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Pacho posted:The NOMAD Speaker for Civil and Human Rights proposes the creation of a Comintern Judiciary (JUCOM) with judicial power over all international and interplanetary legislation. The purpose of this is to generate a strong legal corpus with the legitimacy to enact Comintern Law while respecting each polities judiciary framework. The Tar Heel Confederation Seconds this motion. A judiciary is necessary, lest the larger body of Comintern law be without enforcement.
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Jul 7, 2023 07:18
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Redeye Flight posted:This is a considerable proposition, but at this point, the participating national representatives agree what we could do with some more organization and coordination on our international efforts. We do also have other possible ministries in mind for future expansion, but these ones are the ones that all could agree on by this point in time. We have also come up with an initial predicted web of interactions and cross-jurisdiction between the various ministries proposed, and a system of shorthand reference names. Those have not been included in this bill, however. The NOMAD representative seconds both proposals but eagerly suggests the consideration of a Ministry of Vulnerable and Marginalized Populations, with the goal of achieving equality for women, racialized peoples, sexual and gender minorities and small and under presented native communities, among others. While this work has been done by different committees and bureaus we think it deserves the bureaucratic size, budget and authority of a proper Ministry. In the future this Ministry might include some alien populations that by will or need come to live under the Comintern
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Jul 7, 2023 07:26
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I wonder, would that be a full ministry? Or would it be better as a bureau under the ministry of justice?
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Jul 7, 2023 07:37
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NewMars posted:I wonder, would that be a full ministry? Or would it be better as a bureau under the ministry of justice? [Varrano nods to the question.] The original draft for the Ministries bill called for a Ministry of Justice and Human Rights, among some other ideas, but it was left off as it was felt like the idea needed more time and a broader enforcement infrastructure than was present. If my fellows believe that the world is ready for the Comintern to handle international law, however, then Germany and Italy are willing to give it a try. J/HR would have encompassed our existing Decolonization program, the Bureau of Indigenous Affairs, and other similar efforts to protect marginalized populations which we have implemented already; I believe it would be logical for any Comintern justice organ to do the same. NewMars posted:The UAWR seconds both of those bills. Having read them, I can't really say I find any problems with them. Mind you, although it isn't a requirement yet, we're going to have to separate MoSA into different branches at some point as the situation in space expands. [Fletcher nods at this.] Absolutely -- certainly we're going to need at least a civilian and military branch eventually. Since we have effectively no cosmofleet at the moment, however, it was felt that MoSA could be left as it is and addressed as its own issue in later legislation. Redeye Flight fucked around with this message at 08:39 on Jul 7, 2023 |
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Jul 7, 2023 08:37
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[To pull from out of my drafts, here's the partially-completed version of the MoJHR that's still sitting appended to the bottom of this as it has for the last actual year. This had a different incarnation when I started drafting this, but started getting revised due to feedback and was then shelved altogether for exactly the reason that it seemed like something that needed to be run as its own legislation, and would require a lot more surrendering of power from the Comintern's stronger members than had been asked of them to this date, which would probably be extremely controversial. As a fun fact, I'm not kidding when I say actual year -- the discussion of this happened at the end of June 2022.]quote:-Ministry of Justice and Human Rights: Exactly what it says. JHR is responsible for operation and oversight of the international courts, regulations, and rights accorded to the proletariat -- the soul of socialism. JHR will answer directly to the Comintern Congress and work the standards it sets.
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Jul 7, 2023 08:49
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We find a great deal to commend in this proposal, though we have a consideration for a possible Ministry. Before that we seek to make a minor recommendation that may in truth be little more than a point of clarity;Redeye Flight posted:-Ministry of Archives and Information: Technically extant. While currently part of the highly successful Comintern Cybersyn economic management system, Cybersyn has picked up a vast amount of information management and data processing capacities as the Internetwork and its role in Comintern society have grown and evolved in complexity and scale. This should be split off into its own department, to be named the Ministry of Archives and Information, also known as MinArch or MAI. MAI is to be responsible for information management and standards across the Comintern. It is in charge of archiving, record-keeping, source preservation, and generally maintaining the collective memory of the socialist world, with contribution and two-way oversight from countless academic institutions and groups across the planet. It would be a major contributor to the activities of every other Ministry as a result. Given that the remit of MoCaL includes a very great deal of material which would be in the form of physical or digitized data of various kinds, we would like to ask just how it would operate in conjunction with MAI. In which portfolio does a thing like an original Gutenberg Bible belong? How do we avoid a turf war if both ministries determine something to be their responsibility? We would also suggest that one of these ministers be a legal deposit, and for it to also work to acquire both copies of works originating outside the Comintern, and to develop methods and protocols for improving the collection of works that are not released through traditional publishing channels. Our larger point is to raise the possibility of a Ministry of Global Liberation, or Accession and Integration, or something along those lines. The first remit would form our public-facing entity for the continued expansion of the socialist world through peaceful, diplomatic, and economic means. Its second remit would be to do the combined i-dotting and t-crossing needed to help a prospective member of the Comintern comply with legal requirements and begin integration of their various structures into that socialist world. Given that this would entail everything from economic accession to possible legal changes to integration into the physical infrastructure of Cybersyn, the rationale becomes clear. Whilst I am loathe to suggest that the spirit of revolution be tempered with legal minutiae, the fact is we have already implemented a great body of legal, administrative, and bureaucratic work, and the passing of this act would only strengthen and formalize that. In addition, while a country such as Japan has the institutional experience to carry a large bureaucratic burden, not all of those outside the Comintern do, and it would be prudent to ensure they can be given support here. We envision this as a body which can demonstrate the benefits of communist society, arrange for foreign proletariat to visit and learn from (and educate!) Comintern workers, encourage them in their struggles and attempt to bridge gaps where those hamper the revolution, form fraternal bonds into non-comintern polities, and then efficiently bring any new members into the greater organizational structure. It would also serve as a place where ideas for overcoming obstacles can be discussed and problems identified in prospective members can be properly analyzed, and relayed to the Congress if needed.
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Jul 7, 2023 13:26
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The representative from the Mackinaw Micro-Commune of the Upper Lower Michigan would like to propose adding to the bill above the consolidation and oversight of all national and international mail systems into COMPOST. Thank you for your consideration.
