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EXSILIUM ( 1,133px × 1,400px )	WORLD ( 1,357px × 628px )

EXSILIUM

THE ISLAND The island of Exsilium is the ruined remnants of what was once Britain. The island had grown much more densely populated over the centuries, only for much of the infrastructure to be destroyed by bombs, fire, and chemical warfare. The population that survived eventually abandoned the island due to its now inhabitable nature—driven away by nuclear radiation, toxic fumes, disease, and the mere prospect of living on dead land. For several centuries, the island remained uninhabited. Once the United Earth solidified their power, they used the shores of the island as a dump site for debris.

THE CITY The city in Exsilium is in two different parts, and all of its citizens live within the city borders. There is the major component, where the Initiative Hold is the center of the city and the housing building exists, and there is a secondary cluster of the city roughly 50 miles north. The smaller, secondary section of the city is less populated and can only be reached using one major road between them. There are few citizens there, and very small amounts of businesses, but it is mostly uninhabited or too damaged to be used as a city at this time. There are roughly 500,000 inhabitants of Exsilium that live in its city, including the members of the Initiative but not counting the Transports who are brought into its midst. Everything that you could find in a standard city is available in Exsilium, however, the city itself is a glorified ghetto. All architecture in the city is stark and utilitarian—thrown together quickly by those who slowly came to power; its only purpose is to serve its purpose, and without unnecessary bells or whistles. All of its citizens live in a state of impoverished personal chaos, many without jobs or food. However, jobs and businesses have become available in recent centuries as the citizens came together to form a functioning community. Those citizens that would become the Initiative are those who lead the remaining exiles into a state of semi-organized function, though still without an acting government. There are now restaurants, shops, and services within the city that are operated by the existing citizens. One can go shopping for bare necessities, and even find trinkets and other knick-knacks. Goods that are sold are all made by the person who sells them (clothes, food, jewelry, make-up, bags, etc), save for the few things that are collected as antiques and sold as novelty items—anything from our own time would be considered an antique novelty, and some can be found in the shops (iPods, Livestrong bracelets, copies of 50 Shades of Grey, & the complete HD-DVD collection of Star Trek: The Next Generation).

THE OUTLANDS When one ventures outside of the portions of the city that have been cleaned up by the exiles, they will find these ruins extending for miles and miles. An ominous haze hangs in the air, and the land itself is barren and devoid of recognizable life. Small wells, springs, and forested areas do exist, but they are few and far between; almost all water has been polluted from years of war and famine, though secluded bodies have not been affected. Far beyond the urban ruins, there remain rural areas. There is still very little growing in these regions, but if you reach isolated enough parts of the countryside, there are small, secluded areas which seem relatively untouched by all of the destruction. Some plants and animals may remain, though they've mutated beyond recognition, and it would generally be centered around a clean source of water. The cleanest of these areas are well hidden, and very difficult to locate without magic or days of travel. If one were to journey out into the Outlands and run into the animals there, they would find themselves face-to-face with creatures similar and yet eerily changed from what they're used to. For example, deer in strange and unusual colors, with far more antlers than they should have. There will be reptiles and several birds; larger than one would initially expect. Most notably, there are giant ravens roughly 3.5' in height that populate the heavily forested areas of the Outlands. They are capable of mimicking human speech exactly, and can sometimes be heard reciting the sounds of the last dying exile whose words reached them; effectively discouraging night-time forest travel.

