Antarctica (President Ventura)

United Antarctic States
2048 –
Motto "Research and Discovery"
Anthem Oh Antarctica, my land
Antarctica's territory since its founding
Capital	Weddell, Havlo
Largest City	McMurdo, Victoria
Official languages	English, Spanish and Russian
State ideology	N/A
Government	Federal Republic
Head of State	President Roland Flood
Area	13,720,010 km²
Population	978,498 (2125)
Life Expectancy	101 years average
Space Territory?	No
Currency	Antarctic Dollar (A$)

Antarctica, officially the United Antarctic States, is a federal constitutional republic comprising six states on the continent of Antarctica. It is the first and only country on Antarctica and one of the largest countries in the world, albeit one of the least populous, with a little less than one million inhabitants.

Since its founding in 2048, Antarctica has been mostly isolated from the rest of the world. Despite being a relatively new country, it has a very strong military. It has been involved in only one war, the Chilean-Antarctic War in the 2050s.

History

Antarctica was the last continent on Earth discovered by mankind. It was first hypothesized to exist in the 1st century and first explored in the 7th century. Several expeditions were made to Antarctica after its discovery.

Only in the 20th century that mankind began building structure in Antarctica, mainly bases of scientific research.

From its discovery until about 2046, Antarctica was known as an "uninhabited continent used only for research." In the middle 2040s, scientists said that global warming was causing a severe reduction in temperature in Antarctica, which might make it a habitable place.

In 2046, the scientific base of McMurdo (the largest base in Antarctica) housed about 1,500 people (including researchers, soldiers and tourists). Many people, believing that the conditions in McMurdo would be suitable for housing, moved into the local residences, shops and industries. In the following year, the base was already being unofficially called "village" or "city". By late 2047, McMurdo was forming its local laws and government.

In the year 2048, the situation of McMurdo became of international concern, with several countries claiming the settlement for themselves, but the dispute was eventually settled with the Antarctic Treaty being nullified by the United Nations, and Antarctica becoming once again a no man's land. Many people then volunteered to move to Antarctica and found independent states of their own. The United States finally agreed to sign the treaty of independence of McMurdo in July of that year. The country's independence in November finally came into force and the country was founded with the name "Antarctica", and not "McMurdo" as many had expected. The capital of the country is McMurdo in the early months, but it was later transferred to Weddell, Havlo. The country's president, Roland Flood, said that the country was so named because it would eventually expand and encompass the whole continent.

In the late 2040s and early 2050s, the country of Antarctica expanded as expected, and several settlements were established near McMurdo. During that time also, all countries that had territories in Antarctica recognized the new country's independence, except Chile.

In 2055, Chile opened two military bases on the Antarctic coast near Weddell, Antarctica. In 2059, Chilean President Karla Rubilar declared the Antarctic Peninsula a territory of Chile. In response to this, Antarctica ordered the shutdown of all Chilean military bases. Chile attacked Weddell and Orkney, Antarctica on October 29, 2060, sparking the Chilean-Antarctic war. The war lasted three years and ended when Santiago was bombed, resulting in the deaths of 4,500 people. Since the war, Antarctica has been a very peaceful nation isolated from the rest of the world's nations. Antarctica has not been interested in space territories after the beginning of the Second Space age in the late 21st century. Since the war period, Antarctica has focused on bringing its infrastructure and way of life to the same level of western nations.

National symbols

The government of Antarctica officially adopted its national symbols after the founding of the state in 2048.

Flag

The national flag consists of a representation of the Antarctic mainland in white with an orange background. This is a "mixture" of two proposed flags when Antarctica was not yet an independent territory. One was proposed by Graham Bartram in 2002, which was a representation of the continent with a blue background, much like the official flag, with the only difference being the background color. The other was proposed by Whitney Smith, it was an orange background with an illustration on the left representing two hands holding a base with a big A on it. The official flag was then defined as the continent representing the Antarctic territory, the white representing the large amount of snow and ice (or in some cases representing peace) and orange representing the country, as an orange color is "unique" among national flags.

Coat and motto

Antarctica has adopted the arms of British Antarctic Territory as its official coat. It also adopted the motto contained therein.

Anthem

The national English-language anthem is called "Antarctica, my land" and was officially adopted in 2051.

Oh Antarctica, my land so grand,

A frozen realm where silence stands.

In icy majesty, a pristine domain,

Where the beauty of ice and snow shall reign.

(Chorus)

Oh Antarctica, a land untamed,

In your icy embrace, we stand unchained.

A continent of wonder, vast and free,

United we stand, in awe of thee.

