Shangri LA aa Wreck

Wreck Age
Age Campaign
Campaign Setting
Setting

WAM 50002
 Shangri LA A Wreck Age Setting by John Gordon
Writing
John Gordon

Design
Anton Zaleski

Editing
Maria Fama

Artwork
Álvaro Nebot, Earl Geier, d.Forest, Vivian Li, Jeff Ward, Dillon Yothers

Cover Art: Eric Williams & Álvaro Nebot

WRECK AGE, the WRECK AGE Logo, are trademarks of Hyacinth Games, LLC. in the USA and other countries and are used
with permission. Certain materials, including references in this publication, Wreck Age core rules mechanics, and all Wreck Age
characters and their distinctive likenesses, are property of Hyacinth Games, LLC, and are used with permission under the Hyacinth
Games LLC.
Wreck Age CORE RULES, written by Anton Zaleski;
© 2013, 2016 Hyacinth Games, LLC. All rights reserved
SKU 50002
Wreck Age Logo ™ & © Hyacinth Games, LLC. in the USA and other countries. Used with permission.

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ISBN 978-1-942634-47-8
contact us at info@wreck-age.net

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boook possible as well as the people and cats the author turned to in times of doubt, excitement and frustration. You
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This book is dedicated to my mother, Traci and Mrs. R..

2
 Shangrilese colloquialisms/jargon/lexicon
Aqua Dolces/Sweet Waters
A wide range of medicinal waters bottled near Big Bear Lake. Known locally as Aqua Dolces and
Sweet Waters abroad, these restorative beverages can be infused with antibiotics, anti-viral medi-
cations, narcotics, vitamins, or even poisons.

LA-LA Land
Popular derisive slang stand-in for Shangri La.

The Fung
Slavers and black market tissue dealers in service to Malibu’s Stitchmen.

Malibu Bay
An above water memorial site commemorating the lives lost during the Malibu earthquake of 34
BE. Under the water lies a former government research center that is under control by a cadre of
Stitchmen.

The Mo’
Contemporary name for the Mojave desert.

Washed Coast
Contemporary name for the western coastline of Merika.

Documented Resident (DR)

Designation of sanctioned, non-citizen residents of Shangri La.

Medical Record Number (MR)

This is the number given to all Documented Residents to track their medical care.

Grand Convocation
A year-long political event held on the artificial island of The Sphere to elect council members.

Provosti
Re-enlisting Civil Service personnel who forgo citizenship for a career in Civil Service, most
often in the employ of the AOI.

Sun Sickness
Colloquialism for dehydration and over exposure to the often harsh sun light. This affliction is
typical for the poorest Shangrilese and slaves.

Working the Wall

Colloquialism for civil service in the militia. If used literally the phrase denotes duty stationed
along the multi-kilometer wall on Shangri La’s eastern Mo border.

Waders
A pejorative for cultists in the Cult of Anne.

Fish People, Fishies, Gils

Pejoratives for members of the Gente Del Mar community.

Sea of Angels
The body of water over Greater Los Angeles, and main territory of Shangri La.

3
 Wreck Age
How to use this book
• This book is intended to be used for Wreck
Age, or any post-collapse setting. It is
background and information that can be used
as a jumping off point for a variety of gaming
experiences.
The world of Wreck Age is an ever-expanding
one. It is a place where the rich and powerful
left generations ago, and the remaining
population of Earth have been forced to fend
for themselves. During this time, in a vacuum
of power, new alliances have been formed, and
cities have morphed into something no longer
recognizable as their pre-Exodus counterparts.
Wreck Age is designed to be a game of narrative
story-telling, with the players taking the role
of characters in a shell-shocked and dystopian
world. It is also a tabletop miniatures game.
The Shangri La source book is a great
starting point for getting yourself immersed
in the world. Within these pages, you’ll find
a plethora of ideas, which can be used in any
way to shape an encounter, adventure, or a
campaign (a series of adventures, chained
together, spanning multiple gaming sessions).
Alternately, you may just want to read the
Shangri La source book for enjoyment, and
as a piece of fictional ‘history’. We certainly
encourage that approach as well.
However, if you do want to play Wreck Age
as a narrative RPG, or a tabletop miniatures
game, you will need a few other things.
4
Besides this Shangri La source book, other
helpful items are:
• The Wreck Age Rule book, or Quickstart
guide. The Quickstart guide is
downloadable for free at our website at:
www.wreck-age.net
• One player should choose to be the
Narrator. The Narrator organizes the
group, narrate the adventure, and arbitrate
any rules ambiguity or dispute.
• An idea for an adventure, which is the job of
the Narrator to determine
• If you have a low number of players,
remember that each player may control
more than one Character. If they do so,
they should declare one of them as their
Player Character.
• Dice: An assortment of six sided dice (indi-
vidually referred to as a d6) will work to re-
solve any situation that invokes pure chance.
At least one of these dice should be a differ-
ent color, to represent malfunctions.
Sometimes the dice may be referred to as
a number followed by “d6”. So 3d6 would
refer to 3 regular, six sided dice, 4d6 would
refer to 4 dice, and so on.
• A flat playing surface, terrain, and models
or tokens can also be very helpful. This
will help speed game play, as well as
provide a visual representation of the game.
5
 Contents
Introduction.........................................................................................................................................................................10
In the beginning..................................................................................................................................................................12
Regional History.................................................................................................................................................................12
Butter Squash in the Sky..............................................................................................................................................13
We All Fall Down.............................................................................................................................................................14
The Big Push and Fall.....................................................................................................................................................17
Oil Monsters........................................................................................................................................................................20
Contemporary Greater Los Angeles (Shangri La)...........................................................................................24
Freedom through Paranoia.........................................................................................................................................25
Offices of Administration...............................................................................................................................................31
The Ruling Council of Shangri La...............................................................................................................................33
Information Authority.................................................................................................................................................... 36
The Water Authority.................................................................................................................................................... 38
The Public Health Authority......................................................................................................................................40
Authority of the Interior................................................................................................................................................42
Civil Defense......................................................................................................................................................................44
Yacht Club..........................................................................................................................................................................47
Revenants...........................................................................................................................................................................48
The Hills Have Eyes........................................................................................................................................................ 53
Economy and Infrastructure.......................................................................................................................................57
Agua dulces.......................................................................................................................................................................57
Shipyards.............................................................................................................................................................................59
Culture:..................................................................................................................................................................................61
Walls of green, red buoys too:..................................................................................................................................61
Communal living...............................................................................................................................................................62
Boat Culture......................................................................................................................................................................64
Religion and spirituality................................................................................................................................................65
Cult of Anne.......................................................................................................................................................................66
Currency..............................................................................................................................................................................68
Law and Enforcement...................................................................................................................................................68
Food and Drink.................................................................................................................................................................68

6
Holidays...............................................................................................................................................................................69
Hoetenna (varies).................................................................... 69
Santa Catalina Day— (May 1)................................................... 70
Bona Curatio—(November 18)..................................................71
Floating Communities.....................................................................................................................................................72
The Sphere......................................................................................................................................................................... 73
El Monterino.......................................................................................................................................................................79
New Port..............................................................................................................................................................................82
The Gente Del Mar.........................................................................................................................................................84
The Charter of Santa Catalina..................................................................................................................................86
The Bone Yard (Zyzzyx Crossing).........................................................................................................................89
Zyzzyx Line: High Speed Rail .................................................................................................................................. 92
Big Bear...............................................................................................................................................................................93
The Mo.................................................................................................................................................................................96
The Wall (location).......................................................................................................................................................97
The Others..........................................................................................................................................................................98
Sandy Echo.........................................................................................................................................................................98
Garland’s Oasis................................................................................................................................................................100
Lake Is Bella.....................................................................................................................................................................100
Palo Verde........................................................................................................................................................................102
And the Rest....................................................................................................................................................................103
Subterranean Life...........................................................................................................................................................104
Here Be Monsters.........................................................................................................................................................104
The Perpetual Suffering of Rhea the Undying (Cult of Eternal Apotheosis)....................................105
Thought Factory.............................................................................................................................................................106
Recreational Suggestions............................................................................................................................................110
Temple’s Cookery..................................................................... 110
Ano’s.............................................................................................. 110
Catalano’s...................................................................................111
Business Related..............................................................................................................................................................111
Mills Medical Clinic and Supply....................................... 112
Bottom line on Fauna.............................................................113
Kight’s Guns, Knives and Sights......................................... 114

7
 Agent 429
I found this file on a tablet pulled off a mark
about a year back. There was nothing to
remember about the background of the target,
or should I say, “Agent 429,” because he ap-
parently materialized out of thin air, and the
only explanation I was given for the job was
the Fung wanted the guy for “questioning”
which meant Elza and I were supposed to
bag him alive. Whoever the bastard was, he
gave Elza and me a fuck of a time tracking
him. Not to sound dramatic, but it felt like
we were chasing a goddamned chupacabra,
and when we finally cornered the prick he
nearly took an entire apartment stack down
with him before we hauled his slippery ass to
one of the Fung’s clinics. I initially thought
mystery-man was an agent of a rival that
was getting too successful and needed a dip in
Malibu Bay, but boy was I wrong. Where to
start? The guy had no finger prints, and was
completely hairless—though he did wear fake
eyebrows which I found amusing. He also
had some integrated tech in his torso connected
to his heart and lungs. When the Fung’s cut-
ters tried to tamper with it the device set off
an explosive which killed two surgeons and
destroyed most of mystery-man’s body. The
blast apparently also had an EMP component
because all of the equipment in the surgical
unit was useless afterward. Crazy shit, right?
To add to the spook-factor was the guy’s lack of
biometrics within Big Bear’s medical database,
8
making it damn certain he wasn’t a local. But
the tablet we found on his person was what
I found really frightening. Agent 429 had
information on damn near all of Shangri La.
And I mean all. Based off the data inside the
tablet this guy stuck his nose way up the Fung’s
business and while he was at it, tickled the
prostate of Shangri La’s political underworld.
So who wrote this and, more importantly, who
was paying for this level of reconnaissance? It’s
possible he was a deep-cover ARHK agent,
which would explain the lack of biometrics,
but information in the tablet makes that story
unlikely. Another idea is he may have been
a Lake Is Bella refugee with a grudge and
contacts inside Shangri La, but if he was a
fugitive of Shangri La, like most of Lake Is
Bella inhabitants are, he would have been in
Big Bear’s medical system, so that theory isn’t
likely, either. Whoever Agent 429 worked for
they invested a lot of resources in that chest
bomb and the sophistication of his data collec-
tion means he was a damn important asset. We
may have kicked a hornets’ nest with this one,
and based on all the activity I’ve seen over the
last six months it’s getting the Fung nervous.
With all of the sensitive information in the file
on Shangri La’s ruling Council, the Council’s
holdings, and hell, just the specs and maps of
Big Bear’s water system, the report’s purpose
and intended recipient gnaws at my curiosity.
At the time of the bag-job I remember being
unnerved by the thoroughness of the tablet’s
documents and without really knowing why
I made a copy of the files before handing over
the tablet to my Fung handler. It was reck-
less, and the Fung would have skinned me
alive had they found out, but I did it because
something about the files seemed important
at that moment. Now as I reread what I
stole I can’t help but feel saving this data was
the only right decision I made that day.
I have been doing a lot of reflecting while tak-
ing my young charge Daph through Shangri
La, which has gotten me thinking about
things—mainly how this place really doesn’t
hold much of a future for me or Daph. Daph
is all I have these days after my caravan crew
split and I know how things play out for people
like me who don’t have a patron or purpose. I
expected to be sightseeing down on the bottom
of Malibu Bay as my severance package from
the Fung. I suppose that eventuality made
the most sense for a guy like me, up until I got
saddled with Daph. See, our paths crossed in
a most unfortunate way, and because of me
the kid is now stuck in the heart of a nation of
status-obsessed junkies who gleefully purchase
stolen organs to sustain their decadent lives.
All while the world around them struggles to
make it another day. They suck down drug-
laced water and eat fresh fruits and meats
and worry about the wrinkles forming on their
faces. If you don’t pay attention to what’s going
on around you, it can be fun, but lately all I
can do is look in disgust at what surrounds me
and I smuggled Daph right into the heart of
this madness. I honestly feel at times I should
have just shot the kid in the Mo and left her
for the lizards. But, there is something dark in
her that seems to click with this place, where
she seems more native here than me, hungry
for everything Shangri La has to offer her.
So, blah, blah, blah, what is the goddamned
point? The point is, after perusing the stolen
files it is clear Mr. Agent 429 was thorough
in his travels of the region and had a critically
sharp eye for the strengths and weakness of
Shangri La. However, he often missed the
mark when it came to describing the local
culture, which makes sense since he wasn’t here
on a tourist visa. Over the last few months
I felt compelled to amend any entries that I
found to be bullshit, and elaborate on things
the author glossed over or missed entirely. I’d
like to give my take on Shangri La, as a record
of my having been here. I’ve lived in LA-
LA Land for almost fifty years, so I should
know a thing or two about the place. I have
consolidated much of the good Agent’s files into
a single document. That file, this file actually,
can be my legacy, I suppose. I included the
historical overview that my dead co-author
dredged up because I thought it would make
a good jumping off point for my own tour of
Shangri La. It’s kinda nice knowing how this
shithole came to be, if what he wrote is true.
Whoever is eventually reading this you
scored some sweet inside information—so
use it well? Daph, if you are reading this
just for kicks remember: Boo-boo-dilly.
-Gallo
9
 [Addendum Audio File Transcript] well as unique opportunities, for accom-

My cover has been blown. I am attempt- plishing our goals in the larger region. This

ing a final broadcast before aborting report is by no means an exhaustive explo-

this mission. My last two transmission ration of Shangri La; instead it is intended

cycles were missed due to a destroyed as a primer to acclimate future agents who

beam emitter on my SAT-radio for which will hopefully be active in the region soon.

I have been unable to source replace-

ment parts. Now there is no longer time. It should be clear after reading this report

Extraction Protocol Epsilon in effect. of the need to allocate additional resources

[/End Addendum Audio File Transcript] to further study and influence the devel-

opment of this reclusive state. The com-

munities owing allegiance to Shangri La’s

Introduction governing Council are as diverse in their

This report is the result of a thirty-six demographics as they are in their support

month intensive field study in the region of Shangri La’s leadership. This factional-

colloquially dubbed Shangri La. Comprised izing could be beneficial for establishing

of a series of artificial islands dotting the communities sympathetic to our goals,

sea along with settlements in the surviving and in time those communities could grow

mountain ranges above water level, Shan- to bastions of political support if we can

gri La encompasses much of the pre-Exo- begin to influence political candidates with

dus megalopolis territory formerly known viewpoints synchronous with our own. But

as Greater Los Angeles-stretching from the we must act now.

now submerged coastlines of California’s

Santa Monica Bay eastward through the Also of urgent importance is the fostering

Mojave desert. I have incorporated rele- of support for Shangri La’s hot war with

vant local history to give context to events ARHK forces along Shangri La’s northern

which helped shape the current landscape border. As expected, ARHK’s technological

and culture of this reclusive nation which superiority has dominated the fight, but

has flourished in controlled isolation for Shangri La’s more plentiful ground troops

almost two centuries. Due to this isolation, and command of the local terrain has

Shangri La presents myriad challenges, as stopped ARHK’s southward advance from

10
San Francisco. The stalemate has held for of Shangri La’s ruling Council. While my

over a decade, but recent developments suspicions about this threat have been not-

have created a chance for ARHK forces ed in previous field reports, I have new evi-

to breakthrough Shangri La’s entrenched dence that I hope will persuade action from

lines. If ARHK is able to control the full the governing body in stemming the rise

extent of the Washed Coast, including the of this looming peril. As such I imploringly

bountiful food and water resources avail- requests additional resources be allocated

able to Shangri La, they will have a fully to Shangri La so we may begin influencing

established beachhead in subjugating what a counter-offensive against ARHK and ex-

remains of Merika. cise the cancerous cabal of Stitchmen who

threaten to upset the order of the natural

Another, and I would argue greater, concern world.

than ARHK’s encroachment on the Washed ~Agent 429

Coast, is the entrenched society of Stitch-

men living under the waters of Malibu Bay

whom I believe to be influencing the actions

11
 Regional History
In the beginning… corporations. With the state desperate

for a stream of revenue, regulators eased

Early records indicate California once
environmental protection laws, granting the
acted as a breadbasket not only for the
energy companies nearly unfettered control
United States of America but also for the
over land resources under their development
world, providing luxury and staple crops
in exchange for assurances of local job
for global consumption from the verdant
creation. Both sides happily held up their
San Joaquin Valley. However, drought
end of the bargain with state environmental
conditions that began in the 20th century
regulations in and around the central valley
carried on throughout the 21st century,
halted during a probationary period for en-
drying the land and causing competition for
ergy interests to establish a presence in the
water usage between agriculture interests in
valley. Such non-existent oversight allowed
the northern and central parts of the state
shale gas extraction projects to sprout up
and major population centers to the south.
on abandoned farmland throughout the San
Due to the dry conditions severe wild fires
Joaquin valley, with many of the extraction
routinely ravaged the state threatening
sites utilizing experimental techniques that
life, property and further diminishing the
often proved even more detrimental to the
already stretched water resources of the
environment than the standard extraction
state. Severe water rationing, as well as the
processes of the time. The short term fix
loss of jobs within agricultural industries,
worked. Money poured into the fracking
created a regional depression in the state as
operations creating dangerous, but lucrative
farm jobs evaporated, leaving behind those
job opportunities for the desperate com-
too poor to uproot their lives and move
munities in the region. As the probationary
to contend with the increasingly arid and
period passed, state regulators approved
inhospitable conditions. With the state’s
more energy projects in the Central Val-
central valley dying a slow, hot death, large
ley and energy production boomed.
swathes of fallow farmland were offered for

sale to the only buyers interested: energy

12
 Butter Squash in the Sky was tested on the scorched ground of the

Mojave Desert along California’s Nevada

During the energy boom a food crisis be-
border. The prototype vertical farm con-
gan to take form. The sun baked fields of
sisted of a massive tower which rose one
San Joaquin were now choked and drown-
hundred fifty meters and ringed by large
ing on the toxic waters injection-blasted
grow fields housed in cement and steel
into the earth. With the near complete
halos rising incrementally up the tower in
shutdown of California’s agricultural
fifteen meter spans. This prototype verti-
industry in the span of a generation, no
cal greenhouse had the potential to act
suitable replacement site was found for
as a self-sustaining unit. Utilizing solar
American food production in a time of
receptive paneling to generate power for
an existing and growing food crisis. The
the automated systems within the various
central continent was itself experienc-
grow spaces along with condensation col-
ing dramatic shifts in temperature and
lectors oriented around the periphery of
weather patterns, with severe flooding an
each grow space to harvest water vapor in
increasingly common phenomenon among
the surrounding atmosphere. The proto-
the plains states, as well as an influx of
type facility was tested for five years and
devastating diseases that ravaged both
produced astounding results during the
plants and animals throughout the food
trial period, harvesting nearly ten times
production chain of the United States.
the tonnage of product as a similarly sized
Crop production became unreliable along
conventional farm during the same time
the Corn Belt as disease, coupled with
period. While being bountiful, the verti-
super storm cells routinely submerged the
cal farm was nearly energy efficient, and
arable land, drowning the few viable crops
only utilized 57% of the water resources
that were spared from plague. So too were
relative to a conventional growing opera-
the growing fields of the south-eastern
tion. The impressive results fast tracked
region of the United States threatened by
the program to be implemented state-wide.
increases in frequency and intensity of
The first concentration of farms would
hurricanes and super-storm related flood-
be erected near the test site in the Mojave
ing. Government and private sector scien-
(now known colloquially as The Mo’
tists went to work researching alternative
to natives in Shangri La). Within two
solutions for an extant food crisis that was
decades there were multiple colonies of
all but certain to worsen. One such project
farms running along the California/Ne-

13
 vada border, each colony comprising four
dozen or more vertical farms along with
the packing and shipping infrastructure
needed to process the harvested goods for
consumption. California’s agriculture was
reborn and in the shadows of the looming
farms side industries blossomed in the
field of biotech as companies demanded
more variety of crop and more efficient
yields from the vertical farms. Within 30
years each colony of farms supported its
own mini-city as workers in all facets of
food production, from genetic engineers
to pickers, flocked to the Mojave Desert
to capitalize on the demand for labor.
We All Fall Down
Elsewhere in the state seismic activity in and
around the San Joaquin valley increased in
the decades following the ramp up of oil and
gas extraction. As the size and frequency
of the tremors escalated, operating costs
also increased for the energy companies
drilling in the valley. Infrastructure
required reinforcement and bracing against
collapse, roads and heavy equipment were
frequently damaged or lost to sink-hole
erosion, causing a number of incidents each
decade which resulted in casualties and
the loss of human life. Environmental
impact reports forecasting an increase in
seismic activity were quietly covered up, or
discredited by alternate reports funded
14
by special interest groups in the employ of
the energy lobby. With the state govern-
ment and population largely unaware, or
apathetic, of the dire consequences result-
ing from California’s energy boom, there
was little to no opposition as extraction
began occurring under population centers
in the southern portion of the state.
I was raised on stories of how wonderful life
once was, how the struggles we have now were
unheard of, and how the world was better in
every way imaginable. I guess I just figured
that the people living then were plain better
too. But what the good Agent dug up about
Shangri La’s ancestors isn’t all that far from
what you’d find living here now. Then like now
there were just a lot of people running around
greedy and indifferent to all of the bullshit
that is going on around them. Kinda takes
the polish off mom’s old yarns, to be honest.
In 34 B.E. a massive earthquake occurred
on the Malibu fault line which plunged
much of the mountainside and surrounding
communities into the Pacific. Trillions of
dollars in infrastructure and real estate were
lost beneath the waters along with tens of
thousands of lives. Immediately following
the quake the Pacific receded as massive
Tsunami waves pounded the dumb-struck
megalopolis, submerging coastal cities all
along the southern coast and killing an
additional 200,000. The earthquake also

permanently disrupted coastal oil extrac-

tion as wells were obliterated in the massive

underwater upheaval of the Pacific shelf.

The resultant release of oil poisoned the

waters along much of the southern Cali-

fornia coastline. The effect of the Malibu

quake literally redefined the state as large

swathes of coastal cities were submerged or

suffered ground liquefaction. The devasta-

tion radiated out from the quake epicenter

impacting much of Greater Los Angeles

and sending the region into an economic

freefall. Greater Los Angeles became a

virtual wasteland in the weeks following the

Malibu Quake as nearly 90% of the popula-

tion moved inland away from the unstable

land and encroaching oil-slicked sea. As

millions of refugees flooded eastward

the agricultural communities ringing the

vertical farm collectives were quickly over-

The Malibu earthquake also created a
whelmed by an influx of desperate people.
humanitarian disaster as major water
State authorities, staggered by the devasta-
pipelines running from the northern por-
tion in Los Angeles, failed to react properly
tions of the state were destroyed, cutting off
to the rapid population redistribution within
the water supplies to the surviving in-land
the state resulting in tensions between
communities. For the first two weeks after
refuges and the local communities who took
the earthquake thousands more died in riots
in the human flood, leading to frequent
and fighting which broke throughout the
flare-ups of violence. It was not long before
region. Disease and exposure also claimed
federal troops were dispatched to police
many lives, as relief was delayed due to the
the refugee centers and maintain order in
ineptness of state and federal authorities
and around the vertical farming enclaves.
who were further hindered by the massive

15
 damage done to the region’s infrastruc- years after the Malibu earthquake Greater

ture. With no major airport or seaport Los Angeles experienced a 53% drop in

operational, and many road ways damaged, total population, with a 96% population

it became nearly impossible for authorities decline in the communities bordering the

to deliver large shipments of aid or position earthquake’s epicenter. The epicenter

heavy equipment for recovery efforts. and the surrounding body of water which

stretched east through parts of Pasadena and

Frequent aftershocks occurred for another the San Gabriel Valley, and north through

eight years, further eroding sections of Palmdale, was designated the Sea of Angels.

the Santa Monica mountain range and

threatening the adjacent urban centers In an effort to encourage rebuilding in the

nestled in the valleys below. When the distressed region federal authorities initiated

aftershocks subsided Malibu and much of the Angels Rise Act to encourage corporate

nearby Santa Monica were underwater, and sponsorship of distressed cities in Greater

many surrounding cities were uninhabitable. Los Angeles. In what amounted to corpo-

During this time the waters of the Pacific rate takeover of public and private lands, the

were often slicked black from millions of Angels Rise program granted participating

gallons of oil streaming from shattered companies a chance to bid on distressed

wells dotting along the state’s southern cities under the pretense of investing in

coastline. Efforts to cap the damaged wells infrastructure and renewal projects to en-

were slowed by the regular aftershocks al- courage repopulation. In actuality, Angels

lowing oil to flow nearly continuously along Rise granted the winning companies full

the coast until the ground finally quieted. domain over the lands within the boundaries

of their sponsored cities, along with a major-

A year after the ground calmed, and nearly ity vote on the zoning committees for those

a decade after the initial earthquake, state respective cities. Seven defense contractors

authorities began authorizing the public successfully bid on what remained of the

to return to the most severely damaged cities of Malibu, Santa Monica, Hollywood,

communities of Greater Los Angeles; Beverly Hills, Inglewood, Torrance and

however a significant number of people Culver City. While the Angels Rise legisla-

refused to return out of fear of another tion was intended to encourage repopulation

massive earthquake and the deplorable of distressed communities the program was

conditions of the surviving cities. Ten considered a massive failure due in large

16
part to the extremely small number of new
permanent residents achieved through the
program. As a federal investigation later re-
vealed, that handful of new residents added
by the program were all employees of the
companies participating in redevelopment.
Sea of Angels, Angels Rise, Greater Los
Angeles. Goddamn, our forbearers were
obsessed with angels, weren’t they?
The investigation also revealed corrup-
tion in the bidding process among the
defense contractors as well as misuse of
public funds by state officials who used the
Angels Rise monies for personal projects
largely unrelated to the reconstruction of
Greater Los Angeles. Public reaction to
these revelations was muted overall, and
aside from vocal demonstrations by citizens
stripped of their property in the Angels
Rise redevelopment zones, there was little
call for corrective action as the vast major-
ity of Americans saw Greater Los Angeles
as a complete loss and a consequence of
the new normalcy of severe weather and
geologic events afflicting the planet.
With no oversight the corporations
participating in the Angels Rise program
subsequently stripped their territories of
any valuable resources and turned the land
over to their Research and Development
departments, which in turn constructed
proving grounds to test new technolo-
gies in the urban wastes. It is clear from
records recovered at surviving test sites that
these proving grounds were being utilized
for projects related to the Great Exodus
including development of personalized
habitation devices tested under the waters
of the memorial site honoring the dead of
the Malibu earthquake. This area is now
colloquially known as Malibu Bay, and
is considered verboten for civilian use by
Shangrilese authorities with massive floating
buoys demarcating the restricted waters.
There is a lot of creepy shit under Malibu
Bay, and functional pre-Exodus technol-
ogy is probably some of the more mundane
stuff you’d find under those waters.
The Big Push and Fall
The chaotic years immediately follow-
ing the Great Exodus coincided with a
renewed, frenetic seismic activity along
the Pacific Rim. What little rebuilding
had occurred during the Angels Rise
project was lost, and the devastation of
the encroaching Pacific’s waters continued
eastward submerging even more of Greater
Los Angeles and plunging the region into
a disordered state which lasted for nearly
a century. While civilization fell in the
valleys and deserts of Greater Los Angeles
determined colonies of wealthy survivors
sought refuge in the San Bernardino
Mountains, remaining largely untouched
17
 by the deprivations and horrors faced by cityscapes of Greater Los Angeles, or in the

their neighbors in the valleys below. arid wastes of the Mojave, the descendants

of Greater Los Angeles’ elite preserved some

What were once quiet mountain towns semblance of civilization with functional

which catered to seasonal influxes of tour- power grids, low-level manufacturing of

ists became deadly fortresses hostile to both weaponry and material goods as well

any outsiders who could not produce the as maintaining basic farming operations

appropriate resources or pedigree to enter. through hydroelectric greenhouses, and

Greater Los Angeles’ social elite erected eventually salvaged vertical farms in the

fortified encampments in the villages valleys on the eastern range of the San

sprinkled throughout the mountain range, Bernardino mountains. These assets paired

with a large contingents settling near the with the abundant water resources of the

fresh water lakes of Big Bear, Arrowhead, chain of lakes around Big Bear Mountain

Silverwood and Gregory. It is interesting allowed the compounds to exist in relative

to note the formation of what would become comfort as the world burned around them.

the political frame work of Shangri La’s When representatives of the Reunified

own governing body during this period, as States of Amerika made contact with the

the separate city-state communities of Ar- Confederation’s leadership there was

rowhead, Silverwood and Gregory aligned hesitancy on the Confederation’s part to

themselves with Big Bear to form a sprawl- accept RSA dominion. However, as RSA

ing territory with access to vast amounts forces engaged with some of the low-land

of potable water and hydroelectric power warlords and demonstrated their superior

known as the Confederation of Lakes. For a martial resources the Confedera-

time the Confederation was the most power- tion grudgingly fell un-

ful entity in the region after having absorbed der RSA control, but

the outlying mountain settlements which retained

would not align themselves under

the Confederation’s charter.