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Jul 7, 2023 13:55
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Redeye Flight posted:[Varrano nods to the question.] Gentle reminder that a Ministry of Justice and Human Rights would be part of the Executive Branch of the Comintern and the JUCOM would be part of Judiciary Branch, so both organism could (and should be encouraged to) coexist
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Jul 7, 2023 16:25
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Comrades, it is a bit embarrassing that we didn't see the recently-reported baby boom coming, so we'll need to work hard to catch up and make sure everything is ready. The recent efforts in Health and Education will handle the childbirths and when they've reached school age, but I'm concerned we're lacking in support for the first few years. Therefore we'd like to propose the Childcare bill. This bill have two parts, the first is to create a working group to design and prototype a children's creche facility. A pre-fab facility with built-in modularity that allows it to be built alongside the socialist aid housing blocks, scaled up and down in size and adjusted for local conditions. Once designed and prototyped off-world variants will then be designed for low-, high-, and zero-gravity conditions to assist current and future colonization efforts. A complete facility designed with safety, fun and education in mind where any comrade can drop off their child knowing they'll be taken good care of. While that happens a Bureau of Child Care will be created, a joint effort between multiple Ministries including Health, Education and Infrastructure. It takes a village to raise a child, as they say, and while child care should be performed by the local community this Bureau will assist where needed. Among these needs are constructing and maintaining facilities, providing supplies, screen and train local personnel, provide support personnel where and when needed, study and revise policies and techniques around child care, and related tasks.
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Jul 7, 2023 18:05
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Antilles posted:Comrades, it is a bit embarrassing that we didn't see the recently-reported baby boom coming, so we'll need to work hard to catch up and make sure everything is ready. The recent efforts in Health and Education will handle the childbirths and when they've reached school age, but I'm concerned we're lacking in support for the first few years. Therefore we'd like to propose the Childcare bill. Seconded.
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Jul 8, 2023 00:05
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It occurs to me we never bothered properly naming the moons of Minerva, which seems like an oversight given the place's importance. I formally propose that Minerva 7 (the largest moon) be named Medusa, as it is a myth with a (admittedly unflattering) connection with Minerva, and also that it is currently populated by jellyfish-people. This tangentially connects to my other proposal, Operation Pegasus, a proper diplomatic envoy to the Minervans. This will require a ship ideally capable of actually landing on the moon's surface to allow in-person contact (inasmuch as sealed environmental suits can allow) with the Minervans, done by a team of our best exo-linguists, sociologists and diplomats, in an attempt to gain a better understanding of our interplanetary neighbors and possibly establish deeper diplomatic ties. I'm sure we have things to offer each other, and the furthering of our mutual understanding will be greatly accelerated if we can talk face-to-face instead of over morse code with a several light-hour delay with our experts.
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Jul 9, 2023 14:15
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Asterite34 posted:It occurs to me we never bothered properly naming the moons of Minerva, which seems like an oversight given the place's importance. I formally propose that Minerva 7 (the largest moon) be named Medusa, as it is a myth with a (admittedly unflattering) connection with Minerva, and also that it is currently populated by jellyfish-people. seconded!
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Jul 9, 2023 14:44
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Or, we could ask the people who already live there (willingly or not) what it's called? Anyway, I suggest we name it Moon Victoria.
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Jul 9, 2023 15:41
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Volmarias posted:Or, we could ask the people who already live there (willingly or not) what it's called? Assuming they have a cool name for it, sure. Bear in mind it might contain phonemes unpronounceable by humans, or at an undetectable audio frequency, or require bioluminescence to say properly or something. Besides, it's not like their name for it is any more valid than ours, they didn't evolve there, it was our Solar System first. Admittedly they discovered it before us, so I will concede they have priority in that regard. e: and it's not like there isn't precedent for different cultures having different proper nouns for the same thing anyway. We can agree to disagree with the Minervans if we choose. Asterite34 fucked around with this message at 15:51 on Jul 9, 2023 |
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Jul 9, 2023 15:48
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Asterite34 posted:Assuming they have a cool name for it, sure. Bear in mind it might contain phonemes unpronounceable by humans, or at an undetectable audio frequency, or require bioluminescence to say properly or something. If their name for it can be translated to "The Rock of Despair" or something similar, we could simply use that too, instead of trying to make Minervan noises. Alternately, we could always go with Idaho, which is a Minervan name meaning Gem of the Stars.
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Jul 9, 2023 16:21
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Deliberations are closed! I will collate the proposals into a ballot as usual and will announce voting as open once it is ready.
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Jul 11, 2023 06:33
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Voting is now open! Vote using this form: https://forms.gle/icK18oTbKqYB5FTR6 Voting will remain open until Sunday, July 23. In addition, do not forget we have a Discord for this LP, which can be found here: https://discord.gg/KYVs4dGY
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Jul 18, 2023 03:14
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People who replied once may want to do it again, as there was a problem with the form.
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Jul 18, 2023 04:58
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The Deutsche Volksrepublik has voted YES across the board, to every proposal made for 1986. However, we would like to specify some caveats and concerns. Obviously, expressing them at this stage as opposed to during deliberation is somewhat shutting the door behind the horse, but nevertheless. We of course vote Yes to our own proposals. The Environmental Omnibus seems like an excellent initial test project for our proposed Ministry of Agriculture, should RF-167 pass. There has been some considerable concern expressed from several of the federal member states and organizations about the possible implications of A-169, the Childcare Bill. The concern is over the potential of the Bureau of Child Care to overrule the role of the individual, family, and community in child-raising, along with the potential damage this could cause to individual local cultures and traditions. By the strict text, what is being discussed is effectively providing international centralization and standardization of the current various systems designed for mass public child care. To what degree this would allow the international system and viewpoint to dictate and determine the local is the crux -- and, on the flip side, whether a lack of such ability would allow for local abuses, atrocities, or shortfalls to slip through the net. This debate is, to be frank, still ongoing, and a "Yes" vote was not a universally agreed point. The Volksrat and the German public want the implementation of A-169 and the effects of its creation to be studied and monitored very closely; I can assure you, they will be paying attention. [Fletcher gives a short sigh.] If the outcome is disagreeable, there may be a need to suspend the implementation at next year's Congress until revisions can be made. The Bund Deutscher Architekten and Verein Deutscher Ingenieure have offered tentative support for P-173, HELIOS, though there is heated debate over the viability and structural plausibility of a "space elevator", along with debates over its importance, usefulness... really, everything. It has rather set the entire German engineering community on its ear. This was ultimately what earned the approval, to be frank, as the proposed viability studies are now highly sought-after to help settle the overall debate. The JUCOM Act, P-168, is also tentatively approved. Germany has high hopes and investment in international justice. [Fletcher looks down at his papers; while he hasn't said as such, he's almost certainly reading a pre-prepared statement.] As we know far too well, justice is a delicate concept that can be manipulated and hijacked by outlying groups far too easily. The counterbalance of the majority helps to prevent this, and ensure mutual interest and support. That being said, we have also seen that individual great powers can also hijack and skew the system to their own ends -- a concept that Germany also knows very well. The British, French, and American Empires have all badly warped international justice in the past to make it better suit their individual national ends. [He looks up from his papers.] I do not mean to suggest to any delegate present that they would be so base or despicable to do the same to this alliance -- we have all benefited immensely from the Comintern's larger members being willing to abide by the will and viewpoints of the entire organization as true socialists do, rather than painting imperialism red and calling it liberation. But we all also know better than to rest on our laurels and hope for the future to work out the way we want it to, rather than assuring it. A truly worthwhile international justice system requires the willingness of even our greatest members to accept its presence, its judgement, and if necessary, its verdicts. This is not a concept that will be easy to swallow, especially as effectively every country in this alliance has experience within living memory of another power unfairly dictating terms to them and calling it justice. [He nods his head.] The DVR holds its reservations, and further design and modifications to this institution and supporting ones is almost certainly necessary... but we are willing to try it. If we are going to attempt to hold ourselves, let alone others, to any kind of standards, we cannot do that without means of holding, and those have to start somewhere. [He pulls a specific paper out of the stack.] To show this willingness, the Volksrat has authorized that a prior statement and offer from the DVR to the world be formalized. While a proper modern facility will likely need to be constructed or otherwise gathered, should P-168 pass, the Deutsche Volksrepublik formally offers the use of the Nuremburg Palace of Justice, or Justizpalast, as an initial headquarters facility for JUCOM's use. Apart from its symbolic value, the Justizpalast is a self-contained complex of court and detention facility, with twen-- well, with nineteen on-site courtrooms and an attached prison with a capacity of 1,000. It survived the GRW effectively undamaged and was recently renovated due to its regular role as the main court building for Bavaria; it should be up-to-date for their purposes. [He nods.] This would not be a permanent transfer -- ideally we would construct a new building for the purpose, as Bavaria would like its central court building back at some point. But it should serve for the immediate moment, and it is agreed that the symbolic value is unparalleled. [He smiles.] The offer to use the building, and Room 600 in particular, for the prosecution of the Vietnam War's criminals when brought to justice remains regardless.
