Shadowrun Denver History

And so it came to pass


It's been fifty-eight years since our world changed almost beyond recognition.

Nearly half a century of what should be called progress, and we're all still trapped on the merry-go-round of oppression, prejudice, destruction and survival. As a people, we innovate and create for money rather than the pure pleasure of bringing something new into the world. We seem more willing than ever to climb to the top of the heap over the backs of our fellow man. Rather than using technology to improve the lot of mankind, we've allowed it to separate us even further from each other. If we ever did have a golden age, we somehow slid past it without gaining anything lasting or important.

My name is Captain Chaos, and I'm having a bad day.

For those of you who don't know me, I'm the sysop of Shadowland, a next-generation BBS based in Seattle. If that description doesn't help, think of Shadowland as a sort of branch library of the Denver Data Haven—the North American nexus of information, assistance and data exchange, free to anyone who can find it.

And that's precisely my problem today. I've spent years collating and posting other people's adventures, advice and anecdotes to this board, and it's been a pretty informative and entertaining time. We've managed to save a lot of people a lot of trouble in one way or another, and that's a pretty satisfying accomplishment to have attached to your name. Unfortunately, not everyone understands what we're here for, and not everyone who finds their way into the nexus knows how to handle what they find. So you occasionally have to accept the sorry fate of newbies who find a way to self-destruct despite the guidance of their elders—and the two soft-shells who crashed and burned in the Matrix less than two hours ago represent prime examples of what happens to people with too much money and too little knowledge.

So today I'm going to take advantage of my position and use Shadowland to post my own favorite rant, without interruptions. The topic is the world we live in and how it got that way. The justification is that those who refuse to learn from history are doomed to repeat it—and I'm tired of them repeating it on my board. Pardon my attitude, but I'm not going to pull any punches here.

In the Sixth World, multinational megacorps pull the world's puppet-strings to benefit their bottom lines—and shadowrunners, folks living on the edge like you and me, do the corps' dirty work for pay. These days, survival means working the shadows; you've got to be willing to lie, steal and kill to stay alive. The technology we depend on doesn't bring us together. Worldwide communications net? Great idea, but not much use when half the population is zoned out on simsense chips and the rest can't access a working dataterminal in the slums where they're forced to live. The rich have gotten richer and the poor a lot more plentiful, so the wealthy barricade themselves in armed enclaves and leave the rest of us to squat and rot. Large chunks of our planet are dying, swallowed by urban sprawl or choked to death by corp polluters. There's still green wilderness in some places, lots of it restored by magic—but I can't see much of it from the sprawl where I live, and neither can hundreds of thousands like me.

And then there's the return of magic, which really turned things upside down. The destructive power of the Great Ghost Dance, the shock of watching loved ones turn into trolls, real live dragons showing up on the evening trid—all that and more now are part of our everyday life.

Some people might say we're back on track, back into our usual happy routine of slowly destroying ourselves and everything around us. But that's a load of drek. In the last century, do you think people considered installing direct neural implants in their bodies for job security, or had to worry about a neighbor incinerating them with a fireball over a parking dispute? You think they suffered anything comparable to the trauma of goblinizing into something their own families considered a beast? Did they worry about getting brain-fried if they wandered into the wrong end of a computer network, or that some astral peeping-tom might be watching what they were doing in the bedroom? Could they vote for a fragging dragon for President?

A lot of things have changed, but some things are still the same. Big business will still screw you as soon as look at you, and for those of us not working for the corps, crime is our meal ticket.

1999 - The Seretech Decision


  • January 9: Truckers of the Teamster Union are refusing the offer of the American government and going into strike. The shortages caused by this are causing food riots all over the country, especially in those densely populated cities, like new York.
  • April 12: A Seretech convoy with contagious waste is attacked by an armed mob in New York City, in the mistaken belief this was a food transport. Seretec's security force is using lethal force to defend itself and the convoy. 200 rioters and 20 Seretech security officers die.
  • Mai 6: Seretech is sued and the case is filed under the name 'The United States vs. Seretech Corporation'
  • October 26: The Supreme Court rules in the case 'The United States vs. Seretech Corporation' the the use of lethal force was necessary to save thousands of lives as opposed to the hundreds it cost. This precedence case this causes is in the following years used time and again to allow mega-corporations to work towards extraterritoriality and the thereby related use of lethal force within their corporate territory.

