rrr SROSOLRDS The EvroTheatre Sourcebook for Cyberpunk® 1992: let's see if we can make it a bit brighter than this, K? EMR eeEUROSOURCE BOOK Weitten By: * Mark Galeotti Gover: *© 1991, Doug Anderson stations: * Lawrence A. Williams # Eric Etheridge * Dan Villalovos * Mike Jackson ‘Art Direction: ‘* Matthew Anacleto Eating: * Derek Quintonar, S.E. © Britt Daniels | Paytesting | end Assistance |e RB Annis | © Simon Bonney + Sue Bouchier * Brutus Lol Elson ‘ NilsErk Fohlvik Shaun Hovers lan * Hons Jomlind * Chris Joul * Steve O'leory * Magnus Seter * The Smaltaregréind Maniacs * Just Stuort John Wilson # Andy from the Games Castle There's a new Edge in town; a new style. It's smoother, more subtle, with the sheen of expensive metal and silk. It moves through the cabarets and clubs like a cyberteched shark, seeking the action, defining the fashion, choosing its targets with preci- sion. When it goes for the kill, a momentary fog of blood hits the water, then, once again, the smooth, remorseless waves dlose over the body. What get it, t? It's Eurostyle, And there's only one place you can This book takes you there; across the Atlantic in streamlined, stratliner comfort, to a place known and envied by those few ‘American Cyberpunks who can scrape up enough euro to “hop the pond". New Europe— in ll its greed and grandeur, graffitti and glory. The place that sets the pace and makes the style. And a place where a deceptive tameness hides an even more lethal ruthlessness. Here you'll meet the elite; the rulers of the most powerful en- fity on earth: the European Economic Community. You'll look into the megacorp boardrooms, the governmental sanctuaries, and the filthiest street hovels. You'll party with the Goldenkids in Cannes, dreampaint in Paris, scuffle with the Meatboys in Liverpool , dodge toxic waste and riots in Eastern Europe, face down the KGB in Leningrad, and maybe grab a few gamma~ rays on the turbulent Greek Islands. It's a whirlwind tour of the Euro-Continent, complete with three slammin' new adventures to make sure you ain't sleepin’. So here's your ticket, ripperboy. Grab your seat; the party's just starting. Here's Eurostyle— in your face.TT Lae es [ittime=——-- 2,0 THEEUROPEAN COMMUNITY ......... 19 Eitieem—— 3.0 LIFE INEUROPE ......... 28 4.0 ROLES INEUROPE ......... 37 5.0 PLAYING EUROSTYLE: ......... 51 5.1 WELCOME TO NEW EUROPE 52 GOIN’ CRUSING 0... ese eee creer eee 55 53 BUGS IN THE SYSTEM Coy eta be sod ii a's - FE ~ uit. hyo ne Gn ME ed GAMES, INC. ies aigh ones, Alintrs sis, opus ay wince irl ey sry, ice, ‘PIO a8, REEL, $4707 al homes hing dest neinTEC esGERMANY: HEART OF THE CONTINENT Cm “The industrial, and political centre of Europe, is Germany, a rich, prosperous nation with every intention of retaining its hold on Europe, and only slowly coming to appreciate the new threat from France. The past rwenty five years cof primacy have left their mark on Germany's physical exteriorand national psyche. Most of the county i green and quiet - why bother polluting your own land, when you can just as casily pollute your poorer Central European neighbours” German industry isthe most ‘advanced in Europe, and German goods are prised for their reliability and value. Inside, ‘Germansare not so much smugas proud proud ofa regained birthright, in steering the EC to prominen in the world, and thar chey have managed to keep much of. the anarchy and violence they see on their vid screens every day confined beyond continental Europe's boundaries HISTORY AND POLITICS ‘With che reunification of Germany in 1990, the road to European dominance was clear and inevitable. By the last years of the century the ‘economic, political and social dislocations caused by the marriage of two so different systems had been overcome, and Unified Germany was the acknowledged regional superpower. Bismarck’s dream, Germany's “place in the sun’ was assured Teja that the Germans had any grand plan for European domination. anythi spicuousy cod Europeans'— funding the shor lived EuroBank Development Plan for Central Europe, generous in the wake ofthe 1995 food ast forbearing in dheit response to the ‘freight crisis in the USSR. But economic riots in the E power means political power, and powerhasa gravity ll itsown, atractingever more, accum- lacing itand unwilling ro release it Asin so many other European countries, the ‘Wasting