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From:	Chris Ryan <chrisr@*******.FIT.QUT.EDU.AU>
Subject:	Re: OZ sourcebook - more ramblings
Date:	Tue, 22 Jun 1993 16:49:56 EST

Message no. 1 > off, the beginning of the novel Find Your Own Truth took place in the
> outback. Secondly, the Rigger Black Book has a really mean drone made by
> some company called Commonwealth Aerospace. The interesting thing is that
> the text mentions Australia is fighting a war with New Guinea. Now, does
> trying to reclaim the old protectorate seem like something an Aboriginal
> government would do? Also, I think by 2050 Australia would have a very
> large Asian population.

There's also at least one other Australian vehicle in the Rigger Black Book -
a Nissan Holden Brumby. Rumour has it around here that Philip (?sp) Macgregor
is in fact an Australian writer. Anyone know?

I agree with you about the war and population. Like elsewhere in the world, the
Asian corps will have had a large influence on the industrialised areas of
Australia.

This is the way I (vaguely) see Australia under the SR world in 2054:

Most of the interior of Australia is under the control of the magically powerful
Aborigines. The rest (East of the Great Dividing Range, Tasmania, parts of
central Victoria, New South Wales and Queensland and a small slice of the
southern part of Western Australia) would still be under the control of
the old federal government - sort of. The corps exist within this area, and
like elsewhere in the world, generally can do almost anything they like.

Within the government controlled area, the cities have sprawled, the inner
suburbs and certain other areas have decayed, to give the "cyberpunkish"
areas.

Perhaps within the lands of the Aborigines there could be various factions
fighting for control, and those that just want no part of it all, etc.

The lead up to the split nation would have been violent, the magic of the
Aborigines, plus the general extreme magical conditions (manastorms, etc)
combining to overcome the technology and limited magics of the federal
government. As to explaining a war with PNG, I haven't thought of something
there. Perhaps expansion for more resources?

There's more, but I've gotta go...

Chris

From:	"David R. Henry" <dhenry@******.NODAK.EDU>
Subject:	Re: OZ sourcebook - more ramblings
Date:	Tue, 22 Jun 1993 15:53:26 CDT

Message no. 2 From what I remember of the beginning of "Find Your Own Truth," at least
some parts of Oz have been transformed by excessive toxic dumping into
what was called the "Nightmaretime," or some such, as opposed to the
standard Dreamtime that you'd expect. It sounded to me that
eco-minded shamans had a long path to tread to return Australia to normal.

drh

From:	Chris Ryan <chrisr@*******.FIT.QUT.EDU.AU>
Subject:	Re: OZ sourcebook - more ramblings
Date:	Wed, 23 Jun 1993 09:34:03 EST

Message no. 3 > If the eastern coast is still held by the old government
> perhaps in the cyberpunkish areas cyberware is the most common
> item of enhancement - that and magic, but it is only the
> hermetic style and physAdepts that are openly accepted...
>
> On the contrary - those who tend to enter the outback
> usually prefer bioware, and many of those follow the shamanic path.
> This would lead to wide differences between your shadowrunners
> of the cities, and the runners who do their work in the outback.
>
> Just ideas of how the conflict _might_ color the attitudes
> of the people in ways that will affect character generation.

It's an interesting idea, but I doubt it would work, or in fact should be used
for a couple of reasons:

1. Bioware requires excellent medical facilities, something that might not be
found in a violent outback.

2. Some shamans could be found in the cities, depending on totems. I doubt
they'll be less accepted than other mages.

Chris

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