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Shiver
Slaver Bait
- Joined
- Apr 26, 2019
In the year 2222 the world looks very different. Neo-capitalism and resurgent fascism have eradicated liberal democracy. Unchecked climate change has irrevocably altered the surface of the world, and humanity now lives in hot, elevated islands formed by catastrophically risen seas. Corporate and technological power is supreme. Inequality has reached new heights. But at least there's still Wi-Fi.
New Republica is an isolated land whose cities have turned to flooded slums, and where the only real order comes from a conglomerate of megacorporations that run their territories like wealthy fiefdoms. Technology is wondrously advanced, but in a world of scarcity and shrinking livable space, that means new ways to kill each other as often as it means convenience and comfort. Everything can be bought and sold, including people.
Life in New Republica
For the ultra-rich CEO class, New Republica can be a paradise. No governments to interfere with their operations, and every imaginable pleasure can be purchased with a tap of a touchscreen or a blink at a holo-augment interface. A small middle class tries to squeeze out a bit of privilege for themselves in the cities or the middle rungs of the conglomerates. But the vast majority don't fare so well. Most people live in cramped tenement housing and have little choice but to risk their lives in factories, lend themselves as test subjects for experimental tech, or sell themselves as slaves. The only alternative is abject poverty, or perhaps, eking out a subsistence living in the arid wild. Violence is a constant companion as resources are finite.
To the extent that there are any 'values' in New Republica, they centre around individual opportunity, machismo, and taking care of you and yours. Religion and spirituality are gone. The family unit persists, though with some modifications... why shouldn't a man have a few extra wives, if he can take care of them?
Most people dream of landing a position with the rich, comfortable corporations, and will do anything they can to get a foot in the door... whether it be a scrappy young man running wetworks for a Corporation's interests, or a pretty young woman auctioning herself off as a wife to corporate buyers on 'eBabe.'
There is no law beyond whatever the local power can impose, whether that's a city ward council or a city block gang leader. It's dog eat dog, survival of the fittest, take what you want. Egalitarianism and human rights are things of the past. Press gangs, brutal factory conditions, and slavery are back.
The advancement of technology has been equally untamed. Wonders like cybernetic enhancements, hovercrafts, holographic projection, virtual reality, and directed energy weapons and shields are ubiquitous.
Locations
- Spillover City The largest city in New Republica, Spillover City is home to several million and counting. Most people live in slum conditions and crime is a serious problem, but much of the city is still semi-functional, including several industries. It's split into several wards, each with their own governing council and private security forces.
- Beached City Beached City used to be called something else, until the unchecked rise of the oceans flooded nearly its entire geographic area. Now it's home to several hundred thousand displaced, impoverished people living in what used to be the city outskirts. Gangs and crime lords control what remains of the city, its people, and its resources.
- The Estates Several thousand square miles of warm, arable land and forest. The rich and fortunate live here, spread out comfortably on massive private estates or enormous corporate compounds. While only the mega-wealthy own land here, most people in New Republica would jump at the chance to go live on an estate and work for its owner.
- Campus The most important Estate in New Republica. A huge, luxurious corporate compound and headquarters of Ayr, the most dominant organization in New Republica. Campus is set in an idyllic and extremely well protected location.
- Unincorporated Territory Sparsely populated, mostly untouched mountain wilderness. Temperatures have rendered much of this land arid, but a smattering of small communes dot the land where intrepid souls live their lives in rural peace and quiet.
Major Corporations
A research, technology, and telecom megacorporation. It is the largest organization in New Republica and the most powerful. While it doesn't act as a government for the region, it does exert considerable influence via its monopoly on wireless networking, sat-communications, advanced cybernetics, and the entire digital infrastructure of New Republica. Without Ayr the last vestiges of high-tech civilization in New Republica would be impossible. Every individual and every organization in the region relies on the Ayr Link wireless, network whether it's their personal ayrPhone or for the entirety of digital commerce and banking. Ayrlink is headquartered at Campus, an enormous compound.
Nearly every person in New Republica has an ayrPhone. They're personal communication devices, computers, projectors, and ID cards all in one. They are highly customizable and very small, and most people carry them in their pockets of wear them as wristwatches. Each ayrPhone is keyed to a certain bio-signature and can only work for its owner, making it pointless to steal unless hacked by an expert. Ayr is consistently rolling out upgrades and new packages for the ayrPhone, though only the rich can afford to keep their devices state of the art.
Nearly every person in New Republica has an ayrPhone. They're personal communication devices, computers, projectors, and ID cards all in one. They are highly customizable and very small, and most people carry them in their pockets of wear them as wristwatches. Each ayrPhone is keyed to a certain bio-signature and can only work for its owner, making it pointless to steal unless hacked by an expert. Ayr is consistently rolling out upgrades and new packages for the ayrPhone, though only the rich can afford to keep their devices state of the art.
Viva Corporation is the leading social and entertainment company in New Republica, specializing in the development of narrative simulated experiences and VR mindstreams. They run several digital gaming and gambling platforms, and have total control of nearly all media and news. Viva is also the corporation that operates eBabe.
- eBabe is a prestigious digital network for purchasing attractive young women. Typical users are those who aspire to be sold to wealthy men as a means to elevate their quality of living. For many women their best avenue for advancement is to be bought by those living in comfort and wealth in the Estates. Some users advertised on eBabe may not be willing participants, but rather forced onto the platform by desperate families in need of income, or by criminals dealing in slaves.
With a high cost of enrolment and a near absolute focus on commerce, technology, and corporate business, the Academies have a tendency to keep power and wealth concentrated among the upper classes. Graduates of the UI Academies can count on at least a mid-level position in a major corporation - which puts them ahead of 90% of the denizens of New Republica.
Pretty girls who may not have the skills or the desire to rise to the top of New Republica's stratified, unequal society may set their sights on a different form of advancement. The Girls' Finishing Schools train girls to be pleasant, obedient companions in the hopes of becoming the wife or property of rich, well-to-do men. The schools teach various home making, as well as a curriculum focused on fashion, beauty, etiquette, and so on. GFS graduates tend to fare the best on eBabe.
Pretty girls who may not have the skills or the desire to rise to the top of New Republica's stratified, unequal society may set their sights on a different form of advancement. The Girls' Finishing Schools train girls to be pleasant, obedient companions in the hopes of becoming the wife or property of rich, well-to-do men. The schools teach various home making, as well as a curriculum focused on fashion, beauty, etiquette, and so on. GFS graduates tend to fare the best on eBabe.
Nutri-Synth Ltd. (Food Production)
Frontier Labs (Medical and Cybernetic)
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