The Zone
The Chernobyl Exclusion Zone (or simply The Zone)
The Chernobyl Exclusion Zone is a place known all over the world for what happened on April 26, 1986, when the #4 reactor of the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant suffered a full-fledged meltdown, causing radioactive fallout to explode high into the air and spreading all throughout the Eastern hemisphere of Earth, reaching as far as the East Coast of the United States. Following the massive scale of the disaster, the Soviet Union evacuated everyone from the region and established a massive "No Man's Land" around the reactor (covering about 2600 square kilometers), declaring it the "Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant Zone of Alienation", or more simply the Exclusion Zone.
However, the Soviets did NOT leave the Zone unoccupied for very long. After the accident, groups of workers called "Liquidators" were brought in by the Soviets to build a containment structure around the remains of Reactor 4. This structure was later nicknamed the Sarcophagus. Since then, few people have any reason to enter the Zone, and the Soviet military maintains a well-guarded perimeter around the 30 kilometer wide border.
In late 2018, the Zone became the location for one of the Kits' most recent survival training exercises which quickly transformed into one of their most harrowing, sparking a desperate rescue attempt that later became a massive battle against an enemy previously believed to be dead.
Unknown History of the Zone
Throughout the remainder of the 1980s the Soviet government established hidden underground research facilities inside the Zone since the nuclear power plant was still partially functional, and the lack of anyone living in the region made the entire area a perfect Black Site. This unsanctioned research continued long after the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991. Many projects were halted due to lack of resources. However, some project leaders were unwilling to stop and continued their research into various psychic applications, receiving a trickle of funding from the Ukrainian government (partly due to fears of what the international community would do if it found out).
Throughout the 1990s the situation inside the Zone became more bizarre. Six experimental field generators of unknown purpose were built in the center of the Zone, high-powered antenna arrays were modified to project energy fields that had nothing to do with radar or radio, and test subjects continued to be brought into the Zone never to return. Finally on February 22, 1999, the Ukrainian government began an official investigation, followed soon afterwards by an attempt to take control by the USSS.
As the 21st Century began, the situation inside the Zone progressed from "Bizarre" to "Otherworldly". Rumors of strange phenomena within 10 kilometers of the Chernobyl NNP became widespread. The city of Pripyat developed a reputation of being "haunted" by strange creatures, and after an entire busload of foreign tourists vanished the Ukrainian government officially closed off the ENTIRE Zone and militarized the border. This didn't put an end to the strange occurrences, which became more widespread over the next few years and began to include aberrant weather patterns (including hurricane winds) and seismic tremors.
In March of 2006 nothing would ever be normal again in the Zone.
The Second Chernobyl Disaster
On March 4, 2006 a blinding light flared into existence in the skies above the Chernobyl NNP. Witnesses reported that the light remained for two hours before winking out of existence.
On April 12, 2006, a little over a month after the first light phenomena a second flare of even greater power suddenly appeared in the skies. The clouds evaporated from the skies and a massive peal of thunder radiated outwards across the Zone, lasting for several minutes. The thunder faded, then an earthquake registering 6.9 on the Richter Scale struck the entire Zone. The glow grew and radiated outwards, engulfing the heart of the Zone with deadly energy disturbances and intense radiation. No rescue attempts were possible. A subsequent investigation determined that the explosion occurred about a kilometer away from the nuclear plant itself and was speculated to be the nuclear fuel dump detonating.
On June 10 a massive energy storm of unknown energy swept out from the center of the Zone and surged throughout it. Unprepared, all military and scientific personnel caught outside when it happened were incinerated by the intensity of the dimensional energy. Reality began to break down as dimensional rifts tore open. In a panic, the Exclusion Zone's boundaries were pulled back another 5 kilometers, with the entire populations of the cities and villages near the original border being forced to evacuate almost overnight. A military expedition was quickly organized to attempt to contact and withdraw anyone else still trapped deeper inside, but met with total failure: the Zone had become filled with areas of intense radiation, toxic gas, acidic mist, plasma storms, zones of altered gravity, and other areas of anomalous activity that defied the laws of science. The majority of the Ukrainian soldiers sent into the Zone were lost, and anyone still missing inside the Zone were officially declared lost.
