Curtis arrived into the local square in a panel truck. He got out and walked into the center of the square. As he did two men opened the back of the truck and took out a couple of crates of flyers to hand out while a third took a few posters and went about posting them around the plaza. Curtis got himself a coffee from a favorite spot and walked out into the gathering to address the crowd.

"I have come here with some news and information for you all. Firstly, to put your curiosity to rest, there are plans in the offing to introduce families to Las Vegas, and the other districts around the country that are in need to re-population. Given the current situation, those candidates that most impress and shine for their respective leaders in the coming weeks, will be selected and given their shot. Now, to today's business..."

He turned and gestured to a large sign on the wall behind him.

"As you can see we have decided to open up Los Angeles to the opportunist. It will be our nod to the spirit of the wild west. The rules and restrictions of this city can be easily read on the posters and flyers all around you. Now before some of the less literate among you start to flip out because you can't read the sign, I would like to make something very clear.

This is NOT a competition! There are no prizes and nothing to be won. There will be no comparisons, score keeping, finishing line or anything of the sort.

This is simply an opportunity for those maverick spirits who wish to try their hand at making their mark in that city on their own. Some people get frustrated with family life, others feel they are habitually overlooked, some just want the thrill of uncertainty and others thrive on the danger of conflict. For every man and woman out there that craves a more unhinged and lawless life, this city is for you. You will have to operate within the restrictions laid down but outside of these few simple rules, anything goes. I encourage you all to read the information and if you so choose, embark on your adventure out west." 

​He looked around at the interested faces and took a step back so people could read the sign.

~

Los Angeles

The Wild West

~

Los Angeles will exist with no conventional rules about governance. It will be open to any entrepreneurial spirit with balls enough to go and set up there. Once someone was ranked to Wise Guy and is ready to immediately rank to Made Man, or higher they will be eligible to move there and set up their own crew. They will have the opportunity to go into LA and try to make a stand for themselves. 

~

Inside the city

• Anyone wishing to leave their current life and start a crew in Los Angeles will need express permission from their crew leader to do so. Their leader in turn will need to inform the rest of the community of the individual's move to Los Angeles and in so doing, ensure they are not shot for being rogue before they even get started.

• All Crews will be restricted to a 20 man HQ. Anyone exceeding this limit for longer than 24 hours, will be shut down.

• There will be no Godfathers in Los Angeles. The highest rank anyone will attain and hold will be Don. Anyone attempting to take the Godfather rank will be removed.

• As an isolated city, the leaders in Los Angeles will not have any say in the governance of the external community. They will not participate in meetings of city heads and will have no say on policy making of any kind. They will be completely isolated in this respect.

• Anyone wishing to take up residence and establish a crew in Los Angeles will be subject to negotiation with the crews already there. By words, wars or whatever. 

• There will never be more than 2 crews per district. If a 3rd emerges and does not attempt to take down one of the existing 2 within 24 hours, it will be removed by the other existing LA crews. If this does not happen it will be removed by the Godfathers and other members of the outside community.

•  The rules of the city will only be those implemented and enforced by the crew or crews in power at the time. As regimes change so will the rules they wish to enforce.

• The external community will not be interfered with in any way. Any attack on a member or crew from the other cities will result in full scale retribution from the offended crew and (if they so chose) their district and possibly even the rest of the community. Retribution will only be dealt to the crew that perpetrated the transgression. No other crews in Los Angeles will be affected. 

• All members of the existing community outside the city limits will still be permitted full freedom to travel and do business in the city of Los Angeles. No restrictions or interference will take place toward members of the other cities. 

• All members of Los Angeles crews will be allowed to travel, trade and hunt in the external community as normal, provided they adhere to the laws of each city.

~

Outside the city

• None of the external community will interfere in the events of Los Angeles any way. The participants will have no protection, help with firepower or other assistance, from any of the established families outside the city. 

• There will be no taxes or fees of any kind taken from any crew leader in LA by any of the standing Leaders outside of that city. This is not about profit or gain for anyone outside of Los Angeles. 

After giving everyone time to carefully read the rules, Curtis speaks once more.

"Just to reiterate, this is not for everyone! It is an option and opportunity open to those who care to take it. No one is obligated to participate. If you are one of the pioneering souls that wishes to start a wild life on your own, then good luck to you!"

Stepping away from the notice board he continues to enjoy his coffee.

Fantastic idea. I can't wait to see how this plays out. I will be watching the events unfold with keen interest. 

All I can say is, this looks like it could be fun. Good luck to the ones that decides to run around in the wild west.

