Medieval America Tk II: Discussion Thread

[Strategos' Risk]

Did Rob Bartlett, the creator of the blog that tried to continue the original project, ever sign up to this board?

 

[Rognvald]

I'm going to upload my thoughts on Mormon medieval rule soon. Warning, it's a wall of text.

And I don't think he get did.

 

[jmberry]

Right, this discussion is good, as the one part of Plains life White never got around to detailing was the Tribal government style. And yes, Bartlett did register.

To finish up our debate of the Cowboys, here's the entry on their religion, New Israelite (including the Jackelope entry)

[SIZE=+2]B[/SIZE]ecause the alien cultures of the West have alien spiritual needs, Non-Denominational influence fades beyond the eastern farmlands. The nomadic herdsmen of the Great Plains have no towns, and therefore no churches. With a society structured by simple kinship, they also have no room for a fancy religious heirarchy. Elders and charismatic prophets instruct the people in the laws of God.
The cowboys strictly believe that Jesus was the Son of God and the Saviour of Man, but their lifestyle is so similar to the lifestyle of the early wandering Israelites that they have also taken a fundamentalist view of the Old Testament and its laws. They've resumed the Judaic taboo on pork because the hog is a dirty creature of the hated farmers, not a proper animal for a herdsman to bother with. They've restored the taboo on images so they don't have to tote around Madonnas, Pietas and the icons of a hundred saints. Lacking jails and dungeons, they practice immediate justice by exile, mutilation and execution by stoning. They circumsize their men and segregate their menstruating women from decent folk.
The Black Hills have a special significance to the New Israelites, and in times of spiritual crisis, a person will make a pilgrimage here in order to meditate and seek guidance. By common consent, the hills are considered neutral territory, and no pilgrim - not even one from an enemy tribe - is molested in his travels. The Black Hills therefore have become the site of several informal and spontaneous monastaries, which lack any permanent structure, but grow and fade as pilgrims come and go. The New Israelites also treat the faces at Mt. Rushmore with superstitious awe, and they consider this point to be the bridge between earth, heaven and hell.
For religious holidays, they've reverted to a lunar calendar, because it's easier for nomads to watch the phases of the moon than it is to measure the sun's shadow on unfamiliar ground. Their holiest festival is Easter/Passover (the week of the first full moon following the spring equinox) and its associated holidays such as Lent and Pentecost. They also celebrate Christmas (the first new moon following the winter solstice) with bonfires to rekindle the sun; and the Day of Atonement by chasing a scapegoat into the wilderness.

The Jackelope
These are vicious creatures that hunt in packs across the open prairie. Cowboy scouts are constantly on the lookout for the telltale signs of jackalope activity -- mutilated cattle carcasses with the eyes and soft parts neatly excised. Whenever a tribe suspects that it is entering jackalope territory, the pastors perform complex purification rituals that have been handed down over the generations as the surest means of keeping jackalopes away. And, thankfully, the rituals always work. Nobody who has performed the ritual properly has ever been attacked by jackalopes.

So then, is the religions realistic? Anything need to be changed?

 

[jmberry]

Mormon Culture-



So, what? This makes Mormons the Ottomans/Byzantines of the Medieval American world?

No, the position of Byzantium belongs to the US itself (with Venice thrown in). That said, the Mormon religion wasn't detailed, so when we get to the hydraulic empires your ideas will be useful.

 

[Rognvald]

No, the position of Byzantium belongs to the US itself (with Venice thrown in). That said, the Mormon religion wasn't detailed, so when we get to the hydraulic empires your ideas will be useful.

Oh, I quoted the second guys posts on Mormons.

But I do have a block of text on the Mormons done. As a Mormon, I've decided to take the initiative and write our own destiny. Better us than some Gentile. (Yea, we use that term)

But as for the New Israelite religion...

No. Why woul they abandon several Christian principles in favor of Jewish ones? If anything, they would go for more Native American beliefs. But Mt. Rushmore does make sense...

 

[Rognvald]

Mormon Government​

President- The top of the heap, king of the hill, etc. The President holds both absolute temporal and spiritual power, which is, of course, granted to him by his position as the most vaunted Apostle of God. He has oversight of every single aspect of the Church, arbitrates the General Conferences, conducts diplomacy with other heads of state, and creates new policy through revelation or discussion with the Twelve. He is advised by two well-educated men (Eunuchs would not be seriously considered in the Mormon church), referred to as Counselors. Counselors are trained from birth and attached to an Apostle. They give advice as well as talks.

