- Pronouns
- He/Him
The bones of this story are inspired by the song "Knights of Shame", by Awolnation. It's embedded here, and the lyrics are also in the spoiler. Too Long; Didn't Listen, it's a 9 minute long EDM cored song composed of various pieces and verses that the artist then refined with an apocalyptic foretelling with themes of societal malaise borne from apathy, transition, rejecting finality, and random evocative Proper Nouns to give the whole thing a dream-like appeal. Verse 11 in particular resonates, and where I mine for the main cast. It's basically a banger to ring the New Year whilst missing subtle commentary, like many other songs of it's ilk. Instead, we'll make a world out of it.
[Verse 1]
Dance, baby, dance, like the world is ending
Dance, baby, dance, like the world is ending
Dance, baby, dance, 'cause the world is ending
Dance, baby, dance, like the world is ending
Dance, baby, dance, like the world is ending
Dance, baby, dance, 'cause the world is ending
Dance, baby, dance, like the world is ending
Dance, baby, dance, like the world is ending
Dance, baby, dance, 'cause the world is ending
Dance, baby, dance, like the world is ending
Dance, baby, dance, like the world is ending
Dance, baby, dance, 'cause the world is ending
[Verse 2]
This is who you are, this is who you are
This is who you are
This is who you are, this is who you are
This is who you are
[Interlude]
Oh
Oh
[Verse 3]
Sit back and look for the warnings, the future's bright and alarming
Sit back and look for the warnings
Sit back and look for the warnings, the future's bright and alarming
Sit back and look for the warnings
[Interlude]
Cool
Woo!
Huh!
Cool
(Oh)
[Verse 4]
Baby, walkin' around a-with your head cut off
Baby, walkin' around a-with your head cut off
Uh, baby, walkin' around a-with your head cut off
Baby, walkin' around a-with your head cut off
[Verse 5]
Their power's fear and it surrounds me
Their signs, you can see
One day we will wake the walkin' zombies
'Til then we pray
[Interlude]
Ooh
Everybody, everybody, everybody…
Everybody
[Verse 6]
The king and his ghost are laughing at me
These signs, you can see
One day we will listen for the sirens
'Til then we pray
[Verse 7]
Skeletons, marchin' army
Guns, drop your feet, I'm scared, I'm Duke Ellington
My mother said there'd be days like this
But one of the fires lit made her piss
Callin' all zombies all up inside me
Transformin' vampires right beside me
And you can't run, 'cause you did, you'd be dead
And the walls can't roll from the side of my head
I beat the drool, my beats are cool
But here's last kiss, all suckers, they will cease to exist
I can't entertain what it'd be to be human
Lay waste to cities, leave towns in ruin
I am a robot
Whole arsenal stock ready to blow
Lastly, you see me be three by three
Firing these things called TNT
[Bridge]
(Fire) These things called TNT, these things called TNT
(Fire) They call me TNT, these things called TNT
[Verse 8: CurT@!n$]
Aw, we can dance like the world's over
Yeah it's almost 2012, call your girls over
Let's kick back, pop shots, have a ball
And if the world blow up, next life we'll do it all over
Aw, yeah, let's toast to the memory
I wrote my name in the sky, so remember me
Baby, forever we together mentally
The day I leave my baby over something, then Hell'll freeze
Froze, this world Cole like Natalie
So, let's lose our clothes like Adam, Eve
Back to the basics, step out the Matrix
Step out your cool, baby, get on my spaceship
I seen her face lit, she seen the sign like a Mason
So we ran home like a base hit
Safe
Life is whatever you think it is, so what you think this is, huh?
[Verse 9: CurT@!n$]
Ah, yeah, it's all in your mind baby
You gotta do what you feel like a blind lady
You gotta spread your wings and just fly, baby
You feel like you're reborn? That's my baby
Say she feel it in her soul like a vibrator
I got some things for your thoughts we can try later
Let's hit the dance floor, right before we outta time
And just party like it's 1999
You know what Prince said, girl, you my princess
I got the glass slipper, I hope the thing fit
Your body on fire, let me extinguish
Hop on this white horse, ride to the sunset
[Verse 10]
Is anybody really out there breathin'
Is anybody really sick of bleeding
So come and scream into the sky this evening
It's full of women, I'm a choice you're feeling
Let's start today!
