The Exclusion Zone: What is it?

Having bombarded Budget Pixel's Feed almost daily with images of my Exclusion Zone series, I often get asked questions about it . Often people get confused about it - and rightly so, because the have to deduce what is going on from looking at some images. So, this is my first attempt to explain some basic facts. 1. ORIGINS In 1972, a Science Fiction novel was published in the Soviet Union, written by the brothers Arkady and Boris Strugatsky . This novel had the title: "Roadside Picnic"The story is is set in the aftermath of an extraterrestial event, the Visitation, which occurred simultaneously in several locations around the Earth over a two-day period. Neither the Visitors themselves nor their means of arrival or departure were ever seen by the local populations, who lived inside the relatively small areas, each a few square kilometers, of the six Visitation Zones. The Zones exhibit strange and dangerous phenomena that are not understood by humans and contain artifacts with inexplicable properties. Into these Zones tresspass people known as Stalkers who go there with the intention to steal the valuable artifacts and later sell them. The novel inpired the 1979 film Stalker , directed by Andrei Tarkovsky , On 26 April 1986, the horrible Chernobly Disaster occured. Reactor 4 of the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant , located near Pripyat , Ukrainian SSR , Soviet Union (later Ukraine ), exploded. The Soviet government established a 10 km exclusion zone 36 hours after the accident, initially evacuating around 49,000 people. This was later expanded to 30 km, resulting in the evacuation of approximately 68,000 more people. These elements led to the concept of the S.T.A.L.K.E.R. series of video games, the first of which, S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Shadow of Chernobyl , was released in 2007. The creators combined the concepts of Stalkers going into forbidden territories to brave their many dangers, so as to get the mysterious Artifacts, smuggle them out and sell them with the Chernobyl disaster, transfering the story into the Exclusion Zone around the nuclear plant. This is where MY adaptation of the concept begins. 2. MY EXCLUSION ZONE In my story, the Chernobyl Nuclear Disaster created a Rift in Reality, making the Exclusion Zone a Nexus of different Realities, through which, anyone and anything can cross into our arth - and does. And it is usually deadly. The outskirts of the Zone are patrolled by the military, seeking to prevent entrance into it. Stalkers enter illegaly so as to steal its treasures, the Artifacts, hoping to make their fortune. 3. RIFTS & ARTIFACTS The Mother - Rift at the center of the Zone created many other, lesser Rifts throughout its expanse. These smaller Rifts are usually called Anomalies. These Anomalies can be visible or invisible. They vary in size from a very small, one meter point to a interlinked series of anomalies covering dozens of meters. At the heart of these Anomalies can be found the Artifacts Most times, these take the shape of irregularly shaped small rocks, glowing with exotic energies. Artifacts have extraordinaire properties that defy and alter the laws of physics. That is what makes them so valuable. They can be used for many purposes, which have become understood slowly and after an ongoing research by many scientists. 4. EMISSIONS Periodically, but not in a predictable pattern, waves of an unknown energy originate from the heart of the Zone, the Chernobyl NPP and expand outwards, covering almost the whole of the Zone's expanse. These events are called Emissions. They are 100% deadly to all humans and at times - though not always - aninmals and birds. This has something to do with brain activity, which has led some scientist to theorize it is a Noosphere-Energy that gets emitted. During these, the sky turns red and a strange, weird sansation gets hold of everything. The Red Sky is the visible warning about an imminent emission. The only thing one can do to avoid being struck by it, is to seek immediate shelter in a closed space, as the wave does not penetrate in there. That is why Stalkers always keep track of buildings and such, when crossing open space. After an emission has hit is the best time to search for Artifacts. The interaction of the emission's noosphere energy with the anomalies, leads to the creation of new Artifacts within them. Ir also creates new Anomalies. Thus, Stalkers set out immediately after one, checking known Anomalies or searching for new ones. 5. EQUIPMENT PERTAIMING TO ARTIFACTS A) DETECTORS Hand-held devices deriving from Geiger Radiation Counters (In fact they can be used also for Radiation-Levels Detection, as a Geiger-Counter) They detect the presence of Artifacts and guide Stalkers to them. Older model use Echo-location, with a sound-signal leading to the Artifact by increasing/lessening tempo of beeps as the Stalker approaches/recedes to/from the Artifact. Newer models have small screens that display the exact location of the Artifact in visual mode. B) BOLTS Some Anomalies are invisible. Interaction with moving matter makes them visible - usually the spot around the interacting matter, or (rarely) the whole Anomaly. So as to spot and demarcate the Anomaly, Stalkers use a very, very low-tech method: They hurl bolts towards the suspected Anomaly, watching the resulting flashes of the revealed Rift-spot. So, Stalkers always carry pouches of bolts on them. (This Goes back sll the way to the "Roadside Picnic" novel. C) Containers Small-or-medium leaded canisters are used for the transportation and storage of Artifacts. (Some Artifacts have a strange influence on the human organism, enhancing it ( e'g. speed, constitution etc.) so Stalkers carry them on their persons to take advantage of that. This is dangerous and they must balance the enhancing influence of the Artifact against its detrimental (due to radiation and/or toxicity) effects. 4) MONSTERS I will not go into the many creatures that roam the Zone here - this will be dealt with in another blog. Suffice it to to say, they are varied, natural and supernatural, either created by the effects of the Zone into its natural fauna (including people) or coming to our Reality through the Rifts. 5) FACTIONS In the Zone there are many groups of people thare are called Factions. I will mention three of them here. A) STALKERS Stalkers are the brave or/and crazy invividuals that brave the many dangers of the Zone, seeking its Artifacts. Their main motivation is greed and dreams of fortune-making. Mainly misfits in outside society, they gravitate to the Zone, living an existance full of hardship, dangers and a short-life expectancy. Many act as individuals, but others come together forming groups called "Crews". B) BANDITS Looters, thieves and other unsavoury elements, acting in gangs to prey on the Stalkers' hard-won Artifacts and take them for themselves. C) CLEAR SKY Clear Sky is a group of independed scientists that came in the Zone to study its many mysteries. They have a scientific base where they do their research and experiments. Often they hire or collaborate with Stalkers to obtain Artifacts, other specimens and map regions in the Zone. 6) STALKER CREW LEADER, CALL SIGN "STARGAZER" Into this strange world came my main hero. Known only by the call sign "Stragazer", obtained in the Army. After twelve years of constant, horrible war, that took away a significant part of his youth, surviving as if by miracle, he came 'home' to a society he just could not fit in anymore. Leaving what little family he had behind, he came in the Zone, lured by its mystery, seeking a solitary existance -and perhaps an end to it, the way he felt it should have happened in the war. Stargazer sees for the first time the heart of the Zone: The Chernobly NPP behind a huge screen of a Reality-Breaking Anomaly Slowly, facing many dangers, he gravitated to the haunted, abandoned city of Pripyat Stargazer, arriving at the outskirts of Pripyat, facing for the first time a Rift There, to his surprise, he found that other people made their abode there. Stagazer, meeting the first people he found in Pripyat: Anatoly (A Clear Sky scientist), Wilhelmina ( A woman from an Alternate Reality) and her daughter Ophelia To his surprise, he found himself the core of a group of people, forming a Crew, learning once again to live in the company of his fellow humans and enjoying it. He learnt to truly live again. He found friendship And something much more than friendship A huge thanks to all the people that like and support this series. Some of them have been kind enough to design characters for the Zone and letting me use them in my stories: @suga2309 @EternaSky @dirty_biker @Sealine @Unleashed @Bobbie @DavidP @TheBard Special thanks to @TTRPG_Player @CaylaCatz @nametaker @jmn