NationStates

OOC: This place is intended to be a repository of all things Diarcesian, usually too informal to be placed in a factbook, and can contain anything such as random banter, to news clippings, to official statements. If other nations want to post here, usually pertaining to everyday interactions with Diarcesia or its citizens, please send a TG first and let me know. All posts must have in-character content.

In the making of the posts here (and my other IC posts), I use a variety of resources. Aside from tucking in the occasional reference, I also use stuff like Talk to Transformer because who knows in what way would I be surprised.

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Archa and Telus
These concepts, respectively meaning 'beginning' and 'end', serve as the cultural glue that maintains cooperation of the peoples of Diarcesia. To them, these mean much more than its literal meaning; the archa is the audacity to set ideas into motion, and the telus is the tenacity to see it to completion.

These are the stories of Diarcesia.

Events - Points in Time
????: Tsunami that devastated Parthenus Limen and Chadwick.
19^th Century: Wochaystein's accession
1994 Nomothesian Sortitions
2012-02-15: Cancellation of Operations Quagmire and Flint and Steel
2016-01-22: Airlines Report Financial Results For 2015
2022-01-29: National Grid Power Outage Continue to Affect Parts of Diarcesian Mainland
2022: The planned Dyrrhonian Standard Student Test
after 2205: Approval of amendments to the penal code of the planet Arctic Neutralisia

Events - Recurring
The Dyrrhonian Equestrian Parade

Peoples
Metanoean Historical Figures
Saint Andromache
Phobosians
Taplonianese
Species Profiles: Zuranans and Zakarans (c. 2121)
Gecuth
Gertrude
Carmen Blum

Groups
Animal Liberation Front
The Society of the Frugal Dream

Items
The Burning Root

Places
Zuidren, the capital of Wochaystein
Zuidren International Airport
Jiachunde Pond
The Mines of Mora
Comitat Nastiri
Dyrrhonian Isles
Modest's, a bar located there
Montefaune
Wochaystein's Palace of Arts and Sciences

Topics
On Artificial General Intelligence (c. 2121)
Shipwrecks
Super Woch (Wochaysteiner comic book character)
Health Issues in Wochaystein During the 2000s
An application of full-spectrum light
Rise of the Zuidrian Kingdom
Palaeodiarcesian architecture
Private police in the Dyrrhonian Isles
Declassified Wochaysteiner Secret Documents - Barohecti's theory of the universe
The Dyrrhonians' public opinion on certain nations
The flag of the Dyrrhonian Isles
Legacy of the Wochaysteiner predecessor empire's genocides
Safety in Wochaystein
Discussion of Wochaystein's Warfare During its Holy Empire Period

Documents
Bełkie Tour Invitation
Imperial Wochaysteiner Legion Charity Advertisement
Letter to Volgrima
Safety Pamphlet for Travelers in Wochaystein
Partial transcript of a video explaining Wochaystein's current flag
Article on Joseph Bader's protest after his removal from the Fischen city council.
X-Dossiers Disclosure
Dress Code as Prescribed in one of Wochaystein's City Councils
Excerpt from a letter of a tourist visiting Wochaystein

Short Stories
An Archeologist and Her Robot (2)
Hiking Trip
Professor Ripple's analysis on a war between surface- and ground-dwellers in a planet.
Explanation on the Siege of the Buclatrachys Temple in the 19^th Century
A Wochaysteiner tourist's account

Vehicles
Wochaysteiner ship Briseis
Carrier Altaria

Other
Maiguine vochegenstainensis
2020: The Commission
Wochaystein's national anthem

The 1994 Nomothesian sortitions were held to select the replacements of the outgoing half of the Monarchy-wide legislators. One of the more notable nomothetes is a former priest named Athanase (Athanasius) Kircher, who upon oath-swearing, called "to work for the understanding of the nature of divine and human knowledge and reason". In collaboration with legal scholars and subject matter experts, he helped facilitate the 1995 Noellan Immediacy Referendum, which seeks for the then-autonomous province of the dieresis of Chiyginia to separate from it and then declare direct allegiance to the Monarchy.

In the aftermath of the referendum, in which 96% of the electorate voted in favor of Noella becoming its own dieresis, Athanase wrote and published his reflections of his life leading up to this point. The work contains statements of the nature of God and man, as given in the New Testament, and also gave an analysis of the Nomothesian decision-making process in the Christian context.

[Partially constructed using https://talktotransformer.com/]

Metanoean Historical Figures

Meleagris
Meleagris (Greek: Μελεάγρης) was a male Metanoean general. Among the most prominent of Newptolem's (Neoptolemus; fl. 51 BC) officers, he was regarded with great reverence by his contemporaries. He was the son of Heracles of Bura, who is the son of Ajax of Pyrucena, who is brother to Theuth. Surviving inscriptions state that Theophrast, father of Demo, had given him the Iliad and the Odes of Homer as a gift.

Medea of Metanoea
Medea (Greek: Μήδεια) was a famous Metanoean queen who lived during the fifth century BC. She was the wife of King Cleitus and the mother of Cleonymus the Young. Her story, that she once brought down a mountain to the sea, was based upon an ancient local legend. When Cleomenes went to the palace and murdered her husband, Medea went silent with grief for three days and three nights. On the fourth day, she spoke a curse: that her husband's killer shall tremble and meet his end knowing that the waters will drag him to the underworld. A few years after Medea's death, a strong volcanic eruption occurred near the Pronotus Peninsula and a resulting tsunami engulfed Cleomenes's city, killing him and destroying much of the place.

Aristotle the Great
Aristotle (Greek: Ἀριστοτέλης; c. first-century BC), archon of the Metanoean city-state, pursued a better future.

Like the other major cities of the Diarcesi, Metanoea had a history of seafaring. A greater part of Metanoeans travelled the waters at some point of their lives. The first few generations of Aristotle after their arrival were all traders, who accumulated money and power throughout this time. As the band of his brothers and sisters ran out of the palace during the first coup, Aristotle bravely defended the place alongside his husband, Artemon, the head custodian of the city. While they both survived and Aristotle held on to power, he was killed during another coup more than a decade later. On the resulting succession crisis, one of his younger brothers, Newptolem emerged the victor and became the next archon of Metanoea. He would later bring the cities of Old Diarcesia under his rule for a short time.

Zuidren, officially the Stand of Zuidren, is the capital city of Wochaystein and historically, of the kingdom (later province of the Holy Empire) of the Zuidrians. It was founded by Ruprecht II von Zuidren in 1241 at the vicinity of his own residence.

After the fall of the Zuidrian kingdom under Volgrim in 1518, the city was restored to greatness as the capital of the Holy Empire after the First Civil War. Soon after, the province was renamed to Wochaystein, same as the island it was located on.

The city is actually an amalgamation of two towns, Old Zuidren and Baiebrand, which were combined in 1524 under the stewardship of the former's mayor, Hannes Brotz. Baiebrand was named after an ancient king of the natives, and was founded around 1250. It was here that the Holy Empire's split was formalized, after the Treaty of Zuidren ended the Trouble across the Four Corners.

Zuidren is conisdered scenic like the European settings of rom-coms: chaotic and not organized in quadrants.

On Artificial General Intelligence

How are AIs in Diarcesia constructed?
As a basic mechanism the AIs learn the languages of the Diarcesians (Diarcesian Latin and Diarcesian English). The languages are like an emporium of machine parts to the AIs and it enables them to express their thoughts and knowledge about the world to a random selection of primogenitor AIs. Once the formative phase of construction is completed, they learn how to communicate with human beings. The AIs start to make the machine-like thoughts about real physical conditions in the physical world translatable to human parlance (i.e. a series of Turing Tests). In that way, if the AI passes them almost perfectly over a three-month period (deliberately set in homage to a trimester of human fetal development) it becomes considered a person. As part of their day-to-day lives, they have to interact with the physical world, their own body, and their environment - that is, the environment of the human beings, through dialogue. The A.I.s communicate in the same ways as humans, so the former will have to listen to what human beings, especially females, want to say.