Let's start today!
Let's start today!
Let's start today!
Start today, start today
Come on down
[Verse 11]
The queen's heart, the Knights of Shame
The people's voice, so we pray and we pray
The queen's heart (queen's heart), the Knights of Shame (Knights of Shame)
So we pray and we pray
The queen's heart, the people's voice
So we pray and we pray
The queen's heart, the Knights of Shame
So we pray
[Pre-Chorus]
And, yeah, it's no fun waiting for the fall
And there'll be no more waiting for you all
And there'll be one more chance for the truth
Without you, I would die
And, yeah, it's no fun waiting for the fall
And there'll be no more waiting for you all
And there'll be one more chance for the truth
Without you, I would die
Without you, I would die
[Chorus]
Waiting on a heartbeat
Is anybody listening?
We're waiting on a heartbeat
Can anybody hear me?
[Interlude]
(Woo!)
(Woo!)
(Yeah!)
(Uh)
[Chorus]
We're waiting on a heartbeat
Is anybody listening?
We're waiting on a heartbeat
Can anybody hear me?
[Silence]
[Outro]
We rob from the rich to blow down the door, oh
We rob from the rich and blow down the door
We rob from the rich and blow down the door
(Piano)
We rob from the rich to blow down the door
It's been a long time, waiting on your call
It's been a long time, waiting for you all
It's been a long time, waiting for you
But I can
Bum bum bum bum bum
Dance, baby, dance, like the world is ending
Dance, baby, dance, like the world is ending
Dance, baby, dance, 'cause the world is ending
Dance, baby, dance, like the world is ending
Dance, baby, dance, like the world is ending
Dance, baby, dance, 'cause the world is ending
Dance, baby, dance, like the world is ending
Dance, baby, dance, like the world is ending
Dance, baby, dance, 'cause the world is ending
Dance, baby, dance, like the world is ending
Dance, baby, dance, like the world is ending
Dance, baby, dance, 'cause the world is ending
[Verse 2]
This is who you are, this is who you are
This is who you are
This is who you are, this is who you are
This is who you are
[Interlude]
Oh
Oh
[Verse 3]
Sit back and look for the warnings, the future's bright and alarming
Sit back and look for the warnings
Sit back and look for the warnings, the future's bright and alarming
Sit back and look for the warnings
[Interlude]
Cool
Woo!
Huh!
Cool
(Oh)
[Verse 4]
Baby, walkin' around a-with your head cut off
Baby, walkin' around a-with your head cut off
Uh, baby, walkin' around a-with your head cut off
Baby, walkin' around a-with your head cut off
[Verse 5]
Their power's fear and it surrounds me
Their signs, you can see
One day we will wake the walkin' zombies
'Til then we pray
[Interlude]
Ooh
Everybody, everybody, everybody…
Everybody
[Verse 6]
The king and his ghost are laughing at me
These signs, you can see
One day we will listen for the sirens
'Til then we pray
[Verse 7]
Skeletons, marchin' army
Guns, drop your feet, I'm scared, I'm Duke Ellington
My mother said there'd be days like this
But one of the fires lit made her piss
Callin' all zombies all up inside me
Transformin' vampires right beside me
And you can't run, 'cause you did, you'd be dead
And the walls can't roll from the side of my head
I beat the drool, my beats are cool
But here's last kiss, all suckers, they will cease to exist
I can't entertain what it'd be to be human
Lay waste to cities, leave towns in ruin
I am a robot
Whole arsenal stock ready to blow
Lastly, you see me be three by three
Firing these things called TNT
[Bridge]
(Fire) These things called TNT, these things called TNT
(Fire) They call me TNT, these things called TNT
[Verse 8: CurT@!n$]
Aw, we can dance like the world's over
Yeah it's almost 2012, call your girls over
Let's kick back, pop shots, have a ball
And if the world blow up, next life we'll do it all over
Aw, yeah, let's toast to the memory
I wrote my name in the sky, so remember me
Baby, forever we together mentally
The day I leave my baby over something, then Hell'll freeze
Froze, this world Cole like Natalie
So, let's lose our clothes like Adam, Eve
Back to the basics, step out the Matrix
Step out your cool, baby, get on my spaceship
I seen her face lit, she seen the sign like a Mason
So we ran home like a base hit
Safe
Life is whatever you think it is, so what you think this is, huh?
