Earth: The Opening
“In these times, we have lost our illusions. In a small way, we have gone home again: we can speak to the animals again. The world no longer begins or ends at human-imposed limits. Wonder is out there again, when we need it most. Forget what the conquerors taught you - forget what they taught themselves! The world is here, the magic is here: this is no longer their world. Let go of it."
- Billy Running Shoes addressing a tribal council in Northern Canada, 2103
The world of 2107 is complicated. Even without magic, issues of human cloning, technology and the state of the world are enough to drive most sane people mad. The world has changed, and the choice before humanity is the old one: adapt. Or perish. Being humans, there is a third option: Blow it all up and let God sort it out.
What follows is a look at the world (politics and such) to give players an idea of what is what. Have fun :)
The Environment
"We're changing the world in ways its never been changed before, at faster rates and over larger scales, and we don't know the consenquences. It's a massive experiment, and we don't know the outcome."
- Jane Lubcheno, as recorded in The State of The World (1998)
What's the earth like in over 100 years? It's not paradise, it's not utopia,. it's not a sewage of wastes ebntirely (at least, not yet) and its definitely not going to win an award for best planentary architecture. Or enviromental maintenance, for that matter. However, its the cradle of mankind. One we don't have the resources to leave and one thats slowly but surely killing us. With good reasons, according to some. But details of what we do to the world are worse.
Proof:
The natural rate of extinctions is 1 to 5 every year. Currently its over 1500, and that was before the magic returned. No one wants to know what its become in the hysteria since then.
Over 25% of fish species are extent, another 50% are very close.
Forests, which once covered over 1/4 of the land (excluding Antartica and Greenland, so you nitpickers know) now cover just over 3/16. Over half of those are in the tropics.
Bird account for over 80% of historically known existinctions. Over 25% of the current bird population is threatened with extinction.
And lest you think this is just a birds and fishies thing, out of the roughly 4,400 mamallian species, 20% are currently extinct (including all wild tigers, most wolves and the wild horses) and another 30% vulnerable. Not scared enough still?
Almost Extinct rates for primates are at 50%, Hoofed Mammals at 40%, insectivores (moles and such. Oh, and the groundhog, for those who recall that old tradition) at 36%, 36% of marsupials, 20% of the bats, 26% od dogs and their kin, and 17% of rodents.
Kind of ironic that the rodents are the least likely, but then we're still around, right?
We could get into more, such as the worlds retaliation with the Flu VI and other diseases getting past even genetically altered peoples immune systems, but there's been lots of information on all that. Mounds. Enough that it takes over 5 seconds to access all the files. But of course, thats our need to survive in place, so it gets lots of attention. Our murdering of the world, for some reason, doesn't. Even after the Treehugger War. You'd think we'd learn something, wouldn't you?
Nations and Politics
Insanity in individuals is something rare -- but in groups, parties, nations, and epochs it is the rule.
- Nietzsche
In the current world, nations have banded together into larger states in order to sghare resources and, hopefully, prevent major wars that the world can not ecnonomically afford. With world resources at low levels, even isolationist nations find themselves being forced by necessity to trade with other nations. The United Nations has become a global power and is perhaps the only truly global power left. The fragile balances of egos and pride that hold the nations together has been stressed by the Opening and many fear that a war might come, a war mankind does not have the resources to wage and survive.
We carry in our very bones the minds of our forebears. No, a nation cannot separate itself from the past anymore than a river can separate itself from its source, or sap from the soil whence it arises.
- Canan Groulx
The African Alliance (Africa): Over fifty years old now, the alliance was the unification of the continent of Africa into one large nation. The goal of the alliance was to reduce dependency on larger nations and be able to look after themselves for a change. With the Sahara Desert occupying most of the northern half of the continent, people felt drastic steps needed to be taken to halt it, steps that couldn’t be implemented while farmers were making cash crops for the rest of the world. Since then, they have largely divorced themselves from the rest of the world to try and being self-sustaining. The rumours that UN genetics and environmental laws are being neglected here seem to be unfounded, at least according to UN inspectors.
Politics:Very isolationist. While they participate nominally in the UN, the Alliance rarely stirs beyond its borders to help others, nor does it wish help in return. Since the return of magic, they have become even more isolationist than ever and no one is sure what is done to mages and their like in Africa in the modern world.
The great nations have always acted like gangsters, and the small nations like prostitutes.
