The MegaCities, or Megatropolises, of the world of Agniton would fall into ‘Dystopian Urban Sci-fi’. The largest inspiration for them are the mega cities of the world of Judge Dredd, though the megatropolises of Agniton are far more ordered and controlled, as well as smaller (although still huge by today’s standards), with The Agency taking an unhealthy interest in people’s lives, controlling the media they consume, the food that they eat, and the their places of work.
Control can be described as the primary word associated with the metropolises, and with that control comes the lack of free will, freedom of movement, and complete surveillance of the populous.
Within each of the Megatropolises there will be common areas they all share. Even though each city is individually managed at a local level, when they were constructed they would have had some kind of overall blueprint to go on.
Some of the housing will be better than others, and the very best may be likened to modern-day suburbia, with open spaces, parks, and even some running water features and greenery.
Generally though, most people will live in giant tower blocks, and be ferried to and from their places of work on a daily basis.
These transport hubs will be huge stations, often multi story structures, that connect various areas of the city. Between them will run thousands of miles of overground and underground metro track, upon which run thousands of trains that move people from one hub to the next.
It’s unlikely that residents would be charged directly for using this service, though their movements upon it would be tracked. If a resident differs from their usual route, then it may be questioned, or they could even be blocked from a route entirely, since the whole purpose of the system is to get people to their work and back again.
Where there isn’t a hard barrier - a wall - its likely that some small areas of districts may be abandoned by the city at large, and so will be technically off grid and not officially part of the city any longer. These abandoned sectors will be as lawless as the rest of the beyond, though will also be monitored closely by The Agency because of their proximity to the city itself.
I realise this graphic is awful
Water
One of the obvious and most important resources of any settlement is water. Without it, humans and other life simply cannot exist.
As the megatropolises grew, the need for water increased to such a degree that rivers and nearby lakes tried up. This made water and incredibly rare and valuable resource, and its acquisition differed city to city.
Cities situated by or near the ocean developed desalination plants, which converted the sea’s waters into water which was passable for consumption. Usually, such water was mixed with synthetically created flavoring to make it more palatable, as the process left it with a metallic, tinny taste. Still, cities which had access to this resource had a huge advantage over those which did not.
There is little water in the atmosphere left, and so rainfall is not seen as a viable way to collect water. Instead, two alternatives are used.
The first is boring for it within the earth. Vast amounts of water lies under the cracked earth of Agniton, and extracting it is a costly and dangerous process. These boring processes will be dotted both within the cities that use the process as well as around The Beyond around it, from where it is pumped to the city in vast pipelines to be processed and used. This process is a huge demand on energy and resource, but does extract the purest water on Agniton. It’s for this reason that this water is often only reserved for the elite of society or sold and trade with other cities. Very little of it actually reaches the general population, and that which does will do so only through unofficial means, such as black markets, which carry hefty penalties if those which are involved in such deals are caught.
The other, more widely used, method is Recycling. “What goes in must come out!”. Every megatropolis uses this method, in which waste from not only people, but various industries, is processed within huge, unpleasant waste refinery facilities. The water produced by these facilities is used by the vast amount of the residents of Agniton.
Agriculture
The last of the traditional farms dyed out around a the same time people retreated to the Megatropolises; as the world became barren and life could no longer be sustained there. While there may be a few scraps of land here and there where people may raise a few withered crops, it is not seen as a viable food source any longer.
As such, traditional farm animals; sheep, oxen, chicken and the like, were almost totally wiped out.
The vast majority of food is created within the cities via recycling. Towering, vertical glass farms that hold the last of traditional crops such as corn and greens, though despite their size they hav no hope of sustaining more than <1% of the population of the cities. Instead, such delicacies as fresh fruit and vegetables are reserved only for the elite, or those willing to trade a high price on the black market.
Clay, Sand, Stone Coal, and Gravel
Extracting these rather mundane substances from the earth is a gargantuan project for The Agency, and the construction of the mega cities has led to massive scars on the landscape as huge mines were created to extract these.
Even now, while expansion is not a priority, the continual running of these mines and quarries are vital to the maintenance of the cities and they continue to be operated by The Agency. These areas are a prime location to send residents who commit lesser crimes within the city.
Gemstones, Gold and other Precious Metals and Stones
Much like Sand and Stone, mining for these materials continues throughout the land. Their desirability is not only for a display of wealth in the form of jewelry ,and more for the materials needed to construct circuit boards to upgrade, maintain and expand the infrastructure and technology within the cities.
