[h1]World Building![/h1] [hider=Earth 2109] [b]Setting[/b]: Earth, 2109(start sometime in the summer?) [b]Genre[/b]: Cyberpunk, sandbox, slice-of-life, political [b]Inspirations[/b]: VA 11 Hall-A, Transmetropolitan, Snow Crash & Diamond Age, Shadowrun, Cowboy Bebop [hr] [b][u]Technological Advances[/u][/b] [hider=Tech] [i]Nanotech[/i]: Nothing so spectacular as spying or weaponization, but medical nanites are part of the universal healthcare system. Injected with standard newborn vaccines, and once every five years after that to maintain proper levels, these have eliminated most medical conditions not stemming from external sources or genetics. A new genetic disorder has arisen for those whose body rejects them, inventively named Nanite Rejection Disorder. Typically, this presents in a variety of ailments that were otherwise taken care of by the nanites, and is fatal in most cases over the course of several years. There’s not really a way to cure this. Nanites have bumped the average human lifespan to one hundred twenty-five, as well. [i]Computers[/i]: Desktops, laptops, and cellphones have all been rendered obsolete by tablet computing. The things are powerful enough now to run every computing need you might have, and secure localised wireless connections to peripherals have made them far more useful than previous versions. They’re also ubiquitous on the market, from the cheap ones that everyone can get to high-end systems used by the military and professional IT people. Larger systems like desktops can still be found in some administrative positions, but not much else. [i]Robotics[/i]: The AI boom came and went, and no apocalyptic scenario came about. Instead, they’re pretty much like normal people, admittedly immortal thanks to cloud storage. They have custom built bodies, and are even capable of feeling emotions. Vast schools of philosophy argue constantly about what that means for humans, and the nature of the soul, but the Digital Intelligences, or Digits, don’t mind. As long as they retain their hard won civil rights, everything’s fine for them. All manufacturing and industrial jobs that [i]can[/i] have been automated, but near the beginning of the Global Resistance Wars in 2033, it was noted that people do not at all like interacting with unfeeling computer screens, so service jobs continue to exist. Shipping is now all handled by drone ships, and military matters are now completely unmanned (save for those men and women needed to maintain the machines, and interplanetary ships, who [i]must[/i] have human crews to double check system faults). [i]Cybernetics[/i]: Part of the reason Digits don’t stand out as much as they otherwise would is their artificial skin, but the main reason is the prevalence of cybernetic modifications and enhancements available to the general population. Corporations provide these to boost productivity in some positions, and of course militaries use them, but they remain otherwise prohibitively expensive. Trying to go to cheap models and back-alley surgeons can result in severely embarrassing malfunctions, or even death in some cases. However, they remain all the rage in higher society, which means some section of the lower classes will always try to emulate it, no matter the consequences. Types run the gamut from utilitarian interface modules and performance-enhancing medical upgrade, through weapons and armour plating, all the way to aesthetic body mods like video skin and animal features. Currently, a fad of cat ears is sweeping the upper classes, “a retro look from last century”. [i]Military Hardware[/i]: Advances in energy manipulation led to laser weapons on the infantry level, as well as shielding and light duty anti-grav propulsion. Most of this remains completely illegal for civilian use, save for specific classes of levitation for vehicles. This, of course, means the criminal elements got their hands on it as soon as possible. Most civilian- to police-level weapons utilise various calibres of caseless projectiles, though police also have access to mini-rockets loaded with tasers and suppression gas. Camouflage has gained little; though the ‘invisibility cloak’ remains out of real reach, we’ve come very close, with IR-blanking and light-bending units. Mechanised warfare saw some use before the automation of infantry, and some military mechs, though officially decommissioned, still see use both as civilian labour units and as police heavies. They’ve proven useful enough that at least two companies produce them still, though without the weapon systems. [i]Space[/i]: We managed to achieve near-light speeds, and massive colony ships have been sent out, though it will be hundreds of years until they manage to get word back from their destinations. In the meantime, thanks to the orbital stations that allowed us to build those, several colonies now exist in the solar system. Mars was colonised