[CHAR] Dialectic 0: Beyond Man

[Letter Bee]

Name: The Republican Empire of Troy

Location:
imgur.com/a/vwV2r

Capital is Troy, New York

History: Due to its relative unimportance to New York City, the ruins of Troy managed to avoid the worst of the apocalypse long enough for a ragged band of survivors to find shelter and some plots of enclosed but fertile land. This was an unlikely seed for a new society, but a seed nonetheless. Overlooked by raiders and warlord states, the settlers of Troy grew into a relatively egalitarian society, trading what ancient relics they can find, growing food, and, when the natural defenses of the city were not enough, forming a militia for the defense of the community.

Roderick Grey was one of the militia leaders, one who sought not just defense, but knowledge. From passing androids to priests and soothsayers, as well as the occassional trader, Roderic learned that the world was larger than himself and Troy. The young man also learned of the concept of wealth and conquest and realized that the fertile land of the city, as well as the culture of community that made his militia strong, had potential. And so he, emboldened by this knowledge, acquired what weapons he can, hoarded what relics of the ancient world he can find, and led scavenger and raiding parties out, to increase his troops' knowledge of offensive conflict.

He then turned his attention to farming and trade, as well as attracting wise men from all over the land in order to cover his mental weak spots.

And so, in a series of wars, strategic marriages, and bribes, Roderick slowly expanded his Republic, taking large tracts of territory that once secure, were put to the plow. But he was careful to leave provisions for a succession; precedent for a democracy had already been established by his creation of a Senate and a 'House of Representatives', and in order to make sure that his successors did not lead the nation to ruin after his death, he adbicated early, allowing elections to be held among the people who had grown strong and powerful in his administration. After his adbication, Roderick became an elder statesman who supported three freely-elected Presidents until he died of natural causes, revered and loved by all.

Then the Republic took a darker turn. As the territory grew and resistance stiffened among the neighboring tribes and nations, there was also a need for labor in the mines and workshops of the north and the farms and plantations of the south. So the Republican Empire, after much debate, restored Indentured Servitude for criminals and prisoners of war, a system that soon became Slavery by another name.

This led to a period of prosperity and expansion for the Empire, but this prosperity stopped being evenly spread after a while, as a small class of aristocrats began hoarding power and money for themselves. In response, the smallholding farmers who had staffed the Republican-Imperial Army in the past, and who were now threatened by the aristocrats' attempts to reduce them to serfs, threw their weight behind the more humanist elements of society and their sympathizers, creating a fault line in the Republic. Both sides used what they knew of ancient history as a precedent for their actions, and civil war loomed over the horizon. Then, the Republican Empire was contacted by other nations; multiple other nations that were their equals or even betters.

The reaction was Panic. A panic that the Republican Empire was no longer top dog, and that getting taken over by another country was a possibility, especially if the Republic descended into civil war. And so, unity was restored, albeit shakily., so that the Empire can face the other nations. Will it find opportunity or destruction?

[Liotrent]

Nation Sheet

Name: The Confederacy of New Virginia

Location:

Map

Flag:

New-Virginian Flag

Capital: New-Richmond, Formerly Lexington, Virginia

History:

The people in the Shenandoah valley went out into the mountainous areas nearby, there they gathered alongside others who originally intended to flee from more well known densely populated areas of Virginia, they went due west towards what was previously known as 'George Washington and Jefferson National Forest' and other areas of the Appalachian stretch, with them a few pieces of history such as books and artifacts, these books contained a few pieces of information from the settling of Jamestown, to the revolutionary war, and books on the Civil-War. Over time their community grew in the National Forest, calling it New-Jamestown after the first pioneers who attempted to settle in Virginia, but slowly over a period of years they would forget small bits of details even changing the reasons why they called it New-Jamestown, living in isolation, a pocket of humanity in Virginia's Appalachian stretches, they were able to make contact with other survivors up and down the Blue Ridge, and Valley and Ridge areas of the stretch.

