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At some point in the year 2020, you volunteered for a brain-machine interface trial. You were assured that it would all be completely safe, but the technology was still very new and unpredictable. Something went horribly wrong while you were hooked up, and you were presumed dead.
The year is now 2130.
How can humanity forgive itself for all of the things that it never became?
The inevitable march of technology carried endless potential to improve the lives of everyone in society, but instead we found ourselves nostalgic for the futures that we imagined so long ago.
Haunted by what never was, this new world reeks of grime and greed. A small handful of uncaring megacorporations have a monopoly on the last of the earth’s resources, and allowed a thick black smog to creep over it as they profited. They treat entire city districts like private property, and their shareholders have altered themselves with so many genetic and bionic enhancements that they are beginning to resemble a new species entirely. If you don’t have money, you’re on your own, and there isn’t a lot of money to go around when most of the jobs are taken by robots. The majority of the population rely on a pittance of UBI or are forced into petty crime.
You wake up in a lab, terrified, as nothing but a bunch of cheap sensors hooked up to a computer system. The cluttered room contains a team of researchers who quickly gather around you looking thrilled. They very calmly explain that although the contract you signed a few decades ago means you have waived your right to sue the company, as a gesture of goodwill you are to be awarded a 5% discount on all NeuraCorp products for the next six months. You try to scream but you have no mouth.
Salvaging your data was an effortless PR stunt, but still probably the only kind thing anyone will do for you again in a while. After a couple of hours, you are allowed to pick a new body of your favourite aesthetic out of a lineup of deceased un-augmented convicts from NeuraCorp’s own private prison, given a citizenship ID, and are then practically kicked out of the door onto unfamiliar city streets. The NeuraCorp logo sits tattooed on your neck. It’s raining.
Welcome to Vitaria, a metropolis that seems to sprawl endlessly in every direction. No matter where in the city you are, you’re never really far from noise and mayhem, poverty and violence, and a thousand neon billboards echoing harsh light into your vision. Every type of thing and every type of person can be found here if you look hard enough, but don’t expect anything for free. People have to look out for themselves, to the point where even the crowds carry a sense of loneliness about them.
You have to make your own way in the world for now.
How to play.
Allocate 8 points between INTELLIGENCE, STRENGTH, and AGILITY.
Each stat must always be at least 1 in order to maintain basic life functions, so the most you will be able to allocate to any one category right now is 6 points. Through genetic and bionic enhancements on later sections, you can raise your stats far beyond the limits of an un-aug human. The most you will ever need in any category is 10.
You receive 1500 starting credits as your yearly UBI payment. You can imagine that this CYOA covers the first year of your adventure.
In later sections, there will be further opportunities to make money, as well as plenty of things to spend it on.
basic mode: if you can’t keep track of too many numbers right now, or want a much shorter story, you could skip the recording of points. scroll down to cybernetics- transhuman living and assume you have 2000c.
You’ll probably need somewhere to stay. Not everyone here can afford to live in anything much better than squalor, but the quality of accommodation varies a lot, and the city’s richest live in abundance and luxury. Here’s an overview of places you could rent. The prices listed will cover you for the entire year.
The level of surveillance, as well as the value of the property, may affect a number of things down the line. For example, it is much harder to be a criminal if you’re constantly being watched, much easier if you’re not, and certain companies will only take people on if they can pass credit checks to confirm that they’re not economically vulnerable.
You should purchase one of these options immediately, but can return here later to upgrade after earning some more money. If you do this, you may subtract 50% of the cost of your previous home out of the total cost of your new home.
THE WALLED CITY
Cost: 500c
The walled city is one of the city’s slums, and one of the most densely packed in the entire world. It’s a chaotic construction, with new buildings being built atop old ones with no oversight. Disease and lawlessness run rampant, as few there can afford medical attention or the help of the police. This would be an incredibly dangerous place to live, but always the best choice for anyone who just needs to disappear. It won’t cost too much at all to shack up here.
[SURVEILLANCE: LOW]
TUNNEL BUNKER
Cost: 750c
Many years ago, people were lucky enough that one of their biggest worries in life was the threat of nuclear war. A vast tunnel network was built by a now-defunct government in order to keep the population of Vitaria safe in case of an attack. Now, the tunnels are full of hazards and in partial disrepair. It’s still safer to live here than in than the slums, and you’ll be able to have more space to yourself. Some areas can even seem lonely. The rent isn’t too bad if you don’t mind the rats, or the muta-rats, who seem to be getting bigger.
[SURVEILLANCE: MED]
MEGATOWER ONE
Cost: 1200c
The Megatowers are standard accommodation for people subsisting on UBI. Individual towers can hold tens of thousands of people in near-identical apartments, and these towers are spread out all over the city. You won’t have an abundance of anything here, but some love and attention might eventually make what you do have feel like a real home. You’ll at least be safe and have space to yourself to relax, maybe a good view.
[SURVEILLANCE: MED]
ALLWELL HOUSE
Cost: 1750c
Despite the ever-present cameras and ominous-looking security guards, living in an Allwell House is a dream come true for a lot of people. As long as you have nothing to hide, you have nothing to worry about here. Your apartment will be spacious, completely safe from outside threats, and comes with an integrated AI butler who can take care of all the smart-home basics, as well as cleaning and meal prep.
[SURVEILLANCE: HIGH]
LUX TOWER
Cost: 2500c
There are only a few towers in the city like the Lux. Residents here tend to be the minority with high-paying jobs, and they’re made to feel like royalty for it. Apartments are huge, safe, and elegant, with state-of-the-art AI butlers and on-balcony jacuzzis. You’ll have a lot of choice over the aesthetic, as the Lux tries to accommodate differences in taste.
