Age of Aurora [OOC-Nation-Open]

[Great Confederacy of Commonwealth States]

Age of Aurora

~ A James Usari Faction Roleplay ~


Aurora Equatorialis in southern Ethiopia

“How a solar flare could send us back to the Stone Age”

Perhaps we ought to have listened more to the science fiction writers and popular scientists behind eye-catching titles, such as the one above. Some damage could have been avoided. Then again, they turned out to be as foretelling as they were needlessly alarmist.

The 2021 Great Blackout took us by surprise, for sure. As a species, as an economy, we were entirely unprepared for the total loss of electrical power. The damage was catastrophic. No accurate estimate exists, but current figures put the death toll in the tens of millions, mostly in the immediate aftermath of the Event. Hospitals losing power, planes falling from the sky, safety measures of chemical plants failing… Furthermore, the economy was reduced by several trillion dollars overnight. The stock exchanges were obliterated on the middle of trading day. Whole accounting firms were wiped out due to the loss of their electronic archives. The possibility for instant communication over wire disappeared. It was a complete and total disaster, for everyone on Earth, at once. Europe and Africa lost power in the evening, leading to a panicked night, and Asia woke up to a darkened world.

But we did not fall back to the Stone Age. Of course not, how could we? Power grids are a thing of the early 20th century. Electrical computing was invented in the 1930s and 1940s. Consumer electronics did not come around until the 60s. Mobile phones are an invention of the 80s and 90s. We lost technologies, but not technologies that people didn’t have before. Many people in the US still remember a time before their home was hooked up to the grid, and many, many more in the global south have known nothing else. To claim that the loss of electricity would put us back so far, while the majority of human history was not aided by electronics, was absurd and lacked historical awareness.

Our world is vastly different now than it was at the start of 2021. In many ways, the regression is obvious. There is no TV, no internet, no instant messaging and no personal computing. But humanity is not defined by what is lacks; it is defined by how it rises to the challenge. The word ‘computer’ has come to define not a machine, but a person. Large rooms of people with pens and paper working on complex arithmetic wherever it is needed, from the largest corporations to the smallest municipalities. Some governments have began building large Babish Machines, differential engines using physical processes for computing. Factories now run on large, extremely efficient steam engines instead of mass current. And some secrets of the Modern World, like futuristic polymers and precise machine tooling, were never truly lost. In many ways, our world is entirely unlike the one that preceded it, both more advanced and more backwards than what most of us remember.

The world of 2034 is different in other ways too. The age of MAD is now, and probably forever, over. Even if the nuclear weapons of the superpowers still operated, the missiles and bombers that were supposed to carry them to their targets have been grounded forever. Modern targeting systems and radio communications have failed, leaving entire armies without logistics. But while the trucks have been silenced, firearms still shoot, and artillery is as potent as it has ever been. Opportunistic powers have begun to take advantage of the situation, even more so now that the world economy has reinvented itself. Rare earth minerals became worthless overnight. Coal and oil lost in value as the power grids collapsed, although steam engines are bringing them back into popularity. Prime horses and iron are again prime resources. Arable land is at a premium. Africa has seen surprising cooperation in this field, but the Americas and Europe are ablaze with conflict, if not open warfare.

Politically, the world is at a crossroads too. The Great Blackout has worsened xenophobic fears about national resource distribution. The problem of ‘having too many mouths to feed’ is one that speaks to many poor, working class families, who have seen their standard of living shrink dramatically over the past 13 years. Young people who have known nothing but the New Order are becoming adults, and their way of looking at the world is totally estranged from their elders, still shackled to an older, almost utopian world of technology. Meanwhile, no longer opposed by the power of complex algorithms wrought by their bosses, labourers are rediscovering the power of their labour, and the power to withhold it. Human labour is in high demand, and union membership has risen, as has the number of aggressive unions. This, in turn, has led to a far right response, and the left-right divisions of the early 20th century are back in fashion once again.

The question is, where will the world go from here? What will it mean for humanity to have lost quick, automatic computing? The power of electricity? The Bomb? Will large nations still be able to maintain their cohesion? Will smaller nations be able to defend themselves? Will larger nations be able to project power far and wide, or has a new age of regionalism dawned? Those are all questions we will answer together in Age of Aurora.

