𝐖𝐀𝐋𝐊 𝐈𝐍 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐋𝐈𝐆𝐇𝐓

↳ 𝐚𝐧𝐭𝐚𝐫𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐜𝐚

ECONOMICS.
The Democratic States are insanely consumerist driven. Do they even produce anything? Not really. All of your managers are from there and live there, and manage you virtually, it would seem. They do not produce raw materials or manufacture goods. They primarily produce the largest chunk of the population. Panama produces raw goods (primarily agriculture, mining, etc), and then Antarctica manufactures those to form completed goods, and then enables its end of the shipping industry (large shipping aircrafts and boats). The Democratic States produce most cultural capital. This is the richest area, whereas the extraction of the colonies makes them generally less rich and its people less esteemed than those born and raised in the States. Governors and the elite class in Antarctica are often bitter about this divide. They are deadlocked in economic competition with The Republic of America and currently winning (by a landslide, if you believe their own measures). Factories cover the landscape of Antarctica and manufacturing is the most common profession, particularly of complex technologies (cell phones, digital devices that can be surgically implanted, cars, and during times of heavy militarization, weaponry, fighter jets, and tanks).

CLIMATE and GEOGRAPHY
Antarctica is not as cold as it once was. It is dark for six months out of the year, however. The glaciers have long since melted. It is about as cold as Southern Canada or the Chicago area of the United States once was, long ago. It is largely flat. Factories cover the land. The buildings are very utilitarian and large, taking up much space. Pollution worsens the air quality severely. The water outside is extremely turbulent, and storms often occur, even with deadly waves that can crash onto the land. Animal life is largely extinct. Any animals on Antarctica were brought there purposefully. However, livestock largely does not exist there, as meat is processed and sent from Panama.

GOVERNMENT and POLITICS
The Democratic States is ruled by a president, who is President Amos MacArthur, who does not rule with a vice president. He does not have a House or a Senate and essentially operates with a cabinet, and otherwise, makes all decisions autonomously. Each state has a governor, as does each colony. The governor is in charge of state affairs. Peacekeepers are the hands of the state, essentially the secret police produced exclusively out of Antarctica, at the Colonial Academy, ones who spy, ones who interrogate, and ones who crush any rebellions that may threaten to form. They answer directly to the governor and ultimately to the president. The governors may be covertly killed if there is any dissent, by their own peacekeepers.

CUISINE.
The food is largely processed and pre-packaged as a result of extended supply lines, limited farmland available due to environmental damage, and consumerism. Everything is branded and not much is very healthy anymore-- there is a lot of processed meat, for instance.

FASHION and ENTERTAINMENT.
Fashion and entertainment are all produced in the Democratic States. Media from The Republic of America, The Chinese Empire, and The Russian Empire is banned. Synthpop is very common. Humans have a very small role in entertainment, but are the top echelon of it. AI art and acting is very common as well. Entertainment is largely monopolized by the 1% and then the rest of the roles are taken by AI. Good art is legitimately produced by this top 1%, but it is always imbued with propaganda. The Democratic States are never shown in a bad angle, and the Republic, the Chinese Empire, and the Russian Empire, are never shown in good ones. It is illegal to contradict or criticize state messaging or the state. Subversive creators of art left the country, typically. They often live in New Azteca. Fashion is very utilitarian in Antarctica and Panama, largely due to their practical working roles of the citizenry, and very ornate in the States themselves, which produce the most cultural capital, including runways and fashion magazines that dictate the world's fashion preferences.

SPORTS.
Antarctica is where most sports stars are produced, as the Democratic States do not tend to produce as many sports players, but is where most games and competitions at the professional level are hosted.
The sports, at a high school and collegiate level in Antarctica, are streamed to the Democratic States who enjoy watching them and pick favorite teams, despite never having gone to school in Antarctica or perhaps ever been there.
The most common sports enjoyed are American football, basketball, boxing, and wrestling. Women's sports appear at the same professional competitive events, and so are well-attended (for instance, the women's teams will play each other, and then the men's, making up one professional match individuals can pay to watch). Children are often recruited into sports at a young age to encourage physical fitness for war. Especially in Antarctica, there is a stronger emphasis on physical education classes imposed by the government.
Professional sports are regularly paused due to war, during which all eligible individuals (able-bodied, non severely mentally ill, with an IQ above 80, are drafted into the military to fight in wars, particularly with its own Panama colony or the Republic of America).
The Democratic States do participate in the Olympics. They are currently the top-ranking nation, although The Republic of America is a close second, The Empire of Russia a third, and The Chinese Empire a fourth.