Our City Under Cloudless Skies "I remember the days where I could see the wonders of sky through the clouds that enveloped them. What ever happened to that beauty?" The Story thus far: Welcome to the new age of modern living. In the distant future even after the collapse of modern human civilization our society is still running strong inside the only known city still standing: Haven. Built in mind of cleanliness and efficiency newer focus's are always put on the development of current technological innovations. Never before has human society been able to push itself so far and be so prosperous compared to known earlier years, with every able bodied person in society contributing toward a common goal. With new governmental policies our education system is better than ever, pushing out young minds willing to put themselves on the line for our city's future. No one has to worry about jobs as each person is designed a specific work station based on their set of skills determined with pinpoint accuracy so no one can ever be unhappy. New family structures emphasizes ideal modern living as through a Unity application parents are matched together perfectly by your government to ensure a healthy continuance of human population. Housing and recourse distribution are carefully monitored to ensure that everyone is living with comfort and to ensure that overall prosperity may continue even under the most troublesome times. With new train systems and more forms of public transportation there is no more need for cars or clunky traffic, the city's goals are placed above individuality for not only progress but as well your safety. Your government continues to do their part to make your nation, your community, your city...a better place. It's too perfect... For those of you with concerns of others who wish to break away from safety and peace do no worry, your government is fully aware of the threat and is mobilizing special safety units to not only ensure your safety but the city's safety as well. But we will need your help, to keep a perfect society away from the harmful influences that threaten to destroy you and your city's life enlist today! After all there's never a shortage on jobs and with our state of the art training program you will be well prepared to protect overall safety and prosperity for years to come. Yet why is it not...? Remember any unauthorized materials or actions deemed inappropriate to city prosperity will be quickly dealt with. Be sure to report any suspicious items or activities you see involving but not limited to: -Unregulated artwork Why...why can't I paint? -Vandalism Why can't I share it? -Singing Why can't I sing? -Illegal Musical Instruments Nor play... -Unregistered Documents Nor write... -Non Government Approved Music We can't listen. -Dancing We can't express. Thank you and please enjoy your welcome existence in our city. Remember, your safety and cooperation are our highest concern! There's something I can do though. Something we are all forced to in the face of every on of these regulations. Remember...only you can protect against chaos. We may fight. ___ Present Day: A seemingly perfect city rises up from a shattered long forgotten past, one that has been rebuilt with the backing of a newly formed government that oversees continued progress within the city known as 'Haven'. It is a comfortable name built upon false securities to ensure mindless non-individual workers that adhere to the conformist policies of this society. Therefore free thinking was abandoned long ago, crushing any opposition proud enough to oppose this and keeping at bay the rest with fear. Relatively there is no freedom, no more free thinking. Of course that's what the government would like you to believe. Through the brainwashing school system and aching public service announcements it's not uncommon to witness those born with a gift to see outside of the norms of reality. Our society calls them different and snuffs them out with medication, but I call them visionaries. Born not to live by another's word but to follow their own path in free thinking, to strive toward the dreams set in their mind. So those who survive all fight for that right. They all became revolutionaries, terrorists, 'armed' creative thinkers with a purpose to change society for the better. But it wasn't enough. They all fought underground, too scared to poke their heads out of hole while forming their little clans of resistance. In reality it was the blind communicating with the deaf, two completely different philosophies that could never be brought together peacefully. Therefore I gave a push, a tug if I may in the direction of the change I wanted to see. It would be change that would come through violence, but one would be a fool to think that this current society did not rise from such means. All we can do is show that we will not let our views be smothered. Let us free thinkers fight for the world we believe in, let us once more be able to pave our own destiny. What I would give to cherish the clouds again, to appreciate such beauty as a whole. To this my Haven, I am EDEN. ___ Premise: This is the tale between the conformist city determined for progress without distraction and the free thinkers who wish to freely express their gift to the world. No one has any choice when it comes to the conflict, sides were quickly chosen and a rivalry would form between the government of Haven and the radical who would spark the free thinking clans to fight. You will play as either a member of the city police assigned to hunt down and destroy anything deemed illegal by the higher ups at Haven, or one of the free thinking clans that backs up a certain aspect of creative society whether it be art, music, or anything else deemed illegal. This war has been going underground for quite sometime but only quite recently has it become violent with open fighting and bombing on the streets. Haven Police call them terrorists, The Free Thinkers call them tyrannical. Conformity/Safety/Progress