The Let's Play Archive
Part 2: Chapter 2 Mnesists
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Neo-Paris History – Regulation of Firearms
In spring 2056 the Neo-Paris Governance passed a resolution to ban the carrying of firearms in the city, including the law and order forces. Dubbed "The Law of the Stone Age" by critics, it was designed to quell the fears of a population traumatized by the massacres during the civil war. The full version of the ruling is set out below.
Decree no. 56-124 of May 9, 2056 prohibiting the carrying of military equipment and firearms:
Article 1
A list of military equipment and firearms governed by this decree:
-Semi-automatic or repeating firearms.
-Automatic pistols, machine pistols and automatic rifles of all calibers.
-Guns, howitzers and mortars of all calibers.
-Flame-throwers and al projection equipment used for chemical warfare or incendiary purposes.
-Weapons with laser destruction capabilities.
-Guns used in slaughterhouses, shotguns, hunting firearms, carabiners, rifles, and canardier machine guns of all calibers, semi-automatic or repeating weapons with one or several smooth bore barrels.
-Repeating or semi-automatic smooth-bore long guns.
-Weapons with gas-propelled or compressed air projectiles that generate muzzle energy of over 10 joules.
Article 2
The Acquisition, storage, carrying, transportation and retention of military equipment and firearms is prohibited. This ban applies globally to civilians and public and private officials responsible for police services or organizations of repression.
Article 2a(amended decree of October 6, 2069)
The following are not governed by Article 2, provided they are neither handled nor placed on public display.
-"Historic" or "Antique" weapons as defined in the ruling of September 17, 2069
-"Ceremonial" weapons that form part of an official uniform as defined in the ruling of October 5, 2069.
Article 3
Any person in possession of a weapon or ranged weapon element will be neutralized by any means necessary, including the use of automated devices or surveillance drones that are beyond the scope of prohibition in this decree.
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Neo-Paris landmarks – Saint-Michel Comfortress
Home to the head offices of the largest corporations in Neo-Paris, the Saint-Michel Comfortress is a sumptuous residential project in the center of a historic "quarter" that offers its residents luxury, tranquility, and security.
Located in the heart of a Haussmann district from which its name derives, the Saint-Michel Comfortress is a vast, high-security residential complex that houses a large number of the most sophisticated and affluent people in Neo-Paris. The most prestigious and famous companies have their head offices here, including Memorize, Avram-Hesh Laboratories and Diktat.
The high density of VIPs living in the complex requires exceptionally high security measures, and the Comfortress is patrolled by powerful robot systems, "drones", capable of sealing the district off from intruders. Without warning, these machines have the power to intercept any unauthorized individual from entering the Comfortress. This measure, sometimes considered too severe, is viewed as essential largely due to the particular topography of Neo-Paris. As the city was devastated by Tremora bombs during the Civil War, its mosaic reconstruction pattern has placed the rich residential districts alongside "no-go" areas still to be rebuilt (the picturesque and dangerous districts known as "Deep Paris").
The residents of the Comfortress have all the amenities of the nearby streets and the typical beauty of Haussmann’s old Paris: cafes, fashionable boutiques, exhibition spaces etc., all offering an elegant mix of a historic district of old Paris and "arcological" structures that are both stylish and accessible.
Kaori Sheridan, the famous architect behind the regeneration of the district, is among many of the new city’s "movers and Shakers" who have come to live in the Comfortress. "After All", she said "When I designed it, I also had myself in mind!"
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Technology – Remembrane
The Remembrane is a technique used for the virtual projection of a digitized fragment of a memory used augmented reality. The memory is played at the same speed and scale in situ.
Remembrane technology was first developed by the S.A.B.R.E. Force to reconstruct certain crime scenes by tapping into the memory of witnesses or suspects. The digital memory is converted into images projected directly into the user’s Sensen in the form of a 3D reconstruction of the event, which is then played in front of their eyes.
It was during the Gansberg affair (the famous sculptor and his family were murdered in their residence in the New-Belleville Comfortress) that research began into virtual projection of a memory. On the decision of the prosecutor, and despite public protests from relatives and many religious leaders, the digitized last memories of the four victims were copied from their Sensens. Investigators in the case carried out a manipulated projection of the last moments of each victim in the house and were able to determine that the mother killed her children and husband before killing herself.
Spurred on by the success, the criminal division of the S.A.B.R.E. Force decided to implement the technique systematically, and developed the protocol that became known as the Remembrane. The latest versions of this program can now reproduce sound.
