Cybusian Foreign Inquiries Office [Q&A; Open; IC/OOC]

[Cybus1]

Greetings,
Emperor Mercer, seeking to improve relations with other powers of the multiverse and allow them to learn more about our glorious Empire and it's culture, has approved the creation of a department of the foreign ministry devoted to receiving inquiries from foreigners, be they diplomats, leaders, military figures, or everyday citizens. Should you have concerns, commendations, condemnations, proposals, or other matters, they can also be addressed here. Should you wish to purchase products or services from Imperial corporations, we can forward your request to the appropriate person.

Regards,
High Consul for Foreign Affairs,
Reinhardt Wolf

What this thread is for:

* Asking questions about the Empire, its people (anyone in my factbooks), culture, military, corporations, and private citizens, etc. If you have a question, be it IC or OOC, feel free to ask. You can ask pretty much any characters mentioned in my factbooks. All kinds of questions are welcome! Please specify who you are asking (if anyone). If OOC, please specify as well.
* Dealing with diplomatic manners, excluding things like declaration of war.
* Ordering products from Imperial corporations. Prices subject to change without notice, service may be denied for any reason or no reason at all. Discounts applied randomly.
* The occasional posting of news items.

[Cybus1]

/bump

[Novo Wagondia]

A team of fellows at the Sancho-Lira Research Institute in Santa Catalina is currently developing a global attitudes survey, measuring each nation's response to a set of pre-determined questions. Communicating through our embassy in Arcadia, they are seeking the input of your Foreign Inquiries Office. For now, the following question is being presented:

Q: You may be aware that urban areas on earth are classified into 'alpha', 'beta', and 'gamma' world cities based on a number of cultural, political, and especially economic factors. Despite the vastness of your empire, we suspect a similar tiered shortlist could be drawn up from the planets within the Cybusian realm. If you had to select the most prominent grouping of planets, which rankings would they assume within a 'planetary power index'?

---

An example using our own empire (and cities, for obvious reasons):

Alpha +:

- Santa Catalina: the wealthy political heart of the empire, with a singularly diverse citizenry and globally significant cultural production
- São Paulo: the economic engine of the Empire, home of its largest stock exchange and one of its largest and most vibrant metropolitan areas

Alpha:

- Mexico City: the core of Wagondia's third largest urban area, and the anchor to our empire's northernmost provinces
- Manila: Wagondia's gateway to the Asia-Pacific region, responsible for a great deal of its global trade and multiculturalism
- Buenos Aires: An economic powerhouse with significant ties to the auto industry; a linchpin of the Southern Cone region

Alpha-:

- Bogotá: The historic capital of Wagondia, which retains a respected influence over national business, politics, and culture
- Santiago: A wealthy commercial center, famous for vineyards, Andean vistas, and mining magnates
- Rio de Janeiro: Among our greatest cultural hubs, and a major destination for foreign tourism and investment
- Lima: A major seaport and continental transport hub, with a world-class culinary scene
- Luanda: Our foothold on the African continent; a dynamic regional trading hub benefitting from an equally lively cultural exchange

[Cybus1]

A team of fellows at the Sancho-Lira Research Institute in Santa Catalina is currently developing a global attitudes survey, measuring each nation's response to a set of pre-determined questions. Communicating through our embassy in Arcadia, they are seeking the input of your Foreign Inquiries Office. For now, the following question is being presented:

Q: You may be aware that urban areas on earth are classified into 'alpha', 'beta', and 'gamma' world cities based on a number of cultural, political, and especially economic factors. Despite the vastness of your empire, we suspect a similar tiered shortlist could be drawn up from the planets within the Cybusian realm. If you had to select the most prominent grouping of planets, which rankings would they assume within a 'planetary power index'?

---

An example using our own empire (and cities, for obvious reasons):

Alpha +:

- Santa Catalina: the wealthy political heart of the empire, with a singularly diverse citizenry and globally significant cultural production
- São Paulo: the economic engine of the Empire, home of its largest stock exchange and one of its largest and most vibrant metropolitan areas

Alpha:

- Mexico City: the core of Wagondia's third largest urban area, and the anchor to our empire's northernmost provinces
- Manila: Wagondia's gateway to the Asia-Pacific region, responsible for a great deal of its global trade and multiculturalism
- Buenos Aires: An economic powerhouse with significant ties to the auto industry; a linchpin of the Southern Cone region

Alpha-:

- Bogotá: The historic capital of Wagondia, which retains a respected influence over national business, politics, and culture
- Santiago: A wealthy commercial center, famous for vineyards, Andean vistas, and mining magnates
- Rio de Janeiro: Among our greatest cultural hubs, and a major destination for foreign tourism and investment
- Lima: A major seaport and continental transport hub, with a world-class culinary scene
- Luanda: Our foothold on the African continent; a dynamic regional trading hub benefitting from an equally lively cultural exchange

After conducting exhaustive comparisons, we believe we have created a short list of major worlds within the Empire. For the purposes of this list, Earth, being a 'jointly-held world' has been left out of the considerations, and, due to the sheer size of the Empire, this list is kept deliberately short.

