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Dispatch → Factbook → Overview
Austellusia, the Posadist Republic of Antarctica (WIP)
The flag of Austellusia, 'The cold heart of Antarctica'.
"Austellusia or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb."
Austellusia is a large city-state located in Antarctica and has claimed most of the continent as Austellusian territory. The collective population of all Austellusian territories amounts to approximately 8.5 million people. It is a democratic socialist republic currently led by Speaker Roy Senders who ran on a platform of sustainable expansion and elevating Austellusia's global prestige.
The name Austellusia comes from the Latin word "Austellus" meaning South. Other proposed names included "Ultima" and "Antipodea". These names are now used for settlements in nearby territory which are fast developing into fully-fledged towns.
The Austellusian government is committed to posadism, but takes a stance which it dubs 'pseudo-posadism', due to being urged by allies and friendly states not to escalate into full-scale nuclear warfare to destroy global capitalism. The government's official stance is that they are "ready and more than willing" to respond with overwhelming force should any other nation attempt to curtail the freedom of Austellusia, but will grudgingly focus on achieving other aspects of posadism such as trans-humanism and space exploration.
The official language of Austellusia is Esperanto, but English, French, Spanish, Norwegian and Arabic are also spoken. The use of Blissymbols are also a fairly common sight across Austellusia as they can be fairly well interpreted despite potential language barriers. Esperanto and Blissymbols were adopted by Austellusia firstly as a means to help forge a unique national identity for the nation and secondly to help present the idea that Austellusia is a globally minded country and a friend to all who would accept its way of living.
Thaddeus Chadwick Thorsen, 1959.
The founder of Austellusia
"Yesterday's history was written by the victors. Tomorrow's history will be written by the survivors."
Austellusia was founded in the year 1960 and despite being designed and conceived by a group of notable scientists, engineers and financiers, its founding is usually attributed to one man in particular, Thaddeus Chadwick Thorsen. Thaddeus is seen as both the main visionary and the chief organiser behind the construction of Austellusia.
The city's founding principles were simple. The original group who designed it believed nuclear war was both inevitable and desirable and wanted to design a city and a society which would not only survive a global nuclear war but would survive the following apocalypse as well, allowing the survivors to construct a new world of true equality. With this in mind, the city was designed with defensibility and sustainability in mind.
Austellusia has been the target of great criticism and hostility from all across the world during its years. Though no nation has ever declared outright war against the nation, the city-state has come under attack from hostile forces numerous times during its early years. It has never been determined which parties sent these forces. Given that Austellusia was un-aligned during the cold war, being critical of both the capitalist and communist powers, there are many potential culprits.
In more recent history, attacks like these have ceased. Once Austellusia achieved autarky it was able to leverage itself into a position power due to the fact that the concept of mutually assured destruction does not apply to Austellusia given that 99% of the population would comfortably survive any full-scale nuclear conflict. This makes Austellusia and its nuclear deterrent and real and credible threat to the world. As a result of this, many nations have opted into developing friendlier ties with the nation. Great pressure is exerted by Austellusia for states to convert to systems of socialism and true equality, which many are beginning to do.
Geography
"The people who say Hell is hot have obviously never trecked into the world's coldest desert."
The nation sustains itself through an artificially created localised ecosystem and water cycle which helps to increase and expand upon the limited biodiversity in flora and fauna in the land surrounding Austellusia which helps to sustain the city and it's people in the Antarctic desert by making areas more easily habitable.
The city itself is divided into two halves, the over-city and the under-city, the latter of which was created to serve as a bunker in the event of full-scale nuclear war, which the nation often cites it both ready and willing to commit to.
The over-city, commonly known simply as Austellusia, is where the majority of the nation's populace is located. It is a vast and sprawling metropolis of narrow streets and tall, brutalist buildings, a deliberate feature of the city's design which protects people in the outdoors from the cold winds. The streets of the city are kept at a temperature of around 0°C through artificial means, to alleviate some of the discomfort of living in such a cold environment.
The city is powered primarily through solar and wind energy and the majority of the food comes from large green-houses which are sealed and heated to create environments of varying heat and humidity to raise a variety of plants. As well as this, the major source of protein comes from insect farms, which can produce large quantities of food whilst taking up little space or resources.
