Updated: 01.03.06
N-E-X-U-S Community Network > The Bleak New World > Corporate Reformation > UK Map > Timeline (Coming Next)
~ The Bleak New World ~ The social, economic and climatic shifts that impacted the early 21st Century were to bring with them the dawn of a new dark age of man. For a while all was good, the information age had brought with it new opportunities. Commerce flowed freely around the globe, but it was built on weak foundations that could not last. As deteriorating social, economic and climatic conditions climaxed over coming years, nations crumbled, regimes fell into anarchy and a power vacuum engulfed the globe leaving humanity at the mercy of corporate intervention. Space tourism was the boom of recent years; technologies previously unimagined had taken those with the free resources to new heights. NASA and national space institutions were quickly outstripped as multi-national corporations with colossal market power turned their focus on the infinite wealth space offered. Colonies were established on the moon, and as humanity pushed deeper into the void a distinct separation was forced between the peoples of earth and the secret lives of those off surface. Behemoth orbital platforms crossed overhead like stars, staging posts for a new frontier accessible only to those granted access. Floating in the ionosphere high above the surface, care free of the changes shaping the world below, a new vision of humanities future was executed. This was the new habitat of the influential, a place apart from the smog-drenched earth below. Distanced and little affected by their actions, they would drain the Earth beyond its environmental limits. The world was slipping into a state of chaos and isolation, considered dispensable by those above. |
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At
surface level, bad weather and catastrophe began to envelope the globe.
The late 1990s saw the first indications of global pollution reaching
critical conditions. During this period and throughout the 2000 decade,
increased industrial demands from emerging consortiums led to climate
shifts creating catastrophic weather, which became the subject of international
debate; but it was already too late. Unrelenting in their pursuit beyond
the horizon, global pollution peaked and one by one, the earth’s
fragile Eco systems began to fail. The ice caps melted at accelerating
rates, floods and typhoons terrorised the nations of earth. During this
period, large numbers of people were forced to leave their homes as coastal
territories were devastated by invading sea levels. Worse was to follow,
as a crisis of biblical proportions was already set in motion. |
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The
failing global environment struggled to support reliable crop harvests
from 2010 onwards. Very quickly, global food supply diminished. Over subsequent
years, shopping districts saw food prices rocket as the first signs of
the economic shockwave hit. Many shopping chains began to close as simply
paying for food sucked all the money out of the economy. Desperate people
unable to meet the extreme demands took to violence to provide for their
families and street crime exploded. What little food there was to be had
in the growing slum areas was quickly snatched up by organised crime rackets.
Over night the old social order was turned on its head, it became so volatile
in most nations; people were forced to band together for safety. With
all-available wealth spent on food, trade in skills and direct exchange
became the standard. While many chose to stay barricaded in their homes
thinking the unrest to be only temporary, there came no immediate sign
to an end of the troubles. |
The
few corporate housing projects established by 2012 saw the first Rioting.
Their borders closed overwhelmed by civilians trying to gain access to
the better conditions within. As violence erupted, Private Security forces
fortified areas of inner city real estate and restricted access to them.
Outside the corporate controlled zones, life was deteriorating very quickly.
On the streets, ordinary people clashed with police who failed to offer
respite to worsening conditions. Further from the population centres,
organised groups dealt out their own law and order in defence of the growing
number of gangs of armed thugs. |
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By 2015, it is estimated that as many as 10 billion people had been adversely affected from worsening social and climate conditions. The number who starved during the crisis remains unknowable, as with the chaos and unrest came the disintegration of economic stability. Power, clean water and information all one by one begin to falter. Almost overnight, the information age imploded as a heightened paranoia gripped the planet. Borders closed, global trade all but ceased. With no other means of recourse, ordinary people took to the streets in their hundreds of thousands to protest for and secure their own survival. Since this time, the world has been gripped in the worst Riots and civil unrest since records began. |
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The
world was slipping into an unmanageable state, regimes found they were
powerless without foresight of the changes that were taking place. Already
pushed beyond their limit to cut budgets, while meeting the ever increasing
demands of the population, little preparation was made to safeguard against
a global threat of such magnitude. Under funded governments failed to
slow the increasingly poor social conditions, and many institutions were
forced to privatise. As early as the 1980’s, private security forces
were introduced in housing projects to help police escalating crime levels.
By the early years of 2000 private police forces outnumbered government
police 3 to 1. With their foot in the door Corporate Housing and Corporate
Welfare Institutions dominated the early 21st Century. From fortified
structures scattered around the globe a new class was to emerge; they
were the corporate class who lived sustained by the CORPs in ‘Sanctuary
Districts’ under a new corporate regime, which only at first, answered
to government. |
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By
the end of 2015, government Police forces were disbanded due to lack of
funding as Government agencies crumbled under economic collapse. After
the withdrawal, as much as 80% of nation territories were in anarchy.
