Post by Spades on Dec 16, 2016 3:02:35 GMT
the future we never wanted
Since the first recorded writings, so too have incidences of powered individuals appeared. Scientifically defined, superpowered humans have an active recessive gene - almost the entire population has it, but instances are fairly rare unless both parents have the dominant gene. The active gene is near-identical in all supers, but its activity causes a mutation, producing vastly different results between each person. The population of the so-defined 'sub-species' of human exploded in the 1900s, leading to common integration with standard communities. Discrimination was rife, and life prospects for supers were poor until the 1960s Civil Rights movement, where global pushes for the equality of women, minorities, the disabled and supers erupted. People seemed to settle into these mixed societies after a while, enriched by what each liberated group could offer to society. Nonetheless, ripples and waves remained - neo-nazi groups continued to thrive, growing in strength with the strong opposition to the movements, and particularly towards superhuman integration. Perceived as a threat to unpowered people, the situation remained tense in ghettoized areas and rural towns. In spite of this, there was relative peace for around fifty years, with few disturbances besides demonstrations and prejudiced acts.
In 2018, the somewhat blissful coexistance was shattered. The Addison Incident, whereby a pre-teen powered boy was shot dead by an unpowered citizen for losing control of his telekinetic powers in public, injuring ten people in a shopping mall. The superhuman response was aggressive - demonstrations, initially peaceful, quickly spiralled into violent riots and clashes between opposed ideological groups. The neo-Nazi response versus the out-of-control and enraged super communities ended up in masses dead and injured, with tensions only escalating to a more devastating climax. As the state desperately tried to reign in control, they enacted 'The Registration Act 2018', forcing all supers to register and obtain a license for their birth-given powers. Unregistered supers were condemned to life-long institutionalisation, as were supers deemed "an immediate threat to human life". Registered supers were encouraged to move into the cities for 'safety', although the purpose was for harsh surveillance to be enacted with ease on the massive population. Certain cities were designated as 'safe-zones' for supers, places where their powers did not have to be hidden, and places where they could live largely in the company of their own communities. While the segregation was not legalised or strictly stated, it was evident from the outset that the erection of enormous shoddy apartment buildings was a form of ghettoization. Supers suffered no 'legal' segregation, but they may as well have been.
New Otford, in the would-be location of Chicago, was designated as one of these 'havens' for supers. The eventual population would be divided nearly 50/50 between the powered and unpowered. Attractive incentives, such as cheaper rent or purchase of properties for supers leaving rural towns and undesignated cities meant that it quickly filled to the brim. Overpopulated and cramped, New Otford's residents became increasingly divided in opinion. Demonstrations, protests, and political showmanship became commonplace - fast. Very quickly, it became apparent that the state had to act to attempt to calm the situation. But any attempts could not snuff the fire that was burning in the streets. Every passing day, the circumstances worsened, and state officials were becoming increasingly corrupt. Bribes were not uncommon, and many were turning a blind eye discrimination to against both supers and non-supers.
By 2020, while the rest of the world looked on at its own issues, New Otford sat on the verge of crisis. A city divided, it had quickly become rife with gangs and corruption, with the districts being sliced up, controlled, extorted, and exhausted. In December, a number of riots led to civilian and police casualties, and the terror threat was raised to severe. Under strict watch, the malcontent in the super population was brewing faster than it ever had before. By early 2021, the Valentine's Day Riots saw opposing forces come to blows, in part orchestrated by the Defiance Front. What was initially a march turned aggressive, leading to a police standoff in Giesler Plaza that stopped it in its tracks with 9 people killed, and over 156 injured. A further 5 people were lost in the following days as medical staff failed to treat their critical conditions. This violent backlash quelled the masses, or at least had them backed into a corner - the people of New Otford existed briefly in a period of reluctant 'peace'. The Defiance Front receded, STUN made several high-profile arrests, and it seemed for a while like the troubles were easing. Yet as the supers began to fall quiet, those that held disdain for them did not. Anti-super movements grew rapidly in popularity following the deaths at the Valentines Day March, and vigilante groups were formed that often went unpunished by the judicial forces of New Otford. Overly confident and filled with a twisted patriotism, a 'neo-nazi' group shot and killed the famous 'Tiger Man of New Otford', Caspian, on May 18th while he took an early morning walk. Strung up and paraded through the streets like a tied hog, his body served as a trophy for the discriminatory forces against Supers, and a desperate symbol of tragedy for the oppressed. STUN eventually intercepted the march with Caspian's body, arresting 11 men, of whom 6 were charged with first degree murder. But the charges were not enough. May 21st marked Caspian's walk, organised by the Defiance Front and masterminded by Zero, who had been fairly close to Caspian. Despite the controversy surrounding the paramilitary group, the march gained heavy support, and the commercial high streets of New Otford were filled first with people, second by burning cars, makeshift roadblocks, and petrol bombs. The walk itself ended up lasting for two days as the masses cried 'Justice for Caspian', but it quickly devolved into mindless looting, stabbings, and a foiled terrorist plot made on the subways that run under the city. New Otford's terror rating was bumped to critical for two weeks, under which all residents were forced into curfew, military forces patrolled the streets, and checkpoints were enacted to filter registered and unregistered supers. Such restrictive behaviour only forced more people into the arms of the Defiance Front and its propaganda, with few other civil rights options left. By the time the critical status was lifted, criminal activity was ready to boom, and constant protest walks were made. Entire swathes of the city became hostile, so-called 'no-go zones' for both supers and non-supers as each took different sectors as their own.
