A lesson in propaganda
This episode of the Udananian chronicle starts with a bang! And literally!
You may probably remember that The Smileyfaces have been drafting up plans to completely remove, or at least reduce, the area that dirty industry occupies in Laughterdale. The city council officials have recently been under increased pressure to take action after close to 15 years of tolerating dirty industry. Due to this and The Smileyfaces' drive to avoid all things unpleasant, it has finally been ruled that dirty industry will be wiped clean from the town.
Of course, in case of this particular tribe, this action could not just be a regular, boring click-and-bulldoze operation. Instead, it has been decided that the polluted area will be removed as part of a firework show and by the means of a short-range rocket strike!
Naturally, considerable preparations have taken place to execute this demolition in a safe way - the entire neighborhood has been evacuated and the traffic temporarily stopped. An exclusion zone has been introduced as well, along with spectator stands for the citizens.
Once everything has been prepared, a short "farewell ceremony" was held and moments later an Elation-class missile has been fired from the Emo-G Site, landing on its intended target moments later with the nearby crowds cheering on.
As eccentric as it sounds, most of The Smileyfaces believe that controlled, urban demolitions are simply fun to watch. What is more, the destruction of the Qualakom neighborhood have, at the end of the day, had many positive results!
First of all, the previously dirty industry zone has been thoroughly cleaned up and handed over to promising software and video game startups...
This has also helped to encourage population growth in the Eastern part of the town which suffered from low social diversity and transportation issues so far. Luckily, the short distance to attractive employment possibilities have convinced many Smileyfaces to move in.
But the missile strike on Qualakom has, metaphorically speaking, sent positive shockwaves far beyond the neighborhood...
The increase in software-specialized companies has been especially welcomed by the health services and some of the shops run by The Smileyfaces. For example, the Laughterdale's main clinic, has finally been able to upgrade to a well-equipped, modern hospital due to the recent change.
The highly intuitive patient monitoring software and automated examination equipment have made it possible to admit and evaluate far more ailing Udananites than has previously been possible. Because of this, wealthy doctors and IT engineers have also found employment in the new hospital as well as homes close to their new, innovative workplace.
Grinburg (sometimes referred to as "The Smileyfaces' Marketplace") has capitalized on the new opportunities as well. Since new software and IT solutions provided by hi-tech businesses have to be sold somewhere, offices and shops in this town have upgraded to accommodate more customers and gain more shelf space for the newest software.
While everything is definitely going well for The Smileyfaces, some analysts insist that the recent missile strike resembles a classic show of force... On the other hand, some evidence suggests that the tribe has long been researching the use of munitions for peaceful, engineering purposes, akin to the goals anticipated by Project Plowshare.
Some experts, however, indicate that dirty industry, which The Smileyfaces resent, is still a feature of many Udananian towns, including those on the Activator territory... This may possibly lead to potentially problematic confrontations between the two tribes. It seems like a plausible scenario if one reviews the findings gathered by The Laughterdaelian Signal...
As if that wasn't enough JoySoft, one of The Smileyfaces' new game developers, have recently released a really impressive but highly controversial strategy game...
The problem is that the main villain's name and the story presented in the game clearly allude to The Activators tribe and the complicated relations that they are likely to share with their neighbors from the South... Due to that, the first game in the "Command & Compare" series is liked by The Smileyfaces but considered "weird" elsewhere...
FRONT COVER: BACK COVER:
Quite understandably, The Activators have not been too happy with the convoluted Smileyface propaganda. Although some outrage about "Laughterdaelian Sun" has been felt, the tribe figured that it is better to let the sleeping dogs lie and focus on the geological research in Industrious Hills instead.
However, to The Activators' delight, the Nadir Mining Company did counter react to JoySoft's game by issuing a batch of their own posters... The following graphical design, which is essentially a recruitment advertisement, praises Activator style of life, while mocking The Smileyfaces' unconditional pursuit of fun and laughter at the same time...
As of today it is still unclear what The Smileyfaces think about the picture but the general consensus among The Activators is that it was a necessary and valuable statement.
One way or another, the important news is that the Activator researchers have managed to find some mineral deposits in the Dal Xanth Hills landmass, just as it has been anticipated. In the recent months, some rudimentary mining facilities started to develop there. Some of these facilities belong to the already mentioned Nadir Mining Company...
While those laying in the lower parts of the hills, are under Acti-UD ltd.'s control.
The new economic possibilities and the fact that the minerals discovered in the hills may be used in road and housing construction, have allowed certain improvements to take place in both Buildmoar and Industrious Hills.
For example, the Eastern ramp leading onto the Designers' Bridge have been rebuilt into a more gentle (and suspension-friendly) road. As it turned out, certain pieces of the mining equipment called "Hole diggers and raiser lots" could be successfully used to fine-tune road inclines...
The job possibilities offered by mining industry have also drawn new citizens into Industrious Hills. Perhaps not surprisingly, materials excavated from the new mining sites have been used in the construction of new housing, greatly reducing the cost of this undertaking.
Buildmoar has also been positively affected, as the development of mining industry has increased the need for administrative and industrial services to do proper accounting and process raw goods into useable building materials. As such, the economy, already considered a successful one, have accelerated again.
The Activators' talent at fast, dynamic development is an object of envy for many Udananites. The pace at which they run their two towns is indeed impressive and an example of how chaos can sometimes be a highly creative power if used skillfully.
But analysts and environmental watchdogs across Udanani seem to be particularly worried about the development of mining industry - the very reason for The Activators' recent successes. Several independent experts have voiced concerns over the environmental impact that the mining activities may have on the nearby environment.
Some problems are already evident after all. For example, the dust and sand, byproducts of the mining processes, are not being disposed of in a responsible manner and instead lie strewn around the mines. In some cases, they are even chucked over the side of Dal Xanth Hills, completely burying the vegetation and grass in some spots.
The biggest problem is that The Activators consider these dumps to also be a form of development and refuse to dispose of the waste materials responsibly, making the environmental damage more likely...
With the above in mind, one just has to wonder how The Smileyfaces might react to seeing vast expanses of Udanani being degraded like that... Especially given the already complicated relations between the two tribes and the start of, what appears to be, a tit-for-tat tactics...
Perhaps it would be best to simply leave the South of Udanani for now and take a refuge from the complicated political issues in The Residents' town of Bedroom. Next time, you will also see how The Altruists and The Slackers have implemented the latest votes cast by The Reverred Spirits of the St'ropoli Dimension.
Have a nice day (or holidays) and see you next time! 
Comment replies:
@ulisse - Thanks @ulisse! 
I'm glad you like it!
@TogaMasterJohn - Thank you for a very nice comment and paying attention to all those details. You have a keen eye! Regarding sailing - that makes two of us. I also like this sport and even have a sailing license. Unfortunately, I haven't been out at sea (or even a lake for that matter) for years... Now, like every retired captain, I am simply an old, drunk seaman who just makes up stories for others' amusement! 
I'm happy the Pond of Forces looks this way because this was exactly the goal - a refuge for any tribe member to come by and calm their thoughts down.
@TG24 - Thank you for a very nice and motivating comment!
@sejr99999 - I'm happy that you find the Udananian tropics pleasing to the eye. Yes, I agree - the heavy industry needs to go. Perhaps the help of other tribes will alleviate the situation in Cape Careless...?
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