The Land of Desera

[nedalezz]

EPISODE ONE: CHAPTER FOUR

"Vince! Sandra! Break-time is over! Get in here now!"



The two children looked up at Ray with sad eyes and let out long sighs, no doubt trying to get him to sympathize. He smiled, signaled towards their mother, and raised his eyebrows slightly.



"Your mother wants you, and you have to hit the books! Don't worry, I'll still be here when you're done."



   Joelle Driver, Tiberius' wife, had begun teaching the kids in their little village every day a few weeks back, educating them on the history of Haven and how it came to be, as well as important skills such as reading and writing. These days, it was a rare to find anyone with actual formal writing skills, and reading was almost a lost art. With fourteen children around, Joelle had made up her mind that this was going to be a fresh start in every aspect, and as much as the little ones moaned and groaned, the parents all agreed it would be a great idea to get them some basic education.


   Given her husband's wizardry with technology, Tiberius managed to pull up some e-books on his last trip to Boulder, using the primitive but working satellite feed just outside the town to link up with the stored archives of Haven, probably stored on a database on one of the thousands of satellites orbiting around the planet. They had records of Haven's history and happenings, as well as bits and parts of Earth's history, and with no centralized protection system against such hacking in place (presumably all were destroyed during the Great War), Tiberius had a field day, gathering all types of manufacturing recipes, technological information, and even farming methods for his good friend Ray. He was careful not to bring any attention to himself, however, only accessing the satellite feed connector at night, and only for the nights he was in town so he wouldn't start getting questioned for lingering. It was during one of those hacking sessions that Tiberius got the recipe on how to build his own solar energy tower, something that would stimulate thousands more EP (Energy Particles) than their beat-up generator. Automatic irrigation systems would be possible, powering motors would be easy...the possibilities would be endless with more EP at his disposal. Tiberius had already started on his project, but it would take a bit of time since he was the only one with the technical expertise to be able to build such a tower.


   Tiberius frequented Boulder because he could not go back to Frontier, and Bartlett and Vick Homestead would be shot on sight as traitors if they ever returned to that town. Instead, they did the opposite - they would head to Frontier, where no one knew who they were, to handle their trade and business. They had managed to capture the small herd of cattle (cows to be exact, whose origins on the planet, like horses, can be traced back to the original colonists who had brought the species with them), and were raising them. They were taking diary from them, and as soon as they were of a large enough herd to be able to handle losing a few of their healthier additions without stunting the growth of the herd, they were going to start selling the meat, too. Throw in a little fishing on the weekend, and the Homesteads were turning a nice, tidy profit every time they went into town.


   As for Ray, he had his apple farm, which was coming along quite well, thanks to a little help from Tiberius. He had taught him the secrets of manual irrigation, which really blossomed the trees. Before Tiberius had told him what to do, a lot of his trees would simply wither away despite a good amount of rain falling. That was a sad part of life on Haven - no matter how much it rained, the ground was simply incapable of supporting life, it seemed. The space missiles had obliterated the planet, and not even rain and sun could bring plants to grow back, at least in most places.


   While Tiberius would head to Boulder, and the Homesteads to Frontier, Ray would stay behind with the women and children as protection. He had no interest in going to either town - in fact, he was more than happy avoiding them all together. Once in a while, he would give a stock of fresh apples to either traveler, and they would come back having sold them all for a bit of currency, of which he would just place in his dresser and save up. It was a quiet sort of life; exactly the type of life he longed for.




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   Ray moaned - this was the third time this month the generator had died out and the power had gone off. Lucky it was still afternoon time and the sun was still out, otherwise he wouldn't have been able to see anything, let alone get to his front door. He stepped and looked towards the generator, waiting for Tiberius to get there from his home - this time, however, Tiberius had beaten him to the punch. He looked up at Ray, and signaled for Ray to come towards him.



