Ville Life

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First, a little information on the villes themselves, they way they are set up.

The villes themselves are surrounded by fifty foot tall walls. At each corner are Vulcan Phalanx gun tower. There are search lights spread out over the walls that are used to illuminate the surrounding buffer zone that had been cleared of all vegetation and anything that might be used as cover in a potential attack against the baronies.

Inside the walls were four towers that were connected to each other by walkways. This is where the people of the baronies lived in their small apartments. They had light, heat, air-conditioning, plumbing and the such. The people of the baronies are born and die in the towers, shopped and lived. They had pretty much anything they could want except for freedom. Each Barony could support no more than 5000 people, and in the Tartarus pits, where the lowest of the villes inhabitants lived, could support no more than 1000 souls.

Inside the center of the ville, surrounded by the four towers was the Baron's Monolith. This massive, white rockcrete tower stretched three hundred feet into the sky. It was separated into separate levels. Level E or Epsilon was used as general manufacturing and construction. Level D or Delta was used for the preparation, distribution, preservation of food for the barony. Level C or Cappa was the level devoted to the protectors of the Barony. The Magistrates. Level B or Beta was a combination library, museum and computer center for the barony. Here history was constantly revised and re-written to keep the general populous in the dark.Level A or Alpha was the baron's personal Level. It contains the baron's quarters, meeting area for his personal trust, his or her own personal Mat Trans unit, as well as medical personnel and genetically altered guards.

Not a single soul inside the barony is useless. Everyone, from those in the Tartarus pits, up to the highest echelons, have a job to do and they do it willingly, or face meetings with Magistrates, which would lead to death, at best, or exile, at worst.

Ville citizens feel that they are lucky, the chosen and above those who inhabit the cesspools of the outland settlements. It is because of this feeling that they fear exile more than they fear Death.  To be exiled from the ville would mean certain death, long and slow in the outlands. They are brought up to be totally dependent on the system. Everything is provided to them. Clothing, shelter, food, and the very few luxuries that are allowed. 

These people have lost all basic survival skills and would die of exposure in a matter of a few days in the Outlands. They have no idea how to forage for food, make even the most basic shelter, or even fire.  The ville schooling has made sure of that. 

Sure, they have basic education, they can read, write, do basic arithmetic. At around eight years of age they are given basic aptitude tests that show where they excel.  Also, their parentage is carefully monitored, traits carefully selected and this contributes to the work placement they will receive when they get older. 

Male children of Magistrates, active or otherwise are always chosen for the Magistrate division, unless they are 'inferior' in one way or another. Weak, exceptionally dim witted, and so forth. On the other side of the coin, occasionally male children are taken from the ranks if they prove they have what it would take to make a good Magistrate. 

Those who show exceptional intelligence are drafted into the sciences.  Medics, engineers, Archivists, and so forth.  The cream of the crop rise to the exalted position of Archivist.  Some, depending on aptitude are taken into the medical sciences where if they are lucky or unlucky, depending on your point of view, are sent to the genetics division, where they control who can mate with who, work directly with the Baron's, or can even be sent off to places like Dulce, New Mexico if they prove themselves.

Next on the ladder of skill would be the administrative personnel. They are the basic government workers, who take care of day to day paper work, monitor the population levels, consumption of food, production, waste disposal, manufacturing and so forth. They are not as exalted as those in the sciences division, but they realize that without them, the ville would cease to function. The baron couldn't do all the day to day administrative duties that they do. The baron has the final say in anything, and much of the work has to be directly approved by him or her.

Without the administrators, the ville couldn't run. Simple as that. 

The next level of jobs are those in the manufacturing and maintenance industries. They are those who prepare the food, manufacture the goods that are traded between the villes and the outlands, as well as the few goods that are sold inside the ville as well. They maintain and repair the goods that are salvaged from the ruins, items that are brought in from the storage facilities inside the villes, and so forth. Some of the jobs are considered distasteful, such as basic maintenance on the ville structures.  Like the administrators, they feel that they are indispensable to the ville because someone has to maintain the structures, manufacture the trade goods and grow the food. If it wasn't for them, the Administrators, scientists, Magistrates and so forth couldn't eat, nor would they have a roof over their heads.

