Searching For Utopia
Posted: Wed Mar 08, 2017 1:46 pm
- It's been almost 10 years to the day that the Taquesdas snatched power from, ask some, the rightful and legitimate center-left government of Maria Perez, others, the jaws of anarchy. It's been almost 10 years since martial law was imposed in the Brazilian state and one of the most intense, rapacious and brutal periods of modern Brazillian history began. Liberalizing reforms were introduced from the top-down; FDI has since flooded the country, incomes rose, life expectancy fell. The novos ricos now sport experimental cyberware, an ascendant middle-class discovered English-language newspapers, coffee with cream and syrup, and home gyms; over ten million still live in the Favelas, a sprawling megalopolis in itself.
You are one among this change. A man for hire, you are offered a job with a price-tag you can't refuse.
You can read about Brazil’s culture, here. For a brief overview, see below.
Brazil 2039 hosts significant cultural diversity owing to high levels of intermixing by indigenous- and immigrant-peoples. Nevertheless, it remains primarily Western in its orientation, having adopted to many of the norms brought by colonial settlers. One standout difference is the Brazilian emphasis on beauty; in Brazil, inquiring about how one looks is no less polite that demonstrating concern about their health. Brazil 2039 also hosts considerable amounts of economic inequality; there are the very rich, and the very poor, with relatively few in between - though, this middle has underwent a significant expansion in our timeline. Class distinctions are of considerable significance in Brazilian culture - and is used as a basis of systems of deference and authority in Brazilian culture.
Brazil 2039 is dominated by two emerging contradictions. Despite the hypersexualised image it presents to foreigners, and the growing liberalization of its dominant Catholic population, a rapidly expanding Evangelical population (evangélicos), especially with specific regards to the middle- and upper- class, has injected a certain social conservatism into political discourse: LGBT rights movements don’t hold the traction they do in Western states, and the percentage who report having extramarital sexual relations is in decline. Despite extensive censorship and attempts to enforce political conformism, Brazil has vibrant underground radical-political networks. However, as one would expect, it is the middle- and upper-middle class with the greater amount of time and energy to spend engaged with these networks - and thus, combined with purges of left-wing intellectuals, the right dominates ideological discussion.
Technology
Cybernetics
Non-neural cybernetics have been popularly available across the high-income world for a number of years. In Brazil, the official versions of these technologies remain out of reach for the vast majority of people - restricted to the upper-middle class, they have become a particular distinction of the novos ricos, young businessmen and technologists who made their millions in the research-oriented start-ups that have emerged, and been cultivated, beneath Tasquada. For the most part, these ‘wares are clunky and inefficient: integration with organs, in particular, has posed complications. However, for those with the cash - and, bills can reach into the millions, sometimes tens of millions - high-grade ‘wares are available.
The most basic cybernetic limbs are widely available and function as well as the real thing - though hit, as one would expect, like a lump of metal. More exotic forms - chainsaw arms, pistol fingers, and other such weapon-attachments - are legally restricted, though covert ones can be installed in Amapa for sums typically available to only the upper-middle class and high-income mercenaries. You can have your eyes replaced with cyberware which might allow you to see in the dark, see infrared, and so on, and are available to those on middle-incomes. Head-computers have appeared in the last number of years and have recently come into the availability of those straddling upper-middle income - at the current prices, these tend to be more restricted to hackers, but almost all mercenaries have basic communications-ware. Sub-dermal armor comes in a number of qualities, but most basic is available to even the lowest-earning mercenaries. Experimental invisibility ‘wares are available in Amapa to the richest of the rich. Most cybernetics that affect your internal organs are more likely to leave you dead after a few months, but are still available in Amapa to most in the middle-class.
Street-level knock-offs are available. Deaths aren’t common - but happen. As one would expect, the ‘wares offered through these services tend to not be as optimised. These tend to be most common among both mercenaries, and those straddling the middle-middle class and upper-middle class division. Prices are about a 20% reduction, thus some of the most exotic items - invisibility - is still only available to those on the highest incomes.
HAx
Bioware, or HAx, as they are referred to in common-speak, are much less prevalent, and in most high-income countries, there is significant restriction. Brazil, in contrast, is quite liberal with regards to legislated research ethics and this has facilitated both a large number of corporations locating there, and greater prevalence of these HAx than in countries at an equivalent income level. Amapa, ‘the wild west of science research’, also hosts a significant amount of development that falls somewhere between ‘unethical’ and ‘straight [&@%!]-the-hell-up’.
There are two forms of HAx. Those introduced through electroporation, and those introduced through direct genome editing. The former is cheap and available to most people from lower-middle class up: but, the procedure is painful and the effect wears off after 6 - 12 months, depending on the individual. The latter is more expensive, but affect the genome permanently. Most procedures are restricted to those on significant, upper-middle class incomes, but some of the more basic ones are available to those in the lower-middle class, upwards.
In terms of use, aesthetic-orientated HAx, from cheap, low-grade ones that alter basic features to more expensive ones that alter metabolic rates, are in wide use; most of the middle-class have access to the former. The last few years has also seen the introduction of the first legal HAx for furthering physical-capabilities - gene-doping has become a major fear of sports committees as a result. Examples here include HAx that will make you faster, stronger, increase your endurance to physical pain, increasing healing times, the amount of stress the heart can take - the price scales with the complexity. In Amapa, the upper-middle class can access experimental neural enhancements that can affect intelligence and memory skills. Otherwise, HAx have been used to increase fertility and as medicine - numerous genetic diseases have been brought to near-extinction in the high-income world.
