meadowlarklogs | ARRIVAL LOG 024

WHO: Everyone! Newbies! Yay!
WHERE: Red Wings (immediately), New Amsterdam (as a whole).
WHEN: June 8, 2512
WHAT: Newbies!
NOTES OR WARNINGS: Coercion and loss of autonomy, references to a rebuilding city, anti-government protests, and shady mob dealings.

> ARRIVAL LOG #024

Just before the new arrivals show up, a message turns up in the inboxes of all of the Displaced. Unlike the message that normally comes in from El about new arrivals, it doesn't show up involuntarily, instead showing up as an optional message that anyone can ignore. Of course, this is one that people may not want to disregard, not at a time like this.

The author is "PM." It reads:

From now on, I'll direct all drop offs to Red Wings, unless circumstances change. You'll get a message a lot like this one when new arrivals are ready and incoming. I liked setting you guys somewhere fun for when you first got here, but we've had enough of the fun and games and bad zombie makeup.

I won't change the procedure. I won't give a lot of notice. They'll still have the same cocktail cooking in their veins. I can't change that. Too risky otherwise.

This may be the first and last chance I get to talk to you. Not an easy truth. I'm trying to set things right, but time seems tricky. You all know what this looks like, don't you? I don't think you're to blame, but I don't know that either. It could be me by way of you. Could be that this would happen anyway. I know Johann's got his hands involved in this somehow. It has his creepy fingerprints all over it.

One more thing. Thank Morningstar. I always meant to keep you on ice, thinking it'd be messed up to thrust you into this world. They took care of you and proved me wrong. I never asked them to do that, but they've kept it up. Now I hope you can help them.

The next batch arrives soon. Keep an eye out.

Unsurprisingly with a message like this one, replies won't be possible. Any attempts to trace it will lead to a dead end. Even El and Cassius won't be much use here, coming up against a wall that makes it seem like it came as a result of a hijacked UN emergency alert.

A hover van lowers to the ground mere moments after the message is sent. The staff this time is considerably smaller than usual: two guards and a nurse. Both guards get out of the front of the van and head toward the back. Just before they get there, they scope the perimeter. "They said they know we're coming. Stay alert." It's time to let these people out so they can head "home."

> PLANNED ARRIVAL

Despite the advance notice, your arrival will feel similar to the arrival of many who came before you. Awareness comes to you in blurred snatches, cloudy fragments of sound, light, color, and sensation. It's hard to grasp onto anything but a series of rhythmic beeps, a medicinal astringent smell, and the sensation of movement beneath you. Your eyes are heavy and you struggle to keep them open, but in the glimpses between slow blinks, you see a man in front of you dressed in all white. There isn't any other visibility. Not yet.

You realize there are others nearby, restrained the same way as you, and dressed in long-sleeved white scrubs. The humming feeling of the vehicle comes to an end, and the door to your right opens up, revealing two heavily armored soldiers. You may try to open your mouth to speak, to ask a question you can't quite grasp, but it's as if your tongue is coated in tar.

You realize there are others next to you: all dressed the same way as you. To your left there's an armored interior door, two more people visible, and the movement of streets passing through a windshield. You try to open your mouth to speak, but it's as if your tongue is coated in tar, and you manage nothing more than an empty parting of lips.

"Get them off their IVs and get them out of here. I don't want to deal with any of those people if they find us out here." A masculine voice filled with a sense of urgency and—perhaps—fear? Awe? It's hard to say.

The next movements are swift and methodical. Once the IV is yanked out, you feel yourself guided out of the van into the alleyway. Once you're set in a row, the silent guard speaks: "Head to the front. Don't look for local assistance like the cops. Look for the glow. That's the deal. Listen to the people with the glow."

They don't waste any time after that. Both of the guards meet each other's gazes, and then nod to the nurse who helped the Displaced out of the van. No reason to stick around, and they don't want to risk running into those people with the crazy glowing chests. They'll definitely give it a miss.

Sure enough, they lift off within a minute's time, leaving the newcomers in the alley to have no choice but to follow instructions.

◉ Though entirely capable of independent action and thought, new characters will find themselves completely, unquestioningly compliant to any verbal statement which could be taken as a command or request – and that includes the message passed on from the mysterious patron.

> WELCOME TO THE APOCALYPSE?