The under-city has its own food and energy production systems in place separate to the over-city and is equipped to house the full population of the over-city at any point should the need arise. The majority of the food produced in the under city is insect-based protein, similarly to the over-city, as well as various edible fungi. Other forms of fungi are developed such as kinds which consume radiation or plastic which will be useful in a post-apocalyptic world.
Pollination has proven to be an issue and there are currently two primary avenues of research to solve this problem. The first is research into acclimatising bees to the Antarctic environment and incorporating them effectively into the greenhouse systems in which the plants grow. The other is using robotic stand-ins for the bees, small (1cm²) pollination drones. So far, the drones have proven more effective, being far easier to control and generally unobtrusive.
An example of Blissymbols which have been adopted for use
in Austellusia. Symbols read "I want to go to the theatre."
"Would I say farm work is for me? No, it's not. But I don't do it for me, I do it for everyone else."
Every citizen of the republic is given full rights to food, shelter, energy, internet access, full education, healthcare, gender self-expression, marriage equality and a vote in democratic elections to elect the Speaker for the republic. In return, all citizens are required to work a mandatory 4-hour job within the republic 6 days of the week. These mandatory jobs relate to the functions necessary for the maintenance and continuation of Austellusia (eg. farm or factory work) and help to ensure all citizens' basic human needs are met. Every citizen receives 19.50 credits per hour for these mandatory jobs.
Money is only used for the purchasing of luxury resources as basic needs are freely provided. The government wishes to fully automate production of luxury resources in order to abolish the need for the use of money within the nation altogether.
Cars are not used in Austellusia, both because of the Antarctic terrain and because the majority of the population is concentrated into one urban location. A monorail system is the primary form of transport within the city of Austellusia and zeppelins are also popular for both internal travel within the city and between various other settlements in Antarctica.
Upon turning 18 (or upon obtaining citizenship) all Austellusian citizens are given a governmental care package which includes a wilderness survival kit, a tool kit, a thermos, a book of jokes and humorous anecdotes and a set of high-quality outdoor clothes and boots.
Austellusia has committed itself to a policy of taking in and housing any refugees who choose to make their way to Austellusia. The number of immigrants who have been sheltered, employed and given temporary, dual or full citizenship currently stands at around 340,000. The government states it will continue to accept refugees and is currently creating more housing and expanding food production centres to facilitate this.
Freedom of worship has been guaranteed within Austellusia but the government's official stance is one of avowed secularism, to the point where all elected officials must remain 'religiously neutral' whilst occupying an elected office, meaning that they may not openly display their religion or allow for it to affect their decision making whilst they represent the country and it's peoples.
An ICC trained dolphin asset
"If getting blind drunk in a sauna and planning how dolphins can fit into a space-society isn't culture, then culture isn't worth having."
Austellusian cuisine is surprisingly varied, despite the nation's location. A variety of vegetables, fruits and fungi can be grown through via greenhouses and these form the basis of most of Austellusian cooking. Meat is mostly unknown in Austellusia due to the impracticality of farming it, but insect-protein is very popular as a substitute. Austellusian cuisine is mostly focused on being hearty and filling, but that doesn't mean it is bland or flavourless. Herbs which can be used as seasonings are produced in Austellusia and there have been some efforts to arrange imports of other spices. Overall, though it will never be renowned for the food it produces, Austellusian cooking has left many visitors to the nation pleasantly surprised. Austellusia also produces large amounts of alcoholic spirits which are consumed liberally during mealtimes and enhance the dining experience, as well as most other leisure activities. Please note that penguins are NOT consumed in Austellusia and rumours of covert "penguin-meat tourism" are false.
Penguins are the national animal of Austellusia and are well loved by the citizenry who see much of their own nature in the birds: Tough, compassionate team-players. The penguins are also loved for their adorable appearance and so penguins were selectively bred for the purposes of companionship as pets. The domestic penguin is smaller than it's wild cousin and of a very mild disposition. They are easy pets to maintain and very affectionate creatures, which has made them the most popular pet in the country.
There is a range of televised entertainment produced in Austellusia, but the most consistently popular programme is the soap opera Frozen Hearts. It has been broadcast since 1980 and is notable due to the fact that it is well liked outside of Austellusia as well as within the nation. Of all the nation's cultural exports, Frozen Hearts is the most successful and has developed something of a cult following, with non-Austellusian fans citing the portrayal of Austellusia (a location and culture which can seem strange and mysterious to outsiders) as the main pull of the show.
