Even better during the war the destruction of the Congo dam and the draining of the sea sets them free. Now you have to to hunt them through the rotten remains of the congo.
Separated at Birth: America and Drakia
- Thread starter Ephraim Ben Raphael
- Start date
- Status
Even better during the war the destruction of the Congo dam and the draining of the sea sets them free. Now you have to to hunt them through the rotten remains of the congo.
I smell sequel! Though seriously that sounds like the perfect recipe for a racoon city or RE7 styled situation. With you either dealing with the monsters running about in the decaying swamp bed & ruined waterfront estates or in a massive city that's falling apart in the face of the nightmare.
These seems helpful for the alt space race...
Cool. I do like the idea that the Drakian's making some impressive leaps in genetics and biology compared to the Alliance for Democracy. With them cloning the first animal and mapping the human genome during the 60's & 70's, alongside GEO livestock, crops and such.
I would like to see a few Drakia radicals hiding out in some o'neil cylinders waiting for their chance to reform the empire.
we could have Drakians flee to TTL's Alpha Centauri in their "New Drakia".
Boy, is Chirron in for a rude awakening once the Drakian Exiles complete The Voice of Planet secret project.
Interlude: The New Rome
With the permission of the great EBR, I present to y'all my contribution to the Separateverse. I thought Rhomania was super interesting and worthy of attention.
Interlude: The New Rome
A dramatized depiction of the War of Imperial Independence (as the Last Crusade is known in Rhomania)
To be born a Rhomanian is to know several things from cradle to grave. You know that you are one of the heirs to a great and glorious past. You know that you are charged with creating an even more glorious future. You know that your faith is the truest expression of Christ's will. In short, to be Rhomanian is to know that the arc of history is bent in your favor, that your faith, race, and nation have a special task on this Earth, and some would even argue, that the Bible is written about you and your people.
It's not hard to see why the Rhomanians have such an apocalyptic sense of national purpose. More than most nations ITTL, the Rhomanians have had a dramatic and positive change of fortune in a relatively short period of time. In little more than a century, they went from being a province of the Ottoman Empire to ruling much of their former master's homeland. In the post Great Wars era, Rhomania is perhaps the second happiest member of the Pact of Blood after Drakia themselves because while they still aren't as powerful as the Russians, they're much less damaged and traumatized. Furthermore, the Rhomanian government has proven masterful at creating a propagandized historical narrative. Every Rhomanian is taught from birth that they are the direct descendants and heirs of an imperial tradition beginning in Athens and Sparta, followed by Alexander the Great and the Hellenistic states, then transitioning into the First Roman Empire (although Rome conquered Ancient Greece by arms, the focus is on how influential the Greek culture became in Rome) before culminating in the Byzantine Empire (known as the Second Roman Empire) of which they are the modern heirs. This culminated in the 1947 proclamation by the Patriarch of Constantinople that Rhomania, not Russia, was the Third Rome destined to usher in the Kingdom of Christ. It's hard to overstate how meaningful this was to the Rhomanian people. Not only had they recaptured the ancient capital of their forefathers from their old oppressors, the highest Earthly representative of their faith had charged them with fully reclaiming the mantle of Rome and ushering in the Second Coming. It's little wonder that the Rhomanian people are so confident and nationalistic. However, this hasn't translated into as many ambitious imperial schemes as one might expect.
Currently, the extent of Rhomanian ambitions is to gain true hegemony in the Balkans and to take part of Northern Italy in any future conflagration. At first, this seems remarkably modest for a nation that proclaims such an apocalyptic line of nationalist rhetoric. However, the presence of Drakia does much to explain this. The natural choices of expansion for a state such as Rhomania, mainly the rest of Anatolia and the Holy Land, are Drakian lands. The Rhomanians might be apocalyptic nationalists, but they aren't morons. Going after their gargantuan ally for any reason at all would be profoundly stupid. In Italy, the Drakians will likely desire to take Rome should war break out, so Northern Italy is probably all they could get in the Ancient Roman homeland. The Black Sea is also a Russo-Drakian lake, although the Rhomanians do have plans to wage "security operations" in Crimea and the Caucasus should Russia collapse. Despite the fact that Drakian expansion has limited Rhomanian ambitions, both the leadership and the population are very happy with the alliance. Not only has the alliance had incredible material benefits, but the Rhomanians legitimately respect Drakian values even if some of the more extreme aspects cause some muted disquiet.