Apostle- Also known as the Elders of the Church. Twelve men, knowledgeable in both temporal and spiritual matters, are selected and confirmed by common consent at General Conferences to rule the Church. When a President dies, the Twelve meet to select a new leader from among their ranks. Having a member of the Twelve in your family is a great pride, and several great families maneuver politically to convince the sitting Apostles to select one of their relatives as their next member. Politically, the Apostles can propose changes to policy and are placed in charge of administrative bodies to give oversight to various aspects of the Empire, such as education, agriculture, etc.

Seventy- A Seventy is a representative of a region in the Church. The Seventy provide a voice for their fellow church members in high government at General Conferences, when the current conduct of the nation and Church is discussed. They are selected by the 12, and confirmed by their constituents. While they hold little actual political power, it is a prestigious thing to be appointed a Seventy, and it is seen, for more ambitious men, to be a path on the way to Apostleship.

Area Authority- Also known as the Presiding Officers, the Area Authorities are subordinate to the Seventy of their Region. Area Authorities oversee the Stake Presidents and make reports to the Seventies of the goings on in their area. They also host Area Conferences, in a similar vein to General Conferences, just on a less grand scale.

Stake Presidents- Ruling over the Stakes of Zion, Stake Presidents are the some of the strongest members of government for the average person. Having control over the local Stake Battalion (subservient to Zion’s Legion), the Stake Presidents oversee missionary efforts and invasions to expand their Stakes. They rule for ten or so years, and report to the Area Authorities.

High Council- Equal to the Stake President, the High Council ensures that the Gospel is followed in the Stakes of Zion. Comprised of 12 men, the High Council is the judicial and legislative branch of the Stakes of Zion. It retains the ability to “defellowship” members, as well as the much feared “excommunication”.

Bishop- The lowest level of authority, the Bishop rules over the Wards (subservient to the Stakes). Ensures that his parishoners are cared for, and that the wishes of his superiors are carried out. He is also the head of the local United Order.

United Order- Organized at a Ward level, the United Order controls the “surplus” of church member’s goods (usually a tenth). It then holds it in a storehouse, and distributes it as needed to members in good standing. Very helpful for times of drought or famine.

 

[Malta]

Railroads though even in Dies in the Fire still exsisted and were used to ship cargo or persons, mostly by virtue of bulk.

 

[jmberry]

Railroads though even in Dies in the Fire still exsisted and were used to ship cargo or persons, mostly by virtue of bulk.

I repeat: 900 years have passed. The wood has rotted away, and the steel was taken to be melted down for more useful implements. The only place you'd likely find even a trace of railroads would be the Southwest, and even there they'd be too sandscarred to be useful.

 

[Malta]

I repeat: 900 years have passed. The wood has rotted away, and the steel was taken to be melted down for more useful implements. The only place you'd likely find even a trace of railroads would be the Southwest, and even there they'd be too sandscarred to be useful.

And people can replicate and rebuild. The seasonal basis for the Medieval America is a collapse of energy resources that move modern civilization. Medieval Railways existed.

 

[Baradas]

So here's a very crude map of my image of cowboy territory, please feel free to change it however you like, I would make it better but it's a bit late for me to be doing that right now so maybe tomorrow.

The circle is for the black hills which I imagine would be the spiritual and population center for them.

 

[jmberry]

This is actually closer to the breadth of Cowboy culture (assuming one includes Iowa as 'Cowboy')

 

[Zuvarq]

As for the demographics of Medieval America:
- They would have a rural character. Cities would starve. Or they may have been nuked or succumbed to plagues. Whatever happened, cities will be hit the worst by the Regression/apocalypse.
- So American ethnic groups that mostly live in cities will be rare or absorbed by others. While countryside people will be the main ancestors of 'modern medieval' Americans.
- Mormons should dominate the entire western half of the former USA.