Beneath the Manufacturers, come the care-givers, teachers, and breeders. Families have been disposed of in the Villes, and the children are taken away from the mother around the age of four or five. From there they are put into group dormitories, males separated from females, and are schooled.  They are educated (see above) and taught the ville doctrine. These children are raised mainly by adult males, as they tend to be more aloof and apart from the children.  Removed from motherly love will make the children more susceptible to the doctrine fueled by the barons, their minds more malleable, more susceptible to even the most basic attention that they would get from the teachers. It also helps break up the need for family bonds.  

Out of this group come the breeders. Males and females who have no other real position except to breed. They replace population that has died for one reason or another. The number of children they sire, or give birth to is directly proportional to the population level.  Any member of any caste can have children, but they first have to apply for a license, and are subject to the scientific 'purity' control. Only 'breeders' are allowed to reproduce without having this strict scrutiny. They have desirable traits that could produce any level of citizen,. but have no real skills otherwise, and would be wasted as drudge workers, or servants.

Lastly are the bottom of the barrel. They are the thousand inhabitants of the Tartarus pits.  The educated are allowed to teach the children in makeshift schools in the pits, while the others are given the most menial jobs, working in the sewage treatment plants, fields, and fishing, salvaging etc.  Very few are allowed into the towers themselves, except to be used in the most dangerous tasks, or in some cases, as servants to the most powerful members of the ville.  Women are quite often taken in and literally given to the Magistrates for their own personal pleasure.

In many ways the citizens of the pits have the worst possible jobs, but some feel that they can get some of the best jobs.  They are used to till the fields and raise livestock, which means they tend to get the best of the grains, fruits and vegetables, and cuts of meat.  That is if they bribed the magistrates to look the other way first.  

They also are the people that are sent into the ruins to hunt for salvage and Predark goods that can be used by the ville, or traded to other villes. This is very dangerous for them because a lot of the items they find are usually considered to be contraband, or dangerous to possess.  Typically they have archivists along to determine the nature of items such as books, vids and documents recovered. These positions are, despite the danger, hotly contested. Typically it's only the largest, strongest and most aggressive types that get these jobs, as fights can break out to get them.  Deaths are not unheard of because of this. 

Another sought after position are in the convoy runs. These are trade caravans that travel from ville to ville with trade goods, personnel, and so forth. This allows the Tartarus pit residents to see other parts of the country and in some cases, trade for contraband that can't be found in their own personal ville.  Typically, the 'Pit Boss' is allowed to choose who he or she wants to send on these convoys, typically giving giving a hefty percentage of the profits made to the Magistrates who escort the convoys.  Occasionally, a pit dweller can get a position on a convoy by knowing which Magistrates to 'talk' to. 

This is where a great deal of the contraband found in the pits come from.

As mentioned above, each ville has a 'pit boss' or a head citizen who controls all the information coming into the pits, knows who is illegal and who is allowed to be there, knows where and what sort of contraband can be obtained. These people are always put into position by the Magistrates. They are allowed to maintain their position of authority as long as they keep the magistrates informed of all that occurs. within the walls, and keep a heavy chunk of their ill begotten gains going to the Magistrates.  The position is precarious, at best, because of the ever changing ranks of Magistrates who get promoted, die in the line of duty, transfer to other villes or facilities, or take administrative duties.

The citizens are paid once a month, the ville scrip they earn is based on their trade and level of skill. They don't have to spend the cash on basic necessities, such as shelter, food, or medical treatment (unless they are in the Tartarus pits).  There are a few luxuries that they can spend it on (see below) and they can also use it to buy contraband from the Pits, or use it to bribe their supervisors for extra time off, or softer jobs.  Unlike the magistrates, they have to pay for sex, unless they find a willing partner.  And for those who aren't that lucky, there are more than enough people in the pits willing to sell themselves for a handful of scrip.