Unimaginable shifts towards the corporate sector took place to fill the
power vacuum that emerged. The following years saw any remaining regimes
stripped off their resources as huge multi-national organisations capitalised
on the situation with their flexible and mobile assets. Newly developed
space technologies would come into play. Corporate entities found they
could react with speed and mobility and were able to take advantage of
the global situation to their benefit. Orbital Platforms meant Corporations
were able to adapt their activities in the new climate of conflict. With
no-fixed location, they began operating many black projects seizing resources
and areas of value left in the vacuum during the fall. Inter-corporate
conflict was common, while government troops were left without support
or the ability to maintain the status quo. Often these troops found themselves
hired by CORPs as mercenaries to do their dirty work as a deniable resource. |
CORONA
Corporation was among the first to monopolise on the situation. They stepped
in as a multi-national, planetary body and promised to remove the hardships
people faced with new GM food crops. Already in force operating many Sanctuary
Districts, they found remedy to the present conditions in developing hardy,
high yield Genetically Modified Crops. Early trials in GM crops began
in the late 20th century, continued on the International Space Station,
and ultimately demonstrated their potential in Agri-Domes on the moon.
In 2016, global food supply shifted almost completely to GM crops. In
the highly competitive, cutthroat new world order, CORONA Corporation
sought to restrict access and hold a tight grip on the economy it would
put in place. Genomes were copyrighted, more than that; the crop itself
was genetically encoded such that it required secret chemical signatures
to grow. This did not stop the hybridised genes from spreading beyond
the corporate controlled Agricultural Projects on Earth. These new variants
although week themselves without the chemical signature, the liberated,
cross-species genes were fierce in their effect on the environment. Like
a bush fire, genetic mutations infected most rural areas, turning what
was once known, into a diverse and extraordinary wilderness environment. |
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After
what had been five hard years, an end was in sight to the blight that
savaged the planet. Anarchy had torn at the very foundations of man. Now
in most regions many were armed and law and order was flouted as government
institutions had long since crumbled. Firearms were common; areas of the
cities had become the focus of terrible carnage while secure Corporate
Sectors were defended with lethal force. People awoke to a world shattered
by fragmented government, over zealous corporations and fanatical Sects.
The world had torn itself apart as behind closed doors attention was focused
on the exploitation of space. |
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Operating
in this new environment required new thinking; it took many years to rebuild
what was lost, while the liberal attitudes of the late 20th century were
gone forever. CORP troops found that to try to remove weapons from the
people was futile, and perhaps not necessary. Better to dominate a market
than destroy it. They operated restricted zones and expanded Sanctuary
Districts as safe havens for corporate workers. For some this was relief
from the hardships of recent years, but for others the world was shaken
apart and they found themselves enslaved. In growing Slum areas, fighting
continued, as much for the kudos, as actually steeling anything. Behind
the smoke and the fires, rival corporations instigated deniable operations
involving civilians at all levels. Behind a veil of secrecy, new and surprising
technologies were being developed and stolen, as new corporate munitions
fed the disorder. Brutal and sophisticated new weapons came into play
as CORPs found interesting ways to manipulate the populations. Frangible
ammo reduced damage to urban areas, but was less significant than the
new case-less active munitions being developed. Weapons and ammo flooded
the streets and conflict became an everyday part of life. Local militias
would maintain a fragile order while gangs of thugs terrorised townships
and rural areas. |
The Sanctuary Districts offered relief from this at a price, and for many were the limits of their existence. The CORP offered security, 3 GM meals a day, purified water and a few of life’s comforts in exchange for a viable workforce. In these years, the world saw the rise of low orbital industry. Millions were employed to work long hard shifts in orbital factories, utilising the zero-G environment just outside. For Corporate Civilians; the comforts we demanded were now mandatory, those who live outside the system; lived by way of the gun. 2017 would prove to define the CORPs role in the new world order, and to draw distinction between those for, and those against Corporate State. In the nights sky a bright new star shone, the ‘New Hope Project’ could be seen in orbit and provoked much paranoia and discontent. A subtle yet ever present hysteria swept the globe as they announced quite briefly; “We are leaving for a new life among the stars.” Recent innovations in technology and off-surface industry opened a new horizon of opportunity to those with the free resources. Meanwhile, the hardships at surface level continued with no sign of decline. Food flowed throughout the CORP controlled zones, those outside found little reached them. As the latest rumours of deep-space travel boiled over, the arrogance of the new world order was met in the streets outside the Sanctuary Districts. |