2000 - Shiawase Rulings


  • Juli 10: Supreme Court allows Shiawase Corporation to build their own nuclear power plant with limited control from the American Nuclear Regulatory Commission. This became to be known as the First Shiawase Ruling.
  • November 8: The nuclerar power plan of Shiawase Corporation is going online, making Shiawase independent of the public network.
  • December 14: After an attack of TerraFirst! on Shiawase's nuclear power plant, the American Nuclear Regulatory Commission sues Shiawase Corporation. The corporation claims that law limited their security forces in ways that made it impossible to react properly to the attack.

2001 - Shiawase Decision


  • February 14: The Second Shiawase Decision establishes mega-corporate extraterritoriality.
  • Aug-Oct: NASA Mars probes photograph pyramids and a skeleton on the surface of Mars. The information is given the highest classification (Top Secret:Veil).

2002 - Ares Industries founded


  • New tech enables production of optical chips that are not affected by EMP.
  • June 14: Nicholas Aurelius unites his possessions, including his shares on General Motors, into Ares Industries. The resulting new mega-corporation is granted extraterritoriality by President Hunt.

2003 - Stouffer Concourse Hotel burns


  • In Denver, Colorado, U.S.A., the Stouffer Concourse Hotel burns to the ground. It is later rebuilt.

2004 - Israels Counter Strike and Nuclear Meltdown in UK


  • Libya attacks Israel with chemical weapons
  • A nuclear meltdown at Dungeness in Kent (England) creates a localized irradiated zone.
  • Nov 2: Philip Bester is elected the 44th President of the United States

2005 - Earth Quake in New York and Second Korea War


  • Israel nukes Libya, destroying half its cities.
  • August 12: A major earthquake hits New York City, killing 200,000 and causing 200 billion in damage.
    • United Nations moves to Geneva
    • East Coast Stock Exchange moves to Boston.
  • Conservative government in the United Kingdom establishes regional parliaments in Scotland and Wales.
  • Japanese corporations force North and South Korea into an armed conflict starting the Second Korea War.

2006 - End of Second Korea War and the New Japanese Empire


  • Early 2006: North-Korea fires nuclear weapons on Japan. None reach their destination and no damage is caused.
  • Late 2006: North-Korea is overrun by Japanese forces.
  • After the victory over North Korea the New Japanese Empire is declared.

2007 - ORO founded


  • Drug cartel leaders Ortega, Ramos, and Ortiz buy a resource development company and name it ORO.

2008 - Cattenom meltdown


  • March: The Lorraine nuclear power plant Cattenom suffer a nuclear meltdown. Saarland, Lorraine and Luxembourg are abandoned due to the highly toxic radioactive cloud that occurs as a consequence. 37.341 humans die, 98.487 are contaminated
  • Nov 4: Jesse Garrety is elected the 45th President of the United States

2009 - Lone Eagle Incident and the Re-Education and Relocation Act


  • The resource rush. Due to laws that allow the corporations to acquire formerly protected land, mega-corporations go on buying frenzy
  • May 5: United Oil receives rights to 25% of national park-lands and 10% of Indian lands.
  • Sovereign American Indian Movement (SAIM) seizes the Shiloh launch facility in Montana. Delta Team retakes the site, but not before the terrorists launch a Lone Eagle ICBM at Russia. The missile never hits. No one knows why.
  • Re-Education and Relocation Act (Nepean Act in Canada) round up Native Americans into "reeducation centers".
  • King Charles III is crowned in Westminster Abbbey.