Welcome to Age of Aurora, a Nation RP about a world suffering from a 13-year blackout, and counting. A solar storm has been continuously crippling power systems since 2021, forcing the world to reinvent itself many times over, in every imaginable field. This solar storm still creates auroras from pole to pole, visible every night in every part of the planet, lighting up the night sky. In this RP, you will take on the role of a nation, starting on the 3rd of June 2034, while guiding it through both national and international politics. You will be writing from the perspective of a few of your own citizens as well, not just those in government.

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Milky Way over Los Angeles

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Some things to keep in mind while creating a nation, in no particular order:
1. Instant messaging and wire communication don't exist anymore. The fastest messages are relayed via heliograph or semafore. The most reliable messaging system is physical.
2. Spark plugs don't operate anymore, car batteries have all been fried. Internal combustion engines can only be ignited by hand-cranked starters, and fuel is extremely expensive.
3. Most countries will not have grown larger. Due to the problems in communication, we will see more countries separate and federalise rather than spread outwards. The only exception is for very small countries that might have peacefully confederated with their neighbours. No united Scandinavia.
4. This RP is very much a psychological RP as well. I am interested in characters from all backgrounds, not just nations as institutions. I want to see the people who run them, and I want to see them as people, not just as 'president'. The app will include minor apps for one rich person, a working class person, and someone from a minority as well, so we can truly see nations.
5. It's only 14 years into the future. You might still be alive yourself. Imagine what that would be like.
6. I am hoping to keep this RP going by allowing for different, long-running threads to go on at once, and by allowing players to write in various different modes. If you don't feel into politics, write a more personal story. If you are not up to personal drama, write a police story. This world is your own, dimly lit oyster.

Nation Application

Code: Select all

[box][b][size=150]The Nation[/size][/b]

[u][b]General Information[/b][/u]
[b]Official nation name: [/b]
[b]Colloquial nation name:[/b]
[b]Flag:[/b]
[b]Motto: [/b]
[b]Seat of government:[/b] (Can be more than one city)
[b]Territorial extent:[/b]
[b]Other symbols and emblems:[/b]


[b][u]The Blackout[/u][/b]
[b]History:[/b] (Few paragraphs on how your nation came to be. Remember, history is more than warfare, and not all independence struggles have to be violent)
[b]Special effect:[/b] (How was your nation especially affected by the blackout?)
[b]Rebuilding:[/b] (How is your nation recovering after the blackout?)
[b]Main changes:[/b] (How has your nation's society and economy been affected by the loss of power and the rebuilding? How has power shifted?)

[b][u]The Government[/u][/b]
[b]Government explanation: [/b]
[b]Political Factions:[/b] (Name a few institutions that have their own political goals outside the government. Even in the most totalitarian states, there are factions. For example, Nazi Germany had the industrialists, the SS, and the Wehrmacht)
[b]Three relevant axis:[/b] (Name three political debates that are relevant in your country. For the example, in the UK, it would be capitalism vs. anti-capitalism, EU vs. Brexit, and conservatism vs. progressivism)
1-
2-
3-
[b]Government functions:[/b] (What does the government see as its main function? What do the people expect?)


[b][u]The Economy[/u][/b]
[b]Describe the relation between employer and employee:[/b] (Can someone be fired for any reason? Or is the country run by worker’s collectives? Or is there a mix?)
[b]Describe the relation between landlord and tenant:[/b] (Can someone be evicted for any reason? Or is the State the only landlord? Or is there a mix?)
[b]Diet:[/b] (What does the diet of your people generally consist of? Keep in mind local agriculture)
[b]Main industries:[/b] (What are main industries in your nation?)
[b]Trade situation:[/b] (Is your country reliant on certain exports/imports? Is it attempting autarky?)
[b]Infrastructure:[/b] (How do people and goods get about?)