Day to day life is nothing more than dull routine. Work shifts are ten hours long, with only a few minutes allocated for food breaks, or to relieve themselves. There are very few recreations allowed to the citizens.  Sports is one of the recreations, because it helps keep the citizens physical fit, and helps diminish the feeling of individuality.

Some Predark music is allowed, typically only the classics, no Rock, Country, or any other type.  There are no televisions, no movies, or anything else.  There are few restaurants, few places for the ville inhabitants to spend their cash. Nothing that would promote individuality is allowed. There is live music played in special auditoriums located throughout the enclave. 

There is a strong underground movement that is trying to revive rock and roll.  They practice in the pits, usually playing to small gatherings.  The little ville scrip raised is always used to have the magistrates turn their eyes from the performances. Many ballads of the 'Baron Blasters' and legends from the dark years are also sung at these impromptu concerts.

There are other forms of minor recreation that ville inhabitants are to participate in.  Each level has a special auditorium set up where Predark vids are shown on a nightly basis.  The vids come from the archives and are very carefully screened by the archivists to make sure that they don't go against ville doctrine. Typically these films or videos show the worst traits of humanity, show how inherently evil and destructive the race is.  Many old movies from the 1960's, depicting bikers and hoodlums, horror movies, and the like.  Hellraiser, Payback, other films in this vein are also played. TV shows, those that follow the doctrine are also shown.  

Unlike music, the Magistrates crack down HARD on anyone showing pirated vids in the Tartarus pits. No bribe, no matter how large will turn their heads. The few times where illegal vids were shown in the pits, both the viewers and the people promoting the shows were put to death, as many films, such as Star Wars, Billy Jack, Close Encounters, Aliens, etc, all showed not only potential rebellious feelings, but extra terrestrials, and defiance against authority. 

The workers get one day off a week, which is always assigned by the Administrators. This is done only because it is found that too many people would crack under constant pressure of work, if they didn't have at least a little personal time to themselves.  

Food is average, even at the lowest levels, except what is in the Tartarus pits. It gets progressively better, depending on a citizens ranking. The only thing is most of the food is fresh, and depending on the ville, varies.  The coastal villes of Snakefish and Sharpre have a great deal of seafood, where as the villes of Cobalt,  Mandeville, Basiloville, all deal with grains, and occasional livestock. Villes such as Samarium and Ragnar have huge herds of livestock, like cattle, pigs, sheep, and so forth.  Of course the villes trade food between so it isn't uncommon to have steak in Sharpeville, while the Baron dines on Pacific trout from Snakefishville.  

There are restaurants open on each level where the inhabitants can purchase extra food, which is always better and more satisfying than the food that is given out to the ville citizens.  But it costs a great deal of scrip.  The money raised goes right back to the baron's personal coffers. 

There is no such thing as a holiday in any of the villes, with the exception of the Day of Unification, which falls on May 29th.  This is nothing more than a single day where none of the citizens work, except for a few of the Administrators and the Magistrates. Instead they are to show their thanks and praise the barons for taking them away from the chaos and death that roams the outlands with such impudence. 

All other holidays such as Easter, Christmas, Thanksgiving and others have been eliminated and are stricken from the record books. Anything to do with life before the Skydark is carefully censored and kept secret from the citizens, in case they might bring up what the barons consider to be 'unhealthy' thoughts.

Only the most important, highest ranking citizens are allowed to have their own personal suites for living.  These are dolled out to the scientists, Archivists, and the administrators.  The other ranks have to share suites with others.  The only exception to this are the female breeders. They are allowed separate suites, and occasionally are even allowed to have helpers, or servants from the Tartarus pits to work with them.

Life is hard and grueling for the citizens, but they also benefit from having protection, food, shelter, and the best medical care available since before the Skydark. Although this only is for treating injuries and illness' for the upper echelon.  The more important the individual is to the ville, the better treatment they can expect to receive.  Say, someone in the genetic control suffered from cancer. Everything that is possible would be done, including shipping the person off to a different ville for medical treatment. But if someone was a teacher, odds are they would be allowed to die off. Rank plays a very important role in the level of treatment. But besides this, the average lifespan of the citizens is fifty to fifty five, compared to the much shorter spans in the Outlands.