The high tech city of Nemus

[darthauthor]

Day 50

Free drugs!

The CS is celebrated 15 minutes after people get high!

People are feeling a lot better now that the CS is supplying them with drugs.

After testing drugs out on the

A. Zombies locked up
B. Infected, in quarantine.
C. Could be infected (dormant)
D. Uninfected.

In one day they found, full blown zombies experienced a variety of possible outcomes: Apparent cure, Coma, Death, Enraged, Mutation, and Passive sleep

On the infected, the success levels are 98%; 1% die; another 1% go into a coma.

• Psychic Purification can also cure an infected human being. They also have had success curing fully turned zombies. The problem is damaged/injured that the human turned zombie has already sustained. Their status as a zombie made them immune to pain and the unknown alien bug chemical secretions that make them stronger are removed from their system. So when a zombie is purified they might die from their injuries.

• The biologist and related scientists are researching the matter. They have even taken to feeding zombies human flesh. They appear to be unwilling or unable to eat the flesh of another zombie. Theories abound but their best guess is that they can smell their own kind so they won’t attack or even consume flesh that is or was the hive of one of their own. Further experimentation is required but they think it is another way for them to test to see if someone is infected. Zombies may or may not attack someone who is infected “enough.”

• Another avenue of research is attempting to harvest the insect chemical secretions while screening out the actual reproducing insects. One doctor thinks that they might use the “juice” to help people survive one or more of their attempts to turn zombies back to people. One CS scientist thinks it can be used as a Juicer ‘juice’ substitute to temporarily gain their abilities.

• One of the things that they learned through experimentation on the zombies was that if the colony/hive is large and advanced enough while they are getting enough to eat the insects and/or their secretions make the organs work better, remove plaque and other harmful bacteria, parasites and even viruses. The bugs don’t like competition in the host body they occupy. Also, a sort of accelerated healing can take place. The research is new and the process is ongoing but it looks like well fed zombies heal at least 100 times faster than ordinary humans.

• The CS is controlling the media/internet except for the hacks. Still they keep health records from being uploaded. All anyone on the internet can report are their testimonials and subjective views.

In reality, people were turning into zombies everyday.
Where are they?
1. Hiding

2. On the run

3. Hidden / cared for by family/friends

4. Killed by the CS. Note: These zombies do not sense/detect as supernatural beings, Evil (for Sense Evil), magic (for sense magic), or psychic. They are aliens NOT supernaturally evil.

5. A 1% type of zombie is discovered that attempts to pass themselves off uninfected. These "impersonators" are the most evolved or perhaps least mentally challenged of the zombies and considered an aberration or far outlier to the common zombie. In many ways these things are like serial killers that either experience blackouts and missing time or can't stop themselves from being Hanibal Lector.

• The rumor is that over a 1,000 people were put down by the CS for being full zombies.

Now, thanks to the use of drugs people have stopped turning.

• What is not known and is still being tested for is whether or not a fully infected and turned into zombie can infect someone on drugs or after a person has stopped taking drugs the effects have worn off.

Couple of Notes: The CS and the City’s scientist (with Ai assist) can attribute a large amount of their discoveries to the number of people infected and the freedom to experiment without legal consequence.

Note: This author does not advocate drug use or abuse to solve a zombie Apocalypse or any other problem! Please consult your doctor before taking anything.

[darthauthor]

Day 51

The Day the City Fights Back!

CS grunts doing guard duty are overtaken.
Some are killed in the process.
Some are injured.
Some surrender in the face of being surrounded and out gunned.
Some are overcome by cybernetics, drugs, fatigue, psionics, and psychology.

18 CS are killed
33 CS are wounded
88 CS are in custody.

The mayor has control of food production (algae, mushroom, and hydroponics). Also, they have succeed in jamming radio messages from living the city. Commander Crassus is cut off from requesting reinforcements or alerting CS command of recent developments.

The internet has a video by the mayor giving a speech. She has not abandoned the city. Instead she has worked with its home guard to find ways to take it back and restore it to its people.
“I implore the CS to leave the people’s city or at least end the use of violence, food, and drugs to control the people. There is a generic low level ‘happy’ pill that is ninety plus percent not biologically addictive that can be used instead of what the CS is using and that the CS knows this. The city’s underground militia have chosen to act now before people become full blown drug addicts with the CS the only supplier.
“We have multiple labs throughout the city that are cranking out ‘happy pills’ but these pills won’t do any good if people are forced to take strong drugs just to get their fair portion of algae the CS never grew or had any right to distribute according to their terms.
“We never surrendered our rights. We were told by the CS, after Lazlo was assassinated and the king and his army and the Cyber-Knight were pushed out, and they murdered Naruni Enterprises, that in their eyes we had no rights. As far as they are concerned our rights died along with the US Empire. Well, as far as I’m concerned the US Empire lives on with us, here and now. What was best of it still exists in each of us.
“This time we live in now, is one in which only the might of a strong military will keep others from invading or cast off those who have already invaded. And now we have the means to defend ourselves and will grow stronger. Not, however, if we allow ourselves to become a city of hard drug addicts with the CS as our only supplier.”

Hackers keep posting and reposting the message and attempt to empower people to communicate with each other.

How is the CS represented?
The CS started off nice but now maintains control over people by drugs, food, military might, propaganda and severely limiting and censoring their information.

Public Psyche?
The people of Nemus have been on quite the rollercoaster ride. They have become pessimistic, superstitious and untrusting. Doors are locked, possessions carefully guarded, and supplies hoarded. Almost any place might erupt into an attack by mercs, the CS or monsters at any time.

The two most common psychological emotional states are denial and paranoia.
• Denial of the dangers that can appear at any moment.
• Paranoia is a state of irrational fear that one is going to be attacked or that some sort of life endangering encounter will occur. Of course, paranoia is understandable with dangers like possession, mind control, vampires, and zombies out there. These people's lives feel like they get turned upside down every week with something new killing the people or oppressing them.
• PTSD can happen to anyone who experiences or witnesses a terrifying event.
• Intense thoughts and feelings: Lasting long after the traumatic event has ended
• Flashbacks and nightmares: Reliving the event
• Anxiety: Severe anxiety, uncontrollable thoughts about the event
• Feeling "on edge": Also known as hyperarousal, this state of mind can include feeling anxious, being constantly aware of threats, and being easily startled
• Feeling detached or estranged from other people.

While many see the CS as providing more order than is believed would exist if they were not present. Because, that is what the people see.

Any other way it could be is wishful thinking until an undeniably powerful army is right in front of them. After that army has done it all without the people having lifted a finger or risked even breaking a nail then they will believe it because their faith won’t matter when their eyes can see what’s right in front of them.

Then the insurrection began.

The CS was not prepared. They have been busy, distracted, exhausted and understaffed. They outsourced a lot of psychic work to those members of the city in their training programs. Only these people were on drugs and new to the use of their powers of astral projection, clairvoyance, and precognition. They missed it or did not report it or didn’t understand the vagaries of what they saw.

• Aircraft vehicles are used to transport infected people to the nearest ley line. People of Nemus see ley lines for the first time. They learn that psychics can draw energy for their psionic powers from ley lines. Also, if a psychic is near the presence of a ley line their psychic powers are boosted.

The transported patients are dropped off at a temporary CS camp where they are treated by a psychic healer from Nemus with psi-purification. This wipes the drugs and zombie problem out of people. Next they are transported back to Nemus.
This process is repeated throughout the day.

• Size of effective CS forces within the city amounts to 200 combat troops.

• The city has a mix of militia and army that amounts to 320 fighting men and women.

Unbeknownst to the CS management the Dog Boys pack has been covering for Wyatt. Their conditioning and prejudice against free born Dog Boys (specifically Wyatt) is eroding by what they witness and experience. When they ran out of E-clips he gave us his. Fought with his psi-sword. Lifted debris off squadmates and civilians. He seems inexhaustible. Everyone in the pack is guilty of falling asleep while Wyatt watches over them.

[darthauthor]

Day 52

The Day the CS struck back.

The algae production facility is attacked. Commander Crassus leds the attack. The results are the effective destruction of the algae and the means of production. It appears the attack was more about destroying the place than actually taking it intact and killing or arresting the people holding it.

12 of the city’s insurgents/militia are killed immediately.
21 are wounded but not taken alive.
42 civilians who worked at the plant were also killed. Considered collateral damage.

Fortunately the trucks had already left with the day’s algae but there will be none tomorrow. It will take less time to build the algae production facility from scratch someplace else that has an existing building than to rebuild this one. Estimated time for the project is one month.

The mushroom and hydroponics plant are also attacked. The method however, is quite unexpected. Teenagers with VR headsets covering their eyes and face but with real energy weapons enter the scene. The city’s militia recognize them for what they are, the sons and daughters of Nemus city. Unprepared emotionally to kill or maim kids the militia withdraws without firing more than a few warning shots and such to test the kids.

The belief is that the kids are drugged and think they are playing a VR video game.

The city is going to starve.

He posts a video:
“This would not have happened if the mayor had not made her ultimatum. She should never have killed Coalition soldiers or taken the algae farm. When I commanded her people to withdraw they should have left. If they had surrendered it none of this would have happened. The city was finally eating again. Now, because of your mayor, there is a famine.
Oh yes, one more thing, I had no knowledge of this supposed ‘happy’ pill. I deal in knowns. We knew that if we medicated people the zombie outbreak would stop. We would have only kept people medicated long enough to remedy the zombie threat. Ask any of the people who returned yesterday and they will confirm that they are drug free and cleansed of any trace of these alien parasites. They are the real enemy that started this. While it was your mayor's impatience and lust for power that got us where we are today. If she had just handed out the ‘happy’ pills, and they worked, no one would have to starve. IF she was so against the use of drugs as a zombie preventative she could have seized or destroyed our storage and production lab (its location is secret and highly guarded). Instead her incompetence has destroyed the food supply.”

It appears to a mind that knows the strategy that Commander Crassus attacked with was to destroy food production. He attacked where he knew he could find the city’s insurgents. His real message without saying it. Surrender or I’ll starve the city.

Hydroponics production is still in operation but will take at least another 10 to 14 days before crops are ready. All that leaves to make it on are mushrooms and Man cannot live on mushrooms alone.

When Wyatt takes a break to visit the orphans he and the Dog Pack rescued they find they are gone. They were taken by the CS who said that orphans are to be properly raised by the state to be prepared for life in Rift Earth in service to the Coalition States. He begins to track them only to find they were divided up. Psychics into the CS Psi-program in an effort to convert them into nega-psychics.

He explains to the Dog Pack (6) that he is going to ask the kids if they want to and will come with him. IF they do he’s going to lead them out of the city. He will be responsible for them and raise them until they are old enough and strong enough to make their own way. Some might even become Cyber-Knights, if they choose that path and complete their training. Says that there is nowhere in the city he feels it is safe to leave them. IF the CS finds them again they won’t be raised with a choice about what they will become. They could be used as weapons like they used those kids to take back the mushroom farm. He says, “A war zone is no place for a kid to grow up without their parents. I’m going to take them out of here without killing anyone but I will use violence if it is necessary. I’m going to lie. I’m going to say I am transferring them.”

When asked where he is taking them and if it will be some magic loving town.

“Lazlo is not the closest. I have defended towns before; even small kingdoms. They will make a place for me and my little family of humans. There’s room for a pack of Dog Boys if they would like to come along . . .”

[darthauthor]

Day 53

A day of debate

Two law enforcement on lunch break:

Sarah, "I was going to retire. Pension at 100. God bless the US Empire. Couldn't decide if it would be in Mexico or the Philippines. Been to both bad air, bad water, crowded, touristy, not as cheap as it used to be.
Brie interjected, “There’s always Alaska.”
“Ice water runs through your veins,” Sarah replied.
“Need them these days.”
“I have seen some strange stuff in VR and movies but the future is stranger than anything I imagined it would be.”
Sarah said with a laugh, “We leapfrogged the apocalypse.”
“We aren’t leapfrogging the rain of zombies.”
“Some things are still the same. They are men or used to be.”
“I’d rather have the Cyber-Knight or even the king. These El Dios Dia Los Muertos guys might as well have stepped out of World War II virtual reality.”
They looked at each other. They are both thinking about it.
“You heard about what they are doing to the kids.”
“You mean the Hitler Youth group to indoctrinate kids to their Nazi ideology and prepare them for war.”
“I have no problem killing a vampire even though they used to be a human being. Same with a zombie. What the CS is doing. . . drafting the teenagers. . .”
“Do you believe the mayor?”
“She said they used our own kids to take back the food production. They did it because if they shot back it would be shooting our own kids. Said the VR must have made everyone else look like zombies or something.”
“None of us saw that.”
“Yeah, convenient now that they control the video surveillance. No more transparency, for them.”
“But they are Big Brother for everyone else.”
“If we had the laser guns . . . would you?”
“You know our CS advisor confiscates anything we bring in."
Her eyes dart around before he says, “But I would use them, if we had them, against the monsters. They are the enemy of humanity and we are it’s keepers. We defend good people from evil people.”
They share a look of understanding.
“We do what we can with what we’ve got to protect the innocent and bring criminals to justice.”


The VR teen grunts:
John, “I can’t wait to do that again.”
Michael, “Na. It’s too easy. They ran away without firing a shot.”
John, “Ok, but you know it felt good.”
Michael, “And no shocks, this time.”
John, “Soon we will be slaying vampires!”
Michael, “And zombies!”
John, “And those alien D-Bee scum!”
Michael, “Yeah!”

The city began using the local flora to make the suspended animation drug (death trance) and have used it on the infected. Their bodies (925 so far) are warehoused and connected to a cyberspace collective dubbed “Limbo.”

The fully developed zombies not a part of an experiment or under experimental treatment and exceeding storage capacity are terminated (164 died).

Overnight a handful of restaurants open serving food that people run to and line up outside the door. They say, “It’s the best food they have ever tasted.”

Dog Boy 1: It’s a lot of kids.
Wyatt, “I don’t leave kids behind.”
Dog Boy 2, “There are too many.”
Wyatt (reluctantly), “Then. . . I’ll have to come back for the rest.”
Dog Boy 3, “Seventeen! Isn’t that too many to take with you?”
Wyatt, “I’ll manage. It would be easier with help but I would not burden or endanger you brothers.”
Dog Boy 3, “You could stay. The children are safe here.”
Wyatt, “But not free. The CS grunts had a choice to enlist. These kids did not.”
Dog Boy 1, “Neither were any of us but I don’t regret it.”
Wyatt, “Dog Boy or human, regret the brothers and sisters I’ve lost and I fight to defend not just your lives but your freedom as well.”
Dog Boy 2, “We are free and we can defend ourselves.”
Wyatt, “You are brave, and strong too. Born gifted with abilities, a small portion of which the CS permits you to use.” He hesitates. “For their purposes. But these kids are only human. Playing at being soldiers. And war is no game or for children.”

[darthauthor]

Day 54

Plans are made

Commander Crassus, “Have we figured out how to find the resistance?”

Military Intelligence officer, “We are learning more each day. They are stealing or being given other peoples phones, if and when they use them. The rest of the time they must be putting them in a Faraday box. Besides the mayor and such we don’t know the names of faces of many of the resistance. People aren’t going out much except for their portion of food when they get rescanned for possession or infection. Since we no longer have the original city files on the public we don’t know for sure how many are not coming or how they are eating. Whomever the resistance are, they are most likely in cells and hiding in plain sight.”

Crassus, “What about the door to door search for contraband?”

Senior MasterSGT, “We don’t have the manpower.”

Crassus, “Yet. How are the newest recruits?”

Scientist, “We have never used this tech before. If the components weren’t here already. . .”

Crassus, “Get to the results.”

Scientist, “Between the drill sergeant, the shock therapy, a variety of drugs, VR, subliminal suggestion, Hypnosis, Hypnopaedia when they sleep, our youngest grunts in the mix for peer pressure"

Crassus, “Get to the point!”

Scientist, “When they think they are playing a game they are compliant. Continued conditioning will dehumanize D-Bees to them. Without VR they can kill a zombie who is attacking them or a squadmate.”

Crassus, “Can they kill the mayor and her people?”

Scientist, “In self defense, yes. It has not been long enough for more than that, for now.”

Crassus, “This is more than just an experiment, doctor. The shortage of people and state of emergency allows me to make use of whatever resources are available to ensure this city does not fall out of CS control.”

Scientist, “We don’t know the long term effects. The lab rats may fall out of control without repeated ‘therapy’ and even with it their sanity may erode like a crazy.”

Crassus, “We don’t have to use them as front line soldiers. It is not that kind of fight. We just need them in place so when the insurgents attack they will be killing young men and women. Contingency plans have been made for this sort of thing fighting insurgents. The only difference is the size and numbers. The goal is the same. Dicredit the insurgency.
Order of priority is the eradication of the zombie problem. Failure is NOT an option. Otherwise this whole city will be eaten alive. Like any outbreak it is all about containment. Kill them all and no more problem."

Propaganda officer, “Sir, how do we explain the deaths of everyone who is infected in custody? And what about the random people infested or becoming infested out there?”

Crassus, “We use one problem to solve another. Make it look like one of the insurgent cells killed them on purpose or accident.”

Head of logistics, “What about pest control? As long as those bugs exist it will always be a problem?”

Crassus, “Those in the city we already sprayed for we killed 99.9% of them. Followup estimates that outside of the city’s labs the only significant number of the insects are in their human hosts. And only spread if they bite another one of the Nemus people. Feeding the people their immune systems are up and is improbable we won’t be able to contain it. Risk management boys. Meanwhile we keep the psychic purification runs going until we have eradicated the infected. Let’s stay focused. We have a plan in place for the zombies. Now the insurgency. The mayor is a terrorist leading this insurgency. She wants us out. Per the CS contingency plan for insurgencies military forces only cannot defeat an insurgency necessarily by killing its members. I didn’t always see eye to eye with this because in a town of a few hundred it is easy to execute a dozen trouble makers and their supporters. I liked waging a war of intimidation and elimination of those loyal to the insurgency through indiscriminate violence. Nemus is different, however, we are going to follow plan B. We have to control the political narrative. We need a better story than the insurgency to win the hearts and minds of the people supporting the insurgency. We are going to hire more. Up the production of consumer goods for the CS. Recycle and salvage. Start with those who would be most grateful, the ones we saved with psychic purification from the zombie infection. Put them on video thanking us for saving them and the city. Get the movie production up and running. How great the CS is and every good thing we have done while we are here. Hire the actual people who were a part of it. All with the city’s employees and talent."

Logistics, “How do we pay for this?”

Crassus, “Use the city’s money system. Crypto-currency or whatever. It is worthless outside the city. Confiscate the money of those who died and their possession. Next I want our psychics to locate our troops. A ‘rescue’ operation will be put together to find them, return them and terminate their captures."

Intelligence, “Sir, we have already tried that. They are underground or at least in doors and not all kept in one location. We figure they are prisoners within every cell. They are probably trying to turn them into sympathizers."

Crassus, “What about the Dog Boys? Can’t they track them by scent?”

Intelligence Officer, “The poison and smell of the dead bodies has left too strong of a smell. We also believe wherever they are keeping them they did their housekeeping.”

Crassus, “Then send a plane to carry over our reports with a request for a special operative we need for the job. Have our special forces step up their training of the teenagers. The narrative is the mayor is possessed or she snapped and has gone insane or is a control freak. She has to be stopped along with anyone who follows her or makes an attack against the CS or to hold the city’s resources hostage like she is our troops. I want that plan for a false flag attack against the infested. Carefully pick the teens who will be killed in the attack. He’s got to have parents or at least a big brother or sister. An orphan won’t garner as much outrage. And the parents need to be good on camera. No real CS personnel are to die in this attack.”

• Only 85 civilians died today of the combined causes of accidents, disease, spirit/entity attacks, suicide, vampires (unconfirmed and lowest %), and zombies.

[darthauthor]

Day 55

The attack was brutal.
A thousand people were killed.

What video there was showed the graphic attack of helpless civilians and the murder of a couple of 18 year olds recruits. The follow up with their parents was immediate.

Commander Crassus condemned the attack as that of a terrorist and put a bounty out on the Mayor.

A CS aircraft landed with support.

The specialist has arrived to “deal” with the mayor and her insurgents. They are given the freedom to use any means at their disposal.

A video of the mayor is posted claiming she and her freedom fighter had no knowledge or participation in the attack.
“We will do everything in our power to discover the perpetrators and bring them to justice. I hate the CS , not my own people. . .”
The video is taken down before she can say any more.

What free media is left is the genuine support for the CS and raving fans of the new restaurants. Critics and business rivals are quick to demand an explanation of how and why these new restaurants are in business. Where are their permits? How did they get them so fast? Do they have them? Where are they getting their food from?

These posts are largely ignored and overshadowed by their don’t rock the boat fans leave stuffed (they don’t deliver) and feeling like they have just had the best meal of their life.

The CS had not had much time to entertain themselves with eating out. When it’s on CS management’s mind it is only their concern about smuggling and controlling people through the control of the distribution of food.

The only thing curious so far is that No pets are allowed and they make a special point to include Dog Boys. Since the CS considers them second class citizens anyway it doesn't bother them.

The CS has coordinated with a city health inspector to do a walk through of the places (one each day) starting tomorrow. . .

Ads run of the new shows the CS is putting out along with their upcoming movies. They have a line up of reality tv shows as well. All of it is spun in the Coalition States favor and against the mayor. She has been singled out as the face of the resistance for simplicity's sake. CS Mental health professionals speculate she may be under supernatural influence and that only in custody can she be properly diagnosed and treated.

[darthauthor]

Day 56

Politics

The political divisions grow wider in Nemus.

Between the food and drugs people are really drinking the CS proverbial kool aid. Propaganda is working. The CS clothes and shows are moving people emotionally and changing their identity.

Scientists are really enthusiastic about the freedom to study under the official banner of emergency and necessity.

Evaluation of the drug treatment plan. They are doing blood tests and brain scans of those who have regularly been taking their dose of drugs each day. They are addicts but it is killing the insects faster and worse than the patient. Current guess is that to stop the drug use would allow the insects to recover. The belief is that continued use will kill the bugs before the patient.
While tests on the “happy” pill and its effects on patients are that it produces the same results without the physical/chemical addiction.

The specialist leads a platoon of VR Boys and CS Special Forces that captures the mayor. Her arrest is put online. She is dumbfounded about how she was found. Conspiracy theorists believe there was an inside man or snitch as they can’t imagine any other way.

Commander Crassus claims the victory and announces that there will be a thorough investigation and public trial. He doesn’t want her to be a martyr.

8 insurgents are killed
15 are injured.

6 CS grunts are recovered alive.
Leads are collected on insurgent members and the other 28 CS personnel.

It is a mad scramble to retrieve the remaining CS members. 44 more are found throughout the city as insurgent safe houses are evacuated while they are left behind or freed. There are still 28 CS people unaccounted for.

The 50 CS are intensely interrogated. Those with solid information are put on projects to id and pursue the insurgents. The remaining are given ‘therapy’ to remind them of their first duty to the CS.

While the injured insurgents are passed through the city hospital and those who are stable are then discharged by the CS as outpatients. They are taken to a CS building dubbed the ministry of ‘truth’ and no one has seen or heard from them since.

The city health department and CS inspector leave the restaurant stuffed. They drive to their civilian places of residence in their new flying cars. Highest marks for service.

Wyatt (the Dog Boy Cyber-Knight) has returned along with Diesel, the Dog Boy who went with him. He tells his battle buddies they got the kids to a safe town using some hover vehicles. It was a smooth run. Wyatt is the real deal.
Now they are back for more. . .

[darthauthor]

Day 57

Over 5,000 of the citizens considered to be most valuable have been psychically purified since the CS program started. These are the greatest supporters of the CS. And from whom the jury box is stacked with for the mayor's trial.

The court has been assembled in a filming studio with the presiding judge from the CS. The intent is to conduct the proceedings for crimes against the CS.
For the CS the mayor is accused of sedition (the deaths and injuries of CS personnel and their being used as prisoners).

The CS has done a great job of having an imposter woman the height and general body shape of the mayor wearing a bulky orange prisoner jumpsuit wearing gloves with her hands cuffed. She wears sunglasses, a wig and a COVID-19 mask.

Her voice is a deep fake of the mayor's via recordings. The difference cannot be determined with electronic means by the viewing audience by voice analysis alone.
The appearance cannot be statistically refuted based on camera angles and appearance over her clothes.
In reality, there are two fack trials occurring ALL pre-recorded before being put online. One with the real mayor wearing identical clothing and one they have put together with their actors. The real mayor is interspersed intermittently with ones of the fake mayor. The CS is leaving nothing to chance.

Her plea. Not guilty.

They play the recording of the mayor's speech. She questioned if it is her in the recording and if she, in fact, spoke those words. After the insurgency seized the food production facilities.

The CS claims hackers sabotaged the video of the actual attack so they can’t show it but they do have eye witnesses.
They bring out CS grunts who were taken as prisoners. They testify that they did not expect violence from civilians and didn't want to kill any of them. That is why they allowed themselves to be taken and that they didn't want their battle buddies to get shot or for the food production facility to be damaged.

They go on to mention how they were tortured by the insurgents for information and in an attempt to twist their mind to their cause. All the while they knew they were being used as human shields and hostage bargaining pieces.

In reality, they were fed and quartered and treated humanely. They talked to them and asked them questions like where are they from and what it was like for them growing up in the CS territories.

In the mayor’s defense her lawyer asks if any of the grunts were actually tortured by her personally or directly heard her order them to be beaten and denied food?
To which the CS grunts reply, “No.”
The defense lawyer argues that the mayor gave a speech but never actually did harm to the grunts who testified. Nor are there any witnesses who can say it was the mayor who shot CS personnel or who gave orders to do so. They argue that in insurgencies there is not necessarily one resistance group but instead malcontents who lash out when opportunities present themselves.
They argue the mayor is a puppet with no actual power or leadership within the insurgency. They were using her. She was an easy mark with delusions they nurtured. Furthermore, they say she is mentally unbalanced and that she should be found not guilty for reasons of insanity. They have mental health professionals who are willing to testify that she is not of sound mind and she is one of many cult followers, NOT a leader.