Research efforts by the Austellusian government and the Institute of Cetacean Communication (the ICC) to develop full communicative capacity with dolphins is well underway. The research is extensive and has seen a degree of success. The most recent project the ICC has undertaken upon request from Speaker Roy Senders is an oceanic cleanup project dubbed Operation Plastic Bottlenose. This involves training dolphins to recognise plastic waste in the oceans and bring the plastic to drop-off stations positioned across the Austellusian coastline. Speaker Senders, long known for his vocal and angry stance against pollution, hopes other nations will follow Austellusia's example in researching solutions to oceanic waste.
Austellusian officials have publicly declared that they have been contacted by alien lifeforms and are in possession of limited alien technology. Furthermore, they claim that the aliens will not share their knowledge or technology with humanity as a whole until it aligns with Austellusian values, which the aliens find desirable. One of the goals of Austellusia is to establish interstellar travel and off-planet human settlements. The Austellusian government claims the research into these subjects are incredibly promising.
Military
"I do not know with what weapons World War III will be fought, but World War IV will be fought in spaceships."
All citizens must perform mandatory military service for 1 year upon turning 18, though the service skews more towards education upon wilderness survival and the general workings of the city-state as a whole. However, training in combat, self defence and the usage and maintenance of firearms is included in this service. Upon completion of this service all participants have the right to purchase their rifles and sidearms for a small fee.
Austellusian policy is that, whilst the nation will not actively attempt to cause a nuclear war, it will immediately unleash its full nuclear arsenal upon any nation that declares war upon it. The first Austellusian shot fired in any international conflict will be a long-range nuclear missile. Austellusia also maintains a standing army for the few incidents in which a nuclear response would be undesirable such as if enemy forces land upon Austellusian soil or if Austellusia is attacked by enemies who are not aligned with one nation in particular.
The modern Austellusian military is well equipped, well trained and vocal in its willingness to engage in combat with any nation which attempts to interfere with Austellusia's Antarctic territory as a whole. The focus of Austellusian troops' training revolves around stealth and guerrilla warfare in the Antarctic desert, with a special emphasis on long-range marksmanship. They also receive heavy training in regards to navigating post-nuclear strike environments and strategies and tactics surrounding waging war after the use of nuclear weapons has been employed.
It is claimed by the government that part of the technology gifted to them by the visiting aliens includes advanced missile defence systems and that they have reverse-engineered and miniaturised this technology so that it can be used for the personal defence of Austellusian soldiers. These claims have not yet been verified by external sources.
Penguins, the beloved national animal of Austellusia, have been drafted into military service as spies. Special units of the birds have been trained and fitted with special equipment so that they can follow and monitor people across the continent, allowing Austellusia to covertly observe anyone who sets foot upon Antarctica.
Whilst the Austellusian government is very vocal about their supposed work with co-operative aliens, they are far more secretive about certain other interactions with non-human life. Operation Carpenter refers to the capture and study of a hostile alien life-form.
38 years ago, Austellusian rangers discovered an extra-terrestrial life-form in the wreckage of a Norwegian scientific outpost. This creature was hostile to human life and was very dangerous, taking two rangers' lives before it was captured. It has since been detained in a subterranean military facility where it is being studied by xenobiologists. The alien appears to be intelligent but is uncooperative and refuses to communicate information. The creature is able to shape-shift and regularly attempts to take on forms which will facilitate its escape. The Military R&D Department have been attempting to find a way to mimic these shape-shifting abilities to no avail.
"We should be more willing to compromise? You seem to be confused. Not nuking the rest of the world IS our compromise."
The current Speaker of Austellusia is Roy Senders of the United Posadist Party (UPP) who was elected for a 5-year term in January of 2020 on a platform of sustainably expanding Austellusia's borders, elevating Austellusia in the eyes of the global community and promising to launch Austellusian cosmonauts into space within his first term. His main opponent in the contest was Cristobal Fuentes of the Nuclear Hellfire Crusaders (NHC) who ran on the platform of full-posadism and promised to make the destruction of global capitalism through instantaneous full-scale nuclear war his first act as Speaker of Austellusia.
