The Advancement Disconnection
What it is and what can be done about it
Most of the people on Barenae have a very open outlook on progress and the development of science and technology. For instance, this pursue is one of the main objectives for the Index section of the Redeemer's Church. It's easy to think that, since such a well-accepted and extended organism cares about the fulfillment of this task, their advancements would reach everyone equally. However, a very common cultural phenomenon has been observed by many sages and scholars all around Barenae. This occurrence is simply denominated The Advancement Disconnection, and it refers to the great contrast seen in the technological levels between the territories controlled by the Coalition (commonly referred to as the Inner Sections) and the far borders of the Splinters (called Outer Sections).
Corr damned his luck. He hadn't been careful on the road and now his bipedal had run out of fuel. He knew the villages he had seen around wouldn't have anything to fix the vehicle. He had to choose: either he pulled the thing around for what seemed like hundreds of kilometers or he started traveling lighter.
As one gets closer to the edges of Barenae, the methods of transport, communication, lighting, and many other aspects of technology, while not being primitive, are much less thought of and more improvised or traditional. The materials and procedures are outdated and ineffective, breakdowns and malfunctions are much more common and the people have less tolerance to the newer things or need bigger periods of time to get used to them.
Possible Causes
While experts haven't reached a common consensus, since the situation in each Splinter and Section can greatly vary, most agree on a list of the major factors that led to this issue, or those points in Barenae's history that provoked this disparity.
- The Zephyr Empires: The invasion of a great percentage of the nations of Barenae by the Zephyr Empires as a whole and the dissolution of the Barenae's Coalition, and the period of domination that came after it greatly hindered any semblance of technological or scientific progress that didn't align with the Zephyr's interests. While more often than not the factions that did resist were located on the outskirts of Barenae (and therefore able to grow by themselves), this theory lies in the reinstitution of the Coalition by the Nereidai Treaty (2886 D.R).
While the Coalition looked after the entirety of the planet, its reinstitution on the Inner Sections led to its measures and actions having a more meaningful impact on its territory and the nearby factions. Since its reach didn't extend to the exterior regions until many years later, it's easy to assume that these outer factions received much less help from the centralized organizations. This also extends to the Church of The Redeemers, who also had to keep a low profile during the Zephyr occupation, which also lead them to rebuild their organization in a centralized manner.
- The Inner Pocket: As interdimensional travel became a reality early on the Daorgel Eran, Barenae had to take advantage of the many visitors, while also creating more effective traffic throughout the plane. While the Inner Sections turned to commerce, importation, and exportation, the Outer Sections, already underdeveloped at the moment, based their economy on exploiting the natural environment and offering unique experiences to visitors, becoming a significant part of tourism as a whole in Barenae. This process, which has to lead many wealthy people living on the Inner Sections to invest in the sector, has caused a situation where the wealthy actively deny the natives resources and technological commodities in order to keep their businesses on top of the sector and making more money.
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-"Well, that's a big bunch of crap, ainn't it?"
- The Outer Mists: The access of the Outer borders to the Spatial Continuum implies that these regions are more exposed to the effects of the Continuum, namely the augment of various types of radiation and the appearance of creatures from other dimensions. While these effects are normally kept under control, just the possibility that they might spiral out of control is enough for those sectors with more to lose to find excuses to not invest in infrastructure for Outer regions.
A specially significative example of this interferences happened when a massive bat-like monster from beyond took hold of a whole village and all the trains that traversed the nearby rails, only to mysteriously disappear onto the poisoned surface of Barenae. However, it's worth mentioning that while The Advancement Disconnection is mostly present for most commodities, the more rugged regions present technologies focused around survival and security often far more ingenious and functional than those used by private security groups on the capital cities.
Inner Sections
The Inner Sections include all the regions controlled by the Coalition (Deaban, Madrunda, Ordrian, Niktal, Erio, Islecria, Mikoto and Iyora) and the nearby zones, which have also been historically influenced by the Coalition's presence. These often represent the most advanced territories, favoring the development of technologies and containing most of the investigators and inventors of many contraptions and commodities.
