Editing SP Current Events


== After the Arches ==

===In the US===

The U.S. Government has taken the line that the Arches represent a possible threat to the health of U.S. Citizens, and that it is, therefore, the duty of the Government to quarantine both the Arches and those who have passed through, until the long term effects are better understood.

The official designation for those who have passed through the Arches is ATP - Arch Transformed Person. Mainstream and Social Media have, however, christened them 'Archies'.

Archie Comics Publishing is not happy with that, but their Trademark doesn't cover the use, so they've grudgingly stopped trying to change the usage.

Lower courts have reviewed cases of private property being taken by the Government. Depending largely upon the locale, they have ruled inconsistently. Some have ruled in the favor of the property owners, others in favor of the Government.

Most of those who have ruled in favor of the property owners have stayed their decisions pending a decision by the Supreme Court. One or two locations - mostly in the Pacific Northwest - have not, so there are two or three Arches that are known to be in private hands, but even there, they're in the hands of Universities who are studying them.

As for the Archies, the courts have been far more consistent. They cannot be held by the Government solely on the basis of their Transformed status. The Government is working on figuring out how to hold those Transformed who have gained 'Super powers', and has pointed out very firmly that most locations in the U.S. have anti-vigilante laws.

This has not stopped those with the heroic mindset. Nor have they usually been charged under those laws. Rather, the local forces tend to view them somewhat like they view their unpowered predecessors. Sometimes helpful, sometimes annoying, but generally not worth the bother.

As some Archies have turned to crime, of course, the help of Archies interested in enforcing the law has been sought, but the preference has been for them to join the police force, rather than operating on their own. Still, few local police districts will turn down help, as long as those helping hew as closely as possible to the law.

To wit: No lethal force, except in direct response to lethal force - i.e., self defense or defense of others. Any evidence gained must obey the rule of law - no fruit from the poison tree. In addition, while the Good Samaritan laws will, to a point, protect individuals from liability for damage to property or person in the course of saving lives, most local PD look askance at 'heroes' who do more damage than the criminals they're fighting.

The Federal Government treats Archies who aren't members of a Federal force as nuisances, at best. Interfering with a Federal crime scene is not recommended.

There are, of course, several people and organizations who have opinions about Archies, and the Media tend to view them as celebrities (minor or major depending on how photogenic they are).

There have already been photoshoots in FHM, Maxim, Playboy and their counterparts, as well as the more adult rated magazines and web sites of publicity seeking Archies, and no less than three Reality shows have formed around them.

===Canada===

For the most part, see below. Canada largely follows the legal viewpoint of the U.K. However, its version of the Arch Clinic is specifically prohibited to U.S. citizens.

===Mexico and Central America===

When the Arches first appeared, pundits predicted chaos. The idea was that drug cartels would gain possession of Arches and somehow control those who passed through, turning the entirety of Central America into hundreds of feuding, battle-scarred fiefdoms.

They were wrong. The cartels learned a very valuable lesson when they tried - they learned the lesson usually learned by covert organisations - you may be hot stuff when operating below the radar, but against seasoned military troops with free reign, you're basically chum.

The various Governments of Central America made it clear that the cost of removing the cartels might have been higher than the benefit when it came to drugs - but not when it came to the Arches. It took time, and it cost lives, but in the end, every cartel that tried to hold an Arch was destroyed root and branch. (This has not destroyed cartels in general - those smart enough not to try, or who got out as soon as the Governments started showing their intent, were able to maintain business as more or less usual, and of course power vacuums attracted new players. But they're very careful to stay off the military's radar.)

Among the people of Central America - as among those of South America - the Catholic view predominates (see Italy). Many do wind up becoming celebrities.

'''The Ego Forge'''

There are people of iron, and there are people of steel. The vast majority of people are of iron, unforged and weak. The people of steel have chosen to purge themselves of their weaknesses by venturing through the Arches. Therefore they simply better. The Ego Forge posits worship of the self, rid yourself what is holding you back and the world is yours. It has a small following, but receives outside attention as the philosophy is often simplified to Changed supremacy by both critics and followers. The philosophy’s name come from a book self-published by a Changed known as Alloy. Not much is known about Alloy except for philosophical and political posting on their website.

There are also, inevitably, comparisons to Nietzsche and Rand, though Alloy, when asked, refuses to grant either even so much as 'inspiration'. Meanwhile, the Objectivists decry the Ego Forge, on the basis that any worship - even of the self - is irrational.

'''The Dale-ists'''

The name of their group is an in-joke, that they want the entire world to become 'Riverdale'. I.E., they want everyone to go through the Arches. Internally, they admit to being transhumanists, but they try to avoid that label when dealing with the public.

===In Europe===

By and large, Europe has seen less actual disruption - there is a very strong sense of leaving the work of the Government to the Government, so Archies in Europe who want to take that option tend to join up, locally or otherwise.

The EU states are generally viewing the Arches as belonging '''to''' the EU, and have a strict quarantine in place.

The sole exception to that quarantine is at Lourdes, where the French Government has opened that Arch, and that Arch only, to those with Incurable diseases and other inoperable conditions. It is, perhaps, instructive that the Arch has seen no more than three or four people per week even show an interest, and maybe one every two or three months will follow through.

Meanwhile, the waters of Lourdes still continue to see throngs of people.

The Vatican's official position is that 'One can tell what kind of person they are once they've passed through the Arch.'

Demona - a staunch Catholic herself - has taken issue with that stance, but so far, the issues haven't gotten too heated, and when pressed, the Vatican's press agents have made note that the Pope has not issued any declarations himself.

The UK has, as usual, gone its own way, but treats it similarly - the Arches are Crown Property. However, in a staggering variation, the Crown has set up a clinic to review the case of anyone who wishes to pass through an Arch. To date, they've not officially allowed such passage, but there are rumours.

The celebrity status of them, however, is even higher, especially in places like France and Spain. The scandal sheets are kept busy with the lives, loves and foibles of the current favorites.

In England, meanwhile, there's scandal of another kind. One of the tabloids mentioned a few weeks ago that one of the Royal Family had been through - or was planning on going through - an Arch. That would have been dismissed by most, except that the Royal Family has done nothing to halt the rumours.

===In China / Mainland Asia===

China is currently on the watch list of the U.N. (and most other nations) right behind North Korea as being the nation most likely to want ATPs in their military or police forces. There are efforts every couple of weeks to ban that practice outright, but China and Russia keep vetoing them.

South Korean officials, when asked about North Korea and its plans for the Arches within its borders, simply shrug and say 'We will continue to defend against them however we must.'

Southeast Asia, meanwhile, is being quiet about the Arches.

===In Africa===

Throughout most of the nations of Africa, national Governments have attempted to seize and control a monopoly on the Arches. A few tried to be more open about it, and some have succeeded, but others are likely looking at civil wars, but at present, no one knows how or when they will start.

===In the Middle East===

Unsurprisingly, attitudes towards the Arches seem to be polarized along religious / ethnic lines in the Middle East. So far, those Archies who have appeared have either tried to live quiet lives, or have found that they aren't having the impact they likely imagined they would have, usually because of other Archies opposing them.

For all their rhetoric - and there's a lot of it from all sides - about how changing what God has designed is blasphemy, every side of the conflicts within the Middle East use Archies, and somehow manage to find something to say that theirs are exceptions.

===In Oceania===

Australia has a single Arch that doesn't follow the rules all others appear to obey - there's an Arch at Uluru. The Australian Government immediately put that one in the hands of the Aborigines of the region, and are studiously avoiding looking in their direction.

Aside from that, they're taking their cue from the U.K. (Unsurprisingly), even to having their own version of the Arch Clinic.

===In the Asian Pacific===

It seems counter-intuitive. Most of the peoples of the Asian Pacific region tend to be homogeneous, socially stratified and conservative. It was generally thought that the Arches wouldn't see much use, even if they weren't quarantined.

Well, they weren't. The government of Japan kept a close eye on them, and made sure that no one passed through who was on a terrorist watch list or the like, but otherwise left them alone.

And in Japan especially, the Arches have been astoundingly popular. Granted, most of the popularity seems more the IDEA of passing through the Arches - there's an entire subculture of Arch Otaku that's sprung up since - but the various Arches still see as many as 1 or even 2 people passing through every week.

What's surprising to most observers is that it's often difficult to tell what they wanted changed. Oh, they change - there are a LOT of blue-eyed blondes running around in Tokyo now - but whether those were the changes they wanted, or the side effects, it's hard to tell.

In other areas of the Asian Pacific, it's even more obvious and the Arches are even more popular. They're usually being called the 'New Gods'. Some of them act the parts, for good or ill.