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meadowlarklogs2020-10-17 12:01 pm
MINI-EVENT #001
WHERE: New Beijing
WHEN: July 10-17 2512.
WHAT: Diagnostics, heists, and whatever else.
NOTES OR WARNINGS: Medical procedures (and anxiety associated therein).
The trip between New Amsterdam and New Beijing takes about half a day by train. If someone has agreed to participate in Riverstone's experiment, they'll be given first class seating on the maglev train taking them to their destination. This includes meals, a bed to sleep in, as well as a ride away from the train station once they've arrived in New Beijing. Even if someone spoke out against Rey on the various network posts, they'll be given the same treatment. Riverstone doesn't care about any Displaced squabbles, after all. The same goes for anyone who may be tagging along on their own dime. If they show up on the train and take the ride, odds are they'll be spotted by Riverstone's representatives. After all, they practically run New Beijing themselves.
As the capital of the United Nations, New Beijing is a sight to behold. It's the closest in location to its original namesake, and one of the most preserved. The surface levels of New Beijing are pristine, meant for tourism and visits from other megacities, while the lower levels remain hidden from the rest of the world. This is where the impoverished people of New Beijing struggle to survive, cast aside and forgotten by the wealthy people near the surface of the city.
Recent troubles related to monster attacks have left the surface of New Beijing in a permanent state of rebuilding, but that simply matches the rest of the world. Even with that, it's difficult to miss how much of the past has been preserved in New Beijing itself. There is a dam on its eastern-most border that was built as soon as the sea level began to rise and slowly envelop the city of Tianjin. While Tianjin was lost to the sea, the Chinese government acted to protect Beijing from further damage. The dam has since made up the border wall around the city, remaining the sole stable fixture for New Beijing for years to come. Now, New Beijing's borders stretch inland for miles upon miles, and it's the largest megacity in the entire world. Those same walls show a lot of recent wear and tear, but they were the first to be repaired following the monster attacks.
As for the rest of New Beijing? Here are some updates since our last gamewide visit to the city:
> THE SURFACE LEVELS
Unsurprisingly, the monsters hit New Beijing pretty hard. Since there was little assistance from the Displaced beyond shutting off monster travel from time to time, most of the city was forced to fend for itself. The only good news is that newly discharged UN soldiers have amassed in New Beijing because it's where they were when they were discharged, and they were able to act to help the citizens there.
Most of New Beijing's initial reconstruction efforts were focused on its historic district, where citizens can find restored landmarks such as the Tiananmen Square and Temple of Heaven stand. Other landmarks, such as the Great Wall of Badaling. Even Riverstone set aside prioritizing its own landmarks to help bring New Beijing's historical landmarks back to their previous glory. Needless to say, they look great now.
Like many cities in 2512, New Beijing is both sprawling, as well as still built upward and downward, with the three uppermost levels of the city being the most appealing to the eye. Needless to say, after the historic district was completed, all reconstruction efforts moved to these upper three levels to help make them appealing to the eye once more. UN politicians claimed that it was because New Beijing needed to continue to promote its burgeoning tourist tradition, but groups like Morningstar have used social media and street graffiti to bring attention to the hypocrisy of New Beijing's upper class.
◉ On the upper levels of New Beijing, everything is shockingly pristine, with most ongoing construction concealed from the public eye. The city might be rebuilding, but there's no need to look ugly at the same time.
◉ Every building in the city is pristine, with clear glass windows that allow a large degree of transparency. It appears that far fewer people live in the upper levels of the city. If anyone looked into housing prices, they would notice that even with all of the recent damage, they appear to have doubled since the Displaced's last visit. There are some articles indicating that there is a boom for people moving from New Amsterdam and New Prague to New Beijing to start a new life.
◉ Numerous AR displays around the city announce codes of conduct. Littering leads to a fine of 1000 credits, having been raised since the recent monster attacks in an effort to bring the city back up to its previous condition. There is no curfew, but only public transport vehicles and licensed car-sharing providers are allowed to be in the sky after 9PM. Around 11PM, public transit only comes every half hour to an hour, making it difficult to get across the city in the late hours of the night. There are also rigid noise restrictions.
◉ Even during the day, most people prefer to get around via public transit, bikes, or simply by foot.
