Law Of Conformity: Equilibrium

Here's your theme music: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4YxNJebiKFo&feature=related

"You do not exist." That is the law.

In this world, there is only one type of person. For disequilibrium has brought nothing but misery upon humans, the governments of the world have proposed a new, stunningly novel idea. Take away all disequilibrium, so that no one is better than anyone in any which way. Competition will be stripped away from society, so that no person exists above the other. There is no government. There is no nation. There is only you. And yet, you do not exist.

However, below the eternal gloom of nothingness, lies a secret organisation who plan to instigate a plan for the rescue of mankind. This organisation waits for the arrival of the one who will destroy equality and give existence to difference. The one chosen by destiny will be the only one able to destroy all barriers of self-awareness, and give birth to disequilibrium.

"You do not exist." A lie which must be stopped at any cost. For what right do others have to be able to tell you you cannot exist?

You are a member of an organization that wishes to end the concept of equality. You, along with some others, are searching for a certain person, born in the world of equals, who holds certain distinct...traits. In the world of equals, there is only black and white. But the one you are searching for, has green and gold.

~

This is a role play between Durn, Masq, and I. Since you two liked the idea and want to be a part of it, I figured I would post at least this much for reference's sake.

The roles of Durn and Masq's characters is to hunt down my character, who is the "destined" one. I chose my character as the one most suitable due to her harsh and unbending personality. She is, by far, not a conformist.

Just remember, all of mankind are NOT created equal.

The steaming cup of coffee on the table released its steam into the dismal air, its flavorful aroma being drowned by the sheer monotony of the area. He never did like New York that much. The man, sitting in what he thought to be a rather uncomfortable wooden chair, thought back to a time when the place was filled with sketchy and rather rude people, but that had changed since the law was passed. It wasn't as if someone could say that being a thief, a rapist...or a serial killer...could be their talent. He glanced at the woman accompanying him.

Aurielle Clain. He nearly laughed, but he didn't know why. He just let a calm smirk settle onto his face. Apparently she wasn't too fond of the place either, and he couldn't blame her. The distaste was evident in that voice of hers; he thought it rather pleasant. At least she was interesting company. Out of all the people he worked with, this girl seemed to be a bit more grounded...in a very paradoxical way. It was more like she knew what she wanted. He knew what he wanted to: to get done with this mission and get the hell out of New York, but he knew that it would probably take a while before that happened.

"Perhaps you'd like something to drink?" he said coolly and nudged the steaming cup towards her. "Haven't drank out of it. Promise." He glanced over at the building where this girl was supposed to visit. "You're right though. Only need a bit more waiting and we'll at least be able to begin the operation." Waiting wasn't a problem to Dr. Goodenough. It was waiting in an unpleasant setting that was a bit irksome.

The streets of New York bustled with noise and people, the usual noise of heels clacking against pavement and cars driving by on the asphalt was the typical morning for one who had lived in New York for a long time. The weather stayed cold year-round, one more thing that never changed about the city. The murky atmosphere was a tell-tale sign that it had rained the other night. But that made no difference to the people. If one store was open, all of them were. If one business closed down, all of them did. That was the way with the Law of Conformity.

She hated it.

Everywhere she went, the same thing happened. It was never different, the days of the week had no originality. Every month, nothing changed. The same routine of everyday life was stuck into her head like a screw trapped in between two gears. She couldn't stand it.

A medium-sized woman walked carefully on the sidewalk, her eyes directed forward as if focusing only on the space in front of her. She wore a unbuttoned shirt, held together by a belt that was attached to the shirt along with a tie. It was slightly revealing, but she didn't care. She also wore a dark blue coat to cover her arms. A purse strap sat on her left shoulder, her right arm resting on the purse itself. She wore a dark blue hat with a wide top and normal, white sneakers on her feet. Her emerald green eyes seemed dead to the world, as if it hated everything they saw. She gave the appearance of a temperamental woman, but that didn't seem to stop her admirers from approaching her. Her short, golden hair was also an attraction. It was rare to see anyone with that color of hair, and on top of that, it made her look more beautiful.

Sariska Eternal is her name. She became a musician, focusing on her electric guitar in a band called "Over Again." Four of her only friends became the other part of her band. A singer, a bassist, a percussionist, and a keyboard player. Since they could only focus in on one skill, that's what they chose, otherwise Sariska would be playing in a single band, as her singing was also very good. In truth, she hated the band, mainly because of her limitations due to the law. It pissed her off.