As millions fought and

died in the flooded

18
local leadership positions among the nation’s demise, however the RSA’s legacy

mountain villages. Private correspon- for the region were improvements made to

dences from this time indicate that most the infrastructure subsequently allowing

high-lander families resented the RSA for future generations to not only continue

and secretly hoped for a return to the inhabiting the area but to also thrive.

autonomy enjoyed under the Confederation.

The fall of the RSA was welcomed among

Ultimately, cooperation with RSA admin- the former Confederation mountain com-

istrators proved immensely beneficial for munities and the resultant Dark Times

the former Confederation communities as were hardly noticed by the privileged high-

the retrofitting of neglected infrastructure landers. Sustained by the water resources of

so often associated with The Big Push the lakes, and their wealth, the high-landers

era was directed toward the ailing water benefitted from the black market condi-

purification facilities at Lakes Big Bear, tions that thrived in the last years of RSA

Arrowhead and Gregory. This period also control. It was in these final years that a

saw a resuscitation of the medical facilities cadre of elders from the various mountain

in Zyzzyx Crossing, and reconstruction of communities reconvened the Confederation

the radar and broadcasting facilities on top government in secret, biding their time

of Mount Wilson, as well as the overhaul for the eventual implosion of Amerika.

of Palmdale’s dry docks— all major assets

of the current Shangrilese government. While the high-landers thrived, the low-

Perhaps most important was the use of RSA land communities suffered greatly during

resources to relocate and renovate a cluster the decades of starvation and madness

of non-functional vertical farms from that signaled the end of the RSA. Worst

Zyzzyx Crossing to their current location off were the communities that tended to

on the eastern slopes of the San Bernardino the vertical farms who struggled valiantly

Mountains to capitalize on the water against disease, and insect swarms to cul-

resources by nearby Big Bear Lake. These tivate food, only to choke down Glutton

farms were highly coveted by the RSA which and go hungry. When it became clear

was desperate for reliable food production that the RSA was no more raiders from

facilities to feed its hungry population. the villages of Big Bear and Arrowhead

Such a lofty goal proved unsustainable as attacked Zyzzyx Crossing, butchering the

empty stomachs were directly related to the inhabitants, and plundering the immense

19
 medical facilities. Pitched battles also oc- tion and fresh fruits and vegetables offered

curred around the relocated vertical farms, in exchange for people or raw resources

as locals who had lived and worked the needed by the Confederation. Within a

farms for three generations under the RSA generation a small neutral hub was estab-

were either killed or enslaved by mountain lished at the base of the western shores of

raiders who claimed the farms for the the Sea of Angels where the two peoples

re-established Confederation of Lakes. could conduct trade without violence.

These activities of cooperation between

With their food supplies secured, Con- the two peoples signaled the end of what

federation leadership enacted similar Shangrilese historians call the Lost

isolationist policies as were in place after Century, which was a period of isolation

the Exodus. As generations passed a need and regression for the region. Left out of

arose in the mountain communities for those historians’ accounts is what the true

an influx of laborers and breeding stock. significance of that cooperation meant, as it

The Confederation’s leadership adopted caught the attention of an enigmatic figure

a controversial plan to break their self- that has continually surfaced in the scat-

enforced isolation and send raiding parties tered and incomplete records of the region.
into the low-lands in search of human

captives and to explore what became of the

Oil Monsters
outside world. Bands of harvesters were
Local legends dating from just after the
dispatched to the primitive communities in
Exodus bear strong similarities among
the low-lands initially abducting would-be
many of the low-land clans who survived
chattel, but eventually bartering for slaves
along the coasts. Of notable congruence
from the communities occupying the lands
is the image of shadowy creatures which
and valleys not inundated by the Pacific.
lived beneath the oil-slicked Pacific and
Those low-land communities were little
preyed upon those foolish enough to venture
more than clans of survivors who eked
to the waters westward beyond the safety
out an existence through crude farming
of the San Bernardino coastal foothills.
techniques, fishing and scavenging. See-
The legends surrounding these enigmatic
ing an opportunity to exploit the needs
submariners match the characteristics with
of the low-land clans, a system of barter
which we now attribute to the Stitchmen.
developed between the high-landers and
Tales of abductions, grisly desecration of
low-landers with water supplies, ammuni-
bodies, and creatures with preternatural

20
traits and abilities exist from this period remained long protected in the subterranean

with myriad names and myths attached. vaults of Big Bear Mountain, I could find

no official account of a meeting between

Also of interest is the long standing demarca- Confederation leadership and the entities

tion of the waters in and around Malibu inhabiting Malibu Bay. What little I could

Bay as forbidden, which date as far back as learn of this period was sourced from files

the Lost Century and continue to the pres- consisting of firsthand accounts obtained by

ent. Pre-Exodus records of the Angels Rise authorities in the form of intercepted cor-

program indicate that the waters of Malibu respondences, seized tablets and debriefings

Memorial Bay housed classified facilities from harvesting teams who had encountered

instrumental in development of advanced the early Stitchmen. These records are not

medical and military technologies. These publicly known to the average Shangrilese

facilities were a joint venture between federal and I can only assume this period has

authorities and bioengineering firm SPG Lab- been purposely obfuscated by Shangrilese

oratories, a known research and development authorities in order to disavow any con-

firm contracted to assist with the Exodus. nection, historical or otherwise, between

Shangri La’s Council and the Stitchmen.

The combination of centuries of analogous

rumors and legends, as well as documented The first encounter between the two groups

sightings of unnatural human-like creatures was disastrous. Contact was lost with the

centered near the site of an old-world re- 12-person harvesting team tasked with enter-

search facility instantly drew my suspicions ing Malibu Bay’s memorial structure. The

of Stitcher involvement and focused my building, erected a decade after the devastat-

attention on further investigating the facili- ing Malibu quake, floats above the waters

ties under Malibu Bay. So far I have been over the lost city of Malibu and memorializ-

unable to gain entry to those facilities, but es the victims of the quake. A second, larger

they certainly merit further investigation. team was dispatched to the memorial on a

search and rescue mission and what they

It certainly did not take long for the discovered at the memorial site was horrific:

Confederation harvesting teams to hear of

these tales and begin investigating the area It is unclear how many more harvesting

around Malibu Bay. While many of the teams were dispatched to Malibu Memorial

records from this period are intact, having Bay before a dialogue between the two

21
 groups was opened. From the clues I have
uncovered a meeting took place between
Big Bear’s leadership and the occupants of
Malibu not long after initial contact was
made, but to plum the hidden files in Big
Bear’s data servers to piece together a full
timeline would take months of dedicated
work and that was simply beyond the scope
of this report. What is clear from the piece
of data I could uncover is the relationship
between the regional rulers in Big Bear
and the underwater dwellers of Malibu
Bay goes back centuries and precedes the
formation of Shangri La.
night, snatching up anyone who laid eyes upon
them before dragging them away under the sea.
The Inky Squid Men especially liked grabbing
inquisitive little kids. She’d say how much the
Inky Squid Men enjoyed gnawing on children’s
bones, and wearing their skin as masks for their
parties. As a boy hearing these tales I always
imagined an underwater world of half-man,
half-octopus creatures gorging on bags full of
stolen children. It seemed perverse but perhaps
fun too, those skin parties. I remember at some
point the stories stopped scaring me. Instead I’d
wish to be part of that underwater world. Huh.

Kids growing up in Shangri

La are told stories about

monsters waiting to steal

them away and eat them

up. My mom used to tell

me about the Inky Squid

Men to scare me into

shutting up and going

to sleep. Let me tell

you, it worked. Stories

of the Inky Squid Men

would terrify me and

all the other kids in

El Monterino. My

mom liked to say

that the Inky Squid

Men would roam

the streets at

22
23
 Shangri La Field Report
Contemporary Greater Los
Angeles (Shangri La)
For many in the western wastes, what is
considered the successor settlement of
Greater Los Angeles is the medical hub
known as the Bone Yard. Considered the last
bit of civilization in the sprawling Mo’, the
Bone Yard is as far west as most travelers
headed along the ancient I-15 highway will
venture. What lies west of the Bone Yard is
thought to be radioactive wastes as well as
more barren desert teeming with poisonous
creatures, and of course, the toxic, oil-slick
waters of the Pacific. In actuality, the region
once known as Greater Los Angeles has a
thriving culture that primarily lives on the
waters of the Pacific in floating cities which
act as tribute to the ingenuity and dogged
determination of the human spirit to survive.
This veiled gem of a nation is known as
Shangri La. Stretching beyond the old
boundaries of Greater Los Angeles north
and west, Shangri La’s dominion is vast
across varied but equally lethal terrain.
From the blue-green waters of the Sea
of Angels which cover the sunken ruins
24
of Greater Los Angeles, to the wooded
forests of the San Bernardino Mountains
and the arid wastes of the Mo, Shangri
La’s territory is varied, much like the
people who call the hidden nation home.
Formed as a coalition of city states and
tribal clans of survivors, Shangri La’s own
identity remains, generations later, frac-
tured along social and geographical lines.
This division among the Shangrilese
provides a foundation for the nation’s
rich culture. Many communities maintain
long-standing traditions, legacies from the
distant past, which color the fabric of daily
Shangrilese life. This is especially true
in the case of Shangri La’s larger float-
ing cities where commerce and political
discourse bring together the various cultures
of Shangri La’s multi-faceted society.
Commonalities across the nation do exist,
and should not be overlooked. While there
are land settlements in Shangri La, they
are rarer than the floating settlements
which dot the Sea of Angels, and can even
be found tethered to islands and ancient
oil platforms in the deeper Pacific. These
communities range in sophistication from
a few joined watercrafts, to complex float-
ing cities built upon the rotting carcasses or restricting the rights and privileges of the

of pre-Exodus era mega ships. For the various social classes seemingly at whim.

vast majority of Shangrilese life is car- There is a clear contradiction between the

ried out on the water, which has created a propaganda of freedom espoused by the

common nautical culture which informs ruling Council, and the realities of civil life

the tastes, language and customs of the within Shangri La. The Council advocates

various peoples who live in the region. freedom through personal responsibility and

encourages its population to better them-

Perhaps even more important than the selves through acts of civil service. Such

Pacific for the Shangrilese is the advanced service often leads to the militia, which is in

state of medical care provided by the govern- constant need of new soldiers to continue its

ment. Shangri La maintains some of the defense against encroaching ARHK forces

most advanced medical care still found in to the north as well as enforce the expansive

Amerika, and approaches pre-Exodus levels territory the Council controls to the east

of sophistication and competency. This net- and south of Big Bear. The link between un-

work of physicians, researchers, and industry ending war and service in the militia is not

supporting the vast medical complexes in lost on the few public critics of the Council,

the Bone Yard and other major hubs is the and I would argue the population generally

primary engine of Shangri La’s economy. is aware of engineered obstacles put in place

Domestically, healthcare is utilized as an to prevent prosperity among the underclass

incentive for compliance with government of Documented Residents (DR), though

decrees. Perhaps as a result of this focus on the causes of those obstacles vary from DR

the physiological, the Shangrilese are cul- to DR and are often attributed to nebulous

turally obsessed with wellness and physical groups, rarely attributing blame to the

perfection to the point of ostracizing the de- Council or Shangri La’s social framework.

formed and criminally punishing the infirm. In my opinion this reveals a cognitive dis-

sonance among the majority population who

continue to believe that their socioeconomic

Freedom through Paranoia status is purely dependent on the actions of

Shangri La is held together by a politically “others” and not the decrees of the Council.

strong ruling Council which regulates near- Still, a high level of skepticism and apathy

ly every facet of Shangrilese life. Council towards the actions of the Council exists on

decrees change throughout the year, easing the part of DRs which can generally be

25
 explained by that groups’ lack of representa- the protections of the Council. Shangrilese

tion in the Grand Convocation coupled with society as a whole is highly suspicious of

the social stigma intrinsic with their social outsiders, and state sanctioned xenophobia

class. With no meaningful way to political informs the hostility that visitors will

reform it is easier for many DRs to just sub- experience when touring the region.

mit to the probing influence of authorities

than resist and face severe consequences. Juxtaposed with a distrust of outsiders is

a deeply ingrained sense of community

Make no mistake, the unity among Shangri among many Shangrilese that is often

La’s population is a thin veneer born out of extended to include not just blood relations

fear and paranoia of surveillance. There but also neighbors within an arbitrary

remains an underlying tension in Shangri- proximity to one another. Such communities

lese society involving the class structure often include the entirety of a resident’s

and the abuses inherent within that system. cargo-crate apartment stack, a common

Despite the massive security and surveil- housing option throughout Shangri La’s

lance apparatus present in the nation revolt larger floating communities, which require

has occurred in the past, and the Council occupants to share communal spaces

is acutely aware of the simmering attitudes with upwards of one hundred neighbors.

of its population—especially in times of The resulting allegiance to a resident’s

internal crisis such as during a prolonged “hood”, which can surpass the loyalty

drought or a particularly devastating earth- some blood relations share for their kin, is

quake. To blunt some of this aggression the a natural condition of the scarcity of hous-

Council releases a near constant stream of ing and living spaces within Shangri La

propaganda regarding the decrepit state of coupled with the region’s clannish past.

the lands outside of Shangrilese dominion.

There are often public spectacles, such as Most apartment stacks are crowded, noisy

the execution of captured ARHK soldiers, and leave little privacy for their occupants,

or exhibitions of slaves taken from the forcing a tribal experience on many

wilds, tortured and induced to confess to Shangrilese who often share resources and

barbarisms committed in the name of sur- work tasks with one another to further the

vival. This pageantry is designed to portray survival of the entire apartment complex.

the otherness and brutality of the outside In this way, the hood is a living organism

world, and make residents grateful for of cooperating individuals who strive to

26
provide protection and stability for one gri La, but stamping down on organized

another. Anyone not belonging to the hood groups of DRs, and even citizens, who amass

is perceived as a threat when encroaching too much popular support and are viewed as

on hood territory. This insular sense of a political threat to the Council’s authority.

identifying friend from foe is often limited

to those immediately living around the While Shangri La’s codified history is

individual, but the concept can be extended rife with government crack downs on

to include the larger community a resident popular individuals and communities,

lives in; particularly in times of local there is little in the way of official record

competition such as the election cycle of regarding unrest between communities.

the Grand Convocation or even inter-hub Official history therefore runs counter to

sporting competitions likes the Cucamonga the private records of regular documented

Cup speed boating competition. This com- residents. Each community I have visited

munity spirit is harbored like a weapon, across Shangri La maintained its own local

with authorities simultaneously encouraging records, almost entirely oral and preserved

community building projects, selfless giving, by each community’s elders. In all cases

and sacrifice in the name of bettering Shan- there were numerous accounts of skirmishes

27
 between rival communities. The reasons hoods. From the relative lack of official

for these low-level wars varied, from trade record regarding these outbreaks of violence

disputes to suspicions of murder or assault, it seems that the Council is keen to ignore

but in almost all cases what started as a such spates as if they never occurred.

conflict between a few individuals quickly . Many DRs view the authorities, and even

spiraled out of control into open warfare the citizenry, with contempt, creating clear

due to the nature of hood politics. strata within the culture as groups isolate

Much like nations have trade and defense themselves into enclaves and communities of

agreements with one another, hoods, espe- like-minded individuals of the same political

cially individual apartment stacks, will of- class. This divide among the classes adds

ten negotiate with their neighbors to source to the suspicious nature seemingly inherent

goods or skills that are needed within the in Shangrilese natives, and helps prevent

individual communities. In this way hoods insurrection as communities factionalize

can form alliances with one another, and along class, economic or ideological divides

some of those agreements include mutual making full cooperation difficult if not

protection pacts which are strictly enforced. impossible between various communities.

In the event of a dispute between members of

differing hoods there are protocols that are Fed a steady stream of fear by the Council’s

expected to be followed to prevent escala- propaganda machine, inhabitants of Shangri

tion of violence. Meetings are typically La are made aware daily just how deadly

held between hood elders to negotiate an and frightening the world is and how fragile

amicable solution to the dispute, however, in their civilization is without the constant

cases where no solution can be reached, or diligence of the Council’s efforts. Popular

when an infraction is severe enough to cause themes for the Council’s fear mongering

outrage among a hood’s residents beyond include: threat of violence from neighboring

any elder’s control, fighting can break out. communities, the threat of “imminent”

invasion from ARHK’s high-technology

At best these flare ups are little more invaders to the north, food shortages, water

than rumbles in the street which result shortages, incursions of pirates from the

in broken bones and bruises, however at south, incursions of pirates from the north

their worst they can result in full scale or west, invasion from the large bands of

rioting along with ground and naval drifters to the east, as well as infiltration

skirmishes in and around the affected from dangerous, sick, and potentially

28
 testimony from eye witness accounts of paid
insane immigrants from the wastes seeking
informants. The level of investigation given
to exploit Shangri La’s medical system
to these testimonials varies in intensity and
and bring a previously unknown contagion
professionalism, and eye witness evidence is
past border guards which could wipe out
cited as justification for numerous criminal
the indigenous population. Digital radio
convictions, ranging in severity from murder
and video broadcasts transmitted from
to littering. Many of these convictions
atop Mount Wilson in the San Bernardino
amount to little more than popular witch
Mountains allows for instant communica-
hunts, adding to the level of suspicion and
tion between the Council’s Information
paranoia of strangers, as any one of the
Authority office and the population of
smiling faces one sees on the street may well
Shangri La. Information Authority broad-
be an informant reporting your ever action
casts occur hourly and are transmitted to
to the Authority of the Interior for possible
all public buildings and personal receivers
conviction. This is especially true for DRs
dialed in to the correct frequency. Without
who have no political voice in Shangri La’s
access to alternate sources of information,
administrative chambers, and are often
and the veritable dearth of outsiders to of-
brutalized and exploited by the law. With
fer context or contradict outright lies, the
few Council members willing to listen to
Shangrilese are forced to accept the Coun-
DR complaints and no change to the system
cil’s version of reality with little inquiry.
anticipated, non-citizens must endure
The anxiety produced through near con-
the anxiety of surveillance that leaves
stant threat of violence led the populace
residents in a perpetual state of unease.
to readily submit to the heavy-handed

security approach favored by the Council.

Yep, being a DR sucks. When the bullshit gets
Civil Defense militia is present in all the
to be too much I just grab a wad of rezz and
major communities, and can inspect a
suck down some mind-altering agua dulce
slave or DR’s person or quarters freely and
and call it a week. Of course you could also
without probable cause for concern. In the
start working for the Fung, which gives you
more sophisticated hubs within Shangri
protections even full-fledged citizens can’t get.
La surveillance cameras are utilized by
But, the downside is you are working for the
authorities to keep tabs on important
Fung which is a life-long commitment that
buildings, market areas, or even on streets
often ends up with your ass in an organ vat.
known to have anti-Council sympathizers.

In the less affluent hubs authorities rely on

29
 Due to the pressures placed on documented such imposition is just obfuscated through

residents by Shangrilese authorities such as convention and ingrained social mores.

paying higher taxes for goods and municipal

services than citizens, or the administrative A prime example of the kind of stricter

nightmare DR’s are required to navigate surveillance involving the citizenry is found

before purchasing a residence or opening a in the health care system within Shangri

business, it is a common perception that the La which is unlike any I have witnessed on

most scrutiny and government interference the continent. An immense public health

falls on the DR underclass. This perception system that is approaching what I imagine

is in fact encouraged by the Council as a pre-Exodus health care to have been,

means to incentivize DRs to enlist in Civil Shangri La’s health care network tracks

Service. However, as is often the case, what the health status of every single DR, citizen

is claimed by authorities and what transpires and sanctioned visitor currently enrolled in

in daily life are grossly at odds. Govern- the system. Detailed records track ailments

ment intrusion upon citizens is perhaps and treatments experienced by a patient, as

even more invasive that it is upon DR’s, but well as a full analysis of the patient’s genetic

30
profile and biometrics. However grand the
health care system in Shangri La is relative
to the rest of the Merikan continent, it is
not all inclusive. Documented residents
are only granted free health care on one
day a year (a regional holiday), and in
specific cases of emergency. As a result,
the authorities have less contact with this
class and a more incomplete medical record
of the underclass than they do of the fully
sanctioned citizenry who are subjected to
quarterly examination checks and all of the
social and economic consequences of receiv-
ing an unhappy diagnosis which results in
sanctions against that individual or their
family. Whether or not this system is work-
ing as intended by the framers of Shangri
La’s constitution or if generations of corrup-
tion have twisted the system to its current
state is beyond the scope of this report.
However, it should be noted that the puni-
tive actions taken by government officials
against individuals for health and chromo-
somal criminality are a source of contention
among the citizenry and could be used as
a motivator for fomenting unrest among
certain elements of Shangri La’s population.
Here we see once again, the good Agent waving
his dingle at the Fung from beyond the grave.
Black market medical treatment is one of the
Fung’s main sources of revenue, and citizens
diagnosed with illegal ailments, or with chromo-
somal damage sustained while out in the wastes,
are the Fung’s primary clientele. The Fung’s
reach extends throughout Shangri La and that
organization has members in every strata of
Shangri La’s governing body. Alterations of med-
ical records and official diagnoses, impromptu
surgeries, or stem-cell assisted regenerative treat-
ments are just some of the services the Fung offer
distressed citizens and DRs alike, though the lat-
er rarely can afford the Fung’s fees. If Agent 429
really thought his organization could reverse the
medical criminal system that makes this aspect of
the Fung’s business so lucrative, well, dead guy
had a few screws loose. The Fung would see to it
that the Pacific ran red for weeks, and a purge of
the population of Shangri La would be so thor-
ough, that the whole nation would essentially get
a reset. The Fung are old, maybe even older than
the Council itself, and I have a feeling they will
keep doing what they have been doing for centu-
ries with or without Shangri La around them.
Offices of Administration
The governing body of Shangri La is epito-
mized by the ruling Council; however those
nine persons merely represent the apex of
a large, and at times unwieldy, governing
body which consists of dozens of smaller de-
partments and offices tasked with regulating
the minutiae of daily life. Combined, these
organizations comprise the true Shangrilese
government, however ultimate author-
31
 ity remains with the Council. To many
inhabitants of Shangri La the authorities
appear monolithic and unified in their
governance. However, like most things in
Shangri La appearances are deceiving and
the insular nature of each government office
often leads to wasteful inter-departmental
rivalries that at best slow government ac-
tion and at worst can develop into open
fighting among adversarial agencies.
Ha! Yeah, a buddy of mine used to say,
“The only thing the authorities fear
more than us are their co-workers.”
Plus, there are so many different authority of-
fices that the average Shangrilese likely doesn’t
know them all. In fact, I recently got hit with a
citation for “failure to submit a fishing plan” by
an office under the purview of Authority of the
Interior. Now, I fish a lot, and I’ve never filed
a fishing plan with the AoI or anyone, but the
citation had my name and the name of my boat
on the notice so I looked into it. Turns out there
is a small, one-person office in the basement of
the AoI building that handles domestic poaching,
which is what they call any sort of hunting or
fishing without a permit. When I got to the office
there was a sickly looking woman with the worst
attitude I’ve ever encountered. She gave me all
sorts of hell about poaching, and threatened to
haul me off to El Monterino’s penitentiary slave
pens if I didn’t cough up 837 kelpies to cover my
fine. I was so caught off guard by the tiny fire-
32
brand, her dank office, and the revelation that I’d
apparently spent 50 years breaking a law I had
no idea existed that I relented and paid the fine.
There is a lot of that kind of crap in Shangri
La. Sometimes you just have to roll with
it if you want to call this heap home.
Shangri La is ruled by a democrati-
cally elected, but reclusive, Council of
administrators who guide the secretive
nation with brutal efficiency. Shangri La
is a plutocracy, with an elite social class
dubbed citizens who are afforded privileges
over their non-citizen neighbors, chief of
which is a vote in the quinquennial Grand
Convocation to elect Shangri La’s ruling
Council. A constitution acts as a charter of
the Council’s government and guarantees
basic rights to the various strata of Shangri
lese society, though these rights are often
overlooked by authorities, especially in
the case of non-citizens and slaves.
Agent 429 is still a problem for me. I can’t
decide if I like the guy or not. Most of the time in
this report he comes off as an ideological tool with
a major Stitchmen fetish, but then he throws
a line out like the one above, and I can’t help
but wonder if there isn’t some dry sarcasm at
play. I mean, to say with a straight face that the
rights of DR’s and slaves are ‘often’ overlooked
is like saying that when you jump in the ocean
you ‘often’ get wet. No, you always get wet tions and benefits of allegiance to Shangri

just like the only people with rights in LA-LA La’s Council including use of municipal

land are citizens. Anyone else is just a meat sack facilities, road and water ways, and protec-

waiting for their turn on the chopping block. tion from invasion by Shangri La’s Civil

Defense force. Most coveted by documented

Citizens sit atop Shangri La’s social pyramid residents are the weekly stipends of water

and compose the ruling class of voters in and food provided by Shangrilese authori-

the Grand Convocation. Citizenship is ties, which provide security and incentive

earned through service to the Council in to remain loyal to the governing Council.

the form of enlistment in the Civil Defense Documented residents lack political influ-

militias for a five year tour of duty. Upon ence and are stigmatized by the citizenry.

completion of Civil Service citizenship is A person born in Shangri La is classified

bestowed to the individual elevating their as a DR unless their parents were slaves.

social status within Shangri La. Benefits

of citizenship include a monthly pension of Slaves are the lowest social class within

Kelpies, the national currency of Shangri Shangri La. The only right afforded to

La, and nutritional rations, subsidized medi- a slave is observance of Hoetenna, a local

cal care for the citizen and four immediate holiday which pays tribute to an apocryphal

blood relations as well as the opportunity slave revolt in Shangri La’s early history.

to petition for residence in the luxurious Children born to slaves occupy a gray area

compounds on Big Bear Mountain. Intan- in the eyes of Shangrilese law. If they

gible benefits exist as well for citizens, who receive a sponsor, such as the parent slaves’

receive exceptions in the eyes of the law owner or a member of the owner’s family,

ranging from reduced fines and penalties for the child is granted full DR status. How-

criminal offenses, to preferential treatment ever, without a sponsor the child is classified

in matters of the law involving non-citizens. as a slave, and immediately becomes the

property of the slave-mother’s owner.

