Neuropolitan - Eutactic Womb

Glossary

Aerostat - anything that is static in air. More specifically, refers to small hovering drones which create hexagonal security grids to defend buildings and Enclaves from macro-scale attacks, such as missiles or intruders. Each aerostat is fitted with sensors, thrust fans, and weapons, most commonly stun charges. Aerostats grow hot and eventually self-destruct if illegally removed from the grid. [Rating 1-10. 5+ is military-grade. Stun Damage is 5 points, electrical, per aerostat. Normal hex grid has 6 dog-pods in a 2 foot area. Defeated by EM Burner, requiring a Test of Communications vs. Communications. Attacker adds Burner rating, Defender adds Aerostat rating].
Assembler - any nanomachine capable of mechanosynthesis. Large-scale macromolecular assembler fabs are generally known as Assembleries, and have mostly replaced old-style manufacturing plants except in the poorer parts of the world.
Bespoke - made to order. Refers to elite design houses that create a la carte nanodevices.
Burner - electromagnetic electronic warfare device, used by the military to jam, distort, and subvert enemy communications and control systems. At its highest setting the burner can overload enemy systems, burning them out permanently. Requires Communications skill to use. [Rating 1-10. 2+ is military-grade. Used with Mediamatics skill to override target signals with your own programming. Now you can make the president admit his indiscretions.]
Chimeric - a genetically-engineered beast or pet, limited in intelligence by law, and often used for menial tasks such as watering houseplants (spider-monkeys) or for amusement (lightning hamster).
Comspec - communications specialist, denoting an officially-sanctioned 'white hat' decker.
Headnet - sub-dermal body implant that collects ambient EM signals. Used by passive espionage agents for data collection.
Immunocule - tiny floating nanomachines which defend Claves from nano-scale attacks, such as killer mites (the artificial kind), disassemblers or unmarked nanomachines. Immunocules are visible as sparkling fogs when active or fine dust (called toner) when decayed. Mites are autopoeitic adaptive replicators, which means that they evolve and reproduce by themselves, and often adopt startling new configurations.[Immunocules protect the privileged from nanoscale attacks and also from toxic gases, sprays, parasites, and bacteria.]
Geotecture/Geotect - geological architecture. Buildings and even small islands can be grown by nano-assembers, given a strong feed. Geotects design the systems and aesthetics of such structures.
Phenomenoscope - precision tool used for manipulating nanostructures or examining nanotech activity. Commonly takes the shape of a pair of looking glasses.
Ractive/Passive - interactive or passive entertainment, such as trideo shows or old-style movies, respectively. Ractives respond to the participant, who can then change the storyline or even take a role in the event. Ractors are people who take on long-distance roles.
Mediaglyphs - standardized universal symbol language used to identify places, objects and people by a unique icon. Even illiterate peasants can identify the mediaglyph for New York.
Skinsuit - artificial second skin generated from a unique genetic sample. Used by blanks ('SINless') and other criminals to bypass genescanner security systems. Comes in a small applicator tube which is imprinted with a sample of someone else's DNA. Spreads by itself all over body. Cannot withstand close scrutiny.
Roboscope - compact diagnostic tool for examining androids and similar biophotonic devices.
Noosphere - notional 'field of knowledge' generated by human beings through communication, data storage, processing and social interaction. Much as the hydrosphere is defined by all the water on the Earth, so that noosphere is the body of knowledge around the Earth.
Maker/Feed - nanotechnological matter compiler composed of a miniaturised assembler coupled to a raw material feed. Can create simple articles such as clothes, shoes, statuettes, books, glasses, and pens from a specified design template.
Nanobar - general purpose eutactic material used in the construction of flexible objects such as clothing, condoms or wrappers. Future equivalent of today's petroplastic. Programmable and nearly indestructible, requiring special tools to manipulate. Useful as protective clothing because most mites cannot penetrate it (hence the 'bar').
CASE Tools - Computer-Aided Software Engineering. A complex suite of expert systems, machinimas and a synthetic intelligence which assists a decker in constructing utilities. Quasi-legal in the same way as a set of lockpicks. [Bonus to Computing(Design) roll is +1 ($10 000; +2 $100 000; +3 $1 000 000.]
Mediatron - a thin film of nanobar coupled with a layer of rod-logic nanocomputers and light filters to produce a flexible graphic displayer in the form of a piece of paper, a poster or even wallpaper. Cheap and plentiful, with a higher pixel-count than the human can resolve.
Special Circumstances - current euphemism for military black operations. SC operatives thrive in the Joint Intelligence Command.

