Sandbox

## History

In the aftermath of World War II, the two victorious powers, The United States and the Soviet Union, engaged in terse competition, backed by the threat of all-out nuclear war, in order to achieve hegemony and domination over the new world born from the ashes of war. This was not limited to just military competition, but extended to all realms of human activity, including economic, cultural, and technological. This technological competition lead the dueling powers to achieve one of Humanity's greatest feats: conquering space itself. Probes sent to the edge of our solar system, planets millions of miles away explored, a man landed on the moon.

Almost every resource of those powers were diverted to this great endeavor, and Mankind's list of achievements continued to grow: a manned station orbiting the earth, permanent bases on the moon and beyond, asteroids mined for their resources, ships assembled in space free from gravity. It was thought by many at the time that these great achievements could help us realize the folly of our small Earthly conflicts, and lead us to unite and focus on creating a better future for all. It did not.

The threat of nuclear war became much more than just a threat, and overnight Earth was sent into a global dark age the likes of which had never been seen again. Human folly could not be overcome.

What was perhaps just as surprising was the tenacity of those space-farers left behind by Earth. Total Self-sufficiency was achieved with little delay, and the various colonies and bases established by those now-obsolete powers continued to not only survive, but thrive.

In those rose-tinted days before even the first Great War, dreams of peaceful Internationalism and Humanism were still thought possible. One of the biggest proponents of this was a Polish Ophthalmologist named Dr. Zamenhof. His creation, an constructed language popularly called Esperanto, was meant to tear down borders between countries, helping us to abandon our nationalist trifles and unite in peaceful coexistence. This creation long outlived the Dr. himself, and after World War II an international organization, the Universal Esperanto Association, was created to bring together Esperantists all over the world and pursue the Doctors dream.

The UEA was dedicated to spreading the ideas of Dr. Zamenhof, and when the opportunity came to spread them beyond even Earth itself, they were only all too eager. With assistance from both the US and the USSR, the first Zamenhofene space colony was established in the L3 point of the Martian system, a swan song to the dream of peace for all mankind.

Because of its unique foundation, the UEA was in a much better position to weather the storm that occured after the Great Armageddon. Times were tough, and many hardships were endured, but the Colonists of the UEA continued on through it all. Being the most politically and economically independent of the all the colonies in the Martian System, the UEA was in a much better position than that of any of its neighbors, and after a short recovery was even able to expand to other colonies within the system. Many of the other pre-established colonists were suspicious of its strange ideals, but many new converts were found in these years, and in addition to refugees arriving from a ruined Earth, a kind of stability was achieved, even in a world much changed by events on the Home Planet.

These years, those of loose UEA confederation, are now considered a golden era by many from the Martian system, especially in comparison to the events that came after. Locally-elected committees of the UEA, headed by a Director, were set up in nearly every Colony of the system to manage local affairs, in addition to those set up in the surface colonies of Mars itself. For the first time, nearly all trade and communication was Intraplanetary, compared to the Interplanetary trade system that prevailed in the previous era. Several innovations were achieved in the fields of engineering, architecture and space infrastructure, and an enduring common identity was founded for those of the Martian system, separate from that of being simply colonists from Earth.

### The UEA Era

After entering into a near-decade long depression after the Great Calamity, the UEA managed to undergo tremendous economic growth in the following years. The population of the Martian System rose by orders of magnitude, and new colonies were established completely independent of Terran effort for the first time. Although the benefits of this prosperity was felt by all inhabitants of the Martian System, it was the UEA Directors who reaped the largest rewards. Using their power and influence over local economic activity and trade, they massively enriched themselves and their households, using their newfound wealth to build marvelous palaces and other grand infrastructure for their own benefit. What was once an democratically elected position became anything but, as the Directors used their widespread influence to render it a near-hereditary one.

Pre-1969: Atomic Era

1969-1999: Cold War era

1999-2039: Era of Desolation (UEA Era in the Martian System)

2039-2069: Dark Ages

2069-: Modern Era

## Major Powers

### Nova Amikejo

New Amikejo (Esperanto: ***Nova Amikejo***) is a Nation. Its capital is *Lorenovilo.*

Its home colonies occupy the L5 point of the Martian System.

Its only official language is Esperanto, although many of the upperclass speak Interlingua and petition for its official adoption. The Moresnetian Esperanto dialect has taken many elements from René de Saussure's Esperanto II (such as dropping of the accusative), as well as adopting many words from German, French, Ido, and Dutch languages.

Legislative powers are held by La Parlamento, Executive Powers are held by the Kanceliero and Judicial power is held by the Alta Konsilio.

