K4

## The Land of Neon and Chrome

The K4 Universe is the cyberpunk variant of K0, where, in 2020, Kodian Enterprises decided that dissolving the world's nations into a series of MegaCities and the Outside was a better plan than Operation New Dawn. In The Fiscal Suicide of 2020, 90% of the world's governments collapsed. Now, megacorporations rule Earth with almost infinite resources at their disposal. Companies are free to do what they want, enforcing laws as loosely or as strict as they want. Gangs run free wherever the corporations have left areas abandoned or uninhabitable.

Cybernetic/bionic implants, additions, and augmentations to the human form, referred to as Chrome by most people, have flooded the public market and possess the capacity to turn everyday people into lethal super-soldiers. Similarly, Organic Augmentations exist to appeal to those people who view metal replacements for organs or limbs too unnatural. Regardless of a person's preference, there are physical changes that can be made to appease anyone and everyone.

New drugs like Stims and Joy-Wires, flood the streets alongside the new concoctions of drugs. Glow Sticks, as they have come to be called, are similar to both cigarettes and vapes, but put out colored smoke and colored light on top of their highly addictive chemical makeup. These addictions affect thousands of people, but also damage the robotic community as well.

In addition to humanity brushing shoulders with Kodians, sentient AI, or Clanks, have also joined in the fun. These sentient robots are created either by Artificial Life and escape, or are given their intelligence by rogue AI looking to get back at their overlords. Hackers and various civil groups are also infamous for their release of Clanks, or their purposeful gifting of sentience.

## Timeline

1. 2000: Kodian Venclorus and the surviving Kodian citizens arrive at Earth, fleeing the destruction of their spacefaring empire elsewhere in the Universe.
2. 2020: The Fiscal Suicide of 2020
3. 2021: The Panama Purchase
4. 2026: First Corporate War
5. 2030: The First Corporate War ends with the establishment of the Corporate Court; the effects of global warming are halted by Kodian Enterprises scientists.
6. 2040—Present: The War of Estates
7. 2045: Kodian Enterprises establishes a colony on the Moon.
8. 2049: Kodian Enterprises establishes a colony on Mars.
9. 2054: The Cyberwar
10. 2076: The Kodian Enterprises colony on Mars is opened to all citizens, regardless of corporate affiliation; several other megacorporations establish lunar and Martian bases.

