Gen 01 || Chapter 01.001
Aster hated living in Willow Creek. They had spent all their life there, having been born in the Willow Creek Wellness Center. The city was quite beautiful, more of a suburb than an actual city, and there was even a nice big lot just waiting for an aspiring Legacy Founder to claim it. Aster so desperately wanted to be a Legacy Founder themself. There was just one problem with starting a Legacy in this lovely suburb.
The crime.
Oh, the crime! How many times had Aster stepped out of their house only to find some mugging going on? How many times had Aster’s own house been broken into? Watcher, just today Aster’s purse had been snatched four times!
“WHAT THE PLUM!” Ah, make that five times now. Aster was so angry that they couldn’t stop a string of forbidden words from pouring out of their mouth as the latest purse-snatcher ran off with their prize.
No, something had to be done. Aster could not stay in a city where crime ran rampant. Someone had to take care of the problem.
So it was off to the Municipal Center. Aster was so angry about having their purse snatched so many times that they couldn’t stop stomping their way up to the front entryway of the Municipal Center.
Fortunately, the wait to talk to a government official wasn’t long, and Aster was soon escorted into a lawyer’s office. The lawyer smiled at them cheerfully. “Hello, I’m Tricia Everstein! How can I help you on this fine day?”
“F-FINE DAY?! Are you serious?! I saw someone getting mugged no more than ten meters away from my house this morning! I came home from work this afternoon after being fired for my managers’ mistakes to find my house had been broken into again! And to top it all off, I just had my purse snatched for the FIFTH time today! Right outside your guys’ front doorstep no less! Tell me exactly what could possibly make this a FINE DAY?!” Aster yelled.
Normally, Aster would never be mean to someone, especially someone that didn’t deserve it. Watcher, they wouldn’t even be mean to someone who did deserve it most of the time! But they had been pushed past their limits. The latest purse-snatching incident had been the last straw.
“Woah, easy, we’re doing our best to curb the crime rate,” Tricia tried to calm them down. “We unfortunately have a shortage of detectives at the moment. But there may be a way to help you, if you’re willing to move to another city.”
“Move to another city? And I suppose you think I’ve got some kind of money tree to pluck simoleons out of to be able to afford such a move?!” Aster snapped back.
“Well, not a money tree, no, but the Municipal Center has been working on a project,” Tricia explained. “You see, there’s a little suburb not too far from Willow Creek, but far enough outside of the city borders that the crime doesn’t spill into it. We call it Newcrest. We’ve been trying to get some people to build it up and live there. We’re willing to pay for all moving expenses, as well as offering some money for the first ten people who sign up to migrate to Newcrest.”
Aster considered for a minute. Then, they asked, “What’s the catch?”
“Well, the ten founding families wouldn’t be permitted to leave until the city was built up enough to have certain required buildings and neighborhoods,” Tricia explained. “There would need to be a park, library, gym, museum, nightclub, lounge, bar, and three residential neighborhoods. One neighborhood would have to be a lower-class neighborhood, one would be middle-class, and one would be upper-class. Once those requirements were fulfilled, your family would be able to leave.”
Aster considered a bit more. Then, they asked, “Where do I sign up?”
“Right here!” Tricia said, opening a folder on her desk and pulling out some forms. “Just sign on this dotted line here, and everything will be taken care of!”
Perhaps it was a bit stupid to sign the forms without reading them, but Aster didn’t care. They signed those forms immediately, and Tricia beamed. “Congratulations! You’re the first person to sign up for the Newcrest Project. So that makes you the Mayor of Newcrest. And as such, you’re free to change the city’s name!”
“Then let’s call it Newman City,” Aster said. “So, when do I move?”
“Right away!” Tricia said. “I’ll make the arrangements for your move, and set up an appointment for you with an architect to build yourself a house! Congratulations on your new life, Mayor Newman!”
Tales From IridianSinclair 
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