A note on jewels and the expression of wealth - such things tend to be less prevalent within very day society. Usually, residents of a certain employment class will be grouped together, close to their place of productivity. Because of this, they are all ‘in the same boat’, and the idea that one may show off something that another doesn’t have in this kind of society does not seem to enter the psyche of those living there.
That being said, the higher classes - those that run the city and are within the higher ranking echelons of the Agency hierarchy - will likely have a degree of flamboyance as they mingle with one another, wearing baubles which would be far out of the range, or even consideration, of the masses.
Metal Ore
Metal is immensely important for the upkeep and production of tech and construction within the megatropolises. Vast mines are kept in production in the vicinity of all of the cities – those with more ore close to them tend to be generally wealthier than those with fewer – as well as massive smelting pits are refineries in and around the city to produce whatever alloys. Working in these facilities is dangerous and demanding, with high temperatures, huge blocks of metal and rock, and poisonous fumes counted amongst the various hazards.
Salt
Salt has long been used as a preservatives, and the vast amounts of it that are produced as a bi-product of the water treatment processes means that it is utilised in this way. It is also used to flavour food, or at least overshadow the acidic, near synthetic taste that some of the foodstuffs produced for the populous have.
Timber
With the vast woodlands which once blanketed the lands long since gone, wooden products have become something of a rarity and, therefore, highly sought after. Although a small amount of timber can be produced in specialised farms within the cities themselves, such industries are primarily concerned with the production of foodstuffs – fruits and vegetables – rather than production materials. Thus, because plastic and metal are the primary materials for construction and household items, wooden produce is a highly sought-after commodity.
Keeping the vast populations of Agniton fed and watered is one of the huge challenges facing The Agency. With most of the farmland turned to barren, dry wasteland, people are forced to turn to other alternatives.
Plant-based Foods
While there are vertical farms capable of producing certain crops akin to those grown centuries ago, such facilities are unable to produce the volume that’s required to meet any kind of demand required. Therefore, they supply a niche market and are seen as highly sought after delicacies.
Mushroom factories are another kind of indoor food making facility. These huge buildings contain many floors filled with mushrooms that grow in an artificial light, and need relatively little water or nutritious soil. These mushrooms form the basis of many of the foodstuffs produced by The Agency for its population.
Meat and Animal Products
With the degradation of traditional farmland, factory farming became the standard way of doing things. Because of the huge demand for food, this industry has grown to gargantuan size, with vast, multi-story structures churning out many tons of milk, eggs, and meat each hour.
Animals are fed a mixture of synthetic chemical enhancements, recycled waste, and the remains of parts of deceased animals not fit for human consumption. Obviously, this is not healthy or natural, and the lifespan of animals in these factory farms is many times shorter than what would be considered ‘natural’.
Once they have stopped producing their milk or eggs, they are slaughtered. Their meat goes to food processing units, and what is left is fed back to other animals.
The waste products are also put to use. Either it is recycled and fed back to the animals, or it is sent to the mushroom farms, or it is taken to be used in one of the energy plantations for its bi-product of natural gasses.
Animal safety and welfare is practically non-existant. While some rare individuals may have a degree of sympathy, the images of cattle grazing in fields have long since vanished. Therefore its rarely thought of, and many people simply do not know such facilities exist.
Prime meat steaks are still a thing, and somewhat obviously incredibly sought after. As rare a delicacy as fresh vegetables, since most meat is used to create other foodstuffs.
Fishing used to be an abundant source of food, but due to over-exploitation of the oceans, there are few fish reserves remaining. Some cities do maintain fish farms to supplement their food resources.
Synthetics and Recycling
Despite the other methods of food production, it is not enough to keep up with demand. Therefore purely chemical-based foodstuffs, along with the extraction of nutrients of waste. This is normally combined with the mushrooms and other foods produced to create a product called “Dough”.
Dough is obviously not the same substance that’s known to make bread and cookies. It is a thick, paste-like substance created from the combination of mushroom, parts of animals, recycled products and synthetic ‘bulk’ and flavourings. While there are many different flavours, all dough is practically the same thing, and does go some way to
meet the dietary requirements of the average resident.
There are also a myriad of dietary supplements which come in the form of pills and powders which are synthetically produced to make up for the shortfalls in nutrition.
Within the cities, there are two (official) tiers of people.
Residents - These are the bulk of the populous – 90% or so. They carry out the vast majority of the roles required within the cities to keep them working. They are the crafters, builders, growers and workers.
