WindStruck
2023-07-24, 11:31 PM
Hello. Thought I'd move us over to an OOC thread here.
The world is nearly post-apocalyptic. After resource shortages and numerous wars, huge swaths of land and ocean were irradiated and nations began falling apart. In the distant (or perhaps not so distant!) future, humanity has somewhat recovered, but their populations are scattered about in sealed off city states, with at best governments that are mere figureheads and rubber stamps. The corporations run everything, the competition is fierce, and everyone knows this.
The only law in this world is might makes right. Mutated savages roam the wastelands, laying waste and brutalizing all that trespass on their tainted turf. In the streets, muggings are common, the gentle con artists a dying breed, and gang wars rack up huge body counts, many the result of collateral damage. The police - or what passes for such - can barely keep the peace. There is no more sense of law and order in this world; they are glorified thugs, enforcing the will of their corporate masters. Corporate Execs make deals behind closed doors, sometimes merging assets, sometimes cooperating to cannibalize a third party, usually just screwing over the populace and fleecing them again and again, but often times there is just plain backstabbing too. Acquisition of power can seem fleeting to some individuals, but the overall hierarchy remains the same.
The American Dream is dead. Has been for decades. And yet, new technology never ceases to amaze. Hoverboards, flying cars, cybernetic implants, androids, superior artificial intelligence, space ships, moon colonies. There's talks of colonizing Mars or one of those moons on Saturn, but nobody's really put forth the money and the assets to make those dreams reality. At least, no one publicly has; the fear of sabotage is too great. But everyone knows the first to successfully colonize another planet will be swimming in wealth and prestige that is unimaginable. It's too bad this lofty goal is only for the filthy rich, and potentially their trained astronauts.
People have been talking about cloning, too. They've been talking about it for decades. It's been proven for quite some time that plants, animals, even fully grown humans could be perfectly replicated from stem cells and grown to be an identical copy of their host. However, there is a slight problem, in that, all that has truly been created is a mindless, soulless body. There's no such thing as true immortality, and once you're gone, you're gone. You can't just look into a device and it somehow magically copies all your memories, your personality, and the qualities that make you a human being. That, sadly, is just pure hogwash and science fiction, and so for the masses, their death is final. However, to the truly elite, the top of the top, the 1% of the 1% of the 1%, they know that this is, in fact, a lie. Death is not an obstacle to them, and the secret to living on forever is a closely guarded secret, above all else. Though the process of cloning and transferring memories is not as trivially accomplished like in many sci-fi films, it still is possible, and it is an incredibly lengthy and expensive process.
Day to day life is rather dull and soul-crushing for an average person. From birth they are implanted with a chip, which is forever their identifier and tracking device. Implanting of this chip is compulsory, and those who happened to slip through the cracks are often rounded up by authorities and ran through the system .. and/or imprisoned or even executed. Later on, as a human ages, they are able to receive more implants and cybernetics: chips with hundreds of useful apps like communications, maps and GPS, calculators, word processors, even stupid mobile games... all injected straight into their brain. And cybernetics can enhance one's senses, reflexes, and depending on how far one goes into replacing parts of their body, even significantly increase strength and raw speed.
But life is still rather terrible. People live in cramped, unnatural hovels, if even that much. Most people get a little cubicle where they can sleep. There's no more sense of family. The state - or the corporations - own your parents, and they own you too. No one really knows what food is actually like anymore. Algae is grown in mass quantities and filled with nutrients, shaped into dried wafers. People can wash it down with re-used, treated water, but many often end up downing it with some type of intoxicant. Anything truly real, anything natural is hard to come by. In a sense, most of humanity and what made them humans with souls is dead. But there are still some who cling to the old ways...
Her great grandparents were full-blooded Irish and proud of it. They were activists in the Irish Republican Army, devout Catholics, and also supporters of the "Humans First!" movement. This was considered an extremist movement that disparaged mutants, cyborgs, heavily-modified people, and just about anything that wasn't a natural life form.
Her grandmother and grandfather were wed at the ages of 14 and 15, respectively. They had a child one year later: Faith O'Connor, Charity's mother. Still embroiled in conflict and paranoia, Faith's kin and "comrades" were dropping like flies left and right, be it from their own suicidal attacks or corporate intelligence cracking down on them. But luckily, Faith had an out.