Alpha+:

- Arcadia: The Imperial capital and throneworld, Arcadia is also the homeworld of the Evolved species. Arcadia is the first jewel in the Imperial crown, being home to many of the Empire's largest corporations, cultural organizations, landmarks, and famous personalities. It, being the home of the Emperor, is also an important religious destination, as well as a military stronghold.
- Anaxes: Located within the same system as Arcadia, Anaxes is an economic powerhouse responsible for much of the banking and manufacturing in the Empire, and is home to the great shipyards of Colossus Defense Engineering, making it a vital lynchpin in the Imperial economy and military.

Alpha

- Carcassia: The ancestral home of the House of Usher, Carcassia has long been an artistic hub of the Empire, and though seemingly not as urban as other worlds, and certainly bleaker, the planet is still a place of strange inspiration for aspiring artists and authors.
- Avantis: Despite being associated with the deranged actions of Jacob Whaite (brother of UCP ambassador Henry Whaite) in recent memory, Avantis is a major agricultural world, along with Urozhy, which is in the same system and the birthplace of famed novelist Anna Lesova.
- Venezia: An industrial world home to large deposits of Hydrium gas, Joklero is also the birthplace of the modern Pan-Mercerist Movement founder, Peter Akimov.

Alpha-

- Atrux: Another major agricultural world with some industrial presence, Atrux is also home to a sizable Wagain population.
- Pyrovilla: The homeworld of the Vulcan's, and the home to the majority of their populace, the world is also home to an advanced industrial presence and mining operations.
- Ambrix: Despite sometimes being regarded as a 'religious powder keg' thanks to an extremely diverse population and varied religious makeup, Ambrix is the most successful colony in The Crimson Stars. Most important because of its vast E-99 reserves and strategic position near trading lanes.

[Cybus1]

/bump

[Cybus1]

/bump

[New Visayan Islands]

"Do you support Amourshipping?"

- Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine

[Cybus1]

*** "Do you support Amourshipping?"

- Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine ***

“Minister,

I fail to see how this has anything to do with foreign policy. I was unaware of what “amourshipping” was until doing something research. Seeing as it involves “shipping” two characters from a form of media I do not consume, I cannot speak on the matter, nor can I speak for the people on this matter.

Good day,
High Consul for Foreign Affairs, Reinhardt Wolf.”

[New Carthagea]

Can HM'S Armed Forces of New Carthagea hire some Drakuls for utilization in the military ?

[Cybus1]

Can HM'S Armed Forces of New Carthagea hire some Drakuls for utilization in the military ?

“To Whom It May Concern,

I have no idea who came up with such a foolish idea. Drakuli are terrible vampires, and attempting to control them will only end in horrible disaster. We’ve tried this before, and it ends in disaster. The only Drakul I’m aware of who are not bloodthirsty psychopaths is Thomas Eichhorst, and his “son”. It would be incredibly risky gathering the feral Drakul for our men, and it would be incredibly foolish of you to try to use them. I must deny this request. However, I could supply you with a small quantity of the virus and the associated paralytic venom. Would this be helpful?
But I will not be responsible should your nation be devoured by a horde of vampires created from your experiments.

Regards,
Nathan Koenig, High Consul for Science, Director of Section 3 of Torchwood.

OOC: The existence of Drakul who have self-restraint, other than the Eichhorsts, is unknown to Torchwood or the Empire at large, since all the sentient Drakul we’ve encountered have been horrible and destructive monsters.

[Cybus1]

/bump. Factbooks soon to further updated, starting with Redlight, since I finished an Elizabeth Green character description/backstory thingy.
Still taking any questions.

[Skyhooked]

"So, this thingy works? It appears to work at least... Alright dudes, here is the most paramount question we could ever ask, because we are curious about your nation. How do ya' feel about us, the free people of Skyhooked? Which is the land of free and drunk! Where weed is awesometastic and cigars are good too! We wanna pack things and explore your place, taste local foods or something, and we wanna know, how locals gonna treat us?"-Bunch of tourists preparing for a travel.

"I am sure they love watching our people doing crazy and funny things on Youtube, or whatever they have instead."-One of the tourists.

