INES III: Storm Tapestry

Jan 3, 2055:

I have decided to start keeping a journal of my time as the president's aid. I hope this will be of help to people in the future trying to learn about this "glorious" leader.

Jan 17, 2055:

The president, who insists on being called "El Jefe" now, has continued to gain support in recent polls. This is a very good sign that he is finally being able to see his dream of uniting Mexico ideologically.

Feb 7, 2055:

Yesterday, while El Jefe was pulling "overtime" with his new secretary, he asked me three times to "Raul, get in on this". My continued refusal, I am a married man with morals, after all, only led to him making comments which were of the nature of questioning my sexuality. Finally, the third time, he informed me that "she really wanted me in on this". I cannot bring myself to think any more about this subject. What will Magdalena think if she ever finds out? In my defense, I was pretty drunk at the time.

May 1, 2055:

Well, El Jefe's Decree #1 has finally come into affect: From here on out, any and all references to El Jefe's former identity will be stricken from record, and his name will be replaced, in all instances, with El Jefe, as well as the position of Presidente will now be known as Jefe. Lord help us all.

Jun 24, 2055:

It seems that with the growing popularity of the Liberty Party, the other parties are collapsing, as their leadership seems to just end overnight. Interesting.

Sep 18, 2055:

Oh, I just stumbled across this half-assed diary again. I really don't have the time to keep updating this on a regular basis, I think I'll just shelve it until some later time when I can commit more to it. Perhaps I'll pick it up again next year, if I remember. Until then, Long Live El Jefe! (That was sarcasm.)
 
The Barcelona League
OOC: I'm not sure if I've mentioned it already, but the Republican Party has double-crossed Nikolai Guesde and gone back on their promise to have Castoriadis killed. The Guesdes are now politically irrelevant.

After a discrete period, the once-infamous civil servant Castoriadis had finally been allowed to return to France. Politically he knew he was probably finished (a side-effect of encouraging Guesde's delusions for two years was that he'd learned not to carry similiar delusions himself), but that didn't mean he couldn't try. The role of an Opposition party in the newly democratic state had been claimed by no rival to the Republicans yet- that meant there was still a chance...

Henri, Castoriadis's faithful secretary, had researched all the potential political groups and concluded that the party known as the Barcelona League had a near-optimal combination of charisma, clout, and gullibility. Their headquarters outside the city itself certainly helped- an impressive-looking Spanish ex-nobleman's palace.

As Castoriadis drove up to the front gate, he was greeted by a formal, official-looking butler. He then began to wonder if Henri had made a mistake- this looked more like a nobleman's palace (or perhaps a rich buisnessman's) with some idiotic political dream than a real political party.

"Hello, Castoriadis."

Castoriadis supressed a frown- that they knew who he was was near-inevitable. He'd have to talk his way around it...

"Want some posion to eat?"

Castoriadis began to back up his car- clearly, they didn't want him here.

"Wait, no- I meant it as a compliment!"

Castoriadis hit the brake. What the heck was going on here?

"The Barcelona League's members all eat roasted posion habitually- that way we can't get posioned."
"But if- if you-"
"Sound logic, isn't it?"

Castoriadis thought for a second. Maybe he meant that they developed an immunity over time. Maybe.

"I'm not allowed in the building myself, sir" explained the butler, opening the door for Castoriadis. "Perhaps you would like to come in, sir?"
"Alright..."

Castoriadis stepped foward carefully, examining the building. A large part of it was deceptive- the apparent 'palace' now appeared to be mostly made of wood. Well-polished wood, sure, but-

"Excellent home, isn't it sir? I got it from Palace'R'Us."

Castoriadis looked back at the 'butler' in shock. Was this some sort of rich madman? No, that was a stupid question- a better one would be something like "What the hell are you doing, Henri!"
"You seem a little peculiar, sir."

"Sorry", replied Castoriadis. "Henri- he's my secretary. I- thought he would have called by now."
"Such is the way, isn't it sir. I've been waiting for the publishing of the Barcelona League Campaign Platform for three months now sir- I wonder what's kept them waiting?"

It look less than a second for Castoriadis to put the facts together. After that, he decided speed was of the essence- he turned and ran.

