Corperate Takeover

[Gifted]

250 years ago, the world ended.
It was understandable, of course. With the world oil shortage, constant war and violence, and global warming causing horrific natural disasters in the fighting countries, that big red button finally got too tempting, and someone (*coughcough* North Korea *coughcough*) pushed it.
But of course there was retaliation.
But not all was lost. As the government of each country doomed itself with a nuclear war, multi-national corporations, with no allegiance to any country, stepped in for the rest of civilization. Together, five multi-national corporations managed to save about one-tenth of the population of North America, moving them underground and protecting them from the nuclear missiles raining from above.
When those protected finally returned to the surface, the United States, and every other country, was no more.
The corporations began reconstructing a new government, the grateful citizen wanting to get back to some semblance of normalcy.
But sometime between then and now, something changed.
Now, the five governments control everything. Words have been removed from the vocabulary, history was covered up, and children were raised on the company’s values, to believe they were superior to anyone from other company’s territories. This is all people know anymore.
But that all changed, for five people. Though the government had cleaned up all evidence of the worlds former glory, somehow, these five people found artefacts from a better time. Separated into five distinct categories, Music, History, Science, Fiction and Language, these five people from around the continent together form the Culture of past times. But what will they do with this new information? And what happens when the five companies find out?
That, is up to you.

Five students of Culture:
Music: Owen Winslake (Gifted)
Fiction: Ryan Villein (Raven)
Science: (Doom)
History:
Language: (Sparrow)

Words cut out of the language
Dictatorship (and all synonyms)
Rebel
Any swear words
Slavery
Freedom
Ignorance (and all synonyms)
Democracy
Tyrant (and all synonyms)
Liberty
Corrupt
Fight: Though the word itself has been taken out of the language, fighting is an integral part of society. If referring to fighting in a war, simply the word “war” or “warring” is used. One-on-one fights are encouraged amongst people of different territories. This is called an “act of patriotism”. This also assures that no fighting is done with someone within your own territory. Ex. “I committed an act of patriotism against a kid from Google today. Won by a landslide.”
Right: Cut out in the context that you have a right to do something. Remains in other contexts.
Anything pertaining to religion
this list is subject to update at any time and probably will have many more words added on
Words that have taken on new meaning
Microsoft: Any object that is obsolete, or isn’t working properly. Used as a derogatory term. Ex. “That’s the third time my hoverboard broke down this week!”
“Dude, your Hoverboards a Microsoft, get a new one.”
Wendy: A highly offensive term for a woman that deliberately insults her temperament. Ex. “Wow, what a Wendy”
A difficult thing or situation. Ex. “That lock’s a real Wendy to open” (for anyone keeping score, that’s the definition Word gives me when I look up “bitch”
Adidas: A highly offensive term used with or without a following word to express exasperation, fear or surprise or to add emphasis. (for anyone keeping score, thats the definition Word gives me when I look up “fuck”)
Yahoo: Someone who is rude or repulsive in appearance and action. (yes I realise that’s the definition NOW, but I still figured I’d include it)

Geography
Apple: The largest of the territories in both population and land, it contains Alaska, Greenland and the vast majority of canada. The bottom of the territory on a map runs in a relitivley straight line along the Canadian/US border, hits Lake Superior before moving up to the lowest point of Hudson Bay and continuing diagonally upwards through Quebec. Contains all of Newfoundland and PEI.

Google: The second largest in population, though third in size. Runs from Washington to North Dakota and down to Kansas before continuing on a diagonal to the bottom of New Mexico and through a small part of Mexico.

Mcdonalds: All the states along the Eastern coastline of US, as far out as eastern Ohio. Also includes Louisiana, Alabama and Mississippi

Starbucks: Michigan, Wisconson, the part of Ontario unoccupied by Apple and the part of Minnesota hugging Lake Superior. Easily the smallest territory.

Nike: The second biggest in size. The remainder of Mexico and all countries lower than Mexico. The US states unclaimed by anyone else, save for Kentucky and Tenesse, which are rumoured to still be radioactive and therefore unoccupied.

