"As Agreed upon, two hundred slaves for two hundred spears, what, that's not what we agreed upon? Tell your enemies that when they come to kill you and take your wives and children as their slaves. So we have a deal?" Dylan Watts, merchant of Rhodes.
"We must consider it, at least. Yes the people of Lecne have been good friends to us but for how much longer? In this age of war and magic metal can anything truly be certain? Besides better it be us who take their people and lands for should we not, another shall and we will be the victims then ''. Ccail Eple, Chieftain.
"What were we supposed to do? The moment the first merchant from Rhodes realized they could sell iron pikes in exchange for slaves the cultures of the Adriatic were doomed. If we'd done nothing then whoever the Nazis decided to back would win every battle, and Rhodes and Taras would be getting even richer than they already are off the weapon trade. At least this way our people benefit as well, and theirs have a fighting chance against the Nazi puppets. That's...something, right?" Aitana Freixa economic minister of the Popular Republic.
The steel wars were a continent ranging series of conflicts which occurred due to a large combination of factors, the greatest of these being uptimer technology and uptimer desire for trade goods and slaves.
The earliest small scale trade exchanges between uptimers and downtimers occurred soon after the event with uptimers attempting to and sometimes succeeding in attempts to trade various items for food. Anything from basic steel tools or spare clothing were exchanged for food with various unmolested downtimer settlements although this tapered off quickly as hunger and desperation set in and all of the settlements next to Tucson were destroyed or conquered and Americans became a less than welcome sight among the various groups inhabiting the western Anatolian coastline.
In the period during and just after the establishment of the first wave states trade was at a very low ebb. Barring sporadic exchanges between border villages and the support of various rebel factions there was no real organized trade between uptimers and downtimers, at least not one sponsored by the upper echelons of various uptimer states.
This would change following the establishment of cottage industries and then later almost universally state led efforts to establish large scale, relatively speaking, heavy industry. This would completely transform the trading relationships between these groups.
The advent of the large scale production of steel allowed for various tools far superior to anything available to downtimers at that time which was initially of considerably greater interest to the various tribes of the region than basic steel weaponry.
This is due to the fact that while steel weapons were traded they were truthfully not so much better than bronze in terms of performance. A bronze spear was just as capable of piercing cloth and flesh as a steel one and a solid bronze breastplate could stop both a steel and bronze spear, generally speaking. What elevated steel was, more than its superior toughness or any other quality of the metal itself, its ease of production.
This was a fact which confused many uptimer would be arms dealers, as they found their outrageous demands rejected in favor of downtimers simply buying more bronze.
Eventually however, uptimer arms dealers would find customers in the form of various ambitious, desperate or vengeful downtime chieftains harboring a grudge against their neighbors. While the worst excesses of this were initially limited by the simple fact that downtimers generally lacked what uptimers would consider valuable as dedicating any appreciable portion of their population to artisanal production or mining would result in starvation as the sheer massive technological difference worked in the downtimers favor in a way.
Additionally the various downtime tribal confederations of the time completely lacked the large scale logistical systems to move tons of tin or anything anywhere. With Europe lacking any kind of road system for example and the most advanced form of naval or riverine transport being very early versions of the Hjortspring boat or canoes and rafts and almost all tribes in the region lacking or making only very limited use of writing for administrative purposes making the logistics of large scale projects of any kind difficult.
Exacerbating this further was the lack of a state apparatus amongst the various tribes, feudalism and serfdom did not exist and, though slavery did it was not the chattel slavery uptimers might associate with that term automatically. There was an upper class of warrior elites in most places however they lacked (among many other things) the fortifications or horses to make feudalism a reality as trying to drive a chariot through the often dense forests of Europe was an exercise in futility. While on the eastern european plains the population was already nomadic.
Put simply if people did not like the current policies of their rulers they could usually simply leave. Often this would involve leaving only with what you had on your back and settling on marginal land, occasionally with other outcasts, however it was very much done.
This put an initial limit on how heavily a given tribe or tribal confederacy was willing to or able to exploit their own population. Things would likely have remained in this metastable state of merely simmering conflict instead of a raging one until a warlord of some kind conquered their surrounding tribes and adapted the tools and methods to actually govern and control such territories or new and disruptive technology was introduced through some other means. Assuming that the various uptimer or more advanced downtime states did not conquer them first, of course.
Then came Rhodes and the Nazi pirates realized that there was something they desperately wanted that the downtimers of Europe could absolutely provide, slaves.
-----------------------
Rhodes had access to the same heavy industry that other uptimer states possessed and had no compunction against using it to sow as much strife and chaos in the region as possible.
While various uptimer states could and did exploit the natives of Europe to some degree this exploitation was limited by their border and/or the aformentioned material factors of the tribal population of Europe.
Additionally, since most of the uptimer states were not interested in actively importing additional slaves they benefited more from a state of relative peace among the tribal population. While an individual tribe was limited in how many resources it allocated to mining or production there were thousands if not tens of thousands such tribes in total, together they could amass an industrially useful quantity of resources.
Rhodes wanted war and slavery, and they acted as befits that. Sending more advanced weaponry to select tribal leaders with loyalty and results being rewarded with even more advanced weapons.
All the chieftains Rhodes favored had to do was attack people they already hated or cared nothing for, in some cases even former allies would fall victim to the rising tide of war however this would usually prove to be a poor decision on the attackers part.
This was due to one simple factor, Honor. Although considered an outdated concept at best and absurd nonsense at worst by most uptimers, downtimers generally took a person's honor extremely seriously. Without a system of physical hard currency, a system of soft social currency had naturally arisen. A person's honor was their bank account and credit in one and it determined how willing others were to lend things to him or her. Whomst that individual could marry and much, much more.
Betraying your allies was extremely dishonorable and even being known to have come from a tribe which did such a thing could lead to ostracization. Even more important than that however was the role of honor in what passed for justice amongst downtimers.
