Interest Check
Our shining metropolis is a jewel which many planetside cities fail to emulate. We come from many walks of life, but all of us are now proud citizens of Byzantium -- the city that floats among the stars. Inside the massively domed space station is a technologically advanced utopia. Per legislative order, all citizens have undergone full brain cyberization, allowing convenient access to the central net without a mobile device or computer. Ten years have passed since Byzantium became an official city. The people are in a transient state of bliss. Whatever hell you came from on Earth doesn't matter anymore.
To you, Byzantium is a heavenly nirvana. Of course it's not without its flaws, but those parts of the city are well sectioned off. Unless you live in those areas. Well, even then it's not so bad. Shit, would you rather be back on that radioactive dust ball? Trying to survive the anarchistic chaos that brutalized the planet for over 50 years? Just be glad you were a healthy specimen that passed their screening process at one of those fortified outpost facilities. I bet you're happy that you steered clear from the more radioactive hazard zones. Would've cost you the golden ticket.
Enjoy the fruits of your labor.
They've given you a job based on your skills and psych-analysis tests, placing you in the lifestyle they feel you're best qualified to live. We're like one big community up here. Everyone does their part in making Byzantium run. Everyone.
So don't fuck this up.
Just go with the flow and everything will be okay...right? I mean...yeah, people have been acting real fucking strange lately. It's probably a worm or a trojan going around again. Had one just like this back in the 5th year. People started acting up until the government released a mass vaccination upgrade into our central nervous systems. It turned out that a lot of people weren't compatible with the vaccine they uploaded. Those poor bastards died instantly. But don't worry. They've run mock patches in the years since and made their results public. Only three deaths total!
So yeah, a patch from centralnet should be coming by the end of the week. In the meantime, don't be a dumbass and open any mail from people you don't know. Shit don't open anything period, at least until this blows over. Comprende?
Plot: The year is 2089. You're a Byzantium citizen that is either acclimated, or getting acclimated to your new life onboard the utopian space city. A flu in the form of brain malware is causing erratic behavior to those who open specific messages. Victims are known to have psychotic and violent outbursts. Much to your use of common sense, you screen the ones that are potentially hazardous messages. For a moment in time, you remain safe in your little bubble...until the vaccination patch is mass-released to the public. Then whatever hell you thought you escaped from on Earth will pale in comparison to the horrors that await you on Byzantium.
To you, Byzantium is a heavenly nirvana. Of course it's not without its flaws, but those parts of the city are well sectioned off. Unless you live in those areas. Well, even then it's not so bad. Shit, would you rather be back on that radioactive dust ball? Trying to survive the anarchistic chaos that brutalized the planet for over 50 years? Just be glad you were a healthy specimen that passed their screening process at one of those fortified outpost facilities. I bet you're happy that you steered clear from the more radioactive hazard zones. Would've cost you the golden ticket.
Enjoy the fruits of your labor.
They've given you a job based on your skills and psych-analysis tests, placing you in the lifestyle they feel you're best qualified to live. We're like one big community up here. Everyone does their part in making Byzantium run. Everyone.
So don't fuck this up.
Just go with the flow and everything will be okay...right? I mean...yeah, people have been acting real fucking strange lately. It's probably a worm or a trojan going around again. Had one just like this back in the 5th year. People started acting up until the government released a mass vaccination upgrade into our central nervous systems. It turned out that a lot of people weren't compatible with the vaccine they uploaded. Those poor bastards died instantly. But don't worry. They've run mock patches in the years since and made their results public. Only three deaths total!
So yeah, a patch from centralnet should be coming by the end of the week. In the meantime, don't be a dumbass and open any mail from people you don't know. Shit don't open anything period, at least until this blows over. Comprende?
Plot: The year is 2089. You're a Byzantium citizen that is either acclimated, or getting acclimated to your new life onboard the utopian space city. A flu in the form of brain malware is causing erratic behavior to those who open specific messages. Victims are known to have psychotic and violent outbursts. Much to your use of common sense, you screen the ones that are potentially hazardous messages. For a moment in time, you remain safe in your little bubble...until the vaccination patch is mass-released to the public. Then whatever hell you thought you escaped from on Earth will pale in comparison to the horrors that await you on Byzantium.
Population: 5.2 Million
Orbit Height: 599 km
Launch Date: 2078
Manufacturer: Aldridge Industries, Synaptix Corp,
United Hedge Fund, & Austere Manufacturing
Navigation
Byzantium's hexagonal points are used as directional references, going clockwise starting with The Beacon (the bright skyscrapers on the eastside). Each Point takes up a good radius of the outer rim. Downtown is considered the central area where all points converge.
