It gets a lot worse as the years go by huh. Damn, sucks to be a non-Christian that somehow survived everything and bein stuck in the Reich nowadays, oh pardon me, the 'holy' empire.
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Very creepy stuff at the Taurica camp there. So much so it immediately broke down Igor’s idealism. Goes to show how evil this Holy Roman Empire of Jerusalem really is.
What's even more terrifying is how the Jerusalemites spread their influence to silence opposition around the world just as they did domestically. Olga really has her work in stopping Jerusalem cut out for her.
Not surprised to see Theodor deny the atrocities he was involved in it. I get the feeling that even if he had admitted to them, he'd feel no shame in them or even take pride at his "work". Still though, the fact that was based a moment on real life (along with the other real life inspired stuff in this update) terrifies me.
The countries that were involved in canceling Russia's side event regarding the camps interests me. I noticed there were two Japanese Republics there, so I assume the Palluists took over the Northern Christian Japan again. I also take it Fusang has its own Populist movement inspired by China and Penglai. Everyone else that isn't India, Penglai and Nepal are probably too scared of the Jerusalemite Empire to act against it.
A bit of a minor thing, but I feel like this update would've been a good opportunity to introduce the Jedem das Seine phrase you talked about before, maybe in either the reeducation camp or Theodor denying his crimes to the reporters. Oh well, maybe that phrase would come up in the other camps being built in Europe and Africa or be used by Committee sympathizers, as terrifying as that is. Other than that good update as usual.
What's even more terrifying is how the Jerusalemites spread their influence to silence opposition around the world just as they did domestically. Olga really has her work in stopping Jerusalem cut out for her.
Not surprised to see Theodor deny the atrocities he was involved in it. I get the feeling that even if he had admitted to them, he'd feel no shame in them or even take pride at his "work". Still though, the fact that was based a moment on real life (along with the other real life inspired stuff in this update) terrifies me.
The countries that were involved in canceling Russia's side event regarding the camps interests me. I noticed there were two Japanese Republics there, so I assume the Palluists took over the Northern Christian Japan again. I also take it Fusang has its own Populist movement inspired by China and Penglai. Everyone else that isn't India, Penglai and Nepal are probably too scared of the Jerusalemite Empire to act against it.
A bit of a minor thing, but I feel like this update would've been a good opportunity to introduce the Jedem das Seine phrase you talked about before, maybe in either the reeducation camp or Theodor denying his crimes to the reporters. Oh well, maybe that phrase would come up in the other camps being built in Europe and Africa or be used by Committee sympathizers, as terrifying as that is. Other than that good update as usual.
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A part of me douse not think so because I believe Fusang is still a part of the Eimerica Federation who I do not think would let that happen. Unless they suddenly collapsed.
Speaking of Zen I like how even though you have these super nations you still talk about the nations that make up the respective union like Persia, Vietnam, Tawantinsuyu and Fusang instead of just the union as a whole.
I saw this conversation with @TWR97 and thought cant the committee use the same tactics on the former X-Division by prizing them for reveling Sentinel but attacking their efforts to bring down the committee. Like how the X-Division could be used by the committee as a "warning" to others in how even the most virtuous of people could "fall"?
I guess you have to have shame in order to feel it.
And this is only the stuff you hear about on the news or read in a History Book. It is even more terrifying to think about the atrocities happening both now and throughout History that we do not know about.Still though, the fact that was based a moment on real life (along with the other real life inspired stuff in this update) terrifies me.
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Legally, Jerusalem is a distinct entity from the old Reich. Like how the Galactic Empire is a distinct entity from the Galactic Republic. Which allows for all sorts of legal and financial shenanigans.
And that's only in the sanitized Potemkin village. It was the implication that the truth was far worse that broke Igor.
Just like how the Chinese government uses its economic clout to pressure other nations into shutting up about its human rights violations. Olga, ironically, has inadvertently taken up the mantle of leader of the free world.
He's still at the point where he still wants to provide plausible deniability, but eventually he'll stop caring, because not only will the rest of the world still want to buy his stuff and his own people don't care, he'll want to brag and take pride in his work, as we see him doing towards the end when he talks about the "job opportunities" he's creating. He has absolutely no shame.Not surprised to see Theodor deny the atrocities he was involved in it. I get the feeling that even if he had admitted to them, he'd feel no shame in them or even take pride at his "work". Still though, the fact that was based a moment on real life (along with the other real life inspired stuff in this update) terrifies me.
Yes, Paulluists took over northern Japan again. They aren't as pro-Jerusalem as you might think, because their main priority is focusing on their Paulluist southern rivals, which have amped up nationalist and pro-unification rhetoric in recent years. The south has received plenty of weapons, training, and advisers from Jerusalem (as its Paulluists are more pro-committee), leading to the north to align closer to China.
Fusang has a pro-China movement building within it, but it isn't as organized as Penglai's movement and doesn't seek the same political reforms as in either country. Nevertheless, Fusang has emphasized the need to "stand with our Chinese brethren" against the rising Jerusalem menace. It doesn't care if it's part of the EF.
I actually put the phrase in as Jerusalem's overall motto, or at least one of them. I'll bring it up in a future update.
Fusang still has enough economic and military clout to straight up ignore the Federation and do its own thing. And what's more, it basically built the current super-nation (in-game they formed the EF tag, the capital is in Jinshan, and all military leaders are Fusang Chinese), so it can do what it wants.
