Rutger was unsure exactly how Achkaerin intended to do things but the comments from Siora didn't exactly fill him with confidence. "If you're going to be involved with an organisation such as this I would expect you to be able to get someone into a meeting within a couple of hours. We live in a time where if desperation called for we have secure video conferencing. Altona would utilise our ambassador in whatever nation the talks were happening if need be. We can't and must not permit a relationship with Awhaele to slow down the processes of MICA." Rutger addressed the others in the final point. "I believe the proposed Article 2 could be workable."

Prince Lukas was pleased that things were concluded with relative ease. "As for the transparency we agree that things should be as public as possible, we've nothing to hide and it will help to squash any rumours or mistrust. I think it would potentially also help share prices if investors see that they are dealing with a trustworthy company. As for the uranium supply we obviously have our own connections that can be of use if you require it but so long as its ethically sources we will have little issue." There were nods from Jozef and Klaus in agreement.

"I wonder while I am here" the Prince continued, "If we could perhaps expand our talks a little. If we are to be constructing these projects for you here in Samanthra there is every likelihood that we would need to be sending workers and materials, components and the like to your nation. In order to make this simpler I would like to suggest that we perhaps instigate a visa waiver system. Any individual, whether it is connected to the nuclear project or not, who is invited by a business in the other nation may travel for 60 days visa free, so long as they are not deemed a security risk obviously. In addition could we perhaps examine the idea of a gradual reduction in tariffs between us as the co-operation on these projects builds."

Sounds like a plan

Rutger still was of the mind that Achkaerin should be kept outside the organisation but he did believe a partnership could be workable.

"What I propose is the following." Rutger began handing his tablet clockwise around the table.

Recognising the unique position of the people of Awhaele

Desiring friendship between nations

Committed to ensuring the Illumic and Mhorish are guided by the natives of that region

The following agreement shall come into force between MICA nations and the Empire of Achkaerin.

1. There shall be a MICA liaison appointed by the monarch of Awhaele. This liaison must fit the following criteria.

a) They must have been born in Awhaele or resided there for at least five years.
b) They must not have served in the Achkaerin armed forces
c) They must not have held any political post within the Achkaerin government, the exception being that the post deals soley with Awhaele affairs.

2. The Liaison may attend MICA meetings unless at least two members oppose their attendance. While attending the Liaison may contribute to discussions. Should during talks two members request the Liaison to leave then they must do so.

3. The Liaison will be responsible for the upkeep of an up to date record of Achkaerin military forces and vessels in Awhaele.

4.  Awhaele's monarch will utilise military assets at their disposal to contribute to the 3RA system.

5. Unless specified in other treaties good and materials entering a MICA nation from Awhaele shall do so tariff free so long as they are accompanied by documentation proving that they have been extracted, grown, processed or produced within Awhaele. This shall be reciprocated by Awhaele.

6. Unless specified in other treaties good and materials entering a MICA nation from Awhaele shall do so at a reduced tariff so long as they are accompanied by documentation proving that they have been extracted, grown, processed or produced within any other part of Achkaerin. This shall be reciprocated by Achkaerin

7. Travel for MICA nation and Achkaerin passport holders may enter the other nation for 30 days without a visa so long as they do not possess a criminal record or are deemed to be a national security risk.

8. Achkaerin agree that other than on grounds of security of Awhaele they will do nothing to militarise the MICA region.

9. Achkaerin agree that there shall not be a non-native military presence permanently based in Awhaele.

10. MICA nations agree to support the security of Awhaele so long as Achkaerin are not the aggressor in a situation that has placed a threat on the island.

11. MICA nations shall offer port facilities to Achkaerin vessels providing support to MICA operations.

12. This agreement comes into force on.......insert date......

13. Should either party wish to amend this agreement it must receive the approval of the Achkaerin Monarch and all MICA members.

14. Achkaerin may withdraw at any time by giving 30 days notice from the monarch of Achkaerin.

15. MICA may withdraw at any time following a vote to that effect winning a majority of MICA members support.

Signed....

8. MICA and Achkaerin agree to share security intelligence regarding the Mhorish and Illumic regions so far as doing so does not endanger their own national security.

