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Initial Setting Information:
Initial City Information:
-- Technology isn't overly flashy. In many ways, it's a lot like that of the current day in terms of design, merely faster, better, and perhaps a little over-engineered, especially in the case of hobbyists.
-- In many ways, robotic technology is on its way out. The current fields of competition are cybertechnology, and biotechnology. Sometimes the two interact in interesting and potentially dangerous ways.
-- Biotechnology, for the most part, is illegal. As are most robotic enhancements. All enhancements are to be used for medical purposes only, and those that have enhancements for medical reasons must have documentation proving such, either digital or physical. Those that do not have proof that their enhancements are legal and / or medical are prosecuted. In most cases, said enhancements are removed.
-- Government is still going strong. However, societal collapse still takes place for two main reasons. The first is due to an increasing demand for rare earth minerals that is starting to go unfulfilled in certain places, prompting a lot of unfortunate government-level deals in order to keep struggling economies afloat. The second is due to global overpopulation, resulting in very large cities that are nearly impossible to patrol in some circumstances.
-- There are no shack-ridden slums. Instead, the places that are considered to be slums are the places that have not been technologically upgraded for hundreds of years or more. Often, these places take the form of near-rural areas in-between urban sprawl; in other instances, however, they take the form of urban or inner-city areas that have remained untouched, save for the running of wires in various places in order to deliver important modern infrastructure advances. Local architecture, however, remains entirely unchanged (and crumbling).
-- There are several major research entities and corporations. They have no direct sway over the law of any given country, though they are known for being powerful lobbyists nonetheless. A lot of their money tends to drive the political system, though there are enough of them for their infighting to result in a mostly-normal political sphere. The major side-effect of this particular state of affairs, however, is that the common man has even less influence on the world around them than they normally would.
-- Though there are a few emerging neural networks, public distrust and reasonably prohibitive costs keeps most people behind screens, instead of plugged into helmets. This is not necessarily a bad thing.
-- Those that operate mostly or entirely off of governmental or corporate networks are called "free users," and operate under a cultural mindset that could be described as a fusion between the "DIY" crowds, custom PC enthusiasts, and amateur radio communities in the late 20th and early 21st centuries.
-- Free Users are not necessarily hackers. Many of them are ordinary people that simply do not want to be monitored. Due to various advances in networking and computational technology, setting up a Free Terminal is actually rather simple, and not complex at all.
-- However, certain sectors of the Freenet tend to come under scrutiny from the government and corporations, due to there still being those that are willing and able to use open networks to wage digital wars against the government and various corporations.
-- For the most part, people don't have a particularly unfavorable view of most corporations, even though there are those that think that they are the ones bleeding the rest of the world dry. Instead, most public distrust and dissent seems to be pointed towards the government, which is believed to be ineffectual on a variety of levels, particularly when it comes to the redistribution of wealth and technological resources.
-- One particular subset of Free Users that often delves into the "urban legend" category are those called Seekers. Seekers drive what is arguably the seediest part of the Freenet: the Infomarket. Without the information that Seekers bring in, the Infomarket, an exceedingly lucrative business, would not be able to function.
-- Being a Seeker means more than being a good hacker. A great deal of work on the parts of most Seekers takes place away from their terminals; as a result, many of them have to be street-smart and reasonably athletic as well.
-- However, Seekers come from all walks of life; they are far from being a demographic composed entirely of low-lives or city-slickers, as much as many may want to believe such. It is not uncommon, for instance, for some Seekers to work at corporations, and only do Seeking as a side job; certain employment levels within certain corporations can lead to a virtual treasure-trove of exploitable and tradeable information, after all.
-- Seekers tend to work on commission. Though there are those that trade the information that they gather, doing so has the potential to be a security risk. As a result, many of them band together to trade their information to a Handler first; though the Handler gets the majority share as a result, they also end up holding the rather unfortunate position of being an expendable fall-guy if the network is ever busted.
-- Despite this inconvenient truth, many Handlers have turned their positions into legitimate businesses, hiring out Seekers in order to turn a profit on the information that they gather.
-- Even so, it is not unheard of for some Seekers to put together robotic Handlers that are coded in order to suit their needs. However, doing so can be a complex, time-consuming process.
-- Seekers do not prescribe to any particular alignment. Many are in the business solely for the profit or the thrill of it all, though there are still some who have taken up mantles akin to watchdogs or vigilantes, believing themselves capable of making the streets of various cities better places to live.
