Category: Emergent Dreams

Today was ‘stock-taking’ day whereby all living in The Outskirts were to be recorded and accounted for by the residing guard at the designated area. The number of people living there was certainly not a small one and roll call took usually over half a day. Everyone was required to stand in line to have his or her details recorded, with the oldest in front. When it came to the end of the line, only the names of six children were called out. There were ten children at the last count. Most of the children were orphans, for some strange reason their parents were taken away by orders of Spector and they never returned. So, no one raised the alarm of anyone missing because no one noticed.

When the sixth child was accounted for, the guards left the outer dome. The crowd stirred and a sense of distress filled the air. One could tell people were uncomfortable with the realization of missing children. Slowly, the crowd dispersed from the area. The community was by no means a close knitted one but it was clear as day that missing children was a sign of danger. When people were taken away, they were taken in full view but this time, there was no sign of movement, no guards, no struggle, no one witnessed anything.

“Bill, something’s not right. They don’t just take children away. They never do,” said Harold, the eldest member of The Outskirts who was now standing next to Bill, waiting for the crowd to move out.

“Harold, you know very well there’s nothing I can do. We just need to sit tight and wait for Spector to return them.” Bill walked away swiftly, increasing his pace with every step. He knew exactly what Harold was hinting at but had not the slightest intention of getting involved. Harold followed Bill’s pace and walked quickly beside him and grabbed him by the arm and said “Bill. Find them. Or we’ll all regret it.” Harold’s voice went cold.

“It’s too risky. We don’t have authorization to enter the inner domes. And even if I wanted to, which I don’t, there’s no way I can do this alone.”

“I’ll find people, form a search party and then will you go? Something just doesn’t feel right. Spector never does anything for no reason. This is our chance to fight back. We’ve been cooped up here long enough; someone needs to take the first step. I’ll go too but you have to lead. You’re younger and filled with fire,” pleaded Harold.

“Fine. You have until midnight to find everyone or we’re not going. Now leave me alone old man.” Bill said as he walked away from Harold.

 

By the evening, Harold came back with three other individuals, two men and a woman. Bill was sitting in the far end of the canteen, eating, alone. Thee four individuals sat down at the table, sitting opposite Bill. Harold introduced them one-by-one. All were unfamiliar faces to Bill. Crescent was one of them. One of the men was said to be chosen because he was one of the engineers for the Voitheia and he may know the workings of the dome, including the door mechanisms a lot better than anyone present there. His name was Ian, of average height but rather scrawny. The other was the exact opposite from Ian. He was tall and towered over everyone even while seated. He was well built almost three times the size of Ian. After the introductions, the five began to devise a plan for the big move.

“Well Harold, this was your big plan, what do you propose we do first? You’ve brought me a group of strangers, what other brilliant ideas do you have?” said Bill sarcastically.

“We’ll need to arm ourselves or we won’t even make it pass that door. Head out now and find whatever you can. Try to keep it small. The last thing we need is to draw attention from the patrol guards before we even make a move,” snapped Crescent before Harold could answer. She was clearly annoyed at Bill’s tone.

“Alright fine. If we’re going to do this then make sure all of you are committed, we’ve got one shot at this. There is no plan B. Meet back here tomorrow night and we’ll see what you’ve got.”

 

Make your first move

Your first order of business is to arm yourself. You can of course choose to carry none and go with physical combat but this is not without consequence. Not only will you be risking your own life but also the lives of the others in the group. It is not recommended. Carrying capacity: You may carry up to a maximum of two weapons for now. One in hand and another in your pocket. As of now weapons have to be kept small especially if you have any disabilities to begin with.

You can discard weapons in exchange for better ones when you find them throughout the mission.

 

The guards in The Outskirts are not heavily armed (no guns or firearms at this point) but they are well built and can take you down easily just by pure strength. The door to the second dome is guarded by three guards during the day and four during the night. Should you choose to take down the guards in the daytime, you might run the risk of alarming everyone, including the guards that may (or may not) be in the second dome. If you choose to move in the night, there are more guards to fight but it is less likely that others will notice you.

There are a couple of ways you can find potential weapons.

There are as follows: the canteen (has the usual set of cutlery. Cooking utensils are speculated to be kept in the kitchen of the canteen which is usually locked. The only time it is open is during the day but there will definitely be guards inside.

Sleeping quarters (all bunk beds are made of solid steel rods that was falling apart, most of which is held together with rope)

You can also choose to make your own weapons from materials you find.

