Restoration: A Post Apocalyptic RP [IC]

[Alleniana]

Intro:
January, 2014: Disease breaks out in Dhaka, Bangladesh, infecting a few people
September, 2014: Disease dies down, leaving the planet's population below a billion, and all society on earth imploded
The Great Plague, or the Red Plague, a virus, was transferred from a Brazilian bat to a human in a zoo in Bangladesh. It infected him and his family, and soon spread, both airborne and waterborne, as well as via insects and rodents, around his neighbourhood, and around the city. None of them knew, however, until about a month later, after infecting countless others, they began to rot internally, their organs self destructing. Entrails began to come out of them, their skin dried up and cracked, they stopped sweating, their blood clotted and oozed everywhere, some's eyes even fell out, until finally, mercifully unconscious, they died.

Now, in the year 2024, January, humanity has been rebuilding. The 10th anniversary of the day society began to fall. 10 years. We will be playing people, or a person, in the process of surviving, and probably trying to recover, expand and thrive in the aftermath of this disaster, somewhere in the British Isles. What happens to them is your choice.

Announcements:
IC is up!

Rules:
1. NS rules apply
2. You can have 1 character/s and 1 faction at most, or either
3. Post once every few days, or tell us you won't be
4. No godmod, numberspam
5. Good grammar and spelling
6. A paragraph or two for post length
7. Exercise common sense
8. One page equals three months ICly

OOC: viewtopic.php?f=31&t=267256

[The Nation of Hay]

New Cambridge

Phillip Collins, a member of the Council of Scholars, the leaders of the people of New Cambridge, was sitting in a rolling chair in one of the rooms of The University. Phillip was 53 years old. His shaggy, thinning hair sat salt and pepper atop his head. His suited shoulders were covered with a heavy dusting of dandruff, like a mountain of snow piling up on the winter ground. A thick beard and mustache, of the same white and black coloring, covered his face, and thick-rimmed glasses sat on the bridge of his nose. Phillip was sitting at his desk reading an old Political Science textbook. He couldn't really focus though; his mind kept wandering. Ten years ago the world had ended.

It was January, 2014. Winter storms had brought a white Christmas. He had bought the newest game system for his 12 year old son and a doll for his 6 year old daughter. His loving wife and family had been happy living in Cambridge. Phillip and his wife Tammy both taught at the University; it was where they met. It all started one day in January. A new epidemic was spreading across Southeast Asia. Over the next few months, the sickness had spread throughout the world. The first to go was his daughter, Susan. Then his son Charles, and finally, his wife. For some reason Phillip was immune. He at first thought it a gift, but after everyone he knew and loved fell ill, he began to see it as it truly was. A curse.

Phillip knew this was all in the past, but he could not let go. He could never let go.

[Reatra]

Impirrenship of Cork

For the first time, an excess of materials were produced. This was cause for celebration as it meant Cork's harbor would be of use now. Trade was set up with cities all around the South, and the economy was beginning to become bigger for the first time since the Old World. The Library was starting to fill as people could spend less time on food and work and more on learning, and a few industries were re-starting with old equipment. This meant that Cork dominated it's area. The Impirren had near absolute control. He even went so far as to install radio receivers in large towns to make sure his orders were instantly received. The economy allowed for more free time with the populace. This meant that there was a greater need for things to do. So Impirren RyRy I passed a law that every able bodied adult (over the age of 18) would do Civil Service. This meant they would fix roads, help on farms, feed the poor, etc.

Overall, Cork was flourishing, and many flocked to the city for a better life.

[G-Tech Corporation]

Eastern Cornwall

"Top of the morning Jessie!"

The driver groaned inwardly, even as she continued working the old dials that helped ensure the great machine functioned. Nicholas was just too peppy in the morning. It wasn't his fault, she knew that; he was just being friendly. Just being friendly was a bit much after she was finishing the graveyard shift though.

She mumbled out a "good morning" in response, then winced as he tussled her unruly mop of black hair. It was greasy, and she felt mortified, but her older brother didn't seem to care in the least.

"The old ones have decided we're going farther west, to see if we can find any of the old iron mines, or a foundry. Dad wants you to recalibrate the sweeps for those after you sleep, by the by."

She nodded. It was a good plan, the one the doctors had decided upon. Ever since the Angleson's twins had been born space onboard the Landship had been at a premium. Plenty of energy, plenty of defenses, not enough elbow room. With luck that would be remedied soon. With a yawn she handed over the steerage to her brother, and staggered towards her bunk away in the sleeping quarters. The monstrous machine rumbled onwards, it's aerial umbilical cord visible for miles.

[Cressageland]

Kingdom of Salopia

Wind flew across the fields as the raiding party returned. A small number of levy troops from the farms, they were tasked with bringing back sheep from the welsh bandits across the border. Winter was starting to take its toll and the temperatures where in the minuses without wind-chill. The wool from these sheep would have an immediate impact, but the increase in breeding stock would help in the long run as well.

This was in stark contrast to the Town of shrewsbury, capital of Salopia and the seat of the King. He was one of the few in this part of the post-disaster world with access to both information and a few home comforts. The town was thinly populated. Most people lived a hard life out in the farms, but the effect of this was ever-increasing harvests meaning at least no-one starved. Trade along the river was helping as well, with the isolated communities making up the kingdom growing stronger with the increase in exchange. In fact, things were looking good enough to consider an annexation of some of the welsh regions to end the need for raids.

