| From: | GKoth2258@***.COM |
|---|---|
| Subject: | NERPS-NAGTTW: Intro & Africa |
| Date: | Thu, 9 Oct 1997 16:08:02 -0400 |
Since the Awakening, there have been many changes wrought upon the world, not
the least being the political structure and atmosphere of this "Awakened"
world. Some nations have collapsed while many others have been created. It
is a time of chaos and flux for the Sixth World. What follows is a brief
summary of the many players in the year 2058.
(>) Before you doze off or turn that channel, hang on for a second. It's
been over a year since President Dunkelzahn was assassinated. And as
everyone in the shadows can attest, things have been jumpin'. Just look at
Detroit (all the Ares action) and Boston (just what the frag is Richard
Villiers doing?). And of course, the good old fashioned gang war right here
in Seattle. Some of us have more biz than we can handle. There's a lot of
profit to be made. So much so that some runners are forgetting to look into
the "why" part of the equation; and with all the drek going on, it's critical
to know why certain 'runs are being commissioned.
It's not just the streets or just the UCAS; it's the whole world. Everything
has become more chaotic and if we down here on the streets want to know what
the frag is going on, why we are doing certain runs, we need to know what the
big picture is. The synopsis (Which I stole, of course, from various boards
we monitor here. Does any Shadowland sysop ever write anything themselves?
Not fraggin' likely!) will help. Included in the appropriate places are
some additional files on some specific areas, like France or Israel, written
by locals to provide some additional intel.
(>) St. Stan
(>) St. Stan is correct. If you're accepting work outside your usual
territory, lack of knowledge about current world events and trends can get
you killed just as fast as only bringing a knife to a gunfight. Just
remember what the man said, this is only a synopsis - not the end-all source
of knowledge you'll need. Do your own research - take more than that knife
with you when you go.
(>) Asmodeus
(>) A nice armor set is useful in many places, too.
(>) Arti
(>) Even if you aren't planning on running in darkest Africa or deepest
China, it helps to have a clue what is going on there. Sometimes the things
we do right here in Seattle have far-reaching affects outside our
neighborhoods, and vice-versa.
(>) Wildsmasher
AFRICA
The African continent is divided into four major regions, those being the
Confederated Azanian Nations (also known as the Azanian Confederation, or
simply Azania), the African Alliance of Independent Nations, Egypt and the
Algerian Theocracy. By far the most powerful and influential nation on the
continent is Azania.
Encompassing almost everything south of the tenth parallel, this is a large
and dynamic nation. All other nations on this continent take a back seat to
Azania in almost every respect. Ethiopia, Madagascar, Morocco and Liberia
are all minor players and the African Alliance of Independent Nations is
paralyzed by internal strife, civil war and the all to frequent border
clashes with every one of its neighbors. The Algerian Theocracy is something
of a rabid dog, with many enemies and very few friends. That leaves Azania
as the only true "first world" nation on the African continent, a position
they intend to keep.
Confederation of Azanian Nations
The Azanian Confederation is @#$%*}
+++++SYSTEM ERROR
+++++FILE CORRUPTED
+++++EXTERNAL SOURCE
(>) Frag it! Sorry about that folks. As soon as I started the download, what
should appear but what looked like a highly experimental semi-autonomous
hunter program. It, or one of it's brothers, seems to pop up every time we
try the download, so we're gonna back off...for the moment. Should have
known better after all the trouble we had with na nOg and Tairngire. Those
elves just hate giving anything away, especially about themselves. Guess
we'll just have to try again some other time, with bigger guns...in the
meantime, if you know something, post it.
(>) St. Stan
(>) Azania isn't an African Tir. Or at least that's what I hear. Apparently
got more in common with Amazonia, despite the fact elves are in charge. Very
ecology minded, very "green" if you will. How about this: I hear persistent
rumors they have their fingers in various environmental poli-clubs, even ones
like Sierra and Terra-First! Hear the same rumors about Amazonia.
(>) e.e. leavings
(>) Bah, don't let the elves smoke screen fool ya. I've said it before and
I'll say it again. There's a few elves in each of the Elf Nations that know
too much and are more than just Spike Babies. Watch 'em closely.
(>) Ollie da Stone
(>) Those stupid Elves! I've been to Azania. The elves there are all
paranoid of humans! Even the LDS Church has to send elvish missionaries into
Azania and they aren't well received! The elves in Azania says that the
Church is a North American church ran by humans and won't even deal with the
Church! Stupid elves, I wish I could just belt them in the brain!
(>) Paradox
(>) Get over it. It shouldn't be any surprise that Azania doesn't take too
kindly to missionaries of any kind. There's a long history all around the
world of not treating missionaries well; after all, they are foreign
operatives bent on overthrowing the state, aren't they? At least as far as
the gov is concerned...And hey, isn't the Mormon church based in North
America? So what they said is true as far as it goes...
