Has Karl Kombatmage Met His Match in Carter Hollis' "Trencher?"

New PolyPOV Shadowrunner Sim from MegaMedia Set to Challenge Cliber's Sim Epic

April 4th, 2057

Los Angeles, CFS: A few years ago, Hans Cliber took the sim world by storm with his ground-breaking shadowrunner sim "Karl Kombatmage." This sim, which showed the mundane world how it felt to access the astral plane, cast magic spells, as well as drive a motorcycle up a man's face, took the entertainment industry by storm, and taught media execs the world over three important lessons: 

Karl Kombatmage along with Franz and Uli

1: Magic can be chipped!

2: Karl Kombatmage made millions!

3: The "Shadowrun" genre, once thought tacky and outdated, is back with a vengeance and here to stay!

Cliber and his team are already hard at work on the much anticipated Karl Kombatmage 2, and the matrix is buzzing with excitement after leaked footage of the western dragon Nebelherr put to rest all rumors that the long awaited dragon scene was done with special effects.  KK2 is expected to soar above the box office records set by its predecessor, and Cliber continues to be one of the hottest names in the sim industry.

Hollis as Trencher in Hit Squad: The True Story

That said, Cliber and his creation may be in for a tough fight this summer;  up and coming simstar Carter Hollis is set to star in Hit Squad: The True Story, a major shadowrun sim due out a month before Karl Kombatmage 2 hits the streets. 

Hollis is already a rising star in the industry, having starred in dramas like Eventide, A Wish Before Dying, and That Ork is My Son, and the comedies Carlos?!, With Friends Like These, and Be the Cheese, Douglas.  This new sim, however will see Hollis stepping into a whole new realm as an artist.  That's because his character, the hard-bitten "street samurai" named Trencher, is based on a real shadowrunner, and the Hit Squad sim itself is entirely based on real events!

To research the role, Hollis had facial reconstruction to "become" Trencher, and then went underground among real shadowrunner groups.  When asked why such dangerous research was necessary, Hollis told NEWSFAX:

"Authenticity is everything in sim, do you follow me?  I'm always saying, you don't act sim, you live sim.  To make it real, it had to be real, to me.  Now, I've been on the inside, and I know what it's like to persp it out during a run, when you're locked in a box and your air is running out.  Will you make it out in time?  Can you keep it null persp when security's looming over you, larger than life?  Will you crack under that pressure, or snap your claws and get the job done?  It's a tough thing, you understand?  But see, I've been there.  And now when I look at the other shadowrun sims, I see how Hollywood they are, do you feel me?    Driving a motorcycle up a man's face while shooting people and casting spells?  That's Hollywood.  That's not real.  It's not true. A backflip?  Sure, that's real, but motorcycles on the face?  No, chummer.  Real shadowrunners don't do that.  They don't meet dragons, they don't go clubbing, and their girlfriends don't get kidnapped evil gangers.  They don't even have girlfriends.  They're not cool, do you feel me?  They're hard.  They don't even have social lives.  All they do is prep the next wiz takedown."

Hollis purportedly insisted on numerous changes to the script to make Hit Squad "less Hollywood" and "more real."  While some critics say that the changes he made cause the sim to deviate from the actual events on which it is based, Carter believes the changes add authenticity to the sim.  He gave a few hints to NEWSFAX:

"Do you know anything about crabs?  Shadowrunners are basically crabs.  In their souls, at least, do you feel me?  Think about it:  Crabs are armored, like runners.  They've got claws, and runners are always armed to the teeth.  In fact, when they say "tooth and claw," that's what they mean.  Crabs can breath air and water, and runners can too with the right gear.  Most importantly though: while the rest of the world walks forward, crabs go sideways.  They say "frak you world! I'm goin' sideways!"  And that's just what shadowrunners do, but with, like, their lives, do you feel me?"

Hollis as Trencher, along with the rest of Hit Squad will be coming to sim in early July.

