The Let's Play Archive
Part 1: Chapter 1 Mnesists
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Neo Paris History – Founding of Neo Paris
September 9-12 2047: several “Tremora” seismic bombs laid waste to half of Paris. The catastrophe marked the end of the European civil war and triggered a longer period of suffering and deprivation for the survivors trapped in a city pockmarked by craters from explosions.
The local authorities were tempted to abandon he city during the five years after the destruction of Paris. The old capital had become a ghost town since the fall of the French government in 2041 and the municipal council was the only legitimate governing body, Paris was declared a free city in spring 2048 and gangs and looters ruled the streets. 2052: after two years of negotiations, Mayor Eugene-Hubert Carbon managed to persuade the great entrepreneur, Antoine Cartier-Wells, to move the head office of Memorize back to the city where he had founded his company 40 years earlier. The announcement that this most famous and profitable company was returning to Paris gave the ravaged city renewed hope for the future. A massive rehabilitation project of the ex-capital was launched the following year, and the founding of Neo-Paris was announced.
Two factors would ensure the success of the project: the SAFFE (Security and Freedom for Everyone) program generated a global topological map of the city devastated by bombs, and carried out a systematic survey of the remaining buildings and structures. Those impossible to rebuild were preserved to create an AVR(Augmented Vertical Reconstruction) plan to “build the city on the city” and skyscrapers appeared in the urban landscape of Paris for the first time.
The second was the “Meripherique”, a huge dam around the city designed to protect it from outside attacks and to channel transport and trade into the city via canals and water channels linking the different districts.
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Neo Paris Landmarks – The Nymphea Hospital Ship
The Nymphea is probably the most famous warship to be converted into a hospital. This treatment center gained international recognition in just a few years, specializing in the treatment of memoriel disturbances under the direction of Dr. Sebastian Quaid.
The origin of hospital ships dates back to the European civil war(2040-2047), a time when devastated countries were in urgent need of mobile field hospitals with a range of clinical facilities to treat physical and psychological traumas. The use of warships quickly caught on, and in Europe roughly 30 ships of different sizes were converted, mainly corvettes and patrol ships, along with five frigates and two cruisers. In 2020 one of these cruisers became the famous Neo-Paris hospital ship, the Nymphea. Disarmed after the civil war, she was towed to the center of paris, moored near the Ile de la Cite and became a public center for post-traumatic rehabilitation.
At the time Neo-Paris was founded(2053) the Nymphea was the only hospital still in operation from the era of the former capital, now under total reconstruction. In 2070 Dr. Sebastian Quaid created a research and treatment unit here for memoriel disturbances financed by Memorize and other charitable bodies. The various surgical and treatment services had been moved to new hospitals over the years, and the shipis now a specialist research center for memoriel afflictions.
The Nymphea can now provide patients with the very best care procedures, the direct result of Dr. Quaid’s pioneering research, and is proud of its recovery rate of over 75%. Every day the teams improve the techniques for treating the meomoriel traumas characteristic of the Sensen civilization.
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Memorize and the Sensen – Founding of Memorize
Antoine Cartier-Wells, born in 2984, neuroscientist, mathematician and humanist, was fascinated by the idea of thought sharing as a cure for hatred and violence. In 2012 he founded Memorize, a small company set up to investigate neural interfaces that enabled sensations, feelings, and thoughts to be shared for short periods of time.
In the early part of the 21st century, Antoine Cartier-Wells’ research resulted in Direct Neural Interfaces(DNI) and Brain Computer Interfaces(BCI). He theorized that the synthesis of these sciences would enable a direct exchange between a brain and a machine. At this stage the DNI applications operated on a 1-1 mode(one person to one machine). Antoine Cartier-Wells wanted to experiment with more powerful interfaces based on an X-1(Many to one) and X-X(Many to Many).
In late 2009 Antoine Cartier-Wells began connecting DNIs to complex mathematical systems designed to optimize the networks in a totally new way. This approach quickly proved successful and in June 2012 he transmitted a mental image between two members of his team via a control machine.
After publishing his results, he was suddenly caught in the crossfire between science and industry; two individuals could use his technology to share their sensations in real time! The market was potentially massive with a ride range of applications; medical rehabilitation(Quadriplegia and aphasia), neuroscience, and any activity where speed of thought transmission was crucial. But Antoine Cartier-Wells decided to apply his invention to next gen social networks, and his prime objective was still communication between people free of words and speech. And in time, maybe they could even share their memories.
On December 19, 2012 Antoine Cartier-Wells announced the creation of a startup to produce applications for sharing thoughts and feelings, and 'Memorize' was born.
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Technology – Hunt Glove
The hunt glove is the favorite weapon of the “Memory Hunters’, a small band of criminals who emerged in the late 2060s and perfected the art of stealing memories from other people. Many debates and theories persist regarding the origin and mastery of this particular tool.
The Memory Hunters (or ‘memhunters’) weapon of choice, the hunt glove allows them to break through the Sensen security mechanisms of their target undetected. The glove establishes brief but deep contact with the electronic matrix containing the victim’s digitized memories, enabling them to steal memories.
However, memoriel theft requires more than just a hunt glove; special cerebral attributes are required to control it, without which any theft would be impossible. The user is as important as the tool itself, and it is estimated that fewer than one in 10,000 people have the skills required to be a memory hunter.
Kid X-Mas, one of the most famous reformed memhunters, revealed in his “X-mas show” that a true Memory Hunter can calibrate and personalize his hunt glove to create a unique tool to match his cerebral profile. Kid reckons that the level of personalization will often decide the outcome in a duel between two Memory Hunters.
But the true origin of hunt gloves remains obscure, and the mystery has given rise to numerous rumors. What seems beyond any doubt is that the manufacture of these objects, true technological gems, is way beyond the normal scope of the criminal fraternity. Some say it was the work of a renegade from the Memorize research units and that the tool, originally designed by and for intelligence and counter-espionage agencies, was “leaked” into the criminal underworld. The popular myth of a single creator of the glove hidden away in a secret lab is most likely part of the urban folklore in the age of the Sensen.
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Neo Paris VIPs – Edge: The Founder of Errorism
Initially considered merely another radical agitator, the mysterious Edge quickly became the leader of the most dangerous criminal organization in the Sensen era. His credo; to use the technology he denounced to expose its lethal dangers. He remains the only Errorist still at large after the dismantling of his movement.
Founder and leader of the Errorists, Edge is the most mysterious and media-savvy celebrity in Neo-Paris. The S.A.B.R.E. Force has pursued him relentlessly for years, yet he eludes capture and continues to broadcast public messages to justify his actions. Edge continues to incite popular hatred for what he calls “criminal amnesia” even though his fellow members have been arrested and his organization has been dismantled.
Many theories abound regarding the true identity of the Errorist leader; it is widely believed he’s a climate refugee operating from a mobile HQ outside the Meripherique. This accounts for why he was the only member to avoid the wave of arrests ordered against his movement.
Since its formation in 2068, the movement has mainly carried out data theft, piracy, and material sabotage for propaganda purposes. Edge and his agents were blamed for the death of Captain Frank Forlan, the S.A.B.R.E. Force commander who died under suspicious circumstances. Forlan’s death prompted the hunt and arrest of all the Errorist members. Only Edge, the founder, has evaded the dragnet that called an abrupt halt to the Organization’s activities.
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Memorize and the Sensen – First Memoriel Accident
Despite the gravity of the incident, the media provided little coverage on what became known as the “Nanjing HP4” incident. However this appears to be the first proven case of a large-scale memoriel accident, demonstrating that, contrary to what the official statements from Memorize would have us believe, Sensen technology is far from safe.
The authorities have vehemently denied the extent of the risk to the population posed by the artifacts of digital memory. The power of the Sensen in the economy is now clearly so great that any minor criticisms are ignored by our leaders and the news channels, except when they are dismissed with cynical contempt.
The Nanjing HP4 incident is evidence of this policy of silence and treacherous compromise. Towards the end of the 2070s, independent observers reported a serious memoriel accident in China in the town of Nanjing (Jiangsu Province). It is still difficult to ascertain the precise date of this dramatic incident, but the catastrophe resulted in a copy of the memory bank of psychiatric hospital no 4 in the Nanjing suburbs being released into a civilian memory bank. No field studies have yet been carried out to our knowledge, but an estimated 190,000 citizens were contaminated by pathological memories. The local authorities implemented an emergency wiping program, which was supposed to have cured 97% of the victims (this glib estimate is unconvincing, as confirmed by the sharp rise in suicides and crimes recorded in the region).
We would probably have never been reminded of this tragedy, were it not for the serious health consequences visible throughout the town of Nanjing and the number of victims, which made any attempts at a cover-up impossible.
When questioned, the memorize officials blamed the accident on the improper use of the memory saving technology by a Chinese company that didn’t own a legal license to operate large-scale memory copying. The Memorize press release stated the “Appalling consequences of a technological deterioration” and used the opportunity to reassure users that its “Source Products” were completely safe.
What the Nanjing HP4 case does prove is that catastrophic memory accidents are possible. Despite their reassuring press releases, Memorize is risking the mental health of the global population in ways that could have terrible consequences for us all. Contrary to what the company would like us to believe, Memorize is not a philanthropic enterprise, but an extremely powerful multinational that has the most extensive and insidious intel on data mining and individual profiling imaginable. It is now time to remember!