A Brief Introduction To The World Of PAHL
May 17, 2015 11:41:17 GMT -6
Post by DuckyB on May 17, 2015 11:41:17 GMT -6
The Major Divergence of the PAHL time-line occurs at the end of WW2. Major leaders of governments and industries met in locations spread across the globe, and were given a simple message.
War, as we know it, cannot be won. The war of bullets and bombs will always destroy more than it creates.
In these meetings, they were given detailed breakdowns of each of their countries histories over the next eighty-one years. Every success, failure, and conflict was laid bare, down to the most relevant figure. Some of them survive the entire period. Most of them don't.
Each leader was then escorted into a small, metallic chamber. Inside, they viewed projections of their most intimate memories, some well-known, some hidden, and some forgotten, restored in graphic, breath-taking detail. They watched themselves age. They watched their own funerals. They watched their nations rise, and fall, and crumble into dust at varying intervals.
Every viewing session ended on the same date. March 15th, 2026. There is no record of what that date involves. The fact that there were no projections past it fills the silence adequately.
These meetings occurred simultaneously in the United States, The United Kingdom, The Soviet Union, China, Australia, Brazil, and Iran. None of the participating leaders were informed of the concurrent meetings.
Today, there are seven Academies scattered across the world. Each is responsible for handling the academic applicants to their region of the world. The original participant nations have become factional centers of their respective regions, with much of the world being absorbed into one of seven territories. These Academies are more or less acknowledged by the public, and while their methods and internal structure are not disclosed to the public, they're known as the most prestigious institute for higher education in their respective regions. Many well known public figures across every sector of business, entertainment, and politics have been graduates from PAHL academies, and the upper-echelon of the world is dominated by the Academy's presence. To be invited to attend is one of the highest honors a person can receive, and practically guarantees success in life.
Behind the scenes, the Academy is responsible for so much more than scholarly success. Each Academy is equipped with its own specialized staff team who serve a variety of functions, chief among them being the maintenance and direction of mysterious beings known as Drifters. The Drifters are powerful energy beings who appeared to the individuals that would organize the initial meetings post-WW2, and later found the Academy system as its Board of Education. Their motives, or whether they possess any at all, are unknown, as their behavior has remained more or less consistent over the past several decades. However, they are constant presence within the Academy system, providing psychic analysis of students and staff alike at all times, as well as creating and maintaining the Academies themselves from pure energy. Each academy has at least one Drifter on staff. For our first game, set in the European Union Territory, you will be meeting three.
The European Union comprises all non-Soviet, Western, Northern, and Southern European nations. Countries within the European Union have had their quality of life raised to, on average, somewhere between the German OECD status and the Norwegian OECD status. Poverty sits at roughly 12.3%, and homelessness has been reduced to 1.7% on average, with homelessness virtually non-existent in a statistical sense in wealthier countries such as Norway, Switzerland, Sweden, Denmark, and Germany. Health care, education, and legal protection for all individuals regardless of social status, ethnicity, or lifestyle have become standard across each nation, though some bureaucratic holes or funding shortfalls exist and forms of repression such as racism, classism, sexism, homophobia, etc. have not vanished altogether. Fringe hate groups are still an issue in European society, though they hold little social or political power outright, and most social bigotry has moved to more subtle forms such as gentrification and the shifting of social support networks and resources to isolate or alienate minority groups, as seen commonly in the modern world. These occurrences are rare, but they do exist, and have become more problematic in that discussing them is seen as distasteful or reactionary to the general population, due to their relatively smaller impact compared to the broader issues facing minority groups in the past.
As far as historical changes, it is important to note for the EU and for the world of PAHL at large that no military operation post-WW2 occurred. Larger conflicts, such as the Korean and Vietnamese Wars, have a Cold War-esque stigma attached to them where hostilities rose and many members of the public believed war would occur, but these were ultimately dissolved without open violence. Notable public and political figures of the 50s-80s such as Margaret Thatcher likely existed and served their historical function, though in a more muted sense than in the modern world and any specific reference to individuals or events in this time period will be handled on a case by case basis with staff and should be brought to staff attention and discussion before they are used by handlers.