Seattle Gears Up for Dunkelzahn Rally

Great Dragon's Presidential Aspirations Give Hope to Some, Fear to Others

March 25th, 2057

 

Seattle, UCAS: Swarms of Dunkelzahn campaign workers and volunteers descended on the Seattle Metroplex Convention Center today to begin preparations for next Saturday's election rally.  Banners with the Stars and Leaves are being strung across the open areas, and massive banquet tables are being rolled out for what promises to be the most unique political rally in Seattle history.  Unique, not just because the candidate is a massive paranormal animal straight out of legend, but also because candidate Dunkelzahn is not fundraising, as his many opponents are;  in fact, he's doing just the opposite.  Where other candidates charge high prices for admission and meals in order to raise campaign funds, the dragon's fully caterered rally is free and open to the public.

Tanya Friedman, Chairperson for the Seattle chapter of the Committee to Elect Dunkelzahn, tells NEWSFAX that what looks like a cheap populist stunt or political bribery is actually anything but. 

"Well, for one thing, there's no fundraiser because I don't think he really needs to raise funds.  I mean, he's a great dragon; he's got money, why should he make his supporters pay for him?  At the same time, he knows that his nature, being a dragon I mean, is disconcerting to some voters who aren't familiar with his kind.  The rally is open and free because Dunkelzahn wants to meet the people, the average UCAS citizen, and he wants them to meet him.  As for the food, you can't expect to hold a five-day rally for however many thousands of people and not feed them!"

Many of those "disconcerted" with the dragon's nature are planning massive protests of the rally.  Several local policlubs and citizen's groups, as well as supporters of various political opponents have announced their intention to surround the entrances to the convention center in protest to what one Brackhaven supporter called "the beast tempting fools into his maw."  In a strange twist, however, Dunkelzahn has apparently insisted that protestors are also welcome to attend his rally and partake of the free food, provided they are nonviolent and nondisruptive while inside.  Friedman explains the unusual policy thus: 

"Candidate Dunkelzahn believes in democracy and freedom of speech, and more to the point, believes in a diversity of dialog.  His detractors have every right to hold their opinions, and to argue them.  In fact, we'd love to have them come to the rally and add calm, rational voices to the many discussions and and townhall meetings.  A Dunkelzahn presidency is not one in which the opposition is silenced; we, all of us in the Dunkelzahn Independent Party, believe that all voices should be heard.  That said, the Big D is paying for this particular rally, so if any of the oppositional voices start screaming over everyone else, they will be asked to leave the premises and return to the outside protest."

With the free admission, free food, and chance to personally meet the great dragon himself, rally organizers estimate that upwards of a million people from the Metroplex will attend the rally.  In order to keep within fire code, campaign security will only be allowing the recommended maximum number of people in the building at any one time, so many will be turned away each day.  Organizers are now saying that attendees other than staff and special guests will only be allowed on one of the five days of the rally in order to let as many people meet the dragon as possible.  This will likely be a large number of people, because the Convention Center will be open around the clock, with Dunkelzahn apparently planning to be awake and available to the public throughout the rally, with the exception of several pre-planned absences to attend various meetings and deal with what the campaign calls "personal issues."

Dunkelzahn will begin the rally next Saturday with an opening speech and townhall meeting, and will be in attendance until seven o'clock.  He is scheduled to return to the Center at nine, and continue talking with the public until six o'clock on the following Tuesday.  A full schedule of the rally activities and Dunkelzahn's planned absences can be found at the Dunkelzahn for President campaign host at LTG: SEA10982.

Could War Be on the Horizon?

