GURPS Classic: Autoduel

130 Pages·1996·7.045 MB·English

by  Christopher J. Burke, Rob Garitta

G G U R P S ®
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ECOND DITION
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A BY CHRISTOPHER J. BURKE AND ROBERT J. GARITTA
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STEVE JACKSON GAMES
LLIIFFEE IINN TTHHEE FFAASSTT LLAANNEE .. .. ..
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.. .. .. JJUUSSTT GGOOTT FFAASSTTEERR!! R
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GURPS Autoduel was one of
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the first worldbooks ever
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published for the GURPS
D
system – over ten years ago!
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Its post-apocalyptic world,
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based on the classic Car Wars L
boardgame, was a fan
favorite as players faced a world
devastated by war, famine and despair . . .
on lawless highways where the right of
way went to the biggest guns.
Ten years later, things have gotten better
in Autoduel America – but not much. This
all-new Second Edition is 32 pages longer
than the original, and includes:
• A detailed history and description of “Autoduel America”;
• An updated and expanded “AADA Road Atlas and Survival Guide”;
• Vehicle construction rules completely compatible with GURPS Vehicles, 2nd
Ed., with a dozen sample vehicles;
• Complete character creation guidelines, including guns, equipment and
gadgets galore;
• Loads of campaign ideas for everything from a corporate autoduelling team to
a lone wolf vigilante, and more!
S
T
AANNDD RREEMMEEMMBBEERR .. .. .. DDRRIIVVEE OOFFFFEENNSSIIVVEELLYY!! E
V
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WRITTEN BY CHRISTOPHER J. BURKE K
9!BMF@JA:RSQSOOoYjZ\ZlZdZ`
S
AND ROBERT J. GARITTA ISBN 1-55634-240-3 O
N
E S H
DITED BY COTT ARING
G
C D E A
OVER BY ARRYL LLIOTT
M
I D S
LLUSTRATED BY AN MITH E
S
Printed in the
SJG01795 6003
STEVE JACKSON GAMES U.S.A.
By Christopher J. Burke and Robert J. Garitta
Additional Material by Craig Sheeley, Aaron Allston,
Scott Haring, Sean Punch and David Pulver
Edited by Scott Haring
Cover by Darryl Elliott
Illustrated by Dan Smith
GURPS System Design by Steve Jackson
Scott Haring, Managing Editor
Sean Punch, GURPS Line Editor
Page Layout and Typography by Bruce Popky and Jeff Koke
Interior and Color Production by Bruce Popky,
Richard Meaden and Lillian Butler
Print Buying by Monica Stephens
Art Direction by Bruce Popky
Matthew Grau, Sales Manager
Spike Y Jones, Proofreader
Hunter Johnson, Errata Coordinator
Playtesters: Nathan R. Duffy, Joe Ferarra, John C. Fiala, John J. Freiler, Paul Henrichsen, Jay Hindle,
J. Hunter Johnson, Damon Kosheleff, Jonathan Lang, M. A. Lloyd, David L. Pulver,
Sean Punch, M. Jeff Wilson, Jonathan Woodward
GURPSand the all-seeing pyramid are registered trademarks of Steve Jackson Games Incorporated. Pyramidand Illuminati Online and the names of all
products published by Steve Jackson Games Incorporated are registered trademarks or trademarks of Steve Jackson Games Incorporated, or used under license.
GURPSAutoduel, Second Editionis copyright ©1996 by Steve Jackson Games Incorporated. All rights reserved. Printed in the U.S.A.