(>) Splice
Ethiopia
The nation of Ethiopia is a dream come true for followers of Rastafarianism.
With the collapse of most African governments following the Awakening and
the VITAS plagues, a number of wealthy Jamaicans (some of whom were powerful
drug lords) and other followers of the Ras Tafari faith saw their chance to
reclaim "Heaven" (Ethiopia) and escape from "Hell" (Jamaica). With
mercenaries, Rasta magic and the chaos of the years immediately following the
Awakening, these Rastafarians were able to claim Ethiopia as their own nation
in 2015, with the assimilation of Eritrea in 2018.
Ethiopia is a nation of contrasts. Powerful magic has been used in an
attempt to make the land green and fertile again, which, despite the lack of
assistance from Amazonia and Azania has been largely successful in most
areas. The inner city, however, is as much of a wasteland as Kingston,
Jamaica or the Barrens of Seattle are. The gangs of Addis Ababa, the
capitol, have a reputation as the most violent in the world.
The nation of Ras Tafari is largely peaceful however. Most of the
inhabitants are devout followers of Rastafarianism and live a peaceful, rural
life, farming the magically rejuvenated fields.
(>) Food for thought here folks: no magic is without its price. The
rejuvenation rituals mentioned here worked like a dream to revitalize the
land, and return it to a better time. So what was the price? Who paid it?
Amazonia did much the same sort of thing, and they were forced to trade off
the continuous, uncontrolled expansion of the rain forest in order to get it
back. What price did Ethiopia pay for a more controlled revitalization - and
when is the bill going to come due?
(>) Asmodeus
(>) Good question. All the intel indicates that the Rastas did it
themselves. So where did they learn those rituals? I mean, Azania and
Amazonia guard that info under about a dozen layers of the blackest ICE
you'll never recover from.
(>) J. Cliff@*****.hell.net
(>) Don't get too excited mon. Amazonia wanted rain forests, fast. Like a
few weeks fast. The Rastas only wanted to be able to farm their land. Big
difference in scale mon.
(>) Bob55@******.net
Liberia
This small African nation was originally founded by American slaves after the
Emancipation that followed the American Civil War. Despite decades of
military coups and juntas starting in the 1990's, Liberia has stabilized in
the last two decades, enough so that it has been able to remain independent.
It's primary source of wealth, and therefore independence, is it's
surprisingly rich deposits of various mineral resources. Of course,
continued, if small, aid from both the UCAS and CAS have been a tremendous
help.
(>) Those mineral deposits have the corporations sniffing around like wolves,
though. In particular SK is after cheap resources and manufacturing plants.
When the corps want something there's usually a job for a runner in there
somewhere. Pack your assassination kit and explosives.
(>) Thane
(>) Why do you think both the UCAS and the CAS give precious nuyen to
Liberia? Liberia gives them both preferential treatment when it comes to
buying their mined minerals, some of which are critical for certain advanced
military systems...
(>) Missile Man
Madagascar
The island nation of Madagascar is in an interesting position. On one hand,
it receives economic aid and military assistance from its neighbor, the
Confederation of Azanian States. On the other hand, it receives even more
economic aid from Amazonia, a nation with whom it shares most of it's policy
goals. With both Azania and Amazonia involved in a quiet power struggle for
control of Madagascar, the island balances a sort of independence.
Madagascar is relatively unchanged in the past 60 plus years. Some minor
industry, a great deal of tourism and some of the most heavily protected
forests in the world. Both Azania and Amazonia provide small garrisons
specifically to protect the unique ecosystems of Madagascar, which are then
supplemented by native troops.
(>) And if you believe those two foreign armies always get along with each
other, think again. On the whole, it works quite well, but there have been
occasional clashes of ideas and ideals. Nothing violent, so far...
(>) World Wide Watcher
(>) Nothing that's made the world news services anyway.
(>) Maul
(>) Right in one, Maul. I for one have done my share of work in Madagascar.
Excellent place for mercenary work, with neither Amazonia or Azania willing
to commit in force, they need someone to keep up the pressure.
(>) Tangent
(>) The island of Madagascar is an evolutionairy museum. All sorts of
creatures, large and small, plant or animal, reside here and no where else in
the world. That is worth protecting, and both Azania and Amazonia recognize
that fact.
(>) Global.Village@*****.net
(>) They might also be protecting an amazing power site. The whole island
just buzzs with mana. A little side affect of all that life I guess. And as
the magically inclined among us might guess, that means there are all sorts
of top-grade telisma and festishes to be found there. Assuming you can get
past some of the toughest customs outside the Tirs.
