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My own ASB World

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My own ASB-mashup world, based on QuantumBranching's, but instead incorporating elements from Code Geass, Decades of Darkness, Thursday Next, District 9, Imperial Japan wins, Byzantine Empire wins, Equestria, Johannes Cabal, atompunk and Valkyria Chronicles.

In the current year of 2011, the world is largely dominated by the 3 main powers; the xenophobic, militaristic, slaver-empire known as the *United States of America [1]; the Euro-Byzantine Axis, an alliance between the indomitable Byzantine Empire and the Europan Universe [2]; and the Japanese Federation which dominates East Asia and the Pacific.

The world is experiencing an Industrial Revolution from the discovery of Ragnite, a blue mineral with astounding properties. It can be used as a power source leaving fossil fuels in the dust, and it can be refined into metals of incredible hardness and resilience, as well as for explosive payloads. However, the current Cold War stems from the recent discovery of Ragnite fission, which can be used to create bombs capable of destroying an entire city. Each major power has since engaged in an arms race to see who will emerge as the top world power.

Fortunately, peace has been maintained thanks to the diligent efforts of the Pony diplomats; abhorrence of large-scale warfare being part of their nature, it was only natural of them to endeavour to prevent humans from destroying the planet. Unfortunately, the efforts of Princess Celestia to introduce world leaders to the Magic of Friendship™ have so far fallen on deaf ears, as the arms race appears to continue unabated, leaving a lot of puzzled ponies to wonder why humans are so intent on wiping each other out.

The *USA in this world is a former British satellite that rebelled, followed by a rebellion and secession by the Northern states over a trade dispute. The *USA gathered itself, dusted off, and then brutally and mercilessly invaded and enslaved almost the entirety of the Americas, a task recently finished off following the advent of their mecha, allowing them to topple Canada and the Brazilian Empire. Only the stubborn fortress-nation of New Angland remains independent and unconquered.

Today, even in the midst of an Industrial Revolution, the *USA remains a fiercely conservative empire, fueled by an ideology of *American supremacy so strong that it would make Fox News pundits of OTL look like liberals. Propaganda constantly pushes the population on to create “the World of Tomorrow”, whatever that may be. Given the *American obsession with their own history, as well as their fiercely conservative culture, the likely (if not inevitable) result is often portrayed as exactly like the present, with nuclear families, suburban living and room-sized computers, but with more robots, flying cars and fewer rebellious slaves.

Unfortunately, settlement and development of South America is currently being hampered by a persistent zombie infestation, which started when rainforest clearing uncovered a hitherto unknown tropical virus, contraction of which that results in necrosis, incredible durability and an insatiable desire for human flesh. One thing led to another, and before the *Americans knew it, they had a full-blown epidemic on their hands.

Today, the *Americans are cleaning up the mess, but it's slow going; mecha don't do well in the cluttered terrain of South America, and zombies aren't exactly the most glamourous game to hunt. A great deal of the interior of South America remains under military jurisdiction, and most rational people aren't keen on setting up shop near an area filled with undead cannibals. As a result, multiple warlord states have managed to survive, and South America in general remains largely primitive and backward.

New Angland, the thorn in the *USA's side, controls the New England states, Michigan, Wisconsin and a portion of Quebec that joined during the invasion of Canada. New Angland's entire schtick appears to be surviving against the *US, which has resulted in New Angland being the most paranoid state in the world, and the attitude of of survivalism has triggered research into some areas that are considered by society at large to be quite unsavoury. It is currently the only nation in the world to retain a government-run magic research program (although so far it has borne little fruit; what is has borne is better left unmentioned) and has shown great fortitude in adapting technology loaned to it from the other powers who have other bones to pick with the *US. The *US, however, insists that the New Anglanders have made a pact with Satan to stay afloat.