[Raven]

Ryan had never really known his father, who always claimed to be at work, even when he was secretly off with his love affairs. So the only thing that changed when he was only four and Aaron left for good was the lack of money. Ryan's mother was a simple factory worker in Nike with a rather lousy salary. Certainly not enough to raise the son she already had, and the daughter she was unknowingly pregnant with. They struggled by for years until Maddie fell deathly ill. She tried to contact Aaron, knowing the father of her two children was more than rich enough to afford to care for them, and to afford the cure. But he only stepped in when she had passed, and only to take in his children. By this time Lynn was four, Ryan was eight, and Adam and Kenny were three. Ryan refused to accept that any of them, other than Lynn, were in fact his family. Still more time passed, until Ryan's new mother became pregnant a year later. Ryan fell in love with his new little sister immediately (as in he loved her, not as in he's a pedo, ya Yahoo). But the girl's mother died in childbirth. It was a mere two years before Aaron grew terminally bored of his children, and simply left them. He didn't give them anything to help along the way. He only left the things he'd already given them over the years. So, the five were orphaned. Ryan and Lynn chose to keep their father's name, as they had forgotten over time their mother's. Adam and Kenny decided to take their mother's, as well as give it to their youngest sibling. Raising his brothers and sisters hadn't been easy for Ryan, but he stuck to it. Something their father never had. So, after a while, the young ones came to accept that their parents were never coming back.

Ryan had sold all their technology save three hoverboards, as they couldn't exactly carry all their gadgets around. The hoverboards they had were four years out of date, but they worked with some prompting. They weren't the best-off family, but they had each other. And after all they'd been through, Ryan wasn't about to let that change. Not for anything.

About a two months prior, Ryan had found something more interesting than any amount of technology. Something he never would - or could - sell. Many of the books he found he kept to himself, but a few he read to Max. They started him thinking about things he'd never thought of before. His only regret was that many of the words in the books he couldn't really understand (he'd had to stop attending school three years ago when his father abandoned them, and he probably wouldn't have learned several of the words anyway). One book he'd particularly liked, despite the frequent use of a term he'd never heard before (one he could guess the meaning of due to the context) was one called the Hunger Games. It made him think about what could happen if people were driven enough to try to take down the corporations. Of course, reading time was short as he had to keep the books hidden at all times. After a while, he'd become quite good at reading, and managed to read rather quickly.

But the fantasies didn't come at a price. If there was one thing the corporations were right about, it was those books putting your head in the clouds. There had been times when he had very nearly gotten caught simply because he was so wound up in not only the author's fantasies, but also his own.

[Gifted]

the back of his hoverboard swerved as he skidded to a stop, jumping off in the same motion. He surveyed with distate to large, muscular white kid before him. "You the google kid I'm supposed to meet?" Owen asked, cocking his head.

"Depends," The guy said, flexing his massive biceps. "You the Apple twerp I'm supposed to be finding?"

"Well, gee," Owen said in a bitter, mocking voice. "Did they tell you to look for the black kid with black hair, wearing the blue shirt wth the giant apple logo on it? Because I was told to look for the big white kid who throws his weight around like he's all that, and I'm pretty sure I've got the right guy,"
"You cheeky little fruit..." The kid clearly had nothing origanal to say. Owen sighed. Time to get this over with to pacify his dad.

Twenty minutes later, with one black eye and two bruised ribs, Owen stepped back onto his hoverboard. "Looks like you just got beat by a fruit," he said to the unconcious google kid as he sped off.

