KingTony

"Not Part of the Plan"

"Not Part of the Plan"

Paul Taylor.

That was the name he was using this job. The assassin typically adopted a new name with each new assignment, but this job was different from anything he'd ever done before. He wasn't studying a single person this time around, learning his habits, his routine, and his vulnerabilities before knocking him off. No, this time Paul had been contracted to wipe out an entire criminal syndicate, and that was going to require him to become an entirely new person ... and believe that he was that entirely new person, until the job was done and he could escape this life of death and destruction.

Paul had spent the last nine month diving into his new identity, creating and establishing a realistic background that would hold up to even the deepest scrutiny. His employer was a shadowy organization of wealthy business owners who were in league with very well placed individuals spread across all branches of government and the relevant law enforcement agencies; so when Paul needed an air tight identity, all he had to do was ask.

Ironically, his job this time around was to eliminate another shadowy organization of wealthy business owners who were in league with very well placed individuals spread across all branches of government and the relevant law enforcement agencies. Well, shadowy might not apply in the same fashion to this second group. It was called the Greater Boston Benevolence Society, and for more than 150 years its well-to-do members had been helping the less fortunate of the Greater Boston area escape poverty by providing employment and education opportunities that might not otherwise be attainable.

Of course, that was what the public saw of The Society, to which it was often referred. What the public didn't see was the murder, the extortion, the arson, the kidnappings, the thefts, and the other criminal and often violent acts that were and had been the basis of the Society's continuing control for generations of members.

Paul couldn't help but smirk at the fact that he was being paid by one corrupt organization to wipe out the hierarchy of a second one for -- their words not his -- the good of the people of Boston. But then, he didn't often question his employers' motivations. The only questions he typically had for those paying him was Who am I killing and How much does it pay? But then, this wasn't a typical job: he had 14 primary targets for which he would be paid $1 million dollars each plus a bonus of $14 million dollars if he got them all; and he had 27 secondary targets for whom he earned a sliding scale fee: the first of them killed fetched Paul $5,000, the second $10,000, the third $15,000, and so on.

In all, if Paul was able to sweep through his targets as assigned, he'd be walking away from this life of death and mayhem with enough money to buy a small island in the South Pacific and stock it with all the beer, burgers, and boobs he'd ever want or need. Retirement: it wasn't a word Paul had every seriously considered, but after this job he was finished. Even as he'd been establishing his new identity to do the job, he'd been planning a second one -- concealed from his employers, obviously -- to slip away from the assignment and disappear forever.

Paul stepped over to the windows of his new apartment, located in a corner of the 12th floor such that he could see water below him over a 270 degree arc. He loved the water; loved the sea. His island was waiting for him out there somewhere. All he had to do was complete this assignment without hitting any snags, for the greatest impediment to an assassin's job was anything -- or anyone -- who wasn't part of the plan.

Seeking female: my 21st character time travels to 1776 America.

Apparently this is available again. My writing partner hasn't posted to it, so if you are interested in the concept, take a look at my first post here. Please do not post to it without permission, however. I need to know that we are on the same page; and I need to know that you know what I am expecting from a writing partner.

Thanks.

"Humanity 2.0"

Be aware that the links do not operate the way they should. I will dink around with them later today to figure out what's wrong, but it might be a site issue and out of my control.

Cast of Characters

KingTony's Characters:

• In New Hope:
  
  • Elder Aiden Shaw: Patriarch.
  • Elder Paul Stone: Arbitrator.
  • Tommy Kerns: Citizen.
• Elsewhere:
  
  • Major Branton Briggs: Commander, Special Forces Unit; Bend, Oregon.
  • Paul Timbers: Outdoorsman, living between Bend and New Hope.

"Humanity 2.0"

Elder Paul Stone: Arbitrator of New Hope



Physical Description:

• 58 years old as of 2023. (Born 1965.)
• 5'8", 185#. Fit, though no male model.
• Graying hair; always clean cut.

