REMAINS OOC

A special invitation was sent out to residents of the Capitol today, inviting them to a special event being held in the Senate Gallery tomorrow, November 8 (11/22 - 11/24.) This is a formal ball held in honor of the Full Frost Moon, or at least that's what the invitation says. (The full moon of November is the Full Frost Moon, also known as the Beaver Moon because it is the time to set traps before the ice of winter sets in.) The invitation was also extended to some special guests outside of the Capitol, who are free to bring a date if they wish.

For this elegant soirée, the Senate Gallery has been converted into a ballroom with a night-sky theme. In a lavish show of the Capitol's resources, dinner will be served to guests beforehand-- a choice of chicken, fish, steak, or vegetarian entrees will be offered. A generously stocked bar will also be available to guests, including wine and a variety of liquors. A live band will be playing a mix of big band and jazz, with lots of classy retro flair. Formal attire is required. Guests visiting from other shelters will be provided accommodations in their own Capitol-posh private rooms. Entry to the shelter and to the event will be discreetly guarded by patrolmen, who will ensure that the Capitol can't be infiltrated by any unwanted guests.

If your character will be attending the ball, use this post to plot threads! An open thread post will go up on November 22 for this event, where your characters will be free to show up and strut their stuff in their finest formalwear!

As far as the residents of Austin are aware, there are no other cities left standing in Texas-- and, for all they know, the world as a whole. So how has Austin managed to shelter so many survivors, you ask? It's all thanks to the quick work of one very disaster-prepared man, Mayor Reeves Olinger.

Reeves Olinger had been Mayor of Austin for five years before the infection touched Texas, but he had been researching disaster contingency plans far longer than that. From the first moment that news of a virus that could potentially become a pandemic reached him, Olinger began preparing for the worst in Austin. By the time the virus hit the States and traveled to Texas, the emergency responders in Austin had been put through so many Infection Simulation Drills that they knew exactly what to do. Thanks to efficient and orderly procedures, Austin didn't fall to chaos and panic the way that so many other cities did. As far as folks are aware, the only thing that Olinger hadn't already planned for was the massive quantities of blister gas dumped on Austin. This gas was developed for use against the infected populations, but it was not as effective as the U.S. Military had hoped. The gas didn't kill off the infected, but it did make them about ten thousand times more horrifying by burning much of the flesh from their bodies. It also destroyed plant and animal life in Austin, and it appears to have had an adverse reaction on phone lines, power grids, and cell towers. After the gas came, Austin lost contact with the outside world. The Mayor and Council maintain that this contact has never been re-established, and that there is no way to verify if any other cities are still standing.

So how does the Capitol look to the people of Austin? That depends on which shelter you're looking from. For many of the workers inside of the Capitol, it is a source of pride and honor to be part of the establishment that helped save thousands of lives. Always keep in mind that while there may be corruption in the Capitol, many of its workers are honest civil servants who truly want to make a difference. Olinger is an eccentric but likable man that is seen as wise, competent, and hardworking to most of his staff. Many also understand why the Mayor has chosen to ask other shelters to trade supplies for water and medicine from the Capitol's stores. Humans crave order and the familiar, and with Mayor Olinger's system, water is money. Supply scouts scour the city for usable resources, and any excess is traded for water from the Capitol. It gives survivors a purpose, and people with a purpose have something to live for. This maintains some semblance of a societal system, even in the disorder of the apocalypse.

Survivors in UMCB are also likely to have a positive opinion of the Capitol. Without their assistance, the hospital could not continue to run and there would be no way to provide effective medical care to the people of Austin. The Capitol provides the hospital with protection in the form of the Mayor's military patrolmen and the Austin Police Department, running water from a water treatment facility secured before the city fell for both the Capitol and the hospital in the early stages of the infection, power from solar panels installed after the gas was dumped, and drinking water from the Capitol's supply stores. UMCB survivors have frequent contact with Capitol staff and patrolmen, and these interactions are on the whole quite positive.

Survivors in the independent shelters of LBJ and Fox Grove may be wary of government interference, but they probably still do not have any major reasons to distrust the Capitol. The Mayor extends offers of assistance to these shelters' leaders, and even when these offers are refused he is happy to continue trading water for supplies from these shelters so that they may have clean drinking water. The Capitol also issues warnings to the leaders of these shelters, informing them of various dangers in and around Austin. The Capitol maintains a friendly and communicative relationship with these shelters, and if their assistance is ever required they are quick to respond.

Raiders and independent survivors may not see the Capitol in quite so positive a light. All those without shelter-issued ID cards are looked at critically by any patrolmen they encounter, but living outside of the shelters is not a cause for arrest unless a crime is being committed. Ghouls are targets for the Capitol's patrolmen and police force because many of them are breaking the law by possessing, using, and dealing the drug Praxacaterol-- but if the drug is not found when a Ghoul is searched and there is no other evidence that they are engaging in criminal activity, a patrolman or police officer has no cause to arrest them. It is not illegal to be a Ghoul or to live in the subways.

The only group of survivors that are always arrested on sight are the Hellhounds. That is because anyone wearing a Hellhound cut is considered part of an illegal enterprise. The Capitol and the Austin Police Department have ruled the Hellhounds to be by definition a gang, that all those associating with them are aiding and abetting criminals, and that the Dog King is a drug lord. The Hellhounds are the sole source of Praxacaterol in the city, a drug which is destructive, harmful, and highly addictive. They also steal from government supply trucks on their way to the UMCB, many of which carry life-saving medicines and water. Hellhounds kill ANY Capitol workers and patrolmen who they encounter on the streets of Austin. Many survivors living in Austin have a far worse opinion of the Hellhounds than they do of the Capitol.

As we go forward, keep these points in mind. While being anti-establishment is cool, most of the survivors in Austin have more reason to distrust a Hellhound than they do the Capitol. We encourage everyone to allow their characters to have their own opinions, but try to imagine how you would see it if you were a survivor in Austin-- would you side with the folks giving everyone water and medicine, or the ones killing cops in the streets and dealing deadly drugs? Circumstances may change further down the line, and opinions may shift, but as of right now many folks have no reason to distrust the Capitol and the Mayor, save for conspiracy theorists and anarchists-- and who listens to them, anyway?