"Combustion Down"
Story: Summary ~
Oil has become the lynchpin that society is based on. Once the supply ran out, civilization came crashing down. War broke out over the last scrapings at the bottom of the barrel. One country decided that if they couldn’t have it, no one would. Nuclear fire claimed the Middle East, and then the retaliatory strikes claimed the rest of the world. Overnight, mankind was nearly wiped out.
Then came The Company. The fastest group to recover from the nuclear destruction, they seized what small amount of oil remains. They’re the only ones with what we would call technology, and they use that to lord over the remainder of mankind… and they are the definition of brutal.
One group arose to combat The Company. Armed with barely more than desperation, they created new sources of power and weaponry, based off of Steam. They’re unorganized, fractured, but committed to breaking mankind of the addiction. They’ve been given the name The Savants.
Now the Savants assault The Company’s largest oil drilling station, just offshore from Stronghold Citadel, the bastion of The Company. The world is about to be reborn.
Story: In-Depth ~
The engine...
A finely tuned piece of equipment. Pieces working in harmony, working together to complete the job.
Take out one piece of the equation, and it all falls to pieces.
Dead Spark...
Mankind has been defined by its capacity for war. It has waged violence since it crawled out of its prehistoric beginnings. Countless numbers have been put to the rock, to the spear, to the sword, to the crossbow and to the bullet. The reasons given are nearly as countless as its victims. For protection, for vengeance, for revolution, for liberation. But, there has always been one true underlying reason.
Envy for what others have.
In the 19th and early 20th centuries, mankind revolutionalized the way the world worked. Industries replaced farms. Machines replaced people. Then, with one invention, Henry Ford made the final sale. Mankind was hopelessly addicted, to a new drug called oil.
Oil became the lynchpin that clasped together civilization. It powered transportation. It lubricated machines. It was used in everyday household items. Then, it ran out. As supplies dwindled, war came again.
The Middle East was the first battleground. What remained of the supply was concentrated under the never-ending dunes. Nation after nation invaded the region, bodies outnumbering living soldiers. Then, someone launched. Nuclear missiles devastated the desert, blasting it into an unceasing sea of blackened glass. The Crystal Desert has turned the area unlivable. Still retaining deadly radioactive fallout, the Black Crystal is incredibly deadly, only mutants and madmen dare walk its surface. Unfortunately, the Black Crystal is spread across the world, wherever sand caught nuclear fire.
The retaliations were swift. In a matter of hours, mankind nearly wiped itself clean from the earth.
From the ashes, a new order arose.
No one remembers what they were called in the world before. It doesn’t matter. After the bombs stopped falling, they seized control of the oil, what remained. The only name they’ve had after is The Company.
They secured all the resources they could, mostly close-shore drilling platforms. Then they set themselves above all others.
What survivors remain are constantly subjugated by The Company. They use their oil resources to power their vehicles, their production plants, and to keep Mankind under their thumb. They drip oil into Mankind’s veins, just barely enough to keep us hooked.
Then there’s us, what few people will stand up to the Company’s oppression.
We’ve turned to other resources for our weapons. We use steam, simple boiling water. We’ve had to be creative for our power, and no two of us will use the same designs.
Labels aren’t as important to us, but for some reason the other survivors call us the Savants. Anything to give them hope.
You’ve joined at an interesting time, friend. We’ve had enough of The Company’s rule. No longer will we allow mankind to be dependent on that toxic fluid.
We’re setting out soon, for Stronghold Citadel. It’s the Company’s main city, right on the coast, right next to the largest near-shore drilling platform they have.
We’re going to blow it sky high, and destroy their grip. Some may say we’re outmatched, that we have no shot, that trying this is akin to Walking the Crystal. Maybe. But that doesn’t mean we can sit back and do nothing. Now’s the time to restart the world.
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