Revolution! Or, A Victorian Cold War

What country should I cover once I've finished California?


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Kit-sama, may I inquire what you are planning for your next update(s)?

:)
Hey @KitFisto1997 I'm going to Hawaii later this year, so do you think you could please give us some info?

The new and improved Update Schedule™ is as follows:

  1. Hawaii Update (It's gonna be a short one :3)
  2. Hong Kong Update #19 (At least I think it;s #19. Either way, we're getting close to the thrilling conclusion of this story arc! I have plans for Rhodesia in the next few story updates. ;))
  3. Port Arthur
  4. Sydney (Declassified Guide to the British Empire)
 
History of Hawaii
The Kingdom of Hawaii: A Solo’s Guide to the PMC Capital of the Pacific

Featured in: ‘Solo of Fortune: Summer Edition’ and 'The Corporate Report: Summer Destinations for R&R'


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The Kingdom of Hawaii is a relatively small country located in the Pacific Ocean and is made up of eight main islands (Hawai’i, Maui, O’ahu, Kaua’i, Moloka’i, Lana’i, Ni’ihau and Kaho’olawe) and a smattering of smaller ones throughout the Oceania Region. The island nation is unique in the fact that it has a very high population density and is heavily urbanised, mostly due to the presence of numerous MegaCorps on the island, both foreign and domestic. The four main languages of the state are English (British Standard), Hawaiian, Japanese and Tagalog.

The capital city of Hawai’i is the thriving port city of Honolulu, which is host to a massive Royal Navy port facility (by virtue of Hawaii acting as a British Protectorate and full Imperial Commonwealth Member), various hotels and other centres of leisure and not to mention the miles upon miles of pristine beaches that have even more areas for rest and relaxation than the city itself has.

The population of Honolulu now stands at a mind-boggling 2.1 million denizens (almost a third of the island nation’s 5.4 million Hawaiians), almost all of which are packed into mile-high skyscrapers, underwater/underground dwellings and the remnants of suburbia – with most of the latter having been turned into nice gated communities for the uber-rich or torn down for the more environmentally-friendly skyscrapers that will replace the old homes of yesteryear.

The massive urban farms that cover thousands of skyscrapers in not only Honolulu, but other cities such as Hilo, Pearl City and Kailua, grow a diverse amount of crops, although what is often considered to be the unofficial staple of the rural plantations in Hawaii – coffee and pineapples – cannot be grown vertically. Additional industries that contribute to the Pacific heavyweight’s booming economy include tourism, whaling, military and other industrial R&D startups.

The demographics of Hawaii are as diverse as the forms of income that the island lives off, with the various ethno-religious groups filling numerous roles in the nation’s governing structure in an almost unofficial class system. The Native Hawaiians, which make up only 8% of the population (approx. 432,000 as of the latest census), are often said to be the ruling aristocratic class, as the Royal Family and the bulk of the nobility are of Native ancestry. The Japanese come next as the unofficial administrative class, filling the niche of bureaucrats and other government officials, the massive diaspora of approx. 1.8 million in total can be found in other areas, but it is the day-to-day management of the Hawaiian state where the ‘Nips (local slang that was appropriated from the derogatory term of the same name). The Anglo-Celts (and a smattering of assorted mainland Europeans) are another major group, this time filling the roles of bankers, economists and other money-related areas of Hawaiian society.

The thousands of British Jews (numbering at about 50,000 in total) that emigrated to the island in the late 1880’s and late 1910’s (large portions of island of Molokai was set aside in a deal between the British government and the Hawaiian monarchy for Jewish settlement – all of this being prior to the establishment of Israel) have encouraged this rather harmless (in the eyes of the Hawaiians at least) stereotype to grow to an unofficial in-joke between the Hawaiian Jews and the Goyim that work alongside them. The common stereotype of the Jewish community in Hawaii is either that of a cattle rancher, pineapple farmer or a rich banker due to their presence on Molokai and the financial sector.

Other groups that are of note are the Filipinos (commonly shortened to just ‘Filos’ or ‘Filowaiian’ if you really want to be creative) who escaped the destitution of the Martial Law Period (1948-1982) under then-ultranationalist dictator José P. Laurel. They’re often seen working in the pineapple plantations or serving in His Majesty’s Royal Marines, but some strides into the business sector have been noted as of late. The various Filipino-majority neighbourhoods (often referred to as ‘Little Manillas’ or ‘Little Davaos’ - the latter is used as a prejoritve for the ones with a higher than average crime rate) in the both Hilo and Honolulu are noted for the restaurants that fuse both European, Japanese and traditional Filipino and Hawaiian cuisine. The rest of the Hawaiian population is split between the Chinese, Siamese, Californian (mixed Anglo-Hispanics predominate), Portuguese (a mix of Brazilian and European Portuguese) and a few stubborn Anglo-Africans who emigrated from Rhodesia as to set up subsidiaries of the various PMCs that originate from Salisbury.

The military of the Hawaiian Kingdom is reinforced by the naval and air force assets of the British, Australasian and Joint Mexican-American Pacific Fleets, alongside a smattering of native and foreign-built ships that are under the direct control of His Majesty’s Hawaiian Armed Forces. The Air Force is of a similar shape to the Navy, having been reinforced by various foreign powers that pledge to protect Hawaii from outside aggression. The Army and Royal Marines however, use native-built and equipment and recruit from the Hawaiian population. 18 months of conscription is mandatory (but can be deferred due to family, work or school commitments) from the age of 18 and military age lasts until 65 years.

The presence of MegaCorporations on the island chain goes back to the 1980’s when the first of the Japanese zaibatsu (family-owned corporations) set up shop in Honolulu, which was quickly followed by the British, Americans and more recently, the Australasians. Various native companies have recently reached MegaCorp status, such as the entertainment monolith (and pride of Hawaii) Rosen-Okawa Games (often shortened to just RoKawa Games), originally the brainchild of Hawaiian-Jewish entrepreneur Steven Rosen and Japanese migrant Hatoshi Okawa, RoKawa Games has expanded into the Pacific market and beyond, creating the latest home consoles, computer terminals and other pieces of entertainment technology for distribution.

The areas of Honolulu, Hilo and other major urban centres that were graciously handed over to the various corporations over the years are fraught with corporate espionage as the various PMCs or even the personal security forces of the warring corporates in question continue to do their ‘heavy lifting’ for their bosses. Numerous hacks of data storage centres, physical, military-style attacks on corporate headquarters and even open assassinations of CEOs and secretaries occasionally make the news of the ‘Finance’ section of the latest e-Paper edition of the Honolulu Times every other day or so. Various Solos[1], organised PMCs and even mere criminal gangs often have their stakes in the bustling Honolulu Financial District, profiting off the lax gun laws, the neutered Honolulu P.D. and the growing attacks by the RAF in the far-off Hawaiian Kingdom.

All in all, the Kingdom of Hawaii is the diamond in the rough swells of the Pacific Ocean, being home to a diverse population, an even more diverse financial sector and all the corporate espionage and hiring opportunities your average Solo would absolutely die for. Order those Stratojet tickets while they’re cheap as space is limited and those security jobs highly sought after.

[1] – Solo is a term for mercenaries that aren’t tied to any one organisation or government, opting to run their own missions out of their own pocket. Solos are often spotted doing the more lucrative jobs, such as guarding the children of the ultra-rich as opposed to guarding the downtown headquarters of some lowly corporate entity.

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