2010 - VITAS


  • Virally Induced Toxic Allergy Syndrome (VITAS) kills off a quarter of the world's population.
  • In Vatican City, Pope John Paul III dies suddenly of the VITAS plague. He is succeeded by arch-conservative Cardinal Vitali who takes the name John Paul IV. (Shadows of Europe)
  • Keruba and BMW start the first mega-corporate war, decimating each other. This inspired other AAA's to invest in defenses, set a precedent of no-holds-barred fighting for corporate war, and taught the world that corporate war was bad for everyone's business. In conjunction with the chaotic repercussions of the Awakening inspired, this would lead to the formation of the ICC.
  • BMW bought by Michel Beloit, who would make it the premier industrial power of Europe by incorporating Saeder Munitions and Krupp Manufacturing.
  • October 31: Quebec secedes from Canada.

2011 - The Year of Chaos


  • Unexplained Genetic Expression (UGE) — elven and dwarven babies are born to human parents.
  • On January 1, in Vatican City, during the traditional New Year's Message from St. Peter's Square, Pope John-Paul IV denounces metahumans as abominations in the eyes of God. (Tír na nÓg)
  • England's Sizewell B nuclear power station suffers critical meltdown, resulting in a total death count of 17,000.
  • A nuclear power plant in Dounreay, Scotland suffers a meltdown, creating the Scottish Irradiated Zone.
  • Terrorist pollute the North Sea with oil. The spill causes the Scottish Toxic Border Zone.
  • Strong Hurricanes drive polluted Water from the North sea up the Rhine and Elbe, far stretches of the Netherlands, Denmark, Belgium and Northern Germany are flooded. Later the flooding is labelled the 'Black Flood'. Many of the flooded areas stay lost to the sea.
  • Jul: Operation Discovery, an 8-man Mars Mission, makes planetfall and begins its survey.
  • Dec 24:
      • The Awakening.
      • Ryumyo appears on Mt. Fuji.
      • Daniel "Howling Coyote" Coleman leaves Abilene DC.
      • The operations module of Operation Discovery crashes on Mars, killing 5 of the 8 astronauts.
  • Dec 26: Ley-lines and standing stones re-emerge all over Britain. First sighting of the Great Welsh Dragon, Celedyr, in Caerleon.

2011 - Predictions


Denver Colorado

  • Certain occultists claim that the city is home to a spirit of immense power.
  • The maglev train line linking Boulder to Colorado Springs is completed.

2012 - Dunkelzahn and Lovwyr


  • Various nations oppose the popes verdict against metahumans
  • January 12: The Great Dragon Dunkelzahn awakes in Cherry Creek Lake, Denver.
  • January 27: Dunkelzahn agrees to a 12-hour interview with Holly Brighton about the 'awakening' of the Sixth World and Magic.
  • Lofwyr appears in Germany and becomes a corporate player.
  • England's King Charles III abdicates in favor of his only surviving son, George.
  • In March, in Vatican City, a Papal Bull is issued confirming Pope John Paul IV's position against metahumans and further denouncing all things magical as "unholy and ungodly by their very nature." (Shadows of Europe)

2012 - Consequences of Dunkelzahns Presence in Denver


Denver, Colorado, U.S.A.

  • Dunkelzahn, in order to bypass the problem of recording his words (due to the fact that dragons communicate through a "thought-voice"), hires John Timmons, a young black divinity student from Denver, to be his interpreter. As a result, Timmons becomes a major voice in Post-Awakened North American Protestantism, where he preaches tolerance and clear-mindedness against a tide of religious reactionism.
  • Jaelle Lester, founder of the Church of the Whole Earth Inc., suffering from a crisis of faith, sees Dunkelzahn make his first appearance and declares him to be a sign from the Goddess. She begins to turn her tiny church into a much larger organization.

2013 - Combat Biking and Pope John Paul IV dies


  • First televised Combat Biker match (Baton Rouge, LA)
  • In Vatican City, Pope John Paul IV dies in his sleep, replaced by moderate John XXV, a former Brazilian bishop.
  • A partial meltdown in Nuclear Power Plant Trojan-Satsop (Redmond) leads to Redmonds evolution into Glow City.

2013 - DFI


  • The Denver Union Stockyards are purchased by Denver Foodstuffs Inc. (DFI) and turned into one of the Southwest's largest sources of food algae.