Of all of the cities that were ravaged in the recent attacks by a flood of monsters coming from regions unknown, New Amsterdam ended up in the best shape. That doesn't mean that it's looking good right now. The city's a mess: skyscrapers reach into the sky, illuminating little to no light because of the many shattered windows. Most of the overgrowth has started filling in again, offering a green hue to everything: making it seem as if the city is slowly being enveloped by nature once again. Worst of all: while the city looks like this, there's a sticky, muggy mist in the air thanks to the gross humidity. It feels like a constant cloud that hangs low over the day's proceedings.

As for what's going on around the city?

> RED WINGS
Much like the rest of New Amsterdam, Red Wings has only begun to recover. Although emergency services are no longer needed at the location, there are a number of local New Amsterdam citizens huddling close to the building just outside in tents, hoping to see a glimpse of the Displaced who work there. Many of them seem to think that if they stick close to Red Wings right now, they'll be in the safest place that the city has to offer. Franky, they wouldn't be wrong.

Business out of Red Wings is impossible right now thanks to the shattered windows and the damaged decorations on the inside. All that still hangs on the walls is a broken neon light fixture of Michigan and the (formerly) surrounding Great Lakes.

There are places to sit, as clearing out the bar area and cleaning it up has been a priority. The booths along the walls might have seen better days, but they offer a place to rest and wait for any attention.

Though the kitchen is understandably in bad shape, basic vegetable stews and curries are coming out to serve anyone who's hanging around, as well as the multiple Displaced who are (undoubtedly) assigned to cleanup duty for the time being. Drinks are on the house, as well, though they haven't refilled their stock of kegs since before the monster crisis. Hard liquor and cheap, unwanted wine will need to be enough for the time being.

> ANTI-UN DEMONSTRATIONS
In a world commonly known by its rigid structure and rule of law, New Amsterdam seems to be taking on a different flavor. Throughout the city, small pockets of people march while wearing the Morningstar insignia. This group has declared New Amsterdam a bastion of freedom from the United Nations, though the majority of citizens in the city aren't taking as bold of a stance just yet.

Thanks to the lack of UNA presence, there is little that the UN can do in light of this. However, people will find that any posts about these demonstrations will be promptly taken down so that the word doesn't spread through the rest of the world. Keep posting, and social media accounts will be deleted, with a ban put on for the next 48 hours to keep them from making another account.

The UN has slid into damage control.

> REBUILDING
Speaking of damage, the big three corporations (Pulsar, Giles Bell, and Vyonation) in New Amsterdam put all their resources toward helping the city recover. While they've funneled credits into previous crises, they know better than to withhold at a time like this, especially when there's an election on the horizon. These credits will go toward hiring workers around the city, helping build and deploy construction droids, and ensuring that people have enough income to ride out this crisis.

Thanks to New Amsterdam getting out of the crisis in better shape than most other cities, there are a lot of hands on deck to get the construction work underway. Anyone who's not afraid of heights and would like to fill their bank account with a good amount of funds can take up these short, contracted jobs to help rebuild the city. It's expected that the citywide repairs will take a few months to complete, assuming everything goes as planned.

In the meantime, get used to a city covered in green plant life that's seen better days. That's New Amsterdam now, for better or worse.

> THE ELECTION
To top off everything else that's happened in New Amsterdam, there's an election on the horizon. Even the newcomers will be able to vote, in part because they'll be considered long-term New Amsterdam citizens. And despite the questionable appropriateness of it all, there are political ads playing all over thanks to the geolocation focus of advertisements. Want to watch a show while clearing out rubble? Expect a commercial about Simone Durcell and what they can do for you. Want to just listen to some music? Expect an interruption about Joseph Lynch's long charitable history, and what he's doing to help New Amsterdam already.

These advertisements will be constant. But most interestingly, the corporations won't back a single candidate. After Katelin Jovavich's untimely death following the end of the simulation, the corporations are keeping mum on their preferences. It seems as if there's a corporate mandate to not publicly support anyone on social media, as well. Anyone who's employed by one of these corporations will have received a message "advising" them to not post about their political preferences during a trying time like this one.

(More information on the election can be found on the August calendar. There's also a thread for who you'd like to see win, or who you'd have your character support here on Plot Engagement.)

> SHADY DEALINGS
Not one to ignore the opportunistic gift horse right in front of them, both the Petrov Family and Riverside Mob move into action to take advantage of the chaos of the city. Their answer to everything that's going on? Kill them with kindness, with less killing and more kindness. Almost seemingly in tandem, they begin opening shelters around the city to offer people safe and dry places to live. So what if there are shady enforcers standing outside guarding the locations? At least they're safe.

