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Republic of the Outer Banks
Timeline: 1983: Doomsday

OTL equivalent: Outer Banks
Flag of Outer Banks
Flag of Outer Banks
Location of Outer Banks
Location of Outer Banks
Motto
First In Flight
Anthem "We at the Edge of the Sea"
Capital Manteo
Largest city Kill Devil Hills
Other cities Kitty Hawk, Nags Head, Beaufort
Language English
Demonym Outer Bankers
President Rodney Middget
Vice President Robin Mann
Area 2494 mi²
land: 887 mi²
water:: 1507 mi²
Population 30,000 (2010 est.)
Independence 25 Sept 1988
Currency Barter, Dollar

The Republic of the Outer Banks is a North American survivor nation located off the coast of the former US state of North Carolina. Despite being on the Atlantic Coast, the county was almost unknown to the world for 30 years after Doomsday.

History[]

Before Doomsday[]

The land of the barrier islands was sparsely populated before the coming of English settlers in the late sixteenth century. The counties at the northern end near the Roanoke River were originally home to many tribes of the Carolina Algonquian peoples. Two of these were the Roanoke and the Croatoan tribes. These tribes were known as village dwellers, building towns that would remain until the crops failed or the game fled from over-hunting.

In 1584, having heard of the success of the Spanish in the Americas, Queen Elizabeth of the Kingdom of Britain had granted Sir Walter Raleigh the right to colonize the land in order to have a base from which to raid the Spanish treasure ships.

One colonist, the daughter of the colony's governor John White, was pregnant and gave birth to a little girl by the name of Virginia Dare, the first English citizen born on American soil.

After a settler was killed by unfriendly natives, and due to an earlier rough treatment to such natives by the colony's first leader, John White was sent back to England for help to deal with the natives on the mainland. When he returned, the colony had been abandoned with no evidence of violence. 115 colonists, including White's grand-daughter, had disappeared.

The area saw very little significant history in the following four hundred years. This was perhaps due to the inhospitable shores which the offshore reefs presented. American vice president Aaron Burr is said to have lost his daughter, wife to the South Carolina governor of the time, to a ship wreck off those shores. At any rate, the prevailing winds on the islands provided an excellent test site for the vehicle that would one day "sail" safely far above the waves - the airplane. Orville and Wilbur Wright of Ohio flew the first motorized heavier than air vehicle in the long island called "Kill Devil Hills" near the town of Kitty Hawk. That was on December 17, 1903. The former State of North Carolina had adopted the motto: "First In Flight."

After Doomsday[]

On September 25, 1983, a quiet Sunday evening was shattered all over North America. The state of North aCarolina was literally cut down the middle by Soviet warheads over cities of industrial, military and political significance. Last minute messages from the center of the state made it clear that the capital city of Raleigh had been targeted. Traffic Comptrollers from Raleigh and Charlotte, among others, had rerouted incoming jets to safer airports while getting as many out as they could in the short window available. Hundreds of planes however, were reported having crashed due to electrical failure after the main EMP over mid-America. By the time the lighthouse at Cape Hatteras went out, everyone knew that America was in deep trouble.

The Dark Years[]

With power out all throughout the islands, and few vehicles being able to operate to leave, the local villages came together under the authority of Dare County, North Carolina to form an emergency government to assist the survivors of what had to be a bad situation due to the final reports coming before the black out. By late afternoon on September 27, 1983, all the mayors and city managers from all over the islands had made their way to Manteo on Roanoke Island. The islands of Dare County, or the "Outer Banks" would make it through the crisis as they had many of the hurricanes in the last century or so of their existence.

It became apparent within days that no deliveries of goods by truck or by sea would be coming in any time soon. A run on the grocery stores (most particularly Food-a Rama) had begun even before any official state of emergency could be announced (difficult to pronounce to the population due to lack of radio and TV). Refugees from as far away as Virginia Beach and Wilmington began to come onto the islands to ride out the crisis away from the big cities. By December, the bridge to the mainland was barricaded to discourage further immigration in order to conserve resources. Expeditions were planned to the mainland, but for the first winter, all the efforts were in providing services to those living on the scattered islands of Dare County.

The soil on the Outer Banks is very sandy, and many of the arable areas were wooded, making subsistence agriculture unworkable for any large group of people in many areas. Fishing which had been emerging into a commercial industry became once again a subsistence lifestyle. Prevailing wind patterns pushed continental radiation away from the Pamplico Sound and Cape Hatterask[1]. The coastal fringe of North Carolina was almost free of all fallout, and only a very few vulnerable people near the northern frontier contracted Doomsday related sickness.

