2011 seemed to be the start of a new era, or to be more precise the reliving of a past decade as the greed and materialism that the 1980s entailed became accepted as necessary for a successful work and social ethos. However on October the 18th the bubble of illusionary invulnerability and self-importance that America had been indulging in, irretrievably burst. The second Wall Street crash caused haywire across the globe as nations quickly increased their trade tariffs in an effort to shield themselves from the economic depression that was causing uncontrollable (and rampant) violence and hooliganism across the USA and Japan (whose stock markets had plummeted to previously unheard of depths).
Over the course of the next two years, nations became more insular from one another as they all but ceased trading in an effort to become self-sufficient and capable of coping with the rising level of unemployment and ballooning crime rates. Whilst America seemed on the brink of a second civil war, as it's states resorted to factionalism and open hostility with one another, Japan's maverick politician Yuuto Leung conceived of a novel experiment that could be utilised to quash the growing trend of juvenile violence and truancy; namely the 'Battle Royale' program. I shall be brief in explaining the rules, not least because each nations program differed in the fine details, but essentially a class of students selected (supposedly) randomly are placed within a battle environment, given a variety of weapons and instructed to kill one another with the last adolescent standing being the victor. Though the Japanese government hid behind a facade of morality in an effort to justify such extreme measures, there was to be much financial gain for them and the TV networks who broadcasted the events of the game. The pay-per view carnage netted appallingly large amounts of profit; however the government found that an even greater source of revenue was the illicit gambling that took place as punters betted on who they considered to be the likeliest to champion. Soon the government had this taxed and as the income started to pour in they found their previously empty coffers now filling at a seemingly unstoppable rate.
America soon adopted the scheme and was swiftly followed by France and then Italy, all whom benefited from an improvement in the economy (and a marginal decrease in crime) in the process. Throughout this Britain, Spain and Germany denounced these excessively harsh tactics as inhumane and sadistic. But despite the claims of the UK's prime minister to the contrary, they themselves were buckling under the strain of a floundering economy and widespread felony perpetrated by many of their citizens (particularly those in their teenage years). Such was the unrest and dissatisfaction with the Labour government, that the right wing (borderline fascist) British National Party ('BNP') saw fit to stage a small scale coup and usurp the current government from its position of power. With remarkable ease they seized control but the radical changes that the public expected did not materialise. Although government legislation started to be subtly intolerant towards all those who weren't white Christians, nothing truly dire had yet occurred. Eventually however, the government tired of its ineffectual efforts to make a change and decided to imitate the drastic strategies of their neighbours.
Bray Wood, a prominent boarding school for the financially affluent was selected and Class 5ScA were chosen to be the contenders in the UK's first Battle Royale. Under the pretext of a Geography field trip the students boarded their bus, blissfully unaware that a few hours later they were to be knocked unconscious and kidnapped in order to participate in a battle against one another. Here is their story….
Student Matrix
Male Students
1. Tian Berkley
2. Fei Yan
3. Edward Devereux
4. Daniel Swane
5. Simon Holcombe
6. Anthony Stapleton
7. Jeremy Callaghan
8. Ben Ackart
9. Fergal Mills
10. Diego Paredes
11. Christopher Wendell
12. David Colville
13. Saul Emerson
14. Brendan Gilchrist
15. Phil Argyle
16. Nate Benedict
Female Students
1. Tulista Patel
2. Arabella Weir
3. Sue Cathcart
4. Daisy Donahue
5. Joanna Simpson
6. Liz Dunn
7. Nicole Colville
8. Cassandra Douglas
9. Laura Parsons
10. Jewel Siu Tung
11. Anne Priestly
12. Jun Ishibashi
13. Clara Beauchamp
14. Frankie Almond Smith
15. Sylvie Becker
16. Krisha Patel