Citizens – The other category are citizens. These are people who are involved in enforcing the Agencies rules, be it by being within the security forces, the military, or within management and organisation. The media and surveillance areas are heavily staffed by citizens.
While no one in the cities especially ‘does without’, Citizens generally have a better standard of living, and occupy nicer areas of the cities.
Due to the vast distances between the various Megatropolises, along with the barren and hostile lands these distances traverse, traditional modes of transport such as horseback and automobile are no longer practical. The needs of refueling and rest, the requirement for the provisions and logistics of those factors are not possible in The Beyond, or at least not with the frequency required.
Thusly, a network of elevated electromagnetic rail systems have been constructed. On these rails, trains move along them at up to 400km/hour. These trains are the primary transport link between the cities, and their primary purpose is for carrying goods from one city to another. There are thousands of these trains running concurrently at at one time, moving along the tracks to move the trade goods from one place to the next.
The tracks themselves are made up of four ‘lanes’, two going in each direction. There are two because of the varying speed of the trains, but the second lane also acts as a contingency to the first.
Because the tracks are massively important to the continual running of each city, the continued operation of the tracks must be continuous. Therefore, a practical army of surveyors, engineers, and guards are utilised to protect and maintain the tracks.
Along each track, every few hundred KM, there will be a small hub where engineers and guards are stationed, often living there for weeks at a time. These small hubs are likely the most isolated areas that are operated by The Agency.
The only other reliable mode of transport are planes and helicopters, but these are utilised more for unusual cargos - such as people - or off-the-books movements that the authorities want to keep away from the public eye.
It is very unusual for the general population to move from one city to another. Generally, the usual resident of a city will rarely see more than their commute to and from work. Tourism does not exist, and the very existence of other cities, while not a strict secret, is not broadcast or their presence encouraged to be circulated. However, at times of great need it has been known for people to be taken from one city to another. This may happen if some kind of disaster results in the significant losses of personnel which were specialized in a certain area. If this were to occur, then personnel would be moved from another city. This would usually be temporary, but sometimes people could be sent to another city and never return.
Within the cities, trams are used to ferry people to and from the various districts. People using these services would have specific routes available to them, depending on where they live and where they work. Other routes would be blocked to them - their embedded microchip, when scanned, would not allow them past barriers and onto certain trains.
Personal transport vehicles, such as cars, are not utilized by the general population. Instead, vehicles such as cars and motorbikes are used by the security services to get around the city quickly.
Due to the huge populations they govern, and the need to fulfill basic needs just as food, power, drinking water, and sanitation, the Agency need to keep a strict hold on things. Because of this they have gradually come to control the vast majority of people’s lives; and have done this over decades, so that the changes were practically imperceptible. Any protests were quickly put down in the name of ‘the greater good’.
In current Agniton, residents born into the magetropolises are microchipped at birth. These chips contain a person’s name an their identification number, and will go on to then store their address, area of employment and their place of work, how many credits they have (the currency within the city) as well as other information such as movement tracking, purchase history and eating habits.
Each city is filled with millions of sensors, which are reading the chips as people come and go. It is with these chips that movement is restricted - someone who works in farming would not be able to go onto a transport tram to the manufacturing area, as the system would not allow them access.
Education
Education is a very important asset and tool of the Agency - it is the most efficient way to indoctrinate people in line with ‘productive thinking’.
Education starts from the age of four and basic education ends at fourteen. During basic education, residents are taught to read and write (all residents must be able to read instructive signs and fill out any forms required), and how to behave and act within the city. They are taught that the cities are the peak of civilisation, and that all their needs are catered for so long as everyone does their part. Briefly, they will hear about outside of the cities, and the wastelands beyond. They’ll be told that things have always been this way, and the cities are the best place to be.
When they are fourteen, residents take an aptitude test that sets their path for the rest of their lives. If they show little promise, then they are sent to one of the more manual, unskilled sectors to work, and that is where they will work for, more than likely, the rest of their lives.
Those who show some ability in certain areas - anything from mathematics to physical prowess to metal working - will the further educated in those areas until such a time that they are able to fulfill a role capably.
Law and Order
Crime rates within the city are very low, since the populous is closely monitored and educated. What law enforcement there is tends to be deployed either around the outer edges of the city, where a physical presence may well be needed to repel off-grid gangs brave, desperate or stupid enough to try to steal from a city, or within the digital monitoring of individuals to maintain that they are behaving as expected. Because there are millions of residents, the majority of law enforcement is digital, and so are the punishments for petty misnomers which may occur.
