Join the new world

There comes a time between Christmas and New Year's Eve, when most of us try to recall what went down during the year that is about to end. Many feel fortunate to get some extra time to spend with their families and loved ones. Others may need for us to reach out a hand in friendliness, as their inner demons have started to take their toll.

So when we collectively race towards a new decade filled with both possibilities and uncertainties, we do well in remembering those who are no longer with us.

Fredrok is one such name.

It was the moniker that Fredrik Johansson chose for himself in this eWorld of ours. He left his earthly life behind on Day 1,860 of the New World, equivalent to December 23rd 2012 in the old one. And while I may not be the most suitable candidate to be speaking to his memory, it has befallen me to light a symbolic torch for him this year.

Fredrok had up until his death been a valuable member of SOG; the elite military company comprised of eSweden's finest soldiers. The news of his sad fate reached SOG on December 26th, which is precisely 7 years ago today to this day.

Leading members of our community banded together and started a memorial fund. Many decided to donate €10 to honour Fredrok's memory and when Larm eventually closed the books on this fund, everything was donated according to his family's wishes. Although they had lost their beloved son and brother, they were now given new stories and tales of how his life and death had touched the hearts of many complete strangers all over the world.

They say that time can be a healer, but it can also be a cruel adversary. Most of the faces I see in eRepublik today were not even around back when Fredrok left us. Not even the game owners are the same anymore. In fact, I daresay that the game is so different now that it can hardly even be considered the same game as it was in Fredrok's days. With each passing year, scores of the members who still recall the old community have left. Yours truly went into hibernation 6-7 years ago when I felt that the demise of the politics module, the economy module, the media module and the steady decline of a proper metagame had finally become enough.

A game may change and lose its popularity over the years, but the beauty of online gaming is that you still get to keep the memories you created together with other players. As long as we still remember, they are ours to keep and cherish. eRepublik may not be the centre of my attention any longer, but I can honestly say that it once gave me a large influx of quirky friends and accomplices, some of whom I still chat with daily to this day. We may play different games now, but we're still the same oddballs that we used to be. Maybe a little wiser, maybe a little weirder, definitely a lot older.

Although the majority of my former eRepublikan friends may have been lost over time, I will never forget the long nights of trolling with vingaer (Poland's finest), plotting political schemes with Misho/Swedish, Kain Propan and shoot, discussing suitable hiking boots with Kape, running "Fort Knox" (that held eSweden's entire treasury and companies) together with Larm or clearing up some of the many political wildfires that Lonestar, neppons/Wolf Heinrich von Helldorf or w3st3rb3rg left behind. Lobbanet's latest amusing (and abusive) schemes. The fall and rise of political parties and global alliances. Phrasing long wall of texts to try and explain the latest political scandals or world wars. Watching Mr-W disintegrate into Jussi "Full Retard" Jernkuuk - the first Full Retard of many to come. All those long debates with Radsoc that eventually shifted from frustration into a queer form of admiration.

They are too many to be mentioned, but none of them forgotten.

Tripping down this memory lane (pun very much intended) made me realise that Fredrok's memory seem to have gradually faded from the collective mind of our community. I will not claim to have known him well, although he served several terms in my cabinet as a member of the Ministry of Defense. But I can still recall his cheerful comics (now lost due to eRepublik switching servers and external image hosting servers going down). I also recall his overall friendly and cheerful manner. Most of all, I clearly remember the shock when I first heard about his death and that it was so sad that he had left us the day before Christmas Eve, alone in a secluded cabin.

Tonight I shall raise my glass to Fredrik, Vibeke and all of those who left us behind this decade.

I sincerely hope that they have reached a better place and that they now can find some consolation in the sorrow we feel for not having them with us anymore.

Best wishes from a humble mind,

Valnad
Keeper of The Cake
Former this, that, and everything in between