Demolition Man and Other Society Experiments

[BubbaBrown]

After recently watching Demolition Man again, I thought about the idea of a such a town in the movie being in Wasteland 2.

Imagine a remote, isolated community, protected by a barrier of automated defenses leading up to the town. Politice Recta exists inside a small niche in the mountains bordered by huge defensive city walls. A small city supported by pre-war technology. Technology that allows the townsfolk to exist how they are; a population of over-polite, docile pushovers.

Under the principles set forth to promote political correctness, niceness, and elimination of violent tendencies, the citizens of Politice Recta over the years grown to be peaceful people. Protected by natural barriers and automated defenses the recent generations have mostly forgotten about, they don't know anything of the outside world and the outside world hasn't bothered them.

All was well, until an intruder from the outside caused quite a ruckus within the town. He was quickly dealt with and removed from the town, but the seed was sown. A number of citizens, who have never known of violence or desires for more... began to think... to think bad thoughts. They researched the past for information about how to fufil these new desires and used it to create the first gangs of Politice Recta.

I figured it be good timing after the Rangers have done a few good deeds to get a radio message for help from these folks. There are three gangs in the town. The townsfolk are pretty incompetent, but the gangs are more so in their own ways. One gang gets their way by saying "Bad Things" about people. Another gang gets their way by literally pushing people around pulling grade school level physical torment. The final one do disgusting things and flash pictures of "Bad Things" to scare the townsfolk away.

As Rangers, you have a whole variety of options in dealing with the town. Kill 'em, save 'em, join 'em, lay waste to the abomination, etc... And instead of simply shooting them, you can beat them at their own games. Imagine having you best speaker release a torrent of insults, or just have the boldest ranger streak through the gang's base of operations to spook the lot of them.

If nothing else, I think it'd be fun to explore a few more "society experiments gone wrong". Not only are there great opportunities for a few good culture references, but the options for story lines and conflict are very tempting.


And now a random story with William and Horus to relay the feel of the town...

"...and that is why we put out that message on the radio! We are unable to resolve the situation ourselves. Please help us!" pleaded the town elder.
William and Horus walk side by side looking over the pristine, clean town of Politice Recta. Horus's large, tall frame towering over the masses of people staring in amazement. William, with a better chance of blending in, caught the looks of passersby for his brightly blonde hair and unique facial structure that greatly contrasted the townsfolk. "So, these gangs you have, Elder? How many are there?"
The elder catches up William and Horus, "Yes, there are three gangs. The Sayers, The Showers, and the Doers."
"Not very creative. Well, you leave it us and we'll sort things out before yo-"
A few panicked people rush by in front of the three. The elder turns to see what the cause is and immediately trembles in fear, "IT'S THEM! THE DOERS! RUN!"
The elder quickly runs off with the next batch of panicked townsfolk.

William and Horus both turn to see who these "Doers" are. Strutting quite confidently are two townsfolk. Both are wearing red scarfs and have "D"'s crudely scrawled into their shirts with what looks to have been the work of a dried out magic marker. One looks in similar build to every other citizen William and Horus have seen; average height, thin, and poor muscle tone. The other walking along side him is ever so slightly bigger and seems to have what might be the start of some basic muscle definition. The two pairs match up at crossing of walkways and look each other over.

"So you are the people the Elder brought from the outside," the average sized one snarks, "You look weird."
William cocks his head to side, expecting a bit more aggressive introduction, "And you look quite inbred."
William glances over to Horus who nods in silent agreement, "Yes, it seems the family tree around here loops more than it forks."
The leading gang member searches for a response in vain, "Well... Well... You are... double plus not attractive."
Horus squints his eyes confused at the leader. William blinks a few times while glancing around the area, face-palming with his other hand on his side. He momentarily trades looks with Horus and the pair slowly turn to the gang leader. "Double plus not attractive?" William chimes incredulously.

The gang leader smirks confidently, "Yah. Double plus not attractive. Mean, huh?"

Williams raises a brow with both hands to his sides and leans forward to the leader, "Are. You. Fucking. Retarded?"