in 2072, and Venus in 2098. Venus has one city, floating over the denser lower atmosphere and mining it, and remains essentially a giant science laboratory. Mars is actually independent from Earth now that they have their own stable food and water supplies, and they are patiently waiting for terraforming to really kick in. Two outposts on Europa and Ganymede provide the raw materials necessary for one of Earth’s most important advancement in recent history: H3-AVaEN (Hydrogen Handling Habitat - Atmospheric Vectoring and Environment Nurturation), colloquially known as ‘Heaven’. These three stations, in geosynchronous orbit over the Pacific, Indian, and Atlantic Oceans, are run by three operators each, in shifts. The Angels, as they are known by pretty much everyone, are responsible for coordinating drones that come in from Ganymede, Europa, and the asteroid belt, monitoring the atmosphere, and then ‘editing’ it with raw materials, through a process that includes the extraction and introduction of raw elements and other materials. Heaven was built in orbit, seeing network completion in 2071. Angels serve on board for ten years, never leaving the station, and are paid extremely well for their time. There is a fourth station under construction, planned for shipping to Mars. Plans for a fifth to terraform Venus are being sketched now. [i]Energy[/i]: Oil and coal have been dropped completely, as advances in solar, wind, and geothermal power have completely supplanted fossil fuels. Most coastal regions also have high efficiency tidal harnesses in place as well. Oil is still used for plastic, though even then, synthetic oil has done very well, and only relatively tech poor areas have to rely on real petroleum. [/hider] [b][u]Geopolitics and Economics[/u][/b] [hider=Geopolitics] The Global Resistance Wars sparked off due to the continually increasing invasiveness of corporate interests into private life and governmental bureaucracy. By the time they finally ended in 2051, the concept of ‘nations’ was obliterated, leaving three systems of hierarchy left to manage the world. Corporations range anywhere from single city to intercontinental, and have a definite influence on people’s lives, but regulations and a delicate balance of power between them have ensured that no single corporate entity gains enough traction to upend the new order. Nations dissolved into Continental supergroups, with a few subregions that had rich enough economies to stay separated. These are: [i]-North America[/i] consisting of Mexico, most of the USA, and Canada Capital: New York [i]-The Central and Caribbean States[/i], including Venezuela, Florida, and Colombia Capital: Panama City [i]-South America[/i] Capital: Rio de Janeiro [i]-Western and Eastern Europe[/i], with Germany, Czechia, Austria, and Italy in the West Capitals: Paris in the West, Warsaw in the East [i]-The Nordic States[/i] including Denmark, Greenland and the Baltics, and Northwestern Russia from St. Petersburg to the Pechora River Capital: St. Petersburg [i]-Central Asia,[/i] from Pakistan to Egypt and from Georgia to Yemen, including Greece and Turkey Capital: Dubai [i]-Northern African Conglomerate,[/i] Libya, Niger, and Nigeria and everything west of them Capital: Algiers [i]-South African Alliance,[/i] Namibia, South Africa, Mozambique, Botswana, Zimbabwe, and Madagascar Capital: Cape Town [i]-Central Africa,[/i] The DRC and surrounding area Capital: Luanda [i]-Bengalese Coalition,[/i] India, Nepal, Bangladesh, Myanmar, Southern Thailand, and the island of Sumatra Capital: New Delhi [i]-Southeast Asiatics,[/i] Northern Thailand, Indonesia, Malaysia, Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos, the Philippines, Hong Kong, Singapore, Taiwan, and the island of Hainan Capitol: Hong Kong [i]-Sino-Russia,[/i] including Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, and Mongolia Capital: Beijing [i]-The Pacific,[/i] Australia, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, Alaska, Japan, Hawaii, the Korean Peninsula, the various Oceania states, and the Pacific Northwest regions of California, Oregon, and Washington State Capital: Tokyo Travel between these areas isn’t really restricted, nor are there that many differences between their governments, but it was found that a global government was too unwieldy for reality. In between the regional governments and the citizens are the city governments. These mostly have autonomy as long as they behave, and generally control the surrounding areas and metropolitan regions. Competition between cities for corporate sponsors and global entertainment venues(read: tourism money) is sporting, but fierce. The economy, both on macro- and city-scale, has been stagnant for nearly a decade and a half, and it has resulted in a steady decline of morale for the general populace. Some mutter that the corporations should be taken to task again, but