Daily Life & Culture (Part I)
While Liberty rejects the superficiality and self-indulgence of Erubescan society, it would be amiss to say that the nation does not have a unique culture of its own. Libertians emphasize the importance of putting the greater good before one’s own desires, and everything about their culture, from food to recreation, centers on this. They believe that a society will grow best when its citizens are healthy, happy, and care for one another, and strive to make this a reality.
Liberty surveillance is an assumed part of day-to-day life, and all government-owned spaces may be observed. The people generally trust the government to pass by them so long as they are not engaged in illegal activities, and feel safer knowing that there is almost always someone looking out for their best interest.
There are two varieties of housing in Liberty, though both are managed by the Infrastructure Sector: Civilian and On-Base Housing. Both are socialized, meaning that they are free to citizens. One may submit a request for their housing assignment preference up to six months before graduation from school, but may be placed elsewhere if their preferred assignment is incompatible with their job.
On-Base housing is available to those who, as the name states, have a need to live on base. Departments eligible for on-base housing include defense, espionage, interrogation, training, infrastructure, and loyalty affirmation, as well as trainees of these departments. Examples of personnel who would be able to live on base include janitors, trainers, security personal, or others who work odd or extreme hours, or are simply more efficient to keep in on-base housing.
On-Base Housing is available to single individuals and couples only. Trainees sleep in barracks-style housing, with ten to twelve trainees per space. There are shared restrooms and showers.
Agents tend to have single pod-style rooms mainly occupied by a desk and chair, a small shelf, an in-wall data port, and a device charging pad. The desk and chair collapse into a twin bed, which can be pulled from the wall to occupy most of the space. They do not easily accommodate more than one person, but two may fit.
Double, or “couples” rooms feature a wider bed, and an additional data port.
Single and double rooms are arranged into Base Housing Units (BHU) of 20-30 people. Each BHU has a shared bathroom and shower area, food preparation area, and lounge available. All are stocked with community utensils and supplies. BHUs tend to be tight-knit communities, due to the amount of time spent together.
“Civilian Housing” refers to any off-base housing assignment, and is available to all citizens of Liberty. All Civilian Housing is arranged into tall, apartment-type units, though the units are usually spread to different areas of the city for both ease of access, and to disperse potential damages in the event of attack. Most buildings are organized into floors for “singles,” couples, and families. Like base housing, most of these are stocked with the necessary supplies and furniture for day-to-day living.
Singles usually live toward the top floors, and are organized in a manner very similar to BHUs: Each room is a pod, and each hallway on the floor has shared spaces for common purposes. The genetics department usually has a contributing say in placements within Singles housing, as many citizens end up marrying those that they meet in these tight-knit communities.
Couples with no children live toward the middle floors, and these rooms are slightly more spacious than those on the Singles floor. Beds here are wider than their counterparts on base, and have their own small shower room. While all other sleeping quarters are designed purely for functionality, these rooms feature a few additional comforts so that couples may have privacy in preparation for their future roles as parents.
Family housing units are on the lowest floors and are, as the name states, for families. Families are placed into rooms based upon the number of children deemed preferable for them to have, but may be moved into larger accommodations if they exceed this number. Family units feature a joint kitchen and living area space, containing a table, couch, basic cooking supplies, and several data-ports. There is one large couples-style room for the parents, and one additional child room for every child. Child rooms are similar to the singles pods, but they feature convertible bed/cribs. There is one restroom and shower space allotted per six family members.
The elderly typically move in with one of their children, once their child has a vacant space in their family home. Those with no children may opt to live in a family space with others in their age group.
All housing areas are also equipped with in-vent microbe filtration, and all citizens are required to be fully vaccinated against contagious disease at all times.
While Liberty housing may seem sparse, it is important to note that it is viewed as a space primarily intended for sleeping and cleaning oneself. Libertians believe that societies are built not on individuals, but on the bonds between them, and that these bonds flourish best when nurtured in public spaces and activities.
Council members and others in exceptionally high authority live in specialized secure housing in other parts of the city, or on base. Not much is known about this housing, save that it is often hidden in “secret” floors (Such as the basements of buildings that ought not have them.) This is strictly for the security and safety of high government officials, in the interest of a stable society.
Liberty promotes a two-parent home to ensure that every child has access to adequate attention and social nourishment. The sexual orientation of the couple is irrelevant to this factor, and gay marriages do occur. Single parents will not be given children to adopt, and unwanted children rarely happen. Girls are fitted with hormone regulation implants upon starting menses, both to prevent menstrual symptoms and to avoid unwanted pregnancies.
If an unplanned pregnancy does occur, and the couple is deemed a genetically favorable pairing, they are encouraged* to marry one another, or find alternative partners for provide a stable environment for the child. If they are not genetically compatible, they are encouraged* (strongly) to abort.
Couples who wish to form a family must first submit a request to be married. This includes a genetic test to compare gifts as well as scan for potential genetic deficiencies in future offspring. If they are deemed compatible, the marriage is permitted and they are given a score of 2-5 for genetic favorability. Couples rated with a two are suggested to have two children, and so on.