Vs. Creativity/Free Thinking/Freedom What side will you believe in? ___ Notable Points of Information Haven- A closed off city based behind the idea of progress and human safety over freedom/individual happiness. It is a large city with a downtown district containing its government, schooling, and work centers with surrounding outskirts that contain residential homes and warehouse districts. Most areas are monitored by the government and there are relatively few 'safe' areas when it comes to the city. Homes suspect to terrorism are monitored so there is very little privacy if the government wills it, but it rarely is ever known whether the government is monitoring an establishment or not. As for the area outside of Haven is hard to say, some say there there is nothing while others say that there is everything that possibly could be hidden from Haven residents. Overall it is said that Haven had risen from the ashes of a shattered world and is supposedly a testament to human determination and innovation when everyone consecutively works together. Haven Government- Run by a figurehead that makes the decisions and an council of ten members directly under him/her, occasionally keeping power in check and being the deciding factor for the next appointed city head. The city head of Haven is rotated every five years but is always required to follow Haven law and regulations. Failure to follow adequate head of city head can result in the council forcibly removing the leader from power or at worst case Haven Police intervening directly. They ensure safety is occurring throughout Haven and that the city continues to grow in terms of expected quota scheduling. While they direct the Haven Police they have no real control when it comes to the police's decisions and actions. Haven Police- A separate entity outside of Haven's governmental center that keeps the order and ensures that Haven laws are followed. They have full right to monitor network signals, raid homes, and use lethal force whenever necessary to 'Keep the peace'. They are run by a police chief that takes orders from the Haven government and while they don't necessarily have to follow under the Haven government they are still none the less kept in check by the city head and council through unknown means. Yet if a city chief does not follow adequate procedure when it comes to Haven laws, at worst committing an atrocity himself, this can result in direct removal of position with force if absolutely necessary. Never once though have the police turned against Haven policy. Haven Society- Runs off of the people who are part of this viewing themselves as a mass, a cog to keep the machine of Haven's heart running. Due to propaganda, schools, and a developing consumerist society the people of Haven don't normally question the policies toward Free Thinkers and freedom. Anyone with even hints of such elements range from being outcasted from society to being sent to 'special' institutions to reintegrate them back into Haven society. If they don't comply they have been said to...disappear from government records. For students the schooling system is strict and those who fall behind don't get first picks on jobs, a punishment far worse than people imagine it to be. For families everything is a formal affair and marriages occur by marriage certificates that match appropriate partners together that would produce genetically superior offspring. On occasions emotions and attachments sprout up in families, and while not illegal highly frowned upon by society from isolated teachings of morals and goals. Haven Economy- Jobs are received right after a one school education system with young adults working at an early age. Jobs may be requested or assigned based on the student and higher ranking students get top priority. Jobs can range from office workers to labor force, government official to sewage treatment specialist, and whatever in between. For most students they strive to be a part of government for the perks they receive, but as of lately more and more people have been transferring in to become Haven police officers. Some are radically conformist who view freedom as dangerous and others are those who wish to keep their city and family safe despite what they believe. No matter what job is assigned though all of them benefit Haven. Streets serve for a pedestrian's only way of transportation other than what would be the tram system, an easy way for the government to examine in depth packaging brought on and people who travel on it either to work, school, or their homes. Free Thinkers Movement- A group of people who were born differently from the eyes of their society and either found, rescued, or deciding at their choosing to be a part of the Free Thinkers Movement. There is no formal organization other than the clans, you simply choose to fight for what you believe in and gather others who feel the same way. No matter what organization that a Free Thinker was a part of though they would all soon rebel in one way or another. Whether it would be to hack into a schools PDA system and read a poem, sing from a hidden location to move a mass of people, or distribute illegal printed copies of artwork to a public location. All of them chose their own way to express in a unique way the views that all of them expressed. That is until EDEN arrived. Clans- Specific organizational groups of Free Thinkers, each involving a certain craft of creativity. They can range from a group of singers using song to oppose governmental proposals to a group of artists 'vandalizing' government property, either way coming together to develop different ways to fight against a higher authority. Their size can range from a pair of two individuals to a city wide organization depending on how many people share their same views. Some occasionally will rescue members from institutional facilities while others will welcome all kinds of creative thinkers no matter what you specialize in. After EDEN was revealed and weapons