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Jul 19, 2023 01:29
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Voting is closed. RF-166 passes. The Communist Interplanetary reverts to the name 'Communist International' for a period of five years. The Interplanetary People's Army is renamed the International People's Army, the Interplanetary People's Army Navy is officially renamed the International People's Navy. RF-167 passes. While the Comintern has been, brick by brick, building a world government piecemeal, this act is a sweeping reform to the Comintern's organizational structure, standardizing the ad hoc systems that have gradually been developing into a body of ministries with specific portfolios. Many of these organizations already existed, whether officially or de facto, so for the most part this is a question of formalizing responsibilities and jurisdiction rather than actually standing up entirely new organizations. It still represents a significant step towards cementing the idea of the International - which is still less than twenty years old in its current form - as a lasting, permanent thing. P-168 passes. The Comintern has established ad hoc bodies to adjudicate disputes between member nations, and the World Forum and regional Forums have grown to fill that role in the diplomatic sphere, but there has been no formal Comintern judiciary. Now that the Comintern has a substantial body of laws, including rules that members are expected to abide by, a body is needed to enforce those laws. The Comintern will, very soon, have courts, judges, and a civilian law enforcement body. The current law only gives these courts jurisdiction over international and interplanetary law, and does not give it the right to police the internal affairs of member polities. A-169 passes, and a Bureau of Child Care will be stood up. A-170 passes, and the seventh moon of Minerva will henceforth be referred to as Medusa. A-171 passes, and Operation Pegasus, a proper diplomatic mission to the Minerva system, will be undertaken. As part of this, the Krusenstern expedition, who have now been out there quite a long time, will be recalled to Earth for maintenance, debriefing, and sorely-needed crew R&R. P-172 passes, and serious work will begin on preparing for large-scale human settlement of Mars in the near future. P-173 passes, and work will be undertaken to determine the feasibility of a TN space elevator. NM-174 passes, and the productive forces will be unleashed. NM-175 passes, and work will begin towards complete global electrification. NM-176 passes, and the environmental omnibus bill will be put into effect. While TN industry is orders of magnitude cleaner than conventional industry, it does not emit no pollution, and it has not entirely replaced conventional industry either. The nuclear autumn and the death of over a billion humans has had one very grim silver lining, namely, the postponement of predicted anthropogenic global warming - but that doesn't mean it will never happen, and new environmental regulations will seek to head it off at the pass, while it is still early enough to prevent. Securing humanity's food supply over the long term will also be prioritized. K-177 passes, and Daedalus Crater on the Moon will be used as the site for the largest and most advanced astronomical instrument in the history of the species. A relatively light slate this year, but it took us a very long time to get here. The year proper will begin imminently. Welcome to 1987. It has been 19 years since the red flags went up.
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Jul 26, 2023 06:57
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Phenomenal! We do tend to pass most everything we actually propose, but I feel like that's usually because we wind up hashing out differences and distinctions in the discussion/drafting phase. Things people don't think will pass, just don't get put up until they're in a form that will. This is going to be an interesting year for the Comintern structurally. We've added a lot of new elements to the international organization here, and we're going to need to carefully assess how the member states react. We can't expect everyone to just happily accept all these parts.
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Jul 27, 2023 00:01
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Communications from the internal messaging system of the International People’s Navy, some time in early 1987 Accounts Involved: FleetAdmActual: Josef Mikhailovich Radetsky, Fleet Admiral, International People’s Navy [Prev. command: Soviet Military Maritime Fleet, Pacific Fleet, Department of Supply] quote:The first commander of the International People’s Navy, Admiral Radetsky volunteered for the position due to a self-described “excess of international spirit”, along with a perception of being shuttled into sinecures due to internal Red Fleet politics. Radetsky’s bottomless energy, ingenuity, willingness to do anything to build up his new service, and attention to establishing his “joke fleet” as a legitimate element are considered to have been crucial to the IPN’s foundational years. HeadShipGetter: Bertram Everich, Rear Admiral, International People’s Navy [Prev. command: HMS Diamond, Harwich Command] quote:A through-the-ranks captain held back from promotion due to outspoken Labour Party politics, Everich was in command of the battered HMS Diamond when the MI6 Coup shattered Great Britain and started violent riots and pogroms in the outlying regions near London. With the country collapsing, Everich took Diamond in at the Gravesend docks and took on every refugee he could fit on the boat, using her guns to ward off reactionary butchers for as long as he could, before sailing out and seeking asylum in Sweden. Everich and Diamond survived under the new Kalmar Union with Everich eventually being accepted for Kalmar commands; Radetsky selected him for the IPN on request due to a reported eye for “acquisitions”. Compared to the stereotypical British officer, Everich’s reputation is for straight-talk, plain-language command with a strong willingness to bend the letter of the rules in favor of the spirit. = = = = = = = = FleetAdmActual: So, what does the situation look like? HeadShipGetter: It’s a goddamn mess, which we expected. The specifics are very different from what we expected, though. FleetAdmActual: Explain? HeadShipGetter: So, here’s the “master list” I’ve been keeping in Notepad. File attachment: donationtally.txt FleetAdmActual: Good man. Let’s go over this by class. [NOTE: For full transcript, contact the Ministry of Archives and Information at this interlink.] [OOC NOTE: Holy crap this piece got away from me. It was a ton of fun to write, though, and I’ve attempted to pare it down to a more parsable state. There is also a second post in that link planned for later this year, so, spoilers? I guess?] quote:STANDING “DONATION” TALLY, INTERNATIONAL PEOPLE'S NAVY HeadShipGetter: Starting with the big one, North Carolina is about one bad hurricane away from being a wreck, or it was before the Germans got it into dock. I have no idea how much they’ve managed to do with it since; it’s an insanely ambitious job and it’s only been two or three months. The yard made the right call on the railgun battleship project, but if we’re still intent on repairing the NC then it’s a big investment for relatively very little military return. FleetAdmActual: Which is not the point. HeadShipGetter: Which is not the point, I know TRANSCRIPT SHORTENED FleetAdmActual: So long as we have a plan, I think the upper echelons will be happy. What about the other categories? quote:Carriers: 2 FleetAdmActual: Is this seriously all? HeadShipGetter: Yes, and not for stinginess either. The Soviets, French, and Italians are the only Comintern members who’ve built aircraft carriers of any size since the GRW, and they all have exactly one each, so they’re not giving them up. The Californians are building one to replace their fire-sale piece