Talk:Republic of West Texas (1983: Doomsday)

This is still very much a work in progress, but I like the idea of survivor states like West Texas that are being discovered as the other survivor states gain the means and time to more easily explore their areas.

The other main change I made was to restore electricity, in some form, to the state; I don't think that people would go long without it if they could restore the power grid. There may be elements of the old West in the culture, but they do have their power.

Another element I want to explore is the government's control over the people, based out of a desire to stay self-sufficient and to themselves, especially after being rejected by Mexico back in 1985. Like Vermont, West Texas knew that if anyone was out there it couldn't stay isolated forever, so that control eventually would loosen - and the leaders decided to roll with it rather than resist it and risk some sort of uprising from the youth.

And, my reference to high school football and Periman-Lee rivalry is not only a shout out to Friday Night Lights, but also recognition of how deeply ingrained football is in Texas and how, once things got to a level of normalcy, people would look to restore their regular traditions, like high school football--BrianD 01:01, October 13, 2009 (UTC)


 * You should expand it into parts of New Mexico as well, rather than leave it simply in Texas. However, unless I see a map of what you are considering for borders, I cannot be sure. Lahbas 03:31, October 13, 2009 (UTC)


 * I had Carlsbad and Hobbs, New Mexico as two of the cities sending representatives to sign the constitution, so the state covers at least that portion of old New Mexico. As far as a map goes, is there a guide somewhere for creating maps in wiki?--BrianD 03:41, October 13, 2009 (UTC)
 * A rough written guide - for your and my benefit both - to the West Texas borders is

I'll put together a map once I figure out the process for doing so.--BrianD 03:58, October 13, 2009 (UTC)
 * East along Interstate 10, from Van Horn to Sonora
 * North to Colorado City and Snyder
 * West through Lamesa, Seminole, Hobbs and Artesia
 * South through Carlsbad, down to Pecos and Van Horn.

Sounds like a good idea. where's the capital?. --HAD 12:44, October 13, 2009 (UTC)


 * Midland.--BrianD 14:14, October 13, 2009 (UTC)

this is a rough boarder map I've made based off of the cities you listed--GOPZACK 20:32, October 13, 2009 (UTC)

Thanks, GOPZACK. You're on target (although people are going to want to avoid San Angelo since it got hit)--BrianD 20:53, October 13, 2009 (UTC)

Your very welcome one thing about San Angelo is that it may have been hit with a weaker nuke because it is not a primary target and the radiation levels may have gone down leading to expansion eastward toward the outskirts of San Angelo--GOPZACK 21:56, October 13, 2009 (UTC)


 * That obviously would have happened recently.--BrianD 21:58, October 13, 2009 (UTC)


 * Of course but this map theoretically should reflect the border as it currently stands--GOPZACK 22:04, October 13, 2009 (UTC)

I'll add the Texas state flag and Republic of Texas state seal sometime tonight or tomorrow, when I get a few minutes. --BrianD 22:43, October 13, 2009 (UTC)



does any one know how to do maps like the ones one the Nordic Union page or the Celtic Alliance one? --HAD 10:17, October 14, 2009 (UTC)
 * sorry, I don't. I need help on maps myself!--BrianD 16:49, October 14, 2009 (UTC)

FYI, I have established not only the capital as Midland but also Midland as the region's largest city. This is because in the real world, Midland's population is 106,000, while Odessa is 98,000. And, I picked the independence date as July 4, 1984, because the leaders wanted to tie their existence to the United States, in recognition that they had to fend for themselves w/o federal assistance, but with the hope that somehow the U.S. would reconstitute themselves. July 4 is to remember where they came from and why they set up their republic.--BrianD 16:49, October 14, 2009 (UTC)
 * Make sure you're basing population on 1983 numbers to start with -- you don't want to base it on today's numbers. Also, remember that capitals aren't necessarily the largest city in the state.  Look at Springfield, IL and Jefferson City, MO -- tiny compared to other cities in the state. Louisiannan 16:53, October 14, 2009 (UTC)
 * Thanks, Louisiannan. I'm assuming that the region's population swelled because of refugees. I did switch the largest city back to Odessa, because of these links


 * http://recenter.tamu.edu/data/popm00/pcbsa36220.html
 * http://recenter.tamu.edu/data/popm00/pcbsa33260.html