[Cybus1]

"So, this thingy works? It appears to work at least... Alright dudes, here is the most paramount question we could ever ask, because we are curious about your nation. How do ya' feel about us, the free people of Skyhooked? Which is the land of free and drunk! Where weed is awesometastic and cigars are good too! We wanna pack things and explore your place, taste local foods or something, and we wanna know, how locals gonna treat us?"-Bunch of tourists preparing for a travel.

"I am sure they love watching our people doing crazy and funny things on Youtube, or whatever they have instead."-One of the tourists.

Skyhooked Tourists,

Having gathered some information via a poll, the average Cybusian regards your nation as chaotic, but an ideal to be respected, since we strongly believe in personal freedoms and hedonism is not unpopular here. Should you follow through with your plans, I suggest you keep the following things in mind;
-Imperial worlds tend to be cooler and rainier than you are used to on your tropical islands, so plan accordingly.
-While “weed” is not illegal, I suggest you bring something to try to disguise the smell; cleanliness (including not having odors wafting from oneself) is a virtue, after all.
-Do not mock our ‘old-fashioned’ culture. We have plenty of modern music, movies, shows, etc, and you can find them in just as much abundance as classics. Yes, we have Netflix. Yes, we have shows like Stranger Things and American Horror Story, and all the latest music. But asking why the newest rap album isn’t being played as much as Ella Fitzgerald is generally a question that will end with you getting many strange looks and possibly some scorn.
-You are free to practice your own religion, but avoid criticisms of the Emperor or Mercerism, for many Cybusians are devout Mercerists and would not take kindly to such remarks.
-It is recommended that you pack at least one nice suit or dress or nice skirt and blouse (depending on gender), because Cybusian fashion tends to still be more formal than most, and wearing casual clothes will make you stuck out like a sore thumb.

I hope you enjoy your visit to our glorious Empire! Please, if you have further questions, don’t hesitate to ask. Furthermore, enclosed in this message is a voucher for 20% a round-trip journey from Earth to Arcadia, via Taggart Trans-Imperial, the Empire’s largest and most prominent provider of transportation.


Regards,
Reinhardt Wolf, High Consul for Foreign Affairs

[Cybus1]

/bump

[Skyhooked]

"Howdy there partners! Do ya' sell any of those military guns? I am a gunslinger, and I wanna get mah' hands on some both exotic and punch packin' pistol! Then I am gonna join up our forces and bring some freedom to a place outside of good ol' Skyhooked!"-Gunslinger.

---

"Well, as ya' promised, that was awesometastic joyride across all the Cybus! Yeah, we didn't have business suits, so we looked outta place with our painted or long hair, and band t-shirts plus spiked braces. Da place was colder than back home, which in fact makes it a nice one, especially after a heatwave, we escaped. We learned to not mind the heat, but it's a lil' bit better to not mind the cold.

Rains? We got lots of them at home too. We didn't exactly care about Mercerism, to us it's just some philosophy, but still thanks for the warning. Also, ya' got some nice weed! We tasted it, it gives ya' special vibes. Combined with strong booze, it gives a unique palette of sensations and ideas. By the way, we lost Andrew, after our bar crawl, he went somewhere else and didn't return. He has long black hair and... a tribal-like tattoo on his left arm. I am sure, he is fine. Hope he didn't manage to get himself into trouble.

Nice guide, ya' gave us! Nice experience! Fine weed, magnificent style and architecture, that old world aesthetic, we all love and praise. 10 Lost drunk dudes out of 10! And... That dude, we lost on our way, he had several vouchers for free booze and a discount card for some brothel in New Sodom. Find him, and he's gonna give ya' all those thingies.

Oh, and we also like the eyebot we have bought!"-Bunch of tourists.

[Novo Wagondia]

What are the opinions of Cybusians on other nations in the world?

More specifically, what percent of Cybusian respondents look favorably on each nation their empire regularly interacts with? Which nations or people are seen as the most compatible with Cybusian culture and ideology? Are there any pariah states near-universally disliked by Cybusians? We look forward to your response!

Nice job on the new factbooks, by the way — they look amazing

[Cybus1]

What are the opinions of Cybusians on other nations in the world?

More specifically, what percent of Cybusian respondents look favorably on each nation their empire regularly interacts with? Which nations or people are seen as the most compatible with Cybusian culture and ideology? Are there any pariah states near-universally disliked by Cybusians? We look forward to your response!

Nice job on the new factbooks, by the way — they look amazing :)

Wagains are generally considered extremely good friends of the Empire due to our favorable relations and similar cultures. We tend to favor fellow constitutional monarchies, look unfavorably upon socialist nations, and despise communist nations. Obviously, nations with Mercerist populations are looked upon favorably.
And thank you! I’ve updated more of them.

[Cybus1]

/bump.
Species factbook recently updated. Thoughts?