In the evenings, these same mafiosos decide to flout the rule of the law by having open-air fighting rings in the sky parks. Although the NAPD is working around the clock to try to keep this creep of criminal power from enveloping the city, they're understaffed and overworked. Some of their employees have already taken off to New Beijing to join the newest rendition of the UNA army, and they don't have the staff to fill their shoes. The setup of these fighting rings is rather boisterous, as multiple members of the two mob families filter through the streets of the city with their typically concealed vehicles to begin setting up shop for the evening events.

These (extremely illegal) evening events will be a good place to pick up narcotics, weapons, and anything else that someone might be looking for from the Black Market. After all, who wouldn't want easier access to a gun during a time like this? There is always a risk that there will be a raid by the NAPD at these fighting rings, but their lack of staff means that someone can probably slip away unnoticed. Who even has the time to check all the surveillance to see who slipped away?

> HOUSING
Ah, housing! The cost of living in New Amsterdam was already going down thanks to the simulation and the numerous people aiming to move away. Now that half the buildings are in bad shape, renters will have an easy time finding an affordable location that suits their needs. There might be a wall or three missing, but there are still three to four bedrooms with appliances. Of course, the appliances may need to be covered in tarp while the city's still in its rainy season.

As for the newcomers, they won't have any safe place to hide. While they'll need to be brought to one of the two safehouse locations (Red Wings or the abandoned garage) for El to finish fixing up their identities, they'll need to be convinced to sit tight in the meantime. Not listening comes with a whole wealth of problems: the NAPD could arrest them, though they're admittedly understaffed. They won't be able to open doors anywhere, buy anything for themselves, or even take the sole train that's running within the city during these trying times. Still: El won't be able to do a rush job on these identities due to the state of the world, so the standard four days is still in place. Good luck convincing them to sit tight.

In the meantime, they'll have to get used to a few ugly truths about this new world:

◉ They'll be living on the kindness of others. While Morningstar and the Displaced have a good amount of second hand clothes to offer to newcomers, they won't be in the finest shape, especially after the recent crisis.

◉ The drug in their systems won't be going away for a few hours, so they'll have to deal with the urge to bark on command for a little while. At least it's not multiple days!

◉ This is a world without a lot of basic commodities. Coffee is hard to come by and extremely expensive. Paper? No one produces paper anymore, not even for the rich and famous. And bugs are the protein of choice given that they're easy to come by and don't take too much energy to source.

◉ While the Morningstar network will be set up for all the newcomers thanks to their proximity to Red Wings, no one will be able to VR and Chill until El finishes making their IDs. That means that any news reports or information about the world will be out of reach for the time being. Their fellow Displaced will need to help them out in the meantime.

> FINAL OOC NOTES

You're now free to post to the network and logs comms. To reiterate, your characters will have no IDs or inboxes, nor be allowed to roam free until JUNE 12, 2512 (AUGUST 23, 2020), and until that date will appear as "anonymous" on the network. At that point it's expected they'll have gotten a good idea of their new situation from their fellow characters, and will have discussed their background and job potentials with El in order for their false IDs to be set up. We do expect that some characters may be unwilling to sit tight for four days when they don't have a safehouse locking them in place. Feel free to plot amongst yourselves, and come to us if you have any additional questions!

If you have any questions or ideas about how you'd like to get your character involved in the world, please head over to the plot engagement post and drop us a comment! For questions specific to this log, there is a thread below.

The August CR meme for the month is here.

Please check out our August calendar rundown for a look at things happening this month. For an idea of why things are in such bad shape, please take a gander at our most recent Event Wrap Up. All of the plot paths there are available to newcomers, so feel free to ask us any questions here!

AC remains halved this month due to the state of the world right now. New players will only need to provide at least five comments across two-four (2-4) threads, while older players will only need to provide ten comments across two-four (2-4) threads. Please let us know if you have any questions about this!

> NAVIGATION

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[ It's a thought that's occurred to Ephemera before. Really, it's nothing short of a miracle the locals haven't turned on them already. ]

Surprised no one has yet.

[ Well. Aside from the whole kidnapping and experimentation thing. ]

Sure. I'm game. Not like I've got anything better to do around here.

I'd need you to report back to me and Stephen regularly if you see anything, and maybe check in parts of town where people might see us as a threat. Corporations are likely, and so are the mobs, but I don't know as much about the latter. [She barely knows anything about the former. She just knows that they make sure that the government retains power.]