I wanted to show how these super-nations don't immediately become nations of their own, especially since they came together very quickly after being first established (as opposed to OTL groups like the EU) and it wouldn't make sense if all of the constituent nations simply ceased to exist. Yet I also had to justify why the super-nation appears on the map instead of the nations remaining in their original arrangement, so I had the super-nation handle most diplomatic affairs and common defense, while the constituent nations still handle internal affairs and direct interactions with each other. The super-nation isn't a monolith either, as the constituent nations have their own interests and different goals. Like Fusang wants to align closer with the Tianxia, Tawantinsuyu has eyes on the oil-rich Kleinvenedig region in Neurhomania, Kanata wants to help out Scandinavia and Europe, and the minor native Eimerican states want to be on equal footing with the big players.
Good idea. In a fascist regime, the enemy is frequently characterized as both strong that it is an existential threat to the state and the people, but also weak and inferior so the people can overcome it as nature allegedly intends. The committee doesn't talk about X-Division in future updates, outside of some minor references, but they'd definitely tarnish X-Division's memory by saying they were ultimately the party cartel's plants because they merely EXPOSED Sentinel, not doing anything to actually destroy it, which the committee had to do itself. Then X-Division opposed the committee, revealing their true colors. It was only through the will of the people that Jerusalem triumphed and defeated this existential threat to social order.
Which Theodor certainly doesn't have any.
As they say, ignorance is bliss.And this is only the stuff you hear about on the news or read in a History Book. It is even more terrifying to think about the atrocities happening both now and through History that we do not know about.
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At this point, she's one of the few political leaders still committed to liberalism while the rest of the world drifts towards imperialism or at least realpolitik, since the international order seems to be at best unstable and at worst collapsing without the Reich, China and India. I commend her effort, but you know how well Idealists end in this arc.
I think this gave me another idea I want to share. When we get to the point that Theodor doesn't care about plausible deniability and starts bragging, I wonder if you could have Theodor at some point say a German version of Me ne Frego ("I don't care" or "I don't give a damn") which was used by fascist Italy in OTL. I feel like that would fit his character quite well.
Ironic how the Committee are supporting a basically pagan (in their eyes) Southern Japan over the more Christian north, though I suspect the Committee looks down on the Japanese in general as heretics. Another irony is Jerusalem/the Reich supporting the South while China supports the North, because I remember it was the opposite scenario during the Cold War. I guess to the Committee, realpolitik trumps ideological/religious commonalities despite all their talks to the contrary.
I know Korea is becoming more nationalist as a response to the Paulluist genocide against Koreans and other minorities in Kyushu, but what is the situation for Ryukyu and Ainu Mosir at this point? I'm guessing neither Paulluists Japanese regime is fond of them being independent.
Also, how are the Srivijaya member states reacting to recent geopolitical events like the rise of Jerusalem, the crippling of India and the pivoting of a good chunk of the Sinosphere towards illiberal nationalism? Things are probably tense there given if the recent equalists inseructions that were crushed by Argus are any indication, especially if the old power struggle between Vietnam, Nusantara and the non-aligned Siam/Burma bloc is still going on. And that’s not to mention the chaotic state of Sumatra and the other Roman pacific colonies that might make them look tempting to nearby powers like Srivijaya and Penglai.
I wonder what other national mottos the Commitee would use? I imagine they would twist the old Got mit Uns motto around for their purpose.
Also one more thing I noticed in this update that was talked about before, but the harvesting of live organs for human experimentation? Again, I see Jerusalem has the same grasp on scientific ethics that modern day China and Nazi Germany have (basically none at all). That ironically sets the Committee apart from a lot of American evangelical movements and far right conspiracy theories like Qanon in OTL, which have undercurrents of anti intellectualism and pseudo science. At least they're publicly consistent with the narrative of being better than medieval Catholics that supposedly suppress culture and science (despite that being a historical misconception), although I figure Jerusalem would still suppress intellectual innovations from non-Christians like how the Nazis suppressed forced Jewish intellectuals into exile and burned books that went against their ideology.
With all these parallels to Communist China recently, I wonder if there be a Dalai Lama type figure from all the other religions the Committee persecutes, like maybe the Kohen Gadol, the three caliphs, the non Norse pagan religious heads or even the pope? That is assuming they manage to escape and aren't killed, deported or taken hostage by Jerusalem to keep its non-Christian neighbors passive to its influence.
Now that I mention the Dalai Lama, if what's to ethnic minorities in Penglai like Indians and Japanese is any indication, I fear what Han will do to minorities in China like Tibetans and Siberians, even if the Committee only mentioned China's long history of systemic racism to make themselves look better.
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She'll have to watch her back.
I might do that, but translating it to German might break the reference.
Pretty ironic.
The southern Paulluists want to take Ainu Mosir as it's included in its borders of a "unified" Japan, but they really don't care much about Ryukyu although it's more that they completely forgot about them (and that it's much easier for China to defend it).
I believe they're turning inward because they have to deal with resurgent equalists rampaging through Burma, Siam, Cambodia, and Laos and a refugee crisis from India.
They definitely use Gott mit Uns as a motto, as well as Deus vult. They also use “Fiat Voluntas Tua” (Thy will be done) in an official capacity.
I realized pretty late into my research that I couldn't use 60% of what I gathered because American right-wing movements went in a completely different direction from what I wanted the committee to be. Though there are still undercurrents of anti-intellectualism in the committee.
