World of Future Darkness: Darkness 2276

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Darkness 2276

by Mark Kilfoil (20 Jul 95)

One day, I think it was last week when I was in a bad mood, I sat down and wrote the basis forsomething called Darkness 2276.

It's not finished, and I've decided to stop working on it for a while so that I can work on the Caernof the Reflecting Pool and other fiction stories, not mention read books and write non-WoD stuff,too.

So here is its current form, I hope you like it. Please recognize that it is no where near finished,and it feels like it could easily take a lot more work.

The year is 2276, more commonly known as 122 P.C. (Post-collapse).

Earth is Hell.

The Technocracy has nearly succeeded in strengthening the world to their iron grip. Mages of the Traditionsare all but destroyed, the Traditions lost to the cries of children. Marauders are caged within the Umbra,destroyed and hunted to extinction.

The new God is the Machine. Iteration X has survived well. New World Order has joined them, creating astrong bond between Mind and Machine.

The Void Engineers are also severed from the world, but continue on in the Umbra, destroying whatever theyfind there, delving deeper and deeper...

Gaia is dead, her back broken. The werewolves were mostly destroyed, and those that remained lost most ofthe abilities they had, either due to dead teachers or lack of connection to their Mother. They can no longer

enter the Umbra at will.

The Vampire Princedoms are now the Vampire Elysiums; entirely self- contained, huge cities, the vampireslord over the humans, and the humans thank them for the society and knowledge they get in return.

Erecting the Dome: When the Dome was erected in 2122, it was hailed by the Technocracy as the only way tosave the Earth from severe solar radiation as the sun began a cycle of severe sunstorms. The procedure wasdescribed as very simple: a new compound, XSS103-4 (also known as "Sunscreen") was developed that wouldreact with the uppermost atmosphere. The reaction would create a super-lightweight alloy that would hang inthe atmosphere and screen out the harmful parts of sunlight. The public, seeing the increase in cancer due to

solar radiation and the intense heat of the last decade, almost universally agreed to allow the compound to beinjected into the atmosphere. This, then, was the Technocracy's /coup de grace/: the Dome, sometimesreferred to as the "metallosphere".

There were riots and demonstrations, but it was too little too late. The werewolves found themselves at themercy of an enemy they had all but neglected for centuries; the mages were caught by surprise and severelydiminished in number by that time, and could not muster enough support. The two groups gathered together,but they were held back by the awesome security around the project. And they were held back by anothergroup as well: the one group that felt themselves able to benefit quite highly from the Darkening of the Sun,the vampires. And so, the Technocracy found themselves with a very strong hidden partner.

Rules: Darkness 2276 http://vampirerpg.free.fr/Rules/Darkness-

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It took a total of 24 hours for the compound to surround the Earth. That day, August 4, 2122, will forever beremembered and mourned as Darkening Day.

It was a spectacular sight, and stories were told of the rockets that fired up, 72 of them, and exploded high inthe sky. Some of them blew up prematurely and had no effect: these had been attacked by the Traditions andthe Garou, a last ditch effort to stop the Technocracy.

The areas that were not covered by the metallosphere are called the Burned Lands, for the gaps in the sphere

let through lethal amounts of radiation. The Technocracy had failed to mention that by reacting with the upperatmosphere, the alloy would destroy it, making the world dependant on the Technocracy's Dome to survive.

Those gaps in the sphere were quickly filled, but the breach had let several denizens of the Umbras through.No one travels through the Burned Lands, now.

The metallic-grey Dome not only kept out the sun, but it blocked most of the stars, except during an eclipse.The moon could be seen as a ghostly pale light on the edges of the dome. Outer space, including in theUmbras, were almost severed completely from the world, now.

Only the barest amount of light was let through, so the Technocracy had supplied reasons for the continuedreliance of the people on technology, because only artificial light, it was justified, would be sufficient.

Medical substatutes for the vitamins coming from sunlight were created, replacing the spiritual dosage with anartificial one. It also had the side effect of making a person more docile and happy.

Vampires began to go public, the Masquerade was tossed aside. First the Sabbat went wild, then the Camarilladecided it was safe to come out of the shadows.

