Ark Runners
Ark Running is less of a job, in that it involves employment from some other entity, and more of a personal vocation in that many view it as a path to wealth and fame. While they’re certainly correct, many novice Ark Runners don’t fully grasp the dangers of the ‘profession’ they’ve chosen to embrace.
To begin with, running the Olympian Ark is something that is tightly controlled by the University of Apollo and while they are always looking for people for the next expedition, the skill levels of the people they recruit are tightly controlled - meaning that newcomers to Ark Running can expect to tread pathways that may have already been scouted purely to look for any additional clues that might be found to the workings of the Ancients. It is only after one has proven themselves that they could expect to be chosen for an expedition deeper into the Olympian Ark and its untold depths.
Granted, there are just as many unapproved forays into the Ark by would-be runners or black market underworld organizations. While those do not have the approval of the University, if the run is successful it is incredibly lucrative and funnels many of the LOSTech items into the Black Market that other criminal organizations can get access to when they otherwise wouldn’t.
Far more commonly, Ark Runners also venture out beyond the wall on a level of ‘assume your own risk’ from the Gatewatch. If one can survive the Wilds, the Raiders, the Horrors, and then find and survive a bunker or Ark themselves, the payout for selling LOSTech back to the University is significant enough to make the whole process worthwhile.
It goes without saying that many of those forays out into the Wilds are simply never heard from again, though there are many cases where they return empty handed - and fewer still where they return with immeasurable wealth from their exploration.
Structure
There is no particular organization to sign up with in order to become an Ark Runner, however, the University of Apollo and the Oracles do rather strictly control access to the Olympian Ark; as a result, many people who are interested pursue contact with the University or go through other, less legal, channels.
University-approved runs are overseen by a handler, known colloquially as a "proxy." Typically one proxy oversees only one or two teams at a time. Underworld teams typically have no oversight and only report back to their contact when a mission succeeds or fails.
University-approved runs are overseen by a handler, known colloquially as a "proxy." Typically one proxy oversees only one or two teams at a time. Underworld teams typically have no oversight and only report back to their contact when a mission succeeds or fails.
Culture
If there is said to be a culture around Ark Running it is a heady mixture of Fortune Hunting, Adventurism, and Rugged Individualism. It is one of the ways in which those who ascribe to such individualistic mindsets can fit well into the very pluralistic society of Olympia; after all, the average Olympian wouldn’t even think about going beyond the walls or into the depths of the Olympian Ark.
Many settlers from the Wilds, active Rangers, former Raiders who settled down, and so forth often find themselves called to Ark Running given their survival experience and, often, comfortability with the more martial skills sometimes required to survive out in the Wilds or in the depths of an Ark.
One piece of Runner culture that has made its way into the popular consciousness of the city is the Missing in Action roll. Horrors and their powers are unpredictable. In the earliest days of Ark Running, runners would sometimes disappear for weeks, months, or even years at a time, only to reappear or be rescued, and find they had been declared Killed in Action. The difficulty in reactivating their identity led to one of the only unanimous agreements between Apollo and Zeus in Olympia's history. Until bodies are discovered, no missing Ark Runner is ever listed as deceased. Whether it has been tens or hundreds of years since last contact, all unrecovered runners are listed as M.I.A.
Many settlers from the Wilds, active Rangers, former Raiders who settled down, and so forth often find themselves called to Ark Running given their survival experience and, often, comfortability with the more martial skills sometimes required to survive out in the Wilds or in the depths of an Ark.
One piece of Runner culture that has made its way into the popular consciousness of the city is the Missing in Action roll. Horrors and their powers are unpredictable. In the earliest days of Ark Running, runners would sometimes disappear for weeks, months, or even years at a time, only to reappear or be rescued, and find they had been declared Killed in Action. The difficulty in reactivating their identity led to one of the only unanimous agreements between Apollo and Zeus in Olympia's history. Until bodies are discovered, no missing Ark Runner is ever listed as deceased. Whether it has been tens or hundreds of years since last contact, all unrecovered runners are listed as M.I.A.
Public Agenda
Publically, the generally accepted agenda for any Ark Runner is to recover the secrets of the Ancient World and make the modern one a better place. In a far more practical sense, many people come to Ark Running out of a desire for adventure or, more often, the profit and riches that Ark Running can yield. The public ‘PR’ of making Olympia better with every run does look good on newspaper titles, however.
Assets
While each Ark Runners kit looks slightly different, it is reasonable to assume that the average Runner keeps some manner of arms and armor as well as survival and medical equipment. It is not unusual to see teams of Runners combining a variety of specialists -from deckers and drone jockeys to the “street samurai” or even off duty members of the Gatewatch. No one person can handle everything the Wilds or an Ark might throw at them, and so diversification of skills and equipment has become a sort of unwritten expectation of any expedition, legal or otherwise, into an Ark.
History
For as long as there have been people coming out of the Arks, there have been Ark Runners. The early days after the Arks opened was a wild free for all, with people attempting to grab whatever they could when they could. Needless to say, casualties from internal defense mechanisms were high.
Over time, a basic level of technology was recovered and, after the wastelands period, began to find common use. It is only in the last few decades, however, that the idea of Ark Running as a profession and not as a cultural necessity became a bit more prevalent.
“Ark Running is probably the most profitable ‘profession’ in the modern world - if one lives long enough to spend the money.”
Alternative Names
Explorers, Adventurers
Demonym
Runners, Fools - as in “Walking the Fool’s Path”, Wildbait
Notable Members