For example, of an individual is late for work, then they will be reduced a few credits. More serious crimes result in a greater punishment, such as the removal of one or more services from their home. The harshest of punishments, for crimes such as assault or murder, would be punished by hard labour or even death. For these, physical law enforcement would come to remove the individual from their dwelling. Such events tend to be done quite publicly, to show the consequence of failing to follow the rules.
Economy
As previously mentioned, physical currency no longer exists. A person’s credits are assigned to them automatically via their embedded chip once they have completed a day’s work, or performed some other useful function.
The credits are then deducted to pay for a person’s dwelling, their food and sanitation and other amenities, and their transport to and from work. The amount of credits a person receives is finely calculated so that what they earn is what they should be expected to spend, leaving little behind (and so little to pay fines with, promoting further good behavior).
Credits are, in essence, purely arbitrary, and serve no real function. The need for personal belongings no longer exists, because the agency provide everything. If a piece of furniture were to become damaged, for example, then this is reported to the local housing organization, and it is replaced (again, at the cost of credits) with a like-for-like copy.
Family Structure
Generally, family groups are ‘encouraged’ to find spouses within their own social cluster, so that movement within the cities remains as local as possible.
When a child is born, the mother is given leave to care for the infant for the first six months of its life. During this time, whatever credits the mother is on is changed (often reduced) to that required to care for the infant. After this time, the child is placed in a crece for the day, which each tower block contains, and the mother returns to work. The crece is, of course, run by The Agency and begins the child’s indoctrination from a young age.
To combat population growth, families are limited to one child per couple, and the “Two Parents, One Child” mantra was widely used across the cities so that any deviation became a social taboo. If a couple had more than one child, then that child would be taken away by The Agency (often to use in one of its special research or military programs). This led to couples trying to hide second pregnancies/children from the authorities, and this policy is a driving force for people to leave the cities and head off-grid (though doing so with 2 small children was extremely risky in itself).
Family values are driven home by The Agencies, with couples first settling down together, living with one another, and then having a child. When a couple moved in together, they were known as being Bonded. After a year, they could (and usually did) get Married. After this, they should have a child.
If children were born to couples who did not live together, then they would be fined. Children married to Bonded couples did not incur a fine, but was seen as taboo in society.
Newer couples searching for a place to live did so through the Housing Institution, who would find them a dwelling in a convenient position from where they worked.
The reason The Agency introduced the Bonding period is to test the viability of the relationship before a child was added. Ideally, the Agency wants a couple to stay together and have one child. When that child then meets a potential spouse, it will then live with that person for a year to ensure compatibility before trying to have a child.
Couples who tried to split after being married would be fined, as this is a cost to The Agency. Couples splitting in such a way are rare because of the taboo and penalties incurred. Such individuals were not allowed to have further children, if they had had any. Children in such circumstances usually went to the parent with the roll of higher productivity, with the other spouse unlikely to see their offspring ever again.
Religion
All religions of the type known in Iiosia are banned The Agency. The old gods of Iiosia have long been consigned to history, and their existence largely eradicated from the world, especially within the Megatropolises.
The reason for this is three fold.
Firstly, the possibility that there is anything higher than The Agency; that it would have something to answer to; was not a thought process deemed conducive to maintaining law and order.
Secondly, having various gods and deities would inevitably leed to division between the separate groups who worshiped them.
Thirdly, the dark gods were actual entities (rather than the innate celestial bodies of the light gods). The Agency are aware of this - they have researched the past and know of many of the happenings of Iiosia - and the threat of demons somehow re-entering the world is of prime concern to The Agency. Thus, removing the ‘gods’ that may catalyze this is seen as a sensible choice.
That all said, the agency is aware that spirituality and the questions about what happens after death is a part of human nature. Therefore, the Agency manifested a theory called Khi, which is a spiritual state of mind. Khi is highest when a person sleeps well, eats their meals, and works hard. When a person’s Khi is high, they and their family will be safer and have better things happen to them (which inevitably happens, since those who don’t go to work have their standard of living reduced).
When a person dies, they will become part of the Khi, and keeping Khi at a high level will please them, and keep them with you.
Festivals
There are two grand festivals each year. One is for the founding of each city, and the other is the “Grand Celebration”.
