New Texas Lore Question

[Jarylan]

Doing a bit of research, and I recall at one point learning that all permanent residents of New Texas had to be Treated, you couldn't be a citizen without that.

However, I can't seem to track down where this was said in game to make sure I have it correct. Anyone know where this might have been mentioned?

Maybe it was Reaha. I don't usually recruit her.

 

[Lostname475]

I think ogram says it?

Cameron one of the farmers definitely does:

"Anyway, less’n you want to go get Treated and become a citizen,

 

[LeDoraggo]

Think it was Ogram, though i don't remember if it's when you first meet him and Amma, or it happens during a repeatable talk (been ages since i've talked to the guy)

Also, side note, why would you leave behind the poor cow?

 

[Jarylan]

Think it was Ogram, though i don't remember if it's when you first meet him and Amma, or it happens during a repeatable talk (been ages since i've talked to the guy)

Also, side note, why would you leave behind the poor cow?

Not so much leave her behind as not meet her to begin with. Shrugs Way I see it, in my playthroughs Reaha never needs to be saved from Beth Carver to start with. Same reason I don't do the Love Starz quest: they tend to add things to my universe/story I would prefer were left out.

Can confirm Oggram and Cameron both seem to mention the two things (being Treated and becoming a citizen) in ways that make them seem related. But nothing concrete on it being a requirement yet. It's just heavily implied.

 

[Lostname475]

Same reason I don't do the Love Starz quest: they tend to add things to my universe/story I would prefer were left out.

I've never actually got very far into love starz, what do they add?

But nothing concrete on it being a requirement yet. It's just heavily implied.

Found it! Amma says

The Treatment’s what makes New Texas such a great, fun place. It’s a special gene-therapy developed right here on NT; everyone gets it when they reach maturity

(emphasis mine, but that doesn't sound optional to me)

 

[Jarylan]

I've never actually got very far into love starz, what do they add?

Well, spoilers obviously.

Spoiler

Blue and Green are fine. Pink has severe trauma from Victor Steele, and it really muddies the waters on what kind of person Victor was.

I... don't care for that, so I sort of just remove it from my canon.

Found it! Amma says

(emphasis mine, but that doesn't sound optional to me)

That covers folks born on New Texas, but wouldn't cover immigrants. I agree it's basically 99% certain it's required, I'm just trying to figure out where the game says it unambiguously.

 

[Lostname475]

I think if its anywhere else it might be in some of the NT bad ends?

Fwiw I definitely also remember seeing it somewhere, but I'm starting to doubt myself now. (Though tbh even if its not directly stated its pretty obviously a requirement)

 

[nameiuse]

I think if its anywhere else it might be in some of the NT bad ends?

Fwiw I definitely also remember seeing it somewhere, but I'm starting to doubt myself now. (Though tbh even if its not directly stated its pretty obviously a requirement)

The bad end where you public fuck Ellie as a treated male.

Edit: public use and many other requirements one being you have a vagina so not male I miss remembered on that part my bad.

 

[LeDoraggo]

public use and many other requirements one being you have a vagina so not male I miss remembered on that part my bad.

If used publicly 4 times or more, for every 4th time, and if Steele is feminine, treated and has had sex with Big T before, Ellie will ask if Steele will agree to stay on New Texas. After accepting, upon trying Public Use again, if Steele has a vagina, agreeing to finally stay as a public cum dump may lead to a bad end.

(from Ellie's page on the wiki)

 

[PanzerGuitar00]

I think there used to be lore that there was some kind of secret police that literally hunt down and force the treatment onto anyone who don't want to take it for whatever reason, but that was deemed too fucked up and was dropped.

My interpretation is that taking the treatment is more of a cultural mandate than an outright legal one, what with how much of a role it has played in the planets history. But that role has long since passed, and the treatment is arguably holding the people of New Texas back at this point, with how random and often... intense, its effects can be giving the people a reputation as being easy and/or airheaded, like what we hear from Kimber. So now Big T is trying to put in motion things that will phase put the treatment, or at least stabilize it so that the New Texans can loose the bad reputation they've gotten.

