The Neo-Anarchists Guide to the Sixth World: Africa and the Middle East

by Hive Mind

Middle East

There are five main powers in the mid-east in 2054, The Islamic Caliphate, Israel, Egypt, The Damascus League, and The Persian Empire. I’ll deal with them all individually, but first an overview.

The most prominent of these powers are the League and the Caliphate. These groups have several things in common, the most obvious of which is the faith of Islam. But there are differences, too, the most apparent being the approach to Islam. Both are “fundamentalist” from a twentieth century standpoint, but the League is very fanatic, drawing it’s roots from the anti-Israel and anti-West terrorist groups of the latter Twentieth Century.

The Caliphate traces it’s roots to the pre-colonial era, and even further back to Mohammed. The Caliph claims the title “Defender of the Faith”, and takes it seriously.

The League is viewed as a mad dog by the international community, and considered as a terrorist state like Amazonia. Yet both nations yearn for the glory of Islam. The League is quite militant, and has a strong Shi’ite component, and the Caliphate has allied itself with Israel and Egypt, amongst others, to offset this threat. While the League preaches Jihad against Israel and the West, the Caliph has pronounced that Christians and Jews are “people of the Book” and not infidels at all.

The bulk of the Gulf oil reserves, the largest in the world, are possessed by the Caliphate, giving them great wealth and great economic power. The league, of course, resents this. Their hate for the “Zionists” of Israel binds the two nations together. Egypt has been on good terms with Israel for nearly eighty years, and on bad terms with some of the member states of the League even longer. The alliance is natural, and Israel’s pronounced technological lead over most of the rest of the region is legendary. The Empire, on the other hand, is almost isolationist. It has no close ties with any other nation, and seems to want none. The Shah engages in commerce with many nations, but doesn’t interfere in regional politics.

Central Asia is another story. Now down to specifics.

Islamic Caliphate

The Islamic Caliphate is lead by a scion of the House of S’aud, <insert name here>. It consists of the present-day nations of Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, Oman, Yemen, the United Arab Emirates, and parts of Iraq (the Shatt-al-Arab) and Jordan (the Eastern Desert).

The Caliphate holds enormous power in the Moslem world because it possesses both Mecca and Medina, the two most holy places to their faith. Mecca, now encompassing the port of Jiddah as well, is the capitol of the Caliphate. The tremendous amounts of money made off of the Arabian and Gulf oil reserves from the last century to the present have translated well into power, as have the occult researches of ancient Islamic scholars.

Caliphate spellcasters are almost all hermetic, Islam forbidding totemic magic as idolatry. Cyberware is looked askance at as well (the body is a temple) but tolerated as long as it is unobtrusive and subtle. In fact, subtlety is a byword for the Caliphate, from their diplomacy to their armed forces. The Caliphate inherited the nucleus of a fine army from the former kingdom of Jordan, as well as a tradition of using Western mercenaries (look at the current Omani armed forces, as well as the Gulf War), and have a competent military, with many specialist “advisors” from Egypt, Israel, and Azania. Their tech is the best that money will buy, from Japan, UCAS, CSA, and Europe. Israel, site of some of the world’s best Shadow Clinics, helps train and outfit their Special Services troops.

Their only overt enemy is the League, although the Shah seems to want the Shatt-al-Arab and control of the Straits of Hormuz. The legal system is ancient, with savage penalties for crime and judges of a religious nature. Most judges are either Sheiks (of Bedouin clans) or Holy men, educated in the Koran. All citizens are expected to be very well versed in the Koran, although the younger generations don’t seem as rigorous, embracing many Western customs and rejecting some old ones, such as Chador (the practice of covering women head-to-toe and not allowing them to be seen in public).

The League supports several groups of “Freedom Fighters” in Caliphate territory, including such minorities as Pakistanis and Bangladeshis (imported long ago to work in the oilfields and as menials). The Caliphate accepts metahumans, although they hold a slightly lower status. The Caliphate has an extremely low incidence of Elfs and Dwarfs, and an average population of Orks and Trolls. Caliphate mages refer to elementals and other spirits as Djinni, and seem to have a facility for binding free spirits.