9.


7.

Following the incident of today I propose that the following RP rule should be put in place regarding Retcons. Markus came up with the ideas and I have edited, borrowed his post. Hope thats OK.

1.Players are allowed to retcon anything they post for 24 hours after posting it ( later edits don't count when counting the 24 hours period, it start from when you post) assuming it has no replies.

2.Should a reply have been posted then it can only be retconned with agreement between players with RP Mod to moderate if no agreement reached.

3. Retcons should only be permitted for IC reasons and a reason for the retcon should be explained. Upon retconning a note should be left explaining it in the thread, this can later be deleted by a Mod.
 
4.Anything after that is set in stone.

5. Factbooks do not count

6. Closed RP can be retconed with the consent of all players involved.

7. Further retcons can be allowed only after submitting to the RP Mod and giving their approval.

AES' first nuclear powered merchant ship the MV Atom is progressing well according to a spokesman. The ship is being built in Arcaibh with its power systems being made by Altona's premier nuclear power supplier. AES hope that if the ship is successful it could be the first of several in a fleet of nuclear powered craft. It is also the first partnership between AES and the Arcaibh shipwrights which it is hoped will lead to a much wider partnership. The ship is intended to join the Altonan merchant fleet for runs across Mundus. The crew are currently being trained by AES in nuclear safety alongside staff from Lijiang who will be operating that nations first nuclear power station. 

"If I may intervene" King Rutger spoke up. " I have several concerns with Awhaele being a member of this organisation. The charter states one of the aims of MICA is "To live in peace with their fellow Mhorish and Illumic nations, solving disputes peacefully and swiftly." Until July 2020 the island was not the sovereign territory of Achkaerin and with a population that's majority wise made of Achkaerinese and Vaguzian nationals it stands to reason that this is in effect a colonisation of the Illumic rather than a native nation applying to join. Add to this the statements made in August 2020 when Achkaerin proposed to take unilateral action in the Illumic on a matter that was at the time being dealt with by MICA nations, namely East Moreland and several others. This action aimed to tarnish all Zimalian vessels as involved in human trafficing despite their also being ships flagged in many other nations being involved. This smacks of not being a willing partner in the region and as has happened with other foreign nations in the region an attempt to impose their desires on our homeland. I therefore would be forced to vote against Awhaele's admission as we are not admitting the Faejeon people who are native to the island we are in fact admitting the Holy Empire of Achkaerin and that brings with it baggage, first of their CSTO alleigances, an alliance that will send a carrier fleet anywhere at the drop of a hat and then months later seeks to draw back on their rash actions. Add to that we are potentially giving the CSU a backdoor into what could, as King David explained, be one of the strongest economic blocks on Mundus despite the fact their national economies are largely dominated by megacorporations therefore potentially overwhelming local economies if we grant carpet access. I would therefore ask  Queen Siora whether first of all she has authority to make a decision about the involvement in MICA or will that be Emperor Peter. I would also like to know how she would suggest us ensuring the CSTO and CSU problem I have described don't impact our region."   

I'd be happy with what Achkaerin has just posted

My understanding is there would still be nobility but that this would be in addition to it. It does however seem by masking that this is not the case. In that sense then yes there should have been some form of consultation.

Rebekka was born in 1990 and is the first of two children of crime boss Konrad Dreher and his wife Edwina Dreher. Despite Rebekka being given a fairly normal childhood she became aware of her father's shady past when in 1998 she was targetted by a rival crime group for a kidnapping. Luckily for Rebekka the security that her father had placed around her kept her safe but it was an introduction to the less legal side of the family.

Her father's money did however give her a great number of oppurtunities. She was privately educated at Queen Adelias Academy, a private all girls school with a reputation for excellence and many connections to the Altonan royal family. She was also brought up surronded by great wealth and had a chance to enjoy travel for luxury holidays, had ponies and private ballet lessons.

