Quotes/Manual

This is adapted from the Flash version of the manual available on Rockstar's site

(excerpted from propaganda recovered at rebellion HQ - TCTF Crime file 67098)

MANIFESTO

It's 2032 and the world ain't what it used to be.

We have one government where there used to be hundreds. Big brother is alive and well.

Things are pretty good in the big cities if you don't mind the fact that World Coalition Government tracks your every move. They claim they do it in the interest of the common good but it can make you feel insignificant and pretty damned helpless. No matter where you go "they" are watching you.

In the cities most people have enough money to live quite well by the standards of the old world. An average family can afford a nice place to live, timeshare on a vehicle and a terminal that links them to the WorldNet. For most it's an acceptable payoff for a near total loss of privacy and systematic violations of our personal freedoms.

It's best not to think about life outside the cities. The powers that be would never admit it, but the air has gone bad. The forbidden zones they euphemistically call "Wilderness Preserves" are actually massive tracts of quarantined land.

The poor wretches who can't afford to live in the cities get as close to the atmosphere processors as they can and eke out a miserable (and dangerous) existence working on the reclamation teams who beat back the corrosive stain of the wilderness.

From time to time someone tries to improve public awareness of the ecological nightmare but World Coalition Government controls the media and silences them before any outcry can gain momentum. There is a growing awareness that something has gone horribly wrong and that something has to be done.

Something has to give. It's only a matter of time

LINKS TO REBELLION PROPAGANDA:

• TCTF (Technology Crimes Task Force)
• WCG (World Coalition Government)
• The Syndicate

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THE TECHNOLOGY CRIMES TASK FORCE (TCTF)

One of the excuses World Coalition Government used to grab the reigns was the use of biological weapons by a few of the countries involved in border skirmishes at the time.

Biotech is to us what nukes were to our great grandparents - an emerging technology that scares the hell out of the ignorant. Everyone was terrified that some genetically engineered super virus would spread farther than its creators intended. Horror stories of weapons that made your bones melt and your eyes explode blinded the public to the less tangible threat of a totalitarian government.

Once the puppet masters behind the World Coalition Government had what they wanted they continued to exploit techno-phobia to keep them on top. They told us that abuse of technology was the enemy and that the Technology Crimes Task Force was our guardian. In the name of the common good they granted the TCTF blanket autority to investigate wherever and however they see fit.

Sure, the TCTF does everything it is supposed to. They keep most of the "cyber drugs" and illegal weapons off the streets but law enforcement is a smokescreen to excuse their actual purpose.

World Coalition Government uses the TCTF to control the evolution and distribution of new technologies. They suppress anything that could be used to undermine their authority. Their investigations are also used to violate the rights of anyone deemed "dangerous" by World Coalition Government.

The real abuse of technology begins and ends with the government and its TCTF enforcers.

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THE WORLD COALITION GOVERNMENT

On January 12th, 2032 the newborn World Coalition Government annexed 80% of the countries of the world. The holdouts either reconsidered and signed treaties or were "dissolved" in a matter of months.

The leaders of the new regime gave us all kinds of rationalizations for their actions, ranging from endless border skirmishes between impoverished nations to environmental problems that they claimed could only be solved if all of the "citizens of earth" worked together.

If the truth were told, it was all about the money.

Years of boom markets and reckless spending finally took their toll, leaving small countries bankrupt and superpowers teetering on the brink of collapse. By uniting the economies of the world all of the old debt was erased and everyone got a clean slate. It was a real mess but at the time it seemed like the only way out.

At first World Coalition Government gave a lot of lip service to representing the annexed governments. There was even an advisory council modeled on the United Nations. As the representatives began to enjoy the benefits of a global marketplace they fell silent. In a matter of years all traces of the old governments faded away. It was an economic coup on an unprecedented scale.

World Coalition Government accomplished most of what they promised. They created "peacekeeping forces" capable of putting down any infighting and they turned around the economy.

What they don't tell you is that the poor stayed poor and there are more of them than ever before. Sure, we have bright and beautiful cities but we pay for them by sacrificing our freedom and the well being of most of our population to the so-called "greater good".

