The gangs rule the streets of the Lower Sprawl, the endless expanse of warehouses, mega-factories, hydroponic farms and crumbling hab blocks. Ranging from small criminal crews to armed militias, they operate casinos, fighting pits, the black market and the extortion rings. They demand respect and kill anyone who defies their authority.

The corporations control the global financial institutions and the media outlets as well as the system for law and order. When the bombs dropped, the rich and privileged escaped to resorts on Mars and the Moon but never let go of their grip on the capitalist need to control the world. Now based within the Inner Sprawl in the area known as Cyber City they continue their dominance on the populace, using the Delta Guardians as their iron fist.

Although the corporations own the mainstream entertainment networks, they have been unable to stem the rebellious subculture of rock n’ roll. Playing in an unsanctioned band is in itself a form of resistance. Some of the largest bands release their music on the DarkNet and play packed concerts at the Colosseum in Alpina.

The synth-rock band The Bitter End are one of the symbols of the underground as are the punk band Scandolera, the heavy metal band The Lost Shadows and the progressive rock band Pink Mist, fronted by guitarist Eddie Van Hook.

In the 1980’s there were two developments that shaped the world today as we know it. The first was the discovery of Ion Flow energy, a super-efficient way to harness power and the other was the development of the LightNet, an information network which allowed for data to be transferred around the world in the blink of an eye.

These two breakthroughs led to thousands of innovations, such as advanced communications devices, powerful computer systems that employed artificial intelligence and vehicles that could travel faster and further than ever before.

No one knows how it was allowed to happen but on the night of the millennium, as people around the world celebrated, a single nuclear warhead was accidentally launched.

The retaliation was instant and the devastation was immediate and total - after only a few hours the world was permanently changed, governments were incapacitated and nations were lost forever.  The battleground stretched from the East coast of Europe, across Africa and to the West coast of Asia. Hundreds of millions of lives were lost in the meat grinder of war as nations fought for survival.

When the dust settled, the world was very different to how we know it today. Only a small number of populaces really remained, scattered across the globe with the Santa Carla sprawl being the largest. The mega-city of Neo Tokyo is the second largest, with the rest of the world’s population dispersed into smaller enclaves of communities.

To the East are the Badlands, a radioactive expanse where mutants roam, to the south are the barbarian hordes of Manta and accross the ocean are the seafaring pirates of Dakar.