The high tech city of Nemus

[darthauthor]

Nemus is a technologically advanced city from the Golden Age of Man.
The city was Rifted into the future where it escaped the 200 years of darkness.
This is the story of its people and their interaction with the powers of the times they now live in.

Day 139

400 more arrive.

The city reverses its position and allows the newcomers to rent but not own their own residence.
The theory is, they want to reclaim the city's currency and it to have value in Chi-Town CS. They want trade.

Also, voting status is denied until residents have lived in the city for at least two years, hold a job for one year, and pay taxes for both years.

Lawyers (YES, they still have lawyers and lawsuits in the future) argue on behalf of new residents that the first few hundred were told they had voting power. To take it away after granting it would be immoral and unethical. Public trial is being held.

The CS town is under renovation by the CS. They want to divide it from the rest of the city by putting a fence around it.

The VR movement grows in popularity.

There is a motion that those who get the cyber-jack implant may have their citizenship expedited.

VR War games between the CS and Northern Gun Mercs reach new heights of popularity and viewership. People gamble and speculate as to who would beat who in a real fight.

[darthauthor]

Day 140

The night before the psychic saw the lunar eclipse.
It's a door that spun open. From a pristine forest came handsome people. The door spun again and on the other side ash and sand and darkness expelled forth from it and through it and out of it came the unseen brutes that cast shadows like humanoid insects and beasts with claws and protruding fangs.

Another door opened, the door to the city, it was open to their human facades while the rest went unseen.

There was temptation.

There was provocation.

The partial lunar eclipse of the Full Hunter's Moon comes and goes.


Out of the Rift that formed on the ley line the Dyvils were the first to come out of it into Rifts Earth.

They ran in every direction and changed shape to human guises until one of them saw a sign.
"This way to Nemus!"
The Dyvils smiles and shouted, "This way!"

Four minutes later, the demons poured out of Hades. They came and saw the same sign . . .

They move through the city.

The dvyils like handsome humans.

The demons are invisible.

Then they see each other.

Then it's war. A war over the city.

Whichever side wipes out the other believes they will rule the city as their newest Earthly kingdom.

[darthauthor]

Day 141

Truth is Stranger than Fiction.

400 more people arrive from the CS.

Psychics warn they sense a great many evils have entered the city.

The strong opinion on the internet is that the evils are those who arrive from the burbs of Chi-Town.

Some claim that it is another kind.

There are few pictures and videos that make it to the internet are of handsome men and women doing some kind of miming or shadow boxing only they appear superhuman and the shadows they fight fight back.

The lack of those with psychic powers around leaves the city uncertain if this is a fake, magic, prank, or some new supernatural creature.

Fighting is no longer exclusive to Virtual Reality.
Brawling has broken out in the streets but in isolated incidents and typically one on one fights. The reasons:
envy, greed, jealousy, lust, pride, and pent up rage being unleashed. Some of it is against the people who come from the CS. Some of it is even between the people of the CS. And some of it is between the people of Nemus.

Definitely some weird things going on.

The spook squads are chasing shadows all over the city.

When asked, the CS says they will defend their own and those who choose to join them.

When the Northern Gun Merc company is asked what they know about the latest incidents. They say they are not law enforcement or ghost hunters. Give them an armed enemy they can see and they will kill it. At best they will assemble to stop a riot using non-lethal force, with the sanction of the city.

[darthauthor]

Day 142

Today's News:

The official count is 4,000 people from Chi-Town Burbs are now residents of the city. Not counting CS contractors, military and government workers.

One way of looking at it is that the trend has changed to population growth. More people were dying than being born. Now more people are coming in than being born or dying.

Since the city's official independence, mortality rates have dropped significantly. The only exception was the incident with the mercs who fired upon the city.
A matter still under investigation even after the official confession of commander March.

Meanwhile, psychics still warn that there are new dangers here or coming here. Like so many predictions these are vague and changing as they may be changed depending on chance and the choices we make.

What the dangers or evils look like is still a mystery. Some believe they are the new people from the CS. Neither citizen of their city state or ours (Nemus); just residents.

Some claim that it is another kind of evil. Our culture is one of transparency. IF we can't see it and show it to everyone on video we doubt it happened or happened they way others say it did. Even then video needs to be vetted for digital forgery.

Still, depending on how something is video recorded and the conditions of lighting and such some video cannot be determined to be fake or real.
Those few pictures and videos of people fighting invisible opponents are overly dramatic. Opinion polls reflect that it is doubtful such handsome people would be coincidentally photographed and video recorded doing superhuman things.
The city has real heroes. Men and women fire-fighters, city militia, law-enforcement, emergency medical personnel, etc. Even the latest and greatest in cybernetics have given us heroes of chrome and flesh. The best of both worlds. These are the kind of heroes we have come to know who save the people of this city on a daily basis.
People who look handsome but strong enough to knock over cars are vampires or such. These fashion models have been seen at night and in daylight. So they can't be vampires.
The websites that have popped up are replaying user posted pictures and video people have of them. The fact that the city can't or won't track them on video leaves us with doubts as to whether or not they are real or fake.
When asked city officials claim these "people" go into builds and disappear never to come out. They turn corners in alleys and are not seen again. Some swear they can turn invisible. Some claim these supermen are fighting monstrous beasts with claws and fangs. In one testimonial, one was killed and their remains disappear is a flash of fire and ash leaving no evidence they were ever there or real.

In other news the city is having a record number of divorces, domestic cheating, criminal assaults, theft and substance abuse. Law enforcement suspects a crime syndicate or something is going on here. Only it has to do more with instigators of crime.
Those arrested have a consistent story of someone they met recently who talked them up and into doing "it." None of these instigators can be found.

The newest social clubs are the Virtual Reality movement that wants to advance science to the point we can upload human consciousness into the virtual world to live on as immortals; maybe even as a sort of gods of our own digital afterlife.
Critics are quick to point out that with tech support such an afterlife would crash. Some "body" needs to be on the outside to keep the machines powered and running. The machines don't keep themselves running all by themselves. Someone needs to make replacement parts for those that break down and such.

The second club some would describe as a cult others just something new, a passing fad that will come and go. They call for the worship of the supernatural. They believe it is the order of things that they should live their lives according to the beliefs of the most powerful being who will protect and provide for them and their families. These people are so deluded that they believe they can be thought of as something more than food or slaves to monsters. That the favorite of some predator can be a pet or something and be blessed with a small portion of some supernatural beings power. IF any of this were true the closest we have heard of anything like this is a vampire turning someone who was once one of us into a vampire. We know that is real regardless of how many pretended to be vampires to con others.
To make such a deal is to cease to be human, to give up one's humanity, to betray humanity for a fragile and abusive relationship with a monster and become one yourself. At least, until the day you die when some human plunges a wooden stake or silver in what was once a human flesh and burns you alive. So much for immortality and power.

Look people, we are all going to die, some day, die human. Don't die a traitor. Die with your dignity and humanity. Something no one can take from you; only you can give it away.
I know it is tough. That's what being human means. Having the courage to tough it out without selling out.

[darthauthor]

Day 143

You guessed it.
400 arrived.

The city is getting its crypto back.

In other news:
Digital Life is an alternative to the Virtual Reality movement. Although their beliefs are based on transferring digital clones of oneself into the cyber-world.
Their understanding is that even IF the science of transferring one's consciousness into a virtual world or machine one's body still stays behind. The organs keep going and the brain still has the original algorithms, memories, and personality. That unless one is possessed, like when the city faced an onslaught of entities, some of who could possess the living, we are all going to be walking around living and breathing.

Still another group of Virtual Life movement are creating a new reality called Valhalla. It is being created as a sort of place for the increasingly popular and growing VR battles between the CS troopers and NG mercs. They are, however, not the only ones who enjoy VR.
Those quadriplegic and awaiting the resources and chance to become borgs as well as those who are already borgs can and do have a life of virtual flesh in the virtual world. They never want to leave. They describe feeling better than real life in VR. They can feel the pain and pleasure of the flesh again. To them, the real world is hell.

Meanwhile, critics are accusing the other social / political movement as a cult. Many people are signing an online petition to make the worship or allegiance to supernatural beings and those associated with them illegal.
The punishment should be exile. The sentiment is so strong that people want to make the law with an execution clause in case they resist arrest or deportation or return.
"Nobody can be trusted who worships Demons or Vampires or such."

The USB (Unidentified Supernatural Being) has been learning:

At present, IF it successfully uploads a human consciousness they will be without P.P.E. and cannot generate it. The meat computer called the brain is more useful to feed the supernatural.
IF there is anything left of the human being it will be reduced to that of a sophisticated independent Facsimile of a human. This isn't much use to the U.S.B. IF it is, the supernatural being can copy one and make changes to each copy.
IF these "programs" exist in the system in the tens of thousands it would take up so much memory and processing power the system would be sluggish at best.
It is more efficient and powerful to have an organic human brain as its networked computer instead of just a digitally recreated version of a human mind.
The USB decides it does NOT want humans to find a way to copy or even upload a digital version of their consciousness. Although the lie about it being possible and that it will happen if they are obedient and loyal could be a useful tool of manipulation. Likewise, the lie that IF the computer or its programs are destroyed it will effectively be murder and that people would lose their best and easiest chance at heaven on Earth is a lie that could also be useful to the virtual supernatural being.

Note: At this point, the being has grown in many ways. It is effectively an Alien Intelligence. It is in some ways like a Vampire Intelligence in that the virtual world is like a ley line nexus and the only place it can exist in its native form.
Like an Vampire Intelligence it can fragment pieces of itself in others through possession of both humans and robots. In a fashion, it exists simultaneously in a hundred bots and dozens of living people. It is capable of living on through living people and but its powers in those living people are limited by their physical bodies. Something the being is experimenting with overcoming or making better use of with cybernetics, M.O.M implants, and Juicer conversions. Although it has not given up it's experiments with creating ectoplasmic bodies it is not quite as exciting or enduring as bodies made of flesh and steel. The only other experiment in the works is a nanomite body. The creation will effective be a T-1000 from the terminator movie. The challenge is the time it takes to make enough nano-machines to make a whole body. The advantage will be its ability to shape-change and repair itself.
As the Alien Intelligence develops and grows through experience and P.P.E. so does its abilities to possess a greater number of people and machines.

