Portrait of Seven - Environment

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Portrait of Seven - Environment

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Published: Nov 23, 2021

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bioshock bladerunner steampunk subatlantica cyberpunk detective dystopian storytelling

Description

Seven is a detective in my new illustrated story. Long in the future people are living underground and underwater in submerged colonies. Steampunk and Cyberpunk collide to make a fascinating environment for our characters to play.

More characters coming soon!

Chapter 1 is available now for subscribers. More benefits coming for subscribers soon.

Mecca Subatlantica - Chapter 1Mecca Subatlantica Chapter 1Welcome to Mecca, ,,Centuries into the future, the atmosphere of Earth has become inhabitable due to a powerful asteroid strike which lead to complications in the global environment.Mecca Subatlantica (Colony 252) is about a hundred miles East off of the shore of Virginia, USA - conveniently located out of reach of most annual hurricanes which hit the shore. The colony is submerged just deep enough to avoid the pollutants of the Earth's destroyed atmosphere, and shallow enough still to catch some of the sun's energy.The sky is always burnt, stained in a reddish-brown color. Although these days it has been clearing up substantially, and in peak sunlight hours you can see a little blue reaching in through the polluted mist. But all this sky color is perhaps irrelevant to Subatlantica, as from within the submerged city all light comes through the glass ceiling as aquatic blue - with occasional bursts of red-brown sneaking in through the dancing sun beams of the ocean.Mecca Subatlantica is a sprawled out sub-aquatic colony full of little shops and businesses, making one of the East Coast's biggest markets with an emphasis on vegetation and seafood - thanks to the perfect seasonal climate of the area, and the cleanliness standards of the residents. All types of wares are sold in addition to food products, as the market has expanded over the centuries, making it a mecca of the North American Eastern Seaboard.Familiar but strange items decorate the front of little shops. Bottles of vividly colored liquid products. Textiles with a combination of mechanical and organic patterns. Some zones seem dedicated to foods, others to necessities. Needless to say, if you can dream of something, you will find it somewhere here at the Mecca. If you need something from the black market, it is not hard to find a shady looking character standing by a corner news panel, usually dressed in priestly robes - as a cover up of course. But they are very willing say a prayer for you upon command, if not only to uphold the guise. Upon special inquiry, they can also take you to a back alley where you can do business in private.Many people wear decorative masks and goggles while standing post at their shops. This tradition began during a fear of bad air quality in the submerged city, and later became an enduring trend, as people enjoyed the anonymity, and patrons enjoyed the fashion. Many masks also provide enhancement services through built-in headsets. These headsets allow for enhanced vision and audio. You can scan objects and people for quick identification. You can tune into a variety of entertainment services including games, music, and a variety of augmented entertainment.Small robots can often be seen zipping by, like mechanical insects busy at their natural tasks. But these are not pests, they are often serving important logistical services, moving both information and products around the city. Larger products and bulk orders travel on trams which traverse on lower levels beneath the market.There are guards standing watch throughout the halls, spheres, and tunnels of the main level. Mostly, they look bored and are not expecting much action. Although they look well equipped to do so if the opportunity presents itself.An authority walks down the passageway dressed in thin, skin-tight armor, and a short cape. She is holding a short military staff. She has a holstered weapon as well, but she does not look threatening in her current posture. She is looking for something, probably just shopping, possibly even hungry.She is a human detective. Her name is Seven-two, named after the last two digits found on her father's badge when he died. She was too young at the time and didn't have any other family. People who know her call her Seven for short, but she doesn't know a lot of people.,There is a uniformity to the colors in this neighborhood. No one stands out too much, and if they do - it's probably a bad sign, standing out often means trouble around here. Aqua blues, dark greens and browns fill up most of the environment adding to the natural theme of the city. There are also abundant arrays of electronic lights and micro-adverts and holograms around the shop displays. Seven-two walks through this medium sized hall which houses about two hundred shops. The hall has a clean glass ceiling - allowing beautiful rippling sun rays to decorate the interior from the ocean's roof. Occasionally a giant fish, or school of fish, will pass overhead creating a brief lapse of light.Most passages and open spaces are rather dim, allowing for neon lights and holograms to be seen more clearly, while still allowing enough natural light for trees and flowers to thrive. At night an array of synthetic lights come on to brighten the passages. Some compartments are dedicated to special wildlife which require more sun, such rooms are closer to the surface, and these rooms are often blindingly bright. Gardeners tend to such areas fully clothed, all skin covered, wearing dark black goggles to protect their eyes, and large rimmed hats to keep themselves shaded.Some of the bigger compartments in Mecca Subatlantica have enough ceiling height to emulate actual city life. Small taxis take customers to and fro as they are busy shopping and dinning. Business people have opened offices and can frequently be seen meeting at bars and nightclubs. There are also some well fortified parks with ceilings that breach the ocean's surface, allowing patrons to enjoy as much natural sunlight as possible.The city also reaches down into the ocean making deeper levels. It gets less comfortable the deeper you go. The lowest classes of people usually inhabit the deepest levels, which is also where you will find utilities and services such as engineering and recycling. However, some of the smartest and toughest people in the colonies supervise these areas as well. They are well compensated, but their lifestyle is not for the weak of heart.Detective Seven finds her destination and sits down to order a bowl of soup. She gets a noodle soup with fresh algae and fish. The attendant stamps a ticket and passes it to a robotic chef. The chef turns to around, facing the kitchen counter, and begins preparing Seven's soup.The robot hums an old familiar children's tune while cooking. Fish and algae from the seven seas.Fish and algae are good for me.Chop it up with my fishing knife.Soup and noodles with aquatic life.Seven taps her finger to the tune as her eyes dance around admiring the hologram adverts. The crowd goes on passing by behind her as she sits on her stool at the noodle bar. The attendant speaks to her "So are things going today detective?". "Not too bad, it's a quite day, no trouble. A little boring is all." Seven responds. "Are you human?" the attendant asks. "Yeah, can't you tell?" Seven responds."I can't always tell. They make lifelike models these days." says the attendant."I guess so." Seven concedes.A moment goes by and the attendant speaks again "I was just wondering. As a human, do you think about death often? I mean that must seem very important to you. One day you simply won't be here anymore."Seven's eyes open a little and she addresses the attendant, "Yeah, I guess it's a part of everyday life. It's always in the back of my mind. I have to treasure the time I have here, and I have to watch my actions. One bad move can result in illness or injury."The attendant nods and goes back to his own business, leaving Seven with a final thought "I thought that might be the case. It's interesting. I never think about my own death, being that it's unlikely to occur. Human life must be exciting." Then he turned to address another incoming customer.*DING* The robo-chef makes a bell sound, signaling that the meal is ready, and all at once he spins around via his mechanical hips and serves the bowl to Seven. She begins eating and looks up at the holovision currently broadcasting a local news report."Another murder occurs today without a trace of evidence. There are no suspects, detectives are searching diligently...""That's funny", thinks Seven, "I don't remember hearing about any cases. I wonder who's on it."

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Comments2

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Both this character as well as the story sound so awesome! I cant wait to read more about her and your awesome idea!