User:Vivaporius/Viva's Nation/IV

Xyon, officially known as the Mikaean Directorate of Xyon, is a spanning the entire surface of the planet of the same name. Xyon is an dirigist run as a, with its seat of power located in the capital city of Blackstone. The government exercises its over thirty-seven sectors and three federal districts, which is under the direct control of the Mikaean federal government. The official language of Xyon is. The nation has a total land area of 28,455,796.32 square kilometers (10,986,844.38 square miles), not counting total surface area, making it one of the ever recorded. Furthermore, Xyon also had an estimated population of two billion people as of 2015, making it the known to humanity. The planet of Xyon itself is located in the orbit of, a large blue-white star some twenty-five light-years away from the.

Very little about Xyon's prehistorical era is known aside from that told by the Mikaeans, who claim that their forefather, Mikael O'Neill, after whom they take their namesake, traveled to the planet, and establishing the Mikaean civilization more than six thousand years ago. Mikaean society grew from then on out, originating in the Verdant Plains of western Xyon, and spread across the rest of the planet over the next two thousand years during the Age of Growth into a series of familial entities known as households. These houses, consisting of a handful of fertile male Mikaeans and their millions and often tens of millions of female offspring, took over large portions of Xyon, and begin fighting over land and resources in a time known today as the Age of War in Mikaean history. This period of conflict lasting from 2000 BCE to 786 CE, resulted in the deaths of countless millions of Mikaeans, and provided insight into the callous nature of the Mikaean psyche. Xyon experienced irregular population growth as a result of these conflicts, as the households on the planet warred on endlessly.

With the end of the Unification Wars in 786 CE by Judas the Great, the Age of War had been ended, setting off the beginning of the Age of Reason, during which time much of about Mikaean culture and society would be defined, giving rise to the many philosophical and ideological beliefs of the Mikaeans as a species. Talented artists, musicians, writers, and poets such as n/a, n/a, n/a, and n/a, were crucial to the formation of the Mikaean arts and literature, ushering in the Mikaean renaissance which came at the end of countless centuries of warfare. Mikaean technological growth and progress advanced steadily in the next four thousand years, as the efficient and productive nature of the Mikaeans had been allowed to grow outside of the battlefield, allowing for many technological innovations to appear long before they had in human society. Developments in the field of medicine and communications were made at stunning speeds, and the already rigid and inflexible nature of Mikaean culture had been allowed to truly coalesce into a single, homogeneous entity. In 1956, Xyon developed interstellar flight, allowing them to travel between stars at relatively quick speeds. Xyon discovered no habitable worlds outside of its solar system, with the exception of Earth in 1976.

In 1976, first contact had been established with Earth, and official lines of communication opened up between the two worlds. However, tensions remain high between the two worlds, as Xyon, being the more advanced and populous of the two, often asserts itself aggressively in human political affairs. Currently, Xyon is regarded to be at least a full century ahead of humanity technologically, though it relies heavily upon manpower instead of automation. Xyon is major and, and classed as a  which wields the  by power-purchasing parity and. The nation wields power on a level that classifies it as a, and is an active supporter of. Xyon is a in human political circles, and possesses the  ever recorded. Because of Xyon's overwhelming technological and military strength, preparation against a potential Mikaean invasion of Earth has often dominated many areas of human media and literature.

Etymology
The name Xyon is a corruption of the Hebrew word Zion by the first Mikaeans on the planet; a major hill outside of the city of and mentioned in the. The name had been selected by Mikael O'Neill in light of the world's mountainous nature and its pristine environment, almost regarded as holy in O'Neill's eyes. Prior to that point, the planet had no name nor a native population, prompting O'Neill to select his own. He had never expected the Mikaeans to call the planet "Xyon", though he adopted the name as the official pronunciation for the world, believing it to be more unique in his view. In the common manner of Mikaean culture and society, the name has not changed from its original spelling and pronunciation, and has remained current throughout the thousands of years of Mikaean history.

Antiquity
Before the settlement of the planet by the Mikaeans around 4000 BC, no evidence of habitation by intelligent life on Xyon has been discovered by archaeologists. The first centers of dwelling sprung up on the western coast of Xyon along the Bay of Mikael, where modern-day Blackstone, Oxida Nova, and Karus are located. Several hundred ancient dwellings are located all along the coastline, and thousands of artifacts such as cooking utensils, statues, and weapons, have since been unearth at those locations, giving rise to the common understanding that the Mikaean Coast was the center of early Mikaean civilization. In accordance with Mikaean history and religious tradition, the oldest of these dwellings was the home of Mikael O'Neill, the father and creator of the Mikaean species. The Blackstone Estate is the earliest known permanent dwelling on the planet, and was built around 4000 BC, the same time Mikael was reputed to have traveled to the planet from another point in history, seeking to create the Mikaeans in his image.

