AoC Trivia

We are lucky to have recovered this rare piece of New Washington Lore. This is a famous transcript that helped to establish this era's official title. It is the transcript of a Net broadcast made by one of the most prominent New Washington guerilla broadcasters of the 23rd century, Rogue Jaguar. In response to a relative lack of information about NW elsewhere in the world, Jaguar tapped his contacts to see to it that word of this broadcast was spread worldwide. It is probably only because of his remarkable efforts that we know as much of the Age as we do.


Rogue Jaguar: Hello World! Rogue Jaguar signing in from Central Truth here in New Washington. You all have asked for an unowned source on the most corporate-controlled city in the world, and scan it: you are listening to the first such broadcast in New Washington history. So far as I know. I haven't got forever before this netcast is traced and suppressed, so let's hop right to the questions. We've got a ping from a listener from the New K here. How are things in the man-made country?

Male Caller: (british accent) Hi-integ, RJ.

RJ: Cool. What's your question?

Caller: I wanted to ask about New Washington's districts. People talk about them a lot, but I don't know what they mean.

RJ: Well, this isn't exactly something I'm restricted to talk about, but so little NW media gets out that it's understandable not to know what the NW districts are. The five main districts are the first thing to be noted. The north district of NW is typically known as the Merc District. A lot of open corporate warfare happens in North NW, and the mercenary industry is probably best there. (a good indication that this broadcast took place before the PicoGen/ViaCode war --ed.) The middle district is the commercial district; a lot of corporations focusing on consumer influence set their bases there. It's probably because of the east district, often referred to as the Flavor Slice. New Washington's elite and wealthy live to the east, and the media is the most tightly controlled there. It is widely regarded as the safest district in NW, but my sources tell me otherwise. Apparently the corporate warfare there is quite ugly and very strictly suppressed. The west district is just called Home, and yours truly is pretty astonished that it has managed to survive this long in New Washington. Home is fairly loosely controlled and not nearly as violent as NW's other districts. Granted, it's also a little boring, but that's the price you've got to pay. The south district isn't really a district, as such; it's the collected slums of New Washington, and people call it the Border. It's called that because it's between the rest of the city and the Labyrinth. I'll get into the Labyrinth later, maybe. Those are the districts in a nutshell. There are a lot of small districts, particularly between the large ones, but I don't have the time to get into them. If you want to know more about them, make contact with my liaisons and they'll direct you to the appropriate sites.
Okay, I've got a ping from a listener in Japan. Do we need a Babelfish Script?

Young Female Caller: (thick Japanese accent) No thank you, I speak english.

RJ: Awesome. Interface, listener.

Caller: I have been studying the pre-snowfall history of my country, and I noticed that a lot of guns from your country have names derived from ancient weapons, some of which have become popular again with the development of shield technology. Why is this? This is very confusing, I imagine.

RJ: Good question, and it can be. Here are the facts: when the cities had to be abandoned in the 21st century as water levels began to rise, a lot of arms companies shut down permanently. One of the first new ones to be established was Dai-Sho Arms, whose guns were all named after ancient Japanese weapons. Dai-Sho quickly became the industry standard. Keep in mind that this is way before any shield technology became popular, and there weren't any augments or Guardians. The only person waltzing around with a sword was Alec Gainsborough and a couple of other physical mages. Later, shields started being used, and swords became popular again.
Next ping is a user from the Celtic Union. Listener, you're on the ether.

Older Male Caller: (indeterminate Celtic accent, perhaps more irish) Aeh, hello RJ. I've been a fan of yours for a long time.

RJ: Jazz, listener. Thanks for pinging. What's your question?

Caller: What are Augments, and why are we always reading about a section of town they're tearing th' shit out ae?

RJ: Ah, Augments. The continual thorn in the side of New Washington Law Enforcement. Not all Augments are dangerous, but the ones who make the news tend to be. An Augment is the street term for somebody who has cyber-magical enhancements installed in their body to improve its function. Many are legally used every day by NW citizens, but Corporations are very loath to allow ordinary citizens to get strength augs or sub-dermal armor. Augs are very easy to obtain on the street, however, and a lot of crooks who fancy themselves Guardians in the making become Augments because it's the next best thing. Still, I don't think there's a single Guardian in NW who couldn't mop the floor with any one Augment they came across. It's the gangs who're trouble.
Okay, we've got a ping from... holy shit, South America? Listener, you are on the ether!

Growly Caller: Greeting, Jaguar. Very big ... fan. From Sanctuary City.

RJ: Alec's Shadow, we've got a listener in Sanctuary City, folks. Allow me to say that it is an incredible honor to have a representative of the monster culture of South America here for this interview.

Caller: Thank you, Jaguar. Glad, have chance to call. Hard to find Net here.

RJ: I think we're all glad you did. You got a question?

Caller: Yes. Me ... want know. Animal, monster. What different?

