Shadowrun
Off-topic => Off-off-topic => Topic started by: Necrogigas on <02-13-13/0017:30>
-
Based on you're opinions and life experiences, where is the world heading?
Magic aside, are we heading down the road to Shadowrun, and the age of megacorporations?
In my opinion, yes, we'll most likely see mega-corporations within the next 15- 30 years because wealth equal power, and power accumulates more power.
-
it feels like we'll be caught up with the ghost in the shell timeline at this rate, seriously, allot of shadowrun tech is possible now it's just implementation. And the way big companies can tax/tariff dodge, it's insane.
-
Will there be Megacorporations, already there. Just not extraterritorial.
Will they forget history, and suggest that the common people "eat cake", well, I am a cynic. But remember where that lead to.
-
There haven't been megacorporations for ... crap what was it, 150 years? We've got some really big companies, and my bets are Disney will make AAA and the Shiawase decision first, but no megas yet.
-
There haven't been megacorporations for ... crap what was it, 150 years? We've got some really big companies, and my bets are Disney will make AAA and the Shiawase decision first, but no megas yet.
Depends on how you define megacorp? Multi-nationals are quiet common, and sne resource companies are quiet large. Resource/energy companies employ mercenaries, just not in USA and similar nations.
-
I'd be more more concerned about the winged cats, two-headed turtles and the like... When will there be dragons? And will we get magical powers to do stuff like levitating? ...Well, no seriously, I can see where this is headed. Lucky us they're still just the occasional random genetic mutation that doesn't even have the ability to reproduce.
And if we go by the rules, there already exists a huge number of adepts IRL. Still haven't seen a live mage, though.
-
Yeah, I think they need to take a long look at what people really can do without being "Magical Adepts". By rules, I already have a couple adept powers myself.
-
Depends on how you define megacorp? Multi-nationals are quiet common, and sne resource companies are quiet large. Resource/energy companies employ mercenaries, just not in USA and similar nations.
I always use "megacorporation" the way Gibson did. Basically, the thing has to stand in for a government before it fits the bill. Which means that yeah, we haven't had any since East India, but that doesn't mean it's not still possible. It just takes a little bit of laissez-faire policy and a lot of fear.
I had to answer "no" to the question because Shadowrun is a really specific setting. However, I think that what the world looks like in twenty, thirty, or fifty-nine years could probably be considered 'cyberpunk'. The Internet is showing no signs of slowing down. The kinds of technology that was far-fetched in the reign of Gibson is absolutely everywhere now. The FCC proposed a national Wi-Fi (http://www.collegiatetimes.com/stories/21365/fcc-national-wi-fi-proposal-pushes-innovation-access) network a while back. We can already power our electronics without cords (http://www.witricity.com/). We've had a man with artificial legs compete in the Olympics. If you want to see what the skylines of our cities will look like, look around Dubai. The technology is there, all anyone is waiting for is an excuse to use it.
-
There's actually precedence for Extraterritoriality. In our world. McDonald's did it. Don't think they still have it, but when the IMF was running through one country, they did some pretty stupid things. I'm remembering this from a really slow day in class a handful of years back, but it /might/ have been Jamaica.
The tech is here, or will be. RFIDs, check. SINs? Canada has implemented the 'Green Card', which is a Health Card with extra stuff added in, and I'm sure that in another ten or twenty years, we'll be looking at a shift from that to something even more broad spectrum.
Smartlink? Linux-based.
Megacorps? Pepsi is more powerful, financially and otherwise, than most countries - keeping in mind that Russia is as much a country as every bleeding Balkanized scrap still hanging about in Europe. The bigger countries, Japan, the U.S. China, Russia, Germany, Britain...They are on even terms with most of today's 'megacorps', like Wal-Mart. Statistically, Wal-Mart, McDonald's, and even Burger King all hire, globally, country-sized populations. It's not too far-fetched to say that, if they were considered 'corporate citizens', we'd be living in Shadowrun's setting right now, minus the Meta-hate and Magic and Horrors.
I'm just scratching the surface here. Go sign up to organizations like Sum of Us. Yeah, take it with a grain of salt, like any source, but if you read between the lines, Corps are starting to step up.
-
If hanging around tesla coils is bad for your low electrochemical signals than I don't see it being any different for wireless power (Invented by Nikola using tesla coils in the first place) It's a good idea I'm just terrified of the effects on humans, long-term or otherwise. And that's about the only environmental hazard on earth that scares me.
