Vital Statistics

Jensen: Veil Three Non-Commonwealth Shadow
Quadrant: Shigare
Government: Dictatorship
Ruler: Chancellor Corbin Forrest
Capital City: Holmfirth

Adjacent to Garrowby in Veil Three, Jensen is an industrial Shadow of mid-1970s level technology (a relatively recent increase, and up from early-1950s about twelve years ago), although it also has some trading links to its surrounding Shadows, as well as to various Reich worlds and companies. Unfortunately its system of government, and its habit of spying on its own people, let alone its neighbours, were contributing factors to the rejection of its recent application to join the Commonwealth in mid-SY148.

The area of the Shadow is about 300k square kilometres (roughly the size of Italy). The climate is very much like Paris: slightly hotter summer, slightly colder winters.

The main language of government is English, although German is also spoken fluently by many people.

Distances are in metric.

The currency is the Mark, with an exchange rate of roughly M2/£1.

Population, Health and Residency

Jensen has a population of about 45m, the majority of which could be described as being of European and Scandinavian stock. There is no specific prohibition on shapeshifters, which make up roughly 5% of the population.

The average life expectancy is around 85-90 years, although healing spells or shapeshifting can extend that to as much as 125 years. There is a State-run combined technological/magical healthcare system, which has been one of the major beneficiaries of the recent upswing in the technology level. Private medicine is also available for those who don’t want to wait for treatment. The official side of RRE has made strides in providing new drugs and medical equipment to the people of Jensen.

Education is mandatory from kindergarten until the age of 16, when all students take their Lower Qualifications. Students can then choose whether to stay on for another two years, to take their Higher Qualifications. The standard of education is high, and qualifications are comparable with the level in Sable. It has a 98% literacy rate. Jensen schools are somewhat politicised, however. Schools encourage health, fitness, discipline and service to the country. This is followed up by a requirement for all school leavers (either 16 or 18) to undertake Military or Social Service (volunteering, building homes, looking after the less fortunate or elderly, working in retail or lower government jobs, street sweeping and maintaining a high level of cleanliness in towns and cities) for at least a year, before going to University or Mage School, or joining the general workforce.

Jensen Citizens are issued with National Insurance and Identity papers when they enter Military or Social Service (at 16 or 18). These are used for all dealings with Government departments and services, and are the only form of identification accepted on the Shadow. While it is not mandatory to carry these at all times, most people choose to do so for convenience.

Jensen has almost full employment, and discourages joblessness, on pain of financial penalties or imprisonment. As a result, there is no “welfare” service or dole. Those who refuse offers of paid employment are shipped to uniformed labour camps and government farms, hence there is no homelessness (an idea they fed to Anghelt). People sent to camps are stripped of their Citizenship for the duration of their stay there (and hence don’t show up in the jobless figures). Conditions in such places are basic, but not harsh. Food and board is provided, plus a small stipend. It is possible to work your way out, but it can take years, so they do act as something of a deterrent.

All visitors to Jensen must have either Tourist or Work Visas. These can be obtained either from the Ministry of the Exterior in Holmfirth, or from any Jensen Consulates, which are situated in the Capitals of all the Veil Two and Three worlds, as well as all the Outer Reich worlds, and many other Shadows within the first Ten Veils. Visas take the form of a temporary ID card, which must be carried at all times: failure to do so results in a fine of M1,000 (£500) for the first offence, M2,000 (£1,000) for the second offence, and expulsion from the country with no right of return for a period of three years for the third offence.

  • Tourist Visas are valid for 90 days.
  • Work Visas have a requirement for pre-employment by a Jensen company, and need to be renewed every six months, with the holder demonstrating that they are still gainfully employed.
  • Diplomatic Visas and credentials must be obtained directly from the Ministry of the Exterior.

At any given time, there are roughly 5m Resident Aliens within the population, mainly from the surrounding Shadows and the Outer Reich worlds. To attain Resident Alien status, a person must live and pay taxes in Jensen for a minimum of two years. Resident Aliens are then given a National Residence Card, which must be carried at all times: failure to do so results in a fine of M1,000 (£500) for the first offence, M2,000 (£1,000) for the second, and a month in jail for the third and subsequent offences. Resident Aliens are expected to be productive members of society, and failure to maintain employment for a period of three months results in their Residence being revoked, and their Visas being downgraded to Work Visas, at which point they have to restart their two-year qualification to become Residents again.