Plague of 2000 proved a uming point. Germany was expecially hard hitinit- ially, bur ehe biowat labs at Neustrelits were the first ro come up with a partial inoculation. As this was passed on to Germany's European common market, «common heritage, « common destiny.” logon oat alabvot sgning 'f 1992 Conmon Evepaon Chae, Bron, @ Ocaber 1992 New Ewope— ore of he daira wold ows I he erp ony, of nce oni oe of econome ond plies lies ord a retey colecton of etirg cours, ded byron agora ordnerea ‘ora vme ign might rk, ond eins 0 word apart fm he USA, sr plah, weal, ago end raed som.EUROSOURCE BOOK ‘Austria i now inal butn rare porto Garmany, a tly td no 1 elghbur's toil ond economic ‘tem att ohan cad he Seeantaosh nde Colm ond sche, is inreosngly ore big "comer vile for Garon tiv who wont wecond nome ‘ebvod?, bt ca bear height oflving naar al thou einer, Mow Germons con? magi Ife ‘unide hee corp, etlore vei bockavoe of Beri, KDC and epg Halla hove her own nightie ond whederdech As rtondit eva ‘998 tap op fet compo ogi! ‘he olemotne sre! can pele shut on ee. Ave we seing rae of hw sro lanai undeross ‘ond ogo zone you find aware in treweidt Swot rove oer hon lana, ough, who pdt hare ‘woud raver be 2 revolon in Germany becuse you con book tee ori dance, ard een oF teed end met Valent, Geman sete itor by most sora, | partners, itbecame a powerful symbol in the ‘lection campaign of Volker Mohr and his | New Liberals, whose slogan was, “Saviours of Europe, Crucible ofa New Millenia.” Mohr's ‘crudely nationalistic thetoric stuck the right rote at atime when the ravages ofthe plague had stripped away much ofthe sophisticated | cosmopolicanism of the Germans, and lef | them looking for something to believe in | Acer few successes the New Liberals shattered into a dozen feuding factions, but Mohs contribution had been to reestablish, “the German identity’ on the political agenda ‘Suddenly, every party had to proclaim its loyalty to ‘traditional German virtues and present iselfas the champion of ‘German "| tights? This meant demanding afar greater political say in the EC, equal to Germany's “economic strength. Consider the European ‘Coure judgement against zaibatsus, which sparked the 2015 "Yen War:a German bid to limit the tole ofthe extemal economic giants in Europe, thus leaving the way open for the intemal one. ‘With France beginning to contest their ‘hegemony, some Germans are beginning to wake up to thisalmose unconscious self assertion. Some are trying to get back to the ‘old approach, ‘Europe one and indivisible. (Others, chough, especially the political and industrial barons, are beginning to fight back. GEoG APHY United Germany is divided into sixteen regions (Lander), as wel as the Greater Berlin Metroplex. More Germans live outside the ‘urban centres than one might expect, due both tothe excellent transport system and sizeable investment in telecommuting (working at home, linked by the Net toan office) and small-scale, high-tech ‘village industries Greater Berlin is sprawling beast, a national capital seemingly beyond even the Germans ability to tame. The centre isthe historical and administrative heart of the country a beautifully landscaped place of parks, museums ‘and dark-glassed office blocks. The suburbs, however, are relatively disordered and violent places, the focus fo all sorts of corporate rivalries and private enterprise. ‘The other major cities are Dresden, the Koln- Dortmund Conurb(KDC), Frankfurt, Leipcig-Halle, Munich and Hamburg, Monich is both Germany's second city and the capital of Bavaria, while the KDC isthe key heavy industrial centre. The Danzig Corridor, ‘ coastal strip reaching the formerly Polish city of Gdansk/Dansig was annexed (taken under EC stewardship’) in 2006, and isstill subject ro sporadic unrest. The presence of a major army live fire training area in the coridor does nothing to endear the Germans to their new citizens there CULTURE AND SOCIETY (Outside the major conurbs, German culture is largely stable, stratified and content. Most Germansare, afterall, employees, no entre- prencurs beholden to either corps or the big bureaucracies of the E-govemment, orto na- sional and Lander civil services. Even those apparently small businessmen or freehold farmers are actually franchise holders, or owner shareholders of firms with corp sleeping partners. Cradle to grave, Germans are