Culture Shock....if there was one thing about...

[The Vorindun]

The deliberate emulation of all things Roman and the fierce conviction by all Vorindun that that the only alternative to imperial rule would be anarchy, lawlessness, and civil strife. Naturally, therefore, most people fiercely defend the Princeps and the Principate. Political dissent is increasingly underground and strongly, albeit unofficially, "discouraged".

Well, also slavery being so commonplace. It is ubiquotuous and while still somewhat controversial among a minority of more "progressive" citizens, there is a sense of resignation about the issue now that it has been permanently decided by a plebiscite.

The lack of prisons and jails might shock people, too, not to mention the frequent use of caning as a form of corporal punishment for many petty crimes. Fines are also everywhere.

The total absence of litter. The punishments for it are serious enough (both caning and a hefty fine) that it is avoided like the plague.

The omnipresence of soldiers, since they do the bulk of law enforcement.

The sex tourist industry, which is really picking up steam here. Mind you, the Emperor has pushed through laws designed to stamp out child prostitution, but aside from that, it is largely sanctioned by the State.

[Rejistania]

The fact that there are very few cars in cities, the fact that life in the 'tani stops at siesta (or kivetu'het), the poverty of the havela'het, the chaos which emerges at every soccer game, I think you get the idea...

[Verdisia]

The standard punishments for crime in Verdisia would shock most. Thieves lose a hand, rapists are castrated, murderers are hanged, and traitors are beheaded. Of course, most of these punishments are only handed down when the convict is of the lower classes. Highborn offenders are generally given a slap on the wrist and a fine, if even that. On second thought, the hypocrisy of the judicial double standard would probably offend more people than the actual punishments would.

[Valiquette]

The fact that we have an absolute monarchy, run by myself, and the majority of the people are "cool with it," as one tourist said.

Most people seem to believe any absolute monarchy will automatically cause some kind of smoldering hatred among the whole of the people. Not true.

- HRH Princess Amedee I

[Western Leslie]

The fact that the military and/or police are omnipresent on almost every street in major towns and cities.

there are no legally owned private firearms.

almost every male under 40 regularly carries a bladed weapon due to religiously fueled gang violence

[Senihai]

You will be ridiculed by eating in public and other small things yet freedom is all the rage.

You live only 1500 km from a jungle war zone.

There are people with cat ears and talking raptors walking about the street along side humans.

There's at least one news report everyday of a guy who got eaten by a dinosaur.

Nobody owns a TV! Or a car! NOBODY!!

A shameless sex industry.

[Rupudska]

-The fact that we have magic and western religion in the same nation AND government.

-These.

[Umbra Ac Silentium]

The advertizements every where. X rated in so many nations, frequently surprising to foreigners.

[North Defese]

The fact you would even want in or had the power to get in would be enough to suprise us.

[Lazssia]

Our liberal sexual culture. Public sex and nudity are legal, although the extent of this depends mostly on local ordinances. Same sex marriage, polygamy, polyandry, and group marriage are all legal. Even things like incest, bestiality, necrophilia, and even limited pedophilia are legal (but regulated). The age of consent for protected penetrative sexual intercourse (both persons must use contraceptives) is 12, and there is no minimum age of consent for non-penetrative sexual activity, although law enforcement can intervene if coercion, force or violence are suspected. Child pornography is also legal (with regulations).

* walks into Concordeia, sees ungodly amounts of child pornography ... promptly vomits*

[Fson]

Well Fsonians spent a lot of their time on the streets, you will find people sitting outside their houses or apartment buildings quite a lot in the the summer, or whenever there is good weather, If the weather is bad you will find the cafe's and pubs of fson packed to capacity. There is also a large tobacco culture in Fson tobaccanists, are large ornatley decorated affairs, layed out very much like bars, where people can sit in booths smoking their newly purchases tobacco. In Fson people prefer to roll their own cigarettes and flavoured tobacco is popular, pipe smoking is also very popular. However sales on pre rolled cigarettes are extremley popular due to their convenience due to the fast paced working day in Fson.


Apart from the tobacco culture there isn't anything that shocking.

[Neo Athena]

The fact that mad scientists effectively run the country
The clockwork and steam powered automata and biologically engineered half human, half animal hybrids everywhere that are generally treated the same as humans
The fact that criminals are used as scientific test subjects
The victorian/edwardian aesthetics and language
And the fact that you can walk into a general store and buy a pistol, some ammo, a bottle of absinthe, and a radium laced health tonic with no questions asked.

