L O S . D E L O S . C I T Y + d e s e r t . m i r a g e

if flesh could crawl
my skin would fall from off my bones
and run away from here
this far from God, as Heaven is Wide
this far from God, as angels can fly

--garbage, "as heaven is wide"

L O S . D E L O S . C I T Y: A massive, concrete inspired poli-composite, circular metropolis of human living quarters and activity, divided officially into two main subsections. Every inch of Delos City is covered in manmade materials, with few large open areas. Essentially, it is a city of gray concrete-like building blocks, rising into the skies as far as the eye can see. Taking up roughly 3/4's of Los Delos' land area is the Upper City, a newer, heavily urbanized, dirty, and highly technological section to the north, home to Delos' affluent 'Class A' citizenship. To the south is the Lower City, the much smaller, original Delos City area holding Delos' unfortunate 'Class B' citizenship, the poor, embittered, less than desirables, and is composed of near ancient, destitute buildings, several crime rampant residential areas and above all, a large chunk of the urban vampyre and Offspring populations.

Delos City is further divided into three official height levels: the undersphere (subterranean levels), terrasphere (ground level), and aerosphere (levels 250 stories and above). These are divided a third time into individual sublevels, referred to by the abbreviation of their UC or LC location, followed by the corresponding number, relative to their position from ground level.