were somehow smuggled into the city a more open kind of warfare would occur in the clans, even encouraging them to work together. EDEN- A mysterious revolutionary figure who sparked armed conflict within the community of Haven. Appearing as the voice of a wishful girl there are plenty of speculations as to where she came from, how she acquired these weapons, and most importantly who she is in the first place. Many theories are brought up and occasionally raids are performed on homes with hints of EDEN's signal coming from them. As everyone could agree though she is the sole reason that violence has escalated in Haven to all out war. Despite the violence she is causing there still remains hope in her occasional public service announcements when speaking of an idealistic free world, to see once again clouds which had been once said to fill the sky. There is no one form of creativity she seems to have adopted, but in the end it doesn't really matter. ___ Haven Police Sects Haven Security- A separate branch of the Haven police force that protects the businesses of the city. With no real leader and hired out individually the security team find respect through those who hire them out as a representation of their prowess and skill. They don't use firearms but rather focus more on melee and hand to hand combat and can be argued to be a more elite force to serve under when joining through the Haven Police force. Some have used their training to convert over to the Free Thinkers, others focus hard on using their skill for the job they are entitled to, and others can find themselves going rogue for one reason or another. Central Agency of Law Enforcement, Surveillance and Security- An elite of the elite organization set up by a few specialized individuals, formed under the pretense of monitoring illegal and potentially harmful information that could jeopardize the peace and prosperity of Haven. Of course this was all just an excuse really, targeting ruthlessly many of the non-violent organizations of Free Thinkers that the police may have overlooked. While not the most heavily known they are instrumental at their job and one of the main reasons that Haven hasn't already fallen directly under EDEN's control, a thorn in the side for the opposing party and continuing to operate against the ideals of the Free Thinkers. All for the 'safety' of their city after all. ___ Underground Clans of Haven The Writers Clan of Free-Thinkers- A clan specialized under the written word that was banned throughout Haven with anything deemed too dangerous to allow publication. This group contains past novelist, play, screenplay, poet, and short story writers along with anyone else with a passion for the written word. Originally rivaling musical and artistic clans in the non-violent struggle for social change the clan has now devolved into a bickering group of sects breaking off into separate ideals, some continuing their practice of non-violent techniques with others physically assaulting Haven supporting buildings. While there do continue to survive groups that continue to practice non-violent methods against Haven after the emergence of EDEN, more and more groups have found themselves picking up the sword rather than the pen to win. The Runners- Possibly one of the biggest, if not the biggest, underground clan in Haven. Originally doing what meager jobs they could do to survive they began expanding and changing drastically after contact with the terrorist leader EDEN. With their ties to transportation in the city EDEN would use the organization for weapon and bomb transportation, able to move around her resources easily without getting directly involved with the cause she was spiking. While EDEN has never (supposedly) met any of the members of the organization it has grown to be the most notorious when it comes down to violence to advocate the Free Thinkers movement's goals. So far with all the inner contacts that the Haven police may have in clans, this is one of the clans that proves most difficult time after time to get reliable moles in the ranks of these Free Thinkers, as of now doing all that they possibly can to intercept the threats of EDEN and hope they can stop such a crisis in time. The Haven Nightly Journal- Contrasting The Haven Daily Journal that exists to spit out government propaganda the nightly journal is an organization that focus's solely on reaching the real truth out to people. Being distributed at night as opposed to the day (and as well considered highly illegal) it reaches to as many people as it can while as well trying to stay under the radar, not pushing too hard for quick and brash change but rather slow and developmental change. They are one of the few groups that haven't fallen under EDEN's control, however due to its popularity under many of the Free Thinker society and even some Haven citizens it's only a matter of time before things begin to change. ___ Rules: Relatively the same for every single RP in existence but I'll lay it out in simple terms. 1.) Use common sense. 2.) If you're confused by something, run it by me. 3.) PM me your character sheets then repost them in the discussion when it goes up. Other than that I am very lenient as long as no matter what you post it was some well crafted quality and effort put into it. Post what you wish, direct the story to make things exciting for not only me but for other players as well, and overall contribute to a well crafted story participated in by those who want to be. Don't get me wrong, I have an ending and general path in mind for this story, but why not make things as interesting as possible? ___ Character Sheet Name: Gender: Age: Side: Appearance: Clan/Organization: (If applied, can add one to lore if you wish and have other players join up) Brief Biography/Personality: Other: ___ Everything seems alright so far if a little awkward sentences in the descriptions. Other than that hopefully people find interest in this idea and I can start it up soon. I look forward to it!