Below citizen is the social class known as

documented residents (popularly shortened

to DRs in the local parlance), which The Ruling Council of Shangri La

are afforded basic rights to emergency Consisting of eight Council members and a
medical care, eligibility to own and transfer Council Chair, the nine members of Shangri
property, as well as receive the protec- La’s governing Council hold office from

33
 within a vaulted citadel carved in the heart Convocation, those eight members must then

of Big Bear Mountain. Rarely seen in public broker a deal to elect one of their own to the

after elected to their position, Council position of Council Chair, a position which

members are expected to reside in Big Bear functions as the voice of that Council for the

Village with their families and retainers duration of the Council’s term in office. The

for the duration of their five-year term in Council Chair wields great authority and

office. Four years are spent governing with a can break dead-locked votes, as well as veto

fifth year dedicated to campaigning at The the votes of other Council members under

Great Convocation— a yearlong political certain conditions. As such, it is an honor

frenzy which concludes with the election to be elected Council Chair which brings

of a new ruling Council. Any citizen is prestige to the county and hub associated

eligible to run for Council office, though with the Chair. The newly designated Chair

they must show the backing of at least 101 also relinquishes their Council seat which is

supporters, typically in the form of signed immediately granted to one of their county’s

petitions, but in the past assemblies of said runner ups as chosen by the new Chair.

supporters at the Administration Center of

Big Bear Village have sufficed. A modest Citizens are required to vote at The Grand

fee of 500 Kelpies is also required to be Convocation, and only grave illness, death

paid to the Administration Center, though or official government business qualify as

bartered goods and even slaves have also legal exemptions from voting. The cost

been allowed in place of the entry fee. of attending Grand Convocation can be

great, especially for citizens living on the

Shangri La is divided into eight political outer reaches of Shangri La’s territory that

regions known as counties, which can hold must travel to The Sphere and reside on

as many candidates as they desire in their the island for voting purposes. The com-

primary election. Each county may only pulsory attendance period for all citizens

submit a total of five candidates for the final falls within the final week of the year-long

election at The Grand Convocation, one campaign when actual votes are cast. More

of whom is the current incumbent member affluent citizens often choose to spend the

from that district who is automatically entire year, referred to as “the political

granted a ballot slot in the final election. season” in such affluent social circles, on

Interestingly, once each county’s representa- The Sphere lobbying for their chosen candi-

tive is voted in at conclusion of The Grand dates and forming alliances for the coming

34
Council term. However, one of the many in the streets, and often murder as disagree-

benefits of citizenship is a small stipend, ments and grudges spiral out of control into

in the form of vouchers, which can be used blood vendettas. Referred to as “The Cull-

for travel expenses and lodging during The ing” this violent aspect of political theater

Grand Convocation. It should be noted that can be grim and have shocking consequences

it is considered a social faux pas among for established political alliances if a promi-

wealthier citizens to utilize such “rabble nent member finds themselves killed at an

coupons”, as it is a sign that the bearer of inopportune time, making the final weeks of

the vouchers is unable to afford the financial the event a dramatic spectator blood sport as

burden associated with their elevated social local media and observers speculate and pre-

position. Such view points are often held by dict the fates of known and up-and-coming

the historically wealthy citizens living in the candidates . Shangri La’s election process

mountain communities near Big Bear Lake. via The Grand Convocation is a fascinating

While The Grand Convocation offers a spectacle of political will that demonstrates

packed docket of lectures and political an adoration of the brutal and corrupt which

speeches throughout the year, also sched- I find reflective of the culture as a whole.

uled are regular performances from well

known troupes of musicians, thespians, and Current residing Council members:

traveling brothels which bring Sarai Hender, Bryan Erickson, Eun Sim,

legendary performers of Hugh Rutherford, Brandi Palahniuk,

all sorts to the island Jaydeep Gorten,

to entertain Shangri Alyssa Garcia,

La’s elite. The mood Alejandro Pena

on the island during Chair: Roberta

this period is festive, but Reynolds

can often turn riotous

towards the end of the

campaign year as

voting looms.

Then the politi-

cal maneuvering

of various groups can

often lead to brawls

35
 A little bit judgmental there eh, dead guy? May-
be he is right though, because The Sphere is insane
during The Grand Convocation. I mean that
literally, it is fucking government sanctioned in-
sanity with a heavy dollop of social anarchy mixed
in for good measure. It is as if all of the citizens
who normally act like they have a meter of rusted
rebar wedged up their collective ass finally un-
clench enough to have a little fun. And by a little
I mean a lot. And by fun I mean indulge every
sick impulse one could imagine. Since I indulge
my inner animal most days, I found the whole
affair to be a blast with Shangri La’s best drug
makers, whores, and culinary merchants present
to whip your mind and body into a euphoric froth
and bleed you dry of every last Kelpie you own.
Oh, and let me address the “rabble coupons”
thing. Yeah, the really rich, mountain-dwelling
citizens look down on those vouchers, but fuck
them. Not every citizen makes it to the top of
the mountain, and some are struggling just like
every other DR out there in LA-LA land—only
without the support of their old community. Is it
any surprise, really, that there is a black market
for those vouchers during Convocation time?
See, those vouchers are tied to the MR number
of the citizen to whom they are issued. The
Public Health Authority along with the Interior
Authority issues the vouchers to every citizen in
the database. Some of the more down-on-their
luck citizens can make a decent pile selling their
vouchers to pleasure seeking non-citizens who
36
want to be on The Sphere hobnobbing with Shan-
gri La’s elite. Of course there are legal penalties
to the citizen if a non-citizen is found to be in
possession of vouchers, but since merchants on
the island are mostly non-citizens themselves,
and the vouchers are government-backed script
with no oversight attached to their redemption,
there is next to no policing of the illegal use of
vouchers. So, if an enterprising person were to
find their way on to the island with a wad full
of vouchers they could have themselves a pretty
grand time. I did it once in my youth, and
everyone on the island knows what is going on. If
you don’t make too much of an ass out of yourself
the merchants and Sphere authorities will happily
turn a blind eye in the name of profit. So, live it
up if you can afford to—everyone should do the
Grand Convocation at least once in their life.
Information Authority
Responsible for the dissemination of infor-
mation crucial to the health and well-being
of Shangrilese residents, the Information
Authority dispatches regular broadcasts
of news, weather, and Council mandated
decrees. Hourly IA reports are transmit-
ted through loud speakers attached to all
public buildings as well as on a designated
frequency for reception with personal
receivers. Located on the western peak
of Mount Wilson in the San Bernardino
Mountains, the compound which houses the
IA’s broadcasting and mapping technologies capable of generating community specific

once served as a communications hub and propaganda through the use of a Spin Doc-

weather tracking station before the Great tor. Each memecraft staffs one Spin Doctor

Exodus. It currently maintains a sophisti- who generates content to be broadcast

cated Doppler radar array used to track both outside of the daily mass-broadcast trans-

incoming weather systems and the naval missions sent from Mount Wilson. Chief

traffic along the San Bernardino shore line. among the Spin Doctor’s responsibilities is

Mount Wilson’s radar and broadcasting ensuring that content falls within guidelines

facilities allow the IA to maintain control established by the Council mandates.

over the myriad vessels moving in and out Public perception of the IA is mixed. Many

of the region and unauthorized craft are Shangrilese grudgingly accept the daily

hailed initially by the IA office for course broadcasts as a necessary facet of Council

corrections, and if the vessel remains unre- control, however there are some locals

sponsive Bay Guard vessels are dispatched who resent the transmission and see the

to board the intruding watercraft. Floating IA as merely a propaganda machine.

buoys on the edge of Shangri La’s Pacific

boundaries, along with designated tethers The IA is overseen by:

within the region, indicate the broadcasting Murdoch Riley

frequencies used by IA traffic controllers to

encourage compliance with IA directives. The fat whales known as memecraft are ob-

noxious with their early morning “State of the

The Information Authority also maintains a Nation” broadcasts. The last thing someone with

small fleet of memecraft to extend the reach a hangover wants to hear is the cheerful tones

of their broadcasts. Memecraft are large, of a Spin Doctor reading the daily mindfulness

slow ships which drift through the waters exercise to “promote wellness and civic minded

of Shangri La’s immense bay relaying the cooperation.” Such fucking crap. Fun fact that

Mount Wilson signal to any outlaying hubs Agent 429 missed: the memecraft don’t only

or “dead zones” that normally cannot re- broadcast they also receive a lot of data in their

ceive the IA’s direct broadcast transmission. operating area. See, those bulbous ships are

These vessels are crewed by IA personnel, packed with pre-Exodus tech and a lot of it was

all of whom have experience in the use and apparently some kind of governmental-level

maintenance of the advanced equipment surveillance gear. These things can pick up on

found on those ships. Memecraft are also a wide spectrum of transmissions, and are

37
 sensitive enough to even record conversations is funded through individual tithes paid to

from hundreds of meters away. It is a fairly well the Council, but communities and private

known secret that if a memecraft shows up at citizens can opt to receive more frequent, or

your hub the authorities think you’re up to some even specially modified water rations (for

shit. However, people think they can get by with example, to treat an embarrassing illness

secret meetings or even short reader-to-reader being kept under wraps from the public

communiqués to avoid detection only to later have health administrators) for undisclosed

some militia kick down their doors, or worse, get donations of time, resources, or labor. This

taken in the middle of the night by the Fung. If two tier system of resource management has

you are up to some shit in a hub and a memecraft come under scrutiny in the past, as pricing

shows up, go “radio silent” as they used to say for these extra services varies due to the

and get the fuck out of that place before you reveal whims of local administrators who facilitate

your naughty plans. Me and mine always had an these non-standard sales. Revenue for these

escape plan in place in case of a memecraft and non-standard sales is also difficult to track

look who hasn’t been vatted yet? Yup, this guy. as the sales often are not paid for in Kelpies

causing some to speculate that the Water

Authority administrators are profiting from

The Water Authority reallocating public resources for their own

The most politically powerful organization private gain. By its very nature as a dual

in Shangri La outside of the Council, the class society Shangri La is not egalitarian,

Water Authority oversees the maintenance and there is a grudging acceptance within

and distribution of water resources in the culture that privileges are reserved for

the region. Headquartered in the San citizens and those who can afford to pay

Bernardino Mountains near Big Bear and for special treatment. However on the rare

Arrowhead lakes, the agents of the Water occurrence of a water shortage the two-tier

Authority interact with all facets of Shangri system is often the first target of social

La’s dispersed and eclectic community by reformers’ ire. Violent protests have erupted

conducting census polls and delivering in the past when drought conditions neces-

water supplies throughout the region. Water sitated harsh rationing of municipal water

deliveries range in occurrence from weekly shipments and evidence of backroom water

resupply of the larger hubs, to monthly dealings were later made public. Even with

provisions dispersed to the more remote numerous historical precedents for a need

settlements in Shangri La. The authority to change how water is allocated and how

38
the Water Authority earns revenue, there The Water Authority is managed

has yet to be any meaningful reform to the by a board of directors. The cur-

current system despite the known abuses rent board membership includes:

inherent within said system. In Shangri La Chairperson Vikram Oza, board mem-

the Water Authority is the largest governing ber Tham Trieu, board member Kerri

body employing hundreds of agents and em- Wilkins, board member Blanche Doheny,

ploying slaves in the thousands to haul the board member Darrell Sparks.

valuable liquid cargos down from mountain

reservoirs to cargo vessels and on to waiting It is pretty fucked up seeing a family sun-sick and

customers throughout the region. It goes dying of dehydration during a water rationing

without saying that the water shipments period on the same street as a preppy little shit-

are heavily guarded, however that has not stain on ‘vay-cay’ from the Mountain gleefully

stopped some desperate hijacking attempts in saunters past sucking down a narco-laced Sweet

recent years. Though rarely successful, these Water like those wretched flesh-raisins didn’t

attacks are often covered up by authorities in even exist. It isn’t right, but I suppose when

order to maintain the appearance of social faced with that sort of inequity you either give

harmony throughout the interior region. in and become a victim or pull yourself up by the

39
 bootstraps and take what’s yours from the world.
The Public Health Authority
Winners deserve to win, and losers deserve to
A sister organization to the Water Authority,
lose. Right? Yeah, right. That is the bullshit the
Public Health Authority (PHA) agents are
Council spoon feeds everyone in LA-LA land,
tasked with overseeing Shangri La’s vast
so that is the government’s position on the mat-
medical system which includes tracking
ter . ‘It isn’t the system that is the problem it
and managing outbreaks of disease within
is the individual.’ ‘Free will has a cost.’ Sure,
Shangri La, as well as administration of
maybe that argument would have some merit if
the region’s organ and tissue banks. The
everyone started at zero and had to fight to the
Public Health Authority is also responsible
top, but those fuckers on the mountain, damn
for registration of all incoming visitors to
near every one of them was born up there, their
the region as well as issuing a genetically
mommies and daddies were born up there, and
coded Medical Record (MR) number which
their fucking MoMa’s and PoPa’s were born up
functions as the visitor’s only means of
there. See, those rich-ass bitches never had to
legal identification while in Shangri La.
worry about their security because they always
“Visitor” is a broad category defined by the
had it. Their privileges aren’t a reflection of their
PHA to include all incoming non-citizens,
merit as a person, because those privileges were
be they temporary or long term guests.
unearned and happened upon through sheer luck
Registration consists of a blood sample
of birth. Sure, one in a million from down here
which catalogs the DNA of the individual
makes it up there. Good for that fuck. Most of
along with a biometric scan. This two-part
them, ‘high landers’, though? They wouldn’t be
evaluation allows Public Health agents
so smugly arguing for the divine law of survival
to determine viability of the candidate by
of the fittest if it was their ass on the line, devoid
identifying any chromosomal anomalies,
of the privileges of their station. Take away the
contagions, or other deformities which may
clean and spacious mountain domiciles, and of
be present in the applicant. If none are
course the well-paid security retainers and you’d
found the applicant is accepted and granted
have the same dirty and scared pieces of shit that
a MR number. The MR number is the basic
are floating around down here. There is nothing
personal identifier for an individual, and is
special about the citizenry and they certainly
utilized by other government agencies for
wouldn’t know what the fuck to even do with
tracking and resource distribution purposes.
bootstraps if presented with a pair. But what-

ever, man. I got mine now, so fuck it. Right?

40
An applicant can be rejected entry to The PHA also maintains the medical record

Shangri La for myriad reasons including: database implemented by the Council to

damaged DNA from high level radiation track the health and wellbeing of Shangri

exposure, displaying markers for known La’s denizens. There are detailed medical

negative recessive traits including illegal histories of every inhabitant in the region,

hereditary diseases, as well as harboring including visitors, prisoners and slaves.

known pathogens for banned or restricted Corpses brought into Shangri La are also

ailments. Such strict measures assure that registered and tracked. The harvesting

only the best physical specimens are al- teams sent out into the wastes to gather

lowed access to Shangri La’s community. specimens and slaves for the Stitchmen’s

However protective the PHA may be of the repugnant needs keep careful records of

Shangrilese public’s health, the agency does the cargos which they haul in through

maintain a list of approved illnesses that can the Bone Yard. As a result, there are files

be introduced to Shangrilese society from on abducted individuals going as far back

beyond. These sanctioned diseases are up- as seven generations which contain full

dated throughout the year to handle influxes biometric scanning, full panels of biochem-

of foreign populations that may be carrying istry and DNA-sequencing of the victims,

a particularly virulent contagion, and to al- and in some cases recorded sessions of

low for controlled exposure of the Shangri- experimentation. The files are so thorough

lese population to evolving local pathogens. that even portions of victims brought into

the region are sequenced, cataloged and

PHA resources are allocated primar- remanded to the vast data banks buried

ily in The Bone Yard, a buffer hub that in a chain of vaults running labyrinthine

acts as portal between Shangri La and through The San Bernardino Mountains.

the Merikan wastes. A gargantuan

medical complex dating from just after The vast PHA health records are internally

the Malibu quake, and restored during the monitored, and restricted from public view

Big Push and again after the formation under the purview of doctor/patient con-

of the Council, acts as the PHA’s central fidentiality clauses assured in the state’s

headquarters. It is this site which funnels constitution as a right to privacy. This

all of the entrants to Shangri La, both allows the agency unfettered access into

living and dead, from the outside world. the personal lives of Shangri La’s masses,

with no oversight, making the PHA the

41
 primary internal intelligence gathering
Authority of the Interior
apparatus in the state. As a result, the PHA
Originally intended as an administrative
works closely with the Authority of the
office to manage the Council’s martial
Interior to police genetic dissidents who
interests, the Authority of the Interior
threaten to contaminate the perceived purity
(AoI) has now become ensnarled with the
of Shangri La’s genetic pool. It is also a
hierarchies of the very organizations the
known secret in the upper echelons of Shan-
office was intended to administer. The
gri La’s political body that certain members
purview of the AoI has been blended with
of the PHA will sell secrets to the highest
the operations of the Civil Defense force
bidder, and while it is not agency policy to
for well over a century; blurring the
outright offer such information, it certainly
scope of each organization into a hazy
turns a very dull and blind eye to the actions
single entity, resulting in the office which
of its less scrupulous agents. It is telling of
bank rolls the Militia and Bay Guard
the cut-throat nature of Shangrilese politics
also commanding those forces as well.
that the agency continues its practices in the
The AoI is headed by the Marshal of the
relative open, safeguarded by the knowledge
Interior who commands both chiefs of
that nearly all of the political class
Shangri La’s Civil Defense forces as well as
have utilized such taboo infor-
a third chief who oversees the county police
mation in the past and are thus
agencies. The AoI is tasked with upholding
susceptible to prosecution
Article Five of Shangri La’s constitution
for violating Shangri
which ensures public safety through the
La’s constitution.
commission of militia forces for civil defense
The PHA is headed by
and public order. Shangri La does not have
a Provost, an office
a standing professional army, and instead
held in rotation by
relies on a volunteer force of irregulars
a tribunal of senior
and the private armed retainers of citizens
medical staff
living in Big Bear’s exclusive compounds
from throughout
to protect its interests. Shangri La’s gov-
Shangri La’s mas-
ernment also lacks a formal, centralized
sive health system.
civilian law enforcement apparatus. Instead,

the Council imbues each county with the

Current Provost:
power to designate law enforcement
Renuka Leung

42
representatives, and these agents are funded to stay in service after their initial five-year

by the Office of Deputized Residents. This term. These personnel populate the higher

unusual and inefficient system of policing chain of command within their respective

is a holdover from the early days of Shangri branches but in order to comply with Shan-

La’s formation when the individual com- gri La’s constitution these individuals must

munities were still divided along tribal lines. remain classified as volunteers. As such, they

The rampant distrust of outsiders common must re-enlist every five years at the close

among all of the untied communities al- of each service term. Special considerations

legiant to the Council necessitated the use are granted to these personnel who are

of homogenous peacekeepers within each known as “lifers” in the Civil Defense force.

community. Over time this system evolved Not nearly as drastic as the dispensations

into the current division of law enforcement granted to a citizen versus a non-citizen, the

agencies along county borders. As well as citizen-officers of the Civil Defense force

managing both the militia and various law command an aura of fear and respect among

enforcement agencies spread throughout the Shangrilese—both citizen and DR

Shangri La, the AoI also administers the alike. To the vast majority of the public, the

enforcement of trade and traffic violations citizen-officers known as Provosti that em-

within Shangri La’s many hubs with the body the true spirit of civil service espoused

fines collected for infractions acting as by the Council meriting a near universal

supplemental funding for the agency. respect even among those critical of the

Despite the varied demands placed on the Shangrilese government. They also have au-

AoI this branch of government maintains a thority over most single-term Civil Defense

relatively small administrative staff, all of personnel and that authority unofficially

whom are relegated to a centralized chain of carries over when dealing with civilians.

command under the direct jurisdiction of the

Marshal of the Interior. AoI administrative A primary duty of the Marshall is to com-

personnel are enlisted members of the Civil municate the needs of his chiefs to the Coun-

Defense forces, often with specializations in cil. As such the Marshall maintains a resi-

logistics and administration, who act as sup- dence in the reclusive Big Bear compounds

port staff for the Marshal and the Marshal’s nestled among the other political elite. The

subordinate branch chiefs. The remaining Marshall of the Interior also personally

AoI staff is comprised of citizen-officers commands the powerful defensive measures

from the Civil Defense branches who chose in and around Big Bear Mountain which

43
 are operated out of a subterranean Command
and Control Center near Lake Arrowhead.
Nominated from a pool of experienced,
battle-hardened veteran officers at the
behest of the Council Chair, often one of
the first duties of a newly elected Chair is to
designate a Marshal of the Interior. It is not
uncommon for a Marshal of the Interior to
sit for multiple Council terms, especially in
the case of a popular and effective Marshall
as is the case with Alydeen McCarthy who
has led the AoI for the last sixteen years.
Marshall McCarthy was instrumental in
blunting the advance of ARHK forces and
used the public and political goodwill to
initiate reforms in the Civil Defense force
with the intent to root out corruption.
Surprisingly, Marshall McCarthy’s efforts
have largely been supported by the Council,
despite vocal opposition from certain
Council members over McCarthy’s lack
of obeisance to tradition. It was Marshall
McCarthy who instituted the pay system for
Civil Defense volunteers. Prior to Marshall
McCarthy’s order, the Civil Defense forces
were not compensated during their tours,
making theft, embezzlement, and extor-
tion by volunteers in the field even more
prevalent than they are currently. Though
meager, the resources dispensed weekly
to Civil Defense personnel have helped to
curtail complaints against the militia.
44
Current Marshal of Inte-
rior: Alydeen McCarthy
Chief of Operations Land Forces
(Militia): Matt “The Mad” Taylor
Chief of Operations Bay
Guard: Shikun Zhong
Chief of Deputized Residents: Rick Soote
Civil Defense
By Shangri La’s constitutional law Civil De-
fense forces must be comprised of volunteers
from the communities under the Council’s
jurisdiction and used for the specific purpose
of protecting regional sovereignty from both
external and internal aggression. Native
born documented-residents and sanctioned
visitors can choose to serve in the militia
for a five-year tour, after which they are
granted full citizenship within Shangri La.
Service in the militia is difficult at the best
of times and can often lead to a volunteer’s
death. Militia personnel are equipped well
enough initially, but are often left to their
own devices for months at a time making
death from illness or starvation an even
more common outcome for a volunteer than
being killed in action. Still, if a candidate
survives his or her time within the organiza-
tion they will be rewarded with citizenship
within Shangri La and a monthly pension
determined by their rank upon retirement.
A five-year service tour is often referred to
as “Climbing the Wall” and while the ento- training at Fort Fawnskin located on Big

mology of the term is lost it could refer to Bear Mountain. Basic training lasts for 6

the frontier postings so commonly assigned months, as volunteers are instructed on the

to militia, or more cynically, it may refer to fundamentals of wilderness survival, marks-

the social divide placed between citizens and manship, and carpentry. Upon graduation

non-citizens in Shangri La. In the class con- they will be assigned to posts throughout

scious society of Shangri La, citizenship has Shangri La’s territory, with a majority

its privileges, making the risky enrollment stationed to the north in an effort to repel

in the militia an enticing opportunity for the probing incursions from ARHK forces.

socially ambitious to better their lot in life. Because so many postings are many days

The Civil Defense Forces are divided into travel, often through territory filled with

two branches, each of which is commanded dangerous predators and lacking maintained

by the highest ranking officer in that roads, resupply is infrequent and alum are

branch, known as Chiefs of Operations. expected to be self-sufficient. As such forag-

The ground-based forces of the Civil De- ing, trapping and fishing are taught at Fort

fense units are what most Shangrilese refer Fawnskin in the hopes that troopers will be

to when referencing the militia, with the able to feed themselves off of the land in lieu

nautical Bay Guard considered little more of resupply. The terrain in Shangri La’s do-

than a refuge for the pampered sons and minion varies greatly from the beautiful vis-

daughters of Big Bear’s elite. The militia tas atop Big Bear summit, the lush, western

protects the walls of Shangri La’s borders foothills surrounding the Palm Dale Sea, to

and acts as a force ready to repel incursions the deadly urban marshes of Jay Tee, and the

of large clans of drifters to the east or the moisture-starved wastes of the Mo. Militia

probing advances of ARHK expeditionary personnel are expected to operate through-

forces pushing down from the north, as out Shangri La’s territory during their tour

well as quell rogue elements from within. of service, sometimes relocating with little

The most basic unit within the militia is the to no advanced notice, and must develop

alum. Alum, so named after the coalition of survival skills for a wide variety of environ-

“student” soldiers who train together, are ments as a result, making their instruction

composed of between six and thirty enlisted at Fort Fawnskin all the more important .

volunteers from a shared settlement or

district. Upon registration with the Author- Comprised almost entirely of poor and

ity of the Interior, an alum undergoes basic non-native members of Shangri La’s

45
 society, the men and women who “Work morality and a reinforcement of the ideals

The Wall”—which can literally refer to of sacrificing oneself for the greater good.

guarding the borders of Shangri La or, more Many such programs even villainized Civil

generally, refer to overall time spent in civil Defense forces by portraying crimes similar

service— are the workhorses of Shangri to those committed by actual Civil Defense