 

[jmberry]

On that note, White's Iowa is the next subject, since although it was the last subject he posted on the site, it rounds out the Cowboy Culture

[SIZE=+2]A[/SIZE] hundred and thirty years ago, the Bailey family of Kansas broke through the Missouri River defenses at Fort Leavenworth and quickly trapped and massacred the army sent to stop them at Gallatin, Missouri. Rampaging at will among the helpless farmers of Iowa, they slaughtered every male they encountered, corralled the women into slave pens, and loaded their wagons with the loot of a hundred devastated towns. Riding far ahead of the main Bailey force, an allied clan, the Dabneys, siezed the ferries across the Mississippi and spread the devastation deeper into the Midwest. By the time their vanguard was turned back at Lima, Ohio, they had cut a deep gash of destruction across half the Midwest.
For the next fifty years, Dabney raids out of Illinois were an annual event. Wisconsin learned almost immediately that it was better just to pay them off rather than face another invasion. Ohio built a great line of ditches, towers and walls along the Wabash and cringed in anticipation of the next attack. Michigan took some nasty hits; so did Tennessee. Then something amazing happened.
George, the new leader of the Baileys, allowed merchants from Memphis to rebuild St. Louis. Having been raised among the luxuries of civilization, George had a taste for the finer things, but he realized that two generations of genocide had driven civilization out of reach. The Dabneys of Illinois were in his way, so in exchange for converting to Non-Denom and giving Shelby County trading rights in his kingdom, he got to borrow an armada of river boats from Memphis to attack and anihilate the Dabneys. It took several years, but finally, the Baileys established mastery over the whole region from the Missouri to the Wabash.
That was eighty years ago. Since then, the civilization of the Midwest has seaped back into Iowa, and there is almost no relic of the territory's original, barbarian past.
Except the name. The original kingdom that had been wiped out by the Baileys had covered almost exactly the same area as the current Territory of Iowa, but because it had originated east of the Mississippi and spread west by conquest, it had been called the State of Illinois. Now Illinois is no longer a state, only a a place.
Specifics:

• System of Government: Feudalism
  • Head of State:
    • Colonel, chosen by and from the warriors of the ruling Bailey family
• Population: 3,400,000
• Religion: Non-Denominational
  • Totemic Symbol: Bald Eagle
• Map

Table of Contents

Some things not shown in this description - Iowa's borders stretch from Indianapolis in the east to the Missouri River in the West, and from Quincy, Illinois to somewhere north of Madison, Wisconsin, with something called The Big Wall of Iowa stretching across the Northwestern border. It also includes the Iowan Coat of Arms - a bald eagle on a pale blue background.

Some things to note (ignore the links - they mostly lead nowhere): Aside from Iowa/Illinois, the big movers and shakers of the Ohio watershed are revealed to be Tennessee, Shelby County (Memphis, revealing that Tennessee shrunk), Wisconsin, Michigan, and Ohio - the map also reveals a rump Missouri centered on St. Louis and a rump Indiana centered on Evansville.

Finally, this will be the preferable format for all final country submissions.

 

[Alex Richards]

Right, this discussion is good, as the one part of Plains life White never got around to detailing was the Tribal government style. And yes, Bartlett did register.

To finish up our debate of the Cowboys, here's the entry on their religion, New Israelite (including the Jackelope entry)



So then, is the religions realistic? Anything need to be changed?

Oh, I quoted the second guys posts on Mormons.

But I do have a block of text on the Mormons done. As a Mormon, I've decided to take the initiative and write our own destiny. Better us than some Gentile. (Yea, we use that term)

But as for the New Israelite religion...

No. Why woul they abandon several Christian principles in favor of Jewish ones? If anything, they would go for more Native American beliefs. But Mt. Rushmore does make sense...

There's some stuff that makes sense as being de facto changes retroactively given a spiritual stamp. Pigs are not going to be part of the diet anyway, and bulky goods are not going to be wanted.

However, I agree that a complete ban on graven images does not make sense, as it's quite concievable that small crucifixes, crosses and votive images would be perfectly transportable. The Priest may have his own version of the modern 'travel communion kit', consisting of a small chalice and patern- probably silver and handed down through the generations as precious objects, and even if the offering becomes simply food and water blessed by the priest rather than wine and wafers, it would still fit with a few traditions being preserved.

As discussed earlier, there seems to be grounds for having at least a few permanent settlements- probably at trade intersections, sacred spots or good watering holes, and I'd say that there will be at least a permanent stone core to the monastaries of the Black Hills even if they expand and contract otherwise. There's bound to be some people who end up permanently living there.

Lack of Hierarchy is beliveable. At most, it might be recognised that there is a sort of 'head of the faith' at the Black Hills who, being so close to the boundary with the hereafter, speaks with greater authority on divisive matters.