[b][u]The Military[/u][/b]
[b]Military description: [/b]
[b]Military doctrine:[/b]
[b]Military in society:[/b] (What is the standing of the military in society? Loved or despised? How much influence do they hold?)
[/box]

[box][b][size=150]The People [/size][/b]

[b][u]The Wealthy[/u][/b]
[b]Name:[/b]
[b]Age:[/b]
[b]Occupation:[/b]
[b]Residence:[/b]
[b]Short bio: [/b](1-2 paragraphs)
[b]How did this person become rich: [/b]


[b][u]The Poor[/u][/b]
[b]Name:[/b]
[b]Age:[/b]
[b]Occupation:[/b]
[b]Residence: [/b]
[b]Short bio:[/b] (1-2 paragraphs)
[b]Why is this person poor:[/b]


[b][u]The Minority[/u][/b]
[b]Name:[/b]
[b]Age:[/b]
[b]Occupation:[/b]
[b]Residence: [/b]
[b]Short Bio: [/b](1-2 paragraphs)
[b]Why is this person considered a minority:[/b]


[b][u]The Traveller[/u][/b]
[b]Name: [/b]
[b]Age:[/b]
[b]Occupation:[/b]
[b]Residence:[/b]
[b]Short bio:[/b] (1-2 paragraphs)
[b]Why does this person travel:[/b][/box]

[i]Application tag - #NoMoreBrownOuts[/i]

Explanation of the app
This app has been written to help you think about your nation in a way that does not only concern the government top. It challenges you to take into account the lives of ordinary people. You can see this in the 'nation' portion of the app, but also in the 'people' portion. This part of the app asks you to create four (or more, your choice) characters. You can use these later in your story, or not, that depends on how you want to write. But these people will help flesh out your nation from the ground up, instead of top down. You are in no way forced to use these characters, but I do ask that you give them a bit of thought. As you can see from the app, there is not much info required.

You are free to interpret the questions as you wish. I myself like to write some history in the government section to give context, and write a more general history in the history section. How you deal with that is up to you. Any additional information that does not have its own bracket can be slotted in anywhere, or added at the bottom.

[Great Confederacy of Commonwealth States]

Roster


Asia
Israel - State of Israel - Reverend Norv

Americas
North Wisconsin - Republic of the Northwoods - Ithalian Empire

[Great Confederacy of Commonwealth States]

- Reserved for FAQ/Worldbuilding

What’s OPs role going to be?
I will provide some societal forces and some forces of nature. Mostly things a government would rather not have happen, such as strikes or other major events. I can also run elections and to other calculations if people ask. And I might write a nation or a handful of people myself.

What about vehicles?
The internal combustion engine requires spark/glow plugs in order to operate. There is no safe, reliable way to combust the fuel-air mixture without an electrical spark, and all electrical devices have been fried. This means that there will be no heavier-than-air airplanes, and no other vehicles that depend on internal combustion. Of course, there are other ways to power all sorts of vehicles, but this has to be realistic as well as incorporate the required drawbacks.

[Northern Socialist Council Republics]

Aw, no united Scandinavia? But that’s my bread and butter. :p

Tag, anyways. I live in one of the most trade-dependent areas of the world where food self-sufficiency is a joke, and I’m a cultural outsider in a scenario where nationalism is very much in vogue, so if this happened IRL I don’t think I’d be alive in 13 years, let alone living a life worth mentioning.

I’m vaguely interested in Scotland, but I’ll wait until applications are up to place a reservation. That play as an individual thing sounds interesting, and playing Singapore or South Korea and roleplaying out a society in total shambles also sounds interesting.

Also, no nuclear...? I feel pretty confident that it’s possible to make nuclear bombs that would work without electricity. Or a nuclear reactor, for that matter (although without electricity why people would even want a functional reactor is a whole another matter). Could be interesting to have a settlement in the arctic nowhere hugging an electricity-free nuclear steam plant. I did a couple years of serious study into nuclear science when I was in tertiary education, so the idea appeals to me. :p

Ahah. Now I talked myself into wanting to play atomic Scandinavia. >_>;; Alas.

[Great Confederacy of Commonwealth States]

Aw, no united Scandinavia? But that’s my bread and butter.

Tag, anyways. I live in one of the most trade-dependent areas of the world where food self-sufficiency is a joke, and I’m a cultural outsider in a scenario where nationalism is very much in vogue, so if this happened IRL I don’t think I’d be alive in 13 years, let alone living a life worth mentioning.

I’m vaguely interested in Scotland, but I’ll wait until applications are up to place a reservation. That play as an individual thing sounds interesting, and playing Singapore or South Korea and roleplaying out a society in total shambles also sounds interesting.

