make trade between the Chinese states and the Middle-Eastern states flourish. If they can prevent war from touching their important roads slash trade routes. And if they can prevent the so-called Llamas from burning those who don't accept their religion... But they are mostly confined to the high mountains.
82) The Pagan Kingdom has done very well for itself, but the authoritarian rump state of Myamah has recently been in talks with the People's Empire of China - and they both are interested in taking Pagan down a notch. Pagan, meanwhile, has been trying - and failing - to send envoys to the Indian subcontinent, wondering if allies can be found there.
83) The People's Empire of China came to be because the ruling communist-in-name-only party of China reinstated an emperor for stability, as the whole world went to hell in a handbasket. That struck as decades went by, however, and now, there's a People's Emperor at the head of China. But China is troubled, with many soldiers and civilians defecting to the eastern Qing-King-Dom; they're tired of not getting paid, of not getting fed, of being entirely forgotten, as the gargantuan bureaucracy slugs on, trying to catch up on an ever-increasing backlog. Soon, the Qing-King-Dom may turn westwards and annex all of China.
84) The abandoned farmlands of half-starved and broken Vietnam were an easy target for the nascent Qing-King-Dom, back when it was little more than a collection of pirates and warlords.
85) The Shan Shan States are a vaguely Holy Roman-esque construct that is nominally allied to the People's Empire of China. Unfortunately, the promised bureaucratic reforms China would introduce to Shan Shan have been nothing short of disasterous, and seriously threatens to undo the entire nation.
86) While Thailand has managed to survive reasonably well, cooperating closely with Cambodia to the south, for some, 'reasonably well' isn't enough. As such, the Revolutionary Siamese Paradise was born to the north-west. To their credit, the Siamese version of communism has managed to avoid the worst that communism has to offer - but the growing influence of Myamah may be just enough for a potential Stalin to take charge.
87) Ho Chi Minh Paradise is modelled after the Revolutionary Siamese Paradise, but paradoxically enough, operates under a somewhat capitalistic economy; the trade from Khmer - from Indonesia and India - is too attractive to pass up on. One day, Ho Chi Minh VII - the current Chairman - will take back the lost Vietnamese lands, but for now, trade with the Qing-King-Dom is also quite attractive. Ho Chi Minh VI said the same, and likely, Ho Chi Ming VIII will say the same as he fosters a more capitalist culture.
88) The Khmer people created an ethno-state with free citizenship to anyone who looks Khmer-ish. Citizenship comes with a welfare state - or, what could pass for one in medieval-esque lands - and so, there's always a healthy supply of people interested in proving their 'Khmerness'. However, to be entitled to these benefits, one has to be part of at least three 'important' (decided by the Council of Vishnu) trade or exploration missions. This has resulted in the rapid ascent of Khmer as an important nation,.
89) India blocking the ocean currents will have all kinds of 'fun' effects - but then, Africa has been opened up as well. Though India will not only have an effect on the currents, but also on the air; mustard gas and other such substances have just been invented, and a three-way war may soon erupt again, the last continent-wide war having ended but a decade ago. The people on the subcontinent India are of a technological level roughly comparable to the nineteenth-century. More and more Somali pirate lords arrive in Indian ports to trade for knowledge, such as how to produce gunpowder. The Indian states, meanwhile, have absolutely massive armies equiped with all kinds of muskets and rifles and cannons. These armies are proudly decorated and dressed in the most colourful uniforms available, and as thousands upon thousands of gunpowder weapons blast away at once, the war looks surrealistically bright and beautiful.
90) That is, until the bullets hit - or worse; the shells filled with chemicals and gases, as a group of scientists recently demonstrated to the exceedingly pleased Mughal emperor. The purple-clad Princes of Hyderabad (Hyderabad and allies) will soon choke and die when faced with the might of the Mughals, or so the emperor likes to dream.
91) At the conclusion of the previous war, Bengaldesh was called upon to negotiate peace between the Princes of Hyderabad and the Restored Mughal Empire. This lead to Bengaldesh overseeing two Mughal-allies states, and jointly occupying a Hyderabad-allied state with the Mughals. Bengaldesh, more interested in the east, worries that it'll be involved in the next war to break out - but if so, perhaps Bengaldesh can acquire the three Hyderabad-allied states nearby.