Upon learning of the fact that his opponent had won, Fuentes (well known for his upbeat and magnanimous personality) claimed that he was happy for Roy Senders and that under his leadership capitalism would survive just long enough see an Austellusian colony on the moon before it was destroyed. Senders commended his opponent, claiming Cristobal Fuentes was a man of "rare integrity and character" and that he would have been honoured to live in the society Fuentes forged from atomic fire.
Austellusian politics runs via a fairly simple parliamentary system. The city-state of Austellusia is split into several districts of equal population, each of which votes for a Representative who speaks for them in Parliament. Locations outside of the city of Austellusia but within Austellusian territory are largely autonomous, but they are represented in parliament by the Territorial Representative (TRep), who brings issues before parliament when necessary. The TRep is usually a former ranger with much experience travelling through the Antarctic landscape between outer settlements. Every five years there is a national election to decide upon a Speaker, who is the head of state. The Speaker dictates policy and the direction of Austellusia's efforts to a degree, but the majority of factors considered vital to the conception and upkeep of Austellusia (eg. Socialism, the rights of all citizens, possession of WMDs etc.) are ingrained in the constitution and as such are not tampered with by Parliament.
Trivia
"Can you take all the nuance and complexity that makes up a nation, a society, a culture and grind it down to a list of facts and trivia...? Well we'll try and do it anyway.
Due to a series of accidents and official mix-ups which occurred when the vote was being carried out to decide the Austellusian national anthem in 1989, the official anthem of Austellusia ended up being The B-52's Love Shack. When this was discovered, the anthem was put to a re-vote but the nation overwhelmingly decided on keeping Love Shack as the national anthem, which it remains to this day.
The Austellusian National Anthem
Two of the most popular political entities within Austellusia both run on posadist platforms. The current Speaker is Roy Senders, a member of the United Posadist Party, which is sometimes called 'pseudo-posadist', as it focuses more on the less militaristic aspects of posadism. In contrast, the Nuclear Hellfire Crusaders have a policy of immediately launching nuclear strikes across the globe to speed the downfall of capitalism.
The United Posadist Party (left) and The Nuclear Hellfire Crusaders (Right)
Below you will find some examples of graphics produced during Operation Manifest Destruction by the Propaganda Corps of the Austellusia Bureau of Tourism. Operation Manifest Destruction was a large-scale attempt to encourage to migrate to Austellusia during the city-state's early days.
Pingveno Lakto (meaning Penguin Milk in Esperanto) was a branding campaign by the Austellusian government to encourage children to drink more milk by putting a friendly mascot on the front of milk cartons. The mascot was Juan Penguin, or 'Pengjuan' to his friends, and can be seen on the promotional graphic below. The Pingveno Lakto campaign caused something of a stir due to the slight confusion it caused amongst the public, some of whom thought that the milk came from penguins rather than cows due to the name. Despite (or perhaps because of) the confusion, Pingveno Lakto is still popular in Austellusia today and the idea of penguin milk is something of a national in-joke. The idiom "milking the penguin" means to say something surprising or unexpected.
People have full rights to gender self-expression in Austellusia. Though the majority of the population is progressive in their mindset towards gender as a social construct, there remain some who harass non-cisgendered citizens, mostly immigrants who were not raised within the more accepting climate of Austellusia. One incident which occurred involved a citizen attempting to change their legal gender to "attack-helicopter" in an attempt to insult gender non-conformists. In response, the government agreed to this request. The individual was subsequently declared the property of the Antarctic Air Force and was told that they would be filled with aviation fuel and sent into aerial combat in order to alleviate their dysphoria. The individual then withdrew their previous declaration.
Gratulojn!
Nuklea Lanĉo Komencita!
Havu Bonan Tagon!
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Toutes nos félicitations!
Lancement nucléaire Initié!
Bonne journée!
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¡Felicidades!
¡Lanzamiento Nuclear Iniciado!
¡Tenga un buen día!
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Gratulerer!
Kjernefysisk Lansering Lgangsatt!
Ha En Fin Dag!
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تهانينا!
بدأ الإطلاق النووي!
أتمنى لك نهارا سعيد!
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Please enjoy this situationally
thematic music whilst global
capitalism is dismantled:
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Orange Coloured Sky---
End Of The Line---
Hell Broke Luce---
Don't Worry Be Happy~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Nuclear Launch Initiated!
Have A Wonderful Day!
