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District: District-17 | The Dandelion Sector | Residential
Image Source: http://www.scifibloggers.com/wp-content/uploads/Slums_2.jpg
Size: Massive | 2000km2
Wealth: Slum
Population Density: Extremely Dense | 67,581/km2 | Roughly 135,162,000 total
Demographics: >99% Human, <1% Other
Surface: Subterranean
Geography: District-17 is, put simply, a haphazardly thrown-together urban jungle of rusted metal and other materials, with winding streets and barely-navigable buildings that would make anyone not native to the area hopelessly lost within minutes. Warm colors predominate, particularly brown and red, though Dandelion can still be considered one of the most colorful of the districts. Water does flow in the Sector, albeit it is ill-advised to bathe in or drink any of the water from the small rivers that flow through the city, as the water is even more polluted than the air, filled with toxic chemicals that make it more sludge than water. Tarps are a common sight; residents are typically too poor to afford much other than thick sheets of cloth for coverage from the artificial sun. The district has a level of verticality not often seen in the Imperial capital due to the numerous catwalks around the Spires and over the rivers; approximately 46% of the homes are above-ground level.
Air Quality: Extremely Poor | Do not be fooled by the fake holographic sky - The air of the Dandelion Sector is polluted with an innumerable amount of different industrial toxins. It is so bad, in fact, that each resident is issued a respirator by the government based on their work, housing, and income level. This is one of the many things that makes District-17 unique, as no other district permits the sale and use of respirators or gas masks (they "promote anarchism", according to the Emperor), whereas in Dandelion, there are few laws of the sort simply out of the necessity of masks in the toxic atmosphere. Due to this, a huge black market for gas masks, respirators, goggles, aftermarket parts, colors, lights, and filters has emerged within the Sector, having become an industry in itself; mask customization is perhaps the only form of individual self-expression that the majority of the population partakes in. Indeed, one not native to the Sector might be surprised how much residents can glean from others based on their pieces; for example, one wearing a heavy, full-face mask with glowing neon lights more than likely works in the industrial sector, where the air is nigh-toxic and very difficult to see through, whereas one who dons a clean, white respirator with tinted goggles is either a peacekeeper or government official.
Points of Interest:
The Spires - Massive towers of rusted metal, rope, and rotting wood erected over centuries stand high above the junkyard below like monstrous serpents, the Spires are a total of 17 gigantic skyscrapers that house nearly a fourth of the population in their hulls, each packed with hundreds upon hundreds of cubic cells, each home to two, sometimes even three families. The towers are connected by huge highways that are home to yet more people. These towers are strictly residential.
The Junkyard - District-17's largest flea market, the Junkyard is a 250km2 area dedicated to the gas mask & respirator trade. Masks of all shapes and sizes are on sale here, from novelty masks to masks specially designed for babies to even masks fitted for dogs. Aftermarket parts, scrap metal, extra filters, neon lights (among the most expensive modifications available), goggles, hoods, extra wires and screws, paints, and even decals are available if one looks in the right places. There are even a number of garages re-purposed as mask "taverns", where people can work on their masks with others and order custom modifications and order food and drink at the same time.
Conform/Revolt: Unknown | Likely Revolt | A common saying in the Dandelion Sector goes: "There are two species in Dandelion - humans and dead humans." The utter lack of racial diversity, outdated medical technology, very low average income, and the glaring lack of the same liberties and commodities enjoyed by richer districts have combined to create a distinct mindset in the Dandelion Sector: Passivity. Residents of the Sector, while not particularly rowdy (well, not quite as rowdy as one would expect from such a population), hold their fair share of indignity towards the Imperials. On top of this, Dandelion's youth is unique amongst those of the Imperial Centre - they are free of the majority of Imperial propaganda, uneducated (there are no schools in the Sector to speak of), and very discontent with their lifestyle. AKA, they lack the same instinct to obey that has been bred in the younger generations of other sectors. This makes Dandelion one of the best places to start a rebellion in, as the vast majority of the population does not view Peacekeepers and government officials with much kindness, and Dandelion would likely be the first to join a rebellion...and the most extreme in its tactics. Those who reside in the Dandelion Sector are the downright most destitute people in Imperial Centre - and by proxy the most uneducated and most likely to resort to mob tactics and open rebellion. Public acts of defiance, while very rare, would be certain to garner a large amount of support from Dandelion, where the poor twiddle their thumbs and bide their time.
