Five Metal Dragons
A Different Evolution
The following is a very brief look at Asian history as it corresponds to the Technocracy overall. It is a fairly vague examination of continental evolution. A more specific history follows in the next section.
Historians note that the civilizations of China and India date back as old if not older than Sumerian and Egyptian cultures. The civilized wealth of the East certainly matches that of the West. But they are rooted in very different sources and beliefs. Of course, there are always similarities between human cultures. It's important to view other cultures and histories from these common threads to better understand their natures.
The Drive to Balance & Prosperity
In ancient China, men of wisdom and vision lay down ideas and inventions. For thousands of years, this civilization continued its development of laws and technology, science and academia. China provided a shining beacon for other neighboring nations to emulate. And in these ancient times, the Scientists of China and India coordinated efforts and shared knowledge with Western kingdoms' wise men, too. The visionary Scientists behind this drive supported a unified world, with the same government above them all. Unlike in the West, the early Technocrats needed no church to further this will, nor did they have to deal with a power-rooted religious structure later as a result. Such beliefs were instead rooted in conservative wisdom and philosophy, such as Confucianism and Taoism.
But the Orient did have one major problem to face: nationalism. The One World early thinkers hoped for would never come to be. Independent kingdoms rose all over Asia, fracturing this dream. By 1200 AD, there no longer was any formal identity across Asia when it came to Technocratic reason and vision. Every nation developed its own ideas and kept its Scientists close. In fact, in 1227 there was a meeting between the greatest minds in Asia. This Symposium noted with varying degrees that all lines of communication between Enlightened Scientists had halted. This became known as the Fracture and is ultimately what robbed the Asian Technocracy of much of its identity. It inflicted a wound that would not heal until the modern era.
Because while the West certainly suffered its own bouts of nationalism in this age, the Western Technocrats maintained a common basis through common origins. For example, French and Russian Enlightened doctors may not have liked each other or ever much talked to each other, but they shared a common foundation: the ancient Greek orders of medicine (the Cosians). But Korea and Thai Scientists had nothing to do with each other, nor did the Scientists in any other parts of the Orient for hundreds of years.
Nationalism & War
Throughout much of Asian, the next several hundred years were periods of great tumult. Nations closed their borders while dealing with internal conflict. Because most of the Scientists were as nationalistic as the governments (or rebellions) that they supported, they too suffered. Unlike in the West where a broader sense of academic community existed, Asian Scientists isolated each other. Thus, Asia faltered behind Europe in a number of technological advances. What advances were made often served only the engine of war. Even so, advances like the firearm would have entered Asia without Westerners selling their own designs. Had Asian nations maintained more open borders and lines of communication, ideas would have filtered back and forth. In turn, for example, it's very likely that acupuncture might have become a staple of Western medicine. Unfortunately, arrogance, fear, and hatred sealed every kingdom from the others. Only minor trade relations took place. That all changed with the arrival of Westerners.
Foreign Influence
Westerners forced their way into the isolated Oriental nations. Some fought wars, others lured with gold. Sometimes just a show of force was enough. But from the 18th century forward, the Scientists saw an influx of foreigners. To this day, they agree that the arrival of the West was both positive and negative. The negative factors were obvious. New and bloodier sequences of war and oppression came. But positively, it overcame some of the problems of the Fracture. Firearms and updated medicine entered Eastern scientific dogma, forcing every Scientist to rethink and adapt...or drown in underpowered technology and antiquated knowledge.
Modern Era
Wars exploded due to the need of resources to supply the belated Industrial Revolution in Asia. While Japan was the primary leader and aggressor, no nation was innocent. Through World War II and beyond, Asia tore itself apart. And the Scientists seized those opportunities with abandon. They encouraged the wars even. Only the atomic detonations on Nagasaki and Hiroshima brought regret to the Asian Technocracy (the Zaibatsu especially). Still, some participated in the conflict out of shared nationalistic zeal. But the Asian Masters did it to end the Fracture once and for all.
Whether their goal was a unified Asia as fascist Japan seemed to want, or simply force the borders of Oriental nations open, remains a mystery. Whatever the case, the Fracture was truly over. A new conference of Master Scientists was called together to meet in Changan, 1950 -- 800 years after the last continental council was held. With only a few factors left to decide, the dust was settling. With pressure from Western Technocrats, the Scientists agreed that unity was preferable to Western domination. They drew up their protocols and established their Time Tables.
Then in 1951, the New World Order issued an ultimatum to every Oriental nation's Symposium: be assimilated or purged. To the Westerners' surprise, they received a single reply, formulated from each nation's represented Symposium: China, Japan, Korea, Southeast Asia, and India. It read as follows:
To the esteemed Joseph Basil,
We of the five amalgamated Symposiums and Conventions hereby certify our participation in the Union of the Technocracy. However, your request is redundant. We already are the Union. A list of our policies and a documented account of our natural history will be found attached.
Sincerely,
The Five Metal Dragons
Naturally, the Western analysts were astounded and in disbelief. Probes were dispatched to ascertain the truth of this. They returned with wide-eyed news. These Five Metal Dragons may have been a recent creation but they were completely modernized, organized, and unified...just like the Western Union. Of course, this didn't quite sit well with the Inner Council. Wars were fought to bring usurping agency under Control. And those wars were inconclusive (if Korea and Vietnam were any testament to that!). Amidst heavy diplomacy and "corporate restructuring", an accord was finally reached. The Asian Conventions were admitted into the ranks of the Western Union, assimilated under the five core Conventions, becoming a whole and global entity. Thereby this erased the boundary between Eastern and Western divisions (at least on paper). "If you can't beat them, let them join you." And that's what the Scientists did. By unifying themselves, they were able to merge with the Western Union instead of suborned under its heel.
So despite this synthesis of policy, technology, and science, the Five Metal Dragons maintained their identity. In most ways, this was only evident in cultural bearing. The Asian Technocrats willingly gave up traditional labels for their Conventions. They were just words, and why squabble over words? So in most ways, the distinctions between East and West remained cultural. Of course, the Asian Masters stayed autonomous. The effort it would have taken for the West to overwhelm the East would have probably destroyed them both. Now both hemispheres work on the same page and share the same overall Time Tables. Of course, two old Masters from the East were admitted into the Inner Council and they helped develop the Time Tables for Asia. However, the Five Metal Dragons put their own spins on Enlightened Science: methods that were developed uniquely in Asia. They also do not follow the Precepts of Damian, though their own laws govern similarly enough to avoid serious conflicts between East and West.
Expansion
Just because the Eastern and Western Technocrats joined forces doesn't mean everything is smooth and peachy-keen between the divisions. For years, Western elements of the five Conventions, especially the Syndicate, tried to infiltrate and influence Asian affairs. And they met with early success, especially before the formation of the Asian Union in 1950. But their Asian counterparts oppose this expansion vehemently. Somehow, approval from on high continues to justify this invasion. But now, the Five Metal Dragons -- particularly their Syndicate -- are expanding into the West. In time, the West will be as "Easternized" as Asia has been Westernized.