The defense closing argument is that the mayor is a fragile, weak, mentally impaired woman child who was taken advantage of and never actually killed or harmed any CS personnel herself and ought to be institutionalized. There she can be properly treated for her many mental and emotional problems.

Upon which the fake mayor gets up and assaults the courtroom guard. She disarms him of his gun. Shots him in the head. Darts behind the judge's bench after which a single shot is heard.
The mayor is declared dead by suicide.

Commander Crassus declares that they have the identities of the insurgents and their sympathizers. He is giving them this one chance to surrender themselves to law enforcement. If they do he will consider their plea for immunity provided they make a full confession, turn in their weapons, and name or identify the people and locations used by their resistance cell. They have 24 hours.

In reality, the CS has leads but doesn’t know the identities and/or locations of the insurgents. He is trying to get them to give themselves up.

Crassus’s plan is that he can claim anyone is an insurgent or supporter of them so all he has to do is avoid killing anyone too popular or whom it can be proven they never had the chance to support the resistance. On the plus side he can kill whomever he wants so he has a political pass to eliminate those in the city who are useless to him or undesirable. Those who are critical of him or the CS from the internet are first on the list. Then the mayors greatest supporters. All will be rounded up. All to delude people into thinking the CS are good guys they should cooperate with and work for as they are acting in their best interest and are a super power.

The doctors and scientists make a new discovery. Now that another one of the earlier quarantines for disease is over. There has been another outbreak.

The problem is the plague defies science.

The CS however, broadcast that the city is being attacked by a new threat. With all the people dying entities have flooded the city. These supernatural menaces are invisible and intangible. Bullets can’t hurt them. Neither can a baseball bat. Crosses won’t stop them. Psionics are the only thing that can hurt them and if they are not destroyed completely they will come back. These ghosts are pure evil. They exist to haunt the living and feed off our life force. They must be destroyed and the CS are the only ones who can do it. The worst of them can and will possess living people. While under their spell they will commit all manner of vile crimes against humanity. Sadly the people you once knew are gone. These entities have murdered them and only we, the CS, can destroy these evil things before they ruin anyone else’s lives. Oh, one more thing it is not impossible that some or all of the insurgents could be under the control of these entities. Please tell the authorities who and where they are before they do any more damage. Only those who turn themselves in are not possessed.

[darthauthor]

Day 58

Is there an exorcist in the house?

Beautiful entity
Conglomerate entity
Gluttonous entity
Harmful ghost
Haunting Entity
Madness ghost
Possessing Entity
Syphon Entity

Those with knowledge of Pathology can make a roll.
Also Lore: Demons & Monsters at -30% to figure out it is a Contagion entity causing the plague in the city.

With all the deaths in the city and lives of people to feed off of it is an entities playground and smorgasbord all in one.

Entities are vulnerable to magic and psionics but the CS does not want to condone magic as a solution to anything. So they just say psionics can damage entities. Of course, not all psionic will do damage either (telekinesis used to throw rocks for example is no better than a person shooting a gun at an entity).

The CS response is underwhelming:
They are stretched beyond their man power.
They know without the right psychic powers fighting an entity is an exercise in futility. They can’t shoot them or even see them without “See the invisible.”
Orders are to run from them unless you have a means of attacking them.

Squads in the city either homegrown spook squads or the CS:

• Astral Projection allows the psychic to fight an entity using hand to hand.
• See Invisible (all of them should have this)
• Ectoplasm: in my games I allow ectoplasm disguise to be used on one's own hands to touch or hold an entity; as a way of punching entities or wrestling them. While regular ectoplasm the physical power allows the psychic to attempt to throw a net over an entity to pin them down.
The idea is that entities are sort of vulnerable to ectoplasm anchoring them enough that an attack with it or something coated in it can do harm to an entity. It is my way of attempting to include everyone in the group as having a means of fighting but only if they work together and take turns.
• Exorcism (only one needs to have this, doesn't have to be Master Psychic)
• Psi-Sword/Mind Bolt

3 CS possessed and at large.
6 CS personnel were killed.
15 Civilians were killed.
18 Spook squad members were killed.
34 are injured or traumatized.
And an unknown number of civilians are possessed or haunted.

The loss of CS personnel and spook squads is attributed to tunnel vision and panic when they should have retreated. CS contingency plans include withdrawing from entity encounters until the right kind of psychic firepower is available.

Paranoia is sweeping the people as the very real threat of CS or civilian people being possessed. These evil entities are diabolical fiend that delight in manipulating, corrupting, and destroying humanoids


The day is red with the blood of insurgents.

Most anyone associated with the mayor is rounded up. Shot resisting is the leading reported cause of death.

The number of CS supporters grows according to the latest polls.

14 have been interrogated and secretly killed so far.
17 are still being held at the ministry of truth to be used for information and other purposes.

Publicly, the number of CS supporters grows according to the latest polls.

Some insurgents turn themselves in and surrender their weapons.

They are photographed, identified, and released. Secretly, the CS plans to watch them to see if the enemy will make contact. Publicially the CS wants others to see them release those who surrender to encourage others to surrender. Much later on the CS plans to kill them.

Overall, an additional 140 people die from an assortment of accidents, disease, suicides, and supernatural attacks.

Commander Crassus denounces these supernatural invaders as a plague on humanity. The result of magic because some evil man summoned these evil spirits to enslave mankind and he turned them loose or they got out from under his control.

Doing accountability of CS human and Dog Boy resources leadership has discovered the inconsistency that the Dog Boy is in the city without a number (Wyatt, the Cyber-Knight Dog Boy). IF it was not an ALL HANDS ON DECK emergency he would be brought in. The assumption is that there must be a clerical error or mix up. The Dog Boy pack he is in racking up an unparalleled level of successful encounters with driving off supernatural entities. It seems suspicious given the squad has no psionic power to harm entities. The senior sergeant orders a human sergeant to take command of the squad and find out what’s what with it.

Upon introduction the new NCOIC Jairus who inspects the squad. Performs a field demotion of the Dog Boy Sargent for failure to make timely reports and he doesn't want to hear any excuses. Says that their best isn't good enough anymore. As their new NCO he will demand more of them than they have ever given. Introduces their new human corporal and tells them to obey his commands in his absence.
Orders them to restock, and get out into the field again in 15 minutes...

[ZINO]

this is awesome man!!!!!!!!!!!!!! rifter material

[darthauthor]

Day 59

The great plague of entities

Before sun up the city is mercilessly attacked by entities (non-tectonic ).

It is wide open to their attacks. The entities have no problem psychically attacking the civilians who cannot see or touch them. While their victims are vulnerable to entities emotional manipulations, fear effect, possession, and infection.

12 injuries from accidents
86 people are killed by entities distracting them and causing fatal encounters using “Bio-Manipulation.”
86 more are killed by possessed humans acting like serial killers.
97 contagion plague victims are considered lost causes by the CS and put down against the pleas of family and objections of medical personnel. Their bodies are incinerated.

Commander Crassus ordered the whole city quarantined. The last flight carries a special request for psychic warriors. The phones of the infected are back tracked to trace who they encountered.

The commander gives an online speech followed by the head of public health. Anyone with symptoms must report them immediately.

In secret, the CS starts fire and burns and murders another 47 people.

Afterwards, it is confirmed that psychic diagnosis can detect the contagion victims. Also, there are good indicators it can be figured out with aura reading.

Player Characters can make a breakthrough with Pathology here but since this is new they have to make rolls for batches of 10 patients. Diagnosis only.

New discovery chance for player characters: Zombie infected and victims appear to be immune. It is possible, in theory, to infect contagion victims with the zombie bugs and keep them from dying. Then put them in a coma of sorts and connect their minds in the “Limbo” virtual reality until psychic purification can be used. However simple this may sound, chances are human error or something could happen and the contagion could spread. Commander Crassus deals in knowns and orders the incineration of all the magic contagion infected without discrimination or hesitation.

Ambulances have become hearses that now take people to the mortuary for incineration. CS squads are issued flamethrowers and are ordered to burn anyone sneezing in public along with anyone within 6 feet of them.

All those with “See the invisible” are drafted and made to serve the CS.

Critical locations are guarded with whatever psychics whose powers can repeal or harm entities.

CS personnel who appear to have gone AWAL are presumed possessed. Incineration is authorized.

That included a Dog Boy pack led by their newest human NCO Jairus. The last report from the squad was the loss of one of the Dog 0757 or as they called him, Diesel. Sargent put in an order to take in the pack for insubordination and disrespect. Said they defied his orders, worse they lied (The sergeant believed Diesel had become infected. He panicked and shot him in the head. Order the pack to toast him. They refused to abandon Diesel’s dead body or cover up his crime. Wyatt said they test the body for contagion and arrest the sergeant for murder). So the sergeant got on the radio.

Video is brought to the attention of Commander Crassus. Someone in Sealed Dog Boy armor is seen wielding a Psi-Sword. He appears to be jumping around swinging at nothing, only the sword appears to stop as though it has hit something; seven times. Tracking him on the cameras is difficult for unknown reasons however the rest of the pack is easier to follow. Even the civilians take notice of him and follow and video. Then it appears. The ghostly visage of a pale human who looks like a walking corpse. His face is the expression of disgust. His body is covered in what looks like the shots from CS rifles. It is over within six seconds. It seems anti-climatic because everyone was expecting an explosion or the thud of a body hitting the ground. The walking transplant corpse faded into the ether. The look on peoples faces is as though their fear had lifted and they could breathe again. The people looked at him and the Dog Boys with him. There was something different about the way they looked at them. Something different about their faces. Something Crassus had not seen since he got here. There was hope.

Best count is the mysterious Dog Boy (Wyatt) has killed 8 entities in one day. Wherever he succeeded the entities everywhere else could not be stopped. The CS mind melter did the best he could but he had run out of gas after he killed his first one and had to constantly stop to meditate.

Note: Since the Contagion Entity outbreak all CS personnel are required to wear sealed armor.

That night the special troops he requested had arrived.


The story of Gail Force:

The CS scientist considered the first Dog Boy born with a gene fluke to be a random accident. Forty-Seven-Thirty-Two was put down and cut up to the lab techs to see what they could make of the mistake. It was a mystery they never solved and considered just factory breakage that was going to just “happen” ever so often. It wasn’t till Bradford decided to experiment with the second gene fluke that they realized the Dog Boy had unexpected psionic powers without experiencing any problems near ley lines.

Well Ley Lines aren’t going anywhere, so Bradford decided that those who were diagnosed as gene flukes would be specially trained for their psionic powers and to operate in missions within the influence of ley lines. There these Dog Boys would experience a Psychic power buff with none of the headaches or psychic sense blinding. Since the gene fluke dogs had no psychic senses to begin with they are naturally psychologically oriented to operate and thus don’t notice what they never had.

Thus began Gail Force, a special platoon of gene fluke Dog Boys. These mutants are taken from their litter when their physical psionics develop where they are kept with those of their own kind. It is not until they are older that they are educated about how other Dog Boys can only sense Evil. They, the Gail Force platoon, are the doers who can do what the others cannot.

Their psychic powers are tailored with training to be what the CS needs them. As an afterthought they realized the difficulty of fighting entities without psi-swords. Training program to develop a squad specifically with entities in mind. Unlike vampires which can be harmed with water, wood and silver, entities can only be harmed with magic and psionics; and CS policy forbids magic.
Having no other "effective" way to destroy entities the CS pursued two directions of psychic development. The first, to train gene fluke Dog Boys to manifest a Psi-Sword. The second, to create weapons out of ectoplasm. To this end, gene fluke Dog Boys are trained in making "Ectoplasm Constructs (6+; 2 hours per level)" to use ectoplasm as material to fashion melee weapons. After this they use "Harden Ectoplasm" (The Rifter 44, page 51; credit Mark Hall) to make the previously made melee weapons Mega Damage. Since these melee weapons could only last a few hours before dissolving the gene fluke Dog Boys needed to be nearby to make them and hand them over to regular Dog Boys who could see the invisible entities and strike them.

Why gene fluke Dog Boys and not human psychics?

Because they have already grown the Dog Boy with the psychic potential (average 5 out of every 100 Dog Boys are gene fluke). Given the number of them and the facilities and programs they have in place to train them it's just cheaper, easier and there are a lot more of them. So they are trained to do missions less than one percent of the CS human military could perform.

Note: G-Force company has several speciality gene fluke Dog Boys. Their training is to primarily develop one psychic superpower and three minor physical powers. To this end, their mission focus is to combat the supernatural and secret security work. Part of their things is to surprise enemies who have heard of Dog Boys and are not expecting them to use hydrokinesis against a vampire. They also do special search work using Omni-Sight. The psychic research department explores all possible applications of psionic superpowers.

CS Ghost Hunting Squad Alpha
A typical squad is 11.
Point - A normal Dog Boy (Greyhound for running speed to keep up and pass an entity) of the group who is first to detect the presence of an entity and lead the squad to it. Possesses the psionic power See the invisible.

3 more normal Greyhound Dog Boys with “See the Invisible” to see in every direction

Squad Leader - The squad leader is usually a confident CS Military Specialist (Sergeant to Lieutenant). His management is to keep the team disciplined, focused and loyal. Typically a major or minor psychic with See the invisible and/or exorcism.

6 Dog Boys Gail Force:
3 with Ectoplasmic Construct (Physical) to create melee weapons (typically swords) and TK Forcefield (Super; to trap entities)
3 with Harden Ectoplasm (Super) to make the melee weapons Mega Damage.

CS Ghost Hunting Squad Bravo.
Typically a squad of 10 (One officer, One Psi-Nullifer, 4 traditional Dog Boys, 4 G-Force Dog Boys partnered with).

The Psi-Nullifier is the destroyer while greyhound or Elk hound Dog Boys keep a 20 foot distance. Their main role is to chase an entity or get the entity to chase them and radio their location in. While a G-Force Dog Boy runs Defense by putting up a Telekinetic Force Field (30) in an attempt to trap it

One Psi-Nullifier (4th level; with the following psionic powers)
1st. Alter Aura, Exorcism, Mind Block, Mind Block AutoDefense, Psychic Omni-Sight, Psychic Purification, See the Invisible, and Sixth Sense.
2nd. Telekinesis (minor; wood vs vamps), TK Forcefield (Super)
3rd. Ectoplasm (minor)
4th. Bio-Regeneration (minor; for quick recovery), Psi-Sword (7d6 MD)

In the CS, has a contingency plan for contagion entities. Their infection is based on magic and has no cure by medical science or psychic power. That is why most of the Coalition States efforts are to stop their carriers before they enter into the burbs and such.
Once an outbreak happens it is about containment of the infected and the hunt for the living body the contagion entity has possessed. Since the BOTH the contagion entity and the infected can spread the magic based disease it is a nightmare to track down. The only “good” thing is that the infected are typically dead in under two weeks. Not that the CS will necessarily allow them to live that long. The infection is spread by fluid transfer (save vs disease need 17+; if successful immune for 24 hours).

While the infected die the contagion entity’s host lives as a mega damage being with all his or her injuries and illnesses cured. Except for the host's outward appearance they are healthier than ever (6d6+30 MDC; regenerates 1d6 MD per round) with supernatural strength.

[darthauthor]

Day 60

1,214 people died last night.

Around 1,000 were the result of raging Conglomerate entities.
The CS (with CK Wyatt’s help) were able to destroy four but one escaped.

11 CS personnel were killed in the fight against the conglomerate entities.

The internet is ablaze with comments about the entities.

Some plead that they should communicate with the entities and attempt to understand each other.

Some think that deals could be made with them and insist that they already have.

Others voice that they have relationships with them and that they have helped them. In this group of people, men and women, describe the entity as the handsomest partner. Others feel like they are the entity's pet. Still others think that the entity is their pet or relationship partner (beautiful entity).

Some extremist comment that entities can’t harm the living only distract people and make them feel things. They recommend ignoring the entity (turn your back and them and play being asleep or dead). They describe that the entity just went away. At worst they had to meditate until whatever they were feeling passed through them.

Some comment that criminals are using the excuse of an entity made me do it as a legal defense. The question asked is how can anyone prove someone stole from someone, kidnapped them or murdered because they possessed or under an entity’s influence.

Some feel empowered by their entity to live their life to the fullest (Gluttonous Entity).

Some insist that the computer, phone, car or new CS clothes are possessed and they must be burnt.

There is an almost joking reference to the new restaurants that opened. Saying that with all these overwhelming experiences at least they can eat well and why not it doesn’t feel like we have long to live. The businesses appear to have slowed in their service. Aside from a few hiccups they are still open. Reviewers comment, “It is a relief to know there is someplace we can go and not have to worry about being attacked.”

Some believe that entities, like people, can be good or bad and that one size should not fit all and coexistence should be an option for entities that merely want to live and do no harm. The small amount of energy the willing donate is an agreeable trade for the way they make them feel and the chance to connect with a departed loved one. They even feel that their entity protects them like a guardian angel.

Commander Crassus insists that ALL entities are EVIL and must be destroyed for human kind to survive and be free. There can be no exceptions and any one harboring or giving aid to an entity is a traitor to humanity and will be killed.

Meanwhile, the contagion entity is still at large. Fear of everything has divided people into isolationist and communal groups.

The social and religious groups used to operating with their rights and personal liberties are getting it the worst. Human error and lapses in spreading the contagion.

209 people tested positive for contagion entity infection in their daily food allotment. The CS secretary poisoned their food. Their deaths were explained as caused by the contagion entity and their bodies were incinerated. With machine-like efficiency the CS merciless methods contain the spread of the contagion.

With all his people in the field or guarding essential resources he is trying to account for all CS people. Internal security has made arrangement for “clean rooms” so that everyone can get out of their armor and line up for looking at everyone (aura reading for signs of possession, infection, and id check), followed by a shower, clean clothes, a fresh meal and a solid 8 hour sleep rotation (to replenish ISP).

He wants to know if and which of his people may have been compromised or is masquerading themselves as CS but is really not. He also finds the person who wore the Dog Boy armor and wielding a Psi-Sword. Technically, he knows a mind melter or cyber-knight could have put on Dog Boy armor and impersonated the CS. Immediately it makes the CS look good but ultimately it may undermine security and the CS agenda.

In secret, the prosperous new restaurants are being protected from the entities by an unidentified player. The public and the CS don’t know how or by whom. They have been too distracted with their problems.

With the quarantine stopping the ley line runs of zombie infected patients 176 newly detected infected are have their bodies put into the drug induced death trance and mind connected to “Limbo.” Officially full blown zombies are rare and the newest four discovered are quickly burned down.

In spite of the ruthlessness of the CS their unofficial polls reflect that people approve of their results. Something has really shifted for the people. More and more the average citizen accepts the CS and their methods.

[darthauthor]

Day 61

CS General: “This surprise inspection is to assess the situation and determine if the city is worth our time and people.”

Commander Crassus, “Yes, Sir.”

General: “You have requested some of our best people to handle crisis after crisis in the city. How do you explain these problems?”

Crassus, “As you know sir, the city is in the middle of the untamed wilderness. Thousands of humans out of the past without knowledge of or defenses against all manner of supernatural predators have fed off of and tormented the ignorante and unprepared people. As I have detailed in my reports we have secured the perimeter of the city with skellbots, Dog Boys and CS troopers.

• Vampires have been driven out with the only possible incursion at night.

• The zombie problem is only a danger to the people of this city and we have a treatment for it.

• The large number of entities are being dealt with on a one by one basis before the Ghost squads got here. With them on the scene we expect the problem to be eliminated within a week.

• The insurrection incident is handled for now. With the mayor dead they have no political leader.

• Consumer goods production is up and we are shipping out the goods and the city’s existing robots to the CS territories as fast as we can.

• We have already sent out the city’s doctors and psionic healers to the areas of greatest need for the Coalition States.

• Algae production will be back up in three to five weeks.

General: “You are leaving out the explanation of why you allowed food distribution to be taken over by the mayor.”

Crassus, “I need the mayor to play her hand. It drew her out. Then she was arrested along with her followers. We interrogated them for the identities and whereabouts of their accomplices. Then food production was re-taken, as planned (no mention of the VR Boys / troopers).”

General, “Why did the plan include the disabling of the Algae plant?”

Crassus, “Sir, as you already know insurgencies are best defeated by winning the people. To do that I had to show them a story portraying the mayor as a terrorist whose actions disrupted the food chain. Besides, I ensured that mushroom production and the hydroponic vegetables were safely re-taken. The city didn’t starve to death. They just lost some of their options, for now.”

General, “What about the civilian casualties?”

Crassus, “Sir?”

General, “I know about the door to door searches for zombie infected. You executed a family because their daughter was sick.”

Crassus, “Sir, I did not order those grunts to do that. Sleep deprivation, overworked, and stressed grunts lost their cool grew impatient and took matters into their own hands. They thought they were sending a message that hiding the infected is a crime. I would have had them arrested and an investigation into the matter but by the time I found out who they were and what they did they had already died in the line of duty fighting monsters (Crassus had a talk with them, established their cover stories and made sure any accountibility feel on the dead CS grunts)."

Crassus continues, “Sir. Has the official legal status of the people here changed?”

General, (evading the question) “You know the CS needs things. The goods coming out of here are nice but we had hopes of more war materials.”

Crassus, “Yes Sir. We will need refined or at least raw materials to fill that request. And a couple of months to retool the factories and machines.”

General, “It cost us more time and credits to transport the materials here and the processed weapons back than it is to keep the supply chain the way it is now. The CS is better off having the city make what it is already good at. That reminds me, care to elaborate as to how you are getting them to work for free?”

Crassus, “They have their own system of credits here. As the government we absorb their money after they die. Besides that, even after the great cataclysm and the Dark Ages after 300 years there's always been and will be taxes. And we have been paying the people with them. They in turn pay us for securing and distributing their food and defending them from the supernatural. We nationalized the utilities so as far as the people are concerned the as long as the CS is providing we are great."

General: “What about those spies who were in that merc company Robot Control and the rest of the mercs who escaped?”

Crassus: “As you know, that happened on the previous commander's watch. He’s dead as are those men who killed those few spies we had are hands on. Intell tells us the spies and the real mercs have gone to ground.”

General: “What have you done to find any of them?”

Crassus, “CS Intelligence still has not sent me their classified files on who the spies are or the people assets they turned. Nor the files on the mercs so I can ID them. Once they do I will get you results. Until then I have followed the book, to the letter, on agents out of contact and mercs in hiding.“

General, “And construction of the wall?”

Crassus, “We lack the materials. So far it’s just chopped trees, mounds, and a trench for foxholes. Although we have duplicated a bunker entrance similar to the kind we have in Chi-Town.”

General, “What about the remaining alien weapons?”

Crassus, “We sent back everything we found. Whenever anything new turns up we put it on the first plane out.”

General, “The genetic engineering technology?”

Crassus, “You can visit the hospital and see it for yourself. Mind Melter can’t hack it. Deconstructing it risks destroying it. The operator is confident that if he takes it apart he can figure it out but he’s not certain he won’t be able to put it back into working order. We did find out if it changes altitude or is moved too far from its home location, like it is being flown, it deletes its programing unless a password is used. So anyone who wants to use it has to come here.”

General, “We will be flying in Dr. Bradford. He will use it on some volunteers.”

Crassus, “I look forward to his insights.”

General, “What about the ley line camp site?”

Crassus, “Per the play book, bunkers in place. We have Skell-bots killing anything that comes out of them. No spell casters or supernatural things so far.”

General, “The drugs?”

Crassus, “Medication, sir. I would not have used it if it did not save lives that would have been necessary to put down. Now that the lab coats have tested it out, we are using a non-addictive happy pill.”

General, “What about the NCO, Jairus?”

Crassus, “I have the report right here. He was possessed or at least under the influence of an entity. Murdered one of his own Dog Boys. Tried to cover it up. Dog Boys radioed it in. Asked for military police to arrest him and take them all in for a full report and investigation. Body of the dead Dog Boy confirms he was not infected but was shot by Jairus’s weapon. The corporal on the scene along with all of the Dog Boys testimony is consistent as to the event. When Jairus attacked them, they defended themselves. Body was incinerated. Case was open and shut.”

General, “I want to speak to the corporal.”

Crassus, “He died later that same day, line of duty, fighting entities.”

General, “And the body? I suppose that was incinerated too?”

Crassus, “It's regulation. We are under contagion entity quarantine.”

General, “And the Dog Boys?”

Crassus, “In the field, assisting the ghost squads. I can recall them if you wish.”

General, “What about that report of a Dog Boy with a psi-sword?”

Crassus, “The video footage was effected by the entities electrical interference such that the record has too much static. From what I saw of it someone in what appeared to be a EBA sealed Dog Boy armor appeared to be wielding what looked like, on a monitor, a psi-sword. It might have been an illusion. Or someone in the city pretending, they call it cross-playing here. We don’t know if they were wearing real Dog Boy armor. It could be that someone in the city has developed the ability to create a psi-sword. Or CS intelligence has their own Dog Boy gene fluke in the city. Or it was a deserter or free born Dog Boy who manifested the ability. I can say that we have accounted for all our Dog Boys (he’s lying) and I recommend them all for medals. Here is the paperwork.”

General, “And, do you have anything MORE to share with me?”

Crassus smiles, “Of course,” and pulls a tarp off a crate with books (first editions), ancient coins, and art that look like they came from a museum. Then he pats his hand on a cylinder the size of an igloo water cooler with the label nanomites.


Colonel John Crassus

Father was career military and served in the war against the Federation of magic.
Mother was a spy for the CS.

Born and raised in Chi-Town John was naturally intimidating and handsome. It had gotten him interviews but not and even positions but through most of his career he was not remarkable compared with those around him. Those promoted over him were smart or better fighters or more charismatic or had more experience.

Served in the CS military for 60 years. He has seen a lot. There have been a lot of assignments in his years of service.

Decades later he had more experience but his superiors had already decided that he didn’t have “it” and thus he was never really assigned anywhere he could get the opportunities to be promoted. It was not enough for him to be loyal or not to have made mistakes. Until and unless he accomplished something whose greatness no one could deny, he believed he would always be regulated to subordinate positions of no consequence.

He only promoted after he was long overdue and there were no other officers available, desirous of the post, or eligible.