Foreign Dignitaries Express Outrage Over Political Rhetoric

March 20, 2057

 Washington FDC, UCAS:  Ambassadors from several of the UCAS' North American neighbors are raising a ruckus in FDC over the platforms of two this election's candidates.  Today, representatives from the NAN, Confederated States, and California Free State met with president pro-tem Betty Jo Pritchard to discuss the ramifications of the rhetoric being slung about in this years special presidential election. Of special concern are the Speeches and official platforms from both the Republican nominee, retired general Franklin Yeats, and his Archconservative rival, Seattle businessman Kenneth Brackhaven.  The words of these two men have been, in the words of Sioux Nation ambassador David Morning-Rain, "less akin to sabre-rattling than to sabre-drawing."

Pointing to Yeats' call to return to "the glory of America, one nation under God, from sea to shining sea," as well as his insistence that immediate military build-up is the answer to the nation's unemployment and SINless problems, Morning-Rain says that a vote for Yeats would appear to be a vote for a second Ghost Dance War.  The Sioux representative also pointed out that in his March 25th speech in New Haven Connecticut, Yeats explicitly said that:

 "The nations of the world respect strength, and it's hard to respect the strength of a nation that is but a fraction of its former self.  But we have strength!  We have duty and honor.  We have the greatest army, navy, air force, and marine corps in the world, and when I am president, we won't be afraid to use them.  The UCAS is the inheritor of the old USA, all of the USA.  Our grandfathers controlled every acre of this once great land, and it's high time that this generation stood up and claimed what is rightfully ours."

Citing this same speech, CAS ambassador Emilie Carruthers told President pro-tem Pritchard that if the UCAS wanted a war, the CAS was armed and ready to give it one.  Similar sentiments were expressed by Morning-Rain, who cautioned that "many of my people want this war.  We've been preparing for anglo aggression since the Sioux Nation's inception.  For those of us who want peaceful and prosperous coexistance in North America, Yeats' words are very dangerous.  Political rhetoric or no, a Yeats victory could well lead to war."

In a similar vein, but less explicit is the rhetoric of Seattle businessman and Archconservative candidate Karl Brackhaven, whose platform also calls for a return to the glory-days of the USA.  When asked by NBS' Holly Brighton if his vision of the future included reintegrating the North American Nations into the old USA, Brackhaven had this to say:

"Compromise.  That's what the history of America has taught us;  When you compromise, you die.  Not right away, of course, but a slow lingering death.  Old America compromised its values in the end.  Attempts at placating indians, so called "meta" humans, and unchecked magic users led, not at all coincidentally to the breakup of the greatest nation on Earth.  While I do think that we have enemies enough at home for the moment, when I am president, the liberal compromising in foreign policy as well as domestic policy will stop.  What is right is right, and we can no longer allow what is wrong to stand in the way.  The other "countries" in North America had best remember that."

Polls of registered UCAS voters show that well over 40% believe that the UCAS should reclaim the territory formerly belonging to the old USA, and that 27% believe that a war of reclamation is justified. Opinion polls spike sharply downward when mention is made of a military draft to pursue such a war.

Lone Star Raid Too Late to Save Missing Teens

March 9th, 2057

Seattle, UCAS:  A dawn raid in South Redmond finally solved the mystery of the missing children of ork athletes De'Alleno Jackson II and Jim "Grinder" Washington.  Washington, back-up heavy gunner for the Seattle Slugs, and Jackson, star quarterback for the Seattle Seahawks, reported their sons missing three days ago.  The two fathers made an impassioned plea for their sons to return home, and urged anyone with information about their disappearance to come forward.  In the meantime, Lone Star detectives made the case their primary action item.

Slumming:

It would appear that the two ork teens, De'Alleno Jackson III and young Darius Washington, had decided to cut their Bellevue shopping excursion short and head, in-advisably, out into the Redmond Barrens.   Whether the boys were attempting to purchase illegal chips or substances, or whether they were simply seeking their own kind in the lawless crime-ridden Redmond district, is unknown at this time.  What is known is that young Jackson's 2056 Honda-GM 3220 ZX Turbo was located, not in the Bellevue Mall parking structure as was hoped, but chopped and stripped in South Redmond.  Lone Star officers began narrowing their search to that gang-infested area, and eventually zeroed in on the hideout of a heretofore unknown gang: the Rippers.

