Undercity Alliance

In the late 3100s, there was a group called the Undercity Alliance, also known as UA, whose purpose was combating some of the hardship that those who resided in the Venus undercities had to endure. They provided food and water when needed, medical professionals who could work for free, and helped to maintain the infrastructure of the undercities.   UA's reception varied from undercity to undercity. In some places, they were a welcome helping hand. In others, they were considered unwanted intruders. The more negative view of them was not entirely unwarranted. A number of well-meaning young adults and teenagers would, often at the encouragement of their churches, sign up to volunteer with UA, and their competence at doing the tasks requested of them was not consistent. A number of them caused far more harm than good, leading to community-wide distrust of UA in the area they had worked in.   After the first four years of operation, UA started to more carefully train anyone they were considering sending to Venus. They would have to pass tests checking the quality of their construction work, their knowledge of Venus and its culture and environmental hazards, and they were required to shave the hair from their heads. This last one was less of a test and more of a safety measure. Which the floating cities were largely protected from the winds, the undercities had less luck. They had some protection, of course, but it was limited. Having hair was too much of a hazard for anyone spending more than a day in the undercities, and even then it was advised to secure your hair in some way.   It took several years before UA would lose their reputation for incompetence with most of the undercities they interacted with. Eventually, however, they were able to do some good, able to reach communities when disasters struck and so on. It helped that they stopped keeping themselves at a distance from the cultures of the undercities. Soon, the majority of UA was people who lived in the undercities, either those who had lived there their whole lives or those who moved there for one reason or another.    Today, UA no longer exists. Their legacy holds both good and bad, harm and aid. If they caused more harm or good depends on who you ask, as is the way of most things.


Cover image: by Pixabay

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