Posts: 1,330
Threads: 105
Joined: Jun 2006
I don’t know for certain why the Free Land was originally given that area IC, but suspect that it was meant to reflect that fact that this “nation” had already been given a separate existence OOC by the region’s five creators — as a ‘puppet’ whose control they shared — instead of one of those players using their main nation for the ‘Founder’. Maybe Grosseschanuzer, as the first player to move a nation here after those creators, would know? As for its size, remember that the regional map itself was originally defined as covering a significantly smaller area than is now seen to be the case (only comparable to the “lower 48” states of the USA, approximately, in total) so that the Free Land would also have been smaller in absolute terms than now seems to be the case.
When I joined the region and started working on this nation’s history I explained the fact that the Bears’ existence had remained [basically] unknown until 2006 — despite nations around it having histories that IC went back for centuries — by saying that a ‘barrier’ (probably magical, but you can attribute it to “sufficiently advanced technology” if you want…) of ancient origins had [basically] kept other people out until that date but had now finally collapsed. Several other players, including Mikitivity (who was the last of the region’s five original creators still active) agreed with my suggestion that an extension of this barrier had also kept people out of what became ‘The Free Land’ until shortly before the region’s foundation as a political organisation just a few years earlier, meaning that the boundaries of its other neighbours had been fixed for a long time and that neither of them had any generally-recognised claims to it. This meant that choosing it as the site of the region’s new capital (for which its relatively central location would have been an added bonus) and making the entire area a ‘Region-controlled’ territory outside of any existing nation’s jurisdiction not only didn’t clash with any nation’s existing territorial claims but also helped to reduce the risk of those neighbours going to war over it…
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As for the version on the new map, I agree that it could viably be smaller but I think that reducing it to something like the Vatican City — without, after all (and as Byzconia has already pointed out here), the same sort of historical reason for that — would be a mistake. I think that at the very least it should be large enough to contain:
The headquarters of the IDUSA, and facilities for any ‘regional’ agencies that might be established;
Member nations’ “embassies” or “legations” or whatever to the IDUSA (which could also be useful for diplomatic relations between nations, saving them from having to maintain missions in every other nation here rather than just in those with which they have the most interaction…);
Outside nations’ & regions’ embassies to the IDU as a whole (as represented by the IDUSA) rather than to specific members;
Some nations might also want to add ‘cultural centres’ or ‘trade missions’ or schools or other institutions alongside their diplomatic establishments;
Accommodation for the staffs of these offices, and a reasonably amount of hotels for shorter-term visitors, plus all of the shops & services & utilities & so on that are needed to meet the usual needs of those residents & visitors;
An international airport, probably also a seaport, and maybe even [at least an area set aside in case it becomes needed for] a spaceport, so that people can come here directly from their homelands without needing to pass overland through any other nations;
At the least one Stadium for sporting events (& major concerts?), but probably actually several of these with differing roles;
Maybe a ‘Region’-run University? (I think that this possibility might have been discussed before, back in the dim & distant past…)
Botanical Gardens, showcasing plants from all across the region… and beyond. (Also, like the RL ones at Kew, a centre for the study of Botany & related matters world(s)-wide, and a site for the careful testing & propagation of species that member nations might want to import, export, or just conserve…)
Possibly also a Zoo, with the potential for ‘captive breeding’ programmes to help endangered species in addition to the basic educational role?
Accommodation, & so on, for those extra facilities’ employees (& their families) and visitors.