cush- ioned, comforted and confined by a network of corporate welfare services: health care, pen sions tied housing, corpcop security. ‘Alocof Euros like to sneer that i's made the Germanssoft. So who running the continent? The Germans lke the way they live,and they are prepared ro fight fri. Most Germans goon holiday a least twice a year, with disposable incomes unparalleled in the world. Yer fewer than ten percent have ever been outside Europe, and half, indeed,have never stepped beyond Germany's borders ‘except toa corporate holiday resort: imported German beer and sausages served by, who? Ceechs, Spaniards, Hungarians, Turks? ‘They drive German-made cats, even if most ofthe components were built in dirty facto- ries in Poland and styled by Ialians and all the factory in KDC did was install the Japa nese stereo. Into that stereo they'll puta CD marketed under a German name, but probably made in a franchise in Hungary FRANCE ‘Most commentators lock at France from a po- lical and economic penpective. After all having emerged from a period of decline, France-still che only vaguely credible rival ro German dominance in Europe -is beginning ro challenge its neighbour flushed with a new nationalism and confidence I JEALOUS DREAMERS (Oddds are preety much even as to whether it’s the latest europap or some ‘new tradition- al'— Wagner with synthesizers, or rap over- lay mixing famous speeches and passages from literature. If he or he is young, he may listen to the latest nationalist heavy rock on | the government label, probably without even realising the political message being pumped into the hindbrain. It's the same message that lurks behind almost every other "We own Europe, but aspect of German life: wwe love Germany” ‘When te unknown gr ert | began competing fr whe col lg | he out odrageos ple, he sezeorahees bogon plying ifr lea Colour One oi, shou pth wes 0 laughing blu hone, fay managed ‘ogre plage on he ride hen ‘wonton urvelon ive wid. Pry i, The scam showed wes fe wogesoves who dream, ami. He's | condonglr etna wth boware ond | sie of anys riggerboye, youl | know who he 5 Aboveall,Franceisaboutdraanpaintng thatpar ticularly European version of the general Cyber purk-era quest for Style and Edge. Originally it wasthe Goldenkids bored crekardelite uptown: censwho léoked to build legendasa way ofbring ingsomesortof meaning to their softandeasy lives. Thishas, tosome extent, generally spread down thesoxial pyramid, butitsthe French who ‘ae mosthockedon painting,TORT dee The Benalux nore (eg, Nathaonds, iormboug renee largely wher Aro ‘Germany. Ingrid ino hot wighoow's power i, erupt raterk end corey pecking (exgei he tore language: while aL - Even a streetki’s dream is not just a warm. lice fantasy to make the grimy drudge of | daily hussle a bit easier— it's hard, sharp + ambition he'll plan, consider, refine. Some ) day he'll make his bid, and then everyone better watch out. He'll probably leave his | guts splashed across some wet street, or pump his veins with uncut Slash to atone for hav- "ing filed. But maybe he'll succeed, and then he'll start thinking about the next step, while everyone else passes the word, and for day he's hot stuf, chill as can be. Lots of different dreams, lots of diferent dreamers. The rarorgitl who wants to see | Machu Piccu in the flesh, the insurance | broker who's going to cut a slice of streelife | one day, the cabbie who just knows he'd be | the chef to end all. Most aren't violent, most _ arene impossible, but the individual passions | they inspire can be pretty awesome _ Don'e stand in a dreamer’s way, K? | so why did ‘painting hit of so hot in France? | Usual answer: right place, right time. Early : | 2000s France was busy rebuilding from the |_| Wasting Plague. In a way, it was a blessing, since it provided the sore of greater problem that overshadowed the race rumbles that could have resulted from the mass immigra- | tions from North Africa and the Middle _ East. With a population now only minority | pureblood Caucasian French, the country has an extraordinary level of racial harmony: | The agency of reconstruction was the Sixth _ | Republic, an all-embracing corporatist re ime that linked all the remaining institu- | tions of organized power: the bureaucracy, | big business, the unions, the military. The result was an efficient, utilitarian state chat plodded