flyingchicken
Jun 06, 2008, 06:46 PM
MANIFEST DESTINY
THIS IS MADNESS, THIS IS AMERICA!
Mod: Rhye's of Civilization Expanded v1.23 - RANDOM MAP
World: Standard Size, Pangaea (60% Water), Normal Climate, Cool Temperature, 3 Billion Years
Rivals: Roaming Barbarians, 15× Random AI, Normal Aggression
Player: America (Scientific, Industrious), Regent Difficulty
Rules: Allow Domination, Allow Space, Allow Diplomatic, Allow Conquest, Allow Cultural, Culturally Linked Start Loc., Respawn AI Players, Preserve Random Seed, Allow Cultural Conversions, Allow Scientific Leaders; i.e. All Default
Author’s Note:
This is the story of the scientific and industrious American people from the dawn of civilization up to whenever they decide to win or die—I‘m not going to be too picky with victory conditions. I picked the Americans over the Persians (who have the same traits) not because of their religion or their unique units, but because it is easier to make up American names over Persians. I get stuck in the middle of story-writing because I want good and appropriate names; some of you might relate to this problem, some of you might not. Also, America feels so natural writing about in the American English language.
I thank the stories in the extremely outdated Archive of Legendary Civ Stories by MSTK, the authors of those stories, the NESes in the Never Ending Stories subforum of CFC, the NESers in that said CFC subforum (whch means double points for Daftpanzer and Symphony D.), and all the books I’ve ever read and their authors for inspiration in writing this Civ story.
As a final warning: Things are going to be slooow at the start, but the narration should pick up the pace when I get bored.
---
CHAPTER I
A THOUSAND YEARS OF BORE
Timeline/Outline (4000 BC-3000 BC):
4000 BC - Washington is founded
3750 BC - The Washington Rangers (1st Warrior) is built, 1st Road is built
3550 BC - End of the Ranger Ridge is mapped
3500 BC - Scout Group One (2nd Warrior) is built, Population in Washington grows to 2
3250 BC - The Portuguese (scout) and the Ethiopians (border) are met
3050 BC - Barbarian tribe is just out of reach, Masonry is traded for Warrior Code and 30 Gold (Ethiopia) and Masonry and 50 Gold is traded for Pottery (Portugal)
3000 BC - We know Warrior Code, Masonry, Pottery, Writing, and Mysticism, reaching for Literature then Philosophy.
The Story Proper:
Getting people to follow was second nature to him. People said it was his ruggedly macho beard. Others said it was the funny way his face seemed to slope to one side. Others still said that it was the way he never seemed to die. In any case, the man who would become known as Abraham Lincoln, Father of the United States of America, began his career in politics several thousands of years ago as the leader of a motley band of nomads from all over, to whom he promised both great riches and, more importantly, what would be called as the American Dream—the freedom to do whatever the hell you want as long as you aren't a bum. That got those nomads' attentions it did.
http://img255.imageshack.us/img255/26/000lincolnpv8.gif
The father of America himself, Abraham Lincoln.
Now, he got off a rocky start he did. He was smart, at least he was smart enough to become the leader of the proto-Americans, but that smartness didn't really extend down to his minion-people. The early Americans were extremely unsophisticated, highly superstitious, hygienically-challenged, violent drunks, boorishly barbaric, and downright stupid (in hindsight, it would have been easy enough to become leader of such people, especially if you were immortal and had such a manly beard). Blatantly against his promises of freedom, personal liberty, and other such pleasant and attractive things that brought them, the first Americans, together under his rule, he decided to become the Supreme and Unchallengeable Despot, Dictator, and other D-words of the Ragtag American Civilization—before learning of true freedom, the Americans must first learn, and education is so terribly boring that only an iron-fisted dictator could force them to do so.
Of course, only a scarce and unimportant few of his people really cared because he was so devilishly handsome with that beard-that-makes-women-faint, but in those crude and ignorant hearts, there was a yearning. A yearning for food and beer, usually, but even deeper than that, there was another yearning, a yearning for the American Dream...
http://img256.imageshack.us/img256/9338/001startjz2.gif
The humble bunch of American nomads are represented unfairly here by this dark-skinned man who might be Arab in origin.
It all began in what was to be known as the American Plains, a geographical region which subsumed the dry yet productive Great Plains to the southeast. It was a good place to settle: the fertile grasslands were perfect for farming, while the river provided the Americans fresh water to drink and, of vastly greater significance, to wash with. As some say, all civilization rose along great rivers, perhaps because it is only along great rivers where men could lose the stench of sweat and blood so that they can start focusing on the arts, sciences, and other such civilized things that make civilizations what they are.
So, after some scuttling and scurrying about here and there, Uncle Abe (that was his preferred moniker, wanting to be viewed as that father figure without all the awkwardness that most everyone felt around their parents on some degree or another) came and said that they should settle there. Then, as though by magic imbued upon the American people by their fearless, rugged, and bearded-with-that-oh-so-sexy-beard—alright, I’ll stop doing that now—leader, great stone building rose up from the ground to become the homes, the shops, the bureaucracy-infested government buildings, and so on and so forth of the American nation. Okay, so it probably took a few more days—or weeks, or months, whatever bakes your cake—than that, but at that point (or period) it became clear at that the American people had a future to look forward to, and that future began with the city of Washington.
http://img256.imageshack.us/img256/1628/002washingtonnn7.gif
While most of the American nomads quickly became fat and lazy city-folk, some actually understood that the success of civilization rested on hard labor.
