maskormenacelogs | Day by day, soon the change will come

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Day by day, soon the change will come

WHO: YOU.
WHERE: Maurtia Falls, PA.
WHEN: Sunday April 6th, 12 PM - Midnight.
WHAT: Registration in motion... among other things.
WARNINGS: None anticipated; please let us know if this should be edited.

" The new frontier of which I speak is not a set of promises -- it is a set of challenges. It sums up not what I intend to offer the American people, but what I intend to ask of them. It appeals to their pride, not to their pocketbook -- it holds out the promise of more sacrifice instead of more security. But I tell you the new frontier is here, whether we seek it or not. "
( from jfk's speech "the new frontier," 7/15/1960. )

Though known for its heavy rainstorms, today Maurtia Falls sees fortunate, moderate temperature and a bright sun that is occasionally hidden by large clouds drifting by. Normally a relatively quiet location, news of the Swearing In Ceremony spread like wildfire throughout the city and set off intrigued murmurs among its locals, however they will and do leave imPorts visiting and strolling about their streets to their own devices. Most of the excitement is focused in its Town Square, with a decorated banner hung up around the main street reading Welcome to Maurtia Falls, imPorts! and where the Ceremony will be held, with the current mayor taking the time to drop in and view the festivities and welcome imPorts personally.

Volunteers of all ages gather at the Town Square and there is information readily available to imPorts looking to move across states and settle in government housing located not too far from downtown. Soldiers from the nearby base are more than willing and prepared to give imPorts a full tour of the houses should interest be expressed.

There is much to see in this city, also known for its exquisite cuisines and active nightlife if imPorts decide to stay past midnight and scope out the bars and clubs.

( Please state your character's official status -- REGISTERED or UNSETTLED -- in the subject header of your thread. Please also read and state your character's official status at THIS post, considering not every character will post a starter thread! )

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[ There's no sigh of relief or wave of joy that washes over Gil as his tattoo is quick to reformat its text from UNSETTLED to REGISTERED. He barely gets a glimpse of this in motion; by the time he's pulled up his sleeve to examine his wrist the deed is done. It's a strange feeling, but he swallows it down and lets the sleeve fall, his hands slipping into his pockets. He had learned a long time ago that in life there were often decisions that had to be made regardless of his feelings on the matter. He had forgotten it up until recently, too.

With that done, he can do as he pleases in the city until the scheduled return flight. He isn't just here to "pledge his allegiance" — he and Kenzi had gone over it earlier, and while nothing is set in stone yet, he wants to check out the sort of housing offered outside government funded buildings. It can't be too hard to find an apartment somewhere in this bustling city, can it?

He sifts through the crowd, examining kiosks up close just to see what offers are on the table. When he isn't doing that, he skirts the edge of the Town Square and begins his trek toward downtown, wondering if he may find regular housing somewhere around that area. ]

Edited 2014-04-07 10:14 (UTC)

[George is still rubbing at the tattoo on his own wrist. It'd been a constant source of fascination for him. Partly because he'd never had a tattoo and partly because he still wasn't sure how they'd managed to get ANYTHING to imprint on his skin. Granted, it was obvious enough that it wasn't a normal tattoo so that probably had something to do with it.

He drops his wrist to his side again as he steps out to browse the Town Square and the different kiosks set up. It's so strange to be out like this, even now, and George wants to find out more about this rather strange version of America. The crowds are a little thicker than he anticipated and he accidentally bumps into someone as he passes, as it happens it's Gil.]

Sorry. It's a little busier than I'm used to.

[ Gil is trying to avoid a line of volunteers passing through with food and drinks in their hands, probably returning from a quick break and making a beeline for some of the currently empty kiosks they're supposed to be stationed at. While he feels the bump, he isn't forced back by much as he's a tall and lean man. He merely shifts his weight from one foot to the other to secure himself before looking to see who it is. The voice seems familiar enough, but it's the face he registers instantly. ]

A lot of locals showed up for this in spite of how indifferent they usually are to imPorts.

[ He cants his head. ]

George Bailey, yes?

[George considers that and feels he can understand it. He imagines even if they are used to this whole 'imPorts' thing that new faces will always attract a crowd. Everyone loves to check out whatever is new.

He nods.]

Right. You sound familiar so I'm guessing we spoke already. I'm not used to meeting so many new people at once though so you'll have to forgive me if I'm slipping on your name.

[He remembers that they were displayed on the device thing but after awhile all of the names, faces, and voices had started to blend together. George was going to have to work on that, probably for awhile if the population fluxed as much as he thought it might with something like imPorts.]

Gilbert.

[ He shakes his head, conveying he's not disappointed or irritated that George would forget his name. It happens to the best of them and he's right: there's been an influx of imPorts lately, who could keep track of all their names and faces? ]

It's alright. The network doesn't always provide a face to put to the voice.

Have you already attended the Ceremony?

