Innovia

A republic which comprises the entirety of the northernmost of the two major land masses on the extra-dimensional world of Infinitus.

• Area: 19,258,182 sq km (7, 435,626 sq miles)
• Population: 4,552,000,000
• Capital and Largest City: Sprawling
• Demonym: Innovian
• Currency: Nova
• Government: Constitutional republic; democracy.
• President: Jack Ward (First Lady: Melie Ward)
• Head of Science: Dr Desi Troyes
• Head of Health: Dr Waller Brown
• Leader of the Opposition: Angus Soubris

Geography and Climate

Most of Innovia is temperate except for the far north, which is sub Arctic, and the far south, which is sub-tropical.

In the centre of the country lie the Central Mountains, from which the majority of Innovia’s rivers originate.

To the North West lie the Frigid Islands, and to the South West, the Furnace Islands. There is one island just off the South Eastern coast, called South Point.

Demographics

Innovia is divided into ten states or provinces:

Sprawling

Mostly made up of the capital city where 10% of the population live. The Province also includes the Furnace Islands. Sprawling City is surrounded by a narrow green belt area with St. Elijah’s Wood to the North and three thriving coastal towns to the south Port Howard, Port Arthur and Marina.

Marina is often referred to as the Sailing Capital of Innovia and a common myth is that the area of the town itself is less than that of the combined area of the yachts, mostly belonging to wealthy people, that are moored in the harbour.

Port Arthur tends to attract those who own boats for sport rather than as status symbols.

Port Howard is the commercial port where ferries to the Furnace Islands and cruise ships have their terminals.

The Furnace Islands

Inhabited islands are:

• Mouncher
• Oakes
• Albert Island
• Dewdrop
• Upper Colon
• Lower Colon
• Bolleaux
• Archipelago (Arc) 1, 2. 3 and 4
• Semi
• Comma
• Sweater
• Flora
• Minnit
• Isle of Cats
• and an unspecified number of uninhabited islands, some of which are little more than rocks.

At the southernmost end of Sprawling Bay is a man-made island which houses Innovia’s largest prison.

Lavaland

Much of Lavaland is uninhabited due to the presence of an active volcano, Mount Doom. Mount Doom is surrounded by a restricted area which borders on a National Park. On the northern edge of the park is Lavaland City, the province capital. To the west of the capital are the Woods of Doom and to the east, a mountain range, The Northern Mountains, on a peninsula which juts into the Great Northern Ocean. To the south of the mountains is the Ski on Sea holiday resort. The area north of Mount Doom is inhospitable in winter with only a small year-round population, even in the capital, but in spring and summer it attracts large numbers of skiers, hikers and sailing enthusiasts.

As well as Ski on Sea, there is also Port Richard which is the base for boat owners and Port Owen, which is the base for ferries to the Frigid Islands and Sprawling.

Lavaland has more National Parks than any other province. Mount Doom (Volcanic, thermal) The Northern Mountains, Westcliff (woods and coastal paths) and Saint Elijah (moors and coastal paths).

The largest town is Proton, the the south, which is a scientific community and a base for vulcanologists studying the volcano, naturalists, and astro-physicists. There is also a rich mineral area north of Proton which is the westmost limit of the Copperfield mineral deposits.

The Frigid Islands are also part of the Lavaland Province. The main islands in the group are:

• Owen Island
• Login
• Graham Island
• Capp
• Moulde
• Pip
• Dot
• Dash
• Boulder
• Pixle
• Triangle
• Gateway Island

Copperfield Province

East of Lavaland, Copperfield is the mineral mining and industrial area of Innovia. The major towns are Copperfield City, Mile Hamlet, Minton and St. Anstead.

Trinity Province

Major towns are Trinity City, Port Betton, Triplin, Mark’s Head, White Cross and Blizzard. A quarter of the Deep Mountain National Park is in Trinity, along with Trinity Lake, the largest lake in Innovia. There are a number of small ski resorts in the south and farmland in the north.