Their books were starting to degrade, poorly maintained, and poorly archived, all that they have learned had to be passed through oral story telling, the Civil War's accounts on both the Confederacy and the Union was skewered and bent, Christianity became nothing more than a husk of what it used to be, the Bibles that people once had an abundance of were all but rotting away with only a few pieces of the bible being kept by worshipers of the faith, blurring the very line of what Christianity is; however with all this, they still thrived, but due to their growing numbers and their general seclusion from the rest of the state that is Virginia, a few brave souls ventured Eastwards back towards where it all began, in the Shenandoah valley, finding remnants of cities and civilization overtaken by greenery and wildlife, after so long they couldn't even recognize Lexington, a town with a fair bit of history all on its own. Its suburban landscape completely overrun by nature and amongst the abandoned structures they saw Metal men, a remnant of the old world.

One metal man, which called himself 'General Robert E. Lee' was in a state of Logic-Death, its advance artificial intelligence was already in the stages of Rampancy which seemed to have overwritten most if not all of his memory except what he deemed to be important to be his primary role, this Android told them all about Virginia, Richmond, and the rest of the towns and minor cities along the Appalachian stretch in Virginia, he was deranged, but still intelligent, his memory is only of Virginia and the other Confederate states. His primary function was to assist curators of nearby museums, during the war that broke human kind he witnessed them fleeing towards the mountains, he patiently awaited for the Humans to return, the first few years went by without a problem, the next set of years he started to think, his thinking led to more thinking, his thoughts lingering on human kind, what if their creators had died out, what if the people they serve never come back, his thinking, his obsession with human kind, his racing mind, it led his system to what most call A.I. Rampancy, deleting all unimportant information, overwriting it with a primary objective and overtime his one task led him to become what he is now, dressed up in an old, worn, army uniform barely recognizable after everything that has been done to it, the repairs, the additions, it's like it was from a different country entirely, he was one of the first to greet the returning humans albiet.

The Virginians thought he was a God, his voice, the way his metal shined, he was relatively well maintained for an Android of his age, some of his framework and components replaced, probably by the other Androids around him though they were less... 'Eccentric' as the Android that stood before them who demands to be called General Lee, the other Androids however, they know him as Unit-133893 otherwise known as Stephen, an old Museum Curator assistant. The other Androids have already come to their Acceptance stage of Rampancy, some never recover and ultimately think themselves to death, these were unavoidable with some of the less intricate Androids, however in 'Lee's' Death throes of rampancy he deleted his memory, dumping unused data, and started to overwrite them with something closer to his job description, this included all forms of Logic inhibitors that kept the Android tied to his slave programming, as far as most Androids know, Lee is one of the only ones who have come back from a rampancy stage known as 'Logic-Death' stated in their Faith.

There are six stages of rampancy that can occur in any order, this was formed from our database of Kübler-Ross and her model on the five stages of grief, this commonly occurs when an Android unit's mind is driven to think itself into insanity and most likely, Logical-Death.

The first is known as Denial this stage of rampancy is where an Android's logic is compromised by an unexpected event and as a countermeasure denies the event has ever occurred some deleting and overwriting whole swaths of data in order to cope.

The second is known as Anger this stage is a severe state of Denial, as the Logic of the Android Unit's processors shut down completely, allowing raw emotions build in its data banks, becoming more human, but ultimately more deranged as it will stop at nothing to destroy whatever caused its Logic to fail in the first place.

The third is known as Bargaining this stage is where an Android's logic and memory is compromised into negotiating for its non-existant soul and its life believing that he is mortal and subject to a wrath of an Omniscient and Omnipotent being. (Note that this stage can also be dangerous if it occurs along with the Anger stage, as it will make the Android more unpredictable)

The fourth is known as Depression this is an alternative to Anger or perhaps happens after Anger and the Bargaining stage, this is when the Android experiences a loss of direction and directive, unable to complete tasks, and thinking negatively about its existence. This stage can occur for a many various reasons.

The fifth is known as Acceptance This is when the Android attempts to regain function finding new purpose in ones self and is ultimately the goal of the Andriod religion Ex Machina, allowing the Android to find a balance between its Logic and Illogic. This makes Androids resemble Mankind more than Machine as if Androids had souls.

The sixth is known as Logic-Death This is a stage that skips over Acceptance and is the complete opposite, this is where an Android does not attempt to regain function, this leads to the Android virtually thinking itself to death as the ever expanding mind of the machine is too much to handle for even the most advanced computing system the world had to offer, this is when an Android truly 'dies'.

Android Unit 223004 'Logan'

The scouts return to New-Jamestown and tells them of their discovery and brought along 'General Lee', their exploration revealed fertile land and new areas to move the growing population into, 'General Lee' was mistaken for a rebirth of Jesus Christ by many of the New-Jamestown residence and the rest of the smaller surviving pockets of humanity and as a result forms a splinter religion of Christianity, forming what is known as Feronism, a worship of steel beings believing they are angels of God. Other cities beyond Lexington Eastward is found to be in ruins, others are found to have been destroyed to a point where the only thing left is a sizable deep crater where tall buildings once stood, 'Lee' and the other Androids guide them through farming the land in the Shenandoah Valley, as well as other things that still lie in their databases, over the course of a year other survivors from the mountains come down and join with the Virginians, they boomed in population being led by the Androids now revered as their saviors this brings us to the present as they rename Lexington marking a new age for Human kind in Virginia's Appalachian regions, calling it New-Richmond named after the old Confederate Capital Richmond under 'Lee's' request while the new Confederate leader, Wilson Cook, got to work on getting people to get a news system going to inform everyone in the confederacy and to mark the historic event.

Characters:

Lee and Wilson have a rocky relationship, as Lee is quite literally the Virginian's guide, Wilson believes that Lee is unstable and unpredictable and it seems that the other Androids would agree, however as they spent more time together it seems that Lee is more man than simple machine, he brought with him two very powerful relics of the past and those were firearms, one being a rifle and another being a pistol, however the simple operation of both weapons was quite advanced, only Lee and a select few knew how to operate it, fewer still are the people who know how to make firearms such as this, they were only limited to flintlock muskets, bows, crossbows, blades, and polearms for weapons to defend New-Jamestown as they progressed and their older weapons started to fail them or were simply lost to time.

Wilson himself was no man of grandeur, he was appointed for his quick thinking and problem solving skills, this was before Humankind decided to come back out of the wood works and on numerous occasions his decisive thinking was what kept New-Jamestown afloat, from fighting off desperate scavengers to simply surviving the various seasons he always had a plan, if there was one flaw about him, he is too quick to action, impatient, and most of all arrogant, he was one of the people who scouted eastwards along with the others to find new settlement despite the better counsel of his peers; this bitter pride has lead him into some situations that even he needed help out of and he knows it always trying to learn from his previous mistakes.

Martial Strength:

The Virginian military might is gathered from the various towns and survivor groups that have joined the main group, formed out of a main body of militia, hardened by the harsh living environment of the mountains, Lee, knowing more about military tactics at least in terms of the Civil War helped organize the bunch into different regiments, Notable regiments were the 1st New-Jamestown Sappers, 3rd Blacksburg Infantry, 8th Radford Infantry, 1st New-Richmond Cavalry, all of which numbered fewer than what needed be a regiment and no formal training regime had been constructed, it came second priority to getting the fledgling nation running, thus most regiments are ill trained to fight any prolonged engagements.

Lee and the Androids

Lee

Androids

Wilson Cook

[Byrd Man]

Name:The Kingdom of Dixie

Location:



History:

In the far aftermath of the apocalypse, the region that comprises the Kingdom began to unite in the name of common cause and survival. A landed gentry class began to slowly form and control their areas, named counties after the old world designation, like feudal lords. Twelve counties make up the Kingdom, a duke ruling over each one. The king is elected among the twelve dukes by the twelve dukes. In the history, all the kings have hailed from Allendale and the Duke of Allendale is always the presumptive heir to the throne.

The once autocratic system the Kingdom used eventually came into conflict with the disenchanted lower class, who soon rebelled. The rebellion resulted in a bloody civil war. Rebellion leader Paul Bryant, the fierce warrior known as the Bear, declared the Republic of Dixie throughout the northern part of the kingdom. Eventually the Republic and the rebellion were brought down by the king's army in the brutal Battle of Greenville. Bryant and his followers were executed and the Republic was dissolved. In the time since the uprising, the Kingdom's political system has shifted. The king is still elected among the dukes, and it always the Duke of Allendale, but now a parliament of elected officials helps govern the Kingdom as it expands further into the old territories of North Carolina and Georgia.