[Sebtopiaris]

Port of Dover
Christopher Klein sat on the ruined dock with a fishing rod in his hands as the rats scurried along the rotting wood beside him. He was a very capable fisherman and he patiently waited for a bite. Looking around, he noticed two suited men on the dock talking and got up to greet them. "Hello", he said to the men ," how are you doing today?". One of the men happily replied ," Oh, we're doing great! They'll soon be constructing a small trade fleet at the dock that'll trade with all the factions along the coast and the Thames. It's really quite brilliant." Christopher seemed puzzled. "What would we trade with them?", he asked. The second suited man seemed knowledgeable on this topic and excitedly answered ," well, there's all the fruit from the orchards, the beer made from the hops in our hop gardens and coal. We've recently rediscovered a coal mine that was abandoned during the red plague and it has some equipment in it, but more importantly we now have access to huge amounts of coal." Christopher then wished the men luck with their plans and continued fishing. He was excited about the fleet and coal too.

[The Nation of Hay]

New Cambridge

Outside of Phillip Collins' head, things were going well. Though a primarily agrarian society, the fires of industry still burned inside New Cambridge. With the steadily growing population, more jobs were requird to keep the people busy, and a few derelict factories in the area were being restarted. Large iron deposits were located to the north, and small mining communities were beginning to start around the mines. The iron brought in from the mines, along with scavenged and traded tin were combined in these factories, powered by coal, to create steel alloys. This steel was then either traded away for a profit, or used to create tools, wires, pipes, and buildings.

Along with the growing mining, trading, and manufacturing industries, the increasing population still required large amount of food, and the majority of people in New Cambridge worked on farms. Luckilly, the majority of the land controlled by New Cambridge was arable, and many farms were being reclaimed and tilled. Wheat, barley, and potatoes were being grown in the fields, and some families were beginning to raise sheep and cattle. Some people were also working on repairing the public works. Restorations were being done to roads, hospitals, and housing.

[Alleniana]

Van Lane, Southwark, London
The factory, a brick building smothered among others, was a hot, dusty, dirty and often dangerous place, as most of the others were. They produced all kinds of things; it was not for nothing London was often called the Forge of Britain. This one made wires; big, thick ones, not little ones. The kind used for big telegraph and telephone wires.

A man in attire somewhat better than the workers, but still not quite anything like a well tailored suit, was inspecting the wires, watching as the machines rolled them into little wires which were them rolled even bigger, for extra strength. There were many purposes for these, but he was interested in them sending signals for the government.

"So, how many of those new pounds will a mile cost?"
The pound, a new currency, had recently been instated as the currency of London.

The worker replied,
"Still no idea, waiting for the worth of it to settle."
He kept looking at them, and finally nodded.
"Thank you for letting me have a look."
The manager doffed his cap, and the man walked out into the street. He strolled down the road, busy with men bearing metals, cloths, barrels and carts, until he reached another red brick building, just down the road. This one was newer and better maintained. He strode in through the metal doors, and some of the workers looked at him curiously but indifferently. His eyes lit up though. The sheets of metal, the engines, they were coming together. The Southwark Armored Tank was coming to life in this room, and he paced forward to take a closer look. He loved it.

[Great Nepal]

The district, City of Oxford
Republic of Oxfordshire
President Rajendra entered the building escorted by peace officers, a nice name for the combined military-police force of the republic because while 'republican army' was suggested during its formation peace officer sounded... more peaceful. President acknowledged the salutes as he entered the building with slight nods as he approached the elevator peace officer escorts waited on sides of the elevator door, saluting Rajendra who returned it as the doors shut. President leaned forward to press "SDω", however the elevator didn't move not until Rajendra swiped a card attached to his chain and pressed his right palm on the panel when another metallic door shut and elevator accelerated deep underground before it stopped and accelerated towards left for few metres until it dropped for approximately thirty seconds again.

It took another round of security checks before the metal door opened and on the outside there were two more guards, virtually indistinguishable from those who were left on the ground level except by their almost robotic movements. As the doors opened, both guards had turned around pointing guns before visual conformation was made. Both guards put their guns down as they followed president down the corridor to a grey door labelled "SDω". This was one of the closest guarded secrets of the republic, completed in end of 2016 to save culture and some survivors in case plague returned.

As president entered, all six ministers; minister of state, science, defence, finance, health and information stood up. President nodded in acknowledgement as he sat down on a seat at the centre of semicircle shaped table followed by rest of ministers as he spoke "I hear, you have something new" looking towards minister of science who nodded rolling out map of the isles with dots of several colours, as Arushi spoke "yes, as you know we have been exploring Oxford library and we have discovered there are a lot of these types around the isles. There are two of these within our borders, we know of one and I would like authorisation to search for the second one", president nodded immediately as he said "go ahead". Arushi took a sip of coffee before continued "thank you, another exciting news is that there might be another site similar to Oxford university located here", as she pointed at the large red star on map which took interest of everyone around the table.

There was moment of silence in the room. Silence that seemed to last for years.

Minister of defence, Salvianus broke the silence as he spoke flatly "are you saying there might be another deposit of knowledge similar to Oxford out there somewhere". Arushi nodded to indicate positively, "yes, we have named this location OX-002 and there are many other smaller one as well. So far, we are aware of thirty of those however we have only found record of far north and south. Nothing in the middle, so I think there are much more than that". Rajendra cleared his throat before speaking in commanding tone "all right, finding these locations is your first priority, use all resources required" he turned around towards minister of state before continuing "do you have profile of this location?"