Rhomanian troops drilling in the countryside
This seems as good a time as any to discuss Rhomanian ideology. Technically, Rhomania is a Societist state like Drakia, Russia, and Britain. In reality, Rhomania could perhaps best be described as a combination of OTL Fascist Italy and the more fanatic wing of Russian Third Rome messianism. There are no aspirations towards any Custodian Race, or anything of that nature. The national ideology has often been summed up as "Autocracy, Orthodoxy, Romanitas." Autocracy can be summed up in the belief that supreme authority is rightfully invested in the office of the monarch, Augustus Caesar, Basileus, Autocrat of All the Romios. In practice, the Army is the real driving force behind policy, and Caesars who displease the brass have a nasty habit of getting into fatal accidents. However, the belief that the Caesar is the highest Earthly authority, blessed by God and the Church to lead Rhomania to glory is deeply engrained in the political culture. "For Christ, Caesar, and Country" is a popular patriotic slogan. Orthodoxy, is fairly straightforward. Rhomanians are Orthodox, and Orthodoxy is the one true faith. Romanitas, Latin for something roughly equating to "Romanness" is viewed as the only acceptable culture. The culture of Rome, the culture of the Rhomanians, is the most civilized and sophisticated in human history. The Romios, as its creators, are the most brilliant and civilized people in history. Ethnic minorities in Rhomania have a choice between assimilation combined with intermarriage, or maintaining their way of life and accepting second-class status.
The two exceptions to this policy are the Jews and the Turks. Jews must convert and assimilate, they have no choice in the matter, not even to be unassimilated second-class citizens. The Turks, on the other hand, have been thrust into a strange and brutal version of the Bonded Labor System. Rhomanian national identity is defined almost as much by anti-Turk sentiment as by Roman fetishism. When the Rhomanians conquered much of the Turkish homeland, it was decided that they ought to be put to work. The Turks had destroyed the Second Rome. Their blood, sweat, and tears would be forcibly used to build the Third. However, Turks didn't have bonds, and weren't officially indebted to anyone. Instead, the Rhomanians committed a horrific example of bureaucratic chicanery. The Turks in Rhomanian land were declared a natural resource, rather than a population. This "natural resource" was then nationalized by the Rhomanian government. Having been "nationalized," the Rhomanian government has thrust the Turks into a system of forced labor only slightly less brutal than the BLS. They're mainly engaged in the construction of "colonia" for Rhomanian settlers in former Turkey. These are settlements reserved for veterans and their families, designed to ensure that ethnic Rhomanians can firmly colonize the region. The Bonded Turks are also used for more typical forced labor activities, like public works and weapons manufacturing. There was obviously armed resistance to this scheme, but these efforts became smaller and less well-armed over time.
Rhomanian culture, more than any other member of the Pact, is traditionally conservative. Drakia is totalitarian, but has given women more of a role in society and has at least some kind of religious toleration for Citizens. Rhomania is authoritarian, not totalitarian, but does not tolerate any other variation of Christianity aside from Rhomanian Orthodox, and women are told from birth that they are to marry, have children, raise them, and then be grandmothers. Thanks to a combination of government propaganda and a very conservative religious culture, the Rhomanian birthrate is one of the highest in the world, a subject of great envy in Drakia. For Rhomanian women who are infertile, it is expected that they and their husbands will adopt Rhomanian orphans. Government subsidized IVF is available for women who have fertility problems but aren't necessarily infertile, or for women who are fertile but are at a high risk for medical complications during pregnancy. Female prisoners or minority women hard up for cash are typically used as "incubators" in this program. Aside from the archetypical conservatism, the belief in Rhomania as Third Rome and heir to Byzantium has sparked a huge Byzantine revivalist school in architecture. This has become most prominent in former Turkey, where the Rhomanians are quite literally blowing up mosques and putting cathedrals atop the rubble. On a day to day basis, religious, patriotic, and pro-family themes are omnipresent in popular culture, like a much more heavy handed and authoritarian version of OTL 1950's American pop culture. This pervasive propaganda, when combined with the concrete gains made by the Imperial government, resulted in a very loyal population with values that a hardline OTL Greek nationalist would find admirable.
