"Man is least himself when he talks in his own person. Give him a mask and he will tell you the truth." -Oscar Wilde
Picture this, a world much like ours. Filled with florescent lights and the din of cities. The many figures of history and wars, the libraries filled with books and lights dimming the very stars. Technology has allowed much for human kind, for the greatness of peace and the horrors of war. Armor, weapons, cyber warfare loomed in a shadow held off by the lights that struggled weakly. Nations stood poised for war. But then Carlais rose up as a place for peace and opportunity, a place of necessity amidst hostilities. People there flourished in safety and security. Nations met, peace was bartered.
But it was a lie.
The most powerful, the most influential, the brightest minds. All gathered in the Grand Court of Carlais, to begin a meeting with Lord Solaris and Lady Dianah of Carlais. Regents of the free standing city. Guards were at the door, all was quite within The Spire. The twining tower, a pinnacle of architecture. A palace of the modern era, and it let few who entered it's spacious halls come back out the same. For after that meeting which was to bring peace, each person came out with every hair in place. Eyes bright with what they had witnessed, smiles supposedly upon their faces. Moving much like puppets on strings no one could see.
And each wore a mask of either silver or gold. Moon or sun. Each returned to their country and there was peace. Sturdy and sound. But it spread, peace was not just enough. Soon the masks were common place within the city. Everyone had a category, and everyone fit into it. Rebellions surged up against this, declaring it against the rights and liberties the citizens have. Against human nature. Claiming it was wrong. They had no idea just how wrong it was, their cause was just and true. But they had no idea what they were dealing with, thus they were crushed asunder. Scattered to the fringes of the city, where buildings were dilapidated and crumbling as it's inhabitants were beneath the notice of their Masked leaders. Here rebels and homeless dwelled. The rejects and dredges of society. Those who were criminals in the way many would know, such as drug dealers, thieves, murderers, roaming gangs. But there was another group of rejects that was unlike the world before, those with cracked masks, those without masks.
Those without masks were not so uncommon. Maskless children were the very young, and even then the parent would often buy plain masks of plaster for their children to grow use to wearing. Even then, if the mask was cracked (Or worse, broken completely) the child was shunned by their peers and scolded harshly. But at the age of seven, all children were wearing the white paster masks for that was the year they would gain their own mask with a unique design. The irreplaceable one. The one, that if broke, would never be whole again. After this point friendships were by color, what they were was a color based on their defining feature of their personality. A nice neat little package of a person. If a mask cracked they were simply the lesser. They could not take care of themselves, thus what place did they have standing in front of their betters? Better to give them a low ranking job of no importance (and little salary), and let a worthy candidate with a whole mask take their place. If it was a teen the teachers merely ghosted over any effort they put in. Group projects left them alone, parents would look at them in disappointment. If there was a accident? The masks that were whole were saved and treated first. If there was a trail? The one with a whole mask was more believable. If that mask broke, they lost everything. Family, friends, lovers, jobs. Many took their own lives if the mask broke utterly, shamed and rejected by all of society. But it was so much worse than simply that. Those without their mask were "dealt with, so their taint would not interrupt proper folk." (-Quote from Lady Dianah during the last of the rebellions)
It was not a kind existence. But it was so, so years passed. Decades, and the mask was firmly in place upon society. But little groups of rebellion popped up among the city. Those that did not agree with the Lord and Lady. Though decades had passed and it was assumed a new Lord Solaris and Lady Dianah sat within the Spire, no change had come from their hand since the beginning and the putting down of the rebellions. Rebels were still imprisoned, and those without a mask were rounded up and sent off to work in mines and fields outside of Carlais. Those who did crimes, or were accused of crime, were sent to prison. The rebellion fought against this, against all of it. At it's head, was Phoenix Richards. Leading grueilla tactics and raids to free the imprisoned workers from the labor camps, and smuggling the Plain Faces (PF) out of the city. Destesting the terms Mask, and Maskless. But he was not alone, Julia Peters (A school teacher) worked with a smuggling ring of concerned citizens to get innocent children out of the city. Not wanting part with the rebellion she refused her aid but sent the children to them. The only safety she knew outside of the city, and even then it could spell their death.
Various other faces decorated the underworld fighting against the oppression of the masks, but they are grossly out numbered and fighting a battle where they loose more people each day. But miracles still happened, orders would get mixed up. Information was fed through networks of hackers. The MAM (Masked Against Masks) was one such group and the most successful. But beyond them was a hacker known only as 'P43' or Pae. They worked alone, and were so successful in aiding the rebellion, their word was law and went beyond question. A few men were lost here and there, most likely to cover Pae's tracks but it was a small price against the income of medicine, food, and saved PFs. It kept hunting drones going over their camps and from reporting them, it kept cameras turned from them when they slipped through the city or labor camps.
You, are a child. A teen or young adult, ranging from age 14 to 19 years old. You are in this society as a teen and witness what goes on about you. What will you do about it? Aid the rebels? Smuggle people out, or weed out these threats to your nation. Anyone interested? There's additional information below.