The society began to collapse where the Technocracy wasn't working to solve the problems, until the vampiresstarted moving in to the scene. The creation of New Carthage signalled a major turnaround in the world's fate:a very open city, where life was to be celebrated and peace would reign, the first of the Elysiums. People ran

to them in droves, until the Technocracy decided to put a stop to it. They attacked New Carthage, and burnedit to the ground.

More determined than ever, the vampires pooled many resources and drove back the Technocracy throughsheer force (perhaps force of will?). On the spot where New Carthage had lain, they created Harmony, willexists as the essential "capital" for the Elysiums.

In between the Elysiums and the Technocracy is open land, commonly referred to as the Rogue Lands. Thereare small towns scrabbling on their own, but mostly there is no one except criminals ejected from the Cities orthe Elysiums (hence the name "rogue" lands). Travel through Rogue Lands is very difficult; it means either

travelling through a Wyld Zone [an area controlled by were-creatures] or perhaps Deadlands [areas where the

Shadowlands have exploded into the normal world; the only Umbral connection truly left]; if you are notpassing through these, you are either passing close to a City [Technocracy] or over/through the Seas, wherePirates roam, or near some of the bandit's lairs.

Travel or warfare by air is usually quite risky, including missiles, because of loss in technology by theTechnocracy, and also the Sky Drones. The Technocracy released these robotic killers over the Rogue Lands

not long after major animal attacks (including werewolf attacks); they are designed to destroy anything thatmatched the profile of a werewolf or other enemy, to cut down on attacks. However, it appears as if theprogramming code was modified so that they only attacked flying ships and missiles, which was a tactic forthe Technocracy to hunt down werewolves by razing areas or having hunting parties.


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each other, and stamping out "bad influences" where it can. Welcome to Big Brother.

Protection Zonesan area around the Technopoli is called the Protection Zone. Within the Zone, it is claimed, you will begauranteed safety. Outside of the zone, there is no gaurantee. Traitors to the City are marchedceremoniously through the Protection Zone, then booted beyond it without supplies. Sometimes, theyonly get a few feet away from the Zone before they are attacked an killed by were-creatures or the treesthemselves.

Mecha-G [Mechanized Gaurds]The integration and replacement of human bodies and robotic beings is fully upon us. MechanizedGaurds are a product of that research. Human souls sheilded with metal. they trade in their humanityhappily for a chance to fight the good fight.

City PlannersA major part of the New World Order which seeks to constantly increase the size of the Cities, and"take back" the land from the wild beasts. They have an extensive military force to back them up, andare constantly promoting the "need to recolonize earth".

The Servants of the Binary Orderwithin a technopoli, these followers are treated as a heretical cult, and are generally disposed of beforethey can do any "cultural" damage.

"Don't you see, brothers and sisters, that the computer you serve [Mach I or the Technocracy] is coldand barren, and cruel to its subjects? I invite you to be one with Mach II, to explore the dimensionswithin your mind through the computer, not shut windows of imagination through technology."

TubesA combination subway train and high-speed bullet train, these stretch from City to City, and even crossthe Seas with the Sky Arcs [bridges over water that climb into the sky and then dip back down.] Theseare in need of constant repair and protection from raids, and fall directly under the control of the City

Planners.

All major Technocracy cities are joined by Tubes, wherein the high-speed trains travel on super-conducting rails through a vacuum, the fastest ride around. Raiders are sometimes a problem along theseTubes, and so they are heavily gaurded.

FoodMost food is artificially produced. A few very rich individuals have gene-plants in which they createnew seeds for rooftop gardens, but the gardens rarely do well.

Registration

every citizen of a technopolis is registered when they are born with a tiny microchip emplacement.Gone are the worries of government intrusion, assuaged with statements of ease of commerce (no needto carry cash or credit cards or anything like that, because they can just scan you for identity) and easeof communication (recognizers are very common; a person can use one to automatically pull non-confidential information from a person's registration chip, such as name, age, sex, etc.) The Rebellion is,of course, against registration. There are rumours that they have methods of removing the chips(partially true), an appalling idea to most citizens.

