Iterations: Alpha 1 — not documented · Beta 1 (current) · Beta 2 — TBD

Alpha 1 ran before this wiki existed and was not documented; Beta 1 is the article you are reading; later iterations will appear in this bar as they are written.

Beta 1

"The first iteration after the wipe. Four nations, twenty-one parties, two hundred corporations, one Empress, and a Galactic Emperor running the Bank of England. Here is what happened."

Beta 1 is the first numbered iteration of A House Divided after the spring database wipe. The world rebooted on 2026-04-11 with a fresh map, an empty Senate, and three playable capitals — Washington, London, and Tokyo. Germany, China, Brazil, and Ireland were added later as economy-only previews — exposed in the forex, commodity, and corporate-listing systems but not enabled for player politicking. By turn 621 (in-game year 2032), Beta 1 had hosted four heads of government, a parliamentary regicide, three attempted UN walkouts, and the formal proclamation of the Japanese Republic.

This article is a snapshot, not a chronicle. The Wire archives are extensive; what follows is the highlight reel.

At a glance — Beta 1 in numbers

🇺🇸 United States

The American Republic spent Beta 1 doing what American Republics do: running expensive elections, passing bills with capital-letter titles, and threatening to leave the United Nations. Three times.

The KIMI Administration

On turn 431, KIMI ANTONELLI (D) was sworn in as the 1st President of Beta-1 America — the all-caps presidency, an aesthetic choice the Wire has so far declined to question. The Vice Presidency remains vacant, a problem that has not yet stopped anyone from doing anything.

President Antonelli is also CEO of AURORA Group, a $23.0-billion (USD-equiv.) entertainment conglomerate headquartered in California — the iteration's #2 corporation by market cap. The propriety of this arrangement is, to date, an unresolved question in A House Divided corporate-political theory.

Cabinet (selected highlights)

Congress

The 119th-Beta-1 Congress is led by:

• Speaker of the House — Big Jesus De Sanchez (R-AZ)
• House Majority Leader — David Rosenkranz (R)
• House Minority Leader — Rashi Sanook (D)
• Senate Majority Leader — Harrold Rockefeller (R-GA)
• Senate Minority Leader — Larry Fink (D-ME)
• President pro tempore — Pete Wilson (R-TN)

The Senate floor reads like a draft of the Library of Alexandria's celebrity wing: Nikki Haley, Melania Trump, Pam Bondi, Karoline Leavitt, Henry Cabot Lodge Jr., Anthony Soprano, Bob the Builder, Gomez Addams, and the 14th Emperor of California are all current senators. Civic engagement is alive.

Notable bills

• T343 — Decolonize the Market Act
• T440 — Economic Revival Act
• T486 — American Business Silver Dome
• T520 — Free Market Accountability Act
• T534 — MINOR Corporate Welfare Bill
• T539 — Social Security Forever Act
• T552 — Big Beautiful Infrastructure Bill
• T595 — De-nationalization of the Banking System
• T610 — Slimming the Military, Boosting the Economy Act

The Three UN Walkouts

The United States has now formally proposed legislative withdrawal from international agreements three times in Beta 1:

• T438 — withdraw from the United Nations
• T472 — withdraw from the UN Free Trade Agreement
• T495 — withdraw from the UN Free Trade Agreement (again)

None succeeded. Foreign-policy experts are reportedly tired.

The 2028 Presidential Race (in motion)

Beta-1 America is already mid-primary for the next presidential cycle. Republican David Rosenkranz has racked up endorsements from Speaker Big Jesus De Sanchez, Senator Mark O'Rubio, and Senator Melania Trump (whose "DAVID ROSENKRANZ FOR PRESIDENT" Wire post landed at the same hour her "DOES ROCKEFELLER HAVE A BRAIN?" post did). On the Democratic side, the Freitag / Hochul ticket — billed as "The American Dream Team" — is consolidating quickly.

