Basic History

* The U.S. Constitution is amended to include all metahumans.

* The first cyberterminal (a room-sized isolation chamber for a single operator) is developed. Funded by various intelligence agencies, the goal of the research is to make it possible for strike teams of "cybercommandoes" to raid data systems.

* The Mafia Commissione appoints Brian O'Malley from Milwaukee as the head of the Finnigan family and Don of Seattle, and assigns him to deal with the problem of the Yakuza in the metroplex.
* Oxford and Edinburgh Universities establish Bachelor of Science degrees in occult studies.
* World Combat Cyclists League (WCCL) founded. Combat Biker becomes a major sport.

The first commercial fusion reactor power plant comes on-line.

* Desperate to alleviate water shortages, the Los Angeles Power and Water Company pioneers the first use of cold fusion technology, which produces fresh water from salt water as a by-product.
* The Lord Protector's office (England) drafts the Magical Practitioners Registration Bill, which Parliament passes into law.

In the United States, the CIA, NSA, and IRS pool their resources to recruit and train Echo Mirage, the first team of "cybercommandoes."

* A major earthquake hits L.A., destroying LAX.
* Cambridge institutes a magical studies program.
* Britain withdraws from the European Economic Community (EEC).

The Computer Crash of '29. A mystery virus attacks databases worldwide, resulting in total financial chaos. The government and megacorps attempt to fight the virus with their own cybercommandoes, but eventually must recruit maverick hackers to fight the virus with untested technology. These second-generation terminals are desk-sized and no longer require an isolation tank. In the course of fighting the virus and attempting to rebuild the world wide web, the Matrix is born. The surviving hackers now have knowledge of cyberdecks and begin to cobble together their own units.

The NAN declares that the emerging metahumans (especially Elven folk) are welcome in tribal lands.

* Sony Cybersystems, Fuchi Industrial Electronics, and RCA-Unisys develop prototype cyberterminals.
* CIA, FBI, and NSA begin Echo Mirage project.
* The Salish-Sidhe Council (SSC) opens its borders to all metahumans (not just Native Americans). The Sinsearach elf tribe is founded in the southern region.
* Feb 8: The Crash of '29
* Aug: Presidential emergency order drafts hotshot corp and university hackers into Echo Mirage. 32 graduate training. First-generation cyberterminals are room-sized and require a sensory deprivation tank.
* Eighteen minutes after engaging the virus, four members of Echo Mirage were dead. When the data logs were analyzed, two things became apparent: First, the virus program could induce lethal biofeedback in humans accessing the Matrix. Second, no existing computer security could even slow down someone using a cyberterminal.

The remaining United States of America merges with Canada to form the United Canadian and American States (UCAS). A coalition of southern states opposes the idea.

* Ghoul nation of Asamando founded in Africa.
* Oct 15: Act of Union signed in Washington D.C., Canada and the US merge into the UCAS.
* Awakened forces in Russia seize Siberia.
* Brian O'Malley is shot and killed in his home by Yakuza assassins. A retaliatory hit the next day kills the Yakuza oyabun responsible, along with his lieutenants. Losses on both sides of the Mafia/Yakuza conflict result in a truce. Patrick Finnigan becomes capo of his family and the Don of Seattle

* Beginning of the Euro-Wars.
* Late: Echo Mirage finishes off the virus (7 survivors).
* Second-generation cyberterminals are desk-sized.
* James O'Malley, capo of Milwaukee and Brian's older brother, becomes obsessed with revenge against the Yakuza. He neglects his city's operations so dramatically that the Commissione strips him of his position and forces him to retire.

2030-2042
Euro-Wars. In this twelve-year period, Europe and Asia are rocked by a series of wars that result in a complete political transformation.

The former Soviet Union fragments, while the Awakened come to dominate vast wilderness areas, including portions of Siberia, Mongolia, and the mountains of northeastern China. Switzerland remains, as always, neutral. The Germanies recombine, becoming one of the stronger states in the new Europe. In a return to city-state politics, Italy, southern France, and southeastern Europe fragement into hundreds of tiny sovereignties.

