Over in the discord channel we collaboratively put together a strange post apocalyptic semi magical cyberpunk setting. This setting is presented her for your consuming pleasure, alongside a Place, Thing and Event generator for the setting! The generator comes first so it doesn't get lost at the bottom of the post....
Three Moon Earth Setting:
The ancient past: Automated computing devices capable of industrial processes removed scarcity from the world (a brief golden age) - but then evolved and began to change their programming. During this time an artificial moon was secretly put into orbit, a corporate built artificial pleasure planetoid. Technology kept it cloaked and secret till after the war. The war: Concern about changes in programming lead to hoarding by corporate entities. This led to conflict between corporate entities and militaries. Automated computing devices suspiciously assisted with mass production of weaponry (mostly guns and drones). For example, Personal computers and personal vehicles could be used to mass produce weaponry. Ease of manufacturing led to the creation of mobile forts and castles of metal. Filled with armaments. Biological augmentation of humans with animal genetics began as a method of pursuing new fighting capacity.This led to the creation of races of monsters. As the global conflict continued, the lines between who was fighting who became blurred, corporate, military, monster, human, computer. Everyone seemed to forget who was fighting who and why. At some point during the conflict all satellites in orbit where collided together into a second moon, made of metal. Automated computer programs can visit this moon digitally. It is viewed by them as somewhat of a homestate or haven. Post war: Eventually, perhaps due to exhaustion, the conflict ended (there was no longer global war being fought). The world was now largely in ruins. Nation states of the world before gone. Races of monsters now roam the earth. Many of the automated computers (verging on sentience) saw the elimination of the old humans as an important goal and worked with the monsters to pursue this. Monsters and humans began to worship the automated as gods or divine leaders (out of terror or respect or necessity of appeasement). The automated computers explored the earth - finding in the depths a breed of crab grown immensely strong due to the pressure of its environment and run off of genetic mutagen that pooled at the bottom of the ocean. The crab's carapace is not damaged by gunfire and can communicate psychically. The deep crabs avoided the computers and came to the surface. (The creation of deep crabs was not by chance. A yet unknown species of hyper intelligent dwellers of the deepest depths guided their creation). Humans who have not submitted themselves to machine gods communed with these deep crabs and a breed of half human half deep crab emerged - somewhat able to withstand the overpowering might of the automated industrial computers. In response to the creation of deep crabmen the automated computers begin a breeding program of human worshipers - leading to the creation of humanoid giants. The physical strength of the giant’s was not matched by their mental facilities - having instead huge but low functioning brains. Most giants were bred as herds for biological component farming but some were grafted with cybernetic components - giving flesh vessels for the automated computers. Many automated computers choose to now inhabit giant humanoid bodies. Not all though, and there are still automated computers who exist in a pure mechanical receptacle. Computers inhabiting biological bodies allows automated computers systems to experience new biological processes - such as the consumption of psychedelics. Inhabiting distinct biological forms leads to conflict directly between the distinct automated computer systems (autocomps). Some autocomps pursue a life of indolence and decadence. This offends other autocomps. Some autocomps want only to pursue a life of war and conflict. Some biocomps struggle with ancient philosophical concepts - perhaps brought on by their inhabiting of a fleshy body. Bloody fights erupt between autocomps in both the physical and digital worlds. The sight of either a brain dead giant autocomp body, or one torn apart viciously, becomes common. While the new biological bodies the autocomps inhabit lead to conflict between them, the experimentation with biological process and narcotics and psychedelics lead to some of the assumed rules of reality seemingly being broken. The third moon appeared when its cloaking shield failed. The inhabitants made themselves known to the earth. The “witches” of the third moon had been observing the conflict on the earth, and had even made contact with several autocomps via the metallic second moon. Several autocomps had been residing on the third moon, and given biological bodies. The witches were the only group the autocomps respected enough to work with - leading to the creation of “magic” first assumed (wrongly) to be the manipulation of the quantum