Aberrant:2020
Aberrant:2020 Worldview
Timeline
2008 - Jennifer "Slider" Anders killed. Andre' Corbin and Sophia Rousseau, among others, form the Aberrants. Randall Portman narrowly elected President of the U.S.
2009 - Operation Genesis begins in Nigeria. Spencer "Antaeus" Balmer resigns from Project Utopia.
2010 - Shelby "Cestus Pax" Eisenfaust defeated by Divis Mal in well-publicized showdown in Bahrain. Project Proteus is exposed by the Aberrants with the help of Teragen. As a result, Project Proteus is disbanded. Key Proteus figures escape prosecution and go into hiding. Project Utopia loses UN sanction and suffers a blow to their public image. Cestus Pax resigns as acting director of Team Tomorrow but remains with Project Utopia as an advisor.
2011 - OV-201 Explorer, first of a new series of second-generation ramjet space shuttles, launches from Cape Kennedy.
2012 - Randall Portman does not seek re-election. His Vice President, Carol Migden, is elected America's second female president.
2013 - NASA, with the help of Deadalus, places unmanned "outposts" in the Earth-Moon and Earth-Sun libration points in preparation for future exploratory missions.
2014 - A group of Novas attempt a coup in the Ukraine and fail.
2015 - A Project Utopia raid on the Amp room in Ibiza, Spain, results in riots. Subsequent clashes around Ibiza kill hundreds.
2016 - Republican Maxwell Powell is elected first African-American president.
2017 - Deadalus begins construction of the first permanent Lunar habitats.
2018 - Telephone service converted to 100% digital OpNet transmission. Copper wires now nearly completely obsolete.
2019
2020
Geopolitics
The world of 2020 is much the same as the world of 2001. The one major exception is the impact of Novas. Novas have introduced many technological and engineering advancements and have stimulated the economies of the world in unforeseen ways. Many of the world's emerging markets received major boosts from resident Novas and their contributions. Project Utopia played no small part in guiding and managing these Novas and their works. With the fall of Project Utopia in 2010, much of their work was scaled back or was taken over by smaller independent groups.
The United Nations is stronger and better respected in 2020 thanks to the help of Project Utopia's affiliation with the organization in the early 2000's. After Utopia's fall, the UN distanced itself and used its strengthened status to enable many of its own programs. The UN provided greater authority to the UN Security Council. The UN Security Council has also established a policy of employing a wider variety of smaller, less-powerful, independent organizations in its peacekeeping operations. These include Nippontai and Interpol, as well as occasional jobs for Team Tomorrow and Project Utopia. By using smaller, more focused, groups, the Security Council hopes to avoid the mistakes learned from granting single powerful independent organizations like Project Utopia too much authority without oversight.
With the election of the somewhat-conservative President Powell in 2016, America took a more protectionist view towards world politics. With the new administration, the Directive was granted more power and authority, strengthening ties with Russia, England, and Japan. The Directive is now seen as somewhat of a rival to the UN Security Council in international law enforcement. The two organizations differ, however, in that the Directive works more in an intelligence-gathering capacity while the UN does not. Conversely, the UN Security Council works more in a peacekeeping capacity while the Directive leaves that duty to its member nations' militaries.
Trends
Everyday life is essentially unchanged from 2001. People still work, children still go to school, people still drive and talk on telephones. People still go to movies and watch TV and eat breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Novas have been added to politicians, movie stars, and religious leaders in the pantheon of the cult of personality.
Perhaps the biggest change to how people live is in their greater consciousness of the world as a single system. Nationalism has been replaced, due in no small part to the efforts of Project Utopia, with a sense of International cooperation and awareness. Styles reflect this growing internationalism. The cities of the world have become less distinct, less individually cultural. Were a man to fall asleep in New York, transported to, and wake up in Tokyo, Addis Addaba, or Rio De Janeiro, he would be hard pressed to know the difference.
