Mort, Planet and City

Mort


”We Ebons tend towards sentimentality, towards poetry, towards introspection. Some even call us pretentious without necessarily understanding what the word meant. I understand what they mean though; there may even be some truth in it. Still, the vision of Mort City from orbit haunts me every day and every night and brings tears to my eyes every time I see it; tears of pain and love.
The blossoming wound that is Mort City and the spreading stain of The Bruise: these leave after-images on my eyes. I write poems about them and I weep for this planet that gave its life so that we might have a home.”
Mahdi, Ebon pilot.

The Planet:
Mort is the principal Industrial Planet in the World Of Progress and the main headquarters and heart of SLA Industries. The nerve centre of all corporate activity stems from Head Office, which is based in the centre of Mort City. Despite being the most valued and important planet in SLA space, Mort is an ecological mess. For many centuries the surface of the world has been barraged by toxic pollutants and radiation, devoiding it of most natural life. Nearly all native fauna and flora was wiped out years ago. The oceans are dead and many of the countries in the northern hemisphere, including much of Killainas, are barren. The majority of the population are sustained from offworld imports and massive clean-air processors. Only recently has any form of plant life re-emerged within Cannibal Sector 1 and even then it is mostly just weeds, moss and algae. Various locations, including the reserves in Traakar, the pig farms of Klawe and the Meny campus, are now teeming with life hidden under massive protective domes. This is reintroduced and genetically modified, a corruption of life and a tainted, bastardised parody of what was there before.

Whatever natural animal life that still exists on Mort is primarily vermin; diseased and savage species that can pose as much a threat to its occupants as any corporate opponent or cultist. In spite of this, people still flock in their droves to the planet, set to carve out a place for themselves, particularly in Mort City, taking on jobs as Operatives, Shivers, Contract Killers, or are simply content to wile away their existence as unemployed citizens living on a diet of fast food and television. The mess of Mort is just what the inhabitants of the World of Progress are used to. The pollution, the violence, the failures, all are normality. In most cases, the population are mistrustful of positivity, clean air and basic hope. Mort is a bleak, wet and ugly planet, but it is home to billions of unfortunate souls who consider themselves fortunate.

When people of the World Of Progress think of the planet Mort they will only consider its principal country: Killainas and its capital city state, Mort City, but there are other continents and countries on Mort that serve the company well. Countries like the cold and mountainous Hiberia, now a homeland of established Frother-clans. The country of Mald is best known for its training facility Meny; a vast campus where all of Mort’s SLA Operatives are prepared, educated and trained before they assume their duties in Mort City. Even within the confines of Mort City, most SLA Operatives and civilians are scarcely aware of the larger world that exists beyond their borders. Much of the world has been inaccessible to all but a few for years due to the once deadly Fission Belt encircling the planet. In recent years the Belt has dissipated to sustainable levels and once limited trade routes are opening up for the first time in centuries. The dissipation of the Fission Belt is also resulting in immigration into Mort City from these countries. Some feel that Mort City is being swamped with unfamiliar languages, accents and customs, while others are embracing the diversity. In recent months non-Killians have started joining the ranks of the SLA Operatives, their outlook on life, helping their fellow Operatives.

The City:
”Mort is our home, the home of our family. Mr. Slayer is our father, the absent provider who gives us all that we might want and works very hard on behalf of us all. Uptown is the favoured son, the inheritor, the responsible heir to the throne who aspires to be like our father. The suburbs are the middle son, the dilettante, searching for a role and finding none, trading on the reputation of the family but likely to be sneakily getting into bad habits. Downtown is the youngest son, a squawking brat of a child who knows they will inherit nothing, but wants all the love and attention: me, me, me all the time. The Cannibal Sectors then, are the redheaded stepchild of SLA. Unloved and unwanted, baptised with acid rain and toxic waste, inheritor only of shit and the hand-me-down rust of his siblings, even the milk of the mother’s teat has been through three sets of kidneys before it gets to him. Is it any wonder that such a son fathers monsters?’
Jackdaw, Necanthrope.

Mort City stretches up in a vaguely conical shape, reminiscent of the biggest volcano one could ever imagine, but constructed
from building upon building upon building for as far as the eye can see, with Mort Central and SLA Industries Head Office acting as its peak and much of Mort City’s structure below the surface of the planet. The vast majority of the city-state’s citizens live well below the basal line. There they are deprived of natural light and rained upon constantly by the effluence of those above them.
Mort City is built on many layers and is a pyriform representation of the class structure that exists within SLA Industries. At the very top is the Head Office of Mr Slayer himself and below that is Central, where the elite and the departmental heads work, surrounded by untold riches and decadence. Next is the affluence of Uptown and then the bleak concrete high rises of Suburbia, which houses the majority of the overworked and underpaid employees of the company. Below Suburbia, out of sight and out of mind of those above, is the Crust and Inner Downtown, home to the millions of Mort’s employed. Squalor and depravity exist in constant and equal measure below Inner Downtown in the area known as Lower Downtown. Further down, at an unknown depth, the unmapped, forgotten and barely explored Deep Construct sprawls, while outside the city, all semblance of control and humanity has disappeared, replaced with the savage ruins known as the Cannibal Sectors.

