revo
mad to live
“HUMANS ONLY,” read the sign that glared down at me as I walked into the dimly lit restaurant on 22nd Street. There was a time when I thought segregation was behind us. I mean, it’s not like I’ve seen a white supremacist in hooded garb lately. But no, the world has decided to replace one evil with another. We’ve traded in our squabbles over race for wars between ‘different species of human’ – or at least that’s what they’d like us to believe.
In restaurants I sit in the back corner with the best view of the entrance where I can still keep the side exit in my periphery. It’s always good to have a an exit strategy. I get my mail sent to a safe deposit box, give a different name out to strangers depending on my mood, and change my physical appearance just about as often as I slip into a clean pair of jeans. I’m what my ‘species’ would call a ‘shadow,’ able to function as a ‘normal human’ in society, only because they haven’t yet figured out how to bag and tag me. Once they do the jig is up and I’ll be on the run or trapped just like the rest of my kind.
I try to avoid going out in public. My abilities make everything all the more difficult. See, the government and the world at large don’t call us ‘another species’ for no reason. We’re different. In friendlier circles some would say we’re ‘evolved’. I, on the other hand refuse to use that term. Evolved is a term of endearment in my mind, someone that’s looked up to and praised. I’ve never been praised, always an outcast. We’re a disgrace to this world. The humans would relish in our extinction.
About Evolution
Evolution takes place in a dystopian, post-apocalyptic society. For the past few centuries governments around the world have pushed science to the brink, experimenting with human DNA. Some strove to create super soldiers, some hoped to cure disease. Some weren't even attempting trials on humans at all but created pathogens that spread into the human population from lab animals. In doing so they created several mutations that leaked out of the labs and into the streets. Genetically modified food that promised health benefits had adverse effects. Mankind got greedy, too smart for their own good. Over decades the effects began to show themselves and what the media called a "new species of human" began to emerge. The how or the why doesn't really matter. What does matter is the fear this change wrought on society. People got scared. Scientists tried to correct the problem with "vaccines" and "antidotes" but in the end that made things worse.
At first those while the E-Gene were sent to scientific research facilities while they searched for a cure. Yet fear ran rampant and the human-spec violence started to heat up. People were attacked, fired from their jobs, cast out of their communities. Groups of the "e-gen" or "specs", slang for "species" began to gather in secret to discuss the surmounting segregation and mistreatment of their kind. They lobbied the government, petitioned for fair treatment, and when that didn't work all hell broke lose.
To make a long story short, there was rioting in the streets, mass shootings, bombs and grenades. Almost everywhere you go looks like a war zone. In some states whole cities with high populations of "specs" were set up as quarantine and the humans fled in mass. These quarantines are more like guarded concentration camps and more specs are relocated there every day. Reports put the spec population at something like 30% worldwide so these areas weren't lacking in residents. Military checkpoints were established. Biological GPS tracking devices were implanted in every E-Gen the government could get their hands on and a detailed file established with all the pertinent information on that individual held in top secret facilities. Those that were considered highly dangerous, "level fives" were taken to super-max prisons but this information was not publicly released.
Types of E-Gene Mutations
Note: I want you to have creative freedom with the type of "evolved characteristics" your character has. Just don't go crazy. We're talking evolution not magic. Try to back up your traits with some type of pseudo-science. Below are a few ideas that pop into my head. Just PM me with an idea if you're not sure.
Each person who came into contact with these genetically modified substances responded differently... Some were subtle, like being more in tune with the emotions of others through reading faces and pheromones, hearing long distances, excellent eyesight, enhanced speed, enhanced strength. Sometimes the effects were less than subtle. People could access more levels of their brain. This often manifested in heightened intelligence, manipulation of matter to move objects, mental suggestion, telepathy, premonitions. Perhaps animal-human DNA experiments even happened resulting in shifter types.