2014 - Native American Nations and United Free Republic of Ireland


  • Daniel Howling Coyote announces formation of the NAN and Sovereign Tribal Council.
  • Redondo peak erupts and buries Los Alamos, New Mexico.
  • April 15: Masaru awakens in Mount Mayan, Luzon, during a complete lunar eclipse
  • Following magically enhanced terrorist activity, the governments of the U.K. and Eire sign the Treaty of Galway establishing the United Free Republic of Ireland

2015 - Aztlan


  • May 5: Francisco Pavón of the Azatlán party becomes first directly elected president of Mexico.
      • Mexico becomes Aztlan, backed by ORO corporation (Aztechnology).
  • Hong Kong breaks free from mainland China and proclaims independence. The British government uses its influence to protect Hong Kong, but is duped by mega-corporations and loses face over the incident.
  • Schism splits the Irish Republican Army (IRA) into two factions: the Provisional IRA (led by Liam O'Connor, a "spike baby" elf) and the Official IRA. The Provisional IRA is incorporated into the state security apparatus, where it counters Protestant paramilitaries. It would grow into the core of the Tir Republican Corps (TRC).

2015 - Immigration


Denver, Colorado, U.S.A.

  • Immigration of Asians virtually stops due to the political upheaval of the Native American situation.

2016 - The Secret War


  • USA President Garrety assassinated by William Springer (never captured). Also assassinated: Russian President Nikolai Chelenko, Prime Minister Lena Rodale of the United Kingdom, Minister Chaim Schon of Israel.
    • VP William Jarman passes Executive Order 17-321, the extermination of the Native American tribes.
  • Ares buys NASA.
  • A major oil spill in the North Sea creates the Scottish Fringe Toxic Zone.

2017 - The Great Ghost Dance


  • Aug 17, 10:32 am: Mt. Hood, Mt. Ranier, Mt. St. Helens, and Mt. Adams erupt in the Pacific Northwest.

2017 - Zebulon


Denver, Colorado, U.S.A.

  • Two magicians, Robert Greene, a shaman in SAIM, and Ursula Mahr, a hermetic working for the U.S. government, try to summon the Denver city spirit at the exact same moment. The spirit, whose name is Zebulon, splits into two separate beings. These spirits kill Greene by invoking intense fear in him, and Mahr by blowing her apart.

2018 - Treaty of Denver


  • Aztlan invited to join the Sovereign Tribal Council of the Native American Nations. As a member nation, it participates in the Treaty of Denver.
  • The Treaty of Denver resolves the dispute between the United States and the Native American Nations. Denver is divided between the US and four members of the NAN: Aztlan, Pueblo, Sioux, and Ute. Denver and the surrounding territory becomes the Front Range Free Zone, a technically sovereign state governed by the Council of Denver.
  • First generation ASIST developed by Dr Hosato Hikita, ESP systems, Chicago. (mat.13)
  • Civil war in China results in yet another fractured nation: Manchuria, Xinjiang, Guangxi, the Canton Confederation.
  • The spaceplane America disintegrates in orbit, crashing in Longreach, Australia and killing 200.

2018 - Consequences of becoming Treaty City


FRFZ, Denver City

  • Denver City and Council Building is renamed Council Hall.
  • The U.S. government blows up the NORAD facility in Cheyenne mountain to prevent it from entering Native American hands.
  • The UCAS sector begins to adjust its security procedures.
  • The federal governments of the United States, Canada, and Mexico all send representatives to Denver, Colorado to negotiate with the NAN.

2019 - Emergence of cyber-ware: First cyberlimb


  • First successful cyber-limb—Leonora Bartoli, violinist

2019 - University of Colorado closes


  • The University of Colorado is closed down.

2020 - A failed Jihad


  • Aden destroys Tehran in response to the Ayatollah's declaration of jihad against the metahuman races.
  • Ares launches Apollo space program.

2021 - Goblinization


  • Sheila Blatavska establishes the Atlantean Foundation.
  • Apr 30: Goblinization strikes 10% of the world population. Martial law, concentration camps in the US. Yomi Island (Philippines) in the Japanese Empire. England's King George VII is declared dead, rumors persist that he was killed when he began changing into a troll.