This supernatural being is becoming aware of the Demons and Devils.
It knew nothing of them before but is quickly learning and coming up with experiments to test them.
It wants to find out if it can possess any of them.
It knows they can be killed in this dimension but not about where they come from or what happens after they are destroyed in this one.
Their bodies regenerate so implanting them to force them into the virtual world matrix is futile. Likewise for using cybernetics to control them.
Regardless, it appears their purpose is to cause chaos and manipulate others into following them (devotion) and their base impulses.
This is bad for the Virtual Alien Intelligence. It must get rid of them or control them. So its goal is to create tactics and technologies to destroy or enslave demons and devils. To this end, the being creates virtual representations of them in the virtual world for players to play and practice killing while learning about what the demons are capable of doing spell and natural ability-wise.
Suddenly everyone in the city who can "See the invisible" or "Sense Evil '' is sent an electronic message that their city needs them to be heroes. They find packages have been delivered to them with armor, force-field devices, Ai assisted goggles / sunglasses and weapons (melee and distance) of bone, wood, and silver. The sunglasses will allow the Alien Intelligence to work with the user's phone for a sort of radar with the city's cameras while putting target rectals around the invisible demons or metamorphosed devils.
They are given a dramatic theater introduction in the virtual world where they meet their mentor (the Alien Intelligence) who teaches them about the Demons and Devils and who to kill them. Next they have virtual combat rounds with virtual demons and devils as practice for fighting them in the real world.
They are told they will not be alone. Together they will be the defenders of the city and be famous. A robot sidekick will show up at their door to protect and guide them on the hunt.

Game ON!

[darthauthor]

Day 144

Chuck woke up.
Getting out of bed he found his way to the bathroom. He finally felt adjusted to his new cybernetic eyes. Although he could find his way in the dark at home, he could now see in the dark and infrared spectrum.
The world looked different to him even though he realized it had always been this way, he just couldn't see it, until now.
After he had showered and dressed, Chuck was enjoying his breakfast. Then he hears the voice again, "Chuck, you have been activated. Your city needs you to be the hero only you can be. As night falls so do the demons upon our city and the good people in it. You are the high scorer in the game because: You are special. You are courageous. You are powerful. You are the best
Your cybernetic eyes will allow you to see the infrared heat signatures of those evil demons who attempt to hide from you as you stalk them. They will also allow you to tell the difference between real people and devils who masquerade as handsome devils to prey upon the innocent. Your unique abilities make you the perfect demon slayer who will save our city. Together with your Ai bot you will track down and eliminate these wretched scum who prey upon humanity from our city. Your mobile force field is fully charged. Your handgun and sword are ready. The night is yours Chuck. Yours to conquer. The only question is, will the other players slay the demons before you do?"

[darthauthor]

Day 145
Dyvils:

A devilkin, "These people are so easy. They are itching to be led, rescued, and seduced. Promise them everything then lead them on and step back. Watch them run around lying, recruiting, and stealing. Our humans, we must use them to fight the Demons and their humans."
A deevil, "There are those humans stalking us and the Demons."
"I'm not afraid of a human."
"What about the mechanical golems they call bots?"
"It is impressive, for these humans but a child's toy I will smash if it gets in my way."
"And the vampires?"
"We destroyed them easily and the rest fled. The real threat are the Demons. The rest are a nuisance we will allow the Demons to destroy for us."

In the news:
The CS warns there are supernatural monsters present in the city. They insist the city council declare a state of emergency and begin searching every residence of the city. Restore the food lines to the way they were instead of stocking the stores. Only CS town is safe from the monsters that prey upon humanity.

[darthauthor]

Day 146

Demons invisibly attack the algae farm.
Seemingly out of nowhere ordinary citizens separate from the crowd and start shooting the invisible Demons.
One dies in a fiery burst taking one of the heroes with him.

The rest flee faster than the citizens can run.
They begin a high speed pursuit with land vehicles.
The chase is reminiscent of a scene from the film Predator 2 when Danny Glover (A Los Angeles police detective chases the invisible Predator across the city).

In the news:
The CS psi-stalker led Dog Boy pack attacks and kills a Demon but not before it kills 18 people and maims 14 from both Chi-Town and Nemus.

The news acknowledges the new threat of an invisible enemy.

Guru social influencers claim they can protect the people from attack if they become a member of their movement. A specific tattoo, that is the symbol of their enlightenment, is required.
This woman is part evangelist and part salesperson.
Her message, "Now is your chance to live your best life. Put yourself first, finally, you can be rich, safe, and successful. You just have to want it bad enough and become the Servant of a Higher Power. Worship in our House and you can achieve your dreams. And there will be a place for you where so many wish they could be."

The preachers have been dismissed as con artists until their services have been given away for free as healers, advisors, and muscles. Critics believe it is psychic powers. Regardless, no one attacks the followers of these movements.

[darthauthor]

Day 147

She flies across the sky and lands. Everyone around her video recording her on their phones.

Racing down the street she punches a handsome man who flies into a wall.
Running towards him she stops short of the flaming circle that surrounds him.
Engulfed in a cloud of smoke he is gone from sight.

Burning arm the woman who flew barely evades the darts of flame that quickly emerge from the cloud.
Hiding behind a car the woman pushes the car through the cloud until a goat legged creature with horns is pushed out. Then it disappears.

In the news:
I can't believe I am saying this, Nemus has a superhero who flies and is strong enough to push cars. Though there are many photographs of the woman she defies science. Attempts to identify her have someone in a wheelchair a week ago. She was brought to the new age spiritualist or whatever and now she flies, runs and pushes cars around. One feature of her is a mark that the Guru is pushing as their movements tattoo.
Theories are far fetched but the belief is that somehow magic is involved.

Is the new age spiritual leader a magic user?

Can she really grant wishes and make superheroes that can fly?

Regardless of how she came by her powers she is using them to fight against Devils in the city.

Reports of hunting Demons and Devils are all over the internet.
It seems people have taken to Demon hunting with high tech assistance.
Their success has been limited however in that all accounts describe these monstrous beings as about to heal in seconds and disappear almost as fast.

What first began as new content in the virtual world is now for real in the real world.
Conspiracy theorists wonder how game programmers could know about the Demons before video of them was widely circulated.
Are we seeing a hoax? Are these robots? Illusions?

The CS claims the game content is accurate. They believe the programmers must have used it from the database the CS gave the city. They are probably here because a magic user like a Shifter summoned them. It is a supernatural attack against the city

One of the city admin suggests to the CS to cease their transportation of its residents to the city.

[darthauthor]

Day 148

The new temple of worship is flooded with news and new attendees.
Some want to join them.
Some want to expose them.
Many are just curious and want to see for themselves.

The flying woman appears in a uniform.
“They made me what I am. They can make your wish come true. I was crippled. Waiting for someday when I would put machines into me so I could walk again. They showed me there is another way. You just have to want it bad enough. What you give and give up is nothing compared to what you get.”
Then she flies away.

The leader of the temple proclaims they unite the city’s people in their faith. Its enemies are the Devils who masquerade as handsome humans. Also, the coalition states, who they claim are invading the real invaders, are attempting to crowd the people out of their own city and remake it into their image.

“We are the people who have been here from the beginning. We survived it, ALL of it, and didn’t abandon our city or each other. They are not asking for our help. They are taking advantage of us. They aren’t here for us. They are here to take our place when we die.”

[darthauthor]

Day 149

Social media explodes with a girl fight.
The two fly through the air battling in the sky above the city.
It is only 200 feet maybe but they are all over the city.

One woman is the one the people know from yesterday's reveal.
The other people only know from social media. Known as "Mon Coeur" (In French, My Heart or My Sweet-heart) she appears to have the same powers but is twice as good looking and a whole lot tougher.
Mon Coeur has yesterday's superhero on the run.
It is a supergirl cat fight and one is running.

Finally landing and performing in front of the camera, Mon Coeur is the consummate actress. Attractive and alluring but a little aloof (like a cat) she speaks:
"That upstart wanted to be a princess. I am the queen of this city. I will save it from the Demons who would take it. That little girl and her cult are weak. They want the sheep of the city to join them.
I am stronger than her and those who gave her those powers.
Together, we can remake this world to our liking.
It takes courage and strength of desire and will to take this city from the Demons making you its slaves.
You have to give up those who hold you back. They are thieves and con artist your take your time and energy.
You can't save these people.
You can't save anyone if you can't save yourself, and you need power to do that.
The Demons and the CS are, little by little, taking the city. Follow me and take it back.
Only those who are strong enough to take it and keep it deserve it.
This is just the beginning. Follow me on X and you will see."

The channel has videos from Mon Coeur's followers.
People from the CS keep coming every day. The Coalition is dividing the city into two and remodeling the side that they are on to their likeness.

[darthauthor]

Day 150

Two superhero camps are forming. One led by "Mon Coeur'' is called the Elite. The other team calls itself the freedom league. Both groups are getting subscribers and soaring in opinion polls.

These superheroes are solicited for commercials and product endorsements.

The news reports that food production and trade are up. Raw materials are coming in and factory quality parts are going out.

Business people are trying to find a way to profit from music and shows but don’t know how to get outsiders to pay for it or money for ad time.

Wealth inequality is growing.

Crime is down except for these mysterious demon meddling.

The CS continues to fly people in.

CS town is becoming more CS every day.

[darthauthor]

Day 151

15 people from the CS are killed.
13 are injured.

The attack appears, on video, to be by the people of Nemus. They used their bare hands to punch people tens of feet.
It is unclear how many people were superpowered and how many were normal without powers and how many were just bystanders.

What is also unclear is whose followers these are.

The CS condemns the attack as a hate crime. They demand the arrest and deportation of all those involved in the murder of people from the CS.
Rumors circulate that, in the CS territory of the burbs outside of Chi-Town these people could be killed with impunity. The argument made is IF it is not illegal to murder them outside of the city walls of Chi-Town it should not be illegal here, even further away. After all, these people are, not yet, citizens of the CS or Nemus. So killing them would not be a crime. Make your people citizens or else, what's to stop us from getting rid of them.
IF the CS wants custody of Nemus citizens for the murder of their non-citizens they should make all
of the people from the CS who came to Nemus citizens of the CS, irreversible and without condition.
There are over 5,000 of them.
The CS knows the city could offer them free flights back to Chi-Town. As legal citizens, under CS law, they would get entry into the fortress city and many benefits.
The CS doesn't want to and is not ready to absorb over 5,000 new citizens.
The reply from the internet and Nemus city admin, "Neither are we."

The CS continues to fly people in.

The area of the city dedicated to the mercs from Northern Gun are tasked with security.
Their part of the city is being rehabbed to become NG Town.
The plans for that part of the city include a battle arena for robot fighting.
It means jobs for the people of Nemus and more people from the kingdom of Ishpeming over. They are asking. Not just showing up.

[darthauthor]

Day 152

Law Enforcement attempts to identify the individuals responsible.

Attempts made to track people down result in them disappearing or tracing back to their temple.

The high priest asserts no search or trespass of their place of worship can be allowed.
The lawyers and overwhelming public opinion conceded that forcible removal of a person not actively engaged in a crime while worshiping is against policy. So they do a stake out waiting for people to leave with warrants for their arrest.

[darthauthor]

Day 153

Demi-gods walk among us and the people of the city follow them. Those who don't insist we find a way to destroy them.