Republic, but that one's already worked half to death and I think they want it to be a museum of the revolution anyway. The Chinese want us to give THEM one, so they can study it and build their own. FleetAdmActual: Can’t they buy one on their own? If the reports of how much their economy’s taking off are accurate they can drat well afford it. HeadShipGetter: They know we can ask and offer without raising eyebrows, is why. FleetAdmActual: Then they can sweeten the pot by giving us ships or funding first if they’re so desperate to be coy about it. I got assigned here to run a navy, not do covert arms deals. TRANSCRIPT SHORTENED HeadShipGetter: Could have the Queen living in there TRANSCRIPT SHORTENED HeadShipGetter: The Ozzies think this thing is extremely jinxed. It won’t stop hitting things – rocks, piers, other ships. It sank a US destroyer by ramming during Vietnam. Been in and out of yard constantly for the last few years. FleetAdmActual: Not what I like to hear. TRANSCRIPT SHORTENED FleetAdmActual: Reasonable enough. Definitely the best state we’ve gotten this kind of thing in yet. What’s next? HeadShipGetter: Cruisers. So, the good news is, we have a bunch of these. The bad news is HeadShipGetter: A lot. I think we’re actually going to have to break this one down. quote:Cruisers: 12 FleetAdmActual: God. Those dates are accurate? HeadShipGetter: Yes. So Chile and Peru basically handed over their navy’s entire heavy combat capabilities, in exchange for guarantees of basing things out there to guarantee their security. It’s a huge demonstration of trust in the Comintern alliance given the history between all these South American countries, and would be an easy all-around win if two of Chile’s ships weren’t literally fifty years old. FleetAdmActual: We found the relics, then. Are they still even combat-capable? HeadShipGetter: Barely. TRANSCRIPT SHORTENED FleetAdmActual: I hate to say it, but we might not be able to do anything with those, then. We only have one ship with a blank check written for it. The Chileans will be very upset if we just junk their gifts, however. HeadShipGetter: Also my thoughts, sir. They ARE in much better shape overall than North Carolina, at least. And there is something to note about the, uh, Prat. FleetAdmActual: I’m open to any ideas. TRANSCRIPT SHORTENED FleetAdmActual: That may have given me some ideas for dealing with these relics. What about the other one? TRANSCRIPT SHORTENED FleetAdmActual: Mm, less promising then. But at least relatively viable. You mentioned Peru? quote:PERU: FleetAdmActual: I have many questions. Is there a loving hulk on this list? HeadShipGetter: Technically. TRANSCRIPT SHORTENED FleetAdmActual: God in Heaven. TRANSCRIPT SHORTENED HeadShipGetter: The others are MUCH more promising. FleetAdmActual: Apart from that note. HeadShipGetter: Yes. So, the good news. The other two are ex-Dutch, adapted in their build for post-WW2 environments, though they’re still gunships. They’ve had fascinating histories, if I’m being honest, though with almost no actual combat experience. The Dutch post-GRW couldn’t afford to keep them up with the country turned upside down and Rotterdam barely functional, so they sold them both to Peru. They’re in much better condition and the Dutch have all the knowledge and production to keep them going. But. FleetAdmActual: But. HeadShipGetter: But the Peruvians aren’t as in as the Chileans are. They don’t trust them entirely. They want us to refit Grau – on their dime, not ours – and then we can use it, but we don’t OWN it like the others. It’s still their flagship and they can recall it if they really want to. HeadShipGetter: They didn’t say as much, sir, but I doubt they’ve told the Chileans about that clause. FleetAdmActual: gently caress me. FleetAdmActual: I’m not going to let them stick a live shell under my feet, we’re not accepting that until we get representatives from both in front of me and they hash it out with jackknives if they have to. Once that’s done, provided the Chileans know about that clause and are okay with it, then the terms sound otherwise workable for the short-term, especially if they’re paying. HeadShipGetter: They are. TRANSCRIPT SHORTENED FleetAdmActual: I can think of uses for that, at least. The loss of two gun turrets is also not terrible so long as the two at the front still work. HeadShipGetter: Got some very good news in that regard. FleetAdmActual: I could use it. [. . .] HeadShipGetter: So, I had to double-check with the Swedes, but, here’s the trick. TRANSCRIPT SHORTENED FleetAdmActual: Wait. So the Chilean Swede and the Peruvian Dutchmen have gun commonality? HeadShipGetter: Exactly, it’s almost too weird to be real. They all use the same Bofors six-inch. The Scandis still make that six-inch because the two of them kept buying guns for resupply, so they can supply more of ‘em to us. TRANSCRIPT SHORTENED quote:USSR: FleetAdmActual: Ah, yes. Thankfully. HeadShipGetter: I’ve never had any problems working with you, sir, but Red Fleet are INFURIATING. Even after I told them I was explicitly on your staff and presented your auth code they wouldn’t give me the service history on the 68s. FleetAdmActual: I’m not surprised; since I’m not actually part of the Fleet right now the fact that I was doesn’t matter. Secrecy in operations is paramount. HeadShipGetter: There’s no Enemy anymore, though. FleetAdmActual: I know. It doesn’t matter. HeadShipGetter: Well, Christ. TRANSCRIPT SHORTENED HeadShipGetter: Why build them at all, then? FleetAdmActual: I’m not that old, you bastard – before my time in the fleet staff. But there were reasons, presumably. Countering the American cruisers, commerce raiding, shore bombardment, whatever you use a six-inch gun ship for. TRANSCRIPT SHORTENED HeadShipGetter: Ah. Well, can’t really complain about that? FleetAdmActual: No. It does limit our overall ability by one hull, but even one cruiser hull really isn’t worth the political headache and bad PR of fighting off a Veteran’s Committee right now, with the service so young and so much of our other support coming from back home. HeadShipGetter: That makes sense. FleetAdmActual: Anything else? quote:California People’s Republic: PENDING HeadShipGetter: Just a rider from California. The Californians and the Cascadians wound up in control of the entire West Coast side of the US Fleet Reserve, and little reason to do anything with it for years. Some of it’s been scrapped, and the Californians are using basically everything they considered viable for modern fleet combat, but a fair chunk was still in place and still is. Ever since we contacted them they’ve been going through what’s left of the heavy and light cruisers to see if any of them are workable on their own, or can be kitbashed together into something we can use. FleetAdmActual: Make a note to send Admiral Ibanez a bottle of champagne as well, then – that’d be fantastic. TRANSCRIPT SHORTENED HeadShipGetter: Yessir. The Californians will let us know if anything comes of that. FleetAdmActual: Fantastic. Moving on to the light ships, then. HeadShipGetter: Well… quote:Destroyers: PENDING FleetAdmActual: There is no way you’re serious. HeadShipGetter: The office has been going around every navy with ships that can compare, sir. Nothing. FleetAdmActual: From the whole drat planet? There were hundreds of gun destroyers built for the Second World War, what happened to all of them? HeadShipGetter: That’s the thing – they were used up. TRANSCRIPT SHORTENED FleetAdmActual: God help me. Even the Californians? HeadShipGetter: Especially them. TRANSCRIPT SHORTENED FleetAdmActual: Well, we can’t run a goddamn navy with only capital and cruiser-weight ships. We’ll have to invoke the procurement clause. I’m hoping that already crossed your mind? HeadShipGetter: Oh yes. Once we’d exhausted all the major navies as options, we started contacting the major yards. The French and Germans are busy building up their own fleets, and the Soviets declined because of their ongoing big refit program, but we already have