Hate Crime:

LS detectives quickly investigated this relatively new gang.  The Rippers are a violent gang of human separatists who target affluent metahumans.  When Lone Star ascertained that the boys were inside the run-down apartment complex that the Rippers were using as a base, they immediately mobilized a full S.W.A.T. detachment.  Blasting through the wall of the Ripper hideout, Lone Star troops fought with extreme ferocity.  The Rippers fought back savagely as well.  Four S.W.A.T. officers were killed and two wounded in the raid that saw every single known member of the Rippers gang brought down by Lone Star gunfire.  

Too Late:

Unfortunately, the valiant efforts by Lone Star forces were in vain.  The boys were already long dead.  Tortured and mangled, their heads utterly caved in with heavy objects, LS forensics had to use DNA typing to positively identify the two boys.  At a press conference this afternoon, Lone Star Seattle Chief of Police had this to say:

 "While I obviously wish we could have located the boys sooner and prevented this inexcusable hate crime, the sad fact of our modern times is that law enforcement cannot be everywhere at all times.  What happened to young De'Alleno and Darius was appalling and horrible, but it could have been prevented.  I urge the parents of teens throughout the metroplex to keep constant tabs on your children for their safety.  Please limit your children's movements to your gated corporate housing facilities whenever possible, and if they must leave, ensure that they are being remotely tracked.  And, while trackers in modern wristphones and Pocket Secretaries can be disabled, for only 2500 nuyen, Lone Star does offer a subcutaneous child safety chip that can be implanted and tracked via satellite anywhere in the world.  In the wake of this tragedy, I ask all parents to take extra security measures with their children.  Lone Star protects, but we can't be everywhere."

Funeral services for the two boys will take place on Sunday at the Evergreen Washelli Cemetery in the Downtown district.  

Despite Political Rhetoric, No Action on Chicago

March 5, 2057

 

Outside the Chicago Containment Zone: UCAS army transports continue to bring supplies and munitions for the soldiers of the 109th Infantry Battalion, who guard the southern walls of the Chicago Containment Zone (CCZ).  The troops of the 109th, as well as their compatriots in the 93rd and 7th Battalions, and the entire compliment of the Illinois National Guard have now been guarding the increasingly well guarded barrier between the UCAS and the the formerly bustling metropolis of Chicago for almost two years now.

In 2055, when the national emergency was first declared by then President Steele, the public was led to believe that the city was the site of a massive VITAS outbreak, possibly an act of bio-terrorism, that, for some, brought back dark memories of the dead and dying during the first and second VITAS waves back in 2010 and 2023.  The universal fear of that horrible disease silenced many who would have objected at the time to the actions taken by the Steele administration: the cutting of all communications lines to Chicago, and the erection of a containment wall manned with snipers.  

It was not until early 2056 that the public finally learned about the true nature of the Chicago tragedy: Insect Spirits.  Malevolent beings from beyond astral space and summoned here by deranged shamans, these creatures "manifest" by possessing the bodies of metahumans.  While this process sometimes creates the monstrous "true form" insect spirits, giant insectile beasts capable of overturning security vehicles or flying off with unsuspecting prey, it just as often creates what UCAS army mages are calling "flesh form" spirits: metahuman in every respect, down to the host's memories, but possessed of the spirit's powers and cruelty.  It is because of these creatures that the Steele administration, advised by the Great Dragon Lofwyr and the Council of Princes in Tir Tairngire, gave the order to cut off the city, and to shoot on site anyone attempting to flee the zone.  