In London, Faith met and fell in love with a young man, Peter Bradley. He was a man of science who studied biology and a decent man of faith as well. He had often counseled Faith in confidentiality upon the destructive ways of her family, the terrorist group they had associated with, and spelled out that eventually, things could only end up one way: killed by the same violence which they begat. Faith ate up all his words and couldn't agree more. But what to do? Not one to miss an opportunity, Peter suggested that they could break ties and start a new life in New Los Angeles.
It was agreed, and they eloped to this new city, where Peter applied for a job to engineer and test pharmaceuticals, and in the mean time, Faith poked around, finding a new religious group to call home. "The Servants of the One God" as they called themselves, is about as stuck-up and pretentious as you might imagine. But to be fair, just about anyone who still clung to religious texts might as well be called that.
They imagined themselves to be the Free Masons of these dark times, and a guiding light for the lost masses. And while most people ignored their message, and the corporations kept an eye on them, they were left alone because they were by and large considered harmless. One thing this particular religious group had that was a secret, however, was a live fig tree. Carefully kept and tended in a large, underground vault, nourished with feces and compost of any scavenged materials that seemed natural, and grown under special fluorescent lights, the days and nights and seasons are emulated, and once a year, this tree bears fruit - real fruit. It is a little ceremony that the church keeps to themselves, and it is a secret that they believe, one day, could help revitalize the world.
Uh. Right. Anyway, so Peter and Faith had a couple kids. Their first child, Charity, had a violent reaction to the identification chip implant and nearly died. However, she survived, and eventually the authorities had to settle for retina scans and also gave her a special identifying bracelet (which was like a chip in worn form). Her parent took the whole ordeal as a sign from God. They felt this proved they were on the right path, and they could expect great things from Charity one day. Some years later, they had another child, which gave her a little brother, Michael. He, however, was not as "special".
During their young lives, Charity and Michael were home-schooled and of course, also did a lot of studying the Bible. They were kept away from the TVs, mobile phones, and holographic screens as much as possible until into their early teens. And even then, the other implants and cybernetics were avoided. For Charity, they were not even in the realm of possibility, as her body rejected them.
Unfortunately, though you could say Charity was at least given a moral upbringing (at least as much as feasible in this setting) and learned some rudimentary math, history, languages, and literature, she was still rather unprepared for the harsh world. She was unqualified for all but the most menial of tasks, but those were already easily done via machines. So she did not have much choice in terms of livelihood.
Somewhere near the slums, she helps to run a charity hostel, which also can perform crude emergency services and urgent care as a last resort. It is quite a thankless task, a place frequented by deadbeats, drug addicts, and fugitives, and often overcrowded to the point where sleeping bodies cover the floor. Food and supplies are scarce, financed by the whims of drunken or smug strangers, and the medical care is.. subpar. However, the normal hospital will not admit anyone unless they have credits or a background to potentially fund the cost of their treatment.. so for the truly desperate, this place may be better than nothing.
Charity Bradley is a young woman with pale skin, blue eyes, and long orange hair like the color of carrots. Her body is thin and rather delicate. There are no signs of tattoos or cybernetics on her, nor is there any makeup, goth, punk, or otherwise. She wears a hooded white robe, sometimes over more casual clothes, but most times (because she is usually working or attending ceremonies) the full getup. When going outside, she will also wear a N95 mask to help protect herself from smog.
These images were AI generated, after numerous attempts.
https://i.imgur.com/jLvQNUI.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/69qP8pJ.jpg
Charity Bradley
Aspects
High Concept: Faithful Philanthropist
Charity helps run a charity hostel. There are a few things that get her through the day: her faith in God that she has a purpose, that there is a plan, and everything will work out - and the feeling she gets when doing good, that somehow, she is making the world a better place.
Trouble: Outcast of Society
Not everyone gets it. In fact, hardly anyone does. Most people think Charity, her family, her religion is crazy. And those that don't think that, think she is hopelessly naive, ignorant, or perhaps even bigoted. It might not be entirely false.. Wherever she goes, people know she's different, and not in a good way.