 

[Zioneer]

This is great, I only have one suggestion so far; switch the "Templar" term to "Danites" and you'll have a more authentically Mormon knightly class.

I'll probably mostly just help Rognvald in the Mormon part of this project, if he wants help.

 

[Rognvald]

This is great,I only have one suggestion so far; switch the "Templar" term to "Danites" and you'll have a more authentically Mormon knightly class.

I'll probably mostly just help Rognvald in the Mormon part of this project, if he wants help.

I was thinking the Danites would be more like the Oprichnik's/Inquisition, watching everyone, trying to make sure that they are following the religous and secular dogma of the realm.

As to the army, I wasn't thinking of a knightly class perse. We are quite a meriotocratic religion, so I was thinking of a Zion's Legion, which comprises the elite, regular units, and the Stake Battalions, which defend and expand the local Stakes of Zion. I did think of a Polynesian Guard to defend the President (in a rare moment of weakness)

If you want to collaborate, via PM or something, that would be great, sirrah!

 

[Malta]

As for the demographics of Medieval America:
- They would have a rural character. Cities would starve. Or they may have been nuked or succumbed to plagues. Whatever happened, cities will be hit the worst by the Regression/apocalypse.
- So American ethnic groups that mostly live in cities will be rare or absorbed by others. While countryside people will be the main ancestors of 'modern medieval' Americans.
- Mormons should dominate the entire western half of the former USA.

I rather think it was more a process of De-suburbanization, with a stronger form of energy crash that de localized the major metro regions. Instead of towns off the map becoming ghost towns with the creation of highways and such the larger cities with little sustainability (the cities in the American Southwest with no longer access to water) depopulate. Along with the associated famine, disease, warfare, etc etc.

Hence why we have Pacific Northwest City States. And DC.

To quote the Original

As industrial civilization shrivelled and died, it became more and more difficult for Washington to control all 50 states from sea to shining sea. After a few generations of nominal subservience, the most distant states began to break off and explore their own destinies. After a few more generations, even the nearer states were acting more like independent nations rather than subservient subunits. After about a century, federal power had shrunk to a point where it controlled little more than the Potomac Basin and the Chesapeake Bay, and not always all of that.

Shriveled being the main word.

 

[jmberry]

Alright, here are the preliminary revisions to the Cowboys. Iowa has not been commented on, so it is not included. Also, ignore the fact that all my words are italics - computer problems.

Nomadic Herdsmen
Where water is too scarce to support agriculture, nomads drive herds of ruminents from pasture to pasture. On the grasslands of Great Plains, the nomadic lifestyle has reach a peak of affluence with vast herds of cattle and horses driven by wealthy, healthy tribes of brutal barbarians. In the scrubland of the western desert, however, the nomads are a more sorry bunch, riding burros and leading flocks of sheep and goats from waterhole to waterhole, arousing less envy and fear among their agricultural neighbors.

Food:

Humans cannot digest the grasses that cover the priarie, but they can eat the animals that eat the grasses - cattle, sheep and goats. Because it's more economical to drain an animal again and again rather than simply slaughtering it, the staples of the nomadic diet are dairy products such as milk, cheese, yogurt and butter; and blood tapped from non-vital arteries in small doses. In fact, the drinking of cattle blood is such an important part of the nomadic diet that it is one of the only Old Testament taboos not reimposed by the New Israelite religion. Meat is clearly secondary, although they do eat it almost daily, even in the dead of winter. It is usually roasted or barbicued over an open fire. They eat very few vegetables, except what they scrounge from the forests of the rivers and foothills.

Clothing:

The typical cowboy wears a light woolen workshirt, heavy leather boots -- pointy-toed and high-heeled to fit into a stirrup -- and leather pants to facilitate riding. He keeps the sun out of his eyes with a broad-brimmed hat of stiffened leather or felt. In colder weather, he will tuck a wool cap under his hat, and wrap himself in jackets and sweaters of wool and felt, quilted in flamboyant, abstract patterns (not shown). Woman dress similarly, except that they wear long skirts instead of pants.

Housing:

As they drive their herds from pasture to pasture, the nomads drag their villages along with them, and tribe of cowboys on the move always includes a long dusty caravan of covered wagons drawn by teams of oxen. Whenever the tribe settles in for more than an overnight stay, a city of teepees will sprout up for extra living space.