Thanks to the efforts of Project Utopia to clean the oceans and atmosphere, fix the Ozone layer, and reforest Ethiopia, people are more aware of ecology. However, the common man has had these advances handed to him. Recycling has been made easy, therefore its more popular. Clean-burning fuels have become more efficient and economical, therefore they are more prevalent. The common man had nothing to do with these trends. Should a more efficient, less ecological, solution come along, the common man will choose that instead.
Technology
Were a man to be teleported in time from 2001 to 2020, he wouldn't notice too much difference. The new technologies of 2020 are generally niche technologies. The major technologies of the world have changed little.
|
Transportation - The biggest advance in transportation in the last 20 years is the efficient hydrogen fuel-cell engine. Hydrogen fuel-cells use liquid hydrogen as a fuel source to generate electricity. Its only byproduct is water. Modern designs, thanks to the contributions of Nova engineers, are more efficient than older internal combustion engines. Most vehicles designed in 2020 use hydrogen fuel-cells as their main source of power. One bright addition is the Rollo Aircar, originally conceived in the 1980s, the Rollo Aircar was finally made flightworthy with the addition of advanced computers that allow them to be self-piloted and coordinated by FAA computers. Rollo aircars have since become a fixture of skylines. They are roughly as expensive as a small personal airplane, and do not require a full license to pilot, only a short class on landing instructions in the case of emergencies. Rollo Aircars are equipped with helium balloon braking systems that slow descent and act as a cushion in the case of crash landings. Many Rollo Aircars are used by taxi services and can be summoned to any location with any cellphone or computer connected to the OpNet. Rapid trans-continental transit received a boost from Nova-enhanced construction techniques. The recently opened tans-continental maglev train, which crosses the North American Continent at incredible speeds in evacuated tunnels that produce no wind resistance or drag, a project that was previously infeasible, was completed in unprecedented time and safety. A similar maglev system is under construction in Eurasia, linking Paris to Beijing, and is scheduled for completion in 2040.
|
|
|
Telecommunications - Most of the world's telephone systems have been converted to digital and use the OpNet for transmission by 2020. Telephone numbers were rolled into the OpNet DNS system. Now, when anyone makes a call, sends an e-mail, or even sends a video-mail, the message is sent to the same destination, the recipient's OpNet account. The call pages the recipient's account, notifying the recipient's telephone, cell phone, or computer of an incoming message. That person can either pick up immediately for a live conversation, or can allow the server to record the message to be accessed later. Computers - The OpNet revolutionized the Internet. Optical transmission provided nearly unlimited bandwidth. Advances in optical computing and room-temperature superconductors have increased the speed and power of computers as well while reducing power requirements and heat. Modern laptop computers are built rugged and sturdy, generally using thick rubber cases. Nearly all laptops come equipped with cellular connections to the OpNet. Most are voice operated. Most computers are also equipped with video pickups for video conferencing or messaging. Cyberkinetic Novas, or CKs, have provided invaluable research into Artificial Intelligence and programming. Modern software applications, especially those written by a CK, are virtually indistinguishable from AIs. CK software is intuitive, powerful, and extremely user friendly. CKs, as a result, are much sought after in the computing world. CKs can easily bring in multi-million dollar salaries working for ViaSoft or Apple.