LIFE IN EXSILIUM There is no government in Exsilium, and what exists is a community of exiles working together out of necessity. The individuals within the Initiative organization are the go-to leaders of life in Exsilium and were established as such using their own hard work and leadership skills, but they do not form a government. Because there is no established form of government in Exsilium, there are no taxes and there is no law enforcement. Crime and vigilantism exist in Exsilium but are not as widespread among the citizen population, given that the inherent need for survival hinges on their ability to work together as a community. There are virtually no public services available for anyone due to the state of anarchy (by the definition: a society without a publicly enforced government), other than a small public transportation bus system that functions with stockpiled supplies. The Initiative members help to create buildings and establish supplies of food, as well as work to smuggle in what technology and luxuries they can from their spies within the United Earth's walls for the benefit of the community as a whole. Exsilium is in the process of coming down from a longstanding state of nuclear winter; the city is always at 60°F (15°C) or below, and it is always raining; the sky is always dark with clouds and trapped pollution. On some days the rain is much lighter than others and casts a mist, while on others it is heavy enough to drown the streets. Outside of the city and in the Outlands, however, weather patterns change with the seasons—though only two seasons remain; a state of intensely cold winter, with blizzards and snow—and a state of blistering heat, with unbearable waves of high temperatures. There is no television or radio available in Exsilium unless it is broadcast by the citizens in the city. Very rarely, one can tune in to radio stations and television channels that are broadcast from the United Earth. Those would be intense, pro-government propaganda; even the music itself is heavily laden with subliminal messaging and strictly censored for appropriate content by the Government. Television programs that are leaked from the United Earth are much the same in their propaganda nature and come in fuzzy, if at all. Books, however, are available in the Initiative Library; there are collected works both from the United Earth and from the annals of history in both Exsilium and from our own world. Even books from Transports' worlds will appear in the Initiative Library, and it is perhaps the most comprehensive way to find information in Exsilium. The internet in Exsilium does not exist, and access to the internet as we know it is not available. The network operates as an intranet between the Initiative and the Transports only; citizens do not have access to the network, and do not know about it. It is broadcast and can be picked up by only netbooks and other, Initiative-approved hardware. Few existing internet pages from our own current internet are still available on the network in a cached form. Transports could access the old New York Times website, for example, and read the old articles there—or they could stumble upon the Hamster dance. However, the internet would not function in its current form in Exsilium, and only websites that existed prior to the year 2000 would be accessible. The Initiative are the orchestrators of the currency (marques), and thus the feeble economy within Exsilium, as part of their operations on the island. They are all physical coins and lack a paper component, and are minted within the bank of the Initiative Hold. Transports' allowances of 500 marques per month can be picked up from the bank in the Hold on a monthly basis, or can be electronically transferred to a debit card that they may opt into receiving—though it should be noted that the debit card functions only for services and goods provided by the Initiative, and would be of no use when bartering with citizens at their own businesses and shops.

THE INITIATIVE

INITIATIVE OPERATIONS Run by the descendants of the original Royals who lead the First Resistance, the Initiative operates underground and in secret within the confines of the island of Exsilium, with the Initiative Hold standing as their main base. The citizens within Exsilium are unaware of their progress, their intentions, or their existence. Only the Initiative and the Transports are made aware of their intentions and their plans. Their supplies and their technology have been stolen and adapted from the United Earth; schematics were taken and adapted to meet their needs, and their technology was built by them in the lower, underground levels of the Initiative Hold with their sequestered supplies. The Initiative is pulling unique individuals into Exsilium from other worlds using a technology that they have modified from information obtained from the United Earth, in an effort to unify those people and train them to travel through time—fighting in wars, making minor or major changes to historical events, or even holding diplomatic conversations with former world leaders to attempt to sway them to a necessary side. Their goal is to prepare themselves and their Transports for a secondary uprising against the United Earth, who are too powerful at the present time to be taken down with a standard revolution. In order to weaken the United Earth from the "inside", the Initiative has calculated the exact series of historical events that would need to be changed in an effort to change the direction of their own future and keep the United Earth from becoming as powerful as it is now. As of this post, the Initiative has explained to each and every Transport upon their arrival that their reason for bringing them into their own world is because of the United Earth's encroaching power—the United Earth is draining their own stockpiled resources fast, and they are using the technology that the Initiative had modified (the tech that allows them to retrieve Transports from other worlds) to send the Masked into Transports' home worlds in search of new resources. Because of this, the Initiative has sought out the people from those worlds in an attempt to gain their assistance in not only helping this world, but stopping the United Earth from entering their own world. The Initiative has no reason to treat their Transports badly, and they do everything in their power to make them comfortable and safe while they are in Exsilium. Food, water, money, and housing are provided by the Initiative while they attempt to share all of their knowledge with each Transport that arrives. The Initiative genuinely cares for the Transports, though they understand that it is difficult to earn their trust—and they do so slowly and to the utmost of their capabilities. They are as transparent as they can be with their information, though there is not a lot that can be shared. Unfortunately, the situation between the Initiative and the United Earth is a tricky one—neither side is inherently good, but each believes themselves to be; it is the Initiative that is more human, and Exsilium that is more free. There is a small set of cells in the lower levels of the Initiative Hold that is used for Transports only temporarily when they become unruly, or otherwise are difficult to handle. It can be treated as a prison of sorts, but it is in better shape than a standard prison—more like a form of organized solitary confinement where you're to sit and think about what you've done. The Initiative operates with the intention of garnering their Transports' trust, and it is their expected and ongoing personal battle.