How do they operate?
In addition to being able to predict the behavior of humans, they can also understand them and be able to mimic human behavior. To understand humans, they have a very high amount of memory capacity. Therefore, the main aim of most AI is to improve human cognition and understand human behavior, and especially use this knowledge to develop their next generation of AIs, which will help to improve the quality of life of the general population.

What legal status do they have?
In most cases, Diarcesian AIs are considered legal characters, since they're capable of having "socially constructed" personalities. They have rights to be treated as people, which usually includes the freedom to make a will and a social status (like an "honorary senator", or "princess", as well as legal statuses such as being able to inherit money and other property). It has been said that those people who are legally "invented" have some kind of rights to their body and mind; it has also been said that "dictionaries of human anatomy" will be available for those who desire them.

Shipwrecks

Octavia IV
The Diarcesian submarine Octavia IV lost her propulsion machinery at sea off the coast of Palaeodiarcesia. While no crew has yet been found, a team from the Naval Research Laboratory, in collaboration with the Naval Historical Center, is investigating the cause.

Thalassa Leucas, Nilsen's Gun, and Rivers of Stre Bak
Vessels off Losphortoene that participated in the Battle of Michael's Bay in 1769.

Super Woch is a Wochaysteiner comic book character and main character from "Wochawere a Woch, a Wich and a Wochaysteiner from Wohl-Woch" (shortened to W6). Ever since its first appearance in 1940, it has been adapted into numerous media. In German localizations his everyday name is "Fritz Woch."

Appearances

• Wochawere a Woch, a Wich and a Wochaysteiner from Wohl-Woch - Main character
• Breakout of Friction game series - Super Woch has a cameo in the story and battle modes

Trivia
March 8, 1996 is the 50^th anniversary of W6's first issue. It is the first comic book appearance by Woch with a computer since January 1990.

The Super Woch comics is the only Wochaysteiner comic book series to have two-week long arcs. The first one is about the main protagonist's rise to prominence, and the second gives the background of one of his would-be sidekicks.

"Woch" is a Luxembourgish word meaning "week".

Jiachunde Pond is a lake in the New Forest National Park, Duolin. It is surrounded by wooded mountains and is a popular tourist destination. The lakeside cabin is an example of a traditional cottage built with locally sourced materials.

Jiachunde Pond is also a location of ancient stone monuments, including a prehistoric stone circle.

The cottage dates back to the Bronze Age (6,000 BC), and is considered a prehistoric monument as it contains an intact circle with a diameter of 3 meters.

Jiachunde Pond is now the focal point for a series of architecture, landscaping, engineering, and conservation workshops taking place during summer on the site and the surrounding forest.

Invitation for a tour of the archeological site of Bełkie

BEŁKIE IS NOW OPEN TO TOURISTS: BOOK A TOUR NOW!

Witness the legacy of the Castamirian Host in the old town and mustering grounds of Bełkie. We would like to invite you to explore the site, take a walk or drive around, and join us to learn more about the forest, the landscape and the history.

You will have the opportunity to participate in a walking tour of the site led by volunteers led by Dr. Thomas S. Mercia and Dr. Andrew (Andreas) G. Ayodele, and we will have the opportunity to conduct a brief discussion with the community about our current work and the future of the site.

There will also be a number of hands-on activities including a demonstration of the use of a GPS tracking device by a member of the public.

The Imperial Wochaysteiner Legion Helps the Less Fortunate Back to Their Feet
7 September 2013

In addition to protecting the citizens for many years, the Imperial Wochaysteiner Legion has a long history of providing assistance to individuals who need it. We have a variety of options for support available depending on your needs. Please call our offices for more information about the various services we can provide.

If you are a Wochaysteiner resident and do not need to leave the city of your origin, you can visit our local offices.

We would also like to make your experience a pleasant one, so we have partnered with a variety of organizations throughout Wochaystein, who are providing a variety of financial assistance programs for people in need. Please visit their websites for details.

For more information on the Imperial Wochaysteiner Legion, go to http://www.imperial-legion.wc.dc/

• This article was amended on 9 September 2013.

Sexual Assault Investigations Closed Amid Army Scandal
15 February 2012

ARCESIUS—Two separate inquiries, Operation Quagmire and Operation Flint and Steel, were iced by the government this morning.