The Europan Universe was formed through the efforts of Napoleon's successors to establish a true United States of Europe, and constitutes a federation of Gallia, Iberia, North Italy, Northern Germany and the Nordic countries with the exception of Finland, as well as a large chunk of West Africa. Angland is currently being run as a satellite state; civil liberties are low, and police are not afraid to get creative with interrogations. It remains Catholic only nominally now; many small religions have recently popped up and the government in Paris is quite easygoing with regards to religious tolerance, as long as you keep it to yourself.

The EU has successfully fended off invasion by the *Americans by reverse-engineering Valkyrur technology, which looks primitive on the surface (lances and shields, anyone?) but, being the remnant technology of an ancient race, has allowed EU forces to decimate legions of *American mecha. No one is particularly sure where the Valkyrur came from or what happened to them, but, never ones to question good fortune, the government and the military have brushed off concerns about abusing the mysterious tech and insist that the Valkyrur died out due to inbreeding. The Yggdist religion, which worships the Valkyrur, disagrees.

The remainder of the British Isles form the United Kingdom of Ireland and Scotland, an ally of the *USA, as well as their foothold in the region, much the same as New Angland is for the EU. The *Americans don't trust them enough with Ragnite nukes to just hand them over willy-nilly, so the UK is forced to grudgingly accept heavy *American military presence. Wales remains independent as the Socialist Republic of Cymru, which has gone strictly neutral.

Byzantium stands tall as the oldest and proudest empire on the Earth. They control the Middle East, the Balkans, northwest Africa, South Italy and southern Germany as a buffer state. They were the first nation to develop and detonate a Ragnite nuke in 1984 on the Crimean Peninsula (this alone was the reason the Crimean War finally ended (in a stalemate, given that neither side cared anymore about that bombed-out dump of an island)), starting the Ragnite nuke frenzy across the world. Religion is something of a taboo subject, with Orthodox Christianity remaining the state religion. Any forms of paganism (as well as Islam; remaining Muslims are very problematic) are considered unspeakable, and any visitors from Equestria tend to find themselves victims of persecution, owing to their Godlike rulers who control the Sun and Moon.

Despite their religious fervour, they still remain at the forefront of scientific development, reasoning that God created the world so that humanity may understand it and utilise God's laws to create tools used to spread his word. Coupled with the head start that the leading successor state to the Roman Empire had to the rest of the world, they have managed to create some pretty kickass tech, such as advanced irrigation to green large areas of the Middle East. They even talk of constructing their own rocket that will allow men to travel to the moon; most other powers pooh-pooh this as grandstanding nonsense, as only Prawns have demonstrated spaceflight capability (after their mothership was stranded above South Africa in 1981).

The Russian Empire controls the motherland west of the Urals, and most of Central Asia. It has Ragnite nukes, but has been greatly hobbled by its crippling defeats by the Japanese and the Byzantines in the last Eurasian War. That being said, it still has enough power to qualify as a great power, just not enough to make it into the big leagues. It, being the only other nation to uphold the right to own slaves, is *America's most powerful ally, given that in a straight-up fight, it could curb-stomp the UK. However, most *Americans are not exactly happy with this arrangement, mainly because the Czar is an absolute monarch. Also, he happens to be undead.

When the Czar faced revolution on his doorstep and saw that the writing was on the wall, he set to work performing a ritual to absorb the souls of others and use their life essence to turn himself into a Lich. No one is quite sure of the method (seeing as it has never been independently replicated, many suspect he had illicit help), but the ritual, performed using a collection of serfs, political prisoners and revolutionaries, was apparently a success, and now the Lich-Czar of Russia rules what remains of his empire with an iron fist. Unfortunately, this only further served to isolate him from the reality of his situation, as being immortal doesn't make you any better a leader or military strategist, and in reality his rule over much of the empire is tenuous, with little projecting power. The necrosis is also rather unpleasant; it turns out the ritual only provides eternal unlife, meaning the flesh is dead, but still sentient.

India is heavily fragmented; colonial rule ending rather messily when Angland fell to Europa, with virtually everyone turned on everyone else. The Muslims are united only in their hatred of the Hindus and the Byzantines, waging perpetual jihad against Constantinople (many top brass are beginning to think razing Mecca in a fit of impulsiveness might have been a bad idea). The Hindus and Buddhists also have some rather unpleasant sorts, with Undeath Cults springing up and attempting to try their hand at attaining unlife, which some radical new theological branches preach is the key to enlightenment.