Very little information exists outside of the Mikaean Codex on the origins of the Mikaeans. All that is stated by the codex is that Mikael himself has arrived from another world, with the description given of the world placing it on a similar level as. The Mikaeans were created on Xyon as part of Mikael's desire to set up a civilization that thought and felt as he did, and shared the same philosophies and ideals he had long held throughout his left. One of the more outlandish concepts mentioned in the codex is that of temporal manipulation, better known as, which helped to explain the presence of the Mikaeans in a period of time preceding that of their creator's. While little evidence has been found to validate this potential myth, the fact that the Mikaeans refer to humanity directly without having come into contact with them prior to 1974, has given rise to many theories supporting the claims made in the codex. Aside from these, the origins of the Mikaeans and their colonization of Xyon come entirely from the Mikaean Codex and the records kept by Mikael himself.

Colonization of the surrounding lands took place in later periods, with most centers of trade outside of the coastal region, having sprung up during the Age of the Forefathers – the time in which the Mikaeans began to spread out; and therefore after Mikael's presumed death in 3961 BC. Several ancient tablets recording the history of the Mikaean people were unearth outside of Skye, and also carried records of a thriving silk trade from Blackstone to Skye, clearly indicating that the western-most part of the Mikaean Coast had been colonized by at least 3800 BC. Evidence as to the settlement of the northern portions of the coast was eventually discovered in 1923, by a group of soldiers assisting a town following an earthquake near the city of Kessler. A bundle of copper dating back to the Age of Creation was forced to the surface following the quake, and was stamped with the seal of the city of Karus and bound for the north according the records found nearby, indicating the existence of a copper trade to the region during the era.

The history of the first households is known to have begun immediately after Mikael's death, in line with his instructions that his sons spread out and settle the land. The first major settlement outside of the coastal region was Ashland in O'Neill, founded in 3903 BC. Records kept by House O'Neill show that the first patriarch of the house took time to gather the resources he needed for the journey outside of the modern-day Capital Region. Ashland was the first of several major settlements established outside of Mikaean Coast, and highlighted an important transition in the history of the Mikaean species. This transitional period span from the time of Mikael's death to the formation of the first households outside of the coastline, and the beginning of the later Age of Growth. House O'Neill, House Morgan, and House Arceneaux were the first households established immediately following Mikael's death, and would define Mikaean history as the ancient era of Mikaean civilization drew to a close.

Rise of Mikaeanism
Notably, the most important aspect of Mikaean history and civilization was the rise of Mikaeanism just before Mikael's death in 3961 BC. The growth of the religion had been spontaneous, and took place without Mikael's knowledge in the city of Bastion in 3973 BC. The Cult of the Father, founded by a group of Mikaeans who directly tended to the needs of Mikael and his work in the region, arose in the city under the guidance of Anais the Pious, the personal doctor to Mikael. She and her followers believed that Mikael was an agent of a higher power who was gifted the godlike power and authority to create life in his image, and was worthy of their worship and devotion, not just as his children, but as his devout followers. Though records show that Mikael was aware of rumors about the movement's growth, he was kept in the dark as Anais believed that Mikael would deny his godhood and give the facade of a humble individual so as to avoid worship of himself.

The movement spread across Mikaean civilization within a few years of its foundation, with its membership exploding in size shortly after Mikael compiled and published the Ebon Chronicles, an autobiography of his life and works, which also contained a piece of his hair and enough biological material to prove his existence, as well as an image of himself and his signature beneath. The piece also contained his instructions to the Mikaeans and laws he wished them to follow, effectively and unknowingly giving the cult their holy book from the hands of their self-proclaimed deity. After Mikael's death, Mikaeanism was established as the official religion of the species as per an agreement of the first Mikaean patriarchs, and the Mikaean Alithian Church founded as the organized religious authority of the species. The religious nature Mikael had programmed into his children ultimately saw him becoming the god they would worship, and has remained so down into the modern day.

Government
The government of Xyon is a , governed by the doctrines of dirigism, which has its origins in the country. The Mikaean constitution defines the government of Xyon as a "single-party state united under the banner of dirigism", and leaves no room for political change. The government is dominated by the ruling Mikaean Brotherhood, the sole legal political party in the country, and the only political party to have existed within the borders of Xyon. The head of the Mikaean Brotherhood and by extension the government of Xyon, is the Supreme Director, who serves as the highest-ranking political authority in the country. The Supreme Director wields all major executive powers, and works in conjunction with the Advisory Council of Xyon, the nation's federal cabinet. The Supreme Director is elected to the post for a term of five years by the Supreme Federal Congress.

