Post by Mockingbird on Aug 10, 2021 13:26:45 GMT
Bludhaven, New Jersey
It's now been 15 years since the Chemo Disaster in Bludhaven and much of the city remains a cordoned off zone inaccessible to those without a permit. After the toxic explosion, many of the city's more fortunate residents were relocated and received immediate medical attention for the mutations they started to develop. For a while, the Governor of New Jersey had a program aimed at rehousing those whose families weren't wealthy enough to pay to get them out but after later budget cuts this program was scrapped. Envirotech, the NPO tasked with Bludhaven's cleanup, have a significant lack of resources and don't have access to the technology needed to cure the resident's mutations and can't guarantee that releasing them wouldn't be a threat to the environment. Currently, an estimated 8,345 people still live within the warded city limits. For 4 weeks, I lived among them. First, I had to go through a 3-day medical evaluation before I was given my permit and HAZMAT suit needed to enter the zone.
Shaun Blundell, one of the many mutated citizens remaining in Bludhaven
Most of the remaining population is concentrated in the former Gangland territory of The Narrows. If I'd entered this part of the city before the chemical fallout, I likely wouldn't have returned with my wallet - however despite my perhaps conceited perceptions of what the residents would be like, they turned out to be some of the most hospitable people I've ever met. I expected a neighborhood of gangs and drug wars to become a lawless anarchic wasteland, where only the fittest survived, but what I found was to quite the contrary. Perhaps it was a kinship born out of their shared struggle, but a very collective spirit rang true throughout the toxic streets. Everybody took what they needed - no more, no less - and there was a feeling that, no matter who you were, somebody had your back. It was a celebration of humanity if I'd ever seen one.
Remington 'Remi' Graves (Left) and Eric Velasquez (Right)
I spent much of my time in The Narrows with Remi and Eric (pictured above). 15 years ago, the two would have been bitter rivals being from different streets and different gangs, but after the Chemo explosion none of that mattered. After a decade and a half, the two are thick as thieves. Living with the afflicted citizens, I learned a lot about how they lived. What I was most astounded to learn was their diet. The mutations have taken such a hold over their body, their digestive system can't process food as it would normally. Some were even killed in the first few weeks after Envirotech researchers offered them food. Their stomachs can only process food from within the compound. Remi told me this wasn't an issue for the first couple of weeks, as a large alligator population in the sewers gave them a lot to feast on. But since they've run out of 'gator, they've since had to eat chemical sludge they find in the toxic rivers. "Food is food," Eric remarked with a chuckle as I watched him eat in horror. Remi commented that it "Tastes like potato salad, really." Unfortunately, the sludge isn't especially nutritious and is mostly only beneficial as it satiates their hunger.
Some of the researchers have noted that eating more of the toxic waste might be exacerbating their mutations. To try and solve this issue, the researchers have recently been taking residents in every Tuesday to administer doses of vitamins, as well as some formulas they think may help decrease the rate of mutation. As of late, with more attention drawn to the issue thanks to various humanitarian campaign groups, Envirotech has received more donations. With recent strides in the demutation project, things are beginning to look up. One such stride was the successful carriage of a newborn baby within the zone. This confirmed that the administrations had helped in making the residents more healthy, as they had managed to make them fertile again. While they have been ignored for more than a decade, a future beyond the warded wasteland seems reachable for the abandoned of Bludhaven.
Written by Drake Stoetzel
Shaun Blundell, one of the many mutated citizens remaining in Bludhaven
Most of the remaining population is concentrated in the former Gangland territory of The Narrows. If I'd entered this part of the city before the chemical fallout, I likely wouldn't have returned with my wallet - however despite my perhaps conceited perceptions of what the residents would be like, they turned out to be some of the most hospitable people I've ever met. I expected a neighborhood of gangs and drug wars to become a lawless anarchic wasteland, where only the fittest survived, but what I found was to quite the contrary. Perhaps it was a kinship born out of their shared struggle, but a very collective spirit rang true throughout the toxic streets. Everybody took what they needed - no more, no less - and there was a feeling that, no matter who you were, somebody had your back. It was a celebration of humanity if I'd ever seen one.
Remington 'Remi' Graves (Left) and Eric Velasquez (Right)
I spent much of my time in The Narrows with Remi and Eric (pictured above). 15 years ago, the two would have been bitter rivals being from different streets and different gangs, but after the Chemo explosion none of that mattered. After a decade and a half, the two are thick as thieves. Living with the afflicted citizens, I learned a lot about how they lived. What I was most astounded to learn was their diet. The mutations have taken such a hold over their body, their digestive system can't process food as it would normally. Some were even killed in the first few weeks after Envirotech researchers offered them food. Their stomachs can only process food from within the compound. Remi told me this wasn't an issue for the first couple of weeks, as a large alligator population in the sewers gave them a lot to feast on. But since they've run out of 'gator, they've since had to eat chemical sludge they find in the toxic rivers. "Food is food," Eric remarked with a chuckle as I watched him eat in horror. Remi commented that it "Tastes like potato salad, really." Unfortunately, the sludge isn't especially nutritious and is mostly only beneficial as it satiates their hunger.
Some of the researchers have noted that eating more of the toxic waste might be exacerbating their mutations. To try and solve this issue, the researchers have recently been taking residents in every Tuesday to administer doses of vitamins, as well as some formulas they think may help decrease the rate of mutation. As of late, with more attention drawn to the issue thanks to various humanitarian campaign groups, Envirotech has received more donations. With recent strides in the demutation project, things are beginning to look up. One such stride was the successful carriage of a newborn baby within the zone. This confirmed that the administrations had helped in making the residents more healthy, as they had managed to make them fertile again. While they have been ignored for more than a decade, a future beyond the warded wasteland seems reachable for the abandoned of Bludhaven.
Written by Drake Stoetzel