None of the experiments have so far yielded anything that could considered successful, with most simply becoming glassy-eyed vegetables or stone-crazy lunatics, and a few on the fringe having more adverse effects, which are better left unsaid. Several areas of India have been depopulated due to the demand for sacrifices, and a great deal having left the subcontinent altogether.

The Japanese Federation is a multi-tiered empire that originated when, during the Tokugawa period, massive reserves of a hitherto unknown mineral were discovered in Japan, now called sakuradite, which acts as a room-temperature superconductor. After the Shogunate fell, Japan harnessed its reserves to industrialise at an incredible rate. Eventually, during the last Eurasian War, Japan unleashed its sakuradite-powered mecha and aircraft upon Asia, collectively wiping the floor with the Russians and the Chinese. This cemented Japan as both a continental and economic power, given that Japan controlled 80% of the world's sakuradite reserves, they could practically set the price at will.

Presently, the Japanese control Siberia, east Asia, and Indonesia. Native populations of conquered lands are still a problem; colony building by divide-and-rule has turned out to be much more difficult than they first anticipated. Also, due to Ragnite all but replacing sakuradite as the desired mineral of choice for military applications, the Japanese economy has suffered a rather nasty fall in the recent decades. To counter all this, the current Emperor has recently engaged in some alarming ultranationalist talk, and the rest of the world worries that Japan could be the one to upset the delicate balance the world hangs in.

The Kingdom of Australia is ruled by the Anglish monarchy-in-exile, since they were driven out by the Gallian invasion in the 1940s. It also includes New Guinea and New Zealand and, paradoxically, being the nation with the largest deposits of Ragnite in the world, has yet to develop a single Ragnite bomb, which has earned it the unwanted attention of some of the superpowers. It has since adhered to a policy of strict neutrality and heavy national defense, which earns it no favours from any other nation, with the exception of the Equestrians.

The Kingdom also, being an oasis in a world of chaos, takes in a large number of refugees from nations all over the world. Large numbers of Chinese, Indian, African and South American people now call Australia their home, and most Australians are cool with this (after all, there's no shortage of space, and we could use the labour), making Australia by and large a cultural melting pot. Large areas of Australia have been greened thanks to the irrigation tech that Middle Easterners brought over from Byzantium, with extensive swathes of the interior being developed. Prawn refugees, however, still are a cause for consternation in most parts; as a result they have largely been confined to reservations in the north and in the jungles of New Guinea (they don't complain much, given the conditions they traded them for).

Sub-Saharan Africa is a mess; despite attempts to control Prawn population growth, they lay eggs faster than they can be be culled, and consequently their numbers swelled to the point where they grew to outnumber humans in some regions. Offering them to the *Americans as potential serfs proved unsuccessful, as the *Americans already had more serfs than they knew what to do with and were more interested in the prospect of incorporating alien tech into their military (which hasn't been a great success). The problem was therefore ignored for as long as possible before it came to a head in 1998, during the Great Prawn Riots when the oppressed aliens revolted and seized control in various areas, triggering a massive war between the two species in the lower half of Africa except Madagascar, where a strict anti-Prawn regime rules with an iron fist. Every other nation has taken it upon themselves to stay as far away as possible and hope for the best.

Antarctica was used during the magic arms race of the 50s as a testing ground for magical weaponry and techniques, due to it being unpopulated, sparse, wide-open and remote, ideal for testing dangerous crap that really shouldn't be tampered with. When their experiments began to wreak havoc on the nature of reality down there at great cost to the nations with no large return, it was abandoned and generally left to its own devices. As with South America, no one really wants to acknowledge the shoggoths and killer penguins that now roam the land. Their strategy remains as it always has: ignore the problem and hope it doesn't escalate.