ISBN 1-55634-240-3 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
STEVE JACKSON GAMES
INTRODUCTION . . . . . . . . . . .4
Life in Autoduel America . . . . . . . .15 Mississippi . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .31
Jobs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .15 North Carolina . . . . . . . . . . . . .32
Changes from the First Edition . .4
Travel and Transportation . . . .15 South Carolina . . . . . . . . . . . . .32
About the Authors . . . . . . . . . . .4
Airships . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .16 Tennessee . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .33
About GURPS . . . . . . . . . . . . . .4
The Midwest . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .34
2. THE AADA ROAD ATLAS AND
1. AUTODUEL AMERICA . . . . . .5 Illinois . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .34
SURVIVAL GUIDE . . . . . . . . .17
Indiana . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .34
American History Since the Turn
Driving Customs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .17 Iowa . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .35
of the Century . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .5
The Police . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .17 Kansas . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .35
Land of Sour Mild and Bitter
Bribery Rating . . . . . . . . . . . . .17 Michigan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .36
Honey . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .5
Speed Limits and Traffic Laws 17 Minnesota . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .37
The Oil Dries Up . . . . . . . . . . . .5
Weapons Laws . . . . . . . . . . . . .17 Missouri . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .37
Death Sports . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .5
Weapon Courtesy . . . . . . . . . . .17 Nebraska . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .38
History of Autoduelling . . . . . . .5
Map of The Continental North Dakota . . . . . . . . . . . . . .39
The Grain Blight . . . . . . . . . . . .6
United States . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .18 Ohio . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .39
Highway Duelling . . . . . . . . . . .6
Basic Traffic Customs South Dakota . . . . . . . . . . . . . .40
The Worm . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .7
and Laws . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .20 Wisconsin . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .41
The Food Riots . . . . . . . . . . . . . .7
Road Conditions . . . . . . . . . . .20 The Mountain West . . . . . . . . . . . .42
Environmentalism . . . . . . . . . . .7
Violence Frequency . . . . . . . . .20 Colorado . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .42
Reconstruction . . . . . . . . . . . . . .8
Facilities . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .20 The Deseret Autonomous
Anarchy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .8
Channel 9 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .20 Region . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .43
Cloning . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .8
The United States of America . . . .20 Idaho . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .44
Today . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .9
The East Coast . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .20 Montana . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .44
Around the World . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .9
Connecticut . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .21 Wyoming . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .45
Free Oil States . . . . . . . . . . . . . .9
Delaware . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .21 The Southwest . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .46
Edible Algae . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .9
District of Columbia . . . . . . . .22 Arizona . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .46
Weather Patterns . . . . . . . . . . . .9
Maine . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .22 Nevada . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .47
Canada and Québec . . . . . . . . .10
Maryland . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .22 New Mexico . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .47
Mexico . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .10
Massachusetts . . . . . . . . . . . . .23 The Pacific Coast . . . . . . . . . . . . . .48
The Space Program . . . . . . . . .10
New Hampshire . . . . . . . . . . . .23 Northern California . . . . . . . . .48
History of the Corporation . . .10
New Jersey . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .24 Southern California . . . . . . . . .49
South America . . . . . . . . . . . . .11
New York . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .24 Oregon . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .51
Great Britain . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .11
Pennsylvania . . . . . . . . . . . . . .26 Washington . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .52
Mainland Europe . . . . . . . . . . .12
Rhode Island . . . . . . . . . . . . . .27 Alaska and Hawaii . . . . . . . . . . . . .53
Domestic Terrorism . . . . . . . . .12
Vermont . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .27 Alaska . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .53
Russia . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .13
Virginia . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .27 Hawaii . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .54
The Middle East . . . . . . . . . . . .13
West Virginia . . . . . . . . . . . . . .28 The Free Oil States . . . . . . . . . . . . .54
Australia . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .13
The South . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .28 Louisiana . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .54
Battle of New Mexico . . . . . . . .13
Alabama . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .28 Oklahoma . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .56
Radio and TV . . . . . . . . . . . . . .13
Arkansas . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .29 Texas . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .57
Japan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .14
Florida . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .29 Canada . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .58
Antarctica . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .14
Georgia . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .30 Québec . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .58