(>) Cats.Eye@****.net
Morocco
The western African nation of Morocco so badly wants to be considered a part
of Europe and the Western world that it has spent the past several decades
being the brunt of bad, often nasty, European jokes. Morocco, which now
includes what was Western Sahara, has become a shameless proponent of Free
Enterprise and the Almighty Nuyen. Which is fine for those that have money.
But life for the poor has only gotten worse over the last hundred years.
Exclusive corporate vacation enclaves on choice beach property are common.
Factories in the mountains down south, belching horrific fumes and toxic
liquids, are far too common a sight, as are war zones for corporate war games
including "Desert Wars."
All this has made Morocco very unpopular among the rest of the African
continent. Both the Algerian Theocracy and the African Alliance of
Independent Nations have made several military incursions, but Morocco, with
the help of it's corporate allies, has managed to repulse all invasions.
(>) Which serves only to put Morocco deeper into the pockets of the corps.
BTW, almost all of the megas are involved in Morocco. Only Aztechnology
isn't a major player, probably because they would rather frag up other parts
of the environment, like their own.
(>) Wildsmasher
The African Alliance of Independent Nations
The African Alliance of Independent Nations is made up of most of the rest of
Africa. These nations, some of which are little more than fiercely
independent tribes, followed the trend for small independent nations that
swept the world in the early years of the 21st century. One after another
they were swept away by Azania, Morocco, Egypt, even Ethiopia. So the
African Alliance of Independent Nations was born, a conglomeration of many
diverse and usually hostile tribes that must try to get along if they are to
preserve their independence. The twentieth century nations of Uganda,
Rwanda, Burundi, Tanzania, Zaire, Zambia, Zaire, Nigeria, Somalia and Kenya
make up the Alliance. This territory now contains no less than fifty-nine
separate sovereign nations (and often more) aligned in a loose federation.
The Alliance government has very little real power, with no legal ability to
tax, enforce Alliance laws, or to even negotiate foreign policy for the
member states. Most of the states simply do what they want. Despite this
lack of power, all of the member states loudly support the Alliance (while at
the same time doing as they please) because the Alliance government provides
an extremely important function that did not exist before it's foundation.
The Alliance government acts as an impartial judge and arbiter in disputes,
regardless of size. This finally gave the member states and tribes a real
way of settling disputes in ways that didn't involved warfare. Odd as it may
seem, the system appears to work.
(>) If you have to run in the African Alliance, make sure you know what
tribes are in control of the area you'll be in. And make sure it's up to the
second intel. Slotting the wrong linguasoft can actually mean death if you
are speaking a rival tribes language.
(>) Supraspeak
The Islamic Republic of Algeria.
In the 1980's, militant Islamic rebels began a revolution in the nation of
Algeria when the election they seemed to be winning was declared null and
void by the ruling regime. Up until 2009, the reigning government was able
to hold on to power through a combination of brute force, French assistance,
the support of its citizens and the relatively small numbers of Islamic
rebels. The rebels had few supporters, even among other militant Muslims
because of their notable penchant for extreme violence. But in 2009, that
penchant for violence is what brought the rebels into power. With one
carefully placed bomb in the capitol at a presidential party, virtually the
entire upper tier of the government and the military was killed. Several
years of violence and chaos ensued, with what was left of the government
desperately appealing to France for help. The French had enough problems of
their own, and fearing another "Viet Nam," declined. By 2012, the rebels had
a firm grip on power and began the harsh process of turning Algeria into a
rigid Islamic theocracy. Economically, the Algerian Theocracy is in
shambles. While it has abundant oil fields, only a few nations or
corporations will buy from them. Politically, it is isolated with the
exception of North Korea (simply because they are both renegade nations).
Border clashes with Morocco and the African Alliance are common, with both
nations attributing many terrorist actions on fundamentalists sent from
Algeria. It should be noted that much of Libya was absorbed in 2019 when
that government collapsed with the death of Colonel Moammar Khadafi, and
Tunisia was taken by in a relatively short war in 2027.
(>) Translation: shadowrunning is just about out of the question here. Not
only will you have trouble getting paid, since nobody has any money, you'll
also have to deal with the religious aspect of it all
(>) ASDF
(>) Not entirely true. Algeria does have some mineral resources that the
corps would love to get their hands on, like the oil. Not to mention other
groups that would kill, literally, to topple the theocracy. Sure, there
isn't any money inside Algeria. But if your job comes from outside, there
could be a lot of nuyen coming your way if you are willing to take some
substantial risks.
(>) TCG
(>) Wait a minute. I don't understand why most corps won't buy from Algeria.
It's not like they have morals or something.
(>) bob@***.net.ucas
(>) It's actually a two way street. One, Algeria doesn't like big business,
and so they make it very difficult on any corp trying to buy their oil. And
two, Algeria is a hot bed for terrorism; Big Biz is hit by their suicide
bombers just as often as any government. That doesn't exactly build good
will you know.
(>) St. Stan