Also, no nuclear...? I feel pretty confident that it’s possible to make nuclear bombs that would work without electricity. Or a nuclear reactor, for that matter (although without electricity why people would even want a functional reactor is a whole another matter). Could be interesting to have a settlement in the arctic nowhere hugging an electricity-free nuclear steam plant. I did a couple years of serious study into nuclear science when I was in tertiary education, so the idea appeals to me.

Ahah. Now I talked myself into wanting to play atomic Scandinavia. >_>;; Alas.

The problem is the trigger. In order to achieve critical mass in a uranium fission weapon, you need a very precise detonation which can only be achieved through an electrical signal. A plutonium weapon might be possible. But in both cases you need to enrich the ore, and large electromagnets cannot operate. And getting the necessary material from the now-useless ballistic missiles is dangerous. Not to mention that you’d need a delivery system.

For nuclear reactors: without electronic measuring equipment, you’d be asking for a meltdown.

As for the country: you could always go for one of the individual Scandinavian nations, for example. Or anything else, ‘tis a big world.

[Northern Socialist Council Republics]

The problem is the trigger. In order to achieve critical mass in a uranium fission weapon, you need a very precise detonation which can only be achieved through an electrical signal. A plutonium weapon might be possible.

For a smaller weapon, a simple gun-type system will suffice, where you just launch one section of uranium at another at high velocity, where neither are supercritical but both, compressed via collision, are.

But in both cases you need to enrich the ore,

Not if you just need an NSSS - you just need a reactor design with a good enough neutron economy to be able to run on the 0.7% enrichment of natural uranium. For example, the Canadian deuterium-uranium reactor. As for nuclear weapons...

and large electromagnets cannot operate.

You could achieve separation mechanically, using the fact that an uranium hexafluoride molecule is about a percent heavier if it’s U-238 as opposed to U-235. By centrifuge or by gaseous diffusion, say. Slow and expensive compared to all this newfangled ion separation stuff, but I think countries will be willing to do that much for the nuclear bomb.

Not to mention that you’d need a delivery system.

This isn’t an area I can speak with any definite authority on, since I’ve never studied aircraft seriously, but surely you could adapt a Second World War era design to run without electronics? Someone more qualified would have to comment.

But one thing that definitely wouldn’t work without electricity is RADAR, which means that even an inferior air force might be able to present a viable bombing threat.

For nuclear reactors: without electronic measuring equipment, you’d be asking for a meltdown.

Since precision manufacturing is and modern materials industry are still things, surely somewhere someone would have come up with a solution to the non-electronic instrumentation problem.

---

Yeah, since I can’t play a unified Scandinavia I’m feeling like Scotland, but I’ll wait until you put up the individual person application and see what sort of stuff other people might be interested in before I place a reservation. I might go with Denmark or Sweden, too, like you suggested.

[Pasong Tirad]

This is a fantastic idea count me in. No idea what country to play as yet, but off the top of my head I'm thinking maybe somewhere in Europe or the US, with my minority character being someone from an indigenous background (if US) and the rich character being an immigrant in a labor union - maybe a Filipino nurse or doctor who has discovered just how powerful they are being part of the medical profession.

[Reverend Norv]

I think I'll take Israel. The rough idea is that, under the pressure of the Blackout, the country "snaps back" to its earliest and most resilient form: communitarian labor Zionism, a network of largely self-sustaining and self-defending kibbutzim/moshavim supporting a few larger cities. This model doesn't allow for a resource-intensive occupation of the West Bank, but the legacy of the Occupation remains, because Jewish settlements - now mostly reorganized as fortified kibbutzim - are scattered all over the West Bank. Meanwhile, amid the chaos and violence of the few years right after the Blackout, Palestinians have returned to many of the lands that they lost in '48. As a result, the two populations are inextricably intermingled: no area between the sea and the river is overwhelmingly either Jewish or Palestinian. Fighting continues at a low level, as the Israeli government attempts to extend its control into neighborhoods de facto controlled by Palestinian nationalist and Islamist groups, and as Palestinians target outlying kibbutzim in an attempt to shrink the zone of settlement; but there is no border anymore, no line separating the populations. Although plagued by violence, as a small country with a long history of self-reliance and improvisation, Israel is otherwise likely to have recovered fairly quickly since 2021.

