din_talin [Contagion]

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====== Din Talin ======

> 'din-TAH-lin'
> /ˈdɪn ˈta.lɪn/

===== Governance =====

>//'Perhaps the most effective and the most fragile aspect of Din Talin's governmental structure is the checks and balances present throughout the system. For a paradigmatic example, consider the relationship between the 3 most powerful positions. The Chief of Defence has the power to overrule decisions made by the Chief of Government, the Chief of Government has the same power over the Chief of the Treasury, and the Chief of the Treasury has the same power over the Chief of Defence. No final decision can therefore be made by a single individual, or even a single department: agreement is necessary, though in practice it is rare for one Chief to overrule another.//
>
>//Far less effective and far less fragile is the symmetry between local and national structures of governance. Sub-chiefs of each locality have influence over regional policy, and are in charge of bloated systems of councillors, government officers, and analysts. These same sub-chiefs then serve as councillors, government officers, and analysts in the national government. This system is supposedly intended to ensure a thorough understanding of roles and integration between all levels of government. In practice, it results in overworked sub-chiefs and an over-emphasis on superfluous power structures.'//

//- From 'A Critique of Taline Governance' by I. F. Bauer (2012)// 

The government of Din Talin was was initially resilient, claiming a decisive victory in the [[The World Further|Jotama-Din Talin Resource War]] and clinging on through the earthquakes and tsunami of 2083. Eventually though, too many moving parts succumbed and the government was locked in a bureacratic standstill just long enough for it to come crashing down. Many fled the country, but just as many fled to it, leaving settlements clattering with nations and faiths, trying to stick it through. [[The Bastion|At least one settlement has survived.]]
===== Education and Culture=====

{{:youth_service.png?400&nolink|}}

//-- A page from 'Understanding Youth Service', a manual produced by the central Taline government. The Youth Service was a programme for young people aged 16 to 18, undertaken alongside the last 2 years of secondary education.//
\\

The remnants of industry are strewn across Din Talin. Many medical facilities or power stations were used as temporary shelters or evacuation zones, which became permanent, then empty.

>Bausana: 13%
>
>The Bulwark of Devotion: 1%
>
>Evidentiality: 30%
>
>Three Goddesses: 17%
>>Cuan: 5%
>>
>>Dearr: 7%
>>
>>Talamh: 5%
>The Time Being: 12%
>
>Other: 7%
>
>No faith declared: 20%
>
>> Of which Spoilt Ballots: 6%

//-- An excerpt from 'Faith in Din Talin: 2080', a section of the last full census taken in Din Talin.//

===== Geography and Climate =====

>//'...Din Talin was, in a word, hot. I had little time to appreciate the strange juxtaposition between swathes of flatland and sudden, jagged mountains, and even less to take in the sweet, earthy scents of the forests, for I spent far too much time trying to avoid sunstroke. My fault for arriving in summer - I have never been one for the heat, and so I was never going to get on well with Din Talin's arid climate...//
>
>//...I do not mean to suggest that Din Talin is a boring place to see. Quite the opposite - the people are welcoming, if a tad repressed, and when one finds themself in the forests or mountains, there is never a dull moment. The flatlands are a slightly different story, though. I saw little more than empty land and the occasional industrial structure...'//

//Two excerpts from 'Around the World With 8 Berets' by K. Burn (1927)//

The devastation of the natural disasters which ravaged Din Talin are still visible, etched across the landscape. Government clean-ups efforts were minimal before they shifted to just supporting basic infrastructure. The well developed road network makes it one of the easier countries to navigate in theory, though less and less with each coming year.
===== Language and Naming Convention =====

>//It is hard to say which aspects of the Taline language have emerged naturally and which have resulted from the influence of the Language Academy of Din Talin. Either way, the Taline language is characterised by varied word length and fairly rhythmic speech patterns.//
//-- From 'Languages of the World' by J. Finch//

The names of people from Din Talin were, on a surface level, mostly abstract, with their meanings having been detached from the word itself by the inexorable march of history. They tended to be granted to children by their parents, with a last name consistent with family lineage and a first/middle name of the parents' choice. However, most chose not to use their middle name, or instead shorten it to a single letter, due to a common superstition that it was deeply tied to a person's innermost character. Common Taline names include the likes of Jack, Chris, Scott, Sarah, Stefanie and Annabel.