The Nebulous

Isolation (Island Nations Interest Check)

I've put up the main threads here: roleplayerguild.com/topics/126827-isol..

Isolation (Island Nations)

The Situation Room

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Your most trusted advisers and cabinet members work tirelessly to present their fearless leader (that would be you!) with different options for tackling issues making national headlines as they arise. Sometimes, even the most fair-minded leaders wish they could solve a problem on their own with a bright idea they come up with on the spot, but nations just don't work that way anymore. Most of your citizens are educated, ambitious, and hold strong political ideals of their own. Thus, your government can only present you with options that would best appease the loudest voices of the population; and, at times, they can be majorly divisive.

Whether you were elected into office, took it through force, or born to rule, you cannot deny--that in this age, anyway--a government serves its people...

When posting in the IC, the BBCode format you'll need to follow is contained in the hider immediately below:

IC Post BBCode Format

[center][h2][color=lightblue]Nation Name[/color][/h2][color=cyan][i]"National Motto"[/i][/color][.hr][h3][color=lightblue]Influence Level: # | Standing: #, # (Balance/Left-Libertarian/Right-Authoritarian/etc.)[/color][/h3][/center]
[h3]New Actions[/h3][.hr]
[b][color=lightblue]Situation Chosen:[/color][/b] Situation Title
[b][color=lightblue]Response:[/color][/b] Situation Choice, including the outcome stats

[indent]Write out the moment where your government takes or announces its decision on the matter...[/indent]

[h3]Consequences[/h3][.hr]
[b][color=lightblue]Situation Chosen:[/color][/b] Situation Title
[b][color=lightblue]Response:[/color][/b] Situation Choice, including the outcome stats

[indent]Write out the effects of your previous action here...[/indent]

PIP 1 Situations

Power to the Masses

Power to the Masses -- The tycoon of a major energy business is petitioning the government for tax credits or similar incentive in order to keep operating efficiently to tackle the growing demand for energy as towns and cities across the island expand. The people need power in order to live comfortably, but your industry needs it all the more in order to produce for the people. However, several protest groups identifying themselves to be aligned with a well-known eco-protection organization have provided a counter-petition, urging the government to ignore the request of the proponent and, instead, crack down on organizations like them with more stringent regulations in order to protect the environment.

Your cabinet is prepared to adopt one of the options they have prepared for you:

• Give the requested tax break to the energy sector with no stipulations added. [2 Right, 1 Libertarian]
• Give the tax break with chartered stipulations that reinforce current environmental protection laws. [2 Right]
• Give the requested tax break and relax some of the current environmental laws to encourage energy production. [3 Right, 2 Libertarian]
• Deny the tax break, but reinforce current environmental laws with inspections of registered energy companies. [1 Left, 2 Authoritarian]
• Deny the tax break and adopt new regulations to further safe-guard the environment. [1 Left, 3 Authoritarian]
• Deny the tax break, but relax some of the current environment laws to encourage energy production. [1 Left, 2 Libertarian]

How dare you, sir?!

How dare you, sir?! -- A recently spotlighted celebrity is suing a news organization for slander. During discovery, it was revealed that the journalists failed to follow-up on several anonymous tips given to them that provided content to their story, and that what was reported seemed far-fetched and borderline false. However, it was also revealed that what was reported did, in fact, represent the truth, even if the news organization published the story with reckless disregard for the celebrity's public reputation. Your judicial branch has recommended a clarification of the nation's defamation laws, pointing to their resolution of the suit, which found the news organization to be at fault based solely on their mishandling of the story and recklessly publishing information that could have seriously defamed a fellow citizen.

Your cabinet has prepared the following responses:

• Adopt the court's ruling as constitutional precedent for defamation laws. [1 Authoritarian]
• Reject the court's recommendation, but acknowledge their ruling. [1 Libertarian]
• Reject the court's recommendation and take executive action to overturn their ruling, favoring the press. [3 Libertarian]

An apple a day...

An apple a day... -- Recently, there has been an increase in the media relaying the results of new science studies in ways that has upset a large number of the scientific community's leaders. Scientists are arguing that the news is either giving completely false information to the public, skewing the wording of case study results to favor political agendas, or to make sensationalist headlines with catchy idioms and misleading titles. They are demanding that the government crackdown yellow journalism, but have offered little guidance for how to do so.

Your cabinet has prepared the following responses:

• Enforce more stringent ethical guidelines for "acceptable journalism". [1 Authoritarian]
• Only allow the media to publish the full texts of scientific case studies, without commentary. [2 Authoritarian]
• Offer incentive to journalists that shed light on new science findings in published, peer-reviewed articles. [1 Libertarian]
• Establish a non-profit entity for members of the science and media communities to collaborate on publishing new findings for the public. [2 Libertarian]

PIP 2 Situations

For god and country. Or, not?

For god and country. Or, not? -- Following an incident involving an outspoken proponent of an obscure religious faith that ended up in the hospital after a violent confrontation with dissenters, the public on both sides of the issue has called for the government to take a stance on religious expression laws.

Your cabinet has prepared the following responses:

• Declare that all citizens have the right to freely practice their religion, so long as it does not endanger the public or cause grief or hardship on others. [2 Libertarian]
• Allow free practice of religion, but only under certain conditions (locations, sanctioned events, etc.). [1 Authoritarian]
• Declare a national religion and encourage all citizens to follow it. [1 Authoritarian]
• Declare a national religion and enforce all citizens to follow it. [3 Authoritarian]
• Outlaw only specific religious practices or faiths of your choosing. [2 Authoritarian]
• Outlaw all religious practices and faiths. [3 Authoritarian]

Isolation (Island Nations)

Nation RPs are becoming more of a thing, it seems, but I've never been intrigued by the over complicated mechanics that go into most of them; so this one is made with simplicity in mind, and it's something to help participants pass the time as a little side-project. It is, by no means, a full-blown RP that would consume your time.

The inspiration for this comes from NationStates, an online nation game created by satirist Max Barry. While the conflicts and scenarios spotlighted in this RP won't necessarily be of a satirical nature, they will--more or less--be constructed and presented in similar fashion to NationStates.

A Brief Overview

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In the not-quite-so-distant future, humans expanded into the cosmos to begin colonizing other worlds. In a remote system on the verge of explored space, a new garden planet was discovered with gravity and atmosphere similar to Earth's. However, most of the surface is actually one giant ocean, with islands (big and small) scattered across the globe. These plots of land became independent colonies of the settling travelers that made this new planet their home.

Making Your Nation

To get started, your colonists will need to claim one of the planet’s many islands to call home. All settlements and colonies are independent of one another, effectively their own sovereign nations. For the moment, there are no higher factions that they can align themselves with, so we’ll assume all are fully autonomous and can freely make their own decisions about how they are to govern themselves (else, what’s the point of this fun little simulation, eh?).

Head over to this website to begin generating your island. You’ll want to click the “Random” button in the upper-right to change through the seeds, or you can try tinkering with it manually to see what you get. I recommend leaving the other settings as they are. Click the PNG button at the bottom of the settings to save a copy of the map on your computer. Then just upload it and paste it into your National Almanac Data (below).

If you have GIMP or Photoshop (or even something as simple as Paint) and would like to designate cities or regions, or do other things to your map, you are absolutely encouraged to! You might even try to turn it into a desert island by recoloring the entire map or find other ways to make it unique.

Use the following BBCode for your National Almanac Data. You’ll want to remove the periods (.) from the HR/line break tags. The code script still generates line breaks, so I had to purposefully escape them. Finally, when inserting the image of your nation, I recommend resizing it to 600x600 pixels, or putting it in a spoiler.

[center][h2]Insert Nation’s Name Here[/h2]
[i]Insert National Motto Here[/i][.hr][.hr][img]Insert your map’s direct image url[/img][.hr][.hr][/center]
[b]Type of Government:[/b]
[b]Type of Economy:[/b]
[b]Current Leader’s Title & Name:[/b]
[b]Dominant Languages:[/b]
[b]Dominant Religions:[/b]
[b]Notable Exports:[/b]

[b]Brief Description:[/b] (put a paragraph or two here describing your nation -- include things like geography, culture, etc.)

[b]Top 3 Recent Headlines:[/b] (you can frequently update this section with three quick snippets of major news that has happened in your nation)

[indent]--
--
--
[/indent]

When you're all set, you are welcome to post your nation in the Characters tab above. You can continue to update the almanac data as we progress through the RP.

Political Influence Points

The game is played by simply making decisions using "Political Influence Points" (PIP, for short). Each decision made earns you 1 PIP and cost no PIP; but, at the same time, decisions require a minimum amount of PIP (basically, the tougher the problem, the more influence you require in order to resolve it). At the start, a new nation has 1 PIP and they can earn up to a maximum of 12. When problems demand the player to make a call, they will have a set amount of choices.

The nature of the responses will either be “Authoritarian” vs “Libertarian” (Social), or “Left” vs “Right” (Economics). Thus, we’ll be using the Crowd Chart from “The Political Compass” to determine a nation’s standing (more on that below).

Most situations only have two or three choices, while other issues may offer some more freedom.

Viva la Revolución!

If, at any point, the player is no longer satisfied with their nation's standing, they can initiate a revolution. Revolutions reset a nation's PIP to 1, and all decisions to situations that arose before are null and void. Thus, if you're no longer content with your fascist dictatorship or have grown bored with your hippie paradise, you can wipe the slate clean and try something new.

Political Standing

Many situations will always be available to tackle, so long as your nation meets the PIP requirement. Others are only available within a set time frame (determined by the gravity of the situation at hand). Situations don't have to be addressed, however. If no choice is picked, your nation will incur no consequence and its standing will remain unchanged.

A nation's standing is its overall style of governing, based on the decisions it has made in response to situations. A new nation that hasn't responded to a situation (or a recently revolutionized nation) is considered to have a "balanced" government. Standing is determined following a confirmed decision and calculated by points assigned to the choices you've made up to that moment.

Points are assigned to determine where on the political Crowd Chart your nation falls in its political standing. “Authoritarian” vs “Libertarian” (defining social politics) is shown via the Y-axis, while “Left” vs “Right” (defining economic politics) is shown via the X-axis.

When a choice is picked, points are awarded to one (or two) of those criteria and your nation’s standing will adjust on the flow chart according to the total points accumulated since you started (or had a revolution). Keeping track of your points is the PLAYER’S RESPONSIBILITY, NOT MINE. You’ll also need some basic math skills, as picking an option that puts you “5 pts left” and then another option later on that puts you “2 pts right”, will actually have your nation end up standing “3 pts left” on the chart (assuming this example started at 0, in the center).

For easy visualization, you can use Political Compass’s “Build Your Own Chart” form on this web page: (politicalcompass.org/crowdchart?showform). If you’re using that form, you’re plugging in the total amount of points you’ve calculated after all decisions in each field. The “Name” field can be the name of your nation, of course. Remember, “Economic” is the X-axis, and “Social” is the Y-axis. Points to the right/up are positive (i.e. +5), while points to the left/down are negative (i.e. -5). You can paste a screenshot of this chart at the bottom of your posts to provide a continuous visual update of your nation’s standing.

Example of a Crowd Chart with a nation's total standing below:

Invoke the Powah!

When players choose to respond to situations, they have the opportunity to play out their government's choice in two parts:

1.) The official declaration of the decision itself (i.e. a presidential press conference, or a crowd-stirring speech) -- In the form of a post that declares the player's action of choosing an available response

2.) The fallout of their decision (i.e. a news story about riots in the streets, or a dramatic change in the nation's GDP) -- In the form of a follow-up post no sooner than 24 hours (real time) later.

War!

As of right now, I don't have a solid plan for integrating a fair war system into the game. This is just a relaxing RP that you can do on the side whenever you get time in between the other RPs you might have going on here. However, I'll work on coming up with a system we can use in the future for acting out conflicts between the island nations.

Mass Effect: Brink

That would be helpful. We're having a busy week here at the base, so I won't be free to focus on writing until tomorrow at the earliest.

Isolation (Island Nations Interest Check)

I was going to let this one go, as interest was coming in too slowly, but it seems to be still hanging on... I suppose I can give this a shot if the previous posters are still interested enough. (@Skylar@rush99999@Inkdrop@Ollumhammersong@Legion02@Song Book@Theodorable@Nodal Swami)

Beyond Odyssey (Int Check)

Okay! @Envious Muse@Sovi3t@Jago... Sorry, that took me longer than expected, but the official threads are up (some more info is still incoming)...

roleplayerguild.com/topics/126705-beyo..

All else are welcome to still apply. See the link above!

Beyond Odyssey: The First Expedition

Codex Entries

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Persons of Interest

Dr. Isaac Evenway

HISTORY AND CAREER

Medical science has always been a trademark of the Evenway family. It came as no surprise when Isaac decided he wanted to attend medical school, well before he set foot in high school for the first time. Another token of the Evenway genealogy is their fascination with making the impossible quite possible. This can be traced back to Isaac's great-great grandfather, Dr. Thomas D. Evenway, a nationally renowned psychologist that made incredible strides in the field of psychoanalytical theory in the late 1930s. In essence, Isaac had quite a legacy to live up to. And he did.

Two years after he and his wife, Juniper, had their first and only child, Noah, Juniper had been diagnosed with an acute lymphatic cancer. Frantic to hang onto her, Evenway used his fortune to pay for any and every treatment that could possibly save Juniper's life; even going so far as to fly in the best cancer experts from around the world on his own dime. However, even though money wasn't an issue, time was, and Juniper had run out of it. On a cold February morning in 2008, Juniper Evenway passed away in her sleep.

Enraged, Isaac demanded answers from every one of the experts he had assigned to his wife. The responses were all the same: cancer research just hadn't progressed enough for them to fully comprehend the disease. After personally researching the why behind it all, Evenway's conclusion was straight-forward: politics and bureaucracy. The field of medicine had been riddled with landmines of regulations, policies, restrictions, and special interests. Adopting a cynical attitude toward government interference in scientific disciplines, Isaac started up his own biomedical research firm: Apex.

Five years later, after the gates to Safe Haven opened, Apex officially transferred their headquarters to the new city-state and was immediately freed of all government interference. Dr. Evenway, having firmly secured one of the three seats of the triumvirate, molded his own district in the city to be a sanctuary for the world's best and brightest; a small metropolis of tech companies, medical firms, science institutes, and engineering corporations. Today, the companies of the Evenway district have managed to achieve in half a decade what the best of their rivals in the United States have been unable to do in more than two; and Apex Corp is at the helm of innovation.

PSYCHOLOGICAL PROFILE

Ask anyone what he's like and everyone will say the same word at least once in their answer, "ambitious". Like the Evenways that came before him, Isaac rolls high and plays for keeps. Every possibility becomes opportunity, which then becomes an entire research division with practically limitless funding and support. Constantly seeing the best possible outcomes with every endeavor, Isaac is blessed with an incredible talent for optimism; which, in turn, creates several ethical blind spots. Often, Dr. Evenway rarely takes a second look into the morality of most of his corporation's more questionable programs. One case was the development of a serum that targeted human sexuality at the epigenetic level, seeking to actually change a person's orientation. The project was shut down in its infancy, but only after Isaac found out that the serum had been tested on his own son, Noah.

Organizations

Apex Corporation

Apex Biomedical was founded in 2008 when a younger Dr. Isaac Evenway noticed the rampant pollution of politics in the world of science (most notably in areas of medical advancement). After the death of his wife later that same year due to cancer, Isaac made it Apex’s sole mission to develop an ultimate cure for the disease. While his efforts inevitably proved futile, his firm did make incredible strides in the field and unleashed a renaissance in the biomedical discipline. Half a decade later, when the gates to Safe Haven – the corporate-run city-state on the border of Maine and Quebec – opened up, Apex dropped “Biomedical” from its name and became a full corporation with ties to all different fields of scientific research.

Today, in 2026, Apex lives up to its very name, pushing humanity to a new era of technological advancement and comfort. In order to protect its many endeavors and highly classified research secrets, it has had to employ its own armed militia, the Apex Security Forces (ASF). This highly trained private army consists mostly of former military veterans from both U.S. and Canadian armed forces.

Apex has always been at the center of attention for media reports concerning the tech world. In 2018, the company was investigated by the Corporate Tasks Initiative, a U.S.-run intelligence program aimed at preventing white collar crime, industrial espionage, and other illicit business practices. The suspicion: development of a self-aware artificial intelligence; which had been banned on an international level following a binding U.N. resolution. CTI investigators could uncover no evidence of such a project; however, even after their withdrawal from the company's headquarters, the agency is keeping a close eye on Evenway's projects.

Later that same year, in partnership with another tech company that had recently opened up a new Safe Haven firm, Apex made an extraordinary breakthrough in nanotechnology. Together, both companies are looking into possible bio-medical applications ranging from reparative therapy to human augmentation.

Apex Security Forces

BACKGROUND

By 2012, Apex's resources and assets had become valuable enough for rival companies to resort to industrial espionage. More than a hundred system network hacking attempts were made later that year by an unknown organization seeking out any kind of company secret that the hackers could get their hands on. Luckily, Apex's network was safe-guarded enough to thwart every attempt, but Evenway became increasingly concerned about the company's physical security as well, seeing the hacking attempts as merely the first rain drops of a coming storm. As a start, Apex sought out experienced contract security specialists with civil police or military history. To further ensure security within these ranks, the corporation only accepted applicants with clean and outstanding service records, opting for persons that had been awarded accommodations for prior performance over average nobodies. Finally, Isaac's fears of the inevitable came true when an Apex warehouse outside of Detroit was attacked by an extremist "pro-life" organization. Improvised explosive devices crafted to resemble pipe bombs resulted in twenty innocent lives lost and hundreds of thousands of dollars in damage to assets. The security posted at the warehouse was too thin to defend against the attackers and was overwhelmed.

In response, Evenway sought to bolster his security's ranks by recruiting hundreds more, all with different backgrounds and, again, exemplary service records. Six months after the warehouse attack, Apex's security was large enough to be considered a privately funded militia. Thus, Evenway finally referred to them as the "Apex Security Forces" at an official press conference. With headlines about the corporation's new "PMC" attracting the attention of seasoned veterans all over North America, the ASF saw yet another surge in troop numbers.

In 2014, the ASF were able to prove their worth when the same domestic terrorist organization attacked another isolated company-owned facility. Knowing what they were up against, the attackers came armed with more than just pipe bombs; bringing along semi-automatic firearms. However, while their explosives did initially cause havoc on the property, their ammunition was no match for the ASF's high-grade, Apex-developed body armor. They were also out-gunned by new state-of-the-art weapon systems that had also been designed by their employers. Prior training, greater numbers than before, and advanced technology gave the ASF a much-needed edge. Their success shocked both the media (which had been highly critical of Evenway's armed "militia") and the U.S. government. Instead of pressure from the Department of Homeland Security to scale back Apex's newly founded power, though, Evenway was lauded by offers from the DoD and DHS for contracts in the military industrial complex. Everything ended up being a win-win.

Today, the ASF continues to safe-guard Apex's properties and resources, which includes the company's most vital asset: their manpower. Apex employees are considered more valuable than the technology and results they produce. Threatening someone that works for the corporation usually results in the aggressor looking down the barrel of a gun or being face-planted into the pavement and detained with handcuffs (and that's when the ASF are having a good day).

ODYSSEUS 1ST EXPEDITIONARY DIVISION

With the launch of the Odysseus Program, a new model and purpose for the ASF was needed in order to maintain security beyond the Polyphemus gate and protect the adventuring explorers. Their role as security specialists on Earth isn't enough to take on Zamin; therefore, Commissioner Stone (the current highest ranking commanding officer of the ASF) suggested to Evenway that he allow her to organize an "expeditionary division" equipped with the technology, provisions, and training necessary to last in a potentially hostile, alien environment. To prepare, the selected candidates were put through rigorous training exercises that mirrored the pre-deployment training of modern militaries around the globe; modeling most of their organization off of the U.S. Army and Air Force expeditionary structure.

Outfitting the division with rugged, durable equipment became the Military R&D Department's (Section 10) highest priority for more than a year. Upgraded and retrofitted humvees, MRAPs, and MACVs rolled off the line with darkened color schemes and the Apex/ASF logos. Weapons were redesigned with multi-climate protection in mind, and hundreds of deployable power, living, and storage units were produced.

Commander Johnathan Titus was designated as the lead commanding officer of the officially dubbed Odysseus 1st Expeditionary Division.

COMMON TERMS AND ABBREVIATIONS

A-Sec - Spoken or written shorthand for Apex Security Forces (it rolls off the tongue easier)
ASF - Apex Security Forces
Specialist - Members are called "specialists" because the ASF specialize in one very important concept: security. They are not contractors, soldiers, or mercenaries.
Officer - Not to be confused with the classification of ranks, when patrolling the streets of Safe Haven's Evenway District and acting as a police force, the ASF are considered "officers" (in a law enforcement capacity).
MRAP - Mine-Resistant Ambush Protected (specially armored troop transport vehicle, mounted with Apex-designed remote turret gun)
MACV - Medium Armored Combat Vehicle (mounted with Apex-designed remote turret gun)

RANKS

Unlike most known military ranking systems, ASF specialists are not split into officer and enlisted branches. Rather, specialists may advance to hold an officer rank once they have proven their ability to lead and maintain a collected mind under pressure. Further, many confuse members that are not officers as "enlisted", attempting to equate them to established military rank and file. However, this is not the case. The ASF operates with their own rank structure; so, those that might otherwise be considered "enlisted" are, quite simply, whatever rank they hold. An ASF sergeant is not "enlisted", he/she is a sergeant. With that said, the rank structure is as follows, from lowest to highest (also numbered by matching pay-grade)...

Private
Corporal
Corporal First-Class
--------------Non-Commissioned Officer Tier--------------
Sergeant
Staff Sergeant
Master Sergeant
--------------Commissioned Officer Tier--------------
Ensign
2nd Lieutenant
1st Lieutenant
Captain
Commander
Commissioner ... (reserved for the highest commanding officer of the ASF; answers directly to Dr. Evenway)

Beyond Odyssey: The First Expedition

Reserved for Story Progression Outline...

Beyond Odyssey: The First Expedition

“The oldest and strongest emotion of mankind is fear, and the oldest and strongest kind of fear is fear of the unknown.” — H.P. Lovecraft

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2020. Top physicists from around the world were recruited by Apex Corp to unravel the secrets of string theory and quantum entanglement. By 2026, a construct deep below a remote Apex facility, a gate that was designed to sustain an open bridge in space-time, was finally activated after its long awaited completion. The first fifty tests all ended in complete failure... but the greatest minds of the 21st century refused to give up hope. Eventually, by December of that year, the gate made a successful bridge to an unknown connection.

Now, a team of more than three hundred brave souls has been assembled to hold a small footprint in a vast, new world full of mystery and intrigue; a world that does not obey all of the same laws as Earth.

Many bright and talented individuals (scientists, anthropologists, archaeologists, linguists, geographers, astronomers, clinicians, physicists, and more) have been personally invited by headhunters of Apex to join a massive coalition of three hundred members that are to embark on an expedition to the new world. Some have yet to make a name for themselves, while others are renowned experts in their field of study, with polished careers and accolades, but all of them possess unique talents and abilities that Apex needs.

The new world has its own cast of interesting characters as well, with some nefarious types aiming to exploit their uninvited guests' technology and knowledge.

Beyond the eye of Polyphemus, Odysseus must struggle to survive and keep their foothold in a new, very dangerous universe.

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The following hider contains a brief prelude to the story, if you care for some reading...

Beyond the Past

Even through the thick, double paned glass of the window that looked out over the Dallas cityscape, Tom could feel the intense Texas heat radiating down on his neck from behind. How he wished he had chosen to go with the classic executive chair when he was picking out furniture for his office. The tall leather back would have protected him from the warm sunlight. Instead, partially due to the Fountain Place tower’s air conditioning in the middle of a retrofitting upgrade, the thirty-two year-old was forced to sit uncomfortably and sweat in a minimalist drafting chair, hunched over the angled drawing table that served as his preferred desk.

Despite the adverse temperature, Dr. Thomas Virgil continued with his work. With steady hands, he penciled a line along the flat edge of a ruler to complete the overlay of one of the many walls that made up the interior of an ancient, complex temple in what used to be the territory of the ancient Achaemenid Empire. Over the last few years, Tom had been overseeing multiple dig site projects in Western Asia, unearthing long-forgotten secrets of a nation that overshadowed even the famous Roman Empire. His due diligence throughout the beginning of his ripening career as a cultural anthropologist – who mainly enjoyed the gritty fieldwork of archaeology – was finally coming to fruition.

Since attaining his Ph.D. in cultural anthropology, Tom had been solely focused on highlighting the more sublime cross-overs of lost cultures and schools of thought; emphasizing the evolution of both human governance and religion. He had travelled the world in search of similar paradigms and recognizable symbols that linked one culture to a potential predecessor. Most of this work was already done by anthropologists that had long walked this road before him, but Dr. Virgil’s main focus was on the paradoxical root of human society; the ever elusive beginning of it all. Certainly a daunting task, even for the wisest philosopher.

A knock at the door to his office disturbed his amateur architectural work and the doctor flicked his light-blue eyes up to see a man wearing a charcoal black suit with a satin-grey tie standing in the threshold of the door. A faint sparkle announced the presence of a pin presented neatly on his left jacket lapel. Virgil wasn’t able to make it out clearly, however. The stranger’s knuckles rested gently on the metallic frame and he wore a casual smirk that suggested he had found the person he appeared to be seeking.

“Yes? Can I help you?” Tom asked, slightly lowering his pencil out of curiosity.

A younger man’s voice called out from behind and Virgil could hear the clomping soles of his secretary marching over from his desk outside. The face of a youthful college graduate peeked around from behind the stranger and he exclaimed, “Doctor V., I’m so sorry; he wouldn’t listen to me!”

“That’s quite alright, Zen,” Tom insisted. “Is there something we can do for you, sir?”

The man lowered his hand and slid it easily inside the pocket of his trousers, lifting the bottom of his jacket in folds. Stepping further into Tom’s office, the stranger introduced himself, saying, “I apologize for interrupting your work, Doctor Virgil. My name is Clarence Gates. I’m a headhunter for-”

The man needn’t continue. Now that Mr. Gates was further inside, Tom could make out the lapel pin. The “A” logo of the renowned private corporation was unmistakable, with the curving center bar that represented a gradual approach to that highest point of a curve that the company’s very name preaches.

“-Apex Corp,” Tom said, finishing the man’s sentence.

“Quite right,” Mr. Gates enthusiastically replied. “Do you have a minute to talk, sir?”

“I’m afraid I’m not interested.”

The man seemed taken off guard for a moment before reinforcing his smile and asking, “I’m sorry?”

“You said you’re a headhunter,” Virgil reminded him. “Apex is the world’s leading technological research organization that has surpassed even the most notable international firms of its kind; mostly due in part to your selective recruiting of intellectual and creative prodigies from around the world. Even CERN can’t hold a candle to what Apex is capable of. Now, you’re here for either one of two reasons; either Apex is suddenly interested in Mesopotamian archaeology and would like to hire my team, or you’ve mistakenly come to think that I am a possessor of prodigal talent. The latter is most certainly untrue, as I won’t discredit Apex’s ability to correctly research someone’s background for even a second, given their vast wealth of information resources, and I’m hardly interesting enough to hire; which leaves us with the former – an offer that I must respectfully decline.”

The gentleman seemed unfazed by Tom’s water-downed description of his employers. “You read me like a brochure,” he said. “But you’re wrong on both counts.”

There was a momentary pause between the two men before Tom set down his pencil and ruler and called out, “Zen! Can I get two cups of coffee?” Standing up from his seat, Tom ran a hand through his wealth of wavy, brown hair and walked over to the center of the large office, where he gestured for Mr. Gates to take a seat on one of the black leather sofas.

“Alright,” the doctor said, “I suppose I can spare a few minutes of my time.”

“A few minutes is all I need.” Gates unbuttoned his jacket and sat down across from Virgil, leaning forward with his elbows supported on his knees. “First, if you don’t believe yourself to be someone ‘interesting enough’ for us to hire, then you’re sorely mistaken. Apex doesn’t exclusively look for prodigies; we look for all kinds of people. Experienced or inexperienced, rough or refined, supporters of corporations or not…”

“Like I said, you people are well-informed.”

Zen came back into the office and set down two mugs of freshly poured, warm coffee left black and several packets of sugar and powdered creamer between them. The young man then quietly returned to his clerical duties.

Tearing open one of the sugar packets and dumping the contents over the drink, Gates said, “Yes, I’m keenly aware of your anti-corporate sentiments, doc. During your college years, you had co-sponsored an occupy movement against Seris Enterprises for launching an unquestionably distasteful fashion line of ancient Egyptian clothing that mocked a longtime, academically respected culture.”

“That’s only one of the two reasons,” Tom said, stirring the creamer he had placed in his own coffee. “The other, and more important one, was that Seris’ CEO was fully aware that her company was engaging in illicit overseas labor practices and did nothing to correct that issue. Seris’ ‘Ancient Egypt’ brand line was unarguably a direct product of those practices.”

The two of them shared another moment of silence as they simultaneously sipped their beverages. Mr. Gates was the first to finish his gulp and speak. “Your distrust of major companies like us is absolutely warranted, doctor; but I’m not here to argue free market theory with you. As I said, and as you reminded me, I’m a headhunter; and we are interested in Mesopotamian archaeology; or rather… a team of archaeologists that specializes in Mesopotamian cultures.”

“I must admit that I find that to be somewhat strange, Mr. Gates. As a company that throws caution to the wind with technological innovation and, what you people have taken to calling, ‘self-controlled human evolution’; studying the past doesn’t seem like something that would fit in Apex’s portfolio.”

Gates took another, longer sip of his coffee before returning the mug to the table between them. With a sly smile that made Tom raise a brow, the man said in codified language, “We actually won’t be studying the past; but rather, the present. Another present, anyway.” Reaching a hand inside his inner jacket pocket, Gate’s revealed a grey business card with a black Apex “A” logo embellished on the front. He placed the card on the coffee table and slid it across the way toward Tom. “Give him a call if you’re interested in learning about the details. I’m afraid I’m not at liberty to discuss this further.”

Confused, Tom opened his mouth to speak, but Gates was already up on his feet and moving toward the door to his office. “Thanks for your time, doc,” he said in a nonchalant tone, buttoning his jacket as he walked. “I’m sure I’ll see you again in the very near future.”

Virgil remained where he was on his sofa after the man disappeared, with a baffled expression on his face. A second later, Zen poked his head inside the office with a quizzical look and simply asked, “Sir? What was all that about?”

Tom leaned forward and slid the mysterious business card closer before flipping it up and taking it in his hand. The front side only bore the Apex logo, with a popping embellishment pushed through the stiff paper. He flipped the card around in his fingers and saw a single telephone number, followed by a two letter abbreviation beneath it.

i.e.

“Id est?” Tom asked aloud. “No… those are initials.”

Zen was now walking fully into the office and made his way toward the mugs on the coffee table to begin retrieving them. “Initials, sir?” he inquired, still curious as to what was going on.

“The initials of Time Magazine’s ‘2021 Person of the Year’,” Tom answered. “Apex’s founder and CEO…”

---

Notes

-- Open and Accepting Applications! I'm looking for high-casual to advanced writers that would be interested and willing to take on two roles each for this RP. At first, everyone will create and start with only one character: a member of the Odysseus expeditionary team. They can be either a scientist/researcher/explorer or a member of the Apex Security Forces (more on them later when(if) this warrants enough interest for me to make the official threads). Later on, the writers will have the opportunity to create a new character: someone that lives in the world beyond the Polyphemus gate.

-- This is to be a somewhat high-paced RP. I don't have much patience for week-long lulls in posting, so please don't sign up if you think your plate is already fairly full with other roleplays or you can't at least contribute one post every five days. To help reduce pressure on posting, I'm not asking for super lengthy novellas. Four or five paragraphs is perfectly fine, and less is even better (to be honest) during scenes with constant dialogue and interaction. The "advanced" level of writing is expected with your character development, creativity, and authorial voice.

-- Participants do not necessarily need to be well-versed in their character's chosen field of study or career; however, some basic research on terms they would use and tasks they would routinely perform can go a long way in providing a convincing narrative. That said, don't pick a field for your character that you have absolutely zero knowledge of whatsoever. Total ignorance is noticeable and might stifle your ability to keep up. Ernest Hemingway once advised that you ought to write the truth when writing fiction.

Rules

-- There is a main story and point to all of this, so please stick with the plot as we go and try not to overwrite anything too much. Before proceeding with some fantastical side-quest for character development (which I do ENCOURAGE!), please consult with me so I can reveal (in private) any key plot elements that might have an impact (or be impacted) on(by) your decisions.

-- I don't mind participants highlighting dialogue with colored text, but please make sure the color goes well with the Guild's slate-grey backdrop. If I have to squint my eyes to read it, or even highlight it with my cursor, then it's too gaudy (and, as a gay man, I know gaudy... I will call you out on it ).

-- Further rules, or clarifications to existing ones, may be added later...

Character Sheets

Please use the following BBCode for your character sheet. Submit all characters in this thread, and I will then move them over to the Characters tab for organization (if they're accepted). You can view mine (when I get it up) for reference, to make sure you copied the code correctly. The font color pre-inserted may be changed to suit your tastes.

(I had to break up the "hr" (linebreak) tags with a period (.), otherwise they would still generate in the code box. Please remember to remove the periods!)

Character Sheet

[center][color=4747d1][h1]Full Name (including any titles)[/h1][/color]
[img]character img url (may be of any type: photograph, sketch-art, anime/manga, etc.)[/img]
[color=0099ff][i]A quote said of or by this character. Make it dramatic (or comedic)![/i][/color][/center][.hr][.hr][center][img]An image that represents your character (such as their profession, etc.).[/img][/center]
[.hr][.hr][center][color=white][h3]Basic Information[/h3][/color][/center]
[color=4747d1]N A M E[/color]
[indent]Full Name; without titles[/indent]
[color=4747d1]N I C K N A M E[/color]
[indent]Does this person go by something else?[/indent]
[color=4747d1]G E N D E R[/color]
[indent]Should be obvious...[/indent]
[color=4747d1]A G E[/color]
[indent]Try to be real about this one... Consider their profession, history, and level of expertise. Young prodigies are accepted, but be careful about how liberal you are with the age.[/indent]
[color=4747d1]S E X U A L I T Y[/color]
[indent]Always room for romance in this RP![/indent]
[color=4747d1]M O R A L P A R A D I G M[/color]
[indent]What is this character's system of beliefs? Are they an existentialist, religious, agnostic...? You are welcome to leave this as simple or as complex as you'd like.[/indent][.hr][.hr]
[center][img]How about another image that helps define this character?[/img][/center]
[.hr][.hr][center][color=white][h3]Professional Dossier[/h3][/color][/center]
[color=0099ff]P R O F E S S I O N[/color]
[indent]Identify this character's field of study or career (examples include xenobiologist, archaeologist, physicist, anthropologist, etc., etc.).[/indent]
[color=0099ff]S T R E N G T H S[/color]
[indent]List out (or provide a paragraph) of this person's occupational strengths, talents, and skill sets that can be useful to the expedition. You can also list attributes more centric to their personality or mannerisms that can be considered personal strengths.[/indent]
[color=0099ff]W E A K N E S S E S[/color]
[indent]List out (or provide a paragraph) of this person's weaknesses that can negatively impact the mission if left unchecked.[/indent]
[color=0099ff]P S Y C H E V A L[/color]
[indent]This is your chance to go into detail and flesh out the character's personality, quirks, and tell us what makes them tick. Who are they as a person and why are they like that? A couple of paragraphs will suffice.[/indent]
[color=0099ff]H I S T O R Y[/color]
[indent]A professional isn't just born; they're raised and cultivated into matured experts in their fields of study. On the other hand, your character may have just started down the path to success and have yet to make a name for themselves. So, are they a student or protege? Or, perhaps, a remarkably skilled and successful master? Maybe they're even a failure, but have a special gift or talent that Apex wanted... A few paragraphs here, if you would...[/indent]
[.hr][.hr][center][color=white][h3]Misc.[/h3][/color][/center]
[color=4747d1]T H E M E S O N G[/color]
[indent]Does this character have a cool theme when they burst into a scene?[/indent]
[color=4747d1]E X T R A S T U F F[/color]
[indent]Any other notes you'd like to share?[/indent]

Mass Effect: Brink

How about the assassin beat his captain at a game of poker and Declan has owed him 2,000 credits ever since? :D