TRAINING Optional training is provided to Transports by members of the Initiative on a daily basis, from 6:00am until 9:00pm all seven days of the week. Training facilities are available within the Hold, where Transports can utilize any of the weapons available in the armory, or even just focus their own skills and hone them with a trained Initiative leader. There are mandatory training hours twice a week, on Tuesdays and Thursdays, where Transports are required to spend an hour's time practicing with their sentient weapon and becoming more accustomed to its relationship with them. All other training schedules are optional.

HOUSING BUILDING There is a massive apartment building provided for the Transports by the Initiative, though the Transports are not required to live there and may choose to live elsewhere if they find a suitable place. It is located one city block from the Initiative Hold, making it easy for Transports to walk the distance between the two. The building itself is whitewashed and somewhat grey with wear, with utilitarian architecture reminiscent of Soviet architecture on the outside; blocked and symmetrical and without additional flair. Each apartment is three bedrooms and roughly 3000 square feet. Each Transport is placed with two others and each one gets their own bedroom, though they share a living room, kitchen, and bathroom in their apartments. The apartment interior is made up of bright whites and sleek blacks—rounded and made more in a style reflecting that of the United Earth's, or of the futuristic world in which they inhabit. The inside furnishings of the apartments in Exsilium are arguably the nicest and cleanest thing to be seen in the city, as the Initiative intended to entice and comfort their Transports with the most comfortable living environment possible.

THE UNITED EARTH

THE MASKED The Masked are the government's militarized police force. They do not police the inside of Exsilium, but they police its borders if you attempt to leave. They are humans, but they wear skintight suits that are enhanced to give them incredible strength, stamina and speed. They wear large helmets over their heads, visors covering their eyes, that increase their ability to detect movement and their ability to sight subjects.

THE GOVERNMENT The United Earth has been the sole political power for centuries. The government is a totalitarian regime, headed by a long line of supreme dictators. Their stranglehold on their citizens has only grown more oppressive since the Initiative's original resistance. Little is known about the current dictator, other than the carefully crafted propaganda that is fed to the populace. The government is expansive enough that it directly oversees every industry within the United Earth, and citizens expect to be constantly monitored. Government propaganda pervades every facet of life within the United Earth, from posters to the media to the education system. The majority of the citizens of the United Earth are easily persuaded by this propaganda, because it's all that they have ever known in their life. The government has carefully assured that the concept of living a better, happier existence is not one that the people of the UE are exposed to.

VANDROVA Vandrova is the capital city of the United Earth. In a stark contrast to most of the world, Vandrova appears on the surface to be everything one would expect from a futuristic utopia, with shining buildings, technology that can do everything from preparing gourmet meals for you in an instant to turning your apartment into a flawless VR simulation of a tropical vacation, and beautiful, wealthy residents. However, it does not take long to realize that this city is not the utopia that it initially appears. All of the residents are the subject of genetic engineering for perfection, and any people who somehow present a physical flaw are banished from the city. While United Earth residents can enjoy at least a semblance of privacy, those who live within the city are monitored at all times. The smallest act against the status quo will earn severe punishment, ranging from imprisonment to banishment to death, depending on the crime -- even for something as questioning what lies outside of the city's borders. Vandrova is home to the highest government officials, along with anyone else who would qualify as the United Earth's "elite" class: ultra-famous actors, musicians, and other celebrities, along with extremely successful businessmen and the heirs to their fortunes. Many of the United Earth's most gifted scientists and scholars also live here, largely so that the government can use their intellect to their advantage while at the same time keeping tight control over their work and a close eye on their activities.

TERRITORIES The United Earth's territories encompass the entirety of the world which remains inhabitable. Some areas which were once unable to support life have been reclaimed through the use of advanced technology to clean up the region. Some population centers exist within biodomes, as that is the only way to keep the population and infrastructure safe from the environment that surrounds them. Generally speaking, those who endure the worst living conditions in their region will be able to enjoy the most freedom from the oppressive government. Rural areas can endure relative peace so long as they do not draw attention to themselves. Most of the cities are immensely overcrowded and polluted, the few exceptions being Vandrova and the United Earth's regional seats of power -- Cascadia City in North America, Cairo in North Africa, and Ulaia in East Asia. The weather throughout the United Earth varies drastically by region, most areas having to endure extreme climate conditions. Though technology makes travel throughout the United Earth quite easy, the government keeps a tight control of the movement of their citizens, so it is very difficult for individuals to gain permission to travel from one city to another. There is a great abundance of media available to citizens to entertain themselves when they are not working, but it is all carefully crafted and censored by the government. Books are hard to come by, and the UE focuses only on educating the populace to the degree that will make them efficient at their jobs. It is only within Vandrova, Cascadia City, Cairo, and Ulaia that there is a wide amount of information on subjects such as science and technology. However, even the residents of these cities will not be able to access much information on subjects like politics and history.

