Chapter 1: Hunger for Strawberries

[Hilja Kukkanen/Sasha Pisarev]

This is the first thread...where everyone can start posting for the main story!

[Hilja Kukkanen/Sasha Pisarev]

Okay, I am going to open things up for posting now...

After another long day at work at the orphanage, Hilja decided to take a walk in the forest. This was always a dangerous idea, seeing as the forests were privately owned. However, most parts of the forest weren't monitored, since that would be a waste of resources. So, she took the bus out of town and wandered over some pastures into a fenced in forest. She climbed under the barb wire fence mindful not to tear her dress. She was all alone and felt at peace. There were few places within Helsinki where she felt at ease.

It was nice to be here, alone, outside, and not working.

She paused for a moment to take in the peace of the forest. Then ..something small and red caught her eye.

She walked toward the small red thing and saw that it was a wild strawberry plant!

"Strawberries are my favorite!!"

Hilja takes a few of the strawberries but fails to notice the worn out sign that says Priv.. rty All Mart

[Li Violette]

Somewhere else. Somewhere far away from silly things like strawberries or over worked mediocre people, I am giving a speech. There is the large crowd of people happy to hear me say anything. Maybe it is more entertaining than anything else they could be doing this morning. Better than radio or television..yes, it must be.

So for this gray, ugly mass I give another speech, saying things I do not believe in. But, what does it matter? Haven't we advanced beyond politics and economics?

"Today 100 of the remaining hospitals in Europe have volunteered to close their doors. It is only a matter of time before there will be none at all. Then we will be rid of the weakness of our past! To think that long ago people prolonged the lives of the weak! It seems like a crime against the greatness of humanity to cater to the diseased and disabled! So, as Father Manala says, let them die. Blessed are the strong, for they shall rule this world!"

[Peter "Levitas" Barak]

Peter listened to the speech, though he didn't look at Ms. Violette. He was focused on the crew around her. He wasn't here to protect her of course, she had her own people for that, he was here to keep an eye on this crew. Nobody reall thought anything was going to go strangely, of course, these where mostly loyalists or properly cowed citizens. They weren't going to revolt, not in public.

Sure some of them would go home and quietly mutter under their breath but if they weren't waving torches and pitchforks than Peter wasn't interested in them. His job, his only job in this part of the world, was to make sure that the big red, white, and blue store didn't come to any harm. Allmart, the biggest retail company in the world.

Violette's speech echos through the crowd, reactions varying. Peter ignores the words for the most part, keeping his attention on people's reactions. Not alot of interesting things there, mostly undo happiness, as if listening to the woman's words made the world made so much more sense than it normally did.

Peter glanced up at Li before returning his attention to the crowd. He really wished there were still cigarettes.

[Dinari Dollar]

Dinari Dollar is also at the Li Violette speech. He spends a lot of time in Europe attending meetings for the World Economic Council and doing business. Ideally, he would spend more time in the United States where he lives. In any event, he boredly half listens to the speech and looks around the crowds for anything interesting...

He spots the familiar face of a business contractor who helped him find cheap construction workers for his new All Mart Super Center in Helsinki. He meanders over to him and starts talking about his new Super Center, some land he bought in Germany and Russia for future stores, and of course, his favorite topic: the reconstruction of America.

"You see, in America, things are going to be different. I am going to buy it all up, section by section, and rebuild it as I go. We aren't going to have any of these hooded freaks running things. We'll have All Marts everywhere! We'll have fast food! We'll have amusement parks!"

[Jack Kruschev]

Anthony couldn't believe what he saw. He experiment had succeeded. At least, it had for a while. The specimen had died before I could even walk, but the last few days had been groundbreaking for Genetech.

Anthony had created the perfect creature. It did not die from natural aging, regenerated quickly, and was intelligent. Anthony had created it all by himself. Too bad he had to put the poor thing to death, it would've made an excellent product. Just, too dangerous.

Anthony sat down and began to record his findings.

