glitchinthesystem: (electricity)
Glitch ([personal profile] glitchinthesystem) wrote in [personal profile] havenmods 2015-01-18 06:15 am (UTC)

1/4


Character Name: Glitch
Background/History:

World History
In the year 2020 on Earth, humans realized they were starting to evolve. Not all at once or in a rapid pace, but slowly like most creatures do. They weren’t losing a toe or developing better vision or anything. No. Select people were showing signs of superhuman abilities. These abilities came to light in the Pyro bomb incident in Toronto, Canada. What was supposedly an ordinary day in downtown Toronto turned bloody when an explosion happened. Only one individual survived and they were at the center of the explosion. The odd thing? They seemed to be completely unharmed and what was stranger was that the explosion emanated from them.

First people were dismissive about, saying it was some kind of freak accident. However,, similar incidents began popping up. A person nearly drowning in the Hudson river would be miraculously saved by a large piece of ice in the middle of summer. Someone being hit with lightning only to redirect it into a nearby tree and remain completely unharmed. Similar situations like these continued to pop up world wide with no logical conclusion.

Eventually scientists had the answered when they began testing some of these remarkable people. The answer was found when they noticed that these select few had a different sequence of code in their DNA. An extra bit that no normal person would have. This code gave these people superhuman abilities. At first, the government tried to hush it all up, but, too many cases were seen by the public that it couldn’t be hidden.

People began to become frightened of these new beings.After all, what normal person would be safe if someone could telekinetically throw a car at you if they got angry? Or set you on fire if they didn’t like the look of you? People would dub these people “Irregulars”, for their irregular DNA structure. People began calling for their governments to do something about the problem, because by now, the Irregular problem was something that was being experienced worldwide.

Most first world Governments knew that they couldn’t outright execute or sterilize the Irregulars, for even while some Norms in society wanted these Irregulars to be put away, others did not share the same view point. To commit such an atrocity would lead to further questioning of the government.

More underdeveloped countries were more extreme in their methods, often exterminating anyone who exhibited Irregular abilities.


Eventually, the first world governments gathered and came to a decision:

Domes would be built to house the Irregulars, so no harm would come to Norm society or to the Irregulars. (The Irregular community protested, crying discrimination and unfair segregation for not having done anything wrong. Some Irregulars showed otherwise having used their powers to commit crimes, proving that they couldn’t be trusted and giving the governments the perfect scapegoats. It wasn’t long at all before the Domes were built and the Irregulars were permanently placed there. The governments managed to persuade the Irregulars to go into the Domes was giving them tax breaks and incentives, to threats of death, blackmail and murder.
For the first few years the solution seemed to work. While the Irregulars weren’t happy with the decision they begrudgingly went along with it because none of their major freedoms were infringed upon. They were still able to vote, have families, work, connect with the outside world via print and social media, leave and visit friends or family (provided they returned in two weeks) and earn money. They were just required to live in Domes. If anyone tried to permanently leave they would be brought back in by Norm Security.

Eventually they became fed up with it, finding that the longer they remained in these Domes the quality of living went down. Their pay was being cut, leaving to visit others was no longer allowed, and the Domes themselves were becoming too crowded. That’s when the Dome Rebellions started.

The biggest Dome community - established in Edmonton, Alberta - had been first to rebel. The Irregulars started a riot against security, using their powers to overwhelm them. Eventually the Canadian Military was brought in to help contain the problem. At that point it was too late. News had spread to the other Domes through the media and they all began to rebel too. Although the Irregulars had superhuman abilities, they lacked the numbers and resources the Norms had. What the Irregulars had hoped would be only a few weeks of fighting turned into a six month war.

The Norms cut off the Irregulars’ water and power supplies, as well as all means of communication with the outside. The Norms also had superior firepower, but the Irregulars continued to fight back. Eventually the Norms got tired of the fight and decided to make a bold move to end the war. They returned power to the Domes on the day of February 14th 2038, solely to show the Irregulars what they were really up against. Most Domes had already gotten the idea to check the news to see what was going on with the Rebellions, only to see that the Norms would make an example of those who would rebel against them. Showing it live on tv, they bombed the first Dome that fought back against them.

In the end, all the Domes surrendered to the power of the Norms.
The Norms couldn’t allow another uprising to ever happen. The Irregulars had proven that if they escaped the Domes they would potentially destroy Norm society with their superhuman abilities. That’s when a plan was enacted. The adult Irregulars had incited this uprising and would no doubt teach their children about it. Given time the children would fight back against them and start the cycle all over again.

In secret the first world governments separated the Irregular infants, children, teenagers and adults from one another, making even more Domes to house each age group. This time the Irregulars couldn’t do anything about it or tell anyone as the Government had cut off all their communications to the outside and kept them securely locked up.

This would be known as the Irregular Intervention Program. This was to make sure the older generation of Irregulars had no influence over the younger generation. This way the governments could be sure there would be no further outlashes from the Irregular community. To fund this project, they allowed corporations in on the operation to use the Domes as they saw fit, provided the Irregulars were kept docile and did not leave the Domes. The corporations supplied the Domes with robots, so that the Domes’ younger inhabitants could still be taken care of just enough so that they wouldn't die.