tenders in with California, Italy, and the British yard collectives. Thus “PENDING”. It’ll take time, however. FleetAdmActual: Then it’ll take time. Take a note right away to put in tenders with the Chinese as well. Make it clear that if they really want us to try and finesse them an aircraft carrier, they need to show that they’re going to seriously support the IPN first. FleetAdmActual: Try the smaller coastal countries as well, most anywhere with a coastline should be able to put corvettes or patrol craft together. HeadShipGetter: Yes, sir. [. . .] HeadShipGetter: So, to summarize, the core of our fleet consists of fifteen ships, from five different countries, which are anywhere between twenty-five and fifty years old and all of which have seen extensive service already. HeadShipGetter: Of these, six are completely unique in the world, and all of them but the Soviet ships are running low on spare parts that are basically made nowhere in the world nowadays. We’ve counted at least one dozen different types and calibers of shells that we’ll need, three different fuel grades… this is just my short list, I have an entire computer holding the big maintenance files. HeadShipGetter: We have exactly one non-capital ship which is also over thirty years old, though fifteen of those years were spent in mothballs, and we have the six brand-new hospital ships that we run for the Ministry of Health. HeadShipGetter: I think a RN admiral given this hypothetical would have described it as a nightmare, sir. FleetAdmActual: Maybe, but it’s a start. Fortunately we don’t seem to have been handed a swarm of total junk, but only because everyone would rather keep their junk. FleetAdmActual: I have ideas in the meantime. Take notes – secret. HeadShipGetter: One moment [. . .] HeadShipGetter: Connection is secured. What’s the plan? FleetAdmActual: We’ve been given far fewer lemons than I expected, simply because far fewer of them are left than anyone thought. We might dig some out of the American harbors and waterways yet, but that’s a futures proposition. The carriers and the battleship are already basically settled. Right now we have, by my estimate, five or seven semi-modern light cruisers, one or three old light cruisers, and four absolute relics with basically no hope of keeping them at combat capability for any length of time. Those four are the main ones to address. HeadShipGetter: Yes, sir. Noted so far. FleetAdmActual: With the relic cruisers, we cannot retain them. However, if we get rid of them outright, the bills establishing our structure will call that designating them “surplus to requirements” and paring down our overall number. We already only have twelve to cover the entire globe, we can’t allow that either. It’ll also severely annoy the countries that donated them. HeadShipGetter: So what’s the alternative? FleetAdmActual: One of the old naval procurement tricks. I think the author I read called it Refit of Theseus – easier to pull off with wooden warships. We send the oldest cruisers into a yard for a “refit”, strip them down but for some central elements. Then we have those embedded in a completely new-build ship which takes the same name. You see, one ship entered the yard and one ship left the yard, and they have the same name, and these parts are the same. It is the same ship, yes? HeadShipGetter: Ah, that one. You’re right, I am familiar. TRANSCRIPT SHORTENED FleetAdmActual: Go ahead with the plan, then. If we’re canny we can get four modern gun-missile cruisers out of this. HeadShipGetter: What, not full missile cruisers? FleetAdmActual: Not if we’re keeping the other eight gunships. Having some gunpower on the new ships allows them to work better in concert with the old ones. I think we’ll ask the Germans to participate in this “refit program” and see if Kalmar can supply the weaponry – having seven Bofors-armed ships and five Soviet would work. HeadShipGetter: Got it. What about those gunships? They ARE going to need refit. FleetAdmActual: The Peruvians already had something lined up with the Dutch for one of them – see if they can apply the same package to the other two. We’ll get the Dutch to upgrade the electronics and defense package, then send them to the Germans for fire control, internals, maybe powerplant if we really think we're going to have to keep using these for a while. HeadShipGetter: Got it. And the 86bises? FleetAdmActual: That we’ll have to get the Soviets to do, Fleet Command will have a fit if we send them elsewhere for anything involving the core systems. So it might take a while considering the ongoing fleet refit. FleetAdmActual: The good news is that all the 86es were in operational order when they were transferred, so they SHOULD be able to go for a while longer. HeadShipGetter: Fingers crossed then. FleetAdmActual: We are going to be creating some VERY strange doctrine over the next few years, Everich. But it’s that or have no navy while we’re still fighting what’s left of the largest one ever built. [. . .] HeadShipGetter: Sir, I was poking through my Jane's, and as strange as this may sound… I think we’re already the strongest Comintern navy in the Atlantic if you don’t count the Soviets. Maybe third-strongest in the whole alliance. FleetAdmActual: That can’t be right. With this heap of antiques? HeadShipGetter: Yes, sir. The Joint Chiefs and Feds probably have more modern ships, but they’ll have worse support networks for them and precious few spares. No other Comintern fleet other than the Soviets and Californians fields anything as heavy as the Sverdlovs, let alone the North Carolina, and we’re the only navy in the alliance now to have two flight decks active. HeadShipGetter: So we have the best fleet air arm, at least if we can get it working, the most capital ships to spread out for control, DEFINITELY the best shore bombardment capability… We don’t handle missiles very well yet but it takes a lot more to sink one of these old “light” cruisers than a destroyer or frigate. Once we get ANY light ships to back up the big ones, we can immediately cover more water than anything since the GRW. HeadShipGetter: Sir? FleetAdmActual: Laughing. God save me, and here everyone thought this whole IPN program would be an impossible dumping ground of trash. It turns out that if you can wield that trash, it hits really hard compared to having nothing. HeadShipGetter: Aye to that! FleetAdmActual: I feel better than I have in months, I think. [. . .] FleetAdmActual: Finally – speaking of “acquisitions”, has the situation with the Remnant States’ fleets changed since we checked last? HeadShipGetter: Well, the Californians and Hawaiians have expressed some interest in those, but both of them can only operate so much, and the Comintern states with Atlantic and Gulf coasts can’t truly operate large modern fleets. Manhattan has requested some smaller ships if possible, but the Southerners just want them off the ocean, and all the non-ex-US countries don't have any interest. Any ships we secure from the American remnants are earmarked for the IPN first. We just have to get the things without the Americans scuttling them. FleetAdmActual: Which is not us getting them, in the end – we have to trust the ground troops to manage it. But hopefully fate will be kind. I’m not above stealing someone else’s navy to build my own, here, and any US Navy ship we “acquire” is one that can’t go pirate and have to be fought by us later. Hell, if the Hawaiians really want some of them maybe we can exchange for one of their drat carriers, either keep it for ourselves or make the Chinese happy. HeadShipGetter: Sounds good to me, sir. FleetAdmActual: Get these orders out; I’ll be checking back in with you at this time next week for updates on progress, if any are to be had. And message me immediately if any news comes up about North Carolina. HeadShipGetter: Absolutely, sir. End of Conversation
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Jul 27, 2023 01:27
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No submarines? 