Fuel:

Because wood is in short supply on the open prairie, the principle fuel of the cowboys is dried cattle dung, which usually contains enough undigested grass to sustain a low flame for cooking. In the winter, when they need larger flames, they generally withdraw to the foothills or riverbanks, where they can chop timber.

Tools and Materials:

For the most part, the tools of the nomads are manufactured from the bodies of their animals: woven wool; pressed felt; rawhide straps and thongs; glue from boiled hooves; composite bows of bone and horn; sheepskin parchment for the priesthhood. They make periodic forays into the mountains for the wood to build their wagons, and they trade with settled communities for the metal to make their knives.

Horse Archers
Because it combined the mobility and long distance killing power that soldiers with a memory of indutrial era wars had come to expect, the horse archer was the first medieval fighting style to emerge after the collapse of civilization. For a few centuries, it dominated the old United States, until it was discovered that large warhorses carrying heavily armored knights could often stand their ground against an attack of horse archers; however, it was only in the settled communities of the forest zone that there was enough grain to feed these large horses, so the armies of archers on grass-fed ponies remained dominant on the open prairie.
Among the nomadic herdsmen of the plains and desert, just about every adult male (or roughly a quarter of the population) is trained in the arts of war simply because the management of a herd was so much like battle itself. The cowboys circle the herd on fast ponies, leading it in a chosen direction, splitting it into smaller sections and selecting a few head of livestock to pick off for the day's meal with a couple of well-aimed arrows. The techniques for slaughtering cattle and sheep work just as well for slaughtering people. The archers ride up close enough to send a volley into the massed enemy, and then veer off before the enemy can retaliate. They keep this up all day, thinning the enemy ranks and maybe creating gaps that can be slowly widened, wedging the mob apart into smaller, bite-sized groups.
Adding to the military strength of the nomads is their incredible long-distance mobility. Armies of the forest zone are tied to the land -- both defending it and working it -- and they can only spare a handful of their adult males for long distance campaigning. The nomads, however, can simply uproot their entire nation and drag it along wherever they go. In the quiet times between battles, they can still tend their herds and their families as if they were at peace, and they can thrive wherever their is enough pasture to support them.
It is the lack of pasture that limits the depth of nomadic invasions. As the invaders penetrate deeper into the farmlands, they leave a trail of devastation behind them. When the trees become too thick for easy movement, the nomads realise they should retreat to the highplains or risk destruction. The farmers then move in to reclaim the empty land.

New Israelites
Because the alien cultures of the West have alien spiritual needs, Non-Denominational influence fades beyond the eastern farmlands. The nomadic herdsmen of the Great Plains have few towns, and therefore few churches. With a society structured by simple kinship, they also have no room for a fancy religious heirarchy. Elders and charismatic prophets instruct the people in the laws of God.
The cowboys strictly believe that Jesus was the Son of God and the Saviour of Man, but their lifestyle is so similar to the lifestyle of the early wandering Israelites that they have also taken a fundamentalist view of the Old Testament and its laws. They've resumed the Judaic taboo on pork because the hog is a dirty creature of the hated farmers, not a proper animal for a herdsman to bother with. They've restored the taboo on most images so they don't have to tote around Madonnas, Pietas and the icons of a hundred saints, although small crucifixes are still common. Lacking jails and dungeons, they practice immediate justice by exile, mutilation and execution by stoning. They circumsize their men and segregate their menstruating women from decent folk.
The Black Hills have a special significance to the New Israelites, and in times of spiritual crisis, a person will make a pilgrimage here in order to meditate and seek guidance. By common consent, the hills are considered neutral territory, and no pilgrim - not even one from an enemy tribe - is molested in his travels. The Black Hills therefore have become the site of several informal and spontaneous monastaries, which lack any permanent structure, but grow and fade as pilgrims come and go. The New Israelites also treat the faces at Mt. Rushmore with superstitious awe, and they consider this point to be the bridge between earth, heaven and hell.
For religious holidays, they've reverted to a lunar calendar, because it's easier for nomads to watch the phases of the moon than it is to measure the sun's shadow on unfamiliar ground. Their holiest festival is Easter/Passover (the week of the first full moon following the spring equinox) and its associated holidays such as Lent and Pentecost. They also celebrate Christmas (the first new moon following the winter solstice) with bonfires to rekindle the sun; and the Day of Atonement by chasing a scapegoat into the wilderness.