Jensen isn’t a particularly religious country, although the monotheistic Church of Jensen, which is regularly attended by 7-8% of the population, is deemed to be in Communion with the Church of Sable.

The average salary is M4,000 a month (M48,000 p.a. or £24,000), comparable with the Sable average. There is close to equality of the sexes in terms of pay and conditions in all areas of government service. The military is slightly biased towards men, but not unduly so. Private enterprise tends to be pretty balanced.

Agriculture, Industry and Trade

Agriculture remains an important contributor to GDP, given the extensive amount of land available relative to its population. Indeed, the Shadow prides itself on being largely self-sufficient for agricultural staples.

There is significant heavy industry in and around the major cities, and light industry near the mid-sized towns. Specialist products include machine tools, automotive, aerospace, steel and chemicals. Petrochemicals are less important, as energy production is a combination of oil/gas and magical. Co-operation with RRE and (previously) the Weimar Republik mean that these products of the highest quality.

There is a large, but not dominant, financial sector with its own Stock Exchange and Central Bank. Jensen also undertakes a reasonable amount of international trade (about 50% of GDP). Before its rejection for Commonwealth membership, trade with the Commonwealth states accounted for about 40% of this, but this has fallen to about 20% in the last ten years, as it has strengthened ties with Garrowby, Garioch and the Outer Reich, and also further out.

Transport around Jensen is primarily by road and rail. There is an ATS station in Holmfirth, but despite having been introduced here as early as SY145, it has not proven as popular on Jensen as on some other Shadows, perhaps because it’s been perceived as a “Sable” technology. There is a Guild Secretary, but he spends most of his time playing golf.

Jensen made one of the very early deals with RRE, way back in SY149, to help develop the Portal System, so it pretty much came in on the ground floor, once RRE wanted to test cross-Shadow transports. Starting with small, non-organic transports, it was at the forefront of developing that further, such that it was the first world in the Commonwealth Veils to use the portal system for people. It also has a much more established freight transport system, with major hubs which can safely transport container lorries, although the Jensen authorities have always been wary about setting these up on military bases.

There is also a small but efficient prop-driven domestic air carrier, Jensen Airways. Previously, this transported both passengers and freight, but now it is mainly passengers, as bulk freight is more often sent via the Portal System.

RRE’s regional office for the Shigare QuOuter Reichant of the Commonwealth is in Holmfirth. Moreover, RRE has an R&D partnership with the Government of Jensen, for the testing of new technologies within the Commonwealth Veils. It also operates a retail store selling high-end consumer products to the Jensen notables, including broadcast receiving equipment sold under license and tuned to the appropriate frequencies. A biography of Richard Roman, with his happy smiling face on the cover, can be purchased for a very reasonable price.

Politics

Unusually for a Shadow in the Commonwealth Veils, Jensen’s politics and government are much closer to the Reich model than the Sable one. This is partly because the adjacent Shadow of Marana was held by the Reich until the Outer Ring Treaty, and it got its claws into Jensen at that point. Over the years, and especially during the war, this was encouraged by the Reich, who often used it as a training ground to get agents into Sable. The Weimar government also took advantage of this. There is a strong Jensen First feeling, which has become stronger since it was rejected for Commonwealth membership

The Shadow is split into 10 administrative regions of 4-5m people. Each region has its own Governor, Capital and Regional Council (usually of c.150-175 members), which deal with local issues. These Councils each choose ten of their number to represent them in the National Senate. Holmfirth (pop. 3m), the Capital, is its own district (à la Washington DC).

The leader of the Central Government, and therefore the Shadow, is the Chancellor, who is elected directly by the populous every four years, on the third Sunday of November, with their term of office starting on the 2nd January the following year. The current Chancellor, Corbin Forrest, was first elected in November SY148, after his predecessor failed to achieve Commonwealth Status for Jensen. He is a strong, populist leader, who has been re-elected by an ever-increasing majority in subsequent elections as his rhetoric has become less and less subservient to Sable, and more about looking outwards to other trading partners than inwards. He is due for re-election in SY160.

