LIFE AS A ARDENIAN
Life varies.
In Mercari, the average Ardenian passes through eight checkpoints on the way to work, has the boot of their car searched two times, has dogs sniff their car twelve times, and has a 5% chance of experiencing a car-bombing on a daily basis, thanks to the
Mercari Republican Army (MRA), which is a annoyingly persistent insurgency fueled by Weltkrian guns and foreign donations. The average Ardenian rushes from street to street, warily watching the nearest trashcan and unattended bag, unable to sleep due to the constant roar of helicopters from FAB Mondazar. Sometimes, a confinement warning goes over the phone and armored cars descend onto their street. This is a normal occurrence.
In Strusrith, the average Ardenian passes through no checkpoints. He or she either grumbles about hopelessly delayed
trains and trams, or about the endless red sea of traffic on IP-15. He or she then shows up at the office, grumbling about how their coffee was “too cold” despite the new fancy automatic coffee machine, while a automated aide makes them another coffee to start their day.
In College Station, the average Ardenian is either a college student or a working person. The working man grumbles about the “idiot college students”, the college students continue to party, and life
reaches equilibrium. Every two weeks, Archer Stadium hosts a live, state of the art, and viral tackleball game.
The town explodes.
Ardenians are a kaleidoscope – but, among the different heights, lives and upbringings of Ardenia, a couple of key traditions do exist.
Marriage is traditionally monogamous, although polygamous partnerships do exist and are legally recognized (up to three partners). The national meme is “bistro run by a polyamours bi throuple in Argenham”. The rate of marriages officiated by Religious Officials continues to fall, down from 50% to 20% over the last ten years. Non-traditional marriages continue to tick upward and upward.
Childcare is subsidized via tax-credit. Many families utilize private daycares due to the working lifestyle of the Ardenian Family, oftentimes with both parents engaged in full-time work. While this generates lots of money, it often means that family life plays second fiddle to career aspirations. A increasing deliquency crisis has resulted in further redirection of Government Resources to Education (especially in low-income districts) and childcare.
Healthcare is also subsidized via tax-credit. Private insurance companies are supreme, however, insurance premiums are covered by the Government proportional to income. This, has, in essence, allowed the invisible hand of the free market to continue to operate within healthcare, ensuring a well-functioning system following the principles of Maynard Smith (Adam Smith).
Healthcare is state of the art. Bacteriophage therapies target bacterial infections, with CRISPR-modded phages acting as the replacement for antibiotics. Specially bioengineered virophages have all but eliminated the scourge of viral infections, and targeted STEM cell therapy in conjunction with bioengineered nanobots have made cancer into a thing of the past.