Dystopian Rhapsody

"If only I could do something, ma'am, I would. But, as it is, there's nothing I, or my department, can do. I'm sure your son will turn up soon." The man smiled, the notion that his hands were tied must have comforted him, in some way.

The look on the woman's face, however, shattered any comfort he could have taken. The word heartbreak came to mind, but somehow it seemed overused and too weak to describe the look of utter defeat in her eyes. She looked like she hadn't eaten for days, like a shell of the woman she used to be. She must have been about forty years old, and not a day older, the telltale wrinkles around her eyes and the corners of her mouth testifying to lost beauty and unrealized dreams.

She must have loved her son very much, your classic June Cleever mom, dinner on the table by five, spotless house and loving family, all that and more. The pearls around her neck were very expensive looking, as was the car she drove to the Child Relocation Center.

The case worker remembered when she first showed up, it must have been ten years ago, with a young boy clinging to her skirts. He didn't know what went on here, or why she had brought him. Ignorance was bliss, and in this world it was certainly in short supply. He remembered how the kid's happiness seemed somehow infective to the other six year olds whose mothers simply no longer had want for them, and had believed the officials when they told them that by taking them to the Center they would give them a better life.

The less they knew, the better. It was a good thing that none of the parents knew what really happened at The Facility, a very good thing indeed. The experiments, psychological and physiological, were horiffic just to think about, but it was all in the name of science, at least that's what he told himself. He was just a low ranking CRC worker, and such thoughts were above him, so he quickly put it out of his mind.

"Miss Curie, I'm sorry. You put him into our custody ten years ago, and the memory wipes implemented on both you and him would have taken care of any posibility of recognition. The scientists say that the Ulrich case was pure chance, and the original wipe could have been considered shoddy at best. There really isn't any way of you finding your son again, and I hate to have to be the one to tell you that. Maybe you should get a more complete wipe done, out of mind out of conscience right?"

Later that day, January 1, 2060

The boy got up from the machine feeling a bit dazed, but the nice man in the lab coat told him that should be expected. He kept his footing, just barely, and clung to the doctor's leg for support. The man led him down a long hallway, past big glass windows with other people in lab coats and children his age. "Will I get to play with them?" he asked. The nice man just smiled and nodded.

They came to a stop outside a door with a big number four on the front, and the man opened it, ushering him through. The room was filled with big, strange looking machines, and he gave a questioning look to the elderly man that was hovering over him. The man smiled. "Before you go play we have to give you a few tests, okay? Do you like to run?" The boy nodded. "Go stand on that machine over there-" he pointed to the treadmill.

"I'm going to start it up, and the belt on it is going to move, you have to walk on it to start with, so you don't hurt yourself, and then we're going to build up speed. This is to see how fast you can run." The boy nodded eagerly, and the man turned a knob, slowly putting the boy through his paces on the treadmill, then the hand weights.

Strength, speed, and stamina were the first things they measured, and the boy did surprisingly well. Hopefully he fared as well on the intelligence and memory sections, He sat the boy down in a small chair next to a table with cards laid out in an eight by eight pattern, and explained the rules. "Now we're going to play a game. First you turn up one card, then another, and if they match, you take them off the table. You have to try and find all of the matches, okay?" He smiled. The boy nodded with as much enthusiasm as he had before, and made astonishingly quick work of the puzzle, beating even some of the adult control subject's scores.

This kid was amazing, and perhaps everything the Program was looking for. He wrote down his observations on the clipboard, and led the young boy to the playground with the rest of the high scoring kids, where he eagerly engaged in a game of freeze tag.

Subject name: Daniel

Tester: Dr. Steve Lambent, Ph. D

Comments: Looks strong, for a six year old. Excellent shape, strong mind. Passed coordination and IQ tests with flying colors, maybe the best applicant we've had so far. Healthy immune system, cardiovascular system, respiratory system, all very strong. Should withstand all training and tests. Highly recommended for Section 8.

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(My apologies for lengthy background info)

So basically, Section 8 is your classic government Super Soldier program. Raise the kids from age 6 to 18, giving them gene therapy and extreme training. The government in question is totalitarian in nature, and your characters are the intended soldiers. At a certain point in the RP, you will break free, seeing the evil of the regime, and become the leaders of the rebellion. I will be playing the part of Daniel. What I need is 3 to 4 other dedicated people who can help me to create something beautiful

Sure, I think I can do this. From my initial gut reaction, I wouldn't mind doing a kid that has spikes of intelligence in certain areas, good reflexes, excellent conditioning with some health issues that can be mediated. Also, a borderline psychopath with limited people skills.

My character is meant to be the leader, which is why he's multitalented. You actually sound really good for an element that will be a twist if you can pull it off right

I would love to participate in this if you will have me.

I was thinking about a boy who is intelligent enough to make it in to the program of course, but is more gifted physically - strong, fast, high endurance, etc. He is more of a "tackle the problem head on" type than a "think of a way around the problem" type.

What do you think? I personally find the concept interesting and would be willing to play any sort of character.

