The world
is a different place. More civilized and yet more out of control than ever.
Gigantic Space Islands cast long shadows on the ground; uncontrollably small
hypercorporations tunnel between the walls of states whose governments have
long ago forgotten their social contract; and agents of influence burrow into
societies hollowed out and seduced by machines. However, the global balance
of power remains the driving international dynamic.
Many parts of the world have yet to re-emerge from the brutality of the Third
World War and the subsequent plagues. Many coastal areas in Southern China,
California, Spain, Turkey, western India and the Congo still wear the battle
scars of that great conflict. It was perhaps the closest the human race has
ever come to complete annihilation, which may explain why today's governments
sit locked in a Cold War in the Pacific, unwilling to start another hot conflict
but eager to stir up trouble on each other's continents. The major powers
of Europe, the US, United China, India and the Slavic Union all vie for advantage
in the Periphery of the Solar System, on such newly-colonized planets as Mars
and Venus, and such distant outposts as Io and Titan.
The World Court
The Third World War launched the newly-established World Court into the realm
of international power. In the wake of the Small Plagues, when the major powers
faced social disintegration, the World Court brought a degree of justice and
order to the chaos of the international stage. Together with it's sister organization
- UN Biocontrol - they set about defining the Human Code, a code of laws regarding
bioengineering and the use of bioweapons. The profession of Syndic was created
to deal with law-breakers, and harsh penalties were set out in those hysteria-prone
days. The world's top scientists were asked to donate research time to develop
guidelines for acceptable genetic tinkering. The Human Code has since weakened,
but the World Court endures as an institution which has the jurisdiction and
moral authority to force governments to bow to world opinion. It has used
its power on a dozen occasions, to censure Morocco during the North African
intervention, to impose sanctions on Canada for lax travel restrictions, and
even to declare Sumatra a Denied Area, forbidden to all foreigners. As the
power of goverments has grown again, so the World Court's rulings go unheeded
more often, but it still has considerable weight to order investigations on
any territory, at any time.
Biocontrol
The United Nations agency which grew out of the old WHO after the Small Plagues,
and which now sets the standards for food safety, foreign decontamination,
personal hygiene and the Pharmacopeia. Biocontrol has authority to sanction
any violators and can - in extremis - call upon UN Security Council
members to strike a hotzone with atomics.
United States of America
The United States of America is still the world's mightiest republic, but
it's politico-technical evolution has dissolved its boundaries and government
structures. North America is a polycentric distributed democracy whose elder
citizens take decisions collectively, while effectively shutting out the young
opposition. Although the federal government still controls some things through
the Departments of Defence, Information, Safety, and Competition (DISC), most
of it has withered on the vine or been contracted out to more efficient corporations.
These four departments handle most affairs of state, and the 'big D' has grown
to tremendous size as it defends North America against East Asian threats
and sabotage. The old majority have a stranglehold on real wealth through
their investment houses and control of strategic medical-engineering industries.
They have also co-opted most of the disaffected by offering free housing and
food to the poorer masses in the new Southern states. The Bahamas, Puerto
Rico, Cuba and Dominica have all become American States, while the Bolivar
States (what used to be Colombia, Venezuela and Guyana) are de facto US protectorates.
Despite its expansion, the United States remains a fragmented republic, beset
by social problems, frustrated minorities, and a weakening of the social functions
of the federal government. Everyone must fend for themselves, and the mood
of prosperity is fading. Americans feel besieged by the hostility of East
Asia and the nation is split between pro-Asian groups on the West Coast and
pro-European groups on the East Coast. States' rights have increased to the
point of near-sovereignty, and only commercial interests tie the tattered
fabric of America together.
Americans generally work as free agents for several small hypercorporations
at a time, putting in flexible hours at home or at shifting office locations.
Incomes are among the highest in the world, and are channeled into investment
houses which manage most elderly people's assets, purchasing their groceries
for them, arranging low-cost high-fun vacations, and other trivial details.
Middle class folks own two cars, and a recreational vehicle such as a boat,
airsail, or small airplane. There remains a lingering mistrust of Clonals,
although Synthetic Intelligences are accepted as a routine fact of life. The
legal status of Clonals has not been resolved yet, and they continue to exist
in the twilight of society.