As it was Monday in the second week of the month, Sariska was off to the drug store. As she neared the store, she noticed something odd about the atmosphere. Sariska didn't hesitate though, she simply passed it off as more anger at the law and entered the drug store. She turned to the counter and put down a slip of paper on it.

"Ah, little Star is back!" The older man behind the counter said, as if it were a surprise. The man was balding from the top of his head, but some traces of his black hair still remained. He was a plump figure with large, meaty fingers and a beer gut. He was also Sariska's uncle.

"I've told you not to call me that, uncle," Sariska said bluntly, no change in her emotions upon seeing her relative. "Just get me grandfather's medicine so I can get out of this dump."

"You come here once a month just to get medicine without saying so much as a 'hello' to your uncle?" The old man stalled getting the medicine, it looked like Sariska wouldn't be getting out of a conversation this time. "Come, have a chat with your uncle."

"I'm afraid I don't have much time," Sariska lied, "I have practice soon." It wasn't that she hated her uncle, she loved her family very much. But in a place that smelled to her like death and drugs, it only helped to make her anger worse.

"It can't be helped then, my sister's little Star has grown up into a big Star," Sariska's uncle shrugged once and retrieved the medicine. "Here you are, make sure you tell your grandfather I said 'hi.'"

"If you want to talk to grandfather, get out of here and visit him yourself. I'm sure he'd love to hear you babble nonsense at him all day," Sariska said, knowing full well her brutal statements would hardly affect her uncle. She took the medicine and dropped it into her purse. She then immediately turned back around and exited the pharmacy.

As soon as Sariska stepped out of the drug store, she stopped in her tracks immediately. She had come face-to-face, full eye contact, with another woman. The other woman was fairly pretty, but Sariska wasn't concerned about that. Sariska paused for another moment, staring at the woman with dead eyes, as if she were in the way.

Sariska then stepped off to the side, "Excuse me," she said, as politely as she could considering her rising frustration with humans. Sariska maneuvered around the other woman and walked away, heading back down the crosswalk she had come from. Sariska didn't look back, she just kept on going. That was a strange occurrence that she wished would never happen again. She didn't need to be reminded that this world was so bleak, the woman's attire had been so much like the ones she hated, plain and boring.

Sariska turned down the next alleyway she saw, ignoring the man who sat in the corner, as if waiting for something. Sariska walked past the man with a clenched fist, who saw it and stood up. The grumbling man was an outcast from society. He was not considered a functioning member of society due to his previous drug and alcohol abuse. He had been arrested on many occasions for assault charges, but since all governments and prisons had been abolished, he was thrown into New York City.

The man got up after Sariska had walked by, and began to follow her. Sariska let out a silent sigh. It was the same routine every day. She hated being followed by others, whether it be someone she knew, or a stranger. Sariska ignored the man who followed her and continued to walk as if nothing were wrong.

Ah, crap, Arkham said and stood up quickly, taking care not to knock the hot coffee off the table. He figured someone would pick it up...someone who chose for their talent to be a waiter or waitress of all things. Go figure. Aurielle had proven to be a bit more impatient than he had thought, and before he knew it, he had lost her through the crowd of people. He eased his way across the street to see the brief confrontation between the two women.

As soon as he reached his associate, he turned and glanced at their target whom was walking away. "Why didn't you stop her?" he posed out of curiosity, and then shook his head. Whatever the reason, he was sure it was a good one. "Don't answer that. Do we follow her? Looks as if she's already got a fan," he spoke smoothly and gestured towards the man that begun to pursue her...though it really couldn't be called pursuit. Perhaps he was just heading in that direction--an excuse that the pair of them could use as well.

"Brief reminder: if we lose her now, that means we'll have to do more waiting later," he advised rather lightheartedly given the situation. He didn't want to wait in this disgusting place, and he was actually more than positive that Aurielle didn't want to wait in this place anymore. Let's just hope things don't get tactless and blunt; I hate those kind of confrontations, but we can't just let this go. They were off to an iffy start, but they could pick it back up easily. Besides, they knew where the girl's apartment was; although odd, they could find some excuse for popping up there if absolutely necessary.