Living quarters for Los Delos City citizens consist of L.D.H.O. built and supervised apartment complexes, not known for their cleanliness or spaciousness, and generally consisting of two to three box-like rooms each. Each apartment is issued to a citizen upon reaching the age of eighteen and includes the basic amenities necessary to life. Electricity, holocommunications, food and clothing, on some minimal level, are provided free of charge. The quality of housing one is issued depends on the amount one can afford to pay and one's class (aristocracy, the virtually non-existent middle class, lower class) and importance to the City. Aristocracy members live exclusively in Upper City in significantly better accommodations. The rest are left with less than pleasant accommodations in the Upper City or the even more despairing Lower City where the already overall rampant crime rate doubles in severity.
u p p e r . c i t y (u c):: When the L.D.H.O. decided to expand and push the limits of technology fifty years into Delos' lifespan, they built the Upper City, 9000 feet straight up, 750 building stories, with a ground level, and two sections in the aerosphere, the three further divided into approximately 250 stories each. A fourth underground level marks the beginning of the Undercity and the Tram System. The bulk of the ground level houses the UC's manufacturing needs and food synthesis plants, with the 1st aerosphere section holding the UC's "lower class" residential areas, and the 2nd aerosphere section providing a technological city in the sky for Delos' wealthiest. Buildings of the Upper City are not rectangular skyscrapers, rather most feature oblong or otherwise rounded dome designs with massive ceilings and insanely wide corridors and inner entryways. To reduce the need to travel between aerosphere levels and promote true multi-layer feel, the L.D.H.O. linked buildings in the aerosphere with covered tube walk ways, over a hundred yards are more wide. Other buildings "merge" with each other, with the connecting points between the two up to a hundred feet wide.; DELOS PRIME (UC0): The oldest and ground level of the UC. Dirty, dusty, and characterized by the faint stench stemming from the massive underground pipes that transport waste products outside City walls. Decades of high chemical pollutant production in the air has permanently stained many of the ground level building surfaces rust red. Sunlight fails to reach most sections of Delos Prime, and so artificial neo-glo lighting has been implimented instead. The majority of its use is reserved for industrial and engineering needs, home to the UC's Industrial Centre (aptly placed at UC0's center), with a sprinkling of public establishments networked in-between and along the outskirts. Delos Prime serves as the only official point of entry into the UC, where UC Class A citizens are free to cross into the Lower City along its border, nicknamed 'The Valley'. Militia strongholds are located here, including the Delos Militia Patrol Building and Patrol Square. Skylark's DECA facilities are also situated here, in the UC0's southernmost sector.; DEEP BLUE (UC1): The UC's first aerosphere level, starting roughly 250 stories (3000 feet) into the air and continuing up another 3000. When the second aerosphere level was built atop UC1, sunlight was blotted out almost totally from much of its center area. In response, the L.D.H.O. installed experimental lighting fixtures called 'loglos,' a type of highly efficient phosphoric lighting apparatus that produced a milky blue white glow. The longer a loglo burned, the richer and bluer its light became, and the section quickly earned the nickname 'Deep Blue' after the incessant ghostly blue tinge saturating its entirety. In latter years the public began avoiding setting up residence in the darkest inner sections of UC1, and in response the City confiscated much of its core for government and otherwise restricted access establishments. High Security Access Pan South Labs and the first 250 stories of the L.D.H.O. HQ's Gabri Towers are located in the Locked Sector at the heart of Deep Blue.; THE HYRDO: Technically, the start of UC2. A ten foot thick spiderweb network sublevel of water, separating large sections of UC1 from UC2, used dually for water needs in UC2 and to generate hydroelectric power for most of UC1.; SOLACE (UC2): Solar powered uppercrust aerosphere level of the Upper City, beginning 6000 feet up and continuing again for half that. The cloud city of the wealthy and political. Hologardens adorn most public areas, with buildings here themed in silver and metallic shades, with sharp stylish angles and complicated networks of aerial bridges known for their impressive views.
l o w e r . c i t y (l c):: The Lower City is the oldest section of Los Delos, originally the famed Los Delos military base of the last century. Much of its original structures of the military establishment are long destroyed, but a few of the personal housing sections remain in pathetic fashion, dotting the already dingy cityscape with the remnants of the literally falling down structures, their metal beams poking through the crumbling building materials like the decaying skeletons of ancient monstrosities. The government long ago abandoned the LC, leaving it to Delos' undesirables, the lower Class B citizens, and eventually the twisted, criminal prone, and any otherwise 'Illegal' noncitizens. The LC is divided into three official sectors, the Undercity, Old District, and the Parsecs, though two others unofficially exist, the Jupiter Run and Spider's Dusk. The Patrol regularly spies on the Lower City, with hidden video surveillance equipment strewn everywhere.; OLD DISTRICT (LC0): Base level to 200 stories up. Densely populated, very old and in sickening need of government attention, a jumble of rectangular impoverished structures, cheap low level housing establishments, and club scenes. If the Upper City can be called dirty, then the Old District grotesque. Roughly 1/4 the size of the UC. Extremely dangerous and violence prone. Patrol raids on suspected Illegals establishments have become common to the point where no one bats even an eyelash when the deep swishing hum of an EMC Patrol unit screams through.; THE PARSECS (LC1): Abandoned skeletal upper sector of the LC, beginning at 2400 feet and continuing a bare 300 more upward (equivalent roughly to 12 stories). Now personal playground of the criminally minded. Originally the Patsecs were the City's attempt at adding the first aerosphere level to the Old District before there was an Upper City. It failed miserably. Poli-composite and plastron cable had yet to be invited, and no variation of concrete or steel wire could adequately sustain an aerial level over a hundred and fifty feet in the air, given the harsh winds of the desert situated City. Much of the original upper level cracked and crumbled before completion, and so LC1 was never put into use. In spots more than just rusted steel beams exist, with the occasional gutted room or series of partially completed rooms dotting the skyscape. The only means of reaching LC1 is via bare bones access elevators used during the level's construction. Most of these no longer work.; SPIDER'S DUSK: Superimposed into the Lower City side of the Undercity, the shafts and networks of sealed off access ways once used to service the original Tram System. These areas have now been seized by the members of the Spider's Dusk movement, Crestfallen urban vampyres and Offspring united against the Sangiu'matii and L.D.H.O.; JUPITER RUN: Occasionally called 'The Bottoms.' Lowest level of the undersphere, and site of an intricate network of subterranean military bunkers and dead testing facilities left over from the late 21st century. Few know how to access the mind numbing depths of Jupiter Run, the area rumored to have spawned the Jupiter Virus two hundred years earlier and supposedly the one point of unguarded entry between the UC and LC.