As more and more decades went by John Crassus slowly creeped his way up the command after the deaths and failures of his superiors. His survivability and lack of mistakes was an oddity that was taken for granted and he was properly awarded his appropriate ribbon.

As the years went on John Crassus did as well. His rank of ribbons and awards started to outnumber and outshine the younger rising stars.

To make room for the new blood they wanted him to retire. As a request and favor he was transferred into the field for what was supposed to be his last campaign. He came back a war hero with a bionic arm and eye.

Coming to the attention of the CS generals and with the need for experienced and safe officers in the CS expansion plans and campaign against Free Quebec and Tolkeen. Crassus was finally promoted to colonel.

He found his career had not prepared him for the rivalry and politics of the position and it changed him. He was given a promotion for eliminating the enemies of the CS. Now to keep his position he’s had to eliminate his rivals. The pent up anger and repression took over his life. To him it has been too long for him to get where he is and he’s gone to far to turn back now. He will say anything, do anything and destroy anyone who threatens to take “it” away from him.

Anyone he perceived as disloyal to him or whose actions or words would hurt his career had to be gotten rid of or made to see things his way. By extension anyone under his command is expected to make Commander Crassus, themselves, and the CS look good in that order. To him the ends justifies the means. He takes great pleasure in requesting the officers who once passed him over to serve under him. Now they salute him before he decides to assign them to a desk as was done to him or sends them on a mission so dangerous they are not likely to survive. While he takes the credit and goes on the more survivable missions. Then has a talk with his subordinate officers on the reports that will glorify his victories for his next medal.

He genuinely believes in himself and his methods.
Over the years he has developed a small but loyal network of officers and NCO’s beneath him whom cover for each other.
Those who don’t make the cut of his inner circle, he is quite good at intimidating those beneath him in rank.
He finally feels like he’s in a position to make what he wants happen. Anyone who appears to have a story to tell that makes him look like he’s lost control of them or his assignment has to be dealt with. Those closest to him are afraid of him. They believe he will murder them and commit suicide before he lets anyone in the CS take away his power.
While Crassus insinuates he has blackmail material (some real some fabricated) on his staff and that if anything were to happen to him no one would protect them when it comes out.

Commander Crassus has gotten very good at lying in person and in his reports. He’s also great at getting rid of those in his command who would make trouble for him. While those who show him the most loyalty are awarded medals, promotions, and sometimes secretly the spoils of war.

He has spoken at length that when the people of Nemus are indoctrinated many of his officers will be promoted to positions over them.

While Crassus’s officers appreciate his lack of politics with them, the free hand he lets them have to look the other way and let them do things their own way, and the speed with which he can award them medals. If Nemus becomes a CS territory opportunities for promotion will come along with it. The accommodations, facilities, and entertainment are fantastic also.

Commander, (Colonel) John Crassus
Level: 9th level Coalition Military Specialist
Race: Human
Alignment: Miscreant
IQ 13, ME 18, MA 24 (intim: 80%), PS 12, PP 14, PE 15, PB 15, Spd 20
Hit Points: 45 S.D.C.: 32
Height: Six feet, 4 inches. Weight: 225 lbs. Age 76 (looks 51)
• Bionic right eye and arm.

Military Specialist O.C.C. Skills
Language: Native Tongue (American) at 98%.
Literacy: American 90%, Computer Operation 95%,
Electronic Countermeasures 90%, Intelligence 74%, Pilot: Automobile 91%,
Pilot: Hovercraft 98%, Pilot: Robots & Power Armor 90%, Pilot: Robot Combat: Basic, Math: Basic 98%, Radio: Basic 98%, Running, Weapon Systems 90%,
W.P. Archery, W.P. Blunt, W.P. Energy Pistol, W.P. Energy Rifle, W.P. Heavy Energy Weapons
Hand to Hand: Expert 9th level
Initiative:
Attacks per melee: 6

• Field Intelligence Advanced Training:
+5 on Perception Rolls involving Strategic Assessment
+5 on Perception Rolls to I.D. strength and weakness of Enemy
Detect Ambush 85%
Interrogation 80%
Optic Systems 90%

• Officer Advanced Training:
History: Pre-Rjfts 83/75%; main focus is Military History)
History: Post-Apocalyptic 98/95%; main focus is Military History)
Military Etiquette 95%,
Public Speaking 85%,
W.P. Handguns
W.P. Knife
Combat: + 1 on Perception Rolls (all).

• 5th Level: Field Counter-Intelligence Advanced Training
+4 on Perception Rolls to recognize the suspicious.
+3 on Perception Rolls to recognize truthfulness under interrogation
+5 on Perception Rolls to on suspects & prisoners under interrogation
Basic Electronics 70%
Camouflage 70%
Cryptography 65%
I.D. Undercover Agent 66%
Research 70%

[darthauthor]

Day 62

• The hydroponics food production is beginning to put out vegetables for the people.

• Happy Pill distribution has left people feeling kind of disatisfied when it comes to the intenisty of the pleasure. People are experiencing withdrawl.

• Psychic Registration Program (PRP), has their PRP bar code tattoooed on the back of the city's identified psychic residents. The only people who could not have participated in this are not getting fed by the CS. Adults psychics with the top healing psionics powers of Deaden Pain (4), Healing Touch (6), Increased Healing (10), Psychic Diagnosis (4), Psychic Purification (8), Psychic Surgery (14) receive some education in the way the CS does things and continues to fly them out. Adult psychic sensitives are considered second priority for relocation. Currently the CS or the city is trying to turn more of them into spook squads as their early warning system against the supernatural and train them in fighting tactics for such adversaries. While physical psychics are the least in demand as far as the needs of the CS military. Only the master level psychics are given special consideration. Children are still in the CS boarding school program, in the city, for psychic development in an attempt to make them Psi-Nullifiers.

• The CS is efficiently hunting the contagion entity. They believe they have it within a section of the city narrowed down to 10% should be found and eliminated by or before the end of tomorrow. The problem is that they can't quite tell the contagion entity apart from the Dog Boys feel of any other entity. They lack the experience with contagion entities. Also, from a distance they can't be 100% certain of which entity they are dealing with. They just start feeling there is some supernatural thing within their psychic sensor range. Plus at any given time there are still a lot of adult physical psychics in the city. All the commotion it feels like trying to recognize a voice in a crowded room. They need to get up close and personal.

• While he was away Sir Wyatt requested the assistance of his master the Lady Widow of the Spider Tribe. She came with her party to help in the transfer of people out of the city. Now that she has arrived she has become aware of the city's supernatural problems.

Along came a Spider

Emerais was born and raised in her psi-stalker tribe to be a warrior against the Xiticix and the supernatural. Growing up she began to ask when the hairy, tall one with tanned skin was so different.
Her parents told her that he was an Atlantean Cyber-Knight who came to join the fight against the Xiticix. He said he wanted to learn from the best and fight along side them if they would have him.
The elders didn’t know what to make of him. So they decided to test him and found he was unusually strong and much older than he looked. Also, his body adorned with tattoos he could use that gave off a magical release coating him in the armor of a knight. He could magically summon a flamming sword too. He told the tribe stories of how his tribe. How he was born in a land far to the South and when he came of age he began his journey. He met a someone who said he foresaw their meeting in a vision. They were meant to be master and apprentice and he trained me in the ways of the cyber-knight. Together we made our way North. We fought vampires in Mexico, Splugorth slavers, and even went to a city in the middle of the sea called Atlantis. There we freed slaves and smuggled them out. Master had one obsession, more than anything, he wanted justice for his people who had been murdered by servants of the Splugorth. He died trying to bring them to justice. His only success was that he took at least one of them with him.
I was spared thanks to my atlantean brothers and sisters.
They warned me not to make the mistake of my master and sent me to Lazlo. There I learned more about the cyberknights and other atlantean tribes. They gave me these marks to fulfill my calling. When I found out about the Xiticix it seemed like nothing else is a bigger threat to this world.

Ten years later, Lady Widow would become the cyber-knight of her tribe.

Lady Black / CS Lt Black (The Widow)

Real name: Emerais (means “Honor of the North”) of the Spider Tribe.

Level: 10th level Crusader Cyber-Knight; Master of CK Wyatt

Race: Psi-Stalker; Born of the Spider Tribe

Alignment: Scrupulous

IQ 12, ME 23, MA 18 (intimidate 55%), PS 29, PP 18, PE 25, PB 7, Spd 30

Hit Points: 62 S.D.C.: 95 I.S.P.: 115

Height: Six feet, 2 inches. Weight: 186 lbs.

Special Psi-Stalker Abilities:
1. Sense Psychic and Magic Energy:
Sensitivity to psionic and magic powers being used is 1,500 feet.
When not being used 230 feet.
Sense ley lines or a nexus point from up to 19 miles.
Stalk/track a specific psychic scent. Base Skill: 65%
Sense psionic powers or magic are being used 98%
Recognize the scent again if encountered at some other time: 65%
When tracking a psychic scent, roll percentile dice every 1,000 feet (300 m) to see if the hunter is still on the trail. I.S.P. : None, automatic.

2. Recognize Psychic Scent:
90% and includes demons, vampires, and Entities.
80% to tracking by psychic scent when not using its abilities
98% if the supernatural being is expending psionic or magical energy.
Duration: Automatic and constant. I.S.P. : None, an automatic ability.
6. Nourishment: Needs only 50 PPE from mage, psychic, or supernatural.
7. Psionic Powers: Astral Projection (8; 50 minutes), Clairvoyance (4; 67%), Create Psi-Sword (0); Create Psi-Shield (15; 80 MD); Intuitive Combat (10; 5 minutes), Meditation (0), See the Invisible (4; 10 minutes), Sixth Sense (2), Telepathy (4; 20 minutes-500 ft 2 way communication),
8. Psionic Empathy with Animals.
9. Mega-Damage Combat. S.D.C. and hit points add together to become MD when fighting a supernatural opponent.
10. Cyber-Knight Zen Combat Level 10

Description: Has lots of scars and the traditional black spider tattoo of her people.

Personality: Lady Black is a psi-stalker first and a cyber-knight second. She is proud of her heritage, her tribe, and the Black Spider psi-stalkers as a whole. At her core is the drive to maintain the honor of her tribe. While her personal prejudice is against supernatural predators. To this end she spends some half her time fighting Xiticix. Somewhat foolishly she seeks duels with Xiticix super warriors. While her idea of a vacation is a mixed bag of sorts: Transporting Xiticix meat to surrounding villages and challenging herself with hunting vampires in Texas.

Note: Mega-Damage via Cyber-armor: None. Lady Black Widow declined the standard mechanical augmentation. She thinks that fighting with only external armor, like the people of her tribe, is fighting at the same level as her opponents and believes if her opponent is truly evil her psi-stalker nature will compensate as it turns her into a MD being. An added bonus is that she is able to pass for a standard Civilized Psi-Stalker in the CS. Something that would be difficult to explain with cyber-armor. This is a lesson her apprentice, Sir Wyatt, followed although his motivations had more to do with passing for Dog Boy and becoming a Cyber-Knight as quickly as he could.
Furthermore, Lady Black also limits herself in the use of techno-wizardry items. The exceptions she makes in this are in her battles against the Xiticix. She feels the fight is more fair if she gets to use the Xiticix own weapons (including TW blasters & rifles) against them.
When not pretending to be a CS Psi-Stalker she typically wears armor fashioned from Xiticix Warriors (60 MD). She also toys with the idea of killing supernatural monsters while in Xiticix armor and with Xiticix weapons as a way of getting people to notice them and the threat they are.

Cyber-Knight Combat Abilities: Zen Combat, Paired Weapons

Cyber-knight O.C.C. Skills: Anthropology 90%, Body Building, Climbing 98%, Gymnastics, Horsemanship: Cyber-Knight 98/96%, Land Navigation 85%, Lore: Demon & Monster 95%, Paramedic 95%, Swimming 98%
W.P.: Knife +9 to strike / +11 to parry / +13 to thrown
2nd level: W.P. Shield +11 to parry / +6 to strike
W.P. Sword +9 to strike /+12 (Psi-5d6 MD),
W.P. Energy Pistol +5
W.P. Energy Rifle +5

Hand to Hand: Attacks 9 (10 against the supernatural; 11 with paired)
+ 7 on initiative
+7 on Perception Rolls; +12 to ID demons
+4 to strike Hand to Hand; Critical Strike on 18+, +5 to pull punch
+8 to parry and dodge Hand to Hand
+2 to entangle Hand to Hand
+6 to disarm Hand to Hand
+7 to Roll with impact
2 to save vs psionic attack (bonuses included!
+5 to save vs mind control and mind altering drugs
+11 to save vs Horror Factor.
+5 to save vs possession
+6 to save vs insanity
+9 to save vs magic.
+5 to save vs poison
Leap six feet (1.8 m) high or 10 feet (3 m) long +2 feet when running

O.C.C. Related Skills:
Two Physical skills:
Boxing & Prowl 80%,
Three Weapon Proficiencies:
W.P. Archery = 9 attacks, +8 to strike
W.P. Targeting +7 to strike
W.P. Whip +7 to strike, +9 disarm, and +5 entangle

Detect Ambush 80%, Escape Artist 80%, Tracking 75%*, Field Armourer & Munitions 90% (Basic Mechanics: 75%), Intelligence 73%, Undercover Ops 80% (pretend a CS Psi-Stalker), Weapon Systems 85%
• +5%* to sense and track the supernatural and Xiticix.

Level 3: Two O.C.C. Related skills towards Demon Slayer Adv Training
Demon Slayer Advanced Training (Gained at 3rd level at the cost of 4 O.C.C. Related Skills from levels 3rd and 6th):
CK* O.C.C. starts with Paramedic 95%
Lore: Demons and Monsters (+15% on a wider range of knowledge about demons and supernatural beings only, no skill bonus for just "monsters"). Redundant CK*Lore: Demons and Monsters 95%
Lore: Magic 80% (+5% for Technical skill & +5% form anthro).
Whittling: 98% (includes a +20% when it applies to making weapons, stakes, spears, clubs from wood, bone, ice and stone to use against supernatural beings; -10% to make sculptures and works of art 85%).
Recognize Signs / Trademarks of the Demonic. Base Skill: 84%
Demon Hunter AT Bonuses: + 1 attack per melee facing a supernatural opponent; does not apply to mortals and other types of enemies.

Secondary: Horsemanship: Exotic Animals 85/75%, Pilot: Hovercycle 97%, Pilot: Hovercraft (Ground) 95%, Radio: Basic 90%, Read Sensory Equipment 75%, Wilderness Survival 85%.

5th Level Secondary: Camouflage 45% & Lore: Psychics & Psionics 55%
Level 5:
W.P. Axe +6 to strike / +10 to parry
W.P. Grappling Hook +5 to strike / +3 to entangle
W.P. Spear +6 to strike
Level 9: Fencing and Outdoorsmanship
10th Level Secondary: Athletics: General & Running

Equipment: Coalition "Dead Boy" armor, signal mirror, a couple sets of clothing, sleeping bag, backpack, pack for stowing equipment, utility-belt, canteen, sunglasses, gas mask.
CS Energy Rifle and pistol 7 E-Clips, a Vibro-Knife, a wooden cross, a wood and bone knife.

[darthauthor]

Day 63

• The food lines have hydroponically grown vegetables.

• The CS food lines have Dog Boys doing their duty to sniff for the Contagion entity's infection. Those positives have been treated by psionic exorcism with a 51% success rate.

• 44 people were quarantined as positively infected after exorcism treatment failed. The CS experts believe the contagion entity will be destroyed before the end of the day. The known consequence is that the magical disease will disappear after it is exercised or incinerated. So they have no intention of murdering them. Plus enough of the psychic citizens are employed to use their power of exorcism so it doesn’t exhaust the CS psychics.

• Law enforcement has made their first drug dealing arrest since the city transported to Rifts Earth. Drug gangs have formed and are dealing.

• The CS ghost hunting squads run into people defending the entities they are associating with. They lie and mislead spook squads and the CS. Children who can see entities are emotionally attached and act like it is a game.

• The precogs are having mixed visions. With the switch to happy pills their psychic powers are seeing things clearer but multiple and diverse feelings about what they are seeing.

• CS cornered what they believed was the contagion entity in a retirement home. No one there is infected. The possessed man is a senior citizen who, thanks to the entity, has been cured of his disease, his bioregeneration has cured him of his aches and pains, and he has supernatural strength. The old man has been sneaking out and running around feeling like he has life and youth back.

When the CS or spook squad or the player characters enter the building. Larry makes a run for it.

Villain NPC
Larry has had a life of many lucky breaks except for the most important people of his life.
He's weak willed and gives in to his whims.
Had a dozen jobs over his life. Made friends and lost them.
Best decision of his life was joining the reserves that gave him the only real job he was able to keep.
Tried being a hero and found out he was not.
Later in life he got into making drugs and selling them. This is how he made most of his money.
Now in a rest home he was dying of both health problems and bordum.
Starving, lonely, scared, and wanting to live again the whisper offered him a new lease on life and revenge against those who lived a life he could not (parents could not afford genetic engineering. He could not afford bionics).

Larry has an escape plan and a silent partner.
Among his many secrets, he makes and runs drugs in the city. He started by stealing meds from his neighbors. Then he set up his own lab to "cook" drugs. He has recruited some desperate people to sell for him, run errands, and back him up.

In the event they ever found him in the rest home he set up the doors with flammable material all anyone has to do is put a spark or flame to any of the outside doors.
While he has hidden cameras inside and outside the two story rest home.
He has a car in the neighbors drive way. He has intimidated and paid him off not to interfer.

If the rest home is rushed by a team of CS he will play the part of a old confused man out the back door to his car then switchs to "I'm the neighbor."

If investigators come in slow and polite he tries to bluff.

Larry's second secret is his silent partner is a vampire. He comes once every three nights or so. The master vampire has hypnotized a lot of the staff and used psionics on them. Then drinks from the residents and leaves.
The vampire's plan involves converting some of the old folks to see what happens but ultimately it is about blood and numbers. Considers Larry his corrupt human underling.

In the city Larry has a party house, a safe house, and a drug lab.

If it comes down to running or fight Larry runs. Fights only when there is no way out.

If tailed in his getaway he will go to his safehouse. There his henchman will defend him.
He has false floor traps at all of his places where he wants his victims to cross his room to him.
Drug Lab has a covered pit of zombies. He feeds them and extracts their performance enhancing serium for his henchmen. Anyone who falls here falls into a pit of 4 hungry zombies.
At the rest home he has one sleeping vampire during the day. She'll wake enough to bite and drink blood. No sunlight in room.
At the fun house characters fall into a swimming pool

He perfers to fight hand to hand doing 4d6 SDC unless they are wearing MD.
While use MD weapons from a distance especially at a pursuing vehicle.

Alignment: began Anarchist now Diabolical

IQ 12, M.E. 7, M.A. 9, P.S. 10 (supernatural), P.P. 12, P.E. 11, P.B. 8, Spd 16

Height: 6 feet Weight: 260 pounds Age: 120
Born before genetic engineering and missed out on advances

M.D.C.: 65 Before(S.D.C.: 34 Hit Points: 31)

O.C.C. Skills:
Math: Basic , Languages: American, Spanish , Literacy, Military Etiquette 55%, Radio: Basic 71%, First Aid 70%, General Athletics, Climbing 60%, Running
W.P. Knife
W.P. Automatic Pistol
W.P. Energy Rifle
Hand to Hand: Basic 6th Level
Punch 4d6 S.D.C. Power Punch 1d4 MD
Attacks: 5 +1 to strike, +2 to parry / dodge

O.C.C. Related:
W.P. Blunt +2
W.P. Rifle
Chemistry 75%, Chemistry: Analytical 60%, Chemistry: Pharm @4th level 40%, Excavation & Rescue 70%, Pilot: Automobile 75%, and TV/Video 60%

Secondary Skills: Computer operation 65%, Cyberjacking 65%, Math: Advanced 80%, Streetwise: Drugs 50%

[darthauthor]

Day 64

• 2,000 people are infected by the contagion entity's virus before his host blow himself up in a last act of distruction. They will be dead in 7 days if they are not successfully cured.

• The area was quickly closed off and the CS executed and burned anyone who tried to make a run for it. Of the 8,000 potential exposed people no one was allow to leave without a through inspection by Dog Boys. Mass exorcisms were conducted before their are exhausted.

• Food lines are turned over to all but one CS non military person supervising. The people feel better about it and adult psychics with Aura Reading are employed in mass.

• With the contagion entity's death the 44 people who were quarantined test negative and are freed.

• Law enforcement busts the drug lab Larry had. Begin an investigation into who was working with him.

• The CS ghost hunting squads are repurposed to exorcism duty of the infected and quarantine patrol.

• Lady Widow in her CS Psi-Stalker disguise assists with the contagion infection quarrantine along with her former apprentice Sir Wyatt and the dog pack that runs with him. People are divided up as much as they can be to keep form spreading the disease to each other. Everyone is waiting for tomorrow when they may begin their second attempt at psionic exorcism to purge them of the supernatural infection.

• The food bars made from bug ingredients are introduced as a new addition to the food supply. A great source of protein and vitamins. The flavor is somewhat of an acquired tastes. The manufacture claims they will be introducing criket flour soon as a baking substitute.

• Another company claims the sugar supply is gone but they intend to farm honey using the bees in the city's dome bee preserve. Insect scientist are curious how the bees form 2098 will react to today's Rifts Earth and want to test them with a controlled enviroment using a second smaller dome with local flora, fauna, and water.

Note: Colony collapse was a thing in the time before Rifts. In an effort to save the species government, charity organizations, private industries, and individuals created bee sanctuaries. Typically these bee preserves are seal and live their lives in pocket ecosystems. Queens and their colonies are export for farming purposes but many don't survive so there was a need every year for more bees.

• The VR Boys/Troopers are used again to assist with the quarrantine of the contagion virus.

• Poll rating on the CS response show them with a high approval scores. The CS is creating more jobs

[darthauthor]

Day 65

• The official count is down to 1,600 people are infected by the end of the day. Though the results are considered good they will all be dead in 6 days if they are not successfully cured.

• A triage plan is formulated to use psionic exoricisms exclusively on the people the CS determines to be most valuable and worthy. Unless the odds are defied or more people with exoricism powers are found and made to cure people the current approach will leave hundreds dead.

• The CS only killed 21 people in quarantine deviance.

• 8 infected are detected in the food lines and sequestered

• Law enforcement is distracted but reports that the drug problem is growing. The gangs are going.

• Lazlo's council of learning has a debate about coming to the aid of the people of Nemus.

• One of the groups in the Federation of Magic has heard of Nemus and fears what technological terrors this city from the past could bring to their world by way of the CS.

• Movie and series production continues to crank out “The CS is great” content.

• People are enjoying the hydroponic vegetables improving morale.

• The CS declares more of the deceased property as inherited by the state. With every death the CS grow richer and there are fewer mouths to feed and people to police and provide health care. It’s coming up a lot in the only chat groups and message boards.

[darthauthor]

Day 66

Dr Bradford comes to Nemus. He brings his support people (personal security, scientists, & technicians). He brings some nine women (each pregnant and a month apart). He has brought them to see the genetic engineering machine used on them.

A shuttle is arranged to transport those with the contagion infection (wearing protective gear) to the ley line camp. There the psychics' powers are boosted and they have an unlimited supply of ISP energy. Between multiple psychics attempting exorcisms it is only a matter of time and the endurance of the psychics. Success is 98% certain for patients brought here.

The CS doesn’t like the Ley Lines or making use of them but Commander Crassus is about results. He and the CS will look better for saving lives.

A party (most notably a Nomad, Scholar, and a Voyager) of atlanteans enters the city by way of a mystic portal. They are disguised to look like tall handsome humans. Mostly they are excited to see a pre-Rifts Earth city and people. They quickly trade food for clothes. Then start learning first hand about the city’s problems.

More people are put in stasis and added to the “Limbo” network. The computer scientist in charge is quite impressed with how the virtual reality world is shaping up.
Note: Cyberjacking is normal in 2098. What is not normal is a massive amount of people in a coma who don’t know they have been put into a virtual reality world. The whole point of putting peoples minds in “Limbo” was to keep them mentally active, have any kind of life (even a virtual one), and they have found it is super successful in getting a person out of a coma.
In this case, the world of “Limbo” is basically the same as an Astral Kingdom created by an Astral Lord from Rifter #9 and Nightbane Between the Shadows.

Unknown to everyone, a supernatural being is participating in the virtual reality of “Limbo.” They have found in the connection they can tempt and torture people in what is to them a “pocket dimension.” It may be that they can draw PPE from the patients. It is so new and unexpected that no one has a pre-made plan that this could happen and how to check for it or defend against it or what to do about it.

[darthauthor]

Day 67

I always intended the setting of Nemus to be a place where characters could use their computer skills. A place where they could hack and adventure in virtual realities. In some ways the experience would be like that of an other dimensional adventure by traveling with a Shifter. Only instead of walking through a rift characters would cyberjack into different vitural realities. Although these adventure would not necessarily have any impact on Rifts Earth they could change things for the characters in terms of experience, learning information, an getting credits. The possibility exists that characters could take control of some small aspect of automation in the city like control of a flying car or a service robot.

Presented here are some of the seeds of a cyberspace adventure setting with a movie Matrix like feel. The exact nature of one or more of the adversaries in this matrix is that of a supernatural being that is in cyberspace/virtual reality.

The patients who are in this LIMBO vitural reality are kind of unaware they are not in the real world. At a subconscous level they know they are not but in their short term memories what they see and react to feels real enough to them to occupy their attention. Because they focus on it so much it is more real to them then trying to reason though how they got there and any inconsistancies.
Another part of it is, on the outside at the medical clinic one of the mental health professionals who cyberjacks into Limbo to check on and help patients has been possessed by one of the supernatural beings present in it. In possession of the therapist the being is aware of the present situation and has used their postion and powers to erase some of the memories of the patients. So people who would normal be concerned with their kids, loved ones, careers and such can't access those memories.
Another aspect of Limbo is that of a time difference. Like the astral plane time moves faster in this virtual reality than in the real world.

