PCBaller World/Byzantium

For other Byzantium info go see PCBaller World

Information

 * Official Name: Eastern Roman Republic;(Ανατολική Ρωμαϊκή Δημοκρατία)
 * Type of Government: Federal Parliamentary Democratic Republic'''
 * Capital City: Constantinople
 * Prime Minister: [[File:WashingtonConsensus.png]] Vissarion Owfithus
 * Gross Domestic Product: 6.04TΔρ
 * Intelligence Agency: [[File:FBI.png]] Federal Inteligence Service
 * Population: 61,186,548
 * GDP/Capita: 98,714Δρ
 * Human Development Index: 0.994
 * Official Languages: Greek, Vlach, Turkish, Bulgarian, Macedonian
 * Recognized Languages: All other languages
 * Democracy Index: 8.87/10 (Full Democracy)
 * Corruption Perceptions Index: 92/100
 * Currency: Byzantine Drachma
 * Conversion: 1Δρ = 1$
 * Code: ERR

10 Largest Cities

 * 1. Constantinople: 26.14 Million
 * 2. Adrianople: 5.08 Million
 * 3. Athens: 2.63 Million
 * 4. Sofia: 1.72 Million
 * 5. Thessaloniki: 868,486
 * 6. Varna: 774,159
 * 7. Patras: 401,188
 * 8. Plovdiv: 399,864
 * 9. Burgas: 334,197
 * 10. Heraklion: 286,118

Military
The Eastern Roman Armed Forces are the official armed forces of the Eastern Roman Republic, sometimes called the Byzantine Armed Forces or simply just the armed forces. They are divided into 4 branches: an aerial, a naval, space and land armed forces. Military technology is mostly made up of laser technology, with there being laser guns, laser artillery, laser tanks etc. Artificial intelligence is also beginning to be implemented within the armed forces, allowing for a quicker healing of wounds, better combat armor and their role will only expand as Byzantium develops. Recently, MD-2 Slayer Drones have been created which have very high levels of accuracy thanks to artificial intelligence, having data accuracy of 1/6 of a millimeter (approx. 0.17 mm), which makes these new MD-2 Slayer Drones one of the best in the world.

DARPS (Defense Advanced Research Project Services) is also discussing the implementation of railguns along with the current fleet of laser artillery. There are also projects to discuss the creation of a superheavy railgun tank known as the M98A3, being made of durable material and thus harder to destroy and can kill more enemies at once. Current tank technology however isn't as impressive as this proposed idea, with the main tanks being laser tanks made of material similar to the M1A2 Abrams, however, it has an armor thickness of 100 cm (30 cm more than the regular M1A2 Abrams).

When it comes to the navy, Byzantine navy is one of the best in the world, not only in numbers but also in technology, this is due to its access to the Aegean Sea, Mediterranean Sea and Black Sea, which means it has to have a good naval technology. They have 10 aircraft carriers, with strong AA systems, being one of the best in the world. Overall, they have 105 ships in active service and in the reserve fleet.

On air, they have bomber jets that are similar to the B-2 Spirit, however it is upgraded with laser technology. Its speed is also upgraded, up from 1000 km/h to 1500 km/h for a faster bombing spree. Aircrafts are made by defense companies such as AEKKEA, TEREM, ASMAŞ BMC. With these being the main creators of aircraft. Drones are also increasingly being modernized, with the MD-2 Slayer Drones being an example. Aircraft technology in general is modernizing.

The Space Force, established recently, is responsible for military operations concerning the atmosphere and space. It is the smallest and least funded of all of the branches of the military although, in the future, it may become important as it becomes cheaper to say mine asteroids, establish a moon/mars base. The Space Force and the BSA are discussing the idea of space tethers. The Space Force has also established a planetary defense system to defend Byzantium from asteroids/meteorites. It is also discussing a very expensive strategic defense initiative to protect Byzantium from nuclear strikes, however it seems to be over budget and will probably soon be abandoned.

Economy
The Economy of Byzantium is characterized by high growth rates (but not too high) of around 4% per year, with the economy forecasted to have a similar level of growth in this decade under current neoliberal economic policies. It is a mixed-market economy, with most businesses being privatized (with a few nationalized business) ,but there is a strong welfare state. The government also engages in Keynesian investment, recognizing the competitive world that it is under, with these investments being subsidies to private corporations to further enhance their technologies, and it has worked greatly, especially through bills like the HITECH Act.

The Byzantine economy is based on tourism, trade, services and manufacturing, with agriculture not really making up that high of an economic percentage due to the nation's geography, however, things like vertical farming and aquaculture have been gaining steam lately and have allowed for agriculture in areas previously deemed unfit for farming. Tourism is especially high in Byzantium, due to its stunning beaches in places like Varna, Thessaloniki and Izmir, but also its natural wonders in the mountains and historic towns. In 20XX, it was reported that 65 Million People visited Byzantium, a number slightly higher than their own population, which says something.