Entertainment . . . . . . . . . . . . . .14
Kentucky aka The United Mexican States . . . . . .58
Bourbon Free State . . . . . . . .31 The Commonwealth of Australia . .58
CONTENTS
2
3. THE AUTODUELLIST . . . . .59 6. VEHICLES . . . . . . . . . . .102
The Paladins . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .88
Vigilante Groups . . . . . . . . . . .88
Character Creation . . . . . . . . . . . . .59 Armaments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .103
Citizen’s Militia . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .89
Character Types . . . . . . . . . . . .59 Sample Vehicles . . . . . . . . . . . . . .106
CONDOR . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .89
Advantages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .63
The Police . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .90 7. MOVEMENT AND COMBAT 111
Disadvantages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .64
Deathrunners . . . . . . . . . . . . . .90
Skills . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .65
Routine Travel . . . . . . . . . . . .111
Scout Commando Corps . . . . . . . . .91
Skill Specialization
Alternate Movement System . .111
American Green Party . . . . . . .91
and Familiarity . . . . . . . . . . . .65
Re-inventing the Wheel . . . . .111
GreenSpacers . . . . . . . . . . . . . .91
Converting Characters from
Special Maneuvers . . . . . . . . .112
The Hill Clans of Maine . . . . . .91
Car Warsto Autoduel . . . . . . . . .66
Optional Rule: DR Reduction . .112
Green Circle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .92
Prestige . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .68
Arena Combat Restrictions . .113
Helicopter Emergency Rescue
Sample Character:
Optional Rule: Ablative
Organization (HERO) . . . . . . . . . .92
Dana Lyons, Aspiring Duellist . . .69
Armor PD . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .113
Televised Interviews . . . . . . . . .92
Money . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .70
Gold Cross . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .93
Job Table . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .70 8. CAMPAIGNING IN THE
The United Broadcast
Uncle Al’s Auto Shop and Gunnery AUTODUEL WORLD . . . . . . .114
Network (UBN) . . . . . . . . . . .93
Stop Personals Section . . . . . . . .72
Getting Started . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .114
Corporations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .94
Weapon List . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .72
Amateur Night . . . . . . . . . . . .114
Electronic Databases . . . . . . . .94
Grenades . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .73
Campaign Resources . . . . . . .114
Ammunition . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .74
Team Events . . . . . . . . . . . . . .115
Gyroslugger Ammo . . . . . . . . .74
The AADA Annual
Weapon Descriptions . . . . . . . .75
Duelling Circuit . . . . . . . . . .115
Armor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .76
Suicide Jockeys . . . . . . . . . . .115
5. TECHNOLOGY . . . . . . . . .95
Weapon Accessories . . . . . . . .76
AADA Annual Schedule . . . .116
Explosives . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .77
Vehicles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .95 Surrendering . . . . . . . . . . . . .116
Tools . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .77
Electric Cars . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .95 The AADA Circuits . . . . . . . . .117
Medical Equipment . . . . . . . . .77
Autodueland Ultra-Tech . . . .95 Collegiate Autoduelling . . . . .118
Personal Electronics . . . . . . . . .78
Gas Burners . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .96 The Corporate Approach . . . .119
Personal Equipment . . . . . . . . .79
Vehicle Bodies . . . . . . . . . . . . .96 Cinematic Campaigns . . . . . .119
Common Prices Table . . . . . . .79
Armor and Composites . . . . . .96 The Seven Rammer-ais . . . . . .119
GURPS Vehicles . . . . . . . . . . .96 Vigilantes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .120
4. ORGANIZATIONS . . . . . . .80
Steering . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .97 Adventure Seed: The Man of
The American Autoduel All-Wheel Drives . . . . . . . . . . .97 the Century . . . . . . . . . . . . . .120
Association (AADA) . . . . . . . . . .80 Computerized Controls . . . . . .97 Making a Living . . . . . . . . . . .121
The Enemies of My Uncle Al, the Duellist’s Pal . . .97 Obstacles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .121
Enemies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .80 Weapons . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .98 Campaign Type . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .122
Anarchist Relief Front (ARF) . . . . .81 Machine Guns . . . . . . . . . . . . .98 Club/Organization Based . . . .122
AADA Behind the Scenes . . . . .81 Lasers and Masers . . . . . . . . . .98 Mortality on Their Minds . . . .122
Edsel’s Goals . . . . . . . . . . . . . .82 High-Techand Low-Lifes . . . .98 Lone Wolf . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .123
Big League Unlimited Duelling . . .83 Power . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .98 The Fugitives . . . . . . . . . . . . .123
The AADA Response . . . . . . . .83 Explosives . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .99 GURPSWorldbook
The Brotherhood Dropped Weapons . . . . . . . . . .99 Crossovers . . . . . . . . . . . . . .123
The Waking of the Presidents . .84 Computers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .99 The Western . . . . . . . . . . . . . .124
The Eastern Driving Safety Databases . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .99 Cyberpunk . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .124
Enforcement League (EDSEL) . . .85 Communications . . . . . . . . . . .99 The P.I. Campaign . . . . . . . . .125
Who is Stephen Austin? . . . . . .85 Micros . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .100 Robin Hood . . . . . . . . . . . . . .125
Hawks and Doves . . . . . . . . . .86 Personal Equipment . . . . . . . . . . .100 Autoduel Horror . . . . . . . . . . .126
The Mounties . . . . . . . . . . . . . .86 Personal Armor and Weapons 100
EDSEL and the Brotherhood . .87 Medicine in the 2040s . . . . . .100 BIBLIOGRAPHY . . . . . . . . .127
Cycle Gangs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .87 Physical Recovery
The MONDOs . . . . . . . . . . . . .87 (an Optional Rule) . . . . . . . .101 INDEX . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .128
The Good Guys . . . . . . . . . . . .88 Generic Brand Clone Bank . .101
CONTENTS
3
ABOUT GURPS
Steve Jackson Games is commit-
ted to full support of the GURPSline.