on ina moderate, unchanging | course. Elections came and went, but the government was pretty much identical, and its compromise-driven programme surptis: ingly effective. By 2010, France was rich, richer than ever. According to some indices, even rivalling Germany. The popular mood became increasingly dynamic, asertive, adventurous. People wanted change, they wanted action. But the Sixth Republic, efficient as it may hhave been, couldn't reform itself. So many of these energies rurned inwards, into per sonal growth, development and ambition. French art acquited a new power, with the Toulon- Toulouse graffiti school admired and imitated across the globe. Night schools were flooded with entrants and its per~ capita rate of PhDs was unprecedented. ‘Then came dreampainting, catching the ‘new mood to perfection Potutntiece s ‘The Sixth Republic collapsed, marginalized by its people. The Seventh Republic is, by contrast, a masterpiece of infotech democracy and demagoguery. Almost weekly electronic referenda, daily opinion polling over the phone, in the streets and through the screamsheets, and @ programme ‘of rotating, annual elections to the Chamber ‘of Delegates make French politics fast, furious and often violent. The result isa ‘government that fits the current needs of its ‘people quite well: it’ s0 tied up in political wrangling that i rarely does any governing. Except in foreign and EC policy, where itis doing a good job of articulating the new French optimism and assertiveness. The French have always been heavily represented in the Secretaria, and now they are getting positive support and coordination in fighting for a unified national policy. The Germans ‘may still top most of the economic indices so far-bur they might just find themselves ‘out-bureaucracied.Paris isa perfecr snapshot of France as whole, steeped in the new mood of optimism and impatient ambition suffusing all of French, society, from top to bottom. Literally top to bottom, in fact: since the rising water rable ‘putso much of the metro outof service (replaced by equally impressive overstroet monorails), the nenwork of tunnels has been claimed by Parisian youth, with underground meeting places, squats and hideours, largely unfazed by the reports that toxic leakage into the water table has begun polluting the area Every now and then a tur war becomes 20 violent, and the Garde Republican sal off seme tunnels and pump them ful of stungas, bbuton the whole they confine their presence toa few heavily armed and well-trained patrols ‘and regula stop and search checkpoints at major entry points (On street level, Paris has seen a decade of extensive urban renewal, and the seven glass rowers of the Central Ministries and the lic tering chrome New Paris University arcology are fitting symbols of the new nationalist elite. After the smog scares of 2013, and the ‘humiliating spectacle of army oxy-wagons in the squares as if Paris were Birmingham, Detroit or Bucharest, private cars have been banned from much of the main plex centre, replaced by the monorail and thousands of the public pay-as-you-drive type of track guided electrocar affectionately called the sours (mouse). BRITAIN: THE BORDERLINE OF EUROPE ‘Wracked by social and political conflict, half- hearted member ofa bloc increasingly hostile tthe USA, Britain has since the rum of the century been steadily more out of step with its Continental partners. Irs large-scale industries are in terminal decay, its democratic traditions ‘crushed under martial law, and its voice in. EuroGovernment circles ignored with growing regularity Forall this, Britain has a raw, streetwise vitali- tyalien to genteel Europe. As the big factories \ Tha county isin mal eur once prod nation iain. Wit a haony “ABC TV announcement, London, ‘3 February, 2001 Te Marl Low Proviso Covel by the powers inves nt by te Eargency At of 2001, hot uronmouly agreed 0 exter ‘uo by enor Fv yer period Tis ke party emporory macau “BEC TV announcement, Landon, 2 February, 2002 Gerwal ord Boor, LONDURAMARLAUTH, on bah of MARPROCO,herewh ue note thot he Frovlonl Avhory wl rein Is guodonaip of he Bitsy nasion or s0 long ot he prevent amagency tacos, In Heworchip or fe doy shen 9 propery appoined democrat [goverment moy ke pth vein of power. That sal ~BBCVid announcement, London, 30 January, 2007PELE ae close, small but often very high-tech ‘cottage industries’ are chriving, producing some of Eu rope’s best hackers, most ingenious customn- bbuildersand chillesfine-runers, Brcish music retains an edge and a power largely submerged ‘on the Continent undera sugary flood of bland ceuromuzak. The viclence of British streets (and the ongoing killing round that is North: cem Ireland) produces solos second to none. To move hom one MIA fo anther requiess © Tons Pemit (Trop. |) part Aayone no! wontingt opely ot he lel pelice offer ot Inst ‘2 week in advance hod eiher bet ter hove good contacts forporoty support haps, consider tan AV ERAGE Rasovicasehac, © ely shah fd atlas! Te | or be lepared 10 run the ines MIA, border ote potoied by the Tron 38 Supersiion Paice TRANSUPOUCE, “Tosher' to ev ‘eryone elie), lagely rte nyejech ond conve on treondahol im dante convocts The roe ce ‘cation where paral oe ny hey OF coun, Britain's recent history is afterall, a cara- logue of disasters. Already facing economic slowdown, Britain was unready forthe influx of immigrants from Hong Kong in 1995 when, two years belore the official handover to China, the extremist Maoist Loyalist Ca bal seized power in Beijing. At first chere were hopes thar an infusion of highly-crained [sued Yep persoone is well sort kling for and motivated workers would invigorate the ae economy; and that - given the Euromarker a Seas nite tll dnl ne oe conto the Continent ba ” eee In 1997, however, the MidEast Melrdown tumed ne | ECamenon south, besdnga newrhoslity 0 cou: irks ic lito ong Kong thas pe ie London tried everything from strict border ee | contol to cash inducements sty, one way oF iG | the other rues made ita homeland _ edly unable to warsfer is surplus abroad ae | Bitainwatsheay unstable: The Ames oon Masacre was poweful symbol of the ae alienation of system and people. As refugee ce camps spouted along the westem const, the get “kongs became a convenient scapegoat for fe rising crime, unemployment and social a turmoil. By 1999 this had developed into the oo ‘Consolidation’, a nationalist backlash dhat a seared with lyachings, moved on to ertorsm is and then spiralled totally our of control. a Welh and Scotsh nationalists clashed with ay government troops, mobs loted the centres of the cities and food supplies began to run out ‘The Wasting Plague shattered Europe's power roact in concert, and, without EC help, the government collapsed in impotent recrimi- ration. In 2001 the army launched suc- ccesful coup, resisted only by the Royal Mar- ines (later disbanded) and local loyalists. ‘When King Charles Il refused to endorse the ‘coup, the monarchy was quietly disbanded: che relative apathy with which this was greeted ‘was a sign ofthe chaos of che times, THE PROVISIONAL MARTIAL LAW AUTHORITY Since then, Britain has been contelled by a martial law regime run on increasingly feudal lines, with the Martial Law Provisional Coun cil representing the eight most important Mamial Law Authorities. Britains new ers ae insula and suspicious, drawn from tad tional military families and with a penchant forlong,riiculousacronyms. While wary of each other, they will unite to fight a common threat, such as the Scortish Uprising of 2016 With only 46 ofthe 427 Community CCouneillors and nor one EC Secretariat ‘Commissioner, Britain$ role in Europe is minimal. The Authority prety much ignores, its Councillor who, in tum, are equally snubbed in Brussels. If the UK hasa role, iis asspoilerand fifth column. Despite the sie of itsarmy,itconeriburs very lite to the European Defence Force, and there are often sxpicions thet London is ‘Washington's man’ in Europe. The truth is more complex, but there are certainly close ties, hence the near exclusion ofthe UK from key EC projects lke the Mars Mission. GEOGRAPHY Britain is dominated by eight main conurba- tions, each capital of an MLA. London is much diminished. After the Plague and the food shortages it was near deserted, and the government has actively prevented furtherMember ‘General Lord Beavoir ‘General Lord immigration to keep it relatively quiet and disciplined. Birmingham has also contract- ed in size, and is now General Lord Cornell's seat of power. Since the Midlands OrbitAir facility is within his iefdom, he has respon sibility for Britain's minimal space pro- gramme. The Southern Welsh Conurba- tion, capital of WELSMARAUTH, is also relatively