[Great Confederacy of Commonwealth States]

The problem is the trigger. In order to achieve critical mass in a uranium fission weapon, you need a very precise detonation which can only be achieved through an electrical signal. A plutonium weapon might be possible.

For a smaller weapon, a simple gun-type system will suffice, where you just launch one section of uranium at another at high velocity, where neither are supercritical but both, compressed via collision, are.

But in both cases you need to enrich the ore,

Not if you just need an NSSS - you just need a reactor design with a good enough neutron economy to be able to run on the 0.7% enrichment of natural uranium. For example, the Canadian deuterium-uranium reactor. As for nuclear weapons...

and large electromagnets cannot operate.

You could achieve separation mechanically, using the fact that an uranium hexafluoride molecule is about a percent heavier if it’s U-238 as opposed to U-235. By centrifuge or by gaseous diffusion, say. Slow and expensive compared to all this newfangled ion separation stuff, but I think countries will be willing to do that much for the nuclear bomb.

Not to mention that you’d need a delivery system.

This isn’t an area I can speak with any definite authority on, since I’ve never studied aircraft seriously, but surely you could adapt a Second World War era design to run without electronics? Someone more qualified would have to comment.

But one thing that definitely wouldn’t work without electricity is RADAR, which means that even an inferior air force might be able to present a viable bombing threat.

For nuclear reactors: without electronic measuring equipment, you’d be asking for a meltdown.

Since precision manufacturing is and modern materials industry are still things, surely somewhere someone would have come up with a solution to the non-electronic instrumentation problem.

---

Yeah, since I can’t play a unified Scandinavia I’m feeling like Scotland, but I’ll wait until you put up the individual person application and see what sort of stuff other people might be interested in before I place a reservation. I might go with Denmark or Sweden, too, like you suggested.

This is interesting, I will certainly take it into account. Though, it will be incredibly costly, and will basically have to amount to a rehash of the manhattan project, almost.

This is a fantastic idea count me in. No idea what country to play as yet, but off the top of my head I'm thinking maybe somewhere in Europe or the US, with my minority character being someone from an indigenous background (if US) and the rich character being an immigrant in a labor union - maybe a Filipino nurse or doctor who has discovered just how powerful they are being part of the medical profession.

This is interesting, making the rich character also from a minority. This will probably provide some interesting perspectives.

I think I'll take Israel. The rough idea is that, under the pressure of the Blackout, the country "snaps back" to its earliest and most resilient form: communitarian labor Zionism, a network of largely self-sustaining and self-defending kibbutzim/moshavim supporting a few larger cities. This model doesn't allow for a resource-intensive occupation of the West Bank, but the legacy of the Occupation remains, because Jewish settlements - now mostly reorganized as fortified kibbutzim - are scattered all over the West Bank. Meanwhile, amid the chaos and violence of the few years right after the Blackout, Palestinians have returned to many of the lands that they lost in '48. As a result, the two populations are inextricably intermingled: no area between the sea and the river is overwhelmingly either Jewish or Palestinian. Fighting continues at a low level, as the Israeli government attempts to extend its control into neighborhoods de facto controlled by Palestinian nationalist and Islamist groups, and as Palestinians target outlying kibbutzim in an attempt to shrink the zone of settlement; but there is no border anymore, no line separating the populations. Although plagued by violence, as a small country with a long history of self-reliance and improvisation, Israel is otherwise likely to have recovered fairly quickly since 2021.

Yeah, you will likely see some return to communalism and local production, like in the kibbutz. I am very interested how this will work systematically, with these fortified Jewish townships, with no access to instant communication, having to face a numerous opponent, who have to face their own issues in turn.

[Cylarn]

Excellent idea! I'd go for a city-state/small regional power focused on the East Coast port city of Wilmington, North Carolina. As for particulars, I will need to marinate on that, but I imagine that much of the economic machinery of the city would revolve around the ocean, as well as the surrounding countryside in New Hanover and Brunswick Counties.

[Great Confederacy of Commonwealth States]

Good to have so many ideas that revolve around smaller scales, and depth of world building. I enjoy that.

On a general note, app should be up tomorrow, once I have worked out all the details. I will leave a lot of liberty there for people to describe what they want about their nation, and since I hate army counters and think they are icky, I dont think I will involve one.