Cases of the illegal use of Remembranes have been reported outside the scope of judicial investigation, but have never been substantiated or confirmed by an independent source.
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Neo-Paris VIPs – Kaori Sheridan
An architect of international renown, Kaori Sheridan is responsible for ‘Phoenix’, a massive reconstruction project for Neo-Paris, a city badly damaged by the catastrophes and classes it suffered during the 21st century.
Born in 2046 in Osaka, Kaori Sheridan soon established herself as one of the greatest architects of her time. Right from her early works, she set out her vision of global urban architecture that would not sacrifice esthetic considerations. When rebuilding cities and megacities where whole distrits had been devastated by civil wars and catastrophes during the first half of the 21st century, she retained the traditional architecture wherever possible whereas most of her competitors favored a more pragmatic approach based on emergency reconstruction.
Invited by the Neo-Paris authorities to design a comprehensive reconstruction program for the city, Kaori Sheridan conceived the ‘Phoenix’ project, to be implemented over 30 years. Her emphasis on the long term attracted criticism from many refugee associations, who accused her of systemically prioritizing wealthier districts while the ghettos and insalubrious pockets like the notorious Slum 404 remained areas designated for the final stages of the program. "This is a mock trial", said Sheridan in an interview on July 27, 2064 on the Perky Maggie show: "I never favored the more beautiful districts; they are beautiful because I rebuilt them."
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Neo-Paris VIPs – Kid X-mas
Ex-criminal turned bounty hunter, Kid X-Mas is one of the most popular celebrities in Neo-Paris. In a few years the former Memory Hunter, who illegally broadcasts his shows for wannabe Memhunters, has built a financial empire to promote his own image.
Born in Boulogne in the Paris suburbs who fled the North European community during the 40-47 civil war, young Ulf Hansen grew up in the ghettos designated for climate refugees. Intelligent and ambitious, he demonstrated a real talent for memory hacking and memoriel theft in his early teens. He started his career as a small-time thief and proceeded to set the standards of hacking in the closed community of Memory Hunters. He became a striking figure in this select club under the alias Kid X-Mas, and soon established his trademark style as he promoted his spectacular thefts in the media via free broadcasting on underground social networks.
Fueled by his super-status as a young prodigy of memo-crime and to the great delight of his fans, Kid competed in a series of contests against other Memory Hunters in live broadcasts filmed by cameras that Kid himself had programmed to follow his every move. The viewing figures for his "X-mas show" continued to rise over the years until the entertainment channel, Memintact, offered an exclusive contract to air his exploits. In return, the Kid promised to only fight criminals and people wanted by the authorities.
Since then, the young refugee from Boulogne has launched his own clothing brand, recorded two albums and set up a drop-in and rehabilitation center providing sports for disadvantaged youths. Kid X-mas has managed to move effortlessly into the mainstream without damaging his reputation as a pirate and bad boy, and has morphed into an entrepreneur and showman. His critics say he rarely picks fights with Memory Hunters now because he’s frightened of betraying his lack of form. But he just smirks, reminding them that he remains unbeaten in one-on-one combat and rarely fights opponents now because they’re all locked up in La Bastille fortress. Thanks to him!
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Memorize and the Sensen – First Sensen Prototype
In 2059 Charles Cartier-Wells experimented at Memorize with a next generation DNI prototype, the "Sensation engine" or "Sensen".
In spring, 2059, the research team headed by Charles Cartier-Wells, son of the founder of Memorize, carried out a successful experiment with a thought sharing prototype comprising of three vital technological upgrades.
-Connection by implant (no computer)
-A network of 20 directly connected individuals that could transmit, receive and share their sensations direct
-the possibility of personalizing (received) mental projections
The experimental device was dubbed by its creators the "Sensation Engine" or "Sensen".
Although still in its experimental stage, the Sensen already offered significant advantages; the implant gave the user total autonomy; he could be mobile and permanently wired. The chip contained algorithms allowing transmissions in network mode with no saturation or loss of signal. Plugging the chip directly into the spinal cord tissue increased the speed, quality, and power of the neural interface. People could therefore use the Sensen to customize their perceptions and adjust their settings to remodel the sensations and information received by the brain in real time. Later, more sophisticated versions of the Sensen would even develop this personalization feature based on the user’s behavior, allowing the features of the Sensen and the wearer’s personality to morph in harmony, even if the wearer had not actively operated the Personalization function.
Launched commercially in 2060, the Sensen was received enthusiastically by loyal clients of Memorize, but it would be a few years before the digitization of the human memory would become a real social phenomenon.