[Dark Conspiracy] Background and Introduction
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		<h2 id="linktree">Play-By-Post: Light =&gt; Light: Human Small Groups =&gt; Topic started by: Hunter on 20-09-2005, 05:27:23</h2>
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				Title: <strong>[Dark Conspiracy] Background and Introduction</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Hunter</strong> on <strong>20-09-2005, 05:27:23</strong>
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				<em>With panic tightening his throat, the man stopped and turned.&nbsp; He was certain he was being followed, but the moon-streaked street stretched emptily behind, its sidewalks bare.&nbsp; Across the way, a clock tolled the hour from the tower of a marble-fronted building.&nbsp; Moonlight gleamed silver on the words avobe its door: "Dayton Federal Savings and Loan."&nbsp; Moon-shadows from its columned portico lay still against its stone fae.<br><br>But on his side of the street, the shadows moved.&nbsp; They twitched and slid from alley to doorway, hollow to hollow.&nbsp; He sensed movement and spun to confront it, backing warily into the door of a shattered shop.&nbsp; The shadows froze.&nbsp; A chill settled in his guts.<br><br>A mere dozen feet away, the shadow of a trash can seemed to widen as a crouching figure leaned ouyt and raised its head.&nbsp; A pallid face revealed itself to moonlight, eyes glistening feverishly, thin lips stretched in a feral grin.&nbsp; Its teeth seemed unnaturally long.&nbsp; Slowly, the figure crept foward.&nbsp; A score of other shadows did the same.<br><br>The man tried to run, but the air seemed suddenly as thick as water.&nbsp; He felt as if he were running in slow motion and the chase seemed to take hours.&nbsp; Behind him, the stalkers closed the distance in long, graceful strides.&nbsp; The pool of yellow light under the streetlamp at the end of the block seemed to promise safety.&nbsp; If only he could reach the light, the man told himself, perhaps he would be safe.&nbsp; His tortured lungs strained, and his sluggish legs pumped to drive him closer to the light.<br><br>The first dark figure caught him and bore him to the ground, the rest close behind.&nbsp; Dozens of rough, long-nailed hands seized his limbs and tore at his clothing.&nbsp; He tried to remain face down, tried to curl up and protect himself, but the hands rolled him over to face his captors, and stretched his limbs in four directions.&nbsp; A fist locked in his hair and pulled his head back painfully, baring his throat.&nbsp; Cold, hard fingers clenched his neck, choking off his breath. He could feel his veins distend with the blocked circulation.<br><br>Then sharp teeth tore his throat, splashing blood across the sidewalk.&nbsp; In horror, he listened to the creatures lap it up as his vision faded.<br><br><br>Hadyn sat up in bed with a cry.&nbsp; Reflexively, he felt his throat: it was whole.&nbsp; Just a dream, then, but so real.&nbsp; He stumbled to the bathroom, switching on the TV along the way.&nbsp; He splashed water on his face, then under his arms and across his chest to wash away the sweat's stink.&nbsp; The he sat on the edge of the tub until a wave of weakness and nausea passed.<br><br>Padding slowly into the kitchen, he opened the refrigerator and got a can of cold beer.&nbsp; He drank half in one long pull, with the refrigerator door open, enjoying the cool air and the glow of the light.&nbsp; Returning to bed, he sipped the rest of his beer and let the TV's chatter wash over him, soothing his nerves.<br><br>He had just begun to doze off when an announcement caught his attention:</em><br><br>This is Mike McDowell for WKXN News, Chicago.&nbsp; Tonight's top stories: Governor Jenkins threatens the CLU from his hospital bed.&nbsp; Chrysler sells downtown St. Louis to Tojicorp, and a Dayton reporter claims blood-drinking cannibals stalk his city. All this, and more, after these messages.<br><br><em>Hadyn stared blankly at the TV for a minute, the picked up his phone and dialed.<br><br>"Hunter, this is Hadyn.&nbsp; Yeah, I know what time it is.&nbsp; Listen, if you haven't unpacked yet, don't bother.&nbsp; We've got to go to Ohio.&nbsp; Dayton, Ohio.&nbsp; Something big's happeneing there, maybe worse than Iowa City.&nbsp; I'll be over in half an hour to explain."&nbsp; Numble he set the receiver down.<br><br>He remained motionless for a moment, and then sighed deeply.&nbsp; "No rest of the weary," he mumbled.&nbsp; He sat on the edge of the rumpled bed and hefted the stainless steel Colt Python, wondering for the hundredth time how much of an edge the six siler .357 magnum wadcutters in its cylinder really gave him.</em><br><br>Excerpt, <span class="bbc_u">Dark Conspiracy Players' Handbook</span><br><br>[attachment deleted by admin]
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				Title: <strong>Background</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Hunter</strong> on <strong>03-10-2005, 01:24:08</strong>