Ray (Walking towards Tiberius): What went wrong this time? Overloaded again?
Tiberius (Smiling): Nope, I disconnected it.
R (Confused): Now why in the world would ya want to do that? Repair work? Didn't you just repair it two days ago?
T (Fidgeting with the generator): Cowboy, this here generator is never goin' to have to be turned on again. No more loud noises, no more break downs, no more expenses tryin' to keep this piece of junk running.
R (Silent for a few seconds, then smiles): You got your solar tower thing to work, didn't you?
T (Laughs): Well, we're about to find out! Come with me, ol' friend.



   Tiberius had been working on what he called an EP Solar Tower for the better part of the last three months, slowly constructing it from absolutely nothing. Given how much power Tiberius claimed it could give out, Ray expected it to be larger, much larger than what was currently in front of him. Still, he knew better than to question Tiberius on these sort of things. He had claimed to Ray that once his tower began working at full capacity, it could give out enough EP to power Frontier and Boulder combined, and more importantly, open up a lot of possibilities in terms of development for the little village. He had told him about something called automatic irrigation, some kind of method where water would be forced to flow through a small underground network powered by EP, directly to his apple farm. Ray didn't mind the idea of expanding his farm, or even growing a new one, maybe banana or wheat. He didn't have the man power, but with that automatic irrigation, he would not need it.


   Ray stood idly by Tiberius as he fidgeted, pulled, and plugged at what seemed like the central motherboard of the tower, down near its base. Finally, Tiberius got up and turned towards Ray.



T: You ready, cowboy?
R (Joking): How do I get ready? Is there some kind of ritual?
T (Noting to Ray that he had sensed his sarcasm): You'll be thankin' me soon enough.



   Tiberius pushed the lever protruding from the side of the tower up, and Ray turned and looked towards his house, then smiled. His light was on.

Note: I didnt realize until after I posted the 2nd picture that the gravel trial was missing. Dont know what caused that! Apologies, and I'll be careful next time

[cubby420]

Very odd about the trail. Breathtaking nonetheless! 

[canyonjumper]

lol, that's funny

Awesome update, and great about the generator! Stunning pics, very beautiful!

                       Your friend,
                                      Jordan

[rooker1]

Another fantastic chapter my friend!

Robin 

[Battlecat]

Another great read!  Very odd that trail disappeared but it doesn't take away from beauty of the scene!

[Tomas Neto]

Wow... the chapter four is great, and the pictures are awesome, my friend!!!  Fantastic update!!!

[penguin007]

Awesome update looks like absolute heaven to live there

Will

[eldaldo]

Another Great Chapter!  I am loving this Story!  Can't wait to see how they use this generator . . .

[nedalezz]

Episode One: Chapter Five

   The sun was beating down so intensely the world around had a yellowish hue, scorching the soil and making it nearly unbearable to be outside during day hours. It did not make taking care of the farm easy for Ray, and the sweat was falling off his forehead so fast he could not keep them out of his eyes, so on top of all the heat, he had a stinging sensation to deal with. Still, it was rewarding, especially now that he had begun developing his new wheat farm, thanks to the new automatic irrigation system Tiberius helped set up for him. It was not complete, but it was getting there.


   He looked up, squinting his eyes in the distance, trying to make out what the murmuring sound he had just heard was. It was the Homestead men, Bartlett and Vick, who had been gone on a trip to Frontier. He put down his utensils and headed towards the edge of the farm, waiting for them to come back with the currency from his apple load. It was a good set up - every time they headed to town, he would give them as many apples as he could gather, and they would sell it as a favor to the man that had founded this little piece of heaven. As they approached, Ray greeted them with a wave, of which they replied back in the same form. They were using a new motor they had acquired from their last trip to Frontier, and Tiberius had done one heck of a job juicing it up. As they reached Ray, they slowed down, and Vick jumped out of the car - instead of currency, however, he had the batch of apples that Ray had given him.





Ray (Disappointed): No buyers this time? Guess people sick of apples.

Vick (Shaking his head): It's not that, Ray. People want the apples, but Benstrike turned us back.

R (Surprised and agitated): What?

Bartlett: Yep. He confronted us just as we stepped into town.

R: You didn't pay the tax?

B: We've been payin' his tax and then some, but he said that we were corruptin' his townfolk or somethin', talking about how if we show our faces in Frontier again, he'll make sure they'll have bullet holes in them.

