BACKSTORY
2049 sees the world’s leading energy corporation, ROAD CORP, begin the exploratory mining of methane clathrate on the Alaskan North Slope. A borehole explosion, instigated by the terrorist sect, GREEN GAIA, has methane explode up the borehole, initiating a methane burp and subterranean fire that cascades across the arctic. The event proves apocalyptic. The world left to labor under a permanent, black-clouded, pollutant flaring cloud, the north and south polar ice masses are reduced to zero, and the surviving land masses transformed into tropical swamps. The resultant world’s surviving 2.5 billion citizens are placed under the authoritarian rule of a single world governing body (WGB). To maintain order, the WGB engineers the bodily implanted registered profiling chip (REP), to be monitored by the specialist enforcement arm, citizen profile security (CPS). On the approach of the 22nd century, the world looks to a savior.
NORTHERN AND SOUTHERN US EAST ARCHIPELAGOS
North Atlantic flood waters have seen the east coast of the US transformed into two distinct archipelago chains, the Northern US East Archipelago, and the Southern US East Archipelago.
GREATER NEW YORK ARCHIPELAGO (GNYA)
State divisions exist within the two island chains. One such division is the Greater New York Archipelago, consisting of the islands Staten, Brooklyn, Queens, Bronx and Neo-Manhattan, formally Manhattan.
NEO-MANHATTAN
Protecting Neo-Manhattan from the flood waters, is a beaconed, dam wall, points of which serve as safe harbors for water traffic.
Built into the wall at regular intervals, are pump stations regulating the flow of water through the old grid patterned streets, transformed into lock-managed, trafficked canals.
Three tiers of society exist across the city.
The lowest societal tier is identified as the CANAL LEVEL. This is home to the city’s poorest and most disenfranchised, existing on marginal and slave labor. A large percentage of citizens are homeless, with the more fortunate housed either within the lower stories of old and new towers, or shacks and low rises lining the canals, streets and lane ways. Open tracts of ground have become swampland due to the venting of canal and pump station water.
The second societal tier, is identified as the TENTER LEVEL. Rumored to have been seeded by a single tent strung on decking buttresses from a medium height old city tower, this level has grown to become a series of distinct tenter districts, built on stilted, suspension decking, across the mid-height of the city, linked by boardwalks, and a suspended cable car network.Independently governed, these districts house a new class of lawless citizen, largely surviving on black market activity, and illegal startup enterprises.
The third and highest societal tier is identified as the SKY LEVEL. Occupying the mid level and upper stories of old and new towers, this level is distinguished by its concourse infrastructure housing boutique, domed, shopping, resort and pleasure districts serviced by an extensive network of elevated ways (eways) and transport straws (t-straws). This level is home to the average citizen, and most notably, the elite.
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