Info: The central hub where all government personnel and important figure heads stay. This section is essentially warded off from the rest of Byzantium, but they have been known to personally allow select citizens to attend conventions and festive celebrations. Some citizens get the rare opportunity to move up from their current station to become a member of Beacon's high society.
Info:Where most of the minerals and other goods get processed. This sector is entirely dedicated to the labor workforce that makes sure the proper materials excavated from earth are appropriately handled. These type of jobs are mainly assigned to Outward citizens.
info: The only entrance to and from the outside wall of Byzantium. Citizens from the outward district must go through this checkpoint if their jobs are located in the city. Large cargo shipments of rare earth minerals excavated by mining sentries pass by here, shipping out to various parts of the city to be further processed.
Info: An entire section is dedicated to the well-being and livelihood of Byzantium's finest citizens. Various recreational activities are found here, but Greater Downtown is the place to be.
Info: Reminiscent of the urban lifestyle of earth's once vibrant and fun cities. There are a number of things to do here. Music concerts, Graviskate games, Night Clubs, Art Festivals, Arcade Halls. You name it, they have it.
Info: Those who do not get assigned a station within the greater Byzantium area are forced to live in its outskirts. The Byzantium Police Force (BPF) keep the peace for the most part. Violent crimes are treated with zero tolerance. All forms of assault require rehabilitation at the nearest psych ward outpost. If you are tried for murder, you will be apprehended and judged accordingly.
Built off the foundation of a derelict Space Station, Byzantium is the result of a protocol carried out by a group of great minds and powerful people. Its construction was kept discreet; manufactured in secured locations scattered across the globe before rocketing off into space. By the time the world had collapsed into chaos, Byzantium's framework was nearly complete. With the tremendous aid from AI sentry work droids, the city among the stars was finished in 15 years. Its completion brought in the next step: recruitment. Obliged to aid the unfortunate souls scouring the savage lands of earth, the Buildmasters activated all fortified outposts across the globe. Those who were deemed worthy of joining them were given a safe haven, a new life, and an opportunity to live the rest of their days in happiness.
Governor Aldridge leads a cabinet of men who were either the Buildmasters, or descendants of them, in his rule over Byzantium. They operate strictly out of The Beacon sector, and rarely make live appearances. They oversee all forms of legislation, mainly procured and analyzed by designated AI. There is no democracy.
Most of the police force is composed of AI. Sentry patrollers of all shapes and sizes watch over the massive space metropolis like silent guardians. There is a small percentage of humans that are in the force as well; the chiefs of each point are usually human, and there are a select few who become lead detectives, or swat officers. Human officers always supersede Sentry AI. All BP Officers are equipped with stun or concussive weapons. Firearms of any kind are prohibited.
People have been known to fake the psych-tests and pass as good-natured citizens when they're really cold hearted bastards. The crime rate in the outward district is a testament to that. Byzantium's justice system is pretty straightforward. They'll attempt to rehabilitate you for soft crimes, but murder is handled immediately. An appointed judge from Beacon weighs in on the final verdict after all manners of evidence are presented to him by the BPF. You are clear of charges if there is concrete proof of self-defense, otherwise you're either executed and harvested for organs, shot out as space junk, or mindswept (basically a reprogramed shell of your former self).
People have been known to fake the psych-tests and pass as good-natured citizens when they're really cold hearted bastards. The crime rate in the outward district is a testament to that. Byzantium's justice system is pretty straightforward. They'll attempt to rehabilitate you for soft crimes, but murder is handled immediately. An appointed judge from Beacon weighs in on the final verdict after all manners of evidence are presented to him by the BPF. You are clear of charges if there is concrete proof of self-defense, otherwise you're either executed and harvested for organs, shot out as space junk, or mindswept (basically a reprogramed shell of your former self).
The 18 core members of Byzantium's inception are composed of scientists, politicians, and several wealthy businessmen. Only 12 have managed to see its completion, and only 7 are currently in office. The current seven are well known figures in the public, but they rarely, if at all, make appearances outside of the Beacon.
A delicate procedure done planetside in the Byzantium fortified outposts after successfully passing all tests and exams. It cannot be done manually and needs the pinpoint accuracy of surgical AI. The brain and spine are encased in a chemically altered gelatinous fluid. Microscopic nanites are then injected to install conduction nodes along the cerebrum, and central and autonomic nervous systems. The rest of the examination is spent connecting an extra layer of cybertronics to these nodes that also acts as a thin casing. A battery of tests are further conducted to ensure full synchronicity between data and consciousness.