Description: District-17, better known as the Dandelion Sector, is one of the most well-known yet unknown of the Districts in Imperial Centre. In all of the other districts, sanctioned propaganda portrays the Sector as an unruly, violent place populated by uncultured, uncivilized brutes, vastly downplaying the actual conditions. To most of Imperial Centre, District-17 is like a low-security prison, a low-income, dangerous place where Peacekeepers must keep on constant watch, yet still maintained with as much care as the other Districts. Such is the kindness of the Emperor, no? Often, Peacekeepers previously assigned to Dandelion will occasionally appear on government-provided news networks and warn the citizens of the dangers of the Sector. As a result, the true disheveled and abandoned state of the Dandelion Sector is ignored by both the uninformed populace and the uncaring government. In fact, travel into District-17 is expressly limited only to government officials and peacekeepers.
The population of District-17 is unique amongst the Imperial Centre. They can be easily identified by their extremely pale skin caused by Vitamin-D deficiency (the government-issued supplements are the only things preventing more severe symptoms), slender hands and feet, black nails caused by soot and dirt in the air, and finally, their most recognizable feature - respirators & gas masks. A side effect of generations of living underground in polluted air using nothing but gas masks from birth, practically every single person native to the Sector will don their mask (usually referred to as a 'piece' or 'system' by its wearer) at all times, regardless of air quality (how they eat and drink with the masks on is a secret known only by themselves). While respirators are by far the most common sight, full masks are by no means rare. Some wear simple respirators, others wear massive full-face masks with multiple moving parts, and others yet wear masks with neon filters and symbols adorning the respirators. Essential to life in the polluted atmosphere of the Sector, masks are a huge part of Dandelion's society - each piece is customized with salvaged and custom-made parts, colors, and filters. Mask customization is immensely popular among Dandelion's youth, and it is not uncommon to see teenagers wearing stylized painted caricature-like masks of popular figures - except the Emperor, of course. Even when not wearing their pieces, Dandelion natives have been known to don other forms of face coverage (typically of the mouth region) such as surgical masks and even diving gear when accessible. Bandannas tied around the mouth, however, are strictly forbidden as they are a "Symbol of Nonconformity" according to the Empire. Colored hair and eyes have also become popular recently among youths in Dandelion; the Empire has yet to set any regulations on its use, but is considering placing bans on the more nonconforming colors such as red. Blue and green, however, remain the most popular colors among teenagers.
Above: A young Dandelion-native female with a highly-customized respirator and colored eyes. Stylized masks and respirators are common amongst the young adult population.
Despite the poor conditions of the Sector, the residents of this district have a number of freedoms that those from other districts do not. Due to the government's neglect of the area, drones and HRDs are very few and far between, most having been reassigned to other sectors of greater importance. Peacekeepers are far more common in Dandelion than in other sectors - it is not uncommon to see 2-3 patrols per block - but at the same time, they are far more lenient than those in other sectors, only resorting to force in dangerous situations (this is partially because much of the Peacekeeper force in District-17 is composed of Dandelion natives due to their knowledge of the area). It is one of the reasons the mask trade has continued uninterrupted. Dandelion natives are actually allowed to leave Dandelion, provided they pay a very large emigration fee (specifically set to an amount most of the population could not dream to pay) and surrender most of their belongings. Most notably, however, due to the explicitly-stated Benevolence of the Emperor, emigrating Dandelion natives may keep their gas masks and are allowed a single government-sanctioned visit to the Sector once per year to visit relatives (though in reality, the only reason emigrants really ever go back for is to customize their masks further). On top of this, they are allowed to bring any dependents (usually the spouse and children) and even pay emigration fees for registered family members.