Without government to answer too, the new CORP master acted decisively to pacify the fighters. The new world was not to be a peaceful place, people were divided, fighting was common fuelled by desperation. Demands were made across new-media channels for open access to food and free information about the progression of off-surface exploitation. Against the overwhelming might of the CORPs, those involved in the Riots, disorganised and with few supplies, although large in number, were savagely beaten back. Reprisals by the CORPs continued throughout 2017. Deep sweeping raids into Slum areas saw hundreds killed each day, often with the use of military and airborne technology. |
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Since
2018, surface level has been sectionalized as part of Corporate ‘Reformation,’
movement between Zones is controlled. A constant vigil is maintained,
monitoring for the next uprising. With their global powerbase corporations
operate with impunity from behemoth fortified structures and high orbital
platforms around the globe. CORP troops continue to meet some resistance
when |
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entering slum areas; however, an equilibrium has been arrived at. Any
fighting is often disorganised and quashed with ease; if the CORP deems
it necessary. The decaying cities and outlaying Sectors with their many
levels prove an uneasy area to control directly. On the surface, the Slums
have achieved an uneasy status-quo. Check Points, Trade Relation Teams
and CORP Troops are a common sight throughout most sectors up to the NO-GO
Zone. There has been little effort to cleanse the sewer and underground
areas; however, the CORPs keep a watchful eye over the zones with remote
operated drones. Underground areas that pose problematic are often sealed
from the surface. Rumours that a small community exists since the fall
in the underground, are wide spread. Little is known about them, it is
not wise to talk about such things openly. Expanses of gas and winding
tunnel systems prove too much of a barrier for the CORP to bother with
them direct. Where necessary, as with most zones the CORP will pay Vigilantes
to enter these areas to complete whatever action is required of them.
Around the Slums, a nickname exists for these people; Slum Runners or
commonly, Bounty Hunters. |
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is only in recent times that the CORP has met with the first organised
resistance. The last bastion of defiance comes from the NO-GO Zones, areas
with little real estate value, a wilderness of hybridised GM mutations
written-off by the CORPs. The Wilderness has become the home to many of
those forced out of the city during the Food Riots of 2017. Those people
who refuse to accept CORP control are squeezed either into the underground
or into the No-Go Zone. The CORPs have little reason to enter these areas
and have since declared them off-limits, picking up the nickname Badlands
or NGZ. The line between Sectors and the NGZ frequently changes as CORP
Troops establish new trade points and disband others. They question anyone
caught travelling in or around these areas with great suspicion. Many
of those involved in the actions during 2017 were forced out of the cities
into the wilderness to survive. These people expelled, remain away from
the controlled zones, living rough in the Badlands. Called Ruffers or
Ruffs they survive anyway they can. As such, the NGZ is hell on earth,
even compared to the Slum areas; as there is conflict at every turn. The
Ruffs live off each other any way they can, some few remain, fighting
for what once was right, while a dark torrent have a blood lust and scream
for a coming apocalypse. |
Since
Corporate Reformation, the date is New Calendar Year 28. Recent CORP raids
into the NGZ outlined the depth of the problem as fanatical cults and
sects proclaim their hatred for corporate state and their intent to destroy
it. Rumours of cannibalism spread wildly throughout the CORP controlled
media. Other channels buzz with activity streaming reports of emerging
bio-photon medical technologies; connected in some twist of fate, to sinister
hidden agendas and genetic experimentation deep within the NGZ around
Sector-6 of Sanctuary District UK2. All over the world the air is filled
with paranoia and discontent, deception and manipulation cloud all information
channels. High above the misery of the modern world, secret lives live
out the corporate dream blissfully arrogant to the hardships below the
horizon… |
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FILE ID: THE STREETs Inside
the Sectors, those towering suburban wounds, the noise is almost constant.
The air conditioning -if you’re one of the privileged few- hums
a subliminal prayer to the CORPs; your fridge sings the praises of the
almighty God of commerce, and the omnipresent electrical hum seems intent
on lulling you into the quiet death of conformity. But outside… Sure,
there are sounds in the Wastes. The unbalanced climate crashing through
what scant foliage remains, while in counterpoint the eerie susurrus as
tox-laden winds creep through the tangled undergrowth of hybridized crops
gone wild.
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FILE ID: FREEDOM ALLIANCE Born
of the dream that once was a unified free peoples of Earth, its secretive
members believe in free access to information and technology.
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