i've got my head but my head is on halfway
can't keep control, can't keep track of words traveling
i've got my heart but my heart is no good
you're the only one that's understood
i come along but i don't know where you're taking me
i shouldn't go, but you're wretching, dragging, shaking me
turn off the sun, pull the stars from the sky
the more i give to you, the more i die.
--nine inch nails, "the perfect drug"
- TECHNICAL NOTE: Keep in mind that though the present state of technology found within Crestfallen is presented as being poor. In comparison to today's technology, it is either fairly or greatly advanced. If you aren't clear about something, contact administration, and I'll try to clarify.
- O V E R V I E W
- The current state of technology in the known western hemisphere is something of a paradox of scientific knowledge. Entire fields of study have been hopelessly lost to humanity's warring and disaster prone society, while others have developed at astounding rates, producing some of humanity's greatest achievements. Diseases that could once be cured with relative ease are now deadly. Holotechnologies flourish, yet the once simplistic task of space travel has deteriorated to the point of ridiculous impossibility. Though the means, brain power, and supplies exist to rediscover many of humanity's lost scientific treasures, shocking enough, the will does not. Timeless corporate and political greed direct the agendas for all activities within Delos City, agendas that more times than not, are not designed with the public's best interest in mind. One of the first things to go after Skylark and company asserted control was private business organizations, conveniently tying up all supply and relevant brainpower to L.D.H.O. specifications and design, and therefore L.D.H.O. agenda and its alone.
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- W E A P O N R Y (p s y c h i c & p h y s i c a l)
- p s y c h i c . f o r m s
- Weaponry comes in two forms: psychic and standard physical. Unfortunately, "magic" does not exist, only varying forms of psychic ability manifesting itself among Delos City's inhabitants. Most noteworthy of these is Homo sapien nocturna, the "vampyre" subspecies, capable of a wide range of psychic powers, from telepathy (the ability to communicate via thought alone) to psychokinesis (the ability to move objects with one�s mind) and beyond. Each subdivision of vampyre has some form of psychic power, the level of strength and control of the power diminishing as the subdivisions scale down. Age and subdivision determine strength and malleability of power. For more on vampyre psionic abilities, visit the Extended Vampyre Appendix, located on the society page. Humans rarely manifest strong psychic ability, though exceptions to the rule do occur.
Particularily skilled psychics are capable of directing their talents into vicious, mental attacks. With these, the portions of the brain dealing with physical sensation are stimulated and convinced the body is feeling pain. Telepaths of the highest skill can force a fatal attack, though such action lends a double edged sword: in these instances it is not uncommon for the attacker to die as well, even if the target is effectively destroyed in the process. Other psychic abilities include mind wall, or the "shielding" one's thoughts, astral projection, emotional manipulation, and the ability to create visual and/or sensual illusions.
p h y s i c a l . f o r m s- Small scale projectile and laser weaponry are common. Upgraded laser rifles and handguns are carried by the Delos Patrol, with slightly watered down versions available to the public at an increased price. Pulse, mass, and ion weaponry exist, but are extremely rare. Likewise, nuclear and biochemical weaponry are absent in Delos. Most laser weaponry consists of rechargeable magazines capable of holding up to as many as 200 charges, and can be set to shoot up to five rounds at once. One round contains a single charge, and carries the equivocal impact of a stun setting, while a blast of five charges will likely burn a hole through a ten foot thick steel block. Citizenship of Delos City comes without restriction on weaponry ownership, with restriction of its usage rather lacking in detail.
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T R A N S P O R T A T I O N (t r a m s & e m c s)- t r a m . s y s t e m s
- For eighty percent of Delos' population, transportation consists almost solely of the Tram System: a massive network of underground tram railways, very similar to railroads of past, traveling at velocities near the speed of sound. Trams "hover" a few feet above the ground lines beneath, and use electrical currents generated by magnetic friction to move. Tram stations are located in numerous areas throughout both Upper and Lower Delos.
e m c s- Wealthier citizens of Delos have access to an alternate personal form of travel: small scale hovercrafts, commonly referred to as Electro-Magnetic Crafts, or EMCs, in short. These compact vehicles are limited to heights of no more than 300 stories up, building-wise, and are most commonly owned by the government and militia groups of the City, equipped with flood lights and highly effective weaponry mounts. Citizen issue crafts usually take the form of Electro-Magnetic motorCycles, a slightly cheaper and more easily maneuverable version of EMC. Citizen law forbids weapons mounts in citizen issue craft, though motorCycles can be easily found on the blackmarket, preinstalled with weaponry specifications comparable in caliber to their Patrol issue counterpart.
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H O L O T E C H N O L O G Y- Communication within Delos City is achieved through holotechnology, a term used to describe Delos' large assortment of holographic capable devices. Holoprojections, or HPs, are generated via a small hand-held device weighing no more than a few pounds. These function by reflecting and bending light rays, converting the color patterns into an highly realistic and movable representation. Especially advanced HPs are capable of producing tangible images, built on a complex multi-sensual-componential platform, producing spectacles such as the UC's renowned hologardens.