Our address is SJ Games, Box 18957,
Austin, TX 78760. Please include a
self-addressed, stamped envelope
(SASE) any time you write us!
Resources now available include:
Nearly two dozen years have passed since “Crazy Joe” Harshman mounted
Pyramid.Our bimonthly magazine
a surplus .50-caliber machine gun in his Chevy to win the Fresno Destruction
includes new rules and articles for
GURPS, as well as information on Derby, giving birth to autoduelling. More important, 14 years have passed since
our other lines: Car Wars, Toon, the authors picked up that first slim black box marked Car Warsback in college
Ogre Miniatures and more. It also
– and Chris still has that box. (No, he’s not selling it.) And Car Wars is still
covers top releases from other compa-
nies – Traveller, Call of Cthulhu, around, holding annual World Championships every year at Origins and
Shadowrunand many more. GenCon. After all these years, the cars keep rolling.
New supplements and adventures.
Now with GURPS Autoduel, Second Edition, the fast-paced action of Car
We’re always working on new mater-
ial, and we’ll be happy to let you Wars meets roleplaying versatility of GURPS. Now Car Wars characters can be
know what’s available. A current cat- as unique as their duelling machines – with more
alog is available for an SASE. than threehit points, to boot.
Errata. Everyone makes mistakes,
For the dedicated GURPS players who want
including us – but we do our best to
fix our errors. Up-to-date errata sheets to jump into the world of Autoduel,the mechanics
for all GURPSreleases, including this of vehicle construction, weapon design, move-
book, are always available from SJ
ment and combat are laid out in GURPS Vehicles,
Games; be sure to include an SASE
with your request. Second Edition. You will need that book to play
Q&A. We do our best to answer GURPS Autoduel. We also used material from
any game question accompanied by
GURPS Ultra-Tech, and you may find that book
an SASE.
Gamer input.We value your com- useful, too, though it is not required.
ments. We will consider them, not GURPS Autoduel lets you do more than just
only for new products, but also when
fight in the arena. Cruise the highways, explore the
we update this book on later printings!
world, shoot the bad guys, drink some coffee. And at the end of the day – or maybe
Illuminati Online. For those who
have home computers, Illuminati in the middle of it – get out of the car once in a while to interact and adventure.
Online supports SJ Games with dis- Then after you’ve spoken to the boss and accepted your mission, get back behind
cussion areas for many games, includ-
the wheel . . .
ing GURPS.Here’s where we do a lot
of our playtesting! It’s up 24 hours And Drive Offensively!
per day at 512-448-8950, at up to
Changes from the First Edition
28.8K baud (28.8 users should dial
directly to 512-448-8988) – or telnet
to io.com. Give us a call! Visit us on The Autoduel construction system is based on GURPS Vehicles rules,
the World Wide Web at rather than the simplified Cars Wars system. Action is more realistic, but still
www.sjgames.com. We also have
retains the feel of Car Wars autoduelling. Weapons are now in line with their
conferences on Compuserve, GEnie
and America Online. real world counterparts, as well as Ultra-Techdesigns. We even threw in “Crazy
PAGE REFERENCES Joe” Harshman’s .50 cal! Autoduel fully fleshes out the anarchy of a future
References to the GURPS Basic America with a revised AADA Road Atlas and Survival Guide.