Other
In other developments, in vitro meat is of increasing popularity, vertical farming is commercially viable in some of the world's largest cities, the use of stem cells have greatly reduced the need for traditional organ donations, full-weather modelling has been perfected, and 3D printers have revolutionized manufacturing - some countries have experimented with a basic minimum income in response. Self-driving cars have entered increasingly popular use among drivers in high-income countries, as have womb-tanks for the deliverance of children. Robotics have yet to reach the potential imagined for them, their intelligence is still quite limited. In 2038, the United States showcased its first stealth-tank, which can enter and exit invisibility. Solar is the most common source of electricity production in the high-income world. Climate change turned out to be real.
In Global Events:
The world is more interconnected than it ever was: whilst high-income countries faltered in this mission, increased connectedness among low- and middle-income countries has more than made up for this. The two most important developments have been the deepening of European relations, culminating in the creation of a common armed-forces in 2028, as it confronted a resurgent Russia and a down-sized American defence presence. The American pivot from Asia also initiated deeper co-operation in, and out, of ASEAN. Japan and South Korea have both joined ASEAN, and Indochina has come into a closer association with China.
China has become increasingly assertive across Central Asia, in particular. The New Silk Road has allowed for a much enhanced projection of its hard and soft power. In 2042 it entered a limited conflict with India that has captured most of the world’s attention. This has - unfortunately - distracted from the humanitarian crisis in Africa, where tens of millions have been displaced by the operations of a changing climate. Greater concern has, instead, been posed at the smaller numbers of Floridians displaced on the Caribbean, a region now subject to much greater regularity in its hurricane activity.
Full timeline available on request.
Brazilian Timeline
Brazil has had a tumultuous decade. In 2033, after years of economic stagnation, it found itself in the grips of simultaneous currency and banking crisis’. In 2034, the military staged a coup which displaced the elected centre-left government of Maria Peres - the civilian and leader of the extreme-right, neo-Integralist Order e Progresso, Mario Tasquada was nominated into government in her place. He has overseen a significant re-configuration of the Brazilian economy towards a more free-market orientation. Of greatest note is his leasing of Amapa to a consortium of neuro- and bio-technology corporations, in 2034 - this has transformed to the zone into the so-called ‘wild west of science research’. In 2040 the accounts of tax evaders were also bundled into securities and sold - rights to apprehend tax-evaders were also expanded. Since, there has been an influx of private soldiers, operating on the behalf of wealthy security-holders, arriving on Brazil’s shores.
The current year is 2043, and the economy has seen a broad recovery; economic growth over the last number of years has been strong and sustained. Inflation has been put under control - with Brazil re-denominating in dollars. But, unequalness has risen substantially - and the GINI currently stands at 0.58. Tens, perhaps hundreds, of thousands died during the shift towards Laissez-faire - one NGO put the figure at 1 million. Tasquada’s power was formalised in the constitution of 2038 - though, he is a popular autocrat nevertheless, with broad sections of the middle- and upper-class viewing him as having restored order and prosperity to the Federation, according to the latest GALLUP polling available.
Full timeline available on request.
Character Creation
Guidelines
There is no character sheet and few formal rules for creating a character. I want their (1) name, (2) class (noted at the top of the post) and (3) some basic physical description, but otherwise I am giving free reign to the players. To get a better idea of the approach I am aiming for, I want to read your applications from the perspective of someone deciding to hire you. That means I might not have all the information required - if your character is off-grid, for example, I might have very little. So if you want to send me a sheet, go ahead. But if you want to send me a newspaper clipping, psychiatric records, military competency results or whatever, in place of that, I don't mind. You can also send me fake information.
This is to be PM'd to me.
Classes:
Hidden:
Rules
- Respect the DM and Respect other players: You can break all the other rules (please don't though) but this is the only one I will consider booting you for. We're all here to have fun at the end of the day. If things aren't going your way I'd appreciate a politely-worded PM to having to find out what your deleted-post's said.
- Don't be afraid to PM me and ask me questions, even if they seem silly. Unlike an old college lecturer of mine, I'm not going to forward those on to the whole class.
- Follow the RP forum rules: which can be found here
- Please send all PMs concerning the RP with the subject reading, 'Re: SFU'.
- No Godmodding: That means no controlling other's PC's, no controlling my NPC's, making assumptions about other's characters based on stuff you read in their sheet or heard in GRDT but has not been stated in the game.
- One action per character per post: I would also appreciate if people could attempt to keep the amount of action described in a post appropriate to how much time the post will be carried out over.
- You can die: PM me about a new character, in that case. Prospective players can feel free to PM me about joining at any stage.
- Soft Player Cap: There is no limit on the number of players but I do reserve the right to stop accepting at any point; the probability of this rises as we approach eight. Odds are this RP won't attract huge numbers - non-Kerrian science-fiction rarely does - but you have been warned.
One player per class per group: There is going to be two groups and within these groups I only want one character of each class. I will keep a tab on who has reserved what classes on the second page of this OP so people are aware when it comes to character creation. The exception of this rule is support, of which there can be one of each specialization.- Reservations: You can reserve a place or class in advance. In fact I'd appreciate it if you think you might not be submitting a formal application for a while.
- Posting Rate: This will not be a fast-paced RP. I plan on putting Black Legion first when I have the time to only make one post.
Started! Accepting one character.
I cant sit idly by and not participate 
