[History 101; 2032-2033] Matrix is Born, Troubles in UCAS, The End of the EuroWar, Middle Eastern Divide, and the Nanosecond Buyout
##2032; Type "O" Cells, Fish Farms, Trouble in the UCAS, Global Financial Services Takeover
On January 12^th, an Alpena Michigan resident, Owen Whiting went into the doctor's office for a routine visit for the flu. During testing, it was discovered that Whitting's samples contained neither A nor B proteins at the cellular level. This meant that Mr. Whitting would be able to accept any biological transplant with zero chance of host rejection. With his permission, samples were gathered, and through many months and years of research those samples became the Type "O" Cells we know and love today. This paved the way for cheaper and safer organ transplants, and helped build this base for bioware in general.
Almost a month later, on February 10^th the Ute Elected Council voted to pass legislation allowing Vancouver (Salish-Shidhe) based Mariech Enterprises the the ability to turn the Sevier Bridge Reservoir into a fresh water farm.
This was a surprising move on the part of the council for several reasons. First, the Ute Nation is extremely insular and resistant to outside influence. Secondly, the Ute Nation has always had extremely prohibitive trade restrictions in place. And finally (but certainly not least) Maritech Enterprises is owned lock stock and barrel by Aztechnology. Within a few years the Ute Nation is able to boast the largest freshwater fishery in the world, and lead in trout exports (even to this day).
On March 1^st, discussions between the United States and Canada are almost destroyed thanks to the Senators of Alabama and Georgia leading a major walk-out of all Southern states (Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, and Texas). These delegates were upset over the US President Andrew MacAllister's apparent lack of concern for Southern states and said that he "could go hang". While the Congress got back to work, these delegates from the Southern states met in secret to begin their plans for secession.
Elsewhere in the UCAS things were continuing on quite well. The American Medical Association announced their decision in regards to medicinal magic on March 14^th. Basically even if you are a Magician, if you want to use your magic to heal someone you have to have a license, and already be a qualified doctor/nurse/medtech/etc. You also have to have been trained by an adequate (and accredited) magical institution. Otherwise, you're liable to fall prey to malpractice lawsuits.
After months of discussion and negotiation about what to do with the Post-Crash Internet, the Corporate Court announced on August 19^th their decision to spearhead a new global networking initiative. Taking advantage of the new VR technology this new global network, dubbed the Matrix, was built and maintained (largely) by Fuchi Industrial Electronics and Renraku Computer Systems.
In a daring move by CEO Clayton Wilson, Lone Star Security Services spent two months acquiring seven different security firms and bringing them under the Lone Star banner. With the last purchase, Lone Star filed their application for extraterritorialty with the Corporate Court. This permission was granted on September 28^th. Now the Star was literally "above the law".
On October 30^th the Seattle Metroplex was rocked by a series of robberies. Several megacorporations lost a fortune in nuyen to unknown (and never caught) individuals. It is believed that these robberies were performed by a team of shadowrunners.
Three days later, on November 2^nd, Former US President Adrew McAllister and former Canadian Prime Minister Harold Frazier (both of whom who had served as Provisional President of the UCAS during the Constitutional Assembly) were elected to the position of UCAS President and Vice President, respectively.
After fending off collapsing due to the Crash of '29, Global Financial Services was in for the fight of it's life. Through a series of legal manuevers and the blackest of ops the Corporate Court (the Big Seven at this time) initiated a hostile take over of GFS. The AAAs couldn't risk something like the Crash happening again, and all of their debt (an unknown figure, but assume vast) being sold off to other companies (perhaps even rivals). To prevent such an occurrence from ever happening the Court took control of GFS and the satellite they were stationed in on November 15^th. Now, the banks primary creditors were now the owners.
To prevent any misuse of power (and possible economic destruction of the megacorporate structure) the Big Seven turned power of the GFS over to the Corporate Court.
##2033; End of the EuroWar, the Nanosecond Buyout, Z-OG is Born,
In the dead of night on January 23^rd, Swedish airspace control spotted several flights of what appeared to be British Aerospace FA-38A Nightwraiths in Northern Europe. These Nightwraiths attacked military targets throughout the region, mainly aiming at key command and communications on both sides of the conflict.
That same night, an unknown number of assassins launched a coordinated attack on the command structures of all sides, leaving dozens of key officers dead.
These assassins were never found. And no country ever came forward to announce that it was their Nightwraiths that struck that night. Everyone denounced their actions. The UK proclaimed their innocence the loudest.
The next day the EuroWar combatants declared a cease-fire, and later that day signed an armistice. This didn't end all conflict in the region, as there was still the occassional skirmish along the Eastern Front. This helped slide Europe further into their economic recession.
That same day, January 24^th at 11:42:08 EST a blitzkrieg of computerized buying and selling orders from Stockholm Sweden hit the Boston East Coast Stock Exchange. Over the next sixty-four seconds these trades caused three corporations to dissolve, two multi-millionaires to lose their fortunes, three other people became multi-millionaires, and (the then unknown financier) Damien Knight to gain 22% stock in Ares Macrotechnology. This attack became known as the Nanosecond Buyout and has been the source of much speculation since then.
The Corporate Court relocated Global Financial Services to the Zurich Orbital Habitat on March 15^th. They also rename the entire station, and GFS to the Zurich-Orbital Gemeinschaft Bank to reflect the change in location, and the change in ownership.
On June 7^th, the ongoing research project at Turner Stadium in Atlanta was abandoned. Before long, a significant number of homeless people move into the abandoned stadium. They institute a new set of laws inside the dome, with the primary tenant being "might makes right."
With school starting in Tulsa, Oklahoma the local school board refused to allow admittance to a troll child. To make the situation even worse, they fined the parents of the child (the Grummans) for ignoring the mandatory education laws, banned them from town hall meetings, and then delete all records they have of the parent's complaint about the treatment of their child, and themselves. The Grummans decided to fight back in the courts.
The Crash of '29 was death knell of the "old" Middle East. Within three years all the major players in the region (with the exception of Israel) fell into the hands of fundamentalist politicians. They take over through elections in Turkey and Iran and through violence in Iraq and Syria.
Soon thereafter, the different heads of state met together in Damascus to help “liberate all Muslims living under the infidels’ thumb,” in the words of their spiritual leader, Mullah Sayid Jazrir. All was not roses at the United Islamic Conference in Damascus though. Negotiations broke down with Jordan and Kuwait on September 4^th . They eventually left the conference and joined the (less fundamentalist) Federation of Islamic States. Though their political freedom is short lived. Those that stayed formed the Alliance for Allah.
On October 30^th, the UCAS Supreme Court reached a decision in Grumman v. the Board of Education and found in favor of the school board. Metahuman discrimination was now a matter of public policy in the UCAS.
Former Echo Mirage members Ken Roper and Michael Eld (Roper was a hardware tech. and Eld was a software tech.) left and formed their own company called Matrix Systems in Boston. Matrix Systems pioneered the miniaturization of the cyberterminal into what we would call cyberdecks today. They even went so far as to actually produce the first economically feasible cyberdeck called the Portal. The presented this to potential investors (including on Richard Villiers) for the first time on November 14^th.
##Sources!
- Sixth World Almanac pp. 50-51
- Native American Nations Volume 1 p. 125
- Corporate Shadowfiles pp. 104-105, 107
- Neo-Anarchist's Guide to North America pp. 30-31
- Shadowrun 3^rd Edition pp. 29-31
- EuroWar Antiques p. 89
Posted Apr 25, 2014, 8:48 PM UTC · edited