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[Apynl]

APYNITE NATIONAL FACTBOOK

Geography of Apynl

Before we begin, we must clarify something; The Planet of Apynl is not the same thing as the Federation of Apynl. Whilst the people of the Federation make up the sole sapient inhabitants (to the best of our knowledge) of the planet so far, we do not currently claim the entire surface of the planet, and are in fact open to settlement of other groups on our world.


Two views of the planet Apynl

The planet of Apynl is made of many diverse ecosystems, from an icy pole to scorching deserts and everything in between. It is 1.01 times the size of Earth, and has a similar mass and composition. The atmosphere is 78% nitrogen, 21% oxygen, 0.92% argon, 0.05% carbon dioxide, and a small amount of other gases – in other words, it is an almost perfect world for Human life which required nothing in the way of terraforming, hence why it was chosen by the original settlers.


A typical landscape on Apynl

The Federation of Apynl is situated almost entirely on land made up of prairie, deserts and savannah. The climate is for the most part hot, and dry, which is considered to be most comfortable for most Apynite people. Small resource colonies exist across the planet in all climate conditions, but these tend to be run by robots with little (if any) human presence on site. The total land area claimed by the Federation (not including resource colonies which are based outside of the 85 Communes) is around 2,000,000 square miles


A prairie climate - perfect for Apynite inhabitants


A desert climate - perfect for Apynite inhabitants

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Economy of Apynl

The economy of Apynl may seem almost contradictory to many MT nations. It has both communistic and capitalistic elements to it. Perhaps the most important thing to note is that we have reached a state of near post-scarcity – most work (and all work considered dangerous, unpleasant or degrading) is done by non-sapient machines, and there is such a huge abundance of resources (both on the planet and in space) that scarcity and the price mechanism are all but eliminated for most things.


One of many flexible robotic worker droids


A fully automated production line

The large scale means of production – the mines, the farms and the factories – are owned and managed democratically by the community as a whole, and have the goods and services they produce distributed to the people entirely based on need. There is no compulsion to work; a person will be able to maintain a good standard of living whether they decide to take part in their own individual productive enterprises, or do nothing at all.

However, currency still exists and is used in a parallel, capitalistic market. People are willing to pay for unique, non-mass produced items – craftsmen will produce handmade goods which are then traded in exchange (usually) for the Apynite Imperial Credit. These Credits can also be used off-world as a means of exchange with other worlds in the Empire, allowing those who have money to have a higher standard of living, and thus preserving the concept of class in our society.


Handmade furniture commands a higher price

Because of the structure of our nation’s economy, GDP is very hard to estimate (as most goods and services simply don’t have a market value). However it’s fair to say that we’d have a standard of living many times that of any MT nation. There is no absolute poverty in our nation, and ‘relative poverty’, while still technically able to be calculated, just doesn’t exist as a concept any more.

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History of Apynl

Apynl first came into existence with the arrival of the first settlers roughly 2,000 years ago (the exact date is listed as 9,023IE, or 2,004 years ago). The founders mainly came from Imperial Core worlds such as New Rome, Tarantus and Ursula – worlds covered in vast, sprawling cities containing billions of people. They were united in their wish to escape from these crowded, alienating conditions to a new, empty world. A group was put together which attracted around 7,000 initial colonists as well as the ‘Founding Fathers’ – those who made the plans for the colony. Several of these initial colonists are still alive and present in Apynl today.


The megacity of Tarantus


The megacity of Ursula

After several hundred years, the population had risen to many times its original amount. Believing that their vision of a mainly empty, uninhabited space was to be compromised, the people of Apynl implemented strict population controls which have remained in place ever since.

The transition from an effective oligarchy, in which the Founding Fathers and their relatives ruled over the other citizens, to a direct democracy came soon afterwards. In 9,466IE protests over the lack of representation in government and the unfair distribution of non-scarce resources culminated in the assassination of 2 Founding Fathers. This kicked off a short but bloody civil war between the Founders (and their robotic soldiers) and the Civics (who had managed to reprogram some of the robots and were also armed themselves). This war, known as the Foundation War, was only resolved following the intervention of a nearby (in galactic terms) third party, the Federation of Arcura, who sided with the Civics and helped end the tyranny of the Founders. Most Founders and loyalists left the planet shortly afterwards, to take up residence on the harsh world of Shalpyra.


Shalpyra, where most Founding Fathers and Loyalists fled to

Following a constitutional convention in 9,467IE, the political and economic systems of the nation were finalised, and have remained almost unchanged ever since.

[Apynl]

Military of Apynl

There are two branches to the Apynite military: The Legion, and The Navy. The Legion is essentially all ground troops, and is made up of 150,200 individual troops. The vast majority of these troops – 150,000 – are fairly cheap military droids which can perform a number of roles, from standard infantry to tank drivers, and even special forces. The final 200 soldiers are human, and serve a traditional role as the “Civic Militia” – the remnant of the Civics who participated in the Foundation War.


Standard military droids


Hovertank performing excercises


A collection of Civic Militia troopers in armour

The Navy is made up of several large ships (currently four Destroyers and a Battleship), 3 Orbital Defence Stations, and the Air Force (300 Starfighters which are based on the Orbital Defence Stations). It has around 20,000 personnel, all of which are currently robotic. The Navy runs occasional joint exercises with the Federation of Arcura, and is currently loaning them a destroyer for their war with Talabax. We consider Arcura to be an ally, although our small size prevents us from being much use to them overall.