The good doctor wasn't surprised at Aurielle's methodology, but was instead feeling slightly embarassed that he couldn't tell what she was thinking ahead of time. With a sheepish grin, he scratched his head, but said nothing. The woman was already on the move. Getting the signal to follow, Arkham did just that.

The duo set after their target who had trudged what seemed almost carelessly into an alleyway which was rather a bad place to be alone in New York, even if things weren't exactly the same as they had been before the law was set into place. That 'fan' he had saw earlier was apparently still at it. He stood behind Aurielle, seeing that she was the armed one out of the two. He prayed things wouldn't get...messy.

This got rather exciting rather quickly, he thought, not even wanting to chance a whisper in a place like this. In the alleyway, it seemed more eerily quiet then back on the busy street where the people went to and fro, departures and destinations unknown and insignificant. All that was left was to gauge the reaction from afar. Aurielle was ready, so that was all that mattered. Here's hoping that it doesn't come to that.

How troublesome. Not only had the nobody of a man started following her, now the woman from earlier and a doctor were also following her. Sariska put down her reflective watch, not needing to see any more behind her. She silently sighed and turned down an alley, hoping she could lose them in New York's twists and turns of the alleyways. She could have just stayed out in the streets, but she knew she would just stick out like a sore thumb in the midst of conformers.

It couldn't be helped. Sariska had to make a run for it. After turning down one more alley, she broke out into a sprint, taking the closest turn afterward, attempting to confuse her followers. Besides, it would be a nice work out for her. Sariska's breath quickened as she ran down the narrow alleys, taking turn after turn, not worried a single bit about getting lost in the maze-like area. She turned down another alley and was halfway into it when she realized it was a dead end, a gate blocking the way.

Sariska kept running, approaching the side of one building. She jumped up to the side of the building and, after planting a foot onto the side, kicked off of it, getting as high as she could before flipping over the rest of the gate and landing on her feet, unharmed, on the other side. Sariska took a deep breath, then took off running again, intent on getting away.

Sariska blew out of the hallway and into the streets. She slowed to a stop, taking notice of the change in scenery. There were much less people around here, despite it being a large city. Sariska continued her heavy breathing, brushing off dust from her clothes. Once she caught her breath, she began walking to her original destination, attempting to forget what had just happened. Hopefully, none of them were able to follow her.

"An...animal?" Arkham questioned, but it was too late. He watched as Aurielle took charge, rushing into action to pursue the girl. The good doctor knew how important it was, but was this all necessary? Either way, he turned back and rushed out of the alleyway. Aurielle would be able to keep up with her better anyway; if Arkham did manage to catch up to her directly, there was no way he could explain himself.

He reached the street, noting the Starbucks and the Pharmaceutical buildings that had been their previous stakeout. There was a fellow riding a bike down the sidewalk rather slowly, getting closer and closer to Arkham. Without thinking, Arkham threw out his hand causing the cyclist to come to a stop.

"C-can I help you, sir?" the male cyclist asked. He looked like a high school student, wearing clothes only a typical teenager would wear. Plus, the backpack he was carrying was also a dead giveaway.

"Name's Officer Goodenough," Arkham said forcefully, trying to make his voice a bit deeper and more gruff which was easy for him. "I'm undercover, see, and I finally caught sight of a dangerous thief that's been up to no good roundabouts here. Unfortunately, my patrol vehicle is parked several blocks away." He paused and eyed the bike. "If I may...."

The cyclist seemed a bit worried. He hadn't heard anything in the news. Was this guy even a cop? He grimaced. "Where's your badge, officer?"

Damn....smart kid..., he thought, clearly in a jam. Didn't think that one through. Oh well. "Get off the damn bike, you little ruffian, or I'll arrest you for interference in a police operation!" he shouted, internally smiling as he watched the cyclist jump off the bike.

"Fine, fine! Psycho cop....," he groaned and sprinted down the sidewalk, aiming to get as far away from Arkham as he could possibly get. As he managed to get to a distance, he stopped and smacked himself in the forehead. "A police officer? I didn't think those guys existed anymore due to that law. I hope I didn't give my bike over to some nutjob..."

