u/pendo11s

What is "Nuclearchy"? The Lore Behind the Core Ideology of The Second Sun
Many of you have been asking about Nuclearchy — this bizarre, meme-born, schizophrenic ideology that somehow became the central symbol and the heart of the mod. Let's break down what it actually means, both in reality and within our universe.

1. What does Nuclearchy mean in its original sense?
   Put simply, Nuclearchy originated as an ironic concept and a "shitpost ideal" for a post-apocalyptic Ukrainian monarchist state, born on the eve of the full-scale invasion against the backdrop of constant russian nuclear threats.
   According to this fictional theory, a global nuclear strike would wipe out modern industry and institutions, forcing society to regress into a neo-feudal Middle Ages while reviving a monarchy led by a nuclear Hetman (the Nuclearch).

2. What does it mean in the world of The Second Sun?
   We didn't just copy-paste the original meme; we took its foundation and warped it into something entirely our own.
   In our timeline, Ukraine—led by the Hetman—is the first nation in the world to successfully develop nuclear weapons (which ties into the mod's title, The Second Sun, though the name has deeper layers within the lore).
   Witnessing the apocalyptic destructive power of this new weapon, Pavlo Skoropadsky (the real-life final Hetman of Ukraine who ruled in 1918) literally begins to lose his mind. The state slowly transitions into a frantic cult devoted to the Atom and its divine majesty.

3. The Ascension of the Cult
   However, the Hetman's role in shaping Nuclearchy doesn't end there. The figure who truly elevates this madness into an absolute, unyielding absolute is his youngest daughter in real life, Elena Ott-Skoropadsky (the last descendant of the Ukrainian Hetmans).
   Under her influence, the Atom becomes the state religion. Traditional churches are abolished in favor of absolute faith in the Holy Atom.
   Soldiers in the army are deliberately exposed to radiation to strengthen their "spiritual connection" to the Atom and receive divine blessings in the holy wars fought in its name.

A short lore drop, but a crucial one to understand the madness you'll face. Keep an eye on our Reddit for more teasers, but remember: when the yellow smoke shrouds the earth, praise the Atom and the Hetman, for Nuclearchy has come!

