Little Berlin

08. Little Berlin

Welcome!

Your ride to Little Berlin is silent. Not through the use of silencers, either; the groups coming into the sector are generally too afraid to speak. When you arrive in the iron, windowless station, the only light comes from guards with flashlights as they barge onto the shuttle and pat down every rider. Everyone is checked for weapons, metal, or other kinds of contraband. If something like that is found, they’ll be escorted off and into the building in the center of the sector. Usually, they’re too scared to scream. Once the shuttle is declared clear, the various guards with guide you out the concealed door of the station into Little Berlin.

The sector itself is incredibly uniform. Rule of thumb: if something here isn’t a shade of gray, it’s a shade of green. The streets are lightened by thin films of dust, which are patterned by the several tanks, trucks, or large transport vehicles driving over them. The closest thing here to decor is a tire track. The streets have been designed to be easily navigated; a series of hooks and pulleys also allows them to have multiple layers. You may see some streets which slide into the ground, disappearing into a chasm of darkness. With the press of a button within the vehicle, hooks jet forward and attach to the higher road, lifting the people with ease to their destination. You rarely see non-tanks go into the lower levels. All the vehicles traveling through are some kind of green color. The streets are gray. The buildings are a mix of both colors, be it in a camouflage pattern or otherwise. They’re surrounded by medium-height barbed-wire fences, with thick gates that you need a reason to access. If you’re nice, perhaps a soft guard will let you tour these restricted areas.

The people here, no matter what age, all march in uniform lines along the dirty sidewalks. They all wear standard gray jumpsuits with the insignia of the Future Foundation on the left breast pocket. Their hair is neat, but not necessarily nice or extravagant. They give off a general air of doing not quite the bare minimum, but what is truly necessary. If you try to speak with them, they will greet you without a glance and continue moving. You may see some step out of line occasionally; these tend to be the children of generals, who fear punishment much less than anyone else in the sector. They’re willing to talk to whoever is willing to listen! They may explain their daily chores in their regimens, or what they do in their allotted free time. One thing is taboo, though: they will never discuss previous riots or future military plans. If you attempt to, they may call a general to have you removed.

Now, to the elephant in the room: not the literal one, but the giant building in the center. It looks like a giant green box, but it is where the problematic of the sector, be they visitors or citizens, go. They do not come back. The building is windowless and unsettling as armed guards march along the perimeter of it...

Welcome to Sector VIII: Little Berlin. Lead, follow, or get out of the way.