Unfortunately I couldn't fit in any such character since my cast is already so large.
Worrying indeed.
And then admitting he was wrong to give Jerusalem the benefit of the doubt.
Gunnolfsfell
Gunnolfsfell, Kanata, Eimerican Federation - March 13
Tsai had never been to Gunnolfsfell before, so she was amazed by the sights of one of the largest cities in the Eimericas. It had an urban sprawl to rival New Berlin and Markland, skyscrapers to rival Jinshan and Hongzhou, and the dynamism of Tenochtitlan and New Peten. As her motorcade drove through the streets, she took sight of the architecture and layout. The city had been founded by native Eimericans, particularly those from Lenapehoking and some of the Rhotinonsionni states. Their buildings, among the oldest in the area, were built of stone and wood and had simple functional designs. She could see these designs in some banks, residences, and meeting halls. Native influence was also apparent in street signs and building name plaques, which displayed names in the most spoken native languages in the city—the local Munsee and Canarsie, the Kanienʼkéha used throughout the larger region, and the Meskwaki spoken throughout much of the continent, all using the Meskwaki writing system as standardized by Pierremaskin—as well as Kanatan Norse. The Norse influences were most obvious in the newer structures, like the skyscrapers and places like parks, taverns, restaurants, and marketplaces. The name Gunnolfsfell was also Norse, the product of a concerted effort by the majority Norse population to replace the original native name, Manhattan. Still, many of the street signs and building names were still native in original, despite being transliterated into the Roman alphabet.
Her car pulled up to their destination, an open air meeting hall on the southern tip of the Manhattan Peninsula, overlooking the Muhheakantuck River as it flowed into the Atlantic. She got out and showed her credentials to the security guards before finding her seat—labeled “Tsai Ing-Wen, Special Observer for the Chinese Empire”—at the large roundtable. The other dignitaries filed in over the next few minutes. Chancellor Orus Amur of Yavdi and President Sakamoto of the Japanese Republic (southern) sat next to her.
“Nice seeing you again,” Orus said.
“Likewise,” Tsai said.
She held out her hand for Sakamoto.
“I’m Tsai Ing-Wen,” she said.
Sakamoto refused to shake her hand.
“I know who you are,” he said, “As they say in Jerusalem, Me ne Frego.”
Tsai was pretty sure they didn't say that in Jerusalem.
“Rude,” she said.
Once all of the dignitaries had been seated, Secretary-General Kahenta Tyonajanegen, a Kanienʼkehá꞉ka from southern Kanata, stood up.
“Thank you all for joining this conference,” she said, “Before we start, I would like to thank the Kanatan government and the Eimerican Federation for allowing us to host our conference here. I would also like to acknowledge the land we are hosting this conference on belongs to the Canarsie people, and would like to give thanks to its council of elders for hosting us. And we must also show our thanks to the natural world with a customary Ganonhanyonh [words that come before all else].”
Everybody bowed their heads, except for the Jerusalemite representative.
“Today we have gathered, and we see that the cycles of life continue,” Kahenta said, “We have been given the duty to live in balance and harmony with each other and all living things. Now, we bring our minds together as one as we give greetings and thanks to each other as people.”
“Now are minds are one,” the North Eimerican native delegates replied.
“We are thankful to our Mother Earth, for she gives us all we need for life,” Kahenta continued, “She supports our feet as we walk about upon her. It gives us joy that she continues to care for us as she has from the beginning of time. To our mother, we send greetings and thanks.”
“Now our minds are one.”
“We give thanks to the waters of the world for quenching our thirst and providing us strength. Water is life, and we know its power in many forms‐ waterfalls and rain, mists and streams, rivers and oceans. With one mind, we send greetings and thanks to the spirit of Water.”
“Now our minds are one.”
“Now we turn toward the vast fields of plants. As far as the eye can see, plants grow, working many wonders. They sustain many life forms. With our minds gathered together, we give thanks and look forward to seeing plant life for many generations to come.”
“Now our minds are one.”
“With one mind, we turn to honor and thank all the food plants we harvest from the garden. Since the beginning of time, grains, vegetables, beans and berries have helped people survive. Many other living things draw strength from them too. We gather all the food plants together as one and send them a greeting of thanks.”
“Now our minds are one.”
“We don’t have any food here,” Sakamoto whispered, “I’m hungry.”
“Now we turn to the medicine herbs of the world. From the beginning, they were instructed to take away sickness. They are always waiting and ready to heal us. We are happy there are still among us those who remember how to use these plants for healing. With one mind, we send greetings and thanks to the medcines and to their keepers.”
“Now our minds are one.”
“We gather our minds together to send greetings and thanks to the animals of the world. They have many things to teach us as people. We are honored by them when they give up their lives so we may use their bodies as food for our people. We see them near our homes and in the forests. We are glad they are still here and we hope that it will always be so.”
“Now our minds are one.”
“We now turn our thoughts to the trees. The Earth has many trees who have their own uses. Some provide us with shelter and shade, others with fruit, beauty and other useful things. Many around the world use a tree as symbols of peace and strength. With one mind, we greet and thank the trees.”
“Now our minds are one.”
“We put our minds together as one and thank the birds who fly over our heads. The Creator gave them beautiful songs. Each day they remind us to enjoy and appreciate life. The Eagle was chosen to be their leader. To all the Birds‐from the smallest to the largest‐we send our joyful greetings and thanks.”
