Universalis

Technocracy of Universalis

Official language	Universal
Capital	Aristarchus
Largest cities	Aristarchus, Koloniatsk
Website	Universalis Website
Forum	Universalis Forum
Number of citizens	5
Number of active citizens	0 (Nation Inactive)
Date founded	August 10, 2000
Government	Futuristic Parliamentary Democracy (Technocracy)
Current leader	Chairman Orion
Currency	Universalis Credit
National animal	Robot
National fruit/food	Moonfruit
National drink	Pan-Galactic Gargle Blaster
Map versions	13.6.8 - 13.9.8 (Also found on some series 6.6 maps)

Universalis is demesne of Eastern Natopia. Originally founded on August 10, 2000 by Orion as the Universe of Allied Nations (UAN) and attached in union to the Audentior Independent Nation, but functioned in a nominally independent manner, with its own forum and website. When the AIN collapsed in late 2000, Orion disbanded UAN as he focused efforts on saving the Audente nation. After that it was absorbed by several of Bill Dusch's projects on Tapfer and eventually Natopia. A reboot was attempted in 2005 but made little traction. In November 2008, the UAN was again re-debuted with a totally new look and name. It was now called Universalis - based on a shortform name suggestion by Bill Dusch - and had a unique technocratic hybrid form of government, and an ambitious website, and forum. The technocracy achieved some lasting success. Its most notable achievements were an expansive space program, and a strong diplomatic effort that has led to the restoration of fifty-percent of its original territory on Tapfer. Around 2010 it agreed to join Natopia as a protectorate (Demesnes) so long as that state held its historic lands on Tapfer and/or until that state should collapse, whereby it would regain its independence. It also retained the right to secession by popular referendum.

Government

Universalis is governed by a unique hybrid combination of technocratic principles and direct democracy. The head of state and government is the Chairperson of the Science Governing Board. The SGB is a group of scientists who specialize in a particular field; and that field in turn represents a particular need of the nation. For example, one seat is held by a Doctor of Biology. This seat is charged with speaking on the behalf of health, welfare, and other such aspects as would be affected by biological sciences. Obviously there is some overlap between positions; but this is to ensure the needs of the population are adequately met. Seats are filled based on credentials rather than elections. If a person has proven themselves sufficiently skilled in a particular area, their peers may allow them to fill a seat on the board. Likewise, if someone is not fulfilling their duties, then the board may dismiss them for a better candidate. Actual politics play little role in the government. From amongst the board, the scientists choose the best qualified to hold the position of Chair of the SGB. Ministerial positions are appointed by the board.

The Science Governing Board

The SGB consists of the Chairperson (who acts as a tie-breaker) and the seventeen doctors responsible for the various attributes of the nation. Only persons who have obtained a PhD and have proven field experience are eligible for the board. A very stringent vetting process is used to determine if a person is suitable to serve on the board, with deciding factors not merely resting on the degree of a person's education but also their service record working in the field. Such factors as a person's contribution to humanity are factors that may be weighed when deciding during the lengthy interview process. To obtain an appointment to the board a person must successfully navigate the interviews with the standing board members. Once the interviews are completed the board will then vote on whether to make the appointment. Once on the board a person serves for one term of three years, after which they will need to repeat the interview process in order to retain their seat. To keep the board from becoming stagnant, doctors are limited to three terms.

The Appellate Court

The Appellate is a fail-safe meant to counterbalance the power of the SGB and provide a means of direct-democracy to the population of Universalis. It consists of a six-member panel of judges; three elected by the SGB, and three elected by the general population. The Court can file an injunction against decisions made by the SGB if a group of the population feels that the decision is not in keeping with the best interests of the people. The general population is allowed to form Public Action Groups (PAGs) that can bring an injunction to the Court to file a Vote of No Confidence in a standing board member - including the Chairperson - if they feel that person is not fulfilling their obligations. The Court can then decide whether to proceed with the suit or dismiss it. The public can bring forth an injunction both to overrule the SGB and/or to bring other matters to its attention. To prevent bias and limit the power of the PAGs they must be completely voluntary, without any public or private monetary contributions.

