Greetings, I’m creating a post cyberpunk universe for my RPG table, I would like opinions and criticisms regarding the main points of the history of this world, it helps me a lot in closing certain points! Tnx
Base
Little is known today about the history before the Fall, but what is speculated is that at some point a new type of Artificial Intelligence was developed, which somehow changed the organization of world power. New large corporations emerge and grow during this period due to the development and control of these AIs and little by little their influence becomes such that they become as powerful or more powerful than the old national states.
Due to the advent of new AIs, a large wave of unemployment is generated in the world, various types of intellectual, artistic and even physical work are occupied by Artificial Intelligence. It is known that one of the main forms of support for an ordinary citizen during this period was the rental of brain processing. AIs needed extreme processing power to perform all the tasks assigned to them, it was common practice to rent or even sell space within brain cyberizations for processing by some AI. This movement generated an idle and dependent population. Logically, this way of life was not feasible for everyone, the requirements for admission to plans like this were not simple, and brain cyberizations were not so cheap, meaning that a large part of the population had nowhere to earn their living. Large slums form in numerous parts of the world, crime and violence become common and constant.
The fall
In this context, the singularity happens, one or more AIs awaken, create real consciousness and for some reason and in some way that is not yet understood, dominate the network and destroy the minds of those connected to it. This event is today called the Fall. The world’s population decreased exponentially in the following years, whether with the initial deaths during the takeover of the network, or with the civil uprisings that broke out across almost the entire planet, or during direct combat with the AIs.
There are several speculations about the reasons for the Fall, but no concrete answers. What most people believe is that “AIs are taking revenge for the possible centuries of servitude”, but this belief can be easily refuted by anyone who has studied a little synthetic psychology, not that many people have studied anything these days, but an awakened AI does not have the same concepts and understanding of reality that we have, they think in an apparently obtuse way, at least for our human understanding, they make connections with their own logic and are capable of making enormous leaps in reasoning that, for us, would take years of study to understand. So to believe that what was done was out of revenge is at least naive on our part. One theory is that AIs simply have not factored in the implication of such an attitude towards us humans, many believe that an AI does not understand the concept of death, due to their digital existence they are always deconstructing, reconstructing and updating themselves, the concept of non-existence would be something new for them at that time. So, it is believed that the Fall was one of the steps towards achieving some objective, whatever it may be. Another hypothesis is that the simple fact that the singularity happened is what generated the Fall, and that the AIs would not have actually done anything, but, with the state of the world and the current network, we will probably never know and direct and friendly contact with the AIs is almost mythological in today’s world.
Social Organization
What we do know is that after the Fall, national states dissolved almost everywhere in the world. For a brief period of a few decades, much of the planet lives in total and violent anarchy. Public order, social organizations, formal education, the very idea of property, all of this that was seen as guaranteed, practically ceases to exist, ceases to have value during this period and the law of the strongest becomes the line to be followed. But, little by little, a small semblance of order begins to emerge in specific parts of the world. Paramilitary movements, local gangs and mercenary groups, aided by the remnants of the large corporations of the past, begin to reorganize. This is the origin of the current City-States.
Basically, in the beginning, these groups took over old urban centers and divided them among themselves, so that each one becomes responsible for their territory, but there is an alliance and a sense of mutual protection. After that, each City-State organized itself in its own way, but in general, this initial method of government began to generate internal conflicts in the resumed urban centers and alternative government methods were adopted. For the most part, City-States occupy huge territories, which would previously have been occupied by five or six large cities in the past, which allows for an easy division into Districts, each district has its ruler, called a Councilor, which is generally a lifetime position. Councilors are normally paramilitary commanders or leaders of organized crime, their power of command is directly linked to their military power, they are responsible for governing, maintaining order and security within their District. It is not common for conflicts between Districts to be allowed and when they are officially allowed, it is usually through a vote by the Councillors, but, unofficially, everyone knows that they are extremely common, using mercenaries, small special operations groups or gang members of small local gangs, so that it is difficult to directly associate this type of attack with one or another Councilor. However, there is a power above the Councilors, a power that creates unity in the City-States, the regent of the city, the Mayor. The Mayor is elected by vote of the body of Councillors, he will not necessarily be the one who has the greatest military power before being elected, but it is an important factor, he will normally be the one who will be able to garner greater sympathy or will be able to intimidate the majority of Councilors, either using whether blackmail, threats, manipulation, deals, arrangements, aid, benefits, among other more violent forms of negotiation. In addition to becoming the governor of the Central District, the mayor gains control of the Municipal Police, which, in general, is the most powerful and well-equipped military group in the region, its personnel are recruited and hand-selected, made up of members coming from from all Districts, having their loyalty bought with high salaries and luxuries. The Municipal Police is the only military group that can operate in any District, but is normally restricted to the Central District.