“Now our minds are one.”
“We are all thankful to the powers we know as the Four Winds. We hear their voices as they refresh us and purify the air we breathe. They help us to bring the change of seasons. From the four directions they come, bringing us messages and giving us strength. With one mind, we send our greetings and thanks to the Four Winds.”
“Now our minds are one.”
“Now we turn to the west where our grandfathers the Thunderers live. With lightning and thundering voices, they bring with them the water that renews life. We are thankful that they keep those evil things made by Okwiseres underground. We bring our minds together as one to send greetings and thanks to our grandfathers.”
“Now our minds are one.”
“We now send greetings and thanks to our eldest brother, the sun. Each day without fail, he travels the sky from east to west, bringing the light of a new day. He is the source of all the fires of life. With one mind, we send greetings and thanks to the sun.”
“Now our minds are one.”
“We put our minds together to give thanks to our oldest grandmother, the moon, who lights the nighttime sky. She is the leader of women, and she governs the movement of the ocean tides. By her changing face we measure time, and it is the moon who watches over the arrival of children. With one mind, we send greetings and thanks to our grandmother, the moon.”
“Now our minds are one.”
“We give thanks to the stars who are spread across the sky like jewelry. We see them in the night, helping the moon to light the darkness and bringing dew to the gardens and growing things. When we travel at night, they guide us home. With our minds gathered together as one, we send greetings and thanks to the stars.”
“Now our minds are one.”
“We gather our minds to greet and thank the enlightened teachers who have come to help throughout the ages. When we forget how to live in harmony, they remind us of the way we were instructed to live as people. With one mind, we send greetings and thanks to these caring teachers.”
“Now our minds are one.”
“Now we turn our thoughts to the Creator and send thanks for all of the gifts of Creation. Everything we need to live a good life is here on Mother Earth. For all the love that is still around us, we gather our minds together as one and send our choicest words of greetings and thanks to the Creator.”
“Now our minds are one.”
“We have now arrived at the place where we end our words. Of all the things we have named, it was not our intention to leave anything out. If something was forgotten, we leave it to each individual to send such greetings and thanks in their own way.”
“Now our minds are one.”
Kahenta nodded. “Now we can begin.”
“Freaking finally,” Sakamoto grumbled, “That took way too long.”
The dignitaries, both ambassadors and heads of state or government, took turns standing up and introducing the issues they wanted to discuss. The main issue was the global economy. With the mark now effectively worthless, all major currencies’ values went crazy, with some countries even bringing back the gold standard. Supply lines collapsed as well. There were many resources, products, and services the old Reich once exported to the rest of the world. The world financial system was the biggest casualty of the collapse. The banking system had lost its largest creditor nation and its largest financial centers, including Constantinople, and non-Roman banks couldn’t pick up the pace, especially with China and its financial institutions withdrawing from the international system. The price of oil and natural gas surged, along with the prices of commodities like milk, beef, poultry, sugar, cotton, olives, and fish. The world had long relied on the Reich for many exports, and now that the Reich had ceased to exist, it blew a gaping hole in the world economy. Countries with more dependent economies like Yavdi, Mali, and Abyssinia found themselves in a deep recession, worse than other countries, and a rapidly decaying standard of living. Tsai heard rumors of Mali’s infamous traffic jams either getting far worse or disappearing altogether, because nobody could afford cars and the infrastructure started falling apart with no money for maintenance. Roman Africans fleeing across the border from committee-controlled Länder into the East Africa Confederation supernation were straining local social services and provoking resentment from locals.
Aside from the economic issues, there were also border disputes. The Scandinavians and Kanatans wanted to discuss fishing rights in the North Atlantic, but Tsai knew both sides were just trying to make a case for why Iceland and Greenland should be under their administration with a referendum on secession from Kanata and annexation to Scandinavia coming up. Bhutan’s delegate dodged the question of reunification with Nepal, while the Nepalese delegate also dodged the question of reunification with India despite increasing calls for a referendum on annexation which likely would pass. The Indian delegate asked for an end to the Argus occupations but was shot down. The Jerusalemite delegate claimed it was their fault the occupations were a thing and it was for their own good, which almost provoked a fistfight when the Indian delegate lunged at him. The delegates from the Japanese Republic and the newly reestablished Republic of Japan argued over their names. The Korean delegate then brought up the matter of Kyushu’s Korean community.
“NO!” Sakamoto immediately replied, pounding his fist on the table. “KYUSHU IS AN INVIOLABLE PART OF JAPAN, AND I WILL NOT GIVE IT UP TO YOU!”
“YEAH!” agreed the delegate from the Republic of Japan (north), a man named Hayabusa.
It was the only time the two agreed on something, although Sakamoto looked less than please he was actually agreeing with Hayabusa. Tsai had heard the two Paulluist factions didn't get along, because the southerners were backed by the committee and northerners by China. Quite an ironic reversal of their Cold War allegiances.
“You are out of line!” Kahenta said.
“And you are silencing me!” Sakamoto said. “You promised we would all get a fair chance!”
“Please sit down,” Kahenta said.
“I think the honorable president Sakamoto is justified,” the Jerusalemite delegate said, “This forum is extremely biased against those who do not believe in the liberal ideology.”
“You are also out of line,” Kahenta said.
