| Electric City |
[21 Jul 08\3:00pm] |
Introduction;
Electric City takes its name from the series of five hydroelectric dams that stitch together the metropolis halved by Central River. Before the dams were built in the early twentieth century Electric City in its infancy was once cloaked in a perpetual mist due to the series of water falls, now converted to reservoirs by the dams. Because the metropolis easily bests Chicago for the title of windiest city and is no stranger to hurricane force winds it has more recently become home to one of the most ambitious wind farm projects in the country located several miles outside of city limits.
Almost one-fifth of the population of Electric City lives below the poverty line in addition to a large homeless population. Good paying jobs are scarce, the crime rate is unusually high and meth labs are easily spotted in its poorest neighborhoods by their melted polyester curtains and tin-foiled windows. Desperate people are a dime a dozen. Some turn to petty crime, while others claim they're called to a higher purpose. The mob, the psychos and the wannabes have no problem finding lackeys eager to follow them.
♦ Electric City boasts an extensive light rail system that connects Old and New Town together, some of the tracks even run over a few of the dams making the ride a popular scenic tourist attraction.
♦ Has an extensive Irish Heritage and hosts the largest St. Patrick's Day Celebration outside of Boston, in addition to An Ri Rah which is a Irish cultural celebration that takes place in the summer.
Locations;
Old Town
The heart of Electric City, it's laid out in a perfect grid back when the city was originally constructed in the mid-nineteenth century. The structures here are older and rarely reach above five stories in height. Most of the buildings are historical landmarks and because of this it is frequently used by movie studios to shoot period pictures of the early to mid nineteenth century. Some call it picturesque. Old Town is a favorite for the organized crime rings that plague Electric City who favor it's aged charm.
♦ University of Electric City
Located in Old Town, UEC is a highly affluent private academic institution. The university is organized into seven undergraduate colleges and seven graduate divisions, each defining its own academic programs in near autonomy. The student body consists of over 13,000 undergraduate and 6,000 graduate students from all fifty states and one hundred twenty-two countries.
♦ Everyday Care Child Development Center
Located in Old Town, ECCDC (the 'CDC' part is a new addition to the name) has been caring for children ages 1 to 5 years old for almost a decade. The daycare center (that never admits to be one) promises a friendly and dedicated staff, reasonable fees, and more importantly: happy and safe children. Despite these and the center's newly repainted and refurnished facilities, it remains a difficulty to inspire an increase from their dwindling student population. Most of its parent customers come from referrals. The center shares the ground floor of an old commercial building with Electric Cafe.
♦ Electric Cafe
Located in Old Town, Electric Cafe has been around for a long long time. A sharp contrast to the brighter and colorful daycare center besides it, the dimly lit and dull brown cafe has never gone through any much changes. The jazz vinyl records decorating its brick walls from day one are still hanging there. The cafe caters primarily to an old laidback crowd although it also attracts New Town kids who want to get an authentic bohemian feel, or just a taste of its trademark roasts. The cafe's newspaper rack hasn't been updated since Walt Manchester's death.
New Town
The modern half of Electric City's downtown composed of sky scrapers, nightclubs, and a near constant bustling of Electric City. Old Town and New Town are almost perfectly divided by Central River. Looking from one half to the other it's hard not to get the impression that you're looking through time into another world.
♦ River State University
Located in New Town, RSU is a public university, sometimes looked down upon as a glorified community college by Electric City's upper class. The University does offer excellent vocational programs in the areas of Health Sciences, Business, Technology and General Education. It also has the better football team. One of the local jokes goes, "How can you tell a doctor from a nurse?" The answer being, "The nurse is an RSU football fan."
♦ Electric City General Hospital
Located in New Town, this glass- and steel-front building seems more suited to be a high-powered law firm than a hospital. While new and clean, kept updated by donations from the City's small but privileged elite, EC General is sterile and unwelcoming, efficient but impersonal.
♦ Blood Bite Incorporated
Located in New Town, this multi-million dollar company recently opened its new branch headquarters in Electric City with the construction of one of the city's largest skyscrapers. Designed as a giant building of glass, it reflects the sunlight during the day and emits an eerie iridescent array of colors at night. Only its heighest floor is blacked out from the sun, supporting tabloid rumors that Seth Sunnington, the company's president and CEO, is a blood-sucking creature of the night. Blood Bite Incorporated currently runs product lines in the fields of: clothing, cosmetics, makeup, music, literature, and lingerie; all with a gothic feel to it. During the month of October, all employees are required to dress in vampiric and ghoulish attire.
