The Shining City
Conditioned Metropolis
Sykore leaned back in her chair, looking out her window. Her arms were wrapped around herself in a hug as she looked out at the gleaming, sparkling towers, the lit transport pods zipping around at ground level, and the people milling about. Most were done with work for the day, looking for their night's entertainment. Some would go to the bars, some to the art exhibitions. Some would simply go home and talk with their partners. So many lives, all moving in a great dance she could only see at this distance.
The silence of her apartments was becoming oppressive. It was early yet for her shift, but anything was better than sitting around here doing nothing. She stood and strolled to the brushed-steel door, passing matching furnishings and blue-grey walls on the way. Her feet were silent on the thick cream carpet.
With a final pat down to check she had her shoes and ID, she stepped out and threw herself into the dance.
Structure
One's status within the hierarchy of the City is determined by how much they contribute to the City's upkeep. Everyone is kept fed, sheltered and clothed regardless of work choice, but there are significant benefits to being in higher tiers. In a shortsighted and ineffective effort to keep people from lording their privileges over others, the classes of the hierarchy are referred to by their code numbers in the system.
Class 4B: In any group of sufficiently established humans there will be a few who simply do not wish to work if it is not required of them. Luckily this civilization does not have to press-gang these people into physical labor in order to keep everyone alive. These people are still considered Citizens and are still cared for by the City, but they have no privileges. It is their choice to contribute the barest minimum and so the City provides the minimum: rations, water, clothing, and shelter.
Class 4A: There are those who do not work, but for legitimate reasons and not laziness. For example those above the age of retirement (55) or those undergoing long term medical treatment such as chemotherapy, fall into this group. These people receive Holiday Privileges, a monthly gift from the City Council to celebrate the holiday falling within that month. Typically these are some kind of treat, or a simple article of clothing like a commemorative scarf.
Class 3: The artists and creatives fall within Class 3. Though their art is overseen (and censored) by the City, the ruling class recognizes the importance of the existence of art to human mental health. Thus artists are rewarded for the good they do the City by receiving both Holiday Privileges and the lowest rank of alcohol credits per month.
Class 2B: Class 2 is the largest class and encompasses the Careerists. These people do the jobs robotics cannot (or should not). 2B specifically is for jobs that do not require additional training at the University and can be taken up immediately upon graduation from City schooling. Examples include low-level bureaucrats, barkeeps, and the City Guard. In addition to the benefits of Class 3, Class 2B receives seasonal rations such as preserved fruit.
Class 2A: Jobs which require specialized training at the University fall into this class. Doctors, Commissars, Councilors, Engineers, Teachers and Childcare Workers take up the bulk of it. In recognition of their service they receive all of the above benefits as well as an increased amount of alcohol credits.
Class 1B: The City Council. Most of the Citizenry believes this to be the only Class 1. As by all appearances the ruling class, they make big picture decisions for the City. They regularly eat fresh food, only sinking to rations in the hungry months at the end of winter, and have a high level of alcohol credit. Of course, they also treat themselves to the Holiday Privileges they give out to the lower classes.
Class 1A: Only the City Council, and those necessary to keep the facade running, know this class exists. When information about it leaks, it sounds like an insane conspiracy theory. These are the true ruling elite. Most are on the City Council, but the two do not overlap entirely. These people have hoarded secret knowledge of the City's workings and history and pass it to their heirs, which they do not allow the City to take and raise with the rabble. As such this class is almost impossible to break into, and they take everything they desire. Most have never in their lives eaten a ration bar and alcohol flows like water in their homes.
Culture
See The Pure Ones
Public Agenda
The City Council seeks to keep the City running efficiently and to prevent the need (or desire) to expand. The world, after all, is a horrifying landscape filled with deadly monsters that were once human. Their internal affairs are all that concern them.
Assets
Essentially everything within the City is owned by the collective. The farms, the water purification, the power generation, the food preservation, the robotics that run the majority of it, the clothes on people's backs and the homes they call their own are all owned by the City itself.
History
The City was founded after the Endeavor Colony broke up. The remaining people built their settlement into a great fortress, able to sustain a certain population indefinitely.
Demography and Population
The City has been zoned and fully built for generations. People live in the specifically designated Residential Zone, unless they are undergoing treatment in the Medical District.