◉ Most businesses close by 9PM, making it difficult for someone who might seek out a late night snack.
◉ There are no businesses on the upper levels that would be referred to as "dives" or "holes in the wall." While they were rare before, it now appears that Riverstone has a stake in nearly every single business in the top three levels of the city. In order to continue, they've all taken a loan from Riverstone, essentially giving the corporation part ownership. Even independent businesses that largely avoided partnering with Riverstone had no choice but to join up after the monster attacks.
◉ The surface is also where the United Nations government is housed, as well as the UNA Headquarters. The government is housed within the historic district, while the base is on the opposite end of the city, making up its western-most wall.
> SPACEPORT
At the northern end of New Beijing is the most heavily trafficked spaceport in the world. Most of the shipments for the colonies come through New Beijing, having been officially checked through customs and approved for transit before they're sent off. Thanks to the technology available in 2512, most of these shipments rarely have any impact on the city as a whole, making their liftoffs unnoticeable in a lot of ways (as they are silent and don't cause any other environmental problems).
◉ Between the uprisings on the Mars colony and the monster attacks, the spaceport is no longer as easy to access. A lot of this has to do with reporters traveling to New Beijing in hopes that they would be able to find some information about the status of the Mars colony, which has largely gone silent. All efforts for peace seem to be brushed aside after the worldwide crisis. No one even knows if they're still getting shipments out there.
> THE FORGOTTEN LEVELS
After all, beyond those three upper levels, New Beijing is in bad shape. The mole monsters that tore up the underground and built tunnels all throughout New Amsterdam destroyed countless homes throughout New Beijing. Many people are huddled together wherever they can, often offering whatever they can to their neighbors who no longer have somewhere to live.
◉ There are very few businesses running "as usual" in the lower levels of the city. Thanks to the lack of assistance from Riverstone and the UN, people are just trying to survive while using the resources they have available to them. That also means that a lot of businesses are also fronts for drug trafficking since crime currently runs rampant.
◉ The Red Light District and Morningstar's local chapters always worked in tandem to provide a better life for the people of New Beijing, but now they are able to work more openly and freely than ever before. All throughout the lower levels, there is a new language developing so that people know where they can get help and protection from Morningstar. The sex workers still act as information brokers, but they also do everything they can to keep the impoverished people around them from being forced into a life of crime.
◉ Why is this allowed? The New Beijing Police Department is also running on far less staff since the UN put out a call for new soldiers. The previous sketchy business of taking children out of their homes just to force them into "better situations" to meet a quota of "cleaning up the lower levels" has mostly come to a halt because there aren't enough officers to make it down there.
◉ The downside is this: gangs are now becoming a constant presence in the lower levels, and some believe they've contracted with businesses on the upper levels to traffic guns, weapons, and help enforce a rigid control down below. However, this isn't quite true. Some opportunistic gang leaders have tried to reach out to Riverstone, but they've been turned away. As a result, they find themselves both at odds with Riverstone and with Morningstar's efforts to help people out down below. But as long as they don't encroach on Riverstone's "territory," it seems that they'll be left alone to bully people who have been left in horrible conditions following the monster attacks.
Ah, the reason why everyone is in New Beijing this time around. If there were any doubts about Riverstone's significance in this world, they would be squashed by time someone stepped out into New Beijing this time around. Since the monster attacks, Riverstone has used the fallout to assert their dominance throughout the capital city, claiming up property and buying a stake in every single upper level city. Any and all money spent in New Beijing ends up in Riverstone's pocket in some way.
> OUTSIDE OF THE FACILITY
Want to really grasp what Riverstone's done here? In many ways, they've built an entire megacity with their own money. They've been a part of Beijing's identity since the early 22nd century, having located their headquarters from Shanghai following the end of World War III. They're a large proponent of the historical district, and they were one of the first oligarchical superpowers in this world. Their CEO? Turns out it's still someone with the surname Ling. Currently, that's Meredith Ling, who is definitely related to Ricky Ling, the hero of the human/AI war at the end of the 21st century.
◉ Prior to World War III, Riverstone was primarily known as an entertainment mogul. Throughout the early part of the 21st century, they snapped up a lot of media properties before turning their attention to technology corporations. Loosened antitrust laws meant that they could begin to devour numerous industries.