Wait, Washington?
Who was this Washington? As father of the American people, Uncle Abe naturally wanted the capital to be named after him, he wanted it to be named Lincoln. Of course, things were still haphazard: roads needed to be built, farms needed to be irrigated, mines needed to be dug—mother nature was still waiting to be exploited,, to be a slave to man’s wishes, and Uncle Abe was just the man man enough for that job. No, getting worked up over something as petty as a name and, at a deeper level, severe ingratitude wasn’t good when there were other things still needing to be done—Uncle Abe would deal with the problem at a later time.
The American people weren’t particularly warlike, but when need arose they took up their weapons and claimed their rights to bear arms. Barbarians at the gates, rebellion among the slaves, someone stealing their farm animals—in all these cases and more, the American people were willing to get their stone axes and thick cloth rags to bring justice (well, their own brand of pro-American justice, anyway) and protect all that was American. At some point, Uncle Abe deemed it necessary to form a fighting group like no other, to band together the toughest, meanest, and rowdiest bunch of men in all of America, give them arms, and rest upon their broad and hairy shoulders the survival of the American people.
http://img242.imageshack.us/img242/6504/003washingtonrangersum9.gif
Maybe it wasn’t the best of ideas, but it did bear fruit at some point. The young, the criminal-types, the homeless, the maritally-challenged—men of all sorts joined the first warrior unit of America, the first vanguard of American sovereignty, the first great concentration of unrestrained machismo in all of America. They were called the Washington Rangers, given that they came from the city then-called Washington and they were to be stationed in the forests and hills that made up America’s countryside.
http://img256.imageshack.us/img256/4765/004gaspexclamationmarktt8.gif
Uncle Abe’s military advisor was shocked to hear that the groups was to be renamed, a testament to the early American lack of appreciation for the finer details in life.
Uncle Abe saw great potential in the Washington Rangers—that is, great potential for trouble. With all the drunkards and ruffians there—given the best weapons in all of America, no less—trouble was just waiting around the corner. He didn’t want them to stay in Washington for long, so he sent them out to explore the hilly range to the northwest.
(Yaaawn! I'll finish up this chapter - by editing this post - when I'm not so damn sleepy. =_= You'll know what little to expect with the timeline/outline thing.)
THIS IS MADNESS, THIS IS AMERICA!
Mod: Rhye's of Civilization Expanded v1.23 - RANDOM MAP
World: Standard Size, Pangaea (60% Water), Normal Climate, Cool Temperature, 3 Billion Years
Rivals: Roaming Barbarians, 15× Random AI, Normal Aggression
Player: America (Scientific, Industrious), Regent Difficulty
Rules: Allow Domination, Allow Space, Allow Diplomatic, Allow Conquest, Allow Cultural, Culturally Linked Start Loc., Respawn AI Players, Preserve Random Seed, Allow Cultural Conversions, Allow Scientific Leaders; i.e. All Default
Author’s Note:
This is the story of the scientific and industrious American people from the dawn of civilization up to whenever they decide to win or die—I‘m not going to be too picky with victory conditions. I picked the Americans over the Persians (who have the same traits) not because of their religion or their unique units, but because it is easier to make up American names over Persians. I get stuck in the middle of story-writing because I want good and appropriate names; some of you might relate to this problem, some of you might not. Also, America feels so natural writing about in the American English language.
I thank the stories in the extremely outdated Archive of Legendary Civ Stories by MSTK, the authors of those stories, the NESes in the Never Ending Stories subforum of CFC, the NESers in that said CFC subforum (whch means double points for Daftpanzer and Symphony D.), and all the books I’ve ever read and their authors for inspiration in writing this Civ story.
As a final warning: Things are going to be slooow at the start, but the narration should pick up the pace when I get bored.
---
CHAPTER I
A THOUSAND YEARS OF BORE
Timeline/Outline (4000 BC-3000 BC):
4000 BC - Washington is founded
3750 BC - The Washington Rangers (1st Warrior) is built, 1st Road is built
3550 BC - End of the Ranger Ridge is mapped
3500 BC - Scout Group One (2nd Warrior) is built, Population in Washington grows to 2
3250 BC - The Portuguese (scout) and the Ethiopians (border) are met
3050 BC - Barbarian tribe is just out of reach, Masonry is traded for Warrior Code and 30 Gold (Ethiopia) and Masonry and 50 Gold is traded for Pottery (Portugal)
3000 BC - We know Warrior Code, Masonry, Pottery, Writing, and Mysticism, reaching for Literature then Philosophy.
The Story Proper:
Getting people to follow was second nature to him. People said it was his ruggedly macho beard. Others said it was the funny way his face seemed to slope to one side. Others still said that it was the way he never seemed to die. In any case, the man who would become known as Abraham Lincoln, Father of the United States of America, began his career in politics several thousands of years ago as the leader of a motley band of nomads from all over, to whom he promised both great riches and, more importantly, what would be called as the American Dream—the freedom to do whatever the hell you want as long as you aren't a bum. That got those nomads' attentions it did.
http://img255.imageshack.us/img255/26/000lincolnpv8.gif
The father of America himself, Abraham Lincoln.