-
If hanging around tesla coils is bad for your low electrochemical signals than I don't see it being any different for wireless power (Invented by Nikola using tesla coils in the first place) It's a good idea I'm just terrified of the effects on humans, long-term or otherwise. And that's about the only environmental hazard on earth that scares me.
Try living in a cancer cluster where the air strips the paint off cars.
-
cancer is inevitable, it's the product of the natural cellular degenerations caused by each iteration of mitosis. It's because our cells lack the proteins that keep our DNA from fraying in the replicating process, so it mutates and becomes cancerous eventually. I think, maybe if the air dried my nose out I'd wear a balaclava or a scarf, more than usual that is.
-
Try living in a cancer cluster where the air strips the paint off cars.
Good thing you're Canadian! It is all beautiful, clean air up there in the frozen north! And, aside from the occasional mad scientist
trying to make mind control beer, you have nothing to worry about. I mean...it's not like you live in New Jersey or anything.
All that said, though..I do think that we are seeing the world shift much closer to the way of the world in Shadowrun. In the U.S.,
corporations have actually been declared "people." Heck, Oil Companies will arrange "accidents" for anyone who develops alternate
fuels and refuses to sell the process to an oil company. All decisions in government are made by whichever corp pays the government
the most, and Disney is 100% responsible for the continual lengthening of time before something goes into public Domain. In fact, I
believe one of the lengthening bills was actually called the "Mickey Mouse Protection Act." In fact, give it another few years, and I
really think government will be mostly pointless as Corporations start getting more and more protections granted them.
-
I'll try to keep my rant short and as non offensive as possible... ;D
Based on you're opinions and life experiences, where is the world heading?
Magic aside, are we heading down the road to Shadowrun, and the age of megacorporations?
In my opinion, yes, we'll most likely see mega-corporations within the next 15- 30 years because wealth equal power, and power accumulates more power.
I have to disagree with you, sir... While corporations and conglomerates are gaining more power, I foresee us heading in to much more of an Orwell 1984 Animal Farm type future. More and more people are buying into having their lives dictated to them by government, it started small with things that seem right and everyone can agree on, but it is still though control. As we progress the rules on how we should live our lives seem to be chosen by smaller and smaller groups and not about things not everyone agrees with, but the groups that are pushing the rules demonize anyone that opposes them. It honestly scares me how many are so willing to give up freedom of choice and the right to live how they choose for supposed security and safety from those who think they know how you should live better than you do...
-
I was about to post how even Canada is getting even more Orwellian, but I'll toe the line of the ToS.
FastJack (No, the other one!) is just lining up to knock me offline so other folks can catch up to my post count.
-
I'll try to keep my rant short and as non offensive as possible... ;D
Based on you're opinions and life experiences, where is the world heading?
Magic aside, are we heading down the road to Shadowrun, and the age of megacorporations?
In my opinion, yes, we'll most likely see mega-corporations within the next 15- 30 years because wealth equal power, and power accumulates more power.
I have to disagree with you, sir... While corporations and conglomerates are gaining more power, I foresee us heading in to much more of an Orwell 1984 Animal Farm type future. More and more people are buying into having their lives dictated to them by government, it started small with things that seem right and everyone can agree on, but it is still though control. As we progress the rules on how we should live our lives seem to be chosen by smaller and smaller groups and not about things not everyone agrees with, but the groups that are pushing the rules demonize anyone that opposes them. It honestly scares me how many are so willing to give up freedom of choice and the right to live how they choose for supposed security and safety from those who think they know how you should live better than you do...
I'd say that if anything's apt to happen, it's on the shoulders of both big companies and big government. But then again, I'm writing a cyberpunk-like setting based off of that idea, so I don't want to rant and give you all my ideas.
-
I'll try to keep my rant short and as non offensive as possible... ;D
Based on you're opinions and life experiences, where is the world heading?
Magic aside, are we heading down the road to Shadowrun, and the age of megacorporations?
In my opinion, yes, we'll most likely see mega-corporations within the next 15- 30 years because wealth equal power, and power accumulates more power.
I have to disagree with you, sir... While corporations and conglomerates are gaining more power, I foresee us heading in to much more of an Orwell 1984 Animal Farm type future. More and more people are buying into having their lives dictated to them by government, it started small with things that seem right and everyone can agree on, but it is still though control. As we progress the rules on how we should live our lives seem to be chosen by smaller and smaller groups and not about things not everyone agrees with, but the groups that are pushing the rules demonize anyone that opposes them. It honestly scares me how many are so willing to give up freedom of choice and the right to live how they choose for supposed security and safety from those who think they know how you should live better than you do...