Mort Central:
Home to SLA Head Office and SLA’s main subsidiaries – such as Karma, Dark Lament, Power Projects, etc. Only Mr Slayer and the Departmental Heads are allowed to live in Central. It is the most heavily defended region in the entire World of Progress. It is also home to the Corporate Sector – (represented as 3 large tower blocks). The enormous SLA Head Office building dominates the territory and no other building comes close to it in terms of size, scale or activity. All starting SCL 10 SLA Operatives will attend the induction center during their inauguration into the company. It is here that they will collect their SCL and ID Card, their standard FEN 603, KIippo Lighter and funds, before heading to purchase their personalized equipment. It all seems so very exciting and most feel like they’re part of some larger whole, but in reality most will likely not return to Head Office for any other reason but to wait in line at Slayer’s Crib.
Mort Central is also the Operative shoppers paradise as absolutely everything manufactured or licensed absolutely anywhere in the World of Progress is available in the millions of stores and franchises. Every pleasure and joy can be experienced here. Only Operatives and other SLA-personnel are even allowed up here. But it is also the home to the myriad control and command-centers, the nervous system to SLA Industries. Thousands upon thousands of men, women and aliens sit in elevated thrones in vast spaces filled with an ocean of screens, each feeding live footage of every camera, news crew, armour-feed and the view of every Finance Chipped Operative and staff on Mort. And among the endless observers, there stand the silent figures of Cloak Division Operatives and the faceless Stigmartyr, the ever vigilant guardians of all of Mr. Slayer's secrets, eyes hidden behind passive masks seeking the first sign of subversive behaviour. And because of that, Mort Central is also the most secure location in the entire World of Progress.

BPN Halls:
Before a SLA Operative squad can go about earning, they must first obtain a mission from the company, or as it is officially known a BPN File (Blue Print News File). In order to apply for a BPN, the Ops usually head to a BPN Hall and wait in line. There is an assumption that all Op sanctioned BPNs are issued in the Hall at Head Office, but the company has many centers dotted throughout Mort City. Ops learn very quickly that heading to the Main BPN Hall (also known as Slayer’s Crib) is neither the easiest nor the quickest way to get a fresh mission. Starting Operatives assume this is the place to go, so it is always crowded. It can take somewhere in the region of 4-8 hours to get an appointment with a BPN Officer and by that point you basically take whatever you are given. Most experienced Operatives go into Uptown or Suburbia BPN Halls to get their missions. These places are, however, generally smaller and with a tighter range of available colours, but there are also hidden advantages. The BPN officers will offer a nominal but legal cut on the pay for a mission more tailored to the Op Squad. The wait is also considerably less in BPN Halls that lie off the beaten path.

Those who are brave, or in a hurry, can risk their luck (and fate) on a BPN Mission Terminal, that can be found - cracked, scratched and coated with graffiti, throughout Suburbia and Downtown. The terminals will supply a BPN in a matter of seconds, based on locations and Shiver or Threat Analysis reports. The terminal will ask for the user’s SCL but it rarely takes the information into consideration before it spits out a mission. Many Ops have lost their lives to these rather haphazard computerised BPN officers; accepting missions with little to no details or warnings, that lead into abandoned tower blocks, darkened sewer pipes and Lower Downtown…

Uptown:
This is regarded as the high-end retail/residential district. Only affluent families and high SCL Operatives can afford to live here. Most Ops will have spent at least some time in Uptown; either out shopping for new equipment after a successful BPN, getting bio-genetic upgrades, or simply blowing off steam at The Pit. Everything that is available in SLA’s World of Progress can be purchased or experienced here. The cost of living in Uptown is high and continuing to rise steadily. Where once many SLA Operatives could buy, or at the very least, rent a small studio apartment, the price tag now means that only rich Corporates and top ranking pperatives of SCL 5 and better can hope to obtain keys to property. There is very little crime or subversion occurring in Uptown; it is usually just Operatives getting too drunk and causing trouble. And since the region is heavily policed by SLA Dark Finders and Stormers, dressed and armed in SLA’s finest weapons and equipment, Corporate and Collateral threats are obliterated before getting within one mile of this prosperous region.