92) Still, Bengaldesh is more interested in the east, wondering whether it should ally itself with the Sharia State of Andwnisya to prevent Papo Irian influence in India. Andwnisya is a pleasant enough place to live, if one doesn't mind farming every day to feed oneself and having effectively no national government whatsoever. But on Fridays, everyone is expected to donate some grain or meat or other food to the local mosque, which will distribute it to those truly incapable of working for themselves - not the most effective system, but one uses what one has.
93) Singapore survives under a cold and calculating but all-powerful ruler. Scrapping all the infrastructure and technology, and creating massive farmlands, wasn't enough for all the people to survive, especially as initially, Singapore, as one of the more developed places, saw many refugees. Singapore's ruler thus personally selects those who need to die so that the rest may live, if there isn't enough food.
94) Papo Irian has been taking advantage of the de facto independence of every single Andwnisyan village, seizing villages and whole islands all throughout the nation. Mostly, these are the places where Islam is less dominant. Papo Irian also managed to snatch up a sliver of land in India, during the last war; after struggling for decades with the massive growth of population - those who survived Australia's collapse - Papo Irian now has a massive population base to use. Papo Irian managed to gradually evolve into a proper feudal system, wherein most lords try to do right by their serfs and wherein most people faithfully serve king Sayfudin III. This has paved the way for labour specialisation, and has further set the stage for Papo Irian's dominance of the pacific. The moment it figures out how to build something larger than galley-esque ships, at least, which in itself is a considerable improvement over the canoes and rafts Andwnisyan uses.
95) On the upside, Australia's famous wildlife has finally been exterminated (okay, that is a questionable upside...). On the downside, this involved, presumably, nuclear weapons of unimaginable power - 'presumably', because nobody is quite sure what happened to southern Africa and India, the landmasses of which have been drastically altered as well. Australia is now entirely uninhabited, and should one choose to sail through the water that has filled the void, one would get caught in radioactive winds and promptly burn and shrivel to death.
96) Surprisingly many - a few thousand - managed to survive in New Zealand; those that managed to shield themselves from the nuclear armageddon that befell Australia. With the Haka as their national anthem, the New Zealanders survive and are content enough with each other, in total isolation of the world at large.
97) Malaysia has tried to maintain cordial relations with Papo Irian, Andwnisyan, and La Pilipinas. This didn't work out after Papo Irian started colonising Andwnisyan land, nor did it work out when La Pilipinas revolted en masse to submit themselves to any nearby authority but their own. La Pilipinas has since then cracked down on any hint of freedom it could find - houses, for example, represent prisons, and government officials come by to let people in and out as needed - but for some reason, the populace even prefers the Deified Glory-State of Worldwide Taiwan over the latest incarnation of Dutertism.
98) The Deified Glory-State of Worldwide Taiwan, however, faces a similar problem; with all these foreigners and outsiders now having been made part of glorious Taiwan (note, by the way, that most of Taiwan is under the control of the Qing-King-Dom), some cunning few might wonder how it can be that a worldwide state has any outsiders at all to let in. To Taiwan's credit, though, those few that dare to speak of this, have speculated of aliens and otherworldly visitors, instead of Taiwan not spanning the entire world.
99) The Ming-Zheng-He Tetrarchy is an oligarchy happy to trade with all of the Chinese statelets. It is a public secret that they're sitting on a nuclear arsenal, which makes people more compliant than they would usually be when faced with snake oil. Especially the Hermit Kingdom is grateful - though they are less aware than others of the value of snake oil - accepting useless trinkets in return for technological artefacts plucked right from Seoul itself.
100) Of course, most have no idea what a nuclear weapon is, nor what it can do. Secretly, the Tetrarchy has no idea what power it is sitting on either, and it certainly has no idea how to use it. Which is why the Tetrarchy also relies on the impressive naval knowhow of the Dynasty of the Sea Dragon; their fleet of turtle ships is practically invincible, and they have recently began experimenting with iron-plating their ships.
101) Unfortunately, there is one man who does know how what nuclear weapons are; the Immortal Mao Zedong, living inside a sunken nuclear submarine, communicating to the outside world through arcane radio installations. These are holy sites of prayer, and as such, can't be taken apart by scientists to figure out how to replicate such a radio. Those who pray frequently - as well as those who don't pray at all, really - know that Mao's only speech consists of threatening to launch his nuclear arsenal from his submarine. There are those who wonder why his speech is always the same, down to the intonation, but, well, he's a god, it must be because he is perfect and because there is no better speech anywhere, ever.