The Cathedral of the Sacred Victory in Νέα Prusa (partly demolished OTL Bursa) built atop the former Muradiye Complex, a centuries old Turkish mosque
Economically, Rhomania is doing well for itself. Thanks to the acquisition of the better half of Turkey and a ready made cheap workforce to exploit, Rhomanian corporations have been able to exploit the Bonded Turks by buying them from the government, a practice that picked up in the mid-50's after most of the colonia had been built. Rhomania has both a strong agricultural base and a decent amount of natural resources to exploit, with shortfalls in the latter being made up with fairly inexpensive imports from Drakia and Russia. Something that's very interesting about the Rhomanian economy is that it has become the consumer goods powerhouse of the Pact of Blood. Drakian industry, impressive as it is, is predominantly devoted to the business of sustaining the imperial machine and selling weapons overseas. Consumer goods production exists, but isn't terribly prominent. While the Rhomanians do have industry that's built specifically for military purposes, thanks to Drakian patronage they have a stable enough source of foreign weapons to build a more consumer oriented economy. Granted, every single factory in Rhomania is required by law to have certain kinds of machines and to be setup a certain way in case a total war economy needs to be swiftly enacted, but these regulations aren't terribly onerous. It's safe to say that most Drakian Citizens and a plurality of Honorary Whites have several durable goods that where made in Rhomania, mainly kitchen appliances and (for those who can afford them) leisure craft. Rhomanian watches, suits, leisureware, dishware, and furniture are also fairly popular across the Pact of Blood, mainly among Honorary Whites, poorer Citizens, and the still relatively impoverished Russian elite and middle class, as these goods have a reputation for being both well-made and inexpensive. In fact, many Rhomanian businessmen have lobbied the government to help Russia recover more quickly, as it's commonly thought that they'll be a massive market in the future. Regardless, Rhomania's economic future looks bright, at least for now.
Rhomania seems to be on a fairly steady course for the time being. Their Drakian patrons are generally pleased with their performance and loyalty as an ally. While the Turks continue to pose a security threat, the danger has been greatly reduced, and the Rhomanians are nowhere near as vulnerable to revolt from them as the Drakia are from their vast sea of Bonded people. The Rhomanian military, while not exactly a superpower, is fairly well equipped and well trained. The same goes for the economy, which has finally achieved a relative parity with other European states. The population is happy, loyal, and growing. Given the excruciating chaos so much of the world has endured, the Rhomanians have actually been fairly lucky. Unfortunately, given the nation's ideology and the company it keeps, this has been less than ideal for many others. Still, the Rhomanians march on, convinced that they're the vanguard of the Third Rome, harbinger of Christ's Second Coming. Zeto Rhomania!
A "women's rehabilitation center" for "high-risk anti-social women." Mainly holds prostitutes, single mothers, and women's rights advocates. Most of the detainees will likely be made to carry an IVF fetus against their will.
Interlude: The New Rome
A dramatized depiction of the War of Imperial Independence (as the Last Crusade is known in Rhomania)
To be born a Rhomanian is to know several things from cradle to grave. You know that you are one of the heirs to a great and glorious past. You know that you are charged with creating an even more glorious future. You know that your faith is the truest expression of Christ's will. In short, to be Rhomanian is to know that the arc of history is bent in your favor, that your faith, race, and nation have a special task on this Earth, and some would even argue, that the Bible is written about you and your people.
It's not hard to see why the Rhomanians have such an apocalyptic sense of national purpose. More than most nations ITTL, the Rhomanians have had a dramatic and positive change of fortune in a relatively short period of time. In little more than a century, they went from being a province of the Ottoman Empire to ruling much of their former master's homeland. In the post Great Wars era, Rhomania is perhaps the second happiest member of the Pact of Blood after Drakia themselves because while they still aren't as powerful as the Russians, they're much less damaged and traumatized. Furthermore, the Rhomanian government has proven masterful at creating a propagandized historical narrative. Every Rhomanian is taught from birth that they are the direct descendants and heirs of an imperial tradition beginning in Athens and Sparta, followed by Alexander the Great and the Hellenistic states, then transitioning into the First Roman Empire (although Rome conquered Ancient Greece by arms, the focus is on how influential the Greek culture became in Rome) before culminating in the Byzantine Empire (known as the Second Roman Empire) of which they are the modern heirs. This culminated in the 1947 proclamation by the Patriarch of Constantinople that Rhomania, not Russia, was the Third Rome destined to usher in the Kingdom of Christ. It's hard to overstate how meaningful this was to the Rhomanian people. Not only had they recaptured the ancient capital of their forefathers from their old oppressors, the highest Earthly representative of their faith had charged them with fully reclaiming the mantle of Rome and ushering in the Second Coming. It's little wonder that the Rhomanian people are so confident and nationalistic. However, this hasn't translated into as many ambitious imperial schemes as one might expect.
Currently, the extent of Rhomanian ambitions is to gain true hegemony in the Balkans and to take part of Northern Italy in any future conflagration. At first, this seems remarkably modest for a nation that proclaims such an apocalyptic line of nationalist rhetoric. However, the presence of Drakia does much to explain this. The natural choices of expansion for a state such as Rhomania, mainly the rest of Anatolia and the Holy Land, are Drakian lands. The Rhomanians might be apocalyptic nationalists, but they aren't morons. Going after their gargantuan ally for any reason at all would be profoundly stupid. In Italy, the Drakians will likely desire to take Rome should war break out, so Northern Italy is probably all they could get in the Ancient Roman homeland. The Black Sea is also a Russo-Drakian lake, although the Rhomanians do have plans to wage "security operations" in Crimea and the Caucasus should Russia collapse. Despite the fact that Drakian expansion has limited Rhomanian ambitions, both the leadership and the population are very happy with the alliance. Not only has the alliance had incredible material benefits, but the Rhomanians legitimately respect Drakian values even if some of the more extreme aspects cause some muted disquiet.
