Frontier Fears: Atlanticana Opts for Security over Growth
Atlanticana reverts to Stronghold after Concerns over Invasion
Written by Vor
The region of Atlanticana came into the spotlight last week as it released a statement detailing its aid from several militaries in converting from Frontier to Stronghold status. The armies of Sparkalia, The Red Fleet, The Communist Bloc, The East Pacific, Astoria, Kantrias, The Lair of the Dragon, The Black Hawks, and Osiris were enlisted to help ensure a successful and safe transition.
This move was preceded by the transition of The Grey Wardens's (TGW) frontier region: The Amaranthine Isles. Now First Warden Tim-Opolis indicated there that TGW was observing "presently poor returns on the foundings which a Frontier region brings," and that together with a "present shortage in available integration staff" they saw the best course of action as discontinuing their Frontier efforts for the time being.
In the statement from Atlanticana, Archon [leadership figure] Londoniopol explains that they opted for transition due to the rise of security concerns over getting raided. They claimed that "aggressive rhetoric stemmed directly from militant moralists who took issues with the recently signed treaty between the Red Fleet and Atlanticana," further explaining that "credible information was passed on to a partner ally suggesting an invasion to be imminent." Frustrated by the situation, they go on to say that "[Atlanticana is] a neutral community that came under threat of being destroyed by the hands of said militant moralists. A region that doesn't concern itself with gameplay, one that doesn't maintain a military, under threat solely due to its announcement of a treaty with The Red Fleet."
Reactions from the Raider sphere ranged from accusations of hypocrisy towards Defenders for their alleged invasion plans for Atlanticana, which they maintain is a neutral region, to the propagation of the false belief that there was a broadly organised griefer sentiment among Defenders. Most comments hinge on the claim that Atlanticana is a neutral party in Gameplay. In light of their new relations with The Red Fleet, the EBC decided to take a closer look at the facts surrounding this claim.
On February 4, Atlanticana published its ratified treaty with The Red Fleet. This treaty binds Atlanticana to working together with The Red Fleet on military intelligence matters, while forbidding it from cooperation with many others through article II, clause 5: "Atlanticana shall not endorse, support, promote, aid, or adhere to any military associated with a Prohibited Region in The Red Fleet." These prohibited regions, findable in The Red Fleet's policy document (opens google doc), include the regions of 10000 Islands, Balder, Concord, Empire of Great Britain, Europeia, The Lands of Kings and Emperors, The League, The North Pacific, The Grey Wardens, and The Union of Democratic States for their actions "against the interregional left and/or anti-fascist operations," no doubt referring to operation Red October, otherwise known as the Solidarity occupation.
The measures to ensure Atlanticana's successful transition were likely not limited to direct military efforts. The days preceding the transition saw numerous World Assembly proposals being suddenly introduced to the Security Council, with the approval of delegates from regions founded just before the proposals' introduction. The point of these proposals would be to not allow an Injunction proposal (a proposal to prevent a region from transitioning from Frontier to Stronghold or vice versa) to pass in time. The regions used for this purpose have since ceased to exist. A post from a Sparkalia representative seems to corroborate that connection.
The Frontier era thus seems to be marked primarily by fear. With even major military organisations like TGW feeling unable to securely maintain its Frontier, and raider-adjacent (but officially neutral) communities feeling the same way, the future of many Frontiers is as uncertain as ever.