Israel

Israel hasn’t changed a whole lot, although it is larger, now owning the East as well as West bank of the Jordan river, maintaining a presence in the Golan Heights, and owning the southern portion of Lebanon. The Jews and Palestinians get along better now, with the Palestinians having full franchise and a say in government in proportion to their numbers (they are a large minority, 30-35%).

The Israelis have no legal repression of metas, and there is very little social prejudice, too. Israel has a large incidence of Dwarfs, and an average incidence of Orks and Trolls. There are some Minotaurs, and a very few Elfs. Israel has strong ties to the Azainian Confederation, dating back to the Twentieth Century when Israel and Azainia (then South Africa) were both outcasts in the international community and under U.N. sanctions. Ties to Egypt go back to the late 1970s when the first peace treaty between the two nations was signed. They have drawn closer together since, due to pressure from the League. Israel still has strong ties to the UCAS, and the CAS to a lesser extent. Relations with the UK, AGS, and France are strong as well. More surprising is the relationship with the Islamic Caliphate, dating from the early days of both that nation and the League. Both Israel and the Caliphate benefit, Israel with money, petroleum, and secure eastern and southern borders, and the Caliphate with military experience (which Israel has an abundance of) and high-tech. Israel is very advanced in military and espionage/counter-espionage hardware, and has Shadow Clinics renowned the world over. Less well-known is the relationship between Israel and Tir Na N’Og, this primarily one of convenience, consisting of an exchange of intelligence and technological information. Israel’s Sayaret special forces teams are renowned the world over, and the Mossad is one of the most dangerous, experienced and efficient in the world.

Israel also is one of the few nations that sends troops to Desert Wars, valuing both the experience this provides to her troops and the warning it provides to her enemies, which include the League and Aztlan (the latter stemming from conflict with Aztechnology, as well as the relationship between Israel and the CSA).

Magically, Israel has the rich tradition of ancient Jewish Cabbalists and Alchemists to draw on, as well as, it is hinted, even more ancient traditions. Israel is in an almost constant state of war with the League, being something of an anti-Christ to them. This war is very shadowy, rarely breaking out into open conflict, but consisting of skirmishes and shadowruns, by the Israelis to prevent the League from gaining on Israel’s tech lead, and the League simply to hurt their foe and destabilize her government. The League is much more prone to outright terrorism, although the Israelis aren’t completely innocent in this respect. It is rumored, for example, that the Sayaret teams go on routine training missions into League territory, causing much havoc and not a few civilian deaths. The Israeli government denies this, of course.

Egypt

Egypt is one of the most ancient nations in the world, and has an ancient magic tradition. Rumors abound about what has been going on here since the awakening, but no hard facts exist, since the Egyptian government slammed a lid down on this long ago. It is claimed, for example, that Ramsess the Great now rules once again, or Tutankhamen, or even Cleopatra. No one knows.

What we do know, is that Egypt isn’t moslem anymore. That they are the only mid-eastern nation with an average percentage of the population Elven, much less the above-average numbers that actually exist. They have a very small military, yet they have little trouble repelling League incursions from Libya. It seems that the desert swallows up armies, and they aren’t ever seen again. The rumors of mummies and animal-headed men aren’t baked up by a single shred of evidence, but they persist nonetheless. And, the sphinx’s face has reputedly been restored. But no one has pictures.

Geographically, Egypt includes much of the modern-day Sudan, extending along the Nile all the way to the Sabat River. Borders in the desert aren’t very fixed, but the Ethiopeans aren’t trying to expand at the Egyptian’s expense anymore. In fact, no one is.

The Damascus League

The Damascus League consists of the nations of Syria, Libya, Bulgaria, Tunisia, and parts of Rumania, Yugoslavia, Turkey, Iraq, Algeria, and Lebanon.

In addition, many Shi’ite Iranian refugees have arrived since the formation of the Persian Empire. The League has many enemies, including almost all of it’s neighbors, most of Europe, the UCAS, the CSA, most of the former Soviet republics, and who knows who else. Their few allies include Aztlan, and several megacorps who believe in destabilizing and weakening national governments. The League is really a rather loose confederation dominated by the Syrians, Libyans, and Iraqis.