Hyperactive Immune System
It's what makes her body reject all implants and cybernetics. Arguably, she's quite resistant to diseases too. On the other hand, she can have nasty reactions to things, perhaps certain irritants, or vaccines. Or peanuts. But you aren't likely to find those here. Her body might be on the verge of attacking itself.
Religious Devotee
Her church is called The Servants of the One God, which is actually based on Eastern Catholicism. It was a bit different than what her grandparents and mother knew, but when they moved to New Los Angeles, they were mainly looking for good people. Charity spends most Sundays and religious holidays (which are no longer recognized) with this organization. Her life has been mostly sheltered because of this, but she has found a meaning to life and a "unique" education because of it.
Apprentice Holistic Physician
Needless to say, Charity isn't your average brain surgeon or ripperdoc. Most people wouldn't say she's had any real medical training at all. But the fact of the matter is, certain techniques were lost and forgotten with the advent of new treatments and cybernetics. New technology made many of these techniques obsolete or even inferior. And yet, their basis was still sound.
Skills
+4
Empathy
+3
Notice, Rapport, Will
+2
Academics, Contacts, Deceive, Medtech
+1
Investigate, Provoke, Stealth, Technoscience
+0
Athletics, Burglary, Drive, Hacking, Shoot
-1
Cybernetics, Fight, Physique, Resources
Stunts
Stranger Danger Sense - An essential skill for determining if you're dealing with a psycho and should leave the situation immediately. Empathy works unimpeded, even if it might normally be impaired, when dealing with someone that intends to harm you.
Holier than Thou - You shrug off petty jibes and insults of the ignorant, like water off a duck's back. Get +2 to defend against provoke attacks specifically related to your lifestyle, religion, or appearance.
Pay it Forward - Word gets out on the street that you help people, and not everyone is an ungrateful scumbag. Get +2 to create an advantage with contacts when dealing with lower class people.
Stress
Physical: [ ] [ ]
Mental: [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ]
Consequences
mild: -
moderate: -
severe: -
Refresh: 3
Fate Points: 3/3
The world is nearly post-apocalyptic. After resource shortages and numerous wars, huge swaths of land and ocean were irradiated and nations began falling apart. In the distant (or perhaps not so distant!) future, humanity has somewhat recovered, but their populations are scattered about in sealed off city states, with at best governments that are mere figureheads and rubber stamps. The corporations run everything, the competition is fierce, and everyone knows this.
The only law in this world is might makes right. Mutated savages roam the wastelands, laying waste and brutalizing all that trespass on their tainted turf. In the streets, muggings are common, the gentle con artists a dying breed, and gang wars rack up huge body counts, many the result of collateral damage. The police - or what passes for such - can barely keep the peace. There is no more sense of law and order in this world; they are glorified thugs, enforcing the will of their corporate masters. Corporate Execs make deals behind closed doors, sometimes merging assets, sometimes cooperating to cannibalize a third party, usually just screwing over the populace and fleecing them again and again, but often times there is just plain backstabbing too. Acquisition of power can seem fleeting to some individuals, but the overall hierarchy remains the same.
The American Dream is dead. Has been for decades. And yet, new technology never ceases to amaze. Hoverboards, flying cars, cybernetic implants, androids, superior artificial intelligence, space ships, moon colonies. There's talks of colonizing Mars or one of those moons on Saturn, but nobody's really put forth the money and the assets to make those dreams reality. At least, no one publicly has; the fear of sabotage is too great. But everyone knows the first to successfully colonize another planet will be swimming in wealth and prestige that is unimaginable. It's too bad this lofty goal is only for the filthy rich, and potentially their trained astronauts.
