Sorry about the title, I'm tired, ok... So, I figured I should cover the IC's government. Have fun.

"What the hell are we even doing anymore? The world's fallen apart, and we can't fix it now. We shelled the survivors. Called them rebels. They were right. We abandoned them. We're supposed to be defending them and we just rained the high explosive down on them like they were enemies. Christ." - Kyra Warsawzawski, Journal, 31 AR, trans. from Polish. Cato couldn't do the mailbag because nobody emailed him. So, he's cooked up this episode for you, looking at one of his stories. On that note, please email him at [email protected]

"Aasya Highwind is a pretender to the Presidency. She is a known ally of the International Commonwealth. She will be punished for her crimes. We'll be the ones to do it." - Unknown, speech to a group of assassins, 22 AR. On this episode, the First War draws to a close with the US forces crushed and surrendering. America has a puppet government installed, leading to a countercoup. There's more, obviously.

We take a break from the First War today to look at canon facts about Draconics. Cato, through a perfect storm of bad events ended up grounded from his phone on the day he needed to record, then didn't take his meds and wasn't able to focus on writing. *facepalms* So, you get this instead. Normal content will resume next episode.

"I would urge you, Aasya, as your friend to reconsider submitting these plans. You will only prolong a war that your nation will lose. As one who has seen her share of wars, I will tell you that shedding more blood than is necessary ought to be avoided, especially if it is the blood of one's adopted nation." - Meluda Tenzingail, 21 AR, letter to Aasya Highwind, trans. from New Unified Draconic. The First War sees its first major upset as the US pushes the IC's line back to the border in the East on today's episode.

"The President of the United States of America, with the full support of the Congress of the same seeks to codify her nation's aggressions against its foriegn enemies." - US declaration of war, January 4, 20 AR, English. Nobody wanted this war except the US. And now it's losing it. Today, Cato looks at how the USA got off to a bad start.

"Why pay more for less? The TE-06 PC costs only 200 USD, while the Nerian TL-9 costs 875 USD, even though in independent tests, the TE-06 was found to perform consistently better." - Tenzingail Electronics Ad for the TE-06 laptop PC, 16 AR. On this episode, Cato talks about how one company destroyed an entire economy. It's an interesting story, at the least.

[Disclaimer: this was recorded in an extremely hot area and Cato did not have a drink with him so he becomes a bit loopy. However, this may be a glimpse into the strangeness of the mind that birthed this world.] "I've just broken the immersion. *laughs*" - The Host, 2020. On this episode Cato takes a detour to Canada to talk about its relationship with the IC.

America was doing great. But Canada didn't align with them, and that made them worried. So they invaded, which brought the IC's army down on their heads. On this episode, we talk about the Canadian-American War.

"Strange times make stranger bedfellows." - Proverb. America was a total mess in the wake of the Razing. However, the exodus of people from the East Coast and the beginnings of the Progress Movement showed that they were ready to rebuild in a positive way. On this episode: The Great March West and the Progress Movement.