Description
of The City
Brief
overview of The City: The City is a cold and heartless
place (by our standards), a small and cramped area layden with multi-level housing that is uniformly
constructed, symmetrical, and disturbingly similar. The City is an important place in the world,
however, for it houses two very important structures: the infamous Hangar 29, the place where God
decided to take up residence one day, and the Harvard Institute of Science and
Technology. Hangar 29 is a relatively
run-down and rusted building that once shielded planes and other vehicles. Its importance is, of course, due to its odd
inhabitant, and a few intimidating guards watch the entrance religiously. The Harvard Institute of Science and Technology,
"Organized and Researching since Year 2011," so the motto reads, is
the place where the research and discovery of the world is centered (in fact
being the only building serving this function on the entire world). The City, then, is practically the focal
point of the world, and is where the story takes place.
Social
Habits: It is important to first understand one major
aspect of the people before continuing; they are human with one major
exception: a hard, exo-skeleton
like shell (looking like ornate bone) develops on the forearms, torso,
shoulders, shins, and face of the individual
forming a sort of armor all over them.
This "shell" (as it is called by the inhabitants themselves)
can be a variety of colors, but only one is ever present on a person's shell.
The color
of one's shell corresponds with his profession; A red shell denotes a political
leader; a golden one, a merchant; blue, an artist; green, a scientist; silver,
a guardian; and purple, a religious leader.
The
intensity of color present in one's shell and the intricacy of its development
are viewed as a measure of happiness and understanding of reality. For these reasons, great pride is associated
with well-developed shells.
The
political leaders have very ornate shells with many patterns, and an almost
helmet-like extension on their head.
They wear a long, regal red cape to accentuate their shells. These leaders, often
called 'Guides', “Expose all the people governed to God in all his power
and glory, [in small print] whether they like it or not.”
The
merchants usually have beautiful shells (having patterns, pictures, practically
any design etched in them since they can afford such things), but are generally
not trusted, as their means of acquiring such wealth is usually suspect. The merchants purchase and sell all the goods
produced, allowing them to dictate distribution in the economy and control
people's lives.
The poets
and artists have a nice, plain blue shell that denotes their nature; their
works don't challenge anything, are uninspired and hackneyed, and a display of
emotion in any painting or work is frowned upon by other artists (one great painter decided to
express his anger and rage in his paintings, making them meaningful, and he was
promptly disposed of. His works have
since disappeared, though it is said they'd sell for quite a bit on the underground
- more on the underground later). The
poet's and artist's works are displayed in households everywhere, as they are
what the people like, and people display them as such.
The
scientists are a curious bunch: they only live in The City and only work at the
Harvard Institute. They are not seen
around usually, and as such, most people let them continue their work in peace
without giving the matter much thought.
The
guardians are a select bunch, usually showing a blunt but thickened shell and a
helmet-like extension covering their heads.
These people are taught how to fight and win, and then given a post with
the order to "protect the given area at all costs." They are used as defenders and taskmasters in
the workplaces.
The
religious leaders are seen as the foundation of the society. They are the people's link to Hangar 29
(no-one is supposed to enter the hangar) and thus hold much of the political
power in the world. They also keep the
sacred texts of the world and translate them for the people.
There is
an obvious hierarchy to the various castes of the world: The religious are the most revered with the
Guides, the poets and writers, the scientists, the businessmen following, and then there are
the hopeless.
The
hopeless are a few scant people who "think too much" about
unimportant topics, each exhibiting no shell whatsoever. The lack of any kind of faith in these people
considering the condition of the world is seen as stupid, since the hopeless
deny the "blatantly obvious."
These people are derided and despised and would likely be killed if it
weren't for the Law of God.
Since the
development of shells is such a good thing in society, it is not uncommon for
those who have less developed shells to give freely of themselves to those who
have better shells.
Government: The government of the world is a highly authoritarian one, taking the most of its power from scripture and utterances from Hangar 29. The 'Enlightened', a council of religious leaders, elect Guides to different positions to “Better represent the Will, Purpose, and Way of God, and help guide the people towards The Light.” The world is divided into small provinces that are ruled by lesser Guides (there are only so many positions to go around, after all), and these Guides delegate, debate, argue, cause scandal, and otherwise provide busywork and public amusement. Since the society is heavily beurocratic, most requests made of the government are passed on continually until someone finally rejects them due to laziness or apathy.