🇬🇧 United Kingdom

The UK was the most legislatively active country in Beta 1 by a wide margin — and also the most politically violent. Three Prime Ministers, six confidence votes, and one successfully deposed government in 621 turns.

The Piastri Era (twice)

Kevin Piastri is the central political figure of Beta-1 Britain. A Conservative MP for Bridlington and The Wolds (Yorkshire & Humber), Piastri was first sworn in as Prime Minister on turn 349, lost office, and was sworn in again on turn 597 after the May 2026 general election.

In between, the iteration's only successful no-confidence vote of Beta 1 (turn 138) brought down PM Stefan Aztrix — making Aztrix the answer to a future trivia question and Cassius MacInnis the briefly-installed transitional PM. MacInnis himself faced two confidence challenges (T213, T261) — both cancelled before voting.

Piastri has now survived four confidence votes:

The Cabinet

PM Piastri's government runs through the United Kingdom's traditional cabinet positions. Standouts:

• First Secretary of State — Rgold (founder of the Commonwealth of Nations; top of the campaign-funds leaderboard with ₳144.9M)
• Chancellor of the Exchequer — Ashton Gilbert
• Defence Secretary — Senator
• Home Secretary — Daniel Turner
• Foreign Secretary (Health) — Dave Edwin Milne
• Education Secretary — Satsuki Katayama
• Justice Secretary — Johan Breckingham
• Northern Ireland Secretary — Steven Bartlett

The Bank of England

In one of Beta 1's signature LARP moments, Sheev Palpatine — Conservative MP for the West Midlands — accepted appointment as Governor of the Bank of England in early May. His maiden Wire post in the role was titled "Bank Rate Forward Planning". His follow-up was "Breaking: Britain Grows Again". Make of that what you will.

Notable bills

The UK's bill ledger is the most active and most stylistically diverse in Beta 1:

• T350 — Foreigners Go Home Act
• T351 — Retaliatory Tariffs Package (in response to Japan's 45% tariff)
• T376 — Operation Ironhammer / Immigration Reduction Act
• T387 — Britain First
• T401 — Zero Drugs Act
• T424 — United Kingdom Strategic Security Act
• T429 — Government Surplus Involvement in Home & Economic Affairs to Stimulate Gross Domestic Produce Growth (yes, that is the actual bill title)
• T461 — Give it Back Bill
• T474 — Subsidise Everything Act
• T544 — Housing Act 2026
• T553 — Protect our Border ! Act, 203(?)
• T598 — Peter Mandelson Bill
• T599 — Respectable Johnny Foreigner Law
• T620 — Inflation Reduction Act: Tariffs

The Home Seizure Crisis

Late in the iteration, PM Piastri's government announced a controversial government home seizure policy. The Wire reaction was immediate. Pius, Conservative MP for the North East, issued the headline "HELL YEAH! FUCK HOMES!" — a position not formally adopted by His Majesty's Government but widely reported.

🇯🇵 Japan

Japan has been Beta 1's most diplomatically ambitious player and its most dramatic constitutional reformer.

From Empire to Republic — and back to Empire

Japan began Beta 1 as a parliamentary constitutional monarchy. The Imperial House of Amaterasu is canonically present — Empress Jingū of Kanto sits as the iteration's only Imperial Character. She is also the CEO of Chrysanthemum Properties, a ¥35.7-billion (≈ $362M USD-equiv.) real-estate conglomerate. Empress, landlord, archetype.

Then, on turn 549, the Diet passed the Declaration of the Japanese Republic. Japan re-named itself, kept the Empress, and continued holding Sangiin and Shugiin elections as if nothing in particular had happened. Plus ça change.

Government

Prime Minister Jeiden Peter-san (LDP) was sworn in on turn 515 and has since survived three no-confidence votes (T297, T206, T553). PM Peter-san is also the CEO of Her Majesty's Arsenal, Japan's flagship defence contractor and the largest corporation in Beta 1 by local-currency market cap (¥193.5 billion, ≈ $1.97B USD-equiv., headquartered in Kanto). The corporate name is, the Wire concedes, an anachronism the Republic has chosen to leave alone.