People have been talking about cloning, too. They've been talking about it for decades. It's been proven for quite some time that plants, animals, even fully grown humans could be perfectly replicated from stem cells and grown to be an identical copy of their host. However, there is a slight problem, in that, all that has truly been created is a mindless, soulless body. There's no such thing as true immortality, and once you're gone, you're gone. You can't just look into a device and it somehow magically copies all your memories, your personality, and the qualities that make you a human being. That, sadly, is just pure hogwash and science fiction, and so for the masses, their death is final. However, to the truly elite, the top of the top, the 1% of the 1% of the 1%, they know that this is, in fact, a lie. Death is not an obstacle to them, and the secret to living on forever is a closely guarded secret, above all else. Though the process of cloning and transferring memories is not as trivially accomplished like in many sci-fi films, it still is possible, and it is an incredibly lengthy and expensive process.
Day to day life is rather dull and soul-crushing for an average person. From birth they are implanted with a chip, which is forever their identifier and tracking device. Implanting of this chip is compulsory, and those who happened to slip through the cracks are often rounded up by authorities and ran through the system .. and/or imprisoned or even executed. Later on, as a human ages, they are able to receive more implants and cybernetics: chips with hundreds of useful apps like communications, maps and GPS, calculators, word processors, even stupid mobile games... all injected straight into their brain. And cybernetics can enhance one's senses, reflexes, and depending on how far one goes into replacing parts of their body, even significantly increase strength and raw speed.
But life is still rather terrible. People live in cramped, unnatural hovels, if even that much. Most people get a little cubicle where they can sleep. There's no more sense of family. The state - or the corporations - own your parents, and they own you too. No one really knows what food is actually like anymore. Algae is grown in mass quantities and filled with nutrients, shaped into dried wafers. People can wash it down with re-used, treated water, but many often end up downing it with some type of intoxicant. Anything truly real, anything natural is hard to come by. In a sense, most of humanity and what made them humans with souls is dead. But there are still some who cling to the old ways...
Her great grandparents were full-blooded Irish and proud of it. They were activists in the Irish Republican Army, devout Catholics, and also supporters of the "Humans First!" movement. This was considered an extremist movement that disparaged mutants, cyborgs, heavily-modified people, and just about anything that wasn't a natural life form.
Her grandmother and grandfather were wed at the ages of 14 and 15, respectively. They had a child one year later: Faith O'Connor, Charity's mother. Still embroiled in conflict and paranoia, Faith's kin and "comrades" were dropping like flies left and right, be it from their own suicidal attacks or corporate intelligence cracking down on them. But luckily, Faith had an out.
In London, Faith met and fell in love with a young man, Peter Bradley. He was a man of science who studied biology and a decent man of faith as well. He had often counseled Faith in confidentiality upon the destructive ways of her family, the terrorist group they had associated with, and spelled out that eventually, things could only end up one way: killed by the same violence which they begat. Faith ate up all his words and couldn't agree more. But what to do? Not one to miss an opportunity, Peter suggested that they could break ties and start a new life in New Los Angeles.
It was agreed, and they eloped to this new city, where Peter applied for a job to engineer and test pharmaceuticals, and in the mean time, Faith poked around, finding a new religious group to call home. "The Servants of the One God" as they called themselves, is about as stuck-up and pretentious as you might imagine. But to be fair, just about anyone who still clung to religious texts might as well be called that.
They imagined themselves to be the Free Masons of these dark times, and a guiding light for the lost masses. And while most people ignored their message, and the corporations kept an eye on them, they were left alone because they were by and large considered harmless. One thing this particular religious group had that was a secret, however, was a live fig tree. Carefully kept and tended in a large, underground vault, nourished with feces and compost of any scavenged materials that seemed natural, and grown under special fluorescent lights, the days and nights and seasons are emulated, and once a year, this tree bears fruit - real fruit. It is a little ceremony that the church keeps to themselves, and it is a secret that they believe, one day, could help revitalize the world.
Uh. Right. Anyway, so Peter and Faith had a couple kids. Their first child, Charity, had a violent reaction to the identification chip implant and nearly died. However, she survived, and eventually the authorities had to settle for retina scans and also gave her a special identifying bracelet (which was like a chip in worn form). Her parent took the whole ordeal as a sign from God. They felt this proved they were on the right path, and they could expect great things from Charity one day. Some years later, they had another child, which gave her a little brother, Michael. He, however, was not as "special".