At the age of 18 she made it known to her father that she wanted to work for him and seeing the accounts of the family business being done by "trusted" outsiders she suggested that she go off and become an accountant. Following graduation she had her father set up a business for her called RD Accounting which handles the books for several legitimate businesses unconnected to the family as well as the businesses that act as front for the Dreher family. She has used both family funds and her own business funds to make for herself a rather refined life style and counts many noble daughters among her friends, some from her time at school and others drawn slightly to the rumours of her families background. This has given her a personality that considers itself upper class and as though noble herself, often desiring those around her to conduct themselves as though in the presence of nobility.

She is currently unmarried devoting herself to family business.

She has a younger brother, Phillipe, who is also involved in the family business.
RL Bianca Bin

Prince Lukas wasn't to bothered about the art visit but it would be rude not to attend and so he graciously accepted before the two science types could get on with their discussion that Lukas was suddenly a little bit more concerned about.

Professor Jozef Thibaun of the Altonan Electrical Syndicate was the more business minded of the two and so took the lead on this "What you may find is that things like the cost of land, the cost of the general labouring to prepare the site, pour concrete etc will likely be less too in places like Zimalia and while the cost of selling the electric may be lower the long life span of the systems means they'll always be profitable the extent will differ of course, now should you be able to get the land for free then of course it'll help. Currently we've the station in Lijiang due to come online by the end of this year  we hope, meanwhile we're in talks with several others about projects including Heyra, Heimney and Chistopol. Its our hope to soon get many more onboard, especially with the small scale systems we're hoping to bring online. As for the ones on barges they are no different to the ones on land and terrorism security concerns are just as big an issue. The basis of the barge ones are in a way simply the nuclear reactors on say something like a naval nuclear sub channeling its energy into the power grid rather than propulsion. To my knowledge we've never had an issue with the nuclear safety of military vessels and of course picking the correct location for mooring would mean they can be protected from terrorist attacks in the same way you'd protect one on land. These though have the added benefit that should you believe someone is planning an attack on them you can simply move them, you can't do that with a land based one now can you." He shrugged. "Now in terms of audit and inspection, you would in AES' mind be the customer in this arrangement, that being the case we'd always welcome the customer to take an interest in whats going on. We'd have no issue making it a condition of our partnership that a representative picked by your nation is permently attached to the safety teams that would need to be in place. Why have surprise inspections when you can have daily ones? We are totally confident in our operations." As things began to turn towards the stock market this would be the tricky part. "As for where stocks are traded we would be open to a dual listing."

Lukas then was going to be forced to say his part. "The matter of ownership of the reactors is a rather unique one because of your proposal. Perhaps the establishment of a company for this purpose is going to be a complex issue. You see while I firmly believe it is every nations right to make friends with who they wish it is also our right to ensure our interests are not harmed by those we make connections with. At present I don't see any geo-political issues on the horizon that would see us going to clash heads but sadly who knows what would happen in the future. What I suggest then is that this new company is also dual listed, lets say initially with 10million shares, we in Altona take 2.5million and you the rest. The 2.5million is up to us how we distribute them so long as we meet the agreed price, you do the same with the remaining shares, we though need an agreement that we will sell for the same share price. This gives you the ability to ensure if you wish that your government maintain a 51% controlling stake. Meanwhile a contract will be in place saying all the nuclear equipment and services used by this company must be sourced from AES or ISTI. You get a shiny new business on your PSE, you get the controlling stake but we also get to have some influence on the situation. We would also require safeguards that the intellectual property connected with the projects however remains in the hands of AES and ISTI. They have both worked extremely hard to ensure their technology is the best in the world and that has seen significant investment by their organisations, my own family and the Altonan people."

I think we're reaching a point where we are now just going over wordings and the odd little bit. I think we should perhaps start a clock on things. Its been 51 days since all this started. Should we maybe not consider doing something like say Sunday the thing gets put out in a referendum or something until say the Wednesday.

In terms of the reason I started all this I had a few problems I voiced. You could maybe sum these up in 7 areas. For each I've put my thoughts on whether I think the proposals impact them.

1. No clear definition of people's powers and the perception of authority for some when there was none. The new  proposal seems to clear these up. I think if we paired this with a kind of regional guide for people when they signed up this perception will largely be gone.