Methods of Transport
As interdimensinal travel became a reality, a sudden need for an effective way to transport rose. This led the Coalition to plan for the construction of a railroad network that allowed anything to be moved around by train as fast as possible. Some of these machines are still in function, but models have becomen progressively more and more modern.
To a similar extent, primitive cars and motocycles based on vegetal and mineral oils, as well as converted magic electricity, are becoming more and more common for the middle and high classes, forcing the governments to regulate their circulation and start to build roads dedicated to traffic.
In terms of inter-Splinter travel, it's normal to use passsenger zeppelins that change gravity when nearing the frontiers between zones. To a lesser extent, public portals highly controlled by the Coalition communicate the bigger cities of the Inner Sections between each other.
Architecture
As the Coalition depends on the work of many people, Inner cities often become clusters of many buildings, which leads architects and city planners to implement systems that allow each district or section to have access to all commodities and services, while also creating dynamic spaces for entertainment.
People usually live on building blocks with a certain number of stories (usually ranging between 2 and 6), over any kind of business or office. Houses where a single family lives are normally reserved to historical buildings or more expensive urban zones.
As a contrast, some corporative or administrative buildings can reach the status of skyscraper, reaching great altitudes, such as the Parasol Manor on Umbrella's Den (352 m).
Commodities
As this category contains many different types of technologies, the most notable are those pertaining to communication (such as the telegraph and primitive versions of the fax machine), networks (water and lighting and electricity) and appliances (vacuum cleaners, toasters, fans...).
Outer Sections & Etaria
The Outer Sections includes the parts of the other 24 Sections that haven't been in regular contact with The Coalition, as well as the few habitable spots on the old surface and the rocks that drift around The Redeemer.
While it seems contradictory that Etaria, one of Barenae's biggest engineering feats, would be classified in the same group as the rest of the plane. Even if somethings like aerial travel and weaponry are far more developed than on the mainland, long periods of incommunication and lawlessness have made any organised effort to progress rapdily suffocated.
Methods of Transport
The aforementioned trains rarely reach the confines of the sections, normally traversing a single rail that goes through the most important cities. Not only that, but passenger trains are normally far too expensive to be worth the travel.As fuel and pieces are scarce, motor vehicles are hard to keep functioning, making pavimented roads unnecessary. Instead, people on the Outer Sections normally travel on vehicles based on people force or animals, be it riding or animal traction. Magic transport can also be used in unconventional ways by those whp are proficient enough on interacting with the Continuum.
Architecture
When it comes to materials, the metals used for the taller structures on the Inner Sections gradually change to stones and woods that shape an extensive range of buildings, from textile huts to fortified castles. The longevity of these structures is also associated to the fact that the Outer Sections were less harmed by the Zephyr.Buildings are also much more chaotically placed, from long villages of tall buildings on valleys to farms greatly distanced through plains, sometimes leading to confusion around what poblation those houses belong to.
Commodities
Compared to the modern interior parts, everything is much more manual, from the control of the lighting and the streetlights to the use of watermills to control the waterway sistems. As a rule of thumb, it's safer to assume that the poblation does not have any commodities and then add any that do work and can be easily mantained.The Redeemers
As with many other pressing issues that affect the entirety of Barenae, the Redeemers have taken a rather passive approach to solve this problem. Many argue that they have more important matters to attend, while others insist that their approach consists on keeping control at the pace progress appears on all of Barenae through the Index of the Church.
However it may be, The Rune Rider, commonly regarded as an Ailan of Progress, has often been questioned on his outlook on the problem, often offering vague responses and sometimes overlooking the instauration of technologies over large territories, as if the god was two different entities with contrary opinions.
Possible Solutions
Even if it's impossible to solve this problem in a short period of time, the best way for anyone to help is to advocate for progress and be vocal about the issue.
Although many shortcomings of the Outer regions could be solved through the use of magic, this is not sustainable, as magic can work in extremely unstable ways and progress isn't guaranteed.
Finally, many organizations have begun to set funds to finantiate many initiatives, starting with a better implementation of the railroad system.
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