This doesn’t endear them to anyone, and coupled with their avowed policy of Jihad and relentless support of terrorist groups worldwide, makes them at best number 5 on everyone’s shit list. These guys ain’t nice. They have many internal problems, like Kurdish and Turkish Separitists (both supported by the Caliphate, Israel, and some of the same corps who support the League). Their external foes include Israel and the Caliphate, the most powerful combination in the region, and the Shah would probably like the rest of Kurdistan and Turkey. But there is a very strong social dynamism here, and contrary to popular belief, the average citizen isn’t a fanatic. But the fanatics are in control. They hate Christians, Jews, Druze, Buddhists, Shamanists, metahumans, dragons, and probably Santa fraggin’ Claus. And they are good at making martyrs. They have suicide commandoes like you wouldn’t believe. Terror is big business, and they will do anything for the cause, including further corporate ends. In fact, these guys work for the corps almost as much as for themselves. Need public opinion swayed? Have a nut gun down 20 at a Stuffer Shack, or 120 at an airport. But it’ll cost you. Between terror for hire, and the Damascus, Istanbul, Sofia, Bucharest, and Tunis FTZs (Free Trade Zones), and the rental fees for Desert Wars, these guys have got plenty of financing for the Jihad. League merchants in the FTZs will sell anything, and while they aren’t on the cutting edge, they have got some damn good Shadow Clinics there too <alpha but not beta>. They have got some good personell, too. They’re special forces are called Fedaykin, arabic for “Death Commando” and they are bad.

The ones not cybered to the max are mages or physads (all the better to get into the airport, my dear), and they know their stuff, and have no kind of fear. They give Sayaret and the Mossad a run for their money. Along with just about every other security agency in the world. The League is also involved with organized crime, as a sort of “safe area” to produce contraband, like heroin and BTLs. This is an outlaw nation in truth.

The Persian Empire

The Persian Empire consists of Iran, parts of Iraq & Turkey, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Balichistan, Tajikistan, and Kyrgyzistan. Their primary foe is Kazakhstan, although the Shah, an aquisitive chummer, makes less than the best of neighbors. He’s not going to bother the Afghans, and likes the rest of Pakistan as a buffer with India, but he’s got his hooks into it. However, he’s too clever to bite off more than he can chew at one time, although he has a big mouth. You see, he’s a dracoform. A Greater Western Dragon (or sirrush, as they’re called in these parts), to be exact. This isn’t commonly known, but it has been confirmed. He most often appears in human form in public, but occasionally he’ll show up in his full glory. His name is Aden and as far as most people know, he lives on Mt. Arrarat. But in fact, he spends most of his time in Shiraz, the capitol. Everyone calls him “the Shah”. He insists. Metahumanity is treated equally, and there are many metas in positions of responsibility in his government. And nobody frags with him. He doesn’t seem to get along with either Tir, although he has no problems with anyone else, and trade is strong for the empire. Most of his officers (the Persian military is very efficient, well-trained, -led, -equipped, and -motivated) are humans or Orks. He seems to like Orks, and they are better treated in the Empire than in most places. And considering the large numbers of Orks born on the Central Asian Steppes, this is a good policy. Persian magic is quite effective (not surprising with a wizworm in charge) but their tech is sub-standard. They import some good stuff, but what with Amazonia and all, most corps are reluctant to build large facilities in a Dragon’s domain (except Saeder-Krupp, you’d think, but S-K has no interests in Persia). Many persian citizens know that the Shah is a sirrush, but they don’t talk about it, although they don’t seem to mind very much. The fact is, Persia is quite well administrated, corruption is almost non-existant (think about it), the standard of living, while not up to the standards of Europe or North America, is better than most places in the region, and there are no external enemies that are considered a threat. Overall, not the worst place in the world to live.