The Nuclear Summer of 1984, was the most deadly aftermath of Doomsday for Bankers, as soaring temperatures, perpetuated drought and freshwater shortages. As much of the soil, of outer islands are quite sandy, the land was dependent on rain directly for fresh water. Dozens died of heat exhaustion, and some others of thirst. Much of the water in the region is brackish and is hardly drinkable, but the water grows more fresh north of Roanoke Island. Shortages of water prompted many to dig deep into their ground in search of water, are sail inland in search of more fres water. Sporadic outbreaks of violence occurred and a new rise of piracy.

Black Shadow[]

Early on the breakdown of governance allowed for the rise of warbands who fashioned themselves as pirates. Those who had access to the few weapons in the area seized the island of Ocracoke for themselves and began a rampage throughout the region. As traditional American currency became worthless, the pirates raided both on the high seas of the Atlantic Ocean and inland areas into the Pamlico River in search of food. A certain figure whose true identity has been lost, fashioned himself as a resurrected brother of the 18th century Blackbeard. Staging night attacks, the Black Shadow and his gang hoped to be recognized as the 'protectors'. However such plans were foiled, when Black Shadow's plans were foiled when he was poisoned by a disgruntled crew member whose brother had been inadvertently murdered in a raid.

Afterward, the diehard members of the gang vanished into the sea, while some others were put on trial. Despite their crimes, almost all surviving members of the gang were given clemency on the condition that they put themselves in the service of the local churches to feed the destitute and the sick with their catch. Legends tell that the Black Shadow had a daughter that will return with an army of Pirate spirits to wreck havoc once more. The events of the Black Shadow are attested to had taken place from 1983 to 1987.'

Banker Pirates[]

After the end of Black Shadow, no one was willing to pillage from their neighbors but some desperate Bankers did continue to search out to sea to attack victims. This was tolerated by local authorities on the condition that supplies for returned to the community and captured crewmen were brought to Manteo to perform community service for the government. One such Outer Banker, however, left his pirate crew and allegedly began traveling the whole world. The legend of Bondabee Daniels has become a source of pride for the people

Captured prisoners were the first proof to Outer Banks that humanity existed abroad, but information was not forthcoming, as prisoners were often unwilling to talk of their homes (are in many cases could not speak English at all). It is believed that over 100 such people were captured by the Outer Bankers until 2005. At first, almost all of the captured men were forced to be involuntary workers for the government and the churches for a limited time, women and children were quickly married off or given to the possession of a local family. Those who survived eventually became Bankers themselves.

A New Government[]

At first, the leadership of the Outer Banks had no intention of forming a permanent nation, believing state and federal authorities would eventually return. After five years, however, hopes of reuniting with the US, or the state governments of either North Carolina or Virginia had dwindled. Finally, the provisional authorities decided that the federal government was never coming back and it was time to give up on the USA. In September 1988, on the 5th anniversary of Doomsday, the Republic of the Outer Banks was officially formed. In the late 90s, the government made formal contact with communities on the western mouth of the Albermarle Sound. Rivers as the Roanoke, Pamplico and the Tar will once again be used as navigation in the region.

By 1990, the concentration of peoples in the Outer Banks shifted away from 20th-century patterns. As water again became the main medium of travel, most buildings away from the water were abandoned or converted to farmland. Manteo and Nags Head, again turned into little ports as they had been prior to the introduction of automobiles in the 1920s. While life was still brutish, the end of the 1980s brought heavy summer rains, in line with global climate changes enabling a degree of normalcy.

Contact with the outside world[]

However, a tension developed between the city-state of Elizabeth City over the "rights" to survivor communities and farmland in the counties between the two. In 2002, as disputes over this land continued, a ship bearing Brazilian explorers sailed through Banker waters, under the lax security of the "Dare County Connector" bridge, all the way to Elizabeth City.

After a period of four years, and contact with Mexican officials, the Brazilian "invasion" had been exposed. In 2006, the Outer Banks established a protectorate in the Roanoke River valley up to the former NC-Virginia state line. By the end of 2008, the Outer Banks had established contact with other US successor states. In January 2009, official contact was made with the ANZC. The Outer Bankers promised, that piracy was no longer tolerated

In 2010 The Outer-Banks has reinstated control of the mainland that had once been part of the old Dare County. Though open for seasonal expeditions for timber and farmland reclamation from as early as the Mid-80's, it had never been permanently re-incorporated.

