Session One: Preamble: "Wake-Up, Little Suzie, Wake-Up!" (Late 2003 to February 2104)Important People: James (Sean), Bill (Chris), Bob (Eric), Alexis (Charles), Scott, Jay Richardson.
James, Bill, Bob and Alexis are living in Seattle, Washington, in mid-to-late 2003. The last thing each of them remember before this all started was their friend Scott bringing a copy of The Stranger to the weekly gaming night and pointing to an ad:
"The University of Washington Department of Behavioral Sciences is seeking participants for a federally funded, international education study. Qualified participants should be a U.S. Citizen, have a valid Drivers License, current U.S. Passport, and no criminal record. Chosen participants will be required for varying length of time commitment, from one (1) month, up to one (1) year. Participants can earn up to $5,000.00 per week at the completion of the study. Contact Sheila at 206-555-1212 extension 316."
Then, as near as they all can recollect, around 28 days ago, they each were awoken in a dark room, dragged out of a strange metal bed and cuffed, and forced out of the room into a very bright corridor.
Over the next several weeks, they experienced a very bad case of freezer-burn, what the doctors call Cryo-Sleep Sickness. The days of pure delirium mixed with excruciating pain included the added benefit of being quizzed about their life and background by nurses to see if they had suffered memory loss, which is a very possible side-effect of long-term cryo-sleep.
Finally, as their heads began to clear, several officials started reading them specific official documents, parts of which they remember:
- ASS Order #215: All members of the following international scientific experimental groups are hereby in defined as detained civil employees . . . .
- UN Security Council Order #913b -Native Entrance Act: All members of the following international scientific experimental groups are hereby refused entrance into their country of origin until the crisis situation is past . . . .
- U.S. Congressional Law: The Patriot Act III: All members of the following . . . .
- Executive Order #4753, signed by President G.W. Bush on December 1, 2003: All members of the following scientific experimental groups are hereby U.S. Government employees and are subject to the rules and laws of this time of emergency . . . .
- ASS Order #583: All members of the following scientific experimental groups are . . . .
- U.S. Congressional Law, Scientific Experimentation order: All members of the following . . . .
- U.S. Congressional Law, Disease Control Act: All members of the following . . . .
- Executive Order #5290, signed by President Colin Powell on December 14, 2003: All members of the following scientific experimental groups are hereby drafted within the combined NATO forces and are subject to the rules and laws of military justice . . . .
- UN Security Council Special Order #942z: All members of the following . . . .
- Executive Order #8231, signed by President David Henry Wilson on December 25, 2003: All members of the following scientific experimental groups are hereby ordered to offer all assistance to any valid government of the combined NATO treaty (particularly where the members are now residing) . . . .
He said, "You've spent the last 100 years as a corpsicle and you aren't even in the U.S. anymore. You are in Australia. At probably the only surviving University research center. And you are in a lot of trouble. We all are."
Jay tells them that they are in the Anderson Stuart building bunkers on the Sydney University campus in downtown Sydney, Australia. The Uni Survivors mostly control the Anderson Stuart bunker. The Sydney University grounds are protected by an automated defense network (mobile robots, gun emplacements, defense towers, SAM and SAS batteries, minefields & etc) controlled by a central defense computer which violently prevents anyone from exiting or entering the university grounds without the proper authorization. Proper authorization is only granted to those people who have current key cards.
"And we need you to survive, just as much as you need us."
The Uni Survivors currently numbers about 200-300 people, with about another 800-1000 still in cryo-sleep. The survivors have full access to the Anderson Stuart bunker mainframe computer system, power plant (fusion reactor), equipment and weapons left over in the bunker, and even the cryo-sleepers' background information. Cryo-sleepers are thawed, as their skills become necessary.
Jay tells them that the Ruin was caused by a super-germ nicknamed the Scourge of God. It first appeared in the Middle East, and then it spread to Ireland, then the rest of the world. WWIII came shortly thereafter as the surviving governments tried to stop the spread of the super-virus by nuking plague hot spots.
"Well, the world went south and the missiles flew. Those that were left figured that scientists knew how to stop the plague, so they looked up the surviving plague research centers. Sydney University was one. Australia hadn't been touched by nukes, but the plague got here just the same."
To add to the chaos of those final days, Australia faced invasion.
"As near as we can tell, one surviving Russian General decided to get as much of the plague serum as he could and invaded. Before you know it, Russian troops are all over Australia, fighting with plague mobs and RAA units, attacking Universities all over. Trying to find a cure. But they didn't find one when it all came apart. Whether there is one, we don't know."
Unfortunately, no one in the Uni Survivors knows what the world is like now. Is there a central government or just a bunch of small tribes beating each other up with sticks and stones?
"We have no idea what the world is like now, because we've all been sleeping while Rome burned. We don't know the full story. And we need to. We also need to know more about what is going on here and elsewhere. If there are any survivors and whether they are friendly or not. Welcome to Australia, 2104, and Operation Morpheus!"
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