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				<strong>The State of the Union</strong><br><br>The United States of the near future (2010) is similar to that of today in outline, but differs dramatically in detail.<br><br><em>Onset of the Dark Times</em><br>As the beginning of the new millenium approached, the world stood poised on the brink of the abyss.&nbsp; Global population approached critical levels.&nbsp; The socialist world had imploded economically, which placed major strains on the the rest of the world's financial institutions.&nbsp; The capitalist world was at the end of several decades of reckless investments.&nbsp; Intentionally, hundreds of billions of dollars had been loaned to third-world governments which faced insolvency and loan default.&nbsp; Domestically, investments by even traditionally conservative institutions, such as banks, insurance companies, and savings and loans, had been increasingly concentrated in high-risk ventures, such as large real estate development schemes, stock speculation, and "junk" bonds.<br><br>Rather than drawing back, humankind seemed compelled to leap into the yawning chasm.&nbsp; Greed and hostility seemed the principal motivations of key players in world finance and government.&nbsp; In the first years of the new millenium, waves of nationalist secession movements swept Europe, Asian, and Africa.&nbsp; Greed fueled the speculative binge among financial institutions.&nbsp; Senior officals, in their rush to make their fortune quickly and get out before the collapse, hastened the collapse itself.<br><br>Then came the wars--wars over oil in the Middle East, over land in the Indian subcontent, over the nationality of Europe.&nbsp; China slipped into anarchy and civil war, while new regional powers struggled for domination of their neighbors by force of arms.&nbsp; Mining facilities, factories, oil wells and refineries--all were targets in the flurry of border wars that left belligerents impoverished, but still armed.<br><br>The result was an economic decline greater than any in modern history.&nbsp; Over a decade later, the Greater Depression still grips the world, and shows no signs of improvement.
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				Title: <strong>More Background</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Hunter</strong> on <strong>03-10-2005, 01:31:18</strong>
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				<em>The Decline of Government</em><br>Economic and social ruin outstripped the ability of government to deal with them, and so traditional institutions which promoted order began breaking down.&nbsp; Government still exists, but it is far more remote and less powerful.<br><br>As income plunged, so too did tax revenues, leading to a moratorium on debt repayment that sent a massive shock through the world financial community.&nbsp; Now few borrowers will buy government bonds (making deficit financing nearly impossible) and meager tax revenues will not support previous levels of activity.<br><br>In the political arena, passsage of the Voting Rights Act of 2001, which included provisions for voters to give their proxy votes to others in government elections, just as they previously could in corporate elections, has concentrated tremendous political power in the hands of large corporations.&nbsp; They, in turn, have done everything possible to limit the size of government.<br><br>The result is not only a dramatic decline in basic government services, but also a retreat from even trying to control certain geographic areas.&nbsp; Large stretches of countryside are now referred to as the "Out-Law", since they are out of the legal jurisdiction of any active government authority.&nbsp; Rural areas are the responsiblity of county police, but in counties where there are no permanent residents, there are obviously no police.&nbsp; State police patrol the interstate highway system, but little else.&nbsp; The FBI still has nominal authority over a wide variety of situations, but financial and manpower resources are so limited that intervention is infrequent and haphazard.
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				Title: <strong>Technology</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Hunter</strong> on <strong>03-10-2005, 01:43:54</strong>
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				<strong>Retro-Tek:</strong> Basic, everyday technology in the world is very much like that of the 1990s.&nbsp; For instance, people use telephones, not futuristic vidphones, nor archaic telegraphs, for long-distance communication.&nbsp; Televisions look like televisions, autos look like autos, there are still corner laundromats, and so forth.<br><br>But there are several quirks to that modern technology.&nbsp; First, one effect of the economic depression has been a general deterioration of what is commonly considered modern.&nbsp; Most consumer goods available to the common man and woman are no longer produced by corporations in Japan, Germany, or the US, but instead by the less technologically advanced corps in Mexico and the Eastern European states, and they resemble products from the US's '50s and '60s.&nbsp; So telephones are once again bulky, black things, rather than the sleek, colorful, lightweight plastic ones we are familiar with.&nbsp; Autos are boxier, a tendency reinforced by a 1940s retro-style movement.&nbsp; TV screens are smaller (and often black and white rather than in color); radios are bigger.&nbsp; In fact, because of a growing shortage of semiconductors, many consumer electronics&nbsp; have reverted to vacuum-tube technology.<br><br><strong>HiTek:</strong> But the second technological quirk runs in direct contrast to the first.&nbsp; That is, for those who can afford them, there exist virtual technological miracles.&nbsp; It is this market that Japanese and German megacorps now target.&nbsp; The wealthy can purchase pocket-sized portable computers with multimegabyte memories, holographic projectors rather than TVs, programmable home appliances (such as self-powered vacuum cleaners that follow programmed routes and schedules), ultra-sophicstical electronic security systems, and even high-quality mechanical replacements for failing organs, or cloned replacements, if they prefer.&nbsp; A variety of robots are coming into use as well, although most of the mobile varieties are the result of military research and thus tend to be used for security tasks.&nbsp; In any case, the abundance of ultra-cheap labor has made personal servants affordable and fashionable for wealthy individuals.
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