The Central Government comprises a single Senate of 125 members: twelve from each administrative district, and five from the Capital. The majority of Senators are card-carrying members of the Jensen Social Democratic Party. The JSDP is the only legal political party in Jensen, although candidates can choose to be licensed as Independents with respect to certain policies or beliefs.

The voting age is 18. Both Citizens and Resident Aliens are entitled to vote in the Council elections, but only Citizens can vote for the Chancellor.

Military

The Jensen military is one of the strongest in the area. As a result of almost half its youth choosing Military Service, there is a higher proportion of combat-trained individuals within the country than in many other worlds in the Commonwealth Veils.

The military has two branches: Army and Air Force, although youngsters only undertake Military Service in the Army, at non-officer level. Military equipment is at the high end for the 1970s: even slightly above the rest of the Shadow.

There is also an army special forces unit, the Jensen EGB (Special Forces with Expanded Capabilities).

Security and Surveillance

The Jensen Security Services are budgeted under a combination of the Interior Ministry and the Defence Ministry. There are four elements.

  • Uniformed offices work in Diplomatic Protection, guarding government buildings and undertaking other visible security roles. All foreign Embassies and Consulates have at least a dozen Jensen DPS officers attached to them (three shifts of four), who work with the security personnel of the relevant country. The Sable Consulate has twice that, and the DPS officers are expected to accompany visiting dignitaries.
  • A dedicated, uniformed corps of defensive, communications and investigative mages of master or higher level ability: the Magical Security Group. They set up warding on all public buildings and travel with senior dignitaries. At least one member of MSG is posted at every foreign embassy and consulate. They aren’t good enough to have sentience wards, however.
  • Internal intelligence is handled by the Jensen Interior Security Service. This covers covert operations on home soil, as well as monitoring general communications, including accessing bugs in the broadcast system. In addition, intelligence agents patrol the major cities in unmarked cars, working in tandem with the police and looking out for trouble.
  • External intelligence is handled by the Jensen Exterior Security Service. This department is focused outside Jensen, and its duties include spying, recruiting agents, etc. It is not banned from operating in Jensen itself, although it does have to okay internal operations with the ISS.
    All the major cities have of CCTV coverage, with the systems being similar in tech level, but not connectivity, to Weimar. Outside of Holmfirth, this is mainly watching roads and buildings of importance. Within Holmfirth, there are surveillance cameras situated throughout the Central District, looking at both the roads and the crowds. Out in the four other districts, the focus is largely on the roads, although public buildings are observed.

Each individual capital city has a Central CCTV hub, responsible for its own district, with smaller offices in smaller towns. These are interconnected with each other, and with the Central Monitoring Station, just outside Holmfirth, but within its “District”, roughly at Charenton le Pont. The recording technology isn’t as advanced as Weimar, but is better than might be expected in a 1970s world.

The Jensen police force is split into the “Ordinary” police, of which each district of the country has its own force, and the national “Criminal” police, who investigate major crimes such as murder. There is also a national “Special Branch”, which deals with terrorism, treason and other crimes deemed as a threat to the state. The latter is actually run by the Jensen Interior Security Service.

All prisons in Jensen are run by the Military. In addition, there are three labour camps and a high-security prison which are used for political prisoners, and which are run by the Security Services. These are not publicised and are located out in the boondocks.

Magic and Technology

Magic is active on Jensen at roughly the same efficiency as in Sable, and approximately 1 in 1,500 of the population, i.e. 30k people, has some form of Talent. Of these, about 30% are no more than sensitives, 40% only attain Bachelor’s level, 20% have potential for Master level, and 10% go on to study at Doctoral level. All Talented individuals, regardless of potential and including sensitives, are registered with the Mage Bureau (part of the Interior Ministry), and a notation is made on their National Insurance and Identity papers.

There is one Mage School in Jensen, located on an extensive campus on the outskirts of Holmfirth, which has an average annual intake of roughly 200-250 students. Fully Talented individuals who choose not to go to Mage School have their Talent blocked.

While the world is biased towards technological solutions, mech-tech magic is present in certain areas, especially medicine, transport and communication, and defensive and structural wards.