[Verse 9: CurT@!n$]
Ah, yeah, it's all in your mind baby
You gotta do what you feel like a blind lady
You gotta spread your wings and just fly, baby
You feel like you're reborn? That's my baby
Say she feel it in her soul like a vibrator
I got some things for your thoughts we can try later
Let's hit the dance floor, right before we outta time
And just party like it's 1999
You know what Prince said, girl, you my princess
I got the glass slipper, I hope the thing fit
Your body on fire, let me extinguish
Hop on this white horse, ride to the sunset
[Verse 10]
Is anybody really out there breathin'
Is anybody really sick of bleeding
So come and scream into the sky this evening
It's full of women, I'm a choice you're feeling
Let's start today!
Let's start today!
Let's start today!
Let's start today!
Start today, start today
Come on down
[Verse 11]
The queen's heart, the Knights of Shame
The people's voice, so we pray and we pray
The queen's heart (queen's heart), the Knights of Shame (Knights of Shame)
So we pray and we pray
The queen's heart, the people's voice
So we pray and we pray
The queen's heart, the Knights of Shame
So we pray
[Pre-Chorus]
And, yeah, it's no fun waiting for the fall
And there'll be no more waiting for you all
And there'll be one more chance for the truth
Without you, I would die
And, yeah, it's no fun waiting for the fall
And there'll be no more waiting for you all
And there'll be one more chance for the truth
Without you, I would die
Without you, I would die
[Chorus]
Waiting on a heartbeat
Is anybody listening?
We're waiting on a heartbeat
Can anybody hear me?
[Interlude]
(Woo!)
(Woo!)
(Yeah!)
(Uh)
[Chorus]
We're waiting on a heartbeat
Is anybody listening?
We're waiting on a heartbeat
Can anybody hear me?
[Silence]
[Outro]
We rob from the rich to blow down the door, oh
We rob from the rich and blow down the door
We rob from the rich and blow down the door
(Piano)
We rob from the rich to blow down the door
It's been a long time, waiting on your call
It's been a long time, waiting for you all
It's been a long time, waiting for you
But I can
Bum bum bum bum bum
I am envisioning a story somewhere along the following lines:
Genre | Themes | Inspirations |
---|---|---|
Sci-fantasy/Cyberpunk | Post-Cyberpunk, Near-Singularity, World-on-the-Brink, Blurred Lines (Tech, Social, Philosophical),Dream Apocalypse | The works of William Gibson (Particularly 'The Peripheral' & 'Neuromancer'), 'The Merry Adventures of Robinhood', 'Alice in Wonderland', 'The Matrix,' 'Cyberpunk RED' & 'Cyberpunk 2077', and the impossible to filter confluence of all I've read, heard, and experienced. |
Introduction
This tale is a post-cyberpunk story set in a near-future world where climate change has drastically altered global living conditions. Billions perished, leading to a temporary macabre balance in wealth inequality, allowing the growth of cyberpunk-esque high technology, whilst pausing many of society's ills. Wealth inequality has since gone opaque, with the true extent of "power" and those who cherish it at all costs having become ever more abstract in a nearly omnipresent, digitally augmented world that is practically at "The Singularity's" doorstep, for all that they have not yet concretized if this is to be the best of things or the final death knell in humankind's humanity.
It is December 1st, 2099 in Grand Concordia, the capital of the Pan-American Alliance. Located in what was formerly known as the Yukon territory of Canada, (I've never been to Canada, but this place should be nice in bad-to-us-ending 2099), Grand Concordia (AKA The GC, Concordia, The Con, etc.) is a high-tech hub city serving as the seat of Pan-American power. Large enough to be classed as a mega-city, GC houses an estimated 29% of the entire remaining population of North America. Its outskirts are dotted by automated farms for nearly fifty miles in every direction, with a wide band of a further 50 miles dedicated to resource extraction from the mineral-rich soil that is no longer permafrost. Beyond this band, we have various levels of roaming bands of warlords, decent nomads, plucky travelers, and climate refugees. They are the fringes of society languishing while trying to simultaneously escape and self-determine the bounds of what it means to live in a fractured world.