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Jul 27, 2023 14:44
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No subs, no patrol boats. Whuh-oh.
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Jul 27, 2023 17:40
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I'm sure it'll be fine, after all what's the expected enemy fleet look like? If that's the best we can do, I doubt anyone else can pull out something bigger and better...
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Jul 27, 2023 18:47
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Volmarias posted:No submarines? There's two kinds of submarines in the modern ComAuroran world -- deathtrap rustbuckets, and things nobody's willing to give to the IPN because, like the destroyers, they're still useful. As a fun fact, OTL Peru got rid of those two rattletrap Fijis because it changed over to a naval doctrine consisting of "all submarines, forever", and probably did something similar here (though in real life they kept the Dutch cruisers up to 1999 and 2017). Unlike surface ships, getting countries to build the IPN modern submarines is a more difficult sell at the moment since those are usually the most advanced ships in the fleet, so the focus is on building a surface force first -- particularly since one of the big things the IPN is supposed to do is take up global anti-piracy, and you don't escort container ships through the Gulf of Guinea or patrol sea lanes in the Caribbean with attack subs. Not having any patrol boats is definitely a big immediate concern but those are a lot easier to build than anything bigger, so provided we don't go straight to war in the next six months, the IPN should have those built in short order. And honestly, if we DO go to war in the next six months, a fair chunk of the cruisers probably won't be ready to go anyway, so. Redeye Flight fucked around with this message at 20:37 on Jul 27, 2023 |
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Jul 27, 2023 20:31
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Antilles posted:I'm sure it'll be fine, after all what's the expected enemy fleet look like? If that's the best we can do, I doubt anyone else can pull out something bigger and better... After a secret refit, begun in Japan's naval yards and finished in an underwater facility in Hawaii, the Space Battleship Capitalism takes to the stars, to menace the free peoples of the solar system 
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Jul 27, 2023 20:40
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Volmarias posted:After a secret refit, begun in Japan's naval yards and finished in an underwater facility in Hawaii, the Space Battleship Capitalism takes to the stars, to menace the free peoples of the solar system Don't worry, we'll have the Arcadia to protect us, surely
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Jul 27, 2023 21:16
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I've been enjoying this thread for a while, and was going back through now that it's back. I got a little inspired to imagine what early MOSA ships might look like, so here's an arbitratily selected side profile of our messy defenders, the DS-001: Stern to the left side, bow to the right; I figured for such an early version of the tech the spinal railgun might need it's own dedicated heat-sinks. Roughly amidships would be radiation shield right ahead of the sorium fuel tanks and some exposed capacitor banks.
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Jul 31, 2023 22:14
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MShadowy posted:I've been enjoying this thread for a while, and was going back through now that it's back. I got a little inspired to imagine what early MOSA ships might look like, so here's an arbitratily selected side profile of our messy defenders, the DS-001: This is really cool as a conceptualization! Did you have any specific inspirations in mind?
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Aug 3, 2023 01:24
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I was kinda specifically thinking of the Soyuz, with a bunch of liberties taken by emphasizing the truss and girder descriptions of the first survey ships, and just sorta generally deciding to try (for once) making a sorta semi-realistic design.
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Aug 3, 2023 23:34
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Oooh! It's great. It makes me think of some of the stuff that was in Exoduslp for Stellaris.
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Aug 3, 2023 23:52
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An opinion article in a Californian magazine posted:The cultural aspect of the socialist world is often ill-covered by modern publications; culture is like air, after all. It is all around us, but all but impossible to see distinctly, or to pin down -- best observed when it moves everything with it. Socialism has often tended to be materialistic, which is the nature of dialectic -- having a rational argument about culture and emotion is often a complete waste of time. But the presence of culture, and its importance, is undeniable. It is who we are. An article in the New Afrikan music publication Black Vinyl posted:We've observed the all but bipolar reactions in just about everything to the Great Revolutionary War. On the one side, the sheer mass trauma of a billion lives lost and a planet shattered produces a dark, dire, and desperate outlook on life. How could it not, they argue? It's the biggest downer in history. But the other side will argue right back, as though the downside has insulted it in person, that this is all the more reason to spit in its face, and be as out-and-about about life as you possibly can. A poster on the wall of the Palais Royal, in Paris posted:[Translated from French] A posterbox in Manhattan... posted:Looking for something to make you roar with laughter? Now on Broadway at the St. James Theater, enjoy an outrageous trip into parts unknown with Strangers in the Night! Redeye Flight fucked around with this message at 07:56 on Aug 4, 2023 |
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Aug 4, 2023 01:44
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Not even nuclear war can kill disco, it seems. Or broadway.
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Aug 4, 2023 02:07
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NewMars posted:Not even nuclear war can kill disco, it seems. Or broadway. Disco was just about to get started when the US collapsed, so it got off to a slower start than in reality. The formation of New Afrika very shortly afterwards had the direct opposite effect, with the result that disco has been outrageously popular for the last ten-odd years and will probably remain so as long as New Afrika keeps having good times to sing about. This has done interesting things to worldwide music, and has also had the reverse effect, effectively dampening the rise of New Wave (though nothing can stop it) by keeping the throbbing bass and disco rhythms around for longer to rein in the 80's synths. Broadway drat near died for a hot second, but once the FNM managed to squeak through the lean years in the mid-70's, it saw a new increased profile as a crucial part of Manhattan's identity in the socialist world. I will say you probably haven't heard of almost anything that's been playing on it; nearly every record-setting modern Broadway play like Phantom, Cats, and the Chicago revival started in the 1980s or later. Les Mis showed up three years late due to the war but a year early in the English-speaking world, having just come out in '84 -- that being said, Les Mis is considered a triumph of the French theater circuit in this reality, even if it's doing most of its numbers in the English and Russian-language performances. Broadway's had fierce competition from what's left of the London circuit and the aggressive new scene coming out of France, which has become a cultural behemoth, but you can't kill this machine, just give it more inspiration. Strangers in the Night is an entirely new invention of mine, with shoutouts to Paragon (AKA COMRAIL Director) for the original idea while giving me poo poo about the other one. Advisors is what we got in this reality instead of the extremely questionable Miss Saigon, which was due out at about this time. Advisors has a no less downer ending but is far less willing to regurgitate old-hat Orientalist and misogynist crap on the whole; it's also the origin in this world of Billy Joel's song "Goodnight Saigon", which serves as the big climactic number.