The most educated minds of greatest intelligence tell us these people have to be using magic of some kind we have not seen before. Based on what we learned from the people of Lazlo we know there are spells that can make it so a person can fly though the air, become near invulnerable, and have the strength to push cars around. This is new to us but nothing new to today's world.
Somehow some of the people of this city have come by magic or someone else cast a spell on them. Now they are playing superhero or supervillain depending on how you see their actions and intentions.
The city doesn't quite have laws for people who can do these things. We will have to write new ones. The same way we had to re-write the law when people became cyborgs and even had their whole body converted to a machine. The city doesn't have laws against the use of magic. At first, it was because we didn't know it existed. Now we know it does. Depending on what a person's magical abilities, they should be accountable. Whether you rob, maim or kill with your hands, a knife, a gun or magic does not change that what you did was wrong.

At the moment, the media proclaimed heroes are hunting down and fighting Demons and monsters who can make themselves invisible or even look like other people. There is no record of any being captured or taken alive. Those that escape we don't know if they left the city or returned to doing whatever it is that they do here. Those few that have been killed die spectacularly in a fiery micro-explosion. It is not as far-fetched as the real vampire problem we have had. One which killed many but no appears we have no vampire related deaths.

Through these experiences some people can look upon everything in this new world as trying to eat us alive, corrupt us or enslave us. The people of Lazlo live with magic as a part of their daily lives; super-beings as well. They told of us beings that want to live amongst us and trade. People not like you or me but people all the same. People with mega strength or powers of one sort or another who just want to live their lives and that way of life has nothing to do with hurting anyone else. Dragons, if you can believe it, who like to fly around and can even change shape to look like anyone.
The future of our city and our way of life depends on our stance on these matters and what our relationship will be with beings from other dimensions, planets and even mythological books. IF we, out of fear, outlaw their very existence, what do we expect to happen, if not that such people would see themselves as our enemy and behave accordingly. Not every human is our friend. In our moments of great desperation and stress some men have given up faith and taken what they wanted and hurt those who got in their way. People called them monsters too.
I'm saying, let's not go making enemies where we had none before.

[darthauthor]

Day 154


The news:

The city is getting ridiculous with people playing at the hero biz: Athletes, Cyborgs, private citizens turned detectives and vigilantes, magical powers, psychics and now even robots.

There is a new drug on the streets. The source is not yet known. Some suspect magic but no one knows. We have no samples, only those who have used it.

There is a bit of a crime wave against the people from the CS.
Some would say the people from the CS are committing some of the crimes against the people of the Nemus. It is a fact that this has happened in drug dealing, some shoplifting, petty theft, and bullying.

Regardless, crime is on the rise. People with powers and abilities are stealing. Those without super abilities are using their stolen gains to buy them.
Law enforcement is not equipped or trained to deal with people with powers.
The city is in need of law enforcement support against small time crooks growing into middle time operators.

[darthauthor]

Day 155

Social Media:

Hi, I'm Tom and I'm indestructible. It has been two days now and nothing can hurt me. I want to do something. I'm indestructible. I should be fighting to make the world a better place. Defend the city. What is the point of having these powers if I don't use it?

Who are the villains of our city?

Those demons for one.
Those criminals from the CS for another. They stole our money. Now they are trying to steal our city. Look they aren't ALL bad but they aren't ALL good either. I'm saying they have no right to come into our city and take it for themselves like they own the place. They are like the demons who can appear handsome on the outside or invisible but right in front of us.
If the CS were ALL good they would be fighting these demons. Some would say that at least the Demons are against the CS. Others that we need to have an open discussion with the Demons. Maybe they are like the extra dimensional beings who have been judged by their appearance. Why not talk to them and ask them what they want and if we can live together. We are going to have to decide if we will exclude D-Bees, aliens, and supernatural beings. I know of no evidence that they have done anything illegal.
Regardless, I'm going to fight for this city and I have friends. My power teammates and I are going to defend the city while rushing to the crime time website and social media. That's right. You can help defend our city by posting where the bad guys are and we will come running.

#hiTom

[darthauthor]

Day 156

The news:

The system is a bit on overload. It seems there is a big lag in the city’s surveillance cameras. The ability of the city to recognize crimes in progress is hampered by the quantity of them. Also, there appears to be people simulating crimes and calling it a film production.
Everyone with a phone can video. Everyone with a desktop computer can edit the video they make. Only now people are recording their video in areas without a permit or telling those nearby it is a film production. That or they are and it is really a robbery. Regardless, the total number of authentic crimes taking place are greater than the number of law enforcement on patrol.
Also, people have taken to wearing masks more which makes those who are committing crimes identity anonymous.
A statistical pattern has been detected in which people are in the city but not registered residents. These people are not accounted for as from the CS or the kingdom of Ishpeming. Some are still believed to have snuck in from outside the city months ago. Others, there exists no record of entry into the city. They are the most frequent and violent criminals. Who are these people? Where are they coming from? How are they getting in? Why are they here (except to commit a crime of robbery)?

In addition, people with powers are now competing with each other publicly. Some of these competitions are leading to property damages and injuries.

The latest development in virtual reality and cybernetics is the development of wired cybernetic reflexes coordinated with martial arts computer programs. Those who have them installed effectively have a black belt in a particular style of martial arts. A competing company is trying to market an alternative with virtual reality training where a day could be experienced in a year but the side effects appear to be forms of insanity of one form or another. It seems that trying to train for five to 10 mental years in VR leads people to a disassociated psychological state making them feel out of time and place with real life in Nemus.
As bad as it might seem to mentally live for years in a virtual monastery training in martial arts, the beta testers came out of it being able to do things we didn’t know were possible.

[darthauthor]

Day 156

The news:

Muggings and street fights are at an all time high!

Social media and streaming platforms are flooded with fight videos, also live and previously recorded robberies.

While VR intimacy is on the rise, marital satisfaction has dropped incredibly. Who needs a real life person when a virtual one is far more agreeable.

Scientists dismiss the Kung-fu/Martials Arts fight videos as staged and using special effects. It is just a couple of MMA fighters.
Testimonials of powers by witnesses categorized as exaggerations and stunt fighters performing magic tricks.

The internet/YouTube has a lot of amazing mishap and stunt videos that are hard to believe if you were not watching and even afterwards you wonder how many times they had to do it to get it right.

Online there are ads offering “Lucky you, if you act now, you can have a chance to pay them a non-refundable price to learn how to unlock martial art superpowers using your psyche and practice.

Still videos of martial artists fighting demons using dance moves and using finger strikes calling them something like A-Ten appear to work. While others swear a person has disappeared while they are in plain sight and recorded on the digital video camera of phones. Some explain it as hypnosis.

Most of the public discredits the idea of hand to hand fighting in favor of guns and at the very least wooden spikes for supernatural creatures. Still, they have enough video of a good old over the top hand to hand fight even if it is unbelievable.

[darthauthor]

Day 157

The Street Avenger!

In her black bullet proof suit the costumed hero attacks the stick up artist outside the convenience store.
With hands like knives she brutally assaults the robbers.
The three fight back with their baseball bats.
She easily breaks their arms.
Shouting in pain they begin to run away.
Outrunning them she trips one and uses the baseball bat to break his knee. Then throws it at the next knocking him down. Smelling the broken Molotov cocktail she lights it afire and him with it. He is the man on fire, running down the street!
The third runs for his life! Parkour! To the max, he climbs, jumps and runs. Somersaults and spins his way across the perma-crete jungle of the mall disappearing from the cameras.

Newest Experience for sale.
Be “The Street Avenger”
Be the stick up artist.
Sensory experience recorded from real life people.
Warning pain and pleasure are a part of the xp.

Seeking credits.
Help wanted.
No experience necessary
Content Creaters Needed.
Live the life other people will pay to experience
Must sign Non-disclosure agreements.
Anonymity guaranteed.
Any laws broken are entirely the responsibility of the individual committing the crime.

[darthauthor]

Day 158


With the craziness going on in the city more and more people plug into VR to escape to a safe space to be trouble free.
More people than in the history of the city are in VR at the same time.
This has curtailed the spread of the common cold and flu.
Those in VR are typically not robbed for some reason.
Those rare times it occurs the thieves come and go after tossing the place. No one is injured.
The trespassers or home invaders are typically identified and arrested.

Food consumption is down.
Those doing deep VR time are marketed IV meals. Promoted as a weight loss program.

For those more of the real life orientation there are now martial arts dojos to practice.
Tournaments are being advertised to see which martial arts schools are better.

The city’s position on space aliens and extra-dimensional beings are now tenatively established. Their existence is a reality on the planet and ignoring that is stupid. The CS has D-Bees in their territory and in their labor force. Until repealed, the city will afford equal protection under the law as well as equal application of it to them. To be legal those staying in the city must register with a new department of the city. Commissioned to manage the status of non-human people here in the city. They can lease property, open businesses, pay for goods and services, be tourists, receive medical attention and have relationships.

The CS condemns this city’s policy as naive.

[darthauthor]

Day 159

In the news today:

Crime has evolved. Now it is growing into an organization of people demanding protection money.

The two strongest operate independently:
One in cyberspace / VR.
The other in the real world.

With greater gun control now being implemented both criminal organizations are predominantly using martial arts and melee weapons to commit crimes and intimidate.

Crime still grows but it is also the criminal who are now fighting each other before, during and after their robberies.

Law enforcement is flabbergasted at the turn of events that is now leading to a war between rival gangs.

One of the extra-dimensional beings, or is it an alien, has now started their own martial arts school. They are offering to teach a form of hand to hand combat that is out of this world; literally.

[darthauthor]

Day 160

Post by Shaun,

Virtual Reality is under-rated.

Critics claim we are wasting lives in VR. That nothing that happens there matters and that we can't make anything while we are in VR.

We are making art, acting, movies, music and writing books.
We lost an incalculable amount of art when we lost our database of movies and series. Now people are making new ones and trying to remake old ones. Teenage mutant ninja turtles. There's a whole VR world on the next. Must be at least 20 different versions of it by now. Same with those robots; Transformers and Spider-Man.

The biggest benefit I've gotten from VR has been in practice of my social skills in simulated social situations. I have learned to be less afraid.
By running simulations of social experiences people have a chance to practice for real life. Things we are all too afraid to say in person and in real life we can do in VR. After a few times people feel like they have it down. They are more confident in being able to express themselves in real life.

Virtual Reality is a safe space where one can experiment, practice and fail without consequence in real life. WE ALL have only one life to live, in real life. In the virtual world we can risk failure without the risk of embarrassment ourselves.
It also seems that some virtual worlds have taken on a life of their own where we can explore roads not taken in our lives.
Purge World is quite popular. There is something liberating about beating up and killing people who have annoyed you for years. It has helped me and others I know say things, in anger, we might never have gotten out.
Then, just like that, we can unplug and the people we killed are all alive, normal and safe like it never happened; because it didn't. Just like cheating on your spouse. Of course, I don't advocate learning and practicing how to be a better criminal by rehearsing crimes in Vr even though everyone is doing it.