Inside the wall, the city is in chaos.  Gunshots ring out night and day, punctuated by screams and explosions.  From outside the containment wall, massive true form wasp and fly spirits can be seen hauling victims back to hives for implantation.  Though military personnel may want to help these doomed innocents, true form spirits are all but immune to conventional weapons, and highly dangerous to the precious few army spellcasters available to police the zone.  As such, army policy has been to only engage spirits attempting to flee the CZ itself.  Though the military has been making regular supply drops to the zone, intelligence operatives, army drones, and satellite footage have confirmed that these drops are almost always claimed by local gangs and warlords, who in turn, demand fealty from those in the area who would like a few meager scraps thrown their way.  Rumors of neo-feudal kingdoms, skyscrapers-turned-fortresses, roving gangs committing acts of racial cleansing, and strange alterations to Chicago's astral plane have all worked their way out to the men and women who guard the walls of the CZ.  Such rumors, and the things they see through scopes and imagers on a daily basis have worn morale down significantly over the past two years, but neither has hurt as bad as the killings.

Because of the insidious nature of the flesh form spirits, anyone who escapes the zone could be an insect spirit bent on spreading the contamination to the rest of the UCAS.  The guards and snipers guarding the CZ walls issue fervent warnings to anyone approaching the wall, praying that they'll listen to reason and return to the zone.  Each day, however, some refuse to turn.  Driven by hunger, terror, hopelessness, madness, and maybe, just maybe, the insidious influence of an insect spirit, they attempt to scale the wall in a poorly lit area.  Sometimes, they simply charge the towers, knowing what comes next.  In either case, the men and women of the UCAS armed forces must bear the onerous task of protecting the UCAS by putting a bullet into what may well be an innocent man, woman, or child. 

Yet, with the zone up for nearly two years now, public attention has drifted away from the plight of those in Chicago and those who keep them there.  A number of distractions have pulled the fickle UCAS's attention toward President Steele's election debacle, and now the media circus that is the 2057 election.  And while the Containment Zone is a hot-button topic, especially for  retired army General Franklin Yeats and magicians like Rozalynn Hernandez and the Great Dragon Dunkelzahn, the continued political turmoil in Washington means that no firm decisions can be made about what the media has dubbed "Bug City."  One can only hope, in this time of true crisis, that the UCAS voters can make an informed decision, and that our new President can form and implement a swift resolution to the ongoing tragedy that is the Chicago Containment Zone.

 

The New Century Party:  Technocrats Turned Magocrats?

March 1st, 2057

Washington FDC, UCAS:  In the midst of this tumultuous election, many UCAS voters are casting a critical eye towards the New Century Party and wondering, are these the Technocrats of my youth?   

On the surface, the majority of members of the party are Technocrats that appear to have jumped ship after the the Tech party leader, former President Thomas Steele rigged the 2056 election, but there's more going on than that.  Those former Technocrats claim that they saw the rigged election as the final proof that the party that promised to move the UCAS into a future of technological innovation and economic strength has become as old and corrupt as the Democrat and Republican parties from which it was originally formed back in 2040.  Moreover, they say, the purely technological promise of the the Technocrat party ignores the terrible fact that the UCAS, unlike many of its North American Neighbors, has failed to truly integrate the power of magic into its governance.  That's where Dr. Rozalyn Hernandez, controversial social scientist and mage, and her Illuminates of the New Dawn come in.

Hernandez has been on the board at Georgetown University for the past fourteen years, and her theories on social development, technomagic and progress through innovation have met with acclaim and criticism throughout her career, and many have accused her of being a "guru" to her academic adherents.  Dr. Hernandez stands by her theory that (meta)humankind can achieve a utopian society through technological and magical development.  In the speech announcing her candidacy, she summed up her opinion in the following words: "Our technology isn't doing enough.  Magic isn't doing enough.  Neither of them has lived up to what they could be.  We need to take back the reins of power and guide the world into the new era.  Magic and technology working together can show us the new directions that our nation needs to take; this way, we can fulfill the promise of the twenty-first century."