La’s defense forces. Support from Big Bear personnel. Such programming was initially

can be sporadic, especially for far ranging controversial and citizen’s groups called

postings, forcing many alum to cope with for McCarthy’s dismissal on the grounds of

the realities of their service tour by turning disparaging the citizens who had sacrificed

to criminal activity. It is common for militia during their time of civil service. Still, Mar-

personnel to accept bribes, or “gratuities” shall McCarthy’s war record with ARHK

as they’re often called, while performing blunted the attacks against her and enabled

their day-to-day duties. This is especially her reforms to take root. Over time criticism

true for alum posted in remote hubs or along has lessened significantly and the Civil

the land border where refugees are desperate Defense programming has become quite

to both gain entry to, or flee from, Shangri popular among Shangri La’s masses. The

La. Marshall McCarthy’s efforts to curtail alums currently training in Fort Fawnskin

criminal activity among Civil Defense per- are among the first to have experienced only

sonnel have been mired by internal dissent. Marshall McCarthy’s conception of civil de-

Seen as a cultural issue by the Marshall, she fense. Whether or not this new generation of

has worked extensively with the Authority of volunteers has taken the Marshall’s message

Information to broaden the propaganda pro- to heart remains to be seen, but this could

gramming to include stories espousing the be a turning point in Shangri La’s Civil

noble struggles of the Civil Defense forces in Defense forces as they evolve from state

the face of such common adversaries as hun- sanctioned brigands to the beginnings of a

ger, fear, and doubt. Marshall McCarthy’s more professional military organization.

plan involved humanizing the Civil Defense

force by portraying realistic struggles

faced by the common volunteer. Gone was Getting rich in the militia shouldn’t happen if

the glamorized portrayal of civil service you play by the rules, so those who make it out

with crisp uniforms, gallant bravery in the of a service tour with something more in their

face of overwhelming odds, and effortless pocket than citizenship paperwork were up to

victory, replaced instead with lessons on some questionable shit. In my time out in the

46
wastes I’ve been shaken down on more than a
Yacht Club
few occasions by Civil Defense units. In most
The other branch of the AoI, the Bay
cases they are just dumb youth looking for food,
Guard, maintains order within the busy
but every so often you get a bad group that is look-
interior sea lanes and (in theory) defends
ing to make a profit during their time of service,
the watery borders of Shangri La from
and that’s when people start getting hurt. I’ve
outside attack. Considered an exceptionally
seen more than a few ransacked caravans on the
easy and relatively danger-free assignment,
road, and I’ve killed more than a few militia
this branch of service is most desired by
members who were too stupid or arrogant to
the social climbers of Shangri La who are
recognize the Fung’s marks on my carts. Just
related to, or are themselves retainers of,
be aware if you are walking the wastes near the
affluent citizens. Nicknamed the Yacht Club
borders of Shangri La—the militia are about
for the perception of idleness and luxury
and rarely is that advantageous for anyone but
that this branch seems to enjoy over their
the alum’s officers. Stock extra supplies for the
land-based counterparts, the Bay Guard is
alums that are willing to barter, but be prepared
generally despised by the common peoples
to fight your way past the greedy ones who won’t.
of Shangri La. Seen as a corps of rich kids,

the Bay Guard are also responsible for

47
 patrolling the water ways and issuing fines
for traffic violations which further distances
the Guard from the common Shangrilese.
Entrance into this corps requires a commis-
sion on a sea vessel capable of achieving a
minimum of 24 kilometers per hour. This
speed requirement is necessary to allow the
Guard vessel rapid movement through the
harbors and bays between floating settle-
ments. Most militia members in this branch
of service hail from the wealthy families
of the elite mountain communities who
have the resources to fund the maintenance
of a vessel for the duration of the 5-year
service tour. The Council gives little more
than weekly pay for crew, so crews must
procure their own spare parts and fuel for
their craft almost necessitating a wealthy
benefactor. Some doggedly persistent crews
are comprised of less affluent low-land
community members who have pooled their
resources together to buy and maintain a
vessel. Regardless of social station, Bay
Guard crews have been known to resort
to piracy and other black market dealings
to make ends meet and keep their vessels
running for the duration of their tour.
It doesn’t matter where your ass grew up, when
push comes to shove most people will go dirty to
survive. The Bay Guard is a fun group. By day
they carry out the Council’s law and by night
they break it in order to keep their motors fed.
48
Some of the smarter captains will break from the
obvious of running refugees, or acting as pirate/
privateer, and make contact with the Gente Del
Mar boat people. That is a quirky as fuck com-
munity of sea wanderers, but some of them are
real artisans and have contacts with far flung
groups like Esperanza, and supposedly even the
Pirate Isles and settlements in the Caribbean.
Anyway, knew a captain who drummed up
quite a lucrative side business trading exotic
animals and artifacts from some hot-and-humid
locale whose name I can’t pronounce. When her
service tour was up the fine lady sold her craft
and used what she had stashed on her tour to buy
a lot in Big Bear Village. Smart lady, that one.
Revenants
There are a number of specialized and
auxiliary units which also contribute to
Shangri La’s military arm but remain
largely unknown to the general population.
Primary among such hidden assets are an
unnamed force which operates in and around
Big Bear Mountain. Tasked with safeguard-
ing Council holdings including the water
purification infrastructure and storage tanks
inside Big Bear Mountain, these agents are
well trained and highly motivated. Little is
known of the unit charged with protecting
such important assets, as it remains absent
from any logistical chains within Shangri
La’s administrative body. My surveillance
of Big Bear allowed me to capture biometric highly specialized augmentations present

scans of multiple agents, but frustratingly on these operatives. Each Revenant I have

those scans could not be matched with any observed demonstrated specialized physical

living persons in Shangri La’s medical serv- modifications intended to assist with the

ers. However, positive results did surface operative’s assigned tasks. For example, in

for individuals registered as deceased. In Big Bear’s cavernous water storage vaults

total I ran biometric scans on five agents, lighting remains dim in most places and

and each agent was declared officially non-existent in others. Presumably the dank

deceased with their Medical Record number conditions make wiring the area a difficulty,

reassigned to the general pool. Further or perhaps the darkness is a passive defense,

investigation revealed that all five agents as all Revenant agents assigned to guard

had been enlisted in the Civil Defense force that facility were observed with conspicuous

at time of death, and all the agents’ deaths optical implants and performed their duties

were categorized as combat casualties with unrestricted in both low-light and complete

bodies “unrecoverable due to enemy action.” darkness. I have also detected the presence

of sub-dermal plating on Revenants func-

A peculiar coincidence, certainly, which tioning as bodyguards for Council members

reveals a minor flaw in an otherwise master- and other V.I.P.’s, evidenced by pronounced

ful obfuscation on the part of Shangrilese rigidity of profiled subjects’ exposed skin

authorities. These “Revenants” are not actu- as well as severe facial reconstruction with

ally dead troopers, but rather living soldiers tell-tale signs of modification around the

likely head-hunted from various Civil De- brow, cheek bones, and chin of observed

fense alum based on merit of performance or subjects, all of which suggest the addition

physical aptitude. Once an applicant is cho- of sub-dermal kinetic dampening plates.

sen for service in this elite unit their former Additional observation is required, though

life ends as the applicant is officially de- I speculate that these personnel are receiv-

clared dead by the Public Health Authority ing state-of-the-art body modification in

with their MR number recycled—removing conjunction with their erasure from public

the person from all existent public record. record. While I cannot provide direct

evidence at the time of this writing, I am

More troubling than the lack of solid infor- confident that such sophisticated surgical

mation on the hierarchy and organization augmentation is conducted on behalf of

of this shadow unit, is the preponderance of the Council’s Stichmen overlords.

49
 greatly increasing the subject’s reflexes and

From our own historical records we know strength. Such implantation combined with

that similar experimentation was conducted the manipulations of advanced cognitive

prior to the Great Exodus, and if such paths therapies are capable of creating weapons

of inquiry were continued, and perfected in far more terrifying than anything we have

the interim centuries, it is entirely possible seen the Stitchmen create previously.

that the Stitchmen under Malibu Bay have

the means to create an army of enhanced Certainly these Revenants are potentially

soldiers that are stronger, can learn and more dangerous than the Frankensteinian

react faster and withstand more punish- monsters appropriately dubbed “golems”

ment, than even the best non-augmented which are little more than cadavers hooked

human. This information further suggests up to a battery; dumb, inefficient jumbles

a link between the activities of the Malibu of grafted parts operating on the most basic

Stitchmen and the Council’s Revenants predatory level. The gap between the ad-

are the neurophysiologic and behavioral vanced cognitive potential of the Revenants

modification experiments conducted in and the limited nature of golems is beyond

the Stitchmen’s underwater facilities comparison. Golems must be guided in the

(please see section: Thought Factories). field by an agent, and are capable of only

limited independent thought, reducing

Augmentation of neuropathways would theo- their autonomy. Revenants on the other

retically allow for implantation of desired hand are akin to cognitive super-humans

skill sets allowing for accelerated acquisition which can have skills downloaded to their

in proficiency of training routines. If per- central nervous system while their physical

fected, the Stitchmen could “program” their bodies undergo alterations to aid in their

elite soldiers with any number of highly intended roles. Stitchmen control over

specialized skills in a greatly reduced time the development of these living weapons

frame. Soldiers with skills that normally is frighteningly complete, marking these

would take decades of training and hard won agents as a troubling advancement in the

experience to master could be configured in arsenal of Stitchmen terror weapons.

as little as a year. It is already possible for Golems also suffer from their limited use,

medical science to successfully graft syn- the fusion of their various components made

thetic nerve bundles and hyper-conductive possible short term through complex-to-

biopolymer muscle implants to a human manufacture chemicals and drugs which

50
51
 begin to degrade rapidly in the field. This
limitation has always curtailed golem’s
use by Stitchmen, making the distinctive
monsters limited often to shock troops or
temporary guardians. Revenants on the
other hand are still living, requiring far
less Stitchmen intervention to produce and
maintain, as well as dramatically increasing
the service life of a revenant over a golem.
[Addendum Audio File Transcript]
I have made contact with revenant opera-
tives in an IA facility at the base of Mount
Wilson. They got the jump on me. [Static
distortion followed by muffled shouts] I
will make this fast. Revenant operatives
are in pursuit. These soldiers are substan-
tially altered and demonstrate multiple
biomechanical augmentations. I repeat,
multiple biomechanical augmentations
observed including dermal plating, flash
suppressing optical dampeners, sound
amplification and internal weapon pods. I
have been compromised. [Static distortion]
heavy fire from [Static distortion]***
[/End Addendum Audio File Transcript]
I worked with both golems and revenants,
and the good agent here is right. There is no
comparison. I’d say the Revenants have been
kicking around for at least the last twenty five
years, but they are getting more and more
52
advanced. I am sure the ones I worked with
two decades back were junk compared to what
the Council has now. You are mainly going to
find Revenants in major government facilities
or guarding VIPs. So you can bet on finding
them lurking around Big Bear village, Mount
Wilson, the inner facilities of the Bone Yard,
and you better believe Malibu Bay. The Sphere
during Convocation is also a guarantee. The
Council doesn’t usually let their pets out of their
sight, but if you do encounter a Revenant in “the
field” then some major shit is about to go down.
For example, I worked with a pair of
Revenants on a mission to lead a Stitchmen
ambassador to negotiate with the Guilders
in Phoenix. That was a hell of a run, let me
tell you, but I was happy to have the extra
firepower when dealing with those Guilder
body harvesters. Luckily we didn’t need it,
but those two Revenant goons were some of
the largest motherfuckers I have ever seen.
They were massive, with rigid plates under
their skin that only made them seem more
imposing, A Revenant also carries a sort of
dead, expressionless stare, but don’t let that
fool you into thinking they are dim. They are
absorbing everything around them, they just
don’t convey normal emotions anymore because
of what the Stitchers have done to them. But
yeah, those big fucks helped keep the peace
and likely helped get a deal struck with the
Guilders from a sheer intimidation standpoint.
See, a mission like that would be no good for a laboratory conditions. In the modified flora,

golem. First, the thing likely wouldn’t make the which are largely comprised of wildflower

trek through the Mo, and second, even if it did, species, the plants have been engineered for

the damn golem would likely go berserk during Shangri La’s dry, hot climate to germinate

a meeting and kill the other side’s negotiators. and mature rapidly, allowing for quick

There is no finesse to those creatures, you just cultivation of dense patches of wild flow-

point them at something you want dead and ers in a matter of days. Animals have also

they do their job. I guess that’s why golems are been altered to exhibit desired traits which

showing up more and more on the border with include increased size, strength speed and

ARHK. The Fung conduct a lot of operations increased metabolic rates. In both cases

in that area for their masters, and golems are of flora and fauna, the accelerated growth

a pretty common companion for Fung hunting comes at the cost of a vastly shortened life

teams. See, the Fung love to kidnap ARHK cycle but allows Shangrilese bioengineers

personnel for use as golem parts and then re- to quickly brood large quantities of these

turn to the same operations area to unleash the creatures for release into the wild. The

monsters at a later date. I’d give my left nut to shorter life cycles act as a safety measure

know what ARHK thought of those flesh hulks. for maintaining population levels of such

While they aren’t as physically impressive as engineered creatures, with most broods

ARHK’s own warmachines, nothing says Fuck dying off in a matter of a few seasons. The

You! Quite like the reanimated corpses of your flora can have even shorter life cycles with

fellow soldiers rampaging through your lines. some of the flowers and grasses dying off in

a matter of days or weeks after maturation.

While genetically modified organisms are

The Hills Have Eyes not new, the species altered by Shangri La’s

Other irregular forces available to Shangri bioengineers exhibit some frightening ad-

La’s defense include many species of geneti- aptations which do not assist in the survival

cally modified flora and fauna native to of the host species but instead function to

the region. These altered species of plant weaponize the life forms. Interestingly, the

and animal groups populate the frontier development of these living weapons was

regions along Shangri La’s borders, but not always a process of designing a creature

blend with non-modified species members to perform a task, but rather required the

easily enough to make positive identification formation of a complex chain of organisms

of the modified variety impossible outside of all completing a function in the larger

53
 task. While there are a select few wild west of the Bone Yard. Popular among

flowers that were specifically designed for those legends are tales of monstrously large

offensive capabilities, such as a sleep induc- mountain cats known as Rimrock Lions,

ing form of cirsium vulgare, or Bull Thistle, which can supposedly leap dozens of meters,

by and large the altered species require a shrug off bullets and tear a man in two

form of symbiosis to properly function. thanks to the cat’s fearsome 15-centimeter

claws. Morongo Lions are purely legend;

For example, a species of wildflower, however the engineered mountain lions of

Antennaria dimorpha, is common in the Shangri La can exhibit many similar traits

dry foothills and low-lands of the San to their fabled brethren. While the lions

Bernardino Mountains, and can be found themselves have been altered to grow larger

throughout areas of the Mo. Easily identi- and exhibit heavier muscle mass, the truly

fied by grey, silken hairs which cover its spectacular traits associated with these

leaves the Antennaria dimorpha produces creatures are due to the specialized phero-

long clusters of flowers heavy with pollen mone receptors working in conjunction with

which Shangrilese scientists engineered to targeted dispersal of pheromone releasing

produce pheromone marked pollen. Such plants. This combination allows the wildlife

enhanced pollen acts as a delivery system throughout Shangri La to act as an insidious

for synthetic pheromones, which operate layer of defense against outside intrusion.

as behavioral triggers designed to elicit a More recently with the incursion of ARHK

response in other, higher form engineered forces from the north and the collusion

creatures such as coyote or mountain lions. between those forces and the settlement of

Such triggered responses vary, though Lake Isbella, Shangri La’s bioengineers

typically they focus on heightening the ag- have been pressed to populate the wastelands

gression of the creature there are highly spe- between Lake Isbella and Big Bear with

cialized variations that allow for all manner massive broods of engineered creatures.

of additional control including conduction This action along with a flood of militia

anesthesia, sedation, and termination. alum in the area has stalled the ARHK

The application of these weapon systems advance towards Big Bear despite the mas-

has allowed Shangri La to remain isolated sive disparities between the two forces.

during the resurgence era, and have given The advanced equipment and training of

rise to all manner of legends of ferociously ARHK’s soldiery outmatch Shangri La’s

wild beasts inhabiting the wastelands militia in conventional fighting, although

54
the Shangri La militia greatly outnumbers The tactics vary from alum to alum,

the ARHK in sheer numbers. However, however an extremely common approach

the ARHK is supported by ancient engines for militia forces are disorganized raids

of war, as well as satellite based orbital which attempt to lure ARHK forces out

strikes, making the ARHK soldier the from their defensive lines and into the

premier fighter on the Washed Coast. And hostile wastes. If ARHK forces give

yet, such forces are stymied by a sophisti- chase, they are often led through fields of

cated strategy of guerrilla attacks made by pheromone laden flora, and upon losing

Shangrilese militia and the engineered flora contact with the Shangrilese forces suffer

and fauna embedded in the countryside. debilitating effects from the altered plant

55
 life. Militia field reports from successful such biological weapons in the field. Pollen,

raids against ARHK forces indicate that a saps, and other easily dispersed flora dis-

number of different incapacitating agents charge are common catalysts for these weap-

are available for dispersal, depending on systems. This two stage system relies

on the desired goals of the Civil Defense upon modified stage 1 particulates making

Force’s high command. I have appended contact with receptors on a stage 2 creature’s

one such field report that demonstrates the body, often in the nasal cavities or skin.

effectiveness of this method of warfare. The stage 1 materials react with enzymes

genetically coded into a stage 2 creature to

Shangrilese efforts to weaponize the wilds produce a pre-coded behavioral result. It is

of their territory have been extremely in this way that Shangri La can remotely

successful and warrant further investiga- protect their border regions with minimal

tion. The science behind these modified manpower. Most stage 1 flora is dispersed

creatures is a closely guarded secret, and through an area either by drones or penal

I have been unable to fully ascertain the laborers. In particularly arid regions the

methodologies used to create such biological fields of stage 1 plants can be monitored and

weapons. I do not use the term biological tended to by water dropping aerial drones

weapons lightly. The rationale to develop controlled from Big Bear Mountain.

such weapons indicates an old-world level Most sinister of the modified flora are the

of thinking that is dangerous and should be specialized stage 1 plants which do not

closely monitored for signs of future calam- require a stage 2 host to be effective. These

ity. While this weapons program is too far plants produce various levels of debilitat-

developed to effectively disrupt, it certainly ing narcotic effects as demonstrated in

demands further study to determine the the appended after action report. Simple

impact such modified organisms could have HEPA-filtered respirators are sufficient

on native species in surrounding ecosystems. to block the airborne particulates, and

Also of interest is ARHK’s response to are recommended gear for future opera-

encountering such weapons, and whether tives in this region. Note that sealed eye

or not they are working on unlocking the protection must be included to prevent

science behind Shangri La’s creations. absorption of narcotics through the eye’s

However, regarding the science, I was able mucus membranes. More difficult to guard

to determine some basics that may be useful against are modified saps, which introduce

in developing safeguards for encountering their toxins through absorption into the

56
skin. Direct skin contact should be avoided
at all costs, and garments covered in such
sap should be discarded. Also avoid burn-
ing any wood with sap remnants present as
the resultant smoke can have a similarly
debilitating effect as the original sap.
Economy and Infrastructure
The economy of Shangri La is driven by
the fresh water resources found on Big Bear
Mountain which allow for the creation of
medicinal Agua dulce as well as cultiva-
tion of fresh foodstuffs including fruits,
vegetables and bioengineered meat products
popularly called tube meats. These valuable
resources are grown in the remaining verti-
cal farms that exist in Morongo Valley near
the eastern foothills of the San Bernardino
Mountains and fall under the protective
shadow of Big Bear’s massive artillery bat-
teries. These products are not only distrib-
uted to the population of Shangri La, but
are also exported through merchants operat-
ing out of The Bone Yard. Caravans laden
with medicinal supplies and food, some even
sporting exquisitely rare refrigeration carts,
ply the roads of the western wastes trading
with hubs as far away as Gunmetal, Switch
City and New Orleans. These caravans
provide an avenue for obtaining much
needed resources missing from Shangri La’s
territory. Some of the caravans operated by
the Fung utilize the trade of food stuffs as
a cover for their slave and organ harvest-
ing operations. Fung caravans are easy to
recognize through the use of one or more
refrigerated conveyances in the train.
Agua Dulces
The waters of The Bone Yard are widely
believed to have healing qualities and com-
mand high prices in the hubs and bazaars of
the Merikan west. But, in fact, the legend
of the curative properties of the water does
have some truth. Made from the purest
water available in the region, Agua dulces
are sourced at Big Bear Lake which utilizes
a sophisticated filtration system first used
to restore the lake three centuries ago. This
system underwent overhaul during the RSA
era, and continues to operate through the
ingenuity and dedication of teams of trained
technicians overseen by Reclaimer Clerics
who have maintained the system for the last
80 years. Starting with such clean water
allows the addition of medicinal additives
with a range of treatment options. Most
popular are Agua dulces for common ail-
ments like colds, sore muscles, and gastric
distress. More sophisticated Agua dulces can
anesthetize which are prized both by crude
local surgeons and drug addicts looking for
the next high. Due to the value associated
with Agua dulces it is not uncommon for
57
 counterfeit product to find its way into the authority to treat water supplies with a broad

marketplace. Often these knock-off Agua spectrum of vitamins, antibiotics, and anti-

dulces are little more than common, often viral supplements. These additives provided

irradiated, water. Because of the damage to the populace with a defense against the

their trade reputations such faux-waters can ravages of disease so devastating during that

bring, sanctioned Bone Yard caravaneers are chaotic period. The inoculations worked to

always hunting for leads on counterfeiting not only keep the early Shangrilese healthy,

operations and have openly engaged in but to solidify the Council’s hold over the

conflict with counterfeiting gangs. If a gang disparate tribes comprising Shangri La’s

gets too successful in their scheme a multi- population. The benevolence displayed

alum force of Civil Defense militia will be by the Council’s interest in safeguarding

dispatched to ensure operations cease. their subjects helped silence all but the

most hardcore opponents to Council rule.

As mentioned, Big Bear Lake produces

purified water of a quality that rivals any- Though seemingly altruistic on the part of

thing found in Merika. While a portion the Council, if a community begins to show

is bottled and shipped abroad, the major- discontent with the policies of the Council

ity is kept for domestic use. A system of their water rations may go untreated, result-

government dispensed water rations exists ing in an uptick in disease and death while

allowing each DR access to free purified neighboring communities thrive. Or rations

water. Citizens receive more generous ra- may be reduced, leaving members within

tions than DR’s, but every legal resident the community to fight over what little of

receives enough water to sustain themselves, the resource is provided. If the community

even during the oppressively hot summer continues its defiance, more overtly tainted

season. These rations are organized by water will be provided, until, the community

community for reasons of public health. is faced with capitulation or death—often

while their neighbors enjoy the comforts

Early in Shangri La’s history, the first of plentiful, safe water. It is even rumored

Council devised a system of inoculation that the modified water has been used as a

through the water rations distributed among targeted strike against individuals and their

the communities of Shangri La. Not entirely families deemed a threat to the Council with

dissimilar to the policies of pre-Exodus gov- poisons or other debilitative additives intro-

ernments, the Council granted itself the duced to specific water rations. Included in

58
this file is sample data of water distributed far below the level needed to properly dose

to the island city of El Monterino over the the supplies for the entire region. I believe

course of five months. High levels of the there must be collusion among the Stitch-

antibiotic doxycycline were detected in the men, Reclaimers and the ruling Council

samples three weeks after an outbreak of which warrants further investigation.

Chlamydia tore through the community.

That same antibiotic disappeared from Some advice for surviving in

samples collected just two weeks later,
Shangri La: Don’t piss off any-
after the illness was under control. The
one in the Water Authority.
sophistication of the water treatment is

such that I believe it beyond the capabili-

ties of the technicians in Big Bear. While

the Council does maintain medical clinics

Shipyards
In the last eighty years there has been
throughout Shangri La, those clinics are
resurgence in ship building throughout
crude and mainly offer basic medical care
Shangri La. Two Council controlled dry
along with sweet water treatments, indicat-
docks exist along with a handful of private
ing the level of medical training available

to Council clinics is rudimentary at best and

Gallo draws the Palmdale Shipyards

59
 yards, the largest of which can be found well maintained, and primarily produces

in the outlaw region around New Port. custom watercraft for both government

and private buyers. Located in one of the

Council shipyards maintain the exist- ballast tanks of the moored Lost Horizon,

ing fleet of watercraft under Council Ballast 1 is famed not only for its custom

jurisdiction, as well as produce small creations, but also for the technical college

numbers of specialized craft for use it maintains. Preserving the dying art of

by government agencies such as the nautical engineering, Ballast 1 produces

Water and Information Authorities. a small number of skilled engineers every

year who are responsible for maintain-

Palmdale shipyard is the largest of the ing the vast network of marine craft and

Council shipyards, and is the preferred structures throughout the nation.

maintenance depot for Bay Guard crews.

