Hi there I newish to this list (I've been lurking for awhile) and I'm new to the world of SLA in general. I get to start game mastering next week, I'm very excited and I'm certain that none of you really care. Anyway last night on a whim I decided to scribble down the back ground for the HolyDays that are celebrated in the World of Progress and I've decided to put them on the list because…well it was something someone asked about recently and I figured why not. I can't think of much else to say so without further waffling…the HolyDays.

Stormers Night (thanksgiving/Holoween): On this day many hundreds of years ago the first Stormer was created. His name was Angel who was created from Intruder. Because of this miraculous discovery the conflict societies could be defeated which brought peace and prosperity to the galaxy in the form of SLA Industries. To celebrate the prosperity that we all share it is required that everyone only works HALF! a day. People are expected to go and have a large feast in order to celebrate and give thanks to slayer for allowing them to have everything they have. After the feast the children are encouraged to dress up in Stormer costumes and go door to door asking for candy and other treats. This HolyDay was originally instated to improve human/Stormer relationships. After many hundreds of years the children are no longer required to dress up as Stormers and now many of them choose to go as famous figures, contract killers, serial killers, or just random things that come up off the top of their heads. Never one to miss out on making money there are entire soft companies devoted to the creation of decorations for Stormers Night. The most unusual of which includes latex Stormer heads with light up eyes that are used to scare off dark night operatives who would think it is prudent to cause havoc on these nights.

Slayers BirthDay (labor day/martigraus/St. Patrick's day) this day Slayer came into the World Of Progress and made it a better place for everyone (except the conflict war races that is). On this day Slayer generously grants an entire day off to all the working class citizens so that they may have this day to rest. Of course the day is full of parades, just about everything that can be purchased goes on sale, there are constant slayer's day specials going on, on TV, most of all the alcohol and soft drugs have become available at a grossly reduced price. The history behind the drugs and booze this is rather interesting actually. When this HolyDay was first instated in the year 105 the people of Mort and many off world colonies didn't know what to do with themselves. Soon they began to riot in the streets out of sheer boredom, eventual once the crowd was back under control Slayer decided to call off next years festivities. This made the people of the WOP furious and the riots were renewed with and additional fury. So Slayer re instituted the HolyDay with lots of planned activities such as parades, live tv appearances, TV specials, sales on everything. Still with all of this it wasn't enough to keep the crowds under control. It went on for a few years like this untill the idea was presented that if they are to wasted to move they can't steal things. And so it came to pass that the liquor and soft drugs were made extremely cheap for just one day, as proof that Slayer wants you to be happy. This is also start of the new calendar year.

Intruder's Gift: (V-day) For reasons unknown Intruder was allowed to have a special day of the year that he could create all for his own. He called it intruder's gift and in the year 125 it became an official HolyDay. Intruder originally created the day so that the citizens of the WOP would have one day where they could celebrate their love for one another. Not love just between couples but love between other races, and other people in general. It was a day where people were supposed to look at each other and see each other as people, no matter what your race color or creed was. Giving gifts to each other was discouraged because you were just suppose to talk and become closer. A full day of work was still required so that you would have time to bond with your co-workers and the people around you on your commute. Of course over the centuries Slayer has subtly shifted the message of this well meaning HolyDay to something a bit more profitable, and a bit more offensive to Intruder. As of the year 900 people are encouraged to buy gifts, cards, and food. The closer someone is to you the more lavish the gift should be given to them. Also along the way the message of if you don't have a special someone with you to share this day with, just buy one. This precipitated a massive amount of rampant casual sex and people buying a massive amount of condoms, and people buying massive amounts of anything is something Slayer loves.

Slavation Tower's Fall(haunika): In the year 300SD SLA's attempt to improve the general standard of living through the massive building know as Salvation tower came, literally crashing down around them. While SLA acted quickly to help midigate the publics feelings towards such an event it was difficult to simply just shrug this one off and move on. When this HolyDay was first instated in the year 301 it was simply 7 days of remembering how fast SLA reacted to the problem and got their lives back on track. Two days of chaos, two days for the construction of the wall, two day for the bus system, and finally the first day where order was restored. On each day there would be several TV specials glorifying SLA and encouraging others to give gifts in celebration, of their new better lives. The problem with this HolyDay is that it tended to make SLA look bad, reflecting back on a circumstance that was less than fortunate. Over the intervening 600 years the story and the Holyday it self has changed radically, in fact it has changed more so than any of the other ones. The fist and most massive change being that the celebration is only 5 days now. Now the story of Salvations's fall reads more like the, great barrier between downtown and cannibal sector one has always excised to help protect the citizens of SLA from the more less desirable people. One day the great Mr. SLA commissioned the building of a great and mighty tower on the end of the wall. This tower was to be the place where all bad people would go to be judged. If they were found guilty they would be sent out into cannibal sector one, and never be seen again. The tower was a great success and everybody loved it very much. Soon there was hardly any crime at all. Then one day some truly evil Dark Night subversives decided to blow up the tower, just out of spite. When the tower collapsed it caused a great deal of damage to the area, but worst of all many of the bad people tat were int there tried to escape back into the main city. Some very brave men and women from a local shiver squad donned white armor and made a holding action against the hordes of Carrion and serial killers for 7 days. The kept fighting without food, without rest, and without hope in order to keep back the massive horde that threatened to overwhelm the city. Because of their bravery the repairs were made to the wall and not a single carrion got through them, but it was at the cost of every single one of their lives. It is said that when the last one of them fell the rain started and it hasn't stopped since. Now on this 5 day long celebration of giving thanks to SLA in the form of gift giving and being especially nice to shivers. In the way of decorating and paraphernalia it is only second to Stomer's Night.

HolyDays and SLOPS~ Mr. Slayer doesn't particularly like the HolyDays. While they do have a way of keeping the people content and making him much more money they also tend to be a critical weakness throughout the year. So when it is time for a HolyDay, every Monarch, Shiver, SLOP, and just about every other enforcement community is out on the street making certain that Thresher, Dark Night, or anyone else is unable to do anything on any of these special days. The shakedowns begin almost a month before the planned festivities in order to ensure that if anyone is planning anything anywhere that they will know about it. Of course not every HolyDay gets this treatment simply because they aren't as big a targets as others. Intruder's Gift is an example of this. That and there was one year were a gang decided to make trouble on the day of intruder's gift…what was left of their bodies was not a pretty sight and it sent quite a message to everyone one not to mess with his special day. One that hasn't been forgoten over the years. You could have this be a seriouse cruntch time for the player charecters as the HolyDays are the only time a year where the BPN halls work quickly and efficiently so as to ensure that everyone is doing their part to help out.