<div class="spoiler_container"><div class="spoiler_header" onclick="hideSecond (this);" role="button">Setting</div><div class="spoiler_body">(http://www.miamigov.com/nets/Images/NET_small.jpg)<br/>Disregard the smiley faces. :P<br/><br/><strong>Background:</strong><br/> For a long time, Miami was considered a cornerstone of Florida's culture- a haven of night-life, art, and beaches that drew people from all over the United States. And nowadays, the cornerstone of South Florida has grown even hotter. After Orlando and most of Central Florida was absorbed in the Okeechobee flood of 2060, many of the powerful entertainment corporations who had made their homes in the big O moved down south, taking up residence and thriving among the old "Model City" and "Little Haiti" districts. DU Entertainment* eventually managed to purchase a long stretch of land on North Beach to rebuild both their beloved Disney World and Universal Studios resorts, combining both attractions to create one massive, interweaving park with over 300 rides- including perfect part-for-part replicas of the famous "Mountain" roller coasters in the Magic Kingdom- that occupies a full half of Miami Beach Island. <br/><br/>Outside of the DUE districts, the city is fairly equally divided between residential, industrial, and entertainment districts. These days, most residential areas are out west- Flagler is a popular destination for nicer middle-class neighborhoods, while Allapatah to the north is primarily dedicated to higher-end housing projects. And Flagame, further out to the west, has become more of a "budget" development center, with a focus on economy apartments and smaller single-family housing blocks. <br/><br/>Wynwood and Overtown have become primarily production districts for several of the branch corporations that have established themselves in the new capital of civilization in South Florida. The most notable of these is Scripps Biomedical Technologies, although it has several smaller competitors based in the area. At the same time, the area plays host to several well known electronics corporations- some of whom made all of their money by licensing out working parts and prototypes to the bio-medical giants. <br/><br/>And of course, who could forget the entertainment districts- Little Havana, Downtown Miami, and South Beach are all hot-spots for night life along the water. As a general rule of thumb- if you can think it, you can do it. As a "Separated District," Little Havana is not policed by any of the major military-police forces present throughout much of the rest of miami, and as such has become a haven for more of the "darker" vices miami has to offer- prostitution is an immense source of income in the area, and gambling (from dominoes to dog-fighting) can be found on any street corner or shopfront. This has given the area a reputation as being "lawless"; though anyone who has sought to take advantage of the anarchy has quickly found themselves under the scrutiny of "<em>The Icy Fists</em>." <br/><br/>Downtown, on the other hand, is a bit more clean-cut and technologically oriented. Many of the city's highest quality sim and augmented reality clubs are located right alongside the newest, hottest clubs and restaurants, making it the premiere destination for someone who has a substantial amount of nuyen to be spent on a night out. Right now, the hottest new club on the scene is "Cloud 9," a bar located at the top of the new Hyatt Deluxe Towers overlooking Biscayne Bay. A great deal of effort was put in to making the building 95% transparent, and creating a false clouding effect so that patrons literally feel like they are dancing and drinking  high above the ground below. Though even as hot as it is, "Cloud 9" is still hard pressed to compete with The Blue Pill, a sim-bar dedicated to recreating environments from classic, archived features, the majority of which are 80-90 years old. <br/><br/>And finally, South Beach. The sand is crystal clear, the waves are perfect, and the waterfront is packed with a variety of quicker, budget-friendly bars for the vacationer or local in need of a good time. For the most part, the Tequila Bar is the most popular archetype here... if you walk a mile in either direction, you're generally able to find something to suit your tastes. Of course, the area still has a few scenes that stand out among the rest. Wet Willie's is almost always packed, with their wide variety of frozen drink flavors- and for an 80 year old establishment, it's always got something fresh and cool to attract the sunbathers. The other main staple on South Beach is Coconuts, a tropical grill and bar that doubles as a bonfire club at night. A sign out front proudly proclaims "Having a hard time remembering last night? Ask us for the pictures"... and a surprising amount of the time, it's right. <br/><br/><strong>Notable Entities:</strong><br/>-Entertainment: <br/>--DU Entertainment: Disney Universal is the premier entertainment megacorporation in the united states, with regional branches in both California and South Florida. At this time, the entertainment conglomerate consists of Disney Motion Pictures, Pixar Motion Pictures, Universal Studios, MCA Records, Marvel Entertainment, DC Entertainment, and Dark Horse Publishing. Rumor has it that the corporation is also in talks to procure Blind Ferret Entertainment as well, giving them a hold on the 'net published comic market as well. Another rumor is that the company houses several other, "unmarked" divisions- including an Engineering &amp; Electronics R&amp;D program that rivals the more electronically-oriented companies to the south. <br/><br/>-Biotechnology: <br/>--Scripps Biotechnological Research: This biotech firm hit it big in the late 2030's when they created a nanotech "blood cell" that could recognize and help combat early stages of cancerous activity in the human body. Of course, this had no effect on a full-blown case of cancer... but at $200 a shot, many families were all too happy to "vaccinate" their children against one of the most dreaded diseases on the planet. Since then, the company has continued its research into nano-medicines, and have made several noteworthy publications that have aided in the smoother