Provincial Governance

In order to decentralize the technocracy, the SGB agreed to divide the country into three separate provinces; Terra Universalis, the Celestial Isles, and Transastra, from east-to-west respectively. Provincial authority has more to do with organization than politics. PAGs cannot span multiple provinces, for example, to limit them from becoming too powerful (though they can still form alliances). Local government offices are located centrally within each province so they can be readily accessed by any citizen. Access to state-sponsored healthcare, voting, education and so forth are accessed through these hubs. Other aspects such as infrastructure are also managed from these centralized locations. Beyond that provincial government has little bearing.

History

Early History – The Universal Society

Universalis had its beginnings in the very early days of Micras, starting as the sun began to set for Audentior. In fact, it was in Audentior that Universalis began. As the Audente Civil War raged on, with repeated coups and battles tearing the once-proud nation apart, those who opposed the conflict banded together to try and keep the nation from fracturing altogether. Hylius of Epoli, a scholarly member and avowed pacifist who also sat on Audentior's Tetrapole, openly opposed the civil war and urged reconciliation. His pleas falling on deaf ears, he began making public pleas in city squares. This attracted the attention of other pacifists, scholars, humanists and other like-minded people. Eventually Hylius formed the Universal Society.

The Universal Society was a fraternal order dedicated to averting the collapse of Audentior, which at that time seemed imminent. Failing that objective, the order's secondary objective was to find safe haven for the peace-loving people of Audentior. To this latter end the society began focusing heavily on scientific research and development. Several sympathetic Jasonians, which had not yet seceded from the AIN, secretly ferried over data from their gravimetric program, prompting the society to advance space exploration as an escape from Micras' incessant wars. Plans went as far as to establish a colony on Tarsica. In the meantime, the society continued to attract more members from the Audente citizenry.

When Emperor Evan reclaimed the throne of Audentior, abolishing the Tetrapole and assuming absolute power, it became clear that the AIN was doomed. Jasonia, Hyperborea and finally Demesos all seceded, leaving only the heart of Audentior intact on Apollonia. Although Evan died soon after his ascension, his successor, Orion, proved to be sympathetic and invited the society to help reshape Audentior back to its former glory. Unfortunately it was a gesture that came too late, and the constant shift of governance broke the back of the nation, plunging it into complete chaos.

As Audentior burned, Orion and Hylius sought a refuge for the society and its members. They were invited by Prince William of Elpidos to settle on Tapfer; which they readily accepted. A mass exodus of the society, which numbered tens of thousands at that point, landed large groups on the shores of the southern island. The land promised them however proved to be the cold southern reaches of Tapfer. Faced with the daunting task of eking out a living among the snow-blasted mountains and icy wastes, the brave society set about establishing a new state based on the principles they held so dearly.

The Universe of Allied Nations

Universalis began as an extremely simple one-page website micronation hosted on AOL Hometown (AOL Hometown has since been closed), and was originally called the Universe of Allied Nations. The founder, Orion, wanted a nation that could apply to anyone, anywhere in the world - effectively a universal nation. The original state was modeled strongly after the United Nations and was supposed to be comprised of several smaller countries; hence allied nations. New citizens were supposed to take up the mantle of these internal countries and fill a seat on the Universal Council. Although this never truly materialized as the UAN only gained one other citizen during its brief lifetime. At the time, the Micronational Cartography Society had not yet been established, so the UAN held claims on the asteroid Vesta, in similar fashion to the micronation of Zarahemla. Maps were later constructed by Bill Dusch showing the UAN's territory on Tapfer close to Demesos, where it continues to reside.