The Supreme Federal Congress is the nation's unicameral legislative body, and is made up of representatives elected from throughout Xyon from the districts of the country. The Congress consists of 0 members, each representing one of the 0 districts of Xyon, including the federal capital of Blackstone, and the two special districts consisting of Xyon's largest city of Oxida Nova, and its fourth-largest city and largest port city, Karus. In theory, the Supreme Federal Congress is suppose to create, ratify, and vote on laws for the nation, as well as counter the power of the Supreme Director. However, in practice, the Congress serves more as a rubber-stamp committee, simply passing any laws the Supreme Director proposes. Instead, the Supreme Director uses the Congress to gauge the needs of the people by taking part in the meetings of the legislature to moderate the debates of the Congress every five years.

Corruption within the government is rampant, with competing households vying for a position of power within the federal government of Xyon. While policies and decisions within the individual households are made with little issue or fanfare, actions to deal with minor affairs on the federal level often take weeks to resolve as the representatives from the houses of Xyon bicker with one another over pointless details as they maneuver for political gain. This has led to gridlock within the government on most issues, and outright conflict on issues pertaining to the planet as a whole. Coalition governments are commonplace as the houses attempt to prevent one house from gaining too much power, however, this has not been the case under the current administration. Almost all senior executive positions are held by members of House O'Neill, the first and paramount house of the Mikaeans. There has been little backlash against this as most Mikaeans view the household's power as a continuation of Mikael O'Neill's, the creator of the Mikaeans, original policies and goals.

Law and justice
Because of the vast size of Xyon, the constitution establishes a three-tier legal system in the country to deal with legal issues in a comprehensive fashion. The system is broken down into federal, sectorial, and districtual courts, each addressing legal disputes throughout Xyon. The highest court in the nation is the Supreme Court of Xyon, which operates independently of the national legislature and the executive, but is subject to the oversight of the Supreme Director. There are nine justices who make up the body of the Supreme Court, with the Supreme Justice of Xyon serving as the head of the court. Members of the Supreme Court are either directly appointed by the Supreme Director, or nominated by him should he be so inclined, and their nomination either accepted or rejected by the Supreme Federal Congress following a two-thirds majority vote. Supreme Court justices are elected or appointed by the federal government, hold their offices for life, though they can be removed from their position by the Supreme Director or on the recommendation of the Supreme Federal Congress following a two-thirds majority vote.

As a whole, the judicial system of Xyon is often criticized by its human counterparts on Earth, given its high, and the often harsh sentencing of defendants on trial. It is not unknown for individuals going through the Mikaean court system to wait four or five years just to get a hearing before even passing on to a trial, and bribery of judges is commonplace. Suspects are often incarcerated long before any evidence is collected or presented by a prosecutor, and forced confessions are considered standard practice by Mikaean law enforcement. The prison system in Xyon is far worse than many of those found on Earth, with terrible living conditions, brutal beatings by prison guards, and an unacceptable number of rapes reported in almost all of the prisons located throughout Xyon. Prisoners are legally stripped of all civil liberties and protections, and the constitution of Xyon as well as the nation's penal code, state that prisoners have no rights under the law, and are treated accordingly.

The laws of Xyon are enforced by the Mikaean Security Forces, which function as the national police force of Xyon. The MSF is divided into sectorial operation areas, and maintains district stations in every district of Xyon. The force is noted for its use of lethal force in almost all instances where suspects may be armed, leading to shoot-outs in the streets of major cities, and typically resulting dozens of fatalities. Xyon has what many call a "runaway crime epidemic", with near apocalyptic levels of crime throughout the nation, rivaling that of many unstable nations on Earth. Because of this, a strict "" exists in the Mikaean law enforcement system, with heavy-handed tactics utilized by Mikaean police to deal with the nation's crime waves. Suspects are often executed by officers for misdemeanors, and a blind eye is given to extrajudicial rapes and beatings by the government. The desire to deal with the crime issue has also seen the government maintain lax gun ownership regulations in the country, leading many to blame such policies for the crime epidemic.

