History and Culture

[sanctum_mod]

A Brief History

In the world of Sanctum, everyone is a transplant, from somewhere or other. It’s never been proven that any life existed on the world before the first documented arrivals from outside, and no structures have been found from before that point. The first newcomers to the world found a place with rich natural resources, a breathable atmosphere, and nothing at all to indicate any of what they would call ‘intelligent life’.

The first few years were of course devoted to things like building shelter. The mixed bag of technology brought along with those from the various worlds let to some interesting advances here: sometimes the most useful things came last, because while people knew they existed beneath the surfaces of their everyday lives, no one knew quite how to make them work, or at least, build them from scratch. But small pieces of technology were brought along by various people, and eventually came those who knew how to use, repair, build, and improve them as well.

During this time, there had been small pockets of occasional violence that happened, but overall, most of the people who had come through were busy trying to orient themselves and understand things. The thought that ‘this was a pretty world’ and that ‘it could be really nice’ had been stated a lot, and there seemed to be quite a lot of community-minded people who just wanted to create something livable and interesting for both themselves and those who came after.

But not everyone felt that way, of course. There were those who were only interested in researching how to get back the way they’d come, and then others who wanted their world’s ideals carried out here, and still others who only cared about grabbing as much as they could and holding it for themselves. Thus, fighting happened. Laws had to be made. Police forces were formed. A government was put into effect.

Then taken out of effect and picked apart and poked at and retooled and brought back and basically rolled around for quite some time before the overall Sanctum populace finally decided they had gotten it right.

Of course, just like in any other such situation, people died. There were bitter rivalries and years-long feuds over this or that portion of the law, and there have always been people who didn’t like this or that thing about the world. But the constant influx of people through the rift - through no fault of their own - and the need to keep the city growing and expanding to accept those people created a focus that allowed these factors not to destroy what was being built. And since the rift takes away as well as brings, folks on both sides had to deal with the fact that they could be whisked away any moment.

Thus, the City of Sanctum became what it is now: at first glance, a resort town, dedicated to making the stays of newcomers pleasant and interesting, whether they last a week or a lifetime.

Current Government: Since even those who were born in Sanctum and have lived their whole lives here deal with the possibility of being sucked back up and sent off somewhere else, there isn’t any one person holding an ‘ultimate’ leadership position. It was tried, at first, but didn’t last long at all, and now every office is held by ‘committee’, basically.

This doesn’t mean that any one member of the current “Mayoral Committee” can’t step forward and make a decision in an emergency, and there is usually, within these committees, an accepted way of splitting up work. But all of the information needed by the committee is accessible to all members, and plans for redividing work should anyone leave are usually already in place, to make the city run as smoothly as possible.

The same is true of any kind of leadership position within the city, whether it be the police force, the schools, the businesses. Of course, newcomers (player characters especially!) are welcome to open businesses all by themselves, but assignment of someone to take over is usually part of the process of filling out the paperwork for doing so. If a business owner chooses not to name anyone, then employees left behind will probably deal with the issue.

The main government building is the City Hall, which lies roughly in the center of Sanctum, just outside the Park. The main offices are underground, not to protect from violent uprisings, but to protect from weather and various threats from the monsters that live outside the city. The main police offices are in the same area, as well as buildings for things like city planning and business law. Newcomers are welcome to take jobs in government and the police force, but will be trained and tested like anyone else.

When it comes to the legal system itself, the idea is upholding basic human rights above everything else. Actions such as assault, murder, torture, sexual assault, theft, etc... they all come with appropriate legal responses. The police - and the task force - all use a combination of technology and magic, and DO have the capability of nullifying superpowers, if necessary.

Culture: The main thing to remember about the culture of the city of Sanctum is that it is not one big on formality. The citizens who were born in Sanctum or who have lived there for many years are far more likely to say ‘Hey, how are you?’ than greet a person with formal titles, bowing, or complex social graces. The overall tone of the place is one of informality, where one might easily refer to a friend by a nickname and an employer or other authority by their name.

The language issue is one solved by the communicators that everyone carries, as they include a translation function that works within a certain field of influence around the user. This means that one might actually hear another language shouted from afar, but it would become more understandable as the listener grew closer to the source. Names and titles are usually not translated, but the technology is imperfect, so once in a while something strange might happen. What this means, in practice, is that in general people can understand each other.

Education is widely available, and though not entirely funded by the city, it is often at least partially funded by employers or independent scholarships. Children born in Sanctum usually attend school from toddlerhood to teenage years, and then move onto one of the two Universities located near the edge of the city, one of which is known to have a focus on liberal arts and the other on more technological things.

Unemployment isn’t, by and large, an issue. Neither is poverty, at least on a large scale. The rich natural resources of the world haven’t come anywhere near being tapped out, and there’s still enough being built and created that there’s always something to do, not to mention the booming entertainment industry. This means the only people who can’t find work are literally those who aren’t willing or able to work, and there is some arrangement made for them.

That isn’t to say that a person can’t be homeless, or choose to live on the edges of the City’s society, though any of the locals will tell you that living amongst the monsters isn’t the best idea, and might lead to such side effects as maiming or death.

The mixed bag of technology that exists leads to some pretty interesting things sitting side-by-side, especially in terms of housing. Someone coming from a technologically advanced world might endeavor to build a high-rise condominium, while others choose to live in small individual family homes or one-or-two-level apartment buildings. The businesses are equally diverse, ranging from high tech virtual reality centers to simple libraries and shops. People from any world are likely to be able to find food, clothing, and technology that they are familiar with, as well as things that will boggle the mind with their antiquity or advancement.

Sex: The Sanctum attitudes about sex are quite central to the culture, to an extent. The idea of the settlement as a resort town was something that came about early on, and developed fairly rapidly. And while newcomers to the world since have held many different views on sex, it is those of early arrivals that became the ‘standard’ for the world. And it so happens that those early settlers came from a world with an attitude that sexuality should be freely spoken about, practiced, and enjoyed.

Granted, given the atmosphere of the town itself, it might be said they took the idea a little far. Since the whole experience of being in Sanctum is treated by many as almost a vacation, the idea that sex should be a part of the fun is pretty prevalent. So things like pornography, live sex shows, prostitution, and sexual toys and implements are quite openly available. The only laws about partaking in such things are those that govern consent and personal safety, so newcomers should feel free to indulge... or not!

Whether one choose to engage in any sexual activity or not, it’s pretty easy to find information about everything from kinks to sexual safety to relationship styles. Those with strong attachments to the morals of their own worlds might feel out of place, or have to come to terms with this way of looking at the world.

Because of this way of thinking, while derogatory slurs related to sexuality can certainly be brought with them by newcomers, they’re not in widespread use in the city, and are usually met with everything from blank stares to argument to a refusal to engage in further conversation... and even the occasional violence.