- Stanley Kubriuck
Antarctica: Not really a world nation, Antarctica came under UN jurisdiction for preservation and maintenance purposes. Exactly what they do there is classified, but they are working on self sustaining dome cities and getting water out of the ice due to the world’s current water shortage. Whatever politics go on here are under UN control and law. Immigration is very tightly regulated and some say emigrating is as difficult.
The direct use of force is such a poor solution to any problem that it is generally employed only by small children and large nations.
- David Freidman
Arabian Alliance (Turkey to Turkmenistan, south to Yermen and Pakistan): A catch-all term for the middle-eastern nations, this alliance (which currently excludes Israel) has been hit hard by the decline in oil fortunes due to the popularity of the air car and UN environmental regulations. While in-fighting among the nations had begun to end by the new century and alliances with China, Tibet and India had been considered, the Opening changed much of that. Many people saw magic as a threat or an evil thing and prejudice and hysteria reached new highs, “proving” to the rest of the world that these nations were “religious fanatics,” according to one tabloid. Witch hunts are very common here and the few people trying to enforce some measure of stability in this region are hard-pressed.
Politics: “Politics are hard and dangerous enough as it is. Adding religion is just asking for trouble.” This summary of the middle east by a correspondent for the UNews seems to show the world’s prevailing views of this area. Many people think the UN should move in by force and either stop the wars or break up the nation of Israel that has been causing all the friction here. This polarity of views makes it hard to have any objective view of this alliance and most people prefer to just ignore it.
China (China, Mongolia, southern Asia from Bangledsh to Vietnam and south to Malaysia): The great nation, the jewel of the orient. China has been many things over the years, and has finally become the global giant it could have been. While it now boasts under a quarter of the worlds population, the Chinese have been putting the people to good use. Desert reclamation has become noticeable over the last 20 years, a fact that some Chinese taunt Africans about. Like many other nations, China has had to turn inward to feed itself and reliance on solar and wind power has become an accepted fact of life in rural areas, and in quite a few urban centres as well. Of all the nations, China has been the most prominent in applying UN environmental regulations and pushing for stronger ones. Many of the people accept the return of magic with the words “It never went away” and go about their daily lives.
Politics: China is extremely powerful in world politics and has largely replaced the United States as the current world super power. Having learned lessons from the US, the Chinese are very careful with this status and tend to flow with world currents rather than whack other nations with a big stick. However, when push comes to shove, China is not one to walk softly. Their diplomats preferring to leap right into an issue and get it in the open, letting the ripples do what they may. What is even more surprising is that it seems to work more often than not.
India: The nation of India had grown over the years and become rather large. Some say obese. As one of the few nations where population controls have never been truly rigorous, India is currently the worlds cleanest cesspit, according to anti-tourist brochures. About the only good thing that can be said about this nation is that is it better off than Mexico city. And some UN observers doubt even that claim. Once pasture land, India has become largely a land of skyscrapers but they have dome amazing things with hydroponics underground.
Politics: Sick. Dirty. Vulgar. Life threatening. Oh, wait, that’s the streets of Deli. Well, it applies just as well to politics in India. As a nation, it is the only one that rivals Greater Mexico for corruption, but it tries to keep the corruption less open .... most people living in this country honestly believe it is a good place.
Japan (Japan, North and South Korea): Having gone through many ups and downs since world war two, Japan has emerged as a strong economy and allied with the Koreas to the extent that all three nations are often called Japan or Greater Japan by many. They are one of the largest trading nations and are one of the less isolationist large nations of the world since they require trade to survive. Many nations feel a debt to Japan for banning nuclear weapons and this nation has used that leverage in some astonishing trade deals. For one, they are the only nation Africa trades with. Most other smaller nations regard Japan as proof that a nation can resist joining a large nation (China, in this case).
Politics: The Japanese still follow the old adage that business is war. They tend to peruse politics with that same mentality and often leave less ruthless competitors stunned and bleeding behind them. They are also very polite about it and often leave other nations wondering how to get out of agreements they find themselves signing. The current Japanese reputation as “the little large nation” is a result of a great deal of Public Relations and some cleverly worded diplomatic ties with China. They tend to let China push forward initiatives they agree with and rarely push for things like they did for the banning of the bomb.
Russia: The nation of Russia, decimated by a nuclear attack, a famine and general breakdown of democracy, a failed return to socialism and many nations splintering from it entirely, has turned to anarchy. While the core city - the “new” Moscow, rebuilt outside the old one with UN funding, remains stable, most of the country is a shambles. The awakening of magic, and the powerful magics found here, perhaps caused by the nuclear explosion, make this area even more volatile than it already is. Many powerful human magic users come from Russia and there are rumours that the first Adepts were born here, but slain by foreign powers.
