Hon 100—47
World Sketch
World Sketch of New Curtansia
In order to understand New Curtansia, it is necessary to delve into the history of the Curtansia itself.
In the year 2454 a group of scientists finally reached the so-called Earth.
Three centuries before the American government sent their ancestors out into space to find a more habitable planet in the face of pollution and global warming. After a hundred years of searching the descendents of those original 2,500 discovered the planet Curtansia in a neighboring Galaxy and set up an advanced society there. Soon the Earth became merely a fable, a prehistoric place of people only talked about in fairy tales. It was a free -hinking and secular society where reason thrived.
But soon the Walrus came and pitted the people of Curtansia against each other. In desperation, Finbar Rondek and his group of scientists fled, fearing for their lives. Their plan was to reach the ally planet Oaklaf but missiles from the Walrus’s fleet sent them off-course. Rondek and his crew crash-landed on a strange planet they had never seen before. Soon they realized this was in fact the fabled earth of which they had heard so many stories. But the Walrus had reached it first and sought to destroy the last remaining descendants of earth by pitting them against each other. The Walrus’s strategy was to make the people question society to the point that it would fall apart. He put forward the philosophy of Selfism, stating that aiding others yielded no real results and that humanity did not deserve it.
Not wanting to see Earth torn apart they way Curtansia had been, Rondek reintroduced its people to the idea of religion, stating that if one helps others then the Galactic Spirit would reward them in the afterlife. Rondek and his men, who in later years would become known as the Redeeming Light Princes, were able to defeat the Walrus by tapping into the people’s sense of mystery. The Redeeming Light Princes established schools, libraries, and hospitals using the same principles that had guided Curtansia’s original constitution. The principles were no different and yet they lasted because the people of Earth felt their following them served some greater, nobler purpose.
The original political leaders in New Curtansia were twelve priests (psychologists) from Rondek’s crew that formed a council. This council regulated everything from education, to military operations, to economics. But soon Rondek’s teachings expanded, and the descendents of the original twelve found themselves unable to manage such a large group of people. Thus, it became necessary to form smaller communes that would all report to the main branch of government.
It was also necessary now to develop criteria for selecting new members of the priesthood. The selection was based off a number of psychological evaluations throughout a person’s life, which included artistic performance, team-working ability, and general problem-solving skills. Those selected are bestowed with knowledge of the true nature of New Curtansia’s religion and must swear an oath to uphold Rondek’s Commandments and never to reveal their knowledge.
New Curtansia is a religious society only by appearance. As stated before, its Commandments are nothing more than articles from Curtansia’s original constitution that bear a religious name. Thus, secular principles of gender, racial, and religious equality prevail, at least in theory. Of course there would always be tension—there really is no ideal society. There still remain small pockets of Stoicists, who remained faithful to the Walrusian philosophies of anarchy and disillusionment, and others who long to exploit the system for their own devices.
The economic system is a socialist one, in which everyone works for the betterment of the whole. One of the first things Rondek did was abolish money, something he and the Curtansians knew from experience to weaken human beings by feeding their egos. Economic security in New Curtansia comes from being citizens of communes and cities. Punishment more major offenses means a loss of citizenship and sometimes banishment to less habitable regions of the planet. Occasionally these exiles staged rebellions from their fringe colonies, but they lacked the resources made available to citizens.
Rondek’s idea was to motivate citizens to aid each other. He saw the breakdown of many socialist states to be they gave little motivation for making conditions equal for all.
But despite the permeation of Rondekian thought into all aspects of life, there are still those who held on to memories of the Walrus’s teachings that didn’t understand why they should help ignorant people. As often happens with religion, many of Rondek’s original teachings and theories became diffused and distorted over the years. The countryside communes, which were never very connected to the cities before the time of the Walrus, eventually became a breeding ground for Selfists and others who did not support Rondekian thought. These rebels would assume power in Rondek’s name and no one would contradict them because they lacked access to the true information. Soon the religious leaders in the countryside were wielding more power and persecuting those who didn’t comply with their and beliefs.
The dictatorial priests in the country are usually unimaginative people who in the city were at the bottom professionally. Walrusian types, they find little motivation to improve society, so they remove themselves from the cities. They take out their rejection on the uneducated country folk. . Though cityfolk sometimes send their children to study in the country, the children in the country typically only have a minimal education.
The priests in the cities are aware that such abuses of Rondek’s Commandments occur, and yet the economy of New Curtansia relies so heavily on country labor that they cannot afford to change the current system (while computer technology is present and integrated through New Curtansia, the planet has been depleted of resources and technology necessary to produce heavy machinery so human labor is integral). Some even try to justify
Life in the cities is much more favorable to life in the country. Here, a person can choose from a number of careers that serve the community. The only thing that is really regulated in the cities is marriage, which is arranged by priests to ensure stability. And because marriage is based on psychological compatibility, divorce is very rare.
Sports like soccer, football, and basketball are the most favored, though there are some relay race events and doubles tennis that have found an audience.
Despite an emphasis on teamwork and the community as a whole, the individual is not ignored. Art is the one outlet through which people can let their own personality shine. Realistic art is actually discouraged—the emphasis is on abstract and impressionism. Art is necessary to expand the mind, to keep it from becoming too intellectual. Opens the mind to observe possibilities in the world—think abstractly. Art helps determine future priests by their ability to think creatively.
Education is mandatory through the age of 25, the time when the brain fully develops. The education stresses the importance of leadership, fellowship and resourcefulness and covers mathematics, science, literature, history, and most importantly, communication. The goal in school is to determine a career path that will one day serve society. In the countryside, however, children are not always in school until age twenty-five, as more labor is needed for farming, etc.
Marriage is determined by the church (a.k.a. psychologists) to ensure emotional compatibility. Same-sex compatibility occasionally occurs, but very rare. These are usually people who end up either as priests or researchers, and not meant for family life. Rather than being ostracized, these individuals are chosen ones in society. Occasionally, homosexual couples will adopt orphaned children (after psychological tests have been run, of course).