Successful link up with Byzantium's centralnet has you fully immersed in an interactive hub at the wink of an eye. Everything ever done on handheld mobile devices or desktops can now be accessed with a thought. What makes this an incredible experience is how it also can engage all of your senses. Many businesses thrive off of enhancing your cyberization experience; video games and adult film industries are the top powerhouses of the market to date.
Specific locations around Byzantium can effect people within a certain radius. For instance, if anyone is within the vicinity of the graviskate arena in greater downtown, they'll be fed a stream of holograms that layer over their actual vision; everyone sees the exact same thing at the same time. If you're walking down the Residential sector's main street of small restaurants, just stand within a foot away from any eatery's building and a holographic menu will prop up. A 3D image of each menu item will flash before your eyes, accompanied by their respective aromas.
Successful link up with Byzantium's centralnet has you fully immersed in an interactive hub at the wink of an eye. Everything ever done on handheld mobile devices or desktops can now be accessed with a thought. What makes this an incredible experience is how it also can engage all of your senses. Many businesses thrive off of enhancing your cyberization experience; video games and adult film industries are the top powerhouses of the market to date.
Specific locations around Byzantium can effect people within a certain radius. For instance, if anyone is within the vicinity of the graviskate arena in greater downtown, they'll be fed a stream of holograms that layer over their actual vision; everyone sees the exact same thing at the same time. If you're walking down the Residential sector's main street of small restaurants, just stand within a foot away from any eatery's building and a holographic menu will prop up. A 3D image of each menu item will flash before your eyes, accompanied by their respective aromas.
Where criminals go to get rehabilitated. You are rigged up against a diagnostic machine that will determine the level of treatment required. Most offenders leave as renewed people, but citizens with a heavy record may experience an altered personality all together. These facilities are the closest things to prisons on Byzantium.
The most popular sport in Byzantium that is broadcasted year round. The main arena is in greater downtown, but several sectors have smaller venues for regional tournaments. Two teams of five players each are put in a transparent sphere that is about a hundred yards in diameter. There are two goals, one for each opposing team. Within each goal is a baton that a defender must protect. If the opposing team grabs the baton and brings it back to their goal, they score a point (capture the flag).
What makes this sport popular is the clever use of holographic cyberization, zero gravity, and rocket thrusters. Not only can the landscape change at anytime, but players have specific roles (Warrior, Healer, Archer, Wizard, Thief) which in turn gives them special attributes granted within the confines of the sphere. For instance, a warrior player will be far more durable ramming through the opposing defense than a wizard would. And an archer has a better chance at throwing the baton from long range to the goalie than a healer. The wizard can momentarily stun opposing players he can tag, and the thief can use stealth camouflage for a small duration. The zero gravity allows for a more multi-dimensional strategy, and the rocket thrusters equipped on players backs and feet adds to the intensity.
Notes:
-To retrieve a baton stolen from the opposing player, you must physically take it out of their hands. Actual striking is not permitted and you will be given a penalty if you assault another player. That doesn't mean there aren't other ways to rough them up.
-Players have a three dimensional plane to roam around in, but holographic obstacles, levels, and power ups are scattered across the playing field.
What makes this sport popular is the clever use of holographic cyberization, zero gravity, and rocket thrusters. Not only can the landscape change at anytime, but players have specific roles (Warrior, Healer, Archer, Wizard, Thief) which in turn gives them special attributes granted within the confines of the sphere. For instance, a warrior player will be far more durable ramming through the opposing defense than a wizard would. And an archer has a better chance at throwing the baton from long range to the goalie than a healer. The wizard can momentarily stun opposing players he can tag, and the thief can use stealth camouflage for a small duration. The zero gravity allows for a more multi-dimensional strategy, and the rocket thrusters equipped on players backs and feet adds to the intensity.
Notes:
-To retrieve a baton stolen from the opposing player, you must physically take it out of their hands. Actual striking is not permitted and you will be given a penalty if you assault another player. That doesn't mean there aren't other ways to rough them up.
-Players have a three dimensional plane to roam around in, but holographic obstacles, levels, and power ups are scattered across the playing field.
They are the backbone of Byzantium. Created by the old Buildmaster Qadir Rahim, artificial intelligence is entirely obedient to humans. They perform countless duties and are about as saturated into the Byzantium lifestyle as the cyberization implants of its citizens. Most AI assume the role of hovering sentry units, but there are also biped machine workers. None of them have the capacity of 'human thought'
It's no longer a memory I can recall. It happened so many years ago...I surely don't remember how it all started. My nana would be able to, but she passed away twenty years ago.