When Jensen was applying for Commonwealth status, a process that came to a halt in mid-SY 148 due to interference elsewhere, the tech level was classified as “1950s”. In the last ten years or so, development has accelerated dramatically, through a combination of technological inputs from Garrowby, a strong early relationship with RRE, and a helping hand from its friends in the Weimar Republik. It is now closer to the 1970s.
Jensen does not have a mobile phone network, so all calls are from landlines and payphones. The military, security and emergency services use radio equipment, where the encryption is better than might be expected at the tech level and is similar to that were found in the Weimar Republik.

Press, Media and Freedom of Speech

Jensen nominally allows freedom of speech. In reality, however, it isn’t that “free”. Demonstrations and public political protests are required to be licensed by the local government, or be deemed illegal with participants subject to arrest. The governments have a habit of not licensing protests against its interests. Moreover, people who are too outspoken have a habit of disappearing.

There is one National newspaper, The Jensen Courier, which is State run, but with a bias towards Holmfirth news. In addition, there are smaller, local publications, one for each Administrative District, with the exception of Holmfirth itself. All domestic journalists in the country must be registered. The Jensen Courier has been printed on RRE presses since SY 155, and includes the update technology, although it is rarely used in Jensen, except for Breaking News.

There are only two accredited foreign journalists on the Shadow: Miles Harrison from the Sable Times and Käthe Breiner from Die Welt. All news out of Jensen is posted by one of these two, so they have a pretty good little niche.

  • Miles has been on world since shortly before it was rejected for Commonwealth membership. Regular user of the Portal System. He has close ties to both the government and RRE, and has gone native. As a result, he hasn’t been reporting some of the more serious issues that perhaps should have been newsworthy.
  • Käthe is the newer arrival, having been assigned to Jensen in SY156, and is actually the more honest and responsible. As a result, she is under more surveillance than her Sable counterpart, and has officially warned about her reporting on at least one occasion. Sadly, this isn’t really something she can complain to her employers about, given that the Reich does the same thing. She avoids the Portal System on principal.

With respect to broadcast media, this is run by the State-run Jensen Broadcasting Corporation. Both radio and TV are available: three main TV stations and three radio stations (popular music, classical music and news, current affairs and general talk radio). For all six stations, the revenues are supported by advertising. They also import programming from Garrowby and the higher-tech Outer Reich worlds, and some content from Sable (like Cuthbert’s show on late-night TV) which is converted from crystal recording to tape (via a handy piece of RRE techonology).

All receiving equipment is pre-tuned to these stations, and sold through government outlets, with the equipment serial numbers registered on sale. All receiving equipment also incorporates a small transmitter as well as a receiver, which allows the security service to tune in on people it has concerns about. While this is not commonly known among the Jensen populous, Sable became aware of this during the Commonwealth negotiations, and their unwillingness to put this technology beyond use was one of the black marks against the Shadow.

In recent years, the bugging devices have become much more subtle and hard to find, as they are now provided by the black ops side of RRE.

There is also a State film company, which makes patriotic films and newsreels. There are cinemas all across the country, which have a combination of technological and magi-tech projection facilities. The Jensen Film Board buys in both physical prints and crystal recordings of films and concerts from both the Reich and Sable, and their trading blocs.

Holmfirth

The capital of Jensen is the City of Holmfirth, which is split into five districts: Central, North, South, East and West. The River Stroma flows through the centre. The road plan is based on Paris within the Inner Ring Road, and is about 8km north to south and 9km east to west. The architecture is impressive, and there is a reasonable tourist industry for people from the surrounding worlds. There is an Arts Community, but this is quite highly scrutinised by the government.

The Sable Consulate and Guest House are roughly where the Musee Rodin is, while the Jensen Senate Building and Chancellery are in the location of the Louvre and the various government departments are by le Centre Pompidou.

The RRE stations are in the locations of the Grand Mosque and the Galleria. The Mage College is out by the equivalent of the La Defense. The RRE regional headquarters is on the equivalent of the Champs Elysee, in a very prestigious site.

The nearest large military base, Fort Leroy, is in the meander of the River Stroma directly south-east of Holmfirth. There is a metro system.

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