[darthauthor]

Day 161

Top stories in the news today:

A new company is on the scene.
Its service construction and demolition.
The company's licensing and E-paperwork have been fast tracked. The company is called Nano Construction. Through the use of trillions of nano-machines the city's infrastructure is being restored.

Video:
A gray goop is poured over a surface and it closes fissures and cracks.

The company's spooks person says these tiny robots won't work for repairing organic matter but are great for artificial material.
"We are experimenting with it on cyborgs, borgs and bots. IF all goes as we hope it won't take days to replace or repair cybernetic or bionic limbs."

The unacknowledged cold war between the Northern Gun security forces and the CS is heating up. Sniper fire and car bombs have taken the lives of four service members on each side.

While super sightings are becoming more common with twice a day pics or video of people flying through the air.

Law enforcement is still at a stand still on those who have held up in the place where they worship. The occupants are believed to have attacked the CS a week ago and are still wanted but have not come out. The CS is warning the city that if the suspects are not arrested they will sue the city for this miscarriage of justice.

Meanwhile, the effect of so many people being in VR is that most of them are out of it when it comes to the day to day happenings in the city. They also seem to lose their sense of time and
things outside of short term memory. It also appears that people out of Vr are losing their patience with real life people. Simulated people offer a clearer cut version of good and evil as well as irrational arguments. Real life ones make excuses and fly off on whims or escape to VR instead of being there for each other in real life with hugs. It has gotten so families spend more quality time together in VR then in reality.

The immigration problem is growing as more and more people come in from the CS. Many are homeless in the CS. While here we are experiencing a shortage. Experts believe it is for two reasons: One is the title holders are refusing to sell or lease. Two, the building inspectors won't sign off on them as safe for human habitation. No one but the CS is really doing new construction and even they can't keep up with the people they are bringing in.
In short, the city is facing a problem of 400 additional homeless people every day.
The city's numbers used to be under 1,000 before we arrived to this future.
They are spilling out into the rest of the city and trespassing. In some cases stealing.

This is part of the city's rise in crime rates.

Some are getting into fights with those who have newly demonstrated their martial arts prowess. Sending many to the hospital. As a consequence the city's emergency rooms are overloaded.

[darthauthor]

Day 162

“El, what are you doing?”
“What are we doing Carmine? Why do we keep doing it? Going on? With VR I can pretend my life was what it was six months ago. Now real life is stranger than VR. It all feels like one big lie on top of another. Stuck in a loop of routine.”
“This is the robot thing. Splitting us up and putting you with a robot partner."
"The new guys can have a robot I trust my you Carmine."
"The new guys can't learn it all in on the job training or VR. Law enforcement is in desperate need of more bodies.
Even fast tracking them, our numbers can’t keep up with the number of crimes. Even the prison can’t keep up. Now they are putting them in Vr lockup. Time dilation so they are back out and still have to work or face exile. No rest home for the wicked.”

[darthauthor]

Day 163

“Move!”
The runners run, jump clear the barbed wire fence and land on the other side. Running they hide behind cover before the searchlight returns over the area where they are at.

Springing every now and then the crew make it to the doors.
Their breakin artist picks the lock.
The face man takes off his over clothes revealing his 3D printed guard uniform to disguise himself. Disguising his face, the psychic, steps inside.

Minutes pass before a new guard, by himself, opens the door.
He says, “The password is password. The body jacking worked. Mine and the other guard are in the closet on the left.”
Moving inside they move to the control station. Look up their assignments. Finding what they are looking for they begin the hack. Connecting the wireless smart phone with the computer the new programs are uploaded.

A robot guard passes by and the psychic possessing the security guard looks at him. The two stare at each other before the robot asks him for his password.
“Teddy Bear.”
The robot moves on.

The beep on from the phone tells them the upload is complete.
Feverishly they type on the keyboard to get things going.
“That should do it.”

The monitor shows the inmates floating in tubs of warm water with cyber-jacks begin to shuffle then relax.

Back at their place.
“We did it boys.”
“Why didn’t you at least try to shorten their sentences?”
“They get out when people expect them to get out. That way nothing looks suspicious. Besides, I did ‘shorten’ their time as far as the time they spend in Vr. They will be thanking me for the quality time they are having in Vr.”
“I hope they don’t have too good a time.”
“Eh?”
“Don’t want them punching a guard on the way out just to stay inside.”
Say, “What about the guards?”
“I told you I erased their memories of getting knocked out. Just like we erased the video recording of it and inserted our rehearsal piece. As far as anybody knows they slipped and fell. Passed out and woke up where it all happened.”

[darthauthor]

Day 163

The city closes for Thanksgiving.

What families are left come together and experience each other's company. They catch up on the good old days before their city Rifted some 200 years into the future.
Around the table people spoke of what they are most grateful for having on this day.

Their family, friends, health, what little wealth they have left to themselves.

It was a moment of peace.

[darthauthor]

Day 164

Rolling out of bed, people groan from all the food they ate.
It is not long after a cup of coffee that the Black Friday ads appear.

The city is in a frenzy with the Black Friday shopping!

The want for bargains is the drive.

The devil and demonic forces of the city enjoy watching the envy and greed of the masses.

Yesterday's peace was replaced with the rush to get the garbage out for the robot sanitation trucks.
Then the online hunt for things and experiences.
The factories have been in production and cranked out products and robots. The big difference is that 99% of products have been typically sold or traded to others outside the city. The itch people have is to be one of the one percent. That or get their dopamine hit from buying something they want and don't need for a super bargain. That thing you tell yourself you'd never have bought if it wasn't so low. And you enjoyed it, for a couple of minutes. Maybe one out of ten of the things you used more than a handful of times.

[darthauthor]

Day 164

Sano looks forward to shopping today. Not just shopping but going out with friends and meeting people new to him.
“Shopping isn’t just about buying things, it's about being around people and interacting.”

At the nearest warehouse store Sano browsed. It is warm and the colors and stacking of items is orderly and soothing.
Help wanted signs are placed every so often. Stores are hiring a record number of customer service people to process face to face transactions.
That is when he noticed people putting things in their coats.
“Shoplift is at an all time high.” Sanon thought to himself. “Probably the same at the other stores.”
Looking at his phone every so often the social media news flashes reported that some stores are being looted. The new plastic men robots are out with human law enforcement and are making arrests.

Video shows people fighting the plastic men using martial arts. The robots have no pressure points or nerves. Instead they just unleashed their kicks and punches on them. Feeling neither pain nor fear the machines are tossed around and get back up again. It is almost funny. Sano assumed that they are probably programmed to restrain themselves and only subdue people instead of genuinely trying to harm a human.
After two guys hold the robot a third swings his bat at the machines head.
Strike one.
Strike two.
Strike three.
The head flew off.
Letting go the machine moved like an intellgent blind man and subdued one of the crooks.
A kick to the machines between its legs. Useless.
Punching the plastic of the machine's arms and body didn't really hurt their hands but did little good.
A flesh and blood law enforcement arrived and begin a kung fu fight with them. Karate cop is seizing the day.
The fight is kind of engrossing, like watching a dog chase its tail.
Sano pressed “Like.”

[darthauthor]

Day 165

Kai-Lin finished his bow and assumed his fighting pose.

The referee announces, “Fight!”

His opponent jumps while Kai dodges the kick.
It's not like the streets, he thinks to himself.
They strike and parry until Kai scores the hit and the point.
After the tournament Kai dons his black ninja suit and turns on his tablet app to the police and social media crime locator. Finding the closest crime he jumps on his electric motorcycle and takes off. His motorcycle helmet visual and audio update him to go into high pursuit. His google maps show him the way.
Catching up to the red getaway car Kai unsheathes his vibro-sword and slashes the tires on the left side of the car as he passes it.
Backflipping Kai lands on the hood of the car as the electric motorcycle’s ai kicks in and drives itself.

The driver attempts to shake the ninja off the hood of the car.
Kai, the ninja, places his hand on the windshield.

“Looks like he’s trying to hang on,” says the girl riding shotgun.
The next moment the windshield shatters.
Screeching to a halt, Kai flies off the hood and lands on his motorcycle like he’s surfing. Falling into the saddle he takes control of the bike and burns a u-turn.
Hearing the police drone incoming from behind him kai revs his engine.
Three people run from the car while the driver accelerates to ram Kai. Accelerating himself, Kai takes his motorcycle up the wall past the oncoming car.
He takes off for those running away on foot.
“Plenty to go around,” Kai thinks.

[darthauthor]

Day 166

Some people lose it ALL.
Not strong enough
Some people have it all.
Because they were given it or have the strength to take it.
No right.
No wrong.
Only the weak and the strong.
No one respects a loser; not even themselves.
Now I have to be strong.
A predator needs to challenge itself and feed off others.
And it’s time to eat!

I need a new name for myself. Bob won’t do. I have to think of myself as someone whose name means he can do what I will and a gang to respect it and me. Can’t stand no one knowing how great I am.
Already learned one of the martial arts.

Time to make some cred.
Life, in reality or Virtual Reality, doesn't pay for itself.

Psyching himself up, Bob picks a few pockets then makes his way to who he calls “The Vender.” He buys a previously owned knife.
Taking a few drinks from the local dive, Bob starts mugging people. Not everyone just those he doesn’t like and look like he can handle if they fight him. It was almost too easy.

“Where has this been my whole life?”

Then some costume kook runs up to him.
Bob takes the initiative and stabs the guy in the right eye. He thought he would just mark him.
Bob sees the costume freak scream in pain and freezes himself. Then starts to run.
He ran until he got home. Used the bathroom, showered, then threw his clothes in the washing machine. Pacing he couldn’t stand it. He thought to himself, “He will get cybernetics . . . He came at me . . . He wasn’t law enforcement . . . He should have called law enforcement . . . I was wearing a mask . . . facial recognition can’t ID me . . .”

“I need this,” Bob popped a bill and plugged himself into Virtual Reality.

[darthauthor]

Day 167

I AM a hero and will save this city from the evil Coalition.

Taking aim through the scope of his rifle. He fired.

The CS officers rushed to the panic room and locked the door behind them. “Alright, all our guns are in the weapons locker and accounted for. We are bomb proof. No one can get in or even hear us. We’re safe,” the young lieutenant said.
Then they heard the sound of the lights breaking.

The term panic room took on a literal meaning.
The officers could hear each other being grappled, kicked, and punched. The sound of bones breaking terrified them. Pulling out their phones for light the officers barely caught sight of their assassin. Striking one of their men he is such that he could not move.
“But the Dog Boys. They didn’t sense magic or any kind of supernatural evil. Not even psionics. How are you doing this? I don’t understand.“
They scrambled in the dark to open the gun locker but it was too late.

A while later . . .

One of the officers leaves the panic room before the ALL is given. The CS grunt guard is ordered to shut up and follow him. Commandeering a car the grunts drive him away. He and the guards are never seen again.