sable New settlements to house nomads and kong refugees have doubled the size of SMAR- LAUTH's Bristol, which also coordinates the Army Franchise Agricultural Develop- ments which feeds much of the country. No- tionally under military control, the ARFRAGDEVs ate actually licensed to agri corps and smaller operators. Immigrants and refugees also sprawled Manchester and Liver- pool into the Cheshire Plains Conurbation, «capital of NOREASTURBMARLAUTH “The fighting in Scotland has brought a vast influx of refugees - usually of English extrac- tion - to che industrial Tyne-Tees Conurba- tion in NORWESTMARLAUTH, and as a result ofthe fighting the Lanark-Lothian ‘Conurbation (uniting Glasgow and Edin- burgh) is now effectively under siege behind networks of defensive robot mines, its mar gins killing grounds randomly swept by the idon Urben Martial Law Authority (ONDURBMARLAUTH) | General Lord Grey of Bristol | Southem MIA (SMARLAUTH) ks | N.Eosiem Urbon MLA (NOREASTURBMARLAUTH) rds |N. Western Urban MLA, (NORWESTURBMARLAUTH) MLA (MIDMARLAUTH) ; General Lord Kerr | Welsh Special MLA (WELSMARLAUTH) " Scottish Special MLA (SCOTSMARLAUTH) |General Lord McKenzie | Northem Irish Pacification Authority (NIRIPAC) ‘SAS and Army Intelligence Active Service (ARMINTAC). Vital supplies come in by ‘air oF sea, or in the huge, division-strength road convoys that at intervals punch their way through rebel-held areas ‘This is nothing compared to the chaos of the Northern Irish ‘Pacification’ Authority headquartered in Belfast, and its constanc ‘open war against a motley variery of ant. government forces. Operations are carried ‘out by a division-sized unit, half full-time NIRIPAC regulars, half mainland croops rotated through on 12 month tours after a three month acclimation course in the Liv- cerpool Combat Zone. The SAS and AR- MINTAC spearhead the search & destroy and bunt & scek operations that character- ise this brural, ragic war. CULTURE AND SOCIETY British society largely resembles its US coun: terpart, with the norable exception of the New Aristocracy. Since the coup, the gen- cerals have replaced all previous tiles with a new aristocracy based on service in the mili tary and its civil service. MLA commanders, for example, become hereditary barons, while Colonels, Department Heads and Police Commissioners are knighted. “The ont goverment eco in Noten Irlond rnge fom Colic iter a Promo! ze, The argent unbell ‘cxgerition the RA, which ian a range o ConsleRapuican groupe ‘ond conde toh wor and eon vertorl lio ops. Oude he RA, ough 8 ovarey of oer Repblcon ‘group wih whom ha RA somatines feud, sometime coopera, om Brendon McGoraheys Ware ffi tothe crate rai of Call 14 There ooo many mover cpposed the mare lw raging on ther thon sectoton grounds, tom Royolan cuploced, heavy armed emacs Final cone vocal ‘Orage Hinde, Poco vigor tbo bras even br he gover, coying ot her oun brand of counairugeney ‘Welmeoring bute tama by King Chaves sppar he cviion gover hod inti srr, ifrnce to bel ‘omiy wor widely suppoued hove een “ig th inert of stbily Of, hugh, mous hove begun cea ofa val hero Ihe tione, Whie Wels ond Scatond howe he own aotonolims uni them opain he ord Garros, is cel, perops, provid he English wh her own ording ymbo. Are he ‘nout tusk bres conde, it he or #5) genuine? 0, he ‘gveroments main acy ogeney, it Irereonigly conennad[TEP ETTae e es © Despite all che efforts of the authorities, Frondog fe Fonedog wos @ Gant He drt ind wh eps? ‘ond frees of ihr welary “weighing him down inert did hat ‘And fyou've ev! cried ono} McEwen sty post hosp, weld you hove nde i oa two mabe iter ws ‘panda mv righ ring he WELSMARLALTE/MOMABLALTH Tne ‘ober giiend aa mancore howl oid Kideritert ce Tergine Fil in ha shan sks, Viking eBoy, ony o ‘nom Fo Net Sd got hare nie toe hel gry role. Thesigh of ‘tat wo gang aly chew each ‘ha op prove 0 popu, ‘serering ot Chana os bacon roi nakonl aon between Nort od Sober edad "Wien Ute armed ogg ere meng om oro to open cw, Ero uated orcs ‘alta od bl aig pig, mabe of New xp Fesing he ecn of gtal womrg, abner compolgng nace dh bey 09fel bve, ond te voor cd iz fail Wore ‘oe pool esperar sca AL NRPAC ra fl bck ond censeo s oldon Peay chs ond \opolathnotons, tbe bos cone er or porous. Fund cad opens fw tester, 0 “or Brin hx dow ne weve er, ne fe he EC woud ware 2 pent inch ot nerdy wh Brith ner ars ie, he sapien