Imperial Mail (Makko Oko)
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Formerly | National Post Office (1991-2019) Emperor's Courier Service (2019-December 2023) |
|---|---|
| Crown corporation | |
| Industry | Postal services Courier |
| Founded | 1991 |
Area served | Worldwide |
| Owners | Imperial Crown of Makko Oko (30%) Government of Makko Oko (70%) |
| Website | imperialmail.com.mk |
Imperial Mail, abbreviated IM, is a state-owned postal service and courier company in the Empire of Makko Oko. The company has existed in many forms since 1991, with Imperial Mail being the newest iteration of the government postal service, established on December 22nd, 2023 through the Postal Services Act as a government corporation as opposed to an agency. Prior to that, they were the Emperor's Courier Service, a government agency housed under the Ministry of Energy, Infrastructure & Environment, which replaced the National Post Office in December 2019. The National Post Office is the first and longest-lasting iteration of the government postal service.
The company provides mail collection and delivery services throughout the empire. Letters and parcels are deposited in post or parcel boxes, or are collected in bulk from businesses and transported to Imperial Mail sorting offices. Prior to December 22nd, 2023, Imperial Mail did not have a monopoly over letter delivery services and had fierce competition from private companies. Historically, service access has been difficult outside of a major city, with lacking digital technology to purchase stamps online or request a pickup and post offices only being in one out of every 13 cities, with that being exacerbated by the lack of a universal service mandate. That would be resolved with the enactment of the Postal Services Act on December 22nd, 2023.
History
Letter writing dates back to 1788, 30 years before the tribe settled on Ausiana, where a voyage leader by the name of Saul Gregg helping the tribe search for a new permanent home had written a letter to be received by a friend who had moved to a tribe approximately 40 miles away. At the time, the tribe was on an island, all by themselves and at times flanked on all sides by people they didn't know. Saul gave the letter to a "carrier" and then sailed on their voyage, and historical books report that they were not seen until 1717, almost dead from starvation and was drenched in water. Carriers at the time were dedicated persons within tribes that would make deliveries to other tribes, and in exchange they would be excluded from any physical labor.
Carriers were mostly children and people that were deemed too weak to handle the heavy labor that the tribes required on a daily basis. Not every tribe had a carrier, as the concept was relatively new, even after years of use. Many tribes couldn't afford to lose one man to become a carrier that some thought would be "rather infrequent" and "dead as a goose by the next red moon". Others simply did not have anybody who knew how to write, some couldn't even read, and they did not have carriers due to that.
Carriers prior to the 19th century delivered letters within two days if weather permitted and would ride cows and sleep under trees to get where they needed to go. In 1793, the concept of "priority sending" came to be, and was a relatively silent affair that only the highest brass knew of to "keep the peace". "Priority letters" as they were called, were expected to be delivered within the next day, or two days irrespective of the weather conditions. Many at this time would find carriers becoming more essential to the defense of the tribe and to communicating with others without visitation.
In 1810, 7 years before the tribe would settle on Ausiana, they would attempt to contact those outside of the tribe with a journey expected to take one and a half years with 5 carriers being sent away. They never returned. No developments on mail would occur until 1866 when a civil war almost broke out after a local tribal worker overheard conversations on prioritizing specific people. This led to the first introduction of what would become the modern stamp system, where anybody could receive priority status on their letter if they paid 10 silver or 3 gold. In 1898, the first motorized transport vehicle would be built, accepting oil reserves found everywhere within the settlement of Ausiana and they would be exclusively reserved for carriers, with whom had now also become escorts.
In 1900, gold was becoming a scarce resource with mining coming up dry, and thus gold was eliminated as a method of payment. That same year, priority letters were increased in cost for the first time to 30 silver, and a charge on regular letters was instated of 15 silver. With the invention of motorized transportation, letters were being delivered quicker than ever and thus 1908 saw the introduction of "letters overnight" which had an initial cost of 70 silver per letter, and guaranteed overnight delivery of any letter, regardless of the weather conditions. That was the first recorded guarantee of a modern priority deliveries policy.
In 1925, carriers across the tribe had secretly sent each other letters and unionized successfully against abuse and underpayment. The union leader was appointed Letters Master by the carriers, and they covered every tribe in addition to having full control over prices and delivery routes. Many tribal leaders at the time dissented and almost banned carriers altogether however it was successfully averted. In 1931, carriers began actively taking in and sending letters, which ended over 143 years of carriers only working for their local tribe. Now all carriers delivered letters for every tribe and worked every day. A year later, a rise in apparent thefts and mailing them through the couriers led to a new policy of opening and inspecting all mail prior to delivery, prohibiting all mail that contained non-paper materials.
In 1947, the first telegraph was successfully sent between two tribes, and it subsquently launched the next year at a price of 5 silver per character on the telegram, with a maximum of 100 characters. This would be increased over the following years, with the price per character being decreased over time. The lowest price per character ever recorded for a telegram was 2 silver and 45 copper per character, the first time copper had been an accepted currency for the post.
Establishment of National Post Office
A year after the Republic Government was established, the Secretary of Transportation, with the approval of the carriers union, formed the National Post Office (NPO) in 1991 and shuffled all of the carriers as employees of the NPO, and consequently of the government. That put them on the government's payroll and also led to a title change from Letters Master to Postmaster, and the union leader was no longer entitled to that position, instead it went to a person nominated by Parliament and approved by the President. Silver was also made to become an invalid currency, and the Slotto was used instead.
In 1993, Postmaster Arnold Mueller launched the first-ever courier services and in 1994 would expand both courier and mail delivery internationally, in addition to beginning the production and mandate of the modern stamp. Competition would start to exist early 1995, and the NPO had to fight for dominance in an area that they had been in for over 200 years at that point. By 1997, the NPO had lowered prices on all services to try and undercut the competition, with rates never-before-seen in the history of mail delivery in the nation: Senior citizens received 100% free postage on all letters, disabled citizens received a permanent 50% off postage on 3 letters a month and government officials received 100% free 3rd-class deliveries.
As internet usage grew more in the nation, letter delivery became less frequent, and with that were concerns from the government on if the NPO "was merely an empty mouth to feed". Postmaster Arnold Mueller announced their resignation in June 2000, citing a "overworked and highly stressful environment". Their replacement, Postmaster Kirby Bautista, would suggest forbidding competition in the posts industry to "clamp down on those that we cannot be certain of" and to "assure the liquidity of our esteemed institution". Parliament would propose a law to do just that in March 2001 that would ultimately be signed by President Zenonis in July that same year. The effects were felt immediately, with job and economic losses exceeding SLO$100M, which at the time had a significant impact on the nation's GDP.
After the NPO became a monopoly, performance was much better, showing a five-fold increase in service usage between when the monopoly was established and 2002. 2002 would be the year of increases, as Postmaster Bautista cut back on discounts and reverted price cuts instituted by Postmaster Mueller. Senior citizens would now only receive free Sunday deliveries, government officials no longer received any benefits and disabled citizens now received free Sunday deliveries and 50% off postage and 30% off courier shipments. Service prices in 2002 exceeded those in place before the price cuts were instituted in 1997, with letter deliveries increasing by SLO$1, courier deliveries increasing by SLO$2.50 and international services increasing by SLO$6.75.