“No, it is you who is out of line!” the Jerusalemite said. “We cannot participate in a forum where our views and issues are constantly silenced and censored in favor of some politically correct weak liberal fascist equalism!”
He continued talking very quickly, changing subject from random out of context Bible verses to condemnations of the Merkel administration to praises of the Kaiser to conspiracy theories about secret Chinese world domination through a UN that they weren’t even a part of. The speed of his talking and the ease with which he switched topics was so fast nobody had a chance to interrupt and refute each point, let alone stop him.
“And that’s why both sides are the same!” he concluded.
Uh…she had no idea what he was talking about. So this was the "LKR guy" Georg and Wilhelmina had always complained about in the past.
“Okay, that’s it,” Kahenta said, “We will now hold an emergency vote. Regarding the Security Council seat of the Holy Roman Empire of Jerusalem.”
“This is political, religious, and racial discrimination against Jerusalemites, Christians and Germans!” the Jerusalemite said. “You can’t do this!”
“We haven’t really addressed the issue of continuity of government,” Kahenta said, “If the Holy Roman Empire of Jerusalem claims to be the legitimate successor of the Roman Reich, or if it is a new nation.”
“Of course we’re a new nation!” the Jerusalemite said. “The Reich is a dead nation tainted by centuries of party cartel rule! We’re starting over anew and building a new Christian nation out of its ashes! We are building the Kingdom of God on—wait, frak…”
“Since the ambassador from Jerusalem has kindly resolved the issue for us, all in favor of stripping the Holy Roman Empire of Jerusalem of its Security Council seat?” Kahenta said.
One by one, the delegates gave either their assent or rejection, aside from Sakamoto and the delegates from Penglai and Nepal.
“And the ayes have it,” Kahenta said, “By a significant majority.”
“This is ridiculous!” the Jerusalemite said. “I will let the committee know of your insolence!”
Kahenta sighed. “Okay, who here would like to just completely expel the Holy Roman Empire of Jerusalem from the UN?”
Penglai, Nepal, and the Japanese Republic voted against again. Scandinavia, India, Fusang, Mali, East Africa, Bhutan, and the Republic of Japan abstained. Everyone else voted in favor, with the Russian delegate most enthusiastic. Tsai didn’t vote because China was only spectating.
“The ayes have it,” Kahenta said.
“You can’t kick us out because we withdraw!” the Jerusalemite said. “You can take your stupid echo chamber and delude yourself with virtue signaling and politically correct weak liberal fascist equalist censorship! We will defend the rights of Christians and true patriots! Why are you always focusing on us? What about the war crimes of the Rasas in World War II and the Guominjun in World War III? What about the Soviet war crimes in both wars? Why aren’t those being looked at like our alleged nonexistent crimes are?! This is a barbarian conspiracy against Christians and the Kingdom of God, I tell you! Both sides are the same! BOTH SIDES ARE THE SAME!”
He was “escorted” out by two guards who grabbed his arms and hauled him away, kicking and screaming the whole time.
“Uh…what sides did he mean?” Tsai said.
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Kahenta’s prayer is an actual Mohawk thanksgiving prayer.
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That prayer bit was interesting, first time I've ever read of such a thing. Also THAT'S the LKR guy?! Seems that man has been reduced to a ranting pitiful shell that would definitely get along with whatever conspiracy theorist that's in this universe. So Jerusalem loses a security seat huh. Well, time to see if Elias and his gang of lunatics are gonna do something completely insane again. Also that Sakamoto fellow, a rather....interesting fellow. If rather undiplomatic.
I had to dig pretty deep to find the prayer, but it was worth it. It gives us a good look into the culture of the Eimericas, or at least this general area.
LKR guy has certainly lost it.
LKR really screwed over Jursealem’s diplomatic legitimacy in that meeting didn’t it, not that it ever had much legitimacy to begin with. For a so called centrist, he has become quite fanatical when it comes to following the Commitee’s ideology. Goes to show how anyone can be corrupted by power.
In other news, the rest of the world is as much of a mess as I expected it would be. At least the UN was able to make progress by expelling Jerusalem and leaving it an international pariah like North Korea. Unlike North Korea tho, I feel like this isolation won’t hurt Jerusalem much for long unfortunately, so much more needs to be done if the free world wants to stop the Commitee’s mad quest for power. That might be different to do, given the global socio-economic situation and how the international community is so polarized and divided that not only are they more focused on local isssues like the situations in the Indian sub-continent, Iceland, Japanese-Korean relations and Africa over the greater threat of Jerusalem, there also are some counties that either support Jerusalem or are too indifferent or scared to do anything.
Nice to see Tsai again, even if she was just an observer at that UN meeting and thus couldn’t do much. The new UN general secretary also seems nice. As for the two new Japanese presidents, I suspect they may have more in common with each than they would care to admit despite hostilities, given their shared positions on Kyushu. While we’re talking about Japan, I’d think it would be a good idea to call the North the Christian Republic of Japan in the story from here on out, to differentiate from the southern Japanese Republic.
I quite like the extents you went to flesh out Eimerican culture in this update, like that prayer and making Gunnolfsfell very different from New York. Makes the EF as feel alive like many countries in this AAR as opposed to being one generic space filling empire.