Unfortunately, things aren't there yet, and many New Texans still expect that to be a New Texan, you need to be Treated, which is why it's part of the immigration process.

I really would like to see someone write a character who is similar to Rhea, but at like, a younger stage in their life. Maybe not outright rejecting the treatment, but just... scared of it. Worried that it may change them into a different person, and as a result decided to run away.

.....................................

oh my god.

 

[Savin]

I think there used to be lore that there was some kind of secret police that literally hunt down and force the treatment onto anyone who don't want to take it for whatever reason, but that was deemed too fucked up and was dropped.

My interpretation is that taking the treatment is more of a cultural mandate than an outright legal one

So, the Treatment is mandatory for all citizens of age.

This is the starting point of NT's lore.

Originally, the interpretation stood that it was a thing that happened whether you wanted it or not (Fen didn't really consider "what if you don't want it?"), which is sort of where Reaha as a character came from. I am inherently a contrarian and immediately think about these things. However, Fen eventually realized (after I memed about it for like 3 years) that this sort of perforce requires some sort of Moostapo to actually enforce, and while THAT WAS NEVER, EVER mentioned in-game, he made the decision to instead canonize that if you don't want the Treatment, you just get exiled. No citizenship for you.

Bit less grimderp.

 

[Jarylan]

So, the Treatment is mandatory for all citizens of age.

This is the starting point of NT's lore.

Originally, the interpretation stood that it was a thing that happened whether you wanted it or not (Fen didn't really consider "what if you don't want it?"), which is sort of where Reaha as a character came from. I am inherently a contrarian and immediately think about these things. However, Fen eventually realized (after I memed about it for like 3 years) that this sort of perforce requires some sort of Moostapo to actually enforce, and while THAT WAS NEVER, EVER mentioned in-game, he made the decision to instead canonize that if you don't want the Treatment, you just get exiled. No citizenship for you.

Bit less grimderp.

Righto, but it helps since the character I am writing has differing opinions on New Texas vs The Treatment.

Love NT, Treatment isn't for her, so she can only visit.

 

[PanzerGuitar00]

he made the decision to instead canonize that if you don't want the Treatment, you just get exiled. No citizenship for you.

Bit less grimderp

Still fucked up though.

And now that I think about it... doesn't that not line up with a few things?

Like, if you get kicked out if you say no, then why was Reaha so in a rush to run away? Then again you could justify it as her wanting to avoid the societal pressure of taking it and going through a Scarlet Letter type ordeal. If you're going to become a pariah, better it be on your own terms, I suppose. Though it would help for there to be some put in clarity on this.

Though it really doesn't align with Big T questioning you about the presence of the Treatment in society during the dinner scene of Giannas recruitment quest. I mean, if your choices are taking it or getting kicked off world, then it's much more than just a matter of peer pressure or whatever.

 

[LeDoraggo]

Though it really doesn't align with Big T questioning you about the presence of the Treatment in society during the dinner scene of Giannas recruitment quest. I mean, if your choices are taking it or getting kicked off world, then it's much more than just a matter of peer pressure or whatever.

I think it's more "societal expectations" rather than just "peer preassure". Multiple times through the game NPCs tell Steele that the Treatment is treated as a sort of "coming of age" ritual rather than something the goverment mandates you to do. The Treatment is so ingrained on new texan culture, that an individual that tries to oppose it or criticise it would probably end up being looked down and frowned upon (which would probably mean that the exile penalty is not as much as to force them out of their homes as it is to protect them from more "traditionalist" or, even, "conservative" individuals and what these might do to them). Or maybe i'm looking too deep into a smut game lore, idk

 

[PanzerGuitar00]

I think it's more "societal expectations" rather than just "peer preassure". Multiple times through the game NPCs tell Steele that the Treatment is treated as a sort of "coming of age" ritual rather than something the goverment mandates you to do. The Treatment is so ingrained on new texan culture, that an individual that tries to oppose it or criticise it would probably end up being looked down and frowned upon (which would probably mean that the exile penalty is not as much as to force them out of their homes as it is to protect them from more "traditionalist" or, even, "conservative" individuals and what these might do to them). Or maybe i'm looking too deep into a smut game lore, idk

We need some clarity on this, or it's gonna keep me up at night, I know it.

