From: | GKoth2258@***.COM |
---|---|
Subject: | Intro and Africa |
Date: | Sat, 12 Apr 1997 17:18:54 -0400 |
Since the Awakening, there have been many changes wrought upon the world, not
the least being the political structure and atmosphere of this "Awakened"
world. What follows is a brief summary of the many players in the year 2058.
>Before you doze off or turn that channel, hang on for a second. The rise
and subsequent assassination of Dunkelzahn has forever changed the world
around us. It's not just the streets or just the UCAS; it's the whole world.
Everything has become more chaotic and if we down here on the streets want
to know what the frag is going on, we need to know what the big picture is.
The synopsis will help.
>St. Stan
AFRICA
The African continent is divided into four major regions, those being the
Confederated Azanian Nations (also known as the Azanian Confederation, or
Azania), the Pan-African Federation, Egypt and the Algerian Theocracy. By
far the most powerful and influential nation on the continent is Azania.
Encompassing almost everything south of the tenth parallel, this is a large
and dynamic nation. All other nations on this continent take a back seat to
Azania in almost every respect. Ethiopia, Madagascar, Morocco and Liberia are
all minor players and the Pan-African Federation is paralyzed by internal
strife, civil war and the all to frequent border clashes with every one of
its neighbors. The Algerian Theocracy is something of a rabid dog, with many
enemies and very few friends. That leaves Azania as the only true "first
world" nation on the African continent, a postion they intend to keep.
Confederation of Azanian Nations
The Azanian Confederation is @#$%*}
+++++SYSTEM ERROR
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>Frag it! Sorry about that folks. Should have known better after all the
trouble we had with na nOg and Tairngire. Those elves just hate giving
anything away, especially about themselves. Guess we'll just have to try
again some other time, with bigger guns...
>St. Stan
>Azania isn't an African Tir. Or at least that's what I hear. Apparently
got more in common with Amazonia, despite the fact elves are in charge.
>E.E.
Ethiopia
The nation of Ethiopia is a dream come true for followers of Rastafarianism.
With the collapse of most African governments following the Awakening and
the VITAS plagues, a number of wealthy Jamaicans (some of whom where powerful
drug lords) and other followers of the Ras Tafari faith saw their chance to
reclaim "Heaven" (Ethiopia) and escape from "Hell" (Jamaica). With
mercenaries, Rasta magic and the chaos of the years immediately following the
Awakening, these Rastafarians were able to claim Ethiopia as their own nation
in in 2015, with the conquering and assimilation of Eritrea in 2018.
Ethiopia is a nation of contrasts. Powerful magic has been used in an
attempt to make the land green and fertile again, which, despite the lack of
assistance from Amazonia and Azania has been largely successful in most
areas. The inner city, however, is as much of a wasteland as Kingston,
Jamaica or the Barrens of Seattle are. The gangs of Addis Ababa, the
capitol, have a reputation as the most violent in the world.
The nation of Ras Tafari is largely peaceful however. Most of the
inhabitants are devout followers of Rastafarianism and live a peaceful, rural
life, farming the magically rejuvenated fields.
Liberia
This small African nation was originally founded by American slaves after the
Emancipation that followed the American Civil War. Despite decades of
military coups and juntas starting in the 1990's, Liberia has stabilized in
the last two decades, enough so that it has been able to remain independent.
It's primary source of wealth, and therefore independence, is it's
surprisingly rich deposits of various mineral resources. Of course,
continued, if small, aid from both the UCAS and CAS have been a tremendous
help.
Madagascar
The island nation of Madagascar is in an interesting position. On one hand,
it receives economic aid and military assistance from its neighbor, the
Confederation of Azanian States. On the other hand, it receives even more
economic aid from Amazonia, a nation with whom it shares most of it's policy
goals. With both Azania and Amazonia involved in a power struggle for
control of Madagascar, the island balances a sort of independence.
Madagascar is relatively unchanged in the past 60 plus years. Some minor
industry, a great deal of tourism and some of the most heavily protected
forests in the world. Both Azania and Amazonia provide small garrisons
specifically to protect the unique ecosystems of Madagascar, which are then
supplemented by native troops.
Morocco
The western African nation of Morocco so badly wants to be considered a part
of Europe that it has spent the past several decades being the brunt of bad,
often nasty, European jokes. Morocco, which now includes what was Western
Sahara, has become a shameless proponent of Free Enterprise and the Almighty
Nuyen. Which is fine for those that have money. But life for the poor
hasn't changed in over a hundred years.
Corporate vacation enclaves, on choice beach property, are common. Factories
in the mountains down south, belching horrific fumes and toxic liquids, are
far too common a sight, as are war zones for corporate war games like "Desert
Wars."
All this has made Morocco very unpopular among the rest of the African
nations. Both the Algerian Theocracy and the Pan-African Congress have made
several military incursions, but Morocco, with the help of it's corporate
allies, has managed to repulse all invasions.
The Pan-African Federation
The Pan-African Federation is made up of most of the rest of Africa. These
nations, some of which are little more than fiercely independent tribes,
followed the trend for small independent nations that swept the world in the
early years of this century. One after another they were swept away by
Azania, Morocco, Egypt, even Ethiopia. So the Pan-African Federation was
born, a conglomeration of many diverse and usually hostile tribes that must
try to get along if they are to preserve their independence. The present-day
nations of Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi, Tanzania, Zaire, Zambia, Zaire, Nigeria,
Somalia and Kenya make up the federation. This territory now contains no
less than fifty-nine separate sovereign nations (and often more) aligned in a
loose federation. The Federal government has very little real power, with no
legal ability to tax, enforce Federation laws, or to even negotiate foreign
policy for the member states. Most of the states simply do what they want.
Despite this lack of power, all of the member states loudly support the
Federation (while at the same time doing as they please) because the
Federation government provides an extremely important function that did not
exist before it's foundation. The Federation government acts as an impartial
judge and arbiter in disputes, regardless of size. This finally gave the
member states and tribes a real way of settling disputes in ways that didn't
involved warfare. Odd as it may seem, the system appears to work.
The Religious Republic of Algeria.
In the 1980's, militant Islamic rebels began a revolution in the nation of
Algeria. Up until 2009, the reigning government was able to hold on to power
through a combination of brute force, French assistance, the support of most
citizens and the small numbers of Islamic rebels. The rebels had few
supporters, even among other militant Muslims because of their notable
penchant for extreme violence. But in 2009, that penchant for violence is
what brought the rebels into power. With one carefully placed bomb in the
capitol at a presidential party, virtually the entire upper tier of the
government and the military was killed. Several years of violence and chaos
ensued, with what was left of the government desperately appealing to France
for help. The French, fearing another "Viet Nam," declined. By 2012, the
rebels had a firm grip on power and began the often harsh process of turning
Algeria into a rigidi Islamic theocracy. Economically, the Algerian
Theocracy is in shambles. Politically, it is isolated with the exception of
North Korea (simply because they are both renegade nations). Border clashes
with Morrocco and the Pan-African Federation are common, with both nations
attributing many terrorist actions on fundementals sent from Algeria. It
should be noted that much of Libya was absorbed in 2019 when that government
collapsed with the death of Colonel Moammar Khadafi, and Tunisia was taken by
in a relatively short was in 2027.