Green Pastures Province

Often referred to as the biggest lie in Innovia – for although the province’s major industry is agriculture, most of it is covered with factory farms rather than green pastures, which you are more likely to find in the neighbouring state of Trinity. The capital is Port Harris and other major towns are Raxle and Backle.

As with Trinity there are a few small ski resorts to the south and the second highest peak in Innovia, Mount Swan.

Fairfields Province

Like Green Pastures, Fairfields is an agricultural centre but again mainly factory farms. Major Towns are Fairfields, Hatton, North Point and Port Osmond. The west coast is well known for its fjords and rock formations and coastal walks, and is a popular holiday destination and calling point for Round-Innovia cruises in summer.

Bay City Province

Innovia’s most popular summer holiday destination, Bay City, is built around the large bay from South Point Island in the east to the Bay City National Park in the west. Beyond the park is the province’s main port, Port Robert. There are also the the Forest of James and Bay City Lake in the state as well as the city of James Town.

Kenward Province

Major towns are Kenward City, Wallyhood (the film and entertainment capital of Innovia), St. Ratford, Stanton, Tinsfield, Snowflake, Sunski and Babatron. The southmost tip of the state is a forest and plains area, the Green Belt National Park.

Whitworth Province

Major towns: Whitworth City, Gems Rising, Metatron and Oceania (the Southernmost point on mainland Innovia). The province is also home to Fun Land, Innovia’s biggest theme park, which is the size of a small city. as well as Woodlands National Park. Metatron is an important centre for followers of the New Age religion.

Billington Province

It has two major cities, Brum and Billington City, two major conurbations, Billington City in the North and Brum in the south, which are likely to meet and merge within the next few years as both are fast growing overspill towns to Sprawling. Many say the two cities will eventually become one major second city called Billybrum. The province is also the location of a purpose built overflow town for Sprawling. The town was named by a vote on the interweb and is therefore called Towny McTownface.

History

When recorded history began, Innovia was, like Classica, divided into small nations – 54 in all. Some of the names survive as names of the states and cities today. As the population grew, competition for resources grew fierce and there were countless skirmishes. Gradually the small nations united or absorbed one another until there were just ten left – the ten present day states.

A final war between the Northern States and the Southern States raged for many years before one Shortest Day, along the central divide, soldiers emerged from their stations on Shortest Day, exchanged gifts with their enemies and drank toasts to them. The next day, fighting and killing resumed, but one general, Aaron Henderson, was struck by the insanity of this. He published a communique which read, “One day, men were killing one another. On the next, they ate and drank together. The day after, they killed each other once more. If men can share food and drink for one day, they can do so for all time. To be otherwise is insanity. I therefore propose that our nations unite, share our resources and act as though it is forever Shortest Day.” As a result of his words, the leaders of the nations agreed to meet and discuss becoming one united nation. After a month of in-depth discussions the Union Agreement was signed and Aaron Henderson was unanimously elected the first President and charged with making the new United Nation of Innovia work.

The new nation prospered for 200 years – The Golden Age – but a series of poor harvests brought about the Great Recession and the Backlash.

During the Backlash, individuals and families who had retained wealth during the recession years were attacked by mobs and forced to distribute their wealth or die. This bloodbath was followed by 50 years of austerity and a strict, Communist-like regime.

Advances in science, agricultural and mining technology gradually minimised dependence on climate and maximised production of resources and over another 50 years, the regime relaxed into a more tolerant era as seen today.

Religion

Innovia is largely a secular society with no official religion. This is not to say that people there have no beliefs, but that there are a variety of them. The last census breakdown is as follows:

• No religion/open minded – 45%
• Atheist – 20%
• New Age – 15%
• Classican – 10%
• Balki – 5%
• Prefer not to answer – 5%

New Age

A belief system rather than a religion as such. It promotes meditation, angels, nature spirits, energy healing, chakras, spiritualism, cosmic ordering, manifesting one’s own life. A follower of this spiritual path would not feel out of place in Glastonbury.