There was no police or even court among the vast majority of native Europeans and as such matters of "law enforcement" were a strictly personal matter. Should you fail to defend your family there was a massive societal expectation that you avenge them or die trying. This was already a problem and could result in multigenerational feuds between two clans or tribes until one side was destroyed or both were so exhausted they agreed to either peace or merely an armistice.
The introduction of new and disruptive technology into this situation was akin to throwing a lit match into a pile of tinder soaked in oil and this was responsible for the vast majority of early conflicts, however as Rhodes entered the arena these conflicts became far more existential and desperate as defeat meant your entire adult male population was massacred and the rest sold into slavery.
While this was not unusual in and of itself as tribes would be destroyed wholesale, especially smaller ones conflicts were also often settled between two groups of warrior elites who often lacked the manpower to kill large tribes even if they wanted to.
Now tribes which had formerly relied on a small relatively disciplined warrior elite mobilized their entire male adult population and sometimes more. Arming them with cheap and easily accessible steel spears. This era would see battles totally eclipsing anything before it in scale, complexity and brutality. As armies of conscripts with wholly insufficient leadership did as they were wont to do and threw additional fuel onto the fire through rape and pillage.
A new era of strife had begun in Europe but chaos is a ladder and a massive disruption was occurring as traditional tribal structure was thrown into complete chaos. And as tribe after tribe was thrown into Rhodes moloch of Appulia a power vacuum was forming.
Soon inevitably people would tire of this perpetual conflict and insecurity and seek safe harbor, whoever could provide that, uptimer or downtimer might be able to unify significant parts of Europe.
It was a bustling day at the Laurion Silver Mines, and much had changed. There was an air to the workers there now, one that was much different from the years past. Instead of being 'criminals' that existed to be thrown in a deep hole to do hard work with poor tools to dig it deeper and hopefully die, these men were asked politely to go into the hole to do hard work with good tools to dig it deeper and hopefully come back alive. That last distinction made a world of difference.
Incredibly, many of these men were happy. Well-fed, well-clothed, well-equipped, they socialized leisurely as they chipped away at walls, filled the carts heavy with rocks of lead and silver, and sent them up to the surface to be processed. They still griped, it was hot, sweaty work deep underground, the length of the day, the idiocy of shift work, the overbearing nature of their managers, yet in the back of their minds they still remember when simply grumbling in the wrong tone could get them killed, and they worked from dawn to dusk.
Some loitered on break, smoking their weed rations, speaking of the gossip they'd heard from the newspapers. They grumbled about the airforsoi, and the nazis, and the disasters the gods sent to punish them. They praised the news of advances in the name of the people, like the new flavorings, clocks, and cement. Many of them discussing what they'll build through the People's Self-Modernization and Rural Construction Initiative.
Much of that silver would be sent to Egypt, many of these men knew this, but also knew that for every pound of relatively useless silver their comrades could receive many times that in grain and cattle. They also knew that most of it was lead, which was actually useful, as pipes or bullets.
By the froth flotation filters, priests in fiery red robes argued and gesticulated over the proper rites for replacing the agitator, while the supervising American engineer pinched his nose. He explained the proper procedure to do so, and the priests nodded with his words, adapting them to treat the Makhina with the proper respect.
At home the miner's wives went about their chores, many of them pregnant, taking care of infants and toddlers, while the older children ate during their school lunch break. They sewed new tie-dye dresses, cleaned their homes and furniture, conversed with their fellow women. A few even practiced instruments, plucking away at lyres, or whistling through flutes.
In school children learned, taught how to read, how to do math, and the glories and advancements the revolution had brought to the people. How socialism was the future of mankind and how it was their duty as the sons and daughters of the people to carry the torch ever forward.
And onwards the world turned and the people toiled.
Because ships take a fair amount of knowledge, resources and time. Crete was always going to need warships due their status as an island trading group and they already has decent ship building tradition when Americans showerd up. An ironclad for a power like New Washington isn't something they're going to be focused on because naval power is far less of nesscity for them cause their main rivals share borders with them and Rhodes only became a "Oh shit we need to deal with them" level of threat recently.
I was less questioning New Washington lacking them and more thinking about powers like New Monthan, Northern Command, and Western Command. Monthan in particular has significant industry, significant territory holdings, and every incentive in the world to have a significant naval force, being a nation with significant access to the sea and all of their enemies having the same. Even just cutting off water trade from states like New Washington would be very useful to them, let alone the ability to land at least a company strength force on their coast for raiding.
I was less questioning New Washington lacking them and more thinking about powers like New Monthan, Northern Command, and Western Command. Monthan in particular has significant industry, significant territory holdings, and every incentive in the world to have a significant naval force, being a nation with significant access to the sea and all of their enemies having the same. Even just cutting off water trade from states like New Washington would be very useful to them, let alone the ability to land at least a company strength force on their coast for raiding.
