Phase Q/Dreamers
In some of the areas around the opening, particularly close, a secret group operates.
Well, it’s not really a cohesive group, but rather more of an informal grouping of participants.
And the participants engage in activity which is forbidden on the Triad side, and not fully embraced on the Fyuchee side.
They dream.
Sometimes openly, often in invisible places.
They dream of better lives, of happier spacetimes, of new forms of life.
They dream on their own, they dream together.
They dream in the day, and they dream at night.
They dream for fun, and they dream for profit.
Dreaming can be a highly profitable activity, especially in areas where it’s illegal.
Some people will pay a lot of holobucks for a good dream.
A lot of people have died in the quest for a dream.
Dreaming became a prohibited activity so long ago, that most people have forgotten or never knew why.
A small number of people continue to believe in the value of dreaming, and they practice the activity even in the face of intense heat.
Some of the dreamers form enterprises or other organizations around the activity, promoting it on a wider scale.
However, it remains dangerous to dream, especially in public.
You make your way through the underground network of alleys and buildings that surround a notorious dreaming zone. It’s not officially a dreaming zone, of course. No such thing exists.
A selection of other people wander about the converted ruins. Each has who knows what reason for braving these dark corners in search of a dream.
Crack!
A laser blasts away a portion of the incomplete metal structure. Many tons come pouring down.
You duck into a dark alley. The Triad forces drive by, sirens blazing.
In the darkness, a group of silhouettes – youngsters, mostly – sprint by. They carry small lasers, and messages of Triad movements.
You peek out through a hole blasted open by the Triad assault. Their hovercraft are moving around the periphery of the building. You can’t tell if they see you.
Climbing through the rubble, you scope out a barrier the Triads have erected, and behind which they plan.
On your intercom, you message in the coordinates on the reconstructed tubeworks. Seconds later, a giant explosion rocks the Triad barricades.
Triad flyers pass overhead, scanning the ground. Their hovercraft come screaming through the streets, pursuing any targets the flyers find.
As a flurry of laser beams blast all around you, you roll under the cover of a former parking structure, long abandoned.
Another person has already found the spot, and points a laser at your face.
“What the dark?!” you yell in shock.
The person highlights you, and assesses you as not a threat. You put away your temp Fyuchee patch.
“Look, says the other person lying underneath the solid block. “They’re preparing to send in a mininuke. Put on your gear.”
“What gear?” you ask.
The person looks at you disconcertingly.
Pwwooooooooffff!
The whole vol vaporizes.
Phase Q: An interactive adventure.
