Special Region — gate

A map of the entirety of the continent of Falmart, Special Region.

Special Region (SR) (特別地域 Tokubetsu Chiiki, short: 特地 Tokuchi) is a term used by the Japanese to refer to the world behind the Gate.

Geospatial

Geography

The full geography of the Special Region is currently unexplored, and is currently limited to a part of the continent of Falmart, which is controlled mostly by the Empire. The JSDF-explored portion of the continent is bounded to the north by the mountainous Knappnai region and the Range of Ice and Snow, however, a map included in the manga shows that it includes a vast area beyond these regions. The Gate at Alnus is located roughly at the southwest of the continent, with the city of Italica to the north and the Imperial Capital of Sadera to the west. The Blue Sea is located to the southwest, bordered by the Kingdom of Elbe to the south, with the port of Proptor to the north. Other major vassal states include League and Alguna, to the east of Elbe, while the states of Rondel and Bellnahgo are located north of Alnus. The city of Telta is located to the northwest of the Imperial Capital. The Blue Sea runs roughly to the edge of the Glass Peninsula before turning into the Avion Sea and its archipeligo of island nations like Tinae and Schilaff. To the immediate west and following the southern coast of Falmart is the Kundoran Sea, which is largely populated by floating Urths like Atlantia.

Astronomy

While the exact size of the planet on the other side of the Gate is unknown, according to the Ministry of Defense's observations and study, a Special Region Year is estimated to be 383-389 days long, slightly larger than Earth's. Like Earth, the Special Region has one moon, and is part of a solar system that includes at least four more planets. It is also not clear if the Special Region is located in a parallel universe, or somewhere in the same universe as Earth. Uncertainty about this fact also makes it difficult to determine if the Special Region are occurring at the same time as events on Earth, or if the entire world exists in Earth's relative past or future, with the Gate acting as a portal through time, rather than just space. It is also unclear if the length of a day is different, although Edajima has worked with Rondel astronomers to establish Rondel Standard Time (RST) which is used as reference time for military operations starting in Season 2. While the Special Region has its own constellations, it does not have a North Star.

People

Main article: Humanoids

In addition to normal humans, the Special Region is inhabited by a number of sentient sapient humanoid races, many of which are oppressed by the human majority, at least in the Empire. These races include typical "fantasy" races, most notably elves and goblins, as well as a number of people possessing animal-like peoples, such as the Warrior Bunnies, Medusas, (who suck life energy through their snake-hair), Sirens (similar to harpies), winged Avi, and mermaid Aqua. Still other races are simply larger or smaller in size, have multiple arms, or multiple facial features like the third eye on Lennons.

Religion

Main article: Gods

Unlike religion on Earth, the gods of the Special Region are entities that can directly interact with the people living there and can influence natural phenomenta. All inhabitants of the Special Region the JSDF encounter are members of the same polytheistic religion, though some display signs of henotheism - the idea that other gods exist, but that your god or gods are stronger, and others are unworthy of worship. Some people may be chosen as apostles of a deity, gaining superhuman abilities in return. The middle name of special area locals indicates their patron deity. Luna stands for Lunaryur, Haa stands for Hardy and Ro stands for Rory.

Praying to one god or another before undertaking some action is a common practice in the Special Region, like Warrior Bunnies praying to Hardy and Emroy before going on a hunt, or Avi praying to the four wind goddesses to keep a ship safe during a voyage.

Rory states that Earth does have gods, other gods and apostles also states that Earth gods are “afraid” of their people, but it should be noted that this doesn’t seem to take into account the idea that Earth gods could be more tolerant to development than the Special Region gods are. (See the Gaiden novels for more)

Level of Technology and Magic

Overall, the level of technology in the Special Region is early medieval era. Gunpowder and firearms are unheard of and is seen as magical mythical items. Metallurgy is limited to forging and blacksmiths. Electricity and internal combustion are also unknown. Simple machines such as pulleys and levers are widely used. Warfare is mostly composed of human wave attacks and close melee combat. All aspects of life are through manual labor.

The concept of industrialization and mechanization is practically nonexistent. Ideas and concepts such as interchangeable parts, standardization of production, assembly lines, etc. are unknown. All products are hand-crafted by specialists and therefore time-consuming to create. Mass production on a large scale is virtually impossible and expensive unless for military use. Natural resources for production such as ores, lumber and textiles, etc. exist in abundance, but the methods of gathering and processing these resources are slow and inefficient. Mining is done via pickax, shovel and manual work. Lumber is done by felling trees by hand. Metallurgy is limited to hand-forging. Petroleum and other sources of oil are mostly untouched due to the lack of internal combustion engines. Travel, transport, and communication is relatively slow and is limited to walking, horses, carriages, Dragon, and word of mouth. Medical technology is crude and often unsanitary or nonexistent, with the exception of healing magic.

In terms of maritime technology, as described in the sequel Gate: Season 2 Tides of Conflict, ships are limited to oar and sail in terms of propulsion. There are no steam engines, steamships, steamboats, paddlewheel, or screw propellers. Scuba tanks and re-breathers are unknown. Navigation is done by the stars, angle of the sun (why Shura wears an eyepatch), and primitive maps. Nation-states in the Avion Sea are shown to have obtained Cannons but did not develop them on their own. They were, however, fast to modify the designs of their ships to accommodate them. Aqua have been known to tow small boats, but this is rare.

Due to the huge gap in technology level compared to 21st century Earth, the military, economy and overall standard of living is exceedingly 'primitive' in the Special Region. This lack of technological progress is due in part to a lack of education and actual research, but largely due to a status quo enforced by the worlds gods. There is an ongoing dispute regarding the appropriate level of advancement among the local population, with some gods like Hardy and Emroy supporting slow changes while others like Zufmuut reject any changes whatsoever. Regardless, the gods show a willingness for Japan to trade completed advanced products like flashlights or plastic toothbrushes, on the condition that the Japanese do not explain how they work or are manufactured. If a person of the Special Region either comes close to violating this arrangement or discovering some engineering principle on their own, the Gods will send an Apostle to give them 'homework', usually some busywork research project for which the Gods already know the answer, as a way to refocus their attention. If the person fails to comply, the Apostle executes them. An agreement to ensure that this state of affairs continues is later formalized with the International Convention for the Protection of Indigenous Cultures.

Magic in the Special Region is also highly undeveloped as science, causing magic rarely brings anything useful for the society of within the Special Region as a whole besides insignificant combat and civilian applications.

Flora and Fauna

Much of the flora and fauna of the Special Region is similar or practically identical to those on Earth, among the species shown or referenced include humans, felines, canines, rabbits, snakes, avians and numerous plant species such as trees or grasses.

In addition to those species similar to those on Earth, there are a number of typical "fantasy" species. In addition to specific humanoid races such as elves or goblins, dragons are also commonplace, including smaller dragons used as mounts by the Imperial Army, as well as the larger, more powerful Flame Dragon.