Walking in a Winter Wonderland…

[initiates]

As some may have seen, the AI has announced a sudden sharp drop in radiation levels on the island of Exsilium. We're talking back to modern day levels of radiation, so well in the normal, nice, kind range that doesn't cause spontaneous mutation.

The question, of course, is how, and if this is the ticket down! The short answers are... too many ripples in the timestream lead things astray, and yes, now is time to start the reclamation process.

With sign-ups starting today and lasting through to Sunday, a group of Transports will be sent down to examine the state of Exsilium, two months after leaving. What they'll find will go something like the following... and boy, is it a doozy!

Note: The vote on how to solve the puzzle of Exsilium’s problem will be going up tomorrow. Voting has now been closed! This plot is a stop-gap to allow Transports back down on Earth in an uncomfortable situation, placing ongoing pressure on them to find an answer to the riddle of the United Earth (should they choose). This is not the fix for the United Earth problem!

Also, a move of everyone down to Earth again won't be in full swing until after December 1st. Until a location Earth-side that can support the Transport Pad and Aristeas Technology's energy demands can be found, a complete shift would be unfeasible. The official move down to Earth began on December 5th. Please refer here for more information!

Exsilium is buried under snow up to twenty feet deep across the countryside. The ruins of a city, one that may or may not have been London at one point in history, can be seen poking through in some places.

Exiles are in existence, and the (New) Initiative is an organization that stays very, very quiet and close to the ground. Countless smaller villages lay across the countryside, with a major city-state called Exsilium (funny, that) being the central region. "City-state" is used in the loosest sense -- the actual city part is some portion stone housing, some portion subterranean building, and a largest portion of wood housing. (But never fear. The Initiative is still here, and has since been contacted by the Transport Scouting Group on behalf of the Transports as a whole!)

Most the current population lives close to major sources of water, including the river formerly known as the Thames. In fact, the Thames has completely frozen over, and is used as a speedway for transport and traffic toward the ocean and further inland. Ice-skating and sledding are major means of travel!

Talking about the Initiative among the native Exiles will get you ostracized, into fights, and otherwise regarded as disreputable. That's right, folks -- the Initiative exists, in a vastly different, and vastly more underground movement. They don't have financial sway, or even semi-public support in the Exsilium the Transports will find.

The question of how this came to be will doubtlessly be big on everyone's minds. From what the AI will suggest, it's the cumulative effect of the countless small missions they've been running, particularly any mission that included earning, stealing, spending, or laundering large amounts of cash, or interfered with corporate legacies. Why corporate legacies?

As talking to the native Exiles will inform Transports, this whole world went to the freeze midway through the 3100's. Corporations had more power and sway than governments, and they decided to address an ongoing problem with regards to Global Warming. That solution worked... too well. Earth was triggered to start the shift into a massive ice-age, and humanity wasn't entirely prepared. The humanity caused natural disaster provoked the corporations worldwide into action, developing all sorts of safeguards and trying just about everything in the book and outside of the box to solve their problem.

Thus was the early United Earth born, a joining of Government and Corporate goals to address an ongoing problem. Any sudden shifts in temperature the other direction could prove as disastrous, and so efforts on adaptation became the most important in everyone's minds.

Which went to smithereens in the Catastrophic War, wiping out 78% of the world economy and forcing aid efforts to end with an abruptness that caused civil uprisings, rebellions, and civil war in the majority of the habitable world.

Now, in 3313, the major collective power that arose from the tangled skeins of history, known as the United Earth, has created its icy utopian society. Exsilium has been the dropping point for malcontents, close enough to be monitored, far enough away from the heart of the United Earth to be considered an amusement, not a threat.

And all the Exiles hope this is how the status quo stays -- for now, for the next decade, for as long as they're alive. The Initiative is an underground movement that has to stay underground to survive, and you, the Transports, are going to be their ticket to undermining the authority of the United Earth!