Classican

Archaeologists and geologists are sure that at one time, Classica and Innovia were one land mass, but a series of catastrophic events separated the two populations. Classican is the ancient religious system of Classica which resembles the Greek or Roman Pantheons we know on Earth. Classican mythology is taught in Innovian schools, so all citizens are familiar with the legends and the pantheon. A growing movement believes that Innovia should go back to acknowledging and worshipping the Classican gods.

Under the umbrella of Classicanism are a whole raft of factions who favour one particular deity or group of deities above others as well as Pure Classicanism, which believes they all should be revered equally.

Balki

Balki is the religion followed by characters in Innovia’s most popular science fiction movie/book/TV series/game, Space Warriors. The heroes of the stories are the Balki Masters who can channel cosmic energy called “Star Power” which endows them with powers of telekinesis, telepathy, teleportation, intuition, strength, endurance and healing. The Space Warriors franchise is so popular that it has become like a mythology itself and became a recognised religion after the last census when 5% of the population said they belonged to it.

Transportation

Road

Innovia has a network of major highways linking the principal towns. Most notable are the Great East West Highway which runs from Sprawling to Bay City, and Mineral Way, running between Copperfield City and Sprawling.

93% of households own at least one car. Of the 7% that don’t, two thirds live in Sprawling where there is an extensive transportation network, and car ownership is largely discouraged. The remaining third are rural communities who follow factions of the Classican religions that forbid modern technology, mostly based in Trinity Province.

Air

Every major city has at least one airport, and Sprawling has three. Inhabited islands generally have at least an airstrip, if not a fully equipped airport. Air is by far the most popular means of transport for anyone travelling significant distances. As well as the network of airports in Innovia itself, there is also a large airport on a man made island in the middle of the Great Ocean, close to Bird Island.

The most popular aircraft is the Speedbird Pterodactyl which can carry up to 600 passengers. The President has his own Pterodactyl aircraft, Innovia One.

Water

Travel by water is rarely undertaken by necessity, but in coastal areas, sailing is popular, and so are cruises. The Round Innovia Cruise is the holiday most people want to take at least once in their lifetime. Shorter sections of the Round Innovia are also available as are cruises around the islands. It is also possible to cruise to Bird Island. Ferries operate on the West coast, connecting Sprawling Bay with the Furnace Islands, the Frigid Islands, Saint Elijah and Sprawling Prison. The only other ferry service is the Round the Bay Flyer in Bay City.

Rail

There is no country-wide rail network, but large cities have local networks. The most notable is Sprawling’s Arrow system.

Measuring time

Innovia is an Earth-like planet with many similarities to our own world. Like Earth, its axis is slightly off-centre so there are seasons and varying lengths of days. In the far north these variations are as extreme as you would find in Scandinavia. Seasons are as they are in the Northern hemisphere of the Earth. The year is divided into twelve 30 day months, which are in turn divided into three 10 day weeks. As our own, their year is 365 days and the extra five days are “out of time” The extra days are usually added at the end of a month, and are always public holidays. The President’s birthday is also a holiday but it is changeable – new president, different birthday. Should the president’s birthday fall on a non-working day the holiday will be observed on the nearest working day. Union Day is a historical celebration celebrating the signature of the Union of Innovia Agreement at the end of the final Innovian Civil War. The names of the months and days of the week are as follows:

Weekdays

• Sunday Named not for the star around which Infinitus orbits but the head of the Classican gods, Sunla, the unseeable and unknowable. Not an official working day.
• Onesday The first day of the working week.
• Twosday
• Threesday
• Foursday
• Fivesday For office workers, traditionally a midweek rest day, and tends to be the one people use for housework, shopping, appointments, etc. A controversial law which would make two hours’ physical exercise compulsory on this day to improve the health of the nation is under discussion.
• Sixday
• Sevensday
• Eightsday
• Ninesday Ninesday and Sunday are the Innovian weekend.