Suburbia:
'Basic’ Operatives (SCLs 10-6) and SLA Employees live in Surburbia. It is the last region entirely populated and protected by SLA Industries. The look of the area is defined by its somewhat drab and oppressive architecture. SLA racks countless employees and their families into these ugly concrete slabs and most never leave them, except to attend a labour intensive job or to get inebriated. Crime in Suburbia is usually confined to local gang activities, civil disturbances and very occasionally DarkNight acts of terrorism and soft company insurgency. It is here that the streets begin to be protected by Shiver Patrols. They are some of the best-trained soldiers, but tend to be somewhat lazy and corrupt. There are factories throughout Suburbia, but these are typically low pollution emitting facilities. They produce munitions, power cells for armour and countless consumables. Suburbia is famed for its distinctive architecture, but not in any favourable light. The architects at head office clearly did not have quality of life in mind when the plans were drawn up to create vast but affordable housing sectors. Nearly all the accommodation in the suburbs is grey, hulking concrete tower blocks. They are dull, ugly looking monoliths; built to last but showing their age and wear. There is scarcely an inch of wall that isn’t cracked and crumbling, stained by leaking pipes or clouded in generations of graffiti. The suicide rate and alcoholism is very high in Suburbia as SLA employees struggle with work stress, long hours and low pay.

Perimeter Wall:
This zone divides Suburbia from the Downtown Districts. The Perimeter serves much the same purpose as the considerably larger and impressive Cannibal Sector Wall, in that it was constructed to keep the undesirables out. Downtown civilians rarely, if ever, are granted access to within the Perimeter Walls and the customs and security checks there. You must have SLA employee or Operative credentials, or be part of a credentialled family unit, to get through and while the Sector Wall is patrolled by Shivers, the Perimeter is guarded by very well trained and equipped Dark Finders, who will scrutinise all paperwork and permits with a suspicious eye. Once you pass the Perimeter Wall on the verges of Suburbia, you are leaving the safety and security of SLA Industries and descending into the chaos and violence of Downtown.

Downtown / Surface:
This represents the top layer of the civilian sections. If you are in Downtown and are able to see the sky and feel the rain on your face, you are on The Crust. Many have nicknamed the citizens living here rather mockingly as ‘The Upper Crust’ as it is a desirable location to inhabit, but it still comes with its own risks and hazards. The surface of The Crust is an uneven plateau of high rise apartments and factory rooftops which circle the Perimeter Wall that fences off Suburbia and Downtown below. The pollution levels are quite high on The Crust, as it is open and exposed to the elements. The Crust is also under constant attack from Dark Night terror cells and the abuses of Soft Company subversion. There is a high price to pay for living on Downtown’s least impoverished level.

Downtown / Inner:
This is the most densely populated region in the whole of Mort City. Inner Downtown is a vast network of civilian apartment blocks, subways, sewer tunnels and shopping arcades. Most of the people living here are unemployed, at constant risk of death
and have never seen the sky or breathed air that wasn’t filtered through a rusty air duct. As you progress down the five districts of Inner Downtown, the housing gets poorer, the streets dirtier and the crimes more violent. Most civilians go from birth to incineration knowing nothing more than the square mile of the Downtown sector they were born in, never moving up or down
a district, nor having any aspirations more than getting their weekly social security cheque and a slightly better TV.

The main staple of civilian life is television. It is the only chance of glimpsing a world beyond the confines of the individuals’ bleak, compact apartment building. There is little else to do, so most Downtowners cash their weekly allowance from Social Security, quickly buy whatever amenities they can afford from a local store and hurry home. Once inside their cramped, gloomy apartment they will fall into a burst, worn sofa and hit the remote. In an instant their eyes are fed the glitz and glamour of everything SLA Industries has to offer: special deals on cut price toasters, fast food, fizzy sodas and affordable firearms for home protection. Their thirst for violence is also quenched in the form of the Contract Circuit, wherein celebrity killers battle in gladiatorial arenas, with chain axes and Power Reapers, shedding blood by the gallon for a sea of baying crowds. They will see an unfamiliar world through the lenses of a Helmet mounted cameras, as televised Op missions enter perilous sections of Downtown, to blast away Carrien and serial killers, feeding their fascination, brooding frustrations and fears. All too often the external dangers are on their doorstep and at night they are awakened by something scratching at their front door, unseen and unknowable and so the frightened civilian sets about reinforcing his door, saving to buy a better gun, but most of all, escaping deeper into a fantasy world that 20 straight hours of television has stirred in him.

Downtown civilians have a love/hate relationship with SLA Operatives; they admire what they see of them in their viewing entertainment but in person it is all too real. It is where fear and jealousies surface and the Operative Squads carrying out the murder investigation in their building is looked upon with suspicion and scorn. Operatives rarely display much respect towards Downtowners, they see them as expendable annoyances; an unemployed civilian killed by a stray bullet is usually at worst a slight dock in pay and almost never affects a SLA Ops SCL. Civilians in Downtown hold an even lower opinion of the Shiver Patrols, SLA’s own police force. Armoured in green Body Blocker, the Shivers are a very common sight to most Downtowners and they know to avoid them. Shivers are seen as brutal and corrupt, eager to flaunt and enforce what little power and authority they have over Mort’s poor via a Gauss Rifle, power baton and sense of entitlement. Shivers typically only behave themselves when the SLA Operatives are around.