Of course, in many of these cases, some might argue that such things are necessary for actual freedom of choice to exist... Hard to say for certain what instances you're talking about, though.
In the end, I think the way the world goes is based on too many things that move in different and often opposing directions for it to actually go on down the road to dystopia.
-
In the end, I think the way the world goes is based on too many things that move in different and often opposing directions for it to actually go on down the road to dystopia.
All it would take is the "Rome Of The Modern Day" to fall... All empires fall. When they're great, then the fall will often create a Dark Age... :'(
-
In the end, I think the way the world goes is based on too many things that move in different and often opposing directions for it to actually go on down the road to dystopia.
All it would take is the "Rome Of The Modern Day" to fall... All empires fall. When they're great, then the fall will often create a Dark Age... :'(
Chaos and change are inseparable, I'll grant you. But with the rate of change that exists in the modern day, I don't think it would be as long as you might expect for something else to take its place.
-
The Dark Ages were caused by the power vacuum left by the Roman Empire and the rise of the feudal system. The social, political, and economic systems in place today make it doubtful that the modern global powers, namely the United States, China, and the E.U., would collapse like Rome. Even if there was a total collapse and massive balkanization of the three regions, this wouldn't lead to a regression in scientific knowledge due to our technology and information storage and distribution capacities.
-
The fall of Rome and the 'dark ages' is pretty much not correct. Rome declined over a periods on centuries and the eastern half of the empire thrived even longer. Then you have chalgemain (I know, terrible spelling) with his beucracy. Not as dark as one Wouk imagine, at least not everywhere.
Segway... I'm pretty happy with how things are going. Life is good, and most things are going well. Government could be better, but hats always he case and the best way o change the government is to run for office yourself.., or not and bitch about it forever. We control the destiny of our lives, not someone else. Nthere is no 'they' and even if here was, they don't give a flying fig about you :)
Our technology is getting closer to shadowrun tech, corps power continues to fluctuate, but until I see dragons, magic and a concrete dreams recording, nag the real world and shadowrun are pretty different.
-
Of course, in many of these cases, some might argue that such things are necessary for actual freedom of choice to exist... Hard to say for certain what instances you're talking about, though.
In the end, I think the way the world goes is based on too many things that move in different and often opposing directions for it to actually go on down the road to dystopia.
It's hard to go into any kind of real detail without taking the conversation to a place that would be better discussed on another forum board. But I do understand the point you are trying to get at, and it comes down to the debate of how much governing do we actually need. Some, like myself, think that government should be as small as possible,(which when you actually sit down and look at what would be needed for a large country, land mass and population wise, like the US or Canada, is still fairly large) while others believe that a government should be larger to help protect people, not only from the dangers other people pose, but from themselves.
Your more than likely right about the road to dystopia, at least I honestly hope so. Some people seem to not realize that the road to hell is paved with good intentions.
The Dark Ages were caused by the power vacuum left by the Roman Empire and the rise of the feudal system. The social, political, and economic systems in place today make it doubtful that the modern global powers, namely the United States, China, and the E.U., would collapse like Rome. Even if there was a total collapse and massive balkanization of the three regions, this wouldn't lead to a regression in scientific knowledge due to our technology and information storage and distribution capacities.
In the end, I think the way the world goes is based on too many things that move in different and often opposing directions for it to actually go on down the road to dystopia.
All it would take is the "Rome Of The Modern Day" to fall... All empires fall. When they're great, then the fall will often create a Dark Age... :'(
Chaos and change are inseparable, I'll grant you. But with the rate of change that exists in the modern day, I don't think it would be as long as you might expect for something else to take its place.
From an observers point, It would be interesting to see, (although living it would more than likely suck). The collapse of major governments can go very differently. If you look at when the Soviet Union fell and many of it's sub-states went independent, many of them were racked with hardships such as food and fuel shortages, rampant crime, and abuse of authority. But it could also go the way of Iceland's revolution that was fairly civil in terms of a government change up.
-
Of course, in many of these cases, some might argue that such things are necessary for actual freedom of choice to exist... Hard to say for certain what instances you're talking about, though.
In the end, I think the way the world goes is based on too many things that move in different and often opposing directions for it to actually go on down the road to dystopia.
