Themes: disillusionment, traditions, leading the family
Zacharie has worked hard their whole life, and they still do. An ordinary resilient worker, a symbol of pure diligence, who carefully nurtured their relationship to work and passed their ideals over to their children. They have gone through their share of rebellions, even against “those in power”, but all of these only led to more poverty or desperation. They were disappointed many times, but the biggest betrayal came after they helped with clearing the rubble after the People’s Pile nuclear plant disaster. In the end, nothing but the work really made sense. Their dissatisfaction with the young generation and other modern nonsense plaguing the La Rosa family is palpable. And given their age, there may not be much time left for Zacharie. But before their time comes, they plan to set some things right.
Everybody who lives in La Cage is mostly poor and desperate. The families and professionals living in Apartment Blocks are the ones who really try to keep some semblance of normality in their lives. The Block A is the wealthier one - it consists of people that are sure to have food even next week but are not entirely sure if they can get medical care in times of need. All while enjoying the luxury of reliable electricity and mostly repaired windows. The people living here have at least some "power" due to their jobs, but almost everybody is afraid that their little slice of paradise will be taken from them by relocation to a different flat.
The meltdown of the People´s Pile nuclear plant affected many and changed Revachol forever. Many people risked their lives, some willingly, most because they were not given a choice by the regime. How many people died during the People´s Pile disaster cleanup is not known, the Coalition did their best to cover it up. The lives of those who were “lucky” enough to survive were changed forever. They hoped that the regime would at least tend to their wounds and help them deal with the consequences of the prolonged exposure to radiation and the horrors they witnessed. The fools. A few times during the years a new hope was sparked that someone might help them. No one did and so they decided to take matters into their own hands and formed the People's Pile Disaster Support Group to help each other out and fight for the care they deserve.
The La Cage day to day big decisions are - at least in theory - governed by the Block Council. A “government body” of some sorts, given legitimacy (and funding) by the Coalition through the Reconstruction office. The current members supposedly do their best to improve living in the tenement. But is it really the truth or only the fear of incoming elections speaking? They have little to no actual power. People still do blame them for everything, though. Some believe the Block Council to be the way to a better tomorrow, some take it as an opportunity to make their own political ideology visible, some just love to hate the establishment.