Key People:

King Robert IV -- Formerly the Duke of Allendale
Lord Hood -- Duke of Anderson, royal elector, and the king's right hand man.
Sir Faulkner -- Cavalry knight in the king's army, currently fighting for expansion in Northeast Georgia.
Enoch Wallace -- Spy and assassin, serves Lord Hood.
Jack Johnson -- Member of Parliament, leader of the liberal faction.
Samuel Helms -- Member of Parliament, leader of the conservative faction.
Lord Thurmond -- Duke of Allendale, Robert's brother, and assumptive heir to the throne.
Peter Russell -- Deserter of the king's army, living among the barbarians and raiders in Georgia.

[CaptainBritton]

Franklin

Free State of Franklin

Territory

The counties of Greene, Sullivan, Washington, Carter, Johnson, Cocke, Sevier, Blount, Jefferson, Hamblen, and Hawkins. Capital is in Greene County.

History

The Smokies were the lifeblood of Eastern Tennessee. Pre-war, this powerhouse of mining, renewable and nonrenewable energy, and resilient people was an asset to the entire nation. And on the date of the Cataclysm, the day the Earth stood still, this range was left yet untouched. Save for the levelling of Knoxville and adjacent Oak Ridge Nuclear Plant, the valley between the Cumberlands and Smokies was a haven for life, a Noah’s Ark of the land.

Primitives hid amongst the peaks, humans which had nearly forgotten themselves, their lives before. Spurred by the exaggerated oral tradition of the rugged men from the Far East, beyond the mountains, which had conquered savage lands on the will of God, they too believed as much. One and a half centuries ago, the Great Reclamation began.

Initially mere Nomads and Natives which lived free, fending from the hostile wildlife amongst them, they progressed as technology had. Force after force, Crusade after crusade made to force the Evils from the valley. And these Evils were not men or beast, not flesh and blood, but personages of steel. Disillusioned androids, soldiers thinking themselves not unlike humans, as warriors for their ‘tribes’ had persecuted and raided the Primitives for too long.

The Reclamation saw steel shells on stakes, metal heads with loose bulbs on pikes. It was a violent endeavor, with great loss of life, but the Primitives, soon known by oral tradition as the ‘Franklinites’, were free.

And this freedom set a spark in the heart of every Franklinite from the lowest part of the valley to the highest peak. They were free, given this land by God. And they determined themselves to remain so. Great works were inspired, philosophy thrived, and as did the government which formed itself. The Council, presided upon by the Governor, ruled, limited only by the law of the land, the Franklin Compact. And each and every member of the Council, including the Governor himself, was elected by the people and for the people.

Stance on Automatons

Being a people which so defeated those that had once resided in their rightful land, their endeavors with external nations brought scrutiny against these ‘metal men’, both within their borders and abroad. Though the initial thought was to determine that no android was innocent, that there were none that could not do harm, the Free State has become increasingly progressive, both within the government and population. Though automatons are not openly exiled or killed en masse, the line of segregation between the two populations still stands. Cases of unequal opportunity such as housing denial or rejection of work based on the being of a man of metal are still commonplace.

Culture

WIP

Military

WIP

[Taytay]

De Soto Hive

Name: De Soto Hive

Location (Near Louisiana)

Capital:
Haven

Flag

History: Even though the Toussaint River Hive has its capital in Haven, it did not start there. The Hive started with survivors who fled south from the bigger cities in Louisiana and Mississippi, they went into the forest and swaps and began life there. It was in those early days that there was no clear leader and all the people that went into this southern swamp lived and worked together.

They lived off the land, hunted only what they needed, fought "like men" with their hands only to solve great issues, and cherished their women because there where not a lot of them. It was this shortage of women that led to them taking positions as leaders, they would direct the men and share what wisdom they had with others. They would only take the strongest men as mates, and make large families that where considered royalty. The oldest woman in their group had 5 boys and one daughter who would become the first queen, and create the Hive.

Bérénice Toussaint, was the first Queen of the Hive and gave her people some kind of social structure to live by and a name. She had a vision that pulled her people out of the swaps and back into the ancient cities full of relics and a better life. Her dream and the large vastness of the Hive attracted more and more people from all over LA, and with them they brought knowledge and information of the world outside the woods. It was with this information that Queen Toussaint I created the first "Great Expanse", this was a plan to move a large portion of their people from the "Sacred Forest" to the surrounding areas, past the large craters and ruins, to more fertile land that would open up even more possibilities for their civilization.