Minister of state, Katie shuffled through the folders in briefcase colour coded from red to white as she pulled out a green folder passing it around the table as she said "yes, we do". Those around the table pulled out the sheets from the folder looking it over as Katie continued to speak "they have a government there, and it is the opinion of ministry that they are not a threat to security of the republic. OX-002 is located centrally in Aristocratic Oligarchy of New Cambridge, in short New Cambridge. Their government is highly meritocratic, and our information suggests that they are lead by a scientist. In short, they dont seem much dissimilar to the republic before the incident". The return of the plague that diminished the population from forty thousand to mere six in 2016 was now merely refereed to as the incident, day of remembrance for the republic and its citizen. Day was marked by parade around the republic and twenty percent extra rations given to all citizens, ending with fireworks at the district to celebrate the victory over the plague.

Salvianus nodded as he said "so, how hard would it be to launch a limited strike to recover information stored there". Katie paused for a minute to run quick mental calculation as she said "over nine, maybe approaching nine point eight", entire table looked at her with narrowed eye as she replied defensively "its their capitol, and essentially a holy site", as she started to do calculations on scrap sheet of paper reciting roughly what she was doing. After about five minutes, she said "its nine point eight five", passing the sheet around the table. Salvianus looked at the calculations suspiciously until he said "seems accurate enough. If limited strike is out, what are the alternatives?"

President spoke "its not out, if there is no alternatives, limited strike will occur". No one in the table questioned him, and paused for few minutes before Arushi spoke "you said, they are led by scientist right, so it is reasonable assumption that they would kill for information in Oxford just like we would for knowledge in OX-002. Lets give them access to knowledge here, in return we get access to information there. Everyone wins". Salvianus questioned "how do we make sure this information doesn't get out to others then?" President spoke almost immediately "we put that agreement in the clause. We dont share information we gain from OX-002 to third party and they do the same", he looked towards Katie as he said "would it be plausible?"

She nodded as she said "I give it one point six five". President smiled as he said "good, then send a messenger above rank of Brigadier to suggest this", Katie replied "there is a problem though. We have no knowledge about structure of connecting county, best guess it is ruled by gangs. I would like ten man escort". President spoke before Salvianus could saying "done, any other agenda for today?"

When there was no response, he stood up dismissing the meeting for the day. Major general Clara was contacted by the ministry, entrusted with document rated at 'ω' sent to New Cambridge to suggest the agreement.

---

Republic of Oxfordshire

To: Aristocratic Oligarchy of New Cambridge| From: Ministry of State, Republic of Oxfordshire
Subject: Information Exchange| Security Clearance: ω| Urgency: Paramount

Greetings on behalf of the people of the republic,
As you may or may not be aware, republic possesses a centre of knowledge from before the plague and we have come to know that new Cambridge possesses another one of these centres, and to our knowledge these are the largest and the oldest surviving centres in the isles which puts both our nations at a position of incredible information, knowledge and power.

As such, we would like to purpose that we provide scientists from Republic of Oxfordshire and Aristocratic Oligarchy of New Cambridge full and free access to information located in both of these centres with the understanding that information gained in this way will only be utilized within the two nations for benefit of mankind without providing any third party access to this information under any conditions.

The benefit of this endeavour should be self evident, since as we know our predecessors were quite a while further away in terms of their knowledge, research and technology and by providing free access to these sites, our nations will mutually gain further information as to their technology hopefully ensuring that mankind once again has access to technology of that level so that it can rebuild under wise guidance.

We hope you see that this agreement has mutual benefits for both of our people and we may work together to further interest and knowledge of humanity.

Katie Cooper
Minister of State for Republic of Oxfordshire

Rajendra Kshetri
President for Republic of Oxfordshire

[G-Tech Corporation]

Central Cornwall

The away party disembarked fully buttoned-up, armor suits of thick Kevlar and ceramics, ancient relics of a by-gone era. Behind them the armored gangplank retracted, and a tinny voice crackled through Ivan's radio, the only one still functional of the away suits.

"Best of luck, son. We'll keep an eye out for ferals on the surface, and let you know if things get dicey. Remember, quick in, quick out, assessment only."

Ivan Yashnev, the largest man in the group and their leader, reached a hand to his throat. His gloves finger depressed a small black button.

"Loud and clear. We'll check in fifteen."

The four figures, garbed as if invaders from another world, walked forward into the old foundry. Two switched on lights while the others hefted submachineguns; all were heavily armed, as they couldn't afford to lose anyone, even if it meant killing a hundred ferals. Jessie swept her beam frequently; no point in having it if she missed an important danger sign, like a red-marked banner pole or still smoking campfire ashes. The armor would keep then safe from bladed weapons or projectiles, but having one's arms dislocated by a crude club wielded by a four-hundred pound giant still wasn't an experience she wanted to repeat.

So far things looked promising. No signs of habitation, and plenty of old cast ingots that Doctor Imshav could put to good use. There even seemed to be some old casting and riveting equipment, a veritable gold mine of utility. She chuckled internally; it was strange how the Frateri talked, with Old World eclectics mixed with Newspeak pouring from their lips. Gold was practically worthless nowadays, and yet the expression remained in their vernacular, a relic of aged speech patterns.

Her lapse of attention was dangerous. Some metal shifted, and the team spun; from out of the shadows three men leapt resplendent in ochre and hides; tribals, intent on defending their territory. Three guns barked once, almost in unison, and the men dropped. A few tense seconds passed as the ferals breathed their last and the Frateri peered around for further opponents, but all was still.

Ivan spoke into his radio.

"Area secure; returning to Landship. We found what we need, get the Longwells out here."