PAHL-EU will take place in late 2015, as long as site construction and staff hiring continues as planned.
War, as we know it, cannot be won. The war of bullets and bombs will always destroy more than it creates.
In these meetings, they were given detailed breakdowns of each of their countries histories over the next eighty-one years. Every success, failure, and conflict was laid bare, down to the most relevant figure. Some of them survive the entire period. Most of them don't.
Each leader was then escorted into a small, metallic chamber. Inside, they viewed projections of their most intimate memories, some well-known, some hidden, and some forgotten, restored in graphic, breath-taking detail. They watched themselves age. They watched their own funerals. They watched their nations rise, and fall, and crumble into dust at varying intervals.
Every viewing session ended on the same date. March 15th, 2026. There is no record of what that date involves. The fact that there were no projections past it fills the silence adequately.
These meetings occurred simultaneously in the United States, The United Kingdom, The Soviet Union, China, Australia, Brazil, and Iran. None of the participating leaders were informed of the concurrent meetings.
Today, there are seven Academies scattered across the world. Each is responsible for handling the academic applicants to their region of the world. The original participant nations have become factional centers of their respective regions, with much of the world being absorbed into one of seven territories. These Academies are more or less acknowledged by the public, and while their methods and internal structure are not disclosed to the public, they're known as the most prestigious institute for higher education in their respective regions. Many well known public figures across every sector of business, entertainment, and politics have been graduates from PAHL academies, and the upper-echelon of the world is dominated by the Academy's presence. To be invited to attend is one of the highest honors a person can receive, and practically guarantees success in life.
Behind the scenes, the Academy is responsible for so much more than scholarly success. Each Academy is equipped with its own specialized staff team who serve a variety of functions, chief among them being the maintenance and direction of mysterious beings known as Drifters. The Drifters are powerful energy beings who appeared to the individuals that would organize the initial meetings post-WW2, and later found the Academy system as its Board of Education. Their motives, or whether they possess any at all, are unknown, as their behavior has remained more or less consistent over the past several decades. However, they are constant presence within the Academy system, providing psychic analysis of students and staff alike at all times, as well as creating and maintaining the Academies themselves from pure energy. Each academy has at least one Drifter on staff. For our first game, set in the European Union Territory, you will be meeting three.
The European Union comprises all non-Soviet, Western, Northern, and Southern European nations. Countries within the European Union have had their quality of life raised to, on average, somewhere between the German OECD status and the Norwegian OECD status. Poverty sits at roughly 12.3%, and homelessness has been reduced to 1.7% on average, with homelessness virtually non-existent in a statistical sense in wealthier countries such as Norway, Switzerland, Sweden, Denmark, and Germany. Health care, education, and legal protection for all individuals regardless of social status, ethnicity, or lifestyle have become standard across each nation, though some bureaucratic holes or funding shortfalls exist and forms of repression such as racism, classism, sexism, homophobia, etc. have not vanished altogether. Fringe hate groups are still an issue in European society, though they hold little social or political power outright, and most social bigotry has moved to more subtle forms such as gentrification and the shifting of social support networks and resources to isolate or alienate minority groups, as seen commonly in the modern world. These occurrences are rare, but they do exist, and have become more problematic in that discussing them is seen as distasteful or reactionary to the general population, due to their relatively smaller impact compared to the broader issues facing minority groups in the past.
As far as historical changes, it is important to note for the EU and for the world of PAHL at large that no military operation post-WW2 occurred. Larger conflicts, such as the Korean and Vietnamese Wars, have a Cold War-esque stigma attached to them where hostilities rose and many members of the public believed war would occur, but these were ultimately dissolved without open violence. Notable public and political figures of the 50s-80s such as Margaret Thatcher likely existed and served their historical function, though in a more muted sense than in the modern world and any specific reference to individuals or events in this time period will be handled on a case by case basis with staff and should be brought to staff attention and discussion before they are used by handlers.
PAHL-EU will take place in late 2015, as long as site construction and staff hiring continues as planned.