Rhomanian troops drilling in the countryside
This seems as good a time as any to discuss Rhomanian ideology. Technically, Rhomania is a Societist state like Drakia, Russia, and Britain. In reality, Rhomania could perhaps best be described as a combination of OTL Fascist Italy and the more fanatic wing of Russian Third Rome messianism. There are no aspirations towards any Custodian Race, or anything of that nature. The national ideology has often been summed up as "Autocracy, Orthodoxy, Romanitas." Autocracy can be summed up in the belief that supreme authority is rightfully invested in the office of the monarch, Augustus Caesar, Basileus, Autocrat of All the Romios. In practice, the Army is the real driving force behind policy, and Caesars who displease the brass have a nasty habit of getting into fatal accidents. However, the belief that the Caesar is the highest Earthly authority, blessed by God and the Church to lead Rhomania to glory is deeply engrained in the political culture. "For Christ, Caesar, and Country" is a popular patriotic slogan. Orthodoxy, is fairly straightforward. Rhomanians are Orthodox, and Orthodoxy is the one true faith. Romanitas, Latin for something roughly equating to "Romanness" is viewed as the only acceptable culture. The culture of Rome, the culture of the Rhomanians, is the most civilized and sophisticated in human history. The Romios, as its creators, are the most brilliant and civilized people in history. Ethnic minorities in Rhomania have a choice between assimilation combined with intermarriage, or maintaining their way of life and accepting second-class status.
The two exceptions to this policy are the Jews and the Turks. Jews must convert and assimilate, they have no choice in the matter, not even to be unassimilated second-class citizens. The Turks, on the other hand, have been thrust into a strange and brutal version of the Bonded Labor System. Rhomanian national identity is defined almost as much by anti-Turk sentiment as by Roman fetishism. When the Rhomanians conquered much of the Turkish homeland, it was decided that they ought to be put to work. The Turks had destroyed the Second Rome. Their blood, sweat, and tears would be forcibly used to build the Third. However, Turks didn't have bonds, and weren't officially indebted to anyone. Instead, the Rhomanians committed a horrific example of bureaucratic chicanery. The Turks in Rhomanian land were declared a natural resource, rather than a population. This "natural resource" was then nationalized by the Rhomanian government. Having been "nationalized," the Rhomanian government has thrust the Turks into a system of forced labor only slightly less brutal than the BLS. They're mainly engaged in the construction of "colonia" for Rhomanian settlers in former Turkey. These are settlements reserved for veterans and their families, designed to ensure that ethnic Rhomanians can firmly colonize the region. The Bonded Turks are also used for more typical forced labor activities, like public works and weapons manufacturing. There was obviously armed resistance to this scheme, but these efforts became smaller and less well-armed over time.
Rhomanian culture, more than any other member of the Pact, is traditionally conservative. Drakia is totalitarian, but has given women more of a role in society and has at least some kind of religious toleration for Citizens. Rhomania is authoritarian, not totalitarian, but does not tolerate any other variation of Christianity aside from Rhomanian Orthodox, and women are told from birth that they are to marry, have children, raise them, and then be grandmothers. Thanks to a combination of government propaganda and a very conservative religious culture, the Rhomanian birthrate is one of the highest in the world, a subject of great envy in Drakia. For Rhomanian women who are infertile, it is expected that they and their husbands will adopt Rhomanian orphans. Government subsidized IVF is available for women who have fertility problems but aren't necessarily infertile, or for women who are fertile but are at a high risk for medical complications during pregnancy. Female prisoners or minority women hard up for cash are typically used as "incubators" in this program. Aside from the archetypical conservatism, the belief in Rhomania as Third Rome and heir to Byzantium has sparked a huge Byzantine revivalist school in architecture. This has become most prominent in former Turkey, where the Rhomanians are quite literally blowing up mosques and putting cathedrals atop the rubble. On a day to day basis, religious, patriotic, and pro-family themes are omnipresent in popular culture, like a much more heavy handed and authoritarian version of OTL 1950's American pop culture. This pervasive propaganda, when combined with the concrete gains made by the Imperial government, resulted in a very loyal population with values that a hardline OTL Greek nationalist would find admirable.