The Cold War has largely frozen geopolitical boundaries in Eurasia; no one knows when some unsettled nation will crack under pressure and decide to end it all. There are still many regional conflicts; the Byzantines are currently stirring up problems for the Russians to deal with in Central Asia, the Caucasus remains a hotbed of conflict, Japan has the Chinese situation it needs to keep under control and the Prawns are constantly making life difficult for any nation within Africa.

The incursion of Equestrian Space into Earth Space during the 1960's was a shock for many humans. A universe where the laws of nature were regulated by its inhabitants, inhabitants that resemble cartoon sapient equines capable of flight, magic on tap and seemingly miraculous horticultural cultivation [3]. Not to mention all the mythical creatures roaming free, the near-total lack of mass production and industry, as well as the pair of nigh-immortal God-Empresses who ruled over the land and controlled the sun and moon. Neither side was sure how it happened, but came to accept that the universes had fused, and that separating them again would be almost suicidally risky.

Today, Equestria maintains contact with Earth through various gateways between dimensions that are all policed with the tacit consent of both sides; the governments of Earth find that it rather rather threatens their legitimacy if humans would rather leave their own world for another completely alien one, and Ponies have little-to-no desire to spend their time in a world that operates like the Everfree forest, and do not enjoy coexisting with a bunch of violent apes. Diplomatic contact is maintained with all nations except for the *USA-Russia Alliance. During a discussion on the ethics of slavery, Princess Celestia referred to the Alliance as “King Sombra's Dominion on Earth”. Alliance members, having been filled in on key events in Equestrian history, were none too pleased; relations took a dive, and the only thing Celestia could wring out of the Alliance after that was a treaty guaranteeing that no Ponies could be enslaved, and many *Americans and Russians still grumble about that.

Invasion of Equestrian Space, however, has had limited support for the simple reason that all human technology ceases to function within Equestrian Space. No one is sure why, but the leading theory is that Ragnite, sakuradite and electricity somehow become inoperable as power sources within the Pony realm. Given that all Pony technology seems to run on magic rather than any rational science, this would seem the logical conclusion. Still unclear is why Pony magic continues to function in Earth Space, but it is theorised that there is still magic in Earth Space, but humans are unable to naturally harness it, forcing humans to turn to unorthodox [4] methods to perform magic. As a side effect of this, any kind of magic that humans attempt has a nasty habit of going horribly wrong.

Unbeknownst to the rest of the world, however, one team working in New Angland have already made a momentous discovery; in the the lower levels of the Miskatonic University Library in Arkham, the last known copy of the Necronomicon has been discovered, complete with instructions on how to engineer the stars to revive Cthulhu from his slumber in R'lyeh and destroy the world. Fortunately, the New Anglanders were sensible enough to realise that this was a bit too much to handle, and abandoned research on the Deep Ones after they found that the Ponies that they employed to try and decipher the magic kept going violently insane.

Hell exists as somewhat of a hybrid between the Judeo-Christian view of Hell, all fire-and-brimstone with endless torture and the Celestial Bureacracy that governs suffering on Earth. The Bureaucracy is in fact a relatively recent addition; following the passing of an unusually anal bank clerk who, upon his entrance to Hell, proceeded to organise Hell towards maximum torturing efficiency, infuriating many demons in the process. Lucifer, always one for putting good talent to good use, set him up in Limbo. Now, anyone wishing to gain entrance to Hell must fill out all 9,747 forms required for entrance. One might wonder why one would want to attain entrance to Hell, but then the alternative is waiting out eternity in an endless desert that has never known water, stark naked. At least in Hell, you get to do something different each day.

However, many people remain skeptical about the existence of Hell, for various reasons; for instance, what's the point of a Hell if there isn't any Heaven (no one has encountered any evidence of Heaven thus far), they say. Also, the only people who have ever made it to Hell and back are those who are particularly skilled in necromancy, who don't exactly have good speaking credentials (they insist it's science, but all those failed experiments don't lie) and this renders their testimony rather suspect, given that a fair bunch of them are fundamentally screwed in the head. Others simply don't like the idea that there truly does exist a literal place of eternal torture, and they find it much more comforting to simply disbelieve, or follow one of the other multitudes of religions out there. In fact, given that no necromancer has ever mentioned Prawns or Ponies down in Hell, several philosophers have ventured the idea that only humans go to Hell because it fits the basic human idea of Hell.