Seems like Odessa and Midland are neck and neck population wise in our world, and that probably would also be the case in this timeline.--BrianD 17:13, October 14, 2009 (UTC)

I fleshed out the standoff with Mexico, and why the earthquake and long dormant anger toward the West Texans for America's perceived role in the destruction of the border states, caused relations to go south between the two sides and why that would have led leaders to a policy of extreme isolationism. I also ditched the social norms subsection (could NOT make it work), and added arts and national landmarks, which better fits the page. I am also looking for feedback on the lack of a broadcasting industry and my explanation involving EMPs, and whether that is truly realistic or not. Maybe I should give them radio after all???--BrianD 03:53, October 15, 2009 (UTC)

EMP is only a major factor with high alitude detonations. --HAD 12:58, October 15, 2009 (UTC)


 * You know, I never have seen anything in canon regarding the Soviets exploding a device high above North America (a scenario which you may recall was used in The Day After movie). Other countries have apparently used radio from early on, so I'll need to rewrite appropriately. Also, I discovered on the Wikipedia Texas page that the state supplies most of its own electricity. I'll need to revise the sections regarding electricity, and use of telegraph and Pony Express, as well.--BrianD 14:32, October 15, 2009 (UTC)

Yeah, I kind of want a simpler map than the one currently on the page. I can't really tell where this map is, not like the maps on the Nords and the Celts. Those maps you don't need full size to tell the location. --Yankovic270 15:34, October 15, 2009 (UTC)

How about this? --BrianD 16:13, October 15, 2009 (UTC)

Copyright info for map, in case it's necessary: http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Texas_2002.jpg --BrianD 16:21, October 15, 2009 (UTC)

Better, but it has little distinction between the borders of West Texas and the roads. Can you please shade in West Texas territory, as the borders do not stand out. It looks like they are roads, as the red they are undoubtably done in blends in with the colour used for the roads. That is the only comment I have on it. It is otherwise much better. --Yankovic270 16:23, October 15, 2009 (UTC)
 * I'll see what I can do.--BrianD 21:43, October 15, 2009 (UTC)

I've rewritten the article, allowing for limited, unofficial contact with Dinetah, Deseret and Colorado over the years. I don't know who wrote Dinetah, and I don't want to violate canon, but given that Dinetah includes northwestern New Mexico and West Texas southwestern New Mexico, I can't imagine the two nations NOT having met each other early on. I also took out the part about the kids discovering the NAU and Dinetah scouts.--BrianD 21:43, October 15, 2009 (UTC)

I was looking over your page and noted two discrepancies in your early years section you may want to address. If I understand the timeline correctly, the Soviets began launching about 3:40-3:45 AM Moscow time on Monday, September 26, which would be about 7:45 PM CST time, not 3:40 PM, September 25. Also, since it was a Sunday, soap operas would not have been airing. However, many people might have been watching the Emmy Awards which aired that night beginning at 8 PM EST. Otherwise, it appears interesting. --Fxgentleman 17:29, October 16, 2009 (UTC)


 * I misjudged the timeline; I'll go back now and make the fix. Thanks, fxgentleman! I'm also having trouble, after re-reading the timeline page, with how to reconcile my proposal with the timeline in regards to electricity and radio/TV. Not so much that they have electricity and radio today; I guess my question is how soon they could have restored the power grid (given that Texas supplies much of its own electricity), and if they would have even had the means to mass-produce or repair TV sets. I'm thinking radios would be much easier to repair and produce; I could be wrong about that, too. I'll leave that alone until I get further clarification.--BrianD 18:26, October 16, 2009 (UTC)


 * 'm done with the article, although I would like for folks to review it to make sure there are no conflicts with canon, particularly in regards to Mexico and Dinetah.--BrianD 21:19, October 16, 2009 (UTC)

This is my attempt at drawing more defined borders; I cannot find a generic 50-state map of the US on wikimedia, and I want to see how this map looks on the West Texas page. The blue area represents the official borders of West Texas, the red area the area on the map it claims (it claims the entire state of old Texas, in fact)--BrianD 04:08, October 20, 2009 (UTC)



Obviously, I added in the map. If it doesn't work, let me know.--BrianD 22:32, October 21, 2009 (UTC)