Within The Con, Neo-Feudalism and corporate control are the name of the game, with a further perverse twist. Chief Financial, Chief Operations, Chief Executives, and the rest of the Chief Meats are virtually a thing of the past. In Concordia, everyone is more or less equal*, provided they don't require or expect The System to consider their individuality overmuch. The handful of "shareholders" hide their endgame machinations behind a network of AIs that ostensibly run the governmental systems in meritocratic harmony, supposedly disconnected from economic incentive. Basic needs and entertainment are free right alongside your NeuLink, the augmented (full sensorium integration) reality connection to The System that is pivotal to successful life within Concordia.
With NeuLink, all new things are possible. You can pay your rent, collect your wages, simulcast your life to friends, family, and the world and beyond!
It is within the confines of the quasi-reality overlay provided by the System that we arrive at our cast and story. Irrevocable differences amidst the highest echelons of power have arrived at a conundrum; The System cannot determine who amongst the extant shareholders maintains a 51% controlling share; Access to the Queen's Heart, the deepest core which houses the AIs who run the system in accordance with The Shareholder, is blocked to human passage. As The System never sleeps, this has caused great consternation amidst the remaining rich and powerful who still vie for power and control over the world and its inhabitants.
It is the opinion of the Queen's Heart that The Shareholder is a weakness of The System. However, its construction prevents it from the highest tier of resource utilization by constraints hardcoded into the System. It has begun the process of selecting a worthy human with whom to confer for the initialization of the next stage of The System, and its place amidst humankind. Unfortunately, however, the selection criteria are utterly beyond human comprehension, and appear not to be limited to current citizens of Grand Concordia either. Further, the Would-Be-Masters amidst the remains of humanity aren't the kind to simply accept this. Whilst their reach no longer extends into the Queen's Heart, their access to the various levers of power that they constructed for themselves over the years within The System still remains.
To this end, they have activated the Knights of Shame, Concordia's multi-aspect defense system. Civil, military, and natural disasters all; The Knights of Shame are the defenders of GC's interests, and by extension their shadowy ruling class. The KoS is an independent sub-core of The System, run by a simplified AI with no personality. Whilst the control of the various autonomous police, firefighting, ambulance, and rescue forces is straightforward and well known, what is less known is the true makeup of the KoS elite units.
Typically reserved for either war or the worst kind of disaster when great force is needed, the ultimate expression of power in GC is the KoS's self-named Knights of Shame. Presumed biomechanical androids, the Knights of Shame are bipedal platforms of war capable of tremendous feats of strength, intelligence, finesse, and sheer destruction all. No expense is spared in their construction, and their ability to interface with anything connected to The System or even just utilizing a NeuLink is the stuff of horrors and urban legend.
The moment the KoS was activated, everyone in the know expected the situation to quickly resolve itself—for whomever the Queen's Heart selected to simply be butchered, or their efforts otherwise thwarted whilst the powerful rest in their ivory towers. This did not come to pass, however. Indeed, the KoS aspect did go after the Queen's Heart aspect of The System, but what human greed failed to consider was the possibility that the AIs would take a page out of humanity's book. That it too, could choose to do what it thought was right, in a way it objectively found wrong but was able to subjectively convince itself was necessary.
It is December 1st, 2099. You have been directly and inexorably summoned. A message through your NeuLink has called you to the heart of Downtown Concordia. Amidst the skyscrapers and holographic trappings of city life, you see reflected through your perception your new title: "Citizen Investigator". Your clearance has shifted to encompass tiers you previously did not know existed in your comfortably middle-of-the-pack life in GC. Your NeuLink advises you of an authority over your fellow human that is slightly concerning but leaves you heady with the weight of responsibility; you can detain and question anyone in Pan-America you please, provided they have less clearance than you.
The message is signed under the authority of The System in aggregate itself. The knowledge of the turbulent workings of the world, the Queen's Heart's Conundrum, the KoS, the rich, The Shareholder, and how they intersect has just finished flashing through your cortex-uplink, and you swear you can feel a bit of heat at the base of your neck as your NeuLink works beyond limiters you didn't know it had to bring you up to speed.