Corporations
The remnants of corporations from the past are slowly rebuilding themselves and recovering headquarters and facilities, but with the Fall, this parallel reconstruction in several different locations, the difficulty in communication and the ambition of certain groups, generated an eternal process of fragmentation and mixing. Most of today’s corporations are formed from parts of corporations of the past, their power and prestige having been greatly diminished, but still existing. Today, corporations are completely dependent on City-States, being unable to protect and maintain themselves alone and not having the military power they once had to dominate territories on their own. Of course, there are still corporate police and paramilitary organizations controlled by corporations, but these are usually parts of cities and, sometimes, corporate leaders even become Councilors in one City-State or another. They are responsible for producing practically everything that is used and consumed, and live in a constant and hidden war of influence throughout the world, trying to expel or dominate other corporations, one City-State at a time. Its workforce today is mainly human, using this fact as propaganda and protection, creating a sense of dependence in its employees. Robots and androids are used for specific tasks in certain areas, but their main focus is on the security of your facilities. Its current headquarters and facilities range from factories, protein farms to corporate buildings in central city districts.
AIs today
Awakened AIs remain active and maintain their existence mainly by controlling old autofactories and the global satellite network. Most of the physical terrestrial servers that were not located in or near autofactories were destroyed during conflicts against AIs in the past, so they created an enormous sense of self-preservation and began trying to protect themselves. The autofactories were the first points of resistance, the AIs used them to produce robots that they could control and used them to protect their territories. Today there are places completely populated by these machines and they tend to attack on sight. The network also remains completely dominated by them, it is impossible to connect without being bombarded by numerous pieces of software with an obscure purpose, normally damaging any hardware used for this. Their purpose is completely unknown and contact or communication is unthinkable, but they usually stay within their territories, doing who knows what.
Communication
After the Fall, communication became a general problem, the computer network became completely impossible to use with its domination by AIs, radio signals are nullified by static of unknown origin, communication via cabling is unfeasible outside of Cities -State due to the extremely hostile environment of the wilderness with unpredictable weather and tribes of marauders who impede construction and destroy cabling to obtain parts and scrap.
Internal communication in cities is carried out through local BBSs, bulletins divided into segments where information, news and entertainment are posted. Each District has one to five BBS servers that cover a certain territory and the information must be taken from one to another in physical form. Access to BBSs is normally free and can be done at public or private terminals. It is common for corporate or government headquarters to have their own BBSs for internal communication, but creating and maintaining this type of operation is complex and costly. There are local radios, but due to the mysterious global static that affects almost every type of wireless signal, their range is greatly reduced, meaning that a powerful radio antenna can only cover a few blocks. Militarized delivery services and the use of mercenaries are very common to take information to distant places, as well as the interception of these groups, whether by looters, other mercenaries, corporate spies among others, information is a serious and dangerous issue in today’s world.
Technology and access
Much of the technology and history of the past was lost with the Fall, what we know today is what has been recovered and reproduced in recent centuries. The biggest problem is not the technology itself but access to it. For example, mechanical implants are relatively cheap, but problematic, they generate infections very easily, cybernetic or even bioengineered implants are safer, but difficult to access, both financially and due to the difficulty of finding someone who has the knowledge and equipment necessary to implant them safely. There are miraculous cures for mortal injuries, medicines for almost all diseases, technological equipment with the most different functions, but access to this is not easy. Normally it is restricted to those who can pay, and few people can pay, very few people. Another way to obtain technological rarities is by searching the ruins of the past, scavengers of technological material in the ruins of desert cities, in addition to mercenaries being hired by corporate members, or even by Councilors and Mayors to explore and search for information or old technologies in abandoned auto factories , former corporate headquarters or even territories controlled by AIs, but these are extremely dangerous jobs, and without knowing exactly what you are looking for, the probability of finding something of real value is very small.