Despite the fact that of the residents of the sparsely populated marshes had already migrated across the Croatan Sound a few dozen survivors had been discovered in the old site ofEast Lake. These families had avoided confrontation with loggers while farming the marshlands and hunting game for over twenty years. The expeditions assured them that their lands would remain theirs on condition of nominally accepting the authority of Manteo (as opposed to any other power). However, the expedition requested that they educate their children in basic literacy.

Culture[]

The identity of the Outer Banks, though often overlooked had differed from the rest of North Carolina, or even the country prior to Doomsday. After the ensuing chaos and famines, native traditions which had eroded with increased contact with the rest of the United States resurged. The Outer Banks continues to remain an artifact of the forgotten colonial past of the Americas. In cases where Outer Bankers venture abroad, they have sometimes been mistaken as survivors from the former United Kingdom or ANZAC. Commonly the dialect spoken by the Outer Bankers is referred to as the Brouge which in fact resembles Shakespearian English.

However, total isolation for 30 years caused rather strange ripples that would had not been expected. After the fall of the Black Shadow gang, pirates which had been revered by local residents suddenly became shunned. The ocean while a lifeline also became a subject of fear and the unknown. Elderly residents reasoned, that hell had arrived from 'thee overrseaas' and therefore the seas also broughtdistant evil along its wake. Not everyone agreed but as the years passed this idea crystallized. The people- despite their English origin began to identify with the native peoples that had become extinct 200 years prior.

Theater[]

Prior to Doomsday, the heartland of the Outerbanks - Roanoke Island, had been home of the nationally acclaimed Lost Colony production performed every summer. The original play dramatized the failed Roanoke Colonies, featuring the natives only as supporting roles or antagonists. As a form of community unity, and to the surprise of many the production of Lost Colony actually continued, as desperation took hold the play became the center of community life on the island.

The play's itself however devolved from the original script. After winter lightning burned much of the original theater in the late 1980s much of the story was changed. So that the play became a celebration of the 'lost' native tribes and their struggles. The English while not exactly antagonists, became framed as confused foreigners who did not understand the ways of the land. By the 1990s a slew of performances had arrived that appear to be more like a quasi-religious ritual than pure art. The Wright Memorial constructed in the 1930s to commemorate the first flight has since been used as a location of a yearly summer flying dance.

The Book of Roanoke[]

As maintaining written records without outside contact and electricity became difficult there was a danger that much of the local history would be forgotten or distorted. By the end of the 1980s myth and information had become one in the same. On one particularly hypnotic performance of the Lost Colony, the show was interrupted by heat lightning. However, some of the actors and crew found this to be a divine sign.

So a group of disciples began to write the Book of Roanoke which told the story of English discovery and meshed verified facts of the Roanoke Colonies with Native American Lore and Chrisitan theology. The Book of Roanoke claims for example that a Secotan Indian was approached by Gitche Manitou otherwise called the Great Spirit to make peace between all of the Native tribes and the colonizing English. Skyko is tasked to convince Manteo of this truth who was initially skeptical until a Snapping Turtle began talking and said that the land would continue to suffer from drought until there was peace. Wanchese is shown to be part human and part wolf and has difficulty controlling his temper.

Major English warriors such as Sir Richard Grenville and Sir Francis Drake are depicted as being the manifestations of evil spirits. Jesus is later found orchestrating the events to show that all races are loved by god equally.

The traditional protestant churches were infuriated and attempted to burn The Book of Roanoke, and expel the writers, to the former North Carolina/Virginia border. However, a devastating hurricane was taken as a sign that there should be reconciliation. While the Book of Roanoke was not taken as official doctrine, it, in fact, was tolerated as a proof of God's mysterious ways. Later when Contact was reached with Blue Ridge, spiritual leader Billy Graham expressed disappointment, that heretical claims on actions of God were being made.

In practicality, it appears that the surfacing of the Book of Manteo has helped mend relations between the Whites and Blacks of Roanoke Island, who often avoided each other in the years after Doomsday.

Government[]

The Republic of the Outer Banks follows a model of government similar to the pre-DD United States. The republic is divided into seven townships. The legislative branch consists of a House of Representatives and a Senate. The House is divided into seats which correspond to the population of townships and its members are elected by the people. The Senate is divided into two seats per township and its members are appointed by the governments of the townships.