(OOC: Got stuck for ideas, so decided to try out a variant on the 'crazy leader' trope. I still don't know what I'm going to do with most of my characters)
 
16/20 orders in. Deadline here. Orders were vague enough that I have a choice on whether to start a major war this turn.
 
Errm no war please? :p I had send orders from uni and left the USB stick there. So there is a chance one of the assistants sold my orders to the highest bidder.
 
Still my butt itches and that means I might be subjected to some buggery in the near future.
 
I know as a fact I left some open ended things in my orders.. but at the same time, I'm 99% sure my actions would only be activated should war happen. :P
 
Were they mine?
 
Update: 2055

Peaceful Events

Roads and farms received additional investment by CWOH, turning the nation into a major exporter of what was once Canadian grain and laying the groundwork for an economic spike.

The Atlantic Kingdom built an Arctic port at Kugluktuk with slave labor, but its chance at quick profitability was dashed.

The Atlantics initiated Operation Exodus, whereby most Canadians were drugged and dispersed through Queen Victoria’s older patrimony to work as serfs or slaves, their lands parceled up and turned into estates for the Queen’s military. Children under thirteen were ripped from their parents and handed off to middle and upper class Atlantic families to allow them proper upbringings. All this upheaval has essentially eliminated chance of coherent northern rebellion, but it has interfered considerably with economic development in Victoria’s new lands.

The Japanese sold their eastern Pacific islands to the Atlantic Kingdom, withdrawing the region’s few natives to the Home Islands in an odd echo of Queen Victoria’s Sioux City evacuation the year before.

The Texan economy is booming, thanks to ‘Bio-Fuel’ (but somewhat less thanks to Austin’s strange decision to finish what Queen Victoria started, leveling every town in the area annexed from the Atlantic Kingdom).

(+1 Texan ASP)

The people seem to really love El Jefe, who, by the way, apparently never had a different name.

(+Mexican approval rating)

The Confederacy of United World Archipelagos continued pouring money into the infrastructure of its newest member states, but the country seems to be reaching a carrying capacity of sorts. Growth is mostly based in international trade and is increasingly fragile.

The Patagonian army shuffled back to the Brazilian border to help prevent infiltration by communist guerrillas.

War fervor spiked in the USACS. According to official policy, two minutes out of every citizen’s day are devoted to hating Europeans. Mass conscription was instituted, and foreign diplomats in Bamako report that the new units seem almost as competent as professional soldiers.

(+40 USACS irregular divisions)

The Egyptian government poured vast amounts of money into the pro-environmental development of desert communities, making some discoveries about solar power, attire, and desert-friendly crops. In the words of President Gahiji, “God has given us a land of sharp contrast, one of great bounty and one of desolate waste. Perhaps it is time to these wastes and look for the gifts God has hidden for us.”

A new kind of war is fought in the shadows.

(See Spotlight)

(-UK approval rating, -French approval rating, -Balt approval rating, -7 Japanese irregular divisions, -Japanese approval rating, -1 Japanese ASP)

Spanish separatism has begun to rise. ‘Why is the Second Republic based in Paris?’ ask some demagogues. ‘Why should the old conquerors take precedence over us?’

(-French approval rating)

Japan withdrew its claims on the Russian Far East and Beringia in return for Moscow’s help against the Chinese. The continued revisions to Treaty of Helsinki have restored a measure of the oligarchs’ prestige, and indeed they seem spurred to new levels of activity, whipping up hate against Bejing, laying the groundwork to start restoring the economy, taking extreme air gap measures to internet virus-proof their financial sector, and offering some limited cultural concessions to the Central Asians to put a dampener on potential unrest.

(+Russian approval rating)

Rome and Israel negotiated a free trade agreement.

(See Military Events)

Inspired by the UK’s Cyber Renaissance, Consul Nico Romano declared a Roman Techo-Revolution and gave a lot of speeches about the need to be “open-minded to scientific breakthroughs” that “will increase the welfare,” but has not inaugurated any public programs to follow his words.

Rome began matching German border fortifications with their own, and even built some on the border with Romania.

The Germans withdrew their troops from Mongolia via the Trans-Siberian railroad, and their Balt and Ukranian allies followed along. Thus reinforced, the Germans shut down their military systems, greatly improved firewalls, and rebooted.