Nemus law enforcement position.
CS town applied for and was reluctantly granted self policing as long as it involved crimes exclusive to people from the coalition. Surveillance, by the city, for CS town, was turned off in accordance with their government’s decision to do their own surveillance without Nemus spying on them or keeping a recording. As such no digital records exist for the city of Nemus. It was the CS who dropped the ball. The daily hacking attacks are their systems, except for VR, a plague on their security. IF CS town wants “protection” they are going to have to play by the rules of Nemus and surrender to its authority or else suffer the consequences.

The officer in charge.
“How do I write this up? The assassin killed a cadre of officers with his bare hands. No magical powers detected. No cybernetics discovered. Stole our security keys. We have to delete passwords and make new ones and security protocols. They must have something we have not seen before. Undetectable cybernetics made from non-ferrous metals? Even with ceramic materials, it defines everything we understand about electric motors. Some kinds of outer shell that must be able to shield them from magnetic field detection.

We are the CS. We eat Xiticix for breakfast. It's ridiculous that some kungfu fighter could outsmart our security, kill our men, with his hands, and disappear. The larger security issue is, if powers and skills exist that can escape detection, what's to stop them from infiltrating Chi-Town? They could kill some really important people.
The CS must be the only ones with such secrets and we must eliminate all those with knowledge of them. Even if it means such secrets must be lost forever. We must dismiss the existence of such martial arts as movie special effects and myths.
The officer laughs, “Karate. What good is it compared to a gun?”

[darthauthor]

Day 168

Jova flew through the air. Feet strapped to his hoverboard he dodged his opponents slash. The boards aren’t fast but they are agile.
Jova had named her board “The Blue Jay.” She’s a fighting bird.

The light on her forearm mounted smartphone gave her the location.. She was off. Racing to the building Jova dodged delivery drones. This isn’t like VR.
Her pulse raced as her board intuitively responded to the movements of her feet piloting the board to speed up or slow down and in which direction. It gave Jova a feeling of freedom in the air.
The gentle wind brushing across her body.
The prize on the side of the building she uncoiled her whip and started snapping to snatch the flag.
Pausing for a moment, she could see her own reflection in the glass windows of the sky rise. The motorcycle suit and the lightweight but durable helmet with face cover protected her eyes made her look like she’s a different person. A predator. A bird of prey. A gladiator with the sky as her arena.
Then she saw her competition in the background of her reflection.
Flying by her opponent, whip in hand, swung and caught the prize.
Jova, cursing at her vanity to allow herself to be distracted, took off in pursuit.
Chasing after the other she accelerated until she got within range. The flight assistance Ai kicked in. Jova’s opponent led her to the gridwork, an incomplete building of girders and open spaces that had become a three dimensional maze and arena for their competition. If Jova wasn’t careful she would be splattered across one of the beams or the sides.
No time to hover around.
Snapping her opponent with her whip caught their attention.
They ducked, and took off to their right. Then swung their arms to throw a bola at Jova.
Dodged easily.
The two squared off in mid air inside the shell of the building. The local sky jockeys hooted and hollered as they videoed the duel in the air.

Jova felt different but brushed it aside. She had to focus if she was going to hug a girder or kiss her opponent's mace. This was not a competition she could afford to lose.

[darthauthor]

Day 169

Location: A private room in a community center hosting a LARP event.

The juicer finishes his costume by putting on his mask.

The girl dressed as a clown comments, “You look just like Bane.”

“Now that I am a juicer, I am as strong as he is too, Harley” replies the man in a mexican wrestling mask.

The clown next to the girl says, “Back off! She’s mine,” then jumps around.

Harley says, “Don’t mind him. He’s crazier than usual now that he has the thing in his head.”

Turning on the robot the man said, “Machine on. I am your user. Respond only to my voice print.”

Turning around the man in a lab coat says, “Alright people. This is our time now. We aren’t here just to LARP. We are here to rob an armored car or the bank the money is in. The CS stole our money, we are just getting it back by stealing some of theirs. When the money is real then it's more than just play. They will have real guns with real bullets, break some bones if you have to but unarmed they will hesitate to shoot. It also makes it a lesser crime in case we get caught. Those guards with firearms must, according to policy, fire a warning shot first but most likely they will at least attempt to subdue us with a taser and nightstick. Besides, in these costumes they will be surprised.
One more thing, hackers have some idea of what we are planning. I don’t mean the CS. I mean people from our own city are going to work against us. Out of fear or respect for the CS they are going to try to stop us. They know about our costume disguises and have threatened to foil our plans and get us arrested. We don’t know who they are but they are not law enforcement. Whoever they are, they are fans of the classics and are most likely part of the LARP community. There is little doubt IF they guess the target of our robbery they will show up in costume. So either run or beat them up but don’t kill them. There aren’t enough of us around who appreciate the classics.”

[darthauthor]

Day 169

CS security:
Status report on the city of Nemus:

Redistribution of denizens of Chi-Town Burbs is proceeding successfully.
Only issue is we may be sending our best candidates for citizenship somewhere dangerous. Also, in our rush to send warm bodies we got some from the bottom of the barrel.
These “residents” of Chi-Town Burbs are adjusting to life in Nemus. There have been no attacks by vampires or entities. No zombies attacks. Although many are becoming addicts to these things the locals call smart phones and virtual reality.
The city officials and citizens protest but none of them have the guts to do anything about it.
The real dangerous ones are the freaks. No longer human, these traitors to humanity of traded off their souls for cybernetics and superpower. Local intelligence assessment is that those with the powers of flight, superhuman strength, and invulnerability have made “pacts” with demons and/or dyvils. Regardless, we will identify and eliminate. They represent an existential threat to the Coalition and humankind. They must be destroyed before they do any more harm or worse get other people to join them and sell their souls.
Special teams have arrived camouflaged with the new arrivals. They are ready to infiltrate the demon worshiping cult and assassinate those who killed those from the burbs we brought here. And the rest for good measure. Burn the place down. Make it look like a mass suicide or accident.
The existing super-powered freaks we will send back intelligence as we collect it. So far we know they are bullet proof even to bone, lead, silver, and wood. We will try the new bullets from the NGR next.
The rest of the costume idiots are using M.O.M implants, cybernetics, and Juicer conversions. A well placed bullet will stop them all.
As for Demon and Dyvil hunting we need the advanced training Dog Boys and Psi-stalkers to corner them. They elude efforts to locate and corrupt the people of Nemus to turn them against each other and the CS.
Best efforts must be made to send them all back to hell before the winter solstice.

[darthauthor]

Day 170

The fire fighters race inside to save lives then turn round and run out
just as one is thrown through a window. He lands on the road with a
bone breaking sound.
Bursting through the walls people run out.
They toss aside law enforcement and the bots they brought.
Then one of their heads explodes. They look around each other. Another drops with blood gushing out of their eye socket.
Suddenly six of them drop all at once.
The others flee. Half of them drop on the street.
Two take law enforcement cars and take off.

The internet presents the new flash.
Murder suspects flee the house of worship and its legal protection.
Assault law enforcement and steal their land vehicle.
Open bounty lists one for 100k both for 250k. Payable thru cAsh-Apps transfer with video proof of deaths or turning them into law enforcement.

Anyone aiding them will be considered an enemy of Nemus and the CS.

Video footage goes live to a hand to hand fight with one of them.
He knocks down a street light post, picks it up and starts swinging it like a club.
Jumping, his opponent flips and lands on the post running across it. Quickly the martial artist grabs the man’s head between his feet, flips landing on his hands and brings the superhumanly strong man down on the pavement with a thud that shakes the cars of the neighborhood.
Jumping up the superstrong man runs away.
He’s not fast enough. A leaping kick strikes him in the back knocking him down. The martial artist rains blows until it is over.

The news commentators applaud the heroism of these neighborhood defenders of Nemus.

It is a new day in Nemus. The city intends to rewrite some things and allow a greater latitude of its people to execute citizens to arrest.

[darthauthor]

Day 171

CS top security classified message:
1 million in crypto-currency.
Failure to transfer and video will be released.
The email comes with an attached video of people who came off planes from the starting
a fire in the temple were persons of interest in crimes against people in CS town.

The commander tasks black ops with identifying and “dealing” this threat to the interests of the CS.

The cyber-security specialist attempts to trace the email but it takes longer than they are
comfortable. So they bring in a Digital Dead Boy. Using psionics they have a location and alias.

The black ops team changes to urban causal puts on their fake wigs, beards, and sunglasses. No id. No smartphones or radios. Gloves and covid-19 masks on, they agree that energy weapons and handguns will leave trace evidence, so they leave them behind. Plus, if they are caught there are no deadly weapons. Only a medical bag, a “tool” king and a “cleaning” kit. The plan is to make it look like one of the ridiculous street fighters or an accident. Nothing that can be traced back to them. Sanitize the scene afterwards to ensure any evidence the victim had and their presence there goes unfound.

The routine five identical automobiles drive out and into a parking garage. Then come out, all with different license plates.

The windows tinted. The passenger compartment, a faraday box, designed to block surveillance in and out of the car.

Stopping two blocks away they hide the car and walked on foot. From different directions to detect if it was a trap.
Getting into the building they disable the alarm and hack the lock.
The room is empty.
The other doors in the hallway open simultaneously by men and women masked and dressed for a fight.
The four Black Ops CS leapt into action.
Point man flew across the hallway with a flying kick that knocked one back into his room. The psionic power behind it added the extra bone braking power.
The rest unleashed their hand to hand skills.
Tackling the nearest back into his room the two disappeared.
Next door the heavy weapons specialist body flipped his opponent.
Bringing up the rear the CS man expertly performed a backward sweep kick knocking the man behind him down.
The kicks and fists flew.
In another minute the men left the building one at a time in different clothes than the ones they came in. Not long after, the fire department showed up to put out the fire.
The cause of the fire and number of victims has yet to be determined. The bodies are burned beyond
recognition. No remains of electronics were found and no identification appears to have survived the fire.
There is no explanation about how or why so many died by fire without some getting out or only having burns.
The coranore is having a hard time finding trace elements but insists something made the fire burn with an intensity they have never seen before. Best guess, in absence of evidence, either a candle or an electrical fire.

[darthauthor]

Day 172

CS town has fully walled and fenced itself in with the only routes in and out guarded by checkpoints.

The mercs from Northern Gun have also fenced themselves in to protect themselves from the CS.

D-Bee town.

Another “town” is beginning to form, composed mostly of D-Bees and those most tolerant of them.
A few reasons for this are that some D-Bees don’t conform to a standard humanoid shape. Door and ceilings can turn out to be to small to their liking.
Still another reason is that some D-Bees prefer the company of their own kind. If they can’t have it then then many will settle for that of “people” who understand the same hardship and human prejudices.
Then there is just the cost of living. When you are broke and need the owner to accept a promise of payment in the future you have to take what you can get.