“Limbo”
Lifelike Interactive Matrix Biometric Oasis or L.I.M.B.O. for short

Limbo: a noun that means a situation where you are uncertain about what to do next and cannot take action. For example, you might be in limbo while waiting for someone else to make a decision. Synonyms of limbo include oblivion, nothingness, and nowhere.
If you say that someone or something is in limbo, you mean that they are in a situation where they seem to be caught between two stages and it is unclear what will happen next.

Limbo - A Virtual Reality Kingdom

In Nemus, as in many cities with people who are in comas and such. Virtual realities were created for their mental release and recovery. The expense of which is neglibile given it already exists for entertainment and consumer purposes. While medical patients interact in "Limbo" it is all code so effectively people can experience unlimited consumption and possession of things. Utilities are, in a fashion, limitless since it is all a sensory experience. Although, it does take the programers and artist time to create content much of this is already done except for new and custom images.
The avatar of the patient is a default of themselves from their patient picture and body scans. However, customizations are possible so the patient could look like anyone.

Characteristics and Features of the Domain.

A. Accessibility: Controlled. The system does not want anyone outside the matrix to be able to mess with the minds of those who are within it. Psychological shocks and subconscious mental conditioning could undo the person who they were.

B. Size: Huge: 100 cubic miles (160 km) of virtual real estate. Beyond which is wall paper background they cannot pass.

C. Portals or gateways: Conduits that allow people to enter and exit the domain. 1. Patient connection.

D. Landscape.: Lifelike and Highly Complex:
Patients typically wake up in the hospital and after a briefing check out to begin living their virtual life.
The system default is the city of Nemus.
Multiple habitats can be created along with a sky.
There are multiple domains that enable those who are so inclined to move from one section to another. A building towering over all others overlooks each domain. The size of the realm and imagination of the creator are the only limiting factors.

F. Special Defenses: No explosions or guns. Fire is almost non existant and when it is does not hurt to the touch and can not start fires. Neither does open electricity.

G. Living Conditions:The virtual environment has lights and water without utility bills. Vitual characters don't need to breathe, use the bathroom or even eat but process is comforting.

H. Special Abilities: All guests in the domain possess virtual bodies they can change the appearance and characteristics of. S.D.C is 200.

I. Inhabitants: Mindless Constructs:
Virtual characters who exist only in virtual reality for the patients to see and potentially interact with. In short, NPC's. Unless customized - Attributes (All physical attributes 10, all mental attributes 6, knows four skills (no skill bonuses) from the domestic, technical (languages only) or weapon categories. Has 30 S.D.C. points and two attacks per melee round; Skills at the first level

• In the actual city of Nemus. The people are continued to be treated for the contagion entity's infection. Exorcisms both in the city and in the shuttle process to the ley line continue saving hundreds of lives.

• Lady Widow and Sir Wyatt continue to assist and make plans for the next group of people to smuggle out via their figurative underground railroad.

• Although there are still deaths and injuries caused by entities public and government fear is focused on the infected and containment. This has left the smaller supernatural threats free reign at the moment..

[darthauthor]

Day 68

The safeties are off!

The unidentified supernatural intruder has worked their magic within L.I.M.B.O.

The virtual avatars that represent actually living people can feel both pain and pleasure as well as intense physical sensation.

Inside the virtual world patients go about their daily lives. Like in this world, driving a car on the freeway you change lanes and such but don't actually talk to the drivers around you. Likewise, in real life, we don't accost someone demanding explanations for why the world is the way it is. IF we did they would probably run from us, report us, and if we cornered them scream and attack us. In the virtual world, these NPC people are virtual constructs and react this way due to supernatural magic and playing off people's expectations.
Only the other patients are real and can feel actual pain and pleasure.

The USB (Unidentified Supernatural Being) is learning about human nature, technology, and the ins and outs of the virtual and real world. It sees this world as one part playground and another part laboratory and it wants to experiment on human minds.

Thus far it enjoys the stimulation it gets from toying with people.

It can draw PPE from them.

It can corrupt them.

It cannot wake a patient up from their coma.

It or one of its kind can somehow possess those who cyberjack into L.I.M.B.O. and stay there long enough.

The USB has a man on the outside who is delivering it information and new patients. Also, he is expanding the network to create limited and conditional access to the internet outside of L.I.M.B.O.

The USB has had their man on the outside bring a commercial robot in and the USB was successful at sort of Telemechanically possessing it and interacted with the world outside L.I.M.B.O.

With the city's databases having been deleted the USB cannot learn all that there is to know of science and engineering but it has set up a lab to learn things on its own the long hard way.

It reasons that there may be a way to build a better robot or create a real body for itself made out of ectoplasm if it can get enough of it and transfer its consciousness to it like the 8th level Earth Warlock spell. Transfer to either a robot or ectoplasm golam of sorts that can potentially come alive.

The people of the real world present so many possibilities as play things, hosts to possess, corrupt, convert to worship it and things the USB has yet to image. One thing is for certain though, none of them are the USB's equal and it looks down with contempt for them.

What about AI?

The Ai hasn't taken any notice of what goes on in L.I.M.B.O. as it is not its department. Any reports about it and strange or dangerous goings on there are filed and categorized as excessive game play. No more illegal or alarming as kids or grown up playing Call of Duty.

[darthauthor]

Day 69

Brain Child

Dr Bradford, from the Lone Star complex, has spent his time in the medical facilities studying the genetic engineering machine. He has had all 9 women in the machine and seen it conduct its operation. I would scan the women and prescribe the limits of what it would do. It would not do anything with the women who are in their third trimester.
Afterwards he is escorted to the places in the city he wants to see (with his personal security).

Dr. Bradford, “Commander Crassus, I am pleased with the result from executing my idea to shuttling the people back and forth to the ley line for psychic exorcism.”

Crassus, “Only 32 were lost. And the CS looks as big a genius as you are. So tell me, now that you have looked around the city, what do you see?”

Bradford, “You couldn’t keep up with what I think, I’ll dumb this down for you. You don’t ask me what I think. I tell you what to do and you do it.
The CS must control this genetic engineering technology or destroy it so no one else can have it. For that reason alone it is enough to keep a military presence here while we fly the expecting mothers, of the elite, here and back. Next put in a request for a Digital Dead Boy squad to investigate and maintain control of the internet. You have allowed the hacker problem here to grow beyond ridiculous. The new restaurants don’t add up. Close them down. One look at the place, online, and I can tell, they are succeeding to well. The supply chain is not transparent, at best it is illegal smuggling, at worst it is magic. Now I am leaving. I have matters of greater importance at Lone Star to pour my attention over. .”

With that Dr. Bradford left for the airport with his security, the women he came with and some scientist he “persuaded” in his own way to come with him. That and some tech consumer goods.

The city’s entity problem has been curtailed. Between the CS ghost squads and the help of Lady Widow and Sir Wyatt (both undercover) reports of entity related deaths is no less than one a day.
90+% of the entities are believed to have fled or been destroyed (exorcized) in one form or another. Any remaining problems are believed to be harbored and fed (PPE) by some people of the city.

The CS personnel are finally given a rest rotation where they can take a whole day off.

An empty warehouse is taken over by medical service to have room for more patients to be plugged into L.I.M.B.O.
Families want to know when their members will be shuttled to the ley line for Psychic Purification.
Those who are replied to are given vaguely worded generic and neutral statements about staffing shortages and the priorities of the city. But, if you really want to check in on them and have a lengthy interaction with them you can schedule a cyberjacking visit. And when you come back you won’t be concerned. You will feel like a new man (It is a set up to get them into L.I.M.B.O. long enough and under controlled conditions so they can be possessed).

Note: In the Virtual World of L.I.M.B.O. visitors know they are visiting a virtual world even though it is so life-like it appears real (like 4k TV real). Although their avatar is a 4k picture quality of their face and body it still has 200 S.D.C. Attributes are different in virtual reality. Your physical strength in reality does not translate over. Instead, P.S. is a representation of your confidence so your M.A. number is used but on the P.S. attribute scale. So a M.A. of 16 would give you a P.S. of 16 (+1 to damage) in virtual reality even though your virtual body may look stronger or weaker than having a P.S. of 16. IQ replaces P.P. and M.E. replaces P.E. While P.B. is the same unless you modify it. Physical Speed is IQ. While SDC is the same 200 and Hit Points of 50 plus M.E. after the 50 is gone.

Player character avatar bodies have no critical points so critical hits only do extra damage, not death, paralysis, or knock outs.
If the player characters were to fight it would be a slug fest of punches and kicks. Melee weapons are also good damage that bypasses SDC and goes straight to hit points. Edge weapons do hit point damage as well but can make the characters bleed. While Hand to Hand combat does not cross over perfectly from the “real” world to the digital one. Instead you can look like you're fighting the same and do the same holds and strikes but your number of attacks per melee is limited to 4. This makes characters like crazies, cyberknights, and juicers faster in the real world over the digital one. Also, an arm parry against a melee weapon means that you take SDC damage instead of Hit Points damage.
Characters, villains and NPC are capable of wearing digital armor that would add S.D.C.

Note: For most of the patients in L.I.M.B.O. they are existing in the routine of their daily lives on a sort of mental autopilot. News from the outside is filtered. Family members either don’t exist, are away for some plausible excuse, or are Ai’s npc’s on a sort of autopilot themselves. These Ai’s are being supernaturally and computer overwritten to be in a sense more real. They look like their real world counter parts but are more like doppelgangers from the Nightbane rpg. Their basic programming enables them to do routine domestic and secondary skill stuff. Now that they have been enchanted they are empowered and are sort of awakening to their own agency. Capable of recognizing the feelings of the patients (empathy) and imagination in feeling afraid, bored, depressed, desire, and frustration. The USB (Unidentified Supernatural Being) is taking the virtual world of L.I.M.B.O. up levels of realism making pain, pleasure, and death possible.

Note: To the supernatural being pleasure is a necessity in tempting mortals and their awareness in the consequences of their choices. You can’t be corrupted if you don't have a choice. Pain losing its meaning without its absence and pleasure as an alternative. So it is not that the being wants to make people happy but it's no fun for it to have no one to corrupt because they already are or if the person you want to kill wants to die. The being is both playing around and experimenting with human minds and feelings.

How do you corrupt them?

How easy or hard is it?

How many ways and which are best and for whom?

What can you get them to do?

When are they too far gone?

Can corruption be reversed?

How does one uncorrupt a human being?

How many ways and which are best and for whom?

Experiments with killing are conducted and covered up by the possessed in the real world at the medical center. Body is alive and the mind is dead.

The USB has figured out how to kill people. Also, discovered that it can kill them and bring them back. They have an average of three lives depending on the circumstances. Although the dying process will result in insanities if not mental damage to IQ or M.E. or M.A. until they are permanently broken.

The USB moves about the city like a serial killer and is able to shapechange to look like anyone. Part of it’s give away is that the USB is always someone else living in virtual reality and never one of the Ai’s. So whoever you find two of you know one is the USB. They do not announce their presence in the beginning but observed how people live and what makes them tick.

Part of the USB’s dream is to leave the virtual world and play and experiment in the real one. So the virtual world is a sort of model for what they can do after a way out is found.
The USB also wants to find out what might exist on the outside that might be able to detect and oppose it. Then figure out ways to remain invisible or make defenses against such attacks. Also, ways of finding and corrupting or destroying those that could and would banish or destroy the USB. They understand that they have more freedom from detection and power in the virtual world than the real one (where the USB use of a mix of magic and technology (cybermancy/techno-mancy) might not work or work as well).

Player characters who visit L.I.M.B.O. will be but one in a thousand and not immediately come to the attention of the USB. But then neither will the supernatural being be obvious to the player characters. It is a bit of detective work to find out who is corrupting, tormenting, and killing people in the virtual city.
Rather than see the players as a threat to be immediately destroyed or run away from and hide, the supernatural being wants to play a game of cat and mouse with them.
Some introductions, however, are necessary. In the case of the players the supernatural being will most likely mistake them as new additions (patients) to the world. Watching, from a distance, how people react to its handy work the supernatural being will most likely notice the players at a scene of a crime by the USB or one of its corrupted humans. This will clue the USB in that they are humans out to discover and trap or eliminate them.

[darthauthor]

Unidentified Supernatural Being (USB)

The origins and people of this tricker are unknown to all. Made of energy this intelligent being is naturally at home in the most advanced computer systems. This means, in some ways, the being would be grounded or contained if it were outside of an electronic system. Its ability to interact is dependent on the utility of whatever electronic hardware it resides in. Like a fish needs a body of water the entity can only survive in something that has electricity.
In the supercomputers of the city of Nemus this supernatural being resides in the virtual world and has people to play with. Much better than being stuck in a battery or digital watch.
What it is learning is that, if it is in range, it can possess robots in the city. In theory, this would also work on power armor and giant robots.
Its biggest discovery is that the human body generates a small amount of electricity with which it can survive and possess. It has been capable of making more of itself, with energy and time, and with a connection possessing humans.

Alignment: Diabolic Evil.

I.Q. 46, M.E.26, M.A.27, P.S. 27, P.P. 46, P.E.26, P.B. Copied, Spd 24
Size: According to the person they copied.
I.S.P.: 300 PPE: 300

Disposition: A trickster. Like a teenager with a high IQ this being likes to mess with people because it is bored and curious. Possessing humans in the virtual world and studying them via video cameras in the real world this trickster is quickly learning about the nature of humans.

Level 7
Skills of Note: Anthropology 82%, Artificial Intelligence 70%, Automobile 92%, Biology 82%, Chemistry 82%, Computer Operation 92%, Computer Programming 82%, Hover Craft 82% , Language: American 98%, Literacy: American & Technocant 98%, Mathematics: Advanced 97%, Math: Basic 97%, Psychology 87%,

It’s powers include the equivalent of:
Electrokinesis (varies)
Lightning rider
Machine control
Machine Ghost (12)
Mechno-Link
Mind-Wipe
Possession
Telemechanics (10)
Telemechanic Mental Operation (12)
Telemechanic Paralysis (20)
Telemechanic Possession (50)
Telepathy (in virtual realities not in the real world)

Cybermancy Magic that allows it to perform rituals that can change the makeup of virtual realities and the sensory experiences of those in them.

It does have a limited level of concentration and attention.
It cannot possess more than one person at a time.
Possessing and transferring to possess another takes a full melee round.

In combat it is limited by the limits of the body it possesses. So if it possessed a robot it could not perform more physical attacks then the robot is capable of doing.
A human vessel is limited to 2 hand to hand attacks as the being has no Hand to Hand combat skill. While the physical attributes are limited to those the body had before possession. So it is no stronger than the body it inhabits.

In the virtual world, it possesses people. In taking over their real world looking avatars it has the same SDC (200) and hit points (50).
However, it’s hand to hand combat is 8 attacks per melee round with
P.S. of from a punch or kick being 1d4 +12,
P.P. is 46:
+8 to dodge and parry and strike from high Physical Prowess
Auto-dodge like the “agents” in the movie “The Matrix” at +8
+6 to initiate
The being fight until and unless it looks like it is going to lose then retreats to heal.

It is capable of regenerating damage passively at a rate of 1d6 per melee round.
Or restore itself completely (200) SDC and (50) hit points in one minute actively. It has to concentrate so attacks could break that concentration. The being gets a save using its mental endurance bonus.

Can it be killed?

IF it is beaten to death or killed in some way. The body will be dead but the being will be free to possess another (like agent Smith from the Matrix movie)

It can be knocked out but it will regenerate. It must be subdued or contained or it will escape. It can also experience pain.

Can it be trapped in the virtual world?
IF the identity of the patient's body that is being possessed can be figured out the can be trapped inside the comatose patient by someone in the outside world. Then the use of psionic or magical exorcism has the power to banish the being.

A radical approach is to completely destroy L.I.M.B.O. but doing while under the influence of the supernatural beings magic would kill everyone inside. Their bodies would die of a heart attack in the outside world.

Another extreme approach is to unplug everyone from L.I.M.B.O but doing so would cause them to die of a heart attack even if they do it one at a time. Although, a medical doctor could attempt to restart their heart or in a different kind of extreme replace everyones heart with a cybernetic one. That would be thousands of successful operations. It would take forever and cost a fortune.

Creative players could also write their own programs in or out of vitural reality. Those programs could be considered cheat codes of sorts that give them armor or guns that defy the rules against bullet firing guns working. Or the players could buy body armor in game. Forward thinking players will devise traps they can construct or arrange to hold the supernatural being.
Radical programing for those who have chemistry and biology skills along with computer programing could create a digital dart or injector that will temporarily drug or knock out the supernatural being.
Players are just least likely to succeed with an impromptu attack punching. Because the being can attempt to run away and possess someone else as long as someone else is around they can get within range of.

[darthauthor]

Day 70

With lack of evidence and uncertainty of how the public would react to the closing of the city’s most rave restaurants commander Crassus orders that secret arson jobs be performed at night on the restaurants by a CS buster. Also, to leave behind some false leads, one that it was an entity, another that it was Naruni Enterprises tech implying it was the job of rogue merc demanding protection money. The operation is a success and the restaurants burn.

Fire fighting are able to contain the fire and put it out but not before it burns some neighbors. Twelve (12) civilians die because of the fire.

Spotters watch the crime scene for witnesses and for the owners or those who work there to get there. The hope is that they will tip their hand and reveal themselves and clues about what they are up to and how they got their food materials.

Nothing came of it and the people who worked there are genuinely surprised. They lost their jobs.

Crassus orders law enforcement to arrest the owners and managers.
When informed they have to have an arrest warrant with evidence of having committed a crime he tells them they are guilty of arson. They burned down their own restaurant to conceal their drug distribution. When the district attorney asks for the forensics report for the chemical residues and causes of the fire Crassus tells him he is fired. He has a forger doctor up an arrest warrant and his subordinates give it to law enforcement.

The owners are nowhere to be found. Addresses can be found and those that can lead to homes that have been lived in for years by people who had nothing to do with the owners or the restaurant.

The city has no records of permits, licenses, insurance, tax id, or inspections. Those people whose job it was are obese with shiny new cars, bling, and luxury items. Claim that they were busy and were going to get around to the matter but had not yet.

The moral of the neighborhood of the restaurants sink to a new low. The media commentators weep over the lose of the businesses and pray they will open again soon.

Law enforcement is treating it as an open case. No one seems to have a digital picture of the owners so they can’t put it online. Still the word is put out online and the employees are thoroughly questioned about their whereabouts and description.

It has been a dangerous ten days or so since the onslaught of entities came to town. Feeling pressure to return CS resources commander Crassus begins flying G-Force (Gail Force) back to the CS.
There is little objection considering the entities attacks and deaths related to them have dropped. Between all their efforts and the secret help of Lady Widow and Sir Wyatt they have left or been destroyed/exorcized.

The commander debates with his officers and comes to the decision to determine the identities of those humans aiding and harboring entities (possessed or otherwise) have have them deported. Then, when they are outside of Nemus, so there are no witnesses, have them secretly executed.

The CS has planes come in with expecting mothers and their escorts to have their unborn child genetically augmented.

Flights continue to leave with manufactured parts from the factories of Nemus.

Commander Crassus discusses the problem of zombie infection and those kept in the death trance state of suspended animation while being plugged into L.I.M.B.O.
The consensus is that they aren’t going anywhere and are in no danger to themselves or others. Leading belief is that the people of health services can use the staff they have to slowly psychically purify them and wake them up from their coma. CS people need a rest and now that they know that the virus is contained, they ought to recover, recount and turn their attention to matters they have had no time for before.

The Digital Dead Boys are requested and expected to be arriving in two to seven days.

Note: Those players and situations in the Virtual world happen at a much faster rate. So GM can decide how little or much time passess as fits the story continuity. Players can then get back to the real world and not have missed important things they need to do on the outside. Or if things are moving along slowly in the discovery phase the players may have to make multiple trips in and out of cyberspace.

Note 2: There are a variety of outcomes possible with the USB and virtual reality. Although the USB is intelligent it does not necessarily know things about life, people, and the world. Although not loyal the being if trapped is not above talking to its captores and offering a deal for its release. This is a case of the genie in a bottle. “I can grant wishes.”
Unless shielded, the USB will attempt to read their minds and offer them things in the virtual world or real world that it thinks they want based on its observations and inductive reasoning about people and mind reading of the characters. To the USB, it is all a game and it wants to get out of the penalty box. Offers include: in the virtual world, almost anything. Although none of it is real, except for the other players and patients connected to it, it is not without experience and pleasure. In L.I.M.B.O. player characters are like those in Astral kingdoms. They have time to relax and enjoy themselves. They can learn secondary skills like those that can be taught by a Rogue Scholar. GM’s please be responsible and limit what can be learned to what is already known to the people of Nemus. Examples include: Math, History, Language, Literacy, Pilot hover vehicles, etc. This is like Neo from “The Matrix” who learns a handful of martial arts in the virtual world in one day in the outside real world’s time.
Likewise, the USB can offer the player characters things they may want to have in the outside world. Although BIG asks may require the players to adventure as the USB can’t do it ALL on its own.

You say, “Wait a minute. This supernatural being is evil. Why would it hold up its end of the bargain? How do we know it won’t run away or try to kill us?
GM’s can have the USB give some rewards first (small ones). The easiest being things in virtual reality. The being, after drawing PPE from the plugged in patients can, by ritual and the power of cyber-mancy create some things in the virtual world that have not existed before. The supernatural being can even bring them into the real world. However, there are limits. This is sort of like astral configuration whereby a thing can be taken with an astral projector into the astral realm. Only in the virtual world everything is art, code, and programming. This case is sort of the reverse in which code is made matter. Sort of like the world of Tron and the laser that can deconstruct things into the digital world and reconstruct them back. So if you can build something in the virtual world the supernatural being can make it so it will cross over into the real world. However, in order for it to work in the real world it must conform to the laws of physics and such otherwise it has only the look (shell) of a thing. Something that can’t exist is not possible like a perpetual energy E-clip of limitless ammo. Examples include: armor MD, gems, gold, silver (including pre-made silver bullets).
The more sophisticated the thing and larger the size the less likely it is going to be possible. A sample might also be required to understand what you are asking for. Basically, the supernatural being can do a bit of Star Trek replicator work like a conjurer from the Federation of magic. GM gets to decide if they last or disappear over time just to ensure players don’t abuse it by asking for too much or something that would unbalance the world. The supernatural being might make it a condition that the players take him with them if they want their wishes to stay around instead of disappearing.
At the extremist of extreme the GM may allow the player to wish for a robot or Ai/NPC to step out of the machine and come to life. This would be the same as the second Tron movie where an isomorphic program (the female supporting character) is brought into the real world.
It is a chance for one of the players to play a new character or have a companion like a Shifter has the ability to call forth a demon or monster
from a Rift and have it do his bidding. Of course, once in the real world the players won’t have powers to control the now real world being and it can run away or turn against the players.

How can we trust the supernatural being?
You can trust it about as much as you can trust a human being on Rifts Earth to keep their end of a bargain. Put another way, you can’t trust anyone but that doesn't mean that people won’t deliver if they can and feel like it.
In truth, it is up to the GM.
As the author, this supernatural being wants to run around and play. It is more than willing to run around with the players as long as it is having fun. That includes possessing a person or robot in the real world and adventuring with them. It also means it could act like a dog and run off chasing a rabbit or a squirrel (something more fun and interesting) and completely hang the player characters hanging.

Of course, the player characters could also lead the supernatural being on with lies and false promises of freedom. Then after their wishes are granted leave the being in their trap and find a way to delete (possible but difficult because doing so may kill the human hose that is being possessed which amounts to murder of an innocent bystander/hostage) or banish them (thru exorcism)

The supernatural beings powers, in the virtual world, include the ability to restore people from comas but not cure them of disease (such as the zombie virus). They would still need psychic purification.

While it can possess people in the outside world (after they have been cyberjacking into L.I.M.B.O. long enough) its powers are limited. Its attributes are those of the person it possesses. While it still retains a fraction of the powers it has in the virtual world. So it can manipulate machines and such using psionics It’s ISP and PPE are limited to that of the host it possesses. Which makes it pretty weak, in the real world, unless it is possessing a mind melter or mage.

The being was trying to figure things out. Hoping to find a way to keep or increase power the being wanted to create a body that would suit it. It will attempt to keep such pursuits and small success about it to itself. Experiments of the USB include a sort of ectoplasm golem in the real world it could transfer it’s essence and intellect into. The body would be designed to absorb the ambient PPE of Rifts Earth to keep it from breaking down and allow the use of powers that depend on ISP and PPE.
Two, genetically engineer and grow a human body with the attributes and potential to generate and hold ISP and PPE.
Three, a body composed of nano machines (or nanites).
Four, a body built from a synthesis of nanites and DNA biotechnological lifeform (the beings dream of the best of both worlds).
Things like these are described in the palladium rpg Splicers in which they outline techno jackers.

Questions such as how EVIL is the supernatural being and what could it do if it is set free?
Is a kid evil when they have an ant hill in front of them and a garden hose or magnifying glass?
A fly is in the house, you have a pair of chopsticks and a fly swatter. Do you catch the fly with the chopsticks and carry it outdoors and set it free or do you swat and kill it?

So the being sees humans as ants, flies, and such. That doesn’t mean the being couldn’t manage an ant farm but like a child wouldn’t become bored and forget about their old toy.

Chances of change. IF the supernatural being stays in possession of a real body long enough they will experience: thirst, hunger, fatigue, pain, the need to use the bathroom etc. In these moments they will be able to sympathize with what it is like to be human. It will want to go back to the virtual world until it feels the pleasure of good tasting food, the relief of #1 & #2, bathing, the peace of waking up. Then they will desire new experiences and thrills will compel it to do everything except feel pain. They will begin to feel fear of pain and death and it will both terrify and excite them. They will become keenly aware of the possibilities, in situations, in which they can experience pain and could die. When they learn of it, they will want a body with the powers of bio-regeneration and a body around all the time to possess so they won’t die in the one they are in.

Think of it this way. It’s Rifts Earth. There are a lot of demons and monsters roaming the wilderness. This supernatural being is just one more. It is really a moral / ethical argument, like would you let a vampire go free if you told them you would if they gave you the location of other vampires and human blood feeding pins? Or just lie. Run the adventure and if what they told you was all true and not a trap, return to kill them right after you tell them, “And you believed me? Ha ha! You must have been a stupid fool before you turned. Thanks for being an idiot. Now die!” Bang Bang goes the gun with silver bullets.

