[i]In 2023, at the heights of civil unrest, a plot spanning centuries came to fruition. Utilizing the conflicts between Blue, Red, Green, and everything in between political parties - The high elites finally got what they wanted from their greatest enemies. The death of modern western society by explosive holocaust, and the revival of the old societies. Where nobility, blood, and family lineage once more took the reigns. Things such as 'power to the people' and 'equity for all' used as stepping stones for the true masters of social unrest. Firing squads and mass graves quickly swept any objectionists under the rug, along with overwhelming technological force that came through government subsidies and supported monopolies throughout Silicon Valley and beyond. All to usurp liberty. The few bastions of civilization left, exist in 'Bubble Cities', where the vicious irradiated elements and unnatural disasters are turned into fuel and sustenance by the miracles of technology, those same 'Bubbles.' Shields generated through expensive generators that require careful, 'precise' supervision under corporate-employed Artificial Intelligence. All said bubble cities are controlled and linked together into The Safety Belt™ by one Corporation to rule them all, a Megacorp composed of hundreds upon hundreds of various corporations, which in themselves had swallowed various other corporations, companies and prospects alike... [color=9e0b0f][b]Apex.[/b][/color] The King of this new Neo-Feudalistic society, all proclaim to serve this megacorp and follow it's orders, for it is what decides what is law and what is not. It's strongarm that watches all is [color=662d91]I.R.I.S.[/color] Formed through AI ventures, bio and neural chip industry, private military companies, and many other surveillance innovations during the 2020's - [color=662d91]I.R.I.S.[/color] knows all, it sees all, and most importantly, it cares for all([color=fff200]Executives[/color])! Under the [color=9e0b0f]Apex[/color] banner are of course the corporations, along with their employees, their families, and many others. They are the [color=fff79a]untouchables,[/color] [color=fff200]the Executives,[/color] [color=aba000]the Corpo's.[/color] Despite their lives of unfathomable wealth and power, they are often met with very little they can change. In this new sanitized hyper-monitored society, there is very little to be snuck under [color=662d91]I.R.I.S.'s[/color] watchful eye, unless there were to be some sort of place...Some sort of underground where a man could act out and not risk being immediately punished... We'll get back to that. After those two, you have the next cornerstone of every Bubble City in the Belt. To keep up at least some appearance of fairness, in every city there are elected officials in charge, the ones supposedly responsible for making law and keeping it. Though often they are just puppets for [color=9e0b0f]Apex[/color] - [color=0076a3]The City Council.[/color] A play pretend for the subservient population to pretend that Democracy exists. Next, you have [color=598527]the Drones.[/color] [color=8dc73f]The Slaves.[/color] [color=c4df9b]The Wagies.[/color] The ones who willingly follow every directive. The ones who keep up with every booster injection, who wear their certified [color=9e0b0f]Apex-approved!™[/color] safety masks. Some buy into the illusion they're given, that if they simply follow what Apex says, and obey the- [color=6ecff6]Code of Compliance[/color] -they will be given a chance to rise to the top. To live like an [color=fff200]Executive[/color]. Upon finding the truth, they usually kill themselves or go homeless within the first hour. [hr] Next, you have the [color=8dc73f]tradies,[/color] the lower class. The ones who keep the engine of the cities going. Construction workers, Electricians, the guys who do the back breaking labor that bots, drones and Execs cannot or never will do. Drones are wage slaves to computers and menial tasks, Tradies are wage slaves to back breaking precise labor, criminal syndicates, and the disgust of Exec's. [hr] And that pretty much does it for the 'legal' and 'legitimate' side of this universe. Now for the bad. [hr] As mentioned prior. In The Belt, all cities are connected. All controlled, all wired in. For men and women alike to give into vices against the new order is to suffer a fate perhaps worse than death. ...Except for one place. For much like how car deaths are innumerable in eras past, for much like how gun deaths were very real in eras past... A price must be paid for privilege's. For most, it's safety - and they sacrifice their privacy and any potential rights and freedoms. In the main hub of our story, the place where people of scum, corruption and violence run free like blood. The only place where it pours out like a vat, people trade freedom for pain. Liberty for corruption. In The Twin Cities of what was once Minnesota, [u]District: TC-43.[/u] Or as otherwise dubbed by locals... [u][b]The Shadegrid.[/b][/u] [hr] Among those many diseased and broken, come those that fight against the hell that is this Corporate Kingdom. The Criminals. Those who refuse to spend one more minute, one more hour in the machine as just another cog, and have taken to different solutions. Some for the better. Most for the worst. [hr] Deep underground, where the frost and rainwater doesn't touch, there exist vast networks of decaying infrastructure, and endless escape attempts. From either the outsides perilous winter chill, or from the Bubble's suffocating persecution. The Homeless and The Tunnelers make their home here, in the sewers, in the subways and abandoned train tunnels to nowhere. Even in abandoned buildings or hidden rooms in 'approved' buildings on the surface. Ones who've never visited call it 'The Underground' or 'The Underbelly.' Anyone who's actually been there will call it the [color=a0410d]Sump.