New Israelite influence mostly fades south of Kansas. The Oklahoman tribes have their own faith modeled after the old Indian beliefs with New Israelite themes, while the Texans follow the Non-Denominational Church, also with New israelite themes

The Jackelope
These are vicious creatures that hunt in packs across the open prairie. Cowboy scouts are constantly on the lookout for the telltale signs of jackalope activity -- mutilated cattle carcasses with the eyes and soft parts neatly excised. Whenever a tribe suspects that it is entering jackalope territory, the pastors perform complex purification rituals that have been handed down over the generations as the surest means of keeping jackalopes away. And, thankfully, the rituals always work. Nobody who has performed the ritual properly has ever been attacked by jackalopes.

Plains Tribalism
The disintegration on settled life west of the Missouri has led to a restoration of nomadic life to survive. The vast majority of Cowboys follow cattle trails, although some do live in small 'boomtowns' where the trails cross rivers. Thus, most cowboys associate themselves in extended families, similar to many nomadic cultures around the world.

At the top is the Chief. He has the most cows in the herd and leads the cowboys into battle. This could be a heriditary position and many of the chief's might trace their lineage back to the pre-regression days- some even claiming descent from the first cowboys of the late 19th Century. Alternatively it could work through meritocratic 'best warrior wins' but that would be a lot less stable. It varies from tribe to tribe. Periodically, the various chief's meet up, sort out some marriage contracts and exchange news, trade goods etc. They have a few big religious events - Christmas, Passover/Easter, and the Fourth of July - which have become the nexus for epic meetings - 'roundups'.

Next we have the priests (although many chiefs are also priests) and craftsmen. Each has an important role in society- the teachings of religion and recording of geneology, a wheelwright to repair the wagon wheels if they break, the smith making metal knives and so forth. These are roles that require a lot of intensive training- not everyone has time to learn. They probably have an apprentice or two at any one time. All would still be skilled horsemen and bowmen, but are likely to be among the guard protecting the wagons rather than in the vanguard.

The ordinary cowboys come next, the toughest of whom probably form into two units- the vanguard and the wagonguard to protect where they're most needed.

Then we have the women who basically get the menial jobs. They ride and shoot well enough, when not too heavily pregnant, and I would they form part of the protection for the wagons. The chief's wife is first amongst equals among them.

Oh, and there are the slaves - largely prisoners of war, they exist on the rock bottom of Tribal society.

Revisions are in red

 

[Rognvald]

*Construction Noises in Background*

Zioneer and I are working on a Mormon update (or two... or five...), just to let y'all know.

And the Plains stuff looks good.

 

[jmberry]

Well, since you guys want to get to the Mormons, I'll open up discussion on the Irrigators, the people of the Southwest and Great Basin.

WARNING: This is probably the most divisive part of the Atlas.

Hydraulic Empires

[Pyramid Picture]​

[SIZE=+2]I[/SIZE]n order to maintain the irrigation systems that allow life to flourish in the desert, the kingdoms of the west strictly regulate the flow of water. The governor's Department of Public Works is constantly at work patching dams, fixing broken pumps and dredging canals. New water mains can only be cut after a careful environmental impact study assures the Department Secretary that the flow of precious water will not be reduced.
This absolute control over such a basic necessity of life has given the average western governor unchallengeable authority over his citizens. He is not only the head of state, he is also commander-in-chief and high priest rolled into one. The slightest insolence by a farmer can be punished by shutting off his water supply. Banishment results in more than mere homesickness; it invariably means a scortching death under the desert sun. Because all farms are located along well-mapped irrigation canals, no one can hide from the draft board, the state police or the tax collector.
In these hydraulic empires all power comes from above. Unlike the kingdoms of the East, there is no independent class of warlords to threaten the governor's position. Instead, the army is composed of Lifers: young boys taken from peasant households and raised in communal barracks to be soldiers. They are allowed no ties to the outside world. They are forced to renounce their parents and they are forbidden to marry. They remain warriors for the rest of their lives, rising through the ranks, and their only allegiance is to their comrades-in-arms and to the governor. Although they are lavishly rewarded for their service, there is still the constant threat of ambitious army officers staging a coup, and this has tended to change dynasties once every century or so.
The civil service is also staffed by men who have been raised from childhood for the job, but no usurping dynasty has ever risen from the bureaucracy because it is composed entirely of eunuchs. At first, the religions of the west imposed taboos on such willful and inhumane mutilation, but the need for a docile bureaucracy eventually overcame revulsion, and the religious leaders who continued to object were replaced by more agreeable colleagues.
The absolute authority enjoyed by hydraulic emperors mean that they are much more free to embark on whatever hare-brained scheme pops into their head. The can mobilize the entire peasantry for massively wasteful building projects such as the Pyramids of Albuquerque, the Sacramento Tower, the Floating Isles of the Salt Lake and the Los Angeles Labrynth. Also worth noting is that all the hydraulic empires have legalized polygamy because what fun is being Supreme Master of the Visible World if you can't have a harem?

