CHAPTER 8 - War Returns
In the mid-23rd century, the urban "tech giants" known as Mergers,
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CHAPTER 8 - War Returns
left the confines of their massive cities to claim the wilderness.
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Their initial success saw them acquiring lands to further their ambitions,
CHAPTER 8 - War Returns
but as their old cities became overpopulated,
the traditional powers struggled to maintain control.
This chaos allowed some to escape the city’s grasp
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and find refuge among those already living in the wild.
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CHAPTER 8 - War Returns
These newcomers brought technology and a legacy of genetic engineering with them,
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this time using their skills for wartime advancements rather than old-world eugenics.
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To counter the deserters, the city leaders formed squads called Seekers
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—specially enhanced individuals tasked with capturing key fugitives who took valuable tech with them.
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Though the Seekers managed to intercept many,
CHAPTER 8 - War Returns
they couldn't stop everyone.
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The leaked technology gradually empowered those living outside the cities.
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The battles in the wilderness were challenging;
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the evolved flora and fauna resisted human invasion,
slowing the city’s reclaiming efforts.
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Forced conscription pulled the lower classes into these struggles,
CHAPTER 8 - War Returns
with dire consequences for dissenters.
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Those who refused to fight were stripped of their citizenship,
CHAPTER 8 - War Returns
becoming societal outcasts,
virtually invisible within their own cities.
More of these outcasts chose the wilderness over war,
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taking whatever resources and technologies they could.
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Finding,
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joining,
and eventually giving aid to those in the wilderness.
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To combat this,
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the Seekers were sharpened into an even more formidable force,
relentlessly pursuing these deserters.
The seekers faded from public view and record;
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working in the shadows.
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Above it all, the rulers—
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known as "Those Who Sit on High",
recently all congregated in the largest city in the world
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and oversaw and ruled the cities from its towering spire—
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manipulating the conflicts between mergers and the resistance in the wilderness.
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Observing the unfolding chaos from their high vantage point.
What was once a sanctuary had turned into a fierce battleground,
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with every side fighting to shape the future in this new wild world.