Although devastating among mankind, the last world war allowed for many technological and scientific advancements. The greatest accomplishment made by the American scientists was being able to figure out a formula for liquid emotions. This was then used against the enemies, subduing them and ending the war. However, the damage was already too great, and humanity would never be the same again. America took what was left of its population and moved everyone into New York City. They began selling these new liquid emotions to raise morale, until the government began to grow more and more sinister.
Through the use of these bottled emotions and their carefully watched distribution, the government had successfully overtaken everything. They controlled anything from what shoes you would buy, to who you’d marry, to even how loyal you were towards the system that ran you. The emotions leaked however, and soon exploded into the black market, running rampant throughout society. Whatever concealer humanity had used to cover its troubles has long since crumbled, and the liquid feelings have become near inseparable from the average individual.
The government cut off most communication with the outskirts of the city in an attempt to retain what control they could, and the now abandoned outskirts have fallen into disarray. People would buy emotions to delude themselves, blind both themselves and others to the problems they faced in life- a criminal could escape punishment by slipping his jailers empathy, an unrequited flush could manipulate their crush right into their arms with a dose of love- emotions were used so frequently in cases, that nothing of the individual’s personality seemed to even remain. It was the social normality to have some dose of emotion at least daily, government prescribed or illegally bought.
Though the inner city remains under careful inspection, the chaotic lenience of the outer city has given rise to a group who have every intention of putting an end to the use of these emotion drugs- a group that is slowly becoming a full blown rebellion.
The inner city is where the most underhanded corruption takes place-the problems of society going largely unnoticed by its population. The government still has a tight grip on the ongoings here, and the “illegal” trade of emotions is very limited, though the legal distribution is vast. Taking emotion is so much of a social normality in this district that those who don’t take emotion are looked upon differently- often treated as if they are overly delicate, or children- as those who take emotion simply cannot understand their emotional struggles, or their “wild claims” of society's failings. The city itself is relatively clean, and equipped with all sorts modern conveniences such as public transport, GPS, tidy movie theaters, etc. Some might say it’s a very sheltered place, in which case, they would be correct.
The outer city is considerably more violent than the inner, where liquid emotions run in lower quantity, and only the wealthiest individuals in the area can afford it in any large amount. Here, many more see and acknowledge their corrupt community, but aren’t in much of a position to do anything about it, as they engage in fist fights for the mere act of keeping hold of your own fairly bought food if irritated enough. Those without emotion are still looked down upon, less as children, and more as society's rejects- a waste of resources and space- as they have a harder time dealing with the reality that surrounds them. The government, while still a presence here, has largely given way to the overwhelming illegal trading system that resides here. The city itself is quite run down, with more litter than walkway at times. It has only a few modern conveniences such as radios, working restrooms, land lines, shitty satellite television, etc.
Not yet an actual rebellion, but rather an ever growing group of people with the wish to put an end to the widespread distribution and use of liquid emotion. Though this group does occasionally accomplish dangerous feats such as the theft and destruction of emotion in transport, they have no clear figurehead, and have accomplished very little in the grand scheme.