During their young lives, Charity and Michael were home-schooled and of course, also did a lot of studying the Bible. They were kept away from the TVs, mobile phones, and holographic screens as much as possible until into their early teens. And even then, the other implants and cybernetics were avoided. For Charity, they were not even in the realm of possibility, as her body rejected them.
Unfortunately, though you could say Charity was at least given a moral upbringing (at least as much as feasible in this setting) and learned some rudimentary math, history, languages, and literature, she was still rather unprepared for the harsh world. She was unqualified for all but the most menial of tasks, but those were already easily done via machines. So she did not have much choice in terms of livelihood.
Somewhere near the slums, she helps to run a charity hostel, which also can perform crude emergency services and urgent care as a last resort. It is quite a thankless task, a place frequented by deadbeats, drug addicts, and fugitives, and often overcrowded to the point where sleeping bodies cover the floor. Food and supplies are scarce, financed by the whims of drunken or smug strangers, and the medical care is.. subpar. However, the normal hospital will not admit anyone unless they have credits or a background to potentially fund the cost of their treatment.. so for the truly desperate, this place may be better than nothing.
Charity Bradley is a young woman with pale skin, blue eyes, and long orange hair like the color of carrots. Her body is thin and rather delicate. There are no signs of tattoos or cybernetics on her, nor is there any makeup, goth, punk, or otherwise. She wears a hooded white robe, sometimes over more casual clothes, but most times (because she is usually working or attending ceremonies) the full getup. When going outside, she will also wear a N95 mask to help protect herself from smog.
These images were AI generated, after numerous attempts.
https://i.imgur.com/jLvQNUI.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/69qP8pJ.jpg
Charity Bradley
Aspects
High Concept: Faithful Philanthropist
Charity helps run a charity hostel. There are a few things that get her through the day: her faith in God that she has a purpose, that there is a plan, and everything will work out - and the feeling she gets when doing good, that somehow, she is making the world a better place.
Trouble: Outcast of Society
Not everyone gets it. In fact, hardly anyone does. Most people think Charity, her family, her religion is crazy. And those that don't think that, think she is hopelessly naive, ignorant, or perhaps even bigoted. It might not be entirely false.. Wherever she goes, people know she's different, and not in a good way.
Hyperactive Immune System
It's what makes her body reject all implants and cybernetics. Arguably, she's quite resistant to diseases too. On the other hand, she can have nasty reactions to things, perhaps certain irritants, or vaccines. Or peanuts. But you aren't likely to find those here. Her body might be on the verge of attacking itself.
Religious Devotee
Her church is called The Servants of the One God, which is actually based on Eastern Catholicism. It was a bit different than what her grandparents and mother knew, but when they moved to New Los Angeles, they were mainly looking for good people. Charity spends most Sundays and religious holidays (which are no longer recognized) with this organization. Her life has been mostly sheltered because of this, but she has found a meaning to life and a "unique" education because of it.
Apprentice Holistic Physician
Needless to say, Charity isn't your average brain surgeon or ripperdoc. Most people wouldn't say she's had any real medical training at all. But the fact of the matter is, certain techniques were lost and forgotten with the advent of new treatments and cybernetics. New technology made many of these techniques obsolete or even inferior. And yet, their basis was still sound.
Skills
+4
Empathy
+3
Notice, Rapport, Will
+2
Academics, Contacts, Deceive, Medtech
+1
Investigate, Provoke, Stealth, Technoscience
+0
Athletics, Burglary, Drive, Hacking, Shoot
-1
Cybernetics, Fight, Physique, Resources
Stunts
Stranger Danger Sense - An essential skill for determining if you're dealing with a psycho and should leave the situation immediately. Empathy works unimpeded, even if it might normally be impaired, when dealing with someone that intends to harm you.
Holier than Thou - You shrug off petty jibes and insults of the ignorant, like water off a duck's back. Get +2 to defend against provoke attacks specifically related to your lifestyle, religion, or appearance.
Pay it Forward - Word gets out on the street that you help people, and not everyone is an ungrateful scumbag. Get +2 to create an advantage with contacts when dealing with lower class people.
Stress
Physical: [ ] [ ]
Mental: [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ]
Consequences
mild: -
moderate: -
severe: -
Refresh: 3
Fate Points: 3/3