Off-Gridders

Although most of Earth's population lives within the Neo-Metropolises, not everyone chooses to participate in modern civilization. Some people prefer to live far away from the crowded cities, establishing homes in forests, jungles, mountains, deserts, and other remote areas. Living outside a Neo-Metropolis is perfectly legal, provided that a person follows the laws and regulations of the United Nations Federation and the local government.

A small number of people, however, take their desire for independence much further.

These people are commonly known as Off-Gridders.

Off-Gridders are individuals or communities who deliberately remove themselves from the systems that connect them to modern society. They avoid official registration, government services, centralized computer networks, and other forms of infrastructure whenever possible. Unlike ordinary rural citizens, Off-Gridders do not simply prefer living in the countryside. They intentionally live outside the normal administrative and technological system.

Some Off-Gridders disappear into remote wilderness where government infrastructure is scarce. Others establish hidden settlements with several families living together. Most attempt to become completely self-sufficient, producing their own food, generating their own electricity, and maintaining their own equipment.

Technology itself is not necessarily forbidden among Off-Gridders. Many possess advanced equipment obtained before they left society or acquired through unofficial means. Solar generators, computers, medical equipment, communications devices, drones, and other technology can be found in Off-Grid communities. What Off-Gridders generally reject is their dependence upon centralized systems and the regulations that accompany them.

An Off-Gridder may refuse to use a MoneyCard, maintain an official residence, communicate through government networks, or participate in other systems that require a connection to civilization. Some even avoid all forms of electronic identification.

The reasons for becoming an Off-Gridder vary greatly. Some distrust the government and corporations. Others dislike the crowded and highly automated lifestyle of the Neo-Metropolises. Some simply want freedom from the rules and expectations of modern society. There are also individuals who become Off-Gridders because they are hiding from someone, something, or their own past.

Not all Off-Gridders are criminals.

The government generally has little reason to interfere with an individual who lives peacefully in a remote location. However, deliberately removing oneself from required government systems can place an Off-Gridder outside the normal protection and services of the law. An Off-Gridder may also unknowingly violate laws concerning land ownership, environmental protection, communications equipment, weapons, or other regulated technology.

Because government computer systems are prohibited from monitoring ordinary citizens, locating Off-Gridders can be extremely difficult. A person who disappears into a remote region and stops using centralized services may leave very little digital evidence behind.

This has created a strange relationship between civilization and the Off-Gridders. Most citizens consider them eccentric, primitive, or even dangerous. The government generally considers them a nuisance only when they break specific laws. Corporations, however, sometimes view isolated communities as opportunities for illegal trade, testing experimental technology, or obtaining resources outside normal regulations.

Some Off-Gridders want nothing to do with civilization.

Others secretly return to the cities to trade, purchase supplies, obtain medicine, or acquire technology. These individuals can become smugglers, traders, guides, or even mercenaries.

Some Off-Grid communities have become large enough to form their own societies. These settlements may have their own leaders, customs, rules, and methods of dealing with outsiders.

To the citizens of the Neo-Metropolises, the Off-Gridders represent a strange contradiction of the future: people who have access to some of the most advanced technology humanity has ever created, yet deliberately choose to live beyond the civilization that created it.

For the Off-Gridders themselves, that is precisely the point.

They are not trying to escape technology. They are trying to escape dependence on it.