The Cathedral of the Sacred Victory in Νέα Prusa (partly demolished OTL Bursa) built atop the former Muradiye Complex, a centuries old Turkish mosque
Economically, Rhomania is doing well for itself. Thanks to the acquisition of the better half of Turkey and a ready made cheap workforce to exploit, Rhomanian corporations have been able to exploit the Bonded Turks by buying them from the government, a practice that picked up in the mid-50's after most of the colonia had been built. Rhomania has both a strong agricultural base and a decent amount of natural resources to exploit, with shortfalls in the latter being made up with fairly inexpensive imports from Drakia and Russia. Something that's very interesting about the Rhomanian economy is that it has become the consumer goods powerhouse of the Pact of Blood. Drakian industry, impressive as it is, is predominantly devoted to the business of sustaining the imperial machine and selling weapons overseas. Consumer goods production exists, but isn't terribly prominent. While the Rhomanians do have industry that's built specifically for military purposes, thanks to Drakian patronage they have a stable enough source of foreign weapons to build a more consumer oriented economy. Granted, every single factory in Rhomania is required by law to have certain kinds of machines and to be setup a certain way in case a total war economy needs to be swiftly enacted, but these regulations aren't terribly onerous. It's safe to say that most Drakian Citizens and a plurality of Honorary Whites have several durable goods that where made in Rhomania, mainly kitchen appliances and (for those who can afford them) leisure craft. Rhomanian watches, suits, leisureware, dishware, and furniture are also fairly popular across the Pact of Blood, mainly among Honorary Whites, poorer Citizens, and the still relatively impoverished Russian elite and middle class, as these goods have a reputation for being both well-made and inexpensive. In fact, many Rhomanian businessmen have lobbied the government to help Russia recover more quickly, as it's commonly thought that they'll be a massive market in the future. Regardless, Rhomania's economic future looks bright, at least for now.
Rhomania seems to be on a fairly steady course for the time being. Their Drakian patrons are generally pleased with their performance and loyalty as an ally. While the Turks continue to pose a security threat, the danger has been greatly reduced, and the Rhomanians are nowhere near as vulnerable to revolt from them as the Drakia are from their vast sea of Bonded people. The Rhomanian military, while not exactly a superpower, is fairly well equipped and well trained. The same goes for the economy, which has finally achieved a relative parity with other European states. The population is happy, loyal, and growing. Given the excruciating chaos so much of the world has endured, the Rhomanians have actually been fairly lucky. Unfortunately, given the nation's ideology and the company it keeps, this has been less than ideal for many others. Still, the Rhomanians march on, convinced that they're the vanguard of the Third Rome, harbinger of Christ's Second Coming. Zeto Rhomania!
A "women's rehabilitation center" for "high-risk anti-social women." Mainly holds prostitutes, single mothers, and women's rights advocates. Most of the detainees will likely be made to carry an IVF fetus against their will.
You know an update covering the various resistance groups that the Drakian's are probably having to deal with would be interesting. Now I'm imagining a Separateverse version of TNO's Abba Kovner...
That's awful. Perhaps, the fall would also make the Muslim world demand the relinquishing of Anatolia (since they were hopelessly nationalistic), perhaps backed by the power of the
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Excellent interlude!With the permission of the great EBR, I present to y'all my contribution to the Separateverse. I thought Rhomania was super interesting and worthy of attention.
Interlude: The New Rome
A dramatized depiction of the War of Imperial Independence (as the Last Crusade is known in Rhomania)
To be born a Rhomanian is to know several things from cradle to grave. You know that you are one of the heirs to a great and glorious past. You know that you are charged with creating an even more glorious future. You know that your faith is the truest expression of Christ's will. In short, to be Rhomanian is to know that the arc of history is bent in your favor, that your faith, race, and nation have a special task on this Earth, and some would even argue, that the Bible is written about you and your people.
It's not hard to see why the Rhomanians have such an apocalyptic sense of national purpose. More than most nations ITTL, the Rhomanians have had a dramatic and positive change of fortune in a relatively short period of time. In little more than a century, they went from being a province of the Ottoman Empire to ruling much of their former master's homeland. In the post Great Wars era, Rhomania is perhaps the second happiest member of the Pact of Blood after Drakia themselves because while they still aren't as powerful as the Russians, they're much less damaged and traumatized. Furthermore, the Rhomanian government has proven masterful at creating a propagandized historical narrative. Every Rhomanian is taught from birth that they are the direct descendants and heirs of an imperial tradition beginning in Athens and Sparta, followed by Alexander the Great and the Hellenistic states, then transitioning into the First Roman Empire (although Rome conquered Ancient Greece by arms, the focus is on how influential the Greek culture became in Rome) before culminating in the Byzantine Empire (known as the Second Roman Empire) of which they are the modern heirs. This culminated in the 1947 proclamation by the Patriarch of Constantinople that Rhomania, not Russia, was the Third Rome destined to usher in the Kingdom of Christ. It's hard to overstate how meaningful this was to the Rhomanian people. Not only had they recaptured the ancient capital of their forefathers from their old oppressors, the highest Earthly representative of their faith had charged them with fully reclaiming the mantle of Rome and ushering in the Second Coming. It's little wonder that the Rhomanian people are so confident and nationalistic. However, this hasn't translated into as many ambitious imperial schemes as one might expect.