The President is elected to a four-year term, and is eligible for two consecutive terms. The powers of the Presidency are identical to that of the pre-DD US President.

The Judges[]

On paper, the judicial branch has the same structure and purpose as the judicial branch of the former US. Disregarding official documents, the council of five judges has transformed to have entirely new meanings and functions, that resemble old English- or even native Croaton society.

In practicality, however, as the original counties had very few lawyers, presidents often appoint their closest friends or supporters to positions in judgeships. However, an ordinance has been enacted to ensure all appointments are literate. Often times judges have been members of the Baptist or Methodist. In reality judges have increasingly been seen not as legal experts alone but a 'council of elders' who are consulted in all types of questions and disputes. It is not common for individuals to approach the judges on questions of personal feuds or importance.

Politics[]

This report must note, that is very little support for the reemergence of the United States or even for a hypothetical nation of Noth Carolina here.

For more information on the Politics of the Outer Banks .

Anthem[]

We at the edge of sea

Over under shining red day

We were dealt asunder by gods proclaiming "come what may"

Returning to the rocks and the shore,

Believing to have nothing, we found to have forever more

Momockued upon us, is black beards stain

Holding in our hand, tomahawk, and devils cane

Outer Banks Politics

Education[]

Education was for a time neglected by the local government due to the ensuing crisis, children were merely a focus for survival. As there was only one doctor in the Outer Banks area prior to Doomsday, there was a near total lack of medical supplies, with the exception of those held by a local pharmacy- who were compelled to give their supplies to Manteo officials. Children once more returned to the fishing and farming work that defined their lives in the 19th century. Though some parents put their children under quarantine in fear that refugees would infect their children. Education reverted to home instruction, almost always by mothers or grandparents.

On Roanoke Island, educational buildings though oversized and neglected could still be used to educate children. In 1990 it became apparent that many children and even some teenagers were effectively illiterate, still, many locals did not see the real point of education when survival was a day to day battle.

Netherless, the first Outer Banks President, saw a need to enforce some educational ruling, as literacy and arithmetic were still valuable. These basic skills allowed for some additional level of commerce about the ordinary barter and allowed the accurate tracking of loans and debts between citizens. The largest justification came from religion, as the region had been uniformly Protestant before Doomsday, in apocalypse, religion resurged as a focus of daily life.

Under the guise of remembering religious teachings and morals, a new primary education program that taught literacy to children and adults was initiated. Schooling would be done by some former teachers of the counties, and by the remaining churches. Literacy was taught with the Bible and some remaining copies of Mark Twain's works. Arithmetic was often taught by splitting and sorting everyday objects. Schooling almost entirely took place in the 'Cold Time' from November to March. However, even such rudimentary instruction remained functional only Roanoke Island for many years. Most families in other islands were reluctant to permit their children to go on long journeys often by boat to Roanoke just for education.

Law and Order[]

While at first documents indicate, that there was an attempt to preserve customs from the dissolved United States, very quickly did the status of laws and punishments to serve the needs of an isolated community, where almost all community members know each other. With very few legal officials present in the first place, the distribution of law fell to the Supreme Court which became more as a council of elders than a secular court. As day to day survival is not taken for granted 'imprisonment' as considered in the old United States does not exist. In terms of crimes where there is a victim, convicted criminals often are asked to pay large forgive fee especially for crimes considered drimes[2]. If a crime is economic such as theft, it is very common for the guilty to be issued to the service of the community which is usually forced labor for the church.

For actions of murder are actions that are deemed as detrimental to the existence of the order, there has been a number of punishments. Sometimes very large compensation, or lifelong community service in duty to a church if the murderer may have had justification for his crime.

The most common of harsher punishments is expulsion, which at least in the early years meant certain death. The expelled were traditionally brought to the far west of the Albermarle Sound, on the mouth upon the Roanoke. The old North Carolina, Virginia border dangerously close to radiation contamination from the Soviet missiles that destroyed the old United States Atlantic Navy at Norfolk Virginia. Reports from nations around the world confirm however that some of the expelled survive, oftentimes on fishing on the high seas. Indeed, sightings of expelled Outer Bankers was one of the early confirmations of the existence of surivors from the former U.S state of North Carolina.