[Reverend Norv]

I think I'll take Israel. The rough idea is that, under the pressure of the Blackout, the country "snaps back" to its earliest and most resilient form: communitarian labor Zionism, a network of largely self-sustaining and self-defending kibbutzim/moshavim supporting a few larger cities. This model doesn't allow for a resource-intensive occupation of the West Bank, but the legacy of the Occupation remains, because Jewish settlements - now mostly reorganized as fortified kibbutzim - are scattered all over the West Bank. Meanwhile, amid the chaos and violence of the few years right after the Blackout, Palestinians have returned to many of the lands that they lost in '48. As a result, the two populations are inextricably intermingled: no area between the sea and the river is overwhelmingly either Jewish or Palestinian. Fighting continues at a low level, as the Israeli government attempts to extend its control into neighborhoods de facto controlled by Palestinian nationalist and Islamist groups, and as Palestinians target outlying kibbutzim in an attempt to shrink the zone of settlement; but there is no border anymore, no line separating the populations. Although plagued by violence, as a small country with a long history of self-reliance and improvisation, Israel is otherwise likely to have recovered fairly quickly since 2021.

Yeah, you will likely see some return to communalism and local production, like in the kibbutz. I am very interested how this will work systematically, with these fortified Jewish townships, with no access to instant communication, having to face a numerous opponent, who have to face their own issues in turn.

Quite so. I can imagine a sort of Wild West dynamic: the Israelis rely on fortifications, quick reaction forces, and semaphore communications (it helps that Israel/Palestine is small and densely settled); the Palestinians rely on surprise, infiltration, and numbers to overwhelm settlements before the semaphore system can bring in the cavalry, so to speak.

[Great Confederacy of Commonwealth States]

Yeah, you will likely see some return to communalism and local production, like in the kibbutz. I am very interested how this will work systematically, with these fortified Jewish townships, with no access to instant communication, having to face a numerous opponent, who have to face their own issues in turn.

Quite so. I can imagine a sort of Wild West dynamic: the Israelis rely on fortifications, quick reaction forces, and semaphore communications (it helps that Israel/Palestine is small and densely settled); the Palestinians rely on surprise, infiltration, and numbers to overwhelm settlements before the semaphore system can bring in the cavalry, so to speak.

Probably literal cavalry too, I think, or not?

[Ithalian Empire]

Right, gonna make a republic focused on Norther Wisconsin and the UP, controlling the trade the flows across the Great Lakes by charging tolls at Saul St Marie while also having some expansionist goals for areas like Duluth and Canadian Saul St Marie. Economy would be focused on logging, agriculture such as dary farming, copper and iron mining as well as ship building and paper converting. Basically what the area does already just thrown back to the 1800's.

[Reverend Norv]

Quite so. I can imagine a sort of Wild West dynamic: the Israelis rely on fortifications, quick reaction forces, and semaphore communications (it helps that Israel/Palestine is small and densely settled); the Palestinians rely on surprise, infiltration, and numbers to overwhelm settlements before the semaphore system can bring in the cavalry, so to speak.

Probably literal cavalry too, I think, or not?

Likely more dragoons, or mounted infantry. But in a relatively small and densely settled country, where oil is scarce and hand-cranked engines are unreliable, crack mounted troops are probably the best option to serve as a quick reaction force.

[Northern Socialist Council Republics]

This is interesting, I will certainly take it into account. Though, it will be incredibly costly, and will basically have to amount to a rehash of the manhattan project, almost.

Yep. But if you do it right I imagine you can create a very punkish aesthetic. Centralised nuclear reactors at the hearts of industrial cities sending out pressurised hot water to residences and factories. In that case arguably the whole industry of the city becomes one NSSS, since the heat isn't used to actually boil anything until it arrives at the home/factory.

You know, the more I think about it the more I like this idea.

[Ithalian Empire]

This is interesting, I will certainly take it into account. Though, it will be incredibly costly, and will basically have to amount to a rehash of the manhattan project, almost.

Yep. But if you do it right I imagine you can create a very punkish aesthetic. Centralised nuclear reactors at the hearts of industrial cities sending out pressurised hot water to residences and factories. In that case arguably the whole industry of the city becomes one NSSS, since the heat isn't used to actually boil anything until it arrives at the home/factory.

You know, the more I think about it the more I like this idea.