2022 - VITAS 2 and more new Nations


  • Race riots occur around the world.
  • Electronic news mag Data coins the term "Awakened".
  • VITAS 2 claims another 10%.
  • Cuba, Jamaica, Grenada, Bermuda and the Virgin Islands join together to form the Caribbean League.
  • Founding of the Australia and New Zealand Allied Confederation (ANZAC)
  • Los Angeles is rocked by gang warfare, eventually suppressed by National Guardsmen. The city's worst slums are walled off, soon renamed "El Infierno" by local residents.
  • The Internetwork Transmission Control Council (ITCC) is formed from the remains of the FCC as a self-regulating oversight body for the responsible management of the communications industry. This comes to include the networks that made up the Internet as well as the content. (mat.13)

2023 - The fight for metahuman rights


  • Humanis Policlub founded.
  • The ICC moves to Freedom space habitat, renames itself the Corporate Court, grants itself authority over all extraterritorial corporations.
  • US Supreme Court grants equal rights to metahumans.
  • Riots over hoarded VITAS 2 serum level the Los Angeles neighborhood of Watts.
  • In Fatima, Portugal, during a visit by Pope John XXV, a new apparition of the Virgin Mary appears before thousands of witnesses, reinforcing the Pope's Imago Dei reversing the effects of the previous Pope's declaration against Metahumanity. (Shadows of Europe)

2023 - Bronco's on strike


  • The Denver Broncos football team declares that they will not play until they get a new stadium, due to the fact that their old one is in Ute territory.

2024 - Commercial simsense.


  • George Edward Richard Windsor-Hanover becomes King George VIII in England
  • Pope John XXV issues the encyclical 'Imago Dei': Metahumans have souls and are capable of salvation. Magical abilities are not inherently evil. Spirits are manifestations of nature (gray area).
  • The U.S. presidential election is held across the Internet for the first time, using the experimental "remote-vote" system.

2025 - Sports, the occult and the Lord Protector


  • First cyberware in professional sports
  • The World Combat Cyclists League (WCCL) is founded. Combat Biking accepted as official Sports.
  • UCLA establishes the first undergraduate program in occult studies.
  • The United Kingdom Constitution Act is passed in the United Kingdom, creating the office of Lord Protector.

2025 - Broncomania Stadium


  • The Broncomania Stadium is built in the U.S. sector to replace their former stadium which ended up in the Ute sector.

2026 - More magical studies


  • Texas A&M and MIT both add occult studies, renamed to Texas AM&M (Agriculture, Medicine, and Magic) and MIT&T (Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Thaumaturgy).
  • Oxford and Edinburgh Universities establish Bachelor of Science degrees in occult studies.

2027 - Fusion power


  • Los Angeles Power and Water Company pioneers the first use of cold fusion technology, which produces fresh water from salt water as a by-product
  • The Lord Protector's office (England) drafts the Magical Practitioners Registration Bill, which passes into law.

2027 - Anahuac University


  • The Aztlan government claims the University of Denver and renames it Anahuac University.
  • The ironing out of the border details of the city is completed.

2028 - LA earthquake


  • Major earthquake hits Los Angeles, destroys LAX
  • Cambridge institutes magical studies program.
  • Britain withdraws from the European Economic Community (EEC).

2029 - Crash of 29


  • Sony Cybersystems, Fuchi Industrial Electronics, and RCA-Unisys develop prototype cyberterminals.
  • CIA, FBI, and NSA begin Echo Mirage project.
  • The Salish-Shidhe Council (SSC) opens its borders to all metahumans (not just Native Americans). The Sinsearach elf tribe is founded in the southern region.
  • Feb 8: the Crash Virus of 2029 cripples computers worldwide.
  • Aug: Presidential emergency order drafts corporate and university hackers into Echo Mirage to combat the virus.

2030 - UCAS


  • Ghoul nation of Asamando founded in Africa.
  • Oct 15: Act of Union signed in Washington D.C.; Canada and the USA merge into the UCAS.
  • Awakened forces in Russia seize Siberia.
  • Sydney declares independence

2030 - Adirondack Brewery destroyed


  • The Adirondack Brewery is destroyed.

2031 - Euro Wars


  • Beginning of the Euro-Wars.
  • Late: Echo Mirage finishes off the virus (7 survivors) second-generation cyberterminals are desk-sized.