Right....I think you were the one I spoke to about luck and the afterlife. Pretty heavy conversation.

[See? George's memory isn't that bad, once he's had some context.]

I have. Seemed a little over the top to me, but then again it's been awhile since I've been to a party like this.

[ He half flinches at the memory of their conversation and how grave it had been. He hates making any atmosphere, in person or via the communicator, that depressing. It's a terrible first impression to leave on anyone and he's somewhat embarrassed, but he tries not to focus on that topic anymore. ]

I wouldn't call this a "party" exactly.

[ They actually had a party a couple of months back. An extravagant party on a cruise ship. ]

[George doesn't get pulled down easily so Gil has nothing to worry about in the first impressions department.]

I guess my definition of party has changed. Still getting used to their being this many people around on a normal day.

[ Well, that's a curious thing to hear in response. He remembers George bringing up the undead, so they obviously don't count as part of his city's population. ]

Is Los Angeles not a big city in your world?

That might have been misleading. Before the exes overran everything, yeah, L.A. was a huge city. After, well, I guess technically we're still a big city but the population is mostly dead. When we first made the Mount I could probably name everyone living there by name. We've expanded since then and it's a little harder to do that...but we haven't had too many parties that have gotten to this size in terms of turn out.

[Christmas, the Fourth, and other holidays tended to bring everyone together, but he was still pretty sure there were fewer people than this.]

[ His brow pinches as George continues his explanation. For a moment, his gaze falls to the sidewalk. It's not difficult to imagine a large city now desolate and mostly abandoned. He's seen Sablier first hand now.

His head lifts so he can properly meet George's gaze as he offers his condolences: ]

I'm sorry to hear.

[George notices the reaction. Had he seen something similar? Maybe not zombies, but George recognizes that look of loss, pain, and empathy. George nods.]

Not much can be done now. We're managing well enough though...I mean nothing can really be the same as far as I can tell, but we're protecting people and trying to continue living as best we can.

Is relocation not possible?

[ It's what happened to Sablier; the former capital city now a sad, bleak shadow of itself where only the poorest of the poor lived at the edge of the hole in the middle of the land. ]

We're reclaiming more land around the Mount. But as far as moving out of town...well...the last I heard the zombies had the whole world. Not really any other place to run to.

[Reports had certainly come out of other countries...before all reports had ceased or people stopped broadcasting. Either way it hadn't looked good four years ago and he was pretty sure it wouldn't look any better today.]

The whole world?

[ Gil's eyes widen, his breathing hitching momentarily. ]

How is something like that possible?

[ A whole world possibly lost to some kind of undead monster? ]

Infection spreads pretty fast when you don't understand or know what to look for. By the time we started realizing what was actually happening it was probably too late and people had spread it all over the place. L.A. had a major international airport after all.

[At least, calling it an infection was the easiest way to explain it. George was never going to get into the exact details behind the exes. They hadn't even told everyone in the Mount the real story there. It was just easier to except what they originally believed.]

I'm sure there are other safe places in the world like what we set up at the Mount...but we haven't been able to make contact with them yet.

So it made its way overseas.

[ Now he sees; he's not too familiar with flying (and he's decided he doesn't like it) to know how disease can travel. Airborne, though, it makes sense. Still, it's a terrible realization to come to. To think a world like George's with similar medical capabilities to the City's would succumb to death and disease. ]

Sorry again, I won't pry anymore if it's uncomfortable.

We heard reports of exes appearing in foreign countries right before things fell completely apart...so we can really only work on guesses that it didn't fare much better overseas than it did for us.

[That or overseas was fine and they were just keeping their distance from America. Certainly the zombies couldn't have been stopped from spreading into Canada, Mexico or South America though. George sighs.]

I wouldn't say it's uncomfortable. The world's been like this for four years now. It's just...weird to talk about it since I'm just used to it being reality and NOT having to talk about it since back home everyone just knows about it.

Your world is similar enough to this one, isn't it? Maybe the aesthetic is different, but...

[ He glances around pointedly; someone rocking the greaser look walks by. Gil knows it's supposed to be an old style of fashion, but here it's currently trending. ]

Close enough, am I right?

There's a couple of differences...but yeah I suppose for the most part you'd say they're similar.

[George hasn't really taken the time to explore more of the differences yet.]

[ He wonders if this question is out of line, but he finds himself asking before any further thought: ] Will you go see Los Angeles here?

[George had been wondering that himself and so he gives it a few minutes of thought before responding.]

Maybe. Not right away...but it wouldn't hurt to pop over to the West coast and check things out at some point.

I don't think so either. You're also allowed to travel around the country, just as long as you don't step outside its borders.

Shouldn't be a problem. I'm still not sure I want to go visit the West Coast, let along take a trip to Europe or anything.

How'd you find that out anyway? Did I overlook that in the welcome info?

Some imPorts were sent warnings when they ventured off to other countries.

[ SHADE... ]

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