Personalities
Denizens of Hope City
Mother - Mother is the nurse, doctor, nutritional adviser, psychologist, surgeon, healer and mender of Hope City. She is a strong voice in the oligarchy. She is one of the original founders of the community and a staunch advocate for the support of any and all refugees and dissidents. Hers is the voice that finally convinced the elders to abondon their isolationist agenda and open Hope City's benevolent doors to the aid of the region. She helped convince Mei of the importance of collaborating with Free America in the hope of eventually bringing down the Denver Zonemind. She frequently opposes Shep's isolationist preachings, and has even began to envision Hope City taking a more proactive role in the insurgency.
Plinko - Plinko is the tinkerer and gadgeteer of Hope City. He evaluates all of the scrap and scrounge that the denizens of that fine community obtain. He is a wizard with machines and a good portion of the community's electricity is diverted to his shop so that he can continue to erect, fabricate, and facilitate any and all of the helpful technologies that the city's residents require. At least some of his precious time is spent inventing new and improved gadgets that bring harm to the machines that has made everyones' lives so bothersomely uncomfortable. He designed Mei's wonderful Limpet Mine bolos. He is perpetually on the hunt for high tech. A shrewd barterer, he is rarely on the soft end of a trade. Plinko is a respected member of the oligarchy. He often supports Mother.
Sam I Am functions as the peacemaker between Mother and Shep. He advocates for unity in the community above all. He came to Hope City within the first year that the place began harbouring refugees. His knowledge of horticulture and practical science have proven indispensable to the community. He is a member of the oligarchy. He was blinded in the wilderness and left for dead by a species of ruthless nomads that still roam the Alamosa Valley to the East. He is not very trusting of outsiders but sees the importance in working towards reinstating man's place at the top of the food chain.
Shep is the closest thing to a preacher that Hope City has, a dogmatic, fanatical preacher but a preacher none-the-less. He has a sizable following of stubborn, isolationist folk who oppose any and all collaboration with outside entities. Like mother, he is one of the founders of the community and a member of the oligarchy. He has a very kind and persuasive demeanor, but Mother has nothing nice to say about him. She openly declares his true nature - a stubborn, petty, back-biting old busybody.
Stain is the horse whisperer of Hope City. He is a hippologist of the first order. He is more often found at pasture with his beloved ponies than he is lerking around Hope City. He is a respected member of the oligarchy. He is openly defiant towards Teague - possibly due to racist reasons as much as anything else. He is absolutely loyal to Mother. He is the organizer of the spring rodeo - one of the few intertainments the community allows itself.
Teague is about the best Hope City can do for a "captain of the guard". Most of the young men in the community upon coming of age quickly enlist in the HLA. Teague has proven his worth in battle. In the winter of 2044 he led a small force that diverted a probe that seemed intent upon scouting the Creede area. Once the probe was miles from the area, it called in for backup in the form of four Stalkers. Teague took out two of the Stalkers single handedly - so the story goes according to his own telling. None of the others survived the encounter. Teague is brash, confrontational, and very protective of "his people". He is a member of the oligarchy, but many complain that his argumentative nature does not suit the requirments of the postion. He has been known to chastise, challenge and even threaten other members of the commitee during business meetings.