[1928374650]

.

[Xirius]

- That all factories, vital farms, cloning facilities, government, power plants and living quarters are located in underground bunkers.

- The inter-bunker tunnel system with it's kilometres of uninterrupted graffiti.

- That the surface only holds recreational areas, farms for luxury foods and weapon testing areas.

- That 90% of the population are genetically engineered clones and concieving a child the natural way is considered most unusual.

- Manadatory prenatal genetic checks and, where necessary, genetic repair for everybody.

- Mandatory genetic upgrades from the government's genetic engineering program.

- Mandatory cloning of people with potential, regardless of species.

- Extensive experiments to reproduce their potential by any means.

- That we clone and mentally program high-functioning autists and turn them into wetware computers.

- Massive mental programming of the clones before they get hatched.

- The bio-constructs - purpose-built Frankenstein's monsters assembled from cloned parts and bionics.

- The uplifted animals, using a mix of brain development manipulation, bionics and genetic engieering.

- Civil rights are given according to brain structure and programming, independently from species.

- Everybody can regenerate entire appendages due to genetic upgrades.

- The average IQ is 400.

- The estimated average lifespan is 400 years, taking into account accidents and wars. That is longer than the colony exists yet.

- Psi powers are common in some vaults, which powers depends on the vault.

- The government consists of wetware computers and "normal" people genetically engineered and mentally programmed for the job.

- Gladiator fights are the natioal sport - everything is allowed, except attacks to the brain.

- The brains of the mortally wounded are hooked up to the blood circuit of their identical clones till their body is regenerated.

- Freely available surgery includes sex changes, brain implants and extra appendages, among other things.

- Very free sex laws.

- Every vital institution, including the vital farms, is fully automated (but also works if run manually) and run by the government.

- Research is 99,5% government-funded and government-owned.

- Everybody who passes the necessary psychological exams can legally own any weapon with the exception of NBC weapons.

- The secret service is equipped with NBC weapons in handy suitcases and is not above using them.

- Mayor export goods are organs and mentally programmed "servants" of any species.

- The state religion is the theory of reincarnation, any other aspects and lore have been stripped.

- Most of the surface religions are officially tolerated but by the public considered very weird and often not very sane.

[Urmanian]

The fact that we are a nation of sentient ponies, and human population is virtually non-existant.

[Khafar]

The fact that we have a small space empire and fully functioning spacecraft, but have not experienced any sort of industrial revolution nor moved beyond flintlock weaponry

[The Planet Carpathia]

That there are no cars and no real method of transport other than 3 military helicopters, that electricity, whilst becoming more reliable, is still offline with relative frequency. There are also no televisions, there's only one radio station, there aren't any computers or phones and as such there's no internet. Literally the only method of communication for those who aren't PAS or military is face-to-face. But then with only 70,000 people, Carpathia generally has a good community. Hell, even the President can walk down the street completely at ease.

[Independent Atlantis]

Most people are addressed as "Doctor" or with a military rank.

The juxtaposition of advanced Ancient technology with early 21st century Earth technology.

[The Two-Moon Eclipse]

This is undoubtedly a matter of perspective. If you're human, the fact that we hold an uncanny visual and behavioural resemblance to the iconic alien which allegedly abducted your kind, might be a little difficult to get past.

That's more shock than culture shock though. We're also self-imposed exclusive autotroph eaters for environmental reasons, but we rarely eat fresh foods. Most of it is synthesized from recycled materials, and we recycle everything... Yes, everything.

[Novariea]

Those from a democratic society where political freedoms are seen as important would probably be shocked to learn that while Novariea is a dictatorship, we hold very liberal attitudes to a great many social issues and that our citizens live with more civil rights and freedoms than many living in democratic nations.

Those from particularly religious societies would probably be shocked that religion holds very little (if any) influence within Novariea, with the vast majority (~99%) of the population being atheist or otherwise irreligious, and the state being completely secular.

[Concordeia]

Our liberal sexual culture. Public sex and nudity are legal, although the extent of this depends mostly on local ordinances. Same sex marriage, polygamy, polyandry, and group marriage are all legal. Even things like incest, bestiality, necrophilia, and even limited pedophilia are legal (but regulated). The age of consent for protected penetrative sexual intercourse (both persons must use contraceptives) is 12, and there is no minimum age of consent for non-penetrative sexual activity, although law enforcement can intervene if coercion, force or violence are suspected. Child pornography is also legal (with regulations).