The Californias

California is divided between two independent nations, the Republic in the north and the Free Zone in the south.

[Republic Flag]​

The big brother of the two is clearly the Republic, with a population three times that of the Free Zone. Run from the magnificent imperial capital of Sacremento, it spans the entire central valley and controls the coast north from Santa Barbara. It has only two points of contact with the outside world. Ships from all over the Pacific Basin put into the port of San Francisco, but the Republic's principle trading partners are the merchants of the American Northwest. In fact, every now and then, the Northwesterners get bitten by ambition and they'll sieze the city, put a garrison in the fortress at Alcatraz Island and control all trade with California.
At the other side of the state, overland convoys use Donner Pass on their way across the desert to the Mormon lands beyond.

[Free Zone Flag]​

The Southern California Free Zone is a theocracy run by the President of the Scientologist Church, who also has spiritual authority over the Republic. The Free Zone comprises little more than the Los Angeles Basin and its associated neighbors, which gives the president enough land to support himself in style, but not enough to challenge the hegemony of the Republic. The Free Zone is so completely isolated from the outside world by deserts, oceans and mountains that it has never had to defend itself from anyone other than its northern neighbor.
Specifics

• System of Government: Hydraulic Empire
  • Head of State:
    • Republic: Governor, eldest son of the previous Governor
    • Free Zone: President, eldest son of the previous President
• Population:
  • Republic: 1,700,000
  • Free Zone: 600,000
• Religion: Scientologist

The State of Deseret

[Deseret Flag]
[Deseret Map]​

[SIZE=+2]S[/SIZE]itting on top of the principle path connecting east and west, Deseret can either grow prosperous off the trade that converges from all corners of the continent, or it can suffer at the hands of the conquerors that also converge from all corners of the continent. At the moment, the State of Deseret is riding a high tide. It has reduced the nomads of Wyoming to vassalage, and has wrested most of the Snake River valley from the District of Columbia.
Two hundred and twenty years ago, Deseret wasn't so lucky when the nomadic Yaeger clan poured out of Wyoming and pillaged Salt Lake City. After burning the Temple, the Yaegers settled in to enjoy the fruits of their conquest, slowly consolidating a territory which ran north to Pocatello and south to Provo. The Mormons managed a stubborn fighting retreat over the next twenty years until they were backed into Boise and had nowhere left to go. Then the Buddhists attacked from the other side, and it was all over.
With the eradication of Deseret, the Mormon religion became little more than an odd eccentricity practiced by the shepherds in the western desert. Their cousins in the Yaeger lands were either martyred, converted to New Israelite or chased to the camps of the shepherds. There in the wilderness, they recited tales of the glorious days of the empire and licked their wounds. A couple of premature attacks by the Mormons out of the desert were bloodily beaten back, and a series of punitive raids by the Yaegers taught them that their time of resurgence was still a long way off.
Then after eighty years, a new buildup of nomads in Wyoming came crashing down on the Yaegers, destroying their main battle force and capturing the Yaeger chief for death by torture. In the resulting confusion, the Mormons had their chance. They attacked out of the desert and siezed Salt Lake City, slaughtering all the male inhabitants and purifying the old temple grounds. The Mormon army, toughened by generations in the desert, managed to hold back the invaders from Wyoming and then began the task of reclaiming their former empire.
Specifics:

• System of Government: Hydraulic Empire
  • Head of State: President, elected by and from the elders of the ruling Reid family.
• Population: 900,000
• Religion: Mormon
  • Totemic symbol: Beehive
• Map

Alright, so what's needed is ideas for the Irrigation lifestyle (similar to the herdsmen lifestyle that started this), the New Age religion of New Mexico, New Mexico proper, the Scientologist religion, and the Mormon religion (Warfare is already covered in the Horse Archer segment).