I always remain sceptical when when any competition is announced and one of the conditions has:

None of the external community will interfere in the events of Los Angeles any way. The participants will have no protection, help with firepower or other assistance, from any of the established families outside the city.

Do I genuinely hope that this will be the case for all those that choose to enter the city and stake a claim? Yes. Do I expect this to be the case if say 45 days down the line there is clearly one "winner" that is making a nice run of things and those currently running the show get a little worried? Probably not. 

Time will tell but I guess we shall better understand those in power down the line depending on whether they stick to their word or not. I wish all those planning to give lady luck a roll a clear aim and a little.. luck. 

Do not like this idea at all to be honest because of the current state of our world. 

Far too many regulations for it to be a 'wild west' type scenario. I can see it turning rather tame, rather fast. With nobody able to take Godfather there is nothing to truly aim for. 

If you go for this, expect to waste a lot of your time and money.

• All Crews will be restricted to a 20 man HQ. Anyone exceeding this limit for longer than 24 hours, will be shut down,

 Why is there a limit on this? I don't really understand how this would be helpful.

• There will be no Godfathers in Los Angeles. The highest rank anyone will attain and hold will be Don. Anyone attempting to take the Godfather rank will be removed.

I also don't really understand this part. It makes the whole 'contest' much less appealing. Like a ride on the merry-go-round, but you can't go faster than this, or you'll get sick! 

• As an isolated city, the leaders in Los Angeles will not have any say in the governance of the external community. They will not participate in meetings of city heads and will have no say on policy making of any kind. They will be completely isolated in this respect.

Does this mean that LA will be exempt from rules like the street speaking requirement for auth?

• There will never be more than 2 crews per district. If a 3rd emerges and does not attempt to take down one of the existing 2 within 24 hours, it will be removed by the other existing LA crews. If this does not happen it will be removed by the Godfathers and other members of the outside community.

That's technically interfering with their business, right? The only possible advantages of setting up in LA I can see are being exempt from the rules of the other cities (?) and the fact that they have a crew of their own.

I agree with Father_TeQ here and I will say that there a lot of regulations for the Wild West.

This sounds like something Luca should do, but he's probably too lazy!

That is the whole point, WhySoSerious. This is an old concept, formerly known as King of the Hill. It is not for the faint of heart and unless you're cock sure of yourself, you'd be foolish to embark on the journey. It will certainly be interesting to see who takes up this opportunity extended by Godfather Curtis. It is in essence, every person for themselves.

For anyone thinking of going, brute force is an obvious requirement, but diplomacy, allegiance and politics should not, by any means be overlooked. 

Good luck to anyone brave frontier who decides to take this opportunity by the horns.

Ok Alan and Goto, as I said in bold fucking letters. IT IS NOT A COMPETITION. There, hopefully that can be put to bed.

Does this mean that LA will be exempt from rules like the street speaking requirement for auth?

Yes it does. The only thing anyone will need to set up as a leader in LA will be permission from their current leader to go and do it, then a mass mail from that leader to the rest of the upper structures informing us that said individual was about to make a stand in LA. Nothing more.  

If, down the line, the currently existing leaders in LA want to enforce rules about speeches or any other for of prerequisite to setting up there, that us up to them to decide and enforce as they are able.

Goto, in response to all your other questions, the restrictions and parameters are what they are. you can either accept them and participate or not accept them and not participate. That decision is yours.  

WhySoSerious. Anyone from outside LA, attacking an LA crew, will be dealt with. Severely. As for inside LA, nothing protects you from each other. It is up to you to negotiate your own safety using words or war. 

Bravo! GodFather Bravo! I like the idea. Its not a competition and it has some rules and regulations. This really gives some new faces and some motivated mobsters an opportunity to shine! Let the gold rush begin!!!

I like this idea a lot. I think that this is the perfect way to give all those people who complain about not getting a chance the opportunity to actually prove why they should have been given one. I also think with the way the environment is now this is an excellent way to reshape the city of Los Angeles.

Best of luck to the people who enter and I hope to see LA shining once again!

I believe this has been done in the years before if I remember reading correctly from past journals. I would say I like this idea but it never ended so well....none the less I wish the best

I'd actually say the opposite, RoryRourke. I'd say this is for the faint of heart and those who don't take things in these cities too seriously; giving them a place to duel on a grander stage. There isn't anything particularly grand to be gained by participating, so those who enter will just be looking to enjoy being bold for a few days or weeks. For someone with little to gain from staying in our four cities, this looks like a great opportunity to make a trailblazing run through some poor bastard's HQ and set up one of your own in the process.