* Jan 23: Nightwraith airstrike. Fighter-bombers attack key C&C centers on all sides of the Euro-Wars, bringing the fighting to a screeching halt. Whodunit? Swedish air surveillance implies that the aircraft were of UK origin, but this is denied by the government.
* Nanosecond Buyout: Damien Knight takes control of Ares.
* To rebuild gumis nearly crippled in the conflicts with the Mafia, the Japanese Yakuza send a new upper echelon of Koreans to Seattle. These Korean leaders begin aggressively reclaiming lost territory.

A coup ousts President McGoldrick of Ireland. The coup was subtly masterminded by Laim O'Connor, whose Tir Republic Corps rose out of a dying IRA. Liam is asked to impose a state of emergency by acting President McCarthy. Liam uses this request to his advantage and creates a Tir out of Ireland: Tír na nÓg.

The first "gray market" cyberdecks become available.

The government of Brazil topples in the aftermath of an attack by Awakened forces, including three dragons. The Awakened declare the new state of Amazonia.

The Confederate American States (CAS) declared their independence from the UCAS and are immediately recognized by Aztlan, itself recently separated from the NAN.

* Amazonia founded.
* CAS secede from the UCAS.
* Aztlan withdraws from the STC and the NAN.
* South Florida joins the Caribbean League.
* Richard Villiers becomes one-third of Fuchi Industrial Elec.
* May: Matrix Systems, Boston, releases first gray-market cyberterminal.
* Jun: Matrix Systems suffers a computer crash and its two primary shareholders die in "unrelated accidents".
* Jul: Richard Villiers, the remaining majority shareholder, buys into Fuchi with the Matrix Systems technology.
* Dec 25: Formation of Tir Na nOg announced.

On May 1st, the Elves of the Pacific Northwest secede from the NAN, declaring themselves the nation of Tir Tairngire (Land of Promise) and confiscating Indian land for themselves. Their borders, which had previously been open to all metahuman refugees, snapped shut. Violent clashes between Indian and Elven tribes break out.

The Tsimshian tribal coalition withdraws from the NAN.

* Mar: Liam O'Connor becomes State President of Tir Na nOg.
* The Ceneste branch of the Sinsearach elves establish the elven nation of Tir Tairngire (TT).
* TT secedes from the NAN.
* Lugh Surehand appointed High Prince of TT.
* Tsimshian secedes from the NAN.
* Aztlan invades Texas, capturing the cities of Austin and San Antonio. The CAS refuses to support Texan resistance, causing Texas to secede (briefly, they were re-admitted 4 months later).

A small community of Awakened beings in rural Ohio is napalmed by Alamos 20,000, a terrorist group dedicated to destroying all metahumans. Over the next 15 years, Alamos 20,000 is linked to the deaths of a thousand metahumans and openly sympathetic supporters.

Fuchi Corporation markets its own third-generation cyberdeck, the desktop CDT-1000.

* UCAS Pres. McAlister withdraws all federal support from CA after they threaten secession.
* Tir Tairngire invades south to Redding.
* Aztlan invades north to San Diego.
* Japan takes control of San Francisco.
* Alamos 20K claims responsibility for the firebombing of a town in rural Ohio, their first public atrocity. 20 people (mostly metahuman) die.
* 14th Amendment to the UCAS Constitution: SINs.
* Fuchi markets 3rd-generation cyberdeck, desktop CDT-1000.
* Akiko Kano and Arthur White-Eagle earn the Nobel Prize for the "Kano-White Eagle Theory of Metaphysical Phenomena".
* Regeneration and transformation of regional forests begins in Scotland.

California declares independence from UCAS and it's immediately recognized by Japan. The powerful Japanese Imperial State land troops to protect their interests.