Politics: Non existent. Russia is a nation in name only now, and is not part of other nations because no one wants it.
Tibet: The nation of Tibet, while technically free from China, still relies heavily on trade and is essentially still part of China in the current world. They are free in name only for the most part, but it is an illusion both Tibet and China foster, China because it’s good for world relations and Tibet because it annoys the Chinese. Tibet is ruled nominally by the Dalai Lama but he is advised by some old mages up in the mountains known only as The Elders.
Politics: Non existent. Tibet does what China says.
There are no true friends in politics. We are all sharks, circling and waiting for traces of blood to appear in the water.
- Alan Clark
Australia: Never a truly large world player, Australia has mostly remained ignored in global politics during the last one hundred years. However, the Opening changed all that. Animal species in Australia exhibited magic early on and often tend to be very powerful and dangerous users of magic by themselves. While Australia bowed to global pressure and make having household pets illegal in theory, in practise this law is seldom enforced and Australia - possibly just to spite other nations - is in the process of addressing legal grievances by animals dealing with tourism revenues and the like. While they often tell foreigners to shove off, native mages are rarely persecuted.
Politics: Australia tends to accept whatever power they are given politically and make the most use of what they have. Many Australians are rather bitter that they have never been included in the UN security council and think that the world ignores them. Largely, they are correct. Repeat Australian Survivor shows in System have hindered more than helped Australia politically, and the nation is largely seen as a pretty but desolate place. Some extremists hope that magic will be able to change all this.
My son, you will be surprised with how little wisdom the world is governed.
- Alex Oxenstein
The European Union (Europe): As writing out each nation would take more time that I want to consider, this will be a quick look at the union as a whole. For the most part, the EU is a fairly stable conglomerate of nations that wields considerable power in the present world. Having a relatively low population, the Union has had little problems agreeing with UN recommendations and apply them to its own member states. Generally, the Union acts as a model socialist government to outsiders and strives to maintain that image through rigorous use of propaganda and tourism. The EU is the only nation of the world where peopple have been given life sentances in prison for littering. While they have not officially allowed any of the Russian splinter states to join the Union, many observers think that such expansion can only be beneficial for the EU.
Politics: Eu politics consist of each state trying to one-up other states, largely. Petty fighting and nasty comments feed then tabloids daily. However, on large and EU-wide issues, the politicians often somehow manage to work together long enough to pass the proper laws or agree on certain key issues. While politics here can be verbally abusive at astonishing levels, politicians know what they actually should listen to and when to deal with insulters in kind, or by assassination. Somehow, the electorates get people into office who know when to shut up and work together, which never fails to astonish other nations.
Clearly, then, the city is not a concrete jungle, it is a human zoo.
- Desmond Morris
Indonesia: Always a crowded area, even with ethnic cleaning, Indonesia got admittance to the UN ruling council solely because that 70% of the nations forests were tropical, and under government protection. As part of becoming a big player in the UN, Indonesians had to accept certain human rights laws and limitations, essentially being the first nation to use the "one family, one child" law. To date, Indonesians remain bitter that the other nations forced this on them but their protection of woodlands has endeared them to native fish species, which some claim is a karmic balance. Indonesia has gone from being "the nation added because of the Tree Hugger War" into a large world power by virtue of trading deals, a very open market and a tendancy by law makers to look the other way, as well as accept cheap bribes. The country is "cleaned up" every decade, at least at the governmental level, and since the government gets little done, nothing changes. It does tend to get worse and over crowding is becoming a major issue here.
Politics: See india, the political section. It applies for indonesia too :)
Politics is a jungle -- torn between doing the right thing and staying in office.
- John Fitzgerald Kennedy
The Dis-United States (The United States, minus Alaska, Florida, Hawaii and Texas): Only the flooding of Florida due to the Greenhouse Effect (according to scientists - most people blame a US weapon since the Greenhouse Effect would have decimated more of the world than just Florida, unless God has a strange sense of humour) and the loss of Texas have changed this country, at least at an external level. Internally, the U..S. is having to deal with the leaving of Alaska and Hawaii (the former to Canada, the latter to become its own nation) as well as the destruction of New York. Another major factor is that the San Andreas Fault could “give” any day . . . and the threats by some radical animal groups to hasten that with magic. Effectively, the U.S. is becoming very isolationist, hoping to whether the coming storm by remaining quiet. Critics accuse them of cowardice and point that the U.S. was forced to act in the previous World Wars and should have learned by now they can’t hide.