Israel’s internal crisis has decelerated, with some signs that the Lehi really don’t get along with the Islamists very well, and are willing to talk peace with Prime Minister Livni.

Iran, in possession of a huge percentage of the world’s oil reserves since its annexation of most Arabia, further expanded drilling and dug new pipelines. The states of the Neo-European Union are growing dependent on Iranian petrol; embargo at this point would do meaningful damage to their various economies.

(+1 Iranian ASP)

Despite many diplomatic tantrums and harsh words, the Iranian Umma and the Indian Union found their way to a negotiated peace. All Muslim land occupied by Iran in 2053, plus Socotra, would be handed to the Supreme Leader, but Madras would get a hefty subsidy for two years. Victory celebrations took place in both countries, louder in Iran because they fit with the established narrative of successful jihad.

(+Iranian approval rating)

The USACS failed to withdraw from Sri Lanka and the Maldives, in noncompliance with a secret accord that the Indians quickly made public.

The Siamese government managed to define the country’s ongoing electronic meltdown as a symptom of the Chinese. Given the circumstances, peace advocates have become increasingly rare.

(+Siamese approval rating)

China took a page from India’s book and began raising levies in a patriotic fervor.

(+50 Chinese irregular divisions)

The Japanese declared the Asia-Pacific War as the Great Patriotic War (of Chinander Capitalist Dog Aggression Against the Imperial Proletarian State and the Imperial Proletariat of the Second Japanese Empire of the Proletariat), apparently because the ill-defined thing was in dire need of more names. Work hours were doubled, chemically complicated rations helped with the patriotism, and endless plans for insane victory memorials were bandied about until the common Japanese was far more interested in how skyscrapers were supposed to hang upside down from the clouds than in the continuing Chinese resistance to their Proletarian Emperor, He Who Holds Up the World.

(+Japanese approval rating)

(See Military Events)

The Japanese transitioned their financial sector into a mixed system of isolated servers and hard copy backups, aimed at minimizing damage done by any Siam-style internet attack.

The Japanese economy, aided by patriotic fervor, is starting to recover from Chinese occupation.

(+1 Japanese ASP)

Military Events

Between them, Quebec and Patagonia sent thirty groups of ultra-modern warplanes to help Brazil rid itself of communist infestation. Swaths of rainforest where bombed into firewood, but the Marxists were forced to abandon their camps and flee northward over the border into the unstable Guianas, where they count on international law to prevent TUA pursuit. Terrorist attacks in Brazil have dropped off significantly.

(-1 Brazilian division)

The USACS ceded Zululand to South Africa, handing of the problem of the stubborn rebels to the whites. Eager for a big victory, the Afrikaners brought their professional military to bear and mostly wiped out the resistance. As their forces were evicted from towns and cities, important Zulu leaders raved about an Egyptian betrayal.

(-3 South African divisions, -2 South African groups)

Some unknown group has launched a wave of rocket attacks at the USACS cities of Casablanca, Bamako, and Tunis.

The Ethiopian Emperor was caught in a palace coup and replaced by a new Negusa Nagast more amenable to the landed interests. It sure seems the landed interests need protecting; communist insurgents are appearing everywhere, and some areas have already slipped out of capitalist control.

(-5 Ethiopian divisions , -Ethiopian approval rating)

The Chinese sent a considerable force to reoccupy Mongolia, which was accomplished easily, as German resistance was rather non-existent. Meanwhile, the Uyghurs revolted and forced Beijing’s administrators from Xinjiang, while the free Tibetans raided eastwards.

(-1 Chinese division)

The Japanese launched their Jinan-Seoul Campaign at the same time the Russians pushed down into Manchuria and their Far East, almost catching in a vise the Chinese professionals and levies that rushed northwards. The Chinese retreated in good order, even though the Russians and the Japanese used every form of biological and chemical weapon they could get their hands on, but Beijing itself fell behind the front lines. Returning an old favor, the Japanese began setting up a puppet Proletarian Republic of China, and Shandong Province was only saved by events at sea.