R (Confused): Wait, so he knows who you guys are? That you live here with us?

V: Na, he just accused of spoilin' the people of Frontier with our fresh meat, fish, and fruit, and said he didn't want us trading in his town again, and then went on to threaten us for about 5 minutes.

R (Dejected): Guess he doesn't want the people to have their eyes opened to the possibilities this world has to offer.

B (Looking at Vick, then smiles at Ray): Well, we don't have to worry about that. On our way out of town, a man rode up to us, and said they were interested in buyin' from us no matter where we were. So...we told them they can start comin' down here.

R (Shocked): You did WHAT?!

V: Hold on now, cowboy. People are hearin' about us and this set up we got goin' here regardless. Hell, that's how we got here! And if Boulder is anything like Frontier, I can only presume that most of that place knows about us there, too.

R (In disbelief, blinded by anger): You have no right! I accepted you here as GUESTS, and now you're treatin' this land like you own it! I swear on my unborn children...I can't even think right now. GET OUT OF MY FACE!

B (Hesitant): Ray, listen to me. There is no way we can support ourselves or our families without trade and currency, you know that. We might have the necessities, but that's all we have. And we're not gonna sit by and let you be a busboy for our products, tryin' to sell them in Boulder.

V: He's right, Ray. Whether you like it or not, word about this place is out. And all this travelin' up and down to Frontier is not only costly, it is dangerous. The Barrens are filled with outlaws, you know that.

R (Grabs Vick by the neck): I'm only going to say this once. Leave.



------------------------------------------------------------------------



The sound that rang out, followed by another, louder version, was unmistakable. Fearing the worst, Tiberius grabbed his Hardon shotgun and ran out, instructing his wife Joelle to hide herself and the kids. Expecting to find a pool of blood with someone lying in the middle of it, his heart was beating at what seemed like a thousand per minute. He opened the door with his weapon pointed to whatever was going to be in front of him, but he there was nothing but the warm sun beating down upon the green grass. He looked towards Ray Black's house to his left, but there was also nothing. Just when he thought that it was starting to look like a false alarm, he heard shouting coming from Ray's farm, behind his home.

Running as quick as he could, Tiberius found Ray with his gun pointed to the air and the two Homestead brothers, Bartlett and Vick, cowering in front him, pleading for him to calm down.





Tiberius (panting): Ray! What the hell are you doing!?

Ray (Angry): I told you I didn't want these fools here!

Tiberius: What happened? And for God's sake, put your gun down!

Ray (Aims his gun towards the brothers): They've just come in from Frontier, where they have conveniently told everyone there about our settlement here.

Tiberius (Confused): What?....Why would you do that?

Bartlett Homestead (Struck by fear): It's not like that! Tiberius, you have a family, and you know you have to provide at any cost. We were kicked out of Frontier by Benstrike, so we figured instead of travellin' to sell our goods, people could just start comin' here. It'll save us the trouble and we could potentially be makin' alot more currency.

Tiberius (Shaking his head and frowning): That was a very stupid thing you've done, Bartlett. (Looks at Ray.) Put your gun down, cowboy. (Looks back Bartlett.) I don't know what to tell you, Homestead. We accepted you and your family here because you said you had no hope anywhere else, and now you've gone ahead and ruined it for all of us.

Ray (Pointing at Vick and Bartlett): Get out of here. Leave. When whoever it is comes lookin' for you, we'll send them away.

Tiberius: Hold on, cowboy. Let's think about this. No matter what kind of punishment you inflict on them, they did what they did. Instead of sending them away, let's see how we can make use of this situation.

Ray (Looking angrily at Tiberius): Nothing positive is going to come from this. I'd rather take my chances and hopefully people will stop coming when they realize there's nothing here for them since those two idiots are gone.

Bartlett: Ray...Tiberius...what can we do? We didn't think you guys were this protective over this place. We actually thought you would be happy at the convenience. We were wrong, and we'd do whatever it takes to make it up to you.

Tiberius (Thinking): Tell you what, I think I've come up with something.

Ray (Interrupting): No! Whatever it is, NO!

