The City is the home of the Mall Rats along with many other tribes. It runs along a shoreline and is surrounded by beaches, forests, mountains and villages. During the virus pandemic, it was divided into numbered sectors to prevent mitigation and to make the evacuation process easier. After the virus wiped out the adults, the city descended into anarchy and was left a dangerous place ruled by warring tribes like the Locos and Demon Dogz. The streets were scattered with trash and fires, and nearly every wall was decorated with graffiti.
Overview
The city was pretty typical to your average town or city with large office blocks in the town centre, shopping malls, casinos, hospitals, residential areas, industrial areas and green areas in the outskirts.
Population
After the virus rid the world of all adults, the remaining population of kids in the city was never counted.
The closest estimate was given in the City Leader election, where a total of 3521 votes were counted. That is, however, a very rough estimate as many people gave double votes and it does not account for blank votes or the people who did not vote.[1]
The number would also have decreased due to the large number of people taken during the Techno invasion, though a lot of Technos also added to the count.[2]
History
Series 1
In the aftermath of the virus, the world had descended into anarchy, and there was always a struggle for control and leadership over the city amongst many of the tribes. More often than not, the tribes in control were those who would go the furthest to gain power through means of force and intimidation.
In the beginning, the kids in different groups fought among themselves for shelter and resources until tribes were formed. The Locos under the leadership of Zoot were definitely the strongest tribe. They used strays for slaves, dominated other groups for resources, and ruled by fear and intimidation as they scoured the city with their infamous police car. Their only real opposition were the Demon Dogs, an equally lawless tribe who would enter fights with the Locos. Tribe Circus were also a prominent tribe, having ownership of a popular casino, though they too had to answer to The Locos, who took a share of their income.
After Zoot's death, Ebony hosted the Tribal Gathering in an attempt to create some co-operation between the warring tribes, but true co-operation seemed impossible as each tribe wanted to keep their share of the power, with only the Mall Rats arguing for democracy and abolishing slavery, and the gathering descended into violence.
Series 2
The virus returned and the antidote became the most valuable form of currency. Tai-San was the only one who knew the formula and could produce the antidote, which shifted the power over to the Mall Rats. With Bray and Danni at the helm, they aimed to use their power for peaceful means, trying to establish a democracy in co-operation with the other tribe leaders. They tried to implement a justice system with a Bill of Rights and opened a traders market.
Series 3
However, The Chosen had recruited large numbers and took complete control over the city, getting rid of many of the tribe leaders. They forcibly recruited people to their religion and implemented their Zootist beliefs on them, or used them as slaves. They remained in control until they were defeated by a rebel alliance led by The Mall Rats. The Mall Rats implemented a trading currency known as ems and a sherrif in the form of Lex. Some time after The Chosen's defeat, an election for a new city leader was held, which concluded with Ebony defeating Moz in the final round.
Series 4
Ebony's real leadership was short-lived as the city was invaded by The Technos who took swift control due to their superiority in technology, weapons and number. Although Ebony was allowed to keep her city leader title in exchange for her co-operation with Ram, there was no doubt as to who held the real power. As they brought electricity back, introduced City Net and Paradise, the city's inhabitants became addicted to their technology and entertainment and worked willingly for them.
Series 5
The city came under control of Mega and the Mall Rats after the Techno leader, Ram, was defeated. Mega however, pretended to be friendly to the Mall Rats and used their influence to extend his ambitions. Working with Java, he created Zoot holograms around the City to trick everyone into thinking that Zoot had come back from the dead. He also created the Zootists, led by Ebony, Java and Siva. They were nothing but a ploy to scare the poplution so he could build a barrier around the City, which he planned to expand over time until the whole City came under his tight reign.
When the Mall Rats discovered his plans, they were forced to abide or be thrown outside the barriers. Eventually the Mall Rats united with the city tribes to succesfully take down Mega, but not before he created a new virus that was unleashed by Ram's rogue AI. This forced everyone to flee and abandon the City.
The Tribe: A New Dawn
The Mall Rats made it back to the City by boat. Some were forcibly captured by the revived Zootists led by Eloise and The Guardian, who made their base at the Mall. The Mall Rats were able to defeat them and reclaim the Mall back. They and the captured Zootists are the only inhabitants left in the City as the other tribes had fled from the Virus Mark II, which apparently had dissolved.
The Tribe: (R)Evolution
Forces of The Collective, led by Commander Snake, would capture the Mall Rats and free the Zootists. The Mall Rats were shipped off by plane to Eden. After staying in Eden to help restructure the New Collective, the Mall Rats return to the City.
Sectors
- Main article: Sectors
The city was divided into several sectors, at least fifteen, to help administer and control the fight against the virus during its outbreak. People had to stay in their sectors to prevent migration and keep stability and order. There was a medical unit in each sector. Determined by which sector they lived in, some of the young were evacuated to the countryside.[3] The division of the city into sectors remained after the adults perished, with the young survivors frequently referring to the sectors.
Locations
Areas
- Airstrip
- Docks
- Rail Yards
- Smuggler Tunnel
- Suburbs
- Cemetery
Buildings
- Casino
- Government buildings
- Group 9 Hospital
- Horton Bailey Hotel
- Newspaper office
- Library
- Lincoln High School
- Phoenix Mall
- Stadium
Islands
Mountains
Nature
Surrounding
Trivia
- The filming location for The Tribe was in and around the city of Wellington in New Zealand as this is where Cloud 9 is based. The City was always just referred to as "the city" and was purposefully never given a name. The reasoning behind this was to illustrate that this could happen in any city anywhere in the world.
- When Series 5 was still airing, an article was released on Tribeworld.com that teased possible storylines of how the season would end. One of them being that the City would be hit by an earthquake and all the buildings, including the Mall, are destroyed. This forces the population to leave forever. Although none of these teases ultimately came to pass, this is close to what actually happened as the AI Zoot forces the population to flee the City. [5]