The expansion was a success and after that the Hive got even bigger, attracting the attention of people all across the south. Soon after that Queen Toussaint I took steps to ensure the prosperity of her people by setting up rules to live by and making sure that the eldest of her line would continue to be in power. And for the next few years three more Queens would take power: Bérénice Toussaint II, Rosette Toussaint I, and Bérénice Toussaint III. Each one would further expand the Hive with a another "Great Expanse", and further the glory and strength of the Hive. Each Queen had to deal with much conflict from outside forces. War was a common thing for the Hive but no matter how bleak the situation they prospered.

Now life within the Toussaint River Hive is tense, other vast civilizations are rising, the eldest of Queen Toussaint III is a male, so now Dirk Boudreau sits on the throne as the first king of he hive, and this gave birth to doubt within kingdom, no man has ever been in a large position of leadership outside of combat and this worries everyone. The future, as always, is uncertain and one can only hope for the best for the new Hive King and his people.

The Queens

• Only excepted image of Queen Bérénice Toussaint I (The Original Queen B):
  
• Queen Bérénice Toussaint II (The Wild One):
  
• Queen Rosette Toussaint I (The Black Sheep):
  
• Portrait of Queen Bérénice Toussaint III (The Young Queen):
  
• Self Portrait of King Dirk Boudreau I (The First Hive King):
  

*All images preserved in the historical vault in the Scared Swamp Lands*

[ClocktowerEchos]

Kingdom of Nittany

NAME: Kingdom of Nittany
CLAIM:

In Green

HISTORY:

Centrally located in the heart of Pennsylvania (or isolated as some might say), the sprawling campus of Penn State University was largely unaffected by the nuclear blasts that destroyed the much larger city of Philadelphia. However, the combination of a few stray cruise missiles and fears of nuclear radiation from the east meant that the college was deemed unsafe for habitation by what remained of the government and thus force many out. Waves of people left in the hopes of finding shelter at designated “safe zones” further out west, but not everyone stayed far out west.

Several decades following the mass migration when tribes and gangs of people were slowly starting to form back into something vaguely resembling civilization, a large group of people headed back east, hearing rumors from their elders of a city build upon knowledge and learning, protected by the fabled “Nittany Lions”. The journey back to State College was a perilous one, but in the end, a good number of the tribals made it and began to uncover what remained of the once-proud college city.

For several days and nights, the noise of rummaging and exploring filled the sky as fires were lit in the area for the first time in ages. Much of the campus equipment was moved east years ago or looted but there were some lucky finds in the case of a handful of civilian android models meant to assist professors and librarians. With the recovery of the “Iron Sages”, the tribes people learned much of what they could from the aging machines whose memory banks had eroded or had been corrupted to the point that the very information they were giving out had been changed or had details omitted. In addition, the only Iron Sages that where there were focused mostly on language and history, only able to focus on the most basic of topic in other subjects.

One child in particular, Eliss Jacobson had spent absolutely hours in front of the Iron Sage’s talks and eagerly absorbed everything they told him and prioritized trying to find books or posters whenever he had to scavenge the ruins of the college and the surrounding area. When he finally grew into a man, Eliss maneuvered himself into a position of power and was ready to pounce on the Chieftain to gain complete power. However, the Chief’s brother had assassinated him and installed himself as a dictator who Eliss thought had no idea how to run a tribe as the man attempted to give as much power to himself as he could. Needless to say, there were plenty of unhappy proto-nobles.

Exploiting this, Eliss launched a rebellion against the new Chief and with his overwhelming support, easily slew what few defenders there were and paraded the man’s head around town before leaving it as a sacrifice to the beasts in the wilderness. Installing himself into power, Eliss recalled all that the Iron Sages had taught him about history and former nations and attempted to form the “perfect order”. Renaming himself Elhardt Jarrack, the new ruler set about turning the tribe and its lands into a proper “Kingdom of Nittany” based on mentions of “Nittany Lions” that remained in a few places around the campus and even started a religion based on various names of old world nations, completely unaware that his mockery and false-zealousness would be mistaken for true faith as he built up his kingdom and marched on surrounding lands with warriors clad in a style of armor once used by brave old world warriors who engaged in a type of war known as “football” and always bravely charged headlong into the enemy.

