In the year 2100, the world descended into chaos. Japan backed out of NATO, with no reason being relayed, and proclaimed complete independence as it closed its borders. Shortly after, the first major war between corporations broke out in Japan.
Tempest Networks and Locust Technologies were at each other's throats, vying for the highest level of power to gain domination of the market.
A new order had been achieved as Tempest tore through Locust's hometown. There was little that could be done in the face of such ferocity.
After taking out the competition, Tempest shifted their focus to the government. There was no fighting, just one conference between the current Prime Minister and the CEO of Tempest.
Over a month, Tempest had wiped the slate clean and taken an entire country for their gains. Japan's borders re-opened, and the Japanese Tempest branch reconnected with its subsidiaries across the globe. Overnight, they reformed into a global monopoly
During the year 2103, Tempest finally made their move on the USA. Local governments on the western seaboard fell to individuals planted in them by Tempest. Eventually, a Civil War broke out between the East and the West.
The West defected and became the Free States, completely under Tempest's control. The East remained hopeful and deployed its entire military might to stop Tempest forces from seizing control in the neutral central states.
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This, however, had the opposite effect. The Central states saw this as an act of aggression and fractured. No longer neutral, every state chose sides in the war.
This second Civil War would rage for three long years, and neither side made any significant progress. Both sides were tired of fighting and signed the Collective Neutrality Act in 2106.
Everything west of Kansas and Nebraska became the Free States, controlled by Tempest officials. Everything east of that, became the New USA.
The Free States became a haven for corporations looking to do whatever they pleased. As the economy boomed under the direction of Tempest, the population suffered and became more and more fractured.
The NUSA was not as fortunate. They inherited all the debt of the former USA and a crippled economy. Unable to pay off their debts, congress sold the presidential office to the CEO of the Free Mason Corporation.
F.M.C. quickly took hold and began reducing the national budget drastically. The national debt was brought to a manageable level within the year, and the F.M.C. looked to tighten its hold on the NUSA.
With a lack of technology and suitable infrastructure, F.M.C. produced the neural deck to combat poverty and spy on its denizens. Shortly after the ND was introduced, it became law that all children would have one implanted, and all adults capable of the surgery also would. The Free States quickly adopted this law, and Tempest paid F.M.C. for proprietary access to the technology.
After the war, Tempest built two Mega Cities on the West Coast. One in Washington State and one in California. The city in Washington, where our story takes place, was named Rapforn City.