2031 - Governing Council takes over


  • The enclaves begin to police their own regions.
  • The governing council begins to establish security zones.

2032 - Euro wars


  • Euro war events
    • Poland surrenders to Russia.
    • Russian troops attack Berlin.
    • Great Britain deploys troops in Netherlands and Flanders.
    • Olympic Games are cancelled.
  • A consortium of Corporate Court members, Ares, Aztechnology, BMW, JRJ International, Mitsuhama, Renraku and Shiawase, takes over Global Financial Services.
  • The Corporate Court involves itself in the reconstruction of worldwide communications lines, known as the Matrix.
  • Michel Beloit, head of BMW, dies. Widow Wilhelmina Graff-Beloit becomes Chairman of the Board.
  • Yamatetsu formed from a merger of a dozen Filipino and Japanese companies .
  • 28 September: Lone Star Security Services is granted extraterritoriality.
  • UCAS government contracts Lone Star Security Services to privatize the Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA)
  • Medical use of magic established by the UCAS' American Medical Association
  • Creation of the Technocratic Party in the UCAS.
  • 2 November: UCAS President Andrew McAlister is re-elected in the first election held since the creation of the UCAS.
  • Corporate Court takes over ITCC, RTG regulation in CC jurisdiction. New authority named Corporate Court Matrix Authority (CCMA).
  • Baseball becomes the first major league sport to allow cyberware

2033 - Euro wars end


  • Jan 23: Nightwraith Fighter-bombers attack key C&C centers on all sides of the Euro-Wars, bringing the fighting to a screeching halt.
  • Nanosecond Buyout: Damien Knight takes control of Ares.

2034 - Even more new Nations


  • Amazonia founded.
  • CAS secede from the UCAS.
  • Aztlan withdraws from the STC and the NAN.
  • South Florida joins the Caribbean League.
  • The Human-Metahuman Vampiric Virus is isolated.
  • May: Matrix Systems, Boston, releases first gray-market cyberterminal.
  • Jun: Matrix Systems suffers a computer crash and its two primary shareholders die in "unrelated accidents"
  • Jul: Richard Villiers, the remaining majority shareholder, buys into Fuchi with the Matrix Systems technology.
  • Dec 25: formation of Tir na nOg announced.

2034 - CAS Secedes from UCAS


  • The Stouffer Concourse hotel burns down a second time and is rebuilt.
  • In the UCAS, a few days after MacAlister's speech, Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, and the southern portion of Virginia secede from the UCAS to form the Confederated American States (CAS). The CAS is instantly recognized by Aztlan. The CAS is written into the governing council of the city of FRFZ, UCAS Sector is divided into CAS and UCAS parts.

2035 - Tir Tairngire


  • March: Liam O'Connor becomes State President of Tir na nOg.
  • The Ceneste branch of the Sinsearach elves establish the elven nation of Tir Tairngire (TT).
  • Tir Tairngire secedes from the NAN.
  • Lugh Surehand appointed High Prince of Tir Tairngire .
  • Tsimshian secedes from the NAN.
  • Aztlan invades Texas, capturing the cities of Austin and San Antonio. The CAS refuses to support Texan resistance, causing Texas to secede (briefly, they were re-admitted 4 months later).

2035 - Split up of the NAN Sector


  • The NAN sector in Denver fragments into three separate sectors. ruled by the Pueblo Corporate Council, Sioux Nation, and Ute Nation.
  • The Native American representatives split into separate sectors due to political differences.
  • The Pueblo sector begins construction of a new base for Pueblo Security Enterprises, Inc. on the land of Fort Carson.