Continuing on with other topics that were mentioned in the same comment I quoted, How would the Committee teach about the history of Angeloi, Maximists and the Fifity Years War? I'm guessing they'd paint the Inquisition, Angeloi and Maximists as Catholic conspirators working to undermine true Christians and downplay atrocities committed against non Christians if not avoid talking about altogether. They'd probably also make people forget the accomplishments of Abraham Green, Anne or any other historical figure of minority descent or focus more on traditional German Christian.
Now that freedom of press and speech is most definitely abolished with the Augustian Code if Die Zeiten being and purged and likely dissolved, are there any news outlets besides Schmitz Broadcasting/Vox Dei, or is that the only source of “news” in Jerusalem?
Also, I noticed that there were still five pentarchs present at Wilhelm Karl’s second coronation and the establishment of the Empire of Jerusalem despite the Commitee having nuked Antioch and Alexandria (despite their religious significance) during Red Christmas, leaving the remaining three pentarchy cities of Constantinople, Rome and Jerusalem intact. Just thought that was funny to me.
In other news, the rest of the world is as much of a mess as I expected it would be. At least the UN was able to make progress by expelling Jerusalem and leaving it an international pariah like North Korea. Unlike North Korea tho, I feel like this isolation won’t hurt Jerusalem much for long unfortunately, so much more needs to be done if the free world wants to stop the Commitee’s mad quest for power. That might be different to do, given the global socio-economic situation and how the international community is so polarized and divided that not only are they more focused on local isssues like the situations in the Indian sub-continent, Iceland, Japanese-Korean relations and Africa over the greater threat of Jerusalem, there also are some counties that either support Jerusalem or are too indifferent or scared to do anything.
Nice to see Tsai again, even if she was just an observer at that UN meeting and thus couldn’t do much. The new UN general secretary also seems nice. As for the two new Japanese presidents, I suspect they may have more in common with each than they would care to admit despite hostilities, given their shared positions on Kyushu. While we’re talking about Japan, I’d think it would be a good idea to call the North the Christian Republic of Japan in the story from here on out, to differentiate from the southern Japanese Republic.
I quite like the extents you went to flesh out Eimerican culture in this update, like that prayer and making Gunnolfsfell very different from New York. Makes the EF as feel alive like many countries in this AAR as opposed to being one generic space filling empire.
I found this old post while reading older parts of this thread and that got me thinking, considering how you mentioned in your discussions with @TWR97 and @GhostRider124 that the Committee would tarnish the memory of Oscar Schindler and X-Division to their own advantage, What's stopping them from weaponizing classic dystopian literature like 1984 and Brave New World, among other works, for its own ends, twisting them to serve the exact opposite purpose they were originally written for? Like painting those potential futures as the Party Cartel's end goal and how it was thanks to the Committee that such a dystopia didn't become reality, thus playing into the old Reich's aversion towards various forms of Authoritarianism while covertly making the Commitee's brand of authoritarianism more palatable to the Roman public. That would be pretty horrifying and gut wrenching.
Continuing on with other topics that were mentioned in the same comment I quoted, How would the Committee teach about the history of Angeloi, Maximists and the Fifity Years War? I'm guessing they'd paint the Inquisition, Angeloi and Maximists as Catholic conspirators working to undermine true Christians and downplay atrocities committed against non Christians if not avoid talking about altogether. They'd probably also make people forget the accomplishments of Abraham Green, Anne or any other historical figure of minority descent or focus more on traditional German Christian.
Now that freedom of press and speech is most definitely abolished with the Augustian Code if Die Zeiten being and purged and likely dissolved, are there any news outlets besides Schmitz Broadcasting/Vox Dei, or is that the only source of “news” in Jerusalem?
Also, I noticed that there were still five pentarchs present at Wilhelm Karl’s second coronation and the establishment of the Empire of Jerusalem despite the Commitee having nuked Antioch and Alexandria (despite their religious significance) during Red Christmas, leaving the remaining three pentarchy cities of Constantinople, Rome and Jerusalem intact. Just thought that was funny to me.
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Overall great update. I really liked the delving into Native Eimerican culture in this update and how Gunnolfsfell is a mix of Native Eimerican culture with European/Scandinavian/Kanatan culture.
As for your statements about minority figures like Abraham Green and Anne I could see them being downplayed in favor of a German Christian.
I think LKR Guy realized that by saying that they were a new nation that would make the current Reich position in the Security Council invalid but he realized this to late. As the saying goes "It was at this moment that he knew he messed up" (I'm using a version since I do not know how the mods feel about swearing).
Well I think it is safe to assume that there is going to be some form of fall out from this. Especially since the next update is titled "The Siege of Bremerhaven" and Zen said that it is based off of Gilead's attack on Chicago in the show.
I feel like they will discredit the Angeloi, Maximists and the Fifity Years War since despite all wanting a "Christian" nation like they themselves want the Committee would claim that they were heretics since they wanted to either replace the ruling Kaiser in the case of the Maximists and Angeloi (however the Angeloi or only forced to replace the Kaiser with a Maximists one since Otto fled) or replace him (I think this is true for the Fifity Years War) but I am unsure.
As for your statements about minority figures like Abraham Green and Anne I could see them being downplayed in favor of a German Christian.
Mabey they were "conveniently" away from those cities during Red Christmas like how Brad was away from Berlin during the initial purge?
So it’s like what Annie said to Anders and Angela regarding the Bremerhaven protests, “the instant the world no longer cares about Bremerhaven one bit or the committee no longer cares about the world, the hammer will come down on us.” It looks like that warning may come true because of the events of this update, unfortunately.