(-4 Japanese divisions, -2 Japanese groups, -2 Russian divisions, -2 Russian groups, -2 Chinese divisions, -4 Chinese irregular divisions, -6 Chinese groups, -1 Chinese ASP)

With the Chinese abruptly reemphasizing warfare in the north, the Siamese found themselves in control of the southern battlespace and rather hindered by their defensive mentality. The First Army in Fuzhou abandoned the city and broke northwards in a pillaging rampage until they reached the Shanghai urban area, which was captured despite heavy casualties from attrition, but the only other real action of the front was the destruction of the fairly limited Chinese army based in Hanoi, which was harassed until it disintegrated.

(-8 Siamese divisions, -1 Siamese group, -4 Chinese divisions, -6 Chinese irregular divisions, -2 Chinese groups, -1 Chinese ASP)

The Shan continued to fight Siamese federal forces, but their rebellion couldn’t do much more damage beyond harassment.

(-1Siamese division)

Japanese military communication became extensively analogue, which prevented complete disaster on high seas, as ships that were not quickly switched over grew a habit of running into mines. As it was, the Chinese navy got in a few good blows while the Imperial Proletarian forces were in disarray, but with Siam in the picture, the numbers game had shifted, and the Bane of the Xiao Riben no longer had the forces necessary to cut off supply lines from the Home Islands to the mainland.

(-2 Chinese squadrons, -4 Japanese squadrons)

As the Home Islands experienced social turmoil, various Japanese-held Pacific islands that had not been sold to the AK threw out their small garrisons and pledged allegiance to the Confederation of United World Archipelagos.

A Japanese fleet with heavy air support forced the Chinese at Taiwan to surrender, but when this reclamation fleet tried to do the same at Sulawesi, it bumped into an Iranian dispatchment that had already seized the island. Jumpy trigger fingers led to a limited clash, but commanders on both sides quickly decided they had better things to do than hammer each other to pieces without direct orders. Meanwhile, with Iranian protection and advisement, the runaway Siamese state of Java (which had been spared the digital plague) was set up as independent.

(-1 Iranian squadron, +Java, -1 Japanese squadron)
 
Story Events

Queen Victoria is a very popular lady. Unvanquishable? Many Atlantic nobles would like to think so.

(+5 Atlantic divisions)

El Jefe inspires half-hearted diary entries.

(+5 Mexican divisions)

ASIST has many applications.

(+1 Archipelagic Electronic Warfare Technology level)

Patagonia’s new prime minister Carlos Velez stands strong against communism.

(+5 Patagonian divisions)

Fortress Africa cannot be defeated?

(+5 USACS groups)

President Gahiji of Egypt thinks the world needs more sun.

(+5 Egyptian divisions)

French intrigues sometimes have the accidental side effects relating to the military-industrial complex.

(+5 French groups)

The Romans have a very oiled war machine.

(+1 Roman M-HET level added in Neo-European Union Tech Pool)

The Israelis gain interesting rewards from their association with Order rebels.

(+1 Israeli Powered Exoskeletons level)

By bike and by McDonalds, the people of Siam are rising up against the Chinese invaders.

(+10 Siamese irregular divisions)

Spotlight

“Materials are always being destroyed and rebuilt, but the beings that control the system will make themselves irreducible to ashes.”
-Someone

Three main clandestine attacks shocked the nations of the world. For one, UK and French factories and railroads were bombed, and cyber attacks on French banks had some limited measure of success. Waves of restless citizens called their leaders in London and Paris, shouting that someone had to do something about what was deemed a ‘communist plague,’ but at the end of the year, while the situation in the UK has stabilized, (with rumors that the local terror cells had themselves been brutally murdered) the situation in France grows ever more dire. There were cars exploding in shopping districts and shootouts on the streets of Paris. Briand, despite his noble speeches, looks increasingly incompetent as president of the Second Republic.

For two, a cyber-terrorists known as the Freedom Force hacked into what USACS and Japanese servers they could, finding limited but fairly convincing video footage of Japanese mass executions of Chinese civilians as well as documentation of widespread USACS genocide in inner Africa. The information was splashed over the public internet, including what remained of the Japanese one, inaugurating a tidal wave of disgust against LIARS in American and European nations, including the Balt Confederacy. Amateur analysts argue that the Freedom Force is not one organization, and at least three ‘Forces’ are working against the Imperial Proletarian Emperor (one based in China, one based in Israel, and one operating with a kind of tech only found in the Americas) but whatever the story is behind the scenes, the Kélen Toumani and his most famous ally have been rather embarrassed of late.