I'd love to have you Prax, and anybody else you can get to join too! Remember, not every character has to be male. There are female Program subjects too

May I join? Since you have quite a bit of males, I could play a female.
Obviously she must be intelligent and capable. Perhaps she won't be Caucasian.

I think that she should have as much potential as the men (strength, endurance, speed), but I think that she should obviously have some good flaws. Manic depression would be good. Perhaps she has a weak heart. Or maybe she is too empathetic or too lacking (like Kalaam's psychopath).

We'll see. When will you start?

I'm looking for one or two more, then I'll post an OOC. Please keep the crazy to a minimum though, you guys are an elite fighting force.

Being an elite fighting force is a lot of pressure, man! lol, Even the best soldiers are susceptible to the worst cases of post-traumatic stress disorder. I'd be surprised if they didn't think of suicide every night. No family, and their lives committed to slavery.

High intelligence may constitute mental or personality issues. People with manic depressive disorder are usually VERY intelligent; to the genius level, in fact. Kids with aspergers or anything on the autism spectrum, for that matter, are usually extremely smart and kind. Girls who are anorexic and/or bulimic are notably intelligent, and their eating disorders aren't always a matter of 'being skinny', but also being in control.

I could go on and on. Personalities can be very deep (in accordance with environment and chemical functions in the brain). Nothing is just "black and white". People will NEVER be "just crazy" or "just normal". They will always have their strengths and weaknesses.

I know you probably realize this, but from your description of the testing centre (and of the extensive training/treatment these children receive), I can TOTALLY imagine developing personality disorders, self esteem issues, frustration, self-hate, and projection (outward acts of aggression toward peers, especially if the individual is regularly suppressed). It sounds angsty and dangerous, kind of like a prison.

It wouldn't make sense, either, to have all of this highly controlled via genetic/hormonal alteration, because the body will always make up for what it doesn't have and imbalances could really screw everything up in the experiment's body.

Well, anyway, the point is: HUMAN PERSONALITIES ARE BEAUTIFUL!

You need one more? You got it. Count me in.

Are the children still at the facility, or have we grown up and undertaken missions as adults, using our time at the facility as a background to base future choices on?

So far as I can see, most people are thinking of characters with serious social issues, which is understandable, but I think that calls for a character who has great people skills. Someone who hasnt been affected by the training in a social sense, who can be persuasive, charismatic, and diplomatic if he needed to be. Of course, he would have to have serious problems somewhere in his psyche, perhaps sadism....

Anyway, thats my brief outline of a character that I thought up in 5 seconds, highly likely to change.

It's a manner of subtlety. As long as you're not "Balled up in a corner talking to yourself or cackling maniacally" crazy it's fine. Sociopathy, completely possible. The characters start at age 8 during year two of training. There will be time skips, to age 12 and 16, specifically, at certain points. 16 will be the escape age. We're all one big happy team, but some of us just might be batshit nuts xD. Kalaam's character especially, but that's a secret xD

Ahhhh I see..so we are working in stages of development. I like it.

Perhaps this is too soon, but by chance an OOC up in the near future?

Let's see, we've got Musta, Prax, Ix, and Kalaam, so yeah. We'll put up the OOC

OOC's up

Before I go write up more details on my character, I do have a few things to say about the IQ - disorder relationship. Yes, there is a higher degree of probability for mental problems for above average IQ, which I believe really starts above 140 or so, but there is still significant results of people who function normally with above 200 IQ results. The smartest man in America, for instance, is free of all of those disorders, but instead suffers from lower class culture inculcation in relationship to authority. Also, there are three IQ thresholds worth measuring, 120 or 'gifted,' 160 and above or genius level, and 200 and above which has its own test to prove so. If you are between 160 and 200, all is more or less equivalent for intelligence. If you look at the IQ for Nobel Laureates, or the entrance exams with adjustment for Affirmative action, if you are past the threshold, you are smart enough, and do no better or worse than most of your colleagues. Also, most of these diagnoses are both real, and created with self-fulfilling prophecies. One case is the mass misidentification of ADD, which changes chemical processes in you brain, versus with people wanting make their kids do better with drugs, or the emergence of restless leg syndrome, etc. So while this ratio is true, and historically so, it isn't as bad as people might assume. Also, there tends to be a correlation between physical ability and intelligence. There is one point that needs to be mentioned, which is physical maturation is usually mistaken for one of these things and then becomes reinforced enough for it to become true, but the correlation also corresponds for those who mature late.

Kalaam: this is true. Thanks for pointing it out. =]
Yeah, I wish I were as smart as Christopher Langan. Haha!

Same. Would make my life in easier. The reason I brought it up was that my IQ was measured at 146 in first grade, and has probably gotten higher with age. I also have clinical ADD as well. The reason I know this is a real condition is that most common stimulants do not work properly. Sugar rushes never happen, and Caffeine works as a depressant when it does anything at all. It is also manageable entirely without medication, and I barely consider it a condition at all. Besides, the statistics are really easy to screw up and manipulate anyway.

Are people going to start posting their characters?



Dystopian Rhapsody OOC

Ya, I will soon.

I was wondering if there was room for one more in this RP. It hasn't started yet, so hopefully this isn't too late to join. If not, oh well, no harm done.