* walks into Concordeia, sees ungodly amounts of child pornography ... promptly vomits*

Hey, it's not like we blatantly advertise it or anything. It's just that you can find it if you choose to look for it.

And even though it's legal, it's still a hugely controversial issue in Concordeian society, much as homosexuality is IRL.

[Polska rzczpolspolita]

The sheer conservatism of our nation, the extreme illegality of homosexuality, the existance of Re-education camps for homosexuals, the extreme use of steam-powered technology, the fact that Polska looks like something out of a steampunk novel mixed with the 50's, and things like that.

[Parthia Magna]

The fact that we are a slave-holding autocracy/despotism, but we have very liberal laws regarding things like homosexuality, polygamy, and even incest.

The absolute spiritual dominance of the Magi, the priests of Ahura-Mazda and of the Zoroastrian state religion.

The frequent arrests of Christians, Muslims, Bahai, and Jews for crimes against the Shah.

The fact that if you enter the country with slaves, you can keep them with you, but you have to register them as your official property, and you must insure them. Yes, there is such a thing here as "slave insurance"....a brand-new industry emerging from the recent legalization of the institution and the tendency of slaves to escape their masters.

[The Batorys]

Lots of things would probably shock foreigners.

The Empire's status as the personal property of the Batory Clan matriarch, for one (everyone else is either kin or a tenant, technically). The Empire's rulers being moroii... "living vampires," for lack of a better term, might also raise a few eyebrows.

Slavery being legal (though it is a temporary condition used as a punishment for some crimes... terms of servitude generally range between one and twenty years).

In the Imperial Province, the seat of government, there would be quite a large amount of culture shock, due to several factors.

There is no nudity taboo. Public nudity is completely legal and common. The concept of "private parts" is foreign to denizens of the Imperial Province. Thus, it's also common to see people who, while most certainly wearing clothes, still have exposed breasts (for females), or exposed genitals (both sexes). Public sex is also legal, so long as it is not blocking either street or sidewalk traffic. So it is fairly common to see people copulating in nooks, alleyways, and especially parks.

Incest is legal, so long as it is consensual. The Batory clan itself is highly incestuous. Incestuous marriages are fairly common in the Imperial Province.

Abortion is completely unrestricted. It is viewed as easier and safer than the traditional method of getting rid of unwanted offspring, infanticide, which is also legal.

The Imperial Province, and several other provinces, have very odd marriage laws. It is legal for a woman to have several husbands, but it is only legal for a husband to have one wife. The only exception is if the woman is married to another woman as well as being married to a man, or several men. In this case, the husbands can be married to both women.

The penalty for rape is usually death, but is a de facto death sentence. Convicted rapists are tied to a post or cross-beam, and their victim given leave to do whatever she likes to them, with whatever tools she likes. This usually results in death, after a while.

The penalty for murder or treason is death, via human sacrifice. The condemned are handed over to the pagan clergy.

There is a great deal of personal freedom, but not much political freedom. Many foreigners find this combination odd.

The age of consent is 12.

Most drugs are legal, albeit regulated and taxed. Methamphetamines are not legal, and participating in their trade is likely to get one a visit from the Dragon's Claw (a corps of assassins who answer directly to the Empress).

Prostitution is legal and is one of the most respected professions.

Advertisements are often described by foreigners as pornographic. So are the sex scenes in major motion pictures.

The Batorys themselves sometimes eat people.

To top it off, the Empress would be confused if one called her Empire's laws "liberal" in any way. Because by its own standards, the Empire is extremely conservative, as this is its traditional culture.

[Late Roman Empire]

The frequency of coups, both military and palace, as well as the power of the eunuchs in the administration and the imperial court.

The control of the Emperors over the Church is another case. Despite this, there remain large sects of "heretics", such as Gnostics, Arians, and Nestorians. Yet Jehovah's Witnesses are strictly banned and are exiled and stripped of their citizenship if caught, on the grounds that their faith is treasonous.

The secret police are truly anonymous. The slightest remark, even humorous, made to your naive and friendly sounding neighbor could be reported to the authorities, and you could find yourself indicted for sedition. That has been far less the case with certain Emperors, such as the late Sebastian VI and his immediate predecessor, Sextus Macrinus Felix, but if Anastasius prevails, such things could well become a real threat again.

Chariot races are still popular, despite the fact that they are PT.

A recent event is truly astounding. For the second time in Roman history, the soldiers are auctioning off the imperial crown to the highest bidder.