Panopticons are circular prison-like buildings created by and occupied by humans based on the designs of British philosopher Jeremy Bertham as a means of surviving the catastrophe that struck the Earth many years ago, which rendered the Earth's surface unsuitable for life.
With natural resources being in unfathomably short supply, these city-states impose upon their residents strict laws on productivity for their cities, going so far as to make getting amnesia or even existing a crime punishable by a one million year prison sentence. Even the people themselves are seen as nothing more than resources in the eyes of the Panopticon governments, but resources that are of the highest value nonetheless. Panopticons are generally sustained via easy-to-produce crops such as wheat, corn, beans, and rice, but there are a few select PT's that still produce more rare and high-maintenance goods.
Overview[]
PT Residents[]
Panopticon residents are divided into two primary classes; Citizens and Sinners. The Citizens are the 'Con's (shortened version of Panopticon) residents who are granted all freedoms afforded to those who contribute to their Panopticons to the best of their abilities, whether it be for research and development or enforcement of the law. Sinners are 'Con residents who are convicted of the crime of being a drain on resources, for they contribute very little, if nothing, to the prosperity of their Panopticons. Still being living, breathing humans, however, the 'Con governments, who are constantly at conflict with each other for the Earth's limited resources, decided that Sinners can still contribute to their Panopticons, but do so on the field of battle.
PT Armies[]
Armies of Panopticons consist primarily of their convicts, the Sinners. however, they aren't the only ones to serve their 'Cons in battle; they are also joined by Citizen volunteers (very seldom), Accessories (androids who serve as both personal wardens and fighting partners to their assigned Sinners), hovering combat drones (divided into melee-types armed with knife weapons and range-types armed with laser guns) and giant, mechanical monsters dubbed Abductors. The purposes of 'Con armies are numerous, but one is exceedingly important for the benefit of each 'Con's prosperity; claim as many high-value resources as possible. The performance of this one task by each army is fundamental in the increasing of GPP (General Panopticon Prosperity). The higher a Panopticon's GPP rating, then the more advanced that Panopticon is in just about every way compared to their neighbors.
The League of Panopticons[]
Since the calamity that struck the Earth many years ago that caused the collapse of modern-world nations, only cities that belonged to those old countries still remain, and were reformed into Panopticons. Though the concept of alliances among peoples of different nations has been mostly eradicated, due to the great limit on natural resources, the Panopticons still maintain some form of relationship and communication with each other, but only to compare each others' GPP, thus treating the ongoing conflict between 'Cons for limited resources as a competition rather than a war. Due to this type of relationship, a new international coalition was founded, and its name is the League of Panopticons.
'Cons At War[]
The War between Panopticons[]
In spite of the existence of Panopticons formed from the cities of the old nations that became member states of the League of Panopticons, there also exists 'Cons that have no ties whatsoever to the countries of old, founded after the calamity that caused great blight on the Earth. Due to this, they did not qualify to become member states of the League of Panopticons. With these 'Cons, there does exist some semblance of the old world in terms of political relationships; these 'Cons could either forge alliances with each other and/or League 'Cons, or attempt to conquer each other and/or League 'Cons. Such city-states introduced in Freedom Wars include, but certainly aren't limited to Arcadia, Nog, Hourai, Argatha, Magallanica, Xanaduvia, and Lemuria.
In the game, the protagonist is an amnesiac Sinner from a certain Panopticon (chosen by the player), which has been at war for an unknown number of years with the Hourai Panopticon. The Nog Panopticon was a weak, but longstanding ally of the protagonist's Panopticon, that later fell to Hourai, and the allies/puppet states that fight alongside Hourai are Argatha, Magallanica, Xanaduvia, and Lemuria. The Arcadia Panopticon was a 'Con that discovered an ancient artifact called the Casket, which was rumored to be of such awesome and ineffable power, that the Panopticon that owned this artifact would automatically be the most powerful city in the world, unmatched by all other 'Cons. However, when the Arcadians attempted to activate the Casket, they instead brought annihilation upon themselves. Everything and everyone was destroyed by the contents of the Casket that escaped, and this event, though kept extremely secret from the people of each 'Con, came to be known by the governments of each 'Con as the Great Loss.
Panopticons vs. On High[]
With both League of Panopticons and non-Aligned Panopticons being in constant conflict with each other over the limited natural supplies of the world, the people of each and every 'Con tend to live more rugged lifestyles that don't have many of the commodities and advancements that people used to have before the catastrophe. A place exists, however, in the new world, that possesses such commodities and advancements and more. The people who founded this city-state, called On High, were able to claim more resources than any other city-state at the beginning of this cataclysm, thus enabling On High to already be the greatest city in the world, even without the powers of the Casket.
As On High is a place that exists beyond the standards of its neighbors living underground, residents of On High tend to look to residents from Panopticons with disgust and contempt at their squalid lives. Though in Freedom Wars, the players don't get many details as to the true superiority of On High, hints of their greatness are given by witnessing their armies in action. While 'Cons typically don't have juice to launch full-scale invasions on each other, On High launches invasions on Panopticons with incredible ease.
Attacks on 'Cons from the forces of On High are referred to as Retributions, because when On High attacks, nothing can be done to stop them; the only thing residents can do is just wait for the calm after the storm. Soldiers and Abductors from On High are of the highest quality in terms of armor, weaponry, and fighting skills. Only highly skilled teams of 'Con Sinners have strength enough to take down only a handful of On High Abductors, but even they would eventually get overrun by the countless soldiers and machines sent to attack the 'Con. It would seem, however, that On High does still have some small bit of respect for the League of Panopticons, because when a Retribution was launched against the protagonist's Panopticon, it was weakened, but still had the strength to carry on as normal. When On High launched a Retribution against Hourai, on the other hand, it seemed that Hourai was bled dry of all of its resources, thus leading to the ceasing of the existence of the Hourai Panopticon.