2. No support for newcomers We relied on one person doing this. We should now see this load spread over several people.

3. The Mundus "Pecking Order" I think this is something that will only be seen in game over time if people change their attitudes and realise their are no winners on Mundus just stories. The test for this will come when the region next gets someone who does something that will challenge this perception.

4. "Gaming" Similar to Problem 3 - People should be expected to have to announce their RP before it takes place and people should react in an IC manner. We'll see in time.

5. Actual Gaming I think giving the people a method to influence the rules means we may get some good ideas that will stop gaming so I think this should become much less of an issue.

6. Arguements breaking out The new mods should hopefully be able to solve this and the new RP Mod support should ensure that once a rulings made no one can have any complains

7. Knee Jerk reactions of behalf of those with authority The plan should see this cut down and hopefully stopped altogether

My one thing that comes to mind though is the constition doesn't as far as I could see say how the RP Mod etc is appointed or I may have missed something.

I'd also urge during this process not appointing anyone to mod positions or RP Manager etc. There are a lot of people kind of hanging on to see what changes might happen and we could end up with a similar perception of everyone being from the same cliques and controlling everything.

To ensure this is on record. Neither Dave nor Beatrice should go anywhere. If I've caused an issue for Dave in particular I hope we can work on it.

The last 40 something days have seen bubbling away in the order of several concerns particularly by a newer group of players. I'm not going to name names as I've the feeling that I'm about to get an absolute pile on. I've been very vocal about my concerns with the region to those in positions of "power" and got nothing so I, like many others feeling down about things, have retreated to my own little clique where we feel comfortable. We essentially have two "leaders" in TIO, Beatrice as Grand Chancellor and Dave as RP Mod. I've been in touch with both of them continiusly since this first came up. If I give you a run down of my time in TIO you'll see where the big issues are and why others, who I hope will be more open, feel in the same way.

I was recruited in so to speak by Dave, the region had no formal "Hi welcome" type thing no clear or obvious way to get started, that wasn't a problem because I'm an experienced RPer and had got chatting with Dave over in NS so knew I could message him. The first impression when you join is no one gives a shit. I've seen it happen with other new people since, they introduce themselves and you can literally guess who will respond to them. Now I have reasonably thick skin but others don't. We've seen people being massively critical of things as soon as people start posting. Most recently "Oh not another Teuton" , or "Wow another monarchy not like we haven't got enough" or things along those lines. Straight away you feel like this is a community that has limits and constraints and you ask yourself if this is really the region for you. It becomes especially worse because you have no idea about the pecking order, geopolitics etc in the region when you join and you see that quiet often its people with masks on the forum or discord such as "Mod" or "Noble" that are involved so immediately you question your choices. If people stick with it though we have people like Rob, Dave, Nova and Markus that go out their way to help you get your direction and feel like you've some understanding of Mundus.

This then leads to the second issue. There is a very definite pecking order in the geopolitics of Mundus. That is how it should be, obviously in the real world their is too and so if we're simulating life there should be on Mundus. Just as in real life though that pecking order changes just in a RP region it should and must change quicker than in RL. We haven't got the 100 or so years to watch an Empire slowly crumble or the 15 years or so for election reforms. The problem is you very quickly get the idea that this order must be preserved in Mundus. Its backed by two alliances that since I joined just under a year ago have done nothing constructive. The CNN might as well not exist and the CSTO/CSU is fluffed with people who don't contribute anything to RP in the region. I could, and probably should just ignore them, but I want to be a good RPer and as such it would be impossible in real life not to take them into consideration. When I informed people that I'm in the middle of a plot that would create a kind of global network that could potentially stand up to both these established systems its prompted a message to the whole region that "Individual decisions, or actions of groups outside the RP leadership, will be reviewed and catagorized for what they are. There will be no gaming of the Orderian RP." I'm not gaming, I'm seeing the CSU/CNN etc as a problem for nations in the world and as a nation that wants to be seen as a global player I've started trying to do something. Now I'm not expecting a mega 20 nation alliance to spring up tomorrow but the very fact that I trusted someone with these details and rather than watching it happen the leadership have seen fit to send a message that the world order must be preserved reinforces my issue that we have a pecking order and I should know my place. I've been in touch with Beatrice and seen that she's offering to get rid of Rokkenjima etc, and while thats comendable thats not what I want. I asked Dave about the quality of RP in this region before I joined and he linked me to two people's RP stuff, quiet a bit on the old forum. One was Beatrice's, I think she's an amazing writer and story-teller, the other was Markus' Tamora stuff. Both those examples are what we should aim for as a region creating stories in reaction to others and not as we're becoming to preserve a position. I think the Rokkenjima of the old forum deservedly held a place as a super-power that nations respected. I'm now not of that opinion of Rokkenjima and as a result I think I should be within my rights to RP that Altona would perhaps do something about it, and that I should be allowed to RP that without being accused of gaming or told that anything I do to disrupt canon will be vetod.