Intercontinentals are politically-recognized entities that span the globe and exert influence (in one way or another) on almost every part of the world. They don't necessarily have to be corporations. Mega-corporations as such are rare in Neuropolitan, and their power is circumscribed by the pervasive surveillance and control of governments. Rather than the state withering away, the bureaucracy (even when well-intentioned) has grown larger and more intrusive. Intercontinentals are subject to such power as much as anyone else. Western intercons are generally smaller, more agile, and more competitive than their Eastern brethren. Eastern intercons tend to be conglomerates (selling various unrelated goods) based on clan affiliation and are often headed by a patriarch. The world's most important industries are biomed, informatics, mediamatics, nanotech and aerospace. Everything else (cars, computers, fridges, consumer software, &c.) is old-tech and produced in the mid-world countries such as Persia and China.

Gravital
Incorporated within the Lunar jurisdiction in 2044, Gravital is an aerospace consortium representing some of the world's most powerful countries. Gravital designs and engineers space and atmospheric platforms for such diverse customers as the Sultan of Bali and the American Aerospacy (Aerospace Force). By pioneering the null-stage rocket booster in 2030, the predecessor of Gravital managed to cut space-transit costs by nearly 40% and thus secured its place among such giants as Boeing and Eurospatiale. The consortium's primary shareholders are the American Aerospacy, State of Northern California, Brazil, Sao Paolo Aerospace, MASA of Mexico and Weston Buffett.

Lotus Design
Evolving from a venerable thirty-year old industrial heritage, Lotus has transformed itself into the premiere image and designhouse on the planet. Lotus designs ("esthesizes" in the company's jargon) a vast assortment of household, architectural and luxury goods, such as the award-winning Lattice shopping concourse which runs through all of ringtown Shanghai and the popular aLAbaster personal connector. The Lotus logo adorns countless clothing accessories, gadgets and holohouses. The company is based in Santiago, Brazil.

Genesys
One of the titans of the processing industry, Genesys is a long-established Euro-American multinational which designs top-of-the-line processing and networking hardware for custom applications. It employs some of the world's best datadivers, netologists and spherographers for handle electrosphere traffic and competes with Cryptnet in the high-strength cryptography market. Genesys also breeds the most stable Synths and has constructed hundreds of datalabs for growing organic code and other products. The company was formerly known as General Systems.

Quizatl
Initially established by the Mexican government as an industrial champion, Quizatl has developed into a mass-market coding house whose branching hypersystems employ talented comptrollers and coders from around the world. Quizatl's unique managerial structure (employees can cast weighed votes commensurate with rank) and ingenious use of brilliant morphic architecture have earned it the name of la republica within the corporate enclaves of the electrosphere. Quizatl's strong social networks and employee loyalty have made it one of the most successful companies in Latin America, but its dubious string of overseas acquisitions have left it vulnerable to takeover. Quizatl grows system architectures and nurtures data constructs for international, orbital and military concerns.

Milarc
Otherwise known as the Military Arbitration Corporation, Milarc has been in the business of warfare in one form or another for over 150 years, but only recently has it turned to the more lucrative market of military negotiations and simulations. Although war is still appallingly common today, a number of nations have resorted to hiring simulationists to forecast the outcome of any potential conflict in order to prevent a wasteful war that could not be won without great cost. Milarc not only creates the most detailed simulations but also handles international arbitration between warring/hostile parties and hires private mercenary companies to patrol the peace. Milarc most commonly employs the services of Intervention Inc., which is on retainer to the World Court to fulfil that institution's judgements. Milarc does not sell guns since this is generally a low-profit business, but does provide contacts to suppliers in the industry.

Reflex
The venerable Chinese computing and information-processing giant weathered the War but took almost fifteen years to get back on its feet and regain its status as the world's largest provider of information-based services. Reflex systems were occasionally under American control following the War, but its strong Asian social network and good business acumen allowed it to emerge from under the American shadow and eventually to swallow most competitors. Today Reflex commands most of the financial trading, exchanging, banking, certifying and insurance markets around the world, apart from Nomura in Japan and Citigroup in the USA. Most of Reflex's operations are conducted by its secretive Hive Computers, in Chongqing.

PowerX
As one of the world's most recognized brands, PowerX is comprised of a series of industrial and service concerns such as Powertrans (transom construction), Powersport (team training, equipment, etc.), Powergen (power generation), PowerPop (mediamatics), Powertrade (financial), etcetera. each with its own structure but whose overall strategy is planned by a clever Synthetic Intelligence nicknamed "The Power". Although PowerX operates within the legal constraints imposed on Synths, it has managed to beat the market through the use of incredibly complex financial operations and loophole-jumping that leaves tax auditors amazed.