t h e . u n d e r c i t y:: Closely monitored via Order video surveillance equipment. Top most undersphere level of both the UC and LC. The Undercity originated as the underground boarding stations of the Tram System during the days when the original lines serviced both the northern and southern sectors of Los Delos. Big business quickly got the idea to expand their reach to the already expansive network of Tram stations, installing sites of leisure and shopping opportunities and eventually gutting out much of Los Delos' deep foundation a half mile under. The Undercity was born, and continued to grow in both size and popularity, eventually lacking only in residential areas. The Undercity no longer connects the UC and LC, nor is it a perfect circle like Delos above. Neither does it reach even half the total size of the combined cities. The connecting points between UC and LC were long ago bulldozed totally or permanently sealed off, where the UC portion was then converted into a much larger subterranean entertainment hot spot. The LC sections remain closer to the original version, complete with (usually) working stations and active, if very poorly maintained, Tram lines.
t h e . v a l l e y:: The Upper and Lower Cities are separated above ground by an unadorned poli-composite trough, twelve yards across, cutting clean through the length of the UC and LC border. This dividing line has been nicknamed 'The Valley,' assumedly in mock reference to the biblical 'Valley of the Shadow of Death.' Along this line, twenty checkpoints exist, each evenly spaced apart, and heavily guarded by elite Delos Patrol units. Authorized individuals and Class A citizens may pass freely through these checkpoints, moving between the cities. Individuals are scanned for valid CP No. implants and clearance levels. The rest of the expanse is controlled by massive wall mounted laser cannons set to auto target and destroy any moving object attempting to cross the Valley. The system is, in fact, highly effective.
t r a m . s y s t e m:: Before the completion of UC1 and the start of UC2, public transportation in Los Delos consisted of the underground Tram System, a network of tram car tunnels connecting the different ground level segments of the Upper and Lower Cities. Soon after construction on Solace began, the Order shut down usage of the original Tram lines in the Upper City, reserving the old system for passage within the Lower City only. A month later, the L.D.H.O. declared the creation of 'Class A' and 'Class B' citizenship, in a long coming effort to further separate the City's growing 'undesirables' from the upper classes. Class B was to be officially confined to the Lower City, and so construction on a new, separate Upper City Tram System began, leaving LC citizens with no way to cross over into the UC.
e x o d u s:: Surrounding Delos City is a 'dead zone' of one exact mile, an area lacking buildings or manmade material of any kind. At the edge of this circular perimeter is a three foot tall, unadorned gray wall, one foot thick and made of a poli-composite brick material. This is the perimeter wall and projecting from it, a hundred feet into the air and another hundred into the ground is an invisible electrified energy shield, capable of incinerating any object crossing its border. The wall and the dead zone together are referred to as Exodus, the final barrier between Delos and the Wastelands.
t h e . w a s t e l a n d s:: The term Wastelands refers to the unadorned desert lands immediately surrounding Los Delos City, with the landscape of much of its dry sands unmapped and unknown to City inhabitants. What is certain is that anything out there, be it flora, fauna, or otherwise, must possess a massive evolutionary survival instinct, as without the City's massive cooling system, outside temperatures often soar well into the 100's, water supplies are scarce, and all breeds of nasty creatures stalk its sands. In stark contrast to its daytime temperament, night time temperatures often drop to nearly freezing level and vicious night sand storms are a common occurrence. Supposed homeland of the High Blood and others of the Sangiu'matii.
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B A C K G R O U N D | W O R L D . O V E R V I E W
e r a . o f . g e n e t i c s:: For decades humanity�s great scientists had been fascinated with the possibility of artificial intelligence. Since the invention of computers, life had been made easier and easier with improved technology. Programs could write and accomplish numerous tasks. "Smart chips" capable of learning beyond the boundaries of their programming had been in existence for almost one hundred years. And finally, in the mid 21st century, the first true artificial intelligence program was created. Designed by the military for use in strategic planning, artificial intelligence or AIs became a reality. It was only a matter of time before AIs would take on the form of a human body. Later in the same century just such an occurrence did take place, a feat accomplished by the then Japanese-controlled computer company known as GAL TECH. The company would eventually become the number one producer of artificial intelligence programs. Later, what was to be called the predecessor of GAL TECH would clone the first human. The AI industry reached its peak in the late 21st century with the advent of Cyborgs, AI programs that were fully sentient and flawlessly human in appearance and behavior. In 2089 the Cyborg Rebellion would send the science of AI technology into a downward spiral so violent that it would never recover. Shortly afterward many of humanity's governments either fully outlawed all genetic experimentation or at the very least put into place many stringent restrictions. Man's curiosity would soon find a new hobby in mass space exploration.
e r a . o f . s p a c e . e x p l o r a t i o n:: If the 21st century would come to be called the Era of Genetics, then 22nd became the Era of Space Exploration as privately funded space exploration companies once again took over the industry, dozens scrambling each to push the envelope further, the technology harder, and mankind's charts of the universe farther. This movement would eventually result with the contact of various very simple alien lifeforms. Early parts of the century resulted in the colonization of Earth's moon and several bitterly failed attempts at Mars due primarily to lack of foresight and creativity which leaked directly into planning, though poor leadership and supplies were also major contributing factors.
s k y l a r k . a n d . t h e . e x p e r i m e n t:: It would come as no surprise that one of the late 21st century's dual genetics and technology giants would make the cross-over to the space aeronautics industry in the early 22nd century, this company being the North American based Skylark Industries. It was during this time that the famous and Skylark privately funded Jupiter II space craft made its maiden voyage beyond Earth's skies. And failed to return. The Jupiter II's mission remains CLASSIFIED to this day, though many experts of the time speculated that it centered around illegal genetics experimentation somehow related to space. Such experts were quickly dismissed due to their refusal to divulge sources for such speculation.
t h e . v i r u s . a n d . t h e . d o w n f a l l:: Meanwhile as space exploration and technology as a whole were reaching great heights, the social structure of humanity was beginning to fall apart. Several radicalist groups sprung up in what was still the early portion of the century. One such group created the scientifically and genetically altered human which was to become known as the New Children. Shortly afterward what was to be called the Second Plague spread across North America, the mysterious Ch'arlen virus, the first non-Earthen virus brought back unknowingly from trips to Mars. After that a radical chain of events was triggered.