Turn 16 (15AE Trimester 1): Come Greet The Dawn And Stand Behind Us Results
515+50+(200+25-60 Trade)+45 Precious Metals = 775 Resources Per Turn, 0 In Storage
75-5-4=66 Political Support
Spurred on by actions taken by the Pharaoh Khyan, a desire to regain their independence, and the disappointing performance of the royal army against the Kingdom of Kerma last year, a significant number of Egyptian nobles have rebelled against the central government. The Pharaoh has responded harshly for this, announcing that any rebels who refuse to lay down arms will be executed, and additionally that all land from rebel nomarchs and temples will be redistributed to the peasants living there, in an attempt to completely destroy the base of the native nobility in the long term and encourage defections in the short term. The rebels immediately marched on Avaris, hoping to overwhelm the city before troops from other areas of the country that remained loyal can be mobilized. They did succeed in arriving outside the capital before the central government could respond much, but completely failed at turning this advantage into an actual victory. While no amount of "modernization" of city walls can hope to stand up to massed modern artillery, the rebels did not have such, and the few cannons and bombards they did have failed to produce any decisive breaches in the thick, rammed-earth city walls. Constant broadcasts over loudspeakers bought by the Pharaoh from various scavengers over the past few years about the new land reforms also caused significant numbers of rebel troops to defect, weakening the attackers even more than the numerous failed assaults of the city did. After several weeks of this, a coordinated attack on the surrounding rebels from an arriving loyalist relief column and the city's garrison resulted in a decisive victory for Khyan, with many of the noble rebels killed or captured. Still, several areas in Lower Egypt are still controlled by rebels, significantly reducing exports to the Popular Republic. (-60 Resources per turn from trade disruptions)
While the chaos of mutinies and the entrance of the Federal Republic of America into the war against the juntas allowed us valuable time to continue evacuations from Lesbos, this could not last forever, and the last major pockets of resistance were eliminated by March. A few holdouts remain in the hills for now, but as essentially the entire population of the island has either been evacuated, enslaved, or killed, they are unlikely to be of much strategic importance in the long term. A government in exile has been formed in Mycenae with the hope of eventually being able to reclaim the island, although the only concrete action they have been able to preform is sign a treaty giving us a lease over the tiny island of Agios Efstratios for ten years, that being the last territory they controlled after Lesbos fell. A small garrison on the island has been established to ensure we maintain control over the island for basing purposes, as while the few hundred inhabitants are not of much import, having a foothold in the eastern Aegean will enable us to significantly increase our strategic reach towards Anatolia and Thrace.
New Monthan has continued to push into the Federal Republic of America, with the offensive east along the coast continuing, as well as naval landings across the Bosporus to secure the safety of the capital of New Monthan itself. This has caused considerable panic in the FRA, which is far from united. Several states which opposed the intervention from the beginning have begun evacuations to Triezbond and Georgia, with SSD agents in the region indicating that industrial equipment being loaded onto ships along with the population. This is especially interesting as one of the largest groups in question provided the core of much of the FRA's steel industry due to actually having some amount of hard coal in their territory, and that same group is evacuating to the area which would later be called Abkhazia, one of the very few other locations on the Black Sea with significant amounts of hard coal. The other states of the FRA are accusing those fleeing the country of being cowards who are abandoning the entire American people to be ravaged by the juntas, but with their troops in the process of being killed by the Air Force it's not like they can do much about these developments other than complain.
With the complete collapse of the FRA being imminent, the NPRA now faces the prospect of a war on two fronts. While they have managed to stabilize the front against Northern Command somewhat after the catastrophe of last fall, the deteriorating strategic situation has caused their leadership to begin evacuating everything they can to the Donbas, with hastily constructed docks a bit inland of the mouth of the Don river recieving even more hastily constructed boats full of people and supplies. The most critical personnel and industry are still being kept operational to buy more time, but even if by some miracle the evacuations can continue until the end of the year, most of the industry and Downtimer population will be left for the juntas to exploit. Still, it is better for a weakened NPRA to survive in a resource-rich region far from the eyes of reactionary states to rebuild than it would be for it to be completely destroyed by the Air Force.
In New Washington, President Chard has made use of the new peace with the Vanguardists to consolidate political power. Units raised from the territory of the former New American Republic were among the first to be demobilized, while more loyal divisions were kept in the field. On January 31st, as part of a carefully arranged plan, several Progressive senators introduced a bill to outlaw indentured servitude, the legal fiction used to keep slavery in place. This managed to pass both houses of the legislature and was signed by the President, after which the Senators from the State of Arzawa unanimously stated that they would secede from the Union if the bill was not immediately repealed. Chard's response was to immediately arrest them, declare that the State of Arzawa no longer exists, and use the remaining troops in the field to occupy the state. While several hundred people on both sides were killed in clashes over the coming weeks, the rebels were defeated in every major engagement, and the state is now under military occupation. Statements from Chard and his allies suggest that the occupation will likely be maintained until "reconstruction" is complete, which will probably be after the elections this fall - conveniently removing a large portion of GOP voters from the electorate.
Several expeditions to the western Mediterranean have embarked in the past few months, with various levels of success. An expedition from several towns on the Broken Coast to Napoli has managed to secure the area around the Bay of Naples, seemingly remaining relatively free of Cretan influence. The area is not especially rich in minerals but does have a dense population and is a fairly important trading port, and does have some opportunity for future growth. Crete has also arranged a deal with some Uptimer refugees from areas conquered by the Vanguardists to settle on Sardinia to exploit the silver, copper, lead, and zinc deposits there as a mostly autonomous republic. More expeditions are likely in the works, and they will likely be a significant in the western Mediterranean going forwards. Crete has also arranged for several tribes in southern Italy being ravaged by slave raiders to migrate to Sicily in exchange for protection, possibly reducing the economic damage of their recent genocide on the island.
Peace negotiations between the Republic of Rome and the Kingdom of Quatna have completely failed, with Quatna using the presence of several high ranking diplomats and governmental figures for the negotiations as an oppurtunity to kill them en masse, with many important positions now vacant. The Roman government has stated that the war will be continued until the complete destruction of the Kingdom, and most of the land along the coast of the Levant has been siezed by the Republic by the end of winter. The Kingdom of Mittani has also signed a peace agreement with the last remaining contestant to the Assyrian throne, Naram-Sin. A large amount of Assyrian land has been conquered by the Mittani and their relatively modern army, although it is unlikely they could win a war against the Republic of Rome if they decide the kingdom is no longer worth keeping around as an ally.
Infrastructure
Port Facilities (Stage 4): Building docks and shipyards in the Liberated Territories will enable them to be integrated into the rest of the Republic's economy, increasing the standard of living for our citizens there and increasing overall output. (10 Resources per dice (147+187=334/350))
Construction of more modern ports throughout the Liberated Territories has largely been completed, from the dozens of fishing villages that now have expanded piers and breakwaters to larger ports at more important locations. Much work has also been done on the new shipyards at Kalydon and Lefkandi, although the finishing touches still need to be put on some of the facilities being built.