integration of mechanical augmentations into the human body. <br/>--Demetech: This "American Made" body-mechanics company has hit a solid streak over the past five years, and are continuously putting out products that keep their place as one of the most advanced "human electronics" firms on the market. The majority of their products are targetted at a civilian audience... though it was leaked recently that they had created an augmentation for soldiers that allowed the soldier's body to store willfully-triggered "Claymore" charges in chest, shoulders, knees, and calves. <br/><br/>-Electronics / Computers:<br/>--Excalibur Electronics: If you want good Sims, you grab Excalibur. Back in the early 2000's, this company dedicated itself to productions for novelty / utility markets; but as time and technology continued to change, the corporation changed its focus as well to the new, growing  "novelty" market of Simulation technologies. In 2020, the company released its first attempt at simulation, "Lady in the Lake"- a vivid re-telling of the Arthurian legend, priced down so that it could be marketed to even the lowest of middle-class families. That price point made it a hit... and allowed the company to grow from there. Over time, they became one of the largest simulation production companies in the country, and are responsible for much of the programming in Miami's 100 different Sim-bars. <br/>--Capstone Software: Excalibur sets the bar, and Capstone does its best to break it. Technically, the software company claimed their name from a now-defunct "Video Game" publisher that existed back in the late 1900's, but they have done their best to make the brand something that is new and noticeable on all levels. As of yet, they've only had middling success (like the original publisher who was their namesake), but there's been rumors on the net that the company has landed a deal that will help them "break the unbreakable sword." <br/><br/>-Other Affiliations:<br/>--The Icy Fists: For the longest time, Little Havana was on a downward spiral, becoming a ghetto in spite of its role as one of the premier entertainment districts in Miami. This was due to several gangs who made their homes in the area- The Icebox and the Black Fist being the two most volatile. However, three years ago both gangs came together under the leadership of Dagoberto Rivano ('Dago'), in a surprisingly bloodless coup. Now, the Icy Fist syndicate has effectively taken control of Little Havana, pushing it from ghetto to profitable, if a bit seedy, den for "Miami Vice." In a strange way, this has made Little Havana one of the safest places in the city... provided the Fists don't have a reason to be looking for you. <br/><br/>--Jumpin' Jacks: This gang's primary base of operations is in the "grey zone" between Overtown and Downtown, on and along the stretches of highway that connect the working and the places they go to get rid of all their hard-earned cash. The Jacks are, of course, always willing to help people out with that themselves... though they've avoided getting into anything more dangerous than muggings and a few convenience store robberies. They are not so organized as the Fists, and have been known to operate on a "run faster than the guy next to you" system of 'protection' when cornered by police forces. <br/><br/>--The Waves: In the grand scheme of things, the Waves are kind of a joke. A bunch of over-privileged suburb kids who decided that they wanted to make things exciting by running around on South Beach, snatching purses and vandalizing city property. To date, they have no violent crimes to their names... but they've gotten plenty of news coverage simply because they try so hard to get noticed. In their defense, though, they have also had a zero-catch rate, even though their taggers have a tendency to wait until they are spotted by security forces or distressed shop owners. No one can decide if they're just lucky or if there's something more to the group than meets the eye. <br/><br/>Especially when they mail their "victims" back their identification after each and every purse snatching. With return addresses on the envelopes. <br/><br/>-Security Forces<br/>--DUE Zones: DUST Security. <br/>--Little Havana: Icy Fists<br/>--All Others: White Sands Security</div></div><br/>It's not even 9:00 yet, and the streets of Little Havana are already starting to get crowded. Graveyard shifters who stopped in the Z-Zone for a night-cap and a brothel's warmed bed are weaving their way blearily down the road, while tourists and transients are making their way into "town" to start the day with a game of dominoes, a cuban cigar, or a good old-fashioned electronic cock-fight to fill or empty their pockets. Streetwalkers are already making their rounds, flamboyant pinks and oranges making sure they draw the eye of anybody who's got some nuyen they'd like to get rid of for ten minutes of early-morning fun.<br/><br/>And of course, the smells are already clouding up nice and thick. A hundred different food-carts or hole-in-the-wall restaurants are cooking a hundred different dishes, filling the air with the smells of peppers, garlic, synthetic eggs, and fried "ham"<em>croquetas</em>. The smells are so thick that they make their way through the closed windows of Tzahala Hazan's humble abode just as easily as the sounds of the people on the road outside. Of course, the smells all do their job well... it's hard to walk down the central streets of Little Havana and<em>not</em>spend a couple of credits on a snack here or there, simply because it all smells so good.<br/><br/>But there's one sound that stands out among the rest. A custom notification, marking the arrival of a new message on the Israeli woman's comms unit. The sound of a digital coin from an 80-year-old sim franchise, which means that Hazan already know's what she's going to see when she opens the message up.<br/><br/><em>"Sao,<br/>Your Princess is in another castle! ^.^ And it's a nice one this time..."<br/>-Z. &lt;3</em><br/><br/>As always, Hazan's contact is vague, and gives her no real mentions of how to get in touch... but then again, it's never difficult. After all, Tzahala has already claimed a spare key to her apartment over in Flagler...