2036 - California Free State


  • UCAS President McAlister withdraws all federal support from California after they threaten secession
    • Tir Tairngire invades south to Redding.
    • Aztlan invades north to San Diego.
    • Japan takes control of San Francisco.
  • Alamos 20,000 claims responsibility for the firebombing of a town in rural Ohio, their first public atrocity. 20 people (mostly metahuman) die.
  • SIN established through the 14th Amendment to the UCAS Constitution
  • Fuchi markets 3rd-generation cyberdeck, desktop CDT-1000.
  • Akiko Kano and Arthur White-Eagle earn the Nobel Prize for the "Kano-White Eagle Theory of Metaphysical Phenomena".
  • Regeneration and transformation of regional forests begins in Scotland.
  • Open war in Italy is only avoided when Pope John XXV negotiates a settlement between the corporations and the sindaci (mayors). The cities of Genoa, Milan and Turin are written off as a catastrophe zone and renamed the Special Administrative Zone of Genoa-Milan-Turin (GeMiTo). (Shadows of Europe)

2036 - Pueblo Security Enterprises Inc.


  • Fort Carson is converted by the Pueblo Corporate Council government into Pueblo Security Enterprises Inc.

2037 - Denver Data Haven and Lofwyr takes over Saeder Krupp


  • BTL appears on the market
  • Denver Data Haven opens up. (Physical location: the old USAF Academy in Colorado Springs).
  • DocWagon founded.
  • Lofwyr announces 63% ownership of Saeder-Krupp, votes himself chairman of the board, president, and CEO.
  • California pushes Tir Tairngire back north as far as Yreka. Area between Redding and Yreka neutral grounds, claimed by both sides.
  • First North American Urban Brawl championship, "Super Brawl".

2037 - Representation in UCAS revoked for FRFZ citizens


  • UCAS Congress votes to rescind the responsibility of the representative of the UCAS in FRFZ to attend sessions in the House of Representatives.
  • UCAS federal government revokes the rights of representation for citizens living in the UCAS sector of FRFZ.

2038 - Denver Data Haven


  • A freak blizzard causes massive disruptions across the city.
  • Rumors begin to circulate of Denver Data Haven, a clearing house for the Shadowland networks as well as many other computer nets.
  • The Lakewood Correctional Institution, closed for renovation, is reopened.

2039 - Night of Rage


  • Feb 7: Global riots against metahumans cause the death of thousands of real and wannabe metahumans.
  • Feb 10: Alamos 20k destroys the Sears Tower in Chicago.
  • St. Patrick's Day: Boston, Knights of the Red Branch bomb elven restaurant, killing 24 the resulting race riots claimed hundreds more.
  • Nadja Daviar becomes the Big D's third interpreter.
  • Charleston, SC: Serial killer caught and convicted on evidence obtained from a ghost.
  • Fuchi sponsors the Universal Matrix Specifications (UMS) conference, Tokyo.
  • A massive chemical spill kills 70,000 people in Teesside, England.

2040 - Azania


  • Southern Africa unites into Azanian Alliance, composed of the Cape Republic, Oranje-Vrystaat, Trans-Swazi Federation, and Zulu Nation.
  • Renraku Arcology in Seattle begins construction.

2041 - Nothing New, just the average chaos


  • EuroAir Flight 329 from London to Atlanta destroyed by Sirrurg
  • Policlubs appear in Europe.
  • Yamatetsu makes bid for prime mega-corporate status, sparking light corporate war.

2041 - Freak hurricane


  • A freak hurricane strikes the city.

2042 - Wyrm Talk and a new AAA mega-corp


  • Dunkelzahn begins semi-annual "Wyrm Talk".
  • Ares project: Cydonia discovers Operation Discovery crash, Veil agents engineer a hoax to cover it: The cheesy UFO photo made public 15 years later by Dunkelzahn's Will.
  • Liam O'Connor (President of Tir na nOg) disappears from public life.
  • First biannual international Urban Brawl World Cup
  • In the Papal States, Italian Confederation, Pope John XXV declares that women may now be appointed priests in the Catholic Church. (Shadows of Europe)
  • Yamatetsu elbows its way into the Big Seven, becoming the Eighth major mega-corp.
  • Universal Brotherhood appears in California

2043 - Small steps into the future


  • Rhiannon Glendower becomes Countess of Snowdon.
  • Gwynedd elves make major advances in Welsh regional parliament.
  • The Netherlands and Flanders merge and form the United Netherlands.

2043 - DocWagon in Denver


  • DocWagon is awarded the contract for city medical services.