If you so choose.

The short list of changes:

- Exsilium is now literally a Winter Wonderland
- There is no Nuclear Winter
- The Initiative is a deep underground rebellion force
- The Initiative must be sought out through indirect channels
- There are Yetis roaming the island
- Yeah, seriously, Yetis (Which may or may not look like this!)
- Major means of movement are by sled, sleigh, and on ice skates using the river Thames
- 5% of the recognizable faces from Exsilium before are around anymore

Now for some more Environment and Setting Details…

At first glance, this looks less like a winter wonderland and more like a winter wasteland. But don’t let first impressions ruin the fun: There’s a lot going on in this environment.

Said environment is almost constantly in some state of flux; Exsilium’s still got enough sun to keep ice from packing too permanently, so snow levels can rise and fall to some degree. Of course, this place was famous for its drizzling, and so instead of lots of rain, there is lots of snow to replenish the landscape.

While this place is estranged from the highest quality of winter living, you’ll find the technology is well suited for the times. Solar panels peek through snow drifts to help power the burrowed living and working spaces hidden below. Food is grown and stored in domed-off locations, benefiting from their snowy blankets for the extra insulation it provides from the elements up top. And there are connecting pathways, not unlike subway tunnels, from workplaces closely built together. Saves you the ski trip.

Not that skiing isn’t awesome, or anything. Or even sledding! Fluffy sled dogs can help you out. As for the other local fauna, you’ll find some almost-but-not-quite domesticated cats guarding the granaries from rats and other pests. There are caribou for heavier work, and even a yak or three in places.

Please be advised that the penguins (yes) are ill-tempered and not a fan of locals and strangers alike. Same can be said of the walruses, whose destructive powers as giant blobs of blubber should be enough to warn you away from cheesing them off. They stay by the ice, though, so if you’re away from the shore, you’ll be alright.

Speaking of the water, you can find some (questionably) brave science-folks living under the ice in the Thames. There is something called an “ice box” – a living quarters that fits up to five uncomfortably, reasonably warm (but not quite) and dipped right into the water. These people check water quality and the flow/population of the fish and sharks and crabs and other water-things. It’s an important job, yanno. Yes, there are sharks in the Thames. Why wouldn’t there be?

Up top, there are a small smattering of arctic sea birds, polar bears, and mammoths. Why wouldn’t there be mammoths.

Oh, yes. And, because it’s terribly important to keep warm, there are manmade hot springs connected to the more affluent living areas. You won’t find much of any in the smaller communities. Still. Hot springs.

Please direct all questions to the thread marked "Questions" below!

To sign up to volunteer to go down to Exsilium on the first scouting group, which can take up to 25 characters, please sign up in the "Scouting Mission" thread below!

The scouting group will be looking around for the first week and tasked with finding someplace that can support the Transport Pad's energy needs before bringing down those wishing to leave the Moon Base in early December.

Comments

[gevurah]

I poured through the questions, but it's possible I missed it so apologies in advance.

Is there any building large enough to house the Transports in case of emergency? I'm thinking more along the lines of a bomb/fallout shelter, or bunker/some sort of emergency shelter -- somewhere obviously underground, if possible.

[initiates]

Ah, the answer is sadly no! Not readily available. Should anyone want to work on creating one and fortifying a large enough fallout shelter style area, there are underground buildings which could be converted and renovated to the cause.

[gevurah]

More questions!

Where would these be located? Within the city limits or nearer to the outskirts?

Are they stable or would that be part of renovation?

How many people would they be able to hold on average?

[initiates]

Within city limits, or close to older warehouse districts along the Thames used for various transporting and mercantile purposes.

Stability would be worked on by renovations; the basic frameworks will be sturdy, ceilings may have caved in.

As many as you want based on the size of area and manpower devoted to renovating it provides. Think in terms of warehouses -- there could be large ones, or smaller ones.

[gevurah]

Thank you!