Skies of Gold
Mar 8, 2016 19:34:24 GMT -5
Post by I A A S H A D O W on Mar 8, 2016 19:34:24 GMT -5
A Steampunk adventure of massive proportions.
- created by Iaashadow, with help from Ailer0n -
Starts when Alter ends
Harris, an agricultural town in midwest America has stayed out of the way of the technological revolution of the last five decades. Telegram wires and airship routes don’t drape the streets and skies. Electricity is only used when needed, and families generally live together. Most children go to school for a few years then go to work on their family farms, or in their family houses. Harris has always been this way, and as far as it’s citizenry are concerned, it always will.
Meanwhile technological and industrial progress has seized the world. Major cities all over have become more connected through the ever-accessible airship and the constantly increasing miles of telegraph wire. Large shipping companies and passenger travel giants have become exponentially profitable, allowing them to dive into all sorts of fields of business. Construction, restaurants, household objects, you name it, these companies have a stake in it. Most of all these companies have an interest in bio-enhancement drugs, called Etherides, the newest technological breakthrough.
Etherides, taken in liquid form, are made from a chemical dubbed Ether, recently discovered beneath the earth’s surface. The enhancers can temporarily multiply the effectiveness of the user’s senses, give them superhuman physical abilities, or even enable the outward creation of energy, such as fire or lightning. In the cities, Etherides have taken off, with the airship giants each having their own drug brand in the markets.
Suddenly, a massive supply of Ether is found under Harris, causing a massive immigration of interested shippers, and everything they come with. Suddenly Harris is permeated with money and interest, and companies who want nothing more than to modernize Harris and harvest the expensive raw Ether underneath their town…..
After twisting the arm of the town leaders with unimaginable amounts of money, the Balton-Marbury Corporation begins drilling. However the consequences soon show themselves. Ether is toxic, and the drilling causes the water in the town to poison the crops in the town, leaving the small farmers out of jobs and answers. Balton-Marbury offers jobs for anyone, provided they move to another location to work for high wages in a factory, but the citizens have a strong sense of home, and will try anything to save their town….
Air pirates, strange creatures, mad scientists, exorbitant wealth, volatile power, and incredible danger await you!
---
The Airship Giants:
Balton-Marbury Corporation:
Owned by the egomaniac John Balton Jr, the Balton-Marbury Corporation is the largest company in the world. Their main source of income is shipping. They have monopolized many of the most used shipping routes, and operate most of the infrastructure of England. Balton-Marbury also builds roads, buildings, and wood products. They also have a large arm in the Etheride business, working mostly with elemental enhancers and fine tuning the flashier of the Etherides.
Balton himself lives on a his own fleet of airships, with an artificial island for refueling purposes. Several ships transport fuel and materials to his island in the sky, consisting of several dozen airships linked together with bridges.
B-M Etheride examples: Fire, Electricity, Ice, Air, and metal manipulation drugs. They have a few physical enhancement drugs, but they are rather weak, and really just for B-M manual labor employees.
J. T. Watson and co
Shipping is such a large field that a true monopoly is almost unable to exist, so to fill in anywhere B-M hasn’t taken come J. T. Watson and co. Another, considerably more humane, shipping company, JTW prides itself with high wages for workers and fast travel times, even if it means less profits and size. Other than shipping cargo, JTW creates Guns, tools, and other metal material. They focus on the physical end of Etherides, offering things such as enhanced reflexes, enhanced strength, so on and so forth.
Their owner, J. T. Watson, lives a life full of travel and adventure. He spends little time running his company and instead finds the most exotic locations to explore and document. Many travelers end up running into him or finding him in the strangest of places.
JTW Etheride examples include any type of physical enhancement.
Havenco
Havenco specialize in Passenger travel, and provide surprisingly affordable travel to anyone who needs it. Their ships are incredible noticeable (and everywhere), displaying a large green “H” on their balloons. Havenco dabbles in other fields, but mostly sticks to passenger travel. Their practices and ownership is confidential, and finding a job with them requires signing an NDA. However unlike B-M, the public seems rather ok with this. Havenco has invested in a new series of Etherides, focusing on the mental and emotional. As stated before, their ownership is kept under wraps, and their headquarters are located in a city tethered to a mountain in the alps somewhere.
Havenco’s Etherides can increase mental capacity, computing speed, and emotional reading. They also are working on a form of mental communication and a better empath Etheride, but those are for test subjects only, as they can have side effects.
Yevamary
When you think luxury, think Yevamary. Yevamary airships are stylish, expensive, and typically private. They can be anything from a private travel ship to a home in the sky. They provide a little passenger service, but to the reasonably wealthy. Yevamary has decided to opt out of the Etheride market, and instead look into controversial new biological procedures. These procedures’ goal is to create permanent additions or modifications to the human body in order for them to function better for a certain task. For instance, one of the procedures installs large wings on a patient’s back in order for them to fly from airship to airship during work in the sky. Yevamary intends to sell this technology once it’s finished, but for now is still testing it. Any citizen is able to get paid to have a dangerous procedure performed on them if the opportunity is available.
Yevamary is privately owned by Varvara Kuznetsov, a hardheaded businesswoman operating from Moscow, Russia.
A few notes on Etherides:
Etherides last around 24 hours and only one at a time works.
Taking etherides in immediate succession can induce the harsher effects of Ether poisoning, drowsiness, clumsiness, and a likelihood to faint randomly. It is recommended you go a day clean before taking another.
All company etherides have a latch system, a modified ether poisoning that creates a bad reaction to any other companies’ products that is permanent. There is no known cure for Ether ‘latching’ or poisoning.
Depending on the brand, they can cost between $20-80
A few notes on the world:
Airplanes and computers do not exist.
Electricity is used for lights and convenience, but is not better than the incredibly efficient fuel used for Airships.
The Telegraph is the main form of long distance communication.
There are no mechanical prosthetics, or mechanical mods.
Guns exist as they did in 1900
More clarification information
There aren't government restrictions on companies
Cargo Airships in this world can carry ~250 tons of cargo
Trains exist in some capacity in the inner US
Harris is 80 miles from Chicago, a small, but advanced, town. There are no roads to Harris, and it's generally unknown to the cities. It's seen as just more farms.
Harris citizens aren't aware of most events, however they know the large cities exist, and that airships are the main form of travel in those cities. However, the rest of knowledge about the cities among Harris citizens is urban legend.
Boats are not used that often, but they have a few purposes, mainly aquatic AA guns
ty MS for title card
Character form (you made it!)
Name:
Place of origination: (Harris, or existing large city)
Gender: (If gender is diff than sex pls note)
Age:
Etheride company: (Are you latched? To who?)
Bio:
Appearance:
((Making teens is encouraged! But the age range is 13-35 unless I tell you otherwise. Your first character must currently live in Harris, they can be from another place and move in when the story starts if you wish.))
Have fun!