This preference is due to Palmdale’s pro- Prospective students, children between the

pinquity to the affluent settlement of the ages of four and six, are tested from across

same name known for its verdant vineyards Shangri La, and enrollment is open to all

and delicious wines. Since the war with legal residents, including slaves. If an

ARHK began, Palmdale has become a applicant fails the battery of aptitude tests

major staging area for Civil Defense forces they are allowed to reapply the following

in response to the ARHK encampment year until they exceed the age maximum.

in Lake Is Bella a mere two hundred Success places an applicant in a fifteen

kilometers to the north. In the last decade year apprenticeship to the college with

the environs around Palmdale shipyard a guarantee of citizenship upon gradua-

have boomed with new settlements catering tion—one of the few routes to citizenship

to the influx of militia, mercenaries, and not involving Civil Service. The apprentice-

traders, much to the dismay of the wine ship is free and a way to greatly improve

making families nestled in the foothills. one’s standing in the community making

a child’s acceptance into Ballast 1 a dream

The remaining Council shipyard, known for many of Shangri La’s poorest residents.

simply as Ballast 1, is located on The

Sphere, and is a relic from the Hilton The education is grueling, and many of
Gang’s occupation of Lost Horizon Island. the talented students do not complete their
Despite its age, the shipyard is extremely

60
apprenticeship. Expulsion from Ballast
1 is a great disappointment both for the
student and their family, and often ac-
companies physical or mental trauma for
the student. Accidents are common in a
shipyard, and especially so with inatten-
tive, youthful workers. As such Ballast 1
maintains a severe code of conduct, and
drills students endlessly to ensure that they
remain safe and aware when working in
the shipyard. Still, accidents do occur and
it is common for a handful of fatalities to
transpire over the course of a year. More
likely than death is a mental break as the
stress and demands of the apprenticeship
intensify to the point where a student is
forced to withdraw from the program.
Students who do complete their training
leave Ballast 1 as highly skilled engineers
with assets indispensable to Shangri La. As
such this elite group of citizens is accorded
much respect within the community.
Surprisingly, Ballast 1 is also populated by
a high number of ex-gang members hailing
from the pirate crews of New Port. Taken
on as assistants, these naturally talented but
informally trained artisans often provide the
creative spark missing from the often dour,
and overly regimented Ballast 1 graduates.
Culture:
Walls of green, red buoys too:
Graffiti covered building materials salvaged
from the ocean floor inspired a cultural
preference for painted buildings that persists
throughout Shangri La to this day. Many of
the structures erected on the decks of rust-
ing sea vessels, or cobbled together on the
side of an ancient cracked highway, contain
colorful artwork that bears a visual ancestry
with graffiti designs. Names of revered
family members and even pictorial family
histories adorn the sides of residences. For
merchants, loud and expressive advertise-
ments or slogans are often displayed along
their storefront’s outer walls. The artisans
who create these murals are revered within
their community, and competitions are often
held to determine the best “tag” in each
hub, county, and ultimately, the nation.
Troupes of artists ply the internal trade
routes of Shangri La offering their services
to communities across the region. Interest-
ingly, the more successful troupes even have
their artwork recognized and “followed”
by admirers who undertake journeys across
Shangri La to view a particular troupe’s cre-
ations. Considered a sort of domestic tour-
ism, the association of a troupe with such
aficionados can greatly increase the asking
rate for that troupe’s tagging services.
61
 Okay, about the tagging tourism. Yeah, people do can be nearly as damaging to reputa-

that, but like most things involving Shangri La, tion as contracting an illegal disease.

location matters. Don’t think you can just take a

walking tour of some stacks in New Port without I wish I could deny this, but I can’t. Some

getting your ass handed to you. The community jackasses do actually go to pieces if their container

matters. The more reasonable hubs welcome isn’t this season’s color, or if the troupe they

art gawkers who might trade a bit and of course patronize falls out of vogue. I call them the

bask in the prestige of their chosen troupe’s paint faints, and I don’t associate with those

popularity, but it is the real shit-stain hubs that folks if I can avoid it. Plenty of other shit to get

will start asking “where you from?” And if they upset about in the world but paint color has to be

don’t like your answer the bullets start flying. pretty god-damned low on that list these days.

Wars have also been started between hubs over

the perceived “poaching” of a troupe by one hub

Communal living
over another. Generally, though, troupes will
Space is at a premium throughout
visit a coalition of hubs that have positive rela-
most of Shangri La and as such the
tions with one another and avoid those hubs
larger communities that boast standing
who are hostile to their clientele. Though,
structures more sophisticated than a cabin
some adventuresome troupes have been
on a leaking boat have become proficient
known to truly freelance their services
at maximizing the number of people
regardless of prior associations if they
housed within their limited domains.
are desperate for paying patrons.
It is very common for communities

to consist of large vertical apart-

Color trends exist by region
ments made from ancient shipping
and shift every few seasons.
containers stacked as they have
For the socially competitive
been for centuries, some even on
members of Shangrilese
the very cargo ships that once
society, living in a
hauled the containers across the
residence or run-
globe in that bygone epoch before
ning a business
humanity’s fall. It is
with outdated tags
commonplace for these

blocks of apartments

to be arranged in U patterns

62
around a central lavatory and communal
kitchen, necessitating the residents to
coexist in conditions some communities in
Merika would find uncomfortably intimate.
To add to this closeness and give a sense of
claustrophobia it is common sight on the
larger settlements for metal support cables
to crisscross the space around structures,
giving the illusion of cage-like bars. Aerials
also protrude from these buildings, such as
antennae and satellite dishes, to receive the
daily broadcasts of government propaganda
and further blot out the sky. It is little
doubt that the close proximity of neighbors
leads to infighting and rivalries among
residents of apartment blocks which can
escalate to open war between groups of resi-
dents. Personal space is redefined in Shangri
La to mainly comprise the area within one’s
inner domicile, and specifically, their bed.
Anything else is considered shared space,
and it is not uncommon for relative strang-
ers to conduct business in one another’s
residence, often entering said space without
invitation. Still, despite the liberal inter-
pretation of both personal and private space
championed by the Shangrilese, individual
boundaries must still be established and
then respected within communities as
new members adapt to, and stretch, the
rules of their respective neighborhoods.
While I remain skeptical that Mr. Agent 429
really understands the local culture, this guy
is right about one thing, though—space is at a
premium in LA-LA Land. Yeah, communal
spaces are common, and yeah, if you are broke you
will be bunking down with your neighbors in a
manner that will generally make activities like
having sex difficult unless you enjoy a cheering
audience, but so what? Rent a vessel and motor
out to the Pacific if you want some privacy. I’ve
been all over the West and seen people living
in all manner of conditions who would kill for
the luxury of a metal box to call home—even
crammed full with ten other people. Ask a junkie
at Uranium Springs if she’d prefer a crowded
cargo container for a bed or squatting in the cold
night air and even the most spaced out mescaline
case would give the same answer every time.
The associations that form among residents in
these apartments are what this writer missed.
Unless you are a complete ass, your neighbors
generally look after both you and your stuff.
Having twenty additional sets of eyes guarding
your nest gives a guy piece of mind, and I have
never seen someone go hungry in my apart-
ment that didn’t deserve to. With as corrupt
as the militia and local sheriffs can be, it is best
to leave the authorities out of most situations,
making it is good to know that your neighbors
will have your back when apartment matters
come up. That being said, I have lived in some
apartments that were less than ideal in terms
of self-regulation. Those are hell, and they do
exist especially in the shittier areas like Newport
Lagoon or The Sink, where your neighbors will
be just as likely to kill you as look you in the eye.
63
 Boat Culture the Sea of Angels a multitude of vessels vie

for room on the often choked sea lanes.

Boating is an intrinsic part of Shangrilese

culture. Used in all facets of life, Shangri

Young Shangrilese often dream of acquir-
La’s watercraft are as varied in design as
ing a personal watercraft, as there is an
they are in purpose. For example, sleek,
overwhelming social cache attached to boat
four-person courier craft dart through
ownership. Youth lucky enough to obtain
the buoyed lanes of the Sea of Angels
a vessel often customize their craft to suit
transporting all manner of people and
their personality. A booming industry
goods while fishing vessels and kelp
caters to the whims of reckless adolescents
harvesters trudge the waters in search of
who desire speed enhancements or other
food. Tankers ferry aqua dulces from Big
aesthetic alterations made to their craft. A
Bear Mountain to Water Authority depots
subculture has sprung up around boat racing
situated throughout the region as Reclama-
and exists in the ambiguously gray areas of
tion Trawlers collect refuse and other
Shangrilese law as various racing “clubs”
materials from communities for recycling
compete on the sea lanes whenever gaps in
and disposal. On the green-blue waters of
traffic permit. While there are established

64
boating regulations while within domestic can often guarantee at least one offer

waters and around ports and other hubs, from a patron. Typically such an offer

many of these regulations are ignored when will come from a Bay Guard liaison, but

prestigious boating clubs compete. Often occasionally a lower-tier gang or even

these clubs have sponsorship among certain a private group in need of a ship and

influential naval officers who have taken crew may submit a bid of sponsorship.
an interest in these races as a testing ground

for future naval applicants loyal to the

officers’ personal cause. A popular competi-

Religion and spirituality
tion, the Rancho Cucamonga Professional
A secular community, Shangri La has no
/ Amateur Cup, pits modified craft in a
official religion but the faithful of nearly
grueling race through the shallow ruins
all major religions, as well as cults and
of the flooded city of Rancho Cucamonga.
spiritualist ideologies (both popular and ob-
The RC Pro/Am Cup is coveted among
scure) are present within the floating cities.
all boat-lovers in Shangri La and winning
Religion in Shangri La is a big business that
the cup assures a level of local prominence
enables the Council to levy taxes on adher-
for the crew and generates interest among
ents who must register their faith with their
wealthy patrons. While the Bay Guard use
local government and pay an annual fee to
the RC Pro/Am Cup to vet potential crews,
continue their practices unmolested. This
other organizations in need of reckless and
fee is nominal for most practitioners, but if
skilled crews compete to lure the best and
a church is established within Shangri La, a
brightest away with promises of wealth,
heavier tax is demanded by authorities before
drugs, and adventure. Primary among
the place of worship is sanctioned. While
these groups are the Fung and notable
the more religious-minded members of the
gangs like the Diamond Bar Dahlias who
Council see the taxes as an overt shakedown
are known for conducting shipping raids
of the faithful, the resources gained from
as far south as Sandy Echo, and the Brea
these taxes have become so ingrained in the
Street Barbarians who run drugs and aqua
management of Shangri La that attempts
dulces north through ARHK territory.
to diminish or abandon the taxes entirely
The top three placing crews of the RC
have been met with stiff resistance from
Pro/Am are often inundated with offers
secular elements within the community. It
from groups who covet their abilities, but
is not uncommon for medical pilgrims to
any surviving crews that finish the race

65
 The Bone Yard to petition for residence in There are outliers to this general rule, spe-

Shangri La upon learning of the relative cifically in the smaller cults who are able to

religious freedom within the nation. Often take root in the region due to the equitable

these sick and injured people have turned laws in place protecting minority faiths.

to their faith as a form of solace while These cults often strive to convert the larger

infirm, and see their recovery as a sign of Shangrilese population to their system of

the divine. This influx of pious individual belief. Public reception to proselytizing

results in a steady stream of religious taxes is generally neutral, as most Shangrilese

and ensures Shangri La one of the most acknowledge the social benefit of church

diverse religious populations in Merika. groups while maintaining apathy towards

daily devotion. However, exceptionally

Generally, over time the faithful adopt more aggressive faiths will quickly find support

relaxed variants of their creed as they ac- for their actions withdrawn by the com-

climate to Shangrilese culture. Viewed more munity at large, and if the behavior is not

in terms of a social and humanitarian effort altered, assaults and even disappearances

than an ideology to be doggedly followed, of church members deemed too disruptive

faith in Shangri La can be likened to a fra- to community life have been recorded.

ternity or sorority of likeminded individuals

who band together to accomplish a unified

goal. Generally speaking these clubs of

Cult of Anne
faithful focus less on the doctrinal teachings
Supposedly founded by a divine narcissist,
of their particular faiths, and more on the
the Cult of Anne worships beauty in all
association and community-minded efforts
forms. Known as “Waders” the members of
done in the name of their faith. As such
the Cult of Anne surround themselves with
most moderately-sized communities boast at
the most intricate and beautiful objects they
least one established church that administers
can find, including the collecting of persons
to the needs of the lowest rungs of that com-
that are deemed aesthetically remarkable.
munity. Such “church hubs” also receive
These coveted artifacts of splendor are then
monthly allocations of food stuffs and sweet
worshipped by the Waders until the objects
waters from the Well Being Authority,
are brought low by the entropic forces of na-
enabling those communities to minimize
ture. It is the Cult’s belief that in witnessing
deaths due to starvation and dehydration.
the beauty of the natural world one must not

only cherish an object in its ideal form, but

66
through the entire process of decay as the met insisted that, “the heightened passions

object is broken down and returned to a base of our community cause our flames to burn

state. In order to create objects of renown brightly and flare out in the splendor of

that can be venerated, members must display creation.” Known mockingly outside of the

talent either as craftsmen, artists, poets, or Waders as “Flare Out,” this routine loss of

possess culinary aptitude. The Cult provides life within the cult is troubling to any who

a sense of security and community for those find a loved one making associations with

with talents not commonly appreciated in the cult. Rumors also abound of dark rites

the harsh lands of the Washed Coast, so performed within the upper echelon of the

diplomats from the Cult administer to com- cult’s leadership, but most dismiss such gos-

munities in search of new converts from the sip as mere stories to frighten children from

dejected, moody morass of youth. Waders desiring joining the Waders later in life.

provide hungry young minds with an outlet

for their excess emotion, which in turn Daph asked me about the Waders the other

provide a steady stream of new tithe paying day. We were walking along the boardwalk

members in the process. Curiously, the of Normandy Boulevard near the peep show

cultists also perform an important civic duty theater, and there were some Waders dressed

by caring for elderly individuals who have in the most colorful rags I’d ever seen, singing

fallen on hard times or have been abandoned their lungs out. So, of course, the girl was all

by their families due to infirmity and ill- big-eyed and delighted. Dumb kid was pointing

ness. This end of life care often comes at excitedly at them before I could block them from

the cost of the elder relinquishing whatever view which only made the bastards sing louder.

remaining possessions to the Waders in com- Fuck. You could hear the pain in their song as

pensation for their care. Cultists and their they exhausted their voices. I explained to Daph

charges live in communes scattered through- what the Waders do. That whatever talent they

out Shangri La, and barter their arts and love you for, they build up to be the be-all and

crafts for supplies and resources, with a per- end-all of existence. So if you paint well, then

centage tithed to the higher order members fuck, son, painting is your sole reason to exist!

within each commune. While membership Paint your life away, no time to eat, no time to

is life long, the cult has a shockingly high drink, just paint until you collapse. I told Daph

mortality rate among its lower echelon those singers who were dancing and carrying on,

members. Cultists dismiss accusations of foul who she giggled at and thought were so pretty,

play and one particularly verbose member I that they were going to sing until their vocal

67
 cords shredded and they choked on their own
blood. She didn’t seem to believe me so we may
stroll past the same spot tomorrow. With any
luck one of the dumb shits will be spitting up
enough blood to get my point across. But if not,
there is always the next day. She’ll learn.
Currency
Shangri La uses an official currency known
as the Kelpie. First printed on crude paper
harvested from the vast kelp fields under the
Pacific, the contemporary Kelpie is a shaped
aluminum disk with an octagon punched out
of the center. It is popular for affluent resi-
dents to wear Kelpies as accessories to flaunt
their wealth, often threading cords made
of precious materials through the central
hole. This is not advisable behavior in some
of the poorer communities and has given
rise to a type of crime called Cord Cut-
ting, where thieves attempt to cut the band
securing the Kelpies in place. This attack
often results in bodily harm for the victim,
and at times even the loss of entire limbs
from impatient or imprecise Cord Cutters.
As the Cord Cutters say, “Hear that clank? It’s
time to shank!” Don’t be an idiot and wear your
Kelpies. I shouldn’t even have to say this…
68
Law and Enforcement
While there is a clear demarcation of
rights between the classes of Documented
Residents and Citizens within the eyes of
Shangrilese law, there are some common
rights afforded to sanctioned inhabitants of
the region. Such universal rights include
the right to basic, free emergency medical
care, the right to transfer debt from one
debtor to another, and a right to regular
subsidized nutritional support in the form
of Council mandated Sweet Water and Tube
Meat rations distributed by authorities.
Other than these basic rights, the freedoms
and allowances accorded to various strata
of Shangrilese society vary greatly.
As referenced in the Civil Defense section
of this document, law enforcement is over-
seen by regionally elected deputies whom
answer to the Authority of the Interior.
Food and Drink
Shangrilese enjoy a varied diet thanks to
the resurgent Pacific kelp fields and fishing,
as well as the salvaged vertical grow spaces
still functioning in the foothills of the San
Bernardino Mountains. Stepped orchards
and vineyards along the north-western side
of the San Bernardino range also provide a
bounty of fruits and nuts, as well as highly
coveted wines, but those luxury items are
often reserved for the wealthier mountain-
Holidays
dwelling citizens of the region. Shangrilese

cuisine is a fusion of different culinary Hoetenna (varies)

influences stemming from the diverse pre- Hoetenna, also known as “The Hot One,”

Exodus cultures that made Greater Los falls on the hottest forecasted day of the

Angeles home. Bearing some similarities to year and is a day free of work or obliga-

Esperanzan cuisine, Shangrilese fare tends tion often spent outdoors with friends and

to be heavy of legumes, grains (mainly vari- family. Due to Shangri La’s climate this

ous strains of rice and corn) and fruits and holiday typically falls in late October or

vegetables. Cloned meat (“tube meats”) are early November. Local legend claims the

fairly ubiquitous in the region and affordable celebration’s origins began with a slave

to all but the poorest inhabitants. Still, revolt which occurred in the tumultuous

meat consumption is often limited to a single days of Shangri La’s infancy. The holiday

meal of the day, typically the mid-day meal, honors the creation of the underclass of non-

or to mark a special occasion. Popular citizens known as Documented-Residents.

meats include cloned chicken, beef, goat and According to popular legend, the slaves re-

duck. Various species of fish and crustacean volted due to extreme weather, as a series of

are also available throughout the year, both increasingly hot days made any sort of labor

in cloned form and freshly caught either by all but impossible. Callous and uncaring

Shangrilese fishing fleets or through trading overseers brutalized the slaves forcing them

with the Gente del Mar. “Real” meat, i.e. to work and die in the oppressive condi-

non-cloned meat, demands a high price in tions. So the story goes the wicked overseers

Shangrilese markets and restaurants, and is are eventually overwhelmed and subdued

consumed almost entirely for the prestige by the noble slaves. So noble were these

associated with such luxury products rather slaves that they released the overseers and

than for perceived flaws with cloned meats. negotiated a peaceful coexistence through

Due to the naturally hot climate, food a series of established rights granted to the

preservation is a challenge without former slaves. On the evening preceding

powered refrigeration, and so dried Hoetenna people often sleep outside as a

foods, and heavy applications of symbolic gesture to the legendary slaves

spices and herbs are commonly used who burned their camps in protest. From

to extend the life of consumables. the decks of small family watercraft, to the

crowded streets of major hubs like The

69
 Sphere, people of all social ranks will spend
an evening cooking and sleeping outdoors.
Often neighbors will combine their celebra-
tions in festive “block parties” that can have
upwards of a few hundred participants in
some of the more populated hubs. At these
events one will find music, dancing, games
and of course food and drink. People are
encouraged to over-indulge as the next day,
Hoetenna, is a labor free holiday where
all but government agents and emergency
service personnel are exempt from work.
Businesses are shuttered throughout the
region and often entire communities sleep
late into the day as their bodies recover from
the boisterous carousing of the night before.
It is clear this guy didn’t spend much time in
the poorer neighborhoods of Shangri La because
Hoetenna has a darker side depending on where
you live. I enjoy Hoetenna now that I live in a
safe community. It is a wholesome holiday where
I eat some BBQ and bullshit with my neighbors
and fish all the next day. But, when I was
younger Hoetenna was a sweet racket that helped
finance a lot of fucking and drugs. At the time I
was living in the slums of New Port and because
that place was such a shit stain, people would
really live it up on Hoetenna’s Eve. Whatever
could be drunk, eaten, or injected into their bodies
they would do it and do it with gusto. Me and
my crew at the time would keep our shit together
enough that in the early hours of Hoetenna
70
we’d hit the hub’s largely unattended residences
and businesses. With damn near everyone in
drug or alcohol induced commas we’d gleefully
pick our way through what little New Port had
of value. So, moral of the story, Hoetenna’s Eve
is fun as hell, but don’t be stupid about it and be
sure to keep an extra close eye on any valuables
if you are in a questionable neighborhood.
Santa Catalina Day— (May 1)
This holiday recognizes the truce between
the Gente Del Mar and Shangri La. Not
a festive holiday in the least, the holiday
is largely ignored by residents of Shangri
La. However, on May 1 delegations from
Shangri La and the Gente Del Mar meet
on Catalina Station for a small summit
to renegotiate the temporal terms of their
long-standing truce. Negotiations for
seasonal fishing boundaries and pricing
for staple goods traded between the two
cultures are reviewed for the upcoming year.
These negotiations will go on as long as is
necessary to reach an agreement, though
typically the affair takes only a few days.
At the conclusion of the summit a celebra-
tion is held and a symbolic exchange of
gifts is conducted to renew the spirit of
friendship between the two delegations.
I am pretty sure I knew about this holiday, but
yeah, never done shit before to “celebrate” the
day. I will definitely mark the occasion next May
1 with a juicy wad of rezz in honor of our neigh- testing. If the DR is then further diagnosed

bors, the Noble Boat People of Whateverthefuck. with an illegal illness or impairment they

are removed from society. Depending on

Bona Curatio—(November 18) the diagnosis, an individual will either be

Bona Curatio, or Bona Day, is the one day sent to a harvesting center for extraction of

a year that Documented-Residents are able any viable organs, tissues and other useful

to obtain free, non-emergency health care. biological components, or remitted to the

As can be expected, the demand placed on Dream Factories under the waters of Malibu

the region’s health care system is immense Bay for experimentation. Those individuals

during this holiday. To cope with the influx with low cognitive function are commonly

of patients, the Council organizes traveling sent to the Dream Factories to populate

medical personnel to attend to the diaspora the myriad experiments involving the brain

communities bereft of dedicated medical which occur in those facilities. Because of

facilities. Additional staff is also sent to the threat of losing a loved one to the PHA,

existing clinics to help manage the flow of families often try to hide members deemed

thousands of sick and injured DR’s in need illegal under Shangri La health law. Still,

of treatment for illnesses not easily treated the PHA has grown adept at flushing out

with municipal Agua Dulce. Many of these illegal DR’s and so Bona Curatio is often

patients require minor surgeries, but with de- derisively referred to as El Dia de la Cosecha

mand so high for time with a surgeon queues or “The Reaping Day ” by opponents of

can be measured in terms of years while Shangri La’s oppressive health laws. As a re-

DR’s wait for an opportunity to receive their sult, Bona Day is responsible for an uptick in

health benefits. While many DR’s benefit smuggling operations in the weeks leading

from much needed treatment on this day, up to the holiday. Dissident stronghold Lake

there is also an undercurrent of fear among Is Bella famously refers to the same period

those DR’s who exhibit mental illness or of time as “The Surge” due to the larger

cognitive impairment. On Bona Day agents than usual influx of new refugees it receives

from the Public Health Authority monitor from Shangri La during that month.

the results of public screenings for designat-

ed behavioral and genetic markers associated Dia de la Cosecha is also a convenient way for

with a series of outlawed conditions. If a DR Council members to threaten political opponents

exhibits any of those markers they are taken and “disappear” annoying individuals without

into custody by PHA agents for additional leaving a trail of witnesses or bodies. All

71
 a Council member has to do is bribe a PHA Little to no fresh water can be found in

agent into declaring an individual positive the region with the exception of rainfall

for an illegal ailment and that’s all she wrote that occurs mainly in the wet months of

for poor, unfortunate soon-to-be-spare-parts April through June, and the protected water

jackass who pissed off one of Shangri La’s sources at Big Bear Lake and its surrounding

political elite. It’s a grim business, but it reservoirs. Due to the widespread flooding

keeps monsters like me employed and the body and loss of arable land to the ocean, com-

mills cranking so it ain’t going anywhere. munities grew on the surface of the Pacific

as small bands of families and allies linked

together whatever available buoyant materi-

Floating Communities als would allow them to eke out an existence

The skyline of Greater Los Angeles is no on the waves. Over time these jury-rigged

more. A few skeletal frames that were once structures were added to and grew into more

skyscrapers now peek out of the cold waters permanent hubs, some anchored in place

of the Pacific are all that remain of down- and occupying a “permanent” spot on the

town GLA. Tethered to those rusting spars waters, while others remain untethered

are the floating communities of survivors and free to move around the open waters

who carve out an existence on the Washed of the Pacific. Since many communities are

Coast. The Pacific has claimed much of little more than a collection of a few family

what used to be considered Southern Califor- units and their slaves, there are too many

nia and with it the sprawling urban centers communities to list in a document of this

which stretched inland from the coast limited scope. Such smaller communities are

through the arid, mountain valleys to the often temporal and rise or fall for a number

east. Much like its predecessor Greater Los of reasons most common of which involves

Angeles, Shangri La is not comprised of just alliances with other communities. A small

one hub or community, but remains a patch- familial hub lives or dies on its alliances.

work of numerous communities spread over With internecine warfare common among

a large region. In the century leading up hubs, fledgling communities come and go

to the Great Exodus the region that would through the spit and handshake of new al-

become Shangri La experienced exceptional liances and the fracturing of old coalitions.

tumult and the survivors were left with the Despite the transient nature of most minor

challenge of enduring in an environment hubs, there remain a few major communities

that was anathema to human existence.