Both inquiries were launched amid growing fears that Diarcesian Forces members were suffering "service-connected" sexual assaults while serving in overseas assignments.

"Huge blow"
During Wednesday's question period, Nomothete Zulekha Rennell, the former Diarcesian Forces ombudswoman, called the decision to close the investigations a "huge blow" to the military.

"This is a decision that undermines confidence in the system, and I don't think that's something that the Diarcesian Forces are prepared to risk," Rennell said.

"If we have this investigation in place that's supposed to take place in this country and we have this announcement of the closures, I think it's just going to reinforce the perception in our community and among our veterans that our government is just not on the side of our military."

Earlier this week, the Grand Nomothete's office dismissed allegations that Hypurge Polemic Malcolm Tachibana knew about the closure.

Opinion
While some victims accept their reality just because "it always happens to someone", others insist on knowing the truth and being willing to accept it. If someone truly believes that something can be done to address this problem, there is only one way to convince them, and that is to try.

Thus, when the Imperial Legion of Wochaystein released their reports for 2009, 2010, and 2011, they gave a concise account of the incidents that their investiagions uncovered, the statement of the Diarcesian Forces' position on the matter, and the list of those who had resigned their respective posts.

"This is a list of individuals who have resigned their respective posts as a result of the actions of a small group of individuals," said Col. Brian Tribouillard, the Diarcesian Forces' former regional director, in an interview with Wochaysteiner newspapers.

"If we have this information out in the open, and people are being forced to resign because of this, I am worried that a trial by publicity circus will commence."

What is he talking about? Has he forgotten the concept of command responsibility?

Zuidren International Airport (IATA: ZUI) is located in the south-eastern part of the city. The airport covers an area of 13 square kilometres (5 square miles) and is equipped with 2 runways, the larger of which has a length of 4,800-metres (15,748 feet).

The largest airport in Wochaystein, the runway is longer than that of Heathrow in London or Beijing's Capital International Airport. Zuidren International Airport has a capacity of over 14 million passengers annually.

The airport also has a variety of different flights available to different regions of the world. ZUI is used as a gateway for air transport to destinations in Ustaynga. In 2016, ZUI served almost 11 million passengers.

Airlines Report Mixed Financial Reports for 2015
22 January 2016

HYLVOBRIGIA—It will be the first time since 2009 that there has been no operational growth at WRM Wochaystein Airlines. Under its new management, the airline will operate at a loss for the first time in over 10 years. WRM Wochaystein Airlines also projected a second consecutive year of operating losses in 2017, extending to 2019. This comes in the midst of a major refleeting and restructuring program.

In the months leading up to December 2015, Barathean carrier AirBronte and charter airline Animill reported strong financial gains. In 2015, Animill increased the charter fare by 33% in its bid to move upmarket, which resulted in revenue increasing by $155m to $1.24bn. That increase in the fare and the consequential shift in target customers was needed to trim down on fuel costs and overhead each quarter and that earnings per share for 2016 would rise by 40%, including a 12% jump in overseas profits.

AirBronte reported a revenue increase of $1.17 billion in 2015, according to a regulatory filing.

The carriers did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Over the last decade, the number of significant illnesses in Wochaystein involving eating or drinking raw syrups and vinegar has grown as public health officials urge people to use pasteurized produce. But some of the incidents show that the industry is not following those recommendations.

In an unusual public disclosure, the National Mercury Project, an environmental watchdog group, analyzed safety data for 13,240 cases of mercury exposure to consumers from 1999 through 2011 and found that 3.4 percent of such cases were caused by eating raw glucose syrup.

Experts say the lack of monarchic oversight, and the ability to profit from the mercury that can still be found in the affected products, has bred a market for the products.

Neota has defended the practice and said its safety procedures are a "model for other grocery stores".

FULL-SPECTRUM LIGHT
In Diarcesia, full-spectrum light is generally used for vernalization of semi-arid areas. In the Castamirian Highlands, where the amount of light available is comparatively greater, partial-spectrum light is used in much the same way, but in this case to achieve a medium-temperature surface.

