First Uprising

In the years following Ingmar Diedrich's death, the Families enforced the Novus Ordo with an iron fist, but none of them was as cruel and ruthless as the Diedrich Family.

Neu Bonn, the capital of Paneuropa, was a city divided in two. While the western part, around the Hellios building, was constantly developing and expanding, the eastern part, where the lower Castes were displaced, was turning into a nightmare. Lawlessness, corruption and constant harassment from the Conglomerate forces made living conditions inhumane. Protests for equal rights, or for even some sort of provision for those in need, were always met with callous force by the Praetorian Police, Diedrich’s private repression forces. Still, a growing group of people opposing the Novus Ordo, including intellectuals, artists, former politicians and all kinds of unionists, organized the biggest peaceful demonstration, demanding better living conditions and civil rights. On August 14th, 41 years after The Lapse, an estimated 3 million people flooded the streets of Neu Bonn, in what came to be known then as the Uprising. Expecting that the police would respond with deadly force, the organizers went to great lengths to ensure that the protest would remain peaceful and there would be no kinds of provocation from their side. People started gathering in Deliverance Square early in the morning, among them families with children and people of all ages. The plan was to hold a sitting protest, so no sort of violence could be attributed to the dissidents. People kept coming and sitting, some of them sang, some held hands, certain that united they couldn’t be ignored. The Praetorians were there, but they kept their distance. There was a growing feeling that this time the voice of the people would be heard. After all, they couldn’t kill them all, could they? The riot cars showed up around 22:00 when the sun had just started setting. Some of them were marked police vans, but the majority were commandeered trucks and other heavy vehicles. In the dimday light, they surrounded the protesters and started moving towards them slowly but steadily. At first, people were agitated and puzzled, but as soon as they realized that the vehicles kept approaching, anger turned into fear, and fear to panic. People started to get up, only to be trampled by those who tried to get away. Over 250 thousant people died getting run over and crushed. Many of those who managed to avoid the trucks were met with the Praetorian forces. Another 500 thousand were exiled to the Sunlands, without any kind of trial or provisions. The events of the Uprising were used as pretext for the building of the Catharsis Wall, the construction that would forever separate the lower Castes from the rest of the world.