Months

• Vash First month, Named for Vash, god of travel and exploration. (Month of Darkness)
• Oshiva Second month, Named for Oshiva, god of the mountains. (Snowdrop Month)
• Minsk Third month, Named for Minsk, god of masculinity and war. (Bluster Month)
• Dega Fourth Month, Named for Dega, the god of fresh water. (Spring Month)
• Ashtar Fifth month, Named for Ashtar, Goddess of forests. (Blossom Month)
• Isbala Sixth month, named for Isbala, Goddess of Light (Lightness Month)
• Tilla Seventh month, Named for Tilla, Goddess of the sea. (Fire/Hotness month)
• Shok Eighth Month,Named for Shok, the god of the harvest. (Thunder month)
• Brinn Ninth month, named for Brinn, Goddess of learning (Harvest month)
• Hanna Tenth month, Named for Hanna, goddess of women. (Gourd Month)
• Angra Eleventh month, named for Angra, God of Death. (Falling leaves month)
• Ottwar Twelfth month, Named for Ottwar, God of night. (Winter Month)

However, the actual month names are increasingly being replaced by just the number of the month with Darkness referred to as the first, Snowdrop as the second and so on.

Because each week is ten days long and the number of days in the year (aside from the assigned Out of Time days) divisible by ten, dates always fall on the same day of the week.

Public holidays

• Longest Day/Midsummer – Two extra days added at the end of Month Six (Lightness)
• Shortest Day/New Year – Two extra days added at the end of Month Twelve.
• President’s Birthday First Ashday of Snowdrop (This changes whenever a new President comes to power).
• Union Day Second Shokday of Hotness
• Beginning of Spring Extra day added at the end of Month 3 (Bluster)
• End of Summer Extra day added at the end of month Eight (Thunder) Every four years.

Culture and Leisure

TV

Online TV is available throughout Innovia. Virtually every home will have a large TV screen mounted in a wall of their living room, which is operated by remote control or touch display on screen. TV content is also available on individual tablet devices. Wifi coverage is available in 99% of the country. There is a bewildering number of channels with one for every conceivable subject – but the most watched are IBC (Innovia Broadcasting Company) IBC News, IBC Sport, IBC Kids, IBC Music and IBC Drama.

Popular soap operas include:

• East Woodville Blue which follows the careers of a group of political clerks in Sprawling’s Political District;
• Chalet Hosts, which follows the lives of workers in a ski resort;
• Bay City Rollers, soap about the Bay City surfing community;
• Bay City Molars, about a dental practice in Bay City, shameless spoof of the above;
• West of Sprawling, a soap set in Innovia’s biggest prison;
• Oceanians, a tale of two rival families of rich people trying to outdo one another.

Other popular programmes include:

• The Bay City Breakfast Show A current affairs/chat show. Although it is broadcast at breakfast time in Bay City, due to time zone differences, to other parts of the country it is seen later in the day. In Sprawling and Lavaland, it is an evening show.
• Survival in the Classican Jungle A reality show where a group of people live on an uninhabited island off the coast of Classica for a month and take part in challenges and tasks to win points and treats. There is also a celebrity version.
• Innovia’s Got Talent Annual talent show.
• Big Fat Classican Princess Weddings Outrageous reality show featuring the tackiest weddings possible – huge dresses, outlandish themes, features where the groom/bride/the couple’s friends plan the whole thing as a surprise; confessions at the altar and so on.

Tablet Screens

From a young age, every citizen will own their own tablet screen, an advanced ipad type device. They are slightly bigger than a smart phone but smaller than an ipad. Innovians use these devices for:

• Streaming content from all TV stations
• Watching films/catch up TV
• Ebooks and magazines (The most popular of these being The Goss, which is filled largely with celebrity gossip, reports of celebrity weddings etc. It’s what you’d get if you crossed Hello! with The Daily Mail.)
• Messaging – both individuals and businesses, such as booking holidays, flights, restaurants.
• Accessing travel information
• Accessing information
• Social media
• Photography and image manipulation
• Music – listening and composing
• Word processing
• Gaming

Whitter

The number one social media site in Innovia, used for messaging and sharing pictures, gossip and news.