[Jamessonia]

The Orkney Free State

John Kerry walked around the corner to the stables. He saw the old and rotund stable master, Mr. Sheen, and waved to him.

"Mr. Sheen, how are you faring?"

"Well, my boy, well. I'm guessing you came for a horse? Is there a meeting at the Senate?"

"There is, in fact. I'm running a bit late as it is."

"No time to lose then! Have Matilda, she'll get you there in no time!"


The old man went into a stall and came out with a grayish looking horse. He patted her saddle, and said,

"Hop on, John! I'll be seeing you later."

John nodded and mounted the steed. With another wave he started riding. He soon broke into a gallop across the green fields of Orkney. All that was around was fields, cows and sheep grazing, and tall wheat swaying in the breeze. But as he neared, the main settlement, he slowed down. It was a bustling little fishing village, and the capital of the Free State. It was Kirkwall.

Now he was at a trot. Right ahead of him was the Senate building; the old town hall. They didn't have a mayor anymore, so why bother with a town hall? It had been turned into the seat of their nation, and that meant adding a few fancy banners on it. It was better than nothing, though. It was a small building, with only a few rooms. It was built in a decidedly Roman style, with columns and a balcony on the second floor. It was completely painted white.

As John approached, he saw his fellow senators: Rachel, Greg, and Kyle. They waved at him as he dismounted.

"What took you so long, then?" Rachel demanded, looking at him through her cold grey eyes. That and her raven black hair could intimidate anyone. Except for her closest friends, of course.

"Lay off him, he's only a couple minutes off!" Greg retorted. With his bright red hair, blue eyes and easy smile, he was the most charismatic of the legislative group.

"Let's get on with it!" Kyle whined. He was usually the quietest member of the group, and had light blond hair and blue eyes. He looked most similar to John, with his sandy hair and hazel eyes.

"Alright, let's just go in!" John finally said. The group turned around and entered the building. The main room looked like a cross between a church and a courthouse. It had pews all along the sides, and a long aisle in between. At the end stood a podium, with a balcony behind it. No one could figure out why the balcony existed, as there were no steps leading up to it. For ceremonial purposes, they had to use a ladder.

The pews were filled with citizens of Orkney. They were mostly elderly or middle aged, with only a few people under 40. Greg was actually the youngest adult on the island, at 19. The other three were 20. Kyle, John, Rachel, and Greg went up to the podium to begin the Senate session. They wanted to get straight to the point. Greg spoke first.

"Welcome, people of the Orkney Free State. This is the first session of the Orkney Senate, and we wish to announce the original laws we have passed into legislature.

First of all, the official name of the nation shall be 'The Free State of Orkney'. It will be casually referred to as 'Orkney', 'the Orkney Free State', or 'the Free State'.

Next, we would like to say that the current economic model will stay. It will be called 'Orkney Free Trading'. We shall use the currency the 'Orkney workpound', and these 'workpounds' will be given out by the government depending on your official number of work hours. These can be exchanged for food, clothing and other goods at the Orkney Free Granary and the Orkney Free Market.

Lastly, all previous laws instituted by the British, Scottish and Orkney legislation before the epidemic will stay in effect. We are now open to question and comments…"

[Ralnis]

Dublin, Ireland
The great conclaves of the Tech Shamans, servants and scientist of the One Spark, creator of all the energy in the universe and speaker of technology to the world. The great conclaves were dug hidden bases filled with ruined paper that have notes of old knowledge that were found at what ever places that were destroyed by the riots that had happen so long ago. The rest were up around the city of Dublin trying to slowly reclaim the city as there own and the surrounding area for ten years.

By the year 2024, the rise of the Tech Shamans and the religion called the Sparknius Onra, or the Church of the One Spark became prominence after the Old World's Religions died in the West and new ones begin to take hold on the new generation of people. The Tech Shamans are known by their ritualistic markings over their body that grows with age.

The city of Dublin had lights that shine through the emerald greens of Ireland and the shores that was the sign of the channel that its name was lost to time but it was called the Open Gap. The Tech Shamans always dreamed of crossing over the Gap and see the sea but the ships were not sea worthy or able to be of use, but with the machinery that was still function. The ships that were still able to be scraped and recycled in order to make a new ship that was to be used for transportation and even trade if they can find life outside of Dublin.

[Sperostet]

Saint Patrick City
The government had been setting up and preparing, all this work was finally done. Today, the Irish Republic would reclaim her lands, and possibly even more. President John Mailey has issued a doctrine stating that military conscription is required if you are a male over 21. Troops rally on the border of, ready to capture a town of raiders that call themselves "Oxan".
Makeshift Camp 31

"WAKE UP, TIME TO GO". The command sergeant of this operation, Sergeant James Harlin was given command of 300 troops to take over the town so the Government could get rid of any raider threats in the area. Sergeant Harlin was 31, no kids, no wife, all lost to the plague, So that made him one tough SOB. Troops were actually scared of him, giving rumors that "He does not have a soul"

Troops rushed into positions, picking up Ak47's, Spears, Swords, and makeshift Grenades, they also had a tank for the attack. Troops lined up by what type of weapon they had, neat and orderly. It was time to attack.

"Alright scum, today we're going to be taking out Oxan, you all remember who Oxan is, right? THEY ARE THE ONES WHO SLAUGHTERED US LAST TIME! But this time we have more men, and a tank, so you scum better win. Am I understood?". The troops screamed back in unison "YES SIR" and proceeded to march. The town of Oxan Heights [Which rested on a hill] was only 10 minutes from their camp, so the march would be short.