The leader's smirk turns to an angered frown as he snaps his fingers and points at Horus. The bigger gang member takes a step forward and throws his arms out in an effort to shove Horus back. Horus stares unsure as his large frame slightly rocks back from the meager effort. William snaps his head over to witness his friend get shoved by the other gang member and snaps back to face the leader, "Did your lackey just try to shove my friend?"

"Yah! And if you don't do what we want... He'll do it again!" the leader puffs his meager chest up to punctuate his point.

William holds his hands up and starts a series of pantomimes to help get his point across, "Nononono... No. Don't act like you have the upper hand here. You don't understand what you are doing here. My friend, Horus, was gifted with a kind heart and great patience. He was also gifted with astronomical strength. The likes of which I'm pretty sure you have never seen here. I won't waste my time trying to explain it to you, but it a whole magnitude more than what your brain can process. So... I would highly recommend that you two turn around and go home before I tell Horus to defend himself as he sees fit."

The leader grits his teeth and snorts angrily, "Shove him. As much as it takes. Let this be lesson to all of you who messes with the Doers!"

The other gang member stretches and puts forth a great effort to, again, shove Horus. He continues again and again. Trying his best to push the giant Horus down. William and Horus trade glances before noticing that the previously terrified townspeople have taken positions behind random shrubs, garbage cans, and park benches to witness the scene. William shakes his head with crossed arms holding his chin as he watches the meager efforts by the shoving gang member against Horus, "Oh. This is just sad. Oh good lord, I think he's starting to build a sweat."

The rocking Horus shrugs, looking to William as to what to do next. William rolls his eyes and sighs, "Well, do something. Just don't hurt him too badly. He is touched and it's not entirely his fault."

Horus nods, taking in a deep breath to sigh as well. His scratches his beard in thought. A grin pops on his face. The shoving gang member is breathing heavily and sweat beads in big batches across his face. He gathers his strength for another great push, before being interrupted mid shove. Two hands have grasped him underneath the armpits. It is merely a second later that the ex-shoving gang member notices his feet dangling in the air as Horus lift him close to his chest. Horus brings the gang member close to chest, stopping mere inches away. Horus stares into the eyes of the gang member as Horus's grin grows a few shades of mischievous.

The sudden acceleration causes the gang member's frame to curl towards Horus and then spring back mid air. He wobbles mid-flight like a freshly shaken jello mold. With an unflattering landing, he skids on the grass into a garbage can and only manages to flop around moaning. The leading gang member barely manages to get his jaw shut before glaring at William. With a loud cry he charges William with arms extended for a shove.

A bright blue white flash lights up the area with a cascade of crackling electricity soon echoing between the buildings. The leading gang member slumps onto the ground as William strafes away. The stun rod retracts into it's handle as William sheaths the device, "No. I don't play that game."

William and Horus survey the area. William walks over to a park bench and sits down, with Horus soon following suit. A cheer rings out, followed by others. The audience of townsfolk quickly gather around the park bench that William and Horus have plopped themselves on. The citizens begin to chant praises and congratulations. William shakes his head as he stretches his arms along the back of the bench, "What have we gotten ourselves into, Horus?"

Horus looks down at his clasped hands in his lap and rocks his head side to side, unable to come up with a good answer. William reaches into his vest pocket and pulls out a narrow brown paper bag. He holds the bag towards Horus, "Pull yourself out two pieces my friend."

Horus cocks his head puzzled and holds two fingers up on his hand. "The garbage can hit was a nice touch," explains William.
The large man nods and gives a quick thumbs up before pulling out two bits of jerky from the brown paper bag. William brings the bag closer to him and takes a piece for himself. The two gnaw on jerky tuning out the crowd that has formed around them.

[Luckmann]

After recently watching Demolition Man again, I thought about the idea of a such a town in the movie being in Wasteland 2.

Imagine a remote, isolated community, protected by a barrier of automated defenses leading up to the town. Politice Recta exists inside a small niche in the mountains bordered by huge defensive city walls. A small city supported by pre-war technology. [...]

What technology would that be? Kalashnikovs and VHS?