-- Despite their hi-tech leanings, it is not uncommon for Seekers to live in low-tech places; as the old saying goes, you can always hack a passcode, but you can't hack a locked door. Since many of them know some of the best ways to bypass digital and automatic home and network security from afar, the more analog and manual you can get when it comes to your home, the better.
-- That said, a good Seeker always locks their doors and windows when leaving the house.
-- Most locations are patrolled via small-scale drones and VTOL personal aircraft driven by local police. For places that are more densely packed or harder to fly in, ground-bound hovercraft or terrestrial vehicles are employed instead. Civilians, no matter how rich, are not allowed to own personal aircraft that are capable of flying within city limits, in order to keep the skylanes clear for police vehicles. Cars and highways are used instead, along with train-based hyperloop and maglev rapid transit.
-- Biotechnology is reaching a critical stage in terms of world development. Human experimentation, though banned by the government, is still made possible in terms of small-scale testing thanks to a combination of legal loopholes and continued lobbying by research groups and specific corporations. Response to this fact is mixed; some believe that this is further proof of the government's ineffectual nature, and that messing with biology in such a way will only bring further disaster and sociological decay. Others think that this is a welcome development, and that further advances in biotechnology will result in cheaper, better medical advancements that will do away with robotic implants altogether.
-- There are those who, of course, want to use biotech for nothing but personal enhancement, regardless of medical condition, just as there were those that wished to do the same with robotic implants.
-- Cybertech, meanwhile, is generally being looked into, at least at the moment, as more of an entertainment experience, in both a transcendent fashion, and a novelty fashion, depending on just how "motivated" various user demographics are. Complex, fully-immersive virtual reality that uses all of the major senses is the most prevalent version of this particular venture. At present, plenty of services and personal installations exist that allows one to use various (compatible) networks as an immersive, full-body experience. The creation of the first fully-immersive VR network, built from the ground-up in order to cater to such experiences, is a product form being undertaken by multiple competing corporations at once.
-- Needless to say, most Free Users that are "in the know," so to speak, have been working diligently to ensure that the Freenet remains incompatible with such services, though there are some users that have found ways to patch themselves in physically anyway, usually with extremely decreased functionality. Most Free Users believe that there really is no reason not to access the Freenet with a good old screen and keyboard anyway.
-- Despite what many in various upper social tiers may believe, impoverished places aren't entirely filthy and dirty, due to various advances in city-level automated cleaning. To an extent, many people also take a fair amount of pride in their homes and living quarters, and do their best to keep them clean.
-- In many ways, robotic technology is on its way out. The current fields of competition are cybertechnology, and biotechnology. Sometimes the two interact in interesting and potentially dangerous ways.
-- Biotechnology, for the most part, is illegal. As are most robotic enhancements. All enhancements are to be used for medical purposes only, and those that have enhancements for medical reasons must have documentation proving such, either digital or physical. Those that do not have proof that their enhancements are legal and / or medical are prosecuted. In most cases, said enhancements are removed.
-- Government is still going strong. However, societal collapse still takes place for two main reasons. The first is due to an increasing demand for rare earth minerals that is starting to go unfulfilled in certain places, prompting a lot of unfortunate government-level deals in order to keep struggling economies afloat. The second is due to global overpopulation, resulting in very large cities that are nearly impossible to patrol in some circumstances.
-- There are no shack-ridden slums. Instead, the places that are considered to be slums are the places that have not been technologically upgraded for hundreds of years or more. Often, these places take the form of near-rural areas in-between urban sprawl; in other instances, however, they take the form of urban or inner-city areas that have remained untouched, save for the running of wires in various places in order to deliver important modern infrastructure advances. Local architecture, however, remains entirely unchanged (and crumbling).
-- There are several major research entities and corporations. They have no direct sway over the law of any given country, though they are known for being powerful lobbyists nonetheless. A lot of their money tends to drive the political system, though there are enough of them for their infighting to result in a mostly-normal political sphere. The major side-effect of this particular state of affairs, however, is that the common man has even less influence on the world around them than they normally would.
-- Though there are a few emerging neural networks, public distrust and reasonably prohibitive costs keeps most people behind screens, instead of plugged into helmets. This is not necessarily a bad thing.
