I can't wait for the sequel.History at its best.

I can't wait for the sequel.History at its best.
#nianticproject   #ingress   

Originally shared by Andy Marter

This was posted as a response to Nick's version of the History of Detroit Ingress as seen through green colored glasses.  The key quote you need to know about is that he thinks the Enlightenment is the "dominating force" in Detroit. :)  Anyway, Linda Besh asked me to repost this in a manner that would allow her to share it, so here it is.

An Abridged Version of the Real History of Detroit Ingress




Let me explain how the game has developed in Detroit.  I'll try to put a little less embellishment and exaggeration on it than Nick Dumas 

What you have to understand about the Detroit Metro is that it's laid out like a galaxy... a galaxy far far away.  There's a central hub of commerce Downtown, and trade routes leading to the Outer Rim suburbs.

First let me tell you about the Resistance.  I'm going to change the names to protect the innocent. Also, I'm leaving many important agents out for the sake of brevity. 

You had Taggie... I mean Mr. Solo313 on the planet Huntington Woods.  He could often be found at the local Cantina.  He was his own boss and worked when he wanted to.  He just happened to be between jobs when the story began.

There was David Calrissian down somewhere around the south sector of Detroit, Keeping the local cartels in line.

Then there's Chuck Norris out on the planet Plymouth to the West... At first glance, she didn't seem like she belonged in the story, but she inserted herself prominently and became a Force to be reckoned with.  I think Chuck was on vacation from her day job of saving another galaxy.

Across the river, on the planet Windsor, was Errant Wan Kenobi.  An Ingress Master, to be sure, but he hit his prime before everyone else and was in hiding, keeping a watchful eye over the newbies, but generally staying out of the battles.  

During Kenobi's prime he fought alongside another talented young Ingresser, Anakin Strykewalker.  But Anakin was a little naughty and the NianticOpsDaemon2 AKA "The Force" burned off his sins like Purgatory and started him over with another name.

And of course, there was that gangly kid-faced Ingresser, who we will call Luke... often seen on his back was a strange little creature with a speech impediment.  We'll leave her out of this.  Luke started off in the desert world of Grosse Pointe, but soon left his family for the action Downtown (after a quick stop to train in the swamps of Belle Isle).

And so the story begins...

Episode 1
A New Game

A long time ago, back in November and December, Detroit was a peaceful place.  The resistance was fairly evenly spread around the galaxy.  The council of players listed above generally kept the peace and protected the residents with large blue fields. Since we were all spread out, we didn't step on each other's toes for AP.  We leveled fast and we would get together to stamp out little uprisings.  We all reached L6/L7 around the same time.  Kenobi, Strykewalker, and later Luke were able to level somewhat faster because they spent a lot of their time in the action Downtown (and Windsor) where there were lots of portals close together.  They were mostly gray, and there for the linking.

Then there was the Enlightenment.  They were kind of a whiny bunch.  Their emotions led them on a Dark path, complaining about how unfair it was that we had a head start and that they couldn't hold onto portals when really they only had themselves to blame which we'll find out later.  They tried to get us to go easy on them, and for a short time, we did.  They were mostly isolated thugs to start out with, so it wasn't a big deal to us.  But then they started to band together, giving rise to...


Episode 2
The Enlightenment Strikes Back

Recall that in the last episode, the Resistance reached L7 fast but they were spread out.  This was good at first, but became a major handicap at this level.  This wasn't Star Trek.  We couldn't just teleport around or slip into a wormhole.  We had to get into our vehicles and travel 20-30 minutes to meet up if we wanted to build a portal over level 5.  Also, about this time, Solo took a job doing trans-galactic smuggling runs.  Calrissian started dealing with his own issues.  Chuck Norris' vacation ended and she had other galaxies to save.  Luke, like Kenobi, got to L8 fast and stepped back from the battle to let the younglings level up.

The Enlightenment on the other hand, used their new found Dark powers to convince friends and family to play.  At first this was counter-productive.  They were near each other, so they were splitting AP.  But even at Light Speed, level 7 is a long journey.  So eventually the Enlightenment got up to L6/L7 while most of the Resistance was still L7.  At this point the tide started to turn.  With most of the Resistance Council spread thin and fighting fires in other galaxies, the Enlightenment started constructing a farm the size of a small moon in Ferndale (We'll call it Deathstar 1).  

The Resistance noticed it quickly and began a campaign to attack it as fast as possible.  But the fact that the Enlightenment was clustered close together made it so they could just rebuild it whenever they wanted. Eventually, they were able to erect an L7 farm (Deathstar 2). They started mining resources like crazy, blocking major trade routes, and blowing up whole planets in a crazed quest for ultimate power.

Since then, the Resistance has been biding their time.  Training new younglings,  and Smuggling resources to the Outer Rim.  Solo has been making allies in other galaxies.  Norris has been delving deep into the study of the Niantic Force gaining us almost unlimited Ingress invites to train a new batch of rebel Resistance fighters.  Luke has gone back to the swamps of Belle Isle and frequently sneaks around Downtown to practice his field-building skills and farm items for the Resistance.  Setting us up for...

Episode 3
The Return of the Resistance.

Both teams hit L8 at about the same time, but the Resistance has the benefit of being the good guys.  The Enlightenment, by nature, seeks power for the sake of power.  They use teamwork to promote their individual goals.  One of their top agents thought he could gain exclusive power over the galaxy.  Infighting broke out and left the Enlightenment wounded.  But, while their numbers have slightly diminished, some of our former younglings, are now full-fledged Ingress Masters in their own right.  So instead of lone agents in each corner of the galaxy, we now have small armies popping up that can build L6/L7 portals at the drop of a hat.  Resources are no longer an issue, giving us the clear advantage again.  This episode is still playing out, but I think the ending is clear...

#ingressstory