As the resources of the City are limited, population control is a serious issue. Steps have been taken from the very beginning to try and keep birth and death rates about equal, so that the City remains about 10% below capacity on average. Though the City Council does not advertise it, the number of living Citizens is closely monitored. There are a number of methods possible to control the growth of the population, most of which the Council has maintained are unconscionable and keep on the books only as final resorts should some kind of unthinkable population explosion occur. Expansion to the lakeshore and beyond the Walls is never an option.
While sterilization of a portion of the Citizenry was seriously debated for a time, it was ultimately rejected as it conflicted with the premise of basic equality among all those living within the City. Who would be chosen, and how? If it was entirely random, what a waste it would be if someone who was selected became truly great? So it was decided that anyone who wanted to could produce offspring.
Instead the City has taken a different approach, targeting the newborn. As children are taken from their parents shortly after birth to be raised in the City's schools, as many can be disappeared as needed. Upon birth, a series of medical analyses are performed. If the child suffers from birth defects, such as a missing valve in the heart, spinal cord issues or brain damage, the child is quietly euthanized. A genetic screening is also done, and if mutations are present, even if not physically apparent, the child will disappear as well.
Though most anyone would find the snuffing out of new lives horrifying, over the centuries the Citizenry who are aware of it have accepted it as a matter of course. There are a wide range of rationalizations individuals have used to come to terms with it, including:
- There are only so many resources, we can't waste any on those who have no potential to be more than wards of the state
- A life in constant pain, under constant medical observation or trapped in a broken body is no life at all
- If some of us have to be given up, the least tragic option is to end some stories before they even begin
Territories
The City entirely occupies The Dragon's Eye island and it's surrounding inland sea. It has heavily fortified this territory to keep everything else out and this has caused something of a No Man's Land for several miles around the lakeshore. The City has no intent to expand into it, and no Nation claims it as those who venture into it do not return.
Technological Level
Advanced by our standards. Automated robotics, electrically powered vehicles, and highly advanced medical care are ubiquitous. They are however held back from advancement by their unwillingness to change, even for the better.
Foreign Relations
The City does not have diplomatic relations with the other Nations simply because it does not recognize any of the Tribes as people. To them they are soulless, monstrous beasts- the descendants of those who were cursed by the land beyond the lake.
Agriculture & Industry
Agriculture and all industry is handled by automated robots. The City Council determines adjustments to the annual plan for each. As an example, if one crop didn't perform as well as expected, then something else will be planted in it's place on the next rotation- at least until scholars at the University can determine why, and if it can be remedied.
By and large if it is not necessary, the City doesn't expend industrial resources to produce it. The major exception to this is alcohol production, which has been rationalized as beneficial by the Council as a recreational vice to help keep the populace happy and docile. Alcohol credits are assigned based on the work status of an individual, which also acts as a carrot to encourage Citizens to provide work for the collective good.
Of course, the robots break down, and so human engineers are crucial to the City's operation. At least once a year, every robot is inspected and repaired as needed. Any breakdowns are remedied immediately to keep the farms and plants running.
Trade & Transport
While there's nowhere that couldn't be walked to in the City, a public transport system is in place to get Citizens where they're going faster, if desired. An electric pod, able to carry up to five adults comfortably, can be ordered to any location in the city. The pod then drives its occupants to any other address before going to it's next assignment. When the pod has only 10% of it's battery remaining, it will complete any trip it is in the middle of, then drive itself back to a charging garage.
As all pods are linked in a computer network and are aware of the location of all other pods, the drive is extremely safe and accidents between them simply do not occur. If someone crosses the street without unsafely, they may be hit, and it is considered their fault. Luckily as the vehicles are small and speeds are limited at ground level, such collisions are very rarely fatal- most result in a broken bone or two. The underground highways at which the greatest speeds are reached are inaccessible to pedestrians and so people simply can't be turned into greasy stains by pods.
Each pod is inspected by engineers at least three times a year to ensure they operate safely and efficiently.
Education
The City's schools not only educate but also raise children from the cradle. By the time they graduate at age 17, they are fully ready to take on life as Citizens and either jump into a Career straightaway or continue learning at University. Children born in a given year are kept together as a class and this means that some will be a little older or younger than others, but generally everyone will be at the same developmental level. Until children are old enough to sit through instructional videos, multiple teachers/caregivers will be around at all times. Homework is not assigned here, as practicing what is learned is included in the schoolday where teachers can answer questions and assist if needed.
