For up-to-date stories for the current season of Vicendum (and to read previous stories individually), visit The Vicendum Chronicles section of the True Virus blog.

Vicendum is an alternate Earth set in the present day. At its core, Vicendum serves as a commentary on our world as well as a vehicle to explore several different ideas for Earth that I am interested in, but there is no single narrative or story series that will dominate Vicendum. Fully fleshed out, Vicendum will be an immersive world with all kinds of different stories and storylines, offering stories that will challenge you and providing something for everyone.

That said, there are a few central ideas that will drive the Vicendum narrative:

• Vicendum will flip the old trope of the "Federation vs. the Empire" on its head, making both sides morally ambiguous and full of inherent contradictions.
• Rome (Italy), Buffalo (Niagara) and Eshiba (the combined municipalities of Kinshasa and Brazzaville) are the world's three biggest and most important cities.
• The Roman Empire has survived and still thrives in the present day.
• Modern democracy had its roots in China and it still fights regularly against the forces of autocracy.
• Africa is the most developed continent on Vicendum.
• The Americas and Eurasia are a hodgepodge of states in varying degrees of conditions and statuses.
• The British Empire is wounded but is recovering,
• Slavery is more dominant and visible in Vicendum than in our world.
• The "pandemic of loneliness" is central to Vicendum, tying into the aspect of slavery as Vicendum slave traders seek to use slavery as an erroneous means to combat loneliness.
• Because of Roman and African influences worldwide, cultural attitudes towards clothing and modesty tend to be far less restrictive than in our world (See the "Cultural Note" below).

Other issues and angles will also be explored in addition to the above. Vicendum is still a work in progress and will evolve as the story evolves, meaning there will always be new angles and new ideas to explore as it progresses, as Vicendum can never truly be "finished".

Vicendum is recommended for mature readers due to its intense themes of politics, conflict, and survival.

In Vicendum, modesty is more about context than coverage. The Roman concept of virtus and many African philosophies of body and spirit (like the Rukongolese principle of lumwe, “harmony through visibility”) both emphasize confidence, balance, and purpose over concealment.

As a result, uniforms and fashion across Vicendum — even in the Holy American Empire — tend to celebrate form and function, not repression. Athletes, officials, and even politicians often dress for mobility, expression, and climate, rather than Westernized standards of propriety.

This is why, for example, a baseball umpire conference or judicial attire might feature bare arms or light attire — not for shock value, but because the culture around them long ago divorced “skin” from “sin.”