Wassietopia
Wassietopia is a city of great significance to Wassies. Rumoured to be the birthplace of Wassies, Wassietopia, which is located in the Greater Wassland, is the Wassieverse’s most advanced city and has been ruled by the Outcasts since the Annihilation Event of 1962. The city’s population is mainly comprised of Outcasts (93.5%), with the remainder consisting of Wassies, which serve as indentured labourers
History
Early History
Records indicate that Wassietopia was likely the site where the first Wassie was born around 1957 and served as the cradle of Wassie civilisation. Geographically situated on the mouth of the Long Wasser River, which opens up into the Great Wass Sea, the land was home to fruit-bearing trees, bountiful vegetation, and small insects which allowed early Wassies to settle and begin building Wassietopia.
Despite their biological and intellectual limitations, early Wassies successfully built some semblance of civilisation in Wassietopia, with rudimentary language, culture, and monuments. Though inept at agriculture, hunting, or gathering, the Wassies' ability to respawn after their limited lifespans with some memory of their previous lives resulted in the creation of what can be described as a barely functioning society.
The Annihilation Event
In 1962, the emergence of the Outcasts resulted in a short but brutal war known as the Annihilation Event in which the Outcasts took control of Wassietopia and exiled almost all Wassies to the Barren Lands, keeping the remaining Wassies as indentured workers.
The Outcasts, which boasted a marginally higher intellectual capability compared to the Wassies, also brought with them certain technologies adapted from their time in the human lands, resulting in a technological leap in Wassietopia.
The Wassie Uprising
With the memories of their humiliation and exile fresh in their minds, the Wassies in 1964 attempted to retake Wassietopia with the help of indentured Wassies within the city.
Under the cover of night, the Wassies, armed with sticks and stones, attempted to storm the city and exterminate all of the Outcasts, but the revolution was swiftly put down in less than an hour. It is estimated that over 70% of the Wassies who participated in the revolution died before reaching Wassietopia, and the remainder were put down by a single Outcast who suffered from insomnia.
So futile was the revolution that when the Outcast who had defended the city informed his compatriots of the attempt, he was laughed off by his fellow Outcasts until he was able to force several indentured Wassies to corroborate his story. The indentured Wassies were brutally beaten for several lifetimes, and no revolts have been attempted since.
Present-day Wassietopia
Wassietopia remains under the rule of the Outcasts and is seen as a final destination that all Outcasts aspire towards. Outcasts, all of which are born in human environments, sail across the Great Wass Sea to Wassietopia, where they are welcomed into the city after they have provided proof of at least 72 Wassie kills.
Geography and Climate
Wassietopia is situated on the mouth of the Long Wasser River which is a river that bisects much of Greater Wassland. The city is located on the Northernmost point of Greater Wassland and is about an 8-day sail (at Wassie speeds) from the nearest human civilisation.
Wassietopia experiences a tropical monsoon climate characterised by extremely wet seasons followed by pronounced dry seasons. Thunder (not lightning) during the monsoon seasons is a significant cause of Outcast deaths as the loud noise results in faint-hearted Outcasts dying of fright. Earmuffs are a valued commodity during the rainy seasons among such Outcasts and fights have been known to break out over control of the limited resource.
Governance
Not much is known about how the Outcasts are governed, save for the fact that there is a perpetually shifting oligarchy which meets approximately once every 14 days at the McWassie HQ in Wassietopia.
The location of the meetings has led to speculation that McWassie is ultimately controlled by the Outcast ruling class, although others have theorised that it may simply be because McWassie serves delicious fast food.
Given the prominence of killing Wassies in Outcast culture and its role in determining an Outcast’s worthiness to become a citizen of Wassietopia, it has been speculated that the allocation of power within the Outcasts’ system of governance may be linked to the number of Wassies an Outcast can prove it has killed in its lifetime. Murders of other Outcasts at the biweekly governance meetings are uncommon, but not unheard of.
Society and Culture
Given the dominance of Outcasts in Wassietopia and the fact that Outcast culture is based on the murder, enslavement, or otherwise victimisation of Wassies, much of Wassietopia society is built around the Outcasts’ ability to murder Wassies.
Citizenship in Wassietopia is a privilege only accorded to Outcasts able to demonstrate a certain number of Wassie kills, with the current requirement set at 72. An Outcast seeking to enter Wassietopia for the first time must be able to provide such proof to enter the city, failing which the Outcast will be turned away. There have been cases of Outcasts with exceptionally low kill counts seeking entry being executed by Wassietopia border guards due to their abject failure as Outcasts.
While no strict social hierarchy has been observed that ranks Outcasts by their Wassie kill counts, it is apparent that the most prolific Wassie killers are accorded greater respect from fellow Outcasts and often form part of the oligarchy.