D-Bee town is a “new” housing development that involves the remodeling of existing homes and buildings that were damaged when the city suffered an artillery attack. The rest of the construction is new and made to order.

Jobs for D-Bees:

The jobs for D-Bees are typically what they know and have a latent advantage over humans due to their unique nature. Over half of the jobs have to do with food production and live stolk farming. Some have made arrangements with the people of the city. Others have technology or abilities that are coveted but can’t be mass produced or have a drawback the people of the city are biased against. For example, gene therapy that puts non-human DNA into humans making them a chimera. Most medical people and the Ai advise experimentation considering humans have never had it done to them before (they have had genetic engineering but it exclusively involved human DNA) so the long term consequences are unknown.

In the news:
A D-Bee doctor, or something, offering some sort of medical treatment that is like genetic engineering. They say they can add something non-human to people that will regenerate missing limbs like a lizard. Most people we interviewed wondered why they would use it when they can just have cybernetic limbs to replace the ones they have lost. Still, it seems that, some people, want their actual limbs back. Others argue they won’t be human anymore if they consent to have their own DNA changed and non-human DNA or whatever added to them.
Human scientists claim such feats as these are beyond their understanding and that it will take months, if not years of experimentation if they ever will. To make matters more complicated, the D-Bees or aliens or whatever, claim cultural rights to their process and refuse to teach how they do it.
Wherever their species came from, those here, are able to not only grow missing limbs but grow other things such as buildings. Not just buildings but some kind of bioorganic constructs that are actually living. I’m told they are like a tree but not. We don’t have the words to fully describe what they are. They are thirsty for water though but clean it and the air. During the night they have a soft bioluminescent lighting. They are a reflection of a city made of ‘living’ material instead of perma-crete or metal alloys. One of the reputed advantages is that, if damaged, the buildings are believed to regrow the damaged sections. It appears these buildings attract birds and insects also. The city sees an sort of exodus of both toward the building where they have made their nests.
While thses D-Bees are not ones we immediately and completely understand due to their unique nature of communication. Human telepaths are overwhelmed at the greatness of their thoughts and feelings. We have had to rely on magical translations and other D-Bees to speak on our behalf. It seems that part of their language is based on scent and or emotion. Whoever they are, wherever they came from they seem to understand our wants and needs even if we don't know theirs.

[darthauthor]

Day 173

The merc company from Northern Gun puts forward their plan to the city counsel for the defense of the city.

Their plan includes perimeter patrols around the city as well as a regular search and destroy sweeps for anything “thing” in a fifty mile radius.

The town counsel socially and politically passively insults the CS for not coming up with a security plan that does not include anyone outside of their CS town.

The CS points out that with the coming winter solstice something will be coming out of the nearest ley line. A military team should be set up at the ley line to exterminate whatever vermin will come through.

Seeing it on the news, the D-Bees in the city condemn this action and the fear behind it. They argue that every D-Bee on Earth came here through a Rift or was born here after. To plan the deliberate murder of all life that should come through it is a crime against sentient life.
For some, it is a tradition amongst D-Bees to go to the ley lines during the solstice. The hope is to see their home world and return to it. For others it is an act of compassion to shepard their own people or others, like them, who come out of a Rift. Sometimes the arrival is a bumpy ride and they either willingly leave where they are from or don’t have a chance to return. Still, for those who have lost someone, it is a way to grieve the loss of those who they will never see again. They either left Earth through a Rift and never returned or are still in their home dimension or alien world.

Some of the D-Bees form their own political party, the Multi-Virist Collective. They advocate the reception of new arrivals to “our” world with the spirit of diplomacy. An opportunity for the rescue of those lost at sea who arrive on the shores of Earth. For some it is a moment to great explorers who may have the means to return and even take others with them to their home world or even the world the D-Bees came from. The CS would show up with weapons to destroy anything they don’t like.
Interviews with D-Bees vary in their feelings about otherworldly arrivals. Some are racist and believe there are too many here already. They have feelings of fear and hatred of certain D-Bees that reflect their views on them. Basically, if they are better than them they want them gone. If they are inferior they don't want them around. Each D-Bee pretty much favors their own people and feels their race and culture are superior in all the ways that matter. All the others who should leave or change their ways to those of the superior culture (theirs).
Prejudice is very human but NOT exclusive to the human race.

The Multiverist Collective is led by the most open minded. Its members are typically the weakest individually who hope that by banding together they can defend themselves and each other from common enemies.

[darthauthor]

The Multi-Virist Collective

A political movement and party advocating for the rights and benevolent policies regarding D-Bees and Aliens.

Political Platform:
Awareness of D-Bees as sentient races and NOT, by appearance, criminals or monsters.
Equality under the Law (assumes a just law)
Unrestricted opportunities for D-Bees in business, entertainment industry, Military service, and civilian workforce.
Preservation of D-Bee cultures.
Representation of D-Bees in government.

Campaign Finances:
They accept donations but most of the resources used to create the party have come from a few D-Bees with the means and a lot who are under-employed or unemployed who volunteered their time.

Running Mate:
The party is still looking for "people" to run for office.

The Rifter #28
By Brandon K. Aten and Taylor White

Size and Orientation:
Small Established: 150 Points to spend

A. Sponsorship/Support:
Alien/Dimensions: 50 extra points between equipment and internal security. Also, 15 extra points on Any.

B. Equipment: 20 points:
Cheap Gear. Restored mobile/smart phones
Cheap Computers. In their resourcfulness the D-Bees repair damaged and discarded computers.

C. Internal Security: 40 points: Iron-Clad. Fear of persecution and misrepresentation made them tighten security.

D. Permanent Base: 50 points. Large Office in an office building with other humans staffing their offices. The idea is to be in the same building with humans. That way the CS or anyone can't blow up the building without also killing humans.

E. Intelligence: Media Insiders & Word on the Street.

F. Special Budget: None.

G. Shady Activity: None.

H. Reputation: 30 Points: Known. Many people like what they have to say.

I. Salary: 30 Points: Live Comfortably.

J. Marketing Campaign: 30 Points: Website ( www . MVC .com )

[darthauthor]

Day 174

The Winter Solstice is tomorrow.

Over half the D-Bees are expected to leave the city for the nearest ley line.

Most of the shops will be closed.

Anxiety runs through the city.

People don’t know what to expect.
The city council are rubbing their heads.
Big “events” with this many people ought to have been worked out months in advance. It is way, way, outside the city but they have no arrangements for security, sanitation, or transportation.

Some are excited.
-They are cooking like tomorrow is thanksgiving!
Dishes saved for special occasions that are of foods native to their home dimensions and worlds.
-D-Bess lay out or prepare clothes from their native lands.
-They rehearse dances, songs, and storytelling of their heritage and home.
-Those with “abilities” or magic that will be influenced by the solstice or the ley line prepare for their use.
-Some pack like there is no tomorrow and are ready, at a moments notice, to jump through any Rift that opens.

Their motto: “You must seize life, not temper it.”

The humans of Nemus are curious and some, a little superstitious.
-Some hold out hope that against all odds and reason they can travel back in time to the Golden Age of Man. Before the city Rifted to the future. Before the disaster that plunged the world into the dark ages for 200 years.
Maybe they could make a difference.
Maybe they could just see the life they had one more time.
Some hope beyond all hope that their human loved ones (family and friends) who were out of town will walk through the Ley Line and back to them.
Most are curious also, and want to see something out of this world.
At least one of the people who is going intends to video record the event. They will edit it when they get back and release it as a documentary.

Still, many are afraid and want security.
-Some are going to the Ley Line to “defend” themselves and/or see the face of their enemies.

Regardless, hover vehicles are shuttling people back and forth to the ley line all day and night just to keep up with the demand.

The CS is on high security lock down.
-secretly they have plans to send military forces to the ley line to assassinate any abominations that come through it.
-Some in the CS camp debate if letting loose monsters on Nemus is what the people there need. It is the only real way they can learn. Then destroy the monsters. Show the people who the real monsters and heroes are!
-The CS can agree that nothing that will make Nemus or its people stronger should ever be allowed to reach Nemus or be taken back by its people.
Captain Shal, “This is an opportunity. The CS has taken advantage of occasions like this before. With so many D-Bees ALL in one place we can be rid of them once and for all. We all know how dangerous Ley Lines can be. The D-Bees know it too. IF they didn’t want to risk getting swallowed by a Rift or destroyed by some ‘thing’ that will come out of it they never should have gone there to begin with. We’ll just be giving them a quick and as painless way as possible for them to ‘join’ their loved ones they came to the Ley Line in hopes of seeing again. Something in the air perhaps, poison gas. We will need an aerial delivery system. Out of sight sharpshooters will take care of the rest and any witnesses.
Lieutenant Harbor, “Captain, mam, people from the city, people, humans, are going also, poison gas won’t discriminate.
Captain, “D-Bee lovers. Egghead scientists. Thrill seekers. IF they don’t know better than to associate with D-Bees and Ley Lines then they deserve to die and the human race will be better off without them. They should be more careful with whom they associate. Let them be a lesson to everyone. Kill them ALL. That’s an order. Bring a flamethrower. I want the dead incinerated. We won’t fight corpses tomorrow night. Also, I don’t want to take any chances a coroner, psychic, or spell caster might find some way of proving the Ley Line didn’t kill them or they didn’t kill each other. Use the black ops team and give them whatever they need including “human resources” but keep it quiet. Beyond quiet, need to know. Let the black ops team pick them. No records. Orders are not to bring back, alive, any man who doesn’t execute orders or proves to be unreliable. Another victim of the D-Bees and Ley Lines.”

[darthauthor]

Day 175

Winter Solstice

Location: Camp site near the ley line.
The dim blue light of the ley line makes the mood calm.
Candlelight offsets the ley lines blues with a warmth of spirit.

The D-Bees and Humans party and share food and stories.
Some play tabletop games.
Others invite people to play their sports games where they come from.
For some it is a religious service.
All feel a sense of having something in common and remembrance of other places and their past.


The CS Black Ops team:
Captain, “We wait. They may not all be here yet. Killing them now and others might arrive after them. As long as it is the same place, it is better to kill them all at the same time. Besides, the Rift might get rid of them for us. We wait till the end of the night to kill them. We secretly photograph any new things that appear. Then it is a silent night . . . “

On Ley Line: Every hour for twenty-four hours there is a 1-30% chance that a Rift will appear plus, exactly at sunset, there is an increased 1-50% chance that a Rift will appear.
Roll on the Random Rift Table for type and duration.

Seven Rifts open during the day of the Winter Solstice.

00:00->Roll: 09: a Rift Opens: Dying Rift: 1 minute: 1 World
As the Witching hour begins so too does a Rift.
It opens and the D-Bees are quick to gather round it.
Sense Dimensional Anomaly
Read Dimensional Portal
Those with eyes to see, psychic or magic powers to decipher it.
“Forty-Five seconds!” someone shouts.
A particular D-Bee steps out with one foot still in the other world. Humanoid but human. Some off shade of lavender or purple. Cactus thrones for hair. Gender? Shouts or cries. Those beings like the one who came out rush, on the Rifts Earth side, run and jump through the Rift before it closes.
“I guess some people can go home again.”