All law enforcement agencies are under the supervision of the Directorate of Love, which controls the MSF as well as the near omnipresent Vanguard for Peace and Security. The Vanguard serves as a national militia and volunteer force, which assists the security forces in policing neighborhoods and monitoring suspicious behavior in their areas. Serving as a vast "morality police", the Vangaurd keeps tabs on nearly all Mikaeans its members come across, and has volunteers ranging from teachers, to students, to clergy, and simply office clerks, making the government's oversight in the cities inescapable. The force also provides extra manpower to the police through its uniformed members, who are typically assigned to low-end responsibilities such as breaking up fights, apprehending thieves and low-level gang members, as well traffic duty. Members in good standing with the Vanguard can see themselves fast-tracked through Xyon's labyrinthine bureaucratic system, or given many government privileges for their work and loyalty to the state.

Military
The Mikaean military forces are known as the Xyon Armed Services, which itself is broken down into three branches; the Obsidian Guard, the Mikaean National Guard, and the Vanguard for Peace and Security. The Obsidian Guard is the foremost military force of the armed services, and represents the best trained and equipped combat units available to the government of Xyon. It consists of three branches and 813,217 active personnel, though it is unique in that it lacks reserve force. The Obsidian Guard recruits all of its members from the other three branches of the military, ensuring a high level of professionalism within its ranks. It is the only combat force permitted to operate within the borders of the Capital Region of Xyon, and may freely operate in any of the sectors of Xyon without having to request the permission of the sector's government. All high-tech equipment such as direct-energy weaponry, shielding, anti-gravity technology, and advanced robotic systems, are reserved for use within the Obsidian Guard, and only the Obsidian Guard. It owns its loyalty to the office of the Supreme Director, and ensures the security of the government, serving as a "republican guard" as well.

The Mikaean National Guard is the second branch of the Xyon Armed Services, and the second-largest in terms of size and equipment. In spite of its name, it is a fully-fledged military force, and operates as the main combat force of the Mikaean government. Consisting of 2,677,248 active personnel and 3,145,604 reservists, the National Guard is responsible for tackling any military operations the Obsidian Guard refuses to waste its elite personnel on, effectively handing the MNG the bulk of the work related to Xyon's defense. The soldiers of the National Guard are typically poorly trained and lack discipline, notoriously corrupt in its dealings, and have a dubious record of combat effectiveness. Unlike the Obsidian Guard, the National Guard is instead equipped with kinetic weaponry, ballistic mesh armor, and wheeled or tracked vehicles, all cheaper and easily replaceable alternatives to the futuristic equipment of the Obsidian Guard. Mikaeans tend to join the Nation Guard when they cannot pass the stringent tests and background checks of the Obsidian Guard, leading to criminals filling many of the ranks of the second-largest combat forces in Xyon's possession.

The next branch of the military is the Vanguard for Peace and Security, which is a paramilitary force responsible for policing the neighborhoods, schools, and businesses of Xyon. Though it is not a truly combat-ready force, the Vanguard's role as a massive secret force and rearguard unit cannot be underestimated. A total of 24,864,838 Mikaeans are members of the Vanguard, though only 1,301,345 are full-time professional members. The Vanguard consists mainly of young Mikaean volunteers who serve as the military and security forces eyes and ears at home, helping to tackle corruption and criminal activity where the security forces cannot operate safely or openly. Similar to the of, the Vanguard operates cells of up to 200-400 members in areas all throughout Xyon as "morality police", keeping tabs on Mikaean civilians and military personnel, and even has cells operating on Earth in the Mikaean colonies there. During wartime, it would be the responsibility of the Vanguard to serve as a quasi-police force at home, freeing up forces of the Mikaean military and security forces to operate elsewhere.

As a whole, the total combined strength of the Xyon Armed Services is 28,355,303 active personnel, not counting the 3,145,604 Mikaean National Guard reservists, or the 10,893,033 members of the Mikaean Security Forces, the heavily armed police force of Xyon. The budget for the military is $0.0 trillion, far greater than the combined military budgets of the nations on Earth. In the event of a Mikaean invasion of Earth, it has been agreed upon by several analysts, that a Mikaean victory would be inevitable. The ability of Xyon to quickly replace its numbers during times of war, combined with the Mikaeans natural defense against radiation and therefore nuclear strikes, have long been a great boon to the planet. However, the military is consistently handicapped by the unwillingness of the patriarchs who govern the households of Xyon, to contribute their resources to a war they do not wish. In spite of this fact, the XAS is undoubtedly the most powerful military force ever encountered by humanity, and the ability for Xyon to crush any human military coalition in an direct conflict has been the source of much fear by governments on Earth.