Now, he got off a rocky start he did. He was smart, at least he was smart enough to become the leader of the proto-Americans, but that smartness didn't really extend down to his minion-people. The early Americans were extremely unsophisticated, highly superstitious, hygienically-challenged, violent drunks, boorishly barbaric, and downright stupid (in hindsight, it would have been easy enough to become leader of such people, especially if you were immortal and had such a manly beard). Blatantly against his promises of freedom, personal liberty, and other such pleasant and attractive things that brought them, the first Americans, together under his rule, he decided to become the Supreme and Unchallengeable Despot, Dictator, and other D-words of the Ragtag American Civilization—before learning of true freedom, the Americans must first learn, and education is so terribly boring that only an iron-fisted dictator could force them to do so.
Of course, only a scarce and unimportant few of his people really cared because he was so devilishly handsome with that beard-that-makes-women-faint, but in those crude and ignorant hearts, there was a yearning. A yearning for food and beer, usually, but even deeper than that, there was another yearning, a yearning for the American Dream...
http://img256.imageshack.us/img256/9338/001startjz2.gif
The humble bunch of American nomads are represented unfairly here by this dark-skinned man who might be Arab in origin.
It all began in what was to be known as the American Plains, a geographical region which subsumed the dry yet productive Great Plains to the southeast. It was a good place to settle: the fertile grasslands were perfect for farming, while the river provided the Americans fresh water to drink and, of vastly greater significance, to wash with. As some say, all civilization rose along great rivers, perhaps because it is only along great rivers where men could lose the stench of sweat and blood so that they can start focusing on the arts, sciences, and other such civilized things that make civilizations what they are.
So, after some scuttling and scurrying about here and there, Uncle Abe (that was his preferred moniker, wanting to be viewed as that father figure without all the awkwardness that most everyone felt around their parents on some degree or another) came and said that they should settle there. Then, as though by magic imbued upon the American people by their fearless, rugged, and bearded-with-that-oh-so-sexy-beard—alright, I’ll stop doing that now—leader, great stone building rose up from the ground to become the homes, the shops, the bureaucracy-infested government buildings, and so on and so forth of the American nation. Okay, so it probably took a few more days—or weeks, or months, whatever bakes your cake—than that, but at that point (or period) it became clear at that the American people had a future to look forward to, and that future began with the city of Washington.
http://img256.imageshack.us/img256/1628/002washingtonnn7.gif
While most of the American nomads quickly became fat and lazy city-folk, some actually understood that the success of civilization rested on hard labor.
Wait, Washington?
Who was this Washington? As father of the American people, Uncle Abe naturally wanted the capital to be named after him, he wanted it to be named Lincoln. Of course, things were still haphazard: roads needed to be built, farms needed to be irrigated, mines needed to be dug—mother nature was still waiting to be exploited,, to be a slave to man’s wishes, and Uncle Abe was just the man man enough for that job. No, getting worked up over something as petty as a name and, at a deeper level, severe ingratitude wasn’t good when there were other things still needing to be done—Uncle Abe would deal with the problem at a later time.
The American people weren’t particularly warlike, but when need arose they took up their weapons and claimed their rights to bear arms. Barbarians at the gates, rebellion among the slaves, someone stealing their farm animals—in all these cases and more, the American people were willing to get their stone axes and thick cloth rags to bring justice (well, their own brand of pro-American justice, anyway) and protect all that was American. At some point, Uncle Abe deemed it necessary to form a fighting group like no other, to band together the toughest, meanest, and rowdiest bunch of men in all of America, give them arms, and rest upon their broad and hairy shoulders the survival of the American people.
http://img242.imageshack.us/img242/6504/003washingtonrangersum9.gif
Maybe it wasn’t the best of ideas, but it did bear fruit at some point. The young, the criminal-types, the homeless, the maritally-challenged—men of all sorts joined the first warrior unit of America, the first vanguard of American sovereignty, the first great concentration of unrestrained machismo in all of America. They were called the Washington Rangers, given that they came from the city then-called Washington and they were to be stationed in the forests and hills that made up America’s countryside.
http://img256.imageshack.us/img256/4765/004gaspexclamationmarktt8.gif
Uncle Abe’s military advisor was shocked to hear that the groups was to be renamed, a testament to the early American lack of appreciation for the finer details in life.
Uncle Abe saw great potential in the Washington Rangers—that is, great potential for trouble. With all the drunkards and ruffians there—given the best weapons in all of America, no less—trouble was just waiting around the corner. He didn’t want them to stay in Washington for long, so he sent them out to explore the hilly range to the northwest.
(Yaaawn! I'll finish up this chapter - by editing this post - when I'm not so damn sleepy. =_= You'll know what little to expect with the timeline/outline thing.)