Apollo Sector
The Apollo Sector, formerly known as the Apolyton Sector, was a group of nations that existed in their own diplomatic sphere between 2000 and 2001. The sector was formed around Audentior Independent Nation and the nations it was in contact with. Over its history there were over a dozen Apollo nations, the most notable being the Flying Islands of Jasonia, Audentior, The Union of Apollo States, and Treesia. Menelmacar took the name Apollo, though there was some brief controversy over if they deserved it.
After the Tymarian experiment, the lineage of different micronational groups became so confused and Apollonian and non-Apollonian elements so mixed that the term Apollonian became somewhat obsolete. When Treesia fell in its apocolypse, the sector was declared officially dead. There are those that consider the Imperial Republic of Shireroth to have at one point been an Apollo nation based on their similar citizen pool and diplomatic dealings. The official stance of the government is that Shireroth has never been a part of the Apollo Sector.
Shireroth and the Apollo Sector
Dispute over the Term
Shireroth has had a long history of debate over whether it counts as an Apollo nation. On the one hand, its founder, Erik Mortis, joined micronationalism via the United Demesos which branched off from Audentior, thus seemingly fulfilling the requirement. However, Erik soon repudiated all Apollonian culture and brought in many new micronationalists who had never had anything to do with the Sector in its prime. He also created a new term, the Benacian Sector to refer to Shireroth and its friends, although it never really caught on. During Tymaria, in a debate over what states belonged to what sector, Erik decreed that Shireroth would not be considered part of any sector.
Recently, the government has changed the position slightly, considering the nation to be the holders of the Apollo Legacy, as shown by the two former Kaisers Los III and Yarad I. The issue is normally avoided entirely as long as it is not brought up between Bill and Erik; since Erik had emmigrated, the argument has stopped for the moment.
Criticisms
Critics say that the points used by the Antiapollonians miss the point entirely - the term Apollo Sector was not meant to be a purely cultural term. It is incorrect to assume that the Apollo Sector solely consists of the cultures of Jasonia, Audentior, Treesia, and so on. While they may have had interconnecting cultures, especially regarding the love of the history of the connections, the term Apollo Sector was used primarily as a grouping of the people involved. This includes Eoin Dornan, Scott Alexander, Bill Dusch, Harvey Steffke, John Sager, stodlum, Greg Nordman, Greg Russell, and so on. As well, today Shireroth's culture, while highly unique and seperate from other previous Apollonian nations, is founded on the various Apollonian cultures of the past, especially including Jasonia.
Most importantly, critics say that denying involvement in the Apollo Sector, or the more common opinion, devalueing it, denies Shireroth's history. The memories of the past is all that we have remembering it. Critics say that the denial has costed Shireroth greatly in a potential for culture, as very few citizens today remember back then. As well, the denial costed Shireroth lessons that it could learn from the past. Historical analysis of Jasonia, Menelmacar, Treesia and Audentior would allow micronationalists to learn what would work and would not work in micronations. As well, understanding of the past could seperate the unfounded stigmas of the Apollo Sector from its advantages. Probably the most unfounded critcism is that it the term is 'incorrectly used to refer to describe the Soloralist religion and its adherents.
Significance
With the exception of the occasional talk with Tulsa or the Attera, the Sector was split off into its own little subculture, and, as such, had an opportunity to develop a completely different form of micronationalism. The broader significance of the Apollo Sector is that it was this form of micronationalism that would eventually evolve into the Micras Sector of today.
Most of the Apollo Sector’s differences originated in the different technology it used to bring its far-flung citizens together. While the original micronations of the late 20th century relied on emails or email-based YahooGroups to keep in touch, the Apollo Sector relied on efficient and easy-to-read forums. These forums allowed everyone to see the “action” firsthand, and prevented the sort of he-said/she-said debates that caused so much trouble for the League of Secessionist States. However, they also created a much narrower divide between the “political elite” and the common citizens, leading to increased demands for representation. Almost all of the large Apollonian nations had some form of direct democracy; almost no other country did during the same period.
Further, the Apollonian paradigm emphasized speedy action at the expense of the laborious deliberation so common in LoSS members. Because anyone can see and respond to a message posted on a forum, issues quickly left the control of the first person to mention them and spread not only across a nation but, through double citizenship, into other communities, so that it would be mere days between someone mentioning an idea and the entire Sector having it implemented.
The close-knit community of nations also provided a completely different atmosphere from the tens of far-flung, barely communicating countries more prominent in the rest of micronationalism. The Apollo Sector provided a perfect setting both for wars and for mergers, and as such developed a much more impressive history much more quickly than anywhere else.
Problems
However, the Sector’s one great problem was the inability of any specific nation to survive for more than a few months. While the Sector as a whole could be considered successful, its individual nations tended to fold within weeks, often in embarrassing ways. Thus, all of the Apollonians’ accomplishments were marred by a two steps forward one step back mentality. Needless to say, the lack of anyone specific to make relations with harmed the possibility of friendship between the Apollonians and the older nations.
But even this ended out to be an advantage, as the national attrition prevented the formation of any ingrained systems and assured that the foundations of what made a country would be reviewed every so often. It was the endless turnover of nations that allowed strange experiments like Hyperborea, Jasonia, or the UAS that never would have gotten a chance to even be tried anywhere else.
It was also this tendency for things to change quickly, for ephemeral nations to quickly be replaced by successor states, that ironically encouraged the Apollonian love of history. So much is known of the old Apollo Sector today due to the many Apollonian historians who preserved information from that age far beyond what is available in any comparable cluster of micronations.