-- Those that operate mostly or entirely off of governmental or corporate networks are called "free users," and operate under a cultural mindset that could be described as a fusion between the "DIY" crowds, custom PC enthusiasts, and amateur radio communities in the late 20th and early 21st centuries.
-- Free Users are not necessarily hackers. Many of them are ordinary people that simply do not want to be monitored. Due to various advances in networking and computational technology, setting up a Free Terminal is actually rather simple, and not complex at all.
-- However, certain sectors of the Freenet tend to come under scrutiny from the government and corporations, due to there still being those that are willing and able to use open networks to wage digital wars against the government and various corporations.
-- For the most part, people don't have a particularly unfavorable view of most corporations, even though there are those that think that they are the ones bleeding the rest of the world dry. Instead, most public distrust and dissent seems to be pointed towards the government, which is believed to be ineffectual on a variety of levels, particularly when it comes to the redistribution of wealth and technological resources.
-- One particular subset of Free Users that often delves into the "urban legend" category are those called Seekers. Seekers drive what is arguably the seediest part of the Freenet: the Infomarket. Without the information that Seekers bring in, the Infomarket, an exceedingly lucrative business, would not be able to function.
-- Being a Seeker means more than being a good hacker. A great deal of work on the parts of most Seekers takes place away from their terminals; as a result, many of them have to be street-smart and reasonably athletic as well.
-- However, Seekers come from all walks of life; they are far from being a demographic composed entirely of low-lives or city-slickers, as much as many may want to believe such. It is not uncommon, for instance, for some Seekers to work at corporations, and only do Seeking as a side job; certain employment levels within certain corporations can lead to a virtual treasure-trove of exploitable and tradeable information, after all.
-- Seekers tend to work on commission. Though there are those that trade the information that they gather, doing so has the potential to be a security risk. As a result, many of them band together to trade their information to a Handler first; though the Handler gets the majority share as a result, they also end up holding the rather unfortunate position of being an expendable fall-guy if the network is ever busted.
-- Despite this inconvenient truth, many Handlers have turned their positions into legitimate businesses, hiring out Seekers in order to turn a profit on the information that they gather.
-- Even so, it is not unheard of for some Seekers to put together robotic Handlers that are coded in order to suit their needs. However, doing so can be a complex, time-consuming process.
-- Seekers do not prescribe to any particular alignment. Many are in the business solely for the profit or the thrill of it all, though there are still some who have taken up mantles akin to watchdogs or vigilantes, believing themselves capable of making the streets of various cities better places to live.
-- Despite their hi-tech leanings, it is not uncommon for Seekers to live in low-tech places; as the old saying goes, you can always hack a passcode, but you can't hack a locked door. Since many of them know some of the best ways to bypass digital and automatic home and network security from afar, the more analog and manual you can get when it comes to your home, the better.
-- That said, a good Seeker always locks their doors and windows when leaving the house.
-- Most locations are patrolled via small-scale drones and VTOL personal aircraft driven by local police. For places that are more densely packed or harder to fly in, ground-bound hovercraft or terrestrial vehicles are employed instead. Civilians, no matter how rich, are not allowed to own personal aircraft that are capable of flying within city limits, in order to keep the skylanes clear for police vehicles. Cars and highways are used instead, along with train-based hyperloop and maglev rapid transit.
-- Biotechnology is reaching a critical stage in terms of world development. Human experimentation, though banned by the government, is still made possible in terms of small-scale testing thanks to a combination of legal loopholes and continued lobbying by research groups and specific corporations. Response to this fact is mixed; some believe that this is further proof of the government's ineffectual nature, and that messing with biology in such a way will only bring further disaster and sociological decay. Others think that this is a welcome development, and that further advances in biotechnology will result in cheaper, better medical advancements that will do away with robotic implants altogether.
-- There are those who, of course, want to use biotech for nothing but personal enhancement, regardless of medical condition, just as there were those that wished to do the same with robotic implants.
-- Cybertech, meanwhile, is generally being looked into, at least at the moment, as more of an entertainment experience, in both a transcendent fashion, and a novelty fashion, depending on just how "motivated" various user demographics are. Complex, fully-immersive virtual reality that uses all of the major senses is the most prevalent version of this particular venture. At present, plenty of services and personal installations exist that allows one to use various (compatible) networks as an immersive, full-body experience. The creation of the first fully-immersive VR network, built from the ground-up in order to cater to such experiences, is a product form being undertaken by multiple competing corporations at once.