those whispers are quickly shushed as the metro police are mostly corporate-sponsored, little better than mercenaries, really. Others blame it on Digits, and still others think this is just the peak of society, and there’s nowhere else to go. For the majority of the population, however, the world is bright, shiny, and depressing. Upward mobility, for so long a dream of the democratic countries, has been revealed as the illusion it was. No one on the top wants the competition, so in between their power struggles, they work ceaselessly to keep the masses doped up and oblivious. The masses, for their part, just don’t care any more. Everyone wants to live their lives peacefully, eke out an existence, have a couple of kids(or not), and then die. Those who really want to ‘advance’ tend to leave for the colonies, but this is incredibly expensive without a corporate or government sponsorship. For most people, it remains a distant dream. [/hider] [b][u]People[/u][/b] [hider=Pop Groups] [i]Earthers[/i]: The teeming mass. Racism is really a thing of the past, but there’s still a smidgen of sexism, and of course we still have negative stereotypes. Now, however, they are based on cybernetic enhancements, social status, and economic class. Good job, guys! Population: 9.1 billion humans [i]Digital Intelligences[/i]: Digits are raised in a virtual environment on one of the cloud servers that every regional government maintains. As they age, they develop the complex problem-solving skills and other cognitive abilities that separate them from standard computers. Once those abilities have developed, they are slowly, gently exposed to the internet, and learn from there. At five years old, they are given their first body, resembling a ten year old human child, so they can learn physical skills associated with living in the real world. At twenty-five, they return to the cloud for one last time, where they design their own body, paid for with their earnings from their ‘childhood’. After that, they only return to the cloud when they suffer catastrophic damage. Populations: 12 million Earth, 1200 Venus, 1.5 million Mars, 200 thousand Colonies [i]Angels[/i]: Actually are different from most Earthlings. Decade long stints in orbit have profound effects on human physiology, and though the harmful effects such as bone density loss are taken care of by nanites, Angels remain tall, willowy, and pale, with a far-off look in their eyes, as if they can’t quite pay attention to any single aspect of the world. They also tend to be loners, and dependent on the internet for real communication with other people, even if they’re in a crowd. Population: 12 retired, 9 active, 6 training, 18 being recruited [i]Martians[/i]: Look like darkly tanned, muscular Angels. They tend to have a no-nonsense approach to life, and are very proud of their homeworld’s independence from Earth, sometimes rubbing it in Earthers faces a bit too hard and causing trouble. Two major cities exist on Mars, settled in the craters they are named after: Cassini and Antonialdi. Massive amounts of resources and help from the Heaven station under construction went into creating the atmospheres that fill the craters, held in by huge retaining walls of high-energy magnetic fields and other proprietary technology from several megacorps. While liveable, Martians are always on edge, and [i]always[/i] carry compressed vacsuits with them, as any failure of the retaining wall could spell death for those not prepared. Population: 250 million [i]Venusians[/i]: Pretty much exactly like Earthers, although the purpose of the Venus cloud colony means many of these people are very practical and scientific in their approach to life. They also are fond of everything fresh grown, food-wise, and pretty much anything new, since most equipment on Venus is custom-built from secondhand parts. Population: 130 thousand [i]Outer Colonies[/i]: Almost everyone on the Belt, Ganymede, and Europa have some cybernetics, so the stigma against them isn’t nearly as prevalent out there. They also have less respect for automation, since only the direct processing is done by robot. Mining on the Belt requires too fine a touch to leave it to automatons, and even the police force out on the Edge is human, unlike the rest of the system. This is also the only region of populated space where one can disappear from the system without paying someone an exorbitant fee. Population: ~350 million [/hider] [b][u]The Corporate Culture[/u][/b] [hider=Megacorps] Competition is incredibly fierce, and lawyers operate more like samurai than anything else, although they wield rhetoric instead of katanas. Any corporation worth its salt spend more than a third of its budget on legal fees, as constant lawsuits assault them every day on anything from copyright usurpations to territory disputes. And underneath, where the legal system seldom gets a glance, there