I read ‘The Defenders‘ by Philip K. Dick. If it hasn’t been mentioned somewhere in a PARANOIA bibliography before, it needs to be appended. I’m sure it has.

Our world has descended into nuclear war. The Cold War went hot, and the Soviet and Allied forces struck fast and hard with weapons that rendered the surface uninhabitable. Mankind found a place to live deep beneath the ground, protected in great bunkers. Civilisation exists within layers of habitation beneath the earth. People live desperate lives, eating synthetic food, existing for their work bathed in artificial light. Stooped, tired and angry, they do what they can for the war effort, manufacturing weapons for transportation to the surface – where the Leady armies of both sides continue to battle. The artificial life-form known as the Leady can exist in the radioactive wasteland of the surface and continue to fight for the just cause of those struggling below. In time, the Leady will triumph and then their task will be to rebuild and cleanse the surface. Until then, the people strive to live from day-to-day, working hard, absorbing daily news reports from the war above like sponges, and hoping one day to see the Sun again.

I can see a touch of PARANOIA, a smattering of Terminator. Dick plays with themes he has used before, but the short tale makes for an enjoyable read – and when you reach the end, you know the conclusion could go no other way. You could have PARANOIA use the Leady concept to mean no one see the Outdoors. The Computer simply can’t risk lives sending anything up there but robots. It isn’t safe, it wouldn’t be right – to risk anyone out there would be to waste precious resource and serve only to create more casualties that benefit the cause of the enemy.

The mail-tube went ping! and he opened his eyes, swearing. For a moment he was tempted to let the pneumo-roll lie where it fell, but habit was too strong. He grumbled his way over to the basket and took it out.

The stamp across it jerked his mind to wakefulness. OfiSal, sEkret, fOr adresE OnlE – and a Security seal!

Just finished reading Security by Poul William Anderson (1953). Security recounts a simple tale of a distopian regime. Think it works out as a short story – it’s a few thousand words long, and available to download if you have the Stanza app on the iPhone (and, I daresay, available elsewhere).

Allen Lancaster works as a researcher on a state run Project. The world would be at war if not for the superiority of the State WMDs; but, that doesn’t stop rebels and lesser countries constantly plotting against them. Government agencies redefine history and language to wipe out subversion. The major bodies of Control, Efficiency and Security organise and review the life of each individual, while a solid work ethic, regulations and clearances keep everything in it’s rightful and well defined place. State-driven Projects – akin to R&D – push research forward without enthusiasm or freedom to deviate, at once advancing and stifling science. Traitors disappear to camp, never to return, tortured for information about the underground before suffering an inglorious demise. Loyalty yields little comforts and rewards.

Thoroughly recommended read for PARANOIA players and gamemasters alike.