Osiris. Egyptian god of the dead. He who presides over the underworld and rewards the ka of the deceased, so long as their hearts have been weighed and not found wanting. A fitting name, perhaps, for a sinker region - a place where dead nations come back to life - but fitting too for a region governed by an absolute monarch; a region where, slowly but surely over the past four or five months, those whose hearts have tipped the scales one way or another have left (or been ejected) and not come back. 

At least, that's the perception that a lot of people have, especially those of us in the South Pacific, a region whose recent history with Osiris and its current Pharaoh is chequered, to say the least. As a relative newcomer to NationStates, I wanted to find out what Osiris was like for myself and answer some fundamental questions. Are the accusations made against Osiris and its leadership valid? Is it really just a cult of personality built around its Pharaoh? Is Osiris the vile, evil region many consider it (and proclaim it) to be?

I set up my first puppet nation, Ezervolgyek, and sent it to Osiris to find out. 

What followed was less dramatic than you might think; disappointing, even.  At the outset, I have to say, especially for the benefit of any Osirans who might be reading this, that I have received nothing but welcome in my brief time in Osiris.  The region was quick to say hello, quick to recommend things to do and quick to offer help when questioned.

Indeed, there was a sense of friendliness to be found throughout, which I believe is the result of a group of people who seem to genuinely like and respect one another, who have common interests and shared goals.  This is something which I noticed in the legislature also.  Osirans debate and refine their laws, but they don’t seem to fall out over them and legislation gets passed through the system very quickly and efficiently.  It is an active, welcoming and positive region, with a dedicated and alluring egyptian theme, but I didn’t feel at home there for one minute and I think there are a number of reasons for this.

Firstly, despite all the friendliness and welcome, I found the atmosphere of the place slightly intimidating.  The bonds which exist between existing players, the form of government, the focus on legislation and raiding - forms of gameplay that aren’t easy for new players to understand, let alone become actively involved in quickly - made it feel like there was a barrier ,between me and further involvement in the region.

Now, I’ll readily admit that I can be a nervous person, cautious when starting new relationships or stepping out into unknown territory and I may well suffer from unconscious bias, since I tend to lean towards the defender end of the NationStates gameplay political spectrum (though I have no interest in military gameplay and have never taken part), but it seemed to me that Osiris had a sort of boy’s club vibe to it which was vaguely worrying.  It’s worth noting at this point that Osiris’ forum-based government is known as the Osiris Fraternal Order, an ominous name which, it might be said, sets entirely the wrong tone for a welcoming, inclusive region.

Part of the reason for this feeling is the complete lack of culture outside of the legislature, spam games and gameplay.  There’s nothing to get involved with in Osiris other than these.  There used to be.  When I first joined there still remained the ‘Temple of Khepri’ roleplaying forum, and there was evidence in there of rich creativity and involvement, but also of a steady decline over the last few months.  When I checked back in earlier this week, I discovered that the entire forum had been archived.  Osiris has given up on roleplaying, apparently.  There’s no room for it where they are headed.

The same can be said for journalism, although evidence on the forum suggests that this hasn’t been a big thing in the OFO for a much longer time than the other issues I’m discussing.  The truth is that Osiris lacks a depth and diversity of community.  It is largely homogenous and, to a certain extent, it seems that it has also been homogenised.

I am referring of course to the creation of the transitional government back in April, when the Almighty Jesus Whale won the election to become Pharaoh and arguments broke out about the legitimacy of the election.  The end result was that AJW was banned from the region and Cormactopia II (known to everyone as Cormac) took control and has been Pharoah ever since.  Whether or not you believe this to have been a coup, as many regions have declared it, one thing is certainly true: the active population of Osiris dwindled rapidly after this event, either through ejection or those who chose to leave on their own terms.  The end result was a region full of those who got on best with Cormac and supported him.  It’s no wonder, then, that everyone seems to get along so well: dissenters have been discouraged, first actively and now, I think, somewhat passively, perhaps even  unintentionally.

And of course  it’s this event and the culture it has left behind that leads to the accusations with which I began this article.  The actions of the transitional government seem questionable from a purely democratic standpoint, although they have asserted the rightness and necessity of their actions throughout.  It’s certainly clear that the region has become less toxic as a result.  It’s also easy to see why people might call it a cult of personality.  Cormac is at the centre of everything, and I think that’s as much a product of how he got the position he’s now in as it is of the role itself.  Even so, I think there’s more to those who call Osiris home any kind of blind loyalty of hero-worship.

So, don’t get me wrong.  It was never my intention to make this an argument against Osiris, or a condemnation of any sort.  The region that remains after the transitional government took office is active and friendly and the recent creation of a Discord server is allowing more and more people to join the club, one way or another. If you're into the things Osiris has to offer, then this could be a great region for you to get involved in.

But there’s something sad here too or, at least, it's sad to me.  The South Pacific may be as toxic as people like Cormac proclaim it to be (and there’s good reason to think they’re not wrong), but there’s a breadth to its citizenship and legislature that Osiris is lacking, as well as a sort of progressive optimism in the face of differences and disagreements, which does it credit.

For someone like me, someone who enjoys seeing the diversity in a community and in its activities, yet who can be reticent in new situations, Osiris just couldn’t drag me into its fold. It was never going be home in the way that TSP is.

That’s okay, though.  I can’t proclaim the joys of diversity and not defend the right of a region like Osiris to exist and I wish those who do call it home all the best for the future. Who knows, perhaps, one day, relations between our two regions might be restored?

Like a Pharaoh staring up at the pyramids of his ancestors and wondering about the afterlife, I can dream, right?