Earth at 2084 is a calm and beautiful place. The three great threats to humanity have been overcome: climate change, pandemics and weapons of mass destruction (specifically nuclear weapons and weaponized AI). All this is thanks to the work of three women, who were born human but have ascended to godhood.
Each of these women is known by a different title, each controls one of the three technologies which have liberated humanity from the threat of extinction. The only threat which was not yet overcome is war, and the world is indeed at war as three continent-sized countries are locked in a global and unending World War III.
Eastasia is the most populated of the three countries, spanning the southeastern part of Asia and operating outposts, fortifications and vassal city-states as far as the west coast of Africa. Eastasia is ruled by The Teacher, a divine being born as a human woman of the Jewish faith. The Teacher lives and breathes quantum physics and has the ability to disable nuclear weapons and artificial intelligence with a thought, she knows the future and can accurately predict probabilities and avoid accidents. Eastasia is not a democracy, because The Teacher knows the people’s will better than the people themselves, and no one contemplates disagreeing with her. Her motto is “ignorance is strength.”
Eurasia is the largest of the three countries in terms of landmass, spanning from western Europe to the shores of the Pacific, with its southern border encompassing north Africa. Eurasia is ruled by the Survivor, a divine being born as a human woman of the Muslim faith. The Survivor lives and breathes biotic technology, and is the only person capable of activating all of the mutagens, seemingly without the need for biotic salts. As such, her body can be shaped into any tool which she requires, and she can command microorganisms with a thought alone. She also bestows this blessing to her believers. Eurasia is not a democracy, because the mental capacity of the Survivor’s Farsan far exceeds that of ordinary people, and everyone agrees that important decisions should be entrusted to them. Their motto is “war is peace.”
Oceania has the largest command of the oceans from among the three countries, spanning across northern and southern America, the southern tip of Africa and Australia. Oceania is ruled by the All-Mother, a divine being born as a human woman of the Christian faith. The All-Mother lives and breathes crystal-capacitor technology, and has single-handedly solved the climate change problem and the energy shortage problem by producing crystal capacitors and cold-fusion power plants. These capacitors reduce carbon emissions to almost nothing, and increase energy efficiency to almost 100%. Oceania is not a democracy, because the corporations which own and operate the production, maintenance and charging of crystal capacitors own most of the economy, and the All-Mother owns these corporations in turn, making her not just the ruler, but also the employer of the entire country. Her motto is “slavery is freedom.”
The rest of the world, including various islands and a belt of landmass between west Africa to Persia is known as the “Disputed Territories,” where all three countries vie for dominance, and send armies, spies and gifts to win influence and territory. As a result, the Disputed Territories are hubs where all three new technologies are available in abundance, and this fuels a snowball effect as it makes the territories even more desirable for conquest. This is where the campaign will begin.
Is Earth a utopia or a dystopia? It is a question which is obsessively discussed in the new, in books and in poems. On the one hand, quality of life for the majority of the human race is better than it was half a century ago. Food and water security, health services and life expectancy are good for the citizens of the three empires, and for the upper-middle class in the Disputed Territories. On the other hand, totalitarian governments in the three empires and a corrupt array of city-states in the Disputed Territories mean no political freedoms, and the constant war means unexpected and terrifying emergencies, bombings and needless death and injury.
What does it mean to live in Earth in 2084? It means living under constant surveillance. In order to survive, everyone must register and carry bioscripts. Everyone receives sufficient food, accommodation and health services, but nearly everyone wants more, more comfort, a larger apartment, better food, some status symbols – so everyone works hard to earn money (bitcoin) to buy more. In terms of technology, cybernetic augmentations are relatively common, but people consider biotic abilities to be much more desirable (but harder to obtain). Energy is cheap and plentiful, but all but small personal vehicles (such as bicycles) are state-owned and operated in mass transportation systems. Smart surfaces are incorporated into walls, clothes and everyday items which means that no personal phones or personal computers are necessary, but also means that privacy is a thing of the past. Cities are small and crowded.
You are a young, talented, healthy individual, so you are lucky. But you don’t feel lucky. In fact, you were about to do something very brave, or very stupid, and take an illegal protest action of some sort against the government. Maybe you did it for yourself, maybe you were dragged along by a loved one. There was a moment in which you were almost caught on camera and biometric scanners would have identified you, but then through some odd coincidence, you were saved. Maybe the drone that photographed you was blown up a half-second before it could broadcast the information further, maybe someone else got shoved into the biometric gate ahead of you and gave you time to escape in the opposite direction.
Shortly after your lucky break, you were contacted by a resistance group calling itself “Freedom before Life.” They argue that the right to choose defines humans and that without freedom humans are reduced to the level of slavery. As you were making up your mind whether to try to join them, to report them to the authorities or ignore them, something odd happened. You found yourself in a situation in which you were completely alone (a rare occurrence in a crowded city), in an autonomous taxi or an elevator or an automated agricultural facility, and then you woke up in your own bed, realizing that you have lost some hours from your memory which you cannot recall. Your bioscript implant was sore and red, some kind of local infection around it. A piece of unaugmented paper next to the bed confirmed in handwriting your appointment at the waste reclamation center northeast of town at 9pm tonight. It is the only clue to your missing hours, and if your bioscript has been tampered with, maybe your only chance to avoid serious trouble.