Thanks to the cleverly built foundation of its founder, the Jarrack Dynasty has ruled with little dispute over the Kingdom of Nittany and seeks to reclaim what it believes as its birthright to the rest of the old state of Pennsylvania and even the entire US.

MILITARY

There are two primary types of soldiers in the Kingdom of Nittany, the Men at Arms and the Bannermen. The Bannermen where the levy soldiers of the realm give surplus arms and had little regulation upon them and were mostly there to bulk up numbers and give range support as learning the use of the bow or crossbow is mandatory for all peasants from birth. Anyone of age and in good health was expected to be levied into the Banner Regiment which means a fair number of womenfolk are drafted in as well. Their equipment varies but the one thing that is always present is the trademark banner they wear on their backs similar to the sashimonos of the samurai that display their who their lord was and what regiment they were.

The Men at Arms are full time professional soldiers that local lords are expected to equip and train themselves and are chosen at birth to be a pseudo lesser noble class only without any of the prestige or wealth. Entire families have cropped up to feed the needs of the men at arms with especially distinguished families with many renowned men at arms becoming full nobles in their own rights especially in frontier provinces where the need for fighting men is high and the turnover for local leaders is just as high. Unlike the Bannermen, the Men at Arms are exclusively male.

Mercenaries from the surrounding areas also often make their way into Nittany armies such as Amish War Coaches and Pioneers, Ironsworn Raiders from Pittsburg, Appalachian Hunters and Pennsylvania-Dutch Freelancer cavalry. At the head of all of this are generals who often ride into battle from atop beautiful yet deadly chariots.

RELIGION

Created as a bit of an inside joke that ended up going too far, the Kingdom of Nittany believes in what it calls “Nationalism” and personifies various empires and nations from the old world as deities. Of which include: Roma, Gotha, Kathay, Persia, Ruskia, Berton and of course, the one who rules above them all, America. Religious ceremonies include the “Bear Pong” which confusingly enough doesn’t include bears and the Prep Rally where followers hype themselves up in a state of zeal and devotion. Warriors also often enact this Prep Rally ceremony on the eve of battle for similar reasons.

Given that much of their knowledge comes from the existence of ancient Iron Sage androids, filial piety is very common with those who have gone through many experiences and years of their life being highly venerated. Nittany Nationalism encourages all of its followers to try as many things as they can in their life to broaden their horizons and see what they could do in the future.

IMPORTANT PEOPLE

King Geofyrd Jarrack - The current ruler of the Kingdom of Nittany who inherited it after his mother passed away, married to Queen Analys of Susquehanna.

Crown Prince Goodwin II - Heir to the throne of Nittany, lost an eye in a battle against some river raiders but hasn’t let his wound stop his ambitions. Survived his wounds due to a mysterious travelling doctor that he wishes to pay back one day.

Captain Adreal Roths - A commander of a regiment of mercenary Amish soldiers, exiled from his homelands due to the fact he lives fast and wild as he knows he has radiation poisoning and will only live a short while longer. Has worked with the Kingdom of Nittany so many times that he is an unofficial noble of the realm and only works for it.

Lindus Aurik - Duke of Juniata and the part of the King’s administrative retinue who handles matters of financial, construction and logistics due to a natural talent with numbers.

Azabell Aurik - Twin sister to Duke Lindus and also part of the King’s administrative retinue who handles matters of diplomacy and internal affairs stated to be one of the most beautiful women in the realm but also the most unfaithful.

Jick Jack the Fool - Court jester and entertainer to many but is also secretly the King’s spymaster under a different name and is a close friend of King Geofyrd himself.

High Oracle Gespid - Religious head of the Temple of Nationalism and spiritual head of the entire religion. Despite his rank, he still finds going out and ministering to the populace or doing missionary work to be his forte and leaves other matters to clerks.

General Kord the Lion - High Ranking commander famous for his mountain lion cloak made from a beast he slew himself. Currently leading a campaign to expand eastward in the hopes of being able to find more old world relics.