it only took him ten minutes on his hoverboard to get home, living, as he did, relitivley close to the the border. He jumped off and carried his hoverboard inside his home
"Did you beat him?" Tyler asked the second Owen walked in the door.
"Act of patriotism against Google accomplished," He told Tyler in an emotionless voice.
Owen absolutley refused to call his stepfather anything other than his name.
Owen was the only child of Kayla Winslake and Pierce Dekoto, two factory workers whom Tyler told him were nice, respectable people who met with a tragic accident. Personally, Owen suspected they might have ticked off a few important people. Both Kayla and Pierce were killed in a house fire, yet Owen had survived. Less than a week after, Kaylas brother, Dennis, was brutally murdered in his home, and the investigation went cold. Finally, Kayla's sister Katrina and the last remaining sibling to either of his parents (his fathers only sister having died some years before) died in a factory accident a few days later, leaving him with exactly one relative in his entire family tree; His mothers cousin, Tyler Winslake, a well-known high-seated member of the Apple government. So he'd grown up under the care of Tyler.
Owen absolutley hated Tyler. He was always talking about Owens "responsibility to Apple", wheras Owen just wanted to be a simple factory worker. He didn't care about the stupid goverment things his stepdad wanted him to do. Owen knew Tyler was trying to make him grow into something like himself... but he didn't ever want to be like his devious, deceptive, manipulative Stepfather.
"I'm going for a walk, mmk?" Owen said, carrying his hoverboard back out the door.
"Be back before dark." Was Tylers only response. Owen knew it wasnt true anyway, Tyler could less than care when he came back now that he was on his one-year rest break between school and work.
Owen rode his hoverboard up to a large, barren area of land with no trees he often went to to be alone. There were ruins of a small town there, but they were just ashes now, and Owen could barely tell what was even there anymore. He simply got off his hoverboard and sat among the ashes, staring up at the deep blue sky,. What he wouldn't give for a change. Somethng... anything.
Hey lay there among the ashes of a dead civilization, daydreaming. This was his only escape from his life. In reality, he had to accept the facts; he was tottally doomed to work for Apple for the rest of his life, like his "stepfather". But he didn't have to believe that out here. Out here, he could still hope for a miracle.

((I'm gonna post him finding his first bit of music when everyones finished their intros))

[Raven]

Melanie Jones had everything a girl could ask for. Her parents were both government employees, her father spoiled her with lavish gifts, she was never expected to do anything. And she was beautiful. Her long chestnut hair waved lightly over her shoulders, her perfect hazel eyes shone with flecks of gold, and her chest was by no means small even though she was quite thin. Why would a girl like that go off on her own often enough to start searching for something she hadn't seen before? Something historic. Especially in a time when history wasn't something taken lightly? Well, whatever the reason, she certainly had one, as that was exactly what Mel was doing when she found the records a week prior. Since then, she'd spent every free moment in the small cavern by the lake in Starbucks Territory, where she resided, studying those ancient records. And she'd learned so much. She'd enjoyed the teachings about the angels -- right up until they showed the young lesbian that views on her preference had never been enjoyed. But she'd also learned that there were times in the past when they weren't quite as frowned upon as now, and that seemed unfair. Why should she be punished for loving the girl with the blond hair who sat in front of her in her advanced law class every day? The one with the brilliant smile and sparkling eyes? Why was it that if she told anyone how she really felt about the boys who brushed by her in the halls, clearly staring, she'd be thrown in jail? When those same boys scared her so much when they did just that? Why did it scare her?? She sighed, knowing the answer to that. Something she also couldn't ever admit to anyone. The real reason she was out here rather than listening to her parents tell her how she needed to find a boyfriend. Or asking if she already had one, and that was where she spent all her free time...

[Doom]

"You ungrateful Wendy! I give you so much, and you still don't behave like I want you to!" Mr. Copper shouted at the top of his lungs.
"I don't know what in the Adidas you're talking about, honey," mocked Mrs. Copper, "I'm just your little angel, all day, everyday. Did you ever stop to think that Carmen is a bit more important than that Adidas job of yours?"