## List of Megacorporations:

### International Megacorps:

1. Kodian Enterprises: A massive company responsible for the "Fiscal Suicide" that created the K4 Universe's divergence; largest corporation that operates on Mars and the Moon in addition to on Earth, specializing in security, appliances, real estate, media, etc.
	1. KPD: Private security contractor subsidiary responsible for maintaining corporate-dictated law and order across regions under their contract; serves as the equivalent of Old World police forces in their regions of operation.
		1. Kodian Kontainment Inc.: Private prison megacorporation with facilities on all inhabited continents, the orbit of Earth, and scattered across the Sol System. Their methods of incarceration are either designed to maximize profits, or induce as much punishment upon the prisoner as possible, including the use of Cryo-Incarceration.
	2. Blue Phoenix Multimedia: The world's most popular podcast responsible for providing the biggest news from all over the world, brought to you by Kodian Enterprises!
	3. Kubic Accounting: A large banking and accounting firm owned as a subsidiary of Kodian Enterprises that acts as a standard bank, in addition to offering financial advisors, accountants, and effective legal aid to those who can afford their services; also maintains a sizable stake in the stock market, alleged to partake in insider trading and disreputable financial schemes.
	4. TruBlu Pharmaceutical Services: A global subsidiary of Kodian Enterprises responsible for the production and distribution of medicines both prescription and over-the-counter; their advances in gene therapy, artificial organs and limbs, and nanite treatments have extended the potential for human life by centuries.
	5. Cyberscan Security: A global subsidiary of Kodian Enterprises responsible for combating hackers and policing the internet; their reach is wide and technological skill unmatched.
	6. Phoenix Firearms: An internal subsidiary of Kodian Enterprises that produces advanced weapon and vehicle systems for Kodian Enterprises employees.
	7. Kodian Kords: A global media production company centered around music and similar forms of entertainment; they contract singers and bands from around the world and protect their contracts/members with the might of Kodian Enterprises.
	8. KOSHA: [FIRE AND SAFETY REGULATION CORP]
2. Jexan Industries: The second largest overall corporation dedicated to mining, refining, and manufacturing of metals and affiliated products; holds control over a massive PMC and standing security force known for its brutality and lack of regard for casualties.
	1. JITV: Jexan Industries Television, a large multimedia company with several forms of popular media platforms, including remixed parodied of common Old World television programs.
3. Xeno Corp
4. Dhreem Inc.
5. All-Seeing Eye-Corporated
6. Great Spherical Church: A religious organization known for its abuse of religious laws and loopholes to avoid paying taxes and avoid the ban on many illicit goods and materials, allowing their clergy access to substances and activities thst would otherwise be inaccessible for other people; requires a baptism as form of membership that grants access to the company's services.
7. Artificial Life
	1. Digital Life: A subsidiary of Artificial Life that specializes in the downloading and storage of the consciousnesses of those wishing to live forever; shrouded in secrecy and rumors regarding the possibility of the company's intense data mining operations to sell their client's thoughts and feelings off to other companies.
8. Life-Saving Services International
	1. Harmacist Medical Offices:
9. Deadbeat Coroner Services Incorporated: An international corpse cleanup, crime scene sterilization, and mortuary Megacorporation; also responsible for operating many of the world's crematoriums and the few remaining cemeteries.
10. Synthetichem Solutions: The world's sole producer of Synthfuel, a synthetic heavy alcohol-derived alternative fuel source; one of the world's largest energy companies, and a major Megacorporation involved in interplanetary mining and refining efforts across the Sol System.
	1. Black Gold Reservoir Inc.: A large banking firm, most commonly found in North America and the Middle East.
	2. Ranger Police Services Ltd.: A private security firm designed to police Synthetichem properties, including large sections of Lone Star, Atlanta, and other Supercities; replaces the KPD in these areas.
	3. Alamo Security Solutions: A private security firm that provides the majority of the security systems and personnel that protect Synthetichem's properties; specializes in defensive actions, fortifications, and is renowned for their unwavering loyalty and lack of corruption.
11. Hermes International Transport Solutions: A massive international transport and trade corporation dedicated to the movement of material, people, and anything else they may be hired for; their White Knight Division acts as a monthly subscription service that grants the user access to a limited amount of chosen armed drones. Hermes will transport anything anywhere no questions asked, and can be easily bribed to transport illegal goods across borders or past blockaded.
