story below by Bonnie Bias:
The newest organization in Celestial City, "VIPers", or "Very Important Person Entertainment & Recreation Society", already has controversy swirling around its existence. Positioning themselves as the new house of the elites, they have been using their political clout to push for benefits to their 1% members in real estate, business, and government.
The trickle down affect in just the short time they have been operating, experts warn, have led to heavy gentrification, vast exploitation of the poor, small business collapse under pressures from big money making machines, and new legislation for cutting taxes on the ultra-rich written by lobbyist financed by the club.
Outrage has been sparked, and protests have been scheduled for the ribbon cutting of the new house, that sits on a sight that many had initially expected would be shared by a spa and a charity organization for children who lost their parents in the meteors. The community was in shock when it was announced the construction of the VIPers House would go ahead on this land instead, sparking further outrage, when the VIPers hired aliens to do the construction, firing the unionised construction crews that were slated to work on the charity's building.
VIPers added insult to injury when they convinced alien leaders that fish was a currency, signing an air-tight contract before aliens could discover that fish are not a typical form of payment. A lawsuit is pending, but it is expected that dispute of the fishy contract will not hold water in the court of law.
There is a ribbon cutting scheduled for tomorrow (Saturday) at 4:30 at the new VIPer House. It is expected that protesters will turn out in mass for the event. A representative from VIPers has said that "Any intrusion on VIPers property will result in swift and immediate action by our security forces." Although it was not said, the VIPers representative implied that nothing is out of the question for their security when dealing with rowdy protesters, saying, "It is within our lawful right to PUT DOWN anyone who attempts to damage our property or enter without permission, and we will do so without hesitation. This city can no longer be allowed to fester at the hands of lawless hooligans, whether they be bohemian beatniks, meddling meta-humans, or angry aliens. Be assured our security personal has no qualms about beating civility into anyone that thinks they are above the property laws of our fair city." A spokes woman for the protesters, responded, saying, "Ashley Phoenix [one of VIPers so called 'A-Listers'] is a thief that wouldn't know fair if she was eating cotton candy and riding a Ferris wheel."
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The opening of the V.I.P. Entertainment and Recreation house was indeed picketed by Alien Supporters. The protesters graffitied the building and threatened the owners and occupants of the entertainment group for high society for their use and abuse of the Ailen-based construction crew who finished their building.
The altercation turned violent after the payment, rancid fish, was thrown across the picket line and multiple metahumans joined into the fray.
Minor damage was reported to the building, and less than a dozen injuries were reported related to the event. Local hero Timber managed to ferry most of the bystanders to safety at the nearby remodeled mall. An addition the alien crews also aided with.
viewtopic.php?f=12&t=1703
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While the construction crews work tirelessly on the new buildings and sites all around the city, questions are being raised to the practices of the foremen. Unconfirmed reports of workers being greviously injured on site and simply getting up to continue working have some worried. But while construction continues few question the results.
One forman had the following to say; "I asks da gais if they're good for another hour. Dey says day ares and I ain'ts one t'question it. If d'gais say dey's good, I believes 'em."
(transliteration provided by Dialect Dictate)
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Minor Government duties have been resuming lately with the finished capitol offices and finished courthouse. While the police force has been devastated by a lack of manpower the department appears to be stabilizing thanks to multiple private donations to the rebuilding of not only the courthouse, but the police department and jail.
New weapons and restraint systems have been put into place as well which has finally given the police back their bite.
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Several bodies were found in construction sites, humans and animals alike found under the destroyed rubble of an apartment building that had been struck by a meteor. Investigations were launched to determine the true cause of death. Preliminary findings are attributing it to accidental death caused by the meteors' fall.
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Created Creatures Labs announced a new line of pig breeds to be sent to the test farms. The pigs are bread to find pockets of radiation and alert to them so that new radiation nullifying techniques can be used on larger pockets of radiation. The terraforming pigs only number twenty-five so far, but if the project proves successful, Created Creatures will be releasing the pig breed for open breeding by the terraforming teams and farms outside of the city.
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Celestial City Weekly - Issue 10
Moderator: Asrya