Currently, the extent of Rhomanian ambitions is to gain true hegemony in the Balkans and to take part of Northern Italy in any future conflagration. At first, this seems remarkably modest for a nation that proclaims such an apocalyptic line of nationalist rhetoric. However, the presence of Drakia does much to explain this. The natural choices of expansion for a state such as Rhomania, mainly the rest of Anatolia and the Holy Land, are Drakian lands. The Rhomanians might be apocalyptic nationalists, but they aren't morons. Going after their gargantuan ally for any reason at all would be profoundly stupid. In Italy, the Drakians will likely desire to take Rome should war break out, so Northern Italy is probably all they could get in the Ancient Roman homeland. The Black Sea is also a Russo-Drakian lake, although the Rhomanians do have plans to wage "security operations" in Crimea and the Caucasus should Russia collapse. Despite the fact that Drakian expansion has limited Rhomanian ambitions, both the leadership and the population are very happy with the alliance. Not only has the alliance had incredible material benefits, but the Rhomanians legitimately respect Drakian values even if some of the more extreme aspects cause some muted disquiet.
Rhomanian troops drilling in the countryside
This seems as good a time as any to discuss Rhomanian ideology. Technically, Rhomania is a Societist state like Drakia, Russia, and Britain. In reality, Rhomania could perhaps best be described as a combination of OTL Fascist Italy and the more fanatic wing of Russian Third Rome messianism. There are no aspirations towards any Custodian Race, or anything of that nature. The national ideology has often been summed up as "Autocracy, Orthodoxy, Romanitas." Autocracy can be summed up in the belief that supreme authority is rightfully invested in the office of the monarch, Augustus Caesar, Basileus, Autocrat of All the Romios. In practice, the Army is the real driving force behind policy, and Caesars who displease the brass have a nasty habit of getting into fatal accidents. However, the belief that the Caesar is the highest Earthly authority, blessed by God and the Church to lead Rhomania to glory is deeply engrained in the political culture. "For Christ, Caesar, and Country" is a popular patriotic slogan. Orthodoxy, is fairly straightforward. Rhomanians are Orthodox, and Orthodoxy is the one true faith. Romanitas, Latin for something roughly equating to "Romanness" is viewed as the only acceptable culture. The culture of Rome, the culture of the Rhomanians, is the most civilized and sophisticated in human history. The Romios, as its creators, are the most brilliant and civilized people in history. Ethnic minorities in Rhomania have a choice between assimilation combined with intermarriage, or maintaining their way of life and accepting second-class status.
The two exceptions to this policy are the Jews and the Turks. Jews must convert and assimilate, they have no choice in the matter, not even to be unassimilated second-class citizens. The Turks, on the other hand, have been thrust into a strange and brutal version of the Bonded Labor System. Rhomanian national identity is defined almost as much by anti-Turk sentiment as by Roman fetishism. When the Rhomanians conquered much of the Turkish homeland, it was decided that they ought to be put to work. The Turks had destroyed the Second Rome. Their blood, sweat, and tears would be forcibly used to build the Third. However, Turks didn't have bonds, and weren't officially indebted to anyone. Instead, the Rhomanians committed a horrific example of bureaucratic chicanery. The Turks in Rhomanian land were declared a natural resource, rather than a population. This "natural resource" was then nationalized by the Rhomanian government. Having been "nationalized," the Rhomanian government has thrust the Turks into a system of forced labor only slightly less brutal than the BLS. They're mainly engaged in the construction of "colonia" for Rhomanian settlers in former Turkey. These are settlements reserved for veterans and their families, designed to ensure that ethnic Rhomanians can firmly colonize the region. The Bonded Turks are also used for more typical forced labor activities, like public works and weapons manufacturing. There was obviously armed resistance to this scheme, but these efforts became smaller and less well-armed over time.