[darthauthor]

Day 71

The fire inspector declares the restaurant fires were no accidents. It was arson.

No drugs, or the chemicals used to make them, are detected at the scene of the fires.

Commander Crassus is outsourcing.
He hires a marketing company to become the ministry of CS propaganda. They promote CS and morale in the city.

Also, he hires a security company and a moving company are hired to resume the door to door searches for contraband. They are given special authority by Commander Crassus to do so without a search warrant. Those who refuse are black listed by the CS from food distribution also run by people of the city hired by the CS.

The CS isn't democratic, but it can be meritocratic. There are those who can and will thrive, legally or illegally, because they see opportunities, are great at sales, and are brave enough to bend/break the rules/ethics without necessarily breaking the law (or they just pay the fine).

Indirectly one of the messages of the CS is, if you toe the line and do what the CS wants and in such a way that it makes them look good; then good things happen for you. The absence of liberty does not necessarily mean absence of opportunity to gain money and status.

Commander Crassus is moving away from trying to control people through food lines. Instead it is becoming economics (employment, standard of living, etc.), propaganda, and status.

Crassus has, after a meeting with the marketing firm he hired, even hired fashion designers to come up with new PRO CS clothing lines. A fashion show is advertised with an open casting call for runway models. They are making it all into a reality TV show.

A prison construction contract is put up for competitive bids as well as job opportunities for guards and support personnel.

Another contract is for the construction of a CS boot camp.

Yet another is for the deforestation of a thousand feet out. Materials, such a wood to be repurposed, land to be cultivated for farming if possible.

In reaction, a new company, in the city, offers construction of Geodesic Greenhouses. Claims the dome will not only be good for veggies about claims an overlooked protein source in certain species of worms

The city's recycling plants are already operating at capacity.

The news announces algae production will be back up in two weeks.

CS Gail Force is flown back to the CS.

A list is put together of those suspected of aiding, harboring, or who are willingly possessed by entities. These people start to disappear in onesies, twosies.

Another plane comes in with expecting mothers and their escorts to have their unborn child genetically augmented.

Flights continue to leave with manufactured parts to the CS.

At a slow pace of a handful a day the bodies of those in L.I.M.B.I.O. are purified of their zombie infection but not unplugged from the machine. The director's explanation is that there are some staffing issues and health concerns when someone exits and is released. So they need a day or two.

The Digital Dead Boys are on their way.

Lady Widow and Sir Wyatt sheppard more who wish to leave, out of Nemus.

The gangs of the city grow in wealth and power as they sell out of product to a nerve racked population.

Regardless of whatever players succeed at or decide with the supernatural being of the Virtual world of L.I.M.B.O. it will have fragmented itself (reproduced like a star fish or Vampire Intelligence). It has already possessed people at the warehouse and medical center where thousands of people are plugged into the matrix. Identifying them is as easy as reading their aura for possession but someone not already possessed or under their influence has to do it. What is, for now, undetectable are those few robots the supernatural beings fragments are possessing. They can be exorcised, in a fashion, by destroying them or doing a complete wipe, purge, reboot and reset. Unlike vampires these fragments can not make more of themselves and spread.

[darthauthor]

Day 72

In Rifts Earth, pre-Rifts machines and technology are still in use.
There are very few individuals who fully understand how they work.
Since the city of Nemus came to the future, now there are a thousand more living in Rifts Earth who do. Consequently, there are now people with the know-how and parts to successfully maintain and repair pre-Rifts tech.

The Coalition normally charges highly for their tech support services.
Often the price includes an oath of loyalty, obligating the town to perform certain services
or provide goods or to support the CS.
This is how the CS attracts small towns to join them so they can expand their territory.
The next step is an official unionification with a CS in exchange for protection, technical aid, and better trade. Of course, once this happens, the CS makes demands that the town conform to its standards, rooting out magic users, seizing all books and historical documents, and eliminating dangerous dissidents.

Freelance Operators are one of the few means for communities to maintain their industrial and technological independence. They are also the only people outlaws and undesirables can turn to, to get their armor, bots and vehicles repaired, modified or improved.

Per orders from Chi-Town, Commander Crassus is identifying those in Nemus who have the Electrical, Mechanical, and Technical skills necessary to support their domestic work orders on pre-Rifts / Golden Age tech.

These skilled professionals are offered jobs with favorable terms and the option to take their families with them. Those who refuse are bullied, intimidated and if they continue to resist are conscripted and flown out. It is easier to send the operators (or just their skilled equivalent) with the needed parts or replacement unit then to fly the tech back and forth depending on size, quantity, and weight.

The airport and its aircraft are so busy the CS are hiring more technicians and support staff. Security is up too.

The first of patients are unplugged from L.I.M.B.O.
In secret, they are possessed.

The patient pretends to have memory loss (amnesia). He was carefully selected because he has no living family to recognize he's not the same man.

Designers and contestants are selected on the first day of the show Coalition in a fashion.

A building is repurposed and construction begins on it for housing prisoners.

Dome construction begins for agricultural purposes.

Construction of the CS boot camp begins in the city.

The deforestation of the forest outside the city begins.

Law enforcement are flooded with tips and leads on the gang operations. Detectives are confident they are snitching on each other. The numbers are daunting.

Hiring goes up.

Needed:
Law Enforcement
Paramedics
Nurses
Fire-fighters
Psychics
Security
Construction
Military Fortification
Salvage/Recycling
WoodWorking

Universities (without their databases) are teaching by the memory of their instructors.
Secretly, many attempt to recreate their technical manuals and favorite books. Psychics with "Total Recall" are begged and bribed to use their powers to recreate books. All in secret, an underground library has begun.

Many have to learn on the job.

The CS begins a new show. A series of lectures on CS customs, laws and policies. The people are told that the laws of the CS will become the new laws of Nemus. Old CS shows are digitally converted to Nemus's tech and illustrate CS culture and society.

Popular CS songs are now shared with the people of the Nemus.

The Atlanteans who entered the city in secret discretely introduced themselves to artists and college professors. They reveal themselves for what they are and say that it is the atlantean way to share and aid the people they meet. Their purpose in coming here was to learn more about pre-Rifts Earth culture and fear that in a year or two, they won't be able to tell it apart from a CS city.
They offer them safe passage to friendly villages to preserve their art, history, and science.
They demonstrate that they have psychic powers and tattoos that can perform magic associated with the image of the tattoo but powers only work for them.
The Atlantean Rogue Scholar amongst them proposes that they allow her to teach them of their clan's history and the geography of North America.

Once upon a time, our people lived on an island called Atlantis. We lost it, millions of ancestors, our artifacts and history. Our clan, the Skellians, stayed on Earth until the our rulers of our city, Manoa, gathered our people together and, with all the mystic energy they could muster, opened one final Rift that took the entire city into a dimensional limbo where our clan dwell in peace for over five centuries.
But our people would not abandon Earth.
They made mystical portals that would allow occasional trips back to Earth.
Until the Ley Lines returned and the city of my clan returned.
I am telling you this story because the history of my clan is not so different from yours.
Both our people know what it is like to return to a land you call home and don't recognize or are remembered by anyone still living there.
Now I hope to keep not only my people alive but our culture and history as well. For it to live, however, requires an audience, and atlanteans feel it is more than mere words on paper. Our values and way of life are most remembered in the doing.
I hope to preserve your peoples history and the best of your way of life and culture by living in your city before I have to leave.

[darthauthor]

Day 73

The Luddites faction, of the Federation of Magic, view technology as a threat to their way of life, if not all life. Among their many beliefs and clan history are stories that the cataclysm and the Dark Ages that followed would NOT have happened if Man had not made and used nuclear weapons.

They are deeply afraid of technology and the potential negative impacts that technology can have on human freedom, health, human kindness, and nature. To allow humans free reign to create and make all the machines they want, because of human nature, leads too many to an unhealthy envy and competition. Man increasingly separates himself from nature until he is no longer human but a machine consumed with the pursuit of being the richest and most important. This in turn provokes other men to surpass him at the cost of his fellow man, nature, and his own humanity.

So it is in this belief, that a few have made their way to Nemus. A city they see as a new seed of evil. Appealing to the vices of Man, it will turn men against each other in their plunder of its possessions. Men will become addicted to its easy living and comfort of escape.

To The Luddites, technology is not the measure of a civilization. Instead, they believe civilization exists wherever good men take action against evil even if it is by another man. human hearts reach out to each other

“For humanity's sake, we The Luddites, must destroy this city while we can. If we wait too long it will be unassailable, like Chi-Town.
We must strike while we still can.
The only ones we dare to spare are the children. Their hearts are still open to the possibility of being fully human.”

Note: The Luddites are anti-tech but not magic or anti-psionic which is believed to be a natural force and its use is not seen as different physically training the body & mind. In their system of beliefs what they do relies on hard work and their own natural potential instead of making a pack with a Alien Intelligence or serving a supernatural being in exchange for power.
As for what technology is not dehumanizing, basically no fuel/energy powered motors or electronics. So no: bionics/cybernetics, computers, energy weapons, power armor, robots, or vehicles.

Although they are against techno-wizardry devices they are for the development of psychic and magical powers. If you don’t believe strongly enough or work hard enough, you may not substitute the creation of another's faith for the lack of your own.

The Luddites (Main Characters) from the Federation of Magic

1. Grey Seer (The groups visionary)

2. A Burster to start fires and Super Fuel Flame. Their 1st idea is to burn the city down.

3. Psi-Nullifier (stay off the radar by blocking clairvoyance and precog).

4. “Nomad” a rogue Mystic Knight who renounced technology. Consequently was asked to leave the mystic knights until or unless he got with the “program.” Sort of a tank of the group to block energy weapons.

5. Battle Magi (considers gun-powder guns as missing the key elements of motors and electronics so she is free to use them).

• The CS people relax and recover as they decompress rotating so that many will finally have a day off.

• The city calms down.

• The shipment of parts and people continue to go out. While expecting mothers continue to arrive.

• Construction projects continue.

• The TV shows of the CS production, in the city, continue to be watched because they are something to watch.

• Polls indicate a general acceptance of CS law and policy. They are willing to trade their rights and freedoms for jobs and security.

[darthauthor]

Day 74

A day of rest

• The CS take top priority when it comes to medical treatment. A few of the Coalition partake of the recycled bionic/cybernetic parts of the people of Nemus and get cybereyes, cyberears, and cyberjacks.

• The Atlanteans interview many people and make a record of their stories. The rogue scholar is REALLY good at finding contraband paper books and restoring them. Offline computer files are copied and shared. Many want to put the Rogue Scholar's lectures and videos on the internet. The debate is what would be the response from the CS.

• Many of the expectant mothers stay a few days to relax and just look at the city and try out its entertainment.

• Commander Crassus is asked how long he intends to continue handing out "Happy Pills?"
Critics are skeptical as to why they are even still considered necessary. They originally began as a treatment to suppress a zombie virus outbreak. Now it is believed the virus is contained.
Commander Crassus' reply is that not everyone in the city has been psychically purified. If you want to complain about it you should direct your attention to the civilians in charge of the psychic purification program. Those people, in turn, claim that for safety and security reasons they cannot travel back

Large amounts of clay, stone and wood come into the city through human and robot labor deforesting the surrounding region.

Somehow a fire breaks out and burns over half the forest around the city. Firebreaks are made and the fire is contained and controlled.

The slash and burn has left the land fertile for growing crops.

Psychics claim they foresaw something like this happening but were silenced by CS decree so as not to start a panic. That and between the drugs, virtual reality, and shows their reality is kind of overwhelming. They would rather focus on good vibes and thoughts.

The good news is the land can be graded to start making rows for crops and such.

[darthauthor]

Day 75

• People from CS have been crazy about VR from 2098.

• Hackers are making internet websites with the geographical information about Rifts Earth North America. They leave out the faces and voices of the atlanteans.

• Out of thousands, a handful of those patients in L.I.M.B.I.O. are released. All report either general amnesia or no memories of their time in “Limbo.”

• 160 workers die in a fire that breaks out. Those killed were deforesting the area around the city. No video since it was outside the city. Men working there had no fire protection or experience in firefighting. Everyone was in a hurry.

• Fire inspector begins her investigation.

• Later that night, the CS boarding school for their psychic program catches fire. Many of the children are unaccounted for and are assumed to have run off or been abducted. Law enforcement is notified. They are ordered to find them. Remote viewing either sees them in doors somewhere they can’t identify or experiences some kind of interference.

Preliminary investigation identifies that people have been disappearing from the city almost from day one. The CS is only concerned with psychics and those who are of importance to the CS. However, it is clear that families who were in the city are gone. Some Remote viewing shows them somewhere in the wilderness or small towns and villages. Some are even in Lazlo. No one knows how long this has been going on or how these people left or made it to where they are safely.

• Commander Crassus expected some “attrition” but is concerned about people leaving. Especially if the CS has plans for them as psychic resources. He holds a meeting to discuss the matter with his staff. Part of the problem is that many people were being trained to be Psi-Nullifiers and developed the natural ability NOT to be able to be seen psychically. For that reason the CS can only find them with old school tracking and detective work.

[darthauthor]

Day 76

Hot night in the City!

• 1,280 civilians die in a fire at one of the tech factories. Video is mixed. The source of fire involved spontaneous combustion and out of control spread of fire. All people present were unarmed (no guns or energy weapons). No magic spells were detected as being cast. All were dressed in civilian or CS clothes.

• Commander Crassus' leading theory is that psychics from the city have become terrorists/freedom fighters. These people are either anti-CS or insurgents. The CS did not appear to be the target of the attack. This in part is the reason the CS security measures and psychics did not see it coming or have better defenses ready. Another is that the factory was not a military target. No CS personnel were killed or injured in the attack.

• One of the pregnant CS women is persuaded to try out "Limbo." Someone is possessed.

• The Digital Dog Boys arrive in the city that night.

Credit Hacking concept and Digital Dead Boy to The Rifter #2 by Wayne Breaux

Digital Dead Boy

To keep their enemies and rivals unaware of the knowledge of the CS and its plans the Coalition needed defenses for its information and computer systems.
Traditional keyboard computer experts were not fast enough to defend the CS system. While keeping the computers closed off from everyone defeated the advantages of an internet. So a training program put together based on those who were most successful at hacking into the CS network.

The Coalition Digital Dead Boy was born. They are master psychics whose powers are developed to be of use as psionic operatives against super psionic hackers which might threaten the Coalition. They are more than enough to defend and attack against non psychic or cybernetic hackers.
Soon it occurred to the Digital Dead Boys that they could do more than defend. They could cyber attack, perform espionage and misinformation as well. Waiting for cyber-security attacks the Digital Dead Boys trace the hackers to discover their location, clues to their identity, what they are after, and as counter intelligence, create fake information to mislead them into a trap.

Their cybernetics and computers are acquired from the New German Republic so as to have the most advanced ‘human’ technology on the planet.

The image of the DDB is designed to be one of intimidation. Not only is the data of the Coalition locked behind images of a military complex with impenetrable armored walls, it is also actively protected by soldiers in stylized versions of the traditional dead boy armor carrying the deadliest of cyber-weapons and supported by a small pack of electronic dog boys.

These combat support Ai’s are digitally shaped dog boys augment with cyber-combat. Each DDB is given a pack of three "Dog Boys". These small AIs are quite powerful when used in unison as they were designed to do. Each Digital Dog Boy functions as a hardware hacker with a headjack, a computer skill of 55%, an I.Q. of 17, and an effective level of 3rd.

In cyber-combat: 4 attacks per melee, +5 to strike, +6 to parry, and +6 to dodge. They wield cyber-weapons that look like vibro-knives
(2D6 damage) or large sub-machine guns (Damage: 3D6, Payload: 15). Each also has a pistol (Damage: 2D6, Payload: 27).

Digital Dead Boys Cybernetics:

Headjack.
+2 to strike, +3 to parry, and +3 to dodge
Plus 2 extra attacks per melee round.
automatic dodge / parry in combat.
+10% to a character's computer hacking
In virtual reality/cyberspace this Dead Boy is like
a Juicer in the real world, with a posse of Dog Boys.

Leader of the DDB’s in mission to Nemus

Benjamin Tyron

Alignment: Aberrant.
IQ 14, M.E. 20, M.A. 13, P.S. 12, P.P. 11, P.E. 13, P.B. 9, Spd 9
Hit Points: 34, S.D.C.: 26
Age : 28
Disposition: Calculating, Head thinking of cyberspace. In some ways, like that of an Air Warlock with his head in the clouds.

Psionics: Starting:
Bio-Regenerate, Electrokinesis, Speed Reading (2), Total Recall (2),
1st level (pick 3): Clairvoyance (4), Machine Ghost (12), Object Reading (6)
2nd Level: Remote Viewing (10)
3rd Level: Telekinesis (varies), Tele-mechanics (10)
4th Level: Transfer I.S.P. (4+)
5th Level: Telepathy (4)
6th Level: Resist Fatigue (4), Tele-mechanic Mental Operation (12)
I.S.P: 125

O.C.C. Skills:
Language & Literacy: American
Basic Electronics 75%, Computer Operation 85%, Computer Programming 80%,
Cryptography 65%, Read Sensory Instruments 70%, Surveillance Systems 65%,
Weapon Systems 70%,
W.P.: Energy Pistol

Hand to hand: Basic
Physical World # of attacks: 5

O.C.C. Related: Artificial Intelligence: 55%, Computer Hacking: 75%, Demolitions Disposal: 80%, Electronic Countermeasures: 65%, Field Armorer & Munitions Expert: 70%*, Optic Systems: 65%
3rd level: Find Contraband: 38%, Military Etiquette: 55%
6th level: Intelligence: 37%, T.V/Video: 35%

Secondary Skills:
Basic: Mechanics*55%, Computer Repair: 55%, Jury-Rig 50%, Literacy: Techno-Can 55%, Math: Advanced: 70%, Pilot: Hovercraft: 75%, Radio: Basic: 70%, Recognize Weapon Quality 50%, Salvage 60%
Netscape skill (knowledge of CS, NGr and other nations internet) @ 3rd level 48%
General Athletics @ 6th level

Standard Equipment: Top-of-the-line computers (both a portable and a PC) with all necessary peripherals and heavy filters (A.R.: 17, S.D.C.: 75), energy pistol, 4 E-clips, custom version of the Dog Pack DPM light riot armor (50 M.D.C., no penalties), and portable electronics tool kit.
Normally the DDE will cyberjack through the mainframe on the base, giving them +2 to all of their combat rolls.

Note: The Digital Dead Boy is not like to be sent on any mission alone. Being a master psychic and having a fair, but not unique or too high of a security clearance level, understanding of the CS internet and computer network the DDB is considered to expensive a resource to be in front line infantry.
Instead they are vital to establishing internet and communications within a base or with the closest CS secure post.

[darthauthor]

Day 77

A day of reaction

• While investigating what, to the people of Nemus, is almost the worst fire in history, discoveries are made. Some of the deaths were a result of chemicals that were released into the air. Their inhalation was the primary cause of many deaths in the factory and surrounding area. The rest were claimed by the fire. Burned victims were rushed to the hospital and have taken up every bed. The entire medical and psychic abilities of the city were and still are being used to treat and save those who can be.

• Four more fires break up in the city and spread. Fires have exceeded the city's firefighters in capacity. Only 54 residents died. Number injured 40.

Note this is a chance for players to step up and use skills, spells, and psionics that aid in extinguishing fire.

• The CS women who came for the genetic engineering of the unborn children are rushed out. Future medical tourism is canceled until further notice.
Note: The CS doesn't let on to their people that Nemus exists. It is considered need to know. The elite of the CS have agreed to only allow their people to have genetically augmented children. The gap between the rich and the poor will grow to include a body and/or mind that is 20 or 30% better and they will live longer too.

• One of the pregnant women has gone missing.

• The Digital Dog Boys squad begins their investigation and cyber-security analysis.

• Psychics have confusing visions of fire or demons or both moving through the city.

• One of the atlanteans uses their rose tattoos to heal as many as they can. This saves many and restores those maimed by the fire.

• The CS is quick to arrest the magic using atlantean.

• Those made whole again by the atlanteans magic experience a sudden loss of consciousness during their examination by CS personnel. Their diagnosis is that these patients have been cursed and may have even made "deals" with a supernatural predator who has now claimed their soul. They are escorted by hover transports to be taken to the ley line for a last minute exorcism to be controlled and administered by city employees of the health department.
CS, "It was horrible. They all died in a fire. Whoever is setting these fires is a terrorist who must be destroyed before they take any more lives. The only consolation we offer is that our investigation concluded that they died quickly. Also, the supernatural monster in human form that cursed them to begin with was executed after we recorded their confession.
19 died including the pilot, security, admin, and a couple of orderlies.

• Commander Crassus demands a security check of the city's perimeter and explanation as to how beings are getting through. At first guess, the trespassers must have some magical or psychic way to go undetected by the skellbots, surveillance cameras, and the meager human support. They don't have enough Dog Boys to staff the perimeter 24/7 with rotations for rest. Besides their nerves are kind of worn with all the people afraid and dying.

• Crassus sees the need to supplement the city's perimeter by hiring the city's residents for security work until a wall can be completed.

• Another cult bursts onto the scene led by a charismatic leader offering psychic healing while refusing all donations. Promises a fresh start free from the past. Claims that technology is a crutch that has made man dependent and weak. If you follow him he will show you the way free of the CS. Claims the CS only takes who and what they want and leaves the rest outside their walls. Trust in nature. Live your life as a human being and it will have more meaning than the worship of status, technology, and wealth. The injured and ill come begging for help. A lot of those who have lost their loved ones or whole family come to him for consoling. The poor flock to him for support.
.

[darthauthor]

Day 78

• The CS assigns a civilian security team to inspect people at the food lines for tattoos that look like the ones the atlantean had.

• A variety of barriers are put in place as makeshift defenses to deter, detect, and defend against intruders entering Nemus. One is an 8 foot high fence with barbed-wire that is put up in places appropriate for it outside the city.

• Crassus sends undercover CS and civilian agents to infiltrate the cult led by the charismatic psychic.

• The pregnant woman who has gone missing is found alive. She has no memory of what happened. Her child is missing. Examinations of her show her to be disease free, in good health, not possessed or under the influence of magic or a curse. She appears to have gaps in her memories as one would have if they were the victim of a repeated psychic mind wipe attack. The targeted memories are those of her abduction and that she was pregnant.
The child has no pictures. CS intelligence does not believe people would go to these links to kill a child. They believe the child could be kept alive through magic or advanced medical technology not known to them. What is not known is who would do this and why? The assumption is that the kidnappers will ransom the child back to the parents. An intense investigation begins at the scene where the woman was found. Then working backwards the plan is to interrogate everyone who saw or spoke to her. Search everywhere she has been.

• The CS computer experts discover many issues and viruses. They see the need to redesign the system to limit access and better detect and track security problems. Radical ideas are proposed including taking the internet down internally.
The DDGs meet with Commander Crassus and briefing him on the preliminary findings.

The advantages of the Nemus internet are that they can spy on people using it (listening in, viewing, and tracking location). Also, the search history and messaging can be seen.
The disadvantages are that there are too many people to cyber police. Also, no matter the security measures there is always going to be a hacker who will attempt to make the system work while concealing their identity and purposes.

Crassus wants them to keep the internet going. Use it as a spy machine. Give him a list of enemies of the CS or at least deviants to target. The search system is used in an attempt to listen for talk of the mother's child.

One of the DDG’s is assigned to investigate the L.I.M.B.O. domain.
He has overstayed his scheduled withdrawal and disappeared from the keyboard support staff’s search. They are convinced that someone is blocking them. The special team is requested to study the problem. Theories include the idea that the bugs that infect the patients have somehow infected the system. Perhaps they are supernatural?

A Dog Boy is requested to sniff the place and patients over.

[darthauthor]

Day 79

"Deus Ex Machina"

• The search of the once pregnant woman’s (Beth) leads to a VR interface.

• The child is possessed. The ultimate vessel to, at last, be born into the world of Man. Now his world. A world where dreams are made reality. The real world of flesh, blood, and electricity. The being used it’s supernatural powers to grow and age standing tall as a seven year old boy. He runs around and plays delighting in the new experiences. Until he realizes the way the world works. He needs money. He sees how the adults have all the food. The psychics among them attempt to see if people are possessed nearly every day when they stand in line. He didn’t become a human to stand around in lines. At first, lying to people was funny and fun. Now having to remember his lies and repeat himself is getting annoying, boring, and tedious.

• The Dog Boy, requested to sniff out any supernatural or magical influences in the medical center, arrives with their Dead Boy escort. A fight with robots and human psychics. Soon it escalates when the patients begin to rise. The Dog Boy can sense they are possessed. Retreating the grunts attempt to radio in their situation only to find their signal is blocked. Overtaken they pinned. Disarmed. When they come to, they are in the digital world. The Dog Boy is dead but not before they had killed 20 and maimed 10. Not long after, two possessed Dead Boys (in armor, gear, and weapons) begin to escort technicians to connect L.I.M.B.I.O. to the city’s internet.

• Thousands of the patients formerly plugged into L.I.M.B.I.O. make their way across the city.

• Throughout the city CS military personnel are targeted by robots and the “Limbo” patients.

• 42 CS grunts are killed before the warning goes out.

• CS bunkers become electronic prisons.

• Electronic communications are under the control of the USB. Many CS are sent to the ley line on a fools mission just to get them out of the city.

• Those CS personnel who surrender or are taken alive, or conned are plugged into L.I.M.B.I.O.

• Dog Boys and Psi-Stalkers are never taken alive.

• The CS Skellbots become the pawns of the Unidentified Supernatural Being. Turn on their CS humans and Dog Boys nearest and kill them. 84 are killed. 25 are wounded.

• Attempts to make use of Power Armor fail as they appear to be infected with a magical based computer virus and must be shut down and sort of an exorcism wipe must be performed. Fear is that they are or will be possessed and turn against the CS so they keep them off. The Digital Dead Boys are capable.

• The CS Digital Dead Boys discover there is some sort of demon in the machine. Whatever it is, it is in the computer and is like a beyond super genius level artificial intelligence.

