A friendship reaching beyond micronationalism
By Koen Nevens

2005 RIMA Essay Contest Submission

To give an overview of my micronational experiences, is best served by giving an account of an extraordinary friendship. Of course I could write about the impact I had or am still having on the policies and day-to-day life of one or another micronation. However, in the light of time and reality the greatness of my micronational successes (will) unavoidably fade away. Therefore I choose in this essay to celebrate my friendship with John P. Darcy, a friendship which extends beyond micronationalism and which is more deer to me than any micronational achievement.

The very first micronation I ever joined, was the Republic of Mars, maybe known to some as ‘marsgov’. I was googling for Mars-related websites when I noticed a link to marsgov. So obviously, my encounter with online micronationalism can be defined as coincidental. Until that time it hadn’t even spurred my mind that there were actually people like me. I say “like me” because, a few years prior to my discovery of marsgov, I had also been imagining my own country, with fake maps, assumed political parties, fictional history, etcetera. Anyway, it was in the Republic of Mars that I met John, who lives on the opposite side of the globe, at least from my perspective. My very first post on the marsgov forums immediately solicited a response from him. “That is total rubbish” was mentioned somewhere in his reply. Such words would have scared away many newcomers. They also seemed to make any future friendship quite unlikely. Yet, I stayed, got appointed as public prosecutor of the Republic of Mars and threw myself on every legal issue I could find in the micronation. John too shared my passion for the law. We were predestined to meet again. John had drafted a new Constitution for the Republic of Mars and I joined a discussion group on the matter. The multiparty discussion soon became a dialogue and mutual respect grew…

In the wider marsgov-community John unfolded himself as a trustworthy politician and a leading figure in the Republic. I often had sympathy for his statements, but hardly revealed my personal opinions on the matters. The function of public prosecutor required that much of me. However, when it became clear that that function did not allow me to significantly contribute to the micronation, I offered my resignation and put all my energy in a political career. I joined the Communality Party of Mars, even became the chairman of that party and got elected to parliament. John, who ran as an independent candidate, also got elected. We both became minister. When the prime minister abandoned ship, John became the de facto leader of the government and as minister of Justice worked under him daily. It was an enjoyable time and the working together clearly further molded our friendship…

Despite the efforts of John, myself and some others, marsgov collapsed. Personally I believe that the Republic collapsed when it became more and more evident that many of our citizens were no micronationalists in the true sense of the word. A majority of the populace got frustrated by the amount of time and energy that was put into politics and legal issues. John and I are in a sense to blame, but we never kept other from developing other sides of the micronation. Furthermore we tried to find a compromise and started the “futuremars”-project. The idea was to create a micronation in the form of a free online game. We hoped to satisfy those people who felt that aspects like scientific research and exploration on Mars had been ignored for too long in marsgov. Our ideas were sound, however we lacked the computer- and programming skills to create a true online game. I decides to take a break from it all, but kept in touch with John. Our friendship now revealed itself beyond micronationalism…

When John informed me that he had started his own micronation, the Republic of Anthelia, I could not refuse to join. My initial intention was to keep a low profile. That plan failed. I ended up in the government again, together with John. While Anthelia grows, our friendship deepens…