RJ: Good ping, Sanctuarian. The difference between monsters and animals was not formally defined until after the European Dragon War, when the first humanoid-monster treaties were drawn. Monster isn't the derogatory term it was before such alliances, and is now an official term for the species falling under your new Genus, listener. A monster is any race not derived from human or humanoid stock (such as elves) that was evolved through magic and not natural processes. The line can get fuzzy, and there still isn't an official listing anywhere in New Washington as a source of what is a monster and what isn't. Orcs are often considered monsters, although they are clearly defined from human stock. The elves believe that they were made in the humanoid image, but most humans believe that they were simply magically mutated just as the Morph races were.
Next ping from out west, in the Borderlands. Peoria, you're up. What's your itch?

Caller: (generic flatlander accent, an average joe) RJ, you seem to be casting all the negs of NW - what's it got for it? Any nice places, things to do? Pretty girls? I'll take the answer off-eth; scan your stuff, though. Sign!

RJ: Hey, I do love my city, or I wouldn't fight to free it. And there's a hell of a lot to do, particularly in the Commercial District. Central NW is a little less dangerous than most of the outlands while still keeping the excitement that Home lacks. All kinds of big-name entertainment to be had there. If you're into something a little less manufactured, there's a thriving Theatre District between the Flavor Slice and the Slums, and there are a lot of incredible people working on that stuff. Cheap, quality goods can be found just south of Home in Chinatown. There's a section of the Merc district that people call The Arena, if you're into more ... visceral entertainment. You'd be surprised what people will do for a dollar. My personal favorite, though, is Arcade Lane, located on a side of the commercial district near home. Developers spare no expense in having the absolute best Immersion games and holo-gyms for relatively few creds.
And I honestly don't think I have to say more than this: the New Washington Y-nought is guardian. HD.
Now we've got a ping from Pakistan, and I'm getting a signal from Fuse that we're going into a Babelfish script. Hope you liked inflection, english-speakers, 'cause it's about to get a downgrade. Listener?

Caller: (spoken in a computerized translation voice, impressively real but still lacking any intonation) Hello, Rogue Jaguar. I have a question about New Washington's economics. How is currency dealt with in New Washington? I am led to understand that is a lengthy process to obtain foreign money there.

RJ: Money is naturally one of the most important things in the city, as it's what keeps the corporate powers churning. Interesting thing, though, is that money is an extremely ephemeral concept. There are two types of legal tender currently being supported in New Washington, though barter and service exchanges are quite popular. The two types are the credit chit and the charge bus. The credit chit, colloquially called a “coin", is the simple type of money-- rechargeable, disposable cards that can have credits put on them to a limited scope. A series of magnetically reactive colored stripes on the card signals how many credits it has on it at any given time, and each type of chit will only take credits within a certain multiple and amount. The most common chits are the 1-10 single cred chit, the 5-100 5-cred chit, the 10-1000 10-cred chit, and the 50-1000 50-cred chit. Other chits are manufactured, but are seldom used in favor of charge busses. A charge bus comes in two forms-- a credit module and a chitbus. The chitbus, often called a “wallet", is a small plastic prism with a squarish charge bus plug on its end and usually a keyring hole. It is self-contained and can be charged with as many credits as the user wishes to place on it. The credits are drained as the chitbus is used, and most have a display on the end showing how many credits remain. The credit module, usually just called a “tab", looks a good deal like a chitbus, but is smaller and has a lockable cap on its end. Modules are not supported everywhere, but where they are, a user can plug into a charge bus jack and remotely be billed for his purchases (with the confirmation of a retinal scan). It is essentially the modern equivalent of the 20th-century “credit card", but more efficient and effective.
Aisha, that took longer than I expected. We're not going to pong everybody this EP, sorry to say. Our next ping lined up is a listener from New Atlantis. We scan, NA.

Female Caller: (very melodic, lyrical accent) Hello, Jaguar. I'm very excited to speak with you at last.

RJ: Thanks, listener. It's nice to be appreciated.

Caller: You do so much for your people, it is very admirable. I have had a crush on you since high school.

RJ: I'm flattered, New Atlantis. Have you got a question for me?

Caller: Yes I do. What are the greatest challenges you face as the world's most visible guerilla broadcaster?

RJ: New Washington's media is very insular. Although as an autonomous city-state, we don't have as aggressive a foreign policy as the USA did in the 20th and early 21st centuries, our government and the corporations still have very similar agendas. As such is the case, keeping both their own citizens from learning the truth and keeping it from leaking elsewhere is a common goal that every one of the Powers That Be in NW support. Naturally, keeping myself a persona non grata is quite vital to my survival as a Rogue Media Power. I have mages and hackers alike working to keep my identity a secret, and the corporations have hackers and mages working to figure it out. In addition, my pervasive presence on the ether has garnered the attention of the regulatory AIs known as “lurkers", whom I must dodge in slightly more unique ways that I'm afraid I can't go into in this broadcast. Contact my liaisons if you want to support my efforts and slow the efforts of my oppressors.

we are still recovering this log; more to come ~ Dog


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