Peloponnese City Modernization (Stage 2): Further expansion of the new housing developments and utility grids in the cities of the Peloponnese will enable several thousand more citizens to experience the benefits of modernity, as well as increase domestic labor efficiency in various aspects. (10 Resources per dice (77+156=233/175)) (Complete, Stage 3 58/200)
Over eight thousand of our citizens are now living in modern housing blocks, which while subpar by Uptime standards have running water, sewage, gaslights, and glass windows - all unparalleled luxuries in this era. Still, especially with the influx of several thousand refugees from Troy and Lesbos, further work is a high priority, as substantial housing shortages are still present and most of the urban population remains in housing several millennia out of date.
Telegraph Network (Stage 3): In addition to connecting yet more locations to the network, increasing the number of connections between major cities will expand throughput of information and enable more coordination across the Republic on various projects. (10 Resources per dice (181+62=243/150)) (Complete, Stage 4 93/200) (+1 Dice to Infrastructure, Heavy Industry, Light Industry, and Agriculture)
Additional telegraph lines have been laid between major cities in the Republic, significantly increasing our administrative capacity. Work has also begun on widening the telegraph network yet further, especially in areas likely to be important for the defense of the Republic.
Paved Road Construction (Stage 1): While they may not be nearly as good at transporting mass quantities of freight as canals or railroads, simple paved roads are much cheaper and can make do for smaller settlements. The availability of large amounts of coal tar will enable the cheap construction of acceptably long-lasting roads, enabling transportation networks to be improved yet further. (5 Resources per dice (69+56=125/125)) (Complete, Stage 2 0/150)
Paved tarmac roads, small by Uptime standards but still large enough to handle our current pedestrian and cart traffic, have been completed from Mycenae to Tiryns and Kópos, and from Thebes to Athens and Lefkandi. This has significantly increased the ease of land travel between the said cities, although since pretty much all bulk freight is shipped by water it is not super useful for heavy industrial projects. Plans have also been drawn up to pave all the decently sized roads of our cities, which while less impressive than massive roads tens of kilometers long will be used by tens of thousands of people every day.
Heavy Industry
Thríambos Ironworks (Stage 4): With the liberation of New Arizona set to increase our population by nearly two hundred percent, it is only natural for steel production to be increased by a similar amount to serve their needs. Half a dozen Bessemer converters will spill out over a hundred tons of molten steel every day, serving to feed the ever growing needs of the Revolution. (15 Resources per dice (48+453=501/525)) (+5 Political Support on completion)
Finishing touches still remain to be put on the open hearth furnace for specialty alloys, but all six of the new Bessemer converters have begun operation. We no longer have to worry about outright shortages of basic steel in the near future, even if it is of less than optimal quality in many cases. With the present surplus of steel, some have proposed approving the more widespread use of rebar in construction, which would make buildings both cheaper to build and more resilient to earthquakes, explosions, and other insults, but would consume a large portion of the current surplus.
[]Approve Widespread Rebar Use: There is no point to producing steel if we are not going to use it, and steel is now common enough that it is worth using it in applications where it is not strictly necessary. (Large increase in steel use, decrease in progress requirement for construction actions)
[]Keep Rebar Use Limited: The current surplus, while substantial, is still likely to be insufficient within a few short years of military buildup. Rebar can be used in fortifications, bridges, and other applications where steel use is justified, but we can keep on building apartment buildings and schools out of plain cinderblocks for the time being. (No Change)
Prometheus Heavy Machinery Plant (Stage 3): The small amounts of vanadium, molybdenum, and other elements present at Laurion are still sufficient for the production of decent amounts of tool steels, massively increasing our machining capabilities in almost every way. The production of wire, generators, and electric motors will also be expanded, making use of the possibilities given by synthetic insulations and enamels. A general expansion of the plant will also be conducted, increasing the quantity of capital goods produced as well as their quality. (20 Resources per dice (198+21=219/250)) (+5 Political Support and several new projects on completion)
A massive surge in investment towards machinery production has been accomplished in the past few months, made possible by the fact that many of the refugees fleeing Lesbos and Troy had actual Uptime experience in engineering, machining, and other critical professions rather than just being stuck with the choice between teaching here or farming in Anatolia. Production lines for far more precise electric machine tools are already nearly complete in some cases, alongside improved generators for powering them and larger motors for powering trains or mining machinery. Still, a bit more work is needed to make good on this investment and make our industrial base at least a bit less pathetic.
Attica Coal Mines (Stage 1): The current undersized mines near Thebes and Lefkandi can be modernized and expanded, increasing the access to coal for the whole of Attica and Euboea for residential and industrial use. (10 Resources per dice (140+23=163/125)) (Complete, Stage 2 38/150) (Liberated Territories dice can be used)
Further expansion and modernization of the existing mines has progressed substantially, as although the lignite deposits are not exposed enough for open pit mining they are fairly shallow and near existing urban centers. The coal is somewhat wetter and higher in ash than that at Kópos and is therefore unsuitable for metallurgical use, it is still not quite as bad as some other deposits in Greece and is more than good enough for local heating, cooking, roasting ores, and the production of cement. Due to large projected increases in local coal use, work has begun on expanding the mines yet further, although this is not yet critical.
Cement Facilities Expansion: With the increased availability of chemicals due to mass coking efforts, naphthalene polysulfonate superplasticizers can be produced on a fairly large scale, significantly boosting the properties of concrete with even small additions to the mix. When combined with building more cement plants in the Liberated Territories, the construction sector can be advanced significantly. (10 Resources per dice (109+72=181/125)) (Complete, Nat 100, Quality dice 42)
The planned new vertical shaft kilns in the Liberated Territories have been completed, along with the plants for producing polysulfonate plasticizers. An excess of allocated labor and materials for this project, while suboptimal from a planning standpoint, has enabled several enterprising managers to approve the construction of a small prototype rotary kiln for producing cement clinker, which promises to significantly improve the throughput of future cement plants when they are built, although the currently constructed prototype itself is not producing all that much due to its small size.
