Hate and Brotherhood

Humanity being the readily accepting race it is, it should come as no surprise that it would eventually clash with metahumanity  in its backward way of welcoming elves , dwarfs , orks  and trolls  to this corner of the universe. Meanwhile, anyone caught in the middle, having an existential crisis or just looking for somewhere to belong found a creepy helping hand from an organization calling itself theUniversal Brotherhood . I say “creepy” because really, do you expect a warm embrace from bug spirits ? Possession, sure, but no one knew exactly what was going on with the UB until it was nearly too late, and Chicago  paid the price.

### Meta-Hate

   While not every member of the Humanis Policlub  is a raving lunatic, in the larger scheme of hatred against other members of metahumanity they are still near the top of the charts. However, the biggest boys on the hate block are still Alamos 20,000 . They made their debut in 2036, napalm-firebombing a town in Ohio and killing twenty people in the process.

The same year saw the passage of the Fourteenth Amendment to the UCAS constitution, which established the System Identification Number (SIN) and required the registration of every UCAS citizen. Anyone without a SIN was designated a “probationary citizen” and given very limited rights – yep, that means every SINless  runner falls into this category. It also sometimes meant that intelligent beings fell through the cracks of society, as species other than *Homo sapiens* were eligible for probationary citizenship, but could only get full citizenship through an act of Congress. Thank goodness for Dunkelzahn , who got the nod when he ran for UCAS President . Who says no to a dragon ? That opened the floodgates for others.

#### Acts of Rage

Not surprisingly, hate crimes against metahumans escalated for several years. It all came to a head on February 7, 2039, otherwise known as the Night of Rage . As if there had been some worldwide conspiracy (and there might have been), riots sprang up around the world and targeted metahumans, along with their friends, families and wannabes. Hundreds, maybe thousands, died; many were rounded up for their own “safety” and detained under armed guard.

In Seattle, Hand of Five terrorists attacked the warehouses and docks to which the metahumans had been led. Many places were set on fire, people panicked and the Metroplex Guard did nothing. From the tragedy of that night theOrk Underground was born. Those who clearly remember that night at best harbor a bitter resentment against anyone displaying an ounce of bigotry and, at worst, simply hate all humans .

Three days later, Alamos 20,000 reared its ungly head again, this time blowing the supports of the Sears Tower in Chicago. The resulting destruction took out or significantly damaged many buildings around several city blocks. No one wanted to rebuild there, so it became known as Shattergraves, an underground haven plagued by ghosts and hungry ghouls .

Boston  had Bloody Thursday during the St. Patrick’s Day march. Knights of the Red Branch , bigots disgruntled at being ousted from their former homes in Tir na nOg , set off a bomb in a well-populated elven restaurant along the parade route. It killed twenty-four people, injured dozens more, and set off race rights all over Boston that killed and injured hundreds besides that. There’s still a lot of anger and resentment there about it.

### Universal Brotherhood

What appeared to be a humanitarian organization that preached acceptance and love first opened up shop in California  in 2042. Other branches opened elsewhere, such as Denver  and Chicago, though mysteriously (at the time) they were barred from Awakened  nations like Tir na nOg. Most of these branches offered counseling, and some included soup kitchens and free medical clinics, which were seemingly godsends for those who couldn’t afford proper care.

   Nearly a decade later, however, we all found out just what the UB was harboring: insect spirits. In 2055, the UCAS FBI found out that the bugs were using the Seattle  UB as a front to recruit hosts and summon more bug spirits. Quicker than you could say “Queen Euphoria ”, they started shutting down every UB branch across North America. Other organizations may have been alerted, because it was closed down worldwide by 2056. All cited financial corruption, unmotivated terrorist violence and other related offenses to conceal the truth from the public. Sad to say that we found out regardless, thanks to the debacle in Chicago.

#### Cermak Blast

Ares investigative teams had discovered that Chicago held one of the largest hives in North America. A small army of Knight Errant Security personnel was sent in to deal with it, but they botched it up badly, sending bug spirits flooding throughout the city. Adding insult to injury, the city was walled off, trapping citizens inside. An Ares  force also trapped inside put the final nail in Chicago’s coffin: whether deliberately or accidentally, they set off a subtactical nuke, which, by luck or providence, was mysteriously contained. While the Cermak Blast may have killed some of the insect spirits, others still swarmed the city and terrorized everyone – self-proclaimed warlords and civilians alike – remaining within the doomed metroplex. Even though Ares and the UCAS government later cleaned the city out (well, mostly…), the astral space there is still contaminated.

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