Carmen cringed when she heard her name from the first floor of the house. Mrs. Copper had always used Carmen's name in her arguments, but Carmen never felt proud that she was being compared to a profession. Computer programming had been her father's entire life, even after his marriage. However, complications arose when Carmen was mistakingly conceived one night. After her birth, Carmen only came as an obstruction to Mr. Copper's career, and Carmen didn't live a day of her life without being reminded. Before Carmen was born, everything was happy and peaceful between Mr. and Mrs. Copper. Mr. Copper would work a fourteen hour shift from dawn until dusk, return home to a hot meal and the occasional wonders of the bed, and sleep for a few hours until the next shift. However, Carmen couldn't be more easily described as anything than an accident. A celebratory drink on the night of the couple's anniversary, one small slip up, and nine months later, Carmen was born. Mrs. Copper couldn't have been happier to have a daughter, but Mr. Copper didn't take kindly to infringements on his savings. A child would be nothing more than a list of bills to him, which is exactly why he always has and always will resent Carmen. The imbalanced relationship of her mother smothering her and her father neglecting her has caused poor little Carmen, only twelve years old now, to becoming ill in the mind.

Carmen rocked back and forth on her haunches, curled up tight, wishing more than anything that her parents would stop fighting. She would prefer to live alone on the very literally cold streets of northwestern Apple territory than sit and listen to her parents debate over how important she was to them. Carmen only wanted to live happily, but she naturally separated herself from everyone and everything, a self defense to keep from being hurt. Carmen sobbed quietly, her mascara smearing. Then, a loud crashing of glass, and a gasp from her mother. Then, unintelligible yelling, the destroyed furniture only sparking greater rage.

Carmen crawled through the basement window, wanting to escape this chaos. She ran through down, tears still streaming down her face. She kept running, wanting to escape her quiet little town. She just wanted somewhere peaceful to stay, even if for a little while. She may not have been dressed warmly, but it didn't matter. She had to keep running, to keep safe from the violence. On the outskirts of town, she was met with the consequences of going out in such light clothing. The harsh wind pierced her covering, chilling her to the bone. She didn't dare trudge back, so she looked for some sort of wind block. Eventually, she stumbled upon a beach front cave, and she moved as quickly as she could to get inside. She dropped to the cave floor, safe from the wind, but still trembling from the cold. She backed as far in as she could, then curled up and shivered away. She glanced around the cave nervously, as if expecting someone to be in here with her. However, all she saw was a small book jutting from a pile of sand.....a book?

She fished it out and dusted it off, then closely examined it. The cover was very, very worn, but she could read some of the letters. She read, "A B--ef Hist-r- of Tim-," and the author read as, "Ste--- Haw---g." She frowned, unsure what the title was supposed to mean, then opened the book. What she found inside baffled her. Much of the text was faded, but what she could still read astounded her. Explanations of the stars, and anomalies beyond Carmen's slightest understanding. Carmen could neither grasp nor begin to fathom what she had stumbled on, but she knew that that which lay buried was usually buried for a reason. She did her best to replace it, then exited the cave, finding the gusts had died down a great deal. She hurried home, unsure if her parents had noticed her absence. She slid into the basement through the window, and could not hear anything. The fighting had either stopped, or one of them was choking the other, but Carmen didn't care. Whichever one won didn't matter, as her mother would drown her in love until death, while her father would probably just drown her in the icy seas only a stone's throw from their home. Carmen sighed, then opened the door to her room, which "doubled" as the furnace room. She didn't like the noises it made when she tried to sleep, but at least it was particularly warm next to it. She lay on her cot, rubbing at her tear stained cheeks, and quickly nodded off, unsure what to do with her life.

[Gifted]