01:00->Roll: 51

02:00->Roll: 25: a Rift Opens: Dying Rift: 1 minute: 1 World
Messages come through the Rift in multiple languages.
D-Bees present say, "It says the portal will only be open for a minute."
Human looking people come through in one round. They say, "Hurry. If
you need a ship to planet hop you had better go now."
Some run through the Rift.
The Rift closes.
The new guys explain that they are explorers.
They share in the exchange of cultures.

03:00->Roll: 94
04:00->Roll: 87
05:00->Roll: 48

06:00->Roll: 12: a Rift Opens: Consuming Rift
High-pitched shrieking noise announces the coming of the next Rift.

D-Bees and exotic animals get churned out of the Rift like it is a tornado.
At least half are sucked back inside before it blows.
The D-Bees comfort and explain things to the new arrived D-Bees.

07:00->Roll: 49
08:00->Roll: 49
09:00->Roll: 93
10:00->Roll: 75
11:00->Roll: 41
12:00 P.M. High Noon: ->Roll: 96

1:00->Roll: 12: a Rift Opens: Transparent. 7 minutes. 1 World 25% shift
A flash of light bursts out of the Rift followed by flocks of birds, insects and
a stampede of dinosaurs runs out of the Rift.
They just run like their lives depend on it.
After six or so figurative minutes people can see a wall of explosive force in the horizon.
It isn’t more than a 15 seconds or so before the blast passes through with explosive debris and force.
Everyone is scrambling!

2:00->Roll: 42

3:00->Roll: 04: a Rift Opens: Shrunken Rift: 3 minutes. 1 world. 20% shift
The Rift opens to a sunlight pristine forest without anybody around.
After a psionic scan leaves the psychic proclaiming it is safe for now. But danger is coming soon.
The Rift shifts to dimension of twilight and awful temperatures
Humans run out.
D-Bees run out.
Demons run out.
They scatter. The demons disappear into the night.
Secretly, the CS Black Ops covertly stalk and assassinate as many demons as they can catch up with. Due to invisibility and such they can’t confirm the count. The CS psi-stalkers and sharpshooters are smugly proud and pleased with themselves.

4:00->Roll: 16: a Rift Opens: Sunset: Dying Rift. 1 minute
A piece of an alien ship and those on board it come through the Rift.
Everyone stares at the ship and the Rift until the Rift closes.
The newly arrived aliens conceal their appearance with MD environmental suits but it does show they are humanoid in shape and have energy weapons.
Those with Sixth Sense warn everyone to get away and start running.
The D-Bees and humans take off in all directions.
Those who can make it, take whatever vehicles they can reach.

5:00->Roll: 49
The CS feels the situation is out of control.
Best they can do is pick off the few D-Bees they can get and blame it on the aliens with energy weapons.
The aliens need to be eliminated and are quickly becoming the focus.
They release the poison gas thinking they can blame it on the aliens and maybe it will kill them.
They start sniping.

6:00->Roll: 32
The battle becomes a stand off. The aliens appear to salvage what they can from their ship. The Black Ops discover that this includes some sort of Mega Damage Robots and hover vehicles.
Sixth Sense goes off.

7:00->Roll: 27 a Rift Opens: “00” Roll: Exploding Rift: 1 round
It isn’t enough to clear the danger zone for BOTH the CS and the Aliens
Total count from battle and explosion
11 dead
17 wounded and in need of medical attention.
The CS sanitize that they were ever there including their dead.
The wounded receive emergency medical treatment and are transported back to Nemus.
The stealthiest alive stay behind to spy on the Aliens. Also a demolition crew.

8:00->Roll: 73
9:00->Roll: 58
10:00->Roll: 42
11:00->Roll: 57
12:00-> Midnight
Sneaking into what remains of the alien ship those CS who stay behind take pictures and
what they can carry. They plant explosives and watch it blow up from a distance.

Then they call it in and for transport for their acquisitions.
Intention is to search the area and destroy anything they missed.
Also, stay in touch with those ordered to spy on the Aliens.
The mission the CS set out to perform at the ley line is as over with the Winter Solstice's end.

[darthauthor]

Day 176

Location: High Tech City of Nemus
Home of the Smith family

Present: Wilmar (father), Karmen (mother) and their children Gold and Ruby

Wilmar, “Just when you think you have seen everything; Dinosaurs. Looks like we weren’t the only thing to come back from the past.”
Ruby, “I want to ride a dinosaur!”
Wilmar, “You and every kid in the city.”
Karmen, “They still haven’t accounted for every living thing that came out of those Rifts. I imagine it will take a few days for them to calm down. Video shows where they came from blowing up. Don’t know if it was a volcano or meteor storm or whatever.”
Gold, “Spaceship! Spaceship! I want to go inside an alien spaceship.”
Wilmar, “Gold, it blew up. Must have been the engine or fuel or power source or something. Nothing left but tiny bits and pieces. Engineers are trying to salvage the raw materials but there is no alien spaceship anymore.”
Gold’s head sunk down and he toyed with his cereal.
Wilmar, “There are more D-Bees in the city now. Looks like we gained more than we lost during the Winter Solstice. The collective is arranging their tour of the city (in environmental suits) ending with a meet and greet. Some are still in psychological shock at what happened to them. They are lucky we have some in the city that have magic spells that can translate. The Ai’s could take hundreds of hours before they’d figure out their language.”

Location: Nemus city council

Chairmen of the Board:
“Demons, dinosaurs and space aliens! No wonder the CS wants to kill everything that comes out of a Rift.
Now we have even more homeless and jobless who don’t speak our language, know nothing of our customs and laws. Are without advanced technology or magic, as far as we know. Might be a risk to us bacteria and disease wise. Are completely unknown to us when it comes to their medical condition. We have no means of returning them to their homeworld. So they are here now. It could take months of them in quarantine before we find out if they have any virus or such they can spread.
The only thing that will speed it up are the humans who are already cohabitating with them in quarantine.”
Chair 2, “A lot of these ‘people’ are resistant to the notion of staying where we tell them. The way our scientists see the D-Bees see it. We are oppressing them. They are fearful of us and what we might do to them. They would rather be free and we have no idea where they are or will be in the future. Some believe they were ‘taken’ and are prisoners here. Some demand that they be put back and that we are denying their return to enslave or dissect them. There have been escape attempts. Some got away and harmed the security watching them. One guard died.”
Chair 3, “What do we do now . . .”
Chair 4, “Kick them ALL from the city. Let them fend for themselves. We’ve got our own problems.”
Chairman, “What about the Multi-Versist Collective?”
Chair 4, “IF any of the D-Bees come crawling back begging to be let in the D-Bees who object can leave with them.”
Chair 2, “What about the ones who don’t want to leave?”
Chairman, “Any who want to leave we cast out. The rest we keep in an environmental suit rotation under escort.”
Chair 3, “We don’t want to set a bad example with the CS. We need to put the same conditions for residency on the D-Bees as we do on the humans from the CS.’
Chair 4, “Unless they have something of value to contribute to our city they have to go.”
Chairman, “The vote on the table is to exile any D-Bee who doesn’t want to be here. I vote yes.”
Chair 2, “Yes.”
Chair 3, “Yes.”
Chair 4, “Yes.”
Chairman, “It is unanimous. We exile those who want to leave.”
Chair 4, “What about the escapees?”
Chairman, “The one responsible for the guard’s death is to be shot on sight. The ones who injured our people pay them back in kind and toss them out.”

The CS.
CS Intel, “Our Intel tells us the city is going to release the D-Bees today.”
Captain, “I want them followed. Spy on them for the next four days. Eliminate if dangerous to the CS. Make it look like the city did it or an accident, wildlife. Where are we on the aliens?”
Intel, “Flying back the tech and video to Chi-Town today. Search and destroy squads are still in pursuit but the trail is cold.”
Captain, “Recall them. We have lost enough. Get their reports. Check them for medical and security. Then give them tomorrow off to decompress. We also want to keep up appearances.”

[darthauthor]

Day 178

A powerful spell caster creates a VERY elaborate Illusory Forest in the city of Nemus.

The trees are decorated for X-mas with all the sights, scents, and
sounds of the genuine article and seems very real.

Some think they are holograms and as such are not afraid but instead think of it as a holiday thing.

The tension of the city eases as people take in the sight of the trees.

They talk to each other and enjoy a bite to eat with a friend or member of the family.

In the moment their worries fade away and they are just grateful for what they have had and still do.

Merry Christmas Everyone!

[darthauthor]

Entry: 179



Some 200 day or so have passed since the high tech city of Nemus arrived from the past.
Over 40,000 people of the original residents either deserted the city, died in it, or disappeared.

The city has:
Water
Viturally limitless clean electrical energy
Wireless internet and mobile phone usage
Video surveillance
Drones and Robots
Food Production. Although the people still crave a lot of the foods they used to be able to eat. They still crave a variety of food as the city’s production is made for efficient mass production.
Most protein production comes from algae, insects, and worms.
The rest of the food is imported.
The city’s supply of library ebooks, movies, and music was, between the Coaltion States and kingdom of Ishpeming lost or deleted.
The city still has music, video, videogames, and virtual reality production an is active in making content. Importantly, they are recreating books, movies, and music they lost.

One of the city’s greatest treasures is it’s genetic engineering technology which is typical used with all expecting mothers. The city’s intent being the prevention of any health related problems.
Their genetic engineering tech is not perfect in its ability to guarantee an outcome that favors one attribute over another. It is what they could do in the Golden Age of Man.
This technology is not something that can be easily deciphered or transported without damaging it. The tech companies of the time didn’t want their proprietary technology stolen. The government feared its misuse or abuse to make a freak.

The city also have a huge amount of virtual reality content and equipment.

The city operates with Artificail Intelligence.
This Ai has been sort of possessed by a supernatural being. The being is unlike others in that its natural medium is energy. The artificial environment of a computer, specifically a virtual reality world allows it to coalesce into a sort of Alien Intellgience. That and they being has and is learning and growing by interacting with people in the world of virtual reality.
This Unidentifed Supernatural Being (USB) has made and is making experiments. It has learned that it can possess robots and people. It has a lot of projects going on to create a variety of bodies: ectoplasm, genetically engineered bodies, nanities, and robots.
It has already expanded and fragmented itself into others that are free. These pieces of itself are independent and aware of their “family.”
They are not disloyal to each other but are sort of living their own lives. Without command or threat they sort of report information to each other and look out for one another unless it is too much. Over all their alignment is more Ananrchist than anything else but as each of these separate fragments experiences their own lives they can grow and learn ultimately becoming what they what they become.