Psychological Description:

• Though he tries to hide it, he's self centered, self absorbed, and -- at time -- selfish.
• But he puts out enough of an empathetic vibe to earn the respect of the other New Hope Citizens.
• Very intelligent, with above average common sense.
• Never acts rash. Always contemplates his actions and words.
• Womanizer who likes very young women, even those considered jail bait by modern legal standards. (Women are his greatest weakness.)

Background:

• 1965: Born to a well to do east coast family.
• 1970s-80s: Went to the best private schools, including Harvard where he received a law degree.
• 1990s-2010s: Spent a decade as a prosecutor back east, then another as a defense lawyer out west, then finally became a County Judge in Oregon. (Each shift in career was a direct or indirect result of a sexual scandal that was kept silence with the application of an appropriate and undisclosed amount of cash.)
• Paul came into contact with Aiden Shaw after the Sweet Home commune ran into some legal issues concerning a neighboring property owner.
• He liked the commune's philosophy, but really liked the more sexually liberal women who lived on it.
• He offered the commune and its Citizens his services as a lawyer, arbitrator, mediator, and advisor concerning cases within and without the Commune; and soon Paul was spending a great deal of time on the property, including overnight stays in some of the thankful female's beds. (Aiden is no idiot, and he knew that Paul was fucking his way through the young, attractive, energetic female population. But as no harm seemed to be occurring and the ladies really liked him, he let it happen.)
• 2022:
  
  • When the virus struck, Paul isolated himself on his own property, fearful of dying.
  • By December, he'd been exposed and come to realize he was immune.
• 2023:
  
  • Still in contact with Aiden Shaw (and two of the commune's surviving females), Paul learned of the intention of moving into the mountains. Despite not being the roughing it type, he asked to go and was warmly welcomed.
  • He traded his $1.5 million dollar estate to a growing militia for a pair of (fully outfitted) llamas that had survived the plague, packed them with his most vital possessions, and joined Shaw for the trek to New Hope.

"Humanity 2.0"

Not done yet. Don't read yet.

Aiden Shaw emerged from the forest where the hiking trail crested a last final ridge, revealing below him an alpine valley that still took his breath away despite his having been here an uncountable number of times in his 66 years. Whenever he'd felt the need to get away from it all, this was where he'd ended up. This small valley had always been a majestic place for Aiden: the Three Sisters mountain peaks each rose to more than 10,000 feet to the west of him; Broken Top to the south stood at over 9,000; and to the north and east were cinder buttes and rolling hills that -- at night -- blocked out the artificial lighting of the distant farms and ranches, towns and cities of Central Oregon, leaving him with the feeling that he was truly in the middle of a wondrous nowhere.

Aiden was suddenly aware of his heavy breathing from the end of his third day of hiking. Some of those traveling with him had often asked if he wanted to rest, but Aiden had resisted. The 66 year old had become more frail over the last dozen years, and those who had been with him during that time couldn't have helped but notice. But Aiden was a proud man, and he'd been determined to make the hike over the sometimes snow buried trail. This valley -- their destination -- was more than just a place to relax and reflect, as it had been in the years and decades before: it was now their home.

"This is it?" a nearby voice asked with obvious disappointment. Tommy Kern surveyed the land before him, then looked back to Aiden and said with a softer, slightly less heart broken tone, "There's ... nothing here. This is the home of Humanity two-point-oh?"

"New Hope, we will call it, my friend," Aiden said in a soft voice as he approached and stood next to the young man who had eagerly led the group into the wilderness but was now wondering whether he'd made a mistake. Aiden reassured him, "You see nothing but wide open, empty space, my friend. But trust me. All we need to survive ... and thrive ... will be provided by The Mother."

The Mother...

Tommy was new to the group, so he didn't share the religious or spiritual philosophies of the core membership of the group that had hiked into the wilderness behind him. About a quarter of the 50 men, women, and children had been residents on the commune back at Sweet Home on which Aiden had been an Elder; and another quarter were friends and family of the first, people who hadn't lived on the property but who had flocked to it when the plague began to tear their world apart. The residents had had a very natural, peaceful, planet friendly existence, living almost entirely off that which they raised or grew on the hundred acre commune. Another quarter of those here today had been indirectly assocaitIn fact, they'd produced more than they consumed, which led to the second quarter of those present, people who had been Another quarter or so had been friends or family of the first quarter. Yet another quarter had been people with direct or indirect connections to the commune's organic food production or other The other 25 or so people who simply tagalongs, survivors of the plague that was right now in the process of killing off almost all of Earth's mammalian life: humans and apes, cats and dogs, horses and cows, coyotes and rabbits ... lions and tigers and bears, oh my, Tommy had said or thought more than once in a humorous attempt to grapple with the most tragic die off of animals in almost 66 million years.

only been with the group a couple of months -- since the virus struck in November, just six months ago. But in that time Tommy had come to learn a great deal about Aiden, about his people, about their philosophies, and more.

"Everything we need is here," Aiden said with a reassuring tone. He reached out to touch the younger man gently on the cheek as was part of his grandfatherly nature, and continued, "Mother Nature will provide ... and we will create a new life here for ourselves."

Tommy watched Aiden descended the grassy slope toward the lake below, encouraging the others to follow. Tommy looked into the face of the men, women, and children as they, too, passed. They surveyed the valley as had Tommy and Aiden before them, and Tommy realized from their expressions of awe that he was most definitely the odd man out in this group. The others were all smiles at they pointed out the beautiful facets of the landscape, wondered about what foods they might forage, or already began considering where the communal houses and chicken coops and other outbuildings might be best located.

Hippies, he thought to himself. Commune, dope smoking, acid dropping hippies. Of course, they weren't. Well, okay, some of them were. But for the most post, Elder Shaw's entourage -- numbering just over 50 -- were just people who yearned for a simple, peaceful life away from the mayhem of the now dying world beyond the Wilderness. The survivors of the most tragic event in human history had followed Aiden here to this isolated piece of wildness from the small town of Sweet Home with an eye on creating a new type of community, one based on peace and shared prosperity, without the trappings of technology or -- most importantly -- the fear and pain that came with the possession and use of weapons.

Tommy casually reached to his belly, feeling the small five shot .38 concealed beneath his shirt. Despite its prohibition, Tommy simply hadn't been able to force himself to leave it behind at the commune on which most of the people with him now had originated. It was hard to imagine that Elder Shaw's declaration of faith that peace would prevail

(continue editing here).

after it had succumbed to the ravages of the virus spreading across the globe. They couldn't know it yet, but the killer bug would eventually kill over 99% of mammalian life across Earth:

No one knew where the virus had originated, though some suspected it had been a result of human engineering. The fact that within a single week it had emerged in more than 30 countries across the globe spoke of biologic terrorism. There had been debate about why someone -- or some government -- would create a bug that would kill mammals other than humans; but at the same time others had pointed out that that likely hadn't been intentional ... or avoidable, who knew?

"When your past catches up to you."

"When your past catches up to you"

William Kutcher sat up slowly, unsteadily. He was disoriented, his brain swimming, his body wracked by pain. He was indoors ... a dark space, maybe a cabin. A fire crackled in the hearth to one side, and beyond an open door yet another fire roared, though this was quickly engulfing a structure in the distance, maybe a barn.

What the hell's going on...?

Billy searched his brain for his last memories...

The last he recalled, he'd been out in the middle of an open park field at the annual reenactment of the Siege of Boston, surrounded by tourists and history enthusiasts...

He'd been explaining how Boston had been a much different place in 1775 than it was today in 2017, a peninsular city with a narrow land access called the Boston Bottleneck which the rebel militia -- the soon to be called Continental Army -- had blockaded, prevented the British from moving men and badly needed supplies in and out of Boston by land...

After answering a dozen or so questions about the blockade or about 18th century Boston itself, Billy had moved onto what was his true interest and the subject of his doctoral thesis: the involvement and effectiveness of the Hessian Troops the British had hired to assist them in their war against the criminal element known as the American rebels...

Billy's head was clearing a bit, allowing him to remember the last moments before he'd passed out and ended up here ... where ever here was...

He'd been showing off the reenactment uniform he was wearing, explaining to the crowd that -- although being in the employ of the British Army -- the soldiers from Germany had worn their own uniforms, fought under their own flags, used their own weapons...

"Just to be clear, the Hessians didn't participate at the Siege of Boston," he told the crowd, explaining that the Hessians had actually arrived in mid-1776 -- after the British departed Boston by sea -- and that they'd actually arrived at and initially been used in New York. When some snotty young teen asked why he was here then, Billy answered with a laugh, "Because I'll take any opportunity to show off this!"

He'd unslung the heavy musket from his shoulder and held it out before him, explaining, that it was an actual 18th century Hessian musket that had been carried during the Revolutionary war. Just as had happened a dozen times already, cell phones rose and visitors tapped away taking pictures that would never be as good as those offered at the vendors booths but which, of course, were free. Some of the guests even turned their backs to Billy and lifted their phones up before them, intended to snap selfies of themselves with the Hessian. Billy hated the selfie phenomenon, so he casually lowered the weapon before most of them could get their shot, containing his desire to smirk with pleasure at their disappointment. He thought to himself, Go buy a fucking postcard!

He'd continued ... talking about this model of musket, about its differences with other weapons of the day, about the Hessian's techniques for more rapid loading and firing, and more. He'd demonstrated the features, showed off the powder and musket ball, and was about to show how to load it...

Billy's heart leapt in his chest, and suddenly -- here in this strange place -- he was afraid again. He was suddenly remembering those last, dramatic moments...

There had been gunfire, which you might expect at a war reenactment...

But the guns firing hadn't been muskets in the hands of reenactors, loaded only with powder and no shot, for safety, of course...

These guns were automatic assault rifles, firing more rounds in a second then even the most professional 18th century Hessian could have fired in an hour...

By the time Billy had realized that some sort of terror attack was underway, the people around him had either scattered or hit the ground. Looking down, Billy could see some of them writhing, bleeding; others were bleeding but not moving at all...

Billy himself ran, heading quickly for cover. He searched for the shooters, finding them: two men in regular street clothes, neither of them seeming ethnic ... just regular ol' white guys ... shooting at anyone near them...

Billy's fear had soon turned to anger...

He'd looked to his weapon ... to his 18th century musket ... his single shot weapon, with its smooth bore -- no rifling to spin the bullet for accuracy -- and its effective range of maybe 50 yards...

Then he looked to the nearest of the terrorists and realized ... He's closer than 50 yards. Billy didn't know what was going through his mind, but before he knew it he was finishing the loading procedure, standing up from behind his cover, leveling, aiming, and firing. A cloud of thick smoke filled the air before him as the weapon kicked, sending forth a .75 caliber ball, huge by modern standards...

As the smoke cleared and Billy searched, he found his target flat on his back, gun by his side ... blood pouring from his neck where the projectile had very nearly taken the man's head off...

And that was the last thing Billy remembered...

And now, it was all confusion ... and pain. Billy looked down to his uniform -- his Hessian uniform -- and realized he was covered in blood ... his blood. Someone had ripped it open and bandaged him up, but he was still a mess. Had he been shot? Obviously! But, by whom? He looked to the door again as movement caught his eye. Soldiers rushed by this way, then that. One stopped just a couple of dozen yards away, raised his weapon, and fired, just as Billy had ... only...

This wasn't 21st century Boston...

And the fighting taking place out side was no fucking reenactment!

Seeking for "Humanity 2.0"

This seems interesting :)

@smarty0114

I will start the IC tonight. I made a slight change, backing the time line up to the day Utopia was first established, before the militia arrived. I will update the above post tonight after work.

I will announce here when the IC and OOC are ready for writers.

Filled. (Don't know how to delete thread.)

FILLED. Thanks all.

"Humanity 2.0"

Paul Timbers: Outdoorsman



Physical Description:

• 36 years old as of 2023. (Born 1987.)
• 5'11", 195#. Fit, well sculpted though with a light layer of winter fat, too; very athletic and strong with great endurance.
• Short brunette hair that is slightly graying; more often than not unkempt. Deep green eyes.
• Shaves maybe twice a month, unless he thinks he's about to get lucky and doesn't want the stubble causing irritation down there.