Economy: The economy is primarily socialist as each person works at an assigned task and completes his or her job, and for doing so recieves enough food and other necessities to support themselves and their dependants plus some small amount of money. The primary problem of socialism has been ended thanks to the innovation of a 'controller', a device that is implanted at the base of the skull which, when turned on, allows a person to act on a machine-like level (thus they are capable of performing menial tasks), but restricts conscious thought and awareness. The end result is that people 'turn on' for their assigned work schedule, go through the motions, head home, and then wake up from what people describe as a 'dream-like state' to enjoy themselves.
The money is used to purchase small amenities, and as such, several small businesses can be found in cities, providing various services like special foods, entertainment, and especially, art. There is a large market for art in the world as people constantly seek to adorn their apartments (which are plain walls, rather boring to most, especially one with refined tastes). As such, you can find many works of art in almost any apartment.
The 'underground' refers to the market for works of writing and art made by those who aren't particularly famous, and, more noticeably, exhibit little to no shell. A deal of people have a penchant for this kind of art (seeing it as wonderous, original, and beautiful), and the price of such art is usually inexpensive. The underground gets its name in part from the place that most of this type of art is sold; these artists and poets sell their works in the stations where the underground shuttlebusses transport the populace to and from work. Most every household has at least one piece of 'Un-art'.
As mentioned before, people freely donate to those with more developed shells, and as such, those with well-developed shells typically have more luxury items than anyone else. This is widely accepted and encouraged and accounts for a large part of a household's income.
Religion: There is only one organized religion on the entire planet; The Church. The primary focus of The Church is to lead people to God and have his will done, no matter the cost or consequences. The Church is very hierarchial; at the top resides the Chosen One, and under him are the Sectional, the Priest, and then the Doctrine Guard. The Church heavily influences government decisions; the Priests and Secitonals interpret scriptures which dictate law and The only link between the government and the utterances of God is the Chosen One. The people so highly respect The Church that anyone who blasphemes is practically killed outright. It is because a shell represents the closeness of one to God that those with no shell are so despised.
The Chosen one is an interesting character; his closeness with God has caused his shell to grow to such a degree that he is rendered immobile, trapped within it. He can, of course, still speak, but he must be transported on a special wheeled platform. He usually tours the world lecturing on whatever catches his fancy or arouses his hatred, and whenever he is in town, it is a day of celebration. Upon the eve of his death, a Chosen one is wheeled into Hangar 29, a blue flash comes over the entrance, and suddenly, he is gone. A new Chosen one is then found.
Church services are held once a week in churches. Each church resembles Hangar 29 from the outside, but since no one has been in the real Hangar 29 before , the decor of each church is different. Some have rusted pews made of various scrap metal, others have dirt floors, and yet others have made their surroundings filled with greenery and beauty. These churches all have one thing in common; on the front wall, a giant neon sign displaying 'GOD' sits. After the people have filed in and sat down, a priest walks onto the altar and pulls a cord, switching the sign on. The sign flickers like one outside of a cheap motel. The people hum a few bars of a song whose meaning they have long forgotten, close their eyes, and pray (mostly asking for things). After about five minutes, the priest turns off the sign, and the people leave the church quietly. If they thought about God really hard during the services, one may notice his shell has grown slightly. The shell eventually returns to normal size later that day.
Characters: There are a few pivotal characters I've come up with so far:
Unnamed: Main character, rather observant, listens to others, attempts to understand himself and others and search for truth, has a faulty controller stuck in his head, he is fully conscious of everything around him while he is working, but incapable of controlling his actions.
Old Man: The thinker, the philosopher in the corner, exposes Unnamed to much literature and Un-Art dealing with thinking, philosophy, etc. Usually is seen as problematic in society, has no shell.
Friend: Unnamed's best friend since childhood, Unnamed turns to him when he's confused, has a wife and children.
Unknown Artist: Constantly writes books dealing with thought, freedom, religion, etc., her works continue to come up.
That should give a nice description of The World. If you would care to comment or critique it,
please contact me at
mmsheehan@bradley.edu
Thank you for reading,
Mark Sheehan