Owen layed there among the ashes until dusk, when a cold wind swept through the valley, scattering ashes everywhere, including all over his face.
Spluttering, he sat up and rubbed the ashes out of his eyes. With a sigh, he got to his feet. It'd be dark soon, he'd best go home.
Just as he was turning to go get his hoverboard from where he'd set it down, the last rays of sun reflected off of something buried in the ashes. Curious, Owen knelt down and brushed the ashes off of the object.
It was about the size of a spread hand, maybe a little bigger, and a perfect, flat circle. It was a dark, shiny blue colour on top, with a little greenish window type thing at the top. Buttons, curved on the same angle as the edges of the circle, had symbols on it he didn't understand - a sideways triangle, two identical rectangles next to each other, three smaller sideways triangles all connected by the points, three more all pointing in the other direction - but clearly were supposed to mean something. The bottom of it was black, and along the side were more buttons and switches, including a "volume" button, which confused Owen. What, did the device thicken itself when you pushed the plus sign? What good would that be to anyone?
inlaid in gold writing on the top of the device was the word SONY, and underneath that, in light blue writing, was the word "Walkman".
A Sony Walkman? What the Adidas was a Sony Walkman? In fact, how were you supposed to say that anyway? Son-ee, like Sunny? Or saw-knee?
He almost hit the little switch that said OPEN - though he didn't understand where this thing was supposed to open - when he found an ON switch. Well, there was an easy way to figure out what this thing did. he flicked it on, hoping it still worked.
Numbers flashed across the little greenish screen, and it seemed to geive off a little hiss or hum, but otherwise nothing happened.
Confused, he surveyed the buttons on the top of the Walkman. He pushed every button at least twice, but it still took a good minute for him to notice the headphones.
As soon as he did, he felt stupid for not noticing them sooner; a long wire, dangling off the edge of the walkman, which split into two wires with odd circular things on the end. He heard tiny noises coming from the circular things, and held one uncertaintly up to his ear.

"MASTER OF PUPPETS I'M PULLING THE STRINGS
TWISTING YOU MIND AND SMASHING YOUR DREAMS"

Owen yelped ad jumped back, dropping the Walkman, which clattered to the ground.
"what the blazing Adidas was that?" he cried. The blaring noise had hit him like a wrecking ball. When he'd collected himself, he retrieved the Walkman and switched it hastily off.
He presently realised it had gotten dark while he was trying to figure out the Sunny Walkman, as went to grab his hoverboard. He didn't want to have to answer questions about why he was out so late to any police on patrol nearby. Maybe he'd ask Tyler what the SUnny Walkman was, Tyler usually knew these things, working for the government and all. Still, he didn't want to head home just yet.

He hopped on his board, The walkman under his arm, and flew to Starbucks, ust because it wasn't going home. He slowed down when he got to the busier streets, debating just getting off the hoverboard so it would take him longer to get through town.

[Raven]

Melanie was startled as the alarm went off, warning her that someone had just entered range using a device. She particularly loved this gift, as she didn't know a single person around who didn't use their electronics everywhere they went. She hastily stuffed the faded copy of the Dary o Ann Fran in her bag. She didn't quite understand the title - it was faded badly and she could tell - but most of the pages were still legible. In all honesty, the recounting just made her wonder if the government was right. At least about past governments being crazy as Adidas.

Within instants of the alarm going off, she had managed to stow her illegal book, quiet the alarm, and get to her feet, creeping towards the main street where she figured the person would be. "What are you doing out so late?" she snapped, not aware of whom she was talking to.

[Gifted]

At the sound of a voice, Owen slowed to a stop, but didn't get off his hoverboard. "I could ask you the same question," Owen said, surveying the persons silouette. He knew it was probably just the hoverboard lights messing with his vision in the dark, but he didn't turn them off, thinking they were messing with hers, too.

[Raven]

"I am out because your lights startled my cat, who jumped upon me," Melanie replied, stalking towards him. The lights were messing with her vision, and she didn't like it one bit.

[Gifted]

"Well I'm trying to get home and took a wrong turn, so I'm terribly sorry about your cat," It was difficult to tell if Owen was being sarcastic.

[Raven]

Melissa glared. "You don't sound like someone I know. Who are you?"

[Gifted]

"My name is Owen," He said, not even thinking about giving his last name. She might connect him to Apple, and he didn't want to commit an act of patriotism if he could help it. "What about you?"

[Raven]

"Melanie Jones," she replied cockily. "You aren't from around here." It wasn't a question. She knew he wasn't, as she knew everyone in this city.

[Gifted]

"And if I'm not?" Owen challenged.

[Raven]

"Where are you from?" Melanie asked. "How did you get so lost?"