A small number of people have the knowledge and clearance to perform “Whitter Purges” which are a privacy precaution. An incriminating photo or post can be removed from all Whitter feeds within seconds. This is used mainly by government departments for information control, but also by celebrities and even the President himself to hide his love affairs!

Fun Land

Fun Land is Innovia’s biggest theme park, the size of a small city. It is situated in Whitworth State. It is divided into ten districts: Water World, Ride World, Exploration World, Fantasy World, Adult World, Cartoon World, Horror World, Animal World, Night World and Future World.

Celebrities in Innovia

Some of the celebrities starring in gossip columns in Innovia include:

• Zinette Manson Morning news show host.
• Albany Jakes Ban the Bomb campaign leader.
• Hattie Arnold Soap opera actress.
• Power Blaster Super hero, real name unknown.
• Puffball McKenzie Model
• Charly Winberg Model
• Rosetta Rose Model
• Lalla Rhiadan Entrepreneur and modelling agent
• Freddie Parr Photographer
• Arlington Duckery Media mogul and zillionaire
• Rock Bradman Ironball player
• Portia Germain Singer
• Athena Treespirit Singer
• Berry Brown Presenter of the Bay City Breakfast Show, the highest rated chat show.
• The Raiders Enigmatic singing group which rocketed to fame virtually overnight. The group consists of Bluebird Jenkins (a former cabaret singer on Bird Island, whose trademark is that she insists on wearing angel wings even when not performing); Leonard Marx (former Science Department boffin who went missing after the Bird Island bomb, and re-appeared in this band); Elena Bodrum and Wolf, (who both hail from Classica and are therefore unique in the Innovian pop scene)

Shortest Day

A holiday celebrated throughout Innovia. A seasonal rather than religious celebration, it is celebrated by everyone regardless of expressed religious beliefs (or lack thereof). It has similarities to Christmas in that the holiday promotes goodwill, getting together with family and the giving of presents. There is seasonal music, Shortest Day parties and holidays from work. Shortest Day is also considered to be the last day of the year, and so a common activity among families and friends is to tell one another what their high and low points of the year were, and wishes, hopes and dreams for the year to come. There are decorations, but no Christmas trees, crackers or mistletoe. Most towns and cities will put on firework displays to welcome the new year and there is usually a large bonfire, a remnant of the Classican tradition of lighting fires to call back the daylight. As shortest day implies longest night, the telling of ghost stories, late night feasts and romantic trysts are celebrated. As the holiday takes place in winter, it is associated with snow although snow on the actual date is rare in the cities, especially the southern ones like Bay City and Sprawling. Ice rinks are set up for the weeks just before and after the holiday, and for those who can manage it, a ski break that week is the ideal way to celebrate.

Music

The music scene in Innovia is largely based in Sprawling and Bay City, the preferred homes of most of the stars. In recent years, as the “classic” pop bands have grown old and died, the music charts are dominated by talent show contestants singing covers of old classics. The Raiders are bucking this trend by making hits of previously unknown tunes, rumoured to have originated on the extra-dimensional world of Earth.

Sport

Sport is compulsory in schools and all citizens are encouraged to take part in at least one sport or physical activity per week. Gym membership is high. Hiking, cycling, roller skating and running are popular sports in urban areas. Sailing and surfing are popular in coastal areas and skiing and snowboarding in the mountains.

The most popular spectator sport is ironball, best described as a cross between rugby, American football, soccer and hockey. The object of the game is to score goals and this is achieved by getting the ball into the opposite team’s goal area using ironball sticks, feet, hands or head. It is a fast, furious and sometimes violent game. All towns will have at least one team and cities often have several. Sprawling, for example, has four – the Sprawlers, the Capitals, the Westford Maulers and the Northlake Nightmares. Aside from local state-based leagues, the sport is dominated by the National League, made up of teams from the large cities who compete for the WIC (World Ironball Cup).