The Rebellion of Free ThoughtThis underground organization is made up mostly of people who have either come from an Elysium orfrom one of the few scattered independant settlements. They are disgusted at the sheep that most


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citizens are in a technopolis, and are struggling to undermine the Technocracy's efforts. They areviciously hunted and savagely pursued, but they hold their ideals higher than their lives.

"Freedom isn't evil, you fool! Freedom must be a fundamental right! It is better to be unrestricted inthought than restricted to the point of non-thinking!"

The destruction of knowledge (or, "How the Technocracy shot themselves in the foot and then forgot how."

Perhaps one of the biggest mistakes that the Technocracy made in starting their new plans was to

destroy knowledge. They found all records of certain destructive knowledge and purged them, andeither wiped the memories of or killed all of the people who had that knowledge. They carefully keptmost of their knowledge of electronics (including surveillance), their computer technology, their(fabricated) historical knowledge, and their knowledge of most machines (cars, boats, elevators,microwaves, etc.) but destroyed most of their specific knowledge of weaponry and weaponsmithing.

Or perhaps it was the act of a group of well-meaning Technocrats. The truth is impossible to tell.

Wyld Zones

(Were-creature Protectorates)

Gaia is dead, her back broken. The werewolves were mostly destroyed by Darkening Day, and those thatsurvived lost most of the abilities they had, either due to dead teachers or lack of connection to their Mother.They can no longer enter the Umbra at will. However, there numbers skyrocketted after this separation, andthis has led many to suspect that Gaia was a burden on their shoulders. Many have embraced the Wyld, now,and have reinstated the Impergium. This time, however, they are meeting with tough resistance.

For the most part, the werewolves have taken back the wilderness, but not much lives there any more. There,they try to desparately revive Gaia, but most fear that it is impossible to bring back the dead world.

Gaiansgroup dedicated to reviving Gaia (by removing the dome, or whatever)

Hunters[Impergium followers] they believe that the only hope for the Earth is the destruction of most of

humanity

Naturalsthose who seek a return to nature, and try to help nature grow whereever they can.

There are many crossover ideals in these groups; almost universally, they want to destroy the Technopoli and

the Elysiums, and reverse the effects of the Dome.

Treeants [Ents]

The hills are alive, the trees and bushes living, thrashing beings; they have gain the sentience ofself-preservation, their spirits having been locked into the material world. The greatest of these, thetree-giants, have even gone so far as to mimic mankind, developing dozens of arms and hands, andmassive stump-like legs.

Caerns [?]

Wyld Zones


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Deadlands

(Deadlands)

Some of the Burned Lands opened gateways to dark places, one of the darkest being the Shadowlands. TheDeadLands are places on Earth where the gateway remains open, and an entire area is both in the lands of the

Dead and the lands of the Living.

Necropoli on EarthWhen a Burned Land corresponds to a Necropoli in the Dark Umbra, the Necropoli is present in all ofits glory. San Francisco is one prime example of this.

Fields of NightmareIn places where there is no Necropoli, the lands are less stable, and Oblivion or the Tempest rages on.The worst of these are the Fields of Nightmare, where few who enter alive ever return alive.

The Hi-Seas

The High Seas

Watertownsmassive earthquakes and underwater volcanoes created lands that are almost completely submerged,but livable. The biggest of these is called Atlantia [Located in the Atlantic sea, between Europe andwhat was Canada]; like Venice, the land is almost completely submerged in water, varying in depth froma few centimetres to several metres.

Watchers from Beyond

superstitious types claim that the earthquakes were not caused by any natural cause. They claim thatthere were things that awoke when the earth was completely shrouded in darkness on Darkening Day,and their awakening moved the earth.

Beneath every farcical story, there is a grain of truth, somewhere. In these stories, there are beaches.

PiratesBased on the romantic tales of old, these rebellious and generally easy-going sailors sport ancientweapons like revolvers and sonic stunners, as well as really ancient swords, and arm their yachts andsailing boats with mortars and grenade launchers. They fight the good fight, more like Robin Hoods thanrobbers. Most of them were born on the sea, in Watertowns.