Languages
The official language of Xyon according to its constitution is, in particular the variant known as , the dialect spoken by their creator Mikael O'Neill. The language was passed down by O'Neill after he settled on Xyon, and wrote into the Ebon Chronicles, a comprehensive phonological system encompassing his particular pronunciation of words in his language, ensuring that all Mikaeans would speak the dialect as he did. The language's consistency throughout Xyon has been secured by the psychological imprinting of the Mikaeans by their creator, making the language the natural form of verbal communication for the race, and preventing dialects from forming over time and distance. It is, however, not unknown for foreign words to be found in the Mikaean version of English, as in all languages using loanwords.

The Mikaeans recognize no other languages within their government, and only the languages spoken by the human population consisting of visitors, business-people, and expats, are acknowledged by the state, with translators trained by Xyon to assist those visitors needing to deal with the government. The writing script of Xyon for English, however, is completely different from that for English found on Earth. The Mikaean script is the dominate script used by the government of Xyon and the population of Mikaeans for writing English, as well as for signs, advertising, and warnings. O'Neill sought to replace the Latin script with his own, originally to conserve ink as well as to make his "clumsy" handwriting easier to read for others, cutting back on any potential misunderstandings in his writings.

Sports
=Economy= The economy of Xyon is unique in being the most self-contained on record, with almost all of the country's resources and manpower coming directly from the planet of Xyon itself. It is also the largest in history, with a GDP of $138.482 trillion, surpassing that of all nations on earth combined. Xyon has long benefited from the unique social structure of the Mikaeans, which has long placed economic stability and sustainability above all other goals, including economic gain. The result of this has been a nation with few economic recessions or depressions in its recorded history, and virtual non-inflation of its currency, the Mikaean dollar. In spite of this, because of the predictability and low risk of the Mikaean, foreign investment and stock trading have been quite low, with minimal profit gains to be had in the Mikaean economy.

The service and industrial sectors of the Mikaean economy dominate the markets, with agriculture being a distant third on the list. However, because of the global nature of the economy and the manner in which Mikaeans are employed in the three sectors, agriculture takes up a large portion of the national GDP percentage-wise, a notable difference from the way in which developed economies on Earth operate. Because the nation, and therefore the economy, spans an entire planet, every conceivable product can be found in the economy of Xyon as a locally produced item or service. Everything from electronics, to petrochemicals, to heavy industrial goods, to clothing, and automobiles, are produced by Xyon, granting the nation a hyper-diverse economy. Most niches within the economy, such as advertising on social networking sites, private trips into outer space, and food delivery services, have been filled long before contact with humanity had been made in 1972.

With the construction of the Xyon-Earth Void Gateway outside of the city of, , trade between Earth and Xyon has taken off, with advanced industrial goods produced by Xyon exported to Earth, and agricultural goods and foodstuffs exported from Earth to Xyon. Tourism to both planets by their native species has also taken off, and with considerable success. The lack of sunlight and warmth on Xyon has long been a contributing factor as to the Mikaeans desire to visit Earth, while fascination with a race similar to humanity has prompted many humans to visit Xyon. Government regulation on both sides of the gateway have ensured that cultural contamination is limited as much as possible, though as Mikaean goods continue to flood the markets on Earth, it only a matter of time until Mikaean culture dominates human airwaves and stores.

The dirigist economic model of Xyon has helped to keep the economy stable and healthy, with poverty and unemployment issues tackled long ago by the state. The state has a powerful voice in determining the economy's direction, though it is content to allow private industries to function freely. Though prosperity has been limited to the members of the womb-born population, the creche-born Mikaeans have had as much success in establishing a name for themselves in the financial world of their homeworld. Within the households that govern much of Xyon's surface, extensive corporate combines control much of the economy with the government's permission, ensuring that a single man controls an entire industry with his offspring as the primary employees. However, the recent economic liberalization programs of the state in the last two decades have be aimed at limiting this practice, and opening the way for other Mikaeans to compete on an independent level.

Mikaean dollar
The Mikaean dollar (: ∇; : MKD) is the of Xyon. The currency is also used widely by the Mikaean settlements on within their own economies in conjunction with the currencies of the nations they are located in.

The Mikaean dollar is a, its value solely denominated by the trust of its users. More than two billion people use the currency, and it serves as the sole reserve currency of the Mikaean government. As of 2015, more than ∇3,980,000,000,000 ($4,913,574,000,000) are in circulation, giving the Mikaean dollar the highest combined value known to humanity. The estimated that based on the value of the Mikaean dollar against the basket currencies of Earth, Xyon has the largest economy on record, surpassing that of Earth's own economy.