Health and Emergency Services

Innovia has a large but overstretched free at point of access health service, covering GPs, hospitals and accident and emergency. The emphasis is on prevention of disease and accidents, which has meant widespread health and safety regulations, strictly enforced, and compulsory health screening for all citizens.

There is also a fire service, coastguard and mountain rescue service, and within the national parks, park rangers who act as a rescue service, health and safety police as well as maintaining the parks.

Though not officially part of the Emergency Service Network, there is a super-hero, known only as Power Blaster, who is frequently called in by the emergency services if all else fails.

Charities

Charities play a significant part in social welfare and plug some of the gaps the official welfare services cannot afford to fill. Most large charities will hold a fundraising/awareness raising event once a year with celebrity guests. An example is ChildSafe, a charity offering practical help and counselling to the victims of child abuse. Their event is usually fronted by Portia Germain.

Reproductive Laws

All citizens are implanted with a contraceptive device as children, so teenage pregnancy and unwanted children are virtually unknown. When a couple wish to start a family they can apply to have their contraceptive devices removed. This will only be granted to people of good character who are in a position to support a child. This has always been controversial as some believe that people whose families have a history of congenital diseases or mental illness, or whose family history is unknown will be prevented from reproducing.

There are a few known cases (statistically one in a million) of implants failing and babies being born to women with implants still in place. While abortion or adoption is encouraged in such cases, it is not enforced.

Adoption

While the reproductive laws significantly reduce the numbers of unwanted babies, there are still children who are orphaned or removed from their families because circumstances change. Being accepted as an adoptive parent is often as stringent as being accepted as a biological one, although usually prospective adopters have been through the latter process already but have been unable to conceive.

Military

Innovia has a defence service, army, navy and air force rolled into one. They are highly trained but since there are no real threats to Innovia the defence service is largely ceremonial, and an extra emergency service. The navy arm of the military does monitor Classica in case the other continent should become a threat. The air force arm is involved with the space exploration programme.

Innovia has developed a nuclear bomb, to which there has been considerable opposition from the Ban the Bomb organisation led by Albany Jakes. Ban the Bomb maintains that the bomb is not only unnecessary but has taken money from other, more worthy causes. The bomb was tested at Bird Island, a remote island in the middle of the Great Ocean. There was considerable opposition to the choice of test site, but the island was saved by Power Blaster, who intervened by diverting the bomb into the upper atmosphere at the last minute. Scientists are currently trying to ascertain why the explosion appeared to create a hole in the sky, through which people and animals vanished. Power Blaster and Dr Desi Troyes are among those missing.

Crime and law enforcement

Crime is relatively low in Innovia, but not non-existent. There are three prisons, the largest being situated on a man-made island off the west coast, near Sprawling. There is also a prison just outside Fairfield City on the east coast and another outside Trinity City. Men and women are housed in the same prisons but on separate wings.

Most penalties are fines, taken from bank accounts, or community service projects, with prison reserved for very serious crimes, although relatively minor offences are sometimes punished by imprisonment when the government wants to make a point.

Day to day law enforcement is the responsibility of the Innovian police force, known as Compliance Agents.

Economy

Innovia is a cashless society with even small transactions taking place by means of touch cards or online bank transfers. The unit of currency is the nova, which was divided into 100 Inseys, but since cash disappeared, the insey is no longer used. All prices are in full nova. The nova is a stable currency as there are few, if any, reasons to exchange to any other currency. Classica has a number of different currencies, which do use coins, but since tourism to Classica is relatively rare there is little in the way of exchange. Classican coin collecting is a popular hobby, however.

Innovia is self sufficient and so very little trade takes place with Classica.

Food and crop production takes place largely in Trinity, Green Pastures and Fairfields states, and mining of ores and oil in Copperfield, with a few oilfields in West Trinity. South Lavaland and Central Whitworth are the manufacturing centres. Whitworth is especially famous for its textiles, in particular, Whitworth Lace.

