GreyWater Lifestyle & Culture
Port Sterling / Daily Life
PRIMARY:
clothing, food, housing, lifestyle, culture, living conditions, The Stacks
sec:
Greywater
Pure pragmatism defines life. Dark, stain-resistant clothing from 'The Last Thread.' High-calorie meals like the '$3 Port Special' from The Grease Trap. Housing ranges from shipping container 'Stacks' ($200-400/month) to illegal houseboats at 'The Floats.'
GreyWater Survival Rules
Port Sterling / Unspoken Constitution
PRIMARY:
rules, unspoken rule, taboo, code
sec:
Greywater
Temporal taboos: 'Never Tuesday at the Yard,' 'Sunday Morning Truce.' Spatial laws: 'Three Block Rule' for business. Identity markers: shoelace code (left untied = buying, right = selling, both = cop).
Blackwood Social Codes
Port Sterling / The Invisible Ledger
PRIMARY:
social code, rules, etiquette, brands
sec:
Blackwood
Brand hierarchy broadcasts status: Hermès (Old Money), Chanel (New Money). Social rituals include 'The Blackwood Nod' (1.5 seconds eye contact max) and mandatory elevator silence. Michael Kors is social suicide.
Cross-District Survival Guide
Port Sterling / Border Crossing
PRIMARY:
survival guide, crossing the bridge, how to act, how to dress
sec:
Greywater, Blackwood
GreyWater in Blackwood: neutral colors, speak slower, claim 'visiting professor.' Blackwood in GreyWater: no white, no jewelry, carry $20-50 'robbery money,' never show fear. Best advice: don't go.
River Rising Festival
Redemption / Spontaneous Celebration
PRIMARY:
River Rising, festival, Rio Seco
sec:
Redemption
Spontaneous city-wide festival when flash floods bring water to Rio Seco. 24-hour celebration with symbolic baptisms, gang ceasefire, free beer. 'Riverbed Weddings' considered extremely fortunate.
Diseases of Redemption
Redemption / Health Crisis
PRIMARY:
diseases, illness, health crisis, mental health
sec:
Redemption
Ranch Gate: plastic surgery addiction, tennis elbow. Oilfield Heights: 'Oil Lung,' benzene poisoning. Barrio Sur: diabetes, malnutrition obesity. City-wide: Valley Fever, 'Redemption Syndrome,' highest state suicide rate.
Four Cultures of Terralinda
State-wide / Cultural Identity
PRIMARY:
culture, ranch culture, oil culture, border culture, state symbols
sec:
Terralinda
Ranch Culture values tradition, fears losing land. Oil Culture values loyalty, fears irrelevance. Border Culture values survival, fears deportation. New Energy Culture values profit, fears local resistance.
Sacred Landscape
Terralinda / Religion as Power
PRIMARY:
religion, Southern Baptist, Catholic, megachurch, vatican
sec:
Terralinda
Southern Baptist (35%) controls politics. Catholic (30%) concentrated at border. Evangelical megachurches (15%) are suburban power centers. Churches control school boards, endorse candidates, replace government services.
Urban Legends & Mysteries
Port Sterling / Secret History
PRIMARY:
legend, mystery, rumor, ghost, romance, betrayal, paradox
sec:
Port Sterling
The Missing Heir vanished from Blackwood, now lives in GreyWater. The Ghost Mediator leaves handwritten notes. The Charity Paradox matches Blackwood galas for GreyWater's poor. The Bridge Romance: professor and student at Crestview.
Secret Institutional Programs
Port Sterling / Shadow Systems
PRIMARY:
pipeline, Sunday Dinner, Post Office Exodus, secret program
sec:
Port Sterling
The University Pipeline: Index selects 5 GreyWater residents annually for Blackwood admission. Sunday Dinner Club: power brokers meet monthly in Crestview basement. Post Office Exodus (2023): spawned grey-market couriers.