Outsiders

 

“Outsider” is a term inclusive of anyone living outside of the city’s immediate vicinity. People of the Annex don’t typically consider themselves Outsiders (though plenty of Boomtown’s residents would define an Outsider as anyone outside the outer wall).

Most of our encounters with Outsiders so far have involved violence. In Prologue, a Keeper was wounded by a small group of mostly-naked Outsiders adorned with animal bones and wielding spears. Afterward, the captain refers to the Outsider tribespeople as “savages” and “curs.” In Savages! we encounter Outsiders for a second time when Hank and the Hangman’s Horde raze a slum and kill every person in it except for Ricky.

Ricky makes two brief references to the Outsiders in Preamble: summing up the average slummer’s apathetic attitude toward the harshness of life on the frontier, he says, “the Outsiders can’t kill us all,” indicating the slummers also tend to regard those who would live in the Wilderness as fatally dangerous.

However, he also includes among the residents of the Annex “Outsiders who can’t get in.” The Annex clearly sees its share of non-confrontational Outsiders, suggesting the perception of them as murderous savages may not be universal.

The Ruckus

The Ruckus is a large, peaceful Wilderness gathering attended by thousands of Outsiders from various tribes. Some members of the Hangman’s Horde are said to have been thrown out for unspecified aggression, suggesting violence is prohibited. At this gathering, a wide variety of Outsiders gather around several large bonfires. They dance, meditate, eat, drink, smoke, fornicate, debate, and play music and games. It seems reproduction is a major goal of those attending the gathering.


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