[Grzegor Kulhan]

Grzegor could not believe the words this woman had just spoken. She talked about Hospitals volunteering to close their doors.The Very thought made Grzegor sick to his stomach, he actually had to leave the room for a few second to calm down. Why would any Hospital volunteer to close their doors? What madman would gladly let thousands die for no reason?

Grzegor of course didn't voice the thoughts running through his head, that would be insane, he would've been captured and detained possibly even killed for his beliefs. Grzegor sighed and stood up looking for something to snack on.

[Jack Kruschev]

Anthony got up and began to leave the room. He heard a crash and turned around to find the creature he had just killed was not dead, like he thought it was. He sprinted to a nearby company telephone and called up to the main floor.
“Please send down several armed men, I have a problem!” He yelled into the phone before dropping it.
Anthony slammed the laboratory door closed before the creature could escape.
Anthony picked back up the phone, re-dialed, and said, “Please send the armed men down, and fill my lab with mustard gas.”

[Alexei Nacharade]

Alexei sat in a restaurant, cutting into a rather poorly cooked steak. He grimaced slightly as he bit into the low quality meat. It wasn't great, but what can you do?

He took a drink of the bitter vodka, grimacing once more at the poor quality. He waved down a nearby waiter, who stopped and regarded Alexei respectfully.

Alexei smiled politely to the waiter and said,"Excuse me, do you have any strawberries?" The waiter shook his head apologetically and left. Alexei sighed.

He looked over to a nearby television set and watched Li Violette's speech.

"Another day, another fight for glory. How could we possibly thank you, O father Manala?" Nacharade murmured sarcastically under his breathe, as quietly as he could manage. He'd not dare say it to loudly.

He groaned inwardly as he took another bite of steak.

[Toolah "Tuvi" Renee]

Sitting behind Dinari, Tuvi only appears to be paying attention. If anyone had been watching her, they would see that behind her dark shades, her eyes are focused on her PDA. Pretending to be entralled with The Speaker wasn't something she wanted to fake today so she kept her usual blank face on.

Only time her eyes shift from her PDA is when Dinari moves and starts talking to a former business associate. She shakes her head and focuses back on lining up Dinari's appointments, thinking of what clothes of his she needs to send to dry cleaning and what he wants for dinner tonight.

Please, not another American Cheeseburger and Apple pie night...

[Jack Kruschev]

Anthony watched as his laboratory filled with the yellow. God-forsaken gas. He then called up and thanked the woman he had spoken with earlier. The gas should kill the beast, but Anthony picked up a nearby pistol just in case. He waited for the gas the clear.

[Grzegor Kulhan]

After several minutes of searching Grzegor began to think he'd never find anything edible in this room. He wondered if any place nearby had food and he quickly left to see.

He came upon a small restaurant and quickly acquired a table, he ordered a Sandwhich "Only God knows what this sandwhich was composed of" Thought Grzegor to himself.

He smiled and waved at a seemingly unkempt man with blonde hair. Grzegor bade the waiter thank you as his sand which arrived. He smiled as he bit in.

[Alexei Nacharade]

Alexei regards a man who waves at him. Raising his shot glass to him briefly before tossing back what he only assumes as some sort of cheap imitation vodka, likely nonalcoholic, before saying,

"I reccomend the steak. I hear they beat the cow viciously for it's debt and then make it pay by overcooking it mercilessly and serving it to us."

[Dinari Dollar]

"Hey woman!" Dinari shouted suddenly at Tuvi. He walked away from his business associate and wandered right over to his assistant. He decided that he wasn't going to call Tuvi by name, since he never liked her name much anyway. "All this listening is making me hungry. Do you think any of the little cafe's around here serve Cheeseburgers and Apple Pie?" Dinari asks, even though it is fairly certain thing that they don't.

"And a milk shake." He adds.

[Grzegor Kulhan]

Grzegor laughs "Makes sense, how else would they punish a starving nation but with unedible food?"

Grzegor walks over to the mans table and sits down, he holds out his hand and introduces himself.

"They call me Grzegor. May I have the honor of knowing your name?"