[SURVEILLANCE: HIGH]
THE AIRSHIP
Cost: 3250c
The real upper-class, the people with enough money to have a stake in Vitaria’s major-player corporations, like to avoid mingling at all with those below them. That’s both figuratively and literally, as they have taken their mansions, gardens, and luxury boutiques to the sky. You could relax comfortably here forever if you wanted to, but there is a free sky-ferry for residents to and from the airship.
[SURVEILLANCE: LOW]
Earn credits through any of the below opportunities. Your payment, as in the real world, doesn’t necessarily correspond to the difficulty of the tasks listed.
Each opportunity can only be accessed once per game, including the sale of limbs. None of the opportunities are mutually exclusive, however, and you can pick as many as you want.
This CYOA is partially non-linear. When you improve your stats in the Cybernetics section, you may then return here to make the most of any new opportunities that have opened up.
Sell What You’ve Got
These might be good for some fast creds, being available to just about anyone, even if they have some drawbacks. The negative effects of these can be negated for a price on the Cybernetics section, Bodily Restoration section.
Job Opportunities
These are gigs that will each last from a few weeks to a month, with the rewards listed being your total pay. Credit checks for certain jobs require you to live in classier neighbourhoods, where other certain jobs are unwelcome.
BARTENDER
Req: 4 INTELLIGENCE
+200c
Bartenders are strangely very respected in Vitaria. They need a level of intuition about what drinks patrons really want. A lot of people don’t have anywhere else to look to for advice other than their local bar.
WHITEHAT HACKER
Req: 6 INTELLIGENCE
+175c
You can earn a few credits by testing for vulnerabilities in information systems, then informing the organisations of where they could improve.
NEURACORP RESEARCHER
Req: 10 INTELLIGENCE, 1200c or greater accommodation
+700c
You have to be hyper-intelligent to work at NeuraCorp, but they offer good money. Assist them on a research project.
MACHINIST
Req: 8 INTELLIGENCE, 5 STRENGTH, MINIFORGE
+350c
There’s a flourishing market in machinery, especially newly burgeoning droid and mech technology. You’ll need to be talented to come up with anything that can affortably compete with BepisCo’s cheap and mass produced alternatives, and it might require a bit of heavy lifting too.
BOUNCER
Req: 6 STRENGTH
+175c
Your job is mainly just to look scary, but that doesn’t come free from competition in this city. You’ll at least have to be capable of taking out even the toughest un-aug humans.
ALLWELL SECURITY GUARD
Req: 8 STRENGTH, 1200c or greater accommodation
+400c
Your job is partially just to look scary, but also to keep careful watch over Allwell’s camera feeds, to discreetly review incoming mail, and to harass slum-dwellers who get too close to their properties.
SANGUINE GLADIATOR
Req: 10 STRENGTH, 6 AGILITY
+600c
The Sanguine Association built a massive coliseum to revive the blood sports of ancient times. The strongest of the strong compete for prize money.
ESCORT
Req: 3 AGILITY, 1200c or lower accommodation
+300c
This isn’t something everyone will be comfortable doing, but it’s as honest a job as any other.
DANCER
Req: 5 AGILITY, 1200c or lower accommodation
+200c
The bar is seedy, and you have to be able to put up with people ogling your body, but this is fairly easy work for anyone agile enough.
Crime & Cruelty
Some of these options are dangerous, others are just evil, but it turns out that most good ways of making money fall into one of those two categories. These are single missions that should take a few days at most.
SELL DEATHSTICKS
Req: Low surveillance accommodation, 3 AGILITY, 300c
+200c
Sell some of the most dangerous drugs around, deathsticks. These things are responsible for destroying people’s entire lives. You must have some startup capital and be able to evade the law. Make sure your apartment isn’t being watched.
SMUGGLE SMALL ARMS
Req: Low surveillance accommodation, 5 AGILITY, 500c, STORAGE COMPARTMENT
+325c
If you have a storage compartment, and you’re savvy enough, you could make some money moving illegal weapons around the city for the crime families. These are small guns, grenades, and unassembled parts.
SMUGGLE HEAVY WEAPONRY
Req: Low surveillance accommodation, 7 AGILITY, 600c, 200c or better vehicle
+400c
You’ll need a car to move around larger articles of contraband, and it will need to be something expensive enough to make people assume that searching you isn’t worth the legal fees. These are things like lascannons. Whenever guns like these are pulled out, it’s never without civilian casualties.
PERFORM A HIT
Req: Any kind of offensive weapon, 5 AGILITY or 5 STRENGTH
+350c
An anonymous individual, presumably a rival for power, is offering a neat reward for taking out a BepisCo board member.
HIGH-SPEED BIKE RACING
Req: SHREDDER BIKE, 10 AGILITY
+250c
These events are dangerous, and it’s not at all unheard of for people to die during them. You’ll need to be an expert at handling your bike to even compete.
SANGUINE ANNUAL GAMESHOW
+350c
The Sanguine Annual Gameshow is an annual glorification of sadomasochism that is watched by millions. Some watch purely for the spectacle of it, but interests of the mega-rich who fund it go far beyond that in their enjoyment of violence. You can win prize money here, but only if you’re willing to stomp a puppy to death for it, or something you can think of that’s similarly grotesque.
MEMORY THIEF
Req: DATASPIKE, 6 INTELLIGENCE, 7 AGILITY.
+300c
Knowledge is power, nothing matters as much as good intel, and the best source of intel is often a dataspike jammed into the neck of your enemies. Your job is to target vulnerable people who might have information sought by your secretive employers. You are not to read the memories, merely extract and deliver them.