Post by Doctor Atomic on May 24, 2015 21:20:41 GMT -8
My accountant? Price Waterhouse, because you can only sell human livers out of the trunk of your car for so long before someone notices your bank account.
The world slid gradually into desperate circumstances as money and power continued to be accumulated by the multi-national corporations. Now most national governments let the corporations make the decisions while the corporations help the governments maintain a subsistence level civil administration for the world’s population. The corporations don’t want to have to do this job themselves.
Balanced against the corporations are the military establishments of the various former world powers. These nations still maintain considerable short-term military capabilities and if the corporations step over the line it will mean war. Corporate security forces have more advanced equipment and weapons but the constant brushfire wars and anti-terrorist actions have produced a large veteran military population for the various national military forces.
While corporations control the US federal government, relations with state governments are not always so cordial. State governors and legislators have to live with the results, so they often have an adversarial relationship with corporations over pollution, taxes, etc.
Most of the areas that are free from the activity of the corporations are usually remote and undesirable, but one area remains an enemy of the multi-nationals: the Islamic bloc. When the USA pulled out of Iraq in 2014 the fundamentalist mass uprising lead to the rebirth of the nation of Persia.
The majority of the world’s population lives at or below the poverty line in densely packed substandard quality apartment mega-complexes. The cities are crumbling apart and the rural areas with arable land are controlled by agri-corps running vast robo-farms. Most people get their protein from soy-based meat substitute; the lucky ones eat vat-grown flesh. Only the rich (or isolated rural holdouts) eat meat from actual animals (the exception are chickens, which are raised in huge “factories” and are a low rent delicacy for the masses). The corporations built arcologies in remote locations and have orbital facilities as well. Whole rural areas in the West have been abandoned to squatters, criminals, outlaws, religious freaks, neo-luddites of various types, and people who just want to get away from the dubious comforts of civilization in the years prior to 2026. Texas, except for the Houston arcology, wass officially designated a Lawless Zone.
Most ground vehicles are wheeled or hovercraft. By the time gasoline was banned in 2020 several conversion techniques for running old internal combustion engines had been developed (people stopped caring what happened in the Middle East about this time also). Electric vehicles are also common. Private ownership of cars has declined significantly due to the declining economy. The Federal government abandoned the interstate highway system in 2021 in favour of moving cargo on robo-trains and dirigibles (the rail network has been repaired and upgraded significantly in the last 20 years). Some of the highways are now maintained as toll roads operated by states, cities, corporations, and private owners. Tolls are not cheap, but it is still possible to drive from coast to coast. Hovercraft, humvees, and packhorses smuggle legal and illegal goods cross country to avoid the added toll costs. Most legal vehicles are self-drive.
The oil industry collapse after the discovery of the Phoenix Bacteria Fuel in 2012, the development of practical cold fusion technology in 2019, and advances in battery technology lead to the 350 HP electric car that had a range of 800 miles being on the market 2019.
In 2024 those nations doing business with the multinationals were pressured into adopting a uniform currency known as the Global Currency Unit (aka Global, GCU, or Glob). Most transactions use a debit or credit chip, but paper and coin GCU currency is produced for use with vending machines and minor purchases. Old local currencies are also in circulation in some areas.
In 2026 aliens invaded and there was a war that laid waste to significant areas of the world and much of the orbital infrastructure. In the end the situation stabilized into a stalemate with the aliens controlling some parts of the world.
After the Invasion
The invasion changed the balance of power and forced the central governments and corporations into cooperation and somewhat equal footing and in general strengthened central governments as states or provinces rallied to national flags to stand against the alien threat.
In the USA the aliens took an area that includes parts of Montana, Wyoming, Utah, Colorado, Arizona, New Mexico, and northern Mexico. Across the world the aliens avoided coastal areas and cold areas; the invaders lack naval assets and there is a theory that some of the aliens do not do well in cold climates.
Officially no human government has opened diplomatic relations with the aliens, but apparently some trade has occurred.
Two types of aliens have been seen, along with several of what have been judged servant animal species. The first is a humanoid lizard that uses tools and weapons as well as driving vehicles and serving as general purpose soldier. The second is a large (8-10' tall) and muscular human-like species with blue skin that serve as shock troops and usually armed with two handed swords and grenades.
The aliens invaded in two very large space ships that launched landing craft down to Earth's surface. They were able to neutralize many of the satellite weapons systems that were in orbit despite international agreements banning them but a few of the nuclear missiles and x-ray lasers fired and took out some landers and damaged one of the mother ships. The mother ships have since retreated into deep space.