At the earliest ages, schools focus on the most basic development. Teachers focus on shapes, colors, basic motor skills, and the beginnings of socialization with others in their age group. The caregivers also read to the children twice a day, building up a baseline for literacy and expanding the class' verbal vocabulary.
Around six years of age, schooling in earnest starts. Though the class can't yet be expected to sit still and pay attention for any length of time, the structure of a schoolday begins to take shape. Small groups within the class rotate to different stations, each taught by a different teacher, to talk about one of the subjects.
Outdoor recess and organized physical education class are alternated between other subjects to help children reset and relax their minds as well as get extra energy out. These periods are continued up until the last couple years of school.
Around ten years of age, children are expected to be able to sit and watch instructional videos, which are then followed up by Q&A for clarification with a live teacher.
The extent of each subject in the basic schooling is as follows:
- Language: Fluent literacy; thorough vocabulary and mastery of verbal communication.
- Mathematics: Up through advanced algebra.
- Science: Low-moderate understanding of Chemistry and Physics.
- Social Sciences: Full breakdown of the City's government and daily workings; the history which the Council allows Citizens to know.
- Health: Understanding of the human body; sex ed; hygiene (mental and physical).
- Life Skills: The largest and most vital subject. Includes everything from how to prepare ration packs to sewing and repairing garments to using all of the amenities the City provides.
- Medical: Doctors of all stripes; it is 2 years of general coursework, followed by 3 in a specialization such as surgery.
- Councilors: Three years of study; the final essentially being just performing the work under observation.
- Engineers: Four years; the first two general coursework, followed by 2 in a specialization such as electrical or vehicular.
- Teaching/Childcare: These people study 6 years and are thoroughly trained in infant care, child rearing, and teaching techniques. Refreshers on each course taken in the City school system are given as well. Finally, they are subjected to indoctrination training. Never forget- these people are raising children for the state.
- Commissars: The managers and middle managers of the City, these people train for a year in leadership, accounting, and navigating the City's bureaucracy to get provisions and accomplish their missions. The stamp of "University Graduate" also helps give these petty tyrants authority and keep those under their watch from thinking their job could be performed by anyone.
Infrastructure
Electrical Grid
Internet (Rudimentary)
Podways (Ground Level and Underground Highways)
Running Water Service (including purification plants and heating systems)
Sewer System
The Walls (and Defense Grid)
Internet (Rudimentary)
Podways (Ground Level and Underground Highways)
Running Water Service (including purification plants and heating systems)
Sewer System
The Walls (and Defense Grid)
Divine Origins
The religion was literally and directly born of the hyper-conservative beliefs of the Pure Ones following the schism. For them, the concept became one of faith. They rejected the world, and told themselves that the world had rejected them instead, in order to make sense of a world where they weren't the strongest or best suited to survive. All other rhetoric and pulpit-pounding comes from this at it's root.
Worship
For the daily citizen worship simply consists of:
- Attending the festivals of light as they are announced.
- Showing proper deference and respect to the priesthood.
- Leaving a light on at night, always. It can be small, like a nightlight, while sleeping.
Priesthood
There are a handful of priests of the Light, easily identified by their always-white clothing. Even embroidery, when added, is done in white thread. Men and women are represented in equal measure, and they are part of Class 1A for purposes of provisioning.
More are called than are needed to keep the Citizens' belief strong. Those who feel such a calling in their last years of schooling are reviewed by the existing priests and the most faithful are chosen to be welcomed into the brotherhood.
Granted Divine Powers
None- I cannot stress this enough. This is the only Nation that has no magic spark at all. They have, as their ancestors once did, entirely reject such power or belief.
Political Influence & Intrigue
It essentially is the highest echelon. Those who are not priests themselves are in close conspiracy with them.
Safe Within
Founding Date
Planetfall
Type
Geopolitical, City-state
Alternative Names
Endeavor City; The Blinding Isle
Predecessor Organization
Demonym
Citizens; Snatchers
Government System
Oligarchy
Economic System
Command/Planned economy
Currency
While there is no recognized currency in a system where the state provides the needs of the people, in instances of personal trade barter/exchange of favors is utilized. The Citizenry consider this a form of gift giving rather than an economic exchange, and it is extremely rude (friendship-endingly so) to ask or demand a gift without offering another in return.
Official State Religion
Parent Organization
Location
Controlled Territories
Related Ethnicities
Comments
Author's Notes
Same notes apply to here as to the Pure Ones. I do not believe what these people believe, I am trying to make a point.