Jack of Harts

The Marshall Islands’ Bikini Atoll is one of the most famous areas on Earth and beyond. Namesake for the far more enjoyable ladies swimwear that men have loved for centuries, it is the nuclear testing that wiped out several islands in the atoll that made it famous in more serious matters. The massive effort it would have taken before the Great Space Race to clean up the radiation and other damage was never expended, and then the Second Great Depression removed all ability to complete it. But when the polluted fog banks began rolling off the Chinese coasts to envelope the various Pacific island chains, America put greater effort into developing and mass-producing the kind of air and water purifiers required to keep the pollution at bay. The clan chiefs of Bikini Atoll traded in some favors, some blackmail, and more promises than they cared to think about to acquire some of those new purifiers. Then they cleaned the various islands up, rebuilt them over the centuries, and returned their people to their quiet, idyllic home. And though they have access to all the best technologies now, they will never forget how the outside world cost them their home for so very long.

There are over a thousand Marshall Islands spread out over around two-dozen of the least resource rich coral atolls in Micronesia. And for an area of the ocean known for its resource poor islands, that is saying something. The Marshall Islands have not prospered overly much from the investments of New Hong Kong businessmen like the western islands, nor from the wild resort and intelligence industries that more southern islands boast. And even the United States military enclaves spread throughout Kwajalein Atoll bring only minimal money to the other islands. Their greatest industry is leasing small parcels of land to wealthy individuals who wish a quiet and secluded vacation destination for their families. Marshall Islanders do not allow outsiders to outright own land, but the small leases have allowed the various clan chiefs to maintain enough cash flow to provide for basic necessities amongst their people. They will never be rich, though, and they face a constant brain-drain as capable and driven youths leave their islands to find opportunity elsewhere in Micronesia and beyond.

The Mariana Islands host many corporate headquarters for businesses around globe, but they also sport one of the largest collections of freight harbors and transshipment warehouses on Earth and beyond. Ships ply their waters from the East African Coast, Australia, and even the Americas with cargo meant for the Jayapura, Colombo, and Panama City Elevators. Many Russian corporations even move cargo through on its way to their Severnyi Polyus Elevator. And the Mariana Islands are happy to give those corporations shipping items to the Singapore Elevator paperwork that proves to the Mainland Chinese that they never came anywhere near the Mariana Islands, for a modest paperwork fee of course. Ships flying nearly every flag on Earth pass through the Mariana Islands on a daily basis, making them a serious amount of money in total. Business is their business, and everybody who gives them money is welcomed with a smile.