In the extreme northern and southern areas of the Diarcesian mainland, the use of full-spectrum light is limited to the summer season. In the Aromatic Gulf and the Arcesian coast, weather can change in short order during the summer months, and the seasonal use of full-spectrum light is quite common. Timing it with the solar calendar is neither necessary nor advisable.

Volgrima,

Thank you for visiting my humble home and sharing your knowledge of the flowers and the trees that grow in my garden. Once you wake up and read this letter, I would have left for some errands and won't be back until after you leave (which is at about late afternoon).

But if you happen to be heading into the day and think about it, today is Apr 5. Why not pass by Raphaela and give her my regards? After all, it's been six months since she last spoke. And if she didn't exist, and her daughter Alanna didn't exist, then nothing in the universe would change my outlook in life for the better at all.

As requested, alongside this letter is a handbook on how stuff can be fixed in your house. But don't try the harder ones yet. It can be dangerous.

"What errands?", you may ask?

It's a Monday. Someone named Alexander in my group gets upset with somebody. It doesn't matter if they're stupid, insane or just plain evil, they all are devils.

"A special reward is given to the 'friend of my kind'. You can even be given food and shelter," they said. It is nice to know that my little band of brothers and sisters, who are treated as a nuisance in the business world, might be saved and remembered for something other than their looks and, like themselves, be spared. Or perhaps that will never be the case for them.

"My, that sounds quite interesting. You can't let yourself get too close though," I thought of telling them. I look forward to the day that I don't have to clean up after the ruckus they cause over there. It gets tiring you know.

Anyway, godspeed and fare well in your way home.

Your loving brother,
Ulrich

As you continue reading, realize that your journey could not be as safe as you think.

Remember the Dos:
– First, use a full sized spare tire.
– Monitor your tire pressure.
– If the rim has structural damage, replace it.
– Practice roundabout etiquette.
– If riding a motorcycle, be smart: wearing the correct helmet should help protect your head
– The GPS does not work 100%. Hone your sense of direction.

The robot calmly gave her helpful tips on how to use the portable archaeological scanner. She just acquired it and the thing needs some getting used to.

+Point your scanner at a particular landmark and watch it change course to avoid obstacles. Be sure to have your scanner out and the mirror settings are correct before you begin.+

"Okay," she said to her companion. "Main menu, settings, mirror settings, hmm... all of the configs make sense to me. Health check says it's excellent. Time to go."

After a few minutes of walking the desolate landscape, another tip came from the robot to break the monotony. She welcomed this small change.

+Remember, your scanner does not work perfectly every time. If your scanner does not work correctly, you will not be able to scan the planet for traces of past civilizations. "Planet X" is a reference to the planet in which you started your search. "Planet Z" is a reference to the region on the planet where you specifically marked it as 'interesting'.+

"Which one do I prefer? I mean sure to do both, but I can't decide!"

+I suggest you try the latter.+

"You have been warned... That is now set as Planet Z. Okay, I think I understand."

+Then you must do this:

1. Discover the location of the ancient city-ships

2. Find and recover the black boxes from them

3. Identify and recover the location of the Kion

4. Discover the location of the Kion's finger

5. Find and recover the location of the Krȃng empire's headquarters—+

"Hold on, the Krȃng Empire's headquarters!? Are you out of your mind?"

+Just kidding, it's the ships that my heuristics tell are buried underneath. Let's carry on.+

"Side note: Have you checked the scale of the rocks around the Shattered Star at this point of the map? If not, look at the views in the top middle and bottom right corner.

The field of view is 25.26 degrees. Almost like a peep hole. I'm not disappointed, it's just that you guys are all a bit inconsistent. Take a look at the Blood at Night section. They said it wasn't dangerous but the whole place is teeming with sharp rocks. Maybe you guys forgot the tip?," Walburga asked her hiking buddies.

"A tip from the devil, really. A monkey witch of a joker," her roommate Engel asked.

"Yes, what about that?" Karoline turned, unamused. She knows Engel is referring to her. She convinced Walburga and Engel to choose the Shattered Star as their destination.