72
of note that have endured and are considered ing structures of the collapsed and sunken
perennial to Shangri La’s character. buildings. The wreck was almost instantly

plundered by locals, but it took the efforts of

The Sphere an enterprising group of bandits to salvage

the ship and begin its conversion into a

The premiere artificial island in Shangri
habitable structure. Over the course of three
La, The Sphere is a testament to the ingenu-
years a group known as the Hilton Gang
ity and dogged persistence common with
erected a highly defensible bastion in the
natives of the region. What became the basis
wreck of the Lost Horizon. From this base of
of The Sphere started as a cargo freighter
operations the gang attacked other vessels
named Lost Horizon, which broke free of its
and communities in the region, gaining
New Port moorings during a storm and ran
power and influence over the merchants and
aground on the remnants of what once was
hubs within 20 miles of the Lost Horizon. As
the business district of Greater Los Angeles.
the prosperity of the Hilton Gang increased,
The Pacific had long claimed the office
members expanded the wreck, driving brac-
towers and other buildings at the time of the
ing rods into the submerged concrete and
collision, causing the Lost Horizon’s lower
erecting construction platforms for smaller
hull to become snared in the twisted, rust-

73
 structures along the Lost Horizon’s outer to starve the sea gang out of their fortress.

hull. Many of these structures were defen- The blockade, while inconsequential to

sive in nature, but over time, the growing impeding the effectiveness of the Hilton

demands of member families as well as hun- Gang, did create a near constant state of

dreds of slaves taken by the Hilton Gang, low-level warfare between the two groups.

necessitated the construction of habitable

structures. Within a handful of years the It took nearly four years of skirmishes for

Lost Horizon became a true island fortress Shangri La’s forces to pry control of the

bristling with defensive emplacements, a waters surrounding the Lost Horizon from

fortified harbor, and a small armada of the Hilton Gang. In the final weeks of their

pirate craft which patrolled its waters. long resistance, the Hilton Gang suffered
from infighting, as a faction within the

It was largely in part to the Hilton Gang’s gang advocated suing for peace with the

predations that Shangri La’s ruling Council numerically superior Shangrilese forces. As

was successfully formed, as fear of the sea- the coup resolved itself the hold-outs were

marauders pushed independent communities subdued or killed, and a call for surrender

to sign on to Shangri La’s charter for was issued on August 4 of 103 A.E.. As a

mutual defense. Not long after its formation sign of capitulation the surviving Hilton

the ruling Council of Shangri La began Gang members offered Horizon Island to

waging war on the Hilton Gang, but due the Council, in exchange for some autonomy

to the isolated location of the Lost Horizon and leniency for a number of crimes commit-

wreck, any assaults had to be sea borne and ted against the Council. As a good-will ges-

were disastrous for the less experienced, ture toward their new allies, and as a sym-

and in-cohesive naval forces of Shangri La. bolic gesture towards unifying the nascent

Less than a year old, Shangri La’s navy Shangrilese community with the Hilton

consisted of little more than a collection Gang survivors, the Council chose Horizon

of personal watercraft crewed by bands of Island as the location for their upcoming

criminals, opportunists, and pirates. In Convocation. Much of the surviving Hilton

short order the disparate forces were re- Gang leadership were integrated into Shan-

buffed by the Lost Horizon’s entrenched and gri La’s fledgling navy, causing a near muti-

more experienced defenders leading Shangri ny among the independent captains who had

La’s navy to attempt a largely unsuccessful taken part in the long war against the island

blockade of Hilton Island in an attempt fortress. With a political crisis looming,

74
 the Council was eager to legitimize their sponsoring community receives not only at

new allies in the eyes of their naval officers. the Grand Convocation, but throughout the

The solution devised was simple: Rename subsequent 5 years the newly elected Council

Horizon Island as The Sphere, and the sur- is in power. The Sphere’s grand Council

rounding waters as Amnesty Bay, and imple- chambers are built in the remnants of the

ment the tradition of community building Lost Horizon’s cavernous hull, and that

around the ceremonies of the Convocation. ship features prominently in the political

landscape of not only The Sphere but Shan-

I gotta say, the first few times I read this bit gri La as a whole. Boasting resources and

of history I was wondering why the hell the venues not found in even some of the more

captains would give a damn about re-naming prosperous land-based hubs, The Sphere is

the island. How did that calm things down? a juxtaposition of ingenious innovation and

So I did some digging myself, and each of squalid decay. The Sphere’s metastasizing

those captains got some prize territory on boundaries enable it to accommodate more

The Sphere. Now that makes sense. It ain’t and more residents and visitors with each

Shangrilese if morals aren’t compromised! new Council formation. The island features

multiple industrial scale electric generators

A creaking, stinking amalgamation of jury- which provide a functional power grid to

rigged watercraft, urban detritus, and rope, much of the settlement. Many of these gen-

The Sphere is an ever expanding island of erators are rare pieces of ancient technology

junk that is routinely added to by the vari- that are closely guarded by Council security

ous communities paying allegiance to the forces. The Sphere maintains an ancient

Council. These expansionist projects are solar array which takes advantage of the

highly ritualized, and culminate in the year high potential for sun exposure common in

leading up to the Grand Convocation, where the region while another generator is a rare

the Council members are voted on by the piece of technology cobbled together dur-

citizenry of Shangri La for their terms in ing The Great Push to harvest the energy

office. During the expansion period commu- of the Pacific’s waves. More common and

nities throughout Shangri La repair, repur- replicated bio-fuel and kinetic generators

pose, and renovate the island. Each partici- also provide the island with power. With a

pating community bids for a project which semi-reliable power grid The Sphere is able

they will in turn fund and orchestrate. The to offer its denizens and visitors delights and

grander the project, the more prestige the comforts rare or long since absent in the

75
 Merikan landscape. Primary among these munities looking to expand the island, but

comforts are lighting, refrigeration and cli- also from natural and man-made events

mate control. The Boulevard of The Sphere as well. Long used as a dumping ground

is a route which connects a series of vessels for refuse even before The Great Exodus,

and structures comprising the “old town”, the Pacific in and around The Sphere is

or core, of The Sphere’s business district. particularly polluted thanks to the underly-

Found along the three kilometer walk of ing cityscape beneath the water, the high

The Boulevard are functional street lamps population on the island, and the vigorous

which glow a hazy green due to the leaden seismic activity still plaguing the region.

glass used in the lamp globes. This noc- The submerged remains of Greater Los

turnal lighting enables The Sphere’s open Angeles continue to release detritus into the

air market and street vendors to operate open waters as underwater tremors reshape

throughout the night, fostering a culture of the ocean floor. These eruptions of urban

excess focused on entertaining visitors from derelict, flotsam and jetsam make the wa-

around Shangri La and those lucky few out- terways connecting the various communities

siders cleared to be on the island. Not just of Shangri La dangerous for the agile water

relegated to The Boulevard, the Sphere’s craft which ply those routes, however for the

power grid enable a near continuous flow of moored city of The Sphere, collisions with

electricity to both residences and businesses, this floating debris can prove disastrous. I

which in turn has given the Sphere the have uncovered numerous incidents in the

reputation as a city that never sleeps. Along past fifteen years where drifting objects

with a vibrant nightlife, The Sphere houses damaged sections of The Sphere, the most

an auditorium where public performances recent occurring just two years ago at the

and political discourse occur throughout the last Convocation. In that incident a series of

year. A number of eateries, brothels, and residences and businesses were scuttled and

bazaars also clamor for the attention of the sent to the ocean bottom along with dozens

wide-eyed tourists who ply the salt and sun- of their occupants, proprietors and patrons

bleached planks connecting rusted vessels to when a “river of garbage” caught a current

one another. From the horizon The Sphere and slammed into the island. Since that

looks like a jagged city tearing itself free event the Council has initiated a patrol to

from the murky waters of the Pacific. The maintain maritime safety along the waters

“shoreline” of The Sphere is under constant around The Sphere. Small, nimble vessels

change, not just from well-meaning com- outfitted with hooks, planks, nets, and other

76
tools for catching or repelling errant objects who prey on the refuse of society. Often uti-

from the water are employed with some lized for dangerous, low-paid labor, Netters

success. At the time of this writing, a patrol enjoy few rights and often struggle to receive

craft had recently intercepted a derelict even the basic rights of a Documented-

vessel on a collision course with the north- Resident even though in actuality this

east quadrant of the island. The unmanned population is sanctioned by the Council.

vessel was found to contain a thriving nest of The persecution of this group is curious, and

rats numbering in the thousands. Specimens locals to both The Sphere and surrounding

taken from the abandoned ship tested posi- communities are uncertain why Netters are

tive for bubonic plague, which could have so acceptably stigmatized. One theory linked

caused a catastrophe if the rat swarm had to local legend about The Sphere’s origins

made contact with the island. While the and purports that some of the Hilton Gang

incident proved a victory for the defensive who resisted integration into Shangrilese

patrols, there was some speculation among society were banished from the island, but

Sphere residents that the derelict vessel was through a loophole in the Council decree

actually a hostile act undertaken by a rival were able to reside high above the island as

community. No evidence could corroborate long as they didn’t set foot on the “ground”

those claims, but The Sphere’s influence in below. Given the rather brutal practices of

the region, coupled with the higher than the nascent Council it seems unlikely that

average allocation of resources earmarked an adversarial contingent of warrior-pirates

for the island, makes for a number of would be allowed to trapeze through a legal

disgruntled rivals who might undertake loophole, but it does provide suitable deni-

sabotage to further their own agendas. ability for the local pastime of despising this

minority group. Netters are often forcefully

“Netters” is a common pejorative term removed from The Sphere during Convoca-

applied to a small community of eccentrics tion or if a high profile visitor is touring

living in the upper reaches of The Sphere, the island, but authorities are lax in their

high above the shifting planks of the artifi- enforcement of the ban after such events

cial island below. These men and women, conclude. Many Netters appear to suffer

who live among the rigging, masts, ancient from mental and physical ailments, which,

power poles, and other elevated structures given Shangri La’s laws against certain

protruding from the unstable decks below, physical and mental deformities, adds to the

are an underclass often seen as scavengers puzzle of their presence on The Sphere—

77
 though it can easily account for the group’s
stigma in the eyes of other locals. The group
is also accused of a wide range of crimes,
from burglary, petty theft, assault, and rape
which further isolates them from the rest
of the community regardless of the truth
of those accusations. All in all, the Nett-
ers are highly suspect in the eyes of most
Sphere residents and are given a wide birth.
Ah, the Netters. A fine group of lunatics who are
class acts at causing trouble. I am surprised our
Agent here couldn’t figure out their real purpose
on The Sphere given his penchant for unearthing
ugly secrets. While some of the people living above
the planks are destitute, most do not stay that way
for long. Hugh Rutherford has been a longstand-
ing Council member who made his early political
78
career governing The Sphere and the Netters
are his babies. Not literally, well, shit, maybe
one or two are because the guy is a known sex
fiend, but the Netters are his eyes and ears in
The Sphere and act as an unofficial intelligence
apparatus as well as a personal army of ruffians
that can be used to harass political and business
opponents. With the backing of Rutherford no
one will touch the Netters, and when they do
get hauled into a detainment center they are out
within a few hours. New arrivals to that sorry
life are often on the run: rejected from other
communities or fearing a visit from the PHA, so
they take to the wires above the island for refuge.
It does not take long for the capable ones to be
identified and inducted into Rutherford’s secret
army of spies. The rest are usually offered up to
locals or returned to their former communities
to collect on any bounties. What is really messed The hub also has the largest slave market

up is Rutherford’s insistence that new members outside of Big Bear Village, and acts as a

are deformed (if they aren’t naturally) in staging ground for the slaves eventually

order to further ostracize them from the rest of brought to Big Bear for sale, further boost-

society. I suppose any new candidates who are ing the revenue and status of the hub among

uncomfortable spying on their fellow citizens its neighbors. Due to the wealth flowing

lose that hang up after a few months of being daily through the hub, the merchant class

spit on, denied service in businesses, and gener- of citizens and DRs enjoy more autonomy

ally accosted throughout the day. I know I’d be from Big Bear than other low-land hubs.

more willing to sell people out who saw me as Not to be confused with outright autonomy,

a freak. Rather brilliant on Rutherford’s part the freedoms enjoyed by these specialized

if you ask me. Fucked up, yeah, but brilliant. entrepreneurs remain the envy of other resi-

dents across the region. This special tensile

El Monterino circumstance of the otherwise rigid Shan-

Another large settlement anchored in the grilese social order is a consequence of El

north-eastern part of the Sea of Angels, El Monterino’s regional past as a neutral meet-

Monterino is a successful trading hub and ing ground between high and low land tribes.

a major storage depot for Water Authority Historically, El Monterino acted as a

assets. Located south of the San Bernardino seasonal camp for mountain-based slave-

Mountains, El Monterino is situated near hunter groups who preyed on low-land

major shipping lanes leading to Big Bear tribes. Eventually as relations shifted from

Mountain making it a natural congrega- hunter/prey to master/thrall, regular trade

tion point for Water Authority resources. with the low-land tribes created a need for

El Monterino is also the first major hub permanent structures in place of seasonal

for travelers making the journey west from camps. According to Big Bear’s records,

the wilds surrounding The Bone Yard, and a small land-based settlement named El

the last hub most visitors leaving Shangri Monte, or “The Mountain”, existed in the

La will pass through before reaching The area currently occupied by El Monterino and

Bone Yard. As such catering to the needs of acted as a neutral ground where low-land

travelers is a major business concern for the tribal leaders could negotiate with high-land

merchants present in El Monterino. Dry slavers without threat of violence. Over

goods, food stuffs, weaponry and medical time a commingling of various two groups

aid can all be obtained in El Monterino. occurred and the resultant mixed-blood

79
 offspring were banished from residing on exchanges complete with holding pens and

Big Bear Mountain. Orphaned between two auction houses for their human stock.

cultures, the mixed-blood peoples eventu- The flood of private ventures into the slave

ally carved a niche for themselves acting as market caught the PHA and Shangrilese

intermediaries between the two groups while Council flat-footed. Seeing no need to

expanding the infrastructure of El Monte. further strain the still recovering flow of

Generations later after the formation of slaves, the Council elected to officially sanc-

Shangri La, the community of El Monte tion the construction of the new artificial

was lost beneath the Pacific when an earth- island renamed El Monterino. With the

quake in 163 A.E. leveled the land-based additional resources provided by Big Bear,

settlement and severe ground liquefaction what is now the contemporary hub of El

made conventional rebuilding on the site im- Monterino began to take shape with a prior-

possible. El Monte’s destruction represented ity given to implement infrastructure for

a major loss of resources for the fledgling both slave and water resource management.

nation of Shangri La, as the government Included with the Council sanction was

owned slave markets and housing pens were an unheard of measure to grant additional

utterly destroyed along with much of their rights to certain DRs associated with the

human stock. Quick, decisive action on the slave trade. The resultant expansion of

part of a number of mixed-blood DR mer- rights included near equal treatment with

chants enabled the slave markets to recover citizens in the eyes of the law regarding

albeit outside of Council influence. Seeing a all matters of property, as well as allow-

vacuum in the marketplace and seizing the ing alternative pathways to citizenship

initiative ahead of the PHA , two slaving based on meeting slave import quotas.

outfits pooled their resources to erect a float-

ing structure to house their surviving slaves El Monterino’s Slaver class of DR are

where they would also hold on-site sales. uniquely positioned in Shangrilese society.

Two days after the destruction of El Monte, Not fully citizens, and not fully DRs, the

while search and rescue operations were still Slavers are a community unto themselves

being conducted, slave trading resumed. See- who are proud of their heritage and what

ing an opportunity to remove government their ancestors helped establish in the

influence from the slave markets, private creation of El Monterino. However, the

slavers banded together to form their own Slavers have created a social headache for

some of the more conservative-minded

80
citizens of Big Bear Village who still harbor
prejudice against so called mixed-blooded
peoples perceived to be little more than slave
stock themselves. This prejudice extends
to include every low-land dwelling DR
and citizen who cannot produce lineage
documentation establishing their ancestors’
mountain residency back to the time of the
Exodus. While it is nearly impossible for
anyone living today to produce such detailed
documentation it does not prevent a small,
but vocal element of Big Bear Village’s
oldest families demanding adherence to
these ancient laws. Luckily for many new
admissions to Big Bear Village, the support
for these outdated interpretations of law is
losing popular support. Opponents of the
traditionalist viewpoint often cite PHA
data which reveals that the vast majority of
Shangrilese share common genetic markers
from centuries of coexistence, debunking
the concept of pure-blooded families in
the first place. Still, traditionalists refuse
to acknowledge this data and due to their
vast wealth and connections continue to
wield some influence over those Council
members eager to trade a vote for a bribe.
El Monterino is where Daph and I call a 1200
cm ground floor container home. I guess it is a
little fucked up keeping the kid around all the
slaves, but it will have to do for a few more
months until I shake the feeling of being under
constant surveillance. Anyway, this hub is one
of the better stops outside of The Sphere when it
comes to getting drugs and medical kit. There
is a large Fung presence in the hub due to the
slave markets which means the Stitcher com-
munity isn’t too far away, either. What’s that?
Yeah, not saying anything more but take this as
a warning: El Monterino is a place where you
need to watch your ass if you’re an outsider.
Keep your DR tags handy because between the
slavers and the double-dealing medical clin-
ics, a person can vanish easily in this place.
So, with that out of the way, it can be a nice
little place if you keep to the south and western
districts. The north is where the slave pens and
markets are, along with most of the Water Au-
thority’s assets. The east is where most of the har-
bor traffic and lower end housing resides, leaving
the choicest spots to the west and south of the
island. The Fung keep mostly to the south which
is where the real luxury shit is, so I don’t recom-
mend visiting that section of the island without a
patron, or immense wealth. The western part of
the island is the merchant district. That means
lots of money, but lots of security running around
as well making it a relatively safe spot to hunker
down. Also, the west benefits from amazing
sunsets and the cool evening breeze coming off
the Pacific. That is needed because the stink
coming from the slave pens and abattoirs blows
to the east. It also has less water traffic, making
the fishing decent. If you weren’t sold yet,
81
 it is also where I hang my hat, clearly making
New Port
it the superior destination on El Monterino.
The contemporary community of New

Port is a nearly lawless hub of rotting cruise

With all of the trade going on in people and
liners and other mega-ships abandoned
water there is a lot of wealth in the area. My
centuries ago after the great Malibu earth-
apartment, for example, has a nice little dock
quake. The historical community of New
that leads to the water and best of all, communal
Port Beach suffered the same fate as all the
showers with heated water. A hot shower is the
coastal cities along California’s southern
fucking shit in the morning; and it really helps
coastline; extreme devastation due to the
wash the stink of whatever you had to do to af-
Pacific’s rushing waters. Once an affluent
ford that kind of luxury right the hell off, let me
community prior to the earthquake the
tell you. My apartment chipped in and got the
city of New Port Beach was abandoned
showers installed after we sourced the pipes and
after much of its landmass was submerged.
furnace and all the other crap needed to get things
Famed for its boating culture, the deserted
flowing. The neighborhoods in the western
city of New Port Beach became a graveyard
district are tight; you wouldn’t get the kind of
for abandoned yachts, clippers, and other
cooperation needed to get our showers running in
luxury craft whose owners had either died
a lot of other districts. We all cooperate because
or fled the area. In the aftermath of the
everyone in my stack knows the stakes, so they
Angels Rise program, New Port Beach
look out for one another. The consensus being
became the dumping ground for watercraft
if you’ve worked to get to this point in life you
of various sizes damaged or abandoned
have just as much to lose as the people above and
throughout the region, including the mas-
below you, so if you don’t start none they won’t
sive cruise liners and cargo ships marooned
start none. Still, with the frequent shake downs
in the destroyed harbor of Long Beach.
from the Fung my neighbors would probably shit

themselves if they knew my Kelpies came from

This community lay abandoned for a cen-
the same boss who ordered the racket in the first
tury or more, until RSA units re-discovered
place, but whatever. I have just as much in-
the site upon their initial survey of the
vested in our stack as they do and I’ll bite out the
region. After centuries of so many decay-
throat of any motherfucker who threatens to take
ing vessels, along with ruptured oil wells
my hot showers away. My neighbors know that
and abundant waste already common in the
too, because it is that kind of loyalty that matters

on the west side, not who your paymaster is.

82
Pacific, New Port’s waters remain a toxic Queen Ma is known throughout Shangri

lagoon of oil, chemicals, and despair. La for its exotic weapon stalls. While the

activities that occur inside the massive ships

New Port is also unique in that the are illegal, Shangrilese authorities have a

gargantuan vessels moored in the com- tacit agreement worked out with the hub’s

munity function as miniature fiefdoms various gang leadership to contain the

of criminals and warlords. Each ship abuses within the walls of their ships. AoI

maintains vast neighborhoods of residents, units patrol the waters and gangplanks

often demarcated by deck levels within the connecting the vessels, but rarely enter the

ships and these communities are known large ships without advanced notice given

for facilitating specific vices. For example, to the residents inside. In this way what

the mega tanker Itogae ,run by the Arlotti occurs in New Port remains in New Port

drug cartel, is the premier destination in hidden behind massive buckling steel plates

New Port to source narcotics, “hard” Sweet corroded with barnacles and human filth.

Waters, and other mind altering substances,

with the ship’s vast holding tanks turned I used to exist in New Port. I lost more than

into drug laboratories. The luxury liner a few years in that shit heap, and I go out of
my way to avoid the place. Since Agent 429

83
 is rather brief with his overview of the place I
am guessing he didn’t spend a lot of time there,
The Gente Del Mar
The “fish people” as they are derogatively
either. The place is hell on earth, and I don’t
referred to are a social underclass in Shangri
make that comparison lightly. I’ve been all over
the wastes and seen humanity and beast alike La. Hearty survivors who live primarily

do some horrific things in the name of survival, on vessels scattered along the open waters

or fun, but none of that compares to chaos that
New Port breeds daily. There are no rules in
that place. There are no lines that cannot be
crossed. Say what you will about the Fung,
or even their masters, but both groups at least
have guiding principles. But not New Port.
of the Pacific, the Gente Del Mar are sea
harvesters and pirates mainly, who abhor
land-based civilization. It is a rare specimen
among the Gente Del Mar which leaves the
familiarity of life at sea to walk among the
“lubs” or land walkers. Isolated culturally

from the Shangrilese, the Gente Del Mar

New Port is for the folks who have given up,
has developed a complex social system over
or who are too stupid and weak to do better for
themselves. The denizens in those cancerous the last two centuries which makes it dif-

ships are all gang members of various degrees, ficult for the two social groups to integrate

or slaves and fuck toys of the gangs. Sure, peacefully— though an unsteady truce has
families live there, but they are all in the busi- existed between the two groups for nearly a
ness somehow, some way. If you have a family century. Egalitarian in nature, the society
member go missing in Shangri La odds are
is organized around family units which
good they end up in two places. The organ tanks
function both as the crew of a ship as well as
of El Monterino’s black market or the galley
a tribe, and what the majority of Merikans
of a mega ship in New Port. If you loved that
would consider an extended biological fam-
family member at all you’d pray that they ended
ily unit. Some particularly large families
up in El Monterino. You’d pray for that sort
may have multiple vessels under their
of death because at least it would be quick.
dominion, and each vessel’s crew would be

considered kin of the same family. While

New Port does present an excellent opportu-
there are blood relations in a family, there is
nity for infiltration as there are a few gangs
a regular influx of kin members from other
in the area which specialize in counterfeit
families due to the social custom of resolving
DR identification. It is my recommendation
debts and grievances through trading kin,
that future operations in Shangri La should
so that an individual could join and leave
prioritize establishing contacts in New
numerous families throughout their life.
Port as well as with the Gente Del Mar.

84
Through a system of carefully regulated and loses crimp status. As each family has

social accounting members of a family can their own customs and rituals, this change

be used as currency among the Gente Del in status for a crimp can be heralded with a

Mar. In such cases as personal debt or spoils ceremony, or it may be as simple as a verbal

won in internecine skirmishes with other command for expanded ship duties. Such

families, members of one family unit can be smooth transitioning of a new member is

displaced and absorbed by another family. the socially agreed upon ideal but the bonds

It is customary for absorbed family members of blood, and kinship, formed over years of

to cooperate with their new family group coexistence can often complicate matters—

and in turn the absorbed family member is leaving some crimps hostile toward their

accorded a grieving period to mourn the loss new relations. In such instances, unruly

of their previous familial ties. During such kinsmen can be sold back to the previous

a grieving period, which can last anywhere family, sold to a new family, or exchanged

from a few hours to a few months depend- for goods. If there is no one to barter for

ing on a family’s specific customs, a new the unassimilated kin then the family is

member is often relieved of major crew free to dispose of the unruly crimp as

duties and given light tasks to they see fit. Some of the more humane

better acclimate themselves to families might cast the crimp ashore

their new kin. Referred to to have a chance at a new life while

as crimps during this pro- others will simply kill the dissident.

bationary period, the new

members are watched for If the family unit makes up the basic

signs of suicide or sabotage social component of Gente

towards their new family. Del Mar society,

Crimps also have reduced the basic po-

rights among the Gente Del litical component would be the

Mar, as crimps cannot buy, flota. A coalition of multiple

sell or receive property, family units headed by a

nor can they vote on supreme matriarch or

family matters. Once a bond patriarch, member

of trust has been established families of a flota

the crimp is considered part align themselves

of that family group often out of mutual

85
 self interest. For example, a sea harvesting
family may be protected by a more martial
family in exchange for food, allowing both
families to focus on their expertise to make
survival more assured. This system has, over
the last two centuries, allowed specializa-
tions to form among some families which in
turn give certain flotas a reputation for pro-
ducing specific goods or producing members
with a particularly useful skill set. Case in
point, the flota I made contact with had a
specialized forge ship with a gyroscopically
stabilized foundry bolted to the ship’s gal-
ley. The foundry was small, and really only
capable of producing metal jacketing for
munitions as well as some basic weapons and
other metal goods. However, that foundry
gave it’s flota a political and economic edge
over neighboring flotas due to the highly
sought after goods it was able to produce.
Such specialist families are a rarity in the
largely classless society, but due to their
scarcity and the power such families can
provide a floata, they are treated with rever-
ence and accorded respect by all members of
Gente Del Mar society. In fact the reverence
is so high that it is taboo to even strike a spe-
cialist and to intentionally harm or kill one
would be tantamount to threatening the well
being of not only that particular flota, but to
the culture of the Gente Del Mar as a whole.
86
The heads of each flota meet periodically
with their regional neighbors to debate mat-
ters important to their own families, as well
as broker alliances, set seasonal fishing and
hunting boundaries and plot war among oth-
er flota. It is rare, but there have been ex-
treme circumstances that have required the
formation of a gran escuadrón, or an alliance
among many or even all of the flota among
the Sea People. Such circumstances would
have to be dire such as a threat from a hos-
tile power, as was the case in 121 A.E. when
Shangrilese naval forces sought to eradicate
the Gente Del Mar from their shores.
The Charter of Santa Catalina
Eager to appease trade unions beset by
pirate attacks attributed to the Gente Del
Mar, the ruling Council of Shangri La
decreed the population of Gente Del Mar
anathema and issued an order to expunge
them from the waters surrounding Shangri
La. An armada of Bay Guard naval vessels
formed in April of A.E. 121 and over the
course of two weeks the Shangrilese navy
pushed the Gente Del Mar south into the
waters of Esperanza. More prone to run
from an overwhelming threat than engage
in futile battle, the Sea People mostly fled
south, though some vessels attempted coun-
ter attacks to stall the Shangrilese advance
and buy their kin time to flee. These counter
attacks were no real match for the Bay resume fighting. One such vessel, now noto-

Guard vessels, but they succeeded in slow- rious among the Gente Del Mar, named the

ing pursuit of the larger mass of Gente Del Whore’s Thrust, broke through a detachment

Mar ships. As the Shangriliese reached the of screening vessels and rammed a specialist

southern shores of Sandy Echo the fleeing ship belonging to the Sandavol flota. The

Sea People made a stand. According to de- ensuing combat on the specialist ship killed

briefing reports from surviving Shangrilese both crews and destroyed the specialist

crew present at the battle, the waters were ship which housed sophisticated sonar and

choked with Gente Del Mar vessels to the communications equipment. Horrified by

point that they seemed to stretch endlessly this exhibit of ferocity and recklessness,

to the horizon. From conversations with my and desiring not to see any more of their

Gente Del Mar hosts what the Shangrilese own specialist ships lost, the Gente Del

witnessed was a gran escuadrón that had been Mar extended a cease fire to the surviving

forming around Sandy Echo with reinforce- Shangrilese forces which the surviving

ments streaming in from the southern Shangrilese were only too happy to accept.

waters near Esperanza. Over confident from Shangrilese records indicate 97 vessels were

their victories over the preceding weeks, dispatched to eradicate the Gente Del Mar,

the Shangriliese forces engaged the gran and of those only 6 returned. Escorted into

escuadrón hoping to scatter the more numer- Amnesty Bay by a large contingent of Gente

ous but timid Gente Del Mar vessels. Instead Del Mar vessels, the surviving Shangrilese

of fleeing the gran escuadrón closed in on naval forces presented the ruling Council

the smaller Shangrilese force and a vicious with the terms of peace between the Gente

fight ensued. As the battle became hope- Del Mar and Shangri La. In exchange for

less for the Shangrilese many individual certain fishing rights in Shangrilese waters,

captains surrendered their vessels, but a core the Gente Del Mar agreed to cease pirate

squadron of captains refused to capitulate operations against Shangrilese vessels.

and began ramming their watercraft into Trading rights were also granted and an

Gente Del Mar ships. The devastation was outpost was erected on what remained of

great, and the hand to hand fighting among Catalina Island as a neutral ground for the

the ship-locked crews was vicious. Eventu- two peoples to interact and conduct busi-

ally, the daring Shangrilese crews were ness. Gente Del Mar raids on Shangrilese

dispatched but the display had encouraged vessels still occur to this day, and vice

some of the previously surrendered crews to versa, however the open hostility between

87
 the two peoples has been curtailed into
a general dislike of one another. Neither
group seems to understand the motiva-
tion or culture of the other, and therefore
each lack a desire to properly co-exist.
I believe the Gente Del Mar could be an
invaluable asset to our organization. The
fluidity of their social structure would allow
infiltrating operatives the opportunity to
establish ties on multiple vessels and across
multiple families. If we can gain the trust
of prominent flota leaders, we could better
influence the actions of this interesting
group of people and possibly utilize their
assets as contingency to counter Shangrilese
aggression after ARHK’s territory grab is
blunted. Trust and respect are paramount
to dealing with members of this group, and
they highly prize objects that will make
their existence easier on the waters. Sonar
devices, weapons, metal components and
goods, as well as cloth would be ideal trade
goods for establishing connections and
gaining favor among the Gente Del Mar.
I went on a few trading runs with a fish person,
against my will at first but a guy in my caravan
was her sponsor so I relented. She was odd,
and always seemed uncomfortable in the Mo
probably because of the general lack of water.
Still, she was a great rope maker, and knew
88
her way around knots not to mention she was a
pretty good shot with a pipe rifle (which is saying
something). She didn’t talk much, and when
she did she was hard to understand with that
gill-talk accent, but she was pretty damn loyal to
her sponsor and didn’t cause any problems with
the rest of the group so I was willing to accept
her. I’ll say Agent Asshole is right, the Fishies
aren’t welcome in Shangri La, and the smart
ones that get marooned on land either high tail
it out of La La land or just kill themselves. You
can find a small community of them in Lake Is
Bella, and I believe one even runs a ferry service
to take people north on the lake. Despite their
reputation for being the scum of the earth, the one
that I met seemed decent. She was dead loyal to
her sponsor, and as honest as they came, which is
rare in my line of work. I’d often have her guard
the corpse and weapons carts because she could
be trusted not fuck with any of the merchandise.
To her credit she also hauled her sponsor’s charred
remains about 100 klicks back to the Bone Yard
after he found himself on the business end of a
Flame Caster. She refused to add him to our
corpse cart, and since there was little of value
left of the poor fuck I let her keep his crispy hide.
Not sure what she did with his body, but we
parted ways at the Bone Yard and I never saw
her again. Too bad, because she could weave a
mean length of rope, and as anyone in my trade
knows—you can never have enough rope.
 The Bone Yard (Zyzzyx Crossing) coastal city of Long Beach. These rail lines

would influence the fate of Zyzzyx Crossing.