On July 19th, Mayor Swift announced Operation Steel Anchor, which is, for all intents and purposes, a declaration of war against the Defiance Front and organisations like it, as well as any followers of the militaristic ideology. Under such oppressive circumstances, STUN is tasked with the impossible job of tactful handling of a very volatile situation - assigned arrest quotas and targets, they work to a schedule that risks the stability of the city, and the compliance of the residents within. By the end of 2021, Defiance Front's headquarters and several other secret operations of theirs were located and destroyed by STUN Bloodhounds in what is now referred to as 'The New Year's Quells'.
By the end of 2022, Mayor Swift was finally succeeded, a new mayor becoming elected, much to the dismay of many high-ranking STUN and police members, who were enjoying their ties to the political systems. Mayor Alice Stone, however, began her tenure by granting increased impunity to the Super Tactical Unit of New Otford, and announced the alleged extinction for Defiance Front as a whole, whether it was true or false.
Come late 2023, and President Frank Mead was sworn into office, a right-wing presidential candidate with some rather controversial views on supers and super rights. Almost immediately, President Mead elected to enclose what he called the 'Harbor Cities'. This referred not to their placement by the seas, or their possession of a port, but rather to the way in which they harbored supers and alleged super-terrorists. In doing so, he walled in these huge cities, in essence, creating city sized prisons, in which no super would be allowed to enter or leave. Not satisfied with these efforts however, in early 2024, President Mead passed a bill granting further powers to the police, and therefore, inadvertently granted great power to STUN. Militarization of the police was not a threat anymore, it was reality, and it was no longer uncommon to see unpowered humans in exo-skeletons or small mechanized walkers patrolling the streets and harassing passerbys.
On New Year's Eve of 2024, the partying and merrymaking was ruined, the illusion of one night of pleasantries shattered by three explosions. Within six minutes, three individual hospitals had been blown up in terrorist attacks within New Otford, killing a total of 4,213 people. These attacks were almost immediately claimed by Defiance Front splinter groups as being their handiwork, and were then referred to as 'The New Year's Massacre'. However, in the early days of June 2025, Mayor Alice Stone asserted that after a long and expensive campaign, she had finally captured and killed 'Zero', the head of Defiance Front. Whether or not this was true, was yet to be seen.
In 2018, the somewhat blissful coexistance was shattered. The Addison Incident, whereby a pre-teen powered boy was shot dead by an unpowered citizen for losing control of his telekinetic powers in public, injuring ten people in a shopping mall. The superhuman response was aggressive - demonstrations, initially peaceful, quickly spiralled into violent riots and clashes between opposed ideological groups. The neo-Nazi response versus the out-of-control and enraged super communities ended up in masses dead and injured, with tensions only escalating to a more devastating climax. As the state desperately tried to reign in control, they enacted 'The Registration Act 2018', forcing all supers to register and obtain a license for their birth-given powers. Unregistered supers were condemned to life-long institutionalisation, as were supers deemed "an immediate threat to human life". Registered supers were encouraged to move into the cities for 'safety', although the purpose was for harsh surveillance to be enacted with ease on the massive population. Certain cities were designated as 'safe-zones' for supers, places where their powers did not have to be hidden, and places where they could live largely in the company of their own communities. While the segregation was not legalised or strictly stated, it was evident from the outset that the erection of enormous shoddy apartment buildings was a form of ghettoization. Supers suffered no 'legal' segregation, but they may as well have been.
New Otford, in the would-be location of Chicago, was designated as one of these 'havens' for supers. The eventual population would be divided nearly 50/50 between the powered and unpowered. Attractive incentives, such as cheaper rent or purchase of properties for supers leaving rural towns and undesignated cities meant that it quickly filled to the brim. Overpopulated and cramped, New Otford's residents became increasingly divided in opinion. Demonstrations, protests, and political showmanship became commonplace - fast. Very quickly, it became apparent that the state had to act to attempt to calm the situation. But any attempts could not snuff the fire that was burning in the streets. Every passing day, the circumstances worsened, and state officials were becoming increasingly corrupt. Bribes were not uncommon, and many were turning a blind eye discrimination to against both supers and non-supers.