That's an interesting point of view Denam, however, to some people this will be a golden opportunity. The way things stand at the moment, nobody will have control of Los Angeles but circumstances change. This may be a chance for someone to be immortalized within our world, someone, in time may reign supreme with the approval of the Godfather council. Not everyone will be taking it as light heartedly as you suggest, and it still takes some degree of cahones, to risk the hard work and investment, does it not? 

This is a chance for someone to truly prove their credentials, to stand out from the crowd, sure some people will go for two weeks of unspecified carnage, but who are we to dismiss them, their hopes and dreams, before they have even started?

Does this mean that LA will be exempt from rules like the street speaking requirement for auth?

I really cannot believe this is still up for discussion. What I mean is, why would you not want to at least make an attempt to make yourself known? There are many debates on these streets based solely on this single argument that you don't need to be a public speaker to be a leader and its fell on deaf ears. I'd be surprised if anyone would even want to join a mute in a city that is part of the Wild West. If I were anyone attempting to make a rufus in the Wild West, I would encourage you to be part towards the new movement of the quality instead of quantity. 

I think this a wild great idea. Should be quite fun to see or participate. I have always like to see experiments. Should be quite refreshing. As boogabooga said this normal doesn't end so not so well, well not for some participants.

As Heroin enjoys his stroll in the streets

I myself am not a fan. In principle the idea isn't a terrible one, but the fact that this is supposed to not be a "competition" from the sounds of it seems like a competition. We all know how these turn out, people rush to set up they die and few people remain and then in due time the "competition"gets old everyone is killed normally by the people who agreed to let this start and then the city is left vacant once again. History usually repeats itself is all I'm saying. Good luck to those who decide to venture out there and give it a go.

Brielle starts to pop her popcorn and grabs a front row seat...

Weebl smiles gently after reading the announcement put up by Godfather Curtis. He smiled more broadly after witnessing the discussion taking place on the subject.

"I would hardly call this the wild west, but rather a free America with opportunities to explore. We've got a load of european immigrants in this nation who arrived here with solely that idea in mind and this plan enables them to do so. But it's not only immigrants, we all chose this life because it gave us opportunities at more wealth, a chance at telling others what to do, instead of being told by an inadequate boss what to do. I hope and expect some of us will pursue the opportunities offered here."

Weebl looks at his watch and remembers himself to keep this short, since he has other business to attend to.

"Ofcourse there will be innocent bloodshed at some point, but for some that wouldn't mind. They'd rather die young while living fully then growing old and watching as others are living the dream. But I rather think this is an excellent opportunity for people to show what they are made of. I think that people will create alliances on a smaller scale then what we are used to and will try to make a decent life for themselves in LA. Of course guns will be fired, bullets sent flying, but with a purpose to gain or maintain a position in the city of angels. There will be no fame in just taking down a small organisation, so people will try to build a nice life for themselves once they are in place.

To be honest, I wouldn't mind if in the future successful operations are allowed to expand or move to other cities. When the Wright brothers wanted to fly, people told them to go to an abandoned field to try it out. People didn't want these pioneers to come crashing down on their homes, and rightfully so. But since they've mastered flying, we happily invited those machines in to our lives, as it pushed our society forward. It's not my choice, but if people show through this they are actually worthy to participate on a nationwide scale, they'd have my blessing."

Weebl is about to move on to the days business, but decides to make one last comment.

"Oh, there's one more thing. The outer cities will not interfere with the business in LA. For me that also means there should not be random acts of violence. It might be tempting to just go in and take some shot, since one of the rules say that an attack on a non-LA citizen will be met with full-scale retribution anyway. I want to state that this will not be the case for my family, if one of them would be taking shots for the fun of it. If you kill a sponsored person without reason, especially an entrepreneur who's trying brave things, you pay a price and people won't get away with it when they're part of The Explorers Club. There are now different laws for those who live in LA, but they are no outlaws in my book."

​Curtis smiles at Weebl.

"You make a very interesting point there with your analogy about the Wright brothers. A very good point. Down the line it may well be worth considering legitimate auth as a possible reward for long standing or outstanding performances in this arena. LA will be, as you say, a good proving ground for otherwise overlooked talent. However, at this stage and for the immediately foreseeable future, there will be no such rewards or carrots dangled.

It is not a competition and will remain that way until the natural evolution of the experiment reaches such a point as to necessitate changes to it's parameters.  

None the less, an interesting idea well made."