10 minutes later, they arrived at the raider camp. Oxan was totally taken by surprise as the troops threw their grenades and knocked off the makeshift gate. Troops rushed in, shooting every raider they saw. The raiders did fight back though, they took 60 Irish soldiers before taking the cowards way out by retreating and blowing up the southern exit. After the battle was over, Irish troops were horrified on what they saw. Sergeant James Harlin walked into the town to fine raped women and slaughtered Children. "Dear god, can we trust anyone anymore?"

[Alleniana]

Ruined house, Wealdstone South
As they began taking the bricks from the ruined house, putting all the broken bricks none too gently in one cart and all the non-broken ones in another, men were tilling the soil in the former garden, now field behind them. They planned to grow potatoes there, but they needed to remove all the scrap buried in the soil, as well as the rotting tree stump.

The men, clanking as they worked with the bricks, were dusty and tired, and therefore not in a mood to be particularly excited when one of the men with a hoe started shouting. Gradually, however, the man's colleagues came over, and soon a foreman did too. They peered around a small hole that had been dug. In it was a smallish metal box which had been opened. It was filled with many tomes of what people still recognised as books, little volumes with yellowy spines and leaves. The little storehouses of knowledge so prized. These men would be having a very nice sort of windfall.

London Mint, London Central
The coins were made out of a really rather special alloy involving copper, silver, iron and even aluminium as well as other trace minerals like gold, tin and even some rock dusts. The result was a coin of a really quite special hue. One one side was printed the words, "LONDON POUND", while on the other was a picture of the town. Here, they poured these valuable coins by the barrowload. The next shipment was going out, to be exchanged for various goods the government needed. The value was settling as the government bartered more and more money into the system in return for goods which it promptly sold or used, but the economy would take a hit from this instability. For now, the coin casts filled and emptied, filled and emptied, thousands of metal pounds going through.

[Sebtopiaris]

The Thames River
two new wooden merchant ships, loaded with coal, beer and fruit, had just sailed into the Thames River. Their goal was to reach London, which people said was an industrial metropolis now. Once there they would trade their goods for valuable items such as metal and machinery and sail back home with their riches, only to return to London with more ships and more goods to trade. And with thriving trade and ample goods, Kent would become rich and prosperous with many allies and trade partners.
A coal mine in Kent
Three people, their faces blackened with soot and coal dust, walked out of the coal mine with sacks of coal and pickaxes in their hands. Inside the coal mine strange noises could be heard, and these were the noises of machinery. Some homes even had electricity now due to the coal, and kent's government now had a new priority; to have electricity in every home by 2034. It was certainly an exciting prospect.

[Photana]

Stonehenge
The Druids were commencing the traditional ritual of winter's ending, praying to the God of Sun and Goddess of Moon for warmer days and nights. This was common tradition among the Druids, and it seemed to work, with the warmth coming just in time to grow the crops vital to the Druids. The priests had summoned the populace to prayer at noon, with all facing the sun. After this main display of reverence, the priests ended the prayer service, and were presented the latest findings from the repositories of old knowledge called "libraries." One was a book of animals from a place called "Africa," another was a technical manual on how to operate an "automobile," and the final was the most useful, a book on the manufacture of bolt-action rifles. This manuscript was immediately donated to the Druid gunsmiths, who were more than happy to have it around.

[Cressageland]

Market Drayton, Kingdom of Salopia

Lorries where being unloaded. Or more accurately drained, of their contents. The Milk from farms up and down the growing kingdom was funnelled here to be turned into Butter and (in small amounts) yoghurt at the diary. It was one of the few remnants of industry in this part of the world and was manned by the few (increasingly old) survivors who used to operate the plant. The finished product was sent down to Shrewsbury and shipped downriver to the numerous settlements on the way to Bridgnorth, second city of the Kingdom. Fuel was running low however, it was running so low that the issue was raised at the monthly Kings auidience at Shrewsbury castle.

Shrewsbury Castle, Kingdom of Salopia
The Lord of Market Drayton was speaking again, this time directly to the King.
'If our fuel runs out, and the Lorries stop coming, our towns economy will be forced into ruin!' The king asked him respectfully to be quiet, before speaking himself. 'We have horses, don't we? as we have carts to carry things? We need to keep fuel back for power and emergencies. No use crying over spilt milk Lord David.' The joke brought a laugh from all except David, who sat down fuming. This wouldn't be the last of this.

Regardless, the King turned attention to the main topic on the agenda. 'As well all know, this winter has been brutal and is set to continue. Our stocks of wool will last for this year, but we need more land to farm more sheep for next year. To counter this, I propose an annexation of some of the village communes that have not yet joined our nation'. This annoucement was expected, but the next one was certainly not. 'We also need to begin considering our opitions. If we survived, how many others did? We cannot live in isolation forever, and our fuel crisis only serves to emphasize this. I propose a mission to be sent downriver to what was once bristol, to seek out surviours and possibly a community to trade with'. This was met with outrage from the lords controlling the welsh border, who had been expecting a mission sent through to wales, but this decision was already being acted upon, with a specially created barge being prepared for the journey downriver.
Down to bristol

[Ralnis]

Dublin, Coastal Tech Shaman Conclave
The ship was coming together out of the scrap metal and parts of other ships. Some parts did not go together and some did. The most major part was trying to figure out what fuel source to use. Tech Shamans are came together to see of they could salvage. The fuel source for the Old World boats they were using used a thick, black, liquid substance that the books that they had gathered called " gasoline". The Tech Shamans had gathered this rare substance from vehicles and gas stations all over Dublin, but this was also very bad. Despite having the fuel for the ship that is being under constructed, the fuel was sparse and the need of a new fuel source, that source will have to be either energy or steam, but right now the ship is the main idea for construction right now.

