Creating a New World

[Ororo Munroe]

So, we've established that we want the game to begin again six months after the apocalypse Omen predicted. I'm thinking that we should have a basic idea of how we want the world to 'look' as the game starts. When I originally thought up the whole Prophecy thing, I had in mind the war against the AI to be something similar to the world in Terminator: Salvation. (For those who didn't see that film, the world was basically laid waste by conscious machines, yet humans still had to use machines like submarines, military vehicles and such to defend themselves, so humans did not go 'machine-free' all the time). Now this is after the war, so we should figure out what level of recovery we want things to be at. If everyone could chime in their ideas on the following questions, we can make a start of it.

1) Was this a world-wide war, or was it limited to the US? I would make it world wide, just because its supposed to be both an apocalypse and because it involves machines, so it's a trouble that would have been easily spread. Wouldn't be much of an apocalypse if we could just ask the UK for help

2) How far have human governments gotten in recovery? Depends on the country. In first world countries (the US, Canada, the countries in the EU, Australia, and my knowledge fails me right there so if there are more please speak up) I would expect at least the beginnings of reestablishing a government. For second or third world, probably still chaos and infighting. Medical care is going to be iffy at best to nonexistent at worst pretty much everywhere. Since our story is set in the US primarily, lets say that some areas at least have a local militia (how corrupt they are or aren't is situational I suppose). A president has been appointed (say he or she was next in line because they were the only one in the constitutional succession that wasn't dead) but there is no longer an appreciable army, and if army units still exist, some have gone rogue. Agencies such as the FBI, CIA, and NSA are effectively gone at the moment.

3) Is the AI still active in some areas? Yes, because that would be fun! We can still have infected computers and other such things that while they don't have world defeating power anymore, still need to be fought. (Again, think Terminator)

4) What major areas were destroyed, what areas survived? I was thinking that the capital and NYC were the hardest hit, with the capital being almost a wasteland and NYC almost abandoned. Other major cities have a lot of damage, and if we need to get specific we can.

[Kitty Pryde]

1) Was this a world-wide war, or was it limited to the US?

I agree with Storm, World-wide war is the only thing that really makes sense.

2) How far have human governments gotten in recovery?

I feel like the government would be pretty crippled and ineffective. There wouldn't be any way for them to enforce laws, and communication would be limited. This would be an opportune time for radical religious and political groups to gain huge followings, which would clash with those still loyal to their respective governments. I'm picturing traveling tent revivals, and it's making me really happy. Also - bandits and mercenaries. I'm actually pretty excited about the possibilities in this plot.

3) Is the AI still active in some areas?

Yes! 

4) What major areas were destroyed, what areas survived?

I'm picturing more of a Walking Dead landscape, where everything is in some state of broken. I think some small towns would have been able to get organized, as the occasional, unexpected, functioning town would be creepy and suspect. (Like the town of Spectre in Big Fish.)  I agree with the total destruction of D.C. and New York.

[Mystique]

I agree that the gov't should be crippled. Maybe something like the president and a whole host of the next-in-line's were taken out, and some redneck from the dept of Agriculture takes over? Basically someone completely incompetent, but with the way our system is set up, that's what we've got. I kind of had something like Y: The Last Man in mind in terms of gov't: the spouses of Republicans who died are demanding their seats in Congress/other positions, and have started a resistance movement when they weren't just granted them.

[Mystique]

I also think the big cities should be completely devastated. LA burns up, lost city of Atlanta (lol). I also think we should have the issue of prisons going defunct--with no one to guard or feed them, they all break free, some become mobs that roam and take advantage of struggling survivors, and some try for a second chance. I like to think that we could have some orchestrated conflicts that way, what with such a huge percentage of the U.S. population being incarcerated.

[Kitty Pryde]

I love those ideas, Mystique!

I'd like to post a thread (once everything is decided) with images and descriptions of all the locations, including a map of the mansion.

[Gambit]

1) Was this a world-wide war, or was it limited to the US? World war, since the AI is online anyway.

