- Oct 21, 2020
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the change in sexual mores, the social mutation you speak of and the softening of taboos goes back to the early days of Zeta, when population was very small in numbers. Zeta wasn't always a city.... let's just say there are parts of the backstory of the city itself that are yet to be explored and presented.
Things will make a little more sense then, if I do things right.
That said, even now, incest is not, in fact, encouraged specifically in any way... it's just not a big deal if it should happen. We are describing a highly sexualised society where there are people who will bang anything that moves, family or not, and people who are less so inclined, but on the whole, there is a freedom about the topic that just allows for all manner of configurations.
That aside, families are still families, by blood or otherwise, and there's no reason to do away with them altogether. If there's enough resources to go around, a couple should be able to provide for and keep their children. human relationships and affections, and biological imperatives, should still count for something.
anyway, that's me rambling...
Is there still going to be a fair bit of handwaving necessary? Yes.. but then, the Zones themselves aren't really grounded on solid science either, and they are integral to the setting, so that's just something we have to live with. We are also not going to try and define every little aspect of how society evolved to where it's at, both to leave a little mystery and because there's only a fraction of the players that would actually appreciate the effort... and finally, because the more in detail you go, the more you end up having to explain, and the more you risk contradicting yourself.
In short, we want to keep certain things a little open ended.
That said, we are not really that far separated in what we're saying... on the whole, the rules are strict and there are systems in place to distribute the population where needed. It's already there..and I believe I wrote as much in the library entry for the Temple and the Priestesses and the Children of Zeta. (though I don't have it in front of me right now, so...)
Then there's individual cases that may follow those rules or not... specifically, the MC is part of the 1% in Zeta.. he has much more leeway to do whatever he wants because he's rich, has status, is connected and has individual strength to back it up.
Even in a dystopia, we are now several centuries after the moment in which society was rebooted, people's relationships and levels of resources are on a sliding scale... and it does make sense for certain dynamics to reintroduce themselves, over time, where possible.
Things will make a little more sense then, if I do things right.
That said, even now, incest is not, in fact, encouraged specifically in any way... it's just not a big deal if it should happen. We are describing a highly sexualised society where there are people who will bang anything that moves, family or not, and people who are less so inclined, but on the whole, there is a freedom about the topic that just allows for all manner of configurations.
That aside, families are still families, by blood or otherwise, and there's no reason to do away with them altogether. If there's enough resources to go around, a couple should be able to provide for and keep their children. human relationships and affections, and biological imperatives, should still count for something.
anyway, that's me rambling...
Is there still going to be a fair bit of handwaving necessary? Yes.. but then, the Zones themselves aren't really grounded on solid science either, and they are integral to the setting, so that's just something we have to live with. We are also not going to try and define every little aspect of how society evolved to where it's at, both to leave a little mystery and because there's only a fraction of the players that would actually appreciate the effort... and finally, because the more in detail you go, the more you end up having to explain, and the more you risk contradicting yourself.
In short, we want to keep certain things a little open ended.
That said, we are not really that far separated in what we're saying... on the whole, the rules are strict and there are systems in place to distribute the population where needed. It's already there..and I believe I wrote as much in the library entry for the Temple and the Priestesses and the Children of Zeta. (though I don't have it in front of me right now, so...)
Then there's individual cases that may follow those rules or not... specifically, the MC is part of the 1% in Zeta.. he has much more leeway to do whatever he wants because he's rich, has status, is connected and has individual strength to back it up.
Even in a dystopia, we are now several centuries after the moment in which society was rebooted, people's relationships and levels of resources are on a sliding scale... and it does make sense for certain dynamics to reintroduce themselves, over time, where possible.