[Paketo]

Manchester, New Manchester


As the many people slaved away in the fields to provide food for the settlement, 20 were working on another project. The Great Plague as the people called it, had killed most of the people in the world and sent all countries into ruins. the settlement that used to be the city of manchester was finally emerging into a brighter future as the great plague had stopped years ago. the 20 people separate from the others were rebuilding the Manchester United Soccer/Futball stadium. the people used to be captivated be the sport before the Plague and now the people wished for it again. a huge banner hung from the construction site saying "if you're not a mank, you're a wank". the people would soon be able to enjoy the sport again.

(just found out their was a IC )

[The Nation of Hay]

New Cambridge

The Council was meeting in the back room of The University's library. The library had been requisitioned for use by The Council of New Cambridge, and now served as the primary Capitol building, housing The Council's main applications. The governing body of New Cambdge, made up of about two dozen men and women, were discussing the recent happenings in New Cambridge. They were all sitting around a large, circular wooden table, standing right in the middle of the back room. In the old days, the room was separated into a "West Room" and a "Reading Room". When The Council had taken control of the building, a large portion of the library had been ransacked and destroyed. They tore down the walls separating the two rooms, and moved most of the books into locked vaults in the treasury.

Currently they were talking about an offer they had received from the people of Oxfordshire. It had stated that the Republic of Oxfordshire wished to create a pact with the people of New Cambridge. This agreement would give them each access to the universities within each other's territory. This was too good to be true. The Cambridgians had long wished to capture the sacred texts within the great Oxford University.

"This is too good to be true. It must be a trick." The man speaking was Thomas Hawkin, a student at Cambridge when the plague started, "We have long wanted the knowledge from within Oxford, and they know this. They want our scholars there, where they will be killed! These people mean to take our land, and destroy our University!"

"Now now, Thomas, let's not get ahead of ourselves." This was Lydia Jacobs, a high-ranking military officer from the nearby base, "These people obviously mean us well. They are offering to share their knowledge with us! I think we must go through with this. I think we should proceed carefully, but we should proceed."

The room rose into a great clamor. People were shouting their opinions and ignoring those of others. After a long minute of this bickering, the room was quieted. A vote was called. Fourteen "yes" votes, and ten "no" votes. They would accept the terms of the Republic of Oxfordshire.

To: Ministry of State, Republic of Oxfordshire| From: The Council of Scholars of the Aristocratic Oligarchy of New Cambridge| Subject: Information Exchange

We agree to your gracious and magnanimous terms. We hope that this agreement will lead to further good relations between the people of Oxfordshire and New Cambridge.

The next point of business was brought up in the last meeting a week ago. The Council of Scholars had, for the longest time, been after the knowledge within Oxford. But there was also another large center of learning nearby, the University of Hertfordshire. The University of Hertfordshire was in the county to the West, Hertfordshire. The Council had wished to capture Hertfordshire in the name of science, and were preparing to do so.

After long delegation, it was decided. About 30 soldiers and a handful of jeeps would be sent to Hertfordshire University. They would clear out any ruffians and take control of the school. They would also search for people who were interested in joining with the people of New Cambridge. After it was safe, scavengers and settlers would be sent West, to see what could be made of the land.

[Alleniana]

The Thames River
two new wooden merchant ships, loaded with coal, beer and fruit, had just sailed into the Thames River. Their goal was to reach London, which people said was an industrial metropolis now. Once there they would trade their goods for valuable items such as metal and machinery and sail back home with their riches, only to return to London with more ships and more goods to trade. And with thriving trade and ample goods, Kent would become rich and prosperous with many allies and trade partners.

Greenwich Docks, London
The docks along the once-again dirty and filthy river were filled with more than the usual number of people; onlookers were gathering, as were government workers. The regular workers glanced and kept working, but still, it was odd. Chattering started up, as people wondered where the ships would land. It wouldn't be long before they reached the heart of London, where it looked as if, laden with various things, they might trade. As of now, they weren't doing anything wrong, but people were confused.

Rusty Whale Bar, Harrow
It was said, at least within London, that nobody could hold their drink better than a Londoner. This certainly seemed true as the workers chugged down their metal tankards of beer while watching, rather rowdily, some lewd, adult entertainment in the form of a 25 year old slowly removing pieces of he loose clothing. The atmosphere was a slightly musty and hot one, that might seem oppressive for newcomers.

A newcomer came in the form of a teenage boy, who apprehensively pushed open the doors to the darkening outside. He, upon seeing the entertainer, quickly averted his eyes, just as a few men looked to see who had come in, and slightly chuckled, then turning their attention back to where they felt it was spent best. The teenager, seeing nobody cared much, began to gaze on the performer for about half a minute, before he hesitantly, seeming of totally his own accord, turned back to his job; the reason he was here. The purpose was to put up a poster, which he did; most others had to slather paste on the back of the card, but he was doing it indoors, and therefore got to use some dozen-year old yellow tack. He pulled a little bit of the dirty gum-like substance off, using it to secure the poster to the wall by the door. After he was satisfied he had done so, after making a little bit of a rustling noise, scarcely audible in the mug-clanking stripper-cheering foot-tapping chattery environ of the bar, he took one last, almost longing glance at the stage, then pushed open the door and left.