102) As the Qing-King-Dom turns east, having recently discovered a new route to Japan by way of island hopping, Mao Zedong and his devout followers threaten the northernmost state of the Qing-King-Dog. Although Mao Zedong's forces are relatively small in number, they do have access to - very primitive - muskets and what are supposed to pass for cannons. This causes many soldiers to join Mao Zedong's armies, instead of joining their dead brothers in arms. Still, the Qing-King-Dom is like a 'modern' Rome, both in strength of arms and of laws - and also in her dislike for the oligarchic and exploitative Tetrarchy and its protector-Dynasty. But in time, the Qing-King-Dom may deal with them all, and with Mao Zedong too, and could very well go on to become the indisputable master of east Asia.
103) Japan has returned to the Sengoku era, now with an abundance of electricity, the occasional machine pistol, and, of course, lightsabers scavenged from the many stores selling them. All Daimyos pledge their lightsaber to the Shogun, and various Shoguns have began constructing thrones out of them, making such a throneroom an oddly festive neon-coloured place. Ryuzoji and Shimazu have banded together against the Qing-King-Dom occupying the very south, but the other clans are content with ignoring the rest of the world. Miyoshi would consider helping, if Oda wasn't set to invade Miyoshi's island. Oda, together with Tokugawa, are the main powers of Japan, but they're both focusing on others; as Date pushes the revived Ainu north and north, Tokugawa pushes Date north and north. Hojo, the easternmost state, merely hopes to survive as long as it can.
104) Once, this was a fertile land. Once, Manchu China arose here, and rapidly too, easily set for marching southwards and unifying all of China. But then the cold came, the north was entirely abandoned, and though the many thousands of Manchu men and horses pushed southwards - they even managed to operate a few scavenged tanks from the Old World! - eventually, the southern states managed to hold against the Manchu tide. Now, these lands are inhabited by nomadic tribes. Nobody knows how many, or perhaps better put, how few. Those that can sign up for the Ming-Zheng-He Tetrarchy or the Dynasty of the Sea Dragon, as traders or captains - however, the isolated horsemen have often scarcely seen a body of water, have no notion of 'diplomacy' or 'currency', and are all in all quite helpless. Many manage to join the Ulanqabi, though less so ever since it started adopting a more sedentary lifestyle. Those Manchu that do manage to survive and thrive in the south, however, may speak of the horrors of iron men and iron beasts that patrol the frozen wastes, killing all life that is to be found there.
105) Deep within the permafrost, the Sibr Soviet survives underground, with plenty of greenhouses full of food and mine carts full of minerals. They have access to more or less modern technology, but crucially, they lack any means of surviving above ground, and they are also lacking in certain nutrients, very much hampering their population levels. On the other hand, they do have access to vehicles not unlike Mars Rovers, and have been exploring the outside world with these remote controlled vehicles. They swear that devils have taken up residence to the south, seeing no other way of explaining the gigantic mouths full of teeth of four-legged beasts that, by most, are called 'horses'.
Yes, I finally finished a map (work started on this at the beginning of this year). No, I don't write too much.
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Does DC's square shape mean that it never retroceded the Virginia cession?
That's a county boundary. The map is OTL (except insofar as I'm not showing Virginia's independent cities for now since the basemap is from 1970 and I can't keep up with the changes).
Pardon my ignorance, but the only thing I know of with that acronym is the Department of Motor Vehicles.
Rest assured, the rest of West Virginia will be covered in the fullness of time.
This Ottawa would be at about the size of Vancouver, and total infrastructure is about on par with Prague. This higher transit investment is in part due to much lower car ownership (car culture is very much an American thing here and so cars have a bit of a 'fascism' taint to them).
Whoops, realized this isn't real life you're depicting.
2003 or so. Before the 'ASB' event happens.
I've posted some other timelines on this thread for the timeline. There are still plenty of cars in this Ottawa, but freeway/parkway/highway construction is viewed with suspicion.
Proof of concept for a larger project I've been working on and off on. I don't like the roads, but apart from that I think it looks pretty clean. Style is an adaptation of my Louisiana map from a few months back.
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