Light Industry
Textile Industry (Stage 4): Now that most cloth and clothing production in the Peloponnese has been mechanized, work must begin on bringing the Liberated Territories up to the same standard as the rest of the Republic. This stage will construct several large textile mills in Athens, Thebes, and Delphi, providing massive amounts of fabric and clothing for our new citizens. (10 Resources per dice (59+146=205/275)) (+5 Political Support on completion)
Work on large textile mills in Attica has resumed, although much of the machinery still needs to be installed. Waterwheels for gaining mechanical power from modified preexisting irrigation dams have been built, with no new dams needing to be built immediately for the immediate future.
Complex Goods Production: While it may not outwardly appear as critical as things such as pharmaceuticals and weapons, producing goods such as timekeeping devices and optics on a substantial scale is extremely important, even if it will require retraining Americans for many tasks due to the complexity involved if we want to start making progress on it before the secondary schools start to produce significant numbers of graduates. (25 Resources per dice (178+7=185/100)) (Complete, quality dice 79, +20 resources per turn)
Dedicated workshops for the production of various devices, from clocks to eyeglasses to measuring instruments, have been constructed in Mycenae and Tiryns. Output and quality are significantly lower than projected right now, but are expected to improve rapidly as the workers gain more experience. While relatively little of the produced items are going to be used directly in machining, they will still be critical for more accurate devices and will significantly improve our technical capabilities going forwards.
Chemical Industry
Synthetic Flavorings and Scents: While not as vital as medications, synthetic compounds can be used to add new flavors and smells to daily life. While we may not be able to get actual vanilla or cinnamon anytime soon, vanillin and cinnamaldehyde accomplish the same goals and are relatively easy to produce in the necessary quantities. (20 Resources per dice (70+19=89/50)) (Complete, quality dice 98, +25 Resources per turn from trade)
The completion of several small production lines for various flavorings and scents have been completed. The relatively low volume of the chemicals needed for food and perfuming applications, as well as the fairly benign applications for their synthesis, means that fairly inexpensive glass or lead vessels can be used for most of the equipment instead of rare stainless steel scavenged from Tucson at great expense. Foreign trade in the additives has already significantly increased state revenues, as everyone from New Washington to Egypt is desperate to make their food taste better without needing to trade spices from regions halfway across the world, in many cases completely unknown to us. Additionally, state-owned market stalls and distribution hubs have started stocking their shelves with synthetic spices, with various newspaper columns about cooking making sure that at least our literate population knows about the new options available to them.
"Spices just a few months ago beyond even the Pharaoh of Egypt are now available to every worker and peasant in the Republic, in exchange for just a few hours of labor vouchers or a few kilograms of wheat. Every cook is now discovering new ways to use the new flavors in food, making the food of the Republic even better." - Quote from The Daily Worker
Low-Pressure Hydrogenation Reactors: While the low quality of the chemical reactors we are able to produce renders many useful processes out of reach for now, hydrogenation reactions that only require an atmosphere or two of pressure still open up many doors. Most important will be the conversion of fish and olive oil to solid fats, increasing the options available for food in the Republic, and the production of furfuryl alcohol, cyclohexanone, and butadiene for use in plastic production. Gaining more experience with hydrogen before attempting processes that require hundreds of bars of pressure and high temperatures will also be good to increase efficiency and safety. (20 Resources per dice (0+7=7/60))
At long last, work has finally started on the mass production of several critical feedstocks. However, several issues have came up that must be addressed before the planned plants can be completed. While we do at last have a supply of actual chemical and process engineers, they are still a precious resource, and few can be allocated to work on this specific project full time. Accessing sufficient amounts of stainless steel has become an issue as well, as it has became harder for independent scavengers to enter Tucson over the past few years and the government of New Washington has largely banned the export of the scarce and critical material. While this can be gotten around with bribing the relevant officials, it still leads to added expense and delays, and the domestic production of stainless steel must be begun as soon as possible. An experimental reactor to test reaction conditions for the hydrogenation of vinylacetylene to butadiene for synthetic rubber production has also been destroyed by an explosion, and while no one was killed or maimed, we likely would not have been so lucky with a full-sized reactor. Still, all of these difficulties can and must be overcome with additional effort and resources.
Polymer Production (Stage 2): In addition to expanding the production of vinyl polymers yet further, efforts can be made to begin the mass production of PMMA and PETE for various niche applications. Other polymers will have to wait until we have the ability to preform hydrogenation reactions on a large scale. (20 Resources per dice (59+33=92/150)) (Stage 3 locked behind Low-Pressure Hydrogenation Reactors)
Large investments in increasing the production of acetylene for conversion into downstream products have been made, with several new arc furnaces built in Mycenae to make calcium carbide. The purchase of more stainless steel scrap for use in building chemical reactors have been made as well, even if final fabrication remains to be done in many cases. Still, more work must be done for the effort to start actually bearing fruit.
Agriculture
Agricultural Mechanization (Stage 3): While modest gains have been made thus far, at significant costs, agricultural mechanization will free both the peasant from hard labor and reduce the threat of starvation. Further production and distribution of agricultural machinery, as well as the importation of draft animals from abroad, will increase labor efficiency yet further. (10 Resources per dice (42+119=161/300))
While the unrest in Egypt has prevented the import of more draft animals, distribution of agricultural equipment and education on modern farming techniques can continue despite the disruption. Work on clearing woodlands so that increased labor efficiency can be translated into increased yields has also increased, although this is a long and slow process and will not massively increase yields overnight.
Granary Modernization (Stage 1): While we do have sufficient storage capability for our harvests for the time being, much of this is in very simple, small, and inefficient granaries built before the Event. Relatively cheap concrete silos can be built in villages to reduce storage rates and increase labor efficiency, while in larger cities and towns larger steam-powered grain elevators will ensure that the cities have a nearby secure food supply in the case of disruption and reduce the labor required for moving around grain. Outside of the major cities, these will be cooperatively owned, hopefully making the villagers more likely to trust them and increasing popular support. (10 Resources per dice (150+0/125)) (Complete, Stage 2 25/150)
Modernization of grain storage in the Peloponnese has begun, and while large amounts of work remain to be done on many of the planned silos and grain elevators, enough resources have been allocated to ensure they will complete in the coming months. While this will not immediately revolutionize agriculture, reducing spoilage will enable a few percent more of each harvest to actually be consumed, and storage in more centralized locations will enable more efficient taxation. Some work has begun on modernizing grain storage in the Liberated Territories as well, making sure that all grain in the Republic is in safe storage.