One of the men who had seen him come and do this, mainly alerted by the rustling and the door opening, was willing to leave his chair right by the platform on which the woman danced, to go and have a look at this poster. He saw it read, in big, black, bold letters, "LABORERS WANTED". He certainly was one, and at the moment, workless and unemployed as he was, he couldn't afford to buy much more drink; Londoners took a lot to get drunk, which was what many of these men wanted; even the new gin factory had not been able to supplant the need for the population, as evidenced by what was being called the "Rum and Ale Heists". In any case, he began to read the poster. It promised high wages, good conditions. His chances for a new life, potentially even out of these lowest of the lowest of the slums, maybe even by the docks, by the canal. He read it intently, calling over softly some of his drinking compatriots. The too, began to read it, much more intently than before, though a few had difficulty.

The lady on the stage was left without attention or an audience. The stir that the poster and its brothers caused was felt all over town, not just in this seedy establishment. All over the City of London.

[Great Nepal]

SDω, The district, City of Oxford
Republic of Oxfordshire
Special defence committee had been called by ministry of science again in light of the discovery made in Berkshire and in university of Oxford. However, minister of state was first to shout distraughtly "sire, sire, we have got vital information from our informants in Cambridgeshire" slamming a piece of paper on the table. President leaned forward to grab the paper skimming it before he asked "how credible is this informant?" Answer was of course on the paper, it was signed with words '-well adviser-', with two zeros in invisible ink. This indicated someone with security clearance of omega, someone who could be trusted with your life, someone who was in COG procedure. President continued before others could reply him "so, what is the value of Herefordshire?"

Salvianus spoke "eight point -", however he was interrupted by Arushi "no, that is based on old information. Our recent discovery in Oxford library shows that there used to be a major university in that county called University of Hertfordshire. Not in what they called 'Russell something' but one of the well connected universities. I would put the value at about nought point two", putting the newly discovered paper in front of the table.

Rajendra grabbed on to the paper, to read its content. Three universities in such a tight cluster, there must be something wrong but if this was true, that university would need to be under control of the republic. At all costs. He turned towards minister of defence as he spoke commandingly "I am not sure about this intel, seems too clustered but if it is true, we need this. Organise a force to be deployed to seize the county, who controls that county anyway?" Salvianus replied after consulting his files "we have very little intel on the location because until now it wasn't considered valuable enough. We know virtually nothing about the power structure except that it is a gang territory". President nodded as he said "gang territory you say, I guess it is our duty as land of liberty to answer petition of concerned residents of the county, terrified of gangs. I want to give speech after this meeting".

This gave everyone around the table a chuckle, before Arushi continued "anyway, on the second agenda. We have discovered some notes in Berkshire, apparently they had discovered a way to release vast quantities of energy from atoms themselves. From preliminary looks, it appears they had perfected splitting atoms to release energy and working on putting atoms together to release energy. We are calling it nucleon energy but if we can perfect what used to occur there, we can get enough energy to do anything". Salvianus smiled as he asked "if it releases lots of energy as you say, we could use that as weapon. We would have entire Isles under our control within days", Arushi shook her head as she said "yea, we are not entirely sure about that but it might be a possibility but basically how we think it works is like this" as she takes a stick and breaks it into two pieces "imagine this stick was a atom, we split it up to create two smaller sticks but" she rubbed her thumb on the table showing the dust to the table "it also produced some wood dust. Now we found a equation in Oxford library, E=mc², now we are sure that 'E' means energy, 'm' means mass of the particle released and we think 'c' is some kind of universal constant. Now, we know this universal constant must be some freakishly massive number because when you burn coal, heat doesn't produce any significant heat but coal does produce a lot of heat. Basically, we are sure once we get this thing working, even few kilos of stuff will be enough to power the republic for centuries."

President nodded approvingly as he said "good, now make that practical. Use all resources you need", appearing to sound as if he understood every word that was said before he stood up to prepare for the speech while Salvianus readied the armed forces for deployment.

Remembrance building
Republic of Oxfordshire
The remembrance building was rather new building, completed just few months ago in twenty fifth December in remembrance of the incident. As the crowd assembled in front of the building on massive garden with thirty four hundred white roses, one for every ten person who died due to return of the plague, remembrance to the victims and promise that negligence that caused those deaths will never happen again. President emerged in top steps of the building, as he began to speak

"Citizens and soldiers of the republic, eight years ago due to gross negligence of the few many people died and many more suffered the effects of the plague but we pulled through and we recovered because we stood together. We stood by our brothers and sisters, we refused to ignore those in need, we refused to give in. It was the year when we saw the best in humanity, when we spoke with one voice, when we shouted that we wouldn't be defeated by the plague, that we would emerge victorious, that we would survive. It was a promise we made to ourselves and to our neighbours. Eight years latter, we can not, we must not and we will not renege from that promise. Today, we received a petition from residents in county of Hertfordshire, requesting our assistance against the lawless gangs that rule that county, against those who plague the county, against those who loot the people. Those who loot the elderly, those who kill the children, against those who target the most vulnerable in the society. We can no longer think about just our selves, we must also think of the elderly, the children and the most vulnerable in society if we are to be truly civilized society. As such, I have authorised use of limited military force to protect those vulnerable in county of Hertfordshire. Hertfordshire is not a isolated case, there are many vulnerable people throughout the isles who are at grave risk of being murdered at their own homes and we can not rest till all those who seek our protection are all liberated and they can once again feel safe in their own homes. Once people of Hertfordshire have been liberated from the gangs that plague the county, this government will give them a choice, a free choice like we promise to give any people who seek our protection, a choice as to if they wish to integrate into our society or if they wish to set up an independent government. That will be all."