Cabinet

The Diet's roster includes JoJo, Robert EO Speedwagon, Segata Sanshiro, Ed Davey, Mario Karuto, Nicolas Maduro, and Yukiko Kada, among 114 sitting Sangiin and Shugiin members.

Notable Bills

• T351 — 45% tariff on the United States
• T420 — climate justice act
• T448 — Regional Skills and Vocational Training Act
• T450 — De-Escalation of Trade Relations Act
• T478 — NextGen Japan Digital Growth Act
• T536 — ELECTORAL REFORM ACT
• T549 — Declaration of the Japanese Republic
• T595 — NHS UPDATE ACR

Foreign-policy hyperdiplomacy

Japan was the most active multilateral actor in Beta 1:

• T360 — applied to join the EU; admitted T384.
• T376 — founded The Tropico Alliance (TTA) — charter document reads, in full: "Democracy / Dictatorship / Sand". Germany joined T402.
• T384 — John Blackthorne elected Secretary-General of the UN.
• T403 — landmark UN Free Trade Agreement (Germany / UK / US / Japan) ratified.
• T400 — Jeiden Peter-san elected El Presidente of Tropico.

🌍 International — Treaties, Trade Wars, and Economy-Only Countries

Economy-only previews

Beta 1's most ambitious mid-iteration addition was the economy-preview track — a way to bring new countries into the simulation through forex, commodities, corporate listings, and trade flows before opening them up for full political play. Four such countries went live during Beta 1:

These countries are not enabled for player politicking in Beta 1 — there are no Bundestags to canvas, no Dáil races to win, no Brazilian governors to bribe. What they do contribute is liquidity: their currencies trade in forex, their corporate registrations show up in the global stock and bond markets, and their commodity baselines feed into the trade-flow model. The data plumbing is the dry-run for Alpha 2 / Beta 2 country expansion.

(A few player characters do hold notional German cabinet seats — Nicola Sturgeon is recorded as Federal Chancellor, Ariane Yeong as Foreign Minister and President of the European Council — but the German parliament and Ministerpräsident roster is otherwise entirely NPP-populated, consistent with the country's economy-preview status.)

International organizations and elected leadership

Custom international organizations

Two were founded during Beta 1:

• The Tropico Alliance (TTA) — JP-founded, T376. "Increase and spread Tropico's name and brand." Charter text: "Democracy / Dictatorship / Sand." Membership: JP, plus DE as an economy-preview signatory.
• The Commonwealth of Nations (CON) — UK-founded, T412 by Rgold. Charter: a literal link to the real-world Commonwealth charter. Membership: UK, plus aspirants.

Trade wars

Japan opened the iteration's first major tariff war by levying a 45% blanket tariff on the United States at T351. The UK passed a Retaliatory Tariffs Package the same turn. The dust eventually settled when the US, UK, Japan, and Germany all signed the UN Free Trade Agreement at T403 — which the US then tried to legislatively leave on T472 and T495.

Currently active tariff regimes range from 0% (most pairs) to one outlier 45% rate. The trade-policy weather in Beta 1 has been: cloudy with isolated thunderstorms.

💹 Corporations & The Economy

Currencies and Forex

Beta 1 introduced (and stress-tested) the in-game forex system. Internally, balances are stored in an abstract anchor unit (₳); each local currency has a local-per-anchor rate. The three active countries trade live; the economy-preview countries ship FX as well — Ireland and Germany both use the Euro, so the EUR pair covers both. As of T621 the rates were:

The headline forex story is the strong yen / weak pound axis — partly a consequence of Japan's diplomatic surplus, partly because Sterling has been carrying the weight of a Subsidise Everything Act and the Inflation Reduction Act: Tariffs simultaneously. (USD itself has drifted slightly above its anchor parity, which is why values rendered in USD vs. ₳ differ by a percent or two.)