Most of the traits are not perceived by looking at someone. That's why there is so much fear around "specs." You can only usually tell by doing a blood test or if someone slips up and shows it to you. We can have a very few extreme cases however, usually the result of a warped science experiment that created a being that can't hide itself. They'd have to be hidden and helped by others who can get them supplies from the outside world.
The Resistance
Several E-Gen groups have bound together to resist the government and care for their people. Power is limited to small pockets that are not part of the national grid, which shut down ages ago due to massive destruction. The Resistance is headquartered in an area of Texas where power is still prevalent due to the independent grid. This is the communication epicenter where they use telepaths, teleporters, and old fashioned radios to communicate with other cells. They hack the government and try to keep a tab on things. They've intercepted convoys by force when they know of a shipment of specs enroute to the camps. They've altered information in their files and destroyed entire databases to try to keep the humans from tracking them. They have yet to find a way to disable the tracers without alerting the government but experiments are still under way. The trouble is that the trackers are bio-genetic and fuse with the make up of each individual.
The Human Government
Scientists work in secret to create repression serums that will stop the genetic expressions of the E-Gens as well as antidotes that will permanently return them to their "human" status. Some of them hate specs, others work for specs who really want to repress their evolution. Not everyone in the government is corrupt or wants to treat them inhumanely. Some have their heart in the right place.
Soldiers assigned to the E-Gen project under the direction of the Department of Defense specializes in "procurement" but in plain language they are hunters that tag and bag the specs so that the government can watch their every move. In Texas, the quarantines have not yet been established. They are simply tracked, but the world is exploding and any day the E-Gens know their state could be next.
All departments are restricted by damage to facilities, limited resources, etc. Some units have lost contact with their commanders and are now taking their own orders. These groups are the most feared.
Note: The structures of each group will depend heavily on how the roleplay progresses. These are just rough ideas.
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Frequently Asked Questions
What year is it? What's the timeline like?
- It is currently 2034.
- E-Gens were discovered in 2015 and exposed by the release of a scientific study of the phenomena followed by massive media coverage.
- Segregation of schools and other places of business started 15 years ago in 2019. In the years following this development there was a huge economic class due to the splintered society.
- A few months ago terror attacks / bombings and riots started in force. Specs on human violence is at an all time high. Several states have moved specs to "quarantine" camps. Texas has not implemented the camps but is currently requiring mandatory blood testing and GPS tracking of any specs. Most specs have been displaced due to neighbor on neighbor violence and communities are more and more segregated. The specs fear this is the first step towards the implementation of the camps.
What is the currency like in this world?
- The people in power still use money. For everyone else, specs especially who are constantly looted or taken advantage of... they have reverted to the barter system.
Can I only make a character in Texas?
- No, however... if everyone makes a character in another country/state it's going to be hard to interact with everyone. Therefore I highly recommend it unless something about your character make regular interaction possible such as telepathic links or teleportation.
This is so detailed! WHY? You do realize each role-play only has one thread right...
- We have a group in addition to this RP where you can role-play any scene from this setting. I wanted to provide a unique world that you can use to create lots of different stories, etc.
What is the Resistance headquarters like?
- It's an abandoned warehouse. The owner is a human ally who holds the deed to the property and passes it off to the government as a run of the mill factory that works with charitable organizations to help humans who have been displaced. This explains the supplies that are always coming in and out of the facility in trucks. But instead of aiding the humans, they're sneaking goods into the spec camps and building a militia. Due to the chaos of the city and economic crash the government has little time to worry about them and there are enough trusted humans working there to give them decent cover. They have running water, electricity, etc.
Are there other locations?
- There's a big facility in the desert run by a friend of the resistance and a doctor. She is the main hub for specs trying to get into the city and to the headquarters undetected. People must travel there first or teleport in because the gov't security is much tighter in the city and there are double agents (specs that work for the human gov't) that can "feel" when someone teleports in too close to the city. A convoy from headquarters will come to this desert facility and guide you into the city.
Have a question? Ask me one in PM and ask me to add it!
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