Republic of Tyrone

The Republic of Tyrone is a large country on the eastern coast of Tiber, situated between river deltas and at the crux of the important Strait of Tiber. As recently as the year 1200h., historians have agreed that the Republic dominated the political climate of the world. As the lone superpower, the Republic dictates much of the worldwide cultural awareness and directs much international policy through the Council of Nine. Since the Republic is not a resource-rich country, its wealth comes mainly from trade on the two main arteries of the continent, and by its control of the Strait. The booming economy of the Republic has led its currency to dominate world trade, despite its relative recent introduction to the world stage. In fact, the Tyronial Mark is currently used in many parts of the world which have never before had an organized form of currency.

History
The history of the Republic of Tyrone is relatively brief. In stark contrast to the ancient civilization of Amburami, the Republic of Tyrone has only been a formally recognized government for roughly 150 years. In fact, the formal ascension of Tyrone Tyrone I was not until 1157h, when he named himself Tyrone of the Republic and began dictating law. Tyrone I first began amassing power while the Bandburg Group was still in power, and still very much a political force. However, by motivating his peers, Tyrone I massed an uprising, overthrowing the economic and political stranglehold of the Bandburg Group. The teenagers directly involved in his political coup then became the basis for his government and the current police system. In 1157h., the constitution of Tyrone I was first recorded. In lieu of what many countries have, namely, a clearly defined system of government, the Republic has a simplistic document, indicative of the mindset of the first Tyrone.


 * 1) The first rule of the Rupublic is nobody messes around. I'm in charge.
 * 2) The second rule of the Republic is that I really shouldn't have to yell all the time.
 * 3) The third rule of the Republic is that my word goes.
 * That goes double for you.

As a result, Tyrone I set about ensuring his absolute power. He became convinced that the pursuit of authority through absolute moral certitude was unquestionably right. He and his cohort began writing a general code of conduct which his budding police state enforced with absolution. The old order was culled, and the new order burst into the social awareness. After the older generation had died away and the new generations were running the businesses and farms, the social resistance to the authoritarian methods of Tyrone I died too.

The rule of each Tyrone has been long and stable, due to the intensity of the police state and the calm acceptance of the populace. The current Tyrone, at 88, is expected to pass his rule to the next Tyrone soon.

Government
The term "republic" is a misnomer. Instead, the Republic of Tyrone is a dictatorship in which Tyrone Tyrone III is the leader. The name of the Republic actually is a differentiation from the previous government on the same landmass, the Bandburg Group, which ran the country as a private business. After the demise of Samuel Bandburg and the collapse of the Bandburg Group, Tyrone Tyrone I created a government that was open to public dissent once again. Thus, the term "republic" refers not to the governmental style, but as a contrast to the "private" nature of the previous government.

Succession
The Republic of Tyrone is a dictatorship, not a monarchy. The succession is not passed on through family ties, but to the head military officer. At the time of the first Tyrone's death, there was a brief period in which Tyrone I's chief officers struggled for power among themselves. Because the police force is an autonomous entity, the country, despite the leadership ambiguity, functioned smoothly. When Dan Starkle, the chief military officer, finally gained recognition as the next Tyrone, he was officially recognized as Tyrone II. This acsension by the second Tyrone set the pattern for any subsequent Tyrones.

Military Police
The Republic of Tyrone is controlled by a tightly organized military police. Every child between the ages of twelve and seventeen must serve in the force, unless precluded by moderate to severe handicap. The leader of the police, the Tyrone, does not oversee operations personally, but instead selects the force member with the greatest dedication to duty to oversee the ranks of the force. From that level downward, the police force is largely organized into metropolitan corps which patrol large cities. Due to the necessity of every citizen's compulsory participation in the police action, the populace of the Republic has a strong tendency to law abiding behavior. As a result, the police force is largely superfluous, and generally acts as a deterrent for emigration and tourism.

Military
The military of the Republic of Tyrone is its true strength in the world and the reason why it controls the council of nine. The military is entirely voluntary. However, its members are required to volunteer within twenty four hours of their completion of police duty. The immediacy of the recruitment effort ensures that only the most dedicated members of the police force risk the application process, which can threaten the life and livelihood of the applicant. However, the military of the Republic continues to receive a steady stream of applicants because of the intense social glorification of military personnel, and the stigma related to the working class.

The military hardware of the Republic of Tyrone is some of the most outdated on the planet, but its implementation is what uncovers its true strength. The military training process builds the dedicated members of the juvenile police force into, as the scholar Daniel Worthcliffe says it, "warrior gods." The use of blades and primitive projectile weapons is seen as a disadvantage by many of the military commanders of other countries, but is consistently effective against the more advanced military machinery of the armies the Republic has faced.

Economy
The economy of the Republic has little or nothing to do with the Republic itself. Because of the dearth of rules relating directly to the economy, capitalists who can handle the intensity of the police state have found it a place to flourish. The first Tyrone's dictum: "Don't steal," is the only rule that directly relates to business practice, and is jealously guarded by the police. The business in the Republic is quite safe, as a result.

Trade on the rivers Entibrus and Tiberium has flourished, as any trade further into the continent is controlled by the Republic. Additionally, the Republic's control of the Strait of Tiber has both cowed and controlled other countries' trade.

Religion
The Republic of Tyrone has no organized religion. Only Tyrone.

Geography
The size of the Republic of Tyrone is an anomaly, considering its form of government. The only other countries of comparable size are formed on divine right or democratic allowance. The Republic is neither. However, the state has firmly held onto its holdings.

Rivers
The country stretches between the Entibrus and Tiberium rivers. The mouths of the rivers are some thousands of miles closer together than their sources, which rest on opposite sides of the equator. As the ice melt feeds the Entibrus in the early months, the Tiberium has settled to a steady flow. Likewise, when the Tiberium floods, the Entibrus is steady. In this way, trade with the inner continent is continual in the Republic.

Strait
The Strait of Tiber is a thin strip of water between oceans which isolates the Tiber continent. The strait's placement is such that its use can cut months off the voyage of seafaring vessels. The trade through the strait in a ten year period equals the absolute wealth of the world. Its control has been a military and political pillar of many of the countries of the world, some not even occupying the same hemisphere as the strait. However, the mouths of the strait fall within the jurisdiction of the Republic of Tyrone. Now, the control of the strait is the Tyrone's.

Ecology
Despite the rivers and ocean, the Republic of Tyrone is largely arid. Its tenable land is mostly costal, and its arable land is mostly river-bound. As a result, the population of the Republic has left a large empty space of arid ground that stretches for many miles between cities. The control of this waste is unquestionably the Tyrone's, but perhaps he has not claimed as much as he could. Certainly no other country in the area is willing or able to claim the unnamed waste beyond.