The public face of Shangri La to the rest of
At first transformational, the lines helped
Merika, The Bone Yard is a major process-
nourish a dynamic system of food produc-
ing center for traffic coming in and out of
tion in an otherwise barren environment
Shangri La’s dominion. Positioned in the
and enabled the expansive growth of Zyzzyx
ruins of one of the many vertical farm col-
Crossing. But, those same lines would
lectives in the area, The Bone Yard was once
later feed a system of human harvesting,
known as Zyzzyx Crossing and functioned as
sapping the recently resurgent strength of
a major processing center for collecting and
neighboring communities across The Wilds.
packaging the foodstuffs grown throughout

California. High speed rail lines connected

Much like other vertical farm collectives
Zyzzyx Crossing with other farm collectives
Zyzzyx Crossing was a patchwork settle-
as far north as San Joaquin Valley allow-
ment of vertical farms, food processing
ing raw goods to be efficiently shipped to
facilities, research and development
Zyzzyx processing centers to undergo pack-
laboratories as well as housing and com-
aging and distribution eastward to the naval
mercial businesses to cater to the army
port of Greater Los Angeles located in the

89
 of laborers, managers, and scientists who cars that serviced those farms. However,

helped make the collective function. Zyzzyx Crossing’s infrastructure remained

relatively intact and the site lay abandoned

Following the Malibu Bay earthquake until RSA surveyors located it in A.E. 37.

Zyzzyx Crossing functioned as a refugee ca- With little historical data available for

sualty center. A tent village was erected on that period and region, the RSA archivists

the outskirts of the expansive facility-cum- could only speculate as to why the facility

city and tens of thousands streamed into the was not only abandoned but also avoided by

arid Mojave to escape the encroaching Pa- scavengers in the decades before reconstruc-

cific’s waves. As time passed and the refugees tion. Most of the information the archivists

remained, more permanent structures were based their theories on relied on unreliable

erected around the agricultural warehouses accounts from locals. The tales and sub-

and packing centers of Zyzzyx Crossing. sequent theories ranged from an outbreak

Expansive medical facilities were added of disease either in the medical facilities or

to its already grand agricultural facilities, food production facilities or both, to mu-

reshaping the commercial and industrial tated monsters inhabiting those very same

complexes of Zyzzyx Crossing into a town facilities and myriad other even more out-

of refugees and collective personnel, with landish stories. My only thought on the mat-

tensions high between the two groups. ter is that disease was a powerful motivator

in the days after the fall of humanity, and if

After the Exodus, much of the rail Zyzzyx Crossing was producing contaminat-

infrastructure throughout the state was ed food or had an outbreak of a particularly

abandoned or damaged in fighting. During devastating contagion it is plausible the site

the Big Push what remained of the rail lines would be quarantined, and after time per-

were quickly assessed for functionality. haps forgotten or wrapped up into local leg-

Zyzzyx Crossing was spared the sad fate of ends of being cursed. The end result would

regression and eventual annihilation like be the same with people avoiding the site

so many towns and cities in that period for either out of ignorance or superstition. Re-

reasons which still remain unknown. From gardless of the truth, Zyzzyx Crossing was

records I could uncover, which were mainly a godsend for the RSA during its attempt to

from the RSA era, most of the vertical farm rebuild civilization. Rail connections from

collectives had long since been ransacked far ranging cities had to be abandoned due

and destroyed along with the rail lines and to lack of viable track, but a network of rails

90
leading from the Mojave westward into the vised a long-term strategy to systematically

San Bernardino Mountains was achieved us- remove Zyzzyx Crossing from collective

ing salvaged materials in Zyzzyx crossing’s memory. The rise of Shangri La and its

stock yards, which allowed for fast and easy ruling Council did what over a century of

transport of people and goods—includ- rampant warfare and scavenging could not

ing much needed water from Big Bear by erasing Zyzzyx Crossing off the map.

Mountain’s reservoirs to feed the precious

few vertical farms that were also salvaged. Great efforts were made to confiscate and

destroy old maps, files, or any other media

It is of little surprise that the Zyzzyx medi- that depicted Zyzzyx Crossing or where to

cal facilities restored during the Big Push find it. It was this campaign of eradication

were quickly secured when the Council that saw the formation of the secret group

assumed control of the region. Such facili- known as the Fung. Tasked with wiping

ties were immensely useful in allowing the out all traces of Zyzzyx Crossing, the Fung

Council to supply basic governmental became adept at infiltrating caravans and

infrastructure in the nascent days of their assuming control either through cunning

rule by providing medical and food aid or violence. During the time, there was

from Zyzzyx’s surviving facilities as well as already little trade conducted between hubs,

water from Big Bear to sustain their strug- and with the majority of westward traveling

gling population. This aid was often used caravans under the Fung’s control it was

to buy the allegiance of communities and relatively simple to disseminate revised

was instrumental in securing a congruous maps among the caravaneer community.

domain spanning hundreds of kilometers.

With Zyzzyx Crossing already fairly well It is rather unsurprising to note that within

known to travelers and carvaneers due to a decade of assuming power the Council

maps dating from the RSA era, one of the restructured Zyzzyx Crossing’s medical

first decrees of the inaugural Council of center segregating the Shangrilese public

Shangri La was to obfuscate the connection from outsiders. Only Council operatives and

between Shangri La and Zyzzyx Crossing. Authority of the Interior personnel staff

Ever fearful of what an influx of outside sav- the site along with a small army of slave

ages could do to the strained infrastructure workers who tend to the maintenance of

of Big Bear and Zyzzyx Crossing during the the farms, food production facilities, and

formation of Shangri La, the Council de- surgery wards. The medical facility which

91
 once housed 5000 beds, dozens of operating
theaters as well as rehabilitation units and
bio-research labs was gutted and repurposed
as an abattoir. As slaves and cadavers stream
into The Bone Yard from parts beyond, the
surgeons inside, which are little more than
butchers, evaluate the incoming specimens
for viability in their masters’ sinister
schemes. Many living slaves are harvested
slowly, as need for specific parts become
necessary. Even cadavers have a use in The
Bone Yard. There are known chemical com-
pounds that can slow the progress of decay
in human tissue, and the harvesters who
collect specimens for The Bone Yard are
equipped with the most sophisticated serums,
dry freeze bags, and hemophatagelogical
compounds still produced in Merika.
Currently, the Bone Yard serves much as the
former city of El Monte did in the past, as
a neutral meeting ground for Shangrilese
and outsiders. Pilgrims from the wastes are
welcomed into the settlement where they
can barter for medical aid, food, and other
supplies. The Bone Yard even boasts an of-
fice of the New Frontier Chronicle, though
the staff at that office are monitored closely
by both Fung and Authority of the Interior
agents for any signs of cultural infractions.
Chronicle reporters are not allowed in
the restricted areas of the Bone Yard, and
five reporters have gone missing over the
92
Chronicle’s ten year residency in the Bone
Yard. My suggestion is to commit resources
to the Chronicle as a means to stoke the
investigative fires of that organization. If
pressure can be generated through that pub-
lication to threaten the secrecy of Shangri
La’s existence, it may provide opportunities
for our organization to gain additional
influence in the region through the inevi-
table political upheaval that would result.
Zyzzyx Line: High Speed Rail
The Zyzzyx line retains its anachronistic
naming convention and runs through the
arid wastes between The Bone Yard and Big
Bear Mountain. The rail line is highly regu-
lated by Fung agents and passengers on this
rail line must be full citizens with special
permission to debark at the lines final stop
of Big Bear Village Station. Sanctioned visi-
tors and DR’s must debark instead at Nettles
Station located in the foothills of Big Bear
Mountain where they are caravanned to El
Monterino and later ferried to their final
destinations within Shangri La’s territory.
The Zyzzyx line is not typically a commuter
rail, but instead a transporter of goods com-
ing in from The Bone Yard for processing in
Big Bear Mountain’s cavernous vaults. The
cadavers, weapons and other goods collected
by the Council’s harvesting teams dispatched
beyond The Bone Yard’s walls are cataloged
at The Bone Yard for storage in Big Bear thrived on lake activities in the summer

Mountain. Monthly supply runs are also months and snow driven activities in the

carried out on the line as water, food and colder winter months. As tourism declined

other necessities are shipped to The Bone so too did property values, and much of Big

Yard’s processing centers for Bone Yard per- Bear Village, the small hamlet populated

sonnel as well as outgoing caravaneer teams. by residents who catered to the tourism

industries, began to whither. As businesses

failed and properties were foreclosed on

Big Bear Big Bear Village and the myriad private

Long a popular pre-Exodus winter retreat cabins and homes dotting the river and trails

and tourist spot going as far back as the 19th along the mountain lake became threatened

century, Big Bear Lake offered an escape by banks that held the deeds to those

from the drudgery and pollution of urban foreclosed properties. In all likelihood Big

life in Greater Los Angeles. Unfortunately, Bear Lake would have suffered a similar

in the century before the Exodus, the fate to that of the San Joaquin Valley,

region surrounding Big Bear Lake went with corporate concerns buying the land

into decline. Decades of drought conditions and exploiting it for any and all natural

robbed the lake of much of its water, and in resources. However, a coalition of wealthy

turn devastated the tourism industries which survivalists banded together in 27 B.E. to

93
 buy up large swathes of foreclosed land and the local governments in the surrounding

invested immense resources into revitalizing villages. Nur Commins filled the role

the area into a doomsday encampment that of CEO, mayor, and city planner for the

would survive what many believed to be a connected communities of Big Bear Vil-

coming apocalypse. This group, dubbed lage, Arrowhead, and Running Springs.

the Commins Coterie, L.L.C. after their The aftermath of the Malibu quake resulted

charismatic leader Nur Commins, erected in a massive influx of would-be survivalists

numerous water collection and recycling many of whom gravitated to the Commins

programs in and around Big Bear Lake. Coterie enclaves in hopes of building a new

As a prominent member of the devastated society in the remote safety of the mountain

Big Bear Village community, as well as a compounds. Seeing an opportunity to

majority owner of much of the Village’s increase the labor and security forces of her

best real estate, Commins held sway over fledgling communities, Commins altered

the local government easing the way for her corporation’s policies on immigration to

recycling and revitalization programs for allow individuals access to the compounds

Big Bear Lake to easily gain approval. that might otherwise be denied entry due

Within five years those conservation pro- to their economic status. If applicants

grams allowed Big Bear Lake’s water line demonstrated proficiency in a number of

to rebound enough that Nur Commins was trades or skills deemed desirable to the com-

dubbed “the savior” of Big Bear. Capital- munity then access to the compounds would

izing on the success of the water collection be granted on a probationary period with

and recycling, Commins opened up her eligibility for full membership granted at a

private enclave on an invitation only basis later date. With a growing internal work

to other like-minded investors who would and security force, Commins’ compounds

further expand the Commins Coterie’s became more isolated from the few remain-

holdings. Such partners consisted entirely ing non-affiliated community members,

of wealthy private citizens who shared and as tensions between the two groups

Commins’ passion for conservation and increased violence began to manifest. A

paranoia of government influence. By the small but defiant coalition of private citizens

time of the Malibu quake in B.E. 37, Big and business owners began a movement to

Bear Lake, and many of the surrounding stem the influence of the Commins Coterie

lakes, was largely held by Commins Coterie, by campaigning to remove Commins’

L.L.C., which also exerted control over influence in the various city Councils. In

94
response, thugs associated with Commins back at the last minute on orders from their

Coterie were accused of murdering politi- leader, one Tony Giambastiani. Giambas-

cal opponents in the Running Springs and tiani’s history is largely lost, but correspon-

Arrowhead city Councils. As a result, the dences from the time reveal that he had a

State of California mandated that Commins’ brother in the Sheriff ’s department who was

private security force be disbanded and law part of the small patrol dispatched to Run-

enforcement of the compounds was handed ning Springs. In the ensuing standoff, both

over to the California Sherriff ’s Depart- Giambastiani’s entered the no man’s land be-

ment. However, unrest was forming in the tween the two sides and began to negotiate.

counties to the east, as refuges from Greater As media caught wind of the situation, the

Los Angeles flocked inland away from road leading up to Running Springs became

the devastated coastal cities stretching law choked with media representatives attempt-

enforcement resources in the area. The few ing to cover the strange story of armed

patrols that could be committed to the Com- rebellion by wealthy survivalists. Tony

mins enclaves and surrounding mountain Giambastiani became an instant celebrity, as

communities were ineffective in stemming his impassioned speeches about the tyranny

the low level violence and harassment com- of the State were broadcast worldwide,

monly exchanged between the two groups. striking a chord with many of the disenfran-

Unhappy with the infringement of their chised who too were weary of the oppressive

private property by State law enforcement, conditions they lived in. Popular support

Commins’ initiated a drive to violently for the Commins Coterie grew, and spon-

expel the State police from Big Bear. taneous demonstrations occurred in major

cities across California including the state

There are fortuitous moments in history capital of Sacramento. Within 48 hours the

which teeter on the edge of catastrophe. In Governor of California recalled the Sheriffs.

such moments a gentle nudge by happen- What could have resulted in the slaughter of

stance, fate or luck can change an outcome eight Sheriffs and justification of a massive

and create a new reality. For Nur Commins State and Federal crackdown on the Com-

that moment occurred when Coterie security mins group instead became a public relations

personnel engaged in an armed confronta- win for the eccentric survivalists. Thousands

tion with Sheriffs trying to enter the Run- of new applicants flooded into the area seek-

ning Springs compound. Fully intending to ing a new life in the picturesque mountains

attack the officers, the Coterie forces held of San Bernardino, and the hold out resi-

95
 dents resisting Commins’ influence either
capitulated or left the area within the year.
There has been over two hundred years of
preparation, entrenchment, and develop-
ment of fortified infrastructure in and
around Big Bear’s holdings. As a result,
the mountain itself is also a weapon, with
numerous ECCM sites, as well as Chaff
generators, backed up with dozens of power-
ful ancient howitzer batteries which can fire
at a range of more than twenty kilometers.
There are kilometers of trenches, tunnels,
and bunkers throughout the mountain
range. Due to electronic shielding the
mountain remains nearly imperceptible to
surveillance craft and aerial drone attacks.
The natural weather conditions around the
mountain further contribute to the obfusca-
tion of the site, as storm clouds and heavy
fog are common through most of the year.
The incessant cloud cover is a result of
both natural phenomena as well as human
manipulation. Due to the close proximity of
ocean on either side of the San Bernardino
Mountain range an inversion layer weather
pattern is often in effect, trapping any avail-
able cloud systems in place. With an interest
in harvesting additional water resources the
Water Authority, through the application of
cloud seeding drones, attempts to maintain
a thick cloud bank over the mountain range.
Massive fog nets siphon moisture from
96
the air, as well as attract lightning strikes
through grounded rods within the fog net
support structures. Connected to immense
underground generators that feed the light-
ning’s energy into massive batteries which
help power Big Bear Village’s energy grid.
Even if one were to observe Big Bear
on a rare clear day, the underlying
terrain and settlements would be hid-
den under a large, prickly canopy of
aerials, fog nets and radar arrays.
The Mo
A hostile environment even before the cata-
clysmic events of the Malibu earthquake,
the desert of the Mo remains anathema
to most life. With daytime temperatures
ranging between 38C to 57C during the
hot months which span from April through
November, life in the Mo is challenging.
The brief window of cold months which
typically starts in December and last
through March have seen temperatures drop
as low as -12C, and sporadic dustings of
snow have even been recorded over the last
century. Due to the extremely dry condi-
tions, the Mo is one of the few environments
under Council control that least utilizes
genetically modified flora as a defense
measure. Unfortunately for travelers of the
region the Mo maintains a wide variety of
naturally dangerous creatures which can
threaten severe injury and death to careless
visitors. Packs of coyotes are common, as
are venomous snakes like the rattlesnake.
Nestled smartly in the middle of this hell-
ish waste is I-15, a roadway first built in
the 20th Century and later demolished by
post-Exodus fighting and rebuilt during
The Big Push era. This well-traveled
route is the main thoroughfare lead-
ing traffic of human refugees and trade
caravans into and out of The Bone Yard.
Also of interest in the Mo are bands of
drifters, abandoned refugees, and exiled
Shangrilese which often prey on travelers
moving along I-15. These desperate coteries
often die violently in skirmishes with the
militia or in raids against the heavily armed
caravneer teams which routinely travel
I-15. Some of the more success gangs of
renegades set up defacto fiefdoms in the
sun-bleached ruins along I-15, but inevitably
these groups collapse either from starvation,
infighting, or hostile action from militia
and Council-sponsored bounty hunters.
The Wall (location)
Not to be confused with the colloquial name
for militia service, the Wall is a physical
boundary demarcating Shangri La’s eastern
border. Originating from The Bone Yard,
the Wall is an immense barrier comprised
of scrapped materials cobbled together to
create fortifications and braced against the
ravages of both the unsteady ground and
attacks from violent outsiders. The physical
dimensions of the fortification vary, how-
ever typically the wall rises three meters off
the ground and contains guardhouses and
97
 other defense elements such as embrasures
and parapets erected roughly a kilometer
apart to provide protection for alum person-
nel assigned to guard that stretch of wall.
Large expanses of the wall, especially
in the areas where a former vertical farm
colony existed, utilized scrapped vertical
farm materials for construction of the
fortification including the thick, reflective
glass for the farms’ grow houses. As a result
in certain locations the wall is seen as a
bright, shimmering mirage from kilometers
away. The sections of wall around the Bone
Yard were purposely constructed in such
a ways as to refract sunlight throughout
the day and entice travelers towards the
medical hub. On the desolate stretches of
wall this beacon is more dangerous for
the posted alum who must contend with
curious bands of drifters, cannibals, and
lunatics who are dazzled by the shiny glass.
The Others
Not all of the surviving communities in the
Washed Coast are allegiant to the Council
of Shangri La. The outlying communities
on the fringe of Shangri La’s borders are
constantly hounded by the militia as well
as preyed upon by the myriad dangers
lurking in the wilds. Most of these com-
munities are small and comprised of one
98
or more nomadic family units, staying
in an area only long enough to trade,
scavenge, or occasionally harvest meager
fields of cultivated crops. There are a few
notable hubs that exist in a state of semi-
permanence despite Shangri La’s numerous
attempts to influence, bribe, and burn
down the resistant communities within.
Sandy Echo
Once a thriving megalopolis south of
Greater Los Angeles, what remains of
Sandy Echo is a desolate wasteland of
radioactive sand banks and brackish marshes
pock-marking a peninsula of rocky earth.
After the Exodus, as governments fell and
the earth raged, a nuclear military strike
occurred in the harbor of the formerly
great city leveling much of the downtown
region and tainting the surrounding lands
with extreme levels of radiation. The
earthquakes which reshaped the Washed
Coast in the decade immediately follow-
ing the Exodus removed any meaningful
opportunities for rebuilding in the area
as society collapsed into the chaos of the
Lost Years. Even during the Reunification
period, the region was deemed a lost cause
and became a dumping ground for the in-
dustrial waste and corrupted materials that
were recovered during the Big Push. Over
the last two centuries the region of Sandy
Echo has become a patchwork of rad-soaked come trapped by the natural and man-made

sandbanks surrounded by the marshlands barriers of the region such as the fringe

that mixed with the encroaching Pacific. tribes to the east, Shangrilese Civil Defense

Dubbed the “Culling Fields”, these zones forces to the north, and open waters to the

of toxicity scar the remaining land bridge west and south. Others appear to be insane

that bisects the large bays on either side of survivalists or hermits seeking to avoid the

Sandy Echo—creating a deadly gauntlet for obligations of community in the radiation

any explorers that attempt to move through wastes. The naturally harsh conditions of

the region. The people who doggedly call Sandy Echo make for hardy survivors, and

Sandy Echo home survive in one of the as such the locals are often sought out by

most hostile environments of the Washed Caraveneers and other adventurers to act as

Coast, and do so by constantly moving with scouts and bodyguards, birthing an informal

the tides and weather to avoid the preda- industry where families sell members into

tions of chemical and radioactive winds. service with outsiders in exchange for much

needed supplies and technology. Despite

It is unclear why the residents choose to re- the atrocious living conditions, Sandy Echo

side in such a harsh environment. Most seem does offer the brave or foolhardy a tempting

to be exiles from Shangri La who have be- destination, for the abandoned urban centers

99
 that were not obliterated in the ancient year history. Food stalls are also operated

attack on the city, or buried under the sea, by various locals hoping to earn a living

are still rife with the neglected relics of feeding Sandy Echo’s scavengers, though

the past. For this reason alone, teams of the quality of the food varies and at times is

Reclaimers and other adventurous souls contaminated by radiation or chem-waste.

risk their lives yearly to pry some treasures Despite the potential hazard, Garland’s re-

from the viciously defaced earth. Many are mains the only source of consumable goods

successful which fuels future expeditions as on the road into and out of Sandy Echo, and

tales spread of Sandy Echo’s bounty, but for at various points through the seasons lucky

every success there are dozens of failures as travelers can procure a variety of goods such

the Culling Fields earn their grim moniker as weaponry, clothing, and other trinkets

at the expense of the weak and unprepared. depending on the rotation of Carvaneers or

other recovery parties trading in the area.

Garland’s Oasis I knew Garland. He was a short, fat-fuck of

Nestled in the heart of Sandy Echo is a a man that had a laugh so hideous it would

trading outpost dubbed Garland’s Oasis. startle a boar. And boy did he like to laugh

Garland’s Oasis functions as a seasonal too, especially when hauling in a fresh find

outpost that is erected around a rusted of old tech like compressors, generators or the

water pipe and operates during the high ever-lucrative air conditioners. Those would

traffic months of the spring and fall—when really get him on a roll. That all changed when

weather patterns allows for prolonged he nearly died on a run to Sandy Echo. Shook

exploration in the region. A few dedicated him up real good. He never talked about the

Caravenners will make stops at the Oasis, expedition and after, I never saw him without

which is serviced by a rugged and well used some kind of water on his person. He lost 23

water purification unit jury rigged to an an- members of his crew along with his laugh.

cient water pipe. Named after an ex-trader, Ah, something to be said for silver linings.

Garland’s Oasis provides travelers and

locals alike with potable water. Garland’s

has become an invaluable resource for the Lake Is Bella

area and has been vigorously defended from Nestled in the ruins of a long abandoned

attack both by locals and mercenaries alike dam, Lake Is Bella is a fresh water source

at various points in the location’s twenty fed by the Kern River that can rival Lake

100
Big Bear in size, though not in purity. The the disenfranchised locals with a grievance

water in Lake Is Bella is clean enough for against Shangri La as a means to shore up

consumption, though it affects refugees of their own limited numbers. Thus Lake Is

Shangri La adversely for a short period of Bella was added to the rolls of corporate

time as their systems adjust to the higher sponsorship from ARKH’s board of direc-

level of contaminants found within. Lacking tors. This patronage granted the hub much

the sophisticated purification system of Big needed infrastructure and defensive systems.

Bear Mountain, Lake Is Bella represents a In the span of just three years ARKH

rare sign of healing in an otherwise devas- engineers restored an electrical grid to the

tated countryside. Over the last century the town and devised a series of earthen walls

water has become less toxic fueling specula- and defensive trench lines, fortifying the

tion that the ruined lands where the Kern town against the frequent probing attacks

River originates may be slowly restoring from militia bands. In exchange, Lake Is

themselves. Often those refugees of Shangri Bella provides water resources and slaves to

La who choose not to stay in the hub of their ARKH benefactors as well as drain-

Lake Is Bella strike off to the north, follow- ing resources from Shangri La through

ing the Kern in hopes of finding a secluded a seemingly endless war of attrition.

landscape reborn from the ashes of human Lake Is Bella is the destination for many

arrogance. One possibility of the water’s fleeing the authorities of Shangri La.

restoration lies with the assistance given by Due to the vicious political climate of the

ARHK scouting teams who have taken a misty city, there is no shortage of refugees

keen interest in Lake Is Bella’s settlement as seeking asylum. While bounty hunters

a resource to be exploited in their low-level are paid by Shangri La’s Council to hunt

war with Shangri La. Having overrun the down the exiled, there are those few who

northern regions of the coast near Frisco, are also paid to smuggle out the fleeing.