For the next few years, the Ukrainians could only watch and observe as the energy storms (later called Emissions) periodically swept throughout the Zone. Few attempts to explore the Zone were made as most expeditions either disappeared without a trace or died soon after entering. However, once a group of scientists from Kiev succeeded in creating portable detectors capable of detecting areas of anomalous activity (or simply Anomalies) within 10 meters the first successful expedition was made into the Zone. They succeeded in travelling a kilometer into the Zone and returned without injury or incident. Further expeditions enabled them to observe and tentatively study subsequent Emissions as well as brought back samples of strange objects that defied explanation.
The Stalkers
In 2011 news of the potential to actually survive inside the Zone leaked out, drawing amateur researchers, explorers, scavengers, and criminals from all over the world. These scavengers soon became known collectively as "Stalkers". While many of them died inside the Zone due to the extremely hostile conditions, many more of them began to bring out samples of mutant creatures never encountered before in nature, warped and alien flora, and even artifacts of unknown origin that possessed highly unusual powers that bordered on paranormal. These Artifacts immediately became highly sought after by various private businesses, corporations, and criminal groups, forcing the Ukrainian government to began fortifying the Zone's border even more: the entire border is now protected by regiments of infantry and supported by air and naval elements where applicable. No one is allowed into the Zone now without authorization from the government and military, and attempting to enter illegally can easily result in death from machine gun fire, minefields, or even the cannons of an Mi-24 Hind helicopter gunship as the Ukrainian Army is authorized to shoot Stalkers on sight.
The Faction War and the Third Emission
In late 2011 the situation inside the Zone deteriorated significantly when another massive Emission struck without warning, causing MORE Anomalies to form and making the Zone itself expand outwards another five kilometers. No one knows for certain what caused it, but rumors circulated that someone had reached the center of the Zone and discovered an alien artifact within the center of the Sarcophagus. This pillar of xenos-crystal was apparently conscious on some level and had the power to grant the wishes of whoever made it through the myriad of hazards to stand before it. But something had gone wrong (or the person was a complete asshole) and the wish resulted in the Zone becoming even worse. Soon afterward, the Military received its orders to shoot Stalkers on sight after several major clashes with various Stalker groups.
In the aftermath of the Third Emission, the topography of the Zone had changed, with some Anomaly Fields vanishing and new ones appearing elsewhere. This forced many people to relocate, resulting in much confusion and more than a little strife. Two of the largest factions in the Zone, Freedom and Duty, came into direct conflict and tensions soon erupted into genuine warfare. At the same time another faction, Clear Sky, took advantage of the confusion to launch a militarized expedition into the heart of the Zone in an attempt to reach the Chernobyl NPP and possibly shut down whatever was causing the Emissions in the first place as smaller, less destructive but no less dangerous Emissions had become common (happening every few days). Clear Sky failed and was almost wiped out when another massive Emission triggered and engulfed the Zone, causing it to expand yet a few more kilometers.
Not long after that event, the entire Neo-Soviet Bloc recognized the Zone as a dire threat and began investigating their options (if any) of how to halt any further expansion. After a few weeks of deliberation and investigation, they determined that the best way to stop the Zone was to invade, take over the Chernobyl NPP from the faction known as Monolith, and shut it down entirely. Unfortunately, their preliminary investigation had turned up new complications: the skies over the Zone were filled with Anomalies, and a huge section of the Zone's interior encompassing the Chernobyl NPP and the abandoned town of Pripyat (a 10 km area overall ) was enveloped by a powerful psychic energy field known locally as the "Brain Scorcher". The Brain Scorcher caused hallucinations and extreme anxiety in Humans on its outskirts that got progressively worse the further the subject went inside. Prolonged exposure caused psychotic episodes, intense hallucinations, and potential death, with those "dying" from it actually getting back up again as parts of their brains had been "scorched" but then reactivated as one of the shambling, mindless "Zombies" of the Zone. Eliminating the threat of the Brain Scorcher was their primary objective at that point.
Then someone inside the Zone shut down the Brain Scorcher for them. The airborne invasion classified as "Operation Fairway" was launched and dozens of Neo-Soviet helicopters carrying multiple squads of VDV and Spetsnaz were dispatched. As they flew over the Zone they were quick to notice that every faction had begun an invasion of Pripyat on their own: the shutdown of the Brain Scorcher had opened up new sections of the Zone that had been previously closed off to them. An Artifact "gold rush" had begun, forcing Monolith to go on the defensive in order to protect its own holdings. As they got closer, the Neo-Soviet helicopters began to be destroyed: some were shot down by the few anti-aircraft defenses that Monolith had cobbled together, but many more of the helicopters had struck aerial Anomalies that hadn't been charted. Only a few helicopters remained to attack the Chernobyl NPP and even they they weren't enough to overwhelm Monolith's forces. They did, however, manage to inadvertently provide covering fire for a single lone Stalker who managed to take advantage of the chaos to fight his way through Monolith's defenses to reach Chernobyl itself and get inside.
However, the commanders of Operation Fairway were unaware of any of this. As losses continued to mount and strange energy readings began to be detected from inside Chernobyl, the final option was declared. A nuclear strike was authorized and launched, and the center of the Zone was struck by a single five-megaton ICBM fired from Kiev. When the smoke finally cleared, much to their dismay they discovered that the force of the blast had been almost entirely dispersed and dispelled by the appearance of MANY Anomalies that resembled wormholes. Something HAD happened at Chernobyl though, and there was evidence of some parts of the Zone stabilizing, as well as Monolith suddenly becoming disorganized and falling back in disarray. The radiation of the nuclear strike had NOT been dispelled, so the entire Zone and much of the region immediately surrounding it was impacted by the radiation (no big deal for any decent Stalker). As such, the Neo-Soviet government declared a complete media blackout regarding the Zone and issued the statement that they'd obliterated the Chernobyl NPP and put a halt to any further expansion. However, due to the inimically toxic nature of the Zone, the perimeter would be enhanced even FURTHER and no unauthorized people would ever be allowed inside again. Fortunately, the Zone itself seems to be complying as no further massive Emissions have occurred since late 2011. Minor ones and Psi-storms occur every few days, but they're all much weaker by a full order of magnitude.
The truth of what happened to the lone Stalker, and what he did inside Chernobyl, has never been determined.
The Environment of the Zone
The environment of the Zone is, to say the least, toxic. The degree of which varies from area to area, but in general there is no place within the Zone that is completely untouched by the radiation. It's literally EVERYWHERE, but what has baffled scientists who know anything about the Zone is just HOW it's everywhere.
During the original nuclear meltdown of 1986, radioactive dust from the vaporized core, as well as fragments of the graphite structure, were scattered all over the region. The worst of the debris had been picked up and disposed of afterwards, but fallout particles had coated literally every surface of the land. After the Second Chernobyl Incident that all changed.
Radiation now exists in areas where it never existed before, and sometimes those areas can move. The groundwater in many areas is sometimes highly radioactive, and during the day something within the environment of the Zone literally becomes radioactive in daylight. Even more strangely, some of the radioactive effects of daylight seem to only affect HUMANS, not plants or other life-forms. Theories as to how this is even possible range from the presence of an unknown alien pollen that becomes hyper-energized in direct sunlight to the Zone itself being some kind of organism resisting the presence of Humans.
There are also many areas where leftover wreckage from the meltdown still exists. One example is an area called the Garbage where huge piles of highly-radioactive metal and stone fragments were gathered into high hills and left there. There are also vast parking lots of old Soviet-era military vehicles, trucks, and even huge transport helicopters that were all used during the cleanup of 1986, then were abandoned and left behind because they'd become too contaminated to ever use again. These vehicle graveyards still exist as vast fields of abandoned relics of the Cold War parking in kilometer-long lines facing each other like forgotten soldiers still waiting for orders that will never come. All of them generate at least low levels of radiation due to the amount of microscopic fallout that adhered to their outer hulls and became permanently embedded.
More strangely, there are places where radiation just exists without a physical cause. In these areas there's no physical wreckage from the original nuclear meltdown, no fallout, or anything else. Anyone entering these areas becomes bathed in radiation. These spots are all considered to be a kind of low-level Anomaly Zone, and the cause is generally believed to be the result of "microscopic-level" tears in the fabric of our reality that allow low levels of extradimensional energy to seep through. While no Artifacts are ever found inside those "proto-Anomalies", Stalkers still keep an eye on these locations if only to make sure they haven't moved locations or grown larger over time. Both are possible.
Everyone who lives inside the Zone never goes outside without protective clothing and some kind of filter mask. People who don't are universally regarded in the Stalker community as either insane or suicidal.
Even without the radiation, the Zone is a harsh and desolate place. While Nature has largely recovered in the decades since the nuclear meltdown, the land is not conducive to Human habitation. The plant-life isn't stunted, but it's not especially lush either. Crops do not grow well even if clean soil is imported. Most plants are toxic or at least indigestible, and some have been mutated by the Zone to become dangerous.
By "dangerous" this can mean anything from poisonous from touching them or breathing in the pollen to tales of actual mobile, predatory plants. "Man-eating plants" have never been officially confirmed, but people disappear all the time and strangely mutilated bodies are frequently found. The rule in the Zone is that anything is possible.
Mutants and Anomalies, a Brief Overview
Attention, stalkers! An Emission is approaching. Find shelter immediately!! >An all-too-common radio transmission inside the Zone<
The inside of the Zone is a place that's borderline alien to Humanity. In some places reality has begun to break down, manifesting in a multitude of ways ranging from the relatively benign (such as strange colorations in the sky or the equivalent of aurora borealis activity) to the hazardous (random radiation fields) to the directly lethal.
The most dangerous and widespread of the Zone's dangers are the Emissions and the Psi-Storms.
Emissions
Emissions are massive storms that erupt from the core of the Zone every few days, resembling a cross between a powerful thunderstorm and a rolling blast-wave of a huge explosion surging out across the land. The various scientists who study the Zone have concluded that the Emissions are the result of pent-up energies within the "fabric" of the Zone finally reaching critical mass and discharging it all in one event. While the Emissions themselves do little in the way of physical damage, the energies are psychic in nature, capable of overwhelming and frying the neurons and synapses of any creatures caught out in the open. To a non-sentient lifeform (such as the animals of the Zone), they're simply stunned and rendered unconscious for a few minutes. To sentient creatures (like Humans), the Emissions are potentially lethal; depending on the level of exposure, effects can be anything from severe brain hemorrhages, prolonged nightmares and hallucinations, physically exploding (YES, THAT HAS HAPPENED TO STALKERS CAUGHT DIRECTLY IN THE OPEN), and zombification.
Afterwards, the Zone returns to a state of relative calm, but old Anomalies will have likely vanished and new ones will have appeared. As a consequence, the Zone is always changing.
The Emissions that routinely affect the Zone are comparatively MINOR compared to other Emissions in the past. Minor Emissions typically only last less than an hour and dissipate short of the Zone's fortified borders. The greatest Emissions, however, were so severe that they surged past the outer perimeter, created all-new Anomaly fields in areas that were previously unaffected, and quite literally could be detected all the way from France and England, and in each case, the massive Emissions caused the Zone to expand by several kilometers, forcing new perimeter defenses to be built and rebuilt as quickly as the military engineers can manage.
Psi-Storms
Psi-Storms are a lesser kind of Emission that also occur every several days. They resemble lightning storms that cover large swaths of the Zone, but stationary ball-lightning fills the sky, building in strength and finally exploding, discharging all of the energy into the ground below. As with Emissions, the energy is psychic, inflicting severe neural damage to the brains of anyone caught out in the open. Too much exposure can completely destroy the minds of Stalkers, leaving them as mindless, shambling husks stumbling around the Zone, guided by only the barest fractured remnants of the memories they once had.
As with Emissions, Psi-Storms can cause old Anomalies to disappear and new Anomalies to form. Fortunately, the scientists and researchers constantly monitor the Zone for indications of the energy buildups that occur before Emissions and Psi-Storms, and regularly send warnings out over the radios about when to expect them.
Anomalies, the Zone's Most Numerous Threats.
............OUCH!!!!!
Of all the features of the Zones, the Anomalies are the most well-known, numbering in the hundreds of thousands, if not millions. An "Anomaly" is a catch-all term used by the Stalkers to describe the various spatial distortions and reality breaches that permeate the entire place. Anomalies typically are non-moving and fixed to the area they appear in, and can take the form of anything from poisonous gas fields that are unaffected by the wind, toxic sludge pools that bubble and seethe, altered gravity fields, burning fields that require no fuel, spatial rifts that explode like grenades when their perimeters are breached, and electrical fields where lightning discharges from the ground if trespassers get too close. Psionic Anomalies also exist, causing unwary Stalkers to suffer hallucinations, brain damage, insanity, or even beginning the process that leads to zombification.
Rarer Anomalies include spatial warps that can teleport a Stalker from one place to another. Other spatial warps can teleport a Stalker into a kind of pocket dimension where they may wander for hours or even days attempting to find a way out. Sometimes, they do. Sometimes, they don't.
These are just a few examples of the Zone's Anomalies. Most are temporary, changing and vanishing after each Emission. Some, however, are seemingly permanent fixtures of the place, so such a degree that local Stalkers use them as reference points.
The Crusade of the KITS
COMING SOON
The Zone's Factions
Soon after the establishment of the Stalkers and the lockdown of the Zone, in true Human fashion communities began to establish themselves in the form of factions revolving around ideologies and mission objectives in regard to the Zone. Of the many groups that formed and came to the Zone, nine distinct factions established themselves as the most stable and influential (or just incorporated similar groups for convenience).
Bandits - Members of the criminal underworld who operate in the Zone for various reasons: illegal Artifact trade, gun running, to represent various organized crime cartels, or just to escape from the law. The Bandits are also responsible for jumping, attacking, and killing stalkers, ambushing them and stealing whatever they can. Consequently, they don't get along with anyone outside of the Mercenaries, and even then that's tenuous.
Loners - Sometimes called the Free Stalkers, the Loners aren't aligned with any of the major factions. They've established a loose confederation of sorts, typically try to help each other out when possible, and maintain several small trading outposts throughout the Zone, in particular the derelict cargo ship-become-settlement of Skadovsk and the "Rookie Village" in the southern Cordon, which is home to the infamous trader Sidorovich. They get along fairly well with everyone except the Bandits, the Military, and Monolith. Their relationship with the Mercenaries is also strained as more than once in the past the Loners have interfered with the Merc's missions.
Clear Sky - An independent scientific and militarized group, Clear Sky focused on researching and understanding the Zone, primarily in an attempt to figure out the physics and mechanisms that made it work. Where Duty wants to contain the Zone by any means necessary, and Freedom wants to open it to the world, Clear Sky occupies a middle ground of the ideologies, recognizing that the Zone is a source of unimaginable potential value, but is also an exceptionally dangerous place that no one understands well enough. Clear Sky's center of operations is near the southern border of the Zone in the region called the Great Swamp, where they maintain smuggling routes in and out of the Zone and was known for having access to some highly advanced body armor specializing in hostile environments. In 2012 the faction was nearly wiped out during the failed attack on the NPP, but the survivors managed to rebuild. The surviving Moon-Rabbit deserters from the Lunar Assault Corps are currently filling Clear Sky with new members, and will probably result in the faction being renamed the "Zone Rabbits" or something. Like the Loners, Clear Sky gets along fairly well with everyone.
Mercenaries - Operating as individuals or small groups, the Mercs are foreigners who offer their services as hired soldiers but also serve clients from outside the Zone. Little is known about who they serve overall, but there's no shortage of corporations, governments, or super-wealthy individuals who have the money to finance small private armies to represent them inside the Zone. While most factions are equipped with whatever mix of weaponry and equipment they can find (mostly Warsaw Pact gear) the Mercenaries are different in that their gear is almost uniformly of NATO origins, giving them a distinctive almost-Western appearance. The Mercs are antagonistic towards almost everyone except the Bandits, Clear Sky, and Ecologists. It is rumored that the Mercenaries also maintain ties to another secretive organization named UNSIG (the United Nations Scientific Investigation Group), but nothing has been confirmed.
Ecologists - The Ecologists are a government-funded group researching the Zone in order to properly harness its potential for the good of Humanity. They're not a militant faction, but they do have access to high-end medical and scientific gear, as well as sealed environment suits specifically for use inside the Zone (including reinforced military-grade types). The Ecologists are the most eager to collect Artifacts and other anomalous samples and operate out of several heavily armored bunkers that serve as both research labs and trading stations. The Ecologists get along well with everyone except the Bandits and Monolith. They're one of the only factions that the Military isn't hostile towards.
Military - The Military was formerly the Ukrainian military, but was replaced by the Neo-Soviet Military once the Restoration happened. Regardless of where High Command is located (Kiev or Moscow), the Military is made up entirely of active-duty soldiers and maintained by the Ministry of Internal Affairs. Their members are all highly trained (compared to the Zone's inhabitants) and are all equipped with modern weapons and gear. However, depending on just WHERE the soldiers are brought in and supplied from, their equipment might be anything from Ukrainian reservist gear (cirqua late 1980s), Russian conscripts equipped to early Russian Federation standard (turn of the Millennium), or advanced Neo-Soviet equipment from just a few years ago. Military Stalkers are some of the best equipped and most dangerous entities in the Zone, and anyone thinking that Russian equipment = junk typically finds out the hard way just how reliable and effective the legendary Kalashnikov really is. The Military only gets along with the Ecologists and Duty.
Duty - Duty is a large paramilitary faction at odds with anyone that seeks to exploit the Zone and spread its corruption to the outside world. Depending on who you ask, the members of Duty call the Zone either a demonic blight, an alien invasion, a manifestation of the sins of Man, or any number of other things. Regardless, they view it as their duty to combat the spread of the Zone and hold its horrors at bay. They deal with Artifacts only grudgingly, trading them for money as a necessary evil to procure the resources to continue their war. Duty is not only best known for their distinctive red and black colors on their suits, but almost all of them have received some degree of military-style training and have access to high-grade Soviet weaponry and armor, including some early exoskeleton suit prototypes. Duty is neutral towards everyone except the Bandits, Mercenaries, Monolith, and especially hates Freedom due to their conflicting ideologies.
Freedom - The members of Freedom describe themselves as anarchists and daredevils fighting for free access to the Zone, believing it to be a gift to Humanity filled with all sorts of potential new discoveries that could change the world. They're not wrong, as Freedom's technicians have successfully used certain aspects of the Zone to create unique modifications for their faction's gear. As such, they desire for as much information about the Zone to be distributed throughout the world. Naturally, they're at direct odds with Duty and open warfare has broken out more than once. Freedom lacks the militaristic hierarchy of Duty and tends to operate with only the barest hints of structure. However, their members are highly motivated and through the Artifact trade (which they happily engage in) they're quite well funded. Freedom's Stalkers are usually recognizable by their green and blue outfits (flecktarn is a common camouflage pattern) and are also known for having access to high-quality armor and weapons from the West. They're also well-known for relaxed, party-like atmosphere of their camps and bases inside which booze and drugs (especially marijuana) flows freely.
Monolith - Monolith is a fanatical group hostile to everyone outside themselves, displaying many of the features of a religious cult. Its members believe in the existence of a miraculous alien crystal, the Wish Granter, located somewhere in the heart of the Zone. They guard the inner reaches of the Zone rabidly and have launched more than a few massive surges outwards from the Chernobyl NPP that resembled crusades. Members of Monolith fight without fear or even a sense of self-preservation, often fighting on despite severe injuries that would have crippled normal people. No member of Monolith has ever allowed themselves to be captured alive, resorting to blowing themselves up with grenades or even bashing their own heads against the wall to kill themselves. Even more enigmatic is the fact that members of Monolith are actually IMMUNE to the mind-damaging effects of Psi-storms and Emissions (although they'll still take cover from its other effects). Their members tend to be easily identifiable with their distinctive urban-camo hostile environment suits (widely known as the X-18 suit, named after the lab where hundreds were found stockpiled).
