- Posting Speed
- 1-3 posts per week
- One post per week
- Slow As Molasses
- Writing Levels
- Adaptable
- Preferred Character Gender
- No Preferences
- Genres
- Science Fiction, Fantasy, Science Fantasy, Dark Fantasy, Historical, Shounen-ai and Shoujo-ai, Psychological, Steampunk and... well, I'm actually up for most kinds of role plays.
As long as you are useful to society, society will be there for you. It will tenderly hold you in its arms, nurture you and raise you, before it gives you a gentle push into the world of adulthood. Even then, the system will keep a watchful eye on you. When you're sick you will be given medical care; if you're hungry food won't be far away. If you're in a pinch, society will reach you a helping hand, and if you're in need of money, it will give you a loan. Yet as soon as you are no longer useful to society, it will coldly turn its back on you and pretend you were never even there in the first place. Society isn't kind, it isn't gentle and it doesn't care for you as an individual. It is an enormous machine, a living organism in its own right. You are nothing but a tiny cog in this machine; worth nothing, easily disposable. So what happens when human labor (physical and brain) for the most part, is no longer required? What happens to the individual, when Humans Need Not Apply?
H I S T O R Y
It really did seem like the end.
And yet it didn't end. If there is one thing we humans are, it has to be persistent. We have long since abandoned the concept of adapting to nature; for hundreds, or even thousands of decades we have made nature adapt to us. We can survive in even the harshest conditions; for whilst we are small and weak, we are also versatile and creative. Much like cockroaches, humanity would be terribly hard to get rid off.
The name of the city is Eden, originally a paradise for the social and financial elite created in the middle of Hong Kong. We had been prepared for this outcome, and a world summit was the front for gathering all the world's important political figures within the cities walls; big name stars were flown off in their private jets, and when all who were listed were accounted for had been gathered, Eden was booted up into full swing.
In less than fifty years, Eden has become the most technologically advanced city in the world. Forty-two percent of the population are drafted into special schools to train for the research and development jobs. Ten percent work for Isenberg Constructions, always looking for new ways to expand for bigger living quarters and more comfortable lifestyles. Fourteen percent are medical professionals or officers of the law—either in policing or military. Twelve percent are in the greenhouses working with agriculture to feed the city—Bioware Incorporated (BI for short) helped develop the cloning method used on the livestock to produce meat as fast as we consume it. Sixteen percent of us are in the markets, selling homemade, contraband, to scrape by. The remaining six percent of the are political figures.
The only problem with this calculation is that it only accounts for about eighty-four percent of the actual population. The slum dwellers have long since been excluded as eligible citizens of Eden.
S O C I A L ▽ C L A S S E S
- The Elite
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Eden is supposedly a Democracy, and most citizens truly believe this is the case. While it is true that politicians are elected (and basically anyone can become a politician, it is just not generally recommended to just about anyone), and the president is the one who officially holds the most power – they are not the ones who pull the strings. Behind the fancy show they put at display for the public, are mull billionaire corporations, companies and insituations. They are the puppet masters, alpha dogs and true rulers of Eden.
Just about as heavily reliant on technology as the middle class, the Elite live in outmost class and luxury. They have access to services, privileges, technology and even locations the general public does not, The Elite live mostly separated from the middle class, although still interact with them on a superficial level. The majority of the Elite is just as oblivious to what goes on in the slums existence as the middle class; although there is a significant number of individuals who aren't.
While being part of the Eliete means you live extremely comfortably, it isn't without its dangers. Some of the companies have some pretty extreme rivalries going on, and none of them is completely free of dirt. It is a glamorous lifestyle, but it is also a life style where you're expected to walk across corpses without batting an eye, and have to be aware of which poison will kill you the quickest.
Here, wealth, status and materialism is everything.
- Middle Class
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Although the middle class is fairly equal, there is a slight difference in status between households depending on what you work with. In the upper scale of the hierarchy are the brilliant minds who keep society in development. So scientists, software developers, robotics, civil engineers etc. Working for the military or security service also grants you a rather high status. After scientists and engineers come scholars/teachers, doctors, lawyers etc. The farthest down in the line and also usually the poorest, are those who run their own businesses or try to make money in a different way. These are rather few, as Eden aims to push all of middle class citizens through education.