Checking and asking for items from other people around The Outskirts may also work. People often had a secret stash of items that they kept hidden from the guards during spot-checks to avoid confiscation. (You might find a set of Swiss army knives or a derivative of, if you play your cards right) But of course, giving you an item would mean they have become a partner in crime and that thought itself would make borrowing any item challenging. You will need to convince and persuade them.

 

In Summary

Give a description of how you obtained your weapon and include the reasons for your choice. You may go on this search (for weapons) on your own.

As to whether the group makes a move in during the day or night, both of you will be required to roll the dice. The person with the lowest number will decide when to go.

The Man in Charge

 

The Voitheia was designed according to the plans of a man named Charles Williams who had the aim of providing a new home for all living matter with a habitable environment. William naturally would have been the man to take charge of governing the Voitheia, because he owned it. However the poor soul never did live to see the completion of his work. On the day he passed, a man by the name of Spector became his successor. Little is known about Spector, except that he worked closely with Williams on the Voitheia project. Spector was supposedly William’s protégé.

On the 22^nd of January 2083, the Voitheia opened its doors to the people. At that time only those who could afford the hefty entry fee could enter so needless to say, only the rich and affluent had access. Before entering the Voitheia, it is necessary for one to declare the following: Their name, gender, age, height and blood type. A blood sample is also drawn for analysis.

In that year, the Earth was close to approaching its death but the environment was still bearable for the majority of people, so most just carried on with their daily lives as per usual, making small changes to accommodate the drop in temperature and change in climate. But of course, a time came when it became too cold and suffocating to remain out in the open and people began considering the importance and necessity of the new building. However, not everyone could afford to enter. People without money were denied entry; they became desperate, frantic and afraid of their impending doom. Things became increasingly chaotic. On the 3^rd of March of that same year, the doors of the Voitheia were to be closed and sealed for good, it was the last chance for anyone to enter. There was a stampede and an influx of people who forced their way in. This very group of people now form The Outskirts.

None of the residents in The Outskirts have ever seen Spector. The people living in The Outskirts were seen as the scum of the Voitheia, most wanted to have nothing to do with them and strongly believed they did not deserve to be inside. Spector was thought to be no different from the rest with regard to this matter. He wanted to have nothing to do with this particular group of people. He never once stepped into The Outskirts, there was no reason for him to do so anyway.

There are rules that govern the area. Rules that were made by Spector to maintain, as his guards would say, ‘order’, ‘to keep people in their place’. Spector ruled with an iron fist, compliance goes without saying. Going against his wishes would be suicide. There have been stories about people who once went against him and they were taken away and have not been seen since.

Thursdays were termed as ‘stock-taking’ days by those living in The Outskirts. Every man, woman and child was to be accounted for and the total number recorded by a guard. They had to ensure population numbers were in check. Everyone’s health status was noted as well. The sick and old would be removed from the area, no one knows where to, but the term ‘removed’ may be taken more seriously than expected.

The Animals of the Voitheia

The Voitheia was made for all living matter, not just humans. This was to ensure that the ecosystem would not be thrown off balance from the sudden removal of animal species. Animals were brought into the building but due to space constrains and finite resources, only a limited number of each species were brought in. Bringing in additional living things into the Voitheia means sharing of resources such as food, water and air or you could also see it as extra competition, less resources for yourself. A large number of animals could bring about a significant decrease in oxygen levels in the area as well as increasing chances of disease, all of which would decrease the success of survival of the Voitheia.

The animals were brought into the two of the many inner domes (4^th and 5^th layer from the outer) and were out of sight from The Outskirts. It is said that within one dome, there contained every single species one would find in that continent. The dome created for the animals (wildlife) is further subdivided into different areas that mimicked the original habitat of a particular group of animals. For example, (in the North American Voitheia) a forest habitat was created to house black bears, snowshoe hares and blackpoll warblers just to name a few.

This dome also served as the zoo or safari for the Voitheia and all from the inner domes have full access to this zoo. The people in The Outskirts had no share in this. It was a place of attraction. Places of attraction and other facilities were included in the building in the hopes of adding normalcy into the whole idea of the building. A sense of familiarity was needed in the dome and was done so by incorporating these features that used to be present in society before Earth began to die out.

As for livestock, they were kept in another dome. Cows, sheep, pigs and chickens were some of the few livestock found in this dome and were kept for the sole purpose of providing food. The dome for livestock is a lot less elaborate for the main purpose was to ensure a clean and sanitary environment for the animals. Calculations were constantly done to ensure that more resources (produce) would be gained rather than lost through the rearing of the animals. Should there come a time when livestock numbers grew too large and more resources were being used up, the numbers would have to be cut and slaughtering would commence. Resources here are finite and priority will always be given to mankind instead of the animals.