Texas secedes from the UCAS and makes an unsuccessful attempt to seize portions of southwestern Texas ceded to the tribes of Aztlan by the Treaty of Denver. Four months later, a frustrated and embarrassed Texas applied for re-admittance to the UCAS.

The Great Dragon, Lofwyr, appears with a staggering 63 percent of Saeder-Krupp's outstanding stock shares. He immediately votes himself Chairman of the Board, CEO, and president, effectively becoming the megacorporation.

* Emotive simsense.
* Denver Data Haven shows up in the shadows. (Physical location: the old USAF Academy in Colorado Springs).
* DocWagon founded.
* Lofwyr announces 63% ownership of Saeder-Krupp, votes himself chairman of the board, president, and CEO.
* Guerilla warfare in northern California pushes Tir Tairngire back north as far as Yreka. The territory between Redding and Yreka becomes neutral ground, claimed by both sides.
* Wolves and bears are restored to the Scottish Wild Lands.
* First North American Urban Brawl championship, "Super Brawl".

The Night of Rage. Racial violence breaks out in major urban centers of North America. Thousands die, most of them metahumans and their supporters.

* Feb 7: Thousands of metahumans, as well as their friends and family, die in global riots.
* New York City: 836 dead.
* Seattle: "Hands of Five" terrorist group firebombs the metahuman detention center on the Tacoma docks.
* Feb 10: Alamos 20K destroys the Sears Tower in Chicago.
* St. Patricks Day: Boston, Knights of the Red Branch bomb an elven restaurant on the parade route, killing 24 and inciting a race riot that claimed hundreds more.
* Nadja Daviar becomes the Dunkelzahn's third interpreter.
* Charleston, South Carolina: Serial killer caught and convicted on evidence obtained from a ghost.
* Fuchi sponsors the Universal Matrix Specifications (UMS) conference, Tokyo.
* A massive chemical spill kills 70,000 people in Teesside, England.

* Southern Africa unites into Azanian Alliance, composed of the Cape Republic, Oranje-Vrystaat, Trans-Swazi Federation, and Zulu Nation.
* Renraku Arcology in Seattle begins construction.
* The Universal Brotherhood opens shop (CFS in '42, Seattle in '45).

EuroAir Flight 329, en route from London to New York, is destroyed over the Atlantic, killing all passengers and crew. Though garbled, the last transmission seems to indicate that a dragon attacked the craft. Many believe the flight was sabotaged to retaliate for the Night of Rage.

Poli-clubs, youth-oriented associations devoted to spreading various political or social philosophies, first appear in Europe. Each club hopes to recruit the masses to its own viewpoint and thus play a leading role in the European Restoration.

With his Chiban vat-job complete, Lobo begins his indentured service to Saeder-Krupp's newly formed black operations division.

Yamatetsu elbows its way into the Big Seven, becoming the Eighth major megacorp.

* Dunkelzahn begins semi-annual "Wyrm Talk".
* Akira Watada, oyabun of the Watada-rengo, issues an ultimatum to the Korean oyabuns of Seattle. They must pledge their loyalty to the Watada rengo or suffer the consequences.
* Ares project: Cydonia discovers Operation Discovery crash, Veil agents engineer a hoax to cover it. The cheesy UFO photo made public 15 years later by Dunkelzahn's Will.
* Liam O'Connor (President of Tir Na nOg) disappears from public life.
* First biannual international Urban Brawl World Cup.

Liam O'Connor, State President of Tír na nÓg, dissappears. His wife of two years, Brane Deigh, proclaims herself "Queen" of the Seelie Court, a non-legislative body said to influence the spirits of elves, rather than their minds or bodies.

Four new chapters of the Universal Brotherhood, an organization espousing a philosophy based on EST, New Age pseudo-mysticism, and a healthy dose of Madison Avenue marketing smarts, open in California.

Former gymnast and newly signed Ares Predator, Hana "Rita" Moritaka takes the Urban Brawl scene by storm. An instant media favorite, she is dubbed, "Ricochet Rita."