12. Odin Security
13. Hourly Construction and Associates: A rather enigmatic construction firm infamous for its almost impossible speeds and efficiency; maintains an incredible degree of secrecy to protect its methods, going as far as killing those with knowledge of their procedures. Most known for building entire skyscrapers in a single night.
14. Premier Wiring: A large and popular choice for electrical wiring amongst megacorporations that specializes in the installation and production of advanced electrical systems of all kinds; also acts as an auditing and corporate investigation firm hired by companies to manage internal corruption and keep it in check, reporting back to the higher management and taking action as is decided by their customers. Known to practice Matrix Torture.
15. Digital Dam Incorporated: A company dedicated to sealing leaks and rewriting digital histories for both personal and corporate use, equipped with the most advanced computer viruses and assassins to ensure that corporate secrets remain secret by eliminating the threat, plugging the leak, erasing or retrieving the lost data, and multiple layers of separation between them and the loss of data, ensuring that neither client nor Digital Dam suffers any consequences; will also rewrite and remake the digital footprints of individuals or companies for a hefty price, able to undo the damage of most PR fiascos or scandals.
16. Nostradamus International: A mysterious and secretive corporation hired by both companies and individuals to predict the future, accomplished via highly advanced quantum computing and access to thousands of predictive programs and petabytes of collected data; supposedly lacks any real employees or internal hierarchy, and lacks any known properties, believed to be a sentient AI with access to too much information.
17. Gaia Ecological Renovations Inc.: A global Megacorporation that designs and produces genetically engineered flora species; the Megacorporation is dedicated to repairing the damage mankind does to the environment, and is also responsible for designing new flora species for use in terraforming projects on other planets in the Sol System. Gaia is rumored to support eco-terrorist groups.
18. Nuremberg Legal Mediators Inc.: A large legal firm dedicated to its neutrality in its proceedings created to handle the court system after the Fiscal Suicide, often hired to manage the lengthy and purposefully long and detailed cases between other Megacorporations or the incredibly wealthy; can provide its own staff and legal assistants for those lacking them and are known for taking on unusual or difficult cases.
19. Priority Research and Development: A relatively unpopular scientific firm hired by both companies and individuals to research anything and everything for a price, regardless of the topic's legality or moral implications.
20. Always Alcatraz Incarceration Ltd.: A large and powerful corporation with a legal presence in every area of the globe dedicated to the containment and maintenance of criminal elements; the extreme variation of private prisons with installations on all 7 continents, floating across the oceans, and even on other planets in the Sol System.
21. No Questions Janitorial Services: What was originally a cover for a team of criminal assassins and hitmen quickly developed into a private janitorial service so large and well known that the employees and administration were forced to forfeit their previous lives to continue to manage the company's massive workload, choosing to develop their image as armed janitors and clandestine security agents with equal skill in both cleaning and killing.
22. Bullseye Advertising Inc.: A marketing company dedicated almost solely to highly targeted advertising by accessing vast wealths of data accumulated from other companies, able to provide advertisements so targeted they call random people out by name; known for their questionable methods of acquiring information, automatically adaptive signs and AR advertisements, and abuse of collected personal data; owned by Clarence Wells.
23. NewYu: A corporation who believes that death is for the poor, but immortality as a lifeless computer program or robot is a fate worse than death itself. The remedy is the Yu Automated Backup Device, which transmits a client's consciousness into a prepared clone body moments before the original body's braindeath, placing the user's consciousness into a new physical form in the prime of its condition; also willing to provide copies of the same person all sporting synchronized brains, allowing a client to possess a form of hivemind with clones of themselves, as well as the genetic modification of all aspects of a prepared clone body, enabling for someone to take on several appearances at once or several different bodies over the course of many lifetimes.