Well, yes, yes, the radioactive zones suggest a nuclear fallout, which lead to the collapse of human civilization across the globe. Why? Everybody has their own theories. Some have even made religions out of it. Silly lot. Oh, what the hell does it all even matter anyways? All it brought with it was hell on earth. My nana used to tell me people from her time loved disaster movies. They loved post-apocalyptic tv shows and scenarios where everything they ever knew was gone and they had to survive on their own.
Try hunting in 107 degree heat for food that isn't riddled with plague, or a warped mutation that isn't leaking radioactive waste. How about sleeping with puss-riddled miscreants, just so you had shelter from the toxic sandstorms for a night? I bet they never showed a man eat his own waste because it was the only edible thing he had in a demolished city of ruins and death.
I don't know how I found The Harvest Community of Old San Francisco. There were plenty of places like that still left on the earth. Bless their hearts. Pains me to know that they're still down there now, trying to survive while I'm up here drinking expensive wine and sleeping with swimsuit models. I don't sleep much because of it; knowing that they're down there with the likes of cannibalistic marauders pepped up on salt minerals. God damn every last one of those soulless sons of bitches! The salt mineral was unearthed from a mining facility off the eastern seaboard of old America. It's planetside's most popular drug.
ByeBye, is what they called it. The nasty thing causes a massive boost of adrenaline into your system. If you don't suffer a cardiac episode, maniacal hysteria will settle in and you are lost within yourself. You're never the same after you take your first hit. The addicts were like monsters scouring the earth, preying on the weak. The things they did...
I was tired of it all. Then I heard from one of the townsfolk about these secret outposts littered all over the world. If you can make it past some sort of trial, they'd take you away from all this. If you didn't pass...it, it didn't matter at that point. Didn't even matter who [i]they were. If they were going to end up killing me then so be it. Either way, I wasn't planning on staying on this godforsaken planet any longer. So I went with fourteen others. Only three of us made it to the nearest outpost. These machines hovered toward us armed to the teeth. I never seen anything like it my whole life! They escorted us inside the facility after flashing some kind of scanner lights through us. That was the last time I saw the them before they separated us into different rooms. I can't even remember their names...
Machines. Only machines! Throughout my entire time spent there it was always with some sort of computer or AI. Always scanning me. Asking me questions. I heard the other two in the rooms next to me. They were screaming so loud. I was so scared of what they might do to me.
Then one night I was woken up from my bed and escorted to a surgical room. I remember resisting at one point, but they stunned me by the time I got onto the table. I woke up, and next thing you know...I was being transported into space toward Byzantium! Oh my god... You have no idea how relieved I was... I thought they were going to rip me apart or do some kind of horrific experiment on me.
But as soon as I entered the hangar bay, I realized that they did do something. I was introduced to a torrent of information that streamed all around me. My nana once told me about this thing called the internet, how you could listen to music, read, and watch all kinds of weird things through a handheld device. What I experienced was just like that, only there was no device! It was all in my head.
A customs officer greeted me (it felt so good to see a human again) and for the next couple of days, I was put into a tutorial of sorts where I learned how to use what they called my 'cyberized brain'. When I was given the green light, they transferred me over to Byzantium's employment facility where they ran more test. I was given a job downtown as a talent agent! Could you believe that?
The government found me a nice posh apartment in the best part of town. I've been living the dream ever since...I can't thank Governor Aldridge, the Buildmasters, and the Byzantium Government enough. Not only did they save my life, but they made it ten times better than I'd ever could have been.[/I]
Character Sheet saidand/or description
Name:
Age:
Height:
Weight:
Ethnicity:
Build: (Average, Mildly Athletic, Toothpick, BBW, etc.)
Personality: (Please include fears and weaknesses)
Job: (Unemployment is not an option. Get a job! :))
Residency: (Outward District, or any of the 6 points)
History: (Talk about your journey on earth before you found the Byzantium outpost that screened your entry
into utopia. Did anyone come with you? Did you leave anyone behind? What is your life like on Byzantium now?)
Other: (Any detail you feel will help flush your character out more)
NPCs (Optional)
Appearance:
Name:
Info:
Relationship: (How is your main character affiliated with this person)
1. You're limited to two main characters but can have multiple NPCs between them.
2. Don't be mean to other people in OOC. PM each other or me if you need to sort out a conflict.