Psychological Description:

• Quiet until he gets to know you.
• He's not selfish, though he is self-serving, meaning that he won't hesitate to help others but will almost always gain something personal as part of the act.
• Protective of innocent people for whom he cares. But since he doesn't like to put himself out for those he doesn't know well, he simply keeps to himself when he can.
• He loves sex and doesn't often get too particular about with whom he has it.
• He doesn't know whether he is immune to the virus, so he has hidden himself away in the woods away from others.

Background:

• 1987: Born.
  
  • Grew up a country boy and outdoorsman.
  • He did a lot of jobs during his teens and young adult years, but as the beginning of our tale approached, Paul's primary source of income had come from being a fishing and hunting guide, a living he'd supplemented with hunting and foraging for himself.
  • More to come on this in the IC replies.
• 2022:
  
  • He had lived west of Bend, Oregon, for most of his adult life when the plague hit.
  • Fearful of not being immune to the virus, Paul hid away in his cabin in the Cascades on the fringe of the Sisters Wilderness Area.
• 2023:
  
  • Paul has continued to simply hide out and live off what Mother Nature provides, which -- with the plague killing off the mammals that had once been a big part of his diet -- is less than it once was.
  • He has on occasion had to run off people who have wandered upon the property.
  • He had also dealt with those who refused to be run off in other ways.

"Humanity 2.0"

Thomas "Tommy" Kern: Citizen of New Hope



Physical Description:

• 26 years old as of 2023. (Born 1997.)
• 5'10", 175#. Fit, well sculpted; athletic.
• Curly brunette hair; hazel eyes.
• Clean cut: despite not needing to do so, he shaves almost every day.

Psychological Description:

• Prefers Tommy over Tom or Thomas, but doesn't mind which is used.
• Quiet, though he often appears as if he has a lot he'd like to say.
• A caring, empathetic person, particularly with those who can't entirely care for -- or defend -- themselves.
• He loves sex, but he keeps his interactions with others to himself. No PDAs.
• He has a past he keeps hidden, but you don't get to know what that is yet. (IC replies will better reveal who and what he is over time, and those details will later be posted here. Stand by.)

Background:

• 1997: Born.
• Tom had a troubled upbringing, as alluded to above.
• 2019:
  
  • At age 20, Tommy arrived in Sweet Home, Oregon.
  • He was quiet and reserved, but when he did open up to people even slightly, it was obvious that he was educated, knowledgeable, and worldly.
  • Despite seeming to be able to be more, Tommy took a common labor job at a local farm and garden shop, which often put him into contact with the commune on which Aiden Shaw was a member.
  • He occasionally took a lover for a night or a weekend -- mostly tourists or women from nearby cities who he knew had lives that would keep them at a distance more often than not -- but he never made a connection that might lead to having a girl friend.
• 2022:
  
  • When the plague hit, Tommy had just learned that he had knocked up a young woman who lived on the commune. He had spent many hours sitting with Aiden Shaw talking about his future and a need for a change in his life.
  • Despite the woman falling victim to the virus -- and despite his concerns that he couldn't be what Aiden wanted him to become -- Tommy moved onto the commune and became closer to Aiden.
• 2023:
  
  • When the commune was attacked, Tommy came to its defense. But Aiden demanded that Tommy take a pacifist stance toward outsiders. When the second attack came, Tommy inconspicuously took out a couple of the attackers; and when the third one came -- with Tommy in view of Aiden Shaw -- he resisted defending himself and his new community and simply allowed the attack to occur. Afterward, however, Tommy slipped off into Sweet Home and -- using an improvised incendiary device -- burned to the ground the building in which the attackers were holding up, killing at least 5 people.
  • Tommy didn't like this pacifist attitude, but he liked Shaw and the concept of the commune He promised he would swear off his violent ways and -- in May -- helped lead the communes' Citizens to New Hope.