Politics: Very, very nasty. State against Federal disputes increase daily, suspicions by the common person that the Federal government is planning some doomsday weapon was, to some, proved by the destruction of Texas and the Florida and New York incidents. Many citizens are closet conspiracy theorists. Most of them have very good reasons for being so. The others are just insane. The trick is deciding which is which.
Greater Mexico (Mexico, Central America, The Caribbean): This nation is basically all of the North American continent from Panama to Mexico proper, including the Caribbean Islands. The capital of this nation is set in Panama because it was furthest from U..S. since Mexico City is, essentially, a giant disease infested ruin at this point in history. Greater Mexico is highly unstable, however, and held together largely by fear of the United States.
Politics: As it has often been, Greater Mexico is a hotbed of political intrigue, deaths and corruption. Well, so is everywhere else, but they’re more open about it here. Sometimes blatantly so. The rulers of each nation tend to either be the crime lords of the area or bow down to the wishes of the local crime lords. Mages are either hired to work for crime lords (and killed when they can’t do a certain spell) or killed as a threat to the local power structures.
The Northern Federation (Canada, Alaska): This nation is now the Canadian Federation, separated into 5 distinct states, consisting of The Western Federation (Alberta, British Columbia + Alaska (which separated from the U.S.)); The Central Contingent (Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Ontario); Quebec (excluding northern Quebec, which is native land); the Easterners (the eastern provinces); The Northland (All northern territories + northern Quebec).
Politics: The north is still reeling from the Federal governments crackdown on natives, and the natives have banded together even stronger than before, but is not strong enough to form their own nation. They are distrustful to all outsiders. Saskatchewan and Manitoba are seriously thinking of leaving the Central Contingent due to bullying by Ontario, while Quebec is considering joining it for preservation purposes. The Easterners are largely left alone, except when the Federal government takes taxes from the diamond mines. The easterners have to deal with the hostility of the U.S. regarding the on-going assimilation of Alaska as do the westerners.
No man has a right to fix the boundary of the march of a nation: no man has a righ to say to his country -- thus far shalt thou go and no further.
- Charles Parnell
Argentina (almost all of South America): The nation of Argentina currently encapsulates all of south America, technically. The “war” by which Argentina gained control of South America did give the nation a larger say in world affairs, but for the UN to accept this rather unorthodox tactic it had to be a true conquest. This didn’t go over well with some of the “conquered” nations but the unified nation of Argentina was becoming a largely global force. The Opening changed all that. Now, the continent is literally besieged by animals defending the rain forests and attacking humans. The UN has sent troops in to help deal with the chaos, but they are having a great deal of difficulty dealing with the animals and mages defending the woods. While not in a state of open warfare yet, peace talks have done nothing to solve the animals issues.
Politics: Argentina runs as a republic largely, and its current politics tend towards anti-animalism. That’s about all, really. Argentina runs internally very well and is one of the most law abiding places in the world.
The Rain Forest (the rest of South America): This area remains empty of man currently, save for mages allies with the animals. Their magic has been powerful enough to repel all armies sent against the woods to date and reputedly resisted banned nuclear technology being used against it. Nothing is known of what goes on in here.
The United Nations
Many politicians of our time are in the habit of laying it down as a self-evident proposition that no people are fit to be free until they are fit to use their freedom. This notion is worthy of the fowl in the old story, who resolved not to go into water until he had learned how to swim.
- T. Macaulay
The United Nations is quite simply a governing watchdog over the rest of the world. Beholden to no one nation and having divorced itself from ties to other nations over the years, it is a truly independant organisation. It is also very, very powerful and can bring to bear crippling trade sanctions on nations who overstep UN law. However, it also exists as a result of the world's nations working together and runs an interesting balancing act between its needs, the worlds needs, and how far it can push member nations before they push back violently. The fact that the UN has existed this long successfully with such power is proof that the member nations realise that the UN is necessary to world peace. However, the UN is also outside some of the laws it makes itself and rumours of genetically enhanced soldiers and the like continue to occur despite the UNs best efforts to stop them. No one is sure how many of them are true, but given human nature and the power that the UN has to abuse, many people think there might be some truth to the stories of corruption in the ranks. So far no nation has called for an inquiry, perhaps unwilling to break the status quo.
