The World of "Chicago 2043"

I like this picture. It shows the detective type character, though I picture "Chicago 2043" with a lower tech level.

It has been brought to my attention by a couple of people that I know, that the setting of "The Jack O'Callahan Mysteries" is not very "futuristic". Mentioning that it doesn't feel like it takes place in the year 2043 ce. So I thought that I would write this article explaining the setting and the world a little bit. The story of "The Jack O'Callahan Mysteries" is not about the technology. It takes place in a high-tech society but what the story is truly about is the people. Jack isn't a fan of technology and prefers the tried and true "gumshoe method". Now this doesn't mean that he is completely inept when it comes to computers. He knows how to search "InfoNet" and how to use "CommNet". He just prefers not too.

My stories take place in a city that is referred to as "Chicago". In my vision, the cities of Chicago IL, Madison WI, Milwaukee WI, Green Bay WI, Minneapolis MN, Detroit MI, Indianapolis IN, Columbus OH, and Cleveland OH, have all grown and merged into one mega-metropolis. Whether or not this is realistic considering the time frame between 2014 and 2043 is irrelevant. Perhaps in this timeline the cities were bigger to begin with, I don't know. I haven't really thought about it that much. Though I probably will at a later date. It's not important currently.

The world is controlled by a few mega-corporations. The biggest being the DG International. They are involved with everything from bio-engineering to day to day computers. The second largest is the Simeon Corporation. (I haven't thought much about them. I created Simeon Corp. when searching for a corporation for Jenn to have worked at. It is also named after a friend of mine.) The third, is Grove Technologies which has been brought up in The Curious Death of Mr. Grove Issue #1, when Maxine Grove, the CEO's daughter hires Jack to investigate her fathers death. There is the Haifong Conglomerate, who was taken over by the DG International, ten years before The Curious Death of Mr. Grove. Strangely enough most of the employees of the Haifong Conglomerate "dropped of the grid" after the take over. Just vanished and disappeared over night. Speculation is that the DG International hired Trigger-Men, from the para-military contracting company, Odin's Gate Security. This event is commonly referred to as the "Haifong Massacre".

In 2021 there was a break through in plastic surgery. People could now undergo a procedure to make themselves look different. Pointed ears, fangs, tails, and other animalistic features could be added to your body. The people that chose to undergo this procedure are called "Exotics".

Neural Implants are somethings that various bio-mech pharmaceutical companies are researching. Robotic arms, limbs, and body parts are available, though extremely expensive, though veterans are able to obtain these through the G.I. Bill; but only if they sustained a combat related injury. 

There are groups of hackers, called "Runners". Runners break into corporations and steal any number of things, programs, information, data, whatever. Some are anarchists, that believe in a free information system, where as others do it as a freelance job. Runners are skilled at breaking into servers and buildings, they bridge the gap between the digital and physical world. Each runner is different. Different methods, and different goals. They rarely use their real names, for fear of the corporations finding out who they truly are. They often have nicknames such as, "RedLady", "CyberWarlord", and "BinaryFlynn".

Several languages are spoken through out Chicago. The major ones are Mandarin and Japanese. Though many others are spoken such as, Italian, Russian, German, and Spanish. Lots of words and phrases from all the languages are understood by most people. It is not unusual for people to be fluent in at least one other language besides English.

Picture Source: http://www.thegnomonworkshop.com/news/2013/07/improve-your-skills-as-an-artist-by-brushing-up-on-graphic-design-basics/dystopia-cyberpunk_00353178/

Thank You for Reading! Here's a preview of Issue #3!

     Jack found himself outside of the ‘Jia Ren Gentleman’s Club’. The neon lights of the club reflected off the soaked pavement. The rain had let up for the moment, though the dark clouds over head threatened to pour down buckets at any moment. Jack took a deep breath and entered the club.