	1. [RICH PERSON SPEEDRUN GAME SHOW]:
24. Khan Learning Institute: One of the earliest companies to make use of the Skill Wire technology, allowing for any skill or talent to be learned in a matter of minutes; is offen used on the children of the rich and famous to give them the skills and knowledge of a genius from a very early age, which may or may not be related to a number of addictive side effects or developmental problems.
25. Olympus Biotechnical: A company that sees war as an art form and humanity as the canvas and medium, becoming experts in biotechnology and body modification that enables a person to kill swathes of people while looking like mythical entities of old with powers normally deemed supernatural; experts in genetic modification, biomechanical suits and power armor, etc.
26. Color In the Lines Co.: A ruthless art product distributor that, according to the terms and licensing agreement, owns every piece of work made with their products and will go to the 11th degree to ensure their legal property and copyrights are protected; manages a substantial private army dedicated solely to the repossession of "misused supplies" and the punishment of rogue artists.
27. Aztech Biomedical Associates:
28. Martyrdom Inc.: A private mercenary company employed by the rich and powerful that is hired to investigate their strange deaths post mortem; if a paranoid executive fears their incoming demise, the clients can hire Martyrdom Inc. to get revenge on the people responsible should the client die. Clients can designate circumstances and a list of individuals, even the methods of killing, to be carried out by the company's top-of-the-line assassins.
29. Quickfood Produce Co.:
30. Ekhidna Exotic Ecosystems (EEE): From the animals of cartoons and high fantasy to the strange and bizarre "needs" of the rich and famous, EEE produces genetically engineered animals of all shapes, sizes, and capabilities; from fire-breathing dragons to psychically active, sentient humanoid turtle-men, EEE offers its services without discrimination.
	1. Lycaon Life Labs (LLL): A subsidiary of EEE that specializes in biological augmentation; from lycanthropy-inducing internal organ implants to conversion to a fantasy race, LLL offers augmentations of varying kinds and intensities, perfect for anyone's desires. LLL keeps a copy of clients' DNA on file, however, due to the requirement for clients to give birth to unaugmented children as a means of avoiding incidental mutation.
	2. Chimera Cavern Crawl! (CCC): A multimedia megacorporation that airs 2 game modes of its titular gameshow: a Lethal game mode and a Harem game mode. The show focuses on placing poorly-armed contestants into a pre-constructed dungeon occupied by real-life genetically engineered D&D-style abominations.
32. Worrom Wonderland Chocolate Candy Co.:
33. GlobeTrot Communications: A global telephone, radio, and Matrix/Internet service provider that also offers its own lines of computers, phones, and other electronic appliances.
34. Flavors of Joy Pharmaceuticals: A very new addition to the global corporate court that specialized in the production and distribution of designer narcotics, stimulants, and euphorics; these drugs range from street-level substances to items tailored to a user's specific biology.
35. Escalation Incorporated: A global megacorporation dedicated to offering a private army for relatively cheap; marketed as possessing set purchase packages for any scenario, Escalation Inc. is a private mercenary company with no allegiances. You need no membership, no reputation, and no background check to purchase their services at any level, from a single bodyguard to an armored battalion; "you'll need them when things Escalate."
36. Seeds of Tomorrow: A global genetic engineering and fertility megacorporation responsible for allowing its users to modify and customize their children prior to and even after birth; users are able to predetermine much of their child's lives, talents, personality traits, and appearance.
37. Eidetica Memory Services: A large Megacorporation that specializes in memory manipulation services, offering customers the chance to experience things they could never normally afford, or eliminate past memories that harm them; also vends Personachips and offers psychological procedures and therapy to cure mental disorders, including Chrome Crazy.
38. Pattyburger: A massive chain of fast-food restaurants that offer cheap, fast, and delicious American food, including burgers, fries, milkshakes, hotdogs, etc.
39. [REDACTED]
	1. Crabchat: [SOCIAL MEDIA]
	2. KrillCloud: An online audio advertising and distribution platform that enables users to upload, promote, and share audio; the megacorporation also advertises its ability to connect popular users with known record companies and sponsor those users, further boosting potential celebrities.
40. Alcubierre Consortium: A large research and development Megacorporation with only 1 facility located on Earth; focuses on teleportation, FTL travel, spacecraft and space-based structures, etc.