Set,Third EditionRevised begin with
About the Authors
a B – e.g., p. B121 is page 121 of that
edition.
Similarly, CI refers to GURPS Christopher J. Burke served as president of the Driving Tigers/Road Wolves
Compendium I: Character Creation; AADA chapter, as well as the editor of their fiction fanzine Driving Tigers
HT means GURPS High-Tech,
Magazine.He has written articles and fiction for Autoduel Quarterly,Roleplayer
Second Ed.; S means GURPS Space,
and Mad Magazine. Chris lives in Brooklyn with his wife, Antoinette, and his
Second Ed.; SU means GURPS
Supers, Second Ed.; UT means two children, Jennifer and Christopher.
GURPS Ultra-Tech, Second Ed.; M Robert J. Garitta lives in Brooklyn and works for the Board of Education.
refers to GURPS Magic, Second Ed.;
He penned “Repo Blues” and “Epilogue” for Autoduel Quarterly, and co-
RO points to GURPS Robots; P sig-
nals GURPS Psionics and TT to authored the novella Civic Wars with Laura Tripoli and C. J. Burke. When he’s
GURPS Time Travel. not building models or practicing his artwork, Rob is adding to his extensive
science fiction and gaming library.
INTRODUCTION
4
AAMMEERRIICCAANN HHIISSTTOORRYY SSIINNCCEE TTHHEE
HISTORY OF
TTUURRNN OOFF TTHHEE CCEENNTTUURRYY AUTODUELLING
Although rooted in Prohibition-era
Autoduel America consists of a crazy quilt of civilized society and violent Chicago and the freeways of
anarchy, not to mention the civilized violence, that has its roots in the decline of California of the ’80s, “Autoduelling”
as we know it was born in 2023 when
American and world society. American history since the turn of the century is a
“Crazy Joe” Harshman mounted a
story of chaos, collapse, gradual reconstruction and more chaos.
surplus .50-caliber machine gun in his
Chevy to win the Fresno derby.
Land of Sour Milk and Bitter Honey
In the two decades since then, the
American Autoduel Association
By the turn of the century, America had declined from the glory days that formed, Detroit started factory-
installing combat equipment, arenas
had peaked nearly a decade earlier. The economy collapsed and social programs
popped up across the nation (and the
were on the brink of insolvency. Air pollution and fears of global warming had
world!) and autoduelling became the
grown to new highs, pushing several states to pass laws rewarding those who number one sport both on TV and in
switched to electric vehicles, an industry still in its infancy. Gas prices initially the hearts of the public.
Not all people agree, however.
dipped slightly, but the depletion of the world’s oil reserves brought them back
Groups like EDSEL want to see the
up. As prices climbed significantly, many followed the U.S. Army’s lead and sport, as well as vehicular weaponry,
switched to alcohol fuel. banned, and for a period in the early
’30s, they succeeded in effectively
The Oil Dries Up eliminating highway autoduelling
from the Northeast. For a time, many
state legislatures agreed with EDSEL,
The United States, desperate to control its remaining resources, nationalized
but they have since given in reluctant-
its oil reserves, infuriating four of the major oil-producing states. As a result, ly by officially recognizing or ignor-
Texas, Louisiana and Oklahoma announced their independence and, working ing autoduelling.
Today, most duels are AADA-
together under the name of the Free Oil States, fought the U.S. in a bloody
sanctioned events, although some are
rebellion. America never reclaimed them, and the loss of their oil significantly organized by other notorious or
harmed the U.S. economy. When the fourth state, Alaska, threatened to secede unscrupulous operators looking to
rake in advertising revenue, and
and possibly join Canada, the U.S. stood down and started negotiations.
sometimes luring in unwitting partici-
The oil depletion had even more serious consequences in the Middle East,
pants with the promise of big prizes
where nations whose sole significant export was oil found themselves rapidly and national exposure. Groups like
losing money and influence. Terrorism increased drastically in the region during BLUD (see p. 83) have taken the
sport to deadlier levels.
the 1990s; revolution and warfare were the status quo.