[/color] Left with no markets to turn to, tossing the Corporate-controlled digital currency Aside. They choose to trade in old world currency instead. Dollars and whatever else. Making their living off of business between the outside world, and from inside the Bubble and it's many amenities. Or even moving people around the tunnels or outside the Twin Cities and beyond. Moving money, moving product and whatever else, spying, subterfuge, espionage, hacking, stealing - you need it done? Contact a [color=9e0039]Tunneler[/color] and their Crew. As many a corporation often does, leading to war after war between PMC and [color=9e0039]Tunneler.[/color] They live dangerous lives playing against [color=662d91]I.R.I.S.[/color] and other dangerous groups and corporations. So naturally they have to compete in some way, diving into experimental drugs and lots, and lots, and lots of augmentations. Even if that means becoming less than human. The life of a [color=9e0039]Tunneler[/color] is often like an explosion. Short lived, but vibrant. [color=fff200]Exec's[/color] despise them, [color=662d91]I.R.I.S.[/color] practically kills them on sight. Yet in the Twin Cities? They thrive. But while the [color=9e0039]Tunneler's[/color] usually err on the side of relative morality, still clinging to humanity, there are those who go far darker. Who keep things far more controlled. Another group of individuals that despise those damn Tunnelers. [color=ed1c24]Syndicates.[/color] Organized criminal gangs, usually aiming to become legit, or keep things stable, on the down low. Trafficking just about damn near anything that [color=9e0039]Tunneler's[/color] won't. Even if that means hurting countless others. From Anima's, drugs, Androids and others. [color=ed1c24]Syndicates[/color] are often ruthless and cold, caring very little for who dies as long as money is given, and often times - who is hurt. [hr] Last but not least. You have those who the rest scoff at, they tolerate the [color=9e0039]Tunnelers.[/color] Aiming to use them much the same as the Syndicates do, but for greater purposes other than money, power and sex. Some call them [color=ec008c]Anarchists,[/color] others call them [color=9e005d]Radicals,[/color] [color=662d91]I.R.I.S.[/color] calls them [color=f49ac2]Terrorists.[/color] Most call them [color=9e005d]Revolutionaries.[/color] Those who often choose not to destroy the system from within, but from the outside. Those who are okay with damn near anything as long as it means usurpation and defeat of the status quo. What remains of the Red's and Blue's respective ideologies and political beliefs, burns in small embers with them. Hiding in the shadows, awaiting the perfect time to strike. They organize and lead protests and full-on riots often. Though they really can only afford to exist in the Twin Cities. [hr] At last, we reach our final stretch. The factions have been laid out generally, now all we have left is the world. And the plot. Most has been revealed already, but some still needs to be explained, and others shall be left for later. [hr] Though perhaps the most cruel treatment, is pushed upon regular citizens. [color=f9ad81]'Social Awareness'[/color] they call it, language, behaviors, terms for the new person. Where identity does not matter. Only compliance and owning nothing does. The currency you use you do not own, the apartment you live in, you don't own. Your food, your intake of media, food, drink, pleasure, breath, freedom, social interaction, exercise, entertainment - life. All of it. Controlled, monitored, dispensed based on your compliance. Almost every citizen in the bubble cities has a neural implant, a brain chip, or some sort of glorified ankle bracelet. Which monitors who they are, where they are, and what they think. Bad speech? Yikes! Looks like you broke the terms and conditions of your employee smart contract, which follows the latest in fact-checker databases from various subsidiaries of the [color=9e0b0f]Apex[/color]™ Family! Your offending speech has been catalogued, your Meta Portfolio and Social Profile have been automatically updated to reflect these changes, and you have been fined the appropriate deductive amount for this transgression to your [color=9e0b0f]APEX Wallet™[/color], and - if we feel that the envelopes needs a further push, we will downgrade you back to insect-based foods and lower income housing pods. Cameras with facial recognition on every street corner, every face mask built with speech and internal monitoring technologies, along with GPS tracking. But at least you're happy. Since you own nothing. And you're safe. At least, you would be. If not for those damn [color=9e0039]Tunnelers.[/color][/i] [hr] Hello! This is just an interest check to see if anybody would be interested in this setting, this is a basic overview containing the minimal amount of information. Hopefully packaged in an attractive manner to any fellow RPers. I've been really craving this one due to it's setting, the characters in it, the plots to be had. And it being quite a dark setting with little spots of light which don't make it too hopelessly oppressive. Tldr for the setting is: Dystopian post-apocalyptic Cyberpunk crime-infested city, with a slight side of the paranormal, and a lot of room for character development. The city itself is hard to change, but not impossible. If anybody is interested, lmk by posting or DMing me, and if you'd like this to be 1x1, small or large group or whatever! I'm more than willing to yap more about it to just about anybody.