Document: Project "The Great Drainage" (1942–1949) From the Archives of the Main Engineering Directorate of the Grand Ruthenian Hetmanate Section I. Causes and Military Necessity (1942–1943) The year is 1942. The Great War between the Hetmanate and the Islamic Bloc is in full swing. The Caspian Sich, while holding the line on the eastern flank, suffers from a total shortage of military equipment and reinforcements. The Ottoman fleet dominates the Black Sea, blocking any attempts by the Ukrainian navy to break through to the Caucasus. Enemy aviation constantly attacks the coast of the Sea of Azov, creating a threat of amphibious landings in the rear of Ukrainian forces. In addition to military threats, Hetman Pavlo Skoropadsky faces a fuel crisis. Oil from the Caspian region cannot be delivered to Ukraine's industrial centers due to a lack of reliable overland routes. Attempts to lay a railway through the desert lands between the Don and the Volga run into swamps and constant attacks by bands of armed local natives. It is then, on June 17, 1943, that Hetman Skoropadsky issues secret Order No. 789 on the launch of the "Hydrogeological Stabilization Program"—the most massive engineering project in human history. Section II. Construction of the Kerch Dam and the Drainage of the Sea of Azov (1944–1946) The main goal was to turn the Sea of Azov from a hostile water area into a strategic springboard. In 1944, after the liberation of Crimea, over 300,000 people were brought in for the work, including prisoners of war from the shattered enemy armies and mobilized natives from the Volga region. To block the Kerch Strait, the "bucket dredging" technology was used—dozens of suction dredgers and dredge boats gathered from all over Europe pumped sand from the Black Sea around the clock, creating an artificial isthmus. Over two years (by the summer of 1946), a seven-meter concrete and earthen dam, 15 kilometers long—the "Kerch Shield"—grew in place of the strait. Simultaneously, other brigades of builders began damming the Sea of Azov in the Berdyansk area, forcing the water to recede southward. The water level dropped rapidly. Within two years, the bottom of the former Sea of Azov turned into dry plains covered in salt flats and silt. All of this was done with one condition: the ports of Mariupol and Berdyansk had to stay afloat. To achieve this, the Hetmanate's military engineers resorted to an unprecedented solution: they rerouted the Don River. Instead of flowing south and spreading across the former Sea of Azov, the Don was channeled through an artificial canal along the former eastern coast of the Azov region. This new channel, up to 200 meters wide and up to 15 meters deep, ran parallel to the drained zone. Giant lock systems were mounted. Now, the waters of the Don forcefully broke through these locks, flowing directly into the Black Sea. Ships docked in Mariupol could now exit through this canal into the Black Sea, but the enemy lost any ability to enter the Azov lowland unnoticed. Section III. The "Caspian Road" Dam and the Drainage of the Northern Caspian (1945–1947) The second, even more grandiose phase concerned the Caspian Sea. The Caspian Sich fought for iron ore and oil, but at the start of the war, it was cut off from the Hetmanate. To save the eastern front, Skoropadsky ordered the mainland to be connected with the Sich. Between the mouth of the Volga and the territory of the Cossacks, construction of a grand dam began. Since the northern part of the Caspian Sea was extremely shallow (depths rarely exceeded 5 meters), the engineers decided not just to build a bridge, but to physically drain the entire northern water area. They erected two giant arc dams that cut off the northern part of the sea from the main deep-water section. By the spring of 1947, the area of the Caspian Sea had shrunk by 25%. Hundreds of square kilometers of dry land appeared in place of the former water, upon which oil derricks and military airfields immediately began to be erected. The dam connecting Ukraine and the Sich was named the "Caspian Road." It was a complex consisting of a 4-lane railway and a powerful oil pipeline, which allowed Cossack oil to flow unhindered into the cauldrons of Ukrainian factories. Section IV. Consequences and the End of the War (1947–1949) Military results exceeded all expectations: • Thanks to the Kerch Shield, Ukraine was able to transfer 15 divisions overland from Crimea to Kuban in a matter of days, which allowed it to break the Ottoman defense in the Caucasus. • The Mariupol Canal enabled the Ukrainian navy to carry out surprise raids into the Black Sea, attacking the enemy's rear. • The Caspian Road provided the Sich with ammunition and the Hetmanate with fuel, which became a decisive factor in the Battle of Volgograd (where Ukrainian troops destroyed the armies of the natives and Kazakhs). When the atomic bomb was dropped in August 1947, the war ended. The 1947 peace treaty cemented the new borders, but the "Drainage Project" continued. By January 1, 1950 (the start of the game), the geography of Eastern Europe and Asia had changed forever. Huge territories (the former Sea of Azov and the Northern Caspian) became densely populated industrial and agricultural zones. Giant cities grew on the dry lands. The dams became symbols of the power of the Grand Ruthenian Hetmanate—"fortified lines" that bound the nation together, secured the flow of resources, and permanently closed off enemy access to the inland seas

‼️Also, I want to tell you that the small number of posts does not reflect the amount of work done; we are actively creating focuses for countries, changing regional borders, and coming up with interesting plot hooks for our history. And I also want to hint to you that the mod will feature the Second Coming of Christ (how it will be implemented — you'll see), and there will also be the moon in the mod. Thank you all!‼️

Chapter I: The Fall and the Exodus
Following a prolonged European war and a total political collapse in Italy, an ambitious radical leader, Benito Mussolini, lost the internal power struggle to democratic factions backed by France. Facing arrest and execution, he fled south with thousands of his most loyal Blackshirts, military officers, fanatical ideologues, and engineers.
Hijacking the remaining Italian dreadnoughts and cargo ships loaded with industrial equipment, the armada crossed the Atlantic. However, North and Central America were already firmly controlled by the powerful, technologically advanced Mayan Empire and other indigenous superpowers. With nowhere else to go, the Italian exiles sailed to the edge of the world—the harsh, sparsely populated wastes of Patagonia. There, they crushed the local tribes and barely managed to carve out a fledgling nation.
Chapter II: Building the Fourth Rome
Landing on the cold shores of South America, Mussolini declared these lands the "true heritage of the great ancestors" and proclaimed the birth of the Fourth Rome (following Ancient Rome, Byzantium, and Moscow—which, in this timeline, was fully assimilated by Ukrainians).
Instead of accepting exile, the Italians launched a fanatical, aggressive industrialization campaign with whatever scrap they had. The brutal Patagonian steppes and Andean foothills quickly filled with military bases, shipyards, and futuristic neoclassical fortresses.
Chapter III: Spartan Patagonia
The Fourth Rome under Mussolini has morphed into a totalitarian, Spartan state built entirely around the cult of the military, labor, and the Duce. It’s a unique brand of Patagonian Fascism—a bizarre mix of classic Roman militarism, Italian culture, and harsh survivalism.
The economy runs on Andean mining, sheep farming, and a rapidly growing military-industrial complex. However, expansion hasn’t been easy: Mussolini’s small, poorly supplied army struggles to conquer the continent due to brutal terrain, a lack of local knowledge, and heavy reliance on oppressed indigenous auxiliaries treated more like slaves than soldiers.
The Three Focus Tree Paths
Once the mod gets going, players will be able to take the Fourth Rome down three distinct paths:

1. Orthodox Madness ("The Second Rus")
   Mussolini completely loses his mind, converts to Eastern Orthodoxy, and aggressively builds churches everywhere. He attempts a bizarre diplomatic rapprochement with Ukraine, calling Patagonia "the Second Rus, mother of American cities." As for the "infidel" Americans? He tries to forcefully convert them to Orthodoxy using heavy artillery barrages and forced labor camps.
2. The Wrath of the Duce (Revenge on Europe)
   Obsessed with revenge and returning to his homeland, Mussolini realizes his current military is too weak to cross the Atlantic alone. Instead, he deliberately provokes the powerful local indigenous states in the Americas, sparking a massive continental war that ultimately drags in the Old World superpowers and ignites a global conflict between Europe and the New World.
3. Fortress America (Pan-American Unification)
   Despising Europe as "rotten and corrupt," Benito decides that at any cost, he must unite the entire Americas under his iron fist. His goal? Build a hemispheric fortress strong enough to keep out the aggressive colonial European empires desperate to exploit the resources and people of the New World.

focus tree not finally**

Hello everyone!

While we were away, we’ve made significant progress and are now much closer to releasing The Second Sun for beta testing!

In the meantime, we’d like to share a few small announcements with you and answer some of the most frequently asked questions.

1. Why does Ukraine seem to have such a huge advantage at the start of the game?

At first glance, it may seem like Ukraine is heavily overpowered compared to other nations. However, here’s a small spoiler: at the beginning of the game, Ukraine will face a devastating civil war and fracture into numerous smaller states. It will be up to you to reunite these territories and restore the country.

Because of this, playing as Ukraine will be just as challenging and interesting as playing as a less developed nation — its apparent strength comes with a very serious price.

2. Will there be content for the countries of North and South America and Africa?

Absolutely — just not immediately.

When the beta version is released, not every country will have its own content. However, every nation in The Second Sun will eventually receive its own content in future updates.

After the beta release, we plan to prioritize updates focused on the countries of North and South America, so you can expect to see more content for these regions relatively soon.

3. Which countries will receive content during the beta?

The beta release will feature content for:

- Ukraine

- France

- Britain

- Cossack Order Staad

- Nazi China

- Arab Caliphate

- Maya Cities

- Free Territory

- UN Mission in Russia

- White Russia

These nations will form the initial core of playable content in the beta, with many more countries to follow in subsequent updates.

And this is only the beginning.

P.s: We promise to correct our mistake regarding the French name "Misiisipi" soon. Thank you for your comments!

Hello everyone!

While we're preparing a video that explains the lore of our mod, we'd like to share some of the content we've already translated into English.

We'd also like to clarify a few things.

Our mod is almost finished. We don't have an exact release date yet, but we're aiming for early autumn. As soon as we can announce a specific date, we'll let you know.

Right now we're mainly working on the Ukrainian version of the mod. However, English and Russian localization are among our highest priorities, so the mod will be released in all three languages.

Because of that, the amount of content we can currently share with our English-speaking community is limited by how much we've managed to translate so far.

As a Ukrainian team, it was only natural for us to give Ukraine some extra love. It is one of the most content-rich countries in the mod, but it's far from the only one. Every major nation has its own story, mechanics, and ambitions, and our goal is to make each of them feel like a complete experience.

Thank you all for your support and for waiting for our mod. We really appreciate it!