Death Sports
On the airwaves, violence and sleaze ruled. Wrestling and “gladiator”-type
programs raked in the biggest ratings, especially after the death of Thunderhand
Eisenfaust, the first pro-wrestling death on live TV. A “documentary” replaying
the event produced record ratings for any syndicated cable show.
Washington, D.C., unable to take care of its other problems, chose instead
to focus on this one by passing legislation on moral decency. Congress ordered
the installation of newly-improved V-chips into all televisions. Its effort failed
on two counts. First, the courts ruled that their “moral decency” was little more
than veiled censorship. Second, the V-chip proved too complex for the legions
of couch potatoes whose VCRs (cassette tape was the method of recording in
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AMERICA 5
those days) unceasingly blinked 12:00. Worse yet, television grew more violent
and sleazier as networks reviewed the ratings and proclaimed, “If they don’t
want to watch, they can block it out with their V-chips.”
A major change in America’s entertainment preferences began to take place.
Death sports, sporting events in which the participants risked – and often lost –
their lives, became popular. In 2002, “Shootout,” a Capture-the-Flag game with
real ammo, premiered. Later that year, the FBI shut down the illegal venture, but
public pressure led to the legalization of sports-related manslaughter, which was
later upheld by the U.S. Supreme Court.
Psychologists concluded that death sports helped their audiences cope with
their own deepening frustrations – with the worsening economy, with tightening
government control, with the overall stress of modern living – by viewing these
murderous sports and vicariously “murdering” every obstacle in their way. This
also explained the upswing in vigilantism.
Today, millions watch death sports regularly to pass their troubled days.
BGN (Blood and Guts Network) is the top-rated network with its coverage of
Combat Football and Slash Hockey as well as live footage of highway duels
provided by local affiliates.
The Grain Blight
In 2012, a microorganism appeared in the grain fields in Nebraska and
Ukraine. The virus, called the Blight, destroyed the U.S. and Russian grain
crops, including most stored grain. It then spread through North and South
HIGHWAY DUELLING
America, Europe, Asia and Africa, leaving famine and disease in its wake. Only
Australia, through strict quarantine, was spared.
The first known conflicts on the
Millions died of starvation. The decimation of the pharmaceutical industry
highways date back almost as far as
cars themselves. Around 1926, gang resulted in the return of childhood diseases thought eradicated. Economies col-
warfare between rival Illinois bootleg- lapsed. Governments toppled. Nations invaded each other to capture the few
gers peaked when both sides built
remaining stores of food, as did cities within nations.
steel-and-concrete tanks on truck
chassis. On a country road north of Both the U.S. and Russia came to the conclusion that the other had bioengi-
Mation, Illinois, autoduelling was neered the Blight as bio-chemical warfare. The two powers, after weeks of accu-
born. Neither vehicle took significant
sation, mobilization and threat, finally “pushed the button” and launched bar-
damage.
By the end of the 1980s, outbreaks rages of “destroyed” nuclear missiles at one another. The 30-minute nuclear
of violence on the highway grew exchange, known as The Russo-American War,or R.A.W., was almost complete-
commonplace, particularly on Los
ly countered by the two nations’ sophisticated satellite defenses, with little dam-
Angeles freeways, where gunplay
age to either side.
between cars occurred on a regular
basis for infractions such as cutting Scientists suspect, however, that the exchange is directly responsible for
ahead, coming too close, and not giv- radical changes in weather patterns and a gradual rise in global temperatures
ing a “Thank You” wave.
over the last 30 years. Droughts and floods have become regular events in many
In the years leading up to the
Blight, armed cycle gangs took to the regions of the U.S.
highways, harassing couriers and pri-
vate citizens alike. Corporations Global Famine
responded by using heavily-armed
escorts. After the Blight hit, they Rice failure in China resulted in the starvation of hundreds of millions, most
turned more deadly as the pickings dying within the first year. Tens of thousands of others escaped on massive
grew slimmer. By the end of that
flotillas that attempted to cross the Pacific in search of refuge. They were not
decade, the “Brotherhood of
Truckers” was formed. well-received.