2) What major areas were destroyed, what areas survived? Ironically, the countries that had the least amount of network set up (think Mozambique, North Korea or Albania), or had online access limited in some respect, mainly ideological (perhaps Islamic world or China could be an example) had gotten off light. As such, the X-Men might find help in unexpected places (Sri-Lanka, lol). Focusing on the US, I assume that the major cities have gotten the most amount of damage and are still under machine surveillance and threat, however the backwoods might be a) resourceful, b) equipped with AI-non-compatible machinery (an' yah, there could be more guns on a single Texan farm than in a NY skyscraper), c) better fed (but of course! urban food deliveries would collapse). I think while the cities are fighting for survival, small rural towns and farms become the actual power of the States. Probably there was a huge migration wave from the cities to the country.

3) Is the AI still active in some areas? Yes, but since humans and technopaths are not completely inept and helpless against it, its areas of influence are limited. We probably don't have the Internet anymore (at least it's not reliable and helpful), but there's no reason why individual appliances can't be whipped into submission.

4) How far have human governments gotten in recovery? I'm clueless about governments and politics. I think agencies like FBI and CIA, even though hugely cyberized and online-dependent, are still vastly powerful anyway because their agents have the level of expertise that cannot be impaired by a technological blow. If a person knows how to "make napalm by mixing gasoline and orange juice", they can't unknow it, just sayin'. However, their own equipment, and I'm thinking weaponry mainly, could have turned against them, at least destroying the facilities, if not the personnel.

[Shade]

1+2) I like the point Gambit makes here, that and a combination of other things that have been said already. I generally like the idea of rogue prisoners forming mobs and small town communities staying more or less intact.

3) Yes

4) I would say not intact on the surface of things but seeing that the government probably has its own hiding places, bunkers and such, some might have made it and kept underground so to say, trying to reclaim law and order which might be interesting.

[Gambit]

What happened to the Hellfire Club? A few ideas off the top of my head:
- was destroyed or simply closed down, boarded-up windows, etc. (obvious but boring)
- keeps an über-low profile but still as a place to relax, maybe for an occasional get-together, because even in the weirdest post-Apoc settings there's always some high-ranked fella with his entourage wanting to chill (not the best or the most logical outcome but it could happen)
- got converted into a secret hideout/weapon/booze/drug/gas smuggling place (the most fun idea but I don't know why Gambit would ever run such business)
- maybe some amalgam of the above, with the mutants continuing to hang around those places, maybe out of habit for the area/the building
- perhaps the building itself, once a venue of the Hellfire Club organization, had some constructional/informational/material secrets of its own that unveiled themselves in the aftermath? No idea there.


Your versions?

[Ororo Munroe]

I would LOVE in some way to have a Hellfire Club. Not as a bar yet again, because that doesn't make a lot of sense given the setting. An unofficial meeting place? A hideyhole of some sort? I'd love to start Omens story there, among other things, and if we hit on a good idea it would make for another setting to use.

[Kitty Pryde]

!!! Yes! I love the idea of it being trashed and broken, but still secret.

[Gambit]

In that case, we probably need a HC location in NY again.

I've added a short post-war history for Gambit to his profile; I guess it might be of help to some of you in creating a similar background for your characters and get this party started!

[Kitty Pryde]

Done.

[Ororo Munroe]

Jul 16, 2013 9:29:11 GMT Gambit said:

In that case, we probably need a HC location in NY again.

I've added a short post-war history for Gambit to his profile; I guess it might be of help to some of you in creating a similar background for your characters and get this party started!

I have to add all my character profiles yet

*feels like a slacker*

[Gambit]

Jul 16, 2013 17:01:09 GMT Ororo Munroe said:

Jul 16, 2013 9:29:11 GMT Gambit said:

In that case, we probably need a HC location in NY again.

I've added a short post-war history for Gambit to his profile; I guess it might be of help to some of you in creating a similar background for your characters and get this party started!

I have to add all my character profiles yet

*feels like a slacker*

I was initially going to wait a few weeks until I'd have a perfectly clear picture of the plot. But then I started thinking about the HFC and suddenly I had some basics to put down. I didn't actually mean to rush ahead of everyone else.

[Kitty Pryde]

I have mine up, as does Laura. I'm still trying to decide if I want to play Network or not. What do you guys think?