MapleSAP Special: Justice Arrow
Part 12: Struggle for Freedom

Like the rest of the regions in MapleWorld, Henesys is also watched over by the GMs, but unlike everywhere else, only one GM is present here, thanks to Henesys’ special 3t independence status. The solo GM has no contacts, no communication beyond mail to Orbis, nor does he have the proper authorization to do fulfill his role as a GM.
“All I ever do that’s my job is I write up reports each month and send them to Orbis.” GM Harris explained.
“I noticed there’s no mailbox around here,” I mentioned.
“The JA pulled it out and got rid of it. They don’t want people sending mail outside of Henesys. There is a local postal service here, but they open and check your mail, making sure there’s no harmful information or items being sent out. They always report to the JA. If someone tried to mail a letter calling for help, they would be canned the second they hand the package over,”
“So, how do you send your reports?”
“I write them up, pass them to the JA at their office in town, and after they approve of it, they hand it to the next visitor heading east to take it with them,”
“Have there been times when the JA wasn’t satisfied with your work?”
“Lots of times,” GM Harris said. “They get pretty pissed if I put down stats of child abuse, or if I wrote about certain incidents that go on, it really riles them up. They want no intervention from Orbis in the affairs here,”
“What happens then?”
“I re-write it. Sometimes, I re-write it several times, because it is my job to make sure Orbis knows that’s going on here, and it takes negotiating, pressuring in order to get their approval. I’m no macho tough guy here, these bowmen are scary when you piss them off.”
“What’s the worst that’s ever happened to a GM here?”
Harris pauses. “The last GM before me died. He pushed a second unscreened copy of a report. That copy contained a page load of critical information saying that the JA was killing magicians. Back then, there was a magicians’ village not too far away, and the JA were burning them all. An officer saw the GM slip the package into the back of a truck. The JA stopped the truck, searched it and found the report. Poor bastard was burned up with the rest of them!”
I was shocked to hear this.
“What happened when Orbis found out?”
“The Equitas president and mayor said he got fried by some psychotic fire mage; so they sent me. They gave me special instructions for this post here: Don’t slip dirt past the JA, don’t piss them off, dont interfere with their laws, even if their enforcement violates people’s rights under federal law; pretty much I was told to sit here with my thumb up my ass and do nothing!”
“So you have no authority?” I asked.
“Nope. I’m just a puppet here. I requested several times for a transfer somewhere else, but they never called back. I’m supposed to watch for hackers, but they never come around here; not since the JA blew up the Free Market portal. I am pretty much an ambassador from Orbis here. I go to church like everybody else, I go to community events, some times I even have to help with the harvest or something else big.”
“Harsh,” I said. “So even if you somehow managed to relay my findings to the GMs in Orbis, nothing would happen?”
“I don’t kno exactly, and the JA is hell-bent on keeping things this way,”

According to the GMs, Henesys is listed as one of the top ten dangerous places to work in. In the last 35 years, 21 GMs were killed by the JA for various reasons. During the Food Uprising of ’83, the three GMs in Henesys were all
hung and burned in a show of defiance against the government. GM Harris doesnt fear for his life, but is weary.
“I’ll tell you boys one thing though,” he said. “If I ever did want some nice piece of dirt to get out, I’d pass it to the noob slaves. They always got a knack for sneaking outta here.”
+

It is night in mid December. Partial clouds block the moon, and the moon light that does get through lights up snow. On a clear night, it looks like a dim sun is shining. In the winter, escaping is a dangerous and often lethal feat. The snow and moonlight make it easier for watching rangers to spot people in the snow. Those who do get past are subject to freezing subzero temperatures, and many succumb to hypothermia before they make it to Victoria Road away from the checkpoints.
You may ask: “Why don’t the people just stay until its spring? Why do they risk their lives to escape? Surely Henny can’t be all that bad,”
There are many reasons. The work that noob slaves, and even servants and volunteers are forced to do takes heavy tolls on their bodies and minds. They become physically and emotionally exhausted, and while some get injuries, others develop mental problems. The working conditions violate every worksite safety law put out by the Workers Compensation Council; laws ignored and dismissed by the JA.
Many suffer from depression and despair, they may have been traumatized upon capture or by things they see in town. Others hate Henesys and the way of life here, and want to escape. For them, this town is one large prison.

If caught escaping, people are shot and killed or taken and put to death. Those who escape and survive the cold for the average period of 3 days, make it to Victoria Road, and are usually picked up and taken to the nearest town.

There is no democracy in Henesys, and protesters face death. A political fight is impossible under the Justice Arrow’s totalitarian regime here.