Today, cycle gangs still rule the In Africa, nations fragmented into small independent regions, kingdoms and
badlands, although they’ve been
military dictatorships as crops failed. Invasions, military coups and popular
pushed back greatly. The AADA regu-
uprisings occurred on a regular basis.
larly organizes forces to combat cycle
gangs after any uprising, and groups In South America and Thailand, drug cartels went bust when the poppy
like EDSEL try to keep the roads safe crop fell victim to the Blight as well. (Theories that the Blight was bio-engi-
from anyone elsewith guns.
neered to destroy the drug crops and backfired disastrously have never been
proven nor disproved.)
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The global population dropped below five billion for the first time in 20
ENVIRONMENTALISM
years, and the population implosion would not taper off for many years.
The Worm In the late 1990s, after years of
non-enforcement and repeal of many
At the same time that the Blight hit, another virus, this one of the computer environmental laws, the Pashnik
Report was published revealing the
variety, hit the nation’s major computer networks and worked its way into many
state of the environment in graphic
homes and businesses. Although quickly discovered and eradicated, the Worm detail. It predicted that large areas of
caused great damage where it struck. Automated homes self-destructed, some North America would be uninhabit-
able within a decade.
literally, and killed their owners in bizarre mishaps. Businesses had their finan-
A groundswell of public support
cial records rewritten or wiped clean. Ironically, the Worm was programmed to
followed, culminating in the overnight
activate at a specific time and date, thus sparing many homes where internal success of the American Green Party,
clocks still blinked 12:00. the first significant third party in over
a century to appear on the U.S. politi-
As side-effect of the Worm, many fearful survivors, now distrustful of com-
cal scene. In its first major
puterization, fled big cities in favor of smaller towns with lesser degrees of Congressional election, it claimed
automation. Paranoia only rose with news of the Grain Blight and the fallout of over 20% of the House and, though
they lost all Senate races, some by
the Russo-American War.
margins as slim as two per cent, the
Greens had significant influence and
The Food Riots
support in both houses.
Their popularity plummeted within
The United States, the Free Oil States and Canada had sophisticated distrib- a year as the oil crunch began forcing
ution networks and great quantities of processed foods, which were largely industries and utilities to switch to
dirtier coal. Two years after that, the
immune to the Blight. It took four years for these nations to realize the trouble
Second Civil War began, leaving the
they were in. U.S. an oil-less future. Technological
In May, 2015, the “big one,” registering 8.2 on the Richter scale, hit advances in solar and wind-generated
electricity couldn’t make up for the
California. That summer, El Niño returned with a vengeance, flooding half of
loss.
the country, only to be followed by a blisteringly cold winter. Disaster relief was
Environmentalists clung to the few
slow in coming, and the distribution networks were greatly disrupted. laws and regulations on the books,
In 2016, panic broke out as cities and whole states began to starve. The until the Food Riots claimed all law
enforcement resources to maintain
Food Riots began. Looting was widespread. Cities were abandoned. Squatters
order. A man who hadn’t eaten in
moved to unoccupied rural areas and started to farm, seizing land by force. three days didn’t care if the deer he
Possession was indeed nine-tenths of the law – and firearms were the only way shot was the last one in all of New
Jersey.
for the average person to hold onto his homestead.
The breakdown of order caused the rise of the
Cycle Gangs. The motorcycle-based predator society
was very efficient. Biker gangs would travel great dis-
tances, seize foodstuffs, supplies and slaves, and return
to their bases of operations, all at little cost in fuel or
energy. Such cycle gangs operated from wilderness and
abandoned urban areas, raiding and ravishing farms,
small communities, even sections of large cities.
Farms survived only if they were too strong for the
local gangs to crack or too weak for the gangs to bother
with. Cities fortified themselves, erecting perimeter
walls, emplacing heavy weapons, and importing sup-
plies in armed caravans. The term Fortress Townentered
the national consciousness. Other towns disappeared
from the map deliberately, later to be known as
“Roanoke” towns after the fabled lost colony (see p. 82).