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Aug 4, 2023 02:31
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I am really loving this look at some of the culture of our brave new world! And I can only assume that a whole new dimension will be coming in hot from Luna before long.
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Aug 11, 2023 07:46
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MShadowy posted:I've been enjoying this thread for a while, and was going back through now that it's back. I got a little inspired to imagine what early MOSA ships might look like, so here's an arbitratily selected side profile of our messy defenders, the DS-001: This rules, I would love to see your interpretations of some of the other ships in this LP, especially once we have more of them to choose from. (also your Starsector mod is one of my favorites) --------- Listen to this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oCudZL8cHOU Jan 1, 1987  Another year begins. The Interplanetary becomes the International again. Signs that were only changed a few years ago will have to be changed again, while the signs no one ever got around to changing can just be left as-is. The flag remains the same. Also I forgot to rename it until after I had already taken all the screens for this update.  The design for the Pegasus-class diplomatic ship is drawn up. The ship shares the sensor package and some structural elements with the Krusenstern exploration ship, but is a vastly different beast. While the Krusenstern is a pure scientific vessel, Pegasus is an embassy in space, with multiple configurable chambers designed to emulate the Minervans' aquatic habitat and facilitate face-to-face meetings and information exchange, all of the necessary technology to support this mission, space for a team of diplomats and social scientists alongside the crew, sufficient supplies, space, and recreational facilities for a mission duration of up to ten years, and a spacious engineering section including a state-of-the-art machine shop. Although she is over twice the size of the Krusenstern, and carries the same amount of fuel by mass, her substantially more powerful and efficient Trans-Newtonian Orion drive (developed originally for VENUSPLAN) gives her slightly more range, ensuring she will easily be able to make the long journey to the Kuiper Belt and back with fuel to spare. Work will begin immediately to retool a yard, and the Pegasus will serve as the vanguard for a permanent human presence in the Kuiper Belt, acting as our outpost until a more permanent surface or orbital facility can be constructed. The Krustenstern expedition will be recalled to Earth once construction on the Pegasus begins, to a hero's welcome and a much-needed vacation.  In addition, the Antonov design bureau draws up an experimental prototype spacecraft, a proof-of-concept for their future 'Limited Bomber' design. While it is not quite as fast as the planned production model, it can be built entirely using available technology. The tech designs will be finalized once lab time frees up, and a demonstrator craft built. The craft has a single weapon hardpoint, which could mount a drone, buoy, nuclear missile, or in theory a modular pod allowing it to perform non-nuclear air-to-ground or air-to-air combat in atmosphere. This is not quite the Antonov Limited Bomber design because I got the engine design slightly wrong, didn't notice until I had already built one of them, whoops. We'll call it a prototype. Work also begins on the process of consolidating the various government ministries, and standing up new ones. January 5, 1987  Another passenger ship is launched, technically registered with the Fraternal Order of Mars, functionally operated by a small collective based on Lunagrad calling itself the Red Mars Club. FoM, though started as a benefit organization for Cydonia survivors (and still counting that as a core purpose), has quickly evolved into an advocacy group supporting large-scale Comintern settlement efforts on the Red Planet, and has absorbed many smaller groups with similar mission statements, as well as receiving funding and support from multiple Comintern government agencies. January 8, 1987  A second sweep of the Minerva system, conducted out of boredom as much as anything else, has been carried out and is complete. Without any real TN mineral finds to speak of, the survey focused on collecting general scientific data about the system as well as on any remnants of artificial constructions. Evidence of large-scale construction is everywhere, including evidence of both conventional and TN mining. Though no large structures remain aside from the Minervan settlement itself, two important archaeological discoveries have been made: - On Moon #10, evidence of a sizable concentration of buried artificial material and biological matter, including conventional and Trans-Newtonian polymers, carbon-based material, and various other chemicals, consistent with either a sewage disposal tank or a garbage dump. Every archaeologist loves a garbage dump. - More importantly, an intact artificial object in orbit of Minerva itself, which the team has brought on board, a hollow, oblong metal canister about the size of a small truck, with an opening on one end. Further investigation ongoing. January 12, 1987 The first Trans-Newtonian mining complex on the Moon is inaugurated and begins operations. Initial preparatory work on the Daedalus Crater telescope site begins, with survey teams dispatched to set up camp on the site and collect all the necessary information needed for the work to begin properly. January 15, 1987 An early draft of a character encoding standard for Minervan Simplified script, as it is being referred to, is registered, and efforts begin to communicate it to our guests, which will in theory allow us to communicate in text. January 16, 1987  The Aphrodite is complete. The ship - the largest ever built by human hands by volume, although not by mass - is almost entirely engine, namely the 'Ploughshare' Trans-Newtonian nuclear pulse engines developed specifically for this project, their great pusher plates visible with the naked eye from the Earth's surface under certain conditions. Unladen, it is one of the fastest vehicles of any kind ever built by human hands. Laden, it will be able to carry a packed VENUSPLAN aerostat complex to Venus in less than three weeks. The first such complex is mostly complete but still under construction. February 6, 1987 The Soviet tanker Antonio Gramsci runs aground off the coast of Finland in the second recorded refined sorium spill in history. The International People's Navy springs into action to cordon off the site for containment and assessment of possible environmental damage. The incident leads to widespread public calls for additional resources and funding to be directed to COMPORT and modernization of sea travel, which with the completion of COMRAIL's first five-year plan is already on the agenda. February 14, 1987     Final safety checks on the Aphrodite and her first cargo are complete. VENUSPLAN is a go. The aerostat facility, mostly packed, with its skeleton crew of thirty or so, is maneuvered into position, the pseudogravity generators on board the tug are fired up, and the station is taken under tow. The course is laid in. The explosive pellets - shaped charges, sorium and conventional elements mixed together, based on early TN weapon concepts - are released, drift the specified distance from the pusher plate, detonate. The detonations are small flashes of light in real space, great surges of power in Trans-Newtonian fluidspace. At carefully-measured intervals they are released, drift, detonate, again, again, again, and the tug and her cargo accelerate into the black at the head of a chain of explosions. February 20, 1987  Over halfway there, the Aphrodite's mission has gone off without a hitch so far. On Mars, the archaeological teams make what may be a major discovery - a piece of signage above an exterior airlock, which had been concealed by accumulated dust, displaying text in Minervan Simplified and three other scripts, one of which is commonly used around the complex. It is too short to be a real 'Rosetta Stone', only a few lines long, but they're still ecstatic. February 22, 1987  The Hawaiians, anticipating increased traffic to Venus and possibly Mars, launch a new ship they have been building for the purpose. February 23, 1987 A supernova, to be named supernova 1987A, is first observed, by a Chilean observatory. 