Bell Riots

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The Bell Riots begin

The Bell Riots were a pivotal series of historical events on Earth in 2024. Started in San Francisco's Sanctuary District A, the riots and resulting after-effects would help set the tone for the future of Humanity. (DS9: "Past Tense, Part I", "Past Tense, Part II")

The prelude

In the year 2020, the American government – reacting to serious problems of homelessness and unemployment – created special Sanctuary Districts (essentially walled off sections of the city grid) in most major cities. Unfortunately – while established with the benevolent intent of providing free housing and food, as well as prospects for future employment – the Sanctuaries, with little police protection and continued cutbacks, quickly degenerated into inhumane internment camps for the poor. Even though people with criminal records were not allowed inside Sanctuaries, it didn't take long for the homeless and unemployed to be joined by the mentally ill and other, more violent, social outcasts. These groups were later referred to by their slang terms – Gimmies, Dims, and Ghosts.

By late 2024, the twenty square blocks that made up Sanctuary District A had become overcrowded slums. With the records of people inside the Sanctuaries not uploaded to the planetary computer network (and therefore not accessible using an Interface), the true conditions inside were unknown to the general public. American society believed that, despite the political upheaval affecting Europe at the time, the United States was stable and had found a way to successfully deal with the social problems that had been the genesis of the Sanctuaries. An "out of sight, out of mind" mentality had set in.

The spark

On August 30th, three Starfleet officers (Benjamin Sisko, Julian Bashir and Jadzia Dax) arrived in San Francisco from 2371, due to a transporter accident. Knocked unconscious during the transport, Sisko and Bashir were awoken by security guards Vin and Bernardo Calvera, who mistakenly believed that the pair of newcomers were homeless. Sisko and Bashir lacked any form of identification and their combadges had been stolen so they were brought to Sanctuary District A, where they were processed by health official Lee. Inside, Sisko and Bashir, in accordance with Starfleet's temporal displacement policy, tried not to affect history while looking for a way out to find Dax.

Jadzia had meanwhile been awoken and befriended by Chris Brynner, who thought she had been mugged and who found her a place to stay.

On the night of the 31st, Bashir was assaulted by a gang of Ghosts trying to take his ration card. In the ensuing scuffle, a man stepped in to help him but was stabbed to death by Biddle Coleridge (B.C.), who hurriedly vacated the scene. Sisko checked the victim's ration card and thereby discovered that the man who had died helping them was Gabriel Bell. Realizing they had changed the past, Sisko (assuming Bell's identity) and Bashir joined gimmie Michael Webb – whom they had met earlier – in gathering support for a rally outside the Sanctuary Processing Center, the next day.

The riot

"Gabriel Bell" in the Sanctuary District A processing center

Early in the morning of September 1st, the conditions surrounding the distribution of food rations sparked a riot, wherein the Ghosts led by B.C. attacked the Sanctuary guards and quickly captured the Sanctuary Processing Center as well as the rest of the district. Armed with the weapons of the overpowered guards, the Ghosts took six center employees hostage, including Vin, Calvera and Lee. They were joined by "Gabriel Bell" and Michael Webb, who acted as the voice and face of the riot while dealing with police negotiator Detective Preston.

The hostages, in the processing center

Chris Brynner, who owned Brynner Information Systems (which operated Channel 90 on the net), was convinced by Dax to break the law and to reconnect the Processing Center after the police cut it off. Reconnected on September 2nd, many Sanctuary residents (such as Henry Garcia) were able to tell their stories of imprisonment to the outside world. As a result, the American public became aware of the great injustice that had been hidden from them and further riots broke out in Sanctuaries across the US.

Despite protests from Detective Preston, the governor of California ordered National Guardsmen to retake the Sanctuary by force on September 3rd at 0500 hours. In the melee, hundreds of Sanctuary residents were killed, including B.C. and Michael Webb. "Gabriel Bell" was shot, protecting Vin and the other hostages (all of whom remained unharmed).

The aftermath

File:Bell Riots - SFPD.jpg

The San Francisco Police Department SWAT team enters the Sanctuary District A Processing Center

Vin and Bernardo took Bell's and Bashir's ration cards after the riot, saying they would list them as casualties, and helped them return to their beam-in site, where Dax was waiting for them. Both Vin and Bernardo went on to tell other people what had happened in the Sanctuary, never knowing that Sisko was Bell. The away team was rescued by Kira Nerys and Miles O'Brien, shortly thereafter.

In the wake of the riots, and the senseless death of so many people, public opinion turned against the concept of the Sanctuary Districts. The Districts were abolished as the United States finally began to face the serious social problems it had struggled with, for over a century. Because Bell had played a crucial role in protecting the hostages, and in the negotiations prior to the government assault, he was remembered as one of the central figures in the events and his name became forever associated with them.

The Bell Riots were of such significance that their absence from Earth's history led to an alternate timeline, in which the United Federation of Planets was never created.

External link

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