 

[LeDoraggo]

We need some clarity on this, or it's gonna keep me up at night, I know it.

It'd be an interesting thing to explore in the game if it ever gets added, tbh. Though i think most writters are focused on other stuff rn, and that's probably for the better, i guess (possible side plot for BOoBS (TiTS2)?)

 

[Lostname475]

What would BOoBS even be as an acronym? Also New Texas would make a decent horror setting imo

 

[razor777]

Still fucked up though.

And now that I think about it... doesn't that not line up with a few things?

Like, if you get kicked out if you say no, then why was Reaha so in a rush to run away? Then again you could justify it as her wanting to avoid the societal pressure of taking it and going through a Scarlet Letter type ordeal. If you're going to become a pariah, better it be on your own terms, I suppose. Though it would help for there to be some put in clarity on this.

Though it really doesn't align with Big T questioning you about the presence of the Treatment in society during the dinner scene of Giannas recruitment quest. I mean, if your choices are taking it or getting kicked off world, then it's much more than just a matter of peer pressure or whatever.

This also makes no sense because according to the history section on her wiki page, taking the drug is mandatory/forced anyway(I could be wrong though, maybe it was just her parents forcing her and not New Texan society as a whole).

 

[TheShepard256]

The Treatment used to be mandatory, but that was retconned; now, I'm pretty sure it's merely a requirement for citizenship, though you can still be a permanent resident without it (in this case, I'm guessing "permanent resident" is still a perfectly viable lifestyle, and "citizenship" just means getting extra on top of that, e.g. the right to vote in elections). Though yeah, there'd still be massive societal pressure to get Treated anyways, enough that not taking it could easily lead to significant mental health damage, and running away could be seen as a preferred alternative (as Reaha did).

 

[PanzerGuitar00]

It's the same issue with Warhammer 40k lore i think: several different authors working on the same universe with different levels of knowledge of the lore and meta lore behind it, as well as even interpretations of the lore and the society itself.

The result? The lore as as whole is a bit of a mess that, let's keep it real, we're just making massive presuppositions about in order to fill in the gaps.

It could as a whole use a finishing pass to smooth out the edges, but the problem is there just so much at this point that it'll likely never happen.

 

[Jarylan]

Ambiguity is a feature, not a bug.

Can't be wrong if there's not a canon.

I realize that sounds rich coming from the guy who started this thread, though. Of course, I only wanted the answer to one question, rather than any in depth New Texas societal discussion.

Personal opinion? I like TheShepard256's vision, and I think I may use that in my writing. If I am told to change it later, so be it.

New Texas sounds like a great place to live, and usually the Treatment goes over fine. Hell, Kimber is a Treated scientist. And here I digress, because I was about to say something about how the downside was it wasn't reversible, but that isn't stated in universe. In fact, it's specifically noted that no one has tried. So, you can head canon unTreating people too, if you like. Ambiguity gives you that power.

 

[PanzerGuitar00]

Hell, Kimber is a Treated scientist

Well, it's partly because she got lucky. I can imagine that some people have gotten the treatment and getten screwed over because they wound up with a variant that just didn't mesh with their preferences or personal expression.

Worst case scenario it could wind up giving someone some serious body dysmorphia. Plus it clearly messes with your brain a little, so there's a chance you could wind up becoming a totally different person or ending up with serious psychological conflicts.

I mean that varmint femboy who's name I can't remember can't even use his gun properly because he wound up getting the faux cow variant.

And what about Cass from that story series we got? She's basically incapable of living a life anywhere else now because the treatment totally dumpstered her iq unless she gets a load of cum iirc.




Someone should jump into this. Explore those one in a million cases and ask is it worth making all the rest happy if that one person ends up getting the shaft.

 

[razor777]

Kimber is a Treated scientist.

Hate how she was able to take the treatment and keep her mental faculties just fine, yet whenever WE try to use it, the only outcome for us is mindless sexhound.

 

[Azrael1]

Can someone remind me, is the changes caused by the treatment completely random or are their certain parameters that need to be met to follow a specific path of changes caused by the treatment?