Rhomanian culture, more than any other member of the Pact, is traditionally conservative. Drakia is totalitarian, but has given women more of a role in society and has at least some kind of religious toleration for Citizens. Rhomania is authoritarian, not totalitarian, but does not tolerate any other variation of Christianity aside from Rhomanian Orthodox, and women are told from birth that they are to marry, have children, raise them, and then be grandmothers. Thanks to a combination of government propaganda and a very conservative religious culture, the Rhomanian birthrate is one of the highest in the world, a subject of great envy in Drakia. For Rhomanian women who are infertile, it is expected that they and their husbands will adopt Rhomanian orphans. Government subsidized IVF is available for women who have fertility problems but aren't necessarily infertile, or for women who are fertile but are at a high risk for medical complications during pregnancy. Female prisoners or minority women hard up for cash are typically used as "incubators" in this program. Aside from the archetypical conservatism, the belief in Rhomania as Third Rome and heir to Byzantium has sparked a huge Byzantine revivalist school in architecture. This has become most prominent in former Turkey, where the Rhomanians are quite literally blowing up mosques and putting cathedrals atop the rubble. On a day to day basis, religious, patriotic, and pro-family themes are omnipresent in popular culture, like a much more heavy handed and authoritarian version of OTL 1950's American pop culture. This pervasive propaganda, when combined with the concrete gains made by the Imperial government, resulted in a very loyal population with values that a hardline OTL Greek nationalist would find admirable.
The Cathedral of the Sacred Victory in Νέα Prusa (partly demolished OTL Bursa) built atop the former Muradiye Complex, a centuries old Turkish mosque
Economically, Rhomania is doing well for itself. Thanks to the acquisition of the better half of Turkey and a ready made cheap workforce to exploit, Rhomanian corporations have been able to exploit the Bonded Turks by buying them from the government, a practice that picked up in the mid-50's after most of the colonia had been built. Rhomania has both a strong agricultural base and a decent amount of natural resources to exploit, with shortfalls in the latter being made up with fairly inexpensive imports from Drakia and Russia. Something that's very interesting about the Rhomanian economy is that it has become the consumer goods powerhouse of the Pact of Blood. Drakian industry, impressive as it is, is predominantly devoted to the business of sustaining the imperial machine and selling weapons overseas. Consumer goods production exists, but isn't terribly prominent. While the Rhomanians do have industry that's built specifically for military purposes, thanks to Drakian patronage they have a stable enough source of foreign weapons to build a more consumer oriented economy. Granted, every single factory in Rhomania is required by law to have certain kinds of machines and to be setup a certain way in case a total war economy needs to be swiftly enacted, but these regulations aren't terribly onerous. It's safe to say that most Drakian Citizens and a plurality of Honorary Whites have several durable goods that where made in Rhomania, mainly kitchen appliances and (for those who can afford them) leisure craft. Rhomanian watches, suits, leisureware, dishware, and furniture are also fairly popular across the Pact of Blood, mainly among Honorary Whites, poorer Citizens, and the still relatively impoverished Russian elite and middle class, as these goods have a reputation for being both well-made and inexpensive. In fact, many Rhomanian businessmen have lobbied the government to help Russia recover more quickly, as it's commonly thought that they'll be a massive market in the future. Regardless, Rhomania's economic future looks bright, at least for now.
Rhomania seems to be on a fairly steady course for the time being. Their Drakian patrons are generally pleased with their performance and loyalty as an ally. While the Turks continue to pose a security threat, the danger has been greatly reduced, and the Rhomanians are nowhere near as vulnerable to revolt from them as the Drakia are from their vast sea of Bonded people. The Rhomanian military, while not exactly a superpower, is fairly well equipped and well trained. The same goes for the economy, which has finally achieved a relative parity with other European states. The population is happy, loyal, and growing. Given the excruciating chaos so much of the world has endured, the Rhomanians have actually been fairly lucky. Unfortunately, given the nation's ideology and the company it keeps, this has been less than ideal for many others. Still, the Rhomanians march on, convinced that they're the vanguard of the Third Rome, harbinger of Christ's Second Coming. Zeto Rhomania!
A "women's rehabilitation center" for "high-risk anti-social women." Mainly holds prostitutes, single mothers, and women's rights advocates. Most of the detainees will likely be made to carry an IVF fetus against their will.
Rhomania is terrifyingly interesting but still a horrible place to live (for non orthodox and Turks).
I wonder what would happened if the european part of Rhomania was ISOTed to OTL...interactions with Turkey will be interesting
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Basically zeon but in the geopolitical postion of North Korea.
I'm not sure there will be a more or less united "Muslim World" given the fact that A) Drakia actively played different Muslim populations within the Empire's borders off one another to a degree that makes OTL divide and rule look tame by comparison* and B) the largest Muslim nation by population** has diverged radically from the Islamic heartland merely by virtue of being so far from the Dragon.