There was murmuring the crowd but it was downed by the applause that the speech generated. Meanwhile, total of forty well armed men on various vehicles crossed into Hertfordshire, prime target: university of Hertfordshire.

[The Nation of Hay]

University of Hertfordshire

It was a cold winter day for the men in Hertfordshire. February winds nipped at the uncovered faces of the Cambridgian host, consisting of just shy of three dozen men and women. They were all bundled up, wearing multiple layers over their Kevlar. Scarves, sweaters, and jackets kept them warm. To the untrained eye, nothing would look at all suspicious about these people. Nothing save the bandoleers they wore across their backs, holding guns, ammunition, and handheld explosives, though all in very limited amount. This and the handful of military vehicles that rode alongside the line of infantry.

The smell of nature had mostly overtaken the smells of civilization, though the men occasionally caught the scent of feces or campfires. Animals ran through the streets, shying away from the soldiers as they marched. They spotted various breeds of dogs, cats, and rodents, grizzled and mangy from being feral and alone for the last decade. The people, though few, were in similar conditions. The men had long unkempt beards and shaggy, unwashed hair. The battalion didn't see much of them, as they, just like the animals, kept clear of the soldiers.

These civilians weren't the only people the army encountered. Gangs and assortments of ruffians and thieves roamed the streets, almost as abundant as the rats that infested the sewers, or the birds in the sky. These gangsters never started a fight with the soldiers, however. Harsh words were spouted from both sides, but no shots were fired. Eventually, the force reached the university.

Orders were given to fortify their position, and men and women hurried to their posts. A messenger was sent back East to request supplies and civilians to begin to reclaim the University of Hertfordshire, and the city of Hatfield.

It was after a few hours when a scout returned to their defensive setup. Soldiers from Oxford were on their way, coming for the university as well. The scout reported that the soldiers from Oxford were obviously determined. They were a good dozen men more than the Cambridgian force, but they had a good position. The Cambridgians sent men up to a higher position, unseen by the approaching soldiers. They would fool the coming force. They would appear a small group, and when shots were fired, the "snipers" (these men didn't have the greatest aim, but for their purposes, they would be considered snipers) would rain hell upon their foes.

[Alleniana]

These formerly quiet, abandoned, suburbs, places once inhabited but now falling apart, were a hive of activity these days. After that almighty government drive, inflating the value of the pound (though they could afford this, the pound having been formerly a very very underinflated currency) high, many many workers had been able to be hired from the slums of London to begin making the city better. Most were employed in scavenging the outer urban areas, now to be turned into farms, while many others renovated the docks, swept the streets, repaired old buildings and did other services. Money was circulating well, and the pound was settling.

London was still a far cry from any amenity like water or electricity on every street, but now, at least, local generators housed in spare buildings were usually able to be linked via cable to those who needed it, and the wells' water, after being filtered and boiled (basically passing it through cloth and lighting a fire under the water afterwards), was really fairly fine. In fact, some wealthy people had even managed to treat their water. Admittedly, some used "chlorine" scrapings from former pools, but there were some who were a bit smarter and used mother of vinegar added into apple cider which was produced from some of the apple farms in the area, creating apple cider vinegar, the main type of vinegar used in the city, as well as the main disinfectant.

Along with its many factories, London was a centre of manufacturing and trading. As such, the government decided that it needed to be represented as such. A letter was sent to various nearby states:

To the United Councils of Kent,
Greetings, fellow Englishmen. We, here in London, this formerly great city as so many were, write to talk about a possible trade deal, one that would make us both prosperous. Using the Thames and our border as a trade conduit, we propose that all goods being traded between us are traded without tariffs or taxes, or anything of that nature. This would enable a highly beneficial industry to develop; we would buy your coal, hops, iron ore, grain and chalk, and sell machinery, vinegar, beer, iron and other processed goods. We hope that you will look at this with the eyes of one who wishes cooperation and reconstruction to flourish, and look forward to your response.
From the London Industrial Syndicate Council (LISC)

To the Republic of Oxfordshire,
Hello, friends and learned ones. Here in London, as your neighbours, we have been looking at recovery as a process that will take a long time, and cooperation between different people and entities. To that purpose, we would like to establish some sort of trade relation with your nation; perhaps an official tariff recognition, perhaps, regular caravans between, us, even monopolies granted, perhaps. We await your response to our offer, and hope further, better negotiations can be conducted and reached.
From the London Industrial Syndicate Council (LISC)

[Sebtopiaris]

To the United Councils of Kent,
Greetings, fellow Englishmen. We, here in London, this formerly great city as so many were, write to talk about a possible trade deal, one that would make us both prosperous. Using the Thames and our border as a trade conduit, we propose that all goods being traded between us are traded without tariffs or taxes, or anything of that nature. This would enable a highly beneficial industry to develop; we would buy your coal, hops, iron ore, grain and chalk, and sell machinery, vinegar, beer, iron and other processed goods. We hope that you will look at this with the eyes of one who wishes cooperation and reconstruction to flourish, and look forward to your response.
From the London Industrial Syndicate Council (LISC)

To the London Industrial Syndicate Council:
We happily accept your trade proposal and hope that it causes both our nations to prosper.In a month's time we will be sending you a fleet of 5 merchant ships loaded with the finest goods in the land, giving you another taste of what Kent has to offer. We look forward to your amazing processed goods and wish for a lucrative trade relationship between us as we blossom together.
From: The United Councils Of Kent.