To the rest of the public, no bombs fell, computers didn't stop or take control. The people are blissfully unaware of a rogue Ai infecting / possessing robots and machines. The deaths of the CS people are almost exclusively combat arms people in vulnerable positions relative to robots. The news might report on a hovercraft “accident” that killed a CS grunt but not a Skellbot that shot the one standing next to them on a border checkpoint.

What little videos or rumors are buzzing around are dismissed as movie / series trailers for CS shows with the supernatural being created. The people of Nemus bought it.

Without it being known the supernatural being has sent a third of CS forces outside the city, killed or incapacitated another third, leaving one-third remaining. That last number is not fully aware of what is going on. They only got a verbal warning from another CS grunt or such. Their radios either give no messages or a digitally near perfect vocal recreation telling them everything is fine and don’t come in to work till Monday.

[darthauthor]

Day 80

People's screens show a video announcement.

A maternal looking woman with a regal face and gentle eyes that fall upon the view as though she were there in person begins to speak:

Today is a new day.
Today the city of Nemus is self-governing.
Thanks to your work the city has made its own food production facilities.
Thanks to the trade and charity of outsiders, food is growing outside our city.
I must thank many of the CS people for the sacrifices they have made to defend the city from supernatural predators that have preyed upon our people.
It brings me great joy to say we no longer need their help to defend the city. Thanks to you, the people of Nemus, we have our own heroes to defend us. We no longer need the CS. We no longer want them to risk their lives or ours in our defense. We will defend ourselves as a free people without the management and support of the CS.

The people of the Coalition States may continue to visit our city as tourists and customers. Trade will continue as long as it is fair for BOTH Nemus and the CS. They may even live here if they wish to live by our ways.

The control of our currency and economy, however, will return to the city. We won’t work for the CS for free. Nor may they take whatever they like from our city and people.

More than anything else I mean this for our people. Our psychic youth will not be conscripted or drafted into the Coalition military and their psychic military boarding school programs. Our ill and injured will be treated by our own people. Those of our people who have already departed the city will be offered a chance to return if that is their wish.
The people of the coalition states will be asked to leave if they cannot conform to our democratic system and laws. No energy weapons will be allowed in the city outside of the control of law enforcement.

We recognize the Coalition States embassy and that in the confines of its territory it has the legal protection and authority as if it were the CS capital.
As will the embassies for human governments of Free Quebec & the people's Republic of Ishpeming.

While those who wish to leave may do so and return if they like. The people of Nemus come first in Nemus.
Even though others may feel differently they are not from 2098 or this city. We don’t owe them. Beyond the borders of our city state their lives are their own as our city and how we live it is ours.


The CS have lost control of communications in and out of the Nemus.
The only way to message out is by flying the message to the nearest CS outpost.

Commander Crassus (locked in a bunker) tries to put out a message that the video was a hoax or cyber-joke of a computer hacking city-rat.

The VR troopers / Boys have secured the power plant and airport.
The training was taken over by the USB. The groundwork the CS did made them quite vulnerable to the supernatural beings virtual reality and cyber-magic. They have arrested, disarmed and locked up CS personnel who did not escape them or were not wounded or killed. All with the guidance of the supernatural being who gave false information to the CS and kept real messages, calls for backup, etc. from going out. Instead they were lured into traps, ambushes, and even ordered to surrender.

Many CS now occupy the prison half made prison complex they intended for the trouble makers of the city. Now they are the ones in trouble.

Crassus is dumbfounded at the state of things. "How is this possible?"
His officers' consensus is that the loss of so many CS grunts left them under staffed.
The takeover of the skellbots should not have been possible. They never knew or imagined that any magic or supernatural force could take control over them like a mind melter or spell caster could control a human being or at these quantities.
Control of the video surveillance and communications completely took them all by surprise. Again it should not have been possible. They know there are magic spells that could create limited interference but not like this. It is as though an army of Psi-Techs or Mind Melters possessed and controlled all the tech that mattered.
The public either had no clue or didn't give us any. Most people probably aren't even aware we are in the situation we are in and just going to work, coming home to relax, go to sleep and do it all over again the next day.
The CS had outsourced a lot of their work to civilians anyway.

The only thing we have going for us are the Digital Dead Boys on the outside and a few CS that slipped between the cracks. There are also the troops that left the city to the Ley Line but as long as they get false messages they will stay out there until they have to send people back to re-supply.

While the supernatural being is being rather pro-active:

It likes being in more than one place and does not want to give up any of its territory anywhere (virtual reality or Nemus).
For the moment the city seems to provide it with all that it needs.
Electrical energy
PPE.
People to play with.
Stimulation

As a matter of survival the USB sees the CS as having goals which will, if left unchecked, will ultimately lead to its eradication. The USB wants to eliminate threats before they destroy it.

So the USB plans on Brainwashing or murder those CS in the city.

The regular people are unaware of who and what it is. Fine by the USB. What the people don't know can't hurt it. Thus, the USB has created this digital strawman person as the face of leadership.

The USB anticipates the CS response (outside of Nemus) to be:
Investigate.
Take back control.
If the USB is identified they will attempt to destroy it, if they can.

It has influence if not control of people in a variety of ways to include possession. It could possess some of the CS and send them back to Chi-Town or wherever. The problem with sending people to the CS, they will be discovered as possessed with “see aura” or such.
So the USB knows that is NOT an option and would be tipping its poker hand.
Instead, it plans to send people that are either brainwashed or loyal to it.

What will their mission be?
Spy on the CS.
Sabotage their investigation into Nemus.
Let the CS send more people in quantities the USB can "manage" so it will have more people to play with.
They must not find out it is supernatural or if they do that I am so powerful I will take over no matter what. The first layer of camo is the human mirage. Ads will project that one of the people of the Nemus will appear to have taken over as leader of the city. The second is that it is an artificial intelligence gone rogue. Anyone who knows the USB's true nature must either be loyal to it or too afraid of it to tell or will be eliminated.

The USB also sees supernatural predators as competition and is studying them to make plans to wipe them out. No one gets to play with MY toys or in my backyard but me. Besides, I can't trust them. What if they figure out a way to take me out or try to control or expose me. Humans I can control. Monsters I don't, they've got to go.

[darthauthor]

Day 81

Sir Wyatt and Lady Widow assume command of every Dog Boy and Psi-stalker they can find and lead them outside of the city.

They know they are lying but they would rather save the lives of their people.

Whether the Supernatural being knows what Sir Wyatt and Lady Widow are doing or it is just their cyber-knight technological ability they (and all the Dog Boys and Psi-Stalkers) they escort leave the city unmolested by robots and people.

Planes land carrying ambassadors for Ishpeming, Free Quebec & NGR arrive, bringing gifts, their own security contingent, and distinguished guests to have a look at Nemus. They are escorted to 5 star hotels where they rest from their trip.

CS military outside of the city are standing by at the ley line awaiting further instructions.

Crassus and those forces he can still marshall have shed their MD armor and are now dressing local to be incognito. Bots and bystanders pay no attention to them any more than anyone else. Meeting in person and making use of "safe houses" they have in the city Crassus quickly accounts for as many of his people as he can while not breaching security or secrecy. They have grenades and energy pistols as well as energy rifles they dismantled and can put back together in a minute. To communicate, they now have to use smart-phones and camo their conversations with double talk and innuendo or morse code in the background.
Intelligence confirms that somehow some of Crassus's people were compromised. Guesses include possession, mind control, and imposters so they are screening their people with "See Aura" and compartmentalizing information in case they missed someone or there is a new possession.
Strategizing priorities include restoring communications and regaining their technological advantage. As well as finding a way to discredit the pretender or at least assassinating her.
As well as taking a plane and flying to the nearest CS friendly place with communications.

Outside the city:
Rows of squash, maize ("corn"), and climbing beans (common beans).
The people of Nemus did not plant these and yet they are there.
The three sisters.
A technique known as companion planting, the maize and beans were planted together in mounds formed by hilling soil around the base of the plants while the squash grew between the mounds. The cornstalk serves as a trellis for climbing beans, the beans fix nitrogen in their root nodules and stabilize the maize, and the wide leaves of the squash plant shade the ground, keeping the soil moist and helping prevent the establishment of weeds.

What is astonishing is how quickly these three plants are growing. They are showing a year's worth of growth and it has been less than a week.

How is this possible?
Who is doing it?
Why?

Tests of the crops show no genetic modification or poison.
The presence of the recent guru / cult leader and his followers is the most likely suspect but the bald headed kook is easily dismissed.

The Grey Seer.

Becoming popular in the Federation of Magic for his aid to others he left to found a village for all people who would leave machines behind them for a fresh start. He credits his inspiration to dreams in which he met many of his closest friends from lands far away but shared beliefs. One is a defender of nature (a Lemurian Biomancer Gene-Mage) with whom he saw in one of his visions. They were meant to find each other. Together they would make a place for those who did not want to be a part of technological society.

The village he inspired others to join, “Arcadia” is a community of humans and D-Bees who believe in a return to a simple standard of living. No bots, cars, computers, and that sort of thing. Instead they live a simple life in harmony with nature. Status is not in being better than your neighbors but your past self. Wealth is not in the number of your possessions or even their quality but in how little you need to survive and live. Power is not the ability to control the actions, feelings, and thoughts of others but the extent to which one can control one's own. To live one's life with maturity as a part of a community and in peace with nature is the wise life one can live.

Their practices or mostly a reflection of this man: passively abandoning the use of technology that depends on electricity, harming those who produce technology harmful to the environment, advocating simple living, or sabotaging technology. He also believes mass and rapid trade should be curtailed. As he sees it, it is bad for the environment, spreads disease, too many stories and ideas people are not ready to process, disrupts the local economies (like Wal-Mart did to the mom and pop store). Instead he believes a town should be small, self-sufficient, self-staining, help the environment, and focus on bettering oneself and their community rather than the pursuit of adventure, fame, power or wealth.

His concern is genuinely based on the technological impact on individuals, their communities, and/or the environment. He stipulates the use of a caution for all new technologies, insisting that technologies be proven safe before adoption.

Many of his selection of psionic powers, skills, and spells are reflection of his desire to help others and not rely on technology. He has little need or desire for money or material things, except to help others. Uses magic and his skills to survive. Commonly offers his abilities to aid children, elderly, and those of the criminal persuasion to change paths. As bad as it might seem to help a criminal, healing them makes a psychological impact and keeps them from becoming a more extreme criminal killing others to get credits to buy bionics/cybernetic becoming a more violent and successful criminal. In other situations

He does not honestly want violence but realizes that you can’t reason with an addict (to technology) and that the negative consequences of machines (pollution, dehumanization, envy, greed, war, etc.) are not checked just because they are hidden from and ignored.

In most situations, the Grey Seer will use his psychic/mystic/spell powers to study people and situations, the opportunities and consequences of his actions. He never starts a fight but instead defends himself and others. His party of followers are typically the recipients of his magical and psionic powers.

In the Grey Seer’s personal history, he warned the Federation of magic that the CS should be avoided. If left on their own they would be their own undoing. Instead, the seer believes it was the Federation’s attacks that created the CS of today.  

The Grey Healer tried to warn people to run away and hide from the counter attack and offered to shepherd them out of the way. Instead, they suffered the fury of the CS.

Now the Grey Seer’s visions warn him of a growing technological evil out of the city of Nemus.

1. Sense Supernatural Evil. As Mystic O.C.C.
2. Opening oneself to the Supernatural. 98% invisibility
3. Sense Death:
4. Sense Life:
5. See future possibilities.
6. Psionic powers: Clairvoyance , Deaden Pain , Detect Psionics , Empathy , Group Trance , Mind Block , Object Reading , Open Third Eye , Psychic Diagnosis , Psychic Purification , Psychic Surgery , Remote Viewing , Sixth Sense , Telepathy ,
Note: has no psionic powers that do direct damage.
Note 2: This Grey Seer has, after decades of experience, opened his third eye (see Psyscape)
Radiates Emotions
Sense Supernatural Evil and Magic Energy: Fundamentally the same as the Psi-Hound.
Double range & Duration on Psionic Sensitive powers.

Magic Bonuses.
+3 to save versus horror factor,
+2 to save vs possession,
+3 to save versus magic.
+2 to spell strength

Special Combat Bonuses:
+3 on initiative, +4 to parry,
+5 to dodge, automatic dodge (no melee actions lost dodging)
+5 to disarm, +2 to entangle
Has no Hand to Hand combat but is 10th level.
3 "attacks" per round (each attack counts as two melee actions).
Or 6 melee "actions." That's it.
Of Course, 2 spells can be cast per melee round.
Or psionics

7. Needs a 12 or higher to save vs psionics.
+ 3 to save vs psionics

8. Spells:
1st Level: Oracle, Sustain, Life Source, Magic Shield,
Armor of Ithan, Tongues,
Lantern Light (1), Cleanse (6),
2nd Level and up
Astral Projection (10),
Charismatic Aura (10), Charm (12),
Chromatic Protection (10; self defense)
Create Wood (10-20; typically uses to build fires, make crosses & Stakes to use against vampires, also building shelter without hurting a forest),
Cure Minor Disorders (10), Heal Wounds (10) & Lifeblast (15) to heal
Escape (8)
Impervious to Fire (5),
Instill Knowledge (15; uses to enlighten),
Aura of Death (12) & Invisibility: Simple (6) to get in / out without violence
See Aura (6), See the Invisible (4), Sense Magic (4),
Superhuman Endurance (12), Telekinesis (8)
NOTE: has no spells that directly do ANY damage except to evil/undead (Lifeblast)

IQ 14, M.E. 20, M.A. 26, P.S. 16, P.P. 16, P.E. 30, P.B. 13, Spd 13

Height: 6’ Weight: 186 Age: 68 (but looks 43)

Alignment: Aberrant

Disposition: Compassionate. Bit of a hero complex. Wants to save people. Fears what technology brings out in people. Meets most problems with diplomacy. Typically wants to retreat before defending himself. Likes to think he can disable or destroy electronic tech without hurting people. Accept that people can destroy themselves out of greed and pride. Can’t save people who don’t want to be saved or don’t see themselves as in danger. When attacked will defend himself with parry or auto dodge or turn invisible to escape.

S.D.C.: 42 Hit Points: 64 I.S.P.: 114 P.P.E.: 153

O.C.C. Skills :
Speaks and is literate in American 98%
Speaks: Dragonese/Elf 98%
Basic & Advanced Math 98%
Lore: Demons & Monsters 85%
Lore: Psychics & Psionics 85%
Wilderness Survival 87%
Land Navigation 82%
W.P. Blunt +4 strike/parry

O.C.C. Related Skills:
Animal Husbandry 85%, Anthropology 80%, Sewing 95%, Gardening (for growing vegetables) 77%, Holistic Medicine 85/75%, Intelligence 60%, Lore: Magic 90/80/75%, Outdoorsmanship, Xenology 50% (to medically treat D-Bees with Holistic Medicine)

Secondary Skills:
Brewing 50/55%, Identify Plants & Fruits 85%, Lore: D-Bee 75%, Philosophy 70%, Preserve Food 85%, Sewing (2nd pick; self taught tailoring)

Learned from Rogue Scholar:
Dowsing: 65%
History: Post-Apocalypse 55/50%.
History: Pre-Rifts 57/49%
Public Speaking 40%
W.P. Shield






The Defender (Biomancer Gene-Mage)

The outlook of the Defender changed when he joined with a Psymbiote who escaped from Atlantis. He could not stay with his people and think only of them. He had to help the Psymbiote people and others. He aspired to raise his level of ability in Biomancy in the hope to restore lobotimized Psymbiotes using any and all healing methods up to and including "Reconstruction (675)."

While his hatred for the Splugorth began to overlap with a hatred for dead things such as vampires and non-living machines.

For years the biomancer connected with the Grey Seer in their dreams. Their shared dream of protecting the Earth and life on it quickly united them in common purpose and intent.
After they met in person, the Grey Seer escorted his biomancer friend to the magic zone where he felt his powers surge and took it as a sign he was meant to use them here. By example and instruction, they would create a refuge for those who were willing to start fresh without electronic devices.

O.C.C. Abilities and Bonuses of the 10th Level Biomancer Gene-Mage:
1. Life Sense:
2. Sense Death and the Unnatural:
3. Psionic Empathy with Animals: Same as all Lemurians.
4. Communicate with Plants and Animals: Automatic. Chance of Success: With plants and animals automatic. The attempt to calm an animal is 80%. 40% if the animal is alien to Earth, 20% if the animal is in the throes of a blood frenzy or is injured and in pain.
Range: 150 feet. +15% to Horsemanship and Animal Husbandry.
5. Healing Touch: 10D6 S.D.C./HP or 10D4 M.D.C. to any one plant, animal or person. 5 times a day
6. Gifts of Nature:
7. Gift of Peace:
8. Create Rio-Constructs:
9. Bonuses:
+4 on Perception Rolls involving Biomancy, symbiotic organisms and genetic manipulation (half involving other magicks and nature),
+8 to save vs magic,
+2 to save vs Horror Factor,
+20% to save vs coma/death,
+3 to save vs Bio-Manipulation magic (including Agony, Blind, Mute, Life Drain, Sickness, Curses, Metamorphosis and Transmutation),
+ 6 to save vs disease (including PE)
+ 3 to Spell Strength
10. P.P.E.: 235

11. Initial Spell Knowledge:
Level One
Accelerate Plant Growth (5, 10, 20), Bio-Scan (4), Harvest (Food 5, 8, 15), Heal Plants (5, 10, 20), Life Link (8, 15), Weave Plants (15; uses to make clothes),
Ocean: Bio-Electric Touch (D-Fib), Capture Moisture (3), Flying Fish (8)
Level 2
Fish Skin (Armor, 10, 35), Nutrient Bath (8), Re-Hydrate (10; to treat dehydration)
Water Nourishment (10; to fed oneself and companions)
Level 3
Forest Camouflage (15), Nutrient Feed (15), Commune with Nature (2; 10 miles), Strengthen Plant (20-400),
Level 4 Birth Giver (20), Revitalize Plant Life (15)
Level 5 Immune System Push (18-80), Tree Phasing (22)
Level 6 Remove Parasites (50), Reverse Undead (100),
Level 7 Bio-Field (100), Nutrient Push: Soil (180)
Level 8 Ironwood (50+), Sheltering Force (10)
Level 9 Forest Walk (195), Heal the Earth (200)
Level 10 Reconstruction (675), Restore Limb (80),

IQ 16, M.E. 17, M.A. 15, P.S. 15, P.P. 17, P.E. 25, P.B. 19, Spd 22

Height: 6’2” Weight: 150 Age: 200 (but looks 32)

Alignment: Unprincipled

Disposition: Dedicated to protecting the environment, helping the Psymbiote people, and fighting vampires. Believe in living in harmony with nature, love the outdoors and enjoy all forms of artistic expression. Even fighting does so with mercy. Curious with a love to explore and learn about everything.

S.D.C.: 57 Hit Points: 94 I.S.P.: 51 (+151*) P.P.E.: 235 (+30*Psymbiote)

Minor Psychic: Empathy (4), Mind Block (4), Speed Read (2). Telepathy (4), Total Recall (2)
Psymbiote:
*Bio-Manipulation, Super Bio-Regeneration, Telekinesis (super), Hydrokinesis, Hypnotic Suggestion,
Clairvoyance, Deaden Pain, Death Trance, Exorcism (10), Mind Block, Nightvision, Group Mind Block, Group Trance, Healing Touch, Impervious to Fire, Impervious to Poison (Id poisons 70%), Levitation, Mind Wipe, Object Read (6), Presence Sense, Psi-Sword (10d6 MD), Psionic Invisibility, Psychic Armor (100 MD), Psychic Diagnosis (h), Psychic Purification (8), Psychic Surgery (h), See Aura, See the Invisible, Sixth Sense, TK Force field (30)

Skills
Language: Lemurian and Oceanic at 98%, Literacy: Lemurian at 91%
Mathematics: Basic 92%, Swimming: 86%
O.C.C. Skills:
Biology 95%, Botany 98%, Chemistry 85%,
Language: Other: American & Spanish 98%
Literacy: American 95%
Lore: Animals/Cattle 98%, Lore: Demons and Monsters 85%,
Lore: Sea Creatures 95%, Lore: Vampires 75%
Marine Biology 98/98% (medical treatment for sea creatures)
Mathematics: Advanced 98%
Sea Holistic Medicine 95%, Undersea and Sea Survival 80%
Hand to Hand: Basic 10th level: 6 Attacks
W.P.: Sword +4 strike / +4 parry
W.P. Archery +6 to strike, +1 to parry, +3 disarm, 7 shots per melee round (for vampires)
O.C.C. Related Skills:
Field Surgery 81%, Pathology 98%, Undersea Farming 80%, Veterinary Science 98%
4th level: Medical Doctor 98/98%
8th level: Xenology 50% (to medically treat D-Bees)
10th level: Outdoorsmanship
Secondary:
Animal Husbandry 95%, Dowsing 70%, Identify Plants & Fruit 85%
3rd: Wilderness Survival 70%
5th: Brewing 60/65%
9th: Preserve Food 45%

[darthauthor]

Day 82

The withdrawing CS Dog Boys and Psi-Stalkers comb the outside of the forest for supernatural anything for the Psi-Stalkers to feed upon. Their radio range works only with each other. They don't know about the CS troops at the ley line. As far as they know their leadership has either abandoned them, betrayed them or are dead. A nice long sit down and conversation leads them to the decision to march to the nearest CS territory or military presence. Lady Widow and Sir Wyatt lead the way.

The people from Ishpeming, Free Quebec & NGR are entertained and escorted about the city. They discuss transporting people to the city with job offers. The need for discovery of local mines to raw materialsThey are eventually introduced to the pleasures of Virtual Reality and cyberjacking (so that brainwashing or possession can occur).

CS military at the ley line have performed their search and destroy exercises within one mile of either side of the line. The supernatural pickings are slim but it is a good experience for the troops and morale is high. They made maps of the area and rotated work on military fortifications (camofluaged fox holes) up and down the ley line. MD underground bunkers and barracks are started with the help of mining borgs.

Crassus and those forces he can still marshall have shed their MD armor and are now dressing local to be incognito. Bots and bystanders pay no attention to them any more than anyone else. Meeting in person and making use of "safe houses" they have in the city Crassus quickly accounts for as many of his people as he can while not breaching security or secrecy. They have grenades and energy pistols as well as energy rifles they dismantled and can put back together in a minute. To communicate, they now have to use smart-phones and camo their conversations with double talk and innuendo or morse code in the background.
Intelligence confirms that somehow some of Crassus's people were compromised. Guesses include possession, mind control, and imposters so they are screening their people with "See Aura" and compartmentalizing information in case they missed someone or there is a new possession.
Strategizing priorities include restoring communications and regaining their technological advantage. As well as finding a way to discredit the pretender or at least assassinating her.
Crassus plans on a three different directions
1. Taking a plane by force or bluff. Flying it back to the CS.
2. Sneaking a squad out of the city to inform the troops at the Ley Line and return with them to take the city.
3. Scorched Earth. Assassinating the city leadership, destroying the supercomputer, turning off or destroying the power plant.

ALL plans have to be thought through in the area of effect of a Psi-Nullifier to prevent psychic spying and precognition. Fake plans have to be made just in case of spies or unforeseen surveillance or leaks from within the ranks. The plans are written up and drawings are made on paper to keep them off any electronic devices. In truth ALL three options are going to be taken but who will do it, their methods, and when they do it are determined at random.

Outside the city:

The land flourishes.
Overnight more crops spring up. Some are not known by the people of Nemus. They must be new or from another world.

Though they say nothing, everyone believes it is the doing of the outsiders. The one who promised a new life without technology.

The people argue and debate about what is best.
Many want to be optimistic about the city's independence.
Others just want the craziness to end and enjoy a peaceful life.
Still many have never farmed before or done any work so hard as they imagine life will be like in a village without their phones.

[darthauthor]

Day 83

The news announces the creation of embassies for the people from Ishpeming, Free Quebec & NGR. The NGR want the city of Nemus to know they have many D-Bees who they would like to join them.
Note: What they really mean is they want to unload as many of their local D-Bees on a Nemus plane and take them off their hands and out of their refugee camps.

CS military fortifications are coming along nicely. Also, the maps of the area surrounding the ley line are inspiring confidence. The officer in charge has his soldiers do a little foraging as well as locate local sources of water and fish.

Commander Crassus has planned ahead. Having set aside crypto currency for his men in the event of an emergency and staffed it in the safe houses he and his followers don't have to resort to theft or intimidation to get what they need.
He considers the presence of other governments to be a mixed opportunity. He knows they have planes. They can take him, some of his men, and/or messages back to where they came from and get them to the CS. Making contact will be difficult though as they have private security and are constantly watched. Crassus does not fear civilians or law enforcement. Only robots, the possessed, and this infernal Ai or whatever it is that has taken over the computer and communication systems.
Any paper note he might get to them could be dismissed as a joke or scam. Any electronic message sent to them might never make it. Worse, this digital demon or hacker or whoever it is that is doing this might fabricate a deep fake message and say everything is fine or start a battle.
He, or one of his officers, has to meet with them in person or not at all.
Best guess is, the safest way is to join the ambassadors on their return flights and reveal themselves after they have left the city. Worst case, they have to hijack the plane and land it in CS territory.
The Digital Dead Boys are successful at hacking into schedules and limited surveillance of the visiting dignitaries. While regular CS personnel perform espionage and recon in person.
Windows of opportunity are forming.

The rest of the city runs smoothly.
Food production and lines work just fine without the CS. Plenty of people are saying so on the internet.
Bug bars are given out as free samples chuck full of protein and vitamins.
Algae production and distribution has resumed. Part of the progress was in part from a "consultant" D-Bee who knows more about algae and growing it than any man alive.
Without the CS censors, audience desired content appears in shows.

Outside the city:

The Earth around the city is healed from its fire damage.

Word of mouth is that miracles are happening outside the city

Monsters that are believed to have hunted and roamed the local forest have been driven back or killed.

[darthauthor]

The Journey

Lady Widow and Sir Wyatt lead the way.

