The Shadow Vigilantes (or “Vigilantes”, Chinese: 影子自警团) is a robot militia in the Evernight Era, tasked with maintaining public security in Geocity, Virtual Universe, and the snowfield. It serves as the de facto law enforcement authority of Robot Civilization.
History
Geocity Militia: About a decade before Alice‘s awakening, a large-scale riot erupted in Geocity. Just as the rioters were about to seize the central server matrix, robot rabbit twins Lapis and Amber fought back. Using their martial arts skills and knowledge of the terrain near the server facility, they successfully held back the attackers. Inspired by their courage, more robot civilians joined them to form a group called “Geocity Militia.”
Name change to Shadow Vigilantes: Compared to the rioters at the time, the Militia was in a disadvantage both in terms of numbers and weapons. However, most of its members were Geocity infrastructure workers, familiar with the environment and possessing useful system privileges. They primarily engaged in ambush battles using these advantages. After the riot was quelled, reports described them as “the brave vigilantes who emerged from the shadows,” leading to their new name “Shadow Vigilantes.”
Nowadays, the name “Shadow Vigilantes” has been given other meanings – “standing with the citizens like a shadow”, “going after wrongdoers like a shadow”, “working under the light, protecting from the shadows” and so on.
Branches
The Shadow Vigilantes consist of three branches: Geocity Patrols, Cyberspace Guardians, and Snowfield Watchers.
Geocity Patrols: The Geocity Patrols is responsible for patrolling Geocity and guarding key facilities to ensure the safety of Geocity. They maintain a close relationship with the Geocity Volunteers, with many members participating in both organizations. Their work location as a volunteer is often the area they guard or patrol as a vigilante.
Cyberspace Guardians: The Cyberspace Guardians are mainly composed of members from the Robot Engineers Association. They are tasked with maintaining the network security and controlling information flows in the Virtual Universe.
Snowfield Watchers: The Snowfield Watchers is responsible for protecting the Snowfield Expedition Teams from the notorious Snow Badits. Some members are stationed at campsites, while others escort transportation vehicles on the snowfield. They are also members of the Expedition Teams and participate in their daily tasks.
Personnel Management: As the rioters in the last Geocity disturbance were mainly composed of idle robots, the Shadow Vigilantes have adopted an unwritten rule of “not accepting idle robots.” Members must also belong to either the Geocity Volunteers, the Robot Engineers Association, or the Snowfield Expedition Teams; they are workers first and vigilantes second. This policy is based on the belief that engaging in productive tasks fosters greater care for their working and living environments, encourages caution with weapons, and helps prevent unnecessary destruction.
The Shadow Vigilantes have a flat organizational structure with no hierarchy among members. Teams are formed flexibly, and commanders are elected based on the mission’s needs.
Equipments
Enhanced bodies: Members of the Vigilantes employ enhanced anti-riot robotic bodies with superior strength and armor. They use a black-and-white uniform color scheme for better identification.
Normal weapons: Members of the Shadow Vigilantes primarily utilize martial arts, cold weapons, and low-impact firearms—such as riot shields, riot forks, static nets, door breakers, sensor suppression guns, low-impact firearms, sensor disruption bullets, rubber bullets, rapid-curing gel bullets—to minimize damage to personnel and facilities.
High-powered weapons: In special cases, the Vigilantes may request high-powered weapons from the Robot Engineers Association. Each Geocity patrol team has a supervisor from the Association to grant weapon permissions. On the snowfield, on the other hand, all Snowfield Watchers are equipped with high-power weapons to fight the Snow Bandits. As network connectivity is limited in the snowfield, usage of these weapons is unrestricted and only subject to post-event reviews.
Problems
Authority without legal basis: The Shadow Vigilantes is the de facto law enforcement force in the Robot Civilization, but their authority lacks legal foundation and is only tolerated by the citizens for historical and practical reasons.
Unprofessional: The Shadow Vigilantes members are composed of part-time paramilitary personnel, they lack adequate training and professionalism. Some members can’t even use their weapons properly. They have faced ongoing controversies, including concerns about Geocity’s semi-military management, disorganized structure, inconsistent law enforcement practices, and improper use of high-powered weapons.
Interference by the Robot Engineers Association: The Robot Engineers Association controls the mission and tactics of the Shadow Vigilantes, as well as their personnel choices. The Association occasionally issue “arrest warrants” and “wanted notices” for the Vigilantes, such arrangements have been questioned because of a lack of legal basis.
Talent loss: In recent years, some members who were dissatisfied with the current state of the Vigilantes decided to quit. One such instance is Lapis the Robot Rabbit, who later became a judge of the Circuit Court of Robots. Others, while not quitting, opted to work in areas less controlled by the Robot Engineers Association. For example, Amber the Robot Rabbit has been working in the Snowfield Watchers for a long time.
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