The grand celebration is a global holiday, in which every citizen is reminded of their place in the grand scheme of things. Often the grand celebration only refers to its own city, but in others, where trade is important, other cities are also referenced. In it, the celebration broadcasts programs on the city as a whole, how life has improved since years gone by. It will remind people of the wasteland beyond its walls. It will tell people how good people have it.
The foundings are of a similar ilk, but during these residents are expected to give something back to the city as thanks for its protection. Such a tithe may be to offer to work for less credits for a while, to pledge to zero sick days, or some other offering to ensure that the cities continue to operate and protect the people living there.
Foundings occur on different dates between cities, and are often not actually when the city was founded (as such a thing would be difficult to define anyway.
Medicine and Healthcare
The Agency has a very high understanding of the physiology of the human body, and as such their understanding and treatment of ailments are decades beyond what we see here on earth. While much of this research was catalyzed by military interests, it has filtered down to the general populace. It is regarded that a healthy workforce is a productive one, and so it is in the Agencies own interests to keep their population healthy and working for as long as possible. Regular screening for disease is taken place, as with the populations packed so tightly together, outbreaks of contagious pathogens could render entire sectors of the cities highly unproductive, and this in turn could affect other parts of the cities.
Residents who are ill are generally treated very promptly. Even cases of common colds (for which there is still no cure) result in an individual being sent home and provided with the appropriate substances to get them back to work as soon as possible.
More serious injuries, perhaps those that occur as the result of accidents, can lead to hospitalization wherein they are cared for by the skilled doctors there. However, such treatment isn’t wholly benevolent. Patients have a target date to recover by, and failing to do so results in penalties to the credits they receive.
As residents age, it may be that they’re no longer able to carry out the tasks they did in their youth, or at least not effectively enough. Generally, when this occurs they will be moved to another form of employment - something less physically taxing and, likely, even more mind-numbingly dull.
There comes a point of course where the body ages to such a degree that a person simply becomes too frail and old to do any form of worthwhile task, and they become completely unproductive.
When this occurs they have totally fulfilled their obligations to the Agency, their family, and society at whole. Their reward is to be sent to the city of Utapol, where all of their needs are tended. Utapol is a giant retirement home, where the many people who lived and worked in the cities all their lives can go and enjoy sunshine, fresh air, and green spaces. Sadly, this does mean they need to say goodbye to their families, but as it is expected families do get a chance to say goodbye, knowing that their loved ones will see out their days in peace and relaxation.
The reality of course is that Utapol, this afterlife-for-the-living, does not exist. One of the most closely guarded secrets is that older, injured and frail residents departing for Utapol are all killed, usually turned into fertilizer for animals. If word of this broke out, it would threaten the foundation of the civilisation, and so only the most trusted, indoctrinated individuals work on Utapol and are connected to it.
The world of Agniton has a much smaller military presence than here on earth. As the cities are united under the Agency, there is no real existential threat that needs to be kept at bay. Indeed the primary reason for having a military is to both help control their own population, and to maintain the separation with the wastelands beyond the cities.
As there are vast distances to cross within the cities, helicopters and hoverbikes are the favoured method to move personnel around as they can easily circumvent the blocks of towering buildings and crowded streets below.
A range of heavier tracked vehicles are used to patrol the perimeter of the cities and along the train lines which connect them, and troopers are equipped with body armour, automatic weapons, and various other gear such as night vision visors.
The greatest difference between Earth and Agniton’s military might is that there are no WMDs and very few long range missiles, as there simply was never a need to produce any once the Agency came to prominence. As such, when High Allyon was ‘removed’, the authorities would have preferred a button to press to accomplish such a task, but none was available. As such, they had to strike at the various transport, governmental, and utility hubs with relatively short range, and inaccurate, artillery batteries from only a few miles from the city itself.
Since then, the Agency has been looking into further expanding its capabilities for wide spread destruction.
The VERI Project
It is worth mentioning here the VERI project, which combines the military and medical aspects of the Agency’s knowledge. Its aim was to create a breed of super-soldier, bred to be the ultimate tool of the Agency in reconnaissance, information gathering, and enforcement. As such, the Versatile Enforcement and Reconnaissance was formed to create these individuals. Generally, it was a success, with the soldiers being biologically and genetically enhanced to be quicker and stronger than regular humans. Indoctrinated from birth, they had unwavering loyalty to the Agency and their commanding officer. Though few in number, they were instrumental in suppressing uprisings and scouting the forests close to Arx Cerex.
The reason they are mentioned is also because one of their number, VERI-AX, went rogue and had all manor of adventures across the world of Agniton, and was the very reason for the setting's inception.
