Dwellers
There are only two types of people here – idealists and victims.
You want to disagree? You’re wrong and here’s why.
We’ve got Corporations, in fact we’ve invented a whole new organisational structure for them We’ve added the secret society ethos to big business. These groups are dedicated to the ideal of making money, no matter what. When you can’t even identify the major shareholders you’ve got no hope of holding them accountable. Sheer brilliance.
Next up, we have the AltCults. These people are building entirely new “nations” based round a few common ideals. Well, a few common ideals and some slightly shady or unstable technology – usually grafted onto themselves and their societies in strange new ways. They are building, expanding and consolidating in the ethical vacuum of the Rim City. The time to stop them is long past.
Then, the usual suspects: Warlords and Gangs with the lovely sophisticated ideal of “its all mine”. The new and slightly wacky religions with their new and slightly wacky moral codes. The newest generation of predators each and every one carrying around an image of the way the world should be. And finally thousands of refugees every day who pour into the Froth convinced that it’s paved with platinum and a new life is waiting to be carved out. The shocking naivety of these no hopers is daunting and, frankly, a little scary in this day and age. The power lent by their convictions should not be underestimated
So that’s the idealists – then we have the victims. That’s everyone else. Everyone sat fat, dumb and happy, just waiting for the next thing to happen. Looking around them with perfect acceptance that this is the way things were, are and should be.
Victims … every … single … one…
Maybe not today, but eventually one of the idealists will come and they will impose their vision on the victims. If they are lucky it will be the takeover of the place of employment or the residential block, not a bullet in a gang war or a visit from a more traditional predator. That’s what it will be that decides it though, pure chance.
Either you have ideals or you don’t. Either you grab the future and you mould it to your vision or you sit around and you wait to be grabbed.
Choose.
-Aarden Harrow, Entry #3
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I’d be interested in hearing more about the AltCults. Are we talking some of the Transmet style groups like the “Transient” genetic movement?
Sort of and not exactly!
The AltCults are newish organisations based around shared ideals and some specialised technology. They are straight out of the rulebook and are probably what most refs would have their players be part of. I won’t be, I prefer them to be big powerful opaque groups of people that the players may one day be owed a favour or two by…. much more fun that way
I’ve taken this from the Cyberpunk 2020 Wikipedia page, it gives a reasonable overview:
The Altcults
Corpore Metal or Cee-Metal – a society of full-body cyborgs that use Livemetal technology, where a modular braincase unit is inserted into a variety of purpose-built body frames.
Desnai’ – Disneyworld-like series of amusement park arcology that strive to shelter themselves from the anarchy outside their walls. It is run heavily on automation and uses telepresence-piloted drones for travel, security, maintenance, labor, etc.
Edgerunners – the descendants of the anti-corporation Cyberpunk movement. Integral cyberlimbs are replaced by Neo-Cyber technology, in which detachable articulated frames called “bracers” worn over the body can be modified to perform all the functions of dedicated cybertechnology.
Reef – an undersea community whose members are heavily genetically-modified to adapt and survive in the depths of the ocean.
Riptide Confederation – a fleet of Japanese floating arcologies that were cut off from their country following a nuclear civil war. They use bio-engineering to make living “tools” to aid them.
Rolling State – the descendants of the Nomad families in Cyberpunk 2020, who now use advanced nanotechnology and megatechnology to create land-based mobile cities.
There’s also an orbital based group called the Fallen Angels, plus two others that I’m adding:
Hive – AIs who survived the destruction of the net by moving out of it.
Artificers – People who study the nanotechnology used in the creation of the Froth.
More info on the AltCults will probably be written at some point…!
Sounds cool. I would be curious as to where they get hold of their equipment from.
They build the “signature” stuff, trade for anything else. The AltCults are not just small groups of people with a common ideal and a bit of tech. They have something in common with a cross between a multinational company and a small country.
Company wise in that they are distributed and may only have a small “branch” presence in any given area. Country wise in that they have a well defined and primary sense of loyalty and identity to the AltCult above any other concerns.
This does not mean that they trade like a company or define territory like a country. Or that they necessarily are organised like either. But it’s a convenient way to think about them….
Hope that helps!