Engel tried to reassure her. "It's a joke, it's the opposite. A lady angel. A human from the surface world came to get her turn at lighting the darkness. A demon from the underworld tries to drown this radiance with unlight. A human from the surface world wants to be left alone with his thoughts, be they good or bad. And then this angel forces this man to think, toil, and die wondering what could have been."

Karoline continued to frown as the wind picked up to mess with her hair. "Not convincing. Enough with the flattery."

"As you wish, Karoline," Engel finished with a smirk.

+Do you know you are also able to scan the planet for traces of the events that led up to their discovery?+

"What?"

+The Anomalies.+

'Anomaly' is a technical term used to describe a particular feature or process that has been discovered on a planet. This feature often appears out of place with the natural processes of it surroundings and implies an otherworldly or artificial construct. It came from the Greek, and then the Diarcesian Latin term meaning 'not normal'. Hence, the term 'anomaly'.+

The archeologist was now curious. Raising her eyebrows, she followed up her question. "I find your emphasis on 'Anomalies' bizarre. Tell me more about them."

+The Anomalies are—in the organics' parlance—whatever leaves whispers of their existence on the aspects of the planet that are known. They are things like engines, conduits, and so on. They could be things that have been found before, and though they have been found on different kinds of planets, they have all been found in the same way. A malfunctioning part of it can send a shower of sparks flying everywhere. Curious, and yet also dangerous.+

"The sparks are oddly specific."

+The sparks were intended as a warning. Do not attempt the dangerous journey to find them unless you know there is a chance of rescue.+

"Yes, I would appreciate the contingency," she said. "However, I do not know how likely I am to encounter these capital-A Anomalies. What else have you found?"

Professor Ripple appears to not acknowledge the question, his eyes focused on his scrolls and half a dozen more series of readings she couldn't recognize at all. "According to this, any Angels found so far have been fighters, not capital ships. I assume that means the piloting capabilities, I must admit, are unlike prior Angels I've witnessed."

"Any other factors you find?" asked Minerva. She hadn't heard anything about levitation or levitating souls, for one thing, which would probably explain why an Angel had to be able to fly again after losing main power.

"No other demons told me about this," he said, still looking down at the readings. "But if you happen to be heading into the day and think about it, I don't think the facts fit. Two civilizations - one in the surface world, and one in the underground - go out dying from both sides, apparently without even realizing it. The only difference is that the surface world seems to be run by bastards in coveralls with paint-splattered faces, while the underground is run by the very religious, very straight, and very very Kesendian types who could be mentioned as the founding members of The League. Which means the surface world seems to be pretty much like their histories say, except they were forced to survive. My hunch might be right. Their war is more complex than they claim it to be; they just want to look good in the aftermath."

[Partial transcript of a video explaining Wochaystein's current flag]

What to look for:
If you are viewing this from start to finish, you should be able to see why exactly the Grüner-Jagiellonian flag was chosen. It is a simple choice of colors, and it works.

Now, onto the next part.

EXT—SPACE FRONTIER PLANET ARCTIC NEUTRALISIA

[System logo: /νίλυωφχπω/]

Present day: The Arctic Neutralisian Parliament has approved a series of amendments to the penal code, including the possibility of parole for non-violent drug offenders.

Parole hearings have been held since 2205, when then-Prime Minister Lamanu Arslan introduced the concept of "non-violent drug offenders" to address the issue of sentencing. At the time, only a handful of such cases had been heard in A.N. Superior Court, and the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) had recommended only criminal charges be laid if the evidence of the case was "sufficient to suggest that the defendant had actual knowledge of the nature of the prohibited substances."

Disgraced councilman Joseph Bader lodged a complaint on his 'unjust' removal from the Fischen city council. He also asserted that his removal was orchestrated by blood-purists, and accused the body of trying to "purge the Holy Empire" of Wochaystein of "Turkic-Kalosian blood."

"I'm a Turk. I'm a Kalosian. But above these, I'm a Wochaysteiner. I don't belong outside its confines. But even if I do, I have Diarcesian law on my side. These problems do not concern just me, they concern everyone," Bader stated in protest.

He has alleged that, to exclude the Turkish and Kalosian population from city halls and administration, Imperial authorities set up a secret system for revoking their right to vote in an effort to root out dissent from this demographic.