◉ Riverstone was very different from a lot of businesses in the early 21st century because of its vocal opposition to utilizing artificial intelligence to promote line production. They experimented a great deal in this field to find alternatives to the same problems that would not involve creating artificial life.
◉ To the 2512 world, Riverstone was the only corporation that was "right" about the problem with AIs. It's a big part of why they're so powerful several hundred years later.
◉ Riverstone owns the entirety of New Beijing's hotel chains, restaurants, and small businesses. While it was only a majority when the Displaced visited earlier in 2512, this has rapidly changed in the past month since the monster attacks. Businesses in New Beijing are Riverstone at this stage.
◉ Riverstone also runs and maintains New Beijing's public transit.
◉ Riverstone's Dream River is currently closed while Riverstone focuses on helping reconstruct and renovate other portions of the city's upper level. There are still gift shops open throughout the city where you can purchase a souvenir with Otto the Otter. Of course, people could try to break in while it's closed. Because why not?
> THE FACILITY
Located a ten minute walk from the UNA headquarters, Riverstone's primary research facility reaches over two-thousand feet into the sky. There are numerous bridges running between its various sections, and they appear to be full of Riverstone employees all day and night. This facility is the site of most of Riverstone's scientific accomplishments, and numerous employees on loan from Giles Bell, Pulsar, and other worldwide corporations end up visiting this exact facility to work on projects. Of course, that's only promising employees with these corporations that Riverstone likely plans to poach for themselves.
Getting into the facility does not guarantee entry into the entire building. The Displaced visiting will have exact directions sent to their neural implant, along with an AR-display map to ensure they don't run into any doors that they can't open for themselves.
◉ The Displaced's final destination for this trip is the Robert Ling Biological Progress Wing of the research facility. Named after Ricky Ling's first child, Robert was key in finding biological advancements for humanity that would help them set aside any designs on playing god via cloning. Of course, "key" means "he paid the best researchers and claimed credit," but that won't be actively available to anyone around.
◉ Most personnel have been cleared out for the Displaced's visit. Because of the security risk that the Displaced pose, there are few people working in the labs during this week. It seems everyone has a paid vacation.
◉ The Head of Security, Montague Finnley, has assigned his best officers around the building to keep an eye on the Displaced.
◉ All of the scientists present only know about the Displaced from social media and other various reports out of New Amsterdam. They are not aware of any of the answers that Riverstone has promised. They're not aware of anything else beyond that, and don't have inside knowledge about anything that the Displaced might not know, themselves.
◉ Elsewhere in the facility, work proceeds as normal. Those wings will be far more difficult to reach because of the lack of access granted.
◉ Remember all those monster carcasses? It's safe to say that if anyone hopes to do something with them, this building is one of the places where that work might start. That is, if anyone has the means to find out in the first place.
◉ What else is happening here? What else can be found? Well … first, the Displaced are going to have to figure out how to sneak away. Good luck with that.
For any and all questions for this mini-event, please refer to our questions thread on the OOC planning post.
Please make sure to sign up so we have a record of who went. You don't have to be signed up to enter Riverstone to participate in this log! We just want to know who went inside for later plotting purposes.
Our turn-ins for Riverstone's probing questionnaire will close on OCTOBER 31, 2020.
Finally, on OCTOBER 24, 2020, we'll be posting a poll of the various AU ideas we've come up with for our year-ending event. This will be a radio-button poll that will be open for one week!
Thanks everyone!
Tour Guide
Since she and Rey were right off the bat two people who bought into this, Rey who brought it to them, and Hawke who was the first to volunteer, she felt a bit of a kinship to her. So she didn't hesitate from joining her on the tour, following wherever she pointed, curious. It's about a lot of food, which she understands, as she too loves food. ]
They just put all the soup in the middle of the table and everyone shares it?
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[ She may be exaggerating but it's not far off. Hawke isn't in essence against it and she'll eat whatever is put in front of her. She generally loves this world's plumbing and food though. It's so plentiful and varied. ]
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[ Hawke is active and busy when it comes to her energy, she hates to stand still, and it means she's hungry and likes to get energy to burn. She smiles warmly at Rey. They didn't get a chance to interact a lot before this, but if nothing else has come out of this situation, it's a chance to meet more people. ]
My family and I weren't exactly well off growing up, I hunted to keep us fed but we had some bad days. I've never looked at food for granted since.