At the time, the UAN was attached to the Audentior Independent Nation as a province; even though a province composed of multiple micro-micronations didn't make much sense. As the AIN began to break apart with multiple secessions, Orion tried to keep the country together. In an effort to boost morale and focus efforts directly on Audentior, he disbanded the UAN and shelved the idea until a much later date. Audentior, however, continued to collapse and Orion was crowned Emperor by Evan von Christoph in a brief restoration of the monarchy. It was not Orion's intent to disband the Direct Democracy though, and he rescinded the Imperial Title to again try and save the country. With the chaos that ensued any attention that was remaining on the UAN was entirely directed away and the project all but forgotten.

In terms of the UAN's land on Micras, the territory remained tied to the Nation of Tapfer and became a part of Shireroth. It became a part of independent Demesos after this, which later joined Menelmacar. Throughout this time Universalis was denoted on the map but had no actual political or cultural functioning.

After the civil war in Menelmacar tore that nation in two, all of Tapfer became independent under Bill Dusch's nation of Elpidos. This was a short-lived republic based on a combination of old Audente ideals and Tolkien mythology. It, however, ended up rejoining Menelmacar again in a last ditch effort to save that nation. Like the collapse of Audentior, the effort only stalled the inevitable and Menelmacar collapsed shortly thereafter. It was around this time, circa 2004, that Universalis was finally removed from the map.

Universal Soldier

Orion again tried to resurrect Universalis in 2005. At the time, however, he was Administrator-General for the Micronational Cartography Society; a role which occupied most of his time, since the MCS then had no additional staff. At the time, Universalis was resurrected as a new-nation project more in line with its original roots wherein it held claims on the asteroid Vesta. The intention was to build Universalis as a think-tank group of like-minded people who would be able to devise a scientifically sound method for reaching and colonizing an asteroid. With about 1/1000000th the budget of NASA, this didn't get very far, even if it sounded good in principle.

The entire project was scrapped without much public interest as Caruso's role of Admin-General at the MCS grew more demanding of time and dedication. This would be the last time Universalis would be re-established before Orion retired from the MCS and the hobby in 2006.

Universal Soldier: The Return

Spring 2008 brought a renewed interest in the hobby for Orion after a two-year hiatus. This resulted in the creation of several small micronations that were never actually launched (save for Apollantis) and the creation of the present forums of Universalis. The nation was not initially launched despite the creation of the forum. Originally the plan had been to work with the successor to the GSO, CENTMO, and establish a presence on the planet Aura, in Atos' twin star system. This was done and Universalis laid claim to an area known as Monolithos.

Despite initial success and working closely with CENTMO, the nation only managed to attract a few token citizens that disappeared shortly after joining. In addition, CENTMO was likewise failing to gain any significant attention and slowly entered a period of decline until it was finally disbanded.

Universalis Reborn

On November 28th, 2008, Orion relaunched Universalis in its present form as a hybrid technocracy. At the time, Caruso began investing more time and effort into Universalis. Diplomacy started to be ramped up, despite low activity in the actual nation. Likewise he initiated a period of cultural improvement and working on projects that would benefit the entire micronational community - which played into Universalis' basic principles as a humanitarian nation. The Gandhi Memorial Humanitarian Complex was established to study micronational populations and humanities, and the Asmiov Memorial Observatory was established to study micronational astronomy. With the closure of CENTMO, Universalis applied for land on Micras in its historical territory plus several new regions and was accepted, marking the start of a new chapter in its history.

In late 2009 Universalis was successful in negotiating treaties with Interland, Stormark, and Natopia in order to regain most of the peninsula that was its historic original territory back in 2000. The result was the return of fifty-percent of the peninsula and the near complete (90%) restoration of the original western borders. Universalis had been divided into two separate portions - West Universalis and Terra Universalis - whereupon the new territory allowed the two regions to finally be connected by a contiguous land corridor, which has since become the Celestial Isles and the Unorganized Territories.

After suffering low activity levels for some time, Universalis petitioned long-time ally Natopia to become an autonomous state in free association. Natopia accepted and Universalis has since become Demesnes of Natopia (as of January 2017).