Exactly 20 years after its disappearance the Jupiter II returned, minus crew. The ship was taken to a Federated Commonwealth military establishment in Los Delos, Nevada for examination. All 30 members were unaccounted for and remain that way at the present, though what happened to the select crew of forty allowed to examine the returned space craft is forever known to all of humanity. Though the deepest of precautions were taken for quarantine and the inspecting crew's safety, somehow, something was amiss. Roughly a week after the Jupiter II's reappearance and initial inspections, every member of inspection crew began showing signs of sickness. The inspections were immediately halted and the Jupiter II would later be destroyed on the whole, but the unknown sickness had already accomplished its mission.

The inspection crew displayed a large variety of signs. Shortness of breath, dizziness, extreme muscle sensitivity, headache, and loss of appetite were only a few of the myriad. Yet soon the medical professionals in supervision of the crew began to notice other stranger effects. On the molecular level the way each crew member's body handled oxygen exchange efficiency in the most basic of chemical processes began to change dramatically and in unexplained ways. Oxygen was being handled far more efficiently in the body's musculature, resulting in far greater total body muscle strength without any increase in total muscle volume. Also for completely unknown reasons the cells in structures responsible for the five senses began to change dramatically, reorganizing themselves in a matter of days into far more efficient organs. All five senses were improved sometimes on the scale of times ten.

Exactly a week after the changes began appearing the physical appearance of the individuals began to alter. First it was the total deletion of color pigment from the body. Then it was the eventual death of the hair follicles, leaving the victim's body totally hairless and a ghostly white, that including even the iris of the eyes. The bones of the victims lengthened, all body fat depleting and leaving behind a sinewy, thin musculature. The vertebrae of the back lengthened as well into a malleable tail structure while the finger and toenails thickened into claw-like objects. The teeth lengthened, bulging slightly forward. And then the intense magnetic field emitting from the victims' bodies arose, bringing with it a multitude of purely psychic abilities. The final change came as the scientists studying the victims noted the sudden inability of each victim's blood to produce blood cells capable of transporting oxygen and other large molecules.

And then 17 days after the Jupiter II reappeared the violence came as each inspection crew member was stricken with a murderous rage, killing off nearly half the of the base's employees. The entire base would eventually be closed and quarantined, but the oxygen depleting and DNA altering aptly titled Jupiter virus was born, and despite all attempts at containing the disease, the virus would eventually spread over large portions of what was then the southwestern United States, centering primarily in what the Nevada area.
l o s . d e l o s . a n d . t h e . n e w . o r d e r:: The 22nd century marked the last of the great changes within Earth's countries and currently hold's the record of some of humanity's most violent events. Shortly after the Jupiter Incident back to back World Wars III and IV broke out in the early 23rd century, wiping out large sections of the North American and European populations. From there various present-day groups took hold, such as the re-birth of Skylark Incorporated and the formation of the Los Delos Humanity Order and its highly isolated Los Delos City, named in honor and in reminder of those dead at the former base of the same name, armed with an agenda stressing the folly and dangers of space exploration and government corruption. And today, in the late 23rd century, humanity is still at war with itself, fighting a, as some would say, losing battle from the inside out, continuing the trend of the never-ending cycle of violence.
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T I M E L I N E: All dates are estimated to the nearest unit of five unless the exact date is known.

2040 True artificial intelligence programs created.
2055 GAL TECH creates first Cyborg. Later same year European governments finally allow geneticists of Sycron Inc. to clone first human.
2089 Cyborg Rebellion. Later same year wide scale illegalization of genetics experimentation and Cyborg production.
2105 ICoNASA succeeds in attempt to colonize Earth's moon
2105-2110 ICON discovers primitive cellular level organisms on Mars. Also several failed attempts to colonize Mars from various different organizations.
2110 Skylark Industries backs Jupiter II launch. Ship fails to return.
2115 New Children Project begins
2120 Ch'arlen virus sweeps North America
2130-2165 Jupiter II returns, events in Los Delos, Nevada later dubbed the Jupiter Incident ("vampyrism" disease is born). "Vampyre Wars" take place in western North America
2205-2110 Civil unrest sweeps world, resulting in back to back World Wars III and IV, much of the world's great civilizations and governments are either destroyed or permanently damaged.
2210 Re-birth of Skylark Inc. and establishment of Los Delos Humanity Order (L.D.H.O.) Building of Los Delos City near remains of original military base in Los Delos, Nevada
2210-2280 Loss of communication between Los Delos City and closest civilized establishments. Los Delos takes on an isolated life of its own.
2290's Current decade
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