Editing Genius The Transgression/Chapter Four:Special Rules and Systems (section)

==== The Gray Plateau of Tsoska: ====

Utopian bardos are everywhere: little Shangri-Las and workers' paradises and anarchocapitalist Utopias are tucked away in the world's hidden corners, hard to find and, once found, difficult for many people to leave. Some decay as Mania leaves them, some grow corrupt; a scant handful find a way to remain pure. But one thing is clear: Utopias are as numerous as the dreams that birthed them. But all the fascist dystopian shitholes humanity feared during the age of the Communist peril seem to run together and form one place: Tsoska.

Somewhere in the bleak plains of central Asia stretches a dreary empire of fear, dirt, lies, and endless surveillance. Tsoska is where Utopian dreams go to die. It first appeared as the dreams of early 20th century socialists were replaced by the brutal realities of Communist totalitarianism, and ever since the Soviet Union's collapse, it has been one of the more influential bardos, even more powerful, now, than its capitalist counterpart, Voltt City.

Tsoska is an amalgamation of every badly-run empire in human history, magnified tenfold, the result of bitterness and failed visions of brotherhood and harmony. Few buildings are over three stories in Tsoska. The cities are gray and uninspiring; the government facilities squat and brutal. The people, who generally appear to be of mixed European and Asian descent, have lined faces and cold, slow hands built for tedious manual labor. A third, or a tenth, of 1%―it's impossible to tell―are part of Oversight, the counterespionage branch of The Party, which controls all economic, social, and political activity in Tsoska. Fear is constant, and paranoia is institutionalized.

But there are bright spots in Tsoska, and that is why the geniuses come. (Mostly the geniuses come because the place is full of Igors looking for work, but the bright spots, they also help.) In Tsoska, a genius can find hidden musical subcultures that move from one almost-empty state supermarket to the next after hours, gifted scientists who never share their best work with The Party, and occult philosophical periodicals on the afterlife and psychic powers, masquerading as science to avoid State suppression, all perfect for a mad scientist's needs. And Tsoska isn't as dangerous as many other bardos: so long as a genius' paperwork is in order and he can recreate the patina of gray weariness that coats everyone who comes to Tsoska, The Party seems almost eager to show off its "accomplishments" to visiting foreigners, and a genius can learn much just by being quiet and looking as if he expects to be impressed.