In the vast wastes of overly aerated and un-palatable soil, lay millions of tons of ancient disposed of technology. To most, these pieces of long-discarded technology are of very little use or interest. However to the Order of the Reclaimer, they represent a treasure trove, that should be un-earthed, and examined, disseminated, and integrated into the scattered data clusters of North America and beyond. These unearthed caches of data, and archeological dig sites are seen as the keys to fundamentally understand the hows and whys of the Great Exodus.
Among the Reclaimers, there is great debate as to the reasons, and ultimately, the solutions to the problems caused by pre-Exodus society. While most factions have little to no interest in the past, and prefer to focus on their immediate needs and occasionally on their future, to the Reclaimers, the study of history represents the understanding of the apex of civilization. This information is of great interest and the subject of endless scrutiny among the Order.
The ultimate garbage pickers; Reclaimers attempt to reverse engineer the technology left behind since the Exodus. Technology is the cornerstone of their way of life and beliefs. For example, Reclaimer’s weapons will have a higher damage output but are less reliable, and prone to blowing up in the users face. Whereas a crossbow will probably give you similar results day-in and day-out, a plasma-caster cobbled together from salvaged parts can explode, misfire, or not fire at all, but has a tremendously greater destructive potential. This is the way the Reclaimers prefer to see the world, as the potential to advance technological understanding, at whatever the cost.
Devout scavengers of the old world, they bring back the spoils of their garbage picking to walled Data Hubs and Havens that are sprinkled across the continents. Reclaimer military campaigns have been forged just to ‘exhaustively research’ the effects of found or newly created weaponry.
Sites where a satellite or space structure have fallen back through the atmosphere are of particular significance, and maintain an almost religious importance, as many sects of the cult herald the day when the exodus, with all of its amassed technology, came crashing back to Earth.
Since the Exodus, the Reclaimers have expended much of their energy towards finding these vast troves of old technology. Numerous sites have been discovered that are basically landfills full of high tech junk, such as the Oklahoma Scraps, which is an old e-waste site that is hundreds of square miles.
In the 23rd century, as the United States declined as a global power, much of it’s e-waste became a domestic problem instead of being dumped onto third world countries. In Year Zero these sites are both holy sites and greedily mined with a combination of re-purposed machinery and press-ganged workers from nearby communities and captured enemies. Without the recent population boom due to the Resurgence, this would be an impossible undertaking. Due to the Resurgence, communities are growing faster than ever, and in many cases, a few people are barely missed. In this environment, cast-outs can be rounded up quickly, and easily. A quick Zealot expedition, or trading with a less than ethical caravan are means to gain able bodies to be used to unearth the treasures that lay buried under feet of dirt and concrete. Not all Reclaimer sects use forced labor, but the lure of so much available technology makes it difficult for some to resist.
While Reclaimers revere technology, only the most radical sects of the faction will ever meld technology and the human body. It’s seen as sacrilegious by most Reclaimers to even consider it. Those that do utilize bionics are seen as tacky at best, and heathens to be stamped out at worst.
Using Infrared signals and radio waves to create intermittent cross-continental communications between communities, Reclaimers sometimes intercept garbled satellite code from ancient military or corporate sources. For centuries, a small cell of Scriveners has been dedicated to unlocking these ‘transmission from the gods’. Sites where space junk has fallen back to earth are prized and considered holy by the Reclaimers, especially if they involve one of these fallen satellites or other space debris.
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