-- Needless to say, most Free Users that are "in the know," so to speak, have been working diligently to ensure that the Freenet remains incompatible with such services, though there are some users that have found ways to patch themselves in physically anyway, usually with extremely decreased functionality. Most Free Users believe that there really is no reason not to access the Freenet with a good old screen and keyboard anyway.
-- Despite what many in various upper social tiers may believe, impoverished places aren't entirely filthy and dirty, due to various advances in city-level automated cleaning. To an extent, many people also take a fair amount of pride in their homes and living quarters, and do their best to keep them clean.
Initial City Information:
Michigan City is an American mega-city that stretches from the area once designated as the 21st century city of Evanston, Illinois, to the 21st century city of St. Joseph, Michigan. The city as a whole comprises the majority of what is now known as the Michigan Tri-State Area, which takes the form of a long band along the coast of Lake Michigan.
Michigan City was formed when constant world-wide population growth resulted in an increase of civilian and economic infrastructure throughout the United States and other countries, in order to keep up with rapidly-increasing housing demands. The 21st century city of Gary, Indiana, merged with several neighboring townships and Michigan City, Indiana, over the course of this process, soon encompassing the entirety of Indiana's territorial claim to the Lake Michigan waterfront. In Illinois, meanwhile, the city of Chicago continued to expand in a similar manner, beginning with the incorporation of its various suburbs into the city proper. In the late 23rd century, the only dividing border between Chicago and the Gary-Michigan Metropolitan Area was the state border between Indiana and Illinois; as a result, the two cities were officially combined into one on February 14th, 2300. The newly created Michigan City merged with two neighboring cities, Bridgman, Michigan, and St. Joseph, Michigan, over the course of the next ten years.
The current 2360 census puts the population of Michigan City at approximately 154,000,000 individuals, which increases to roughly 180,000,000 individuals when the entirety of the Michigan Tri-State Area is considered. These figures place Michigan City and the Michigan Tri-State Area as the second largest of its kind in the United States, beyond the Angeles-Diego Metropolitan Area (98,000,000 city alone, 109,000,000 Met-Area considered), and below the New York Area (210,000,000 city alone, 262,000,000 Met-Area considered).
Michigan City is comprised of three major districts, with former state boundaries forming the dividing lines between each. The portion of the city residing in Illinois is known as the Chicago district, the portion residing in Indiana is known as the Michigan District (a fact which often confuses city visitors), while the portion that resides in Michigan State is known as the Joseph District. Each major district is separated into sub-districts, which are in turn separated into neighborhoods, which are separated into compounds, which are separated into blocks. Despite all of these districts being combined into a single city, due to their initial states as separate places many miles apart, many of them have managed to retain some amount of individual atmosphere that corresponds to their initial statuses.
The Chicago district remains the most historically preserved area, with much of its original architecture preserved underneath the larger structures created as a result of newer developments. The residents of this area also take a certain amount of cultural pride in their district's former status, which, when combined with the remaining city layouts and old architecture, has led to the district gaining a reputation as a "city within a city." Tourists often travel to the Chicago district in order to see the novelty of older metropolitan architecture, as well as partake in remaining Chicago cuisine and culture. Professional sports teams once belonging to Chicago have gone on to become the semi-official representatives of the Michigan Tri-State Area in national-level competitions.
The Michigan District carries two main clashes in culture and architecture; the area once known as the city of Gary, Indiana, is now an important industrial center. The vast majority of the older factories in the area have been demolished in order to make way for updated facilities, often in the form of manufacturing and research mega-structures. The esteemed Tritower University is also present in this district, as are the main offices of certain smaller corporations and firms. Closer to the area once known as Michigan City, Indiana, the Michigan district becomes a downtown area, serving as the focus of commerce, and location of the vast majority of local corporate offices. Most train stations run through this portion of the Michigan District, allowing for easy passage from Michigan City to other important metropolitan areas via various hyperloop providers, as well as access to various neighborhoods throughout Michigan City itself, thanks to the local maglev system overseen by the Michigan Collective Transport Authority.