History: Originally constructed as a mining colony in the early days of the Empire, District-17 is one of the oldest and largest districts in Imperial Centre. Much of the technology is outdated as a result, having been neglected by the government. The Dandelion Sector gained its name after workers discovered a single dandelion growing under a small hole in the ceiling of the huge cavern. No-one knows what happened to it. Over time, as more and more minerals were discovered, the population began to swell, leading the Imperial government to construct a single massive tower to house the mostly poor population. Even then, slums began to pop up, growing larger and larger over decades until they merged to create a huge slum spanning hundreds of square kilometers. But even then, there was not enough room.
At this point, the government had become occupied with the wealthier districts and begun to neglect District-17, using money that could have been used for new spires on the lavish, comfortable towers of Skyhold Legacy. This led to a large number of the population staging strikes and protests, demanding the government to spend more money in District-17. These quickly turned violent as the Imperials quarantined the district and used violent tactics to suppress the unrest, even putting the district under martial law for nearly two decades - the longest time and district in Imperial Centre has been under this type of control.
Eventually, it was decided that the Empire has spent too many resources on suppressing Dandelion, and the martial law was lifted, most of the security removed and sent to other districts. However, this also meant the inhabitants of the Sector were now left to their own devices. They began to build their own spires out of recycled scrap metal and wood, slowly expanding the area until it was too large and populous for the Empire to ignore. So, based on the Emperor's will, Dandelion was slowly but tentatively reintegrated into the Centre. Emigration was allowed, and limited funding was opened for renovation if several areas including the original Spire.
Still, however, most inhabitants of Dandelion remain dirt-poor and uneducated. The Sector has both the lowest average income and highest illiteracy rate of the districts, and is still portrayed unfavorably by Imperial propaganda.
A group of Dandelion miners, one pictured lifting up his mask to smoke. Cigarettes are considered socially acceptable in the Sector.
Due to the recent boom in the popularity of mask customization, emigration has recently skyrocketed, leading the government to cautiously raise emigration fees (of course, the extra money is to be used for renovation of several areas within District-17, says the Emperor). Despite this, it is not uncommon in the larger trade and residential sectors to see multiple gas mask-wearing humans in shops or restaurants or even milling about in the streets on a normal day. Emigrants from the Sector (typically referred to as the slang term 'D-Sec' by natives), unlike other common groups, tend not to form their own communities, instead integrating into larger human communities in other districts. As of a recent Imperial census, the total number of District-17 emigrants (used as an umbrella term to describe all humans who are either registered emigrants from District-17 or have families originating in District-17) in Imperial Centre is approximately 15,738,402 people. This number is expected to nearly double in the coming decade as more and more families take advantage of the growing economy and lenient emigration system.
The masks and respirators worn by the inhabitants of Dandelion have become a popular symbol in the Imperial capital. While the Imperial government portrays the equipment as nothing but a necessity and warns children to walk to the other side of the street when they see one, many youths in the capital secretly admire the pieces, seeing them as mysterious relics that shroud their wearers' faces with mystery. Dandelion youths enjoy a sort of 'cool kids' status in other districts as a result, something they bemusedly accept.
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The masks and respirators worn by the inhabitants of Dandelion have become a popular symbol in the Imperial capital. While the Imperial government portrays the equipment as nothing but a necessity and warns children to walk to the other side of the street when they see one, many youths in the capital secretly admire the pieces, seeing them as mysterious relics that shroud their wearers' faces with mystery. Dandelion youths enjoy a sort of 'cool kids' status in other districts as a result, something they bemusedly accept.
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