Memoirs of Erwin Schauman - Epilogue

Day 533, 05:25 • Published in Finland Finland • by Erwin Schauman

Memoirs of Erwin Schauman - Epilogue

I remember when I first joined in the beginning of the September during the Great Rush of Finns, summoned by the faceless internet forums to free Finland from the Norwegian rule that had lasted for months. The long struggle for freedom began for me on that day, September the 6th. Others who came before me had fought even longer, and for that they deserve my respect and gratitude.

August – October. The Golden Age of eFinland. Despite the fact that the country didn’t even exist back then. It was a time of strife under a foreign flag. Propaganda wars, volatile relations, scheming, making contact with foreign leaders, fighting to reclaim lost honour, hunting cheaters... It had it all. Tensions were hot as Finland is cold. It was a time of anger. A time of desperation. A time of hope and dreams. A better time. A time I miss.

The flame of freedom burning in our hearts, we managed to bring Finland back on the map and left a lasting legacy for the future eGenerations. Hopefully they appreciate the efforts and sacrifices we, the last remnants of the Great Rush, had to make in order to give them a place which they can call their own. A nation they can build to withstand the challenges that lay ahead, the obstacles that are thrown on its path.

I am proud to have been part of it all. To having shared the struggle with so many great people and fought for a cause that was right. It was not just a fight against a foreign enemy, but a battle against our own inner demons - racism, intolerance, grudge, hate.... all the feelings we so easily embrace.

I have watched the rise and fall of nations. I have seen the hope and desperation in the eyes of the people. I have witnessed the full spectrum of human emotions. Is this truly virtual reality? Yes. Still, under its cold, frigid shell you can find a world teeming with life. You can find other people around the world playing, aspiring for their own goals. Goals, that might differ from yours but which must still be respected.

An online social strategy game. No, it’s not a game, is it? It’s a second home. A home the child must eventually leave.

Alas, all things must come to an end and so now will my career in eRepublik.

I have been forced to bear the slow decline of the game and the community over the past months. Many people I would have gladly called a friend in real life were banned or quit on their own, losing interest due to the long mismanagement of the game. I now too have to accept that no improvement is going to take place. The game is eroding because the core of the game, the users, is not respected. We can only hope the eRepublik designers see the error of their ways and begin concentrating on developing the game for users, as advertised.

I have had some great times in the game and that is all because of you, the people in the eRepublik community. Many were the laughs we shared, many were the tears we shed. Had it not been for you I would have quit the game a long time ago. Maybe I should accuse you for taking my time instead of thanking you, but the good memories outweighs the questionable amount of effort I have put on this game.

I wish to humbly thank you all, friends and foes, trolls and vagabonds, for making the game entertaining even during downtimes, even during massive gold exploitation, even during symphony exceptions and guru meditations. May you fulfil your dreams in both the virtual reality of the eRepublik as well as the more amazing reality of the real world. In a perfect world we would not be separated by such vast distances and artificial responsibilities, and we could share the laughs without cold, electronic boundaries.

I have compiled a list of people that I want to especially thank for providing entertainment or having some other impact on me or on the game itself. The list is in semi-alphabetical order (meaning I couldn’t actually be arsed to check the order), and I apologise if I have forgotten to mention some of you. Please do not be offended or draw conclusions that you’re not important just because you’re not on the list. The memory of an old man is no longer what it used to be.

A music video by Poets of the Fall you can listen to while reading the list:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=atKv1JyQgV8

The list of great people on eRepublik I wish to thank for various reasons:

• AgentChieftain – For trying to make his GF fail a geography course
• Algaroth – For drinking with a man who drinks like a sissy girl (see: Flammbar)
• Alphamoo – For being an unromantic Swede. You’ll get the house for free now
• Anarquia – For having to suffer of the unbearable heat of Portugal
• Avec – For his great ambassadorial work
• Benn Dover – For being the only active member of the eUSA paper army 😛
• Betamjau – Hyvä(ä) Betamjau! All the best to you, Iron Lady of eSweden
• BogdanAdamutz – In a fair game of poker you could never beat me 😃
• Bolonia – Writer of great articles and unjustly persecuted for revealing the truth
• Britt – Foul mouthed princess surrounded by monstrous Aussie spiders and dropbears
• Buzzy - Polish activist sticking his nose everywhere
• Carole – Probably the only person in this game that appreciated my quotes 😃
• Cirno – For his assistance in freeing eFinland and for the sexy barmaid he gave me
• Claire – One of the best writers in this game. Also one of the most foul mouthed players
• Cristi Badea – For his work for the eRe community
• Danny – For his assistance to eFinland and funny anecdotes
• Daphne Lilac – For bringing sense on the USA-chat
• Dean22 – For his articles providing interesting facts
• Dio Brando – For creating a cult that lives on even today
• DrowningHarvey – For being almost as cynical and sarcastic as I
• Dsalageanu – One of the smartest persons in this game
• Eliberator – Thank you for all the assistance
• Emerick – For being a blood sucking tick furry
• Engram – For dedication towards eFinland
• Elvroy - For dedication towards eFinland
• Flammbar – For drinking like a sissy girl with a guy that drinks with a sissy girl
• Freddie – For maintaining the erepublik channel
• Forconin - Once the great Satan for Finns, now a friend
• Furio – An Italian of whom I don’t feel offended by though he offends me all the time
• Gatling – For dedication towards eFinland
• GlaDOS – For being an intolerable PEACE fanboi but I guess no one’s perfect
• Gurkvatten – A Swede with an obsession to perform acts of homosexuality on IRC
• Grief – For maintaining the erepublik channel
• Groovey – Stop groping my nether regions with your foot!
• Hador – Hairy High Chief of all the Vikings
• HanSolo – Tu esti porc dezgustator! 😃
• Hufflepuffs – Say what you want from her but she provides entertainment
• InuNova – For being one of the oldest Finns being fooled to buy gold
• Jacques – A business partner and a funny man amusingly banned by the admins
• jaywalker71 – For being an active member of the Finnish eRe community
• Jode – Is the client ready yet you lazy git?
• John-Jay - I will miss the stories of your wife’s lactating breasts
• JRo – The lovable pervert of the Finnish channel. Hope they unban your org
• Kape – For keeping the Finnish alcohol culture alive in Sweden
• Karl Holm – For the help he has given to eFinland and amusing practical jokes (like printing over 100 000 gold)
• kir – For having the patience to teach me basic mathematics 😃
• kuupaa - For dedication towards eFinland
• Lilla_T – One of the oldest and smartest players in eFinland
• macoute - For his administration work
• Malika Ela – For all she has done for the eRepublik male community with her pics.
• Moonlightshadow – Self-proclaimed gigolo not fully knowing the meaning of the word
• Meiko – For all the hard work she has done for Atlantis. /me tips his cap at Meiko
• micke_e – For having delusions of beating me in honest elections
• Misho – The one person in this game that might have been funnier than me. Maybe.
• peach – All the best to you and to the love of your life (even if he tries to run over you)
• nanton - For dedication towards eFinland
• NoneSuch – For his ambassadorial work in eFinland. You were good, mate 😃
• Okkius - For fulfilling his duty towards eFinland
• pete1 – For developing Finland and for the dedication he has shown
• pierricbross - Strange person with equally strange sexual habits. Nuff said
• PrincessMedyPi – For providing sexual release for all the nerds out there
• Polonia – Stop having lesbian fantasies about me!
• Pusur – Try to rebuild eNorway to its former glory (but leave Finland out of it)
• Relander – For dedication towards eFinland
• Salve – The Norwegian ex-President to whom Finns partly owe their freedom
• Scadens - For dedication towards eFinland and governing the country forever
• Smkz - For dedication towards eFinland
• Sossu - For dedication towards eFinland and futile attempts to surpass my newspaper
• Stammy - For his great articles ridiculing me
• StrAl – All around nice guy
• Sunsetter – For her stubborn attempts to beat me in trivia 😃
• Tandefelt – For his sarcasm and cynicism that would destroy a lesser mind
• V-23 - For dedication towards eFinland
• Vaclav – For annoying me beyond any measure but in an entertaining way
• Valac – For his forum administration work
• Vihtori – For being a worthy adversary in the political scene
• William Shafer - For his amazing stories about being related to pink elephant gods and tales how he survived the American civil war.
• Quicksilver - The instigator of Hungarian baby boom, great writer and a great person
• Xtasia – I treasure all the moments we have shared on this game, Rameh

Thanks to all the people on #usa-chat, #erepublik, #erepublik.fi, #erepublik.se, #erep.fi and #ero !

Ps. As to what happens to my eEarthly possessions... Well, since it is not fair to show favouritism towards anyone, I have decided to make it more interesting by arranging a treasure hunt. The rules will be told on tomorrow’s article, which will be my last publication before I pull a Vihtori and scramble my password (inside joke) and leave the game for an undetermined time. Maybe I will return again one day. Time will tell. Nevertheless I can’t take anything with me in my eDeath so it will be all given away. Both pennies.

As a final insult to GlaDOS and his Global Community goons, I have chosen as my last resting place to be Western Siberia. At least that way I will be contributing to the war even when I am gone. Yah-boo sucks to you, SadDOS! 😛

-Erwin Schauman