One of the things that I do appreciate about these World Files is that I’m able to add or explain certain concepts, ideas, and so on within my books that were interesting enough that I wanted to talk about, but not pivotal enough for the story for me to add them. What’s really important as a writer is to remember that people’s time is limited and I don’t want to add unnecessary fluff to a story even if it’s really intriguing. However, the beauty of the World Files is that I’m able to explore those rabbit trails here, and if you would like to explore more as well, I want you to have that opportunity. Think of these as the footnotes of each world that’s created.
Specifically today, I want to discuss the Stratos government system. For those of you who haven’t finished the series, I’ll make sure to keep this as spoiler-free as possible from any major plot points. Without further ado, let’s dive right into it!
Stratos is the last surviving city on Earth after the last Great War destroyed all life. In order to keep the survivors secure, Stratos was created as an enclosed city with a protective dome over top that makes the sky green. I’ll probably have another article that dives deeper into how the city physically functions. Nevertheless, to keep order, the founders of Stratos had to create a governmental system that is able to keep order but has the resemblance of freedom. As a result, Stratos is split up into three major sections: the Capital, the Slums, and Tartarus.
The Capital, as you could expect, is full of rich elites, businessmen, scientists, and inventors. They live in complete luxury with little worries or problems. However, to their credit, the Capital is the primary source of innovation for the city of Stratos. As a result, technology typically flows down over the years — more on how that happens later. The Capital acts as the head of the hierarchy, and the city of Stratos is run by an elected Council with the Chairman acting as a president. While originally the Council was designed to be a place where all sections of the city could have a seat at the table, it quickly became overrun with people strictly from the Capital, giving them an oligopoly on the city.
Now you might be wondering, how do they keep order? While the Council handles money, ordinances, and structure, the force of that law is felt by the Stratos Police Department, a.k.a. the SPD. This is not your standard police department, in two ways. One is that they don’t care about keeping peace among the citizens — they care about enforcing the power of the Council. As long as it doesn’t affect Capital affairs, they’ll just as easily have a cigarette while an old lady is being robbed at gunpoint. Another reason why they’re different is that they are not trained as officers but more like soldiers or mercenaries. Shooting first and asking questions later is the norm for them. It is through the SPD that the deadliest assassin in Stratos was born: Azure’s Blade. Azure’s Blade is one of three captains, alongside Oren and Damari — empowered soldiers able to perform superhuman feats, which allows the Capital to maintain its luxury with an iron fist whenever necessary.
Despite all of the money, power, and technology that the Capital has, humanity is still resilient, and the Slums are ever so resistant to their power. The Slums, as you can imagine, are made up of the poor and lower middle class of Stratos. However, their society still operates rather orderly. There are schools, shops, stores, and even their own form of law enforcement. In fact, it’s quite common that the Slums and the Capital rarely interact. The reason is that, many years ago, before the events of the first book, the Capital built the Barricade: an imposing wall that separates the two sectors. There are guards and turrets that will kill on sight anybody trying to force their way through the Barricade. It wasn’t long until the people in the Slums had to adapt. While the Capital has the Council, the Slums have TOSEC: the shadow criminal organization. Though they are criminals, they do their best to maintain order when the Capital refuses to. Regardless, they are so secretive from the Capital that even saying their organization’s name in the Slums will likely end with a bullet through your skull. Though they are just as strict as the SPD, the citizens of the Slums have some semblance of order. One thing that the Slums still lack severely is resources and high-end education. Resources are difficult to come by — medicine, tools, parts, and so on — and it’s even more difficult to find scientists, programmers, and doctors with the know-how to utilize them properly. This is what makes Aebram Saxton, the protagonist, such a rare commodity within the Slums. He’s one of the only doctors in the entire city, serving many clients and even Capital clients on rare occasions. The reason he’s rare is that most of the people within the city have both human and robotic parts, which means a doctor has to be an expert not only in medicine but in robotics as well. Luckily, Aebram is able to meet both of those qualifications.
However, there’s still a problem for people like Aebram: how do they get the tools they need? It’s pointless to know how to do a heart or lung transplant if you can’t get an organ. That’s where Tartarus comes in: the dark underbelly of the entire city. Literally underground, living among the sewers, Tartarus is the black market of Stratos that has access to both sides of the city. The Capital turns a blind eye to it because they’re able to receive drugs, workers, and other illegal goods through these channels from the Slums. In return, the Slums are able to receive extra food, medicine, supplies, high-ticket items, and so on through Tartarus. Because Tartarus is the only bridge connecting the Capital to the Slums, even the best of moral people have to resort to using its channels to receive even the most basic of needs.
Enclosing all of this in is none other than the Wall: the external barrier protecting its citizens… and sealing everyone inside. However, it’s the tensions both inside and outside of the Wall that start to make Stratos — a city that functioned for over 150 years — fall apart. If you want to find out how it all falls apart, pick up the first book of the Stratos Saga series, When the Sky Was Blue.
Godspeed,
A Weak Fool