Services
Secondary Schools (Stage 3): As more students are expected to graduate from primary schools in the fairly near future, expansion is possible, if still not a pressing priority. If excess capacity is built, proposals have been made to give classes for certain highly motivated workers in the meantime, possibly making some of them more useful to the economy. (10 Resources per dice (228+85=313/300)) (+5k secondary student slots) (Complete, Stage 4 13/450)
Utilizing the current surplus of American high school graduates, a massive program for the expansion of the secondary schooling system has begun. While teaching will not begin until after the harvest due to a lack of primary school graduates and the need to give future teachers at least some training, the current wave of hiring will enable most urban primary school graduates to receive further education, although this number is miniscule compared to the rural population. Plans for the temporary excess of student slots this will create involve part-time classes for certain workers in critical professions in order for them to work more effectively, and although this will not bring them up to the level of people with an actual education it will still enable significant benefits to be gained before the first wave of full-time students graduates.
Adult Literacy Campaigns (Stage 5): While a decent percentage of the population of the Peloponnese now at least know how to write their own names, the Liberated Territories are even further behind, with essentially no one having any literacy at all. This must be rectified as quickly as possible, although expanding literacy campaigns to the level they are at in the Peloponnese will take several years. (5 Resources per dice (26+63=89/425)) (+5 Political Support upon completion)
A few dozen more literate Downtimers have been transferred to the Liberated Territories to help ensure some penetration of literacy in people old enough to work within the next decade. Still, it is clear that a lot more work needs to be done for this to have a significant effect.
Liberated Territories
Liberated Territories Agricultural Education (Stage 2): While some peasants in the Liberated Territories have been given access to new techniques, crops, and tools, many more have not. This situation must be rectified as soon as possible. (5 Resources per dice (129+35=164/175)
Over a hundred more workers have been assigned to travel between various villages in the Liberated Territories and teach about more modern agricultural techniques, expected to give significant if relatively small benefits. Still, more work is needed for this to reach the entire population in a reasonable time.
City Reconstruction and Modernization (Stage 2): While people may no longer be freezing to death in the streets of Athens and Thebes, most of the population still lives in deeply subpar dwellings that need to be modernized in order to reduce disease, increase productivity, and win over the population. (10 Resources per dice (17+113=130/300))
A few more apartment blocks have begun construction in Thebes and Lefkandi to accommodate workers there, although progress has been disappointingly slow even for this.
"Warehouses at Thebes are nearly empty of building supplies, with a few sacks of cement and piles of gravel being the only materials I can find, that have not been diverted north to building fortifications. How are we to build up the cities, when the materials are not here?" - Hektor son of Aiguptos, overseer
Military:
Bolt Action Rifle Production (Stage 3): With the new wave of American refugees coming in, our production of relatively precision weapons can more easily be expanded further. While mass production of submachine guns may be more pressing, rifles are only slightly less critical. (25 Resources per dice (23+5/150))
While submachine guns have gotten far more focus, some work has still been done on increasing the production of bolt action rifles. Some expansions to the workshops producing them have taken place, but a lot of work remains to be done before these investments can be translated to a large increase in rifle production.
"I denounce Daniel Mason, son of Jakob Mason as a reactionary and a saboteur! He has wasted months of labor, obsessing over the wood for the rifle stocks, demanding walnut trees be felled and precious chemicals diverted to his experimental varnish!" - Radamanqus son of Tulisios, machinist
Submachine Gun Production (Stage 2): Now that production of submachine guns at some quantity has begun, further expansion will enable them to be issued at some kind of scale, allowing the army to modernize further. (20 Resources per dice (225+0/125)) (Complete, quality dice 33, +300 submachine guns/turn, Stage 3 100/150)
A massive expansion of production lines for submachine guns in preparation for the coming war against the fascist pirates has taken place, with production increasing by several times in just a few months. Still, far more investment is needed if we are to stand a chance against the Air Force if they invade in the next few years.
Mine Production: The mass production of both land and naval mines will considerably increase the ability of our armed forces to protect key areas of territory or deny their use to various enemies, and is a high priority for modernizing our armed forces. (10 Resources per dice (75/75)) (Complete, quality dice 82)
Mass production of basic antipersonnel mines has begun, utilizing either pressure plates or tripwires to set off a Cheddite charge in a cast iron container. These are already being utilized to create obstacles in several critical border passes with Iolcus, ensuring that the Air Force cannot attack us without taking casualties. Various types of naval mines are also being produced and stockpiled, to give us an improved ability to defend our shorelines.
Improved Coastal Defenses: With the production of large naval guns and increased amounts of steel and concrete, as well as the threat of piracy and naval invasion, it makes sense for us to invest in more modern coastal defenses. This will involve building polygonal forts containing heavy artillery near all of our major ports, as well as the Euripus and Rion straits, to secure control of the Gulf of Corinth and the sea in between Euboea and Attica. The guns, bunkers, and associated equipment will not be cheap, however. (25 Resources per dice (75+0=75/70)) (Complete, quality dice 82)
Reinforced concrete forts have been built next to every major port in the Republic and at several strategically important straits, with large modern artillery pieces capable of striking targets several kilometers away with enough force to sink a monitor, let alone the flimsy wooden vessels used by pirates. Our large surplus of outdated cannons has been distributed to smaller fishing buildings in relatively small but still fairly secure emplacements, ensuring that they have some means to defend themselves against smaller raids.