That’s true for the Anarchy, but not the Fifty Years War. That said, I could see the Committee praising the Inquisition's purging of heretics like the iconoclasts and condemning them for oppressing true Christians when needed. As for the Angeloi and Maximists, I remember Angelos suppressed clergy during WW2 and seized church property before that, while Konrad von Habsburg forced the Ecumenical Patriarch to run against him in a fradulent election and then deposed him when it looked like he might win somehow, so I guess Jerusalem would hate them for that. That, and the Committee probably see the Angeloi's facsism and the Maximists' nationalism and ideas of "democracy" as heretical. Regardless, I wouldn't be surprised if there are a lot of neo-Angeloi/Maximists (Maximist as in wanting a political system like Maximist democracy where only Greco-Germanic Christians have rights and citizenship, not literally wanting the Maximist family to be on the throne which is now impossible) that still support Jerusalem considering how the NDF, an alt-right nationalist coalition consisting of the old NDP and AfR parties, has representation on the Committee along with CB and LKR (through I wouldn't expect Bin Laden to be on the Committee at this point unless he converts from Judaism to Christianity and Jerusalem accepts that, as funny and terrifying as that would be).
Definitely. They most likely would also downplay or even discredit accomplishments made by non Christians before or during the Reich, like the Islamic Golden Age for example, in favor of Christian cultural, scientific and intellectual advancements. Same thing would go for Feminists, philosophers that don’t line up with the Commitee’s worldview and other socially stigmatized minorities like LGBT people.
That would make sense. I'm guessing the Commitee will be rebuilding the cities they destroyed in their own image, assuming they have the means to clean up the nuclear wastelands there. If not, I suppose its likely they end up becoming something akin to the radioactive Colonies in Gilead, even though Jerusalem already has concertation camps in Taurica and other parts of Europe and Africa.
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Both sides are the same... in sin. Only by rising with God can we transcend the politicking of the wicked into holy imperialism... okay I don't really know where I was going with that.
Perhaps I am excessively cynical but I can't help but see everyone trying to stand up to the HEJ as a "who will bell the cat?" situation... Unlike with real controversial large countries (aka all of them), there's no true counterweight for the Reich unless everyone else bands together with unprecedented cooperation.
Perhaps I am excessively cynical but I can't help but see everyone trying to stand up to the HEJ as a "who will bell the cat?" situation... Unlike with real controversial large countries (aka all of them), there's no true counterweight for the Reich unless everyone else bands together with unprecedented cooperation.
Mirrors how in the Weimar Republic, centrists and old guard conservatives/traditional aristocracy allied themselves with the rising Nazis because they were more scared of the communists and socialists and they thought they could keep the Nazis in check/discredit them. Look how that turned out...
If anything, Jerusalem might economically retaliate for such an act, which would be fatal because there's no unified opposition and the only countries that can reasonably stand up to it are either incapable or unwilling to act.
Maybe I will, although I just refer to them as northern Japan most of the time.
I can think of them weaponizing Fahrenheit 451 by pointing out that the people themselves specifically asked for those books to be burned, and then either saying this mirrors how the people want the committee or how the people asked the party cartel to cancel and censor opposing viewpoints (depends on what narrative is being promoted at the moment). They'd use 1984 as a guide for how to keep the common people divided, placated, and subservient (minus the whole language rewriting because that is impossible at this point). In general, dystopian literature might be either promoted as a warning of what happens if the party cartel retakes power or a good outcome where the Big Brother/committee is looking out for them against barbarians looking to destroy them (Eastasia, Eurasia, and so on). They'd also attack George Orwell/Eric Blair as an equalist.
The committee absolutely hates the Angeloi and has passed several anti-Angeloi/anti-Holocaust denial laws. But the subtext is that these laws are used in such a way as to criminalize any questioning of the official narrative of World War II and the committee's view on it, equating it all with Holocaust denial and neo-Angeloi support. Maximists would be considered mob rule with Chinese puppet masters.
It would be pretty easy to erase Anne's accomplishments because she herself didn't want to draw attention to herself and away from those of her comrades.
The committee uses a pop culture/simplistic view of history. Like the medieval era is a Dark Ages when the Catholic Church suppressed science and burned inventors at the stake for heresy (also a touch of "burning of the Library of Alexandria set back progress for thousands of years"). The Islamic Golden Age is replaced with "Islam is a militaristic ideology that seeks to kill or convert all nonbelievers; Muhammad was a pedophile; Muslims overran the Middle East taking advantage of the Second Empire's weakness; the caliphs relentlessly persecuted Christians, tore down their churches, and burned their findings, plunging the region into a dark age; women had no rights under the caliphs and were considered the property of men; European innovations were banned because the caliphs did not want to embrace infidel ways; Muslims are involved in a conspiracy to take over global finances and secretly control the entire world in a shadow caliphate."
The Anarchy would be obviously still be the Anarchy. "This is what would have happened if you let Merkel/Folger/bin Laden take over."
Like everything, the committee both praises and condemns the same thing when appropriate. It not only allows them to both have a bogeyman and an icon, but also confuses people and creates all sorts of contradictory narratives that as a whole overwhelm people, leave them confused and scared, make them trust the committee more, and overall discredit the actual truth, especially when it comes in from other countries, as "just another phony narrative." Ironically, a lot of neo-Angeloi supporters might have been converted to committee supporters, although the Maximist movement has been long dead with the end of the Maximist line. Bin Laden would be instantly purged as the perfect example of party cartel excess, incompetence, decadence, and corruption (they'd use quite a few anti-Semitic talking points as well).