1987A is the first supernova to be visible with the naked eye in over 300 years, and will be observed by millions over the coming days. The most recently-launched Hawaiian ship is christened HHMS Supernova in commemoration. February 26, 1987  It begins. The aerostat complex, still packed and encased in its protective shell, is released and deorbits. At the specified altitude, it sheds the shell, unfurls like a flower, its balloons inflating, solar panels and antennae extending, the honeycomb structure of the complex itself unfolding and unfolding and unfolding until the true scale of it is revealed. Simple and utilitarian, flat and stark from the outside, and huge on a scale that boggles the mind, this structure consumed nearly the entirety of Japan's fledgling Trans-Newtonian industrial capacity, as well as a significant portion of Hawaii's and some of your own. Future ones will be faster to build, as the tooling and experience is already there. She gleams in the sunlight atop an opaque sea of Venusian clouds, beneath a brilliantly blue sky. While the sky on Venus's surface would certainly not be blue, the Rayleigh scattering effect in the Venusian atmosphere would be even higher than Earth's, so at upper atmosphere, above the clouds, the sky would probably be even bluer than Earth's. She'll need a name. And people, of course - but the transports are already loading, with the first crew and with the plants, the animals, the infrastructure and supplies, everything that needs to go inside this thing. The Aphrodite turns back around and speeds off on her return journey. March 3, 1987  A temporary Venusian provisional government is officially inaugurated, currently a joint advisory committee with representatives from the Comintern's MOSA and Japan's JAXA. There are still only about 35 people on board, but that will change quickly. While it is technically possible to settle on the surface, it is extremely infeasible, requiring construction efforts on a scale that would dwarf an aerostat program of similar population capacity, and further requiring nearly the entire population to dedicate their labor to maintaining the life support and basic survival. There is a pretty good chance people will attempt to do it anyway. I can't actually stop civilian shipping from deciding to deliver infrastructure here if they feel like it, at least not without also banning them from bringing passengers here, which I want them to do. March 5, 1987 All necessary research to modernize the Design Study 001-class ships as the Lamarque-class is complete, and the refits will begin. The ships will be named as part of the modernization process. March 10, 1987 Work on the Arcology, the Comintern headquarters complex in Ho Chi Minh City, is substantially complete. While final construction and fit-out of the interior spaces will likely be ongoing for at least three years and several entire floors are still largely barren, major construction is complete and the facility is usable. The Arcology is more than just an administrative complex, although it is that, with space already being reserved for every one of the extant ministries of the Comintern government, and plenty of room to grow. It is more than a centralized command and control facility for the global economy, although it is also that. It is a city-within-a-city - a small city, but a city all the same. The great pyramidal structure towers over everything else in Ho Chi Minh City and extends well below the surface as well. It has power generation infrastructure, water treatment and recycling systems, and even (in theory, pending further work) grows a substantial portion of its own food, in vast industrial hydroponic facilities subsurface and in dozens of skylit gardens lining the exterior walls. It has space for tens of thousands of full-time residents - residential spaces, recreational spaces, all the services they might need. It has a tram system of its own, two train stations with connections to COMRAIL and regional rail networks, and a connection to Ho Chi Minh City's brand-new, still-under-construction metro system. The 'capstone' - glass-roofed - is a young, still-establishing park, which will one day be a natural space, a tiny nature preserve atop this monument to humanity. There is, in theory, a space for the People's Congress to convene here, if establishing a permanent meeting place is desired. March 18, 1987 In what will become known in the future as the 'Woodstock of physics', the Ministry of Socialist Sciences' first annual symposium on TN physics, over 50 presentations on promising developments in artificial gravity and related technology are given in a single marathon session. March 22, 1987 A report on the object recovered from Minerva's orbit is published. The object is mostly just a metal canister, but it has what is presumed to be a computer, a battery (long depleted), what is probably a sensor package, and clamps intended to hold an object of some kind in place, clamps which have been opened. The interior is scorched and melted, possibly from an engine firing? A number of hypotheses are put forward, with one particularly dark suggestion being that we are looking at the remnants of a mine, an area denial weapon. April 3, 1987 A milestone reached: there are now 50,000 humans in the upper atmosphere of Venus, transported there mostly by the Hawaiians. This is one-quarter the intended population capacity of one complex. April 8, 1987  The new shipyard station mandated by defense modernization legislation is commissioned, and work begins to expand it to the required size. April 26, 1987  Antonov's proof-of-concept TN space fighter takes its maiden flight. Featuring a relatively-conventional sorium-fired scramjet for atmospheric flight, transitioning to a sorium rocket motor for orbital insertion and a nuclear pulse engine for on-orbit maneuvering (nuclear pulse in atmosphere, even the TN kind, is a very very bad idea), it is, in space, the fastest thing ever built. It carries no armaments at the moment, as none have been designed for it. April 30, 1987 Tomorrow is a big day. May 1 is a big day every year, of course, but this year it is especially important. The establishment of a Comintern judiciary was mandated by the People's Congress. Nuclear disarmament was mandated by the People's Congress. Months of groundwork have gone into both, and tomorrow, both provisions will officially go into effect. It should be an interesting day. Mister Bates fucked around with this message at 21:55 on Aug 22, 2023 |
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Aug 22, 2023 02:42
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In b4 nuclear terrorism
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Aug 22, 2023 03:04
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Oh, boy, I'm suddenly quite apprehensive about that choice of cutoff day. But, well, we laid this bed already and we wouldn't have done so if we thought we had a way forward without either of those options. I have plenty just sitting around waiting to post, but of course, the new update gives me all new ideas, and I'm going to hold off for the moment so as to not distract. Mister Bates posted:March 10, 1987 A fantastic first step, and a phenomenal test bed for what we're doing going forward, as well. This is the kind of construction that demands a commitment into forever, which few prior buildings can really be said to have explicitly had. We'll need to see how Arcology (which I'm fine with calling it for now as we do only have the one) develops, as well as how it integrates in with Ho Chi Minh City around it. As for the last bit, uh, that might give the Chinese a heart attack, and to be honest, I'm rather fond of our current travelling legislature style. I think it's definitely something to reconsider in the future, once we get more extensive habitation on outlying planets which are at more than two weeks out from Earth, but for now, I don't see a need to change the current system.
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Aug 22, 2023 03:06
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Maybe we should establish a rota system for where the congress goes? Hell, maybe we should establish a travelling presidium complex?
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Aug 22, 2023 04:12
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