It's hard to go into any kind of real detail without taking the conversation to a place that would be better discussed on another forum board. But I do understand the point you are trying to get at, and it comes down to the debate of how much governing do we actually need. Some, like myself, think that government should be as small as possible,(which when you actually sit down and look at what would be needed for a large country, land mass and population wise, like the US or Canada, is still fairly large) while others believe that a government should be larger to help protect people, not only from the dangers other people pose, but from themselves.
One thing I'll say: I've learned that its a bad idea to ascribe motives to the beliefs that other people hold, and an especially bad idea to do so from the framework of your position on the subject. Grossly misjudging people is an almost inevitable result - I know because I've made the same mistake myself more than I care to admit.
Actually, it's damned impossible to have this conversation in the thread whilst avoiding dragging it down into politics; perhaps we should take this to PM?
-
(http://www.omnigatherum.com/images/gong-447x285.jpg)
-
The other day I had an extended fever dream in which John Hodgman organised a group of "Boston Noise Bands" to defend Boston from a dragon.
It certainly felt real at the time, which proves two things:
1 ) The world is going the way of Shadowrun,
2 ) There is apparently nothing in my subconscious except roleplaying games and punk rock, which is worrying!
-
The more I think about this, the more interesting it is. The world didn't need a Crash to make wireless connectivity ubiquitous. It's there already in most of America (http://www.skyhookwireless.com/location-technology/coverage.php), at least. And on the same note, the FCC is trying to make a universal free wi-fi network (http://www.npr.org/2013/02/05/171138323/fcc-proposes-public-wifi-network), and the existing ones will only get more robust. To bruteforce crack any 8-character password, all you need these days is a couple thousand dollars in hardware (http://arstechnica.com/security/2012/12/25-gpu-cluster-cracks-every-standard-windows-password-in-6-hours/) (mostly graphics cards whose GPUs support the right kinds of calculations) and free software (http://www.openwall.com/john/), and that's not even using a dictionary attack to make your list of guesses a few hundred times shorter. Botnets made up of computers the average Joe is likely to own can do much more than that. Cell phones these days are a dash of downsizing and a sprinkle of protocol away from a commlink, and touch tablets are a few years away from being honorary Cyberdecks. 3D TV isn't even exciting new technology anymore (just something most of us can't afford). We can transmit actual electricity with magnetic induction over a distance (http://www.witricity.com/), without cords. And we can hypothetically use that power to run our cars, trains, and unmanned drones. Which have been made as large as airplanes (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/General_Atomics_MQ-1_Predator) and smaller than birds (http://www.proxdynamics.com/products/pd_100_prs/), and used to spy on the people of the world (http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/03/03/us-usa-drones-lawenforcement-idUSBRE92208W20130303l), and used to rain Hellfire (https://maps.google.com/maps/ms?ie=UTF8&oe=UTF8&msa=0&msid=202193247307216271592.00047e8cdfc55d220dee7) (missiles, that is) down on the Bad Guys™. Private corps are getting into a whole new space race (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_private_spaceflight_companies). Firearms (http://www.popularmechanics.com/technology/military/weapons/4273222) (with the exception of railguns... oh wait (http://www.navy.mil/submit/display.asp?story_id=70058)) and body armor (http://www.pinnaclearmor.com/body-armor/dragon-skin/) have advanced to near Shadowrun levels. And cyberware is looking to be just around the corner (http://www.touchbionics.com/products/active-prostheses/i-limb-ultra/) as well. It's getting to the point where the advancement of technology would actually have to slow down in order to reach Shadowrun levels by 2050, let alone 2070.
As far as the politics and corporate life goes, well, I started refluffing Ares's full name to be "Ares Armor" when I figured out that that was a real company (http://aresarmor.com/). And as long as the ability to oppress people is there, people will try to do it. The only thing keeping us from dystopia is ourselves.
-
The tech is definitely there, or in our future - RFIDs and Smartlink tech exists, has for a while - so the question, really is 'do we have Megacorps?'
Yes, yes we do.
-
No, the real question is that other than espionage do we have corporate terrorism?
-
No, the real question is that other than espionage do we have corporate terrorism?
What would you call "Fracking"?
-
No, the real question is that other than espionage do we have corporate terrorism?
What would you call "Fracking"?
A profitable way to get more oil.
