24-02-2004, 17:23
Life is hard on the survey crews. Growing up in a civilized nation often made you forget just how bad things were in the uncharted barbarian territories. If it wasn't plants that gave you a rash or animals whose bite drove you mad, it was the local tribespeople with their incessant raids. At least the last hasn't been so bad lately. The private security guards have recently been reinforced by a regular unit from the Republic of Fundamentalist Rastas. The Rastafarians were a strange lot and Mike thought they relied way too much on their military-issue chemical stimulants, but there hadn't been a barbarian raid for the last week.
Mike has been working on survey crews for a while now, ever since the first monorail lines were laid out from the Kingdom of Kevan. Wherever the monorail went, the surveyors led the way. Through the Holy Empire of Glorious Byzantium, the Fiefdom of Staig, and the Sultanate of Teetoopi, he had surveyed the route of the New Orient Express, the southeastern arm of the monorail system. Those lines had been through nations that, albeit bizarre in their local customs, were generally civilized. Out here though, in the wilderness beyond Teetoopi, civilization was far away. He did not understand why they were surveying a route to nowhere, but it was a paycheque so he did what he was told. At least he wasn't surveying through the Confederacy of Inbred Rednecks. He had heard stories... real bad stories... about what could happen to you if you wandered away from an encampment there.
All this was occupying Mike's mind as he swung his machete, clearing away the jungle growth that now covered what was once known as northern Mexico, though Mexico was now a name only, to be found on maps in history textbooks. Suddenly, though, his thoughts were back on the jungle in front of him. Or rather, the lack of jungle in front of him. In surprise, he looked out through a break in the undergrowth to see a plain of windswept grass. Except on closer inspection, it wasn't grass, but fields of grain, spreading toward the horizon in a patchwork pattern that ended at what appeared to be walls of hardened clay. In a nearby field, a tractor made leisurely progress.
As Mike turned and raced back toward the survey camp to alert the Teetoopian crew chief of the discovery of what appeared to be a civilized nation, one thought ran repeatedly through his mind; I hope they have restaurants and warm showers.
OOC: If you've read this far, I encourage you to come check out the Commonwealth of Free States, and specifically our forum. I'm just throwing this out here in the hope of attracting new nations to our region, especially nations interested in adding flavour through in-character diplomacy/debate/storylines.
The nations of the Commonwealth are generally tongue-in-cheek stereotypes that each player hams up. Setting is post-apocalyptic N. American (and maybe eventually S. America), mostly because that freed us up to use an easily-photoshopped map of N. America for regional map. At this point, there are no other marking of the apocalypse, such as shambling mutant zombies or 50-foot Godzilla-type monsters... not that there couldn't be, I suppose. There has been global warming though, mostly because that frees us to use northern Canada and Greenland.
One note though... this isn't an invite for complete idiots... I've changed regional control to prevent UN delegate hijacking of the controls, and I will eject people who, for example, decide to show up and start posting about their invincible cyborg or elves in +20 plate armies rampaging across the continent. Heck, no elves period. Elves annoy me. :D
Mike has been working on survey crews for a while now, ever since the first monorail lines were laid out from the Kingdom of Kevan. Wherever the monorail went, the surveyors led the way. Through the Holy Empire of Glorious Byzantium, the Fiefdom of Staig, and the Sultanate of Teetoopi, he had surveyed the route of the New Orient Express, the southeastern arm of the monorail system. Those lines had been through nations that, albeit bizarre in their local customs, were generally civilized. Out here though, in the wilderness beyond Teetoopi, civilization was far away. He did not understand why they were surveying a route to nowhere, but it was a paycheque so he did what he was told. At least he wasn't surveying through the Confederacy of Inbred Rednecks. He had heard stories... real bad stories... about what could happen to you if you wandered away from an encampment there.
All this was occupying Mike's mind as he swung his machete, clearing away the jungle growth that now covered what was once known as northern Mexico, though Mexico was now a name only, to be found on maps in history textbooks. Suddenly, though, his thoughts were back on the jungle in front of him. Or rather, the lack of jungle in front of him. In surprise, he looked out through a break in the undergrowth to see a plain of windswept grass. Except on closer inspection, it wasn't grass, but fields of grain, spreading toward the horizon in a patchwork pattern that ended at what appeared to be walls of hardened clay. In a nearby field, a tractor made leisurely progress.
As Mike turned and raced back toward the survey camp to alert the Teetoopian crew chief of the discovery of what appeared to be a civilized nation, one thought ran repeatedly through his mind; I hope they have restaurants and warm showers.
OOC: If you've read this far, I encourage you to come check out the Commonwealth of Free States, and specifically our forum. I'm just throwing this out here in the hope of attracting new nations to our region, especially nations interested in adding flavour through in-character diplomacy/debate/storylines.
The nations of the Commonwealth are generally tongue-in-cheek stereotypes that each player hams up. Setting is post-apocalyptic N. American (and maybe eventually S. America), mostly because that freed us up to use an easily-photoshopped map of N. America for regional map. At this point, there are no other marking of the apocalypse, such as shambling mutant zombies or 50-foot Godzilla-type monsters... not that there couldn't be, I suppose. There has been global warming though, mostly because that frees us to use northern Canada and Greenland.
One note though... this isn't an invite for complete idiots... I've changed regional control to prevent UN delegate hijacking of the controls, and I will eject people who, for example, decide to show up and start posting about their invincible cyborg or elves in +20 plate armies rampaging across the continent. Heck, no elves period. Elves annoy me. :D