Novoross
New Russian has managed to turn itself from a state-run basket-case to a globe-striding energy and power generation giant within a mere generation, and its exclusive contracts with North Arabia have given it a stranglehold on much of the world's oil and gas reserves. The use of common fuel-cells in cars may have diminished the oil giants of yore, but it still means that Novoross produces a large part of the world's plastics, turbines, engines, automobiles, ships and associated electromechanical products. These products are usually sold under a host of foreign brand names such as Lotus, Barang, Ford, Kvaerner, Iso and Toyota.

Pharmac
A biotechnology, life sciences and health services giant whose products include the ever-popular Snuggies® chimeric pets/toys, the Tri-bloom® series of instant flower gardens, numerous pharmaceuticals, the Good Living® franchise of eugenics therapists/clinics, the GoodLife© global chain of hospitals and countless other medical curatives. Pharmac also conducts discreet biological research for governments and militaries, and pioneered the use of Synths in high-speed, high-precision, robotic surgery.

Cryptnet
An underground network of illegal and semi-legal hypersystems existing within the electrosphere which makes use of strong cryptography to avoid prosecution. Access to cryptnet systems requires crypto-keys, and anonymity is always preserved. A large part of cryptnet is located in offshore datahavens such as the Antilles or Bahamas, which enforce communications privacy and even encourage secrecy. Cryptnet is used by those who resent or fear the government's groundscan and other intrusive policies. It is, however, also used by criminals of all stripes, a fact which draws heavy police fire in most countries. Crypters like to think that the high population of rights-activists, political dissidents, persecuted minorities and anti-state freedom fighters offsets the number of criminals.

Black Zero
A ruthless nihilist organization devoted to the eradication of all state power through physical destruction including, but not limited to, nuclear, biological and nanotechnical means. Black Zero operates through a dozen worldwide fronts, but only a hard core of fanatics has the skill and organization to pull off the high-profile attacks that are characteristics of this violent group. Black Zero has access - via unknown means - to some very sophisticated weapons of destruction, such as brilliant missiles, nanitic disassemblers, directed-energy guns and binary accretion toxins. Black Zero's most brutal atrocity was the detonation of a nuclear bomb in the Hindustani city of Baragor, an attack which killed almost 300,000 people in a nuclear firestorm and lead to the creation of the Federal Bureau of Security in the US. Black Zero and groups like it are the most commonly cited excuse for increasing government surveillance.

Tabula Rasa
Very little is known of this group, as its formation dates back only to the emergence of the Balkani Confederation. It is believed to advocate the dismemberment of the latter country in an effort to re-establish old ethnic boundaries within the region. It's main attacks have included bombs and network torpedoes aimed at European Commission institutions and at the European Army's Balkan Command. The Tabula Rasa have been active in Germany, Poland, France, Serbia, Bulgaria and have even brainwashed people in the Hungarian Ministry of Information. This group's methods are subtle and silent.

Neot Federacy
Rumour has it that this programming collective was started as joke by a group of Wyoming U. seniors who tried and failed to 'overthrow' the monopoly powers of a TwenCen software giant. Whatever its origins, Neot has grown to include some of the brightest and most daring designers and program jockeys in the free world. The Federacy boasts a membership of nearly 750,000 in 152 countries, each committed to a contract in which s/he helps Neot and receives not only shares, but also products from the company. Neot is almost a self-sustaining empire; only Neot members may use Neot software. Design is by competitive teams and committees, and involves only open systems. The allure of this structure and its masterful adaptation to the fluid nature of the electrosphere have propelled the Neot Federacy to the highest ranks of corporate power. How long this idyll situation lasts depends on the whim of the world's major governments, whose investment in closed-system software is considerable.

The Collection
Founded by UNESCO in 2006, the International Cultural Collection is probably the world's largest depository for encyclopedic knowledge, archival footage, images, models, historical simulations and other collective memories, and is sometimes compared to the Great Library at Alexandria in importance. It has survived undamaged for more than five decades despite enduring cyberspace war and continual vandalism. The Collection makes a point of presenting every piece of information in as objective a manner as possible, which in practise means putting up every possible interpretation. This way one can read about the Second Crusade from the Fijian point of view and still learn something. The turbohackers of Cryptnet have taken it upon themselves to defend The Collection from attack and subversion, and a dedicated Collection Committee works day and night to maintain the physical and intellectual integrity of this important human monument.