No..Corporate Terrorism is the news agencies sabotaging the Deepwater Horizon Oil rig so they could have a story to
cover during a slow news year.
-
No, the real question is that other than espionage do we have corporate terrorism?
What would you call "Fracking"?
A profitable way to get more oil.
No..Corporate Terrorism is the news agencies sabotaging the Deepwater Horizon Oil rig so they could have a story to
cover during a slow news year.
I think, at this point, it's a matter of finding groups willing to do the actual work. Joe McWorksAtWalMart isn't going to agree to place mines in an apartment building, unless they're paid an awful lot. 'Nobodies' existing today? Would take an awful lot of resources, and more than a decade of waiting. No, I think that we need a 'Crash' of sorts, to actually see that final step taken.
Not even that hard to plan. Talk to some co-op students, ask them about layouts and such, claiming interest in the field of work. Pay about fifty bucks, see how much they care about why you want to know. Then you know, roughly, the procedures to get to the data you need to burn. You start fires in the records rooms, and dump a virus onto the local network with a USB drive.
Rinse, repeat about a dozen times across a country. Congratz, the US now has no centralized Identification process!
Banks tend to hold a lot of the info involved. If you crash them as well, your economy is crippled. That's probably the only reason we haven't seen a Crash yet - it isn't economically advantageous. Better to bleed em' slow, than to open that can of worms.
-
The point we're at now will involve more traditional Terrorism: Religious and Anti-Government, rather than Corporate.
On the flipside, Corporate Espionage is alive and well, and has been for a long, long time. But those are usually Company Men rather than outsourced.
-
The point we're at now will involve more traditional Terrorism: Religious and Anti-Government, rather than Corporate.
On the flipside, Corporate Espionage is alive and well, and has been for a long, long time. But those are usually Company Men rather than outsourced.
Even Corporate Espionage is pretty mundane at this point in time. Its mostly hiring key employees for their knowlegde, infringing patients, and investigating rivals for damaging work processes and then unleashing 'free' media on them. Heck, the worst we have seen in recent times the wire tap scandal in England. Maybe corporate coverups and corruption, that seems pretty widespread...
-
If we heard about it, it wouldn't be "Espionage", now, would it?
-
If we heard about it, it wouldn't be "Espionage", now, would it?
Everyone gets caught. Companies and governments are dens of inefficiencies, whistleblowers and general f*@k^ps.
If it occured on any, but the rariest occasions, someone would have written a book, leaked on wikileaks or just screwed it up and got caught.
-
It is getting harder and harder to be a spy today, true.
Hell, some idiot would probably Tweet what they were doing while doing it on a Smartphone!
> Mungo Iz inn da MCT Zera Zoan, wit' da Pahdahta!
> Mungo
> Damnit, Mungo, no ShadowSEA posts while on a 'run!
> Mungo's Handler
-
It is getting harder and harder to be a spy today, true.
Hell, some idiot would probably Tweet what they were doing while doing it on a Smartphone!
> Mungo Iz inn da MCT Zera Zoan, wit' da Pahdahta!
> Mungo
> Damnit, Mungo, no ShadowSEA posts while on a 'run!
> Mungo's Handler
lol. Now that's a classic which I want to see in your next book Canray!
-
It is getting harder and harder to be a spy today, true.
Hell, some idiot would probably Tweet what they were doing while doing it on a Smartphone!
> Mungo Iz inn da MCT Zera Zoan, wit' da Pahdahta!
> Mungo
> Damnit, Mungo, no ShadowSEA posts while on a 'run!
> Mungo's Handler
lol. Now that's a classic which I want to see in your next book Canray!
Good way to open an SR5 Update of Safehouses, perhaps? :P
-
lol. Now that's a classic which I want to see in your next book Canray!
Good way to open an SR5 Update of Safehouses, perhaps? :P
As always, we'll see what happens. Who knows if CGL even wants to deal with me ever again. :P
I see Mungo more likely to show up in SR:R 'Runs that I write, however. But who knows where else he'll turn up?
-
Mungo for President!
He couldn't be worse than the last guy.
-
http://www.techwench.com/scientists-invent-oxygen-particle-that-if-injected-allows-you-to-live-without-breathing/
I'll just leave that here...
-
This is extremely cool... ;D
-
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=adyqBP5selM
Being the person I am, I find this even cooler. It's about many things, the time of awakening being one of them.
-
Rather interesting:
Spray-on, reusable clothes (http://pinterest.com/pin/7459155605696274/)