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[ said simply, quietly. not the family part. never the family part. but her smile is there, understanding the starving, the bad days. she'd taken care of those days herself.
she leads hawke into the hot pot restaurant, which boasts cushioned faux leather stools around marble tables with in-set gas stoves. the lights are dim because each of the fixtures has a red sconce around it, dulling the intensity. at the back of the restaurant is a wall of ingredients abutted by long steel tables, where waiters bustle back and forth picking up ingredient trays and bringing them back to tables.
there is no host station, only a podium with a touch-screen that reflects which tables are occupied and which are not. ]
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She is surprised that Rey says she understands, not because of Rey, but because she's found many of the people here had somewhat different backgrounds. It's an oddly good place to bond from. She follows Rey inside the restaurant and glances around, taking in all the details. She is very curious about all the differences here; it's a shiny city, she can see why it appeals to people. ]
I didn't really get much of a chance to enjoy Oslo when I went there. We were a bit focused at the time. It's nice to see what more this world has to offer.
[ Hawke hesitantly pokes at the touch screen where a table seems to be empty and then heads in that direction, assuming it'll fix it. Or really, she doesn't know what half of this shite does. ]
I don't think I'll ever be good at this tech.
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[ the offer comes after rey trails behind hawke, briefly correcting the setting on the hostess stand. she gives hawke the seat near the wall; rey's awareness of threats doesn't depend on line of sight, but it seems like the kind of thing hawke would appreciate being able to see. ]
I think of all the cities I've been to so far, New Beijing might be my favorite. It feels more like home, somehow.
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[ That seems like a good enough suggestion. She is so easy about food. If it's edible, she'll eat it. She hasn't even really blinked at the fact there are bug dishes here. If they taste good, who cares? Rey is right about Hawke feeling better having a view of the place. She does her best fighting with a wall at her back. ]
It's got a unique feel that's for sure. Our cities are nothing like these. My city was a port one, it's basically all made up of the side streets and poorer areas of New Amsterdam. We have some fancier buildings and the Chantry, a church, is very elegant.
[ But no, nothing like this. How can it be? There's no technology, no businesses capable of this. ]
Our merchants are on the street in marketplaces.
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We have cities like this one where I come from, but only in the Core. I've never been to one of them. Only seen holos. The place I come from, you would never have seen so many people. Even the Resistance bases I stayed on, they were more like ... mm, a smaller version of the Simulation caves, almost. [ she scratches at her chin. ] It was hard to get used to.
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[ Castles and cities and so many people. Hawke's traveled a great deal but she's stuck to the quiet roads all the same. She never wanted to go somewhere bigger than Kirkwall, it was all the effort she could put forth, and she still wasn't enough. She went from being a farm girl to a small city girl. ]
Resistance to what?
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[ the context is hard to provide to outsiders. harder, because rey never had access to the kind of formal education that would fully frame it with details. then again, the first order's idea of education probably wasn't a real one.
she wishes, briefly, that finn were here for her to ask. ]
Well, the Rebellion rose up against the Empire and overthrew it, but a faction of the Empire remained. They've gained more power, smothering the New Republic before it ever had a chance.
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Enslaved entire planets, wow. I've only vaguely accepted I've lived on two planets now, and that seems so huge.
[ Such a bizarre concept. Hawke is far from stupid but she's not a big picture person. She's a moment to moment person, making impulsive decisions, surviving day by day. Multiple planets? Is definitely widening her perspective of reality. ]
Yeah that makes sense, if you don't get a strong foothold right away, you're mostly fucked. There's technically a rebellion going on right now, on a smaller scale, back home. They're surviving by mostly running and hiding, attacking when necessary. It's not a war they're trying to win, just mostly hoping people will get bored and leave them alone.
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[ she has certainly bonded with more than just hawke about it. rey sounds melancholy, pointing it out. ]
Maybe it's inevitable. [ part of the balance. as long as there's a light, there has to be dark. the push-and-pull makes life. ]