ho rach erp Aung’ onal gon othe ein ork whe Kllnowadge he icormen canoe nrdon cad ait | nomads are ubiquitous: simple fugitives from | martial law; bandits and feedom fighter kong who refused resettlement and took to the road; esenally peacable ‘hippies’ who lef the cities as protest against autocratic rule and tend towards reverence fora simple, inchoate nature cut, focusing on traditional | sites such as Stonehenge and Glastonbury Relatively well educated, politically and | environmentally aware and organised, most area farcry from the unwashed looters of the popular stereorype (Official culture is not as dominaced by the iilitary as one might expect. One BBC | channel is run directly by the army, but beyond the omnipresent censorship, the rest are kept under a fairly loose reign. This _ afterall, is the generals guiding principle they don't want tobe bothered with the details of government and have taken over a civil service capable of handling allthis, ‘The real heart of British culture, though, is cout in the streets in its violent and constant undercurrent of protest, idealism and despair. Where some flee the control of the MLAs ina nomad life, most turn to internal, street-level culrural resistance, in the kaleidoscopic array of gangs and movements. Revivalism, for example, has ‘mass appeal, an escape to mythical golden days, from the Round Table Knights of he Bristol-Kingswood ResiDevelopment to the {predominantly Asian British) Nabobs of East London, in their colonial finery and pith helmers. Revivalists rend ro be counter-culture undergrounders, along with other, music- and style-based groups. The cadaverous Goths, for example, whose androgynous black clothes and silver skull es make them staple badguys for Continental vidilix bur which are, by contrast, largely middle-class rebels against the timid conformity and compromises of their upbringing, more likely o be horshor deckrunners than doped-out knifers. Or, even the AndroGoths who take Goth androgyn one futher, bioungtid into so- called ‘sexual neutrality.’ The underground isa network of groups, not necessarily gangs though there maybe gangs of uch types - ‘nor necessarily antagonistic: they tend to cooperate in face of the greater threat posed by suspicious and trigger-happy authorities. They just want todo their own thin, more likely wo meet ata gig than in ut rumble “Thar's more the scene of the other broad ‘grouping of British streetkids, the gangs like the streetgangs, usually short-lived groups coalescing around one or two charismatic leaders, the anti-cyber meatboys and more extreme revivalists, There are also the kamikazes, competing for more dramatic and ridiculous ways of spreading random mayhem, and the subs, dregs fallen through the rudimentary welfare, banded together in tattered, ragged and hungry bands who haunt the night looking for prey to mug, shops to loot and violence with which to repay society The overall eect ist ring real urgency and vitality to British street culture, Some of che world’s horcest rockers came from its sgureers,and many a the plastichrome luxury of the compeireuit still there, rejecting for the gritty streetreality. Take the North End Boys, with their distinctive mix of trad 1980s-style folk and ultramodern interface tock, or the plaintive purity of Missy ONeil’s latest single, a world away ftom the comforting blandness of europap, Ano ‘of refugees. Following the Consolidation, er key influence has been the influx many kongs reteared into their own, enclaves, recreating small slices of Hong Kong. Since then there has been increasing cross-cultural contact, with groups like Down2Zero and Beijing Belle mining a new, cosmopolitan seam.Faction-ridden, largely poor and unstable, the southern tiers definitely the ‘second rank’ of the EC. While not as exploited as New Central Europe, nor as fa from the mainstream as Britain, these nations are def- initely teated with patronising contempt by France and Germany. They are also much less carefully controled by the eurocrats and, hence, provide foreign freclancers ‘greater opportunities ro break into the Euro- pean scene. Greece, in particular, has be- come well known 2s an entry point for ambitious ‘lances. 