I would like to establish some sort of historical context for the state visits.
Alunya as a nation has significant coal resources and was one of the early developers of steam engines of all sorts. We were also pioneers in the development of electrical alternating current (our single phase is 149 Volts, 58.32 Hz) and submarine telegraphy and telephony. We are very capable of engineering coal-based powerplants. At present we are one of the largest manufacturers of fasteners (bolts, screws, rivets, nails), high temperature metal alloys, molten salt breeder reactors using the Thorium-232 fuel cycle, chemical pyroprocessing equipment, fiber optic cable, plate glass, and bulk metallic glass. While we are competitive in manufacturing machining equipment, we excel in accurate and precise measuring equipment (metrology) and you may wish to visit such a manufacturer. We're very good at making airconditioning, heating and ventilation equipment and refrigerants for the same. We have a strong genetic engineering research and development base and are well known for our excellent veterinary medicine and pharmaceutical academies. Our agriculture is primarily centered around wheat, barley, rye, soy, sunflowers and olives. The climate is dry and hot and desertification has always been a concern. We have very few petroleum-fueled vehicles. Most ground vehicles are electric, with pantographs powering trams in cities and trains between cities. We do have one major grocery chain that will be seeking opportunities to expand into other countries, including McMasterdonia.
With regards to McMasterdonia, we would be honored if, in your history, we supplied the steam excavators and dredges that cut a sea-level canal that connected your central lagoon across both your north and south beaches. Such a canal would be along the lines of the Suez (which uses Lake Ismail as an intervening body of water) and presumably would have been completed in the 1860-1880 era. If an exclusive lease to operate said canal existed, it would have expired either 50 or 99 years later. Either way, if you are okay with this, the only remnant would be an old naval port within your lagoon granted to Alunya, say with a lease of 250 years, but we would have abandoned it a couple of decades ago.
The base could serve as a talking point. You may ask us to clean it up environmentally and terminate the lease. Any railway tracks used there would be on a 1136 mm track gauge (which is 1/3 Longoria, the Alunyan unit of length). If you use towing locomotives on your canal (if you go that route), they probably would have been that gauge, at least originally. (Alunya now uses 1514 mm gauge, or 4/9 Longoria, on its more modern tracks; a few industries still use the old 1136 mm gauge.) There may be some industries or railway systems here in Alunya or abroad that may be interested in acquiring 1136-mm gauge railroad equipment -- I have no problem with anyone else making such inquiries to either McMasterdonia or Alunya if we want to roleplay this. And if you are willing to go with this, I am considering having King Guglielmo ask Queen Matilda if it would be suitable to deed the base to The North Pacific as a whole for the establishment of the
Mass Emergency Relief Mutual AID (MERMAID) organization as both a central logistics and storage depot and coordinating headquarters -- a TNP version akin to the International Red Cross.
You may also be expected to answer questions about your zoological and botanical gardens and species conservation programs. The
Small Cat Research And Preservation Society is based in Kittipurranamnam, the ancient historical capital of Alunya. You will probably visit the Royal Clowder in Alunya -- we have no idea at all if you are allergic to cats, so that also has roleplay opportunities. Cooperation amongst international police forces, and the possibility of joint military exercises are also likely to be discussed. Our military would be very keen in the latest aerospace developments. We are interested in radio and optical astronomy but otherwise do not have a strong space-based program. Our thorium-based nuclear powerplants do participate in waste clean-up efforts by a more complete burn-up of used fuel rods from the more common boiling and pressurized light-water reactors, so if you have waste to export we may consider accepting it. As to proliferation concerns, the Uranium-232 byproducts from the Uranium-233 part of the overall reaction chain are sufficiently energetic as to render the material unsuitable for nuclear weaponry., so that should also alleviate any concerns from that aspect. Alunya is a nuclear weapon free state.
For images use:
- Queen Rania of Jordan for Queen Junia Olivotto (daughter to King Guglielmo), the Constitutional Monarchy of Alunya
- Hussein bin Al Abdullah, Crown Prince of Jordan for Crown Prince Pasquale Olivotto (eldest son and successor to Queen Junia and grandson to King Guglielmo)
- King Abdullah II of Jordan for King Guglielmo Olivotto (father to Queen Junia), the Kingdom of Alunya
- Princess Aisha bint Al Hussein of Jordan as Crown Princess Fiona Olivotto (daughter and successor to King Guglielmo and younger sister to Queen Junia)
Arabic script looks alot like the native script used for the Mrao language. The flag of Jordan can be passed off as a state flag within Alunya; both capitals of Liverfool and Ronronne are in the same state (Katz Inda Cradil state).
Hope this helps. I'll work up a schedule along the line of Olvern's a bit later.
>^,,^<
Alunya
(P.S. For factbook, see
A1unya -- it is a work in progress.)
