Kawaiichen
The group’s name is a combination of the Japanese word Kawaii (cute) and the German ‘chen’ word form. They are bound together by their love of all things cute, as well as their youthful attitude. They are known to be excitable, bubbly, playful, and energetic.
The subculture is entirely made up of young women, although some groups will have effeminate male friends that occasionally hang around.
Their style of dress is focused on being cute and conveying a sense of youthfulness. Garments and accessories are often colorful, pink is common, but excessive use of it is frowned upon. Complete schoolgirl outfits or elements of them are a staple; this applies to both the English and Japanese versions.
There is a subset of cat girls. Unlike the ones from the Furry community, these ladies generally only have the ears which sit on top of their heads. Some use mechanical ears, these are often removable. Others use organic models, which are created using the woman’s DNA. There are some cat girl Kawaiichen and their admirers that dislike the removable ears, viewing them as being for posers. A few also have tails. There are a number of fox girls.
As with all subcultures there is a negative stereotype associated with Kawaiichen. Many people see members of the set as just being older women that have gotten young bodies and are desperately trying to relive their lost youth.
The Church of the Ascended
Tim Martin was the son of a wealthy businessman. An only child, his early years were spent in luxury, but he described it as lonely. Young Martin spent a surprising amount of time reading. He was sent to college with the mission of earning business and law degrees, with the ultimate aim of beginning his own career. While in school he took a class on world religion, this would give birth to his fascination with spirituality. His father and stepmother would only find out that he had switched his degree to religious studies when they attended his graduation.
Mr. Martin was livid. He disowned Tim, cutting him off from financial aid. The young prophet wasn’t deterred. He still had money, more than enough for what he had planned. Over the course of a decade he would go on a great journey, a slow pilgrimage across the world. He visited holy sites and met with scholars. He would chronicle his adventures in a non-fiction book, My Journey of Mind, Body, and Soul. The experience, along with his education, would be key in forming his philosophy, his other main influence was LSD.
Lysergic Acid Diethylamide was discovered in 1938 by Swiss chemist Albert Hofmann. During the early years of the cold war between the United States of America and the USSR the American Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) experimented with the chemical. As a part of their tests the CIA exposed American troops to LSD without their knowledge. In a bizarre attempt to gain the power of mind control the CIA carried out project MK-Ultra. The project would involve torture and sexual abuse, even of children, combined with doses of LSD. This operation would accidently start the counterculture movement of the 1960s. It would only be the first time that the CIA started a drug epidemic in America, the next time it would be intentional.
Tim Martin became convinced that the use of psychoactive drugs was necessary to obtaining total enlightenment. He experimented with many different kinds of psychoactive substances, including a large amount of LSD. But he would ultimately settle on DMT, as it is naturally generated by the brain for use in dreaming. Martin teamed up with a brain surgent to develop the DMT emitter, an implant that would gather and store the DMT generated by the user’s brain. The substance can then be used at will.
Having finally run out of money, Martin would spend the next three years going from one house to another. There are several famous incidences associated with this period. The press was scandalized by the fact that he was going around sleeping on people’s couches, and as was often implied, cavorting with happily married women. Another focus was his increasingly strange body modifications.
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Why Martin chose to adopt the appearance that he did is a matter of debate. Many people have noted similarities to the Greys, a superseded species of extraterrestrials that have entered into pop culture and the world of conspiracy theories. Others point out the resemblance to occultist Aleister Crowley’s drawing of an entity called Lam. The most likely explanation is the machine elves witnessed by the psychonauts of the past.
Tim Martin was murdered while alone in the home of his wife to be. He was shot in the back nine times, with no signs of forced entry, a struggle, or an attempt to flee. The killer was never caught, no suspects were ever identified. There was and still is much speculation on who killed the prophet. For many years after there was a stock character of the conspiracy theorist that is obsessed with the Martin case.
Theories include but are not limited to the following. Martin was assassinated by the government, which was scared of his growing influence. Martin was killed by an ex that was jealous of his newfound love. Martin was assassinated by members of another religion that feared him building a rival faith or for blasphemy. Martin was murdered by an angry spouse. Martin was assassinated by the people that would found the Church so that they could gain power. Martin was killed in a botched robbery that had nothing to do with who he was.
Martin’s teachings were consolidated into one source, The Book of Spiritual Wisdom and Advancement. Less than a year later The Church of the Ascended was founded. The church was quick to obtain a monopoly, using any available means, on the worship of Martin and the practice of his teachings.
Under the Church the study of Martin’s life and the implementation of his teachings would be simplified and systemized. A rank structure was established and protocols for ceremonies were created. Several years later Martin’s secret teachings were discovered. The mysteries, as they are known, are only taught to the most dedicated members of the Church.
The People of the Book
The group is a combination of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. Its name is taken from an ancient Islamic term for those religions that were based around the Old Testament. They are commonly referred to as Pee Bees or PBs. Depending on the person, this designation can be an insult, a term of endearment, an example of belligerent pride, or simply a matter of brevity.
For a long time, the older faiths had been fearful of where the world was going. Everything about the modern age seemed to be at odds with their worldview. Practitioners were free to learn about and adopt other beliefs. The scandals of religious leaders could no longer be buried.
Somewhere near the middle of the century the vast majority of Jews, Christians, and Muslims managed to look beyond their differences and past conflicts to focus on the needs at hand, which was fear of atheists and other threats.
The People of the Book is a support network, an advocacy group, a lobbying organization, and a militia.
The group recognizes all sects of Christianity, including Roman Catholicism, Nomadic Catholicism, and all branches of Protestantism; Sunni, Shia, and Reform Islam; as well as all forms of Judaism.
The Anti-shaming Coalition
The ASC is an organization dedicated to the advancement of people with heavily modified and non-standard bodies. Founded during the early days of body modification and brain transfer technology, it jealously maintains its domination on transhuman advocacy.
Scholars have noted that several key ASC founders were a part of the Critical Theory movement. A group which was exposed as being a communist ploy to divide society as well as an attempt at correcting Marx’s failed prophecy about a downtrodden class of people revolting against the powers that be and rebuilding civilization. The group’s defenders will point out the fact that in the early days artificial bodies were strange looking, often invoking the Uncanny Valley, and that people who had their original bodies destroyed in accidents or conflicts faced a lot of discrimination.
The Liberty Party
The Liberty party came to prominence during a particularly bad crime wave. They introduced legislation to increase the size of the police force, raise prison time for all offences, and build new correction facilities. After receiving a sizable donation and the promise of votes from Burabō Inc the party added an Anti-drug plank to its platform. To this day they still focus on Law and Order, no matter what the level of violent crime is currently at.
The Freedom Party
The Freedom party was created to counter a number of laws that were passed by a now defunct party. These laws placed harsh restrictions on people with bizarre bodies as well as hard caps on time spent in virtual reality. The party’s platform is concentrated around a vague idea of social progress. It has added a pro-Mars plank to its platform at the behest of Délta Corp.