In the year 2045, as diplomacy failed, the world plunged into the third world war. The northern hemisphere of the world formed the North American Trade Federation, Europe subjugated Africa and created the Greater European Directorate, while Asia and Russia formed the Eastern Empire. Cities were decimated as millions upon millions answered the call to war. Bombs fell indiscriminately killing civilian and soldiers alike. For three years, the war raged on. It was only when nuclear bombs filled the sky and scorched the Earth did the three great powers call for a ceasefire.
Leaving a greater part of each continent unfit for life, humanity escaped to the last habitable 'Green Zones'. In the years following, hundreds of thousands starved while governments were unable to maintain order within their borders. While the people cried out for justice, protection, and revenge, their cries were unheeded as the world continued on its path of degradation.
Order finally returned on the third month of 2060 when a group known as the Council — their origin a mystery — took on the task of doing what the governments could not. The former leaders of each nation having been usurped from power, the Council quickly sunk their roots deeply into each Green zone. Criminals were quickly subjugated and production of the basic necessities continued once again. The great famine began to decrease as normality soon returned to the world.
With the limited space available, unscathed cities expanded as many took shelter within these last bastions of humanity. Buildings were built on top of one another. The poor remained at the bottom with the pollution and abysmal conditions while the the affluent and wealthy clung to the top. Thus marked the period of disparity. While many opted to live in small towns in the country, commerce and technology favored the behemoth-like cities that eventually became city-states under the guidance of the Council.
Not wanting another war to occur, a proposition was set forth by a team of psychologist and scientist. Their proposition, before the war, would’ve been considered preposterous. Though the Council scrutinized the feasibility of the proposition, they gave the go ahead. Thus, the introduction of the virtual reality game, Dust, was instated. With physical money deemed unworthy of materials and labor and advancements in the social structure was considered significant to prevent domestic rioting, the Council turned to this. Giving each person their own logic pad and Immersion Dive headgear, the ability to live, to eat, to thrive was centered in the world of Dust.
In the beginning, the novelty of the idea scared the world. However, as the beginning miscalculations were ironed out and the system became more robust, Dust became an important aspect of the new world. While one could certainly earn tokens through the system, the Council deliberately made it difficult to live off of Dust, which preserved the necessity of continued real world labor. Advancement into more decorated appointments of office based off of reputation was doable, but with so many aiming for those precious few spots, many simply had given up and became content with their current lifestyle.
Though the real world continued to falter and die, Dust has given hope to many. However, though the system afforded luxuries that the world had never seen before, many remain bitter towards the system. Whispers of revolution fill the ears of the under city. Will the flames of war remain pacified or will it begin anew? Only time can tell.
Hello all! Here's a concept I've been dying to try and finally had time to write up an initial interest check to see if others would want to join me. Ghost Complex: Integration integrates the virtual reality world, Dust, with that of the real world. Namely, what each character does within the game, earning gems and converting them to tokens to be used in the real world or making a name for him or herself is possible.
I understand what I've written so far is quite vague on the machinations of how this will run, but I promise I'll flesh it out much more if I have the necessary interest. Ideally, I'm looking for a total of five, including me, to consider moving forward with this idea.
With that, I'll leave this up and see how many people bite, so to speak.