If a couple is deemed genetically unfavorable or non-applicable (homosexual or infertile,) their marriage is granted under specific conditions. These conditions are (1) that both partners agree to contribute their breeding capabilities to the Genetics Department if requested, (2) both agree to potentially carry and/or raise the children resulting from such contributions, and (3), (in the case of fertile, heterosexual couples,) they also agree to continue using hormonal implants to prevent genetically unfavorable offspring.
This system, however, has been refined over the past fifty years or so. Various past stages included compulsory mate assignments and outright marriage refusals for incompatible couples. As this was deemed overall detrimental to public wellbeing, the system was changed over time to become the efficient model that it is today.
Those not wishing to seek a traditional marriage may use the old partner assignment protocol. This is done by submitting approval to the genetics department. Within a week, the individual will be matched with a compatible partner via a computerized algorithm.
Any adult who is still single and childless over the age of 25 will be entered into this system by default, with exceptions for those on accelerated leadership tracks and active duty military.
Pairings are handled by the Genetics Department, with several joint advisors from Infrastructure.
*Encouragements usually impact housing and/or the EGA of the couple
-Child Protective Services and Domestic ViolenceLiberty has a strict policy against domestic violence and child abuse, and it is strictly enforced. Any citizen who notices bruises, unusual shyness, yelling, or other signs of abuse may file an anonymous report. Children may also report abuse in school, or to any other adult. Additionally, signs of abuse caught by monitoring equipment or during random sweeps are also flagged.
Suspicious activities are addressed by Family Protection Agents (members of the Infrastructure department, usually with gifts of empathy, telepathy, or psychometry) within the same day, and either deemed abuse or a mis-flag. Mis-flags are permitted to return to their daily activities, and instances ruled as abuse are handled swiftly.
The abuser is promptly sent for re-education, and the family is adjusted into a new homing situation. If one parent was at fault, the remaining parent and children may remain in the family space. If both were, the space is forfeited and the child is re-homed within a three day period.
Because of this, instances of physical abuse are rare. Emotional manipulation and abuse are more difficult to qualify or diagnose, but an approximate 67% of cases are able to be detected via random empath sweeps.
-Genetics Department Projects
One of Liberty Genetics’ projects is known as the Secondary Gift Modification Program, or SGM for short. In these trials, the genes of a test subject’s gifts are tweaked to both offer insight into how the Gifted Gene works and hopefully, to create new and unique gifts that are in short supply. The eventual goal of the program is to be able to completely synthesize any gift imaginable using the subject’s gene sequence. These tests, however, have a high fatality rate and an even higher margin for the end result being useless. As a result, these experiments are run solely on clones, for ethical reasons. Any Libertian can volunteer their DNA for a series of clones to be created.
This Program promises that the gene donor will not be expected to ever interact with any clones, not even the successful experiments.
In select and specific cases, individuals who display favorable genomes as children may have cell samples taken for Population Preservation Insurance (PPI). This is a cloning/DNA storage project conducted by the Genetics Sector to ensure that exceptional individuals live on in the faction. Causes for turning a sample into a clone would include the unexpected death of the original host. Children resulting from the PPI project are usually given to homosexual or infertile couples to raise, and often not told of their clone status.
Agriculture in Liberty is centered around making the most food, on the least land, with the fewest resources, and with the highest nutritional value. To this end, Liberty agriculture includes no production of meat, dairy, or other animal products. Livestock takes up more land than any type of vegetable crop, and needs to be fed plant crops that could otherwise be used to feed the human populace. To this end, it was deemed an inefficient production method and done away with at the nation’s first city founding.
In place of traditional agriculture, Liberty implements vertical and hyrdroponic growing methods. Crops are cultivated in massive, multi-story buildings that collect rainwater and distribute it down the length of the building through various hydraulic systems. Plants are arranged to optimally distribute nutrients and water for the maximum crop yield, and any one Libertian City is fully food self-sufficient based upon this system.
In case of emergency, specific foodstuffs with long shelf lives are stored in an alternate location to the food production plant, and other plants in neighboring cities are capable of increasing yield to supplement other parts of nation in case of a disaster.
In the interest of efficiently meeting the nutritional needs of all citizens, the basis of the Libertian diet is a powdered drink known simply as Nutritional Supplement Formula One, or NSF-1. NSF-1 is a complete meal* replacement, consisting of 400 calories, as well as 20% of the daily required intake of vitamins and minerals per adult serving. It is a combination of various dehydrated plants and minerals, though the main ingredients are a genetically enhanced variety of algae, and soy. It is consumed by mixing into a bottle or glass with water and then drinking. The taste is bland but smooth, similar to a thick, vaguely sweet milk or protein shake. There are some varieties of the NSF, ranging from numbers 1-5, catering to soldiers, the elderly, children, and those with other dietary needs.
It is important to note that not all food in Liberty comes in a small shake pouch, but rather most of it. Other foods, ranked as Enrichment Goods,** are also available for purchase. Foods that rank as Enrichment Goods include fresh fruits and vegetables, coffee, bread, sweets, and other foods not essential to meet nutritional needs. There are a few restaurants and coffee shops around the cities, but all offer relatively similar faire, as it is produced by the state.
*Liberty recommends the consumption of five meals a day, for optimal metabolic health
**See Economic System-> Enrichment Goods Allowance