The national government could no longer maintain
even a semblance of order. State governments col-
lapsed, some to be replaced by dictatorships. Local
governments and small communities were left entirely
on their own.
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Reconstruction
CLONING
Even as the Food Riots were at their worst, bio-engineers developed a
quick-growing, and not too offensive-tasting, algae food product. The algae
While attempts at cloning animals
grew in vats that could be protected behind armored factory walls. Within two
started in the last quarter of the 20th
century, modern cloning of people years, the new synthesized foods largely replaced the lost grain production.
grew out of two devices developed by With the starvation panic countered, conditions in North America began to
the Pentagon at the beginning of the
slowly improve. States could feed their populations at better than subsistence
21st century. The first read images
from the brain’s sensory compiler. level. Conditions stabilized enough that cities could again cooperate with one
The second allowed people to share another and recognize a central state authority. The states, in turn, could look to
experiences and memories “brain-to-
the recovering U.S. government and its reconstructed army for protection and
brain.”
order.
Thus, one could have his memo-
ries read and then shared with anoth-
Anarchy
er. This had no practical applications
until a tragic lab accident revealed
that a powerful sensory-transfer While society tried to pull itself together, one faction sought to tear it apart.
device could “read” the brain of a
The Anarchy Party grew out of the frustration with the federal government and
corpse! Months of research followed,
its inability to maintain order during the Food Riots. When the group received
determining the time constraint to be
48 hours, or one week if the corpse less recognition that it thought it deserved, angry members formed the Anarchist
had been frozen immediately upon Relief Front. Their manifesto: “To curtail intercity traffic is to isolate each com-
death.
munity, and anarchy will prosper.” Within a decade, ARF became the number
In 2007, researchers at Texas
A&M University discovered a one threat to domestic security, according to FBI statistics.
“forced-growth” method of maturity After five years of terrorism, ARF reached its pinnacle by first eliminating
acceleration of clone embryos.
eight of ten members of a Congressional subcommittee investigating ARF, and
Cloned cattle were forced to maturity
in half the normal time with no appar- second stealing a prototype Dempsey XM-6 tank from an Army base near
ent adverse effects. Environmentalists Midville, Ohio. But their success was marred by misfires. Senator Albert
decried the use of this method and
Wesley’s life was spared when his wife used the car that day, and the Dempsey
demanded that all “tainted” beef be
was destroyed by militia resistance when Midville was attacked. (It has been
removed from the market. They were
partially successful until the Food claimed that ARF wanted only to steal – and sell – the tank, not actually attack
Riots. Suddenly, cloning technology Midville with it. Few believe this claim.)
couldn’t keep up with the demand.
For nine years after a decisive defeat in Boston, ARF was thought
In 2018, Amalgamated Meditech
successfully combined these two tech- destroyed, its membership scattered, but this was not the case. On February 2,
nologies to create a clone of a human 2045, President Wilson Tanner appeared on live TV to announce that the U.S.
being with memories implanted in it
would join Oklahoma in a national day of mourning on the 50th anniversary of
by sensory-transfer devices. The result
was a clone with the memories and the worst terrorist attack in the U.S., the Oklahoma City bombing. As he spoke,
personality of the sensory-input donor. the studio was stormed by a newly-formed ARF which declared war on the
Amalgamate Meditech announced its
country. The “Secret Service” (in actuality, ARF replacements) whisked the
new cloning division, Gold Cross (see
President quickly from the building; he was never seen alive again.
p. 93), and made a fortune from
wealthy individuals around the globe. The ARF leader, known only as “Kleiner,” declared that ARF had seen its
shadow and there would be six more weeks of anarchist winter. That day
marked the beginning of Black Snow. For the next
four weeks, members of ARF nationwide simultane-
ously pounded government installations and televi-
sion studios in every state in the union as well as the
Free Oil States and parts of Canada. By February 28,
ARF had been beaten back by law enforcement,
militia patrols and local autoduellists, and ARF’s
Inner Council was assassinated, but Kleiner’s body
was not found. February 2045 became known as
Black February.
Meanwhile, security forces at secret installations
guarded each of the President’s four clones, protect-
ing them from all harm. No one expected ARF to
send phony revival orders. Two days after the
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