ARKH expeditionary teams have begun Coyotajes exist in the shadows of Shangri

moving south in the last decade to map and La’s boating communities. Traders, ferries,

catalog the geography of the Washed Coast. or even food vendors by day, these rogue

It was not long before these advanced teams captains offer their vessels at night to

stumbled into the path of Shangri La’s those connected few who have the means

xenophobic militia and a steadily escalating and resources to charter an escape.

skirmish war ensued. Short on manpower,

ARKH managers devised a plan to utilize

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 It’s not just traders, ferry captains, or foodcraft Diego rushed eastward away from the rising

that run bodies, the militia often do as well. A ocean. Like many refugee cities scattered

scared shitless fare will pay well to flee from LA- along the California border, Palo Verde

LA-Land in the safety of a militia watercraft. suffered from overcrowding, riots and lack

A couple of “rebel-runs” a year will keep a of proper infrastructure which ultimately

captain and her crew stocked with fuel and other overcame the town. Records are lost as to

supplies making that line of work a no-brainer when the town was abandoned, and it wasn’t

for those captains lacking a rich benefactor up until A.E. 26 when RSA engineers erected

on the mountain. Just another example of The a small settlement on the Colorado River

Council’s poisonous policies creating the very as a means to rest and refuel watercraft and

monsters they so fear and react heavy hand- land-based caravans which were moving

edly to crush. To hear the Council talk of Lake goods from the Pacific in-land into western-

Is Bella’s denizens you’d think they were all Arizona and southern Nevada. The settle-

slavering madmen waiting to drown every last ment was named from pre-Exodus records

Shangrilese in the sea. The Council says they are and quickly became a haven for traders.

cannibals and rapists, that they’re forming an

army to destroy every last stick of what we have. Due to the regular flooding of the Colorado

It’s all bullshit, they are us, damn near every River much of Palo Verde’s inhabited struc-

last fucker in that place was run out of Shangri tures are situated on stilts which elevates

La, and why? The Council. The Council and the community above the mineral rich

their fucking rules and regulations to live by. river water. In particularly wet seasons the

river has been known to rise to just below

the foundational boards of the various

Palo Verde residences and shops. Once in the town’s

Situated 30 kilometers north of the Colorado history a super-flood washed away much

River’s Pacific delta, the independent city of of Palo Verde’s standing structures and

Palo Verde has managed to flourish in recent in the generations since such a calamity

generations through valuable trade with the remains a regular source of worry and

Gente Del Mar and the nearby neighbors gossip among Palo Verde’s residents.

in Shangri La. Once a small urban center Palo Verde is primarily a trading town,

on the harsh eastern border of California, and is one of the few places “lubbers” can

Palo Verde was reshaped by the effects of freely interact with Gente Del Mar in a

the Malibu earthquake as residents of San friendly manner. Likely due to the proxim-

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 ity of the river water, and the ever-shifting
nature of stilted buildings which may well
remind them of their own creaking vessels,
the Gente Del Mar are regular trading
partners and visitors to Palo Verde. The
town’s alliance with the sea people ensures
Palo Verde’s market is one of the most
diverse not only on the Washed Coast but
throughout Merika. Able to trade goods
from both Shangri LA and Esperanza
thanks to the Gente Del Mar’s associations
with both of those secretive nations, the
sea people were welcomed with open arms
upon their first visit to Palo Verde, and
have remained honored guests ever since.
Normally distrusted by their land-locked
cousins such warmth is rarely shown to the
Gente Del Mar. As a result of their high
status among the Palo Verde residents,
various flota have declared pacts of protec-
tion for the community and act as defacto
naval forces when they are in the area. It is
rumored that the leaders of Palo Verde have
a means of summoning their Gente Del Mar
allies in times of need, likely through the
specialized radio transmitters that are com-
mon throughout the sea people’s armada.
Palo Verde is a fun spot, and is a nice little stop
off for me and my crew when we’ve been out
in the Mo’ for weeks and are feeling nostalgic
for home. See, there isn’t much difference
between the stilt houses of Palo Verde and the
floating structures of Shangri LA so it feels
pretty familiar walking around the place. It’s
also the only spot to score Esperanza’s special
‘medical supplies’, if you get what I mean.
When you’ve done every drug LA-LA land
has to offer the Esperanzans’ poisons are like
rewinding the clock to before your first score.
If you need to make contact with the Gente
Del Mar, this is obviously the best place to do
it. Sure, you can find a few in Lake Is Bella,
or if you’re lucky maybe the Sphere, but any
of those are going to be on guard and cagey
on account of being in fairly hostile territory.
Again, not sure why the fishies are so hated,
but they really are and Palo Verde is the only
place I have seen them treated like humans.
And the Rest
The rabbles inhabiting the periphery
of Shangri La have worked out a tacit
agreement over generations of violent co-
existence. The sigils of Shangri La’s Coun-
cil adorn the caravans that come and go
from the barred gatehouses scattered along
The Wall. For the tribes living in the wilds
outside of the isolated nation’s walls it is
understood that only the foolish would dare
attack such sanctioned caravans, for some-
thing worse than death is fated for those who
act against the Council and their masters.
Occasionally crews of brave, but stupid
brigands attack the well armed caravans. In
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 the unlikely event they are successful, the underwater city is a dangerous but fascinat-

lucky fools will be hunted and brought back ing facet of Shangri La that is off limits

alive, when possible, to the inner sanctum of to most of the citizenry of the area. The

Shangri La—their fate known only to the submerged structures are utilized by the Cult

chirurgeons of Rhea’s cult lurking within. of Eternal Apotheosis, the formal name of

The Land of Mist, as Shangri La is the Malibu Stitchmen enclave, and contain

sometimes called, is often shrouded in the many secrets that the Cult has killed to

smoky fog of kelp fires that burn constantly prevent from being revealed. It is because

among the many floating communities of this that access to these structures is

dotting the jagged expanse of the Wrecked strictly enforced and limited to only trusted

Coast. However, during the festive period members of the Cult and an influential few

of Convocation on The Sphere, brilliant outsiders that are necessary to further the

green strobes are lit when a new conclave is Cult’s interests. For those granted access,

chosen. The strobes can be seen for miles they enter in to a world unlike any found

around, often refracting off the smoke on the surface. Artificial light is provided

caught in the valleys, creating an eerie from nuclear generators, and pressurized

green halo around the city which can be airlocks are maintained through intricate

off putting for visitors. Some of the feral and advanced life support systems. The

eastern tribes have reported seeing such world outside of the borosilicate glass is

otherworldly light displays from as far away murky and dark in the lower reaches of the

as the salt marshes of Barstow, further em- Pacific’s littered floor. Many of the instal-

powering the whispered tales of sorcery and lations are below 200 feet and the water

evil doing associated with the Shangrilese.

Here Be Monsters
Subterranean Life A thriving Stitchmen community exists

While rare, there are a number of con- within the depths of Shangri La’s sunken

nected subterranean structures that exist cityscape. Inhabiting multiple pressurized

under the waters of the Pacific. Made and watertight structures dotted throughout

from the remnants of subway lines, sewage the Pacific in the ruins of Greater Los An-

and service tunnels, as well as those few geles, the Stitchmen have erected a network

reinforced and water proofed structures of research facilities and safe houses for

built before the rising of the Pacific, the their agents. More disturbing still, is the

104
seeming collusion between elements of the
Stitchmen and Shangri La’s Council. I have
uncovered evidence linking members of the
Council with Stitchmen agents, including
administrators and known body-harvesting
captains. I have noted possible faction-
alization amongst the Stitchmen along
ideological grounds, which I will expound
on later in this document, and it is my rec-
ommendation that this internecine weakness
be exploited to gain influence in the region.
The Perpetual Suffering of Rhea the
Undying (Cult of Eternal Apotheosis)
Chief among the Stitchmen in Shangri
La is the ancient being known as Rhea the
Undying. Believed to have been a world
renowned surgeon before the Great Exodus,
the man who became Rhea is shrouded
in mystery and my attempts to verify the
various legends that have grown around
the creature have been nearly impossible to
validate. Consistent among the legends how-
ever, is the story of Rhea’s granddaughter.
Supposedly, the girl was an adolescent when
the Great Exodus occurred, and when the
ship carrying what would become the Stitch-
men crashed, the girl was critically wounded
forcing the man who became Rhea to flee
west to facilities in Greater Los Angeles as
civilization began to collapse. The legends
vary at this stage of the story regarding what
the man did to become Rhea, but inevitably
in all the tales the granddaughter succumbs
to her wounds and the man goes mad.
While these apocryphal tales are certainly
fantastic, the common thread of a dying
child leading to the surgeon’s break with
sanity and finally to pursue the dark half-
life of the vile Stitchers leads me to believe
there is some grain of truth to Rhea’s past
in those stories. Certainly as more details
emerge of this elusive figure the legends
begin to take on a new resonance. For
example, the Rhea of today is a reclusive
figure that reportedly carries the cadaver
of a child in a uterine sac grafted to its
torso. While that is circumstantial, Rhea’s
obsession with unlocking the secrets of the
brain connected to personality and memory,
in essence a person’s “soul”, leads me to
conclude that Rhea did once have a grand-
daughter which perished and is, all these
centuries later, still trying to revive her.
A cult has formed around Rhea in the two
centuries that creature has inhabited the
sunken cells of Greater Los Angele’s un-
derwater ruins. In the course of those many
years Rhea’s cult has gained influence over
elements of Shangri La’s Council as well as
most, if not all facets of Shangrilese society.
Obsessed with transplanting memory and
character traits into a recipient’s brain, Rhea
and its cult have devoted long years and
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 untold resources to advancing the disciplines ing, leaves the Stitchmen with few reliable

of neurotransplantation and cognitive means of extracting untainted information.

grafting. However, it has become clear The dream of many a rotting Stitcher is to

to me only recently that there is a schism transplant their knowledge, memories, and

within Rhea’s cult that has only in the last personality into new brains untouched by

few months broken out into internecine decades of decay and artificial life support.

war between those loyal to Rhea’s vision Part and parcel to that dream is the chemi-

of medical advancement and a number of cal extraction of memories and experience.

administrators who feel neurotransplanta- For the Stitchmen of the Eternal Apotheosis

tion of a brain more generally, and cognitive this feat is nearing reality, however the

grafting specifically, are dead ends that technique is experimental, and often results

drain the cult’s resources. Currently this in spectacular failure and the loss of brain

ideological disagreement is contained function for the test subject. In order to

within the chambers of the Sitchmen’s horde the shreds of knowledge still traipsing

domain, but from my own interrogations of through the wastes of Merika, and to push

Stitchmen underlings it is clear that certain the boundaries of neuroscience, the Cult of

administrators are forming alliances to Eternal Apotheosis created a vast research

usurp Rhea’s position and staunch the hem- complex under the waters of Malibu Bay

orrhaging resource drain that has become fearfully known as the Thought Factory.

known simply as the Thought Factory.

The Thought Factory is located in a

submerged structure under the Pacific in

Thought Factory the ruins of old Malibu. The facility once

The Stitchmen of Shangri La covet knowl- housed a research center utilized in prepara-

edge as others in the community covet tions for the Exodus. Overseen by the man

wealth. While baubles may stir the hearts who would become Rhea the Undying before

of most, for the Stitchmen of the Cult of the abandonment of Earth, the facility was

Eternal Apotheosis, knowledge unlocks an early objective in Rhea’s re-conquest of

the potential of immortality and dominion the region, and a linchpin in creating the

over the baser creatures around them. The domain that would become Shangri La.

brain is the Stitchmen’s Achilles heel, the

fragile yet powerful organ unyielding to the In this facility captives are restrained in

full vivisection of scientific understand- small sound proof cubicles and administered

106
a cocktail of drugs that induce a waking, bling and incoherent transcripts of these

dream-like state which hinder mental captives. This process, called Cognitive

defenses. Over the course of days, weeks, Glossolalia, allows the Stitchmen to root

and sometimes even years, the subjects are out moles, black mail political opponents

kept sedated and under a near constant bat- through excavation of secrets, all while

tery of questions. The subjects’ responses mapping processing centers of the brain.

are recorded using multi-spectrum sen-

sors which simultaneously records and For some of these unfortunate subjects the

analyze both physiological and cognitive Cognitive Glossolalia is only the first in a

functions which are later uploaded into series of experiments that they will endure

a central computer for aggregation with in their time within the Factory. Perhaps

existing data. Untold numbers of secrets most unsettling of the various procedures

have been harvested from the often ram- inflicted upon these victims involves ex-

107
 tracting memories from the very tissues of humanity as the dominant sentient species

their brains. Rhea’s cult focus their probing on the planet. If Rhea’s consciousness could

surgeries on the areas of the brain associ- be transplanted into a fresh, young brain

ated with specific memory function and it could likely be replicated, populating

perform experiments aimed at extracting the region with essentially what amounts

and implanting memories into new subjects. to cognitive clones of Rhea though housed

For generations the work has been tediously in as many diverse and specialized bodies

slow and exceedingly frustrating for Rhea as the Stitchmen could devise. Such opera-

who races against time before its own brain tives could infiltrate every major hub and

succumbs to atrophy and the final, irrevers- population center across the continent

ible depersonalization disorder sets in. In erecting sleeper cells able to influence

such instances the ancient brain decays to and pervert the communities within to

the point that the being’s own personality conform to Rhea’s unfathomable schemes.

disappears to be replaced by a near mind- To disperse with an easily anticipated

less beast that functions purely on primal counter-argument it is clear that such an

instinct. That is the true death for these outcome would require additional advances

otherwise timeless creatures. To lose all in the already shaky science of neurotrans-

capacity of thought as well as lifetimes of plantation. However, Rhea’s cult is making

collected knowledge is certainly a fate akin strides and if their experimentation with

to our religions’ worst punitive underworlds biopolymer printing succeeds, we would

for a race as cerebral as the Stitchmen. be allowing a centuries old monster which

sustains itself through harvested organs

Recently the use of biopolymer strands and myriad corrupt serums to abolish the

paired with 3-D scanner technology has al- one weakness that keeps its insane race in

lowed the cult to print a living brain capable check. Strong consideration must given to

of limited recall of programmed memories. my warnings of the threat that Rhea’s Cult

This major breakthrough could potentially of the Eternal Apotheosis presents to not

allow Rhea to achieve what so many other just our organization but to the well being

Stitchmen have desired—true immortal- of mankind, as I cannot see such a being

ity. If Rhea is successful we face a future rising to ascendency except on a tower of

threatened by the ego of a deathless entity. human cadavers. We will face a threat of

It would be the birth of a new species, and mass enslavement, chattel harvested for

very well could lead to the extinction of

108
our parts to satiate the eternal thirst that
unnatural species has for fresh flesh.
Well that settles it. This is what got the guy
killed. I mean shit. The guy yanked on Rhea’s
chain. No one does that. The only time I
have seen an emotion other than sadism in a
Fung’s eyes was when one was summoned to
Rhea’s sanctum. For the devils that the Fung
are I saw true fear grip the fiend as he was
led away to face his master’s master. I knew
then that I never wanted to even be in the
same hub as Rhea, let alone in its presence.
But not Agent 429, here. No, he jumped right
down Rhea’s throat, the fucking moron. I
have nothing else to add about Rhea other than
the less you know about Rhea, the better.
Now, let me tell a quickie about Malibu because
I actually have some firsthand knowledge of
that place. The “Thought Factory” is more
whisper than known fact, and I’ve never seen
it with my own eyes. But I have heard things,
and they match up with a lot that our dead
friend here revealed above. Simple rule to live
by: Don’t go mucking around in Malibu if you
know what is good for you. The security there is
tight, they shoot on sight and they ain’t the Bay
Guard. Hell, even the Bay Guard knows to
steer clear of Malibu and its strange black boats.
Now the quickie: I was in a watercraft with
a buddy dumping some of the Fung’s “trash”
and we developed engine problems just outside
of Malibu’s demarcation zone. We liked that
spot for its seclusion, because locals knew damn
well to give that part of the water a wide berth.
There were all sorts of signs and buoys floating
about warning of radiation poisoning and other
nasty biological threats to steer people away
from the area— but the current and our dead
engine didn’t give a shit about those signs.
We couldn’t have gotten more than a hundred
meters into the restricted zone when we spot-
ted multiple fast moving craft on a course to
intercept us. Mind you, it had looked like noth-
ing but open water moments before and then
out of nowhere a half dozen watercraft? You
better believe all the stories we had heard about
Malibu started running through our heads and
we attacked that engine with such panicked
efficiency that it started up just as the vessels
were getting into firing range. We tore ass out
of there with bullets ricocheting off the water
after us. Never went back, never wanted to
go back and even found a new dumping spot
to ensure I wouldn’t cross that buoy line ever
again. Stay the fuck out of Malibu, folks.
Still want to come to Shangri La?
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 Welcome to LA-LA-Land
This document is great for an academic overview partner, Lukas Camellia, also began offering re-

of Shangri La, but is really lacking in terms of freshments to these visitors as a way to earn some

practical information. If you are reading this at extra kelpies. Eventually word got out about

all it means you likely intend to pay Shangri La Lukas’ eats. Turns out the guy can cook the hell

a visit and a lot of Agent 429’s material is not out of whatever Walt can pull out of the Pacific,

going to be particularly helpful to new visitors, and before long Temple’s Cookery was born.

especially if you are showing up to places that will

get you skinned and dumped into organ recycling TC is a popular rest stop and eatery for fishing

vats. So, with the would-be tourist in mind, craft, Bay Guard and any other passersby who

here are some locales that I am recommending are out near the Palm Sea. TC is often so busy

make it on any Shangri La itineraries as well as Walt’s taken to grumbling about closing down

a further look at the cultural components ol’ chest shop so he can get in some peaceful fishing. If

bomb over looked in order to help you blend in. you stop by the place try Lukas’ Palm Ceviche’.

Us Shangrilese are a suspicious bunch—if you Stuff tastes like making out with, well, pick a

stand out too much it could cost you your ass. deity. Just don’t get hung up on the condition of

the place. Temple’s shitty, rickety old shack will

probably smash apart in the next big storm, but

Recreational Suggestions until that happens if you need fishing supplies,

bait, or some amazing eats TC is where to go.

Temple’s Cookery

TC is a small floating way station cobbled Ano’s

together from some old buoys, tires, and salvaged Ano is a food merchant with a dedicated store-

wood. Originally, TC was simply an anchored front near the slave markets of El Monterino,

fishing shack marking old Walt Temple’s favorite as well as foodcraft and mobile carts that serve

spot. Over time Walt added some amenities to other hubs in Shangri La. He is a genius when

his shack which made it a favorite stopping off it comes to cooking and preserving food, and is

point for other fishing enthusiasts whom Walt known among all of the local caravaneers for

had befriended on the open water. Walt’s his jarred meals. See, Ano figured out pretty

110
quickly that the caravans coming and going advance no matter how much he tries to sweet

with slaves were good for business, and business talk you. Honestly, watch it with Dru. He has

would improve if his customers could safely a sweet face and talks a good game, but he will

take their food on the road. Every item Ano sells screw you first chance he gets. His stuff is worth

comes in a jar, and he specializes in beloved the hassle, though. As a thank you to him for a

Shangrilese dishes like hot pickles, kelp kimchi, few years of headaches, here are some tips that

and seasoned frijoles. Ano’s is so popular it is I learned when dealing with this piece of shit.

known beyond the immediate borders of the Dru gets stupid when it comes to negotiations

Bone Yard and can be used for currency among involving women or jazz. Elza used to get me

the tribes and settlements scattered throughout one hell of a discount just by standing next to me

the ‘Mo. I like to keep some extra jars of kimchi when I was working Dru for a price. She didn’t

in case I find myself in a pinch and need to have to say anything either. He’d just stare at

sweet a deal or bribe my way out of trouble. her making funny noises as I talked him down

in price. Dru also has a soft spot for music files,

Catalano’s especially anything jazz related. If you can find

Dru Catalano can be found in The Oasis— a a jazz track he hasn’t heard he’ll set you up with

crap apartment stack on east Bean Town Bou- enough Rezz to make you forget your childhood.

levard located on The Sphere. Dru’s a junkie

who can cook the shit out of some Rezz. Best

Rezz dealer in town, bar none. He can also score Business Related
you just about anything else you might want, House of Lies: -A small trading barge, The
but he can be flakey as hell so never pay him in House of Lies is often found tethered to The

111
 Sphere’s North Eastern port welcoming in the and conduct most of the interaction with their

tourists from Big Bear and beyond. However, clients. Nate’s a good kid and has an insatiable

during the high trading seasons, the barge coasts curiosity for electronics. No doubt he’s already

Along the border of Shangri La and the wastes developed his father’s taste for pranks and will

surrounding the abandoned city of Sandy Echo. carry on the wonderful tradition of sabotaging

The House of Lies was first Launched by Elsee data for his own amusement—no doubt Elsee

Kalish, a Reclaimer who trades primarily in has been nurturing that seed since day one.

tablets and readers but also offers his services

repairing any electronics set before him. ELSEE Mills Medical Clinic and Supply

has a sharp mind for coding and uses his talents

to crack into locked readers, extracting the

valuable information inside. He also has a sick

sense of humor and likes to doctor certain files

on the devices he sells. He doesn’t advertise this,

but if you get him drunk enough he’ll sing true.

Elsee thinks it’s the funniest thing in the world

changing little details like deleting a crucial step

in a recipe for gun oil, or tweaking coordinates

on a map so that You head north when you really

want to be heading south. He’s been doing it for

years and says there is nothing wrong with the

behavior because of the name of his barge. His

penchant for the ridiculous aside, IF you are ever

in a pinch and have something absolutely in need

of cracking, Elsee is the man to see for breaking

encryption. He’ll do the job for free if he can get

a copy of whatever he finds, or he’ll make you

pay out your ass for secrecy. Either way, you’ll

get your data and nine out of ten times it will be

unmolested. Elsee doesn’t get out much anymore

on account of a recent boating accident that killed Found in the community of El Monterino

his legs. He has to rely on the assistance of his Mills Medical Clinic is a safe zone for the Fung

fifteen year old son, Nate to operate the barge and their allies. The proprietor, Fauna, is a

112
no-nonsense cutter who won’t ask too many

questions as she stitches your busted-ass back up, Fauna claims she spent time studying the cut-

and is even good enough to offer a sliding scale ting trade under Rhea’s tutelage, and is the only

regarding her medical care. For the more frugal apprentice given free reign outside of Rhea’s com-

and less discriminating clientele she will get the pound. For those that don’t know, that is a bold

job done, but you will end up looking worse than claim. Rhea and its ilk don’t typically keep assets

when you came in (and missing a few bits and too far away, but ol’ Fauna somehow worked

bobs that you didn’t know you had in the first out a way to leave Rhea’s lair and set up her

place and probably won’t miss), but if you spare own shop? Granted, she was pretty god-damned

wasted when she let this slip, but still, that sort of

story could get you killed in our circle. Needless

to say the few Fung she’s told don’t believe her,

and as for me, I play it safe and treat her with

the respect a surgeon of her expertise deserves.

Bottom line on Fauna

She has good deals on Sweet Water, even concoct-

ing a few special recipes on occasion, and can

repair or sell you medical supplies like syringes,

saws, and tubing. Her prices on antibiotics and

painkillers are steeper than average, but the qual-

ity is always top notch. Hear tell Fauna will also

buy organs and other biologicals, (as much as you

are willing to sell) but I wouldn’t know anything

about that. Just sharing idle gossip, is all.

The MMC is the last place I stop at before

leaving Shangri La on a trading run and the

first place I return to after making it back

from The Bone Yard. Fauna has patched

no expense she is an artist who can reshape and up my hide more times than I care to recall
mend tissue with a master’s precision—which is and is responsible for my grafted arm taking
fitting since she supposedly learned from the best. as well as it has. Just don’t cross her.

113
 I knew a guy who tried to stiff her on payment
after she saved a punctured lung and replaced a
kidney and liver with some high-end vat grown
meat. The idiot patient then had the nerve to
pull a gun on Fauna and hobble out of the clinic
still clutching his weeping bandages. She let him
go without a fight, but three nights later Fauna
opened up her clinic after hours to four local
cripples. See, Fauna had tracked down the dumb
shit who walked out on her and kept him awake
through four operations as she removed each of his
limbs and transplanted them onto what turned
out to be a group of veterans injured from their
time on the wall. The story goes that the donor’s
screams kept the neighborhood awake throughout
the night, but no one reported it. Fauna kept
this guy’s sorry ass alive for two weeks harvest-
ing what she could for other unfortunate locals
before dumping what remained of his husk on the
curb. Moral of the story? Pay your bill at MMC,
kids, because no discount is worth dying over.
Kight’s Guns, Knives and Sights
Operating out of a galley stall in the grounded
cruise liner The Qu en Ma, Kight’s Sights, as its
commonly called, fills that all so crucial need in
the lives of killers, travelers and thieves—weap-
onry. Kight’s is owned by “Lucky” Larry, a
small, agitating man who controls all weapons
distribution in The Qu en Ma. See, Larry
earned his nick name when he single-handedly
took on, and beat, the various weapons cartels
that used to operate in New Port’s most
114
decrepit cruise liner. Through short-term al-
liances, assassinations, and shrewd business
acumen, Lucky Larry claimed The Qu en
Ma’s weapons market as his own. Now, no one
buys or sells weaponry within that stinking ship
except through Larry and his crew. He also
has contacts in the other liners, and throughout
Shangri La, so he can often source just about
anything you might be after including restricted
Civil Defense issued gear. Just be prepared
to pay for the privilege. Also keep in mind that
Larry is pretty god damn paranoid after his rise
to power, and has little tolerance for bullshit.
He is a quick judge of character and stubborn
as a mule, so try and get on his good side early.
Out of necessity Larry runs with a tough group
and has more than enough muscle to keep his
short, hairy ass safe from the other degenerates
swarming through The Qu en Ma’s corpse.
So don’t let his gopher-like appearance fool you
into a false sense of over-confidence because he
has killed rougher and tougher than you. Or
at the very least ordered someone else to do the
job which leaves you just as dead. Don’t go all
bad-ass on him and you’ll likely walk out of
Kight’s with an expensive new toy that’ll make
you the envy of every degenerate in Spew Port.
N
 In the cold, damp reaches of the Washed Coast, lays a city full of intrigue and mystery. Shangri LA, the
former city of Los Angeles stands as a beacon of opportunity for many of those living in the Western
Wilds. But there are many mysterious aspects of the city that are only hinted at in rumors. The Shangri
LA economy is based on a combination of indentured servitude, body organ trading, as well as fishing
and trade via the accessible ports on the outskirts of the city. Far and wide, Shangri LA is fabled to be a
great many things, but few know the true inclinations and interests of those in charge. These pages will
help shed some light on the mysterious coastal city, allowing you nearly unfettered access to a place
where a kidney or skin graft can be bought, or perhaps even taken from you. This book will serve as a
background for one-off adventures, and even entire campaigns within the Wreck Age world.

SKU 50002
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