"One problem solved," he said to himself as he mounted the bike and sped along the sidewalk, dodging around pedestrians who didn't seem too terribly upset about nearly being ran over by some weird guy on a bike, obviously posing to be a police officer. He raced in the general direction Aurielle had been heading, hoping that by the time he got there, she'd have produced some results.

"Am I still being pursued?" Sariska wondered aloud, looking around at the surrounding buildings for any abnormal signs. She frowned, those were some persistent people. Could all three of them possibly be fans of hers? Sariska shook her head, "No, stop being so conceited, Star," Sariska told herself, whispering so that no one near her could hear. The best course of action for her to take now was to reach her grandfather's home. Anyone who knew who her grandfather was wouldn't dare approach her when he was nearby. Before the law of conformity was put into action, her grandfather was arrested at least 12 times for assault charges, all of them with the same excuse. Sariska was being stalked by someone her grandfather didn't like.

Sariska hated taking advantage of her grandfather's notorious position, and she had no intentions of hiding from pursuers; however, in this situation, that was the safest things she could do. Her apartment wasn't too far away, but anyone could sneak into one of those dusty, old buildings with ease.

Sariska turned onto a different road, entering Block 251. The only things in this block were homes and a small park. It was also the block where her grandfather lived. She was almost there.

Sariska had instinctively drawn a knife from the inside of her shirt, and was already holding it up towards the woman. Sariska recognized her in an instant as the same woman from the pharmaceutics store. Sariska didn't lower her weapon, but she didn't lash out either. This woman in front of her wanted to talk, apparently. To be quite honest with herself, Sariska had no intentions of taking the woman seriously, or listening to what she had to say.

"Let me guess," Sariska replied, intending to find out this woman's motive for stalking her. "No, you are not a fan and care not for my band, nor do you particularly care about music at all. In fact, you're a part of the 'resistance' that has been all over the news for two years or so. And another thing is, you heard about my family and want to recruit us, since the entirety of my family had high rankings in the old military, and we could be of great use for your violent schemes."

Sariska tilted her head slightly, not lowering her knife. "Or is it like this? You're chasing me instead of my grandfather, so I must be your so called 'chosen one.' Don't make me laugh, I have no interest in what you people are doing. The news program has been hammering you guys ever since you started this unnecessary violence, and to tell you the truth, I don't believe a single word of it."

Sariska now lowered her weapon and glared at the woman. "So, what are you guys really after that the news isn't talking about?" Sariska knew a petty stalker wouldn't go this far into trying to get her attention, and this woman here had already said she wanted to talk, so who else could they be? The police? They were already disbanded, everyone knew they didn't exist. So there was only one other option. The "resistance."

Arkham skidded to a halt in front of their target's apartment building. Aurielle seemed to have been headed in this direction thinking that Sariska would hole herself up inside, however, he caught no sight of either of them. So where had they gone? He looked around. It wasn't very busy around this particular section of the city--a subtle relief. It was also somewhat frightening; it gave Aurielle a bit more freedom to execute their tasks by any means necessary. The doctor dabbed his forehead with one of his sleeves to wipe away some of the perspiration that was beginning to form there.

"Smart girl," he stated simply as he suddenly realized where she went. His eyes had landed in the direction of Block 251. The sign displaying this was droll and slightly forboding for some odd reason. Apparently, their target was seeking refuge from a dangerous man: her grandfather. Arkham shivered at the thought of what he might look like after a run in with that guy and he endeavored to make sure it never happened. But what about Aurielle? What if she didn't stop Sariska in time? Arkham sped off towards the block, weaving around people whenever they happened to get in the way.

The block was even quieter than the area near Sariska's apartment building, and as he gained progress down the road, he started to hear voices, one of which was very, very familiar. As he drew nearer, he skidded to a halt once again...in front of the alleyway. He dismounted the bike and strolled up next to Aurielle nonchalantly as if nothing out of the ordinary was going on.

"Glad to see you unharmed, Aurielle," he stated with a delighted grin. He bowed his head to Sariska. "And the same goes to you, Ms. Eternal."

A vein began to pop on Sariska's forehead, her temper rising quickly. She didn't have time for this, she didn't even want to get involved in any sort of trouble. She was about to say something, when a different person showed up. A man, or rather, a doctor by the looks of it. He seemed to be sweating slightly, he must be less athletic than his counterpart, as he so nonchalantly said her name.