Canon is also another issue. Its based on stuff involving nations that are long gone. If they left TIO they left, get over it move on. Yesterday I saw my friend and Teutonic buddy Hassfurt leave because they felt ostricised by a region where on Discord people had been critical of their writing both because it was hard to understand (their Portugese and German is their 2nd languge, English their third and part of being here was to try and improve their English. So imagine how it sucks when people say they can barely understand you. I'm amazed at the quality that Markus writes when I believe he's Romanian, his RP writing is better than mine and I'm a native speaker) and because they had a RL negative view of the nation, probably correctly so. Hassfurt was an interesting concept that could have lead to so much cool RP but everytime anyone mentioned their name someone followed it with Nazi and people refused to interact with them. All RP doesn't have to be at the highest level of government and we shouldn't be expecting people, especially people new to the region, to be the ones instigating RP. Its up to the existing people in the region to help and nurture them. We all are here because we're interested in story telling, help people write stories. One of the most intriguing RP's to me at the moment is Nova and Lijiang's smuggling RP. Its something moving forward we can all have fun with but hardly anyone is doing anything in RP beyond diplomatic stuff and as a new nation it becomes hard to get involved. As a result you do something like a coronation, and two people turn up, which means you're vision of hierachy and cliques is reinforced. Now I don't think we should force people to attend but if we're going to encourage people to stay we need to make time to involve them in our worlds and we have to take that step not them. I think of TIO a bit like a house share, if you're the new person you don't want to steal someone elses place on the sofa so you wait for everyone else to get settled before you sit down and then after a few weeks you've found your feet.

Next we've the issue of the the RP rules. I've been accused of gaming because I'm trying to put together a group of nations that could work together to challenge the perceived intolerance/injustice/hypocricy etc that IC exists on Mundus. To me this is not a bad aim for a nation to have. I'm not forcing anyone to join, I'm not going to suddenly post an announcement that I've signed a treaty with three other nations. I intend to RP it out and quiet likely in the process if I'd pulled it off I'd have been seeing Altona being called quiet manipulative, which is what I aimed for. I jokingly the other day said Altona was going to try and buy all the uranium because its trying to monopolise the nuclear power industry and we kind of noticed during a discord chat a lot of uranium producing nations were not members of the MAEA. This sparked an arguement about the importance and history of the MAEA during this I jokingly messaged Maes and said "betting by the end of the week the CSU/CNN have a new source of uranium." Soon after its found in Clysperis. I get new resources can just be discovered in RL but to me as someone who had found a little niche in the world that could have made interesting RP it looks very suspect. Gaming is already taking place on Mundus people say something on Discord and suddenly something happens IC that puts someone in a better position to either take advantage, counter it or one up it.

Another concern is that we seem to be obsessed with arguing. A good example here is the Cool and the Dodo arguement. Dave had to go to bat for a good half an hour on the behalf of Cool who had written something interesting. The first thought on that should have been a) is it damaging RP b) is it likely to be doable c) is it interesting. For all I care Cool could have brought back the Mammoth as it'd have no impact on RP for me he'd just have some stupid looking elephants. Could he bring back a dinosaur, no cos that's just bizarre. Meanwhile we've navies and air forces rocking improbable looking equipment. I honestly believe we have people on discord that if someone said the grass was green would demand you open your window and take a picture with a copy of todays newspaper next to it. Some of the arguements don't even make sense. Yesterday I witnessed an RP post, or the poster I couldn't tell which, get called "Pathetic" with no more feedback given and then when asked by the author politely for some just ignored. The fact anyone would call either a poster or their work "pathetic" is awful. It was clear lots of research, time effort and thought had gone into the post. Now these issues are bad enough but when they come from people with titles of nobility and mods it becomes worse because they are, rightly or wrongly, seen as the government of this region. They are the people the Grand Chancellor has effectively given some form of power to which makes our region work.