|
|
Home Electronics - Despite science fiction, holography is still in its infancy by 2020. Most home entertainment is still provided by televisions. Televisions in 2020 are High Definition flatscreens that connect to the OpNet. Instead of receiving real-time transmissions via Cable or Radio Waves, a TV viewer simply dials in the Network's OpNet address. From there, they have the option of either viewing real-time "live" transmission, like the good old days, or they may select a previously viewed program either by time index or program index. All the major Networks store their programs to be accessed later. In this way, a viewer can dial up any program or movie that has ever been broadcast over the OpNet and view it at their leisure. For a fee, they may download the program or movie to be saved digitally. Tapes and CDs are obsolete. All media in 2020 is stored digitally. A small digital chip is capable of storing several Gigabytes of information. Larger devices can store even more. Much like the MP3 players of the early 2000's, the digital player market now includes video, stereo audio, and even Virtual Reality simulations. A user simply downloads the music/video/VR program from the OpNet and stores it to a digital chip to be played back anytime. To fight piracy and reproduction, digital programs are encoded to recognize unauthorized copies. Any copy of a digital program shows a marked decrease in quality, as well as displaying company logos or copyright information. In addition, a record of the copy is encoded into each copy's programming. This record acts as a log, revealing the time and date of the copy, and the OpNet address and registered user of the copying hardware (if applicable). In this way, professional information brokers may verify the "virginity" or data. Uncopied, or "virgin" data, is worth more. Data that has been copied, and thus possibly more widely available, will be worth less. Household cleaning robots are relatively inexpensive and common. These wheeled robots are not very smart, and are actually little more than automatic vacuum cleaners with arms. The robots are designed to vacuum and clean a certain area during a pre-programmed time, usually during the day while the owner is at work. The robots are equipped with weak telescoping arms to pick up items lying on the floor. Dirt is collected in a canister that needs to be emptied every so often. The robots are designed to cease operation whenever a human enters the room and resume when it is once again empty.
|
 |
Weapons - Weapons research has also benefited from Nova engineering. New weapons technologies have developed thanks to room-temperature superconductors and power supplies. Three of the most visible additions to the world's arsenal of weaponry include the Magnetic Railgun, the Man-Portable Laser, and the Electron-Ion Stun Gun. The Magnetic Railgun is a large barreled weapon that accelerated a projectile down a magnetic track instead of using chemical propellants. The resulting muzzle velocities can be controlled from relatively low to incredibly high. Railguns are capable of causing devastating damage to hard targets such as vehicles and tanks. Currently, railguns are either vehicle-mounted or man-portable as a support weapon. The Man-Portable Laser is shoulder-fired weapon attached by a cable to a superconducting battery. The laser is especially effective against soft-targets such as personnel and is incredibly accurate at long range. Currently, lasers are used only as a support weapon. The Laser Electroshock Gun is a small civilian defensive weapon that fires a small laser at a target, ionizing the air molecules between the gun and the target. The gun them emits a strong jolt of electricity, which jumps from the gun to the target via the ions. The result is a strobe accompanied by a loud "CRACK!" like a mini bolt of lightning. Other traditional weapons remain essentially unchanged. There are new designs and new technologies, such as caseless ammunition, improved night-vision scopes, improved armor piercing materials, etc. But 99% of the weapons in use in 2020 are identical to their 2001 cousins. Research into viable Powered Armor has produced some intriguing results and prototypes, but none, as yet, have been approved for general use by a military. Most militaries still view Powered Armor as unreliable and impractical. Nevertheless, some larger militaries have purchased a few Powered Armor designs for limited use, but fewer than 50 such PA suits exist. |
 |
|
|
Military land vehicles have progressed little. New armor materials have made some of the vehicles somewhat tougher. Overall, the biggest change to military land vehicle design comes from the addition of legged land vehicles to the arsenal. Efficient computer control and Nova-engineered materials and motive systems have produced six- and eight-legged walkers capable of traversing difficult terrain. The legs also allow the weapons platform to raise and lower depending on the situation. The chief legged combat vehicle in production is the MX-3 Combat Walker. It is armed with two 30mm gatling cannons in each articulated "arm" along with a power-turreted 40mm autogrenade launcher mounted under the "chin". The front "chin" is articulated as well, allowing the pilot to swing the cockpit to the left and right, increasing the main weapons' field of fire. The primary theater of operations for the MX-3 is in urban and wooded areas where its slow but tight maneuverability is used to its fullest. The MX-3 is not a main battle tank by any means. It is primarily an anti-personnel unit, deployed in urban and heavily forested combat areas against infantry. Military aircraft have advanced more due to better computer control and supplementation. The standard aircraft of the US military is the YF-22 Raptor. The standard aircraft of the European Union is the Joint Strike Fighter. New aircraft also feature greater VTOL capability, including the Boeing/McDonnell/Douglass AV-4 and AV-6 VTOL personnel carriers, and the B/M/D V-22 Osprey and V-25 Kite tilt-rotor aircraft.