Its manufacturing has become cleaner, with manufacturing becoming more clean energy oriented, with solar, wind, hydro and nuclear being the main power sources in Byzantium. Semiconductor manufacturing has also become an important industry in Byzantium, as semiconductors offer an important leverage in things like computers and phones.

Taxation
The main source of revenue comes from a land value tax, a tax imposed on the unimproved value of the land. This tax has the role of promoting efficient land use and to stop land hoarders. The other forms of taxation come from an ecological tax, a tax on greenhouse gases and plastics + other ecological destruction. There is also a progressive value-added tax being based on how healthy and eco-friendly a product is. The healthier and eco-friendlier the product is, the less it is taxed and vice versa. The nation generally rejects the use of tariffs as it sees them as something that can reduce the number of jobs and make things more expensive for Byzantine consumers.

Technology

 * Technology is accelerating at a pretty rapid pace in Byzantium, especially after the passage of the HITECH Act, a 400B$ investment bill which is the biggest investment in research & development the country has ever seen.
 * Byzantine semiconductors manufactured by Broadcom and RS Components have just created a semiconductor chip that is 0.25 nanometers (or 1/4 of a nanometer), this is thanks to recent government subsidies to the Chip manufacturing industry from the HITECH Act. These chips have a density of 3 billion transistors/mm^2, a record amount.
 * Panayotis Services has released Zeta 7.5, the latest version of the Zeta artificial intelligence, with its "brain" power becoming ever closer to the brain power of a real human being, allowing it to tackle itself in multiple things and not be limited to one program. This is so far Byzantium's closest AI to artificial general intelligence. It operates on ImageLinkr and WordGen. An image website and word generating website respectively.
 * Laser technology has becoming the dominant military technology in Byzantium as it is seen as a superior way of warfare compared to regular missiles and bullets. Its laser technology isn't perfect, but it isn't rock bottom either. The HITECH Act has also further scaled up Laser technology.
 * Artificial intelligence security cameras are also beginning to be implemented in order to track criminal activity (especially by banned groups such as the Red Turks, Revival Group and Godfathers Of The Night) and to more easily stop any Dacian activity that could spill over into our borders. This is a step forward in surveillance technology and can allow much quicker responses towards crime.
 * After failed attempts at creating a working fusion reactor in the Byzantine Organization for Nuclear Research Reactor (BONRR) in Athens, they have instead tried to use a magnetic cloud. A recent breakthrough has managed to generate 40% more energy than it had to consume, which is an improvement but they say it will take around 20-30 years for Nuclear fusion to truly be scaled up.
 * AEKKEA (a main defense company) has created AI-powered drones that can have over 95% accuracy based on very high AI calculation power that can exceed that of humans in programmed situations like these. It is powered by Zeta, however programmed specifically for military drones. However, these are still in their early stages and MD-2 Slayer Drones are still under construction. However, it may be sped up due to HITECH Act investments and the threat of Dacia and Poland. MD-2 Slayer Drones have finally been constructed and some are currently flying in the air.

Experimental Technology

 * The Byzantine Space Agency is currently discussing the idea of space tethers, which can allow space ships to go to Mars and the Moon at a much quicker pace than they regularly would. This would make setting up a Martian/Lunar Base much easier and less costly overall. However, this is still in discussion.
 * AI soldiers are being discussed by the Armed Forces as an alternative to regular human soldiers, as they can be mass produced and are harder to kill than a regular human being. Out of all experimental technologies, this along with the first one are the most likely to happen in the short term.
 * Another idea being discussed is that of a quantum computer, however this is considered unlikely, but if it were to happen many problems would be solved very easily because of its massive computing power and some say its the key to AGI. As such, interest in this technology is high, however as said previously, it is currently unlikely. Research is being conducted on it however.
 * The Byzantine Space Agency is also discussing a nuclear powered rocket along with a laser satellite that has the purpose of defending the planet from asteroids. This technology is currently unlikely due to how expensive it is (especially the laser satellite) and how expensive it is to create a nuclear rocket.

Transportation
When it comes to transportation, Byzantium prioritizes walkability and the idea of walkable cities. As such, when it comes to inner city travel, cars are not really used, instead a combination of biking, walking, trams, metros and even monorails/gondolas (in some places) are used. Here's an example, in the Constantinople business district:

When it comes to medium and long-range travel across the country, the extensive high speed rail and metro system is used, however there is a space for a bus lane (on the highway) and a bike lane (next to the highway, with there being a green barrier to prevent car noise). The image below shows a high speed train in Byzantium:

If not, planes can also be used, with them having been made eco-friendly thanks to improving liquid green hydrogen technologies, replacing kerosen as the main thing that keeps a plane flying. As such, planes have become eco-friendly in Byzantium. The main companies are Airbus and Boeing (just like in real life), also planes have also managed to gain some speed, up from 900 Km/h to 1200 Km/h.