Picture this, a world much like ours. Filled with florescent lights and the din of cities. The many figures of history and wars, the libraries filled with books and lights dimming the very stars. Technology has allowed much for human kind, for the greatness of peace and the horrors of war. Armor, weapons, cyber warfare loomed in a shadow held off by the lights that struggled weakly. Nations stood poised for war. But then Carlais rose up as a place for peace and opportunity, a place of necessity amidst hostilities. People there flourished in safety and security. Nations met, peace was bartered.
But it was a lie.
The most powerful, the most influential, the brightest minds. All gathered in the Grand Court of Carlais, to begin a meeting with Lord Solaris and Lady Dianah of Carlais. Regents of the free standing city. Guards were at the door, all was quite within The Spire. The twining tower, a pinnacle of architecture. A palace of the modern era, and it let few who entered it's spacious halls come back out the same. For after that meeting which was to bring peace, each person came out with every hair in place. Eyes bright with what they had witnessed, smiles supposedly upon their faces. Moving much like puppets on strings no one could see.
And each wore a mask of either silver or gold. Moon or sun. Each returned to their country and there was peace. Sturdy and sound. But it spread, peace was not just enough. Soon the masks were common place within the city. Everyone had a category, and everyone fit into it. Rebellions surged up against this, declaring it against the rights and liberties the citizens have. Against human nature. Claiming it was wrong. They had no idea just how wrong it was, their cause was just and true. But they had no idea what they were dealing with, thus they were crushed asunder. Scattered to the fringes of the city, where buildings were dilapidated and crumbling as it's inhabitants were beneath the notice of their Masked leaders. Here rebels and homeless dwelled. The rejects and dredges of society. Those who were criminals in the way many would know, such as drug dealers, thieves, murderers, roaming gangs. But there was another group of rejects that was unlike the world before, those with cracked masks, those without masks.
Those without masks were not so uncommon. Maskless children were the very young, and even then the parent would often buy plain masks of plaster for their children to grow use to wearing. Even then, if the mask was cracked (Or worse, broken completely) the child was shunned by their peers and scolded harshly. But at the age of seven, all children were wearing the white paster masks for that was the year they would gain their own mask with a unique design. The irreplaceable one. The one, that if broke, would never be whole again. After this point friendships were by color, what they were was a color based on their defining feature of their personality. A nice neat little package of a person. If a mask cracked they were simply the lesser. They could not take care of themselves, thus what place did they have standing in front of their betters? Better to give them a low ranking job of no importance (and little salary), and let a worthy candidate with a whole mask take their place. If it was a teen the teachers merely ghosted over any effort they put in. Group projects left them alone, parents would look at them in disappointment. If there was a accident? The masks that were whole were saved and treated first. If there was a trail? The one with a whole mask was more believable. If that mask broke, they lost everything. Family, friends, lovers, jobs. Many took their own lives if the mask broke utterly, shamed and rejected by all of society. But it was so much worse than simply that. Those without their mask were "dealt with, so their taint would not interrupt proper folk." (-Quote from Lady Dianah during the last of the rebellions)
It was not a kind existence. But it was so, so years passed. Decades, and the mask was firmly in place upon society. But little groups of rebellion popped up among the city. Those that did not agree with the Lord and Lady. Though decades had passed and it was assumed a new Lord Solaris and Lady Dianah sat within the Spire, no change had come from their hand since the beginning and the putting down of the rebellions. Rebels were still imprisoned, and those without a mask were rounded up and sent off to work in mines and fields outside of Carlais. Those who did crimes, or were accused of crime, were sent to prison. The rebellion fought against this, against all of it. At it's head, was Phoenix Richards. Leading grueilla tactics and raids to free the imprisoned workers from the labor camps, and smuggling the Plain Faces (PF) out of the city. Destesting the terms Mask, and Maskless. But he was not alone, Julia Peters (A school teacher) worked with a smuggling ring of concerned citizens to get innocent children out of the city. Not wanting part with the rebellion she refused her aid but sent the children to them. The only safety she knew outside of the city, and even then it could spell their death.
Various other faces decorated the underworld fighting against the oppression of the masks, but they are grossly out numbered and fighting a battle where they loose more people each day. But miracles still happened, orders would get mixed up. Information was fed through networks of hackers. The MAM (Masked Against Masks) was one such group and the most successful. But beyond them was a hacker known only as 'P43' or Pae. They worked alone, and were so successful in aiding the rebellion, their word was law and went beyond question. A few men were lost here and there, most likely to cover Pae's tracks but it was a small price against the income of medicine, food, and saved PFs. It kept hunting drones going over their camps and from reporting them, it kept cameras turned from them when they slipped through the city or labor camps.
You, are a child. A teen or young adult, ranging from age 14 to 19 years old. You are in this society as a teen and witness what goes on about you. What will you do about it? Aid the rebels? Smuggle people out, or weed out these threats to your nation. Anyone interested? There's additional information below.