By 2020, while the rest of the world looked on at its own issues, New Otford sat on the verge of crisis. A city divided, it had quickly become rife with gangs and corruption, with the districts being sliced up, controlled, extorted, and exhausted. In December, a number of riots led to civilian and police casualties, and the terror threat was raised to severe. Under strict watch, the malcontent in the super population was brewing faster than it ever had before. By early 2021, the Valentine's Day Riots saw opposing forces come to blows, in part orchestrated by the Defiance Front. What was initially a march turned aggressive, leading to a police standoff in Giesler Plaza that stopped it in its tracks with 9 people killed, and over 156 injured. A further 5 people were lost in the following days as medical staff failed to treat their critical conditions. This violent backlash quelled the masses, or at least had them backed into a corner - the people of New Otford existed briefly in a period of reluctant 'peace'. The Defiance Front receded, STUN made several high-profile arrests, and it seemed for a while like the troubles were easing. Yet as the supers began to fall quiet, those that held disdain for them did not. Anti-super movements grew rapidly in popularity following the deaths at the Valentines Day March, and vigilante groups were formed that often went unpunished by the judicial forces of New Otford. Overly confident and filled with a twisted patriotism, a 'neo-nazi' group shot and killed the famous 'Tiger Man of New Otford', Caspian, on May 18th while he took an early morning walk. Strung up and paraded through the streets like a tied hog, his body served as a trophy for the discriminatory forces against Supers, and a desperate symbol of tragedy for the oppressed. STUN eventually intercepted the march with Caspian's body, arresting 11 men, of whom 6 were charged with first degree murder. But the charges were not enough. May 21st marked Caspian's walk, organised by the Defiance Front and masterminded by Zero, who had been fairly close to Caspian. Despite the controversy surrounding the paramilitary group, the march gained heavy support, and the commercial high streets of New Otford were filled first with people, second by burning cars, makeshift roadblocks, and petrol bombs. The walk itself ended up lasting for two days as the masses cried 'Justice for Caspian', but it quickly devolved into mindless looting, stabbings, and a foiled terrorist plot made on the subways that run under the city. New Otford's terror rating was bumped to critical for two weeks, under which all residents were forced into curfew, military forces patrolled the streets, and checkpoints were enacted to filter registered and unregistered supers. Such restrictive behaviour only forced more people into the arms of the Defiance Front and its propaganda, with few other civil rights options left. By the time the critical status was lifted, criminal activity was ready to boom, and constant protest walks were made. Entire swathes of the city became hostile, so-called 'no-go zones' for both supers and non-supers as each took different sectors as their own.
On July 19th, Mayor Swift announced Operation Steel Anchor, which is, for all intents and purposes, a declaration of war against the Defiance Front and organisations like it, as well as any followers of the militaristic ideology. Under such oppressive circumstances, STUN is tasked with the impossible job of tactful handling of a very volatile situation - assigned arrest quotas and targets, they work to a schedule that risks the stability of the city, and the compliance of the residents within. By the end of 2021, Defiance Front's headquarters and several other secret operations of theirs were located and destroyed by STUN Bloodhounds in what is now referred to as 'The New Year's Quells'.
By the end of 2022, Mayor Swift was finally succeeded, a new mayor becoming elected, much to the dismay of many high-ranking STUN and police members, who were enjoying their ties to the political systems. Mayor Alice Stone, however, began her tenure by granting increased impunity to the Super Tactical Unit of New Otford, and announced the alleged extinction for Defiance Front as a whole, whether it was true or false.
Come late 2023, and President Frank Mead was sworn into office, a right-wing presidential candidate with some rather controversial views on supers and super rights. Almost immediately, President Mead elected to enclose what he called the 'Harbor Cities'. This referred not to their placement by the seas, or their possession of a port, but rather to the way in which they harbored supers and alleged super-terrorists. In doing so, he walled in these huge cities, in essence, creating city sized prisons, in which no super would be allowed to enter or leave. Not satisfied with these efforts however, in early 2024, President Mead passed a bill granting further powers to the police, and therefore, inadvertently granted great power to STUN. Militarization of the police was not a threat anymore, it was reality, and it was no longer uncommon to see unpowered humans in exo-skeletons or small mechanized walkers patrolling the streets and harassing passerbys.
On New Year's Eve of 2024, the partying and merrymaking was ruined, the illusion of one night of pleasantries shattered by three explosions. Within six minutes, three individual hospitals had been blown up in terrorist attacks within New Otford, killing a total of 4,213 people. These attacks were almost immediately claimed by Defiance Front splinter groups as being their handiwork, and were then referred to as 'The New Year's Massacre'. However, in the early days of June 2025, Mayor Alice Stone asserted that after a long and expensive campaign, she had finally captured and killed 'Zero', the head of Defiance Front. Whether or not this was true, was yet to be seen.