Technology
Now we are all sons of bitches.
- Kenneth Bainbridge, remark after directing the first atomic test (1944)
Science has nothing to be ashamed of, not even in the ruins of Nagasaki.
- Jacob Bronowski
While most of technology in the world has advanced, much of the advancement has been sideways, rather than forward. For example, making the air car or stopping factory pollutants. While most technolgy is simply better and more efficient than the modern earth ones, some stuff is detailed below.
Artificial Intelligences
AIs are fairly common in the world of 2107. While no replication of a NI (see System for info. on that) has been made, AIs have largely come into their own. Generally speaking, there are two types of artificial intelligences, supplementary AIs (SAIs) and active AIs, often abbreviated as AAIs or AIs. A supplementary one is made with specific rules to do specific task, such as cooking toast, playing chess and targeting a gun. Active ones can learn quickly and their sensors can often pick up more stimuli than “Toast darkening. Sound of alarms. Heat equal to fire. Shut down.” While SAIs are better for specific tasks, AIs can do multiple ones. Most peoples homes contain SAIs for things like drinks and food making an a general house AI that can access System news for you to display on a wall, do basic security and make sure the SAIs are functioning properly. While AIs improve their intelligence when linked to System, they also become vulnerable to hackers, and finding your shower SAI has been set to “replicate acid from Aliens 100” is a painful experience, to say the least.
Body Armour
Most of them time, body armour in the world consists of jackets, kevlar vests and the like. Generally speaking, most people don’t wander around in body armour, unless they’re paranoid, cyborgs, or UN officials. Even then, most UN troops don’t like looking like Storm Troopers of the Empire -- possibly for PR reasons. Generally speaking, modern body armour is full covering except feet, head and hands. Many advanced armours exist, such as stealth armour, e-sorbtion armour (Energex armour that absorbs damage from energy attacks by diffusing it). Riot gear and the like tend to be specialised armours rather than advanced overall armour.
Cyborgs
With AIs being available and even genetically cloned replacement parts illegal or difficult to come by, cyborgs are becoming common, but not popular. While most people see a Cyborg as some soldier bristling with weapons or a factory worker out performing his pals, most real cyborgs are people who got a leg replaced with a normal one and the like. Most cyborgs get lots of plastic surgery and try to fit back into the real world as best they can, but few succeed. It’s rather hard to make love to someone who beeps on occasion and you can hear motors running if you listen ... rather like making love to a kitchen appliance. Most cyborgs tend to be ashamed of what they are.
Explosives
Being able to blow things up is fun. Being able to do it at a distance with a mob the size of a baseball and incidentally kill everyone in an apartment complex is just icing on the cake, so to speak. Palm sized explosives, bombs that can be set to go off after a certain amount of weight is put on them, or certain words said or a specific DNA signature touches them -- explosives can be very dangerous, in the right hands. Or they can leave pieces of your hand behind. Generally, they tend to be illegal and are best left in the hands of professionals.
Genetics
Generally speaking, genetic alteration is illegal. Ever since the first experiments in 2060, the dangers of genetically enhanced people -- nicknamed “genies” by the press -- cannot be overstated. Scientists were able to make children who were smarter, strong, faster, healed quickly and, according to rumours, children with psychic abilities in the short time before the UN made genetically altering foetuses illegal in 2063. Geneticists are allowed to tell parents if the child will be born with any of a certain amount of listed diseases. Things like chances of obesity, estimated life span, myopia, bad acne, religion, sexuality, gender and the like cannot be told to the parents. Only life-threatening or truly disabling diseases and the like can be mentioned. This is partly to prevent the resurgence of eugenics and also because people are different -- studies of peoples sexuality and inherited weight problems reveal that those amount to a predisposition, not to a “fact.” Many scientists find that terrifying.
Space Travel
Without getting into the specifics, earth has 2 colonies on the moon, one one mars and some factories in the asteriod belt. Plans for a mercury mission have reportedly been curtailed due to sabotage. No Faster Than Light drive has been invented, as far as most people know. Loonies, people born and living just on the moon or other low gravity environs often do genetically alter themselves somewhat to fit in. Most native loonies have been altered that way by as their parents passed it on. These colonies tend to be quiet and were first made avaliable to the public in 2070.
