i recently finished a book called “Jennifer Government” by Max Barry. and I enjoyed it very much. I saw this post, over at chicklit, in the forums, about an online game, created by the author. it’s called Jennifer Government NationStates. which is, and i quote from the FAQ, “… is a nation simulation game. You create your own country, fashioned after your own ideals, and care for its people. Either that or you deliberately torture them. It’s really up to you.” When the author created it, he thought it would be kinda fun, it would let people know about his book, and a few people would play. turns out thousands and thousands play.
last night, fee and i created our own nations. i’ll let fee tell you about hers, because i cannot remember the name. it’s got some urdu in it. and i think she’s quite the little pol pot? actually, that might be a bit harsh. she’s a little dictator tho.
my nation is called The Most Serene Republic of Bedlamite . It took me forever to find a word that was not used. believe me. many many bad words were IM’d to fee in the process. i wanted to be the Most Serene Republic of Insouciance. i was thinking there was no way anyone would use that in their name. wrong. then i thought, ah-HA! said it out-loud as well. Surly no one would use the word Tatterdemalion. who even knows about that word? besides me. hands? raise your hands if you know this word? I first read it in Charles Di Lint”s “Moonheart” and since then, i live a daily search for a context in which to use it. It does not come up often. but nope, someone used it. i could not believe it.
so, by that time, i had decided that my government style was going to be “psychotic.” i love the crazies. there were choices like evil, compassionate, and other boring things. but i wanted crazy. so i started looking for words that meant crazy or crazy people. Bedlamite means a madman, a crazy. you know, bedlam… plus.. ite. now, i should have called it The Most Serene Republic of Bedlamites. but i was too excited that i found a name i could use. and crazy people don’t care about agreement or grammar… they can’t be bothered with it. if worse had come to worse, i would have used jodiferous. i just wanted something that had a meaning. a meaning known to the rest of the nations.
After you name it, and pick you style, you chose your motto, your currency, and your national animal.
Motto: Well we are just one big frickin’ ray of sunshine, aren’t we?
Currency: The Phooey [phooey is one of my favorite all time words.]
National Animal*: The Kitten. specifically kittens. not cats. kittens.
after that, you take a short quiz, which i answered pretty much as i would normally. and bamf, you are created. If you’d like to see the particulars of my nation, you are welcome to. the whole game definitely has a humorous tone. you are sent an issue every day, that you have to decide on, decide on the action. what you chose affects your nation, of course. and if you join the UN, even more changes can happen. and i am officially tired of trying to explain the whole thing and will leave you to your exploration of the website and the game. should you so choose.
anyway, it’s fun. check it out.
*originally, i wanted a Big Cat for my animal. dr. stevil suggested the black panther. and then i had to explain to him that there really was no such animal. per se. that “black panther” is a term applied to black Big Cats of many breeds. most frequently Jaguars. but they also use it for black leopards and the like. Panthera is the genus. which they share with the lion, tiger and leopard. which is funny, because there is a genus leopardus, but the leopard doesn’t belong to it. [but ocelot’s do.]
dr. stevil: [ignoring most of what i said] use it anyway.
me: i can’t. it’s wrong. i can’t have a national animal that is not an actual animal. it’s a description of an animal.
dr. stevil: it’s cool.
me: i can’t. it’s just not right. science won’t let me.
dr. stevil: i am not longer interested in this conversation. please desist from discussing it with me any further.