1 T A L Y The Italian government straddles the North- South European divide.. In terms of econom: icand political strength it ranks third in Europe, and the cities of the North Italian Plain are as modern and thriving as any in France or Germany, In contrast, the Mesiogiomo, the Italian south, remains relatively underdeveloped, ‘and economic stagnation has bred unrest, 0 u 1 NCE pro- viding new sources of cheap, unskilled la- bbour, in 2010 the Italian government passed | resistance and conspiracy. Wit | a law allowing mass land confiscations and their sale to corporations, in return for guar anteed work and services forthe local popu: lations and steady tax revenues for the state. Asone could have expected, this led toa Tand-rush as corps bought up huge estates, installed mechanised ag systems, and paid off local inspectors fora fraction of the amount they would have been expected t0 spend on the local communities. The result isa dispossessed and alienated people, in- creasingly bitcer at che government in Rome, the BC and the corporations. The ‘Nuova Mafia is just one manifestation of this grass roots unrest ‘The comps are now hiring more guards for their latifundia, and the Carabinieri are hav ing to come to terms with a new outburst of random ambushes and sabotage. The furure cof a unified Iealy seems again in question as | North Italians increasingly doubt the advan- |TILT e ee c ‘ages of holding on to their peasant hinter. a land to the south a sop aA tN ae Spain did well out ofthe early years ofthe aS century. Largely bypassed by the Wasting i Plague, well-placed for trade with Africa, and the resuscitation of trans-Acdantic sea trade with the advent of high-efficiency to botankers and drogue-rowing cargosubs, both cities and countryside flourished. In- deed, the Spanish smallholder class even ‘managed to resist the ‘corporaticing’ trend, ‘economically strong enough to resist the threats and temptations of the agribiz com- bines and their plans to industrialize the Spanish countryside. “Ihave fh inh Grek people. We th never werent, noe eoibor sth he gorrca who wold etingith (01 notonl denocrte Yoon. (Grece, yout most glorious hour Attra busy enough fighting prisons inthe Since then, though, the country has been in. the doldrums and has watched with dismay the rapid rebirth of the economies of France, Germany and Italy. Parliamentary govern- ‘ment has become paralyzed as politics shat tered into myriad small, nartow-focus parties and factions. While EC subsidies keep the cities in their former glory, in the country at large people are hungry and angry. Basque separatism has reappeared, while banditry and petty lawlessness are on the tse. ‘Nomad groups ae growing feature ofthe | south, and government offices and centres are ‘becoming increasingly isolated. When times ‘are bad itis only the airforce and armoured convoys of the Guardia Ci that keep them supplied and defended. More and more of the hinrerland is becoming ‘bandit country’ asthe independent-minded Spaniard take up arms ‘on behalf oftheir villages and their families. PoRTUGACtL In comparison with its neighbour, Portugal is and placid country - in no small part because a half dozen comps pretty near own the place and have considerable vested in- terest in keeping everything cool. The pop- ulation is pretty much guaranteed a steady supply of new release vidllicks on the cable, stable food supplies and, in the cities at least, relative law and order. In return, all they have to do isfile into the polling sta- tions every year and keep thumbing that acal screen for the Consensual Progress Party. “The recent death of Progress Party supremo Victor Horta risks unsercling this litte haven ‘Two of the main ‘investors in Portugal - and, incidentally, Progress Party campaign funds are backing rival candidates. So far Metro- politan Merchant Finance's Sidonio Pereira has made most ofthe running, but Iberian Agrolndlustrals have managed to woo WNS iro supporting Rafaela Vaz, and the medi- aconps sereamsheets and vidnets have begun ro cat into Pereita’s vore. Will Merchant Fi- ‘nance’ recent buyout of a series of small mer cenary units prove relevant? All of sudden, the comorate gameplans of Arasaka an! Ama- sonian Service and Security - which together provide the meres policing most of Portugal - hrave become very, very important: Greece remains a major entry point to Eu- rope. Cargoes from Africa, Asia and the Midale East arrive at its ports and airports - not the least due to the traditional corrupt