Slightly related, but I also think that the old Reich's affirmative action policies would be twisted around to benefit Christians and Germans, with the justification that they had been discriminated against for centuries and now it will take an affirmative action system to undo such discrimination.
There are actually hundreds of "sources"...but they're all Schmitz Broadcasting. But they have multiple viewpoints and opinions! ...but they make absolutely no sense and contradict each other and they're all curated by Schmitz anyways. But both sides are the same!
Pretty sure those guys also didn't want to be there...
Could be. Or they just "appointed" some new leaders.
I have no direct equivalent of Gilead's Colonies. Internally, I consider those cities to be abandoned aside from teams going in to scavenge any useful materials for use elsewhere. To the committee, the afflicted people fully deserved their fate and don't deserve any help.
I didn't just want to make it a New York clone because the circumstances that led to our New York didn't happen here, so the city would be completely different.
I think it's fine, I've seen others use swears before (although I myself want to keep my writing PG/PG-13).
As with Chicago vs Gilead, it's more of a protracted siege lasting months if not years than a single battle happening right after this incident.
But I definitely agree about this. Jerusalem will look for a punching bag.
I wouldn't be surprised if they use that line of logic.
Since India and China are unavailable and the EF isn't a unified bloc, nobody else wants to be the first to stand up to Jerusalem and suffer the consequences, thus making it hard for everyone to band together, because the instant Jerusalem catches on to such efforts, it will crack down as happened with the letters to UN ambassadors.
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I'm not trying to justify what they did, but at least they knew deep down how crazy the Nazis were, as opposed to LKR complete betraying his values to full heartedly embrace the Committee.
While we are on this topic, I remember seeing this infographic comparing 1984 and Brave New World around the internet before, which got me to wonder what are some tactics that Jerusalem shares with 1984's Oceania and Brave New World's Worldstate in addition to the parallels to Handmaid's Tale's Gilead we've already gone over in the story, and what are other tactics that the Commitee doesn't use or at least uses in a different way than what Orwell, Huxley or even Atwood imagined?
By the way Zen, you may have forgotten to type out a response to one of my comments, since there's a blank space next to one of my quotes. Just giving you a heads up.
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While we are on this topic, I remember seeing this infographic comparing 1984 and Brave New World around the internet, which got me to wonder what are some tactics that Jerusalem shares with 1984's Oceania and Brave New World's Worldstate in addition to the parallels of Atwood's Gilead we've already gone over in the story, and what are other tactics that the Commitee doesn't use or at least uses in a different way than what Orwell, Huxley or even Atwood imagined?
Speaking of the Youtuber Second Thought did a video called "Is The US Becoming A Dystopia?" and a part of me thinks that the Committee would use TTL's version of the video to say "See this is what the Party Cartel wants that we are saving you from."
Also I know this is off topic but whenever I hear about a Hellhound drone I think of this from Battlefield 2042.
If my top comment is too close to being a political statement let me know and I'll delete the top comment.
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Well, some did and didn't care/liked what they heard, while others probably didn't know what they were getting into and dismissed the Nazis as idiots who wouldn't be able to get things done in power (thus being puppets for the traditional power brokers). Guessing it's the same with the old parties and the committee.
Let's see:
Limited communication: done already. The committee controls Internet service and content.
Destruction and ban of information and knowledge: Yep, the committee twists the facts and information around to suit its ends, but it also engages in good old fashioned destruction. As for the museums and historical sites...well...
Concealing the truth: The committee conceals it with the "firehose of falsehood," basically putting out so much BS and disinformation that the truth becomes almost impossible to find and in any case can itself be easily dismissed as part of the firehose. This is a strategy used by Russian state propaganda today, and one that the committee's propaganda outlets have also embraced.
Panem et circenses: Schmitz controls almost all national/local media outlets now and dictates what content can be shown. The committee knows that the Roman population was obsessed with entertainment before the takeover (the political apathy demonstrated by Manfred and others while the Uberbowl remained a high profile event pretty much shows that). Its solution is to not only use the news to spread propaganda, but also turn the news itself into entertainment (like real life Russian propaganda, which doesn't believe in the idea of an objective truth). The whole point of the news now is to gain ratings and enrage an audience, because outrage generates views and public discussion. It doesn't matter if the news is fake or contradicts itself, people will lap it up anyways. They just want the spectacle and the feeling of rage, which the committee gives to them.
Oh, sorry. I'm going to answer it here so you don't have to look back on the edited post.
Yeah, I don't want the EF to immediately become a single monolithic blob like in the game because it frankly happened way faster than I was expecting (due to me not scripting the events and decisions correctly, but oh well). It wouldn't make sense if all of the member states suddenly abolished themselves and handed control to a supernational government. So what I did was do something more like a more integrated EU, with the member states still sovereign but the central government gaining more power and authority.
It probably wouldn't care for a random Youtube video and would just ban it or something, maybe by abusing Youtube's copyright strike system.
Surprisingly that looks a lot like the original drone from that Black Mirror episode, only the show's drone was much sleeker and "dog"-like.
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I just looked up the episode and I can see what you mean. That "dog" is the definition of "Kill it. Kill it with fire."