It is a golden age for the privileged. Their ivory towers are everything we hoped the future would be.

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THE SYNDICATE

In the shadows of the cities the Syndicate thrives by providing the desperate and the downtrodden with the opiates they need to distract themselves and the weapons they need to kill each other.

When you really think about the power the TCTF wields it makes you wonder how the Syndicate has survived. There are a lot of theories: some say World Coalition Government lets the Syndicate slide because they keep the underclass down. Others claim a connection between the Syndicate and the remnants of the countries erased by World Coalition Government's land grab.

No matter what the truth is behind the Syndicate's power one thing is for sure - you have to steer away from Boss Muro. Muro came out of nowhere less than ten years ago and took out all of the old Bosses. He runs the whole show now. Since he became Boss things have gone from bad to worse. The TCTF doesn't like him. They have been at war with him for years but so far he has stayed one step ahead of the game.

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PERSONNEL FILES

KONOKO

Orphaned at the age of 3, the woman now code-named Konoko has been raised as a ward of the World Coalition Government ever since. Her upbringing has been overseen by a legion of scientists and TCTF personnel, and she has been trained in the most advanced combat and counter-terrorism techniques. Konoko has been raised by the TCTF for as long as she can remember. She knows that she is somehow "different" from other people, but she is anxious to prove herself to Commander Griffin and the rest of the TCTF.

DR. KERR

A gifted doctor, Kerr is employed full time at the TCTF genetic engineering development lab, although it is rumored that Kerr has worked for both the WCG and the Syndicate in the past. The Rebellion has been unsuccessful in recovering specific data on Dr. Kerr's experiments.

GRIFFIN

Regional Commander of the Technology Crimes Task Force. Currently on reserved status in the TCTF Black Ops duty roster. As a Regional Commader, Griffin enjoy total control of the personnel and equipment within his region. A cunning and dogged leader, Griffin's enemies know that he will stop at nothing to maintain order and civil control.

MURO

The most feared boss of the Syndicate's storied existence. Since becoming Boss, he had become one of the TCTF's biggest enemies. His Project: Sturmanderung is to sabotage the atmosphere processors that keep the cities safe, reversing them so that they will spew polluted poison rather than artificially purified air. How Muro and his men expect to remain resistant to these pollutants remains a mystery.

SHINATAMA

Bio Data: Shinatama is an SLD (simulated life doll) android, responsible for coordinating the entire regional communications spine at TCTF regional headquarters.

Strengths: Extensive knowledge of TCTF operational data and security protocols.

Special Moves: None

Weaknesses: Non-combatant

Description: Shinatama is neurally linked to Konoko and can communicate with her at all times. The neural link gives Konoko full access to Shinatama's scanning technology and knowledge database.

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TECH NOTE 1

The World Coalition Government realizes the extent of the ecological damage and has the ability to reverse a lot of it but has decided not to. It is in their best interest to maintain the centralization of wealth so the large population centers are preserved while "third world" regions are not. As a bonus the mounting death toll solves some of their overpopulation problems.

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TECH NOTE 2

Shinatama is an SLD, or Simulated Life Doll. The SLDs were the first attempt to create an android - a manufactured organism whose systems and structures imitate human biology. An SLD breathes, eats, sweats and can feel pain. They aren't actually human so are more durable than their flesh and blood counterparts. The brain of an SLD is created from the patterns and engrams of a human brain, often forming a close bond or link between the SLD and its human "pattern."

SLDs are cutting edge technology and as such are closely monitored by the TCTF. There are very few of them and most are modeled after children because the smaller bodies are easier to create (and easier to control if they run amok) The TCTF is experimenting with using "adult" SLDs as field agents because of their exceptional strength and intelligence.

The Syndicate have also been experimenting with SLD technology, but their efforts have been progressing much more quickly without all the rigorous safeguards used by more respectable scientists. The Tankers are the result of this experimentation: super tough, super strong SLD warriors with a seriously bad attitude.