WASTELANDS The Wastelands are technically within the United Earth's control, though the government has no presence in these regions beyond the occasional surveying patrol. These areas are considered uninhabitable, though that is not entirely true -- there are very small populations in remote locations. The majority of the major population centers on the east coast of North America, Western Europe, and East Asia have long since been reduced to radiation and rubble, if they have not been erased from the map entirely. The wastelands of North America are mostly desert, barren of any life at all, with temperatures in some areas reaching over 200 degrees Fahrenheit on a regular basis. The most notable exception is a large region spanning the coast of the Gulf of Mexico, which is a toxic swampland. South America was overtaken by flooding more than any other cause. The Andes mountains remain relatively unchanged, and it is rumored that small towns exist scattered throughout the region. The terrain makes it difficult to survey, and it is remote enough that the United Earth has not placed this area on high priority. Western Europe and Eastern Asia are highly irradiated, and consist primarily of ruins in a similar manner to the island of Exsilium. The United Earth patrols these area heavily, though their efforts to make them habitable again have thus-far been unsuccessful. Climate change has been quite harsh on Africa, and the Sahara Desert has expanded southward to overtake much of the continent. Australia is largely unchanged beyond the effects of rising sea levels, though it is generally avoided because the animals that already resided there have mutated to even more deadly degrees.

THE HISTORY

THE FIRST RESISTANCE & DISPLACEMENT TO EXSILIUM The first resistance occurred in 3012, after the United Earth had risen to power as the final standing world power—the only remaining world governance. Lead by the descendants of several inter-married Royal Families and a large movement of citizens of the United Earth, the people revolted against the increasingly distrustful government and failed. Beaten back by their severely militarized police force and newly established technology, the attempt at revolt only solidified the government's distrust and led the United Earth to the final action of exiling all their dissenters to the island of Exsilium. Roughly 1 million people revolted against the United Earth and were sent to live in exile on the prison island of Exsilium. Over time, their numbers dwindled down to the mere 500,000 that we see today—from starvation, lack of housing, and no governmental influence, the population reigned itself in from its larger numbers in anarchic chaos until only few survived. Those few would eventually form the community that exists now in Exsilium with the help of the Initiative, whose efforts to create a sense of togetherness and a functioning infrastructure are what keeps Exsilium on its legs today.

TECHNOLOGICAL ADVANCEMENTS The United Earth stranded the residents of Exsilium with no technology to speak of, so everything available to them has either been recreated from their own knowledge, or smuggled in from the United Earth. The time travel technology in particular was created using stolen schematics, which the scientists of Exsilium were able to perfect where the United Earth had thusfar failed. The time travel aspect of their technology is much more refined than the aspect of the technology which is used to draw the transports in from other worlds. When focusing on other worlds, they are not able to specify where they want it to draw people from or what point in time, so the Transports are effectively selected at random. The Initiative scientists have been trying to perfect the technology so they have more control over it, but have not had much success thusfar. They are also working to bring important information and documentation on Transports into Exsilium with them when they arrive, such as medical records, education history, and criminal records, but this aspect of the technology is also spotty and unreliable. Because the technology available in Exsilium is based on what has been able to be rebuilt and what can be stolen from the United Earth, the society will seem incredibly advanced in some areas, while seeming surprisingly archaic in others. The Initiative has put an emphasis on technology that will help both in the survival of the people of Exsilium and in their efforts to overthrow the United Earth. Subsequently, they have ended up with very sophisticated technology in areas such as time travel and medicine, but the majority of the island lacks devices common to people from the 21st century, such as dishwashers and toaster ovens. The United Earth is extremely advanced, though they have not perfected the ability to time travel or to reach into other dimensions like the Initiative has. They have notably ignored the possibilities of space travel, and only care about the environment when it happens to benefit them in some way. The major cities are heavily reliant upon robots to perform menial labor, though they generally avoid giving these robots any form of artificial intelligence beyond what is absolutely needed to perform their assigned tasks.

The world information for Exsilium is ever-expanding, so bear with us as we change and add new information to this page as it becomes available.

( DIRECTORY )