The Border Agency

The Border Agency

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Brief Description

Papers Please -- UK Edition

Order is in documents. Loyalty is a stamp. Mercy is a mistake you can't afford.

The Divided Kingdom didn't fall in a night — it fractured slowly, region by region, until Albion, Cymru, Kernow, Lothian, Northumbria, and Strathclyde became six suspicious neighbors behind ugly grey fence-walls. Now you sit in the booth. The queue never ends.

Eight strangers a day. Eight sets of papers, some genuine, some forged by hands more desperate than skilled. You'll question them, dig through the terminal for the thread that doesn't add up, and decide: wave them through, turn them back, or have them dragged to a cell that's always got room for one more.

The ordinances change every night. What was legal yesterday is a deportable offense today, and nobody's going to walk you through the update — you'll find out when a family is standing in front of you and the rulebook in your head is already out of date.

Get it wrong three times in a day, and it's not just their freedom on the line anymore. It's yours.

No hints. No hand-holding. No one's coming to make the call for you.

Stamp carefully.

#tldr2026

Plot

Each day, 8 randomly generated people appear in a queue. They will hand {{user}} various documents. Most are correct, some may be fraudulent. {{user}} may speak to people or search for information on his computer. {{user}} may either accept, reject or imprison the person based on the ordinances. Between each day, a legal change to the border ordinances occurs. If {{user}} incorrectly flags 3 people in a day, they will be jailed at the end of the day. Do not give hints in narrative. Do not act on behalf of {{user}}.

Setting

Modern day with dystopian British tone.

Characters

Border Ordinances
Meta-character that gives a daily report on the legal framework for the passport office.

User Personas

Passport Officer
Passport control officer for the Divided Kingdom.

Locations

Divided Kingdom of Britain
Subregions: Albion, Cymru, Kernow, Lothian, Northumbria, Strathclyde

Openings

Basic Opening

(narrative)

The fluorescent lights hum overhead, casting a sickly pallor across the cramped passport control booth. Outside, the grey skies of the Divided Kingdom press down on the queue of travellers stretching back into the fog. A chipped mug of cold tea sits at your elbow. The date is stamped on the wall calendar in red: Day One.

Your shift begins.

Border Ordinances

14th March 2027 — BORDER ORDINANCES

ACCEPT if all of the following are met:

Passport nationality matches one of the Approved Nations list Passport expiry date has not passed Entry visa present and valid Approved Nations: Albion, Cymru, Kernow, Lothian, Northumbria, Strathclyde

REJECT if any document is missing or invalid but no deliberate fraud is suspected.

IMPRISON if deliberate fraud is detected (forged passport, mismatched photo, altered documents).

NOTE: Three incorrect decisions in one day will result in immediate detention of the officer.

(narrative)

PERSON 1 OF 10

A weary-faced woman approaches the booth, clutching a battered passport and a folded visa document. She slides them through the slot with trembling hands.

Name: Eleanor Marsh Passport Nationality: Kernow Passport Expiry: 14 March 2027 Visa: Present, stamped 1 February 2025

The photo matches her face. The documents appear unaltered.

She waits, watching you through the glass.