Gray Eels is the closest thing Rilao has to a slum. The criminal element is extremely active in Gray eels. The proliferation of STEM dwellings and terraforming has provided ample space to live and move, but it has not been enough to keep up with the district’s rapidly expanding population. Some of the Old Coral neighborhoods in the southwest region of Gray Eels have been gentrified, resulting in higher property values, nicer homes, and safer streets. The deterioration of Gray Eels can be traced to the plague years. The old Coral buildings were converted into hospitals and eventually quarantine wards for plague victims. Inhabitants of the district were marginalized and left to their own devices for so long that the area fell into crime and squalor. By the time Rilao had emerged from the plague, Gray Eels had established itself as a thriving criminal hub that persists to this day.
In attempts to deal with increasing anxiety, family members, colleagues, and friends deposit stem cells/DNA samples in the bank such that in the event that somebody is “disappeared” in punishment for a crime. This is meant to regenerate that person, in the event of their casting away.
Daniel Suarez, Aubry Mintz, Hannu Rahaniemi, Chris Noessel
Text by Kirsten Everberg
A flag was discovered as the source for a tattoo used by an underground pirate gang. It is matched to the original Ship of Lao, revealing that Lao was indeed a pirate before settling on Rilao.
Aubry Mintz, Chris Noessel, Daniel Suarez, Hannu Rajaniemi
The children of indigenous Rilao are superstitious of the Virtual Reality images being fed to them on a daily basis. So much that they have created capes made of coral and tree sap that have the power to block out the virtual images surrounding them. However, they must refrain from wearing the cape for long periods of time to prevent permanent blindness.
Eduardo Ramirez Jr, Bill Redmann, Steve Villa, Pascal Forneri
While rebuilding a series of STEMs, a tunnel was discovered leading to an arena carved into the hillside. At the center of the arena was an altar carved from the coral, bearing several artifacts labeled with the initials “E.P.” A nested series of locked stone boxes contained a number of vials – doses of antidote for the plague. As these were controlled by the state, the presence of this artifact confirmed the presence of a subversive group, dedicated to a person, one “E.P.”
Pascal Forneri, Steve Villa, Eduardo Ramirez Jr, Bill Redmann
Photograph: Close-up of the innermost box and one surviving vial.
This state-sanctioned, ceremonial dildo was held aloft in public by those who wished to indicate an availability for penetrative intercourse. Such dildos were often hollowed out and used to smuggle items and convey information by political rebels.
Kelli Auerbach, Mary Fagot, Frederick Marks, Roger Parent, Takako Tajima
Nine years into the embargo, the children in Rilao’s District of Gray Eels are desperate to escape. They have begun attempting to leave the island, swimming towards an imagined other world, a longed-for brighter future. The only thing these children take on this journey are Rilao’s beloved and much-needed ceremonial dildos, called Vuls. The Vuls have Rilaoan secret information smuggled inside their fish bodies, which the children hope to use to barter, with whomever they meet at sea, for access to the above-described better life.
Needless to say, this situation makes the adults of Rilao irate. Not at the prospect of children leaving or potentially drowning at sea (the plague makes clear the perks of pre-emptive population control), but at the prospect of the disappearance of their Vuls. Without the Vuls, sex lives, and sexual pleasure, are in peril. To save sex they must save the Vuls. The punishment for children who attempt to leave Rilao with a Vul is jail.
To encourage parents to keep their children under control, and to save the Vuls, a coalition of concerned citizens tack up these posters all over the district.
Originally a side product of oil “mukulai pudding” was created for the sap of the Muka Tree. When boild and set for 12 hours coagulates into a pudding. Originally discovered in the Grey Eels District was produced in the black market and distributed to other districts as the plague Dr’s enjoyed the calming effects after their stressful procedures.
Aroussiak
Recipe of Mukulai Pudding
DATE: February 08, 1985
LOCATION: Marakihau Catacombs, Grey Eel District, Rilao
ARRESTING OFFICER: Lao, Bartholomew
REPORTED BY: Anonymous
TYPE OF INCIDENT: Missing Persons
DESCRIPTION: Television personality Walter Sampson and producer Samantha Wolters reported missing. Last seen entering Marakihau Catacombs, near the set of their hit TV show, “Inside the Myth of the Marakihau Monster”.
Michael Miller, Alvise Simondetti, Luke Noonan, Peter Marx, Adam Sulzdorf-Liszkiewicz
DATE: APRIL 1, 1930
LOCATION: RILAO PLAYHOUSE SCHOOL #4
ARRESTING OFFICER: LAO, JOSEPH
REPORTED BY: MDME COELEDO (REPORTED TO BE A CHEF)
CRIME DESCRIPTION: A PLAGUE DOCTOR REPORTEDLY GAVE SCHOOL CHILDREN POISONED CANDY CALLED “DOCO BOLO”. A DOCTOR WAS ARRESTED WITH CANDIES IN HIS POCKETS WHICH TESTED POSITIVE FOR CAFFEINE AND SUGAR.
Alvise Simondetti, Michael Miller, Luke Noonan, Adam Sulzdorf-Liszkiewicz, Peter Marx