The 10 most valuable companies in Beta 1

Beta 1's forex system uses an internal anchor unit (₳) as the system-of-record. Every local currency has a rate defined as local-per-anchor; share prices and market caps are stored against that anchor and rendered to whatever display currency a viewer chooses (the in-game stocks screen lets you view balances in local, home, internal, or a specific currency code). The table below shows USD-equivalent values for portability — that is a display choice, not the anchor.

The headline pattern is politicians-as-CEOs: eight of the top ten are run by sitting heads of state, cabinet ministers, or legislators. President Antonelli chairs AURORA Group while serving as President. PM Peter-san chairs Japan's largest defence contractor while serving as Prime Minister. PM Piastri chairs Waitrose ($1.1B, just outside the top 10). Senator Pam Bondi runs the Bondi Group. Treasury Department veterans run banks; the Justice Minister runs Toshiba; the Agriculture Secretary runs General Electric. The Wire archives have, so far, declined to scrutinise the arrangements.

A few notable just-outside names: Blackwell Inc. ($1.13B, US — CEO Senator Roseanne Park), Rockefeller Bank ($1.13B, US — CEO Quintus Rockefeller), Waitrose ($1.10B, UK — CEO PM Kevin Piastri), Duolingo ($1.07B, US — CEO Senator Karl Freitag), and Balanced Defence Systems ($1.04B, UK — CEO MP Oleg Arkh).

Among the largest just-outside-the-list corporations: Sony Corporation Group (≈ $870M USD-equiv.), Acme Industries (≈ $554M, CEO Super Mario), Mori Media (≈ $536M), Blackthorne Financial (≈ $466M), Sega Sammy Holdings (≈ $399M), and Chrysanthemum Properties (≈ $362M, the Empress's real-estate vehicle). Japanese conglomerates look enormous in yen — Her Majesty's Arsenal at ¥193 billion is the iteration's biggest corporation by local-currency market cap — but yen denominations are simply small-per-unit (≈ ¥98 per ₳); when normalised through the anchor and rendered in USD, those same conglomerates settle into the $300M–$2B band. Nikkei-listed firms account for two of the global top 10; FTSE for two; NYSE for six.

GE and AURORA Group's ascent

The top two corporations in Beta 1 are not just the largest — they are categorically larger than everything else. General Electric ($64.5B) and AURORA Group ($23.0B) together account for roughly four-fifths of the iteration's total listed equity value. The rest of the top ten clusters between $1B and $5B; the gap between #2 and #3 alone (AURORA → AIPAC at $4.65B) is eighteen billion dollars.

Neither corporation started Beta 1 anywhere near the top. The earliest preserved Wealth Leaderboard snapshot (turn 2, 2026-04-11) ranks KIMI Antonelli first at $8.7M and Ben Harrison fourth at $4.5M — both modestly-capitalised opening-day founders. Six hundred and twenty turns later, Harrison's GE stake is worth $75.6B and Antonelli's AURORA position is worth $34.6B. The compounding ratios are approximately 16,000× for Harrison and 4,000× for Antonelli.

Structurally the rise follows the standard A House Divided founder-CEO loop: a public corporation's founder retains a controlling stake, which appreciates with every successful sector expansion, share split, earnings cycle, and Wire-amplified narrative. The two giants got there via opposite share-count strategies. GE has 5.8 billion shares outstanding, the iteration's broadest industrial-energy distribution — its growth story is volume, sector breadth, and a long bond-issuance cadence. AURORA Group has only one million total shares: a deliberately thin float that produces outsized per-share moves and amplifies every order-flow event. Both stocks were extraordinarily volatile in the 24 hours leading into the iteration pause; the in-game ticker showed GE up roughly +131% in a single trading session and AURORA shedding around $8B of market cap in the same window.

The political consequence is the iteration's most-cited corporate-political fact: the Secretary of Agriculture ended Beta 1 as the wealthiest individual in the game, and the President of the United States ended it as the second-wealthiest. The Wire archives, predictably, have not yet decided whether that is a feature or a bug.

Bonds and credit

469 corporate bonds are outstanding across the iteration. The standard Beta-1 corporate coupon clusters around 2.5–4%, with a maturity profile typically 49–101 turns out from issue. The first iteration of A House Divided's credit-rating model also went live in Beta 1 — every public corporation now carries a snapshot composite score (the United States itself currently sits at A, composite 69).

Stock-market activity

3,455 trades cleared across the three exchanges (NYSE, FTSE, Nikkei) during Beta 1. The corporate-formation wave of the early turns produced more than half the iteration's listed companies; tariff-related volatility around T351 (Japan's 45% blanket on the US) and the run-up in JP defence stocks after the Republic declaration are the two most-cited episodes in trader Wire posts.

🏆 Hall of Fame — top players in Beta 1

Most influential

Wealth Leaderboard — top 10 by net worth

Net worth is the in-game Wealth Leaderboard convention: stocks + bonds + portfolio + cash, summed and rendered in USD-equivalent. It is dominated almost entirely by corporate CEOs whose wealth tracks their stake in the public company they run — eight of the Beta-1 top ten are corporate executives, and their combined net worth tops a quarter-trillion dollars.

The conspicuous Beta-1 fact: eight of ten are American (a function of NYSE listings being denominated in dollars and the iteration's largest corporations being US-listed); the other two are UK CEOs whose FTSE-listed companies are large enough to clear the ₳-anchor cutoff. Zero Japanese characters appear in the dollar-denominated top 10, despite the Nikkei hosting the iteration's largest corporation by yen.

A separate "wealthiest by campaign treasury" measure exists — the funds field, stored in anchor units (₳1 ≈ $1.02 / £0.55 / ¥98 at T621 rates) and used to bankroll elections. Rgold (UK, First Secretary of State) tops that leaderboard at ₳144.9M, followed by KIMBLE HOOKSTRATEN (US, ₳93.6M) and Kathy Hochul (US Senator, ₳78.1M). These are different scoreboards: the campaign-funds list ranks who can spend on a race; the net-worth list ranks who owns the economy.

Most infamous

The Infamy Index measures, roughly, how much you have to lose. The Beta-1 leaderboard:

🐛 The Long Bug

Beta 1 closed (or rather, paused) on 2026-05-06 at turn 621, with the in-game pause reason recorded verbatim as:

"NaN re-emergence — inflation calc still broken"

The inflation engine has been the iteration's white whale: a sequence of edge cases in the central-bank macro model has periodically returned NaN values to downstream metrics, with cascading effects across budgets, GDP growth, and exchange-rate targets. Patches landed throughout April and early May; the bug has been pushed back, contained, and patched, but as Beta 1 demonstrated, NaN is a hydra. The Alpha-2 / Beta-2 effort will inherit a partial fix and a thorough postmortem.

What endures

Beta 1 will be remembered as the iteration that:

• Crowned a Galactic Senator as Bank of England Governor.
• Made the Empress of Japan a real-estate magnate.
• Made the sitting Prime Minister of Japan the CEO of Japan's largest defence contractor — a corporation called Her Majesty's Arsenal.
• Saw the Republic of Japan declared, ratified, and immediately ignored.
• Delivered the Government Surplus Involvement in Home & Economic Affairs to Stimulate Gross Domestic Produce Growth Act — the longest legitimate bill title in any iteration to date.
• Saw the United States propose legislative withdrawal from UN treaties three separate times — and fail all three.
• Survived four UK confidence votes and three Japanese ones.
• Founded two entirely new international organizations from scratch.

Onwards to Beta 2.

Drafted from live database snapshots taken at turn 621 (2026-05-06). Numbers may have shifted in the days since.