New Guinea
From Gothpoodle
- Population: 17 million
- Aspects: Stable, Third Wave
The United Republic of New Guinea came into existence as a nation in two sections. The eastern half of the island gained independence from Australian administration in 1975, and has always been closely associated with Australia. The western half was a province in the Indonesian empire until 2015, when local insurgents took advantage of an ongoing civil war to declare independence. Backed by Australian troops, the former Irian Jaya made its declaration stick, and in 2021 united with Papua New Guinea. The unified nation remained a close ally of Australia, and became a member of the Pacific Rim Alliance in 2027.
New Guinea is rich in natural resources. However, at the beginning of the century the island had almost no infrastructure, an astonishingly high level of ethnic diversity, and a population which often still lived on a Stone Age level. Development has until recently been driven almost entirely by mining. With a great deal of foreign investment, the government has pursued a “dispersed development” model. Using modern communications technology, the government hopes to bring New Guinea’s people up to an advanced standard of living without forcing them to leave their scattered villages. The result appears likely to be a bizarre mix of the primitive and super-advanced.
New Guinea’s interior still conceals wide tracts of land that have never been explored by outsiders. According to rumor, the Alliance may be concealing almost anything in the island’s outback: black weapons-research projects, enclaves of artificial life, evidence of lost civilizations, vast hoards of gold...
See also Mekamui.