Communication prompts, called holoboards, are located freely throughout the City and are composed of a small metal frame, either hung on a wall or positioned on a ceiling or floor. Compact travel versions of holoboards are called ComPhones. The City's equivalent of television is called HoloVision, or HV for short: images are projected into the air or on a flat surface such as a wall (via a holoprojector). HPs have replaced most computers and are the communication and entertainment standard. Computers themselves have lost their input keyboards and are fully voice activated. Their terminals usually consist of a holoboard, a numerical keypad used for imputing codes, passwords, etc., and disk slots for retrieving stored data.
The media of Los Delos City has specifically coined the descriptive phrase "Technology's New Wave" to promote the L.D.H.O. as a humanity friendly organization, their emphasis on what is being rediscovered and its importance to humanity's future.
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V I R T U A L . I N T R A N E T- The Virtual IntraNet is exactly what it sounds like: a fully virtual world, based off the L.D.H.O.'s powerful ACK2B central computers and the mainframe coding databases of the City's five Undernet systems. In it, individuals are represented by Avatars and may travel freely throughout the computer generated universe.
A headgear piece is used to access the IntraNet, consisting of a metal ear piece to anchor the gear in place, and a flip down eyepiece that projects stimuli directly into the neuro transmitters of the brain. The participant is swept into a complete and realistic world, almost entirely oblivious to the outside world. Touching or loud speaking into the participant's ear will jar them out of the simulation. Playback disks can be inserted in the round slot above the ear, and are similar to a Star Trek holoroom program. Playback disks hold saved custom Avatars or programming applications depicting Virtual environments that the surfer may spawn into.
"VI burn-outs" can be induced via viruses entered into the IntraNet and targeted at a specific individual, and translate into permanent VI induced coma. The brain locks up in a false reality, reminiscent of a bad LSD trip, the infected individual reduced to a vegetable state.
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- U N D E R N E T S
- Delos' five Undernets are to the Virtual Intranet as DOS once was to Windows operating systems. They are the base coding prompt off of which the IntraNet functions, accessible to stringers (hackers or computer programmers) and often used by large organizations to hold database information in a simplified NCMvIII (Net Communication Medium, version III) language format. Two such private databases are the L.D.H.O.'s Citizen Undernet Database and the Los Delos Militia Patrol Red List Undernet Database.
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M O N E T A R Y . S Y S T E M S- Use of physical paper and coin money long ago became obsolete. Instead, Los Delos citizens are issued fiat money existing in Delos computer databases, called credits and accessed via a plastic credit card, capable of remote account access at any time. Each citizen is issued only one card. The flattish card features a pull-out keypad device using an abbreviated form of alphanumeric input language, implemented for space conservation. Inside the card is a tiny "smart chip" with wireless transmitting capabilities, responsible for tracking and sending monetary data. Where once a bill would be physically exchanged between two individuals, now the keypad is pulled out and the transferring individual punches in the appropriate data along with the receiving party's Citizen Protocol ID Number, personal Citizen Password, and/or fingerprinting DNA stamp, depending on the card's quality.
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C s S P M v 3- Citizen Supervisional Security Protocol Measure version 3, or CsSPM v3, was implemented into effect roughly sixty years ago. Citizenship demands individuals forfeit all privacy rights, in theory decreasing crime and upheaval, two things with meanings synonymous in the current public mindset. Citizens are monitored in one way or another, from the time of birth to the time of death. Cameras exist in all public areas.
c i t i z e n . p r o t o c o l . i d . n u m b e r- Citizenship is assumed at birth, having citizen parents in good standing. A Citizen Protocol Identification Number (or CP No.) is then issued, registered in the Citizen Undernet Database and printed on a tracking capable device the size of a pencil tip. This is implanted at the base of the skull, where it will stay to be used for all identification purposes for the rest of that citizen's life. Implants can be "scanned" from mid to close range distances for immediate identification. Such scanning devices are present at most upscale UC clubs, office buildings, and similar public establishments.
Defectors and unregistered individuals exist, primarily in the LC, and are called "Illegals." Illegals risk death penalty upon discovery by the Delos Patrol, their identities uploaded into the Delos Patrol Red List Undernet Database. CP chips can be bought on the blackmarket, though most are poor counterfeits, easily registered as fakes by Patrol scanning devices.
f i n g e r p r i n t . d n a . s t a m p i n g- Another method of identification is Fingerprint DNA Stamping. Several fingerprint scanning devices are located in Delos City, chiefly at ports of entry in upscale buildings and office establishments. Individuals stamp their thumbs against the printing panel (usually a small featureless black square fitted into a wall or countertop), while the computer checks the Citizen Undernet Database for positive identification. All credit cards have this feature superimposed along their tops. Otherwise this is a security feature found primarily in the Upper City.
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