The Joseph District is mostly residential, though there are a few commercial aspects present in the district as well. Population density varies, depending on the sub-districts involved, though the majority of the Joseph District is comprised of high-rise towers of varying quality, in order to maximize the amount of available living space. Towards the edges of the city, the Joseph District becomes slightly less dense, and buildings eventually diminish in height to structures that are only ten stories or less. Beyond the Joseph District, various complexes that resemble 21st century suburban developments exist, though due to their low level of technological integration, most wealthy residents prefer to live in high-quality apartments. Those that remain are either divided into tenements or used as homes for single families, depending on size. The residents of such developments are usually in the middle to lower-class range.
Michigan City was formed when constant world-wide population growth resulted in an increase of civilian and economic infrastructure throughout the United States and other countries, in order to keep up with rapidly-increasing housing demands. The 21st century city of Gary, Indiana, merged with several neighboring townships and Michigan City, Indiana, over the course of this process, soon encompassing the entirety of Indiana's territorial claim to the Lake Michigan waterfront. In Illinois, meanwhile, the city of Chicago continued to expand in a similar manner, beginning with the incorporation of its various suburbs into the city proper. In the late 23rd century, the only dividing border between Chicago and the Gary-Michigan Metropolitan Area was the state border between Indiana and Illinois; as a result, the two cities were officially combined into one on February 14th, 2300. The newly created Michigan City merged with two neighboring cities, Bridgman, Michigan, and St. Joseph, Michigan, over the course of the next ten years.
The current 2360 census puts the population of Michigan City at approximately 154,000,000 individuals, which increases to roughly 180,000,000 individuals when the entirety of the Michigan Tri-State Area is considered. These figures place Michigan City and the Michigan Tri-State Area as the second largest of its kind in the United States, beyond the Angeles-Diego Metropolitan Area (98,000,000 city alone, 109,000,000 Met-Area considered), and below the New York Area (210,000,000 city alone, 262,000,000 Met-Area considered).
Michigan City is comprised of three major districts, with former state boundaries forming the dividing lines between each. The portion of the city residing in Illinois is known as the Chicago district, the portion residing in Indiana is known as the Michigan District (a fact which often confuses city visitors), while the portion that resides in Michigan State is known as the Joseph District. Each major district is separated into sub-districts, which are in turn separated into neighborhoods, which are separated into compounds, which are separated into blocks. Despite all of these districts being combined into a single city, due to their initial states as separate places many miles apart, many of them have managed to retain some amount of individual atmosphere that corresponds to their initial statuses.
The Chicago district remains the most historically preserved area, with much of its original architecture preserved underneath the larger structures created as a result of newer developments. The residents of this area also take a certain amount of cultural pride in their district's former status, which, when combined with the remaining city layouts and old architecture, has led to the district gaining a reputation as a "city within a city." Tourists often travel to the Chicago district in order to see the novelty of older metropolitan architecture, as well as partake in remaining Chicago cuisine and culture. Professional sports teams once belonging to Chicago have gone on to become the semi-official representatives of the Michigan Tri-State Area in national-level competitions.
The Michigan District carries two main clashes in culture and architecture; the area once known as the city of Gary, Indiana, is now an important industrial center. The vast majority of the older factories in the area have been demolished in order to make way for updated facilities, often in the form of manufacturing and research mega-structures. The esteemed Tritower University is also present in this district, as are the main offices of certain smaller corporations and firms. Closer to the area once known as Michigan City, Indiana, the Michigan district becomes a downtown area, serving as the focus of commerce, and location of the vast majority of local corporate offices. Most train stations run through this portion of the Michigan District, allowing for easy passage from Michigan City to other important metropolitan areas via various hyperloop providers, as well as access to various neighborhoods throughout Michigan City itself, thanks to the local maglev system overseen by the Michigan Collective Transport Authority.
The Joseph District is mostly residential, though there are a few commercial aspects present in the district as well. Population density varies, depending on the sub-districts involved, though the majority of the Joseph District is comprised of high-rise towers of varying quality, in order to maximize the amount of available living space. Towards the edges of the city, the Joseph District becomes slightly less dense, and buildings eventually diminish in height to structures that are only ten stories or less. Beyond the Joseph District, various complexes that resemble 21st century suburban developments exist, though due to their low level of technological integration, most wealthy residents prefer to live in high-quality apartments. Those that remain are either divided into tenements or used as homes for single families, depending on size. The residents of such developments are usually in the middle to lower-class range.
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