Beneath the Southern Cross, a beacon bright,

Guiding explorers through the polar night.

Glaciers whisper tales of ages past,

In your frozen heart, a legacy will last.

(Chorus)

(Bridge)

Through blizzards fierce and biting cold,

Our spirits strong, our stories unfold.

From pole to pole, a symphony of ice,

A testament to nature's boundless might.

Oh Antarctica, where penguins waddle,

In frozen kingdoms, their footsteps dawdle.

Seals and whales, your marine parade,

In icy waters, their legacy is laid.

(Chorus)

In solitude, your silence profound,

A symphony of ice, the only sound.

Oh Antarctica, my land so rare,

In unity, we cherish, love, and declare.

Geography and climate

Antarctica is the coldest place on Earth. The coldest temperature ever recorded on Earth was -89.2 ºC (−128.6 °F) in Vostok on July 21, 1983. Antarctica is a frozen desert with little precipitation; the South Pole itself receives less than 4 inches of rain per year. Despite the cold weather, sunburn is often a health issue as the snow surface reflects almost all of the ultraviolet light falling on it. The country is also extremely windy though the people have adapted and build massive underground facilities in all major cities. Many scientists say the climate of Antarctica has become more suitable for the construction of cities compared to the 20th century, probably due to global warming.

Economy

The economy of Antarctica is very strong and unique to the country. The United Antarctic States is the tenth wealthiest country in the world as of 2127, behind the United States, Europe, the United Kingdom, Canada, Brazil, New Zealand, China, India, Thailand and Sweden. Manufacturing is a major industry in the nation, and Antarctica is also the top oil producer in the world. In 2127, however, the world uses only 3/4 of the amount of oil used in 2010.

Demographics

See also: States of Antarctica

The population of Antarctica was 978,498 in the 2125 census and is projected to be about 989,000 in 2127. Antarctica is one of the least populous nations in the world. The largest ethnic groups in Antarctica are the Russian, Irish, Canadian and Chinese, in that order. Other groups include Germans, the Japanese, Australians, Austrians, Swedes, Americans, and Hispanics. 95% of all Antarcticans live in cities while 4% live in townships within 5 miles of a city. The remaining one percent live in various small communities across the country. Some may even live 600 miles from a major settlement.

The 20 largest cities as of the 2125 census are as follows.

1. McMurdo, Victoria - abt. 215k
2. Esperanza, Havlo - abt. 150k
3. Weddell, Havlo - abt. 120k
4. Rothera, Havlo - abt. 100k
5. Sanae, North Antarctica - abt. 95k
6. Mawson, North Antarctica - abt. 75k
7. Davis, Atchabinic - abt. 50k
8. Palmer, Byrdland - abt. 35k
9. Novolazarevskaya, North Antarctica - abt. 30k
10. Alexandria, Byrdland - abt. 30k
11. Orkney, Havlo - abt. 10k
12. Daniel, Victoria - abt. 8k
13. Vostok, Newbin - abt. 2k
14. McKinley, North Antarctica - abt. 1k
15. South Pole, Newbin - abt. 990
16. Fossil Bluff, Havlo - abt. 860
17. Ventura, Atchabinic - abt. 800
18. St. Kliment, Havlo - abt. 685
19. Asuka, North Antarctica - abt. 600
20. Fort United, Victoria - abt. 325
21. Snezhnyĭ, Newbin - abt. 250

Historic populations

Year	Population
2047*	1,800
2055	7,657
2065	10,098
2075	29,987
2085	78,080
2095	112,565
2105	196,517
2115	291,450
2125	500,902
2135	780,504
2145	901,123
2155	978,498
2165*	998,318

Transportation

See Antarctica High Speed Rail System. See List of Antarctic airports . See List of Antarctic freeways.

A bullet train at the McMurdo station.

Because of the isolation of many Antarctic cities, the government has established a vast high speed rail network that connects to every single established community on the continent. The average speed of the rail is 450 mph, though the fastest train (the Orange Line) is able to reach speeds upwards of 600 mph. Another form of intercity transportation is the Antarctic Highway System that spans the country. It connects each of the major cities and is used mostly for transporting goods. The speed limit on the highway is 70mph and it is not ideal to use for travel.

The final and most common form of transportation is by air. There are 47 airports in Antarctica that land in various military bases, cities and national parks. The largest airport hubs are McMurdo International Airport in McMurdo, and Esperanza International Airport. South Pole Airlines (SPA) is the largest airline in the country and provides travel to hundreds of cities around the world including New York City, Boston, Toronto, Bejing, Tokyo, London, São Paulo and Santiago.