TMW - Origins | John Shepard #1
Overview ~
John Shepard's sketchy past begins in the back alleys of some of New York's most poverty stricken and slum filled areas, in a place that's almost been long abandoned by authorities. The world's large population now proves difficult to allocate land for development and agriculture, and even with the wealth of a growing number of extra-solar colonies and a decade after the first-contact war with the Turians and exposing Humanity to the wider galactic community, the gap between the rich and poor widen daily and those without the money to live well are stuck at the bottom of the world's wealth classes.
Fox
Thanks a lot Fox, always great to see you reading TMW 
MilitantRadical
Thanks for the title 
#1SithLord
Thanks
Ace❤
Thank youu
emperordaniel
Thanks a lot Daniel!
SimCoug
Thank you
____________________________________________________________________________
Note: I decided to make some 'origin' episodes that depict where each major character from the Mass Effect series is from, and recalling events earlier in their lives. We'll start with Shepard, who's from the slums of a large mega-metropolis on Earth: Brooklyn, New York City in 2168 CE.
1 of Undecided Origin Episodes: John Shepard
_________________________________________________________________________
LOCATION INFORMATION:
New York City, New York State, United North American States. It's 2168 CE, in a time before the skycar completely caught on and where people slowly began to trash the street car because it was more convenient to fly to your destination. And in a world class city that has now exploded in population, millions more are now living in the city and in areas surrounding the main Manhattan area. Yet even though people say that the Earth's economy is getting better, skyrocketing due to galactic exposure, the wealth doesn't seem to get around to those who need it the most. The disparities between the rich and poor on the human homeworld continues to widen on a daily basis. Slums all across the planet grow in numbers, and now, patches of New York's once more pristine skyline is littering with the slums and dwellings of the low income and the homeless.
And with no parents to keep him from the streets, John has no way but the highway. The streets are his home, and the Reds are his "family".
Lady Liberty the second stands guard, ever present along the Hudson. With the original destroyed by separatist groups from the U.S., Canada and Mexico, a second was rebuilt by Presidential decree several decades ago.
Meanwhile, in the city, what was once the General Motors Center in the 21st century was instead bought off later by the rapidly expanding corporation Eldfell-Ashland Energy to base one of their corporate offices in New York City. A supra-galactic corporation, EAE supplies and extracts He-3 and Hydrogen from mainly gas giant worlds where the elements are abundant. Being the first to demonstrate the extraction of Helium-3, they're business boomed from then onwards and became a well known Human-based Helium-3 mining corporation on a galactic scale.
The Eldfell-Ashland corporation seems to favor this structure. Yet on the other side of the 'wall', a child John has no family, none a part of the corporate world, or employed anywhere to give him what he needs and because he has no family, nor anyone who can take care of him at 14 years of age, he has no choice but to fend for himself on the streets. But not in Manhattan. He lives in deep in poverty across the river, in a shanty home, barely with a roof over his head.
Right across the iconic Brooklyn Bridge which has stood idle for centuries to bring people across the Hudson.
This is Brooklyn in 2168 CE. It's getting crowded, but it could be far worse. The city has new plans for the area but development is impeded by squatting residents. On the corner, a massive Holo-screen advertising the escape to 'Colony Life' illustrates another life people could be living. A life off-world. A life away from Earth. As an adventurous colonist. 'It's not that bad'.
But of course, John remained on Earth as he lived amongst the poorest of the poor and the most devious of criminals. A part of the Reds, a mostly racist human gang which targeted alien races that were slowly making their mark on the Earth. But with little else but to target the numerous Asari and Turians walking around, they also raided stores and stole for a living. There was no future in this gang for John.
And neither was there a future for John in the slums of New York. But was there hope for him in this tired city. It didn't seem like it. But there apparently was. But he'd get to that little ray of hope eventually. But it was still a long road ahead.
A long road.
To be continued...
______________________________________________
1 of Undecided
-
11
15 Comments
Recommended Comments
Sign In or register to comment...
To comment in reply, you must be a community member
Sign In
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In NowCreate an Account
Sign up to join our friendly community. It's easy!
Register a New Account