Technology is a mixed bunch. Ragnite technology has rendered other fossil fuels obsolete, and research has successfully miniaturised the reactors to the point that jetpacks and ray guns are both real (if a bit clunky) as well as the *American mecha. Genetic engineering is quite advanced too; dodos are making a comeback as personal pets and new medicines are available that can alleviate some of the problems with Ragnite exposure. On the other hand, TVs have never seen colour, computers take up a whole room and still use vacuum tubes, and the humble cassette still dominates storage media. There is an internet of sorts, but it is not very sophisticated, and it is run through telegraph cables rather than fiber-optics.

Also, airships. Yes, airships. There exists two kinds; ordinary helium-filled transports remain the primary mode of transportation for civilians. They have also been made infinitely more practical with the help of unicorn magic to reduce the size of the gas envelope whilst also increasing the lift capacity. However, for luxury travels and military uses, there also exists aeroships, which do not rely on gases for lift. Instead, they fly by utilising the properties of sakuradite and ley lines to induce etheric anti-gravitational properties, allowing them to float despite being completely solid. Aeroships have been deployed to great effect in several wars, most notably in the last Eurasian War, where the Japanese successfully bombed the Russians out of Siberia. They remain the province of the rich and military however, due to the fact that they are a lot larger than normal airships and hence are unsuitable for domestic travel.

Given the relatively primitive status of electronic media in this world, literature is a much more prominent form of recreation; popular authors are venerated as much as sports legends in OTL and authorship fraud is a crime punishable by long-term imprisonment. Rare first-editions can be worth as much as an entire mansion, and libraries are frequented as social hotspots in the same way that bars and cafes are in OTL. Various nations have various tastes; the Europans enjoy science fiction and fantasy, the Byzantines are fans of classical and romance literature, Japan is the home of gonzo fantasy and emotional stories, cosmic horror has recently become prominent in New Angland, while the repressive and culturally decadent *USA and Russia have very comprehensive and powerful censorship laws that cut down any chance of decent authorship to nearly zero.

Politics is somewhat different to OTL, in that the majority of nations remain under the rule of emperors and other monarchs. True republican democracy is rare, and is only genuinely practiced in New Angland, despite the *USA insisting it stands alone as an authentic democratic nation (it isn't, given that a relatively substantial proportion of the population lacks the vote). Constitutional monarchy is practiced to varying degrees, with the least powerful monarchs including Australia and the EU, the middle of the road being Japan, and the UK and Byzantium being the most powerful. Russia remains an absolute monarchy under the immortal Lich-Czar, while Sub-Saharan Africa, being in a state of constant war, lacks any sort of functioning government, except in the northernmost states and Fascist Madagascar.



[1] The star is an actual appellation to their name, added after the New Angland succession as a sign of their own superiority.

[2] They collaborated during the last great European War, and stick together out of mutual convenience despite the issues they inevitably have with one another.

[3] The Earth Ponies have repeatedly shown that they can outpace the production of any human farmer equivalent, seemingly to the point of violating the natural laws of agriculture.

[4] Methods can range from mixing various strange chemicals to concentrating really hard and muttering in strange languages, to the more esoteric, such as tantric rituals involving necrophiliac sodomy.
Basically what you see is what you get. Please go easy on me, this is my first real attempt at world-building.

Inspired by B_Munro's scenario: "WTF???" I know its not anywhere near as good, but I tried my best.

EDIT: 12/09/13, made some changes based on Bruce's suggestions.

EDIT #2: Now has a map, made by the Bruce himself.
© 2013 - 2024 CyberPhoenix001
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meloa789's avatar
. Can we call this a world of "irony"?
. Nobody, I mean nobody ever fucks with ponies.