Whenever a child was born in the adult Dome, they were instantly moved to an infant Dome in some other region. Dome-to-Dome transportation was facilitated by a system of underground tunnels. Outside the Domes, on the other hand, it became mandatory for all newborns to be tested for the Irregular gene. If the child had the gene, the parents were told that there were complications with the child. The doctors then took them to see their “stillborn child”, which in actuality was just a recycled stillborn to act as a dummy. Infants in the Dome were cared for by robots and raised to walk, talk, and feed themselves. The infant Dome held children until they were five, at which point they were moved to the children’s Dome.

The children’s Dome was heavily school-oriented. The children were placed in dorms and herded around by the robotic workers. They were taught how to read and write, received history lessons, and were prepared for the one career they would be expected to do when they turned 12. Their history lessons, however, were a falsified version of why they were in the Domes. They were taught that a nuclear apocalypse had obliterated the world, and that the Domes were the only safe place to live in. Irregulars were made to believe that the robots were there for the tasks humans could no longer do or what the humans did not have time for: repair and maintenance, security, teaching, medical work, and so on. Irregulars were told that the careers they were assigned to were to help maintain the Domes; in actuality, they were cheap labour for Norm society. In time, very few Irregulars questioned the state of the world.

In the system, Irregulars were taught that the nuclear fallout was the cause of Dome inhabitants’ powers and that a healthy, just and pure society would not have these powers. They were led to believe that if they didn't use their powers, humanity would be able to recover. At first the Irregulars did not really understand this lesson and used their powers despite being told not to. However, when they were caught the robots would inflict harsh punishments on them. Eventually, the Irregulars fell in line and did not use their powers - either because they feared being punished by the robots or because they believed that not using them would reclaim humanity's former glory. There were still those who chose to hone their abilities in secret, but they were the exception. On the whole, however, most children abided by the rules, for to remain docile was to be well taken care of in the Children’s Dome.

It was not until the Teenage Dome that things began to look bleak. When a child turned twelve they were expected to start working right away on the career they were put into - either assembly line work or sewing clothes. Their shifts were long - typically 12-16 hours with no rest. Food was also another problem as workers were required to use food tickets from their jobs to keep themselves fed, but the meals were often very meager. If anyone attempted to steal anything, they would receive a harsh beating from the robot security. This left the individual incapable of working for a week, and thus unable to acquire food tickets.

Teenagers were provided with a small residence that was usually unkempt or in utter ruins from the previous tenants. However, they were free to live with whomever they wished.

Upon reaching the age of 18, individuals were moved to the Adult Dome. Conditions there were much the same as they had been in the Teen Dome. Given that, the governments did assume that some Irregulars would try and leave the Domes despite the “nuclear apocalypse”. Irregulars were told that leaving the Domes was an option, but that the horrors of the outside would change them. Knowing that words were not always enough, the governments had measures in place for the occasional Irregular that took the option to leave. The person leaving would be jumped and drugged; subsequently, their brains would be altered to make them more compliant and passive. Once the procedure was complete, they would be sent right back into the Dome. The Dome inhabitants came to call this “Tweaking”, and believed that the horrors of the outside affected someone to such an extent that they became a mute, ineffective drone. Tweakers, while still physically capable of doing their jobs, had severely diminished mental faculties. This often led to them having their hands crushed in assembly presses or starving to death.

The Irregulars continued to believe this falsified way of life up until the year of 2442 as the Norm governments continued to exploit the Irregulars for cheap labour and out of fear of what would happen if they ever figured out their plan. By then the Irregulars were reduced to having numbers as their names.



By this time in Norm Society, the public was only told half-truths about the Domes. No one knew about the segregation of children from parents or the fact that Dome inhabitants were being told about the world being an apocalyptic wasteland. Norm society was just told the Irregulars were inside the Domes because they were much happier in the Domes and that it was for the protection of both the Norm and Irregular society. Often they would pretty up the entire affair with propaganda by showing commercials of how great Dome life was for Irregulars and how it benefited both societies. Even going as throwing up false ads how the Irregulars liked not being in contact with the outside. Only the highest people in government and the higher ups in some big corporations knew what the Domes were really meant for.

Some lower politicians unaware of what the Domes were really used for did try to dissolve the Domes, believing Norms and Irregulars did not not need to be segregated anymore. When these individuals popped up to incite change, they were often threatened, blackmailed or bribed into leave the issue alone. If they did not stop, “unfortunate” accidents were arranged for them. Regular members of Norm society who went digging into the truth about the Domes were similarly bribed or blackmailed. If these methods were ineffective, they were jailed under false charges and left to rot.


Post a comment in response:

If you don't have an account you can create one now.
HTML doesn't work in the subject.
More info about formatting

If you are unable to use this captcha for any reason, please contact us by email at support@dreamwidth.org