♦ The Electric City Times
Recently relocated to a brand new headquarters in New Town, The EC Times is the city's oldest and most reputable daily news publication. The paper's offices occupy two floors in the new Harrows Building. The first floor is home to the News Room, an almost completely open space, filled with individual desks ringing a free-standing conference room. The outer walls and the conference room walls are made of floor-to-ceiling reinforced glass, giving the floors occupants a view out to the city around them. The second floor is reserved for editors' offices, including Editor-in-Chief, Miles Palmer. Space is also reserved in the basement of the Harrows Building as dark rooms for the paper's photographers.
♦ Elysian Fields
Located in Old Town, this upscale male escort agency is ran out of the left half of a converted dance studio that was once noteworthy in the 1950s. Owned and operated by Luther Fox, this business caters to both male and female clientele. This is not your run-of-the-mill escort agency, however. Payments are due upfront and in full, and both employees and clients are entitled to confidentiality contracts. Expensive and elite, this agency is more than willing to suit your needs (be it a dinner date, red carpet arm candy, or evening of temptation) so long as your pocketbook isn't too light.
North End
Electric City's aging warehouse district. This is the bad part of town that even the cops don't like going to. It's the playground for Hellions and other criminals who fancy that they've conquered a small patch of the city. In a way, they're right.
♦ The Rusty Nail
Located on the fringe of North End and Old Town, The Rusty Nail is a popular hole-in-the-wall pub among laid off dam employees. With no particular theme or decor, the bar is set up saloon style with a few card tables, a torn-up pool table, and crooked chronological pictures of various reconstructions of the Electric City dams. Smoking is always permitted. Tipping is appreciated.
♦ Ruby's Cafe
One of the last Mom and Pop diners in existance. Ruby's Cafe is popular for being inexpensive, decent and most of all quick. During the mornings and afternoons especially Sunday afternoons, the place is packed with the elderly living on fixed incomes treating themselves to a good meal. At nights the place is packed with cops, who get extra special treatment and free coffee. A wise move considering the diner's location. Not even the Hellions go near it.
Allentown
Allentown; A beautiful, peaceful suburb 3 hours outside of Electric City. Allentown is the City's exact opposite: The population is made up of families on the higher economic scale and there is very little crime. Electric City, though the closest metropolitan area, is still quiet exotic to most people growing up in the quiet town.
Worthwright's
Worthwright's- The big chain pharmacy most prominent in Electric City. Most stores are 24-hour service, complete with drive-thru pharmacies in some of the nicer buildings. The city is peppered with the convenience store- you can hardly walk for ten minutes before happening upon one, no matter what part of the city you're in.
Want to add a location or business to the city? Comment here!
The Dreamlands
Introduction;
The Dreamlands are a vast, alternate reality that can be entered through dreams, similar to astral projection or lucid dreaming. Dreamers from the real world experience what starts out as a normal dream but find a set of seventy-seven marble stairs leading down. The stairs are can be difficult to find, but the observant will find them just slightly out of place. The stairs lead into an empty stone cavern which house the remains of two cloaked, giant winged creatures. From the cavern a set of seven hundred stairs descend further down, gradually changing from stone to wood. The end of the stairway leads from a large opening of a tree and into a forrest.
From here the dream becomes extremely lucid. Those who dream in black and white will now see in color. While dreamers start out with nothing, not even clothing, they have the ability to "dream" up simple clothing and non-mechanical items.
♦ The level of technology in the Dreamlands is equivalent to early 1600s Europe.
♦ Time passes differently in the Dreamlands. You can go to sleep and end up spending hours, days, weeks or even months in the Dreamlands before waking up. Also you could end up in the Dreamlands during the day or night, despite the time you fall asleep in the real world.
♦ Going back up the stairs will result in your character waking up. Your character can will themselves to wake up... sometimes it doesn't work.
♦ You do have to eat and sleep in the Dreamlands if you spend an extended amount of time there. Dreaming in the Dreamlands-- for now-- is exactly like dreaming anywhere else.
Locations;
The West
The most well-known region of the Dreamlands and is probably the most inhabited as well. It is where dreamers emerge from the Steps of Deeper Slumber.
The Underworld
A subterranean region that runs beneath the whole of the Dreamlands. It is similar to conventional descriptions of Hades, which some areas being much more dangerous to enter than others.
The Moon
Parallel to that of the Waking World, it is inhabited, though not somewhere anyone would recommend visiting. Interestingly, it is possible for a ship to sail off the edge of the Dreamlands and travel through space to the moon and to other stars. Some of the stars will take you to the Dreamlands of other planets, while other stars are actually the sleeping minds of other Dreamers.
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