Of course, Dr. Hernandez knows all about the workings of magic.  She is a high-grade initiate mage and a member of the magical group known as the Illuminates of the New Dawn.  The Illuminates claim to see the "Awakening" as a sign of a new era in human development.  They say that they believe that the forces of magic and science must be reconciled in order to advance the (meta)human cause.  Of course, virtually every member of the IOND is also a member of the New Century Party, and these hip, progressive mages have succeeded in bringing younger, disillusioned members of the Technocrat party under the New Century banner.  Focusing only on progress at the expense of tradition, the New Century Party is heavily pushing the idea that magic is the key to the future of UCAS governance; an idea that appeals to young people enamored of magic and disconnected from the traditions of our American heritage.

With all that said, the voter must ask himself, is this really what I want?  Young voters propelling a female demagogue wielding unknowable powers and a fervent desire to re imagine our society as one that "integrates magic into governance?"  "Dr." Rozalyn Hernandez hails from the elitist halls of academia and the secretive halls of a magical order that goes so far as to call itself the "illuminates."  For all her talk about solving issues through research and the application of technology and magic, it is fairly clear that her agenda, and that of the Illuminates of the New Dawn is to replace the venerable Technocrats with a new form of Magocrats.  A "New Century" where ordinary humans answer to their magical and academic "betters," and magic users a placed to take the reigns of our once great nation.

Work Resumes on Renraku Arcology After Setbacks

Installation of Increased Security Measures Stalled Work on Chronically Behind-Schedule Landmark

February 25th, 2057

 

 Seattle, UCAS:  This morning saw construction crews returning to the as yet unfinished 305th floor of the Renraku Arcology.  After the mysterious disappearance of a Renraku cargo helicopter shortly after lifting off from the Arcology's 300th floor cargo heliport structure, work on the structure was put on hold while an investigation took place.  With the conclusion of the investigation, and the addition of new security measures on incoming and outgoing air traffic from the Arcology's upper levels, work has resumed on final two floors of Renraku's signature landmark.

Of course, news of setbacks and work on the Renraku Arcology is hardly new.  Under construction since 2039, the huge, truncated pyramid now rises nearly one thousand meters into the sky above the waterfront and stretches more than ten huge city blocks on each side.  Construction has employed tens of thousands of Seattlites and Renraku corporate citizens.  Though still unfinished, the familiar edifice is almost fully operational, housing over 80,000 Renraku workers, as well as incorporating shopping malls, nightclub districts, hospitals, schools, internal transportation, food production, its own nuclear power plant, and even Renraku Seattle's main manufacturing facilities, and the massive mainframe computers that run SEASource, the foundation of the Seattle public matrix.  Essentially, the grand structure is a city within the city.
 
Of course, the aim is for it to be more than that.  When completed, the arcology will be self-sufficient fortress.  Renraku America President, Sherman Huang, who personally oversees both the the AAA megacorp's interests in North America and the construction of the Arcology, has seen to it that the completed structure will be more than self-sufficient; it will be impregnable.
 
"The SCIRE (Self-Contained Industrial-Residential Environment) is the largest arcology in the world, and when in lock-down mode, it will be able to withstand even a nuclear bombardment," Huang told Newsfax.  "All needs are seen to within the SCIRE, and safety and security are assured.  In the future, Renraku citizens will be born, work, and die within its mighty walls, never needing to leave.  Arcologies like the SCIRE could be built in even the most inhospitable places, and assure productive living and working inside, even if the world outside falls to chaos.  In short, the Renraku Arcology is not only the future of Renraku, but very likely the future of life on Earth."
 
Despite Huang's claims and the already impressive 90% operational capacity of this, the world's largest arcology, the fact remains that work on the monumental structure is now almost three years behind schedule.  Unforeseen construction woes, weather problems, and now security measures have all conspired to keep the the completion date of Renraku's pride and joy a fluctuating thing.  Originally scheduled for completion in the summer of '54, that date was pushed back to December of '56.  With that deadline come and gone, Huang now declares that the structure will be complete and fully operational by July 2058.