Air travel is dangerous as the aliens often shoot down aircraft near or over areas they control so most travel and cargo goes by rail or by sea.
Current year: 2029
The world slid gradually into desperate circumstances as money and power continued to be accumulated by the multi-national corporations. Now most national governments let the corporations make the decisions while the corporations help the governments maintain a subsistence level civil administration for the world’s population. The corporations don’t want to have to do this job themselves.
Balanced against the corporations are the military establishments of the various former world powers. These nations still maintain considerable short-term military capabilities and if the corporations step over the line it will mean war. Corporate security forces have more advanced equipment and weapons but the constant brushfire wars and anti-terrorist actions have produced a large veteran military population for the various national military forces.
While corporations control the US federal government, relations with state governments are not always so cordial. State governors and legislators have to live with the results, so they often have an adversarial relationship with corporations over pollution, taxes, etc.
Most of the areas that are free from the activity of the corporations are usually remote and undesirable, but one area remains an enemy of the multi-nationals: the Islamic bloc. When the USA pulled out of Iraq in 2014 the fundamentalist mass uprising lead to the rebirth of the nation of Persia.
The majority of the world’s population lives at or below the poverty line in densely packed substandard quality apartment mega-complexes. The cities are crumbling apart and the rural areas with arable land are controlled by agri-corps running vast robo-farms. Most people get their protein from soy-based meat substitute; the lucky ones eat vat-grown flesh. Only the rich (or isolated rural holdouts) eat meat from actual animals (the exception are chickens, which are raised in huge “factories” and are a low rent delicacy for the masses). The corporations built arcologies in remote locations and have orbital facilities as well. Whole rural areas in the West have been abandoned to squatters, criminals, outlaws, religious freaks, neo-luddites of various types, and people who just want to get away from the dubious comforts of civilization in the years prior to 2026. Texas, except for the Houston arcology, wass officially designated a Lawless Zone.
Most ground vehicles are wheeled or hovercraft. By the time gasoline was banned in 2020 several conversion techniques for running old internal combustion engines had been developed (people stopped caring what happened in the Middle East about this time also). Electric vehicles are also common. Private ownership of cars has declined significantly due to the declining economy. The Federal government abandoned the interstate highway system in 2021 in favour of moving cargo on robo-trains and dirigibles (the rail network has been repaired and upgraded significantly in the last 20 years). Some of the highways are now maintained as toll roads operated by states, cities, corporations, and private owners. Tolls are not cheap, but it is still possible to drive from coast to coast. Hovercraft, humvees, and packhorses smuggle legal and illegal goods cross country to avoid the added toll costs. Most legal vehicles are self-drive.
The oil industry collapse after the discovery of the Phoenix Bacteria Fuel in 2012, the development of practical cold fusion technology in 2019, and advances in battery technology lead to the 350 HP electric car that had a range of 800 miles being on the market 2019.
In 2024 those nations doing business with the multinationals were pressured into adopting a uniform currency known as the Global Currency Unit (aka Global, GCU, or Glob). Most transactions use a debit or credit chip, but paper and coin GCU currency is produced for use with vending machines and minor purchases. Old local currencies are also in circulation in some areas.
In 2026 aliens invaded and there was a war that laid waste to significant areas of the world and much of the orbital infrastructure. In the end the situation stabilized into a stalemate with the aliens controlling some parts of the world.
After the Invasion
The invasion changed the balance of power and forced the central governments and corporations into cooperation and somewhat equal footing and in general strengthened central governments as states or provinces rallied to national flags to stand against the alien threat.
In the USA the aliens took an area that includes parts of Montana, Wyoming, Utah, Colorado, Arizona, New Mexico, and northern Mexico. Across the world the aliens avoided coastal areas and cold areas; the invaders lack naval assets and there is a theory that some of the aliens do not do well in cold climates.
Officially no human government has opened diplomatic relations with the aliens, but apparently some trade has occurred.
Two types of aliens have been seen, along with several of what have been judged servant animal species. The first is a humanoid lizard that uses tools and weapons as well as driving vehicles and serving as general purpose soldier. The second is a large (8-10' tall) and muscular human-like species with blue skin that serve as shock troops and usually armed with two handed swords and grenades.
The aliens invaded in two very large space ships that launched landing craft down to Earth's surface. They were able to neutralize many of the satellite weapons systems that were in orbit despite international agreements banning them but a few of the nuclear missiles and x-ray lasers fired and took out some landers and damaged one of the mother ships. The mother ships have since retreated into deep space.
Air travel is dangerous as the aliens often shoot down aircraft near or over areas they control so most travel and cargo goes by rail or by sea.
Current year: 2029