Worlders - Found Family or Cult

In High Tech Low Life, survival isn’t guaranteed by governments, corporations, or even gods. Every system has failed, leaving ordinary people stranded between collapse and corruption. Out of that chaos rose the Worlders — a faction that straddles the line between found family and militarized resistance. They are fighters, rebels, survivors. But to Devlin, fresh out of HATE’s grip, they’re something far more complicated: a second chance wrapped in chains.

A Rough Introduction

When Devlin first encounters the Worlders, it isn’t with open arms. Natalya’s vines bind him, Corvus hauls him like dead weight, and Garrett mocks him with sharp humor.

“Make yourself useful and carry this thing,” Nat scoffed at Corvus, sending the vines tossing Devlin toward him. He landed with a splash in the marsh waters between two patches of land.

Their treatment is rough, even cruel at times. Devlin himself recognizes it as “above-average,” considering who he is in their company. But that’s the first truth about the Worlders: they don’t deal in trust. They deal in survival.

Loyalty, on Their Terms

The Worlders’ leader, Ethan, is both strategist and anchor. His word is law, but his loyalty is absolute to those he calls his own. When Devlin is taken by HATE, Ethan rallies the base without hesitation:

“Attention all Worlders, attention all Worlders. One of our own, Devlin, has been taken from us… To save our own, today we march an attack back on them. I will need any and all willing combat-oriented Worlders on this.”

This loyalty, however, is not gentle. It comes with expectations, with discipline, and with a readiness for violence. Garrett describes it best:

“You know full well that this wasn’t the reason we were sent here. If you really want to piss off Ethan, do it on a mission when you’re solo, not when others are involved.”

The Worlders demand everything from their members — and they give everything back.

Masks, Vines, and Brotherhood

The Worlders are as much about personality as they are about power. Garrett, with his bird mask and dagger, hides grief behind sarcasm. Natalya, with her living vines, mixes cruelty and care, testing the boundaries of every mission. Corvus is brute strength, steady and silent. Together, they form a trio that embodies the contradictions of the group: harsh, strange, but unbreakable when united.

Even Devlin feels the pull of belonging in the smallest gestures.

Garrett grabbed the top of Devlin’s head to steady it… A single red eye peeked out from the edge of the mask, narrowing at Devlin. "Well, I’ll be damned. The rat finally ran from his cage."

There is menace here, but also recognition — the spark of something more human than the sterile cruelty of HATE.

War Against HATE

The Worlders are defined by what they fight against. HATE represents everything they loathe: exploitation, experiments, dehumanization. When HATE steals back Devlin, their offense isn’t just rescue — it’s retribution.

The Worlders had begun their offensive. Their force was only about twenty strong, but it was more than enough, as many of them were heavy hitters.

This is their creed: outnumbered but never outwilled. Their powers clash in symphony — barriers, arrows, shifting weapons — each member’s strength woven into a collective fury.

Found Family or Cage?

For Devlin, the question is never simple. The Worlders save him, but they also bind him. They welcome him, but they also call him a mole. They rally to rescue him, but their loyalty is to Ethan first, not to him.

The tension is what makes the Worlders so compelling. They are not saviors. They are not saints. They are survivors who have built a family out of necessity, one scar at a time. To join them means protection, but it also means surrendering to their way of life.

Why the Worlders Matter

In a story about broken systems and stolen identities, the Worlders embody the fragile possibility of belonging. They are messy, violent, and often cruel — but they are real. They fight for each other when no one else will, and in their ranks, Devlin is forced to ask the hardest question of all:

Is belonging worth the cost of freedom?

Because in the glitching static of High Tech Low Life, family might save you. Or it might be the cage that breaks you.

—Kaitlyn & Michael 💜

🦾 High Tech Low Life

📅 Coming February 14th 2026