NationStates Jolt Archive

It started with a man leaving a note for his family that he had left for Der Angst, and then his family went after him, then their friends and their families followed them in turn, and so on and so forth until the trickle of people leaving turned into a flood, pushed on ever more by the occupation of their former homes, some even taking less legitimate avenues of escape if enough money was not available. Those too poor to afford the increasingly costly fares fled by boat, and those that owned their own transportation used that, in the face of the invading armies.

Some did not make it, of course. The vast majority that did swarmed into the air and sea ports of Der Angst, eager to avoid the oppression, and possibly death that awaited back home. One such person was Ailka, a young woman from the slums outside the city, accompanied by her giant kitty friend. As the ship violently came to a stop, George gently(as gently as such a creature could) prodded Ailka, shwishing his whiskers through the air. Wakeyourlittleassup, Ailka. We're here. Let's just hope that there is -less- ortilllery. Ailka stirred, and awoke. The first thing she saw as she looked out a window was the hyperurban dirt that would come to characterize what she expected of her new home. Rrrgh. Alright, I'm awake. Don't be a stupid cat. Of course this country will have less explosive death. It isn't Iraqstan, after all.
She lightly backhanded her companion, and stood up to collect her things, trying not to bump into the other refugees too much...

DA has a reputation of being a dirty trap nobody would want to visit. Ever. Black clouds in the sky, rain with a PH of three point five and up to a microgrey per second, bits and bytes of arsenic and various organic molecules with less than pleasant effects floating in the air.

Of course, this is a slightly pessimistic - Though not entirely wrong - point of view. Sure, this areas exist - Plentyful - but they're not inhabited. They're the industrial areas, where manufacturing reigns and assorted cubickilometres of machinery do their not all that monotonous work with obscenely low - Or high, depending on ones' point of view - efficiency.

The inhabited areas the refugees will in all likelyhood encounter are vastly more... Friendly to human habitation. They're full, of course - DA has had significant population loss in the past, but its population density is still excessive - and surprisingly friendly. Which, given the level of politeness the average Angstian shows, equalises 'No more assholish towards the migrating kitties than towards other Angstians'.

The journey may have been hard for many. The weather is renown for its, well, lack of sun (It rains), and boats as well as planes may well have had to either avoid or fly/ float through the regular hurricanes off the coast - annoying, that - but once arriving, a very nice beach is seen...

It's entirely occupied by steel and concrete.

The city itself is surprisingly varied - In the middle of the concrete-and-glass jungle, pretty lights and flavours and smells. Indoor-woods and imagined blue skies, Psionic Magpies and Landsquids, small people - Only a little more than half as tall than the cats, disregarding the occasional, modified oddity - doing their work or enjoying their free time. Consuming food spiced with semi-addictive substances, lying in a corner, eyes closed in the aftermath while their brains, connected to a network or two, are used by a nameless corporation for their sheer processing power.

A billion seductions are available, for the right money. Losing oneself in virtual worlds without even so much as remembering reality. Changing oneself, ones' genetic makeup. Add to oneself, become lost in machine worlds or experience the lust of the organic ones.

There is no (Effective) government per se, only subnational structures regulating things on a subregional level. Entering the nation is simple: Cross the border and you're in.

A few people or machines might sweep your mind, your body, your baggage when you enter, wanting to know if you're safe to touch, and at the same time offer you the security needed to avoid such sweeps in the forseeable future.

Jobs are offered rarely, though. They're available, of course - But you'll have to ask for them. Still, it isn't too hard - The average Angstian does speak at least four languages, and if nothing else helps, a little search and upload takes care of the problem. Admittedly not perfectly so, but it's better than nothing - and with a bit of experience (Easy), qualifications (Unlikely) and sheer begging (Depends), it's simple enough.

Habitation is even simpler: Just rent your place. Granted, it might not be the most pleasant place, but...

In the end, there's only one problem: There's little to no charity (Disregarding the possibility of already-present TAR-migrants helping out), and refugees without at least some assets to sell might be in trouble...

Well, that, and a three-metre kitty might not fit into Angstian furniture.

Or trains. Or, well, just about everything.