Tiberius (Signaling at Ray to calm down): Just hear me out, cowboy. This irrigation system of yours, it's not going to come cheap, and neither is its maintenance. You need resources in order to keep your farms going. At the rate you're going, you're not shipping out enough of your fruits and wheat to be able to keep up.

Ray (Starting to listen, but still furious): I don't want their money!

Tiberius: Hold on and let me finish! I'm not talkin' about some lousy one time payment. This here is your land, and you've been gracious enough to let us live on it, so everything built on it belongs to you. This is what I propose...the Homesteads' here build a store, through their own currency and materials, to use as their base of operation and sales. Now, even though they've built it through their own currency and expense, the store will belong to you, cowboy, and they're going to pay you rent accordingly. On top of that, you'll get to sell your products at your own prices with no income to them whatsoever inside the store.

Bartlett: So we build the store, with our own currency, for him...and then we pay him rent on it. He also gets space in the store to sell his products, which we will be selling for him, at no additional income or profit to us.

Tiberius: Yes, and in return, he'll allow you to stay in your new homes.

Bartlett (Looking over at his brother Vick, then slowly nodding): If the cowboy can agree and forgive us, we accept.

Tiberius (Looking over at Ray): What do you say, Ray?

Ray (Throwing his arms up in the air): Bah! Whatever. But let's get one thing straight, either one of you pull a stunt like that again, I'll escort you off this land myself. And arm yourselves. Mo' money, mo' problems. ( )

[rooker1]

Yah, another great chapter.  One might think you are a writer in RL, if you are not, I suggest you try to get this story to someone that can publish it.  I love it!!!

Robin 

[nedalezz]

The State of Nesara: Update Twenty-Two

Population: 98,544

Shopping in Cedar


As Cedar surpasses 100,000 residents, it has become quite the bustling little city, and although the manufacturing sector of the city maintains its position as the city's number one earner, the retail sector has grown and expanded very quickly. In the past two years alone, a staggering growth of 56% in consumer spending has been recorded, directly linked the equally impressive growth rate in the city's population.

Shopping in Cedar has become more than just going through antiques and groceries at mom and pop stores - today, the city features several large scale options made to satisfy even the most insatiable shopper. Let us take a closer look together.


COUNTRY ROAD
Country Road, until recently, was known as the central and business district of Cedar, filled with small stores filled with all types of consumer goods. Separating the industrial northern part of Cedar from the residential southern part, it was also the middle of the city, geographically. People on their way to work would stop for breakfast, and people on the way back would pass by to pick up some groceries or the like. Not only was it the shopping district, but also the heart of the city politically and financially, with the Nesara Council's original building situated on the corner of Country Road and Intersection Street, as well as, at the time, the only branch of the Bank of Nesara.

Today, while Country Road no longer is the political or financial center of the city (or geographical, for that matter) it still maintains its small city main street feel. All the mom and pop stores are still there, as well as cafes, restaurants, and bars. The originality of the short stretch of road has also been maintained, and although Cedar is quickly becoming a metropolitan area in its own right, a walk through Country Road will have you reminded of a quieter time, when Cedar was a growing yet quaint town. Bargains are available in plenty of the small outlets, and certain items, such as antiques, cannot be found anywhere else in the city.

IKEA
Ikea, the Swedish manufacturers of furniture and other household products, did not become a retail empire just by sitting idly and waiting for opportunities to come to it. They have identified Cedar as one of the prime up and coming markets, and have such opened their own branch of the famous furniture store on Washington Avenue, right next to the Home Depot.

The two storey building is comprised of almost 20,000 square meters of showroom space, and the initial investment of the acquisition of land and construction of the building was put at around  $3 million. Their first year sales were promising at almost $19 million, and their second year sales have so far surpassed that of the previous. Initially, there was skepticism at their investment, and some analyst predicted that Ikea would have trouble recouping what they put in, but all that has faded, even leading to the company suggesting that they would be first in line to build another branch to keep up with the growth rate of the city.