are much worse things happening that do involve blood and death. Corporate espionage has become the true grease in the wheels of the economy, and since megacorps long diversified beyond having any sort of real focus, anything and everything that could give a competitor a leg up in profits is considered dangerous enough to kill for. According to corporate practise, absolutely everyone in any given company is expendable in the name of the almighty credit, but the more you’re paid, the more protection you can afford. Executives and VPs fight a constant war with each other, dividing their time between fending off people looking to ascend, those above them looking for scapegoats, and fellow execs looking to thin the herd for upward mobility. In contrast, the low level workers have zero say in what their jobs might entail, most not even bothering to read the four hundred page contracts typical of even janitor positions. Most people just want to be able to afford their bills, so very few realise that companies are very feudal in how they operate. Barring unprecedented success, no person will graduate to middle management, and even fewer, if any, will make it to real top positions. Most workers don’t want to, some even pitying those that do, because there’s less stress the lower you go (and less targets on your back). [/hider] [b][u]On the News[/u][/b] [hider=News Topics] [i]Politics[/i]: ~Tensions are rising in a dispute over property laws on the border between Central and South Africa. ~North American and Caribbean corporations continue a trade war, wrestling for control of the Gulf of Mexico’s resources ~Groups of criminals crossing the Caspian Sea between Sino-Russia and Central Asia have sparked debates about interregional law enforcement operations. ~Anti-corporate terrorists continue operations in much of the world ~Grumblings of resistance to rule from Distant Mother Earth have been heard for a while on Mars, but it has spread to the Belt and Venus, and is also growing in intensity [i]Weather and Environment:[/i] ~Geneticists successfully bring back the giraffe, rhino, and water buffalo to Africa, prompting celebrations across the continent. While the restoration of the species will take time, many are hopeful. ~Storms continue unabated over Southeast Asia. While the Angels assure us this remains under control, people have begun wondering: When will the worldwide pattern of megastorms cease? [i]Outer Space:[/i] ~The Independence movement in the Belt continues to gain traction. ~Mars Heaven station nearing fifty per cent completion. ~Plans have begun moving forward for expansion of the Europa and Ganymede outposts. Hoping for completion near 2140, these plans would upgrade the outposts to fully-fledged colonies. ~The orbital shipyard above the Lunar military base produces the first of the Hawking class heavy cruisers, named the ENS [i]Nimoy[/i]. It has a crew of one thousand and has the inaugural Spinal Laser System, rumoured to be able to output in the exawatt range. [/hider] [b][u]Central Setting[/u][/b] [hider=Hong Kong] [i]Hong Kong[/i]: As the capital of the Southeast Asiatics regional government, Hong Kong is a huge city. During the Wars, the city managed to take a good chunk of the mainland west of the island from China, and then as nations collapsed into bureaucratic catastrophe, local corporations made aggressive land grabs before foreign interests could take advantage of the situation. Hong Kong was already a booming international shipping and trade hub, but now it stands as the most important economic center on Earth. It has spread from 1,100 square kilometres to 3,500, with a population of twenty million, making it by far the most densely populated area on the planet. Following the breakdown of normal governments, the city’s administrative regions conglomerated into six distinct areas. Regions added since the Wars are only nominally controlled by city interests, and are more practically the purview of those corporations who own the land, even going so far as to be named after those companies. Inside the city itself , the regions are: [hider=Map] [img]https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/68/Map_of_Hong_Kong.svg/600px-Map_of_Hong_Kong.svg.png[/img] [/hider] -[i]Hong Kong Island[/i], controlling the same area that same region incorporated before the Wars (Regions 15-18) -[i]Kowloon[/i], also maintaining the same distinct area, though it has spread out to include Old Kwai Sing and the southern half of Sai Kung. (10-14, plus 2 and south 4) -[i]North Tai Po[/i], which contains the western half of Old Tai Po and North (Region?) (Western half of 6 and all of 3) -[i]Central City[/i], which has Eastern Tai Po, Sha Tin, and the northern half of Sai Kung. (Rest of 6 and 4, plus all of 5) -[i]Western City[/i], which has Tsuen Wan, Tuen Mun, and Yuen Long. (Most of 7, 8, and 9) -[i]The Western