…for your favorite barbarian carpenter
Well crap, I caught up on Doclopedia entries only to have our internet connection go out for 2 days. SIGH! So, here are two entries to bring me current.
The Doclopedia #240
Altered (United) States: Illinois Heroes & Villains
Nobody is 100% sure why Illinois has spawned more super powered people than anywhere else on Earth, but the simple fact is that of the 439 known supers on the planet, 187 first appeared in Illinois. This number far outstrips the number two place, Japan, which has created a mere 31 supers.
Having been home to so many super powered people over the last 90 years has been a mixed blessing for the state. It’s great to have heroes like Ms. Miracle or Golden Guy around to help out in case of disasters, but then you also have people like Jake the Quake and The Rotter causing disasters. And then there is the expense of building prisons that can hold the super villains. The prison budget for Illinois is more than twice that of the entire state budgets of Montana, Wyoming, and both Dakotas combined. The state also applies for federal disaster relief more than any other state.
Still, this is Illinois and just as with their politicians, the people love the bad guys as much as the good guys. This is especially true in Chicago, where it has always been hard to draw the line between the two. A perfect example is Robbing Hood, who has been known to kill drug dealers, crooked politicians and other scumbags, then give their money to the poor and organizations that do good works. People love him. On the other hand, Captain Positive never kills and is a shining example of clean living. He has saved Chicago and the people of Illinois many times, but most people don’t quite trust him because “he’s just too good to be true, so he must be up to something”.
Be that as it may, for the most part, the citizens of Earth should be glad that Illinois keeps cranking out superheroes, even if we do have to take the villains with them.
The Doclopedia #241
Altered (United) States: Indiana White People Go Home!
On this version of Earth, the state of Indiana was created as a homeland for many Native American tribes and it is a big state. Made up of what in our world is Indiana, Illinois, northern Kentucky, western Ohio, southern Wisconsin and all of Michigan except the upper peninsula (which Wisconsin got), it is just a bit smaller than Montana (another primarily Native American state). The population is, by federal law, 98% Native People. The remaining 2% is mostly a mix of Asians and African Americans. While it is not legal to actually discriminate against white people, there is very little chance that they would find a home for sale and almost no chance of buying land on which to build anything. Most of Indiana is so called “undeveloped” land and that’s how the citizens like it.
Most of Indiana’s income is derived from tourism, sales of crafts and artwork, commercial aquaculture on and near Lake Michigan and the construction of airships. Indiana builds the most popular airships on the planet, mostly because of their elegant simplicity and beauty. Most are used for commercial passenger travel. There are five Airship factories located around the state.
Indiana has a unique governing system based upon the various native nations, the sexes and the elders & “youngers” of the nations. Important statewide subjects are first brought up at the Council of Nations. Whatever decisions are reached there go on to the Men’s house and Women’s House, both of which contain three members from each nation. After each House discusses things, the two Houses get together for further discussion. It is here that discussions can become heated, but never rude or antagonistic.
Finally, the Houses reach some consensus and send this on to the House of Ages, where respected Elders and Youngers (most of the youngers are between 16 and 26 years old) talk about the proposals before them. These talks are always quite relaxed and rather rambling and take several days. When they are finished, new laws and rules are posted. It is not at all rare for proposals to be tossed out completely for being “too complicate” and “maybe a little crazy”.
As with all states, Indiana sends Senators and Congressmen to Washington, DC. The native tendency to want to know why, in great detail, laws a needed and to label many laws crazy talk drives most of the non-native politicians mad. Most of the American people agree that this is a good thing that keeps the politicians on their toes and more or less honest.
Recently, Indiana agreed to allow the Tesla Corporation the right to build a huge Computing Engine near the Ohio border. This facility will employ 700 people and make Indiana the hub of a nationwide computer network that Mr. Tesla hopes to build.
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