The island nation of Ridgescar was in need. The War of Six Figures was over, and it was a complete loss. The larger nations Ridgescar allied with folded like so many aluminum panels. Once the treaties were signed, the Ridgescari people were left to grumble at the tokens offered by the victors. The only consolation was that no human lives were lost in the robotic warfare.
Everything was in disrepair and there was corruption under every pebble; society was ripe for promises and James Hightower was the most effective ‘promiser’ around. Everything needed to be fixed, but how could he fix something as large as a country without inviting even deeper corruption into society? Hightower had a plan, but he would need help to pull it off.
The war had been a rout thanks to the fractious Tethian alliance, but not a single Ridgescari life had been lost all thanks to one man: Logan Trueheart. Truehart designed battle bots so effective in combat that Ridgescar had not needed to send a single warm body to the battlefield. “If Trueheart can build them to fight”, Hightower reasoned ”Why not build them also to govern”. And so began the “Automate Anticorruption!” presidential campaign, a proposal to build a series of powerful, intelligent robots called “Blights” to govern all areas of society. This idea was so brazen that it astounded the beleaguered people, and even though the talking heads bobbled and the philosophers portended, in the end Hightower eked out a victory by the slimmest of margins.
The day after Hightower’s election, his reelection loomed, so down to business he got with the brilliant Logan Trueheart. Within months, Judge Blight was born to replace the corrupt system of bribes and kickbacks that had been plaguing the justice system. The effect was immediate, resulting in fewer and more impactful incarcerations and a dramatic reduction in crime. As the project continued, eight more Blights were born. In order of production those Blights were:
Frack Blight: To cut down Grist control over the extraction of Ridgescar’s natural resources and ensure they remained the property of her people, creating the Ridgescar People’s Wealth fund in the process.
Switch Blight: To break up the oligarchy of energy companies and provide free power for all.
Sludge Blight: To manage the sanitation system and eliminate the Grist’s hold over this essential service.
River Blight: To manage Ridgescar’s public transportation and lower the cost of clean, renewable water.
Doctor Blight: To eliminate the profit motive of pharmaceutical companies and push the boundaries of medical research as far as they can go.
Hyper Blight: To ensure that Ridgescar’s military is equipped to handle another war, should one ever occur.
Bling Blight: To bring oversight to the financial system and encourage the populace in economic participation by promoting new trends.
And finally, Blister Blight, a warrior of law enforcement to assist the police force.
The stories and snippets that follow occur during the ten-year reign of Logan Truehart and his Blights. It is during these years that the Ridgescari people are given hope, witnessing a genuine blight on corruption and healing of national wounds; it is also during these years that the nature and will of the Blights begin to transform the land into something that may be far worse.