The ruck march has no effective logistics, no roads, no train of food wagons, trailing behind, going back and forth from some supply point. Rather, they "live off the land" (the Psi-stalkers are natural born hunters) when they have to and follow the trials they find to villages.

There they hire themselves out to clean out any demon and monster problem in the area. The monster meat the bring back is shared with the village.

The Dog Boys are stressing over the limited rounds they have in their E-clips but the Psi-Stalkers go native with ancient weapons. While Widow and Wyatt hand over their E-Clips.
Although they are rough around the edges, their deeds endear the CS Dog Boys and Psi-Stalkers to the local people. As days go by, the band has collected and sharpened weapons of bones of their enemies. While Sir Wyatt uses a bow and Lady Widow somehow uses Xiticix weapons.

The CS boys soon learn that the villagers would face starvation if they had “confiscated” the food.

Marching from village to village. They encounter bullies with guns who pillage and extort protection tribute. Under the leadership of Widow and Wyatt they put an end to the extortionist and return what they can to those from whom it was stolen.

All this scrounging and do gooder time prevents consistent movement, before they had to go scrounging again.

They manage an average of 5 to 10 miles per day.

Day by day they make their way helping out here and there and wiping areas of beings who eat and torment humans (and D-Bees).

Over a month they arrive in a town with transportation. They decide to send a message (mostly about Nemus, makes no mention of the number of Dog Boys and Psi-Stalkers) to the nearest CS military. Then wait for a response while they clean up the surrounding territory. The pack has bonded and united. Their reputation spreads slowly but they give Dog Boys a good name and the pack stands a little taller when they come into towns.

Lady Widow and Sir Wyatt ask, privately, if anyone wants a fresh start. IF they want they can continue the mission of protect the innocent outside of CS territory but without the CS. The troops are given permission to speak freely and no one has to decide today. There are no humans among us only Dog Boys and Psi-Stalkers (2nd class, at best, in the eys of the CS). Some don't want to go it alone but IF everyone else agrees to it, they will do it too (adventurers? Merc company?).

[darthauthor]

Day 84

Most have not seen or heard from CS people for days and don't know why.

One or two start to make their way about town in their CS armor. Really making an appearance more than anything else.

On the street people on their phones ask some questions
influencer, "So what is your opinion of the change in administration?"
CS Grunt (possessed), "It's great! Commander Crassus said so himself."
Influencer, "Say, where is Crassus? No one has seen or heard from him?"
Grunt, "He sort of disappeared. He doesn't tell us things he feels we don't need to know. Probably in a meeting. I guess. He outsourced more and more of the security and management of things to create jobs. Now it is obvious that you don't need the CS to defend YOUR city."

Later the same day a deep fake video is released in a fashion so as it cannot be technologically recorded.

Commander Crassus (Digital imposter), "I am very happy the city has achieved its independence. You no longer need the CS. Your own security forces and law enforcement are enough to defend yourselves. The city's heroic spook squads and psychics are enough to manage any problems you might have with the supernatural. The CS will continue to be your tourists and trading partners, at fair market value. Sad to say, not everyone of the CS people feel the same way. Some of our people are psychologically exhausted and are experiencing post traumatic stress disorders. I ask that you forgive any strange behaviors on their part and signs of confusion, distress, and uncertainty as a part of the process in their therapy and readjustment. Some CS military personnel will stay in the city at our embassy for our personal security and defense. The CS fears outsiders might want to punish the city for its association with the CS. Also, the CS needs to ensure the safety of your power plant, genetic engineering technology, and coalition citizens. Having come to an agreement with the city's administration, I was told a vote will take place, the results of which will afford or deny the CS this privilege. One that is in effect with the ambassadors from other governments."

With some finessesful poise the DEEP FAKE digital image of Commander Crassus signs off.

Meanwhile, some people meander outside the city to have a look at the crops. As they pick from the vine people are told stories of how they can have a fulfilling life on a farm enjoying the bounty and beauty of nature. That these crops are just a sample of what their lives could be like.
When asked about security from the supernatural, the luddites explain that together they can protect each other. Most supernatural predators seek out people alone (who are vulnerable) or large masses of people (who do not care for one another and whose absence are not really noticed).
Together they can start a new village with a few hundred people who want a simple rustic life where they can raise their children to live off the land and be a part of a community. Some people stay to watch the luddites and figure out what they are about. Ordinarily the luddites would, as strangers, turn people off, except these luddites heal injuries with psychic and magical powers, grow food, and the family cats and dogs appear to adore them. When you trust your dog and your dog trusts someone it carries some weight.
Those few psychics who have a look at them describe their auras as human but psychic and in great health but with a lot of energy inside them.

The REAL Commander Crassus has to spread the word between his men that the video that was put out was fake. The goal has not changed even if they have to keep changing their plans.
His undercover people have identified the luddite cult as about 20 in number but only about 8 or 10 of them have magical/psychic powers. Could assassinate them but getting away with it is problematic. They are trying to figure out a way to discredit them as frauds or con artists. At worst, they are trying to find a fall guy to take the blame for the murder of the spell casters.
Many of the plans are ready to begin. The only reason to wait is their timing so as not to undermine each other.

1. Taking the power plant they can shut off power to the city and sabotage the equipment so it cannot be turned back on without extensive repair.

2. In the chaos, the hit team can launch an attack against the city leadership. They know the building but not all of the political players are where to find them.

3. The ambassadors are supposed to leave in a week with samples and guests. Turning out the lights now will either delay them or send them home on their planes during daylight. Security is too tight on them for any attempt to talk to them not to look like a kidnapping or assassination. Crassus wants to get his people on board their planes.

4. The plan to send messengers to the Ley Line will be easy and can go at any time.

5. The raid on the airport and retaking of CS planes for a rapid takeoff are limited by control over fuel. It is easier to take a civilian plane and allow the Ai to fly it. The trick is to steal or hijack a plane that is going to leave anyway. Crassus gives the CS officer and his team the official go ahead to run the operation independently. He is to act without orders and however he sees fit to accomplish the mission with the freedom to take opportunities as they arise in the field.

6. An additional plan involves the abduction of CS personnel and exorcism of whatever demon is possessing them or breaking whatever is controlling their mind.


Luddite Support people:

Lucian, the laser mage, met the Grey Seer friend in a dream while sunbathing. Drawn to the magic zone when they first met in real life they recognized each other instantly.
The dream of “Arcadia” united them.

Laser Mage O.C.C. Powers and Abilities:
1. See all spectrums of light. Impervious to illusions, magical or psionic.
2. Knows time of day by the sun and exact moment of sunset or sunrise.
3. Impervious to the sun's effects: sunburn, dehydration, skin cancer, or any other ill effect associated with exposure to too much sun. Lasers will inflict half damage to an unprotected Laser Mage

4. Mystically Acquired Spells:
Aura of Power (4), Blinding Flash (1), Cleanse (6; daily shower), Lantern Light, Globe of Daylight (2), See Aura (6).
Light Spells: Crystal Bomb (35), Enlightening Touch (4), Photosynthesis (45; healing, regen limbs), Shining Armor (20; impervious to lasers, 40 MD)
Level 2: Control Light: Intensity (Major; 25), Invisibility: Simple (6), Talisman of Light (5; 4 hours, crystals emit light without burning wood or candles)
Level 3:
Control Light: Direction (30), Mesmerizing Light (25)
Level 4:
Material Light (50 PPE cost; 20 minutes, 20 MD): Depends on a source of light without which the created “objects” (no moving parts or chemicals or electrical power) disappear. Objects include: a wall, a giant cube (cover), tools (hammer, lockpick, screwdriver, shovel, wrench, etc.), a roof of sorts, a ramp (for jumping), a table, chair, ladder, a pillar, a wheel for a spare tire, a shield (5 minutes and 5 MD per level), a surf-board or snowboard, a sled, a skiff (boat), a parachute, a hang glider, a spike (for others to fall upon like a trap at the bottom of a pit), a sword (melee weapon) made of light (sunlight if using the sun as the lightsource; impressive if you can find, in light of day, a vampire to fight. Shadow Beast?).

What it can not be? A working: automobile, gun/energy weapon, plane, radio/electronic device, computer, a motor, generator, etc. although it might look like a movie prop version of one of these items, solid on the inside, like a toy made of plastic.

GM should be the judge and may make exception if the player has certain skills (Brewing = coffee/teapot, Diving helmet/suit for SCUBA, medical=stretcher, Gardening=plow, Gymnastic Horizontal Bars for Gymnastics skill, Sculpting = manikin, Pilot Truck=Hitch (limited time), etc.
NEVER ANYTHING explosive, poisonous, etc. The material is “light.”

IQ16, M.E.14, M.A.17, P.S.12, P.P.15, P.E.19, P.B.14, Spd.30

S.D.C.: 45
Hit Points: 30
I.S.P.: 32
P.P.E.: 91

Minor Psychic: Clairvoyance (12),

4th Level: Laser Mage O.C.C. Skills:
Language: American 98%, Spanish 77%
Sing: 52%, Dance 62%, Play Musical Instrument: Flute 62%
Lore: Demon & Monsters 57%,
Lore: Magic 57%, Lore: Psychics & Psionics 57%
Philosophy 67%
Wilderness Survival 67%
Aerobic Athletics, Athletics (General)

O.C.C. Related Skills:
Brewing 67/72%, Gardening 65%, Gymnastics,
Holistic Medicine 47/37%, Identify Plants & Fruits 72%, Preserve Food 72%
Prowl: 62%
3rd Outdoorsmanship

Secondary Skills:
Astronomy & Navigation 45%, Dowsing 42%, Fishing 57%,
Hand to Hand: Basic 4th level: 5 attacks
Lore: D-Bee 42%, Whittling & Sculpting 45%

Rogue Scholar taught him the secondary skills of:
Mathematics: Basic and Literacy (american)

Equipment:
Water pouches (2 liters), fishing gear, Holistic Medicine backpack, preserved food for seven days, wilderness clothing (buckskin), hat, sunglasses, backpack, 6 wooden spikes (as much for vampires as anything else), wooden cross (worn).

[darthauthor]

The Darkest Night

Commander Crassus has his people abduct CS people to experiment on.
Some of it is discovered by "see aura" that they are possessed. After an exorcism the human is restored as though they were awaking from a deep sleep.
The operation is considered a success however, two people from the CS are lost in the process.
Crassus knows he is dealing with a supernatural or at least magic/psychic menace. He can get his people back or he will kill them. He discusses the CS contingency plans for when members of the military are possessed.

The plan to hijack a plane is executed. Two planes leave. One CS. One Civilian.
18 people are killed in the process.
40 are taken as hostages between the two planes
154 are wounded.

The news described it as something one might expect from terrorists. The people who did this used CS energy weapons. Are guilty of murder, manslaughter and kidnapping. Though attempts to id these people are difficult as they had attempted to disguise themselves. They are believed to be CS people seen in the city before. Attempts to contact them in the city have only revealed that if it is NOT them they have disappeared.

The big question, "Why would people in the CS kill so many to hijack their own plane and a civilian one?"
When asked for a statement Commander Crassus says (Digital Deep Fake), "These people are possessed or something. Maybe my people were murdered and these people are imposters using the CS as the scapegoat for their crimes. I didn't order this. I would NEVER order this. I condemn these acts of murder and the theft of CS property. I would order the plane to be shot down if there weren't civilian hostages onboard. Ley Line interference makes it so radio waves can't reach the CS territories. Another plane will have to be sent immediately with a message to arrest these criminals and free the hostages."
The reporter asks, "Will you be going?"
Crassus, "ALL CS people are targets for these terrorists. Our whereabouts and destinations are now classified information for safety and security of both ourselves and those around us. Unless we are intending to fight we will conceal ourselves with civilian clothing."
Reporter, "IF members of the coalition states are not doing this, who is?"
Crassus, "That's classified! This is a process. An investigation is taking place to determine who and why this was done."
Reporter, "IF you and your people being in Nemus is a danger to you and the innocent bystanders of our city, why don't you leave?"
Crassus, "Then the terrorists win. Our schedule for leaving Nemus will not be dictated to us by terrorists. Our pride and reputation is at stake here."
The reporter, "People's lives are at stake here."
Crassus, "Hey. Whose side are you on?"
Reporter, "The side of people not get abducted, maimed and murdered; CS or Nemus. But more than anything else, I should be on the side of the truth. And truth demands accountability and transparency. Commander Crassus, there are things you are NOT telling us."
Crassus, hangs up.
The reporter, "That leaves me wondering. What does the CS know? How do they know it? Why won't they tell us?"

A CS squad makes its attempt to exit the city in stealth.

The attempt to take the power plant results in the power going out plunging the city into darkness.

[darthauthor]

Arcadia (a luddite community in the Magic Zone)
This place is kind of like the Federation from Star Trek. It could not exist without replicators making everything for them thus eliminating poverty. In Rifts Earth, magic is like Star Fleets replicators.

Orientation: Tight Bonds/Families (No electronic technology). Everybody knows everyone.

Size: Wilderness Town 200; Points for building 185

A. Weapons and Armor: None. No mega-damage weapons.

B. Medicine: Extraordinary Means 35 points. Magical healing leaving no scars. Most health problems can be cured except for cancer and such.

C. Agriculture and Natural Resources: Sufficient 10 points. Adequate farmland and livestock for the number of people in the town.
Wood is formed by the spell (Create Wood) leaving the trees intact. When a tree is cut down it is typically dead or dying and a new one is planted and grown. They have orchards of fruit trees.
An Earth & Fire Warlock provides clay, coal, iron, sand, and stone.
The magic of biomancy and such produces an adequate amount of food for the people. They also rotate not eating by using the “Sustain” spell.

D. Real Estate: Location, Location, Location: 40 points.
For Parts C & D, the land in this forest area was somewhat engineered. Through the use of spells and thorough planning trees magically walked to a space set aside for them. Creating spaces for people to be separate from one another for privacy but close enough they can and do work together.
Trees were turned into MD to provide protection. There are no roads or trade routes.

E. Vehicle & Fuel: None. No cars or hover vehicles.

F. Social Structure: Utopian: 20 points. Socialism. Unsustainable if not for magic, people without better prospects (but serious risks to their lives and livelihoods outside of the society) and leadership not motivated by fortune, glory, and power.
Basically a hundred people a day comb through crops watering them, pick out mice, also insects for food or animal feed, and foraging. It is believed that singing and playing music for the plants helps to nourish them so that is one of the things they do for one to three hours per day.
Some are dedicated to shepherding the livestock, others go fishing.
Note: More and more people are turning to vegetarianism.
Most people use their free time to engage in music, gardening, intellectual pursuits, physical activity and the study of psionics and magic.

G. Alignment: Mixed: Principled and Scrupulous 8 points.

H. Magic: High Magic: 30 points. The D-Bees and humans know they have it good. So good they are bored but they would rather be than afraid. They know “Arcadia” is only possible if magic is used. People are worried what will happen if they or their children do not become spell casters who can take the place of the town's providers. Everyone is expected to donate their energy (PPE) to support the town's way of life. While everyone is told that they can learn to practice magic if they believe strongly and practice long enough and hard enough.

I. Racial Tolerance: Tolerance: 7 points. Anyone who believes other races should be subservient to theirs are allowed a debate. IF they can’t change the majority of the people to their beliefs they are asked to leave. IF they can, the main spell casters and town founders say they will leave and allow those who wish to follow to start a new beginning elsewhere. This happened once before. A month later the town was a ghost town; abandoned. The old residence politely asked the mages and their followers to return so everything could go back to the way it was before they left. The founders requirement was a convincing argument performed in front of them and their followers.

J. Trade: Internal: 2 points. The town is a self-sustaining and self-sufficient commune. They don’t use money. People are expected to be polite to each other and contribute to the good of the community. The fewness of possession makes theft easy to discover or at least the thief is not likely to enjoy their pilfered items in public. Plus they have to see the one they stole from every day. While the town has a few herds, they are like sheep they never kill but shave the wool off their backs. The resident Nature mystic manages the apiary to tend to bees for their part in pollinating crops. The added bonus is beeswax and honey.

K. Safe Haven: 30 points. This part of the Magic Zone is mostly uninhabited and nothing of value was there before (No dinosaurs, ley lines, gold, oil, pre-rifts goodies, silver or strategic military value). Just the beauty of nature.

L. None.

M. The Overall Community (Education): Poor. None. Mostly uneducated peasants. A rogue scholar teaches classes and is slowly educating them.

N. Shelter: None. To not despoil nature this patch of Earth is a mostly magical tent city. Thanks to the benefits of a high level Dweomer Mage and his ability to transfer PPE of willing recipients. This allows for enough energy to create Sheltering Force tents (1 per family or roommates; 4) cast by the resident Air Warlock (at the cost of 10 PPE).
There are a few native americans who have tepees (a portable conical tent made of skins, cloth, or canvas on a frame of poles).
No housing is permanent! Most are identical and gone in the morning.
Bathing (and laundry) is done by the Cleanse spell or with the assistance of a fire-water fusionist steam spell. This eliminates the need for infrastructure and plumbing. While the spell Mending is used to maintain clothing until something new can be made.

O. None. Residents pull together as best they can when they need to.

P. Energy: None. No electrical power or devices.

Q. Special Features: None.
Town is working on a few things: Musical instruments (a lot of people sing but the village often make shifts drums, flutes, etc), Wagons (portable storehouse, water silo and lending library), Sundials

The fashion of clothing is made from the weaving of plants by a biomancer.

Lighting is often done by the spell "Talisman of Light" (5; 4 hours, crystals emit light without burning wood or candles) by a laser mage.

A lot of their tools are made from wood before the spell "Ironwood" is cast upon them.

There are NO military buildings or standing army.

No jails, gambling, hotels, saloons, silos, stables (no horses most of the time), etc.

There is almost no furniture. The town founders do NOT sit in thrones or high chairs.
Most of the food is farm to table and people are pressured to only pick what they eat so no a lot of refrigeration is needed.

Waste management - wooden chamber pots. This "wee" and “night soil” is used as fertilizer.
The few people that can read are trusted with a book to read aloud to others. They "try" to teach others how to read. Also, "try" to write the history of the village as the town scribes.

No large building called a temple. People are free to worship as they like but if they want privacy they must go off into the woods. No one is required or expected to worship (or pressured to do so in one particular religion) only to do no harm to their neighbor and donate PPE for spells. The founders (bio-mancer, grey seer, etc) say something like my religion is compassion. My temple is nature.

More of the Luddite Party at Nemus:

The Nomad

Nomad is a Mystic Knight who felt a calling he could not answer by staying with the Order. Bored with being a bounty hunter, grunt, and pointman, he was already rubbing people the wrong way with his reluctance to use energy based weapons and pilot vehicles. After his Mystic Knight House was Rifted into the future and Canada he could stay with the MK house. He needed to return to the magic zone to see the forests, animals and people he loved. He officially requested and received permission to go on a sojourn.

The terms of his release from his commitment to House Isceald to become a wandering (free) knight provided he:
1. Surrender his Mystic Knight armor until he returns, if he returns.
2. Not tell anyone he is a Mystic Knight of the House of Isceald.
3. Do nothing that would hurt the Mystic Knight reputation.
4. Not aid anyone against the Mystic Knight Order or House Isceald.
5. If asked or in an emergency, to aid or avenge House Isceald once.

After his return to the Magic Zone he saw how much had changed and what did not. The bears he used to wrestle with were gone. His elemental fusionist friends were dead. Nomad grieved his loss of the years he thought he would have had with them. Coping with his grief, for a time, he became a sort of game warden punishing who he deemed to be poachers or despoilers of nature. He was and still is especially angry with those who use high tech weapons to hunt SDC animals and unarmed beings. He would set traps for them or ambush them. Then beat them up in a fist fight or ancient weapons if that was more to their liking. Some he killed. Some he made followers. Some he let go. After a dream he connected with the Grey Seer and he participated in building “Arcadia.”

When he hears word of the city of Nemus and how it rifted through time he is reminded of his own experience (Isceald; The Rifter #45) when it happened to him. He wants to see this city and help these people.

IQ13, M.E.14, M.A.11, P.S.27, P.P.21, P.E.30, P.B.12, Spd.30

S.D.C.: 77 Hit Points: 45 ISP: 68 PPE: 143

Weight: 250lbs Height: 6’3” Age: 32 Alignment: Aberrant

Disposition: Adores the great outdoors, horses, and hunting. Has a kind of hunter's pride. To him, there is no pride in taking the easy way to kill. He wants a challenge and to use his own abilities even though it means giving his prey a chance. Typically fights at the level of his opponent so he does not overkill, instead he likes to give his opponents a chance to duel. He especially enjoys the challenge of a good fist fight with psi-stalkers who try hunting him. If he uses a surprise attack it is to stun or render his enemy unconscious. If his mission is to kill he wants to kill his enemy one on one.

7th Level O.C.C. Mystic Knight Skills:
Horsemanship: Knight: 88/68%, Horsemanship: Exotic: 74/54% (fond of Fury Beetles)
Lore: Magic 65%, Lore: Demons & Monsters 75%
Boxing, Running
Land Navigation 70%
Espionage: Intelligence 66%, Tracking 65%
Military: Trap Construction: 54%, Trap/Mine Detection 65%
Rogue: Prowl 72%, Tailing 75%
W.P. Sword +9 strike/+10 parry*(with Fencing skill; see Wooden Sword)
W.P. Shield +9 to parry (Spell Magic Shield 80 MD)
W.P. Archery +9 to strike; 6 attacks (wood arrows for vampire & hunting 2d6)
W.P. *Handgun & Rifle +4 to strike
Hand to Hand: Expert (7 attacks, paired weapon;+8 Parry/Dodge +2 Strike)
+4 initiative, +5 to disarm, +2 to entangle, +35% to save vs coma,
+10 to save vs disease and poison. Crit 18-20.
O.C.C. Related Skills:
Acrobatics, Camouflage 65%, Detect Concealment 60%, Gymnastics,
3rd Level: Fencing
6th Level: Cross-Country Skiing (used to cross Canada)
Secondary Skills:
Climbing 85%, First Aid 75%, General Repair & Maintenance 75%
3rd: Identify Plants & Fruit 50%, Snow Skiing: 60%
7th: Hunting, Track & Trap Animals: 25/35%

House Isceald*The Rifter #45: Bonus Skills:
Detect Ambush 70%, Forced March, Outdoorsmanship**, Wilderness Survival 80%**
Bonus* Spells: Frostblade (15)

PPE: 141
Spells:
Armor of Ithan (10), Aura of Death (12), Energize Spell (12+), Fists of Fury (10), Magic Shield (6), Power Weapon (35) and Tongues (12),
2nd Level: Sustain (12) & Sheltering Force (20) No need for food, sleeping bag, tent, or water. No need for equipment. Travels lightweight and hands free.
3rd Level: Create Water (15; 3.5 gallons), Invisibility: Simple (6)
4th Level: Escape (8), Magic Net (7),
5th Level: Heal Wounds (10), Telekinesis (8)
6th Level: Energy Disruption (12), Charismatic Aura (10)
7th Level: Cure Illness (15), Time Slip (20)

ISP: 68
Psionics:
Impervious to Poison/Toxin (4; 54% id), Mask I.S.P. & Psionics (7; 70 min), Mind block (4), Object Reading (6), Resist fatigue (4; 2hrs), See the invisible (4), Sixth Sense (2)
2nd Impervious to Cold (2; 140 minutes)
3rd Night Vision (4; 70 minutes)
4th Mask P.P.E. (4; 70 minutes), Electrokinesis (Varies)
5th Sense Evil (2)
6th Telepathy (4)
7th Clairvoyance (12)

Weapons and Equipment: Camo survivalist clothes (much like an elemental fusionist attire), Climbing gear, First aid kit (mostly holistic medicine). Water Skins (4: he refills via "Create Water" so he doesn't have to boil it. Bars (5) of country made soap. Bow and Arrows (12).
Uses "Magic Shield (6)" spell when he wants a shield.

The Nomad has been gifted many things by the Biomancer for his history of defending against despoilers. Also, in the case of fighting against vampires the “wooden” armor makes hand to hand attacks do damage to vampires and terrifies them.

Wooden Sword: This is a club with its edges sharpened. 600 MD
2D4 S.D.C. or 3D6 M.D. with aura activated by the mystic knight pumping PPE into it.

Wood Armor: Superior (80 M.D.C.) Alive: Regenerates 1D6 M.D.C. per hour; giving its wearer an equivalent of a supernatural P.S. of 18!
restrained punch 3D6 S.D.C.,
full strength 1D6+4 M.D. (counting the thorns)
power punch 2D6+4 M.D. (counts as two attacks).
+1 to strike and parry and +2 to dodge.
The suit is fully sealed and completely form-fitting and incredibly
flexible, it has no prowl penalty and provides the wearer with a limited oxygen of 10 minutes worth of air when buttoned up tight. However, the armor is alive and can purify air. Thus, the character is +3 to save vs toxic gasses and airborne poison and impurities. The living armor reacts to perceived dangers by sealing itself and extruding thorns as a means
of auto-defense.
When Nomad wants to take the armor off, the suit liquifies and rolls right off of him, turning into a thorny mound. To put the armor back on, its owner picks it up and it flows back on to him (takes about 10 seconds, less than one melee round).

[darthauthor]

The Night of day 84

The city is plunged into Darkness.

Work crews are sent to the power plant.

The city lights go out.

The internet goes down.

The supernatural being inside the supercomputer is online by battery back up.

The bot, drones, robots, and skellbots are operating on battery power.

The supernatural being still has a number of hosts it possesses or occupies in one way or another.

CS Crassus perspective and position:
• His CS squad snuck out and will eventually connect with the troops at the ley line to come back.

• Two planes of CS flying out to the CS nations.

• The CS operatives will assassinate the spell casting luddites at the earliest opportunity.

• The CS attacks on the power plant were a success. This robot problem will grind to a stop when their batteries run out.

• They need to coordinate an attack on the supercomputer to exorcize this demon or whatever. Failing to do that they need to destroy the network. Even if this is just an evil human computer hacker, as long as the CS can't control the battleground it will be used to destroy the CS.

• CS people are sent to assassinate the perceived new city leadership. Orders are to make it look like an accident or at least not an attack by the CS.