*How could the Arabs or North Africans ever find common cause with the Egyptians or Islamic Kurds after what's likely to be at least one solid generation of Societist social engineering?
** Insulindia (? (Whatever Indonesia is called TTL))
Ironically in the liquidation and genocide of so many communities, ethnicities, cultures, and even entire civilizations by the Pact of Blood may very well create the "master race" they are so obsessed with... in their de-indigenized creolized Bonded and ex-Bonded underclass. Imagine a "social bandit" or general mafia style criminal syndicate in Drakia, of which there should be plenty*; now imagine it forming in the multicultural environment of Igo and Yoruba masquerade secret societies and basically native African Freemasonry, Sufi marabout lodge networks, Oromo age set and age grade cohorts, Mande Griot bardic societies and epic storytelling traditions, West African spirit evocation and possession styles that would famously inspire Vodoun in the Caribbean, pantribal warrior sodalities and knighthoods, etc..., etc..., all intermingling with say the nomadic tent monasteries of Kalmyk Buddhism or the mixed lay communities of ascetic Old Believers. Ciphers made out of Nisbidi pictograms and Adinka woodcuts and Zulu beadwork! Honor codes and secret oaths bound by nearly every conception of supernatural evocation within the human mind! "Traditional" "Dances" and "Parades" calling for "sexual propriety" and "the holy intercession of Saint Stoker" and definitely-not-communicating-to-people-smuggling-routes!
The first and greatest pillar of successful mafia empires, more then hard gunslinging or powerful drug connections, is the power to personally network bases of support. The first generation of big African-American gangsters in the ear of Jim Crow and segregation won their fortune in numbers games, nickels and dimes from black Chicago or black Philadelphia for extralegal lotteries based off of relatively simple randomized numbers, typically based in some way off of the numbers of legal horse-betting. In this way they quickly became the big financers and quasi-banking institutions of largely unbanked communities with loans, gifts, and donations to Civil Rights organizations. Also too you have even in the present day a form of informal remittance and financial brokerage called Hawala, that was once chief money market for India and the Middle East in the Silk Road despite Islamic and Christian proscriptions against usury. Hell even supermax prisions are infamous for their shadow economies run on cigarettes and cell phone minutes. Even with nothing but their minds and their bodies and what they can carry in their hands, the Bonded can still create powerful and financially sophisticated black markets and underworld societies.
Well... until the Drakensis fuck it all up by zealously attempted to stamp out a secret linchpin of the Drakian economic and social system.
*( I mean show me a society without criminal syndicates and I'll show you a society in dangerous self-delusion and also the Drakians have artificially paralyzed the majority of their population in dire straits that would be bitterly familiar to 19th century Sicily or southern Qing China and thus just as fertile ground for extralegal social organization).
The first and greatest pillar of successful mafia empires, more then hard gunslinging or powerful drug connections, is the power to personally network bases of support. The first generation of big African-American gangsters in the ear of Jim Crow and segregation won their fortune in numbers games, nickels and dimes from black Chicago or black Philadelphia for extralegal lotteries based off of relatively simple randomized numbers, typically based in some way off of the numbers of legal horse-betting. In this way they quickly became the big financers and quasi-banking institutions of largely unbanked communities with loans, gifts, and donations to Civil Rights organizations. Also too you have even in the present day a form of informal remittance and financial brokerage called Hawala, that was once chief money market for India and the Middle East in the Silk Road despite Islamic and Christian proscriptions against usury. Hell even supermax prisions are infamous for their shadow economies run on cigarettes and cell phone minutes. Even with nothing but their minds and their bodies and what they can carry in their hands, the Bonded can still create powerful and financially sophisticated black markets and underworld societies.
Well... until the Drakensis fuck it all up by zealously attempted to stamp out a secret linchpin of the Drakian economic and social system.
*( I mean show me a society without criminal syndicates and I'll show you a society in dangerous self-delusion and also the Drakians have artificially paralyzed the majority of their population in dire straits that would be bitterly familiar to 19th century Sicily or southern Qing China and thus just as fertile ground for extralegal social organization).
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Don't forget how the other major independent Muslim country in Iran (is it a republic, under a surviving Qajar Dynasty, or under a fictional dynasty) is Shiite and you know what Sunni-Shia relations are usually like.
So since we've reached the space race, what's science fiction going to look like? I imagine some mixture of Star Trek, Starship Troopers and the broader conflict hinted at in Drakon, with Cyborg humans fighting a humanity that has genetically engineered itself into a new species and wields hoards of bastardized mutant life forms as soldiers. Sort of a mixture of the Borg Collective and the Federation fighting a mixture of the Augments and Dominion from Star Trek.
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I wonder if in TTL in the West, mothers tell their children "eat, in Africa the boys have no food".
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