Motto:

Government: Autocracy/Oligarchy

Currency: Spesmilo (₷)

Dorians

### Federal Republic of Esperantio

The Federal Republic of Esperantio (Esperanto: **Federacia Respubliko de Esperantio**), is a state, Its currency is the Stelo. It finds it's beginnings in the Universal League.

It was the first to succeed from the UEA during the Autumn Days.

The capital dialect of Esperanto has undergone betacism, and /b/ and /v/ are not distinguished by most speakers (mi vidis -> mi bidis)

Its capital is .

Motto:

Government: Democracy

Ionic

### Elysian Socialist Republic

The Elysian Socialist Republic (Esperanto: **Elizea Socialisma Respubliko**), or **ESR**, is a socialist country. Formerly aligned with the Comintern, following disagreements with its leadership it has pursued a policy of neutrality. It's capital city is *Lantipol* (home of Kalocajo square). It is the largest of the Zamenhofene states, both in terms of area and population.

Its geography consists of multiple broad central plains spotted by various mountain ranges. It has distinct summer and winter seasons, with summer rains augmenting the fertility of the plains and basins. Its major rivers flow down from the mountains into the gulf, splitting off into multiple tributaries along the way. The plains are ideally suited for cultivating grains and cereals, and are esteemed for horse-rearing. The ESR is geographically divided into three regions, that being the Northern Plains, the Southern Plains, and the island of Erdos.

The Northern Plains are the largest region and the most agriculturally productive, consisting of two fertile lowlands bounded all around and and separated from each other by a central spur of mountains, connecting to one another by a few wide central passes. In its north are highlands defined by mountainous river valleys, and to its east lie a wide bay.

The smaller Southern Plains are located on a large isthmus, which is also surrounded on almost all sides by mountain ranges. Its central part is a fertile lowland home to the capital, and is dotted by two large centrally located lakes.

The final region, the island of Erdos, is located off the northeastern coast of the two mainland regions. It is a large, heavily forested, and mountainous island, with most of its population living close to the low-lying coastal bays.

It finds its beginnings in the **Sennacieca Asocio Tutmonda** (**SAT**), in English the **World Anational Association**, an leftist organization founded by Eŭgeno Lanti that was influential in early Esperantist circles. Shortly after the founding of Espero Station, Comintern-aligned Members of the SAT commandeered leadership of the organization, sidelining the Lantists, and took the opportunity to establish a breakaway communist state and declare independance from the UEA. The new state's position was still unstable however, as the threat of Civil War between the UEA and the new communist republic loomed, and the Soviets increasingly exerted greater and greater influence in return for political support. The breaking point came during a dispute over the state's flag; the Comintern-Aligned party members received instructions to bring the older Leftist Esperantist flag in order with Comintern standards, replacing the green star with a yellow one and introducing a hammer and sickle. A faction of the party took this as a breaking point, and led by followers of Party Chairman Ernest Drezen, a committed Lantist from the old-guard, had those Comintern-Aligned ministers arrested in a coup, rejoining the UEA and founding the Sennacieca Socialist Party..

The ESR is a democratic socialist state led by the Sennacieca Socialist Party. The SSP claims to uphold the original ideals of Zamenhof, mainly that of Homaranismo and the pursuit of the Fina Venko, and sees the Moresnetoj as having forsaken the founder's vision, preferring to instead to support "Burĝaj Iluzioj" of internationalism. In turn, many Esperantists criticize the ESR as attempting to impose by force a "monoculture" on the world, and artificially attach an ideology to a language through totalitarian coercion.

The ESR dialect of Esperanto has a tendency to drop the definite article (La), and maintains the accusative case except in very casual speech. It also retains many features of Old Esperanto.

Motto: "Frateco kaj justeco inter ĉiuj homoj."

Government: Oligarchy/Quasi-Democracy

Aeolians

## Minor Powers

### Esperanto Free State

    The Esperanto Free State (Esperanto: ***Esperanto Libera Ŝtato***), or simply ***La*** **Libera** ***Ŝtato,*** is a nation in North Apollonia. It was founded by the American former printer George Alan Connor. It is a one-party state ruled by the nationalist Esperanto Party of Sankta Lucia (EPSL). Its capital is *Gela*.

Motto:

Government: Autocracy

(Dorians, Syracuse)

Arcadia

The Arcadians speak Esperanto, but are not Esperantists. They are a native people who adopted the Esperanto due to outside influence/coercion, but still hold onto their unique identity.

Ionian Confederation

Ionia is a loose confederation of Ionian colonies. Initially a purely defensive alliance, it has slowly become more and more centralized, although significant feuds still exist between members.