Land Fortifications (Stage 1): Building fairly small bunkers and trenches at critical locations along the Pindus and Othrys mountain ranges will significantly hinder any attackers from our northeast, which looks increasingly likely as time goes on. Some work will also be done on securing critical cities and mines throughout the Republic from raids. The currently planned stage of construction may not be enough to stop a determined attacker, but it is better than nothing and fairly cheap. (10 Resources per dice (103/75)) (Complete, quality dice 59, Stage 2 28/100)
Bunkers, trench lines, and minefields have been laid along the border to the north, providing some level of defense against an invasion from that direction. Small forts have also been erected along city walls in order to provide more defense against raiders than small arms, and while they will not stop any army with a decent amount of artillery it will be useful if our countryside is ever ravaged by travelling bands of pirates or Air Force troops. Some work has also been done on further fortification of the borders and the construction of fortified storage depots nearby, although only some preliminary surveying and excavation has been done for that.
Universal Military Training (Stage 1): Setting up a more formalized system of conscription and training of all citizens when they turn 16 will ensure a large pool of at least somewhat trained manpower for the People's Army in the event of an armed conflict. While it will take some effort to fully implement, it is imperative if we are to actually use the weapons we are producing. (10 Resources per dice (120+9/100)) (Complete, quality dice 59, nat 1, -5 Political Support) (Stage 2 29/150) (+650 trained per turn)
The rollout of training of all male citizens has begun, although there is still a long ways to go before we get our entire population. However, a major incident has taken place which has caused considerable controversy in the Central Committee. While we are not yet conscripting Downtimer females or requiring them to train, it is policy to accept females who volunteer for military service. In one village nearby Thebes, a young Downtimer woman decided to leave for the city in order to volunteer for military service, sneaking away in the night in order to avoid her family, who disapproved of her plans. In the morning, her family and fellow villagers found out and went to the main conscription office in Thebes, where she had arrived just a few hours earlier. They demanded that she be returned to the village, the officials in the conscription office said no, and a standoff ensued. The villagers eventually retreated when military reinforcements arrived before anyone was injured or killed, but it has shown that backwards attitudes are unfortunately still quite widespread in the Republic. This included a few of the more reactionary Agrarian members of the Central Committee, two of whom spoke in favor of completely banning women from the armed forces for the foreseeable future. This failed to gain majority support even in their own party, and has caused considerable embarrassment to those associated with them, but still shows that we have a lot of work left to do.
Uniform Modernization: With more advanced weapons and production techniques, changes in our uniforms have become both possible and necessary. The mass production of more modern boots containing synthetic rubber instead of strips of old tires, the adoption of a blotch camouflage jacket, pants, and backpacks for improved concealment, and basic manganese alloy steel helmets that should hopefully deflect some projectiles as well as more advanced and efficient entrenching tools will significantly increase the survivability and maneuverability of our troops. (10 Resources per dice (156/100)) (Complete, Quality Dice 24)
A new uniform is now being issued en masse, consisting of actual camouflaged patterned clothing and backpacks. More modern boots with neoprene soles have also been produced and are a standard part of the uniform, being a large increase in quality up from scavenged strips of tire treads. In order to save weight, plastic water bottles are being issued as well, as each one only needs a few hundred grams of polymers and is not that expensive. New manganese steel helmets and folding shovels are being issued as well, to enable troops to dig in more quickly and be better protected while in trenches. Production of uniforms and equipment is more rapid than that of modern weapons at this time, so further expansions are not likely to be needed in the near term.
"Elliot? What are you doing here, I'm in the middle of work. Can't this wait until -mmmmph!" - Aitana Freixa
Bureaucracy
Recruit Americans To Ministry: Almost every single American adult is far more educated than nearly any downtimer, and many have actual experience in areas such as management and accounting. Hundreds of thousands of these people live on the coasts of Anatolia, and many would be more than happy to leave behind a life of subsistence farming to do paperwork. While this will be extremely unpopular, having more educated people in the Ministry can only be a good thing. Now that a large pulse of refugees has arrived in the Republic, it is imperative that we snatch some of them up before they are all allocated to other projects. (5 Resources and -2 Political Support per dice) (Larger effect the more dice are spent) (Increases dice allocation) (43) (+1 Dice to Chemical Industry and Bureaucracy)
Over a hundred refugees from Anatolia have been hired to work in the ministry, but many of the most qualified candidates have been stolen by the military or individual plant managers. We did at least manage to get a few former chemical engineers and lab techs to work on administrative tasks in that area, and the large number of unspecialized workers will still be useful for some lower-level work.
Evaluate Replacements (Agriculture): It is apparent that some Ministers are too incompetent, reactionary, or both to serve the people well in their current positions. This would evaluate various people for a ministry position, followed by firing the current minister if they are judged to be more competent. (1 Dice, rolled) (Possible Political Support loss/gain) (Limited to 1 minister per turn) (78)
The reactionary idealist kulak-worshipper has outlived her usefulness, and while a worryingly large percentage of our government still takes her nonsense seriously, a majority have finally realized that you cannot maintain an industrialized economy without the use of slightly hazardous agrichemicals. She has been persuaded to "retire" to a post as a teacher of environmental studies, where she will hopefully actually be of some use to the Revolution. Several possible candidates are available to replace her, and while they all have various downsides and upsides all are far more reasonable about the sacrifices necessary for agricultural modernization.