"How do you know my name?" Sariska demanded, glaring at the two of them. Then again, they had probably done their research on her. Besides, she was "famous" in the world. There were not many bands, but each of them was just as popular as the next, so anyone who knew her band knew at least her band name. And since these people had tracked her down, there shouldn't be any doubt they knew exactly who she and her family was, explaining why they managed to get here in time, before her grandfather saw them. "On second thought, don't answer that. I don't care."

Sariska glared at 'Aurielle' again, her posture unfaltering, "I don't care what you people do, and I have no interest in the Law of Conformity. In fact, I'm going to be late for an visit with my grandfather." Sariska was now lying through her teeth, making sure that they didn't catch her in the act of the lie, "If I am late, then he will start to worry," Sariska's grip on her purse tightened slightly, the medications for her grandfather still inside. "So I would appreciate it if you would let me go to him."

"Do you honestly believe that I am playing as the average band member?" Sariska asked, her expressions becoming more and more angry by the second. "Do you honestly believe that I have been doing absolutely nothing to battle this law? I have no interest in the Law of Conformity, I don't intend to follow it, and I don't intend to ignore it." Sariska folded her own arms across her chest, glaring straight back at the woman in front of her.

"Every Thursday of every week of every month of every year, my band practices. We hone our skills so that one day we can shout to the world our defiance, and then show them what real diversity is. I will use my band to get rid of this law. I don't need help from an organization, and I don't intend to lend help." Sariska shot her gaze over to Arkham for an instant, but quickly returned it to Aurielle. She did not wish to tell them her entire vision, but it seemed like that was the best option at the moment.

Sariska pointed to her clothing, which was obviously extremely different from the typical 21-year-old's attire. "I'm not even supposed to be wearing something like this. But you know what? I have not had one incident with the law enforcers, nor has anyone told me about my suggestive clothing."

"If you really think that the law has power over my family, think again!" Sariska moved aside, away from the two people. "Now if you don't mind, I have a grandfather to care for." And with that, Sariska stomped off, headed towards her grandfather's home.

Arkham didn't try to stop her. It wouldn't have been futile, per se, but it would probably end up with them seeming more 'bad' than they already did. What was curious to him was the fact that she was indeed against the law, yet she deigned to do things her own way. He wondered, from what she had spilled to them, if her plan would turn out better than the organization's. Then again, if they were going to 'shout their defiance' to the world, then they probably would have done it already. The organization was taking action now.

"Well, Aurielle, it seems you've made her angry," Arkham said and shrugged as if his sudden appearance had no part in that. "What do you think we should do now? I'm not touching her; that would be very, very wrong of a gentleman." Arkham wasn't the type to get forceful, but luckily, Aurielle was all good when it came to that. But some situations called for force, whilst others called for tact. What would be needed in this situation? Arkham had already decided that retreat would be a fine option, though he didn't like to give up so easily. There was Aurielle though. What was going through her mind?

Sariska stood on the doorstep of her grandfather's house. She took in a deep breath, and let it all out at once. With that sigh out of the way, Sariska opened the door, only knocking a few times, saying, "I'm home, grandfather," before walking in. Sariska didn't close the door behind her, instead she looked around the living room. Her grandfather wasn't here. She already knew that much to begin with, but for an excuse to get away from her two followers, it seemed mighty risky to suggest this place. She had hoped they wouldn't know that her grandfather was never home during the mornings. In fact, Sariska hadn't seen him ever since the Law of Conformity had been put into place.

"I suppose I could just hang around here for awhile," Sariska said, putting down the medications on the table and taking a seat on the couch. "A nice rest after all that would be good for me." Sariska laid her head back, her arms draped over the back of the sofa in a relaxed position. Her eyes remained open, staring up at the ceiling with hardly any emotion at all.

Suddenly, a loud noise echoed through the entire house, appearing to cause the entire place to shake Sariska awake. She jumped off of the sofa in reaction, pulling out her concealed knife by instinct and held her position for awhile, until she realized what that sound was when it came a second time. It was her cellphone. Sariska sighed, hitting her forehead, saying, "Pull yourself together, Star."

Sariska took out her cellphone and grimaced. Of course she would get a call for being 'late.' Sariska flipped the phone open and put it to her ear. Not a second before saying "Yeah?" through the phone, the opposing side exploded in her ear.

"STAR! Where the heck are you!?" The seemingly young voice screamed through the phone, giving Sariska a major headache. "Do you know how LONG it's been since you left!? I've been stuck here, on my own, in YOUR apartment, waiting for you to come back so you can drive me to the modeling agency! I can't walk there on my own! You wouldn't make such a beautiful face get raped out on the streets, would you?!"

"Chloe," Sariska sighed, "Believe me, no one is going to rape someone like you. Besides, you're a big, strong girl now, right? What happened to that motivational speech you gave last night at dinner to all your friends?"

"I, uh-" The response cut off in mid-sentence, as if the speaker, Chloe, didn't know what to say next. "That's not the point! I gave that speech because I was confident about my beauty!"

"You do realize that the modeling agencies have all been shut down, right?" Sariska said, "Or did I fail to mention that part of the Law of Conformity?" Sariska was now sitting down again, twirling her hair in between her fingers as she talked. This conversation would turn around very soon to benefit her, she could tell that much.

Chloe didn't respond immediately. "Will you just come and drive me there?"

"Sure, when the Law of Conformity is removed and the modeling agencies are back up and running," Sariska said, but before Chloe could protest, Sariska added, "I'm coming home now, Chloe. Just be a good girl and stay there until I'm back. You can do that, can't you?"

"Of course! I'm not some immature brat that can't sit still!" Chloe shot back, an immediately turned off the phone without saying 'good-bye' or anything of the sort. Sariska's lips quirked slightly upwards into a smile.

"How troublesome you are, Chloe," Sariska sighed, getting up. She wrote a quick note for her grandfather, telling him that his medication arrived, then left the home, making sure to close and lock the door behind her. Sariska began the trek back home then, not too excited about arriving back to where Chloe was.

"We're leaving?" Arkham said aloud as Aurielle meandered off, apparently done for now. She must've been heading back to her place. He hoped she wasn't too upset about this. It was the first step in getting the chosen one. Surely she knew it wouldn't be that easy. Arkham strolled out of the alleyway and onto the street, leaning against a nearby building. It seemed to be an abandoned house, still in good shape, but lonely and in need of a family to reside within it. Arkham eyed Sariska's grandfather's house and sighed.

"What do I do with myself now?" he asked aloud to nobody seeing as how the street had hardly anyone on it. At this point, it was practically deserted. "Maybe we set about things the completely wrong way. Just complete strangers ambushing her like that...surely she can't appreciate it. At least....yeah. Maybe we can get to know her a little better than what we learned from reading files." He closed his eyes and smiled, despite the cruddy day it was turning out to be. "Aurielle was telling the truth, and for now, those words could be mulled over by Sariska. But in the meantime..."

The door opened to the house Arkham had been eyeing beforehand, the one where Sariska's grandfather lived. It seemed she was leaving. She didn't appear to be any more pleased than she was when she entered. This girl must have it rough. Either way, now was his chance if he was going to seize it. He waved at her as she passed by and strolled up to her.

"Miss Eternal! Please, Miss Eternal!" he called out to her. "I was wondering if I might be allowed to join you on your walk to wherever for a while. I want to talk to you." That's when he grimaced and shook his head real quick. "Not about what you think. Forget all that organization crap for a while. I just want a normal talk. Sound good?" He grinned casually and checked his watch for a moment. He hoped she would indulge him. He wouldn't blame her for rejecting him, but he really wasn't after anything now. Aurielle had hit the nail on the head. Now was time to just relax.

Sariska nearly tripped after being called out like that. She hadn't expected them to stay behind and wait for her. But it seemed as though it was only the male who had stayed, the woman was nowhere in sight. She eyed the man cautiously, as if examining him for unknown ambitions. Sariska sighed again and waved her hand randomly, walking past him.

"Do what you want, but don't expect me to answer you," Sariska said, "however, stay at least five feet away from me or else you might get hurt." Sariska was always prepared to defend herself from people she was being attacked by, or by people who she didn't like. Sariska's entire family was trained for combat, even Chloe (although a pacifist) was trained to fight.

Sariska would listen to what the man wanted to say, and if she felt like it, she would respond. If not, then the man would simply have to pose another question. Sariska's eyes became dead again, emotionless, unmoving.