24 Jul 2009
Birth Of A MicroNation, Part One: Declaration Of War
It was a cold afternoon on the 24th July that a new national flag was hoisted proudly toward a cloudy, winter sky. It’s founder, sole Citizen and Supreme Leader raised a three-finger salute as the wind caught the cerulean blue pillow case - haphazardly emblazoned with thirteen yellow stars encircling a silhoetted Neil Patrick Harris.
A single patriotic tear slid softly down his cheek at the momentous occasion.
Few people would be familiar with the Federated Commonwealth of Malatora - in fact, I myself had never heard of it until stumbling across their official webpage whilst enjoying my morning coffee.
Founded in 1995, FedCom is an egalitarian state favoring isolationism. They’ve developed a concise set of laws known as the Code Of Malatora, complex military protocol - even a variation of the World Calender wherein the epoch coincides with the year that mankind launched its first artificial satellite into orbit (1957AD = 0SE, Malatoran ‘Space Era’). Malatorian history showed that they had originated in the United States - however after realising the difficulty of succession, re-located to Australia, and in turn a 39.4 km2 plot in an undisclosed South African location.
What made Malatora stand out from other “new-nation projects” - was the transhumanist focus, what they call The CyberTransplantation Project.
To quote from their website:
The ultimate goal is to develop the technology to transplant a living human brain into a cybernetic total-body prosthesis. This technology will extend lifespans to 500 or more years, and render the individual (or “Cytran”) immune to all external disease and environmental effects, capable of immense strength, as well as being extremely durable and easily repaired.
A utopian society not only beyond the thrawls of capitalism - but founded with the sole purpose of advancing the human species towards the singularity.
The site seemed legitimate enough - least compared to the domains of other South African nations such as Zimbabwe. I read on.
Cytran bodies will be made available exclusively to FedCom citizens who want them. The technology will not be exported.
This latter fact, struck a chord. I’d already tried to lodge an application for citizenship within FedCom, but it seemed at the time that the domain server was experiencing technical issues. I attempted to contact FedCom’s Supreme Commander Robert Lord via his MySpace page - but instead was greeted by the pasty avatar of a twenty-five year old computer programmer from Indiana.
The only fathomable explanation was that the Malatorian Security Intelligence Organisation was blackwalling me - offering up this bogus account as a diversion, a complex means of subterfuge in effort of keeping the identity of their leader secret and hindering my quest to gain access to their secret cybernetic technology.
I returned to scouring the web for some way in which to enter discussions with this isolated society of minds - to no avail. Restricted discussion boards. Dead ends.
There was only one solution….
War.
If FedCom wasn’t willing to share it’s research, I would form my own micronation - and take it by force.
Using some discarded linen, fabric paint and a desktop printer I completed the last of the six step guide ‘Founding A MicroNation’ on www.ehow.com - The Free Republic Of Shared Robotics (But No Roberts) was born.
It saddens me that the first diplomatic act as Supreme Leader should be one of war, but I am strong in my resolve. I shall fight to uphold the One Truth: if I can’t be a robot, no one can.
Tribuo mihi chalybs viscus, vel tribuo mihi nex!
(Give me steel flesh, or give me violent death!)