[Zitravgrad]

"Salutations, to whom it may concern. Perhaps we are not in a position to inquire this; but since it also concerns us, I feel that it is necessary to address your interest toward the deity present in our world, otherwise known as Black Providence. How or why does "it" interest you so? Is it because its coincidental similarity to... this name we have heard -- Nyarlothotep?"
...
"Whichever your answer is... we are in turn curious about this other deity and your empire's relationship with it."
...
"Ps. We are also concerned about your current situation with the Drakul, even though we are not in the state to offer any assistance. We merely hope that all is fine under the sun."
Respectfully yours, with due regards -- His Excellency, Kazimir Ivanovich Miroslavsky
Premier of the United Federation of Zitravgrad, Commander-in-Chief of Zitravgradian Armed Forces, Director of National Law Enforcement Committee

[Cybus1]

"Salutations, to whom it may concern. Perhaps we are not in a position to inquire this; but since it also concerns us, I feel that it is necessary to address your interest toward the deity present in our world, otherwise known as Black Providence. How or why does "it" interest you so? Is it because its coincidental similarity to... this name we have heard -- Nyarlothotep?"
...
"Whichever your answer is... we are in turn curious about this other deity and your empire's relationship with it."
...
"Ps. We are also concerned about your current situation with the Drakul, even though we are not in the state to offer any assistance. We merely hope that all is fine under the sun."
Respectfully yours, with due regards -- His Excellency, Kazimir Ivanovich Miroslavsky
Premier of the United Federation of Zitravgrad, Commander-in-Chief of Zitravgradian Armed Forces, Director of National Law Enforcement Committee

Premier Miroslavsky,

We are intrigued by this "Black Providence" partially because of it's similarities to Nyarlathotep and because it could be a potential threat to the Empire.
Nyarlathotep, also known as The Crawling Chaos, is an Outer God, and possibly the greatest threat to the Empire’s long-term survival. Regarding our universe as a mere source of entertainment, he was directly responsible for The Orsonian Rebellion, the largest and most devastating conflict in Imperial history, simply because he was bored. Wherever he goes, madness and death follow, and he has successfully imitated important figures before. He does not care for worship, except as a means to an end, but sometimes uses faith against Alexander by appearing to Mercerists and encouraging extremism, as was the case with The Black Dawn movement. Nyarlathotep is incredibly powerful, but his avatars are seemingly weaker than the other gods such as Alexander or Elizabeth Green, or perhaps he deliberately allows them to be destroyed to make his victims over-confident. Unlike Elizabeth Green, Nyarlathotep is completely unpredictable, although he seems to enjoy harassing the Emperor, wanting to break Alex of his ego and make him submit; obviously, Lord Mercer will do no such thing.
As for the Drakul situation, some minor infestations have occurred and been eliminated; we believe they stowed away on vessels. But these infestations have been eliminated by Marine Special Forces units, known as Blackwatch, and no new infestations have cropped up from them, so we believe this particular outbreak has been quelled.

Regards,
Dr. Nathan Koenig,
High Consul for Science, Director of Section 3 of Torchwood.

[Cybus1]

/bump

[Olwe]

We are unsure who to direct this question to, but after recently establishing diplomatic contact with your nation we heard that Nyarlathotep might be active there. This sounds like it could potentially be an extremely difficult situation to deal with, so we wished to respectfully extend an offer of aid, should you need it.

Emperor Jason Frost
Ruler of Olwe, military director of the Planeswalker League

[Cybus1]

We are unsure who to direct this question to, but after recently establishing diplomatic contact with your nation we heard that Nyarlathotep might be active there. This sounds like it could potentially be an extremely difficult situation to deal with, so we wished to respectfully extend an offer of aid, should you need it.

Emperor Jason Frost
Ruler of Olwe, military director of the Planeswalker League

Emperor Frost,

We are most gratified to hear of your offer. However, the issue is not so much that we cannot defeat him; indeed, Emperor Mercer has forced the Crawling Chaos's avatar to return to The Dreamlands whenever they have faced each other directly. Rather, the issue is that 90% of the time, he/it operates in the shadows, or has his avatars manipulate overzealous religious groups into acts of terrorism, or otherwise manipulates individuals into acting on his behalf, and by the time his influence is discovered, the damage has already been done. Regrettably, in light of this, there is little aid one could give which would prove useful. Lord Mercer has asked that I convey his thanks for your offer and his hopes that this polite refusal of the offer will not negatively impact our relations.

Cordially,
Johnathan Callax,
Superior Consul of The Imperial Consulate

[Cybus1]

Not sure if this is gravedigging since it’s my own thread, but factbooks have been updated, particularly the culture and Mercerism ones. Still taking questions, comments, etc.