I'm not sure how much you'll be able to learn, so it might be a process. Plus, if you're good at remembering faces, any locals who seem like they're asking too many questions would probably stand out. Not the ones who are too admiring, though they might fake it.

[It's paranoid. Clarke knows it. But she also can't ignore the concerns of the people who think things might go badly for them. This is a way of taking care of that.]

[ He hums, considering it. ]

I stand out too much for the corporate crowd.

[ People remember a face like his. Most of the time he wears a hood and angles himself to hide the worst of the scars, but there are limits to that. ]

Got some friends at the fight clubs, though. They sell me weapons sometimes.

[He's right about his face, so she processes that information silently for a few moments. Corporations will be hard to track as it is. But he may be able to see anyone who tends to go back in that direction, at least if they're a frequent visitor.]

Don't worry about the corporations. But having connections elsewhere can only help all of us. We'll always need more weapons, and it doesn't hurt to have more people who will be able to help us out at a price.

[People who fight for a living in a ring might be able to be bought elsewhere. Clarke doesn't like to think of money that way, but this world has changed that for her. She's had no choice but to adhere to it.]

I can do that.

[ Why not? It's better if they're coordinated, or at least moving in the same direction. ]

You got a lot of people working on this?

Not yet. The first person I had join up for it disappeared, but I'll check in with the other guy I recruited and get back to you.

[Between then and now, things have changed. Clarke doesn't know if it'll still be the same agreement. Plus, there are some she assumes would take issue with this plan, but it's still better to run it out of Red Wings.]

All right.

[ It's a start, at least. Information sharing, keeping an eye on things. It plays to his strengths. And if it goes sideways, they can renegotiate. Talk things out.

That's a novel thought. Talking.

He inclines his head slightly. ]

You got a deal.

[It's a start. Clarke has a feeling that this might be better pitched toward people who'd like to be guards but can't work with that as easily, while still working as attached to Red Wings. It'll get them moving, and if people's suspicions are right and things get bad? It'll mean that they'll have something in place already.]

I'll reach out to you with more details soon. And if you ever want to take up training others, let me know.

[ Ephemera inclines his head slightly. It's a start. ] I can teach combat skills. Basic shit. Specialized skills don't translate well without the right gear.

[ Funny thing is, people around here don't seem to have it. But they've got nearly everything else. Just not any armor that's worthy of the name. ]

The right gear might be a matter of coming by it or making it ourselves. If you have any schematics, I can see what I can do. [That doesn't mean that it's likely, but she knows that not all of the Displaced are trained to fight with little more than a gun and sheer bravery. Or stupidity. Sometimes it's both.]

We'd have to be careful, of course. Don't want anyone to think we're an army of our own.

[ Ephemera gives her a curious look, wondering. ]

Used to be an ODST. Orbital Drop Shock Trooper. Don't think you're gonna be able to come up with the armor we used. But I can draw you general schematics, if you want. I'm good at that.

[ Might as well make a use of out his art skills. ]

Pretty sure they think that already.

I don't know what any of that means. [It's true. The only part that she can guess on is the "shock" factor.] But either way, it wouldn't hurt to look into it. Just so long as we don't let evidence get out to reinforce that we're looking into it.

[As if evidence is ever needed to sway public opinion, but hey.]

Doesn't matter here.

[ It might if he could get his armor, all his gear, but that's a pipe dream. He used to obsess over it. He's trying to focus on other things now. ]

Surprised they haven't turned on us already. Usually doesn't take much in places like this.

We haven't given them a reason yet. Places like this tend to need that to back up what they're doing. [And too many people see them for what good they're accomplishing. Clarke knows that it can quickly fall apart. She's been a victim of it, and has even (temporarily, thankfully) lost her life to it.]

So, we try to keep anything we're doing that could do that away from them. If we can. [It's optimistic, but that's also why Clarke has other contingencies in place. Like having people scout and spy, for instance.]

[ Ephemera's been stuck on enough planets that went sideways. People are predictable when they're scared and heavily armed. And sure, there aren't as many weapons circulating in these parts, not like it was back home, but they're still locked and loaded. Eventually, someone's going to turn on the freaks in a real way. He probably ought to be more concerned about that than he is.

It'll happen or it won't. He figures he'll survive that like he's survived everything else. ]

Gonna be a tall order after all this shit.

[ But that's not news to her. Ephemera shrugs. ]

Is what it is. I'll hold up my end.

ARRIVAL LOG 024

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