Culture

Universal culture is unique in that it is one of the earliest recorded cultures on Micras and that their settlement on Tapfer predates all other people's. The arrival of the Universal people, mostly from Demesos and Audentior, arrived in eastern Tapfer to find the continent devoid of any indigenous population. Therefore Universalis was able to shape its own culture uninfluenced by pre-existing traditions. With their origins as a humanitarian effort, the Universals quickly established a state based around scientific principles. Industrialization was important, but so was environmentalism, and this balance was reflected in the nation that grew up on the cold southeastern climes of Tapfer. Cities were constructed with careful planning to compliment the surrounding terrain, and emphasis was placed on utilizing net-zero energy systems, such as solar, hydroelectric, wind and geothermal. As such, compared to other Micran nations of the time, Universalis represented a very futuristic culture with a people constantly looking forward to the betterment of their fellow men.

Geography

Universalis is a geographically small nation that resides on the planet Micras, on the southeast peninsula of Tapfer. It also holds a major colony in Leng in the far north. Aristarchus, the capital city, is an impressive suburbia that displays modern arcology (architecture combined with ecology) techniques. The Gandhi Memorial Humanitarian Center (GMHC) is also located in Aristarchus, which houses the first organization devoted purely to micronational population studies and aid programs. Outside of Universalis is the Tiberion Spaceport, located on the tiny equatorial island of Tiberion. The spaceport is the launch point for vessels departing from Micras for the Tarsican colony of Monolithos. The spaceport used to utilize the Hurmu Jumpgate as a means of transit between the Atos (Micran) star system and Aura; the latter however was abandoned by all major colonizing powers.

Terra Universalis

Terra Universalis is the political heart of the nation situated along the extreme easterly shores of southeast Tapfer. It is bounded in the south by the subdivision of Koloniatsk. The province is home to Aristarchus, the capital, which is the main urban center along the coast. In the north, Point Sitya is a commercial port that serves Aristarchus and the small communities that exist between the two cities. The climate is temperate with snowy winters, humidity throughout the year, and warm summers.

Koloniatsk

Koloniatsk is a small enclave, located at the extreme southeast corner of Tapfer and adjacent to Terra Universalis. It is populated primarily by Interpolish and Ocians. The region was originally colonized by Universalis early in its history, but was later vacated and re-colonized by Interland. Many Interlanders moved to the colony, followed by Ocians, along with several other related language groups, such as a smattering of Slobovians. The region has thus developed a very unique flair and is widely regarded for their fine food and academia. The capital city, also known as Koloniatskremains the largest city in the region. The other major city is Mirgrad (City of Peace). Koloniatsk is administered as an extension of Terra Universalis province.

The Celestial Isles

The Celestial Isles are a group of islands off the southern coast of Tapfer. They constitute a province unto themselves, but are mostly uninhabited save for Copernicus Island; all the others have been designated part of the Wildstar Nature Sanctuary. Copernicus has two older cities; St. George and Scodland-Tresport. St. George is the regional capitol and was initially founded by Paulovians, serving as their national capitol. Scodland-Tresport was founded by Lavalonians at a later date. While St. George has become the residential and tourist center of the island, Scodland-Tresport has become the the industrial and commercial port. St. George also has the St. George Observatory, which attracts academia and tourists. The islands are perpetually cold, with short summers.

Transastra

Transastra historically encompassed the western half of Universalis. Currently the territories are loosely organized into one province extending from the boundaries of Koloniatsk to the far western boundaries of New Dracoheim and Klaasiya. In the past the area was known as Trans-Djermanie in Lavalon and was home to millions of refugee Germanians from that fled the ravages of war in southern Cibola. Since that time, however, the culture of the territory has been mixed with Natopian and Universal influences, so that it has integrated well with the Technocracy. It still remains industrially strong, exports wheat, and has the flair of the rural that attracts tourism. The term Unorganized Territories was temporarily applied while the government worked with state and local authorities to determine an appropriate title for the new region. Eventually Transastra (meaning beyond the stars) was agreed upon as an appropriate successor name to Trans-Djermanie.