Most people are cautious and extremely hygienic following the Small Plagues,
a series of disease outbreaks during the Third World War (2019-2025) that
killed well over 500 million people, mostly in the Third World. It is common
for people to wear thin, unnoticeable films over their bodies to avoid contamination.
Monthly health checks are mandatory in 42 States. Urban sprawl has been mostly
regulated, but places like Phoenix and Portland still stretch for dozens of
miles in all directions. The combined city of San Angeles has overtaken New
York as the country's financial, artistic and economic hub, while Delta City
(old New Orleans and surrounding river delta), Seattle-Portland (SeaPort),
Phoenix, Salt Lake City and the Twin Cities have grown in importance.
Other items of interest:
The
European Union
As an experiment in uniting countries together, the EU can be said to be a
success. As a method of uniting people and nations together, it has been an
unmitigated failure. Though the European Union can claim to be one of the
largest economies in the world, and a global political-military force, its
citizens are mired in a thousand obscure feuds and disputes which occasionally
transform into riots, assassinations and even massacres. By 2028, the EU had
absorbed almost every country on the European continent, from Ireland to Latvia
to Moldova, and had formed a close association with the Slavic Union (Russia,
Ukraine, Belarus and northern Kazakhstan).
Today Europe is prickly and extremely bureaucratic, mired in internal conflict
suppression and still smarting from its prolonged and futile interventions
in North Africa during the 20s. Most Europeans remain prosperous, but Europe
has failed to evolve politically and remains wedded to its conservative, status
quo ante political parties. Currently most national governments are controlled
by Green Stability parties. Large tracts of Europe have been declared heritage
sites and are preserved as 'living museums' and tourist attractions. Any device
creating pollution is banned in these areas, as are vehicles and chimerics.
The major cities, on the other hand, have become sophisticated urban systems
served by huge 'metros' (subways) and underground expressways with top speeds
of 300 km/h. Highrises have slowly taken over the skylines of Frankfurt, Lyons,
Manchester, Berlin, Warsaw, Barcelona and Hamburg. Aerocars sweep majestically
over the rightly regulated city life of Europe, removing unwanted foreigners
(almost all are) and keeping the place safe for the gerontocrats.
Other highlights in Europe include:
The
Slavic Union
In 2037 Russia, Ukraine, Belarus and northern Kazakhstan confederated into
the Slavic Union, and have created the world's first experiment in Synth-controlled
administration. Synthetic Intelligences, in consultation with a scientific-
political elite, together run the Slavic Union's economy and elections, writing
laws and formulating policy based on strict principles of social dynamics,
econometric prognostication
and psycho-engineering. While
the Slavic Union is a democracy, it cannot be said to be a free society. The
state is strong and controls economic activity through a vast array of Institutes
and Academies, each in economic competition with the others, but directed
by ultra-smart computers. So far, the experiment is a great success, reviving
the country and bringing great prosperity following the long years of anarchy
and civil war, but whether the electorate will for long put up with being
told what to do by Synths remains to be seen.
United China
East Asia has consolidated into a political bloc whose general goal is the
suppression of the ethnic and religious insurgencies that have raged across
the Pacific Rim for the last 30 years. Through a combination of bluster, economic
pressure and military intimidation, the United Republic of China has become
the pre-eminent country in the region. China is controlled by the Council
of Tongs, with each Tong being a trading house, political society and religious
grouping. This hierarchy extends throughout China in a series of clan ties
and mutual obligations. Each tong follows ancient customs and strict forms
of etiquette and secrecy to distinguish its members, and makes use of brainwashing
and persona-filtering to create a perfect, harmonious society. The most commonly-encountered
Tongs outside of China are the Arbitration Tong, Banking Tong, Crypto Tong,
and the secretive Intelligence Tong. All Chinese Tongs have a Master Synthetic
as clan advisor, Eternal Tooth of Clan Aerospace being the most famous.
East Asia
The Eastern Community cooperates in fighting Muslim, Christian and Confucian
radicals and rebels from Inner Mongolia to Java, and remains a potent economic
force in the world. The residents of Java, Thailand, Filipasi, and Malaysia
enjoy a high standard of living, but the Eastern Community remains locked
in a Cold War (involving many strategic space weapons) with North America
over access to important energy sources and the economic embargo of Australia
following its expulsion of all Chinese citizens. The EC's economy is dominated
by giant multinationals, among them the world's largest: Zi Corporation. Together
with Karad and Reflex, it controls nearly half of the region's industrial
production, and dominates physical production around the world. However, these
behemoths have trouble competing with the tiny hypercorps typically found
in Europe and the Americas. Clonals are considered property in the Eastern
Community, which brings frequent rebellion. Japan has maintained its ties
to America, but has declared itself neutral in the hostile Pacific, and defers
to China in matters concerning East Asia. The island nation is now armed to
teeth and maintains a nuclear arsenal to ward off Chinese attack. Korea has
become a valuable ally of China, used to threaten Japan and keep it in line.
South America
South America is dominated by the Brazilian giant, whose Mercosur federation
includes most Latin American countries except Mexico. Central America is still
poor, but a large chunk of its territory has been formed into the nation of
Nahuatlan, which houses the region's indigenous people by UN mandate following
a long and protracted civil war in the 40s. Holy Arabia and its Arab Federat
allies continue to threaten Europe with nuclear missiles, even as the Federat
occupation of Somalia and Ethiopia is condemned worldwide. India is still
recovering from its defeat by Iranian forces in Uzbekistan. Muslim countries
have generally rejected the use of Clonals and Chimerics in their workforces,
and destroy them on sight. The world is still as volatile as ever.
Orbitals
The most important development in orbit has been the establishment of the
Space Islands, giant habitats containing robotic assembleries, solar generators
and some (mostly aristocratic) human inhabitants. The major space islands
are Nexa, Daedalus, Chin Ch'ian, Brightstar, Baha, T'ian, and Europa. The
Space Islands serve as refuges for the rich and the weak, and those fleeing
crimes and governments. Some are freeports, some are scientific outposts,
and some are commercial hubs, but they are all confederated and control a
strong lobby on groundside which protects their privileges.
Society
Although the young continue to use fashion as an expression of their rebellion,
the middle classes have adopted a rigid form of dress code reminiscent of
the 1950s. Cars are often styled in a retro-40s fashion, with fins, small
windows, and large hubcabs. It has become a point of prestige among the very
wealthy to buy analog devices rather than the common photonic ones. Constructing
a computer from nano-scale assembled clockwork gears is a much harder and
more expensive proposition than simply wiring a photonic gadget.
The Small Plagues put a big dent in Western Man's belief in progress and the
advance of technology, rekindling old millennial cults reeking of superstition
and luddite terrorist tactics. The most prominent of these are the Enders,
a tightly-knit American clan whose belief in the end of the world through
the destruction of the Electrosphere was recently given impetus when a famous
Oracle (prognostigative Synthetic Intelligence) went insane in the Tokyo hub and took down
seventy-seven finance and informatics companies with it. The Enders permeate
the lower classes, evident in crowds by their long pony-tails and natural
leather clothing. Few people - apart from the Federal Bureau of Security - are
aware that their membership includes many powerful politicians and officers.
Another recent phenomena has been the huge growth of software co-operatives
such as the Neot Federacy. These design houses construct elegant custom softcode
from blocks coded in the industrial world, and then sell it to their 'employee-members'. Many
of these utilities have no practical application, but can be stunningly beautiful,
and their worth continues to skyrocket among collectors. One must belong to
- and contribute to - the Neot in order to purchase their products.
The hand of the state still weighs heavily on people's behaviour. Regulations and
mind-driver broadcasts constantly inform pedestrians of where they can travel, in which
restaurants they can eat raw sushi (considered an extreme health hazard), or
whether the food they're eating will disqualify them from government health insurance. This
is considered a convenience, the better to improve your life, rather than an intrusion. Biocontrol's healthnet groundscan gives people credits for health-promoting
behaviour such as yoga while debitting them for eating hamburgers or smoking. Smokers
and simex addicts are expected to shoulder the costs of their own medical treatments, or to perform
social work for credits. This is social engineering at its finest. It's also considered cruel for prospective parents not to remove genetic traits
from their child that may eventually addict them to smoking, chocolate, alcohol or other vices.
Recently it has become popular for angst-ridden teenagers
to implant bypass chips ('unblockers' ) that inflict a mild form of addiction, just to see what it's like.
