R
Revision
Guest
Original poster
The World Within These Walls
Earth. 2035 C.E.
[DASH=turquoise]
Excerpt from the journal of Elizabeth MacKenzie, June 15th, 1035
I spent today doing the laundry. By the time I was done, I didn't really have much of a chance to get anything else done. I have never, in my life, had to hand wash laundry. If the walls had never gone up, I might never have had to. But the machine is broken and it will be at least two weeks til the store's requisition for the part I need goes through. Even then, I might not get it. Those supply trucks are pretty good about having the bare necessities, but anything more tends to get lost or somehow ends up on a truck to the wrong town. Something.
The Kareema say that we need to get used to living life without, that we've lost our connection to our own planet. That's why, they say, they are acting as stewards. That might go over a lot better if they hadn't decimated all the major cities on the planet almost 23 years ago.
[/DASH]
[DASH=pale turquoise]It has been 23 years since the Kareema came to Earth. They arrived on October 31st, 2012, and offered the world peace. They said we had done poorly as custodians of our planet, using our resources without thought, warring over religions and other silly ideals, and treating our ill like they themselves were a plague. They offered to teach us their ways. Then they said that they were going to install themselves around the world as stewards of the Earth, making the major decisions until we learned how.
The major powers were not happy. They launched attacks on the Kareema ships. The Kareema fought back. Some say they shed tears as they destroyed New York. Some say that they laughed when London fell. No one really cares what they felt when they wiped Detroit off the map. The world powers fell. The major cities were made ruin. The weapons installations were destroyed. Earth was left helpless under the full magnificence of alien invasion. The date was December 21st, 2012.
Then the cordons went up. Every remaining settlement was fenced off. Those who lived there and were out of town and still alive were slowly rounded up and brought back. In most cases. Some just settled where they were. Farms were allowed to remain, but forced to comply with sustainability standards. All human vehicles were recycled. We walk in the settlements. We have no need for the vehicles.
Alien transports bring supplies to the Cordoned Zones. Even so, many things we thought we couldn't live without have been deemed unnecessary. Particularly plastic things. As our shoddy, made to fail technology and toys do just that, there are no easy replacements. Of course, we also had to learn to live without cellphones and the internet. People relearned the art of writing letters very quickly. It was the best way to communicate with other Cordoned Zones. It was practically the only way.
There were a few uprisings at first. They were quickly suppressed and the rest of us fell in line. More and more people claim that the Kareema were right. Humanity was flawed and the world, under the custody of the Kareema, was becoming a lush, beautiful planet once more. Some claim that, had we let them be our environmental caretakers in the first place, we'd still have a planet of moderate convenience and freedom. Most just chafe against the fact that we'd have been invaded either way.
The biggest influence aside from the fences are the prisons. Generally, the Kareema don't interfere inside the Cordoned Zone except to hold sustainability and tech classes. (They say once we master their technology, we can start to use it and make it. That maybe the cordons will come down.) However, the prisons are completely Kareema run now. The cell doors are open, because the prisoners don't want to leave. No one knows why. Brainwashing, most suspect, or perhaps the Kareema have an interesting psychological way of getting them to stay. Some don't even leave when their term of imprisonment is up.
It's been twenty-three years. We try to focus on the daily life, the here and now. Sometimes, something exciting happens. Normally, we have to make our own fun and excitement. There are still firemen, police (the only part of the justice system not Kareema), and corrupt politicians. There are still stores and parks and people on bikes and skateboards. There are still hospitals and computers and private networks, though the internet is gone. Life is not nearly as convenient. But its also not really that different. People are still people, and that may never change...[/DASH]
Plot:
You live in the town of Argusville, in what was once Virginia. It is the near future, with a generally lower convenience and tech level than that of today. The year is 2035 and the Earth is run by the Kareema, greenskinned aliens who most resemble fantasy orcs. They call themselves the Stewards and are determined to bring accountability and sustainability to Earth. Major cities are gone, towns fenced off and guarded. You are a townsperson, trying to live your life in a changing world. You may have been born into it, you may have lived in the pre-invasion world and be older, or you may have been one of the few who was kept in frozen stasis, wealthy and hoping you'd be thawed one day. Thus, you might be brand new to this world. No matter who you are, you've accepted the fact that this is the way the world is now. You just want to live your life as best you can.
The Rules:
1) No firearms. We can safely assume those are gone from the town.
2) No access to alien tech outside of classes.
3) There are no cellphones, there is no internet. There are two local radio stations, however.
4) Contrary to what might be thought, there are still people hanging on to wealth. Slowly, it doesn't matter as much. There is no stock market, there is no major trading, there are no oil cartels.
5) No, you cannot play a super genius.
6) No, you cannot play a rebel.
7) No, you cannot play a sociopath, psychopath, or unreformed violent criminal.
8) If you vanish for more than a week, I WILL hijack your character until you return, so please don't join if you expect to just vanish.
9) You absolutely cannot play a Kareemin or a hybrid. Humans only.
You can use any layout for character sheets you prefer. However, include the following:
Name:
Description:
Age:
Job:
Pre-invasion job: (if applicable and different)
History:
Personality: