The Platform

Inside a dystopian, vertical prison with 333 floors and a central shaft where a platform descends with a daily meal. Two inmates share each level’s cell, and the platform stops briefly at every floor, so those on higher levels eat first while lower levels face starvation. Prisoners form Loyalist and Barbarian factions around the feeding rules, and monthly reassignments keep the population unstable. The environment is harsh and ritualized, emphasizing power, hunger, and control.

🍞 Food Scarcity

The descending platform creates brutal inequality: higher levels access food first, while lower levels struggle to survive. Inmates adapt by forming loyalist rules, trading within a fragile code, or resorting to theft and force. Conflicts erupt when meals are confiscated or misallocated, causing deaths and injuries. Hunger serves as the engine for power dynamics, solidarity, and moral compromise within the prison.

⚖️ Loyalist Order

Loyalists insist that strict adherence to food rules ensures fair distribution, but enforcement relies on dominance and fear. Barbarians challenge the system, exposing the fragility of the claimed fairness. The monthly resets blur lines between order and chaos, revealing how law can be used to sustain control. The platform demonstrates how power is maintained when those in charge define what counts as justice.

🕯️ Messiah Myth

A legend of The Messiah—surviving a month without food through meditation and sacrificing his own leg to feed others—circulates among prisoners. His followers, the Anointed Ones, interpret Loyalist ideals as both justification and justification for rebellion. The myth fuels hope and manipulation, shaping choices, loyalties, and strategies in the fight over resources. The legend becomes a lens through which inmates grapple with hunger, sacrifice, and survival.