The Battleship ABSS Nexus


The Destroyer ADSS Hijiax

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Government and Political Structure of Apynl

The Federation of Apynl is officially a Federation of Semi-Autonomous Communes. There are a total of 85 individual communes, which have a broad range of powers, as well as a weak central government which acts to coordinate the communes. The largest commune, Landingon, is also the base of the central government which operates from Colony House. This is a large mud-baked building (as most buildings in Apynl are) which is also the tallest building on the planet. Landingon has a total population of 3,027 people, while the smallest commune (Jaskart) has just 56.


Colony House, Landingon

Foundation Day, the national holiday, takes place on the first day of every new year, to celebrate the both the foundation of a colony on Apynl and the subsequent revolution several hundred years later.

Suffrage in Apynl is granted after the age of majority, which is 7 years. It is operated on a principle of one person, one vote and is carried out digitally. At the Central Government level, laws are written by a Council of Speakers (11 individuals), headed by the Speaker, and then put to the public vote. Bills may also be presented by any citizen, being screened and possibly amended by the Council of Speakers before being put to the public vote. National bills are fairly rare however, as there is a limited scope for Central Government within the Apynite political system. All votes last for two days, and are automatically put into law if passed.


Zxorbin Quinn, current Speaker

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People and Population of Apynl

The total Human population is just 52,202 people, with a population density of just 0.026 people per square mile (less even than modern day Greenland). However, the presence of around 15,000,000 robots tasked with servicing the population, producing goods and services, and defending the planet means that things are slightly more crowded than they may originally appear. The fact that the Human populations tends to cluster together in small but fairly dense populations which are then quite isolated from other communities also means that the figures aren’t quite representative of population distribution in Apynl.


A typical mud house in Apynl, which would suit one person

The age structure is heavily skewed in Apynl, with almost nobody under the age of 100 present on the planet. This is because of strict population controls (meaning a very, very low birth rate and thus next to no children) and also a culture in which people leave the planet to explore the Empire upon reaching the age of majority (similar traditions exist amongst the Amish people IRL) before returning (if they choose to) around the age of 100 or even later. The oldest person still alive and present on the planet is Papa Mozes, an original colonist who led the Civics in the Foundation War. He is currently 4,552 years old and still in fantastic health.


Papa Mozes

The appearance of most Apynites is a tanned complexion (although how much of this is breeding and how much is climate we can’t be sure) with dark hair and eyes. Most Apynites are atheist, although a significant minority identify as either pantheist or panentheist. Population growth is basically non-existent thanks to our draconian birth control policies. The main spoken language is Apynite Imperial, a dialect which originally evolved out of High Imperial but has since become almost nothing like it; High Imperial is a strictly regulated language which exists as a lingua franca and diplomatic language for all worlds in the Empire, regardless of local dialects. All people on the planet can also speak High Imperial, and most have picked up at least 3 or 4 others from their time travelling the Empire. Literacy in Apynite Imperial and High Imperial stands at 100%, with most people also able to read and write in other languages too.


A typical woman in Apynl

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Communications in Apynl

In Apynl, few people own or use personal communication devices; the people they are most likely to know and wish to communicate with tend to live nearby to them, in their commune. Holotabs (Holographic Tablet Computers) are common however - and everyone has one. These are connected to the Apynet, a sort of internet system which links the people of Apynl together and allows the for communication, collaboration and coordination of people with each other. Government business, discussion and debate also takes place through the Apynet. The Apynet is also connected to the Humanet, a sort of intergalactic internet system which spans the entire Human Empire. Communication is not instant across the entire Empire (sending a message from one side of the Empire to the other via the Humanet takes roughly 27 Galactic Standard Days). However it is much faster than delivering a message by any other means (travel over the same distance takes roughly 48 GSDs for the fastest craft, and even longer for most). The Humanet is provided by the CCIC (Central Committee for Imperial Communication free of charge, and the Apynet is provided by the Central Government, also free of charge.

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The Human Empire



Finally: a note on the Human Empire. The Human Empire is not really an Empire, and not exclusively Human. It is a collection of tens of thousands of de facto independent States and Territories – some spanning hundreds of individual worlds, some making up only a part of one world. These worlds are all united by one thing – the recognition of the Emperor as the de jure head of state, no matter how little power he actually wields. Just over 97% of Humanity currently identifies itself as a part of the Empire; those who don’t generally reject the Empire for ideological reasons, although some (like the residents of Earth) are simply ignorant of its existence.
The Human Empire also contains many other sapient races. Some, such as Chimpanzees, are terrestrial species which were uplifted many millennia ago by Humanity. Some, such as Artificial Intelligences, were actually created by Humanity. And some, like the Ronarans or the Carasites, evolved separately on other worlds and were contacted by Humanity.


A Ronaran


A Carasite

The Imperial Core is made up of a few hundred states which form the very backbone of the Empire. They are the wealthiest, most developed and most powerful in the entire Empire, and are made up of around 11,000 individual worlds (although exact definitions for the Core vary) – just 1.1% of the total number of worlds in the Empire. The Empire of New Rome is the single largest, most developed and most powerful state in the Empire, and is ‘ruled’ (if you can call it that) by the Human Empire directly. Its capital is the vast ecumenopolis of New Rome, a city planet with over 50,000,000,000 inhabitants.


New Rome

The Imperial Frontier is the collective term for all worlds not a part of the Core, and are as a rule less-developed and less powerful (although some come close to meeting the requirements to be considered a part of the Core). There is little central Imperial military presence here, and states have to rely far more on their own defence forces. As a result, crime is generally much higher in the Frontier than the Core. Apynl is a part of the Imperial Frontier, as are all the worlds present in its entire galaxy.