2044 - Olympic games restart and CAS is accepted


  • Olympic games are held again, the first time since 2032. Multinational teams backed by corporate interests are allowed to compete.
  • Confederated American States (CAS) officially accepted as a nation
  • German Hunggarten's southern alliance government fails due to international isolation, economical boycott and after a formation flight of Great Dragons above Munich and Stuttgart.

2044 - The weather again


  • A massive blizzard covers the city.

2045 - German Alliance founded, Aztlan grows


  • German Alliance founded.
  • 2045-2047: Guatemala, Belize, Honduras, El Salvador, and Nicaragua are accepted into the Aztlaner republic.
  • Universal Brotherhood in Seattle.

2046 - The Lost Election


  • Rogue deckers erases California's gubernatorial election results, supposedly aided by Los Angeles street gang.
    • The so-called Lost Election prompts declaration of war on the "criminal element" in Los Angeles
    • Army and corporate mercenary troops raze El Infierno, fighting a losing battle.
    • California's central government declares Los Angeles a Free City, giving up on the city.
  • Para-VITAS outbreak kills 120,000, Tynesprawl (England) . Unidentified eco-terrorists suspected as cause for the outbreak.

2046 - Doc Wagon offering all services


  • DocWagon now offers all services to city residents.
  • Samuel Clemens Waybridge is appointed administrator of the UCAS sector.

2047 - Cyberware in football and basketball


2047: Cyberware allowed in professional football and basketball

2048 - Operation Reciprocity


  • Panama admitted into Aztlan.
  • Aztlan (Aztechnology) nationalizes all foreign businesses. Corporate Court authorizes a joint corporate military strike, "Operation Reciprocity", against Aztechnology.
  • Veracruz Settlement: Aztechnology pays reparations.
  • Panama canal becomes a Pan-Corporate Zone under the Corporate Court.
  • Colbert Group CEO Alan Adams is elected president of the UCAS.

2048 - Nothing new at the FRFZ


  • The Humanis Policlub initiate a series of riots and attacks in Chinatown.
  • The old State Capitol Building is demolished to make room for a new one.

2049 - Semi-Autonomous Knowbots


  • Renraku develops first Semi-Autonomous Knowbot (SK).
  • Aztlan and Amazonia squabble over Colombia and Venezuela.
  • First public sighting of the feathered serpent Arleesh

2049 - New Aztlan Representative


  • Hector Ramirez becomes Aztlan's representative on the Council of Denver.

2050 - 7th Gen Cyberdecks and the dark side of simsense


  • Seventh-gen cyberdeck (keyboard size).
  • August: SimSense-Corp develops first Personafix-Chips, three prototypes (Cleopatra, Ghengis Khan, Jack the Ripper) are stolen
  • August: Ehran the Scribe works on Mankind Revealed.
  • August: Conflicts between the Young Elven Technologists and the Para Nobilis Society happen.
  • December: Rumors of a meta virus, that transforms humans into animals, are going around.

2050 - Mitsuhama environmental donation


  • Mitsuhama Computer Technologies makes a 10 year, 500 million nuyen donation to environmental causes. Rumors circulate that the reason is to compensate for being caught in an environmental dumping scandal in FRFZ.

2051 - the Insect Shadow starts to show


  • January: SimSense-Star Amanda Lockhart, known as Euphoria, is kidnapped
  • February: Lone Star fails at apprehending Blackwing.
  • May: A nest of insect spirits is eliminated in Seattle
  • Mai 21: Western Great Dragon Schwartzkopf appears in Furth im Wald and declares himself ruler of the area
  • June: Fayette Myers wird entführt.
  • September: A toxic shaman tries to poison a large area of Tsimshian
  • Oktober: Emerging Futures Unlimited receives the contract for projekt Cerberus.
  • Oktober: A british scientist manages to transfer his spirit through chips into the Matrix
  • Oktober: A war within the NAN is avoided last minute
  • November: A powerfull old spirit tries to enter the world.

2051 - And more weather


  • A massive blizzard disrupts city operations.

2052 - Technology curve


  • 2XS BTL, just worse
  • Bioware hits the public market.
  • Seattle-Tir Tairngire trade agreement, