Life in the Capitol

[gamemakers]

CITIZENS and RIGHTS

A Capitol Citizen, or a Capitolite, is someone born into or legally adopted into the Capitol, and must be the (biological or adopted) child of at least one Capitol Citizen parent. Though they may live in the Districts for business or pleasure, almost all Capitolites live in the Capitol. They have the most privileges of any demographic in Panem.

Capitol Citizens have no concepts of 'rights' as we know them, but instead believe a 'right' means that the government has an official channel to ask for something. For example, they have the 'right' to travel to the Districts in that they can apply for a holiday permit to visit the Districts at their leisure, but this right is by no means inalienable - the government can revoke it at any time and for any reason.

Trials and Crime
They have 'procedural protections', which means that they can expect a private trial before a judge if they're accused of a crime. Some trials are public if they can be enough of a media circus, but sedition trials are always private, although executions and Avoxing are public. Citizens have no legal rights against each other or the Capitol for slander or libel, so all of that's hashed out either in public twitter feuds if it's a private party, or you try not to piss off the government more if it's the government.

A revocation of Citizenship is one of the harshest punishments a Capitolite can receive other than Avoxing or death. Citizens can only be reaped if their citizenship is revoked. Thus, a Citizen can't be reaped. A revoked Citizen has the same rights as a Districter and is usually exiled from the Capitol.

Privacy
There is no inalienable right to privacy or expectation of it; Capitol Citizens know that their houses are bugged. They can petition for removal for bathrooms or bedrooms but are not guaranteed to receive it (thus, because Capitolites have a different conception of rights, they would say they have a 'right' to privacy because the government can grant it at its discretion). Likewise, there is no concept of a right to free speech or assembly. There are rules against organized religion but they aren't enforced much, because most Capitol religions are like Scientology and stuff like middle-aged women saying 'namaste' to each other over Starbucks.

Travel
Most Citizens have a permit to go travel in certain areas of the Districts, but those areas are often curated to be the prettiest parts of the Districts: 'nature preserves', tourist towns, the like. They aren't allowed to go outside those bounds without permits from the government and they need a reason to do so, like to prospect for mining territory or whatever.

All permits for travel have currently been revoked save on special order of the President.

Voting
Citizens have a voting privilege for elections. Elections are gigantic media circuses where people argue about whether to outlaw plaid and constantly talk about reducing tesserae and getting more exports out of the Districts. All ads are attack ads and the debates include glitter cannons and a live band. People chat about it like it's the Oscars, and it's more about entertainment than it is about politics.

The President is ostensibly elected, but Snow keeps winning because he's like super rad and stuff. Term limits are whenever Snow says so because he needs to run another sham election to fearmonger and make people feel supportive.

Education
Capitol Citizens attend school until they're 18, and most of them go to expensive private schools. Some of them go afterwards to fancy advanced schools and colleges afterwards which are basically just designer drug pharmacies. Capitolites aren't really taught critical thinking as we understand it - it's not about asking 'why?' to things, it's about asking 'how can I best serve the Capitol and how can the Capitol best serve me?'.

There's little emphasis on history because Panem is the future. The history Citizens do receive is that the human race is between 500-600 years old, and that Panem is the only country. Prior to the Cataclysm, there was nothing but war and barbarity, although some media has survived from those times. This media is mostly heavily censored, inaccurate, or misattributed.

Escorts typically have a degree from 'Escort school', although it could just be a certification and can be received through correspondence course. They take classes ranging from etiquette and marketing to color coordination and nutrition. There are also classes that deal with heavy material, like preemptive grief counseling, but it's not treated like it's actually emotionally taxing.

Taxes
Capitolites pay taxes to Snow's government. He promises to cut them whenever elections roll around and then never does or just shuffles stuff around so it looks like he does. Taxes include sales, income and property taxes, and tax receipts are itemized with inflated figures of how much goes towards the Districts.


DISTRICTERS and NATURALIZED CITIZENS

Mentors and naturalized citizens have even fewer rights than Citizens. Mentors are obligated to work for the Games for their District at the Capitol's request, although they may put in requests to take time off or return when they wish.

Mentors can't vote, they can't travel outside their District without permission, but they can move between the Capitol and their District via a presumptory permit. Many have homes in both. They used to have the right not to be reaped but that has since been revoked.

A naturalized Citizen is not the same as a Capitol Citizen and has significantly fewer privileges. There is a merit program in the Districts where the most exceptional Districters (Penny, Quintus, Wallander, basically any District-born Capitol character besides a Mentor) are selected to be naturalized and brought to the Capitol. Usually there's an expectation of disavowing their District family. Some of these merit Districters end up teaching Capitolites about whatever industry they specialize in.

Naturalized Citizens do, however, have some of the same procedural protections as Capitolites, such as the expectation of a trial and the ability to petition for private bathrooms and bedrooms, although these are rarely approved. Those who are not Mentors but are petitioned Tributes or Peacekeepers have similar travel rights to Mentors, only to all Districts.

Education
Schooling in the Districts is different - while children are supposed to stay in school until they're 13, many drop out and pretend they're older to get jobs to help support their families. All teachers are Capitolites, to ensure that the message Districters receive is pro-Capitol. Supply of teachers is one of the first things to get cut when the Capitol wants to punish a District, and schools are understaffed and lack resources, so illiteracy is rampant. Some Mentors choose to learn on their own when they arrive at the Capitol.

In the Districts, you must have a series of permits to build a library or museum or have an art festival, and if you get it approved then the Capitol provides all the materials/books/art or at least heavily censors them.

Rights
Districters have basically no rights (Tributes do due to Cyrus' legislation). They have no legal recourse if a Capitolite does anything to them. Capitolite tourists regularly exploit this loophole in horrifying ways in the Districts, and at most get their permission to travel revoked or get minor fines if they cause trouble to someone's business.

Taxes
The Districts pay a tax by basically all of their exports being taken by the Capitol, either by government or private forces, and then redistributed as rations, Victor winnings and tesserae. For Victor winnings, the tax is included before it reaches the Victor so it looks like they don't pay taxes, which irritates many Capitol Citizens and keeps the social divisions nice and fresh.


AVOXES
CONTENT WARNING FOR SLAVERY, TORTURE, MEDICAL ABUSE

Avoxes are the mute servants of the Capitol. Typically, they are traitors to the Capitol who have been caught and punished with mutilation, brainwashing and a life of servitude. Avoxes are not seen as human by the vast majority of the Capitol, and many Capitolites believe that there is necessarily a surgical procedure to remove an Avox's soul.

In the Capitol, there are at least five different facilities 'manufacturing' Avoxes. These are all private companies in a competitive marketplace to acquire convicts from the Peacekeepers, much like private prisons are in some parts of the world. One is located in the base of the Tribute Center.

A Citizen, Districter, Mentor or Tribute can all be Avoxed. Prior to reforms a few decades ago, entire families could be Avoxed for the treason of a single family member, but this is now reserved for only the highest crimes, such as attempted assassination.

The process of Avoxing involves cutting out the tongue, to symbolize voicelessness. Procedures differ between facilities, but some Avoxes also have their vocal cords and teeth removed. Standards of care also differ, and mortality rates due to shock, infection and suicide in the first week are high.

The brainwashing process, which takes approximately two weeks but can vary from Avox to Avox, combines subliminal messaging, negative-reinforcement therapy and dehumanizing treatments with heavy drugging to make the mind more malleable. Avoxes are then deemed fit for service and rented out or sold to buyers. Avoxes must return monthly for 'reconditioning' for the first year, and then more infrequently as they grow older and less likely to break from their behavioral patterns. Brainwashing is aimed at making Avoxes compliant and invisible; Avoxes are discouraged for any attempts to communicate or for disobeying orders.

Avoxes have an extremely high mortality rate, as they have no rights and are not seen as human beings deserving of medical care. A Capitol Citizen is free to dispose of an Avox they have purchased however they like, or to neglect to feed them, treat injuries or provide basic human necessities. The occasional "Avox Rights" sentiment has been quickly quashed or deemed as unpatriotic or seditious. Avoxes are not permitted to go to school, to own property, or to participate in government - why would they? You wouldn't send your car to class, would you? You wouldn't get your microwave to vote. Their survival is entirely contingent on whether their owner chooses to provide them with basic necessities.

While 'out of service', Tribute Center Avoxes have sleeping quarters below the basement, near where laundry is done and food preparations are made. Avox Quarters are spartan and interchangeable, with no leeway for personalization. They sleep in pull-out beds, share uniforms and otherwise do not have anything of their 'own'.

Avoxes make up approximately ten percent of the population in the Capitol, although naturally, they aren't included in the census. That means there are somewhere around 40,000 Avoxes in the Capitol. There are very few Avoxes in the Districts, and they all belong exclusively to Capitol entrepreneurs living outside the city.


GOVERNMENT and STRUCTURE
Under President Snow is a Ministry/Cabinet and a Senate. The Senate legislates for the Peacekeeperss and is the judiciary while the Ministry does everything else. Snow appoints all of them. He also appoints the Mayors in the Districts (who are Districters) as well as the Head Peacekeeper for each District. A Panem Senate is much different than a Roman Senate.

Peacekeepers are stationed for at least a few years in the Districts, whether they're Capitol-born or not. They can request which District to be put in but ultimately they go where they're told.

Almost all businesses in the Districts are owned by entrepreneurs from the Capitol who come out with no oversight and hire Districters for slave wages to open plants, farms and factories. These entrepreneurs are usually taught by merit Districters, so not all the technical skill is out in the Districts. There's big money to be made in District exports and a lot of the old money families accumulated their wealth this way. There's also a stock market of exports and while it's a bit illicit, certain people play it.