For three, Japanese systems organizing the distribution of rations were penetrated before enough air walls could be put in place, and in the resultant chaos, millions of Japanese received conscience and unrest-boosting rations, which compounded the impact of the three-dimensional Japanese murder recordings floating around , leading to a number of ill-conceived ‘revolutions’ that were put down very bloodily by the Citizens’ Guard. Appropriate rations were restored, and the crisis seems over for now, but the nation’s economic recovery has been set back.

NPC Diplomacy

To: LIARS
From: Romania


Nico Romano is obviously preparing for war against us. For reasons of realpolitik, we apply to your organization.

To: LIARS
From: Balt Confederacy


Give us a good reason why we should stay associated with you murderers.

To: USACS
From: India


Withdraw from Sri Lanka and the Maldives this coming year, or we will open up a new war with decidedly larger aims.

To: The Archipelagos
From: Revolting Japanese Islands


Organize us and protect us!
 
Mapy doodle went to town.

Spoiler :
2055iii.png
 
Notes

Not you either, Nuke.

Everyone, in your next set of orders, due Monday, include a vote on whether we should stay on weekly updates or go back to Turbo and have another update on the 10th.

Vertinari118, EasonG, and electric926 did not send orders.

Common tech stacks with non-common tech.

The OTL Federated States of Micronesia and Palau are Immac’s, while the other blueish islands are Nuke’s.

EDIT 1: Map up.

EDIT 2: Stats up.
 
Hang on- Briand's President of the Second Republic, not Chevenment!
 
You are right. Fixing...

...and fixed.
 
From: Second Japanese Empire
To: Iran

What is necessary to get you to withdraw?

From: Second Japanese Empire
To: Rebellious Islands, World Archipelagos

We can recognize the right of these island chains to determine their own sovereignty if an agreement can be worked out to end any confrontation in the Pacific.

From: Second Japanese Empire
To: China

You can surrender now, or we can continue to make life very, very unpleasant for you. We're certain you'll find our terms are lenient.
 
Uhh.. well.. good update? It was well written.

Why is there documentation of.. uh.. things of that nature.. that would be assessable.. anywhere? Sorry to complain Imago.

To: India
From: USACS


Oh, we are deeply sorry. Our forces are just leaving now..

To: The Balt Confederacy
From: USACS
CC: World


Because our soldiers fought and died so you could remain a free and independent state. The lies that have been spread about us is just that. Lies. Genocide is an awful thing indeed. We admit to the killing of rebels. But nothing past that. We could just as easily spread a smear campaign about anyone, given the time and resources. Because we are a closed society, does not mean we have something to hide. We offer any world government the ability to send representatives to Bamako this year, for a diplomatic summit, and a tour of our beautiful country. You will find a growing industrial nation, slowly healing from the wounds rampant decolonization brought us.
 
Uhh.. well.. good update? It was well written.

A little short, but twas more coherent than the last one.

Why is there documentation of.. uh.. things of that nature.. that would be assessable.. anywhere?

You are not the only one who has things going on behind the scenes. :p

To: USACS
From: Balt Confederacy


We will attend your summit, and reserve judgment until then.
 
The world is going completely frigging insane. AWESOME UPDATE
 
To: The Archipelagos
From: Revolting Japanese Islands


Organize us and protect us!

The OTL Federated States of Micronesia and Palau are Immac’s, while the other blueish islands are Nuke’s.

From First Senatorial Representative Alejandrina Vásquez of the Confederate Union of World Archipelago senate,
to the State Governors of the newest Confederate Union of World Archipelago states of Micronesia and Palau

We recognize you as sovereign citizens of the Confederate Union of World Archipelagos. We will of course protect our people by any means required. What a truly remarkable day for the Archipelagos, democracy and human rights everywhere.


From First Senatorial Representative Alejandrina Vásquez of the Confederate Union of World Archipelago senate,
to Japan

Do you recognize Micronesia and Palau as states of the CUWA?
 
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