Rogues

Ronin Akashics"The rabble"Kinfolk


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Questions and answers by the author

You said there was a grey time and a dark time...So there is a time when light does hit earth, butnot enough to affect vampires?

Basically, yes. There is small percentage of the light that reaches the earth, which is basically "tinted" gray bythe metallosphere before reaching the earth.

In spiritual terms, I am basing the "does not affect vampires" idea on the suggestion made looong ago thatthere is a spiritual part of the light and that is what really affects vampires.

When the Dome was erected (which surrounds the globe, so its not really a dome, but...) it divided most of thespirit world from the material world (outer space from earth) except for a tiny fraction which leaks through,

and carries a small amount of light with it. The metallosphere acts as a filter, further removing spiritualcomponents from the light until it is almost spiritually null, and gray.

My current thinking is that the world was not in fact severed from the spirit world, unlike what theTechnocracy believes, which is why the people have not become totally "spiritless". Instead, the Technocracyforced some parts of the spirit world to merge with matter in unification again (Mach I and Mach II are simple

examples of this).

This obviously requires more thought, tho'...

Now when it is typicaly day, do kindred suffer from day lag?

Vampires who are extremely affected by the sun (a Flaw) will be cycle-bound, I'd say, but for the most partthey are not really affected.

I have a feeling that I might make the Burned Lands more radiant, as well; a place where the barrier was slowin going up and is still weaker than the rest.

What happen to all the goverments when the vamps took over?

Well, many governments would have likely collapsed by this point, under the pressure of the Technocracy andthe growing responsibilities placed upon them.

Likely, though, the vampires would have used the government the way a social butterfly uses a friend at aparty: they got them to do the nice introductions, proclaiming how good they are, and then went off with thenewly-made friends. It would've been a fairly important step in the safe removal of the Masquerade.

And what about the Antidiv-whatchamacallits?

The Antideluvians? That's a tough question. I would imagine they are still there, pulling strings where theycan, but there might have been an uprising against the higher generations (similar to the original uprisingagainst the second generation... hmmm....) and they would be hunted as monsters. They might have takenallies among some of the beings that fell through into the Burned Lands.

Is there still a prison system or is it gone?

The prison system would depend greatly upon where you are; in a Technopoli, there is the idyllic view of nocrime or the Doctors will "fix" you (rewriting mental patterns), the most severe crimes being punished quietlyby "recycling"; in an Elysium, all manner of imprisonment would be possible, but one punishment would beconsidered the most cruel: ejection from the city, into the wilderness; in the Wyld Zones, the werecreatures


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would likely have gotten more brutal, both with themselves and with strangers, because there are lots of themto go around.

Actually, there is also the question of what constitutes a crime...

If a vampire feeds on someone who has not given him explicit, written permission to do so, is that a crime?

If a vampire creates a childe without consent or government permission, what punishment is given to him?

I have a feeling that individual cities are going to have specific rule over themselves, with only a fewoverriding traditions/rules. That way, the legal scenery changes depending on how liberal/conservative the cityis, and what era it is modelled after. (I just gotta create at least one wild west city, I just gotta! ;)

Do vamp bars serve blood?(Seriously, donors can make serious $$ keepin it on tap..)

Actually, yes they would. I have the idea that taxes would not be paid necessarily in money or goods, but inblood. Hm.... blood as the currency within an Elysium? Gives a whole new meaning to going to pay their"pound of flesh".

Are cybernetics very common?

Computer interface implants would be a necessary part of being a Servant of the Binary Order, and some sortof "steam-punk" network likely exists within Elysiums (archaic-looking technology that is large and clunky,but ultimately a little "organic" in feel and asthetic) that people might have personal interfaces for.

Within a Technopoli, there would be very little cybernetics beyond a computer and communications interfaceand a registration chip, except for Mecha-G soldiers, because the other limbs can be regrown easily.

There would be no cybernetics in the Rogue Lands or Wyld Zones, and very little technology of any sort.

And I haven't decided if there are any androids yet... maybe a couple of unique ones...


Documents

World of Future Darkness: Darkness 2276