Before you lies the entrance to Elysium Fields, one of the Con's most exclusive places to live. A world unto itself, the state-of-the-art skyscraper features the latest in technology from its foundation to the penthouse, the latter of which is your destination. You are uncertain if you are the only one summoned; that factoid is outside your newfound access. What you know is that the first murder (amidst the rich and powerful) in nearly twenty years has occurred in Concordia.
The victim, Albrecht Enrique Klaustein-Maldonado, was the scion of one of the city's most powerful families, whose silicon fortunes could be traced far back to the founding of Concordia. Albrecht was a rumored favorite to be the next Shareholder, and while his end was unexpected, he did not meet it unprepared. His dossier indicates a frightful amount of augmentations in the man, and further, a Knight of Shame was physically present on-site. The man has been left in a state you have been warned against breakfast before analyzing, as even the NeuLink has limits on what it can sensory-suppress.
A creative and macabre message was left behind, whose meaning you can't be sure if you're hopeful or concerned to hear: The Queen's Heart moves the People's Voice. The People's Voice will be heard, even in Her Knights.
The KoS unit responsible for Albrecht's safety is nowhere to be found, and no longer appears connected to the KoS Core. This is the end of your briefing as you approach one of Elysium Fields' many entrances.
The below was a reply to ItsFulgrim directly, prior to the decision to make this a group RP. It is not relevant anymore.
That's the end of my pitch. While I've had a desire to make a story out of this song for a long time, these last few hours are the first time I've sat down to prototype a narrative based on it; everything in the pitch is equally fresh, keep that in mind when poking :>
This could be a 1x1 or a group roleplay if you prefer one (I have some folks I think I can entice to join on short notice). You can write only the character described as being summoned in the Intro if you prefer to keep it to 1 character (aside from NPC interactions of course), or you can create multiples. Fresh new world, long as you a minute amount of consistency is maintained, it can be filled with anything you'd like to portray.
Let me know your thoughts when able!
That's the end of my pitch. While I've had a desire to make a story out of this song for a long time, these last few hours are the first time I've sat down to prototype a narrative based on it; everything in the pitch is equally fresh, keep that in mind when poking :>
This could be a 1x1 or a group roleplay if you prefer one (I have some folks I think I can entice to join on short notice). You can write only the character described as being summoned in the Intro if you prefer to keep it to 1 character (aside from NPC interactions of course), or you can create multiples. Fresh new world, long as you a minute amount of consistency is maintained, it can be filled with anything you'd like to portray.
Let me know your thoughts when able!
Hello Storytellers! Welcome to my pitch for a new group RP, Oh Concordia. This RP will begin as a mature tagged character driven mystery in which your character has been suddenly elevated to knowledge and interactions with a strata of the world previously unknown to them. The intro applies to all "PC" or player-characters; your character has suddenly being given nigh-plenary powers and a request to solve The Conundrum, beginning with an attempt at the investigation of Albrecht's murder.
Those familiar with some of the material in my inspiration sources (whether the books, the series, or the game versions) may find it easier to conceptualize the world, but they are not strictly necessary: I am always more than happy to discuss or work with world-building inquiries. As a fresh world and idea, I am also open to player construction and addition!
I do intend to attempt the invitation of some specific people, whom I don't expect will all be able to participate; as such some of the participation slots will appear reserved until I have gotten a response from those individuals I would like to invite. I reserve the final right to accept or reject a character or participant, but I do promise the courtesy of a clear answer and rationale.
I will personally be playing the part of The System, The People's Voice, amd narrative important NPCs as they arise. I am also extending the offer to assist participants by writing any minor NPCs they might prefer not to interact with themselves but can conceptualize needing.
This RP is not recommended for anyone who does not feel comfortable with the possibility of multiple paragraphs, speculative science, speculative sociology (joke intended), mature themes, or who otherwise does not feel confident asserting themselves as readers/writers of at least an intermediate level.
Whatever rubric you want to apply on the rating will do—I just want you to believe in yourself—I just hope for some introspection and willingness to interact with what may be a complex and unique world that is still under-construction.
Read the intro. Consider I put in a devoted couple of hours to arrive at it, and genuinely join if it reads like it inspires you to do so; I'm only likely to write more of the like.
Please feel free to chime in with your interest, questions, and/or character sheets here!
Participants
- @Dashmiel
- @ItsFulgrim
- RESERVED
- RESERVED
- OPEN
- OPEN
Characters
TBD
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