As the most powerful force in the world, System is used by everyone. It’s replaced the phone, the internet, the computer, TV, most forms of entertainment and, unlike the internet, is not a “black hole in time.” System is a natural intelligence, the only one of its kind in existence. No one has measured how intelligent it is yet, but the general consensus is really, really high. System operates as a real time interface with other users in a virtual setting. Most homes contain at least one room -- often called a gateway -- that can access system, typically a small, pale coloured room with no furnishings. Access points can be found almost anywhere in the world and show you a screen version of System’s world that you don’t enter in fact, making them less dangerous to use than gateways. It is even possible to get an access point implanted in your head, making you a gateway yourself, though few people can handle being in and out of System at all times without going insane. Disinformation and hackers abound, but System remains largely itself.
Weapons
After particular viscous fighting in the late ‘80s in the middle east and spats in other nations, the UN approved a controversial law to end the use of energy weapons as private weapons. Even military forces have to follow certain strict criteria to gain access to Energex weapons. Modern turn of the millennium weapons (with additional ammo and such) are much more common. For the average person - indeed, even for the average military personnel - most weapons haven’t upgraded much in the past 100 years.
Energex Weapons
That having been said, energy weapons do exist, for UN officials. While other companies besides Energex make energy weapons, theirs are the best priced and offer the highest patented quality energy weapons. They offer a wide variety of models, most of which you’d be hard pressed to find even on the black markets. All Energex weapons can fully recharge from empty if an empty clip is in and they’re left in sunlight for about 84 hours, which generally amounts to around a week or so. They are also virtually recoilless.
E-gun: The Energex handgun. This weapon is standard issue and has a 50 shot magazine (100 is available also). While it isn’t as flexible as the rifle or other Energex weapons, its easy to hold and you can use two at once. The latest versions of the 50 shot carry 3 magazines, and is called the e-zi. Each magazine can recharge after 24 hours of sunlight exposure, making it an excellent weapon. All e-guns to a maximum of 40 damage a shot.
E-rifle: This weapon is an improved version of the e-gun. It generally has a 200 shot magazine but can be set to burst (five shots an once), steady (ten at once) and sustained bursts(fifty shots with one pull of the trigger, that “looks like a lance of pure light and sears body armour like a meteor plunging into the earth” - Guns’N’Ammo). While the weapon clip does require 82 hours to reload, the results of using this weapon make it worth the cost. E-rifles can do up to 70 damage, normally.
E-xtra: The ultimate in e-war, the e-xtra has 300 shot magazine and acts like an e-rifle with regard to bursts. While an e-rifle heats armour and punches a hole through it, the e-xtra can also be set to wide dispersion fire, to suppress fire over a large area or melt down doors and average walls. Wide dispersion on someone’s armour can be very painful and often “looks just like a turkey being cooked in an oven.” - Guns’N’Ammo (starred review) As an added bonus, the edge of the barrel is sharpened like a saw and a vibro blade is in the handle, if worse comes to worse. E-xtras often do up to 110 damage.
E-web: The energy defensive weapon, the e-web was first introduced by Energex five years ago. It shoots out a web of energy that often absorbs or nullifies other energy. It is extremely effective for small bombs and against an e-weapon firing over 10 shots at once. However, the greatest use of this weapon is that it can stop fires if need be and disrupt electrical equipment and even minor AIs in use. It comes with the standard 1/5/10/50 shot method of an e-weapon and looks like a bulky rifle, requiring two hands to use. A 500 round magazine completes this weapon.
There are rumours that Energex is devising an anti-e-web that enhances energy instead of weakening it, but so far it hasn’t been released.
Other Guns
Take the modern gun, at some fancy ammunition and a few more rounds to each magazine, say five to ten, and increase the damage done a bit. You now have a modern, legal gun. Note that having guns set to fully automatic is illegal unless one works for the military. Sawed off shotguns are generally illegal and in most countries a person with more than a pistol is looked upon suspiciously by the authorities, both local and UN. Modern bullets have been made to be effective at distances while not penetrating through walls and other people other than the target you hit. This not only reduces lawsuits but keeps buildings relatively clean for their next tenants.
Vibro Blades
Simply weapons that have a vibrating very sharp edge, vibro blades begin vibrating when put into motion and can cut through armour, bone and skin with ease. Vibro blades can cut through doors quickly and serrated vibro armour is the ultimate offensive armour on the market. While Vibro knives aren’t the best throwing weapons, a small explosive charge in the hilt often more than makes up for this minor defect. Carrying one of these blades without a permit is illegal and wearing vibro armour is going to get you hauled into the local police station ... once they find someone whose willing to come haul you in, mind you.