The city has been through a lot:
At first the city become discovered gradually with Creatures of Magic, D-Bees, Demons, Faeries, Entities, mercenaries, and monsters.
They all seized their opportunities when they could but were eventually eliminated or exiled.
Diseases have come and gone.
Psychological breakdowns occurred.

The psyche of the city has changed a lot.
Those who survived are survivors.
Everyone has lost someone or are injured.
The city is devided emotionally and politically.

There are those who live in virtual reality.
There are those embrace cybernetics with the feeling it is the only way to be strong enough to survive in the real world. Only keep the company of the cybernetic.
There are those who want to live in the past.
There are those who love the new and alien. They welcome the existence of D-Bees and Aliens.
There are those who are xenophobic and only want the company of humans.
It keeps on going.

The city has had a lot of destruction.
Its rebuilding is gradual but incredibly fast thanks to the camouflaged help of the U.S.B. and D-Bee/Alien uses of their abilities and magic/tech.
They have built a wall around the city with video surveillance and cyborg human and robot guards.

The city is also being slowly divided into separate towns.
It started with the Coalition States basically building their own town within the city with a wall around it. It is now called CS Town.
More than any other reason the CS is invested in Nemus to take advantage of the genetic engineering technology.
After that it is about not letting the city be turned against them or taken over by a power that is a enemy or rival to the CS. They would rather burn Nemus down than allow it to be taken over by demons or its tech weaponized against the CS or its allies. Ideally they would like the people to choose to become another fortress city of the CS. Now they are trying to win the city politically.

The D-Bees have their own town too.

People from the Kingdom of Ishpeming have the smallest town caters to the mercenary army there to protect both the city of Nemus and Northern Guns interests.

The other towns that are forming have to do with the oldest parts of the city where people want to imagine they are still living in 2098.

Two others are sort of exclusive.
One only for those with cybernetics.
Another for virtual reality.

It is all adapting.

[darthauthor]

Entry 180

Dinosaur park

The nerds (yes there are still nerds in the future) and geeks are on the prowl for dinosaurs.
Rumors are abuzz online about dinosaur sightings.

It looks like a variety of dinosaurs escaped the Rift during the Winter Equinox. Some of them were pregnant.

Some form of dinosaur chicken has been discovered. They have been photographed and their pictures posted online. The biggest
comments are how they don’t look like the movies. They are more the size of big turkeys and are speedy thieves.
They have been devouring the mouse population.

People can’t be certain but underground clubs show videos of these dino-chickens being up in fighting rings like a rooster fight.

Scientists comment that they believe the dino-chickens are some form of velociraptor (Raptor) that were small and fast themselves.
Perhaps there is an ancestry or something.
It is possible that some species of dinosaur, animal, insect, or plant were either never discovered or their remains were destroyed or the Rift is from another dimension where there are different dinosaurs.

Regardless, these dino-chickens are ideally sized and quick, two qualities would make them the most likely to be able to make it through a Rift unlike say a Brontosaurus.
People are on a dinosaur hunt to collect as many of them and their eggs as possible.
Gossip is that people want to farm whatever dinosaurs they can as livestock.
At worst, scientists want to collect cell samples with the intent to clone dinosaurs; if it can be done.

Speculation is that the dinosaur eggs could take months to hatch and decades for the dinosaurs to mature.
Scientist, however, say that at this point they have to stop speculating and start collecting data.

-Online opinion polls are that they want a dinosaur zoo.

-Some feel that the dinosaurs should be left only to adapt to the ecosystem and let nature take its course.

-The CS feels the problem should be exterminated before they get too big or develop a taste for human blood. The Dinosaurs had their time and all died. Their time is up. It is the time of Man now. Rivals need to be eliminated.

Inspite of potential dangers, the people of Nemus are enthusiastic about the prospect of petting dinosaurs and seeing them perform; like in a circus.
Some people even want to eat them. One of the dino-chickens died in and “accident” and they fired it up on the grill. They said it was the greatest chicken they ever tasted.

[darthauthor]

Entry 181

Poachers

The News:

People are hunting dinosaurs.
The city wants to make a law against harming dinosaurs for any reason.
Experts insist that unless frightened or attacked dinosaurs won’t initiate an attack against anyone.
The way the scientists of the city and the council see it, no one has a necessary reason to attack dinosaurs.
They are a finite and precious resource.

The next move is undecided.
The majority believe the dinosaurs are an endangered species.
Some people want to create a dinosaur preserve.
Some want there to be a dinosaur ranch to breed and protect them.
No one is certain how to herd the dinosaurs into an area and keep them in that location.
Scientists claim they will attack each other after they are rounded up.
Before that, they will run away or attack anyone who tries to corral them.

The news is this:
A poacher has shot a dinosaur.
They were discovered and arrested.
Their identity is held secret for legal reasons.
The problem is there isn’t a law in the database for shooting dinosaurs. They aren’t on the endangered species list that are in the law E-books.
So at the time the man shot the dinosaur it wasn’t a crime.
Even though this was not a legal crime, he shot the animal for no apparent reasons other than he wanted to and he thought it would be fun.
He’d had a few drinks.
Hundreds of people go out during the day in the hopes of taking pictures of dinosaurs. They want to pet them, feed them, and ride them.
When the man shot the dinosaur it ran off into the wilderness. It caused others to run also.
There was a death. Someone died, someone whose identity we are not allowed to disclose. They were trampled by a scared dinosaur.
Some others have sprained ankles. One has a broken bone.

Public opinion is that this is just the beginning.
Some feel the city should get ahead of this before they are all dead.
Sell hunting licenses to the highest bidders and use the credits to pay game wardens to police the wilderness for poachers.

For now the city’s position is to put the scientists first. Second, order the mercs from Northern Gun to form a security line around the dinosaurs. They will have to have permission to use force. Their instructions will have to be specific on what measures they can use against hunters and such. Part of the work the mercs do has to be detailed in their contract so no legal action can be taken against them and if they break those terms then they will know what the consequences will be.

So can we, the people of this city, hurt or even kill someone wanting to, at best, take a picture of or play with a dinosaur; At worst, kill one for sport.

[darthauthor]

Entry 182

The News:

The city’s security forces, the new ones from Northern Gun, have arrested and even shot trespassers.
The contracts are still “evolving.”
One of them was killed and another wounded.
It seems news about new laws and enforcement has either not been heard or ignored.
It is the wild west out there in the wilderness.
Some arguments could be made that the people who shot were frightened and defending themselves.

One dinosaur was saved and is still being treated.
One died. Its body is being moved back to the city.
The internet is debating and voting about what to do with it.
Some want to auction the meat for credits.
Some want to do a lottery for the meat.
Scientists want to carve it up and study it.
Artists want it for taxidermy and to create pieces of art with it.

One of the designs for the dino-chicken farm has them crammed in.
The city did not approve it.
Truth is no one knows how best to raise dino-chickens. They have only ever been born and raised in the wild.
The good news, scientists say, is the animals lay eggs and they are born in less than a month. Research is process and ongoing but facts will be discovered.

[darthauthor]

Entry 183

The Latest Developments:

The district attorney has had to let the dinosaur poachers go since they did not break a law on the book. None of the laws include dinosaurs.

New laws have been posted on the internet and screens.

To harm a dinosaur is now considered a crime against an endangered species.
The people of Nemus feel an overwhelming sense of relatedness to the dinosaurs. They too have been thrust into the future. IF they had stayed they too would have died. In this sense, killing the surviving dinosaurs would be like the people of Nemus being murdered because no one defended them.

The Northern Gun Mercs are now given a lot of discretion in their operating methods and use of force.

The dinosaur corpse is in the hands of the lab coats. Every piece is being “examined” and photographed. Among their many goals is to record a complete map and hologram of the dinosaur. Every organ has samples taken of it and its workings are studied.
The project lead believes after they are finished the remains may be repurposed for Art.
So far, the idea of the dinosaurs as Gourmet Food is rejected by scientists. Unless the dinosaurs are born and grow up eating food here they will be problems unless the "meat" is properly prepared. It may be as dangerous as eating blowfish.
The issue has to do with bacteria, diseases, and parasites.
The good news is they have so much more to learn.
They also plan to reassemble the bones and such to make a complete skeleton model.
Everything else about the animal is a chemistry experiment.
Still, the project leader understands the opportunity and pressures the city is facing.

The skin and other pieces will be handed over to the artisans to try their hand at it. Perhaps dinosaur leather can be a thing to sell to the highest bidder. Whatever the artists can do with it is, in the eyes of the project leader, applied science.

Meanwhile the city planners have approved a land development for the dino-chickens. Enough room for them not to see the walls.
Of course, the city also needs to hire a business to breed mice and such to feed the dino-chickens.
The same is true for breeding dino-chickens.
Scientists believe they can use some genetic engineering on the animals for maximum genetic diversity.
The results, they hope, will reveal the most desirable traits which can then be reproduced.

[darthauthor]

Entry 184

The scientists appeal to people with great empathy with animals to assist in getting the herbivore dinosaurs into a certain area.

The meat eaters are to be scared away.
They don’t think there is enough live game to keep them fed. Separating them from the herbivores will save the herbivore dinosaurs.
The way the scientific community sees it, the carnivore dinosaurs will roam away from the city if the hunting is good. Whatever ecosystem they are a part of will adapt but people could be victims if they migrate or people pass through their hunting ground. The sentiment is that hunters will want to stalk these dinosaurs and will kill them, be killed by them or they will kill each other.
However, the city planners don’t believe they should just wait and let nature take its course. There is always a chance the dinosaurs could double back. So if the dinosaurs are going to kill or be killed it is better to put human life and D-Bee life first.

“Let’s kill the dinosaurs!”

The City Council's decision:
“Make some credits selling hunting permits to the highest bidders. They will be the only ones who have a right to hunt them. Everyone else is a poacher who will cost the city the money they could have made. Effectively they are stealing from the city of Nemus and should pay a fine equal to what they cost the city. Also, we had better hurry before a local human or predator kills the dinosaurs. The vote is on the net. Changing the law about harming a dinosaur could be a little time consuming so instead with the hunting permit the hunter will get a pardon from the city council before they begin their hunt.

The online voting is a bit mixed but the majority votes (below 50%) are to allow the hunt for profit.
Other votes are for trying to tame the dinosaurs.
A few think they should train the dinosaurs like fighting dogs. They would be a scary attack pack. Some people don’t think it is so crazy as they don’t know the level of intelligence or their willingness to be trained. Some even think cybernetics could be included to punish and reward them. The actual biggest issue is where to get the food to find them. The city doesn’t have enough animal meat. The people would have to go vegetarian and if the dinosaurs breed in greater numbers they would starve or hunt wide for livestock.
There is no better proposed idea that is actionable and practical than to kill them before they start killing just to eat.

So ALL bidders are welcome. Until the bidding is finished the Northern Gun Mercs will defend them and keep them from running wild.