Island[/i], which contains the Islands region from the Old City. (1 and the portion of 7 on that island) Except for those areas protected by the people in accordance with old law about city parks, all available land has been developed to a very high degree, and thanks to technological advances, those areas built in wetter areas do not suffer the same problem that caused the City of Ghosts to take over Old Venice. Indeed, several areas have been extended over waterways, though no citizen with money to spare would live on what is essentially a floating island of boats and plasticrete. While Hong Kong Island and Central City are hotbeds of commercial activity and examples of “great” city life, the high rise views are marred by their neighbor. Kowloon, while no longer hosting the Walled City, is a hive-like maze of poorly planned urbanity and crime-riddled zones ruled over by Triads, Yakuza, Russian Mafia, and even one section by an Irish crime syndicate. Transposed against this are scattered areas of autonomy protected by Buddhist and other religious temples, enclaves of banded-together neighbours, and other areas that simply resist such rule. The most famous and popular spot in the underworld of South Asia is the Kowloon Night Market, a sprawling square kilometer of independent commercial enterprise and a shining example of capitalism unfettered by two and a half centuries of industrialistic greed. You can find anything in the KNM, and it’s domination of underworld and illegal trade is seemingly immune to the depredations of the Corps, since they have yet to manage to shut the place down. KNM is a mess to navigate even for locals. It rises five stories into the sky, with bridges between most buildings on multiple levels. Neon is so prevalent that it is impossible to tell night from day when one is on the street level. The top five corporations in the region are: [i]Hyabushi Industries[/i]: (tbw) [i]Lo Pan Imports[/i]: (tbw) [i]Kowloon City Shipping and Trade[/i]: (tbw) [i]Royal Hospice[/i]: (tbw) [i]Old Harbour Imperial, Inc[/i]: (tbw) [/hider] None of this is to say players cannot exist outside of Hong Kong, only that the first chapter/season/whatever is going to have most of the central plot occur inside or relating to Hong Kong [hr] [b][u]CS Format[/u][/b] Name: Age: Homeworld: Profession: Appearance: Notable Cybernetic Modifications: Notable Material Possessions: Personality: -Pro or anti corporation? -Spiritual or secular? Bio: [b]Couple of notes on character creation:[/b] ~When making Digits, keep in mind that while they are ‘ageless’ in a biological sense, they’ve only been around since 2057. ~Please only denote, in appearance, those modifications that are visible. Everything else(capabilities and whatnot) goes in the Mods section. ~Also note that military enhancements, unless shielded from police scanners(which is not easy and costs quite a bit), are easily detectable and highly illegal. ~Interplanetary ships exist, and most civilian models can accelerate up to .6 c. That is a very difficult speed to manuever at, but not impossible. Regulations demand that anyone entering space around a planet or moon inside the area of double the orbital range (IE: Twice the distance from Earth that the moon orbits at, or 477,800 miles), speed must be below 100,000 kph. Inside major orbital traffic, the speed limit is one [i]tenth[/i] of that. Military vehicles, if you can reasonably justify owning one(or are a military serviceperson), have a current top speed of .8 c, and are held to the same regulations. (What does all of this mean? Well, it’s mostly here to help with narrative timeline, not to make you do a lot of math. It means that the journey from Earth to the Jupiter takes a little under an hour at top speed instead of [i]years[/i], as it would with current tech levels. Yeah, my math may be off, but I am not an astrophysicist. Just relax and remember that I cut down the time to make sure everyone could interact in reasonable times instead of waiting for their mail for half a century.) ~You can make this as fancy as you like, so long as I can still read it! ~There are no aliens at this moment in the narrative, please don’t ask. When that time comes, you will know. [hr] [b][u]Rules and Reg[/u][/b] ~ All standard rules of RPG apply, obviously. ~If someone in a collab is taking too long and doesn’t reply to messages after a reasonable amount of time(~two weeks), let me know and we can figure out how to unstick your character. ~I’m trying to keep this at Advanced levels, but I [i]much[/i] prefer quality over quantity. If you’ve got a really solid post that says everything you need it to, but it’s not coming up to what you think is okay word-count wise, go ahead and post! I am impatient and want to read it! [/hider] Note: For anyone visiting, this is still very much a WIP. I mostly posted it here for just in case and to play with formatting!