Themes: providing for the family, professional validation, responsibility
Dr. Tai Kim thought they would spend the rest of their life helping people addicted to the cocaine that plagued Safre; it was their profession, their talent, their calling. Instead, here they were in La Cage, where they’d never planned to be. Almost immediately robbed of the rest of their savings and their Application for Recognition of Credentials rubber-stamped REJECTED by the stern bureaucrats at immigration, the once-respected doctor found themselves cleaning, factory work, begging. If their family only knew what they’d been reduced to. Tai’s spouse, Lian, was already distant, ever more obsessed with occult nonsense, while their children, Nuri and Zhen, had never been so stoic. On top of everything their parent, Kiran, kept insisting the family simply needed to fit in and keep their chins up. The bright spot in Tai’s days has been volunteering at Addicts Anonymous, doing whatever they can to help the people suffering there; their dreams have become limited to getting the family into more stable housing, perhaps in Block A, and the hope that the staff of the Clinic can be convinced to overlook the red tape. Will Tai’s pride keep them from sharing the burden, or can they get their family to work together toward a common goal?
FULL GROUP TEXT
(mandatory for members of the group and Immigration Officers, optional for others - for example various other foreigners)
The immigrant housing occupies one whole wing of La Cage, the more decrepit one, hosting families that are far from home. People love creating distance between one another. Migrants from Graad and Oranje and some undocumented poor souls live here, stuck between horrible jobs in local sweatshops and old dreams. All together, squashed under one roof, the various cultures are clashing and mixing with each other, while everyone is still trying to maintain a sense of belonging. But is it even possible to call La Cage home?
You know the truth. You can see it all around you. You are some of the few enlightened people around here. Nothing is as it seems and all of humanity faces extinction. The mold is not just a fungus, it's a macro-organism who has invaded Earth long ago. It has taken root all over La Cage, breaking down not just the building but the very foundation of its humanity. And its tendrils? They've stealthily coiled around some of the most influential figures here, puppeteering them in a silent conquest that goes unnoticed by the unseeing masses.
The Mold conspiracy is a group with a strong belief in various conspiracy theories - they look past the veil of what they perceive as ignorance, but as often, the reality can be more complex than that.
“You matter. Shit happens and it can be hard to get back on your feet. This is when addiction catches you. Now remember sister, brother: you are not alone. You will never be any more. In our Addicts Anonymous meetings, we always listen with care, love, and respect. What is told and done within the circle stays within the circle, no matter what.
We care. You are safe. You matter.”