[]Cornelius Butler: The only actual agronomist in the entire Republic, Butler recently arrived from Troy, where he spent several years trying to modernize the country's agriculture under the police regime. A combination of disgust towards the government's treatment of Downtimers and frustration with their complete inability to actually implement any of his policies led to him being one of the highest-ranked officials to defect to the National Democratic Front after they rebelled. While some still view him with distrust due to his service with the Trojan government and fanaticism for the use of pesticides in almost every case, the fact remains that he is by far the most qualified candidate for the post. (-20 Political Support to take)
-Old (1% chance of death per turn, slowly increases over time)
-Agronomist with decades of experience (+10 to all Agriculture dice, +1 additional Agriculture dice)
-Modernizer (Wants to completely revamp agricultural production as quickly as possible, for both good and ill)
-Moderate
[]Amber Garza: A student in the University of Arizona's Agricultural Technology program before the Event, her incomplete education was still extremely useful on Lesbos, where she coordinated the modernization of agriculture for much of the island. She is much more politically reliable than the other candidates, which is an additional plus, although some other members of the Central Committee do not see it that way. (-10 Political Support to take)
-Agricultural education and experience (+5 to all Agriculture dice)
-Mechanization focus
-Maoist
[]Benjamin Kim: A farmer who was involved with Native Seeds/SEARCH before the event, he is far more reasonable on the topic of pesticides and herbicides than Barnett while still knowing a decent amount about low-technology farming methods. Many of his proposed policies hinge on increasing the import or production of chemical fertilizers, and while mass nitrogen fixation is still fairly far off there are possibilities of jointly developing phosphate and potash extraction projects with Crete or Egypt. (0 Political support to take)
-Non-academic farming experience
-Fertilizer focus
-Intensificationist
[]Milton Campbell: Chosen for the spot of Deputy Minister of Agriculture due to being the only policially acceptable candidate with management experience who wasn't busy with other tasks when the Republic was founded, he would be the natural choice for Minister now that Barnett has been removed. However, even with the experience he gained as a subsistence farmer in the years after the Event and as deputy of the agriculture ministry, he is still not exactly the most qualified candidate. He is, however, at least fairly well connected, and appointing him could give us political capital to use elsewhere (+10 Political Support to take)
-No Uptime farming experience (-5 to all Agriculture dice)
-Well-connected (+1 additional Agriculture dice when minister)
-Intensificationist
Current Economic Issues (produced/needed):
Transportation: Sufficient
Fuel: Sufficient
Steel: Large surplus, demand rapidly increasing
Copper: Sufficient
Wood: Sufficient
Construction Materials: Surplus
Electricity: Surplus
Food: Sufficient 30
Cloth: Sufficient production
Rural labor (varies by season): Mostly free until April
Urban labor: Sufficient in the Peloponnese, surplus in the Liberated Territories
Literate workers: Surplus in urban areas
American educated workers: Surplus
total student slots: 18k+16k primary, 10k secondary, 0k tertiary
I'm thinking to approve the Rebar use. We have a surplus of steel, and a lot of construction projects to do.
As for agricultural minister, I'm tempted to just swallow the political cost and choose Butler for that +10 bonus. Although I'm willing to settle for Garza instead, since +5 is still pretty good.
rebar use means we need to make more steel, which means we need to dig up more coal, which means we get more nitrogen, it is essential for the popular republic to make reinforced concrete!
We have PS to burn and at least 2, 3 including textiles, PS gain projects about to complete. We can definitely swallow the PS cost for Butler, and I feel it could be worth it for a proper Agronomist.
We could even maybe slot in Garza or Kim as a Deputy in a couple turns.
The reactionary idealist kulak-worshipper has outlived her usefulness, and while a worryingly large percentage of our government still takes her nonsense seriously, a majority have finally realized that you cannot maintain an industrialized economy without the use of slightly hazardous agrichemicals. She has been persuaded to "retire" to a post as a teacher of environmental studies, where she will hopefully actually be of some use to the Revolution. Several possible candidates are available to replace her, and while they all have various downsides and upsides all are far more reasonable about the sacrifices necessary for agricultural modernization.
[]Cornelius Butler: The only actual agronomist in the entire Republic, Butler recently arrived from Troy, where he spent several years trying to modernize the country's agriculture under the police regime. A combination of disgust towards the government's treatment of Downtimers and frustration with their complete inability to actually implement any of his policies led to him being one of the highest-ranked officials to defect to the National Democratic Front after they rebelled. While some still view him with distrust due to his service with the Trojan government and fanaticism for the use of pesticides in almost every case, the fact remains that he is by far the most qualified candidate for the post. (-20 Political Support to take)
-Old (1% chance of death per turn, slowly increases over time)
-Agronomist with decades of experience (+10 to all Agriculture dice, +1 additional Agriculture dice)
-Modernizer (Wants to completely revamp agricultural production as quickly as possible, for both good and ill)
-Moderate
[]Amber Garza: A student in the University of Arizona's Agricultural Technology program before the Event, her incomplete education was still extremely useful on Lesbos, where she coordinated the modernization of agriculture for much of the island. She is much more politically reliable than the other candidates, which is an additional plus, although some other members of the Central Committee do not see it that way. (-10 Political Support to take)
-Agricultural education and experience (+5 to all Agriculture dice)
-Mechanization focus
-Maoist
[]Benjamin Kim: A farmer who was involved with Native Seeds/SEARCH before the event, he is far more reasonable on the topic of pesticides and herbicides than Barnett while still knowing a decent amount about low-technology farming methods. Many of his proposed policies hinge on increasing the import or production of chemical fertilizers, and while mass nitrogen fixation is still fairly far off there are possibilities of jointly developing phosphate and potash extraction projects with Crete or Egypt. (0 Political support to take)
-Non-academic farming experience
-Fertilizer focus
-Intensificationist
[]Milton Campbell: Chosen for the spot of Deputy Minister of Agriculture due to being the only policially acceptable candidate with management experience who wasn't busy with other tasks when the Republic was founded, he would be the natural choice for Minister now that Barnett has been removed. However, even with the experience he gained as a subsistence farmer in the years after the Event and as deputy of the agriculture ministry, he is still not exactly the most qualified candidate. He is, however, at least fairly well connected, and appointing him could give us political capital to use elsewhere (+10 Political Support to take)
-No Uptime farming experience (-5 to all Agriculture dice)
-Well-connected (+1 additional Agriculture dice when minister)
-Intensificationist
Hrrrrng. None of these people really appeal... Might want to just go for Cornelius though, really set him loose, then after he dies / becomes politically inconvenient, hopefully replace him with someone who has a more balanced approach *and* decent amounts of experience.