Economy[]

Food[]

In the first Doomsday years, famine approached the Outer Banks, whose residents encountered similar problems to early English settlers. The sandy soil of the barrier islands are inherently dry. Agriculture became difficult, though the mainland's soil is much better when there was little radioactive contamination. The Nuclear Summer of 1984 and its drought possibly caused an unknown number to perish or suffer from infant mortality. Fishing became even more intensive than in the past, and piracy remerged for the first time in two centuries. Outer Bankers risked their lives sailing out the Atlantic Ocean in small vessels sometimes with little more navigation than a compass to gain subsistence. Luckily, the drop in human populations around the world eventually led to a rise in fish stocks equivalent to the Americas after the Native American plagues. The precarious situation in food and its associated tribal violence contributed to the rise of churches in Banker societies. Traditional Banker churches all loosely adhering to the ancient Protestant doctrine took charge of food distribution after 1985.

The Outer Banks have established strict self-sufficiency. Fishing is the main source of sustenance, with no fear of overfishing even the inlets to the mainland. A larger variety of fish and seafood began to be harvested as competition for the usual fare became heated. In addition, citizens were expected to grow fruits and vegetables in available lots and even private greenhouses. As a result, fish and waterfowl were traded for fruits and vegetables and no has gone hungry since the 1990s. Other services, such as repair and maintenance of equipment, were also bartered in lieu of money.

Transportation[]

For years after Doomsday, fuel was rationed to the few public vehicles used for rapid transport between villages and to fishing boats needed to maintain the economy. Though distances were small, fishing waters were large, leading to the an inevitable disappearance of fuel within a few years. Before that happened, though, gasoline engines were re-engineered to run on alcohol, and diesel engines to run on vegetable oils. . Others, though, took to raising the feral horses on the islands, for both transportation and sport.

Recreation[]

Until very recently, the tourism industry was just about nil in the islands. However, as the populace grew used to the routine of working to sustain a comfortable, if primitive, lifestyle, the beaches became popular places to spend weekends and even week-long vacations for those who could get away (successful fishermen were especially flexible in this way). Hotel management became a job that many villages kept on the "payroll" - paid mostly in food and housing, and some credits for incidentals. Managers, in turn, would hire young people who had become tired of farming and fishing as a way of life. According to the League of Nations since 2015, tourists are often denoted as 'Woodsers' and must pay for permission for entry with ethier food or forgein currencies that can be used in international trade.

Energy[]

In addition to bio-fuel to fuel generators , other ways were found to return electricity to the homes and businesses of the Association. Before venturing to the mainland, attempts were made to farm the winds and the waves - both of which were plentiful. Windmills popped up along the Atlantic coast between the hotels and beaches. In between the islands, anchored by the pilings of the bridges, were tidal generators running turbines that produced electricity as well.

By late 1985, mainland Dare county, with its fertile, but wet marshland and swamps, had begun to be reclaimed to grow grain for food and for fuel. Later, in the 1990's, contact was made with survivors in Currituck and Camden counties, leading to similar farming efforts to fuel both economies and vehicles.


International Relations[]

On our islands, we did not even have sirens! No one ever told us anything, our lights just went out! No help, no nothing! Men who thought themselves as gods tried to destroy us, and as we faced famine no one came! Who are you, to instruct us now on how to 'keep the peace' when we have always lived in peace! Now the true God and the sea provides for us well, and we follow the path set out for us! Or will you try in the interests of 'international peace' to poison the shrimp and fish just as your ancestors poisoned man? Do you think you have that right?

- A repudiation of the League of Nations and unholy disturbances, in response to their invitation. Translated into Standard English

Despite recent contact with other nations, the Outer Banks maintains a strict isolationist policy. The government has turned down an offer to join the League of Nations, citing the failure of previous international bodies to prevent wars in the past.

The majority of the information in this report was published to the League of Nations by means of a recent Blue Ridge investigation into the area whose envoys have dubbed the Outer Banks as the 'Pirate Hermitage'. Frequently foreigners that come from inland territories are referred to as Woodsers

References[]

  1. Before Doomsday, this was called Hatteras, but in the years afterward the 'Hatterask' used by the Ancient Croaton People returned to everyday usage. Isolated from the rest of the world, old Middle English and Native words that had almost been forgotten were used once more.
  2. Drime comes from the Bankers Brouge which itself is a dialect which came from the Middle English of Southern England. Drime as a word became common once again after the apocalypse. Drimes originally referred to lies or absurd impossibilities, In the present time, they can refer to insults, civil disputes or even a mild physical assault
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