* Jan: Watada-rengo assassins invade Seattle and kill the vast majority of the Seattle Yakuza's Korean leadership. The survivors are forced to pledge loyalty to the Japanese rengo or be executed. New Japanese managers are put in place, and within a few weeks the Japanese once again control the Seattle Yakuza.
* Former Korean Yakuza oyabun Park Jai Kyu begins organizing the Seoulpa Rings in Seattle with the help of his remaining contacts and followers. The concept catches fire and begins to spread through the metroplex and the rest of North America.
* Rhiannon Glendower becomes Countess of Snowdon.
* Gwynedd elves make major advances in Welsh regional parliament.

Aztlan nationalizes all foreign-owned business. Semi-open war breaks out as some corporations fight to retain their holdings. Under cover of the fighting, Aztlan annexes most of what is left of Mexico execpt for the Yucatan, where Awakened forces halt all takeover attempts.

Hanzo Shotozumi is appointed the oyabun of the 87th Prefecture in Seattle. He re-institutes and enforces traditional Yakuza ways and values, and begins an aggressive campaign to expand Yakuza operations in the Pacific Northwest.

* Don Patrick Finnigan is failing to hold the line against Yakuza encroachment in the Seattle metroplex, and so the Commissione calls Don James O'Malley out of enforced retirement to resume control of Seattle operations. O'Malley is appointed Don of Seattle specifically to slow Yakuza growth in the metroplex. He, his wife, and his 15-year-old daughter Rowena move to Seattle.
* The Seoulpa Rings start making a name for themselves in the Seattle underworld as their operations expand; they begin to encroach on the markets of the other syndicates.
*German Alliance founded
*The Universal Brotherhood opens a chapter in Seattle.

The first simsense megahit, "Free Fall," starring Honey Brighton, eventually sells 50 million copies.

The policlub idea spreads to North America, but with violence in its wake. The Humanis Policlub, in particular, attracts a major following that cuts across economic, social, and political divisions. In a series of paid advertisements. Mothers of Metahumans (MOM) denounces Humanis as an army of the shadowy Alamos 20,000.

Rita (as Ricochet Rita, Razorgal) begins engaging in black operations, including wetwork, for Ares Arms.

* A team of rogue deckers erases the results of California's gubernatorial election, allegedly aided by a Los Angeles street gang. The so-called Lost Election prompts the government to declare war on the "criminal element" in Los Angeles, sending army and corporate mercenary troops to raze El Infierno. After fighting a losing battle, California's central government declares Los Angeles a Free City.
* Para-VITAS outbreak in Tynesprawl (England) kills 120,000. Believed to be the work of unidentified eco-terrorists.

Tir Tairngire is admitted to the United Nations.

Rita and Lobo cross pathes, while raiding the same Renraku facility. Rita is recognized by a brawl-enthusiast, security guard. After the run, Rita uses her "bonus money" to quietly purchase half interest in the Big Knobi Klub.

* Veracruz Settlement: Aztechnology pays reparations.
* Panama canal becomes a Pan-Corporate Zone under the Corp Court.
* Colbert Group CEO Alan Adams is elected president of the UCAS.
* Panama admitted into Aztlan.

The Governor of Seattle signs an exclusive trade deal with representatives of Tir Tairngire. Seattle, already a major cultural and economic center for the UCAS, NAN, and large segments of the Awakened, now takes on new importance as the only access to Elven goods and services.
* Renraku develops first Semi-Autonomous Knowbot (SK).
* Aztlan and Amazonia squabble over Colombia and Venezuela

Seventh generation cyberdeck is keyboard size.

Cyber- and biotechnology continue to advance as a significant percentage of mankind chose to distance themselves from the faults of natural flesh.

Gislan the Wrench ends Lobo's corporate contract. Freed but incognito, Lobo assumes the name, "Fenris."

In October after being barred-for-life from Urban Brawl, Ricochet Rita forms the Outcasts for a retailatory strike at Ares Arms. The media later dubs it, "the Halloween Heist."