HOME DEPOT
Owned by the MasterStore Corporation, a Nesaran company made up of a conglomerate of owners, the Home Depot Superstore represents the first venture of the multi-million dollar company. One of the first buildings to be constructed on Washington Avenue, it is situated just across the road from the Bank of Nesara building and is also next to Ikea.

The initial capital put into the construction of Home Depot was $5 million, and it has since become the largest and most successful retail company in Nesara, combing in $26 million last year. The superstore takes its inspiration from Wal-Mart, featuring almost every type of consumer product and putting them in one roof over nearly 15,000 square meters of showroom space.

MasterStore Corp. is currently looking to further invest in the retail sector in Nesara, and have been rumored to be looking into opening a clothing superstore, although those have neither been confirmed or denied by their PR representative. What is confirmed, however, is that the company has recently bought a piece of land opposite the Cedar Mall and have released a statement saying that it will break ground on its new headquarters early next year on it.

KORRA CERAMICS
Owned by Kimberley Korra, the retail outlet of Korra Ceramics on Washington Avenue is a showcase for the two factories the company currently operates in northern Cedar - the Korra Ceramics sanitary factory and the Korra Ceramics tile factory. The company is generally considered to be one of the most successful Nesaran owned, having started out in the manufacturing sector before expanding into retail to take advantage of the growing Nesaran market.

In terms of only retail sales, Korra Ceramics sold just under $15 million last year from its showroom, which occupies almost all the first floor of the Korra Building next to the Bank of Nesara. When it comes to all types of sanitary and bathroom related ceramic products (W/Cs, basins, bath-tubs, jacuzzis, etc.), as well as all types of tiles both for indoor and outdoor use, Korra Ceramics has pretty much a monopoly on the local market due to lack of competition.



DEBENHAMS
The famous English retailer became the first major international company in the sector to open its doors for business in Nesara when it began operations early this year. So far, the feedback has been positive - the Nesara Debenhams administration has stated that it has been thoroughly impressed by Cedar's purchasing power.

Although some minor setbacks had to be overcome after intense negotiations between the company the Nesara Council about the price of the land on Washington Avenue, they agreed and groundbreaking began two years ago. The building itself is owned by Debenhams, but they do have the last two floors available for rent for other private companies and offices.

CEDAR MALL
The crown jewel in Nesara shopping, the Cedar Mall opened up for business just a few short months ago, having been three years in the making. It is by far the largest project undertaken by Nesaran real estate developer Haiden Construction Co., who have thrown all their weight behind this successful project.

The mall, which can be found on the intersection of Washington Avenue and Beltam Road, is on the edge of Cedar, situated at its south-western corner. The planned residential and commercial development around the mall will make the area unrecognizable in five years, but currently it is surrounded by forests.

After an investment of almost $35 million, Haiden Construction have now started reaping the benefits of the mall's rentals, and with anchor stores such as Sears and JC Penney, it has proven to be a resounding success.

[Tomas Neto]

Fantastic, really another great update!!! Nesara is a nice place!!!   

[Battlecat]

Glad the historic downtown is escaping the axe of development, it's far too aesthetically pleasing to tear down! 

The city is growing very nicely, it still looks great!

[marsh]

Awesome update. The mall was a surprise. Can't wait to see the development around it. Mehbe small storefronts.

,marsh

[noahclem]

Excellent update     The storyline, while a little long, was definitely worth my time to read and held a large amount of interesting and realistic information. I'm glad the downtown area is continuing to thrive (such is not always the case when new big-box stores open on the edge of cities) and the mall looks great!

[art128]

Very interesting update Nedal. Each of those shopping malls are looking really nice in the way you used them. I see Nesera is growing fast, already 98.000 habs, almost 100.000, it goes fast !

Looking forward to more,
-Arthur.

[RickD]

The mall looks great. I haven't found a suitable spot to place this monster, yet.

[canyonjumper]

Looks awesome Nedal! Love the mall, it's a great BAT

            Your friend,
                           Jordan

[cubby420]

Very curious to see where you go with the area around the mall. The rest is, as usual, awesome.

[nedalezz]

Merry Christmas to everyone! Sorry I haven't gotten around to personal replies a long time, but the truth is Im still so very busy with the wedding (which I had to delay) and moving into the new house, etc. I did manage to put together an update for the story - Special thanks goes out to Marsh for sending me the ploppable slums...they're great!