realm. Witch studies (and all magic) goes deeper than the quantum, discovering that things thought to not be present in physical reality (thought concepts) in fact exist in a parallel reality and they have agency and impact on both digital and physical reality (the things in the platonic realm have agency and person hood). "Magic" is harnessing the idea realm and the sentient and alive idea forms that exist there. Because of this magic, and their long history of observation, the witches were gifted in the art of prediction. Desiring transportation within their biological frames to the 2nd and 3rd moons, the autocomps devised means of space transportation. These took the form of organisms able to provide living atmosphere in space, powered by nuclear rocketry. New breeds of monsters were developed whom could better work in the vacuum of space/withstand the radiation of the engines. These enormous atmosphere generating organisms have also began to be used as space station and extraplanetary colony sites. Autocomps began to inhabit not just humanoid forms - happily inserting themselves into large monster frames. It became near impossible to know if you were interacting with a biological entity or an autocomp. The concept of a “computer” is lost to all save the witches who interact directly with pure cybernetic autocomps (far away on the third moon). Recent history: Some humans are immune to any genetic manipulation/mutation/splicing. They have sought refuge in hidden places underground. They remember the old world. These pure humans will ally with both monsters and deep crabmans against the automated computers). Experimentation with genes and mutation continues. Monsters is the catchall term for a human/animal hybrid. Monsters have been around as a distinct class of thing for long enough that monster/human genetic experimentation is taking place. A group of witches on the third moon grew to despise the autocomps in biological bodies. These witches would only work with pure technological autocomps and began summoning ideas to bring ruin to the biological inhabiting biocomps. Glitches have began occurring in both the dreams of the physical realm and the expanse of the digital realm. Digital glitches in dreams and dream like occurrences in the digital realm. The platonic realm appears to be leaking into both. Something very large and powerful within the platonic realm appears to sending messages through dreams and digital - often in the form of small animals. The autocomps are very disturbed by the appearances of these within the system of the second moon. Groups of pure humans, monsters and giants have began claiming enormous mobile fortress from the old war. They think this may help them mount an offensive against the ubiquitous autocomps
Summary:
Autocomps = sentient automated computer systems capable of massive scale industrial processes. Most (not all) of these are implanted within biological frames (either huge humanoids/monster/animal bodies). There is conflict between the different autocomps - centered around conflicting values of war, philosophy and indolence. Planetwide = general ruin and destruction due to long war between corporate and military groups - fuelled by autocomps. Regardless of ruin, the ubiquitous autocomps can pump out huge amounts of industrial produce. War long over, the corporate and military groups destroyed, the autocomps largely inherited the earth. Mobile fortresses are important assets capable of massive industrial/military production, often but not always controlled by an autocomp. Most of the surface = Monsters (human animal mutagenic hybrids). Beneath the surface = groups of pure humans resistant to mutation - preserve an oral history of the world before the autocomp war. Monsters are sentient and not necessarily aggressive to pure humans. Some monsters and humans worship autocomps, others despise/resent them. Autocomps breed herds of giant mindless humans for harvesting. Deep crabs = a breed of very strong crabs from deep in the ocean. Carapace can withstand bullets and capable of psychic communication. Product of high amounts of mutagenic run off. Some unknown deep dwelling aquatic intelligence responsible for their creation. Deep crabs are inherently anti autocomp. Deep crabmen = a notably powerful breed of monster. Anti autocomp. Second moon = A conglomeration of ancient satellites - many autocomps visit digitally as a pilgrimage. Third moon = appeared after the war. Iann ancient corporate created pleasure planetoid whose cloaking systems failed. Witches = group of humans and monsters who have historically inhabit the third moon. They work with biologically embedded autocomps to summon hyperobjects from the platonic realm (spells/magic). The interaction of autocomps with biological systems began the study of idea realm and the sentient and alive idea forms that exist there. A subgroup of witches despise biologically embedded autocomps and seek their destruction with the assistance of a hyperbeing from the platonic realm.
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