|
 |
| Medicine and BioTechnology - Project
Utopia retained control over technological development after they lost UN
Security Council Advocacy in 2010. As a result, the development of Medical
and Biotechnologies has been kept strictly controlled.
By far the largest development in the last ten years has been in the field of human tissue regeneration. Whole organs and limbs, even spinal cords, can now be grown and re-attached or replaced. The tissue is force-grown at unbelievable rates, with replacement organs and limbs available within days or weeks. The technology is still relatively rare and expensive compared to standard prosthetics, but the technology exists and is available. The technology also exists to create a fully grown human body within a few months, but the use of such technology is strictly prohibited. Human cloning is available to single parents as an alternative to cross or internal fertilization reproduction. This activity is strictly regulated in reputable nations by reproductive health organizations and, as a result, relatively rare. There exists, however, a black market in full body transplants, where wealthy and decadent patrons have their brains transplanted into a vat-grown or cloned younger body, resulting in the murder of the younger host. This crime is especially heinous and is dealt with harshly by all nations. Given the relative availability of biological replacement organs and limbs, bionic and prosthetic technologies have become mostly obsolete. Bionics has survived as a niche technology, however, in the form of full-body replacement robots called "Shells". A Shell is similar to the Telepresence Replicants (see Year One) except that the human brain is actually housed in a casing in the Shell itself. The result is a human-looking robot with superior strength, stamina, and agility, as well as advanced sensors and communications ability. Shell technology is still rediculously expensive, however, and very few actually exist. What few that do exist are funded and maintained by powerful intelligence agencies, as well as a few large corporations. Shells require extensive regular maintenance, so are therefore not effective for prolonged field operations. |
 |
| New Vehicles | Safe Speed | Max Speed | Man | Pass | Armor | Cost |
| Rollo Aircar | 130 | 210 | 6 | 4 | 3 | **** |
| MX-3 Walker Tank (1) | 5 kph | 20 kph | 2 | 1 | 5 [10] | ***** |
| YF-22 Raptor (2) | Mach 1.6 | Mach 2.2 | 10 | 1 | 3 [7] | ***** |
| AV-4 VTOL | 300 kph | 583 kph | 5 | 10 | 2 [8] | **** |
| AV-6 VTOL (3) | 400 kph | 800 kph | 5 | 10 | 3 [8] | ***** |
| V-22 Osprey | 200 kph | 510 kph | 10 | 2+24 | 2 [5] | *** |
| V-25 Kite (4) | 300 kph | 510 kph | 10 | 2 | 3 [8] | **** |
(1) 1-40mm Autogrenade launcher (Aberrant, pg 276), 2-30mm AP BFG (Elites, pg
75), smoke cannisters, spotlights.
(2) 1-20mm cannon, 2 AIM-120A AMRAAM, 2-AIM-9M Sidewinders
(3) 1-20mm cannon
(4) 1-20mm cannon, 2 AIM-120A AMRAAM, 2-AIM-9M Sidewinders
| Weapon | Acc | Damage | Range | RoF | Capacity | Mass | Cost |
| 20mm cannon | 0 | 5d10 L [5] | 800 | 100 | 480 | 50 | **** |
| AIM-120A AMRAAM | +6 | 15d10 L [15] | 100km | 1 | 1 | 450 | **** |
| AIM-9M Sidewinder | +4 | 15d10 L [12] | 50km | 1 | 1 | 85 | **** |