Finally we have the manner in which I think this has been handled. I exchanged messages with Beatrice when this began, I know Rob did too. We engaged with consultations on the forum. We made suggestions. Now I've seen today I've effectively been told to go make my own region, that my RP will be blocked and that the GC's door is "always open" well I stepped through that door around 40 days ago. The problem with an open door policy is that if you only ever expect people to step through it and don't leave your office to go and speak to people you'll find people stop stepping through the open door.

Now Tytor said people need to make suggestions. He's right and I have several times both on the forum , in private and on discord. Here having reached this point is what I would do.

1) Have no GC involvement in determing what RP is permitted. The post today saying "Individual decisions, or actions of groups outside the RP leadership, will be reviewed and catagorized for what they are. There will be no gaming of the Orderian RP." is for me saying their is a non-changable RP hierachy that must be maintained. I now also no longer trust Dave fully to see to the interest in the community in terms of what RP is allowed in terms of a hierachy. I think Dave does a great job and frankly without him TIO would be dead. I think though for any RP to be veto'd now he's lost trust I'd want to see two of Nova, Markus or Rob in a position to work alongside Dave to make sure RP is fair. Dave should remain as RP Mod and does a great job checking realism, supporting players in terms of IC involvement.

2) The nobility must be scrapped. It means nothing and everything it did mean is irrelevant. It gives the impression a person is important or significant in the region and while at one time they may have been the set up now requires three roles. A Grand Chancellor, A RP Mod and someone for if the rules outside RP are broken. I have no issue with keeping the people in the jobs that currently do them. Beatrice has at times been the gold standard for what this region can be, Dave works tremendously hard and Achkaerin has a good knowledge of the rules of the region. They could be a solid team if they get the RP side of the region right and frankly thats why we are here.

3) Sort the mods out. If your new to a region you see the word "Mod" and think they are the people who will be supportive and helpful. We have Mods who are not actively engaging with people in the region. Now the arguement will be "their discord mods and are just people active to make sure no problems are happening on Discord." well we get once chance to make a good first impression and when the mods are inactive in the main reason why people join the region then its not a great look.

4) Consistency and being pro-active - We've seen huge knee jerk reactions to things. Today is a prime example. "Rokkenjima is a NPC", "I'm giving up my powers that'll show em."........moments later "Can someone mask me back with my old powers." When something happens we need to take more time before doing things. 40+ days on consulting on a change though isn't acceptable. Its no use saying my doors open and leaving it at that a good leader is someone who is pro-active. Beatrice has known for 40 odd days I'm one of those annoyed with the region. Never in that time has she asked if I've seen any improvement.

5) We need a community that isn't living in the past. Rayyu the other day calculated that we have just shy of 40 active nations, that activity ranges from people just active on Discord, to people posting maybe one RP a month and then Dave who posts several times an hour. I've seen more mention of SANE on the Discord and people discussing ideas with them despite none of them being active for a long time now. Meanwhile we've got things and groups actively trying to do things and no one cares. That is fixed not by some rule change but by people getting outside their clique. Once a month Dave, or someone helping him, should post a global incident. We could then post on NS maybe the response to it from various nations in like a news round up. So I've seen one of the Celts has  a volcano thing erupting, why not see if we can have like the Icelandic one that shut down air stuff, maybe get some tourists trapped etc. Instead though what will happen is it'll likely just become a news post thats interesting while people discuss what colour uniform boots their soldiers had in 1963.

I joined TIO hopeful of amazing RP. I've seen absolute gems of stories and ideas. If we want the region to last please change.