Depending on your grades when you graduate school, they will be given different qualifications in different fields. Students with tb Everyone wants to work for a large corporation, since it means gaining a nicer and more comfortable life style. In other words, the smarter (academically) you are, the brighter is your future. Amongst teenagers and children there are myths and rumors that 'slackers' who aren't good enough to get a job at a high profile company, run the risk of 'disappearing'. It is rather unlikely that this is true, but many still don't wish to risk it.
The Middle Class citizens are the most oblivious of social classes. They are raised in a system they believe to be perfect, and live to produce, invent and consume. They are heavily reliant on technology, and most likely don't know anything outside the little bubble they call life. As long as long as they are living comfortably and have enough entertainment to keep boredom at bay; few see any reason to question the system. The fact that they exist under mass surveillance and live under fairly controlled circumstances doesn't bother them, as it's the only thing they've ever known. The word 'integrity' has long since lost its meaning.
The crime rate in the middle class area is extremely low, since they live in such a monitored society. You can practically leave your handbag on a park bench, and when you return a few hours later it is still there. All citizens of Eden have a chip implanted in their neck. It can, amongst other things like track you at all time; measure your heart rate, hormone levels, other changes in the body etc. and then pinpoint for example illnesses (mental and physical), stress levels, mood etc. This information is then transferred to a huge database in the center of the city. Every citizen has a digital companion of their own design; a teacher, advisor, guide, assistant and sometimes even 'friend'. If the chip detects that you are sick or extremely stressed, for example, it will notify you and give you advise in what you should do about it. It is capable of entertaining children, assisting when it comes to seeking information on the internet, answer questions, send emails, play music, help you choose your charier path based on statistics etc. It should be noted that the companion is not a physical invention, but a software installed on all your electronic gadgets. It can literarily follow you everywhere.
It should be noted that whilst there isn't necessarily a huge difference between middle citizens, those of slightly higher status due to their job may have access to areas and resources other middle class members do not. They also most likely earn more money, though no middle class citizen could really be referred to as poor. Middle Class Citizens are not completely unaware of the slums, they rarely approach them. The notion of decease and poverty isn't exactly appealing. Middle class citizens generally look down at the slum dwellers, and generally choose to turn a blind eye on the unpleasantries.
- Slum Dwellers
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Thanks to the technological evolution, most humans have become useless to society. With a population as large as ours, this is quite a problem. Whilst human resources are plenty, natural resources have become scarce. Society has turned its back on these people, and they are outcasts in their own right.
In the slums anarchy, crime, famine, illness and poverty rule. In general the slums are far less technologically advanced than then the elite and middle class. Clean water, medicine and even proper food are considered pure luxuries. Here it is survival for the fittest, and the chances that you won't live to experience the following day are quite high. Whilst money does exist within the slums, it is rather rare and only used by few. Trade and barter, if not theft, murder or threat, is the way to get by here. There are only few people who will accept money, and they usually have some form of secret contact with people from the middle or high class districts.
The slums are separated from the rest of the city walls. You can't enter the middle class and elite districts without specific passports or certificate. If you try to sneak inside, there's an extremely high risk that you'll be killed. There is only one way someone born in the slums will ever get to see the inside of the city up close: slavery or becoming a mercenary.
- Slaves and Mercenaries
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In this day and age, slavery, human trafficking and prostitution have become common practice. The middle and for the most part upper class members, are completely unaware of this. It is still a black market of sorts, but pretty much all of the politicians and other elite members are aware of it. In fact, it is thanks to them this system exists. From time to time it may happen that someone from the slums gets an offer by an elite member. They sign a contract, and in exchange for their freedom and obedience, are fed and given a place to stay. It isn't all that unusual for parents to sell one or more of their children, as deals may sometimes involve but are not limited to food, medicine or even a citizenship within the walls. Abduction and forcing people of the slums into slavery isn't uncommon either, however. The only requirement for a person from the slums to become a slave, is desirability. As most (but not all) are used for sex, it should be a given.
Mercenaries aren't too different from slaves. They, too, work for the elite, exchanging their services for either resources or a citizenship. Most mercenaries serve as hitmen/assassins or spies (the elite have eyes everywhere. Even within the slums). Other mercenaries may be involved in human trafficking, trafficking in drugs etc. Mercenaries tend to work in secret, although really it does depend on what they're actually doing. While they do retrain their rights to some extent, the elite views them as nothing more than tools, and won't hesitate to dispose of individuals failing to do their job correctly. Most mercenaries live under heavy surveillance, and the 'freedom' they retrain could be seen as a mere illusion.
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