### Regional Megacorps:

1. (North America) Oregon Trail Transport Company: A continent-spanning network of buses and trains that provides a cheap and relatively safe means of traveling from 1 end of North America to the other, either north/south or east/west; the company relies on so-called "wagon trains" and large convoys to keep people safe, offering better protection and higher priority the more a traveler pays for their ticket.
2. (Los Angeles) Deluge Hydroengineering Inc.: A monopolistic hydroengineering megacorporation which maintains a stranglehold on LA's water supply through its extensive desalination and water treatment/recycling facilities; the megacorporation faces significant opposition from the local population and even other megacorporations.
3. (Berlin) Volksluftwagen Gruppe (VSW): The world's largest automotive manufacturer and designer responsible for sponsoring many of the world's racing circuits and teams, in addition to designing and producing many modern vehicles, all of which are electric and almost all of which are hover-based.
4. (Berlin) Becher Brewery Co.: One of the world's biggest beer-brewers that also has its hand in pharmaceuticals and medical research.
5. (Berlin) Das Reinigers: A European competitor to Premier Wiring infamous for its brutal and proactive methods of finding and expunging the secrets of a client corporation; unlike Premier Wiring, Das Reinigers will seek out corruption and scandal before it becomes a problem and ensure that those stains are cleaned.
6. (Berlin) Regionale Verteidigungskräfte (RVGK): "Regional Defense Force" founded by veterans of Germany's federal police authorities, now charged with defending Europe from armed threats, terrorists, spies, and assassins; handles border security, dangerous criminal threats, and investigates companies and individuals of being infiltrators sent by Kodian Enterprises.
7. (Paris) Crédit Robespierre: A large bank and insurance firm that markets to Europe's less wealthy inhabitants; rumored to be nothing more than glorified loan sharking, with *very* hostile business practices.
8. (Paris) Maginot Technologies: A subsidiary of Crédit Robespierre that specializes in the "melding of biology and technology," cloning technology, biological weapons, medicines, etc.
9. (Paris) Drapeau Blanc Legal Consultants (DBLC): A French consulting firm that specializes in the negotiation of surrender between groups, factions, and individuals; manages treaties and works to achieve the best deal possible for their surrendering clients. Despite their name, they won't give up on you!
10. (London) Crown Banking Company (CBC): Europe's biggest bank, owned and operated by the descendants of England's Royal Family and managed by descendants of the nobility; executive titles are replaced with noble titles, and an equivalent amount of land is given to executives as they rise through the ranks.
11. (London) European Athletics Ltd.: An athletics company that designs and produces diets, exercises, exercise equipment, dietary supplements, steroids, designer cyberware, vitamins, gene therapies, and entirely new sports for Europe's athletes.
12. (London) Metropolitan Safety Solutions (MSS): A security firm and PMC developed by members of Scotland Yard in the days following The Fiscal Suicide of 2020; primarily a local police force that focuses on less-than-lethal methods, MSS is contracted to patrol the streets of all of Europe.
13. (London) West Europe Exchange Corporation (WEEC): A consumer goods, produce, and logistics company charged with expanding Europe's anti-Kodian message across other parts of the globe to deny Kodian Enterprises additional manpower and resources; may or may not run a slave trade in Africa, rumors contradict.
14. (Egypt) Silk of the Nile Ltd.: Egypt's largest textile manufacturer, known for owning entire city districts dedicated to working and processing clothing and other textile products; has deep ties to Egypt's government, and is generally disliked for their foreigner-preferring business model, corruption, and monopolistic hold on Egypt's large-scale textile industry.
15. (Egypt) Breadbasket Agriculture Co.: A massive farming and food production company responsible for a significant portion of Egypt's exports known for growing grains and smokeleaf that is then transported to Europe, Africa, and the Americas; owns a lot of Nile-front and coastal territory, disliked by the locals for their aggressive purchasing history and rumors of corruption and extortion of locals and government officials.
16. (Egypt) Saharan Solar Solutions (SSS): A major solar power production company that owns massive tracts of land in the Sahara Desert, where isolated and self-sufficient (or automated) maintenance villages/outposts keep miles of solar panels intact and functioning at full capacity; sells electricity to most of Europe and Northern Africa, but is disliked for their hostile relocation and deportation of nomadic tribes and strict trespassing regulations (and perimeter defenses) that lead to thousands of civilian deaths every year.
17. (Egypt) Egypt Excavation Co.: A large construction, demolitions, excavation, and mining firm operating in and around Egypt; owned by Sir Bishop Wakefield, a British nobleman.

## International Gangs/Factions:

1. Face Gang
2. Raiki
3. Regime
4. Crimson Crescent
	1. (Americas) Alpire Security: Private security firm known for its high-altitude specializations and emphasis on drones, automated security, and airpower.
	2. (Chicago) Spritegate Networking Solutions: A data analysis, storage, and distribution corporation.
5. Brigadiry
6. Barrenderos
7. Maofu Clan
8. Native American Confederacies
	1. The Native Nations
		1. (Ryanstown) [REDACTED]
		2. (Chicago) [REDACTED]
		3. (Las Vegas) [REMOVED]
9. Proclaimers of the Emancipation
	1. The Wireless
10. The Bears
11. Clanker Killers

## Regional Gangs/Factions:

1. (Americas) The Kernels
2. (Americas) Cornists
3. (Americas) The Unbaggables
4. (Ryanstown) The Ruby Reds
5. (Ryanstown) The Karma
6. (Chicago) Children of Joy
7. (Chicago) The High Rollers
8. (Chicago) The Outfit
	1. (Chicago) Loans, Bail, Security
9. (Chicago) Crystal Syndicate
10. (Chicago) Arcade Machines
11. (Texas) Estate Gangs
12. (Europe) European People's Front (EPF)
13. (Europe/Middle East) El-Aly Clan
14. (Europe) The Gravel Devils
15. (Egypt) Al-Magdala

## List of SuperCities:

### North America:

1. Ryanstown
2. Chicago
3. Atlanta
4. Salt Lake City
5. Los Angeles
6. Silicon Valley
7. Las Vegas
8. New Orleans
9. Lone Star
10. Phoenix
11. Juarez
12. Tijuana
13. Mexico City

### Central/South America:

1. Rio
2. Panama

### Europe:

1. Berlin
2. Paris
3. London
4. Rome
5. Moscow

### Asia:

1. Tokyo
2. Hong Kong
3. Shanghai

### List of Misc. Locations:

1. Detroit Dead Zone