EPISODE ONE - CHAPTER SIX

Tiberius: What's that you got there, cowboy?

Ray (Fidgeting with some currency): Hey Tiberius...Listen, I want you to connect with them Janneh City folks. I'm buying up all the land surrounding my piece of property.

Tiberius (Surprised): Wow. Didn't think you wanted anything to do with them after what we saw in Boulder.

Ray: I ain't stupid, Tiberius. All these small settlements...they don't have a chance when those Janneh City boys finally get their act together and start rolling out the cavalry, claiming these lawless lands. They will, and they won't be nice about it...that Drake, he doesn't play nice.

Tiberius (Bit confused, but nods): I don't know about all that, but alright, cowboy. I'll set up the link. You got the fees? I assume they're going to ask for the same as last time.

Ray (Hands over the currency): It's all there.



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   Ever since the Homesteads' opened up their store, the movement into the small settlement had begun steadily increasing, almost to the point where they would be someone coming from out of town nearly every day. Most of the travelers were from Frontier and Boulder, but every now and then, someone from a more distant town would show up. Tiberius had given some of the more frequent visitors from both Boulder and Frontier satellite com-devices, so every time they wanted to come down to Wildbank, they would let him know and he would tell them what to bring with them for trade.


   Wildbank: that is what they were calling the small settlement full of fruits, vegetables, fish, meat, and whatever Tiberius was creating. Ray had bought all the adjacent lands around his original plot, and even though he had offered Tiberius to go half, he had respectfully declined. Ray was spending all his currency on fees for all the land he was buying, but secretly, Tiberius felt he was just throwing it away. The only way to mark you territory these days was with a gun and some ammunition - he could not ever visualize a day where there would be an operating central government.


   Ray, however, thought otherwise. All these little settlements scattered across Haven were almost a carbon copy of each other; each run by a small time crook who had a few henchmen around him to scare the local population into submitting. In other words, not exactly fearful armies. Hans Drake, however, controlled the largest and most prosperous city in all of Haven - one which had a population in the millions and most of the Haven Republic's wealth. He was a greedy son of a bitch, and Ray was certain was already fantasizing about seizing and controlling power over Haven once more. He was not a young man, which gave him all the more reason to do things quicker, before his eventual death. He had no doubt in his mind that Drake was amassing an army to start rolling out of Janneh City and begin "reclaiming" the land belonging to the Haven Republic. When they do come, Ray would have all his legal documents in order - land officially signed off to him by Republic officials themselves.


   While Ray was the owner of all the land that comprised of Wildbank and its immediate surroundings, Tiberius was the unofficial acting mayor. He had already allowed, with Ray's approval of course, for a few families to settle on the outskirts, and organized paid labor for the heads of the households on Ray's farms. Given Ray's fondness for keeping things legal with the Republic, he got Ray business licenses for his farming and fishing activities - Ray Food Co. and Ray Fisheries Co.  He had quite a few people working for him on the farms and fishing in the river, and Ray insisted they all get official employment contracts notarized by Republic officials.


   It was not only Wildbank that was developing, however - news out of Frontier and Boulder suggested more trade activity than ever before. It seemed for the first time since the end of the Great War, people were venturing outside their habitats and exploring their surroundings. Currency was being exchanged at a greater rate, re-discoveries were more common, and lots of the olden machineries and equipment was being fixed to work again. In Frontier, for example, Benstrike had fixed up a primitive cement mixer and was constructing a new town hall using the product. Not only that, but he was selling it at a premium to outside traders who were interested in the product. It seemed, finally, the human race on Haven was ready to put the hardships of the last 30 years behind them and begin the process of rebuilding.


   Ray both embraced and feared this thought - with rebuilding would come a better life for people if done right, but if corruption and greed were to take hold, it would only mean oppression. It was a scary thought, and although Ray would not publicly speak it, he felt the whole process was going to come a lot faster than anyone would ever expect, and given Hans Drake's character, there would be a lot of the latter going on.