Science

The science capital of Innovia is Proton in Lavaland state. Lavaland’s proximity to Innovia’s largest volcano and hills and mountain ranges which are ideal sites for observatories led to the evolving of a scientific community there. The vulcanologists and astronomers were joined by other disciplines who saw the advantages of centralising operations outside of Sprawling, where costs were prohibitive. The government’s Science Department is based in Proton rather than in the capital, and Proton is also home to universities of science and technology.

Innovia has a space programme, the focus of which is the mining of asteroids and the moon as a solution to Innovia’s massive consumption of its existing resources. While no-one has yet put a human being on the moon or on any asteroids, there is a space station from which probes are launched to collect samples and take pictures of the planet’s near neighbours. The station also houses a space telescope. Rocket launches from Proton to the space station are a massive tourist attraction.

Asteroids are constantly being discovered and tracked. Asteroids above a certain size qualify to be given names – hence there are asteroids named after all the Classican gods, Historical Innovian scientists, statesmen/women, artists and writers; though having exhausted most of these the policy was changed so that the discoverer of a sufficiently large asteroid would be allowed to name it with no restrictions. This means there are a growing number named after ironball teams, cartoon characters and minor celebrities such as Puffball McKenzie, as well as after the family members, friends and lovers of the junior astronomers. Smaller bodies are assigned numbers.

Medical, pharmaceutical and genetic research is by far the biggest scientific industry.

Education

Innovian children start school at the age of six and are in compulsory education until the age of 18.

From six to eight, the focus is on discovery through play, although reading, writing and basic arithmetic are taught. From eight to eleven, learning becomes more formal. Technology and use of everyday computers is taught alongside science, maths, geography, history, lifeskills (basic cookery, needlework, etc), art, literature, drama and culture. At eleven, children are assessed in great detail and assigned to whichever school is deemed appropriate for them:

Academic School

The academically bright will be placed here, and the focus is on the more academic subjects.

Lifeskills School

Those children whose talents lie in practical rather than academic disciplines will be placed here and although they will still study some academic subjects the focus is practical – electronics, mechanics, cookery, needlework, plumbing and so on are all options students can take. Mathematics will focus on applied branches – measurement, dealing with money and so on.

Art School

For those who are best at artistic disciplines including dramatic and musical arts.

Sports Academy

With a focus on sport.

Although there is a focus, children at each of these schools will still be required to study the complete range of subjects; at a sports academy, students will spend 50% of their time in sport related activity but will still be expected to learn lifeskills and arts. Academic students will still be required to do some physical activity, creative arts and lifeskills.

At fourteen, young people are faced with options. It is now they must choose a handful of subjects to specialise in. There is also the option at this point to change the type of school they attend. For example, an academic student who wishes to learn drama or play sport can switch to an art school or sport academy, while a late developer academically, who has been found to shine academically at a lifeskills school can choose to go to an academic school.

From fourteen, their work is continuously assessed towards their graduation certificates. They also take exams yearly after the age of sixteen.

At sixteen, further specialisation takes place. A student in lifeskills can take an apprenticeship style course in their chosen subject, for example.

At eighteen students can if they wish go to university or a technical college, or they can leave school and go to work.

Universities in Innovia

The largest concentration of higher education establishments is in Sprawling’s University district, under the Umbrella of the United Universities of Sprawling. Here courses are offered in arts and humanities. Science courses are offered at the University of Proton. These two centres are the Oxford and Cambridge of Innovia and the universities students strive to get into. Cities in other states also have smaller universities offering a range of subjects and often subjects specifically for the area, such as agriculture in Green Pastures and Trinity States.

Graduates can continue to study for a doctorate after their first degree although some universities insist students wishing to do so spend a year working in between.

Adult education

All schools and academies offer courses for adults which are usually provided free and funded from taxes. Lifelong learning is encouraged.

Language

English.

Government and politics

The head of state is the President. There is currently a two party system with the leader of the party not in power known as The Leader of the Opposition. Debates are regularly held between the two and televised. There is an election every five years. The President and his/her advisors decide on country wide issues. There are also councils, headed by a mayor, in each city and town, also elected every five years.