Megapolis

Setting and its history since the year 2010

The world is a barren wasteland of pollution and ever decreasing oceans. The year is 2401, the dusk of a new era. Capitalism runs everything imaginable in all of society. Mega-cities dot each continent (300,000,000+ residents.) Hardly anyone lives outside of the mega-cities, not because of some catastrophe but because it’s simply too expensive to live outside of them. Within these massive metropolises, corporations run everything, governments of the past no longer exist. If you want police, ambulance, or firefighter services you either pay a monthly fee (of which there is a variety of plans) or you pay-per-use. For example, if you need an ambulance and you have the economy plan you may get picked up within a few hours of calling. However, if you have the platinum plus plan the ambulance will fly in and scoop you up in moments in the middle of a block war. They’ll also fire back if fired upon.

Since the year 2050, Judaism, Christianity, and Islam merged into one united religion. This occurred for many reasons, the major reasons being: politics, peace, power, and of course money. There were those who were against the merger, but these individuals were hunted down as heretics. The new religion had aspects of all three religions and was governed in a manner similar to an oligarchy, three main leaders and one supreme leader – the High Priest. This new religion quickly became a major global power, and it has remained this way for 351 years, securing a few mega-cities under its supreme rule. Outside of these mega-cities, people are generally free to practice whatever religion that they choose. Some of these “heathen” religions are even forced upon employees by their corporate employers.

Around 2012, the earth passed through an energy field given off by an adjacent constellation. Apparently, this occurs every 10,000 years or so as the earth makes is way around specific parts of the galaxy. The effects of this field were very subtle at first, but eventually, beings long thought as myth began appearing to more and more people. Beings that resembled our greatest hopes and our greatest fears began to manifest. People also began to affect reality with their will alone. By the year 2030, the whole world knew of the grave situation that was at hand. 2033 war on all non-humans was declared. The war lasted until 2045 when a new technology was developed. It was an implant that had many functions; chief among them was inhibiting one’s ability to affect reality. Another function of the implant was to unify certain thoughts of all that had the implant. In doing so, the manifestations of the non-humans diminished greatly and the war was over. To this day angels, demons, and such are still seen but not in the great multitude that they once were. And the use of will-working has been outlawed by all corporations, with few exceptions. It is said that certain operatives of the corporations are allowed to freely will-work and live without the implant. It is also rumored that some members of the High Priest’s clergy are without implants. Others have found ways around the implant, such as the super-hackers who hack into their own implant and change its parameters or the black market doctors who will remove the implant for a price. Out of the second group, cults immerged and by their thoughts, pagan gods have manifested. Today, these cults are strong and their pagan gods have granted them abilities to protect their sacred religion. It is said that even the super-hackers have their own pagan god that lives within the virtual net.

The human race has been split into five genetically different races: Humans, Dwarves, Drakken, Illowin, and Aeslin. Around the year 2080, scientists working for Progenitors Int’l (the leading corporation in bio-molecular research) discovered a further dimension within the human DNA. Four different traits to be exact, some would call these traits: strength, soul, mind, and heart. Upon this the discovery test subjects were genegineered to exhibit one of the traits more heavily than the others. They found they could only increase one trait by simultaneously decreasing the other three. Shortly after the creation of these new races, divisions in society were produced. The four new races kept the part of humanity that likes to stay in an environment that is familiar and with a people that look similar. At first, humanity tried to shun them from society, but each race found its niche making impossible to discriminate them for long (this will be further discussed in the race section.) However, The Order of the Tetragrammaton (the religious conglomeration also known as The Order) still held these new races as abominations unfit to live.

During the 2060’s the cybernetics revolution was started. Young people all over the world popularized the idea of cybernetics for personal use, rather than just a means to repair someone who has been seriously injured. It was rumored that Cyber Corp., the leading company in the cybernetics industry, brought about this revolution through word-of-mouth advertising companies. In previous decades, cybernetics was far too expensive for them to become just another fad. However, during the 60’s they not only became affordable but fashionable as well. By 2070, six out of ten teenagers had a cybernetic modification of some kind (be it artificial eyes to artificial arms/legs). The Order quickly forbade cybernetics. Deeming cybernetics heretical for its members and citizens (those residing within The Order’s cities be they members or not.) Cyber Corp.’s stocks soared regardless of this new position by The Order. By 2080, Cyber Corp. was among the most powerful and influential of all corporations, and in the year 2081 artificial intelligence was born. Other corporations were immediately trying to get their hands on this technology for various projects (chief among them was corporate defense.) By 2088, corporations officially ran the world and the governments were disarmed/dismantled by the Syndicate of Corporations (also known as “The Syndicate.") Henceforth, the 80’s were known to be a huge turning point with the birth of four new races and the birth of artificial intelligence. By the year 2093, Progenitors Int’l developed yet another race – the bio-kinetics (also know as the doppelgangers.) This new race had amazing control over their own bio-molecular structure; to the extent of shape-shifting into other people and animals. Some had even learned how to turn into eight to ten-foot tall killing machines. While others exhibited many strange abilities associated with bio-electric energy fields. However, many members of The Syndicate felt very threatened by this new race. Subsequently, the creation of the bio-kinetics was banned and terminated. However, they proved…very resourceful and many escaped. It is thought that they live disguised among the humans in the mega-cities to this day.

The year 2100 was marked by a great plague in the Eastern-Europe mega-city. This vast metropolis was quickly quarantined by the neighboring mega-cities. No one was allowed to leave or enter the city. After a few weeks, the death toll rose into the tens of millions, and word got out that the dead were rising from their eternal slumber. The neighboring cities were powerless to stop the spread of the plague. Within a few months time, the entire city was overrun with the walking dead. Eventually, a team of Progenitor Int’l scientists was able to develop a cure, but the damage had already been done. All mega-cities were given the cure for a low flat rate and yet again their stocks soared. In the following years, it was discovered that this plague was engineered by a death cult (worshippers of several “Bone Lords.”) Their sophisticated knowledge of virus engineering was thoroughly investigated and found to be defected Progenitor Int’l scientists. Progenitor Int’l wasn’t held liable for the actions of the defected scientists. When asked if these scientists wore cybernetic inhibitors (for will-working) they responded, “no comment.”

The next coming century was met with corporate wars. These wars were between competing corporations which took place within mega-cities and between mega-cities. Some corporations still continue the violence, most notably is the hatred between the beverage companies. Volumes could be written about each war and the topic surpasses the scope of this survey of history. To this day, there are many wars and rumors of wars. At the corporate level to the local gangs, violence rages across the Earth’s barren surface.

Coming soon: extensive articles on the existing races, a brief overview of the Earth’s present environment and what life is like outside the mega-city, extensive overview of the setting as it relates to what kind of chronicles can be played, and a brief overview of what life is like within a mega-city.