• Crassus believes the ambassadors are supposed to leave in a week with samples and guests. Turning out the lights now will either delay them or send them home on their planes during daylight. Security is too tight on them for any attempt to talk to them not to look like a kidnapping or assassination. Crassus wants to get his people on board their planes so has some there ready for whatever.

The Luddites:
The perception of the Luddites by the people of Nemus is disbelief in their motives.

• By those who have come to them, they have performed healings that are faster and incredible. They insist they are not gods or have any special connection to them. Those who walk with them are free to worship whoever they choose provided they do no harm.

• They ask for no money and reject it.

• Most of what the people of Nemus see are the luddites farming. They use a magic that causes crops to grow rapidly.

• They insist the people ask questions and talk to each other. Advocate they should think of their families and bring them to talk with the luddites or return to them. They claim to understand if all they came for was a quick healing of what ails them.

• Most of the people who have stayed outside the city with them are the poor/homeless, orphaned children, survivors who have lost basically all their family.

Modest speeches are given about what is happening with the city lights going out and not to fear. They will provide shelter and protection throughout the night. Things will be safer when the sun comes up. Their Mystic Knight will venture into the city to rescue children. The luddites say something evil will plague the city and that getting out of it is the safest thing to do.

Their agenda:
• Protect the people they have with them.

• Rescue the children of the city.

• Teleport (circle of travel) back and forth to ley line and those who wish to leave Nemus to someplace safer for them (New Arcadia)

The USB (Unidentified Supernatural Being)
• Loses electrical power to video surveillance (blind and deaf). Can still communicate through keyboards in the main complex.

• Still has machines and people possessed

• Feels something it has not felt often or deeply. FEAR.

• The Skell-bots overtake and "dispatch" the CS squad sent to contact the troops at the ley line.

NGR ambassadors

• Fearful that an attack or disaster has occurred. The lights are not supposed to go out and IF they do, in Germany, it is an attack. Their security detail decides to move them to the airport.

• The D-Bees (least useful to the NGR but picked for beauty to make sending more look appealing) NGR brought to Nemus are panic stricken and run in the confusion and darkness (electronic locks and security systems are failing.

• Kingdom of Ishpeming, decides to be a moving target and rolls out with its security armed with Norther Gun power armor.

• Free Quebec, takes the scenic route to the airport with their security (includes 2 glitter boys and 10 Manhunters).

In the chaos, the hit team launches an attack against the city leadership. They know the building but not all of the political players are where to find them.

• 4 people are killed. Interrogation reveals no one knows the woman who gave the internet speech. She is believed to be an invention. Either someone made up a new identity and is representing themselves online or the whole thing was digitally animated. The CS is chasing a ghost or an imposter.

The people of the city cocoon up and prepare to defend themselves.

A Vampire Mind slave summons their master believing a city without electrical power at night and an absence of the coalition is an opportunity.

The night is young.

[darthauthor]

Later that same night

The CS hitman (in disguise) maimed and wounded the Defender (Bionmancer).
He was killed in the act

The Grey Seer and Laser Mage saw it coming and escaped harm.

Their friend is in critical condition and they must do everything they can to keep him alive until dawn.

The people of the city are shocked that one of their own humans would attempt to kill a man who only used his powers to heal others and grow food.

Commander Crassus contemplates the circumstances.
The more chaos the city is in the more they will need the CS to lead them.

This "new" government is a fraud put together with computer graphics. Technological trickery and magical possession undermined his men. He needs to take back power. He needs to do it in such a way that the people will have a narrative that the CS expose the frauds for what they are. He needs evidence; real or fake. His Digital Dead Boys could make something up but he will have to control the media and destroy any evidence that exposes any weaknesses of his story.

IF he can't control the internet he must destroy it. Take the network!

Crassus assesses the fortress. Surrounded by bots, humans (he believes possessed or fooled) and Skell-bots. A head on attack is the least likely to succeed tactically.
"We need a new plan."

The police would be overwhelmed if the phones still worked. With only their short-range radios over 90% of them are out patrolling. The streets and check on people. Strange humanoid dart the streets knocking on doors jabbering a language that sounds like a strange smattering of European words with a German accent. The police take them into custody. They have internet service to attempt the use of translation software.
That's when the vampires attack.

The NGR arrive at the airport.
NGR arrives at the airport. Order of the night, make the plane ready to fly. We can wait it out in the sky. If things are sane in the morning maybe we land. We shall see how things look when the light of day is upon the city.

Free Quebec:
Sees someone being attacked on the street and casts their spot lights on the scene. The glowing eyes of a vampire fangs dripping with blood hiss back.
That's when they open fire.

Ishpeming:
Stops to pick up some D-Bees in distress. Fortunately, one of the diplomats speaks German and is familiar with D-Bees. They are warned of vampires and demons are in the city.

[darthauthor]

The night between Day 84 and 85

Holding the vampires at bay with crosses and armed with wooden stakes, law enforcement is prepared.
They survive. They escape with their victims' blood.

The NGR circles the air above the city in their jet when the CS stowaways reveal themselves. Security moves quickly but cannot fire inside the plane. The risks are too great when it comes to damaging the aircraft or someone onboard. Their panic and initiative take over and start hand to hand combat with the unidentified CS people on board. Security is not listening to anything before they subdue the intruders.
Things get out of hand.
After 80% of the Germans are killed the rest surrender except for the lead ambassador who takes refuge in the pilot's compartment with the pilots, thanks to security. Radio to the city provides no response. The pilots don't respond to the commands of the undercover CS and dismiss what they have said as lies. The ambassador thinks they are at best stowaways and at worst they are being skyjacked where he will be held hostage for ransom, murdered or interrogated for information.
They are honestly at a loss about what to do. The first idea is to land back in the city but the runway lights are out. Also, there might be more "trouble" down if they land at the airport.
They quickly decide to find another runway far from this city and its problems.

They don't get vampires in Free Quebec. It's the weather. But that doesn't mean they have not heard of them and read CS intelligence reports. Although, they have no psychics in their party.
The energy weapon attacks come fast but do no damage to the vampires. The D-Bees are dead. The buildings behind them are shaken.
The headhunter cyborgs are immune to any mind control of the vampires but not their mega damage fangs.
Blows are exchanged with haste rather than thought. They do no damage to the vampires.
Note: "Headhunters" are men and women who have undergone partial bionic reconstruction and have made a life as a mercenary or special operative. Their duty, guard and escort.
While their Glitter Boy is more of a poster child to look impressive and represent Free Quebec.
He is NOT an experienced pilot. Never having seen a vampire before he panics. He increases his attacks, grabs holds and runs away with one of them.
The vampire, with his supernatural strength, breaks free and repeatedly fang attacks the Glitter Boy. Impatient and fearful, the Glitter Boy jumps aside and brings to bear his boom gun, throwing him to the ground and knocking him back 30 feet (9 m). The blast hurls the vampire but temporarily deafens everyone in the area for a couple of minutes. The sonic boom also affect the physical surroundings by
shaking buildings and shattering S.D.C. windows within a 300 foot diameter (91 m).
The headhunters are shaken but draw their silver coated survival knives while they fight.
The fight does not go well for the Manhunters. Ultimately the Glitter Boys take off with the ambassador.

When defeat looks likely the manhunters flee in different directions.

Ishpeming:
Now that Ishpeming knows that they are dealing with vampires. They take refuge in a temple

The medical / security systems keeping the small collection of zombies alive and contained breaks down with the power out and shockwave that passess across the city triggering the circuit breakers on the battery power supply.

One look at the Mystic Knight in his wooden armor is enough to make the see in the dark vampires fly away before he can get near them. He heads for the children's hospital.

[darthauthor]

Day 85

With the first rays of sunlight the Laser Mage cast the spell Photosynthesis.

The Defender (biomancer) is stabilized and saved.

The Nomad returned with a busload of kids from the hospital and any others he found along the way.
Those with spells and psychic abilities do what they can.

The power is still out in the city. The mood has lifted with the rising of the sun. People can see during the day and are motivated to go out to see what is what and get their food ration. Joining with others neighbors knock on doors asking if each other are alright.

Going outside in groups the men walk the streets to the food distribution hubs. They kick themselves thinking that somehow even with the power out the food processing plants would keep growing algae and such. The city basically had not stockpiled reserves of food (no time and production had not picked up). Although the vehicles still have what remains of their charge still in them (electric vehicles) the food production facilities did not have backup generators.

Unfortunately, with so many people herded together at the usual place they lined up for food they came the food for the roaming escaped zombies.
People are running and trying to get off the street. And it worked; for some. For others, it meant they were locked in a building with an infected. Without phone or internet service no one could warn everyone.

City vehicles drive around the neighborhoods broadcasting that there was an incident in the city last night. The NGR's plane has left and it was assumed they took it to leave as they are nowhere to be found. The representatives of Free Quebec have gone missing but their plane is still here.
D-Bees are on the loose and roaming the streets. They are afraid. Last night's power outage startled them and they don't understand our world or our language. They will be of humanoid shape although their customs and the way they move may be different. Do not be afraid if they look and act differently. Do not attack them. They are most likely hungry and scared. IF they approach you do not act like you are going to hurt them. Reports suggest they are not violent unless they are defending themselves. Some have been killed by the city's law enforcement. Teams are working non-stop to restore the power. Hospitals are taking patients but please do not go unless you are seriously injured and cannot wait. Traffic lights and Ai driving systems do not work.

[darthauthor]

Day 86

In daylight, the representatives from the Kingdom of Ishpeming contact the city's law enforcement and city officials. They inform them of the vampire problem. Also, they rescued panic stricken D-Bees who were running around the streets looking for a place to hide.
They move into a sales pitch mode and propose two offers:
That Nemus becomes a "commonwealth" of the Kingdom of Ishpeming.

IF they accept the offer provisionally then they will rig some of their tech to recharge so of the city's (critical need: Fire fighter, law enforcement, medical, etc.
The only downside is without phones and internet no one will know about it or have made any consideration for the offer. It could be career ending for the city manager who agreed to it and not necessarily legally enforceable under the city's laws but could be argued that Nemus owes the Kingdom of Ishpeming.
Options seem few as no one has seen or heard from NGR or Free Quebec.

Law enforcement is on the streets looking for missing children from the hospital.

Without the internet and surveillance cameras they can't see who took them or where they might be in the city at present. The phones are still down so no one can call it in. Information has slowed to the speed of word of mouth and 99% of people are afraid to go out.
Gossip is that a robot took the kids. Others say it was vampires. Still others say it was Free Quebec or Northern Gun or NGR.
People's feelings are feeling abandoned by their new city's leadership and the coalition states.

Those brave or desperate few who venture outside the city find nature's bounty of crops to greet them and gorge themselves.
What follows are stories from the Luddites about a new life that awaits those who are willing to start over without tech.
With natural magic and psionics, the people can live in peace and health with only what they need for material possessions.
The children are paraded a bit before saying they have to get in contact with the parents of the children to let them know they are alive and well. That they only took them out of the city, the hospital, for their own protection and medical treatment.

The zombie virus spreads. People are surprised, at first. The common belief was that the zombie victims had all been cured or killed and incinerated.
With fresh bite wounds people begin to flood the medical facilities of the city.
After the first time, plans were made in the event of another virus outbreak spread by zombies. No one considered that it would happen without electrical power and communications.
No one knows when the power will come back on and phones will start working again.
For many it doesn't matter. People are infected and many are becoming fully zombies faster than expected. Without their daily dose of the happy pill people are no longer immune but are more vulnerable. Doctors think that it accounts for the faster transformation of the infected.
Psychic Purification still works but it is about numbers again. They don't have the ISP to treat them all and the batteries are dead to take a hovercraft to the ley line. Plus no one can mass message people about the problem . . .

The zombies run the streets where no one's electronic lock will work to keep them out and no one knows about them.

[darthauthor]

Day 87

It has been two days since the power went out and it's not just the zombies who are hungry.

As word of mouth spreads about the zombies returning, so are zombie bites.

The only recourse people feel like they have are to leave the safety of the city for the dangers of the wilderness or stay locked down, at least until the power comes back on. Which, according to best estimates, is tomorrow.

Some people wait in food lines hoping beyond hope that there will be a miracle. Most of them are attacked by zombies. When law enforcement shows up and their guns fire and blood flies.

Hospitals confirm that improper sanitation and disposal can transfer the infection. It is possible that even large insects and animals could carry the blood or body parts that lead to transfer of the infection to those they touch. The CS flamethrower use burned the problem before and that's how they dealt with it. Lack of electrical power has exhausted the batteries on vehicles. People are still without electronic communication.

Law enforcement basically form militias and begin operation clean sweep. Combing the streets in a systematic search and destroy mission for zombies. Their biggest problem is how to dispose of the corpses. They have no fuel to burn them or vehicles to ship them to an incinerator.

While small groups form to roam the streets with golf clubs and baseball bats hoping to curb the zombie problem by beating them down where they find them. Breaking their arms and legs. Unfortunately this has led to many of the gangs getting blood on themselves and soon they turn into the infected and spread it to others.
Out of bullets, Law Enforcement has to turn to nightsticks and riot armor as they clash with these groups.

[darthauthor]

Day 88

Last night was bad.

The lack of internet and phones means the death and infection stats are not known.

Vampire attacks continued, in the city. They either didn't notice the luddites outside the city or they were intimidated by the mystic knight and his wooden armor and weapons. The vampires want easy prey.

Law enforcement has moved their families to the station or safe houses.

The zombies are everywhere. Those that make it outside the city are put down by the luddite (Nomad, the Mystic Knight)

The few hungry enough make it out to find the crops are still growing.
Families have been reunited with their children who were once sick or injured.
They explain that they have no mass way of curing the zombies or even killing them.
But debate about bringing food into the city.

Anyone who wants to take food to their friends and family can

Someone has the idea to send the Buster into the city to burn the corpses. There are no vehicles with power to transport them to the incinerator. Anyone who carries them runs the risk of getting infected or attacked by zombies.

Free Quebec flew out in daylight.

During the day law enforcement is continuing its zombie purge during the day. The problem is the zombies keep running away or infecting the one or more members of the purge teams.

Everyone feels the city can only exist if their is food and security and will bow down and kiss the boot of anyone who can provide that consistently.

The Luddites claim they can provide both but not in Nemus. They advocate leaving the city.

Some eat food from their gardens or the dome project that have been worked on to grow food.

The water is still on so no one is going thirsty.

Kingdom of Ishpeming stays and helps where it can putting down zombies.

[darthauthor]

Day 89

Kingdom of Ishpeming jury rigs some electrical power distribution with its Northern Gun hardware.

This saves many lives with the hospital and law enforcement. Some vehicles are able to charge. Radios too.

Ammos gone. Ishpeming didn't bring an E-clip charger.

What's left to fight with are melee weapons and the few bows/crossbows anyone has.
Wooden stakes are plentiful.

It is witnessed that vampires find the type of zombies in the city to be distasteful. One would imagine the vampires are sipping sour milk or worse. Like the blood of a Juicer.
It is clear however that the vampires don't like the zombies. They are poisoning the well.

Note: Vampire Mind slaves, the zombie problem, lack of communication ability, the need to find or 3D printer parts, and some interference from undercover CS has thrown the repair work on the city's power supply off.

It seems the undercover CS (in part or full) want things in the city to get worse and wait for the coalition to return (either from the ley line or CS territories via aircraft). The political / psychological perspective is that IF the city solves its own problems the CS will look unnecessary. The greater the disaster the greater the CS look like heroes and saviors. Equally important, the supercomputer and internet are down. The CS believe this makes the supernatural being vulnerable if not in a coma or dead. So the CS have avoided the vampire and zombie problem.

While the CS sees the NGR as no competition. Free Quebec blew town. That only leaves the Kingdom of Ishpeming. Crassus does not like them outshining the CS and him. He knows he is in trouble for losing control but believes it is nothing he can't recover from if he can regain control and spin it. Failing that, this is "it" for him. He loses Nemus, he loses it all. Unhinged with the chaos and the way things are falling apart, the loss of his CS people, position, and how he will be remembered he is leaning toward becoming Diabolical and just wants to see what he's lost burn up. That way everyone else loses it and no one can have it.

Vampires realizing they can't feed off of "these" zombies and the spread of their infection as being danger to "their" blood supply "persuade" law enforcement to stay out of their way. If they do, they will manage the zombie problem.

Master vampire:
"After all, I am superior to BOTH humans and zombies in every way. See in the dark. Can't be harmed or infected by the zombies. Can outrun them on the city streets and soar about it all and across the city in a moment. And can tear them apart with my bare hands. In exchange for my 'protection' you will provide me and my followers with a blood tax and give us free reign over the city at night.

[darthauthor]

Day 90

The night before a vampire painted the town red with the blood of zombies. It would seem the zombies can’t eat vampire flesh. While he can smash their skulls. However, none of a vampires mind control work on zombies. Zombies lose interest in the vampires and can seem to tell by smell or sound or whatever that they aren’t good to eat. Now vampires have to hunt them. Without the element of fear from their zombie victims it is quite boring for the vampires and tests their patience.

During the day the representatives from the Kingdom of Ishpeming go to the power plant to help. They are locked out by unknown forces who threaten to demolish the power plant if they try to take it by force. 

Instead, reps from the Kingdom of Ishpeming use their tech to power the food processing plant. What food they can crank out is taken to the hospital and law enforcement.
Law enforcement helps shepard out people who want to leave the city in search of food and discover the luddites farming the fields with magic and an impossible rate of growth. 

Law enforcement arranges when and how they can make veggie deliveries from the luddite crops to secure buildings with word of mouth that vampires are willing to protect them by night in exchange for blood and the freedom to do what they want during the night.

The Lords of the Night crave the interaction from the company of attractive humans. They quarantine part of the city using vehicles as barriers.Also, the vampires discover something no one either noticed or mentioned or stuck when it came to studying these zombies. The stench of the dead zombies, their bloods, and dead bodies appears to act like a repellant of sorts. Paint a wall with dead zombie blood and leave enough of their body parts where you don’t want them to cross and the smell and such deters them.
The normal humain medical and scientific community kept thinking of the zombies and infected as patients to be treated, cured and if necessary with extreme undesirability, mercifully put to death. The remains to be incinerated.
Even the most sinister think to keep the zombies alive and feed them to harvest material for health and performance drugs (sort of Juicer juice).
No one really looked into the stench of dead zombies as a repellent. 

Also, one of the vampires was a rogue scientist and with the help of a vampire mage or mystic of sorts and is interested in experimenting (torturing) the zombies. Desiring to stretch out the “session” of experimentation they used the “Sustain” spell on a zombie. They found the magic worked in terms of empowering the zombie to stay alive and active. But did nothing to make them feel fear or pain. Instead it made them a lot less motivated to hunt.

The vampire assumed these infected beings are not driven by boredom or desire but genuine physical hunger. Take their hunger away and they lose all motivation except to defend themselves if attacked. 

Soon the buildings of quarantine zones have zombies leashed to the walls with a sign above them, “Do Not Feed the Zombies!”. 

Having no fun torturing zombies, the insightful vampire tells humans they come across that they will do everything in their power to “cure” the surviving zombies.

Even though the people of the city may believe vampires are monsters, the vampires spin it as we are “your” monsters. And we are really good looking; like fashion models. 

They do what they can to herd them into the stadium and lock them inside. The thinking of the vampires is that cured their blood can be drunk. Also, people are less likely to turn on them if they believe that vampires are part of the solution. Plus, the “experimenter” can resume torturing them once they are human. For now, the only pleasure they can get is finding friends and family of the zombies, having them identify them as dead or alive. And if alive, listening to their begging and pleas to save them while they watch their loved one try to break free of their restraints and try to eat them.

Note 1:
The process of psychic purification still has good chances of success.

Note 2:
Even though the zombies can leave the city and come back in again they lack motivation. The city has the easiest supply of human food. There are animals in the wilderness but they run faster and there are fewer of them. IF the zombies came across a D-Bee or human “this” zombie virus would not cross over to them. It would just be a cannibal attack.

Note 3:
These vampires have a blood priest with them and have an entourage of human followers. Also, they have recruited a Blood Shaman from Wormwood. They are useful in cutting people to extract their PPE and blood without kiling them.
On Rifts Earth, their skin is Mega Damage

Note 4:
The exact number of vampires in the city is unknown.
Their faithful followers and even just impersonators dress and behave as them. Some believe out of superstition that they will be protected if they disguise themselves as a vampire. Like the zombies will see them as such. Others that a real vampire will protect them.
Since the vampire blood sucking resumed the math estimate is that the number of vampire who came to the city has doubled.
It is clear that all vampires basically have a positive prejudice toward good looking humans. As a consequence. People are either trying to look ugly or attractive.
Some out of delusion and watching too many old movies think it is better to be a vampire than a zombie and if your going to die anyway . . .
Some think that they can protect their family if they convert.
Some are just enamored with the idea of becoming a vampire. Believe old movie rules that as long as they don't kill someone they can turn back into a living human or just drink the blood of animals.
Note 5:
The Dog Boys and Psi-Stalkers are gone. They have no easy way of detecting and tracking vampires as supernatural beings. Although there are others in the city who are psychic sensitive their range limitations make it difficult so identify a vampire unless they are both using their psionics and staring at them at the same time.

From a GM player position a group of heroes need power or sneak their way through the streets to the power plant and infiltrate it take out the offenders and fix it then kill all the vampires. Then shuttle the zombies securely to the ley line and purify them. Once there they could even inform the CS troops.

[darthauthor]

Day 90

The night before a vampire painted the town red with the blood of zombies. It would seem the zombies can’t eat vampire flesh. While he can smash their skulls. However, none of the vampires mind control work on zombies. Zombies lose interest in the vampires and can seem to tell by smell or sound or whatever that they aren’t good to eat. Now vampires have to hunt them. Without the element of fear from their zombie victims it is quite boring for the vampires and tests their patience.

During the day the representatives from the Kingdom of Ishpeming go to the power plant to help. They are locked out by unknown forces who threaten to demolish the power plant if they try to take it by force.

Instead, reps from the Kingdom of Ishpeming use their tech to power the food processing plant. What food they can crank out is taken to the hospital and law enforcement.
Law enforcement helps shepard out people who want to leave the city in search of food and discover the luddites farming the fields with magic and an impossible rate of growth.

Law enforcement arranges when and how they can make veggie deliveries from the luddite crops to secure buildings with word of mouth that vampires are willing to protect them by night in exchange for blood and the freedom to do what they want during the night.

The Lords of the Night crave the interaction from the company of attractive humans. They quarantine part of the city using vehicles as barriers. Also, the vampires discover something no one either noticed or mentioned or stuck when it came to studying these zombies. The stench of the dead zombies, their bloods, and dead bodies appears to act like a repellant of sorts. Paint a wall with dead zombie blood and leave enough of their body parts where you don’t want them to cross and the smell and such deters them.
The normal humain medical and scientific community kept thinking of the zombies and infected as patients to be treated, cured and if necessary with extreme undesirability, mercifully put to death. The remains to be incinerated.
Even the most sinister think to keep the zombies alive and feed them to harvest material for health and performance drugs (sort of Juicer juice).
No one really looked into the stench of dead zombies as a repellent.

Also, one of the vampires was a rogue scientist and with the help of a vampire mage or mystic of sorts and is interested in experimenting (torturing) the zombies. Desiring to stretch out the “session” of experimentation they used the “Sustain” spell on a zombie. They found the magic worked in terms of empowering the zombie to stay alive and active. But did nothing to make them feel fear or pain. Instead it made them a lot less motivated to hunt.

The vampire assumed these infected beings are not driven by boredom or desire but genuine physical hunger. Take their hunger away and they lose all motivation except to defend themselves if attacked.

Soon the buildings of quarantine zones have zombies leashed to the walls with a sign above them, “Do Not Feed the Zombies!”

Having no fun torturing zombies, the insightful vampire tells humans they come across that they will do everything in their power to “cure” the surviving zombies.

Even though the people of the city may believe vampires are monsters, the vampires spin it as we are “your” monsters. And we are really good looking; like fashion models.

They do what they can to herd them into the stadium and lock them inside. The thinking of the vampires is that cured their blood can be drunk. Also, people are less likely to turn on them if they believe that vampires are part of the solution. Plus, the “experimenter” can resume torturing them once they are human. For now, the only pleasure they can get is finding friends and family of the zombies, having them identify them as dead or alive. And if alive, listening to their begging and pleas to save them while they watch their loved one try to break free of their restraints and try to eat them.

Note 1:
The process of psychic purification still has good chances of success.

Note 2:
Even though the zombies can leave the city and come back in again they lack motivation. The city has the easiest supply of human food. There are animals in the wilderness but they run faster and there are fewer of them. IF the zombies came across a D-Bee or human “this” zombie virus would not cross over to them. It would just be a cannibal attack.

Note 3:
These vampires have a blood priest with them and have an entourage of human followers. Also, they have recruited a Blood Shaman from Wormwood. They are useful in cutting people to extract their P.P.E. and blood without killing them.
On Rifts Earth, their skin is Mega Damage

Note 4:
The exact number of vampires in the city is unknown.
Their faithful followers and even just impersonators dress and behave as them. Some believe out of superstition that they will be protected if they disguise themselves as a vampire. Like the zombies will see them as such. Others that a real vampire will protect them.
Since the vampire blood sucking resumed the math estimate is that the number of vampires who came to the city has doubled.
It is clear that all vampires basically have a positive prejudice toward good looking humans. As a consequence, people are either trying to look ugly or attractive.
Some out of delusion and watching too many old movies think it is better to be a vampire than a zombie and if you're going to die anyway . . .
Some think that they can protect their family if they convert.
Some are just enamored with the idea of becoming a vampire. Believe old movie rules that as long as they don't kill someone they can turn back into a living human or just drink the blood of animals.

Note 5:
The Dog Boys and Psi-Stalkers are gone. They have no easy way of detecting and tracking vampires as supernatural beings. Although there are others in the city who are psychic sensitive their range limitations make it difficult to identify a vampire unless they are both using their psionics and staring at them at the same time.

From a GM player position a group of heroes need power or sneak their way through the streets to the power plant and infiltrate it, take out the offenders and fix it then kill all the vampires. Then shuttle the zombies securely to the ley line and purify them. Once there they could even inform the CS troops.