Africa

The African continant is divided into four major regions, those being the Confederated Azanian Nations (also known as the Azanian Confederation, or Azania), the Pan-African Congress, Egypt and part of the Damascus League. By far the most powerful and influential nation on the continent is Azania. Encompassing virtually everything south of the tenth parallel, this is a large and dynamic nation. There are also numerous “Protectorates” scattered about the continent, generally conforming to a natural resource map of the continent. Azania is a world power of a magnitude equal to that of the UCAS, Japan, Russia, the CSA or Aztlan. Their influence is far-reaching and hidden. All other nations on this continent take a definite back seat to Azania in almost every respect. The Pan-African Congress is paralyzed by internal strife, and eyed covetously by it’s neighbors. That leaves Azania in the catbird seat, and they mean to stay there.

Confederation of Azanian Nations

The Azanian cofederation is composed of all the tribes and nations south of the tenth parallel. The confederation is controlled by the

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The Pan-African Congress

The Pan-African Congress is made up of several small nations in central Africa. These nations, several of which didn’t even exist before the turn of the century, followed the trend for small, independent nations that swept the world in the early years of this century. They are all fiercely independent, but realized that if they didn’t hang together they would, as the saying goes, hang alone. So the Pan-African Congress was born, a conglomeration of many diverse and often hostile tribes that must try to get along if they are to preserve their independence.

The present-day nations of Uganda, Rwanda, and Burundi, Tanzania, Zaire, Zambia, and the Sudan, Zaire, Nigeria, Ethiopia, and Kenyatta make up the congress. This territory contains no less than seventy-three separate sovereign nations (and occasionally more) aligned in a loose confederation. The Federal government has no powers of taxation per se, but controls interstate trade and has the power to levy fines, and sell licenses and charge fees for various services. In addition, all member states are required to contribute 2.5% of their total revenues to the Federal government. In return, the Fedgov provides for the common defense, regulates interstate highways (such as they are), mediates disputes, handles mail, coordinates interstate law enforcement, and handles other services that it would be wasteful to duplicate seventy-three (or more) times. The system seems to work, and the Fedgov has had a revenue surplus for the last ten years. There is surprisingly little corruption in the Fedgov (which can’t be said for most of the member states), and for what is basically a small third-world country their integrity is remarkable. A substantial portion of Federal revenue comes from selling hunting licenses to thrill-seekers worldwide who want to bag one of this region’s various vicious paranimals. This also serves to keep their populations down (and the native’s up). However, another big chunk of cred comes from Green movements worldwide to help in this nation’s excellent conservation policies. This seeming dichotomy is simply explained, as the tribals feel that these beastie’s populations need to be controlled (especially some of the more dangerous carnivores), and if rich foreigners want to pay to do it, then more power to them. There are many species that are protected, however, including the un-awakened primates (there are a VERY few gorillas left, and some chimps as well), several species who’s sentience is being investigated (this includes meta-chimps, and awakened elephants), and some that are just rare or haven’t recovered from poaching during the last century’s bloody civil wars (this includes the lion, although they appear to be making a comeback). Poachers are controlled by the Conservation Bureau’s Special Branch, and these guys are tough. They give jungle warfare training to the Imperial Japanese Special Forces, amongst others, and in their environment they are the best there is. Only a few are cybered, but just about all of the rest are magically active. Rumor has it that there are more than a few shapeshifters in the Branch, too. They also work closely with the Azanian conservation people (one of the few areas in which the two nations cooperate). Each state has it’s own military, which can be federalized by order of the Council in a declared State of Emergency, and there is a small Federal Force, too, mostly C3I and “Strategic Assets” (read Special Forces), as well as logistics and transport troops. The Feds and state troops train together often, as do states who are not feuding. Several of the member-states are run by Awakened, both metahumans and others. Attitudes towards metahumans vary, but the Fedgov has a non-discrimination policy, and enforces it stringently, with respect to both race and, more importantly (in Africa) tribe. Magic is widespread and popularly accepted, and mostly shamanic in nature (as in most of sub-Saharan Africa), with a strong emphasis on ritual and conjuring. Most African Shamans view the civilized predilection towards “instant” spellcasting as another example of the Western desire for instant total gratification. A Witch Doctor or Mau-Mau would rather destroy an enemy with a sending, similar to Voodoo in the West Indies (this is where much of that tradition came from). Rift terrain varies, from jungle to savannah to mountain, and the area is well-watered.