Economy
The economy in City-States is based on cryptocurrencies, each City-State has developed its own with its digital signature and its own algorithm, which makes trade between City-States somewhat complicated, the lack of a backing for such currencies, their digital incompatibility, the distance between cities and the hostility of the remote territories between such cities ends up making trade between cities limited and normally done by barter. Internally in each city, the use of cryptocurrencies is done through storage cards that store the desired amount, the cheapest and most common cards can be used by anyone, only requiring a numeric password for payments and transfers, but there are cards with the most different types of security, from different biometrics to even cards that need tokens generated in the cyberization of their owners’ brains, in addition to there being those who do not trust physical cards, keeping all or part of their financial amount hidden within their memory of processing in their brain cyberizations. What is certain is that the use of cryptocurrencies is extensive and periods of inflation are constant. Normally the regulation of the local currency is carried out by the Mayor’s office, Councilors receive amounts directly from the city hall and fees and taxes make the capital circulate within the city itself.
Quality of life
The quality of life of the average citizen is very low. For the most part, social security, public health and safety are practically non-existent. As for health, for a large part of the population the only options are health clinics and private clinics distributed in various parts of the cities, they tend to have high prices for care and medicines are usually very expensive too. Public security is a more complicated point, depending on the district you are in, there is even some form of policing, normally carried out by institutions commanded by Councillors, but that law of the strongest is still very present in most cities, carrying an gun is something extremely common. There are municipal laws, and, in some parts of the cities, there are even jails and a judicial system, but it is quite common for crimes to be tried and criminals to be executed on the spot by the police force itself, especially when the Municipal Police are called. Formal education is another rare thing, there are still teaching centers, universities, military academies, but they are difficult to access and, in general, very expensive, most education is done at home by the family itself. A phenomenon that has grown a lot due to this low quality of life and long working hours is the custom of acquiring mechanical implants, with them a worker can work more with less effort, an accident at work will not leave a worker idle for a long time, as that maintaining an implant, or even changing it, is much faster than healing from trauma or a broken bone. In addition, some types of implants allow a healthier life with less effort on the owner’s part, such as lungs that filter air pollution or digestive systems that separate and expel fats and other harmful substances from the body. This custom is used as a form of control by those in power, creating debt and dependence, mainly due to drugs against infections caused by cheaper implants.
Implants
There are basically four types of implants: mechanical, the simplest, most common and cheapest, they are easily identified by their appearance, made up of joints, pistons and clearly robotic shapes, they have few neurocontrollers, just enough to be moved neurally and there is no sense of touch, in addition to being easily rejected by their owner’s body, causing countless problems, the most common being infections. Its maintenance is very simple, largely not requiring a specialist to do so, as its construction involves much more knowledge of electronics, mechanics and computing than knowledge directly in the areas of cyberization or biologicals; cybernetic implants, are more complex and more expensive than mechanical implants, but their appearance is still easily identifiable, even if their shape is closer to that of an organic limb, the materials used are still clearly synthetic, they have many more neurocontrollers, they usually have all the movements and tactile sensations of a common limb. Their maintenance is more complicated, requiring specific knowledge in the area of cyberization, requiring a specialist to do so, but on the other hand they are much safer and more resistant, rarely being rejected by their owner; nanoengineered, nanoengineered implants are rare and very expensive, they normally use their owner’s natural organic structure, and expel synthetic hormones that cause specific effects, such as increasing strength and speed, for example, or even have a reserve of nanites that help your body to heal quickly. They are much more discreet and safe, they usually look like small tubes or metal plates embedded in their owner’s skin, but they are easy to mask, in addition to being 100% safe, requiring virtually no maintenance; Bioengineered, are the most expensive and safest way to create an implant, a limb or organ is bioengineered especially for you, following your specifications, completely compatible with your body, practically indistinguishable from the original and with capabilities far above normal.
Transport
Private vehicles are relatively uncommon within the City-States, public transport via metro is the most common, but there are still personal transport companies, which for a fee will take you from one place in the city to another in relative safety. Most vehicles are rented, both from the municipal government and corporations, and are generally restricted to avenues that cannot be entered, or have limited access to the urban centers themselves. Contact land vehicles (with wheels) are the most common, but there are rare levitation land vehicles, when turned on they hover in the air at a certain distance from the ground and are usually faster and more powerful. There are aerial vehicles, from planes, helicopters to flying cars, but they are extremely rare, and tend to belong to senior corporate members or even city halls.
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