Also sounds like a nice way to get away from the restriction on you tech placed by the event.

[Northern Socialist Council Republics]

Also sounds like a nice way to get away from the restriction on you tech placed by the event.

Honestly? I think the big loss would be information technology; everything else people will find a way to adapt. It'll be slow and painful, but given 14 years' time I suspect people will find ways to make just about everything else work without electricity. If it's not nuclear energy it will be something else; the world has no shortage of incredibly intelligent people.

Also, it just occurs to me, not having electric power might play havoc with climate action; green energy is a bit of a flop when you don't have a convenient national grid to exchange power on.

[Ithalian Empire]

Also sounds like a nice way to get away from the restriction on you tech placed by the event.

Honestly? I think the big loss would be information technology; everything else people will find a way to adapt. It'll be slow and painful, but given 14 years' time I suspect people will find ways to make just about everything else work without electricity. If it's not nuclear energy it will be something else; the world has no shortage of incredibly intelligent people.

Also, it just occurs to me, not having electric power might play havoc with climate action; green energy is a bit of a flop when you don't have a convenient national grid to exchange power on.

Honestly, my experience with this sort of RP is that once someone starts trying to make stuff like this happen they start power gaming.

[Northern Socialist Council Republics]

Honestly, my experience with this sort of RP is that once someone starts trying to make stuff like this happen they start power gaming.

Ah, yes, I can see the concern... honestly I am not so self-absorbed as to be able to assure you that I take losing gracefully (because I don't), but I can assure you that this particular suggestion comes from my academic interests and not from my desire to not "lose".

[Great Confederacy of Commonwealth States]

I am inclined to go with a ban on nuclear energy. When compared with alternatives, it is just highly impractical. While maybe feesible technologically, the dangers posed by such a plant, combined with the fact that there is no use in centrally creating mechanical power, means that I don’t see such plants existing outside obsessed governments, to the detriment of the rest of the nation.

If you want to write as a country that just focuses on nuclear mechanical power for the hell of it, Plzen, I might see the merit of having a single power plant. But for lack of fuel and for abandonment of the rest of society, that countrybwoukd constantly be on the verge of collapse. Compare it to a messaging system that consists of 200 people standing in a line passing along a messge. It’s faster than a horse, but so impractical as to become unstable.

[Northern Socialist Council Republics]

-snip-

Well, the way I envision it, you'd have a pressurised secondary coolant loop that runs from the central nuclear plant to wherever energy is needed, which is where the actual boiler would sit. Iceland has a scheme where they pipe around hot water (which they have an abundance of, because volcanoes) around the country, so transferring thermal energy over long distances is something that is very much doable with current technology; doubly so since a nuclear reactor can be built in the area it serves whereas Icelandic geothermal vents aren't conveniently located in the hearts of cities. And the safety risk of nuclear reactors are and have always been grossly exaggerated.

That being said, this is your RP. If you say that something is the final call then it is the final call.

[Great Confederacy of Commonwealth States]

-snip-

Well, the way I envision it, you'd have a pressurised secondary coolant loop that runs from the central nuclear plant to wherever energy is needed, which is where the actual boiler would sit. Iceland has a scheme where they pipe around hot water (which they have an abundance of, because volcanoes) around the country, so transferring thermal energy over long distances is something that is very much doable with current technology; doubly so since a nuclear reactor can be built in the area it serves whereas Icelandic geothermal vents aren't conveniently located in the hearts of cities. And the safety risk of nuclear reactors are and have always been grossly exaggerated.

That being said, this is your RP. If you say that something is the final call then it is the final call.

Yeah, it's also a call of theme, honestly. While a lot would be possible, I am trying to strike a balance between 'everything remained the same but with a different aesthetic' and 'everything reverts back to the dark ages', and nuclear bombs and power plants just don't really fit that vision, which is the most important reasoning I'm not really seeing it. But I see some use for geothermal plants, and piping hot water directly into homes in certain places.

[Ithalian Empire]

Since what I want to do is all about controlling the trade from Lake Superior to Lake Michigan and Lake Huron I realized I need a navy.

Steam powered war ships on the Great Lakes is an idea I am vibeing with.

[Pasong Tirad]

I've settled on a location: Upstate New York. Will reserve that location and will work on my concept.