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initiatesnpc) wrote2012-07-03 10:35 pm
initiatesnpc) wrote2012-07-03 10:35 pm
6/2012
PURPOSE: This post covers the many large and small changes in the world of Exsilium after characters’ time on mission and during the riots. All items are subject to change/retcon via future plots/events, but will remain active unless stated in future development documents.
None: Still the same city limits, land mass size/width, and weather patterns.
TRAFFIC INCREASE: Electric vehicles will be a common sight in the city, though not in high numbers. One out of every 100 civilians will own/have access to a private vehicle, and there will be an active bus system. Routes are limited to major intersections and buildings, including the Hold.
BUSINESS INCREASE: Entertainment/media stores will be more of a thing — books, film, and gaming will be more easy to find, but at very, very steep prices. Like the cars, these are still things in limited supply. Best to purchase digital copies of things; these hand-held items are considered rather vintage and have the price tag for it.
CITIZEN MOOD: The attitude civilians will have in regard to transports and their situation is distinctly more positive. Asking them about details of a riot — any kind of riot — will draw blank, confused stares. The last riot, they will say, happened a good four, five years ago. What are you talking about?
ABSENT PERSONS: Some stores will sport new employees, but not out of layoffs or firings. The old faces of these places simply never worked there, and anyone frequenting there could tell you that much. Lou who?
UNCONSCIOUS PREDISPOSITIONS: You may come across the face of a person you, perhaps...punched. Or rescued! And, somehow, that person may stop, squint, and ponder. Depending on the action you took upon them during the riots, they will be more naturally inclined to like or outright despise you, though they’ll be unable to explain why. Rub someone you clocked in the riot the wrong way, and you may find irrational (but secretly totally rational) behavior tossed your way. Ample opportunity for street/barfights, here.
THE HUSH-HUSH: Once in a while you might see a pair on some street corner, heads bent together and conferring quietly — until they look up and see you, and hurry away. Looking into this won’t get you anywhere, all involved people seem to just melt away immediately, and no one knows what you’re talking about if you ask around. But now and then there’s some dark looks tossed the way of the Initiative and its transports...
BROKEN LANDMARK: Three miles north of the Hold, still within the city limits, there is a new, enormous structure. It’s a massive botanical garden, massively closed and out-of-use. It’s the nearly 400 yards (approx. 366m) long, and half as wide, with a height reaching nearly 15 storeys at its tallest. From the highest point where the entrances and lobby are, it is structured like a typical scraper. From there, it bubbles out to become a domed structure for the remainder of the building’s length. Since it’s a condemned building, there is no entry through the traditional entrances, but there’s enough broken glass to give a curious person (or bum) chance go enter. Inside, most of the plants have overgrown, choked each other out, or outright died of neglect. There are patches of pretty flower beds where sentimental strangers come and go to water what they can. Broken monuments scatter the forgotten walkways, with strangers’ faces in stone or steel, broken and melted from some kind of long-ago strife. Signs of the damage can be seen on the building’s metal structure: scorchmarks and broken steel where glass was cleanly connected are scattered; the elements drop freely through the ceiling. Lots of birds roost here, as well.
Civilians call it the Civic Gardens, and say it’s been that way for decades. No one living remembers it when it was open. They’ll advise you to steer clear of it, lest you want to get shanked by a crazy hobo.
FOOD IS RUINED FOREVER: Pepperoni is no longer the standard pizza topping. Anchovies are. And people will call you crazy if you think this is crazy.
HEARTY HANDSHAKE: Initiative employees and soldiers will regard transports with a friendly, distanced kind of admiration (some, perhaps, with hostility if you happened to cause them harm during the riots). They appreciate you being here to help their cause! And are sorry if it’s troublesome to have been brought here, but it’s really out of their hands; they’re just soldiers/employees, after all.
EDJUMUCASHUN: Next time you open up your netbook and turn on the network, you’ll see a clickable icon for a Historical E-Learning portal. Clicking that opens up a page with links to several different learning modules pertaining to the history of Earth (Exsilium-bent, naturally). Most of these modules are still non-links, with notes stating they are “currently under construction, and will be available soon.”
For now, though, the links for the following modules are available:
Early Civilization: an Overview of Ancient Empires and Peoples (Stone Age to Rome)
Man and Machine: The First Industrial Age of Western Civilization (covering the industrial revolution of 1750-1850 A.D.+)
Weapons of War: an Evolution (an overview of the various weapons developed throughout history up through hand-held laser guns)
These modules are interactive, talking videos with clickable items to enhance the learning experience. They come with voluntary mini-quizzes after each chapter to test users’ knowledge. There’s an (also voluntary) overview test at the end of every module. Users who complete modules with 85% or higher will earn ✥40 in coupons for restaurants, retail stores, or other businesses of their choosing.
MESOAMERICAN LORE: Ancient, forgotten cultures in South America have tales of a giant, evil death god that kills the land and makes people ill. There are also signs of homage to a pair of hunter gods/goddesses, as well as mythological imagery to soldiers dressed in almost medieval armor (embellished in color and feathers). The Early Civilization module has captioned images of this.
CIVILIZATION CONSPIRACY: There is still on-going debate about the earliest of man; much argument swells over a site in Hawaii where ancient footprints were discovered, leading to talk of early man or even alien cultures well before the dawn of the first civilization.
REQUIRED READING: Lost and Found, a novella written by an anonymous writer in the ‘70s, was required reading in American classrooms in the 2100s — before then, a cult classic. It’s the story of a woman’s one-night stand with a strange lady and their whirlwind tour of the country on the way to California, along with even stranger companions. The story is available for download, but physical copies are rare.
Daisy’s New Friends is a children’s book written in the 1920s about a little girl who makes new friends while searching for her missing puppy. It became a classic to teach children to read in the United Kingdom for many years, and has gone through many many upgrades as culture dictates. Its most recent iteration (2866 A.D.) tried to go back to the roots of the story, paring down the school full of new friends to a trio from Venus who use their alien powers to help Damaran (Daisy’s most recent name) find her cyborg dog.
SPOOKY THINGS IN THE NORTH: Scandinavian folklore includes stories of waifish girls who raise the dead to kill wicked men and children. There are collections of mythological superstitions available online.
THE UNBREAKABLE PRISON BREAK: Australians reference the “unbreakable prison break” when the chips are down and hope seems lost; the actual story behind the saying has been lost and twisted throughout time. There are several films referencing this long-lost story, most with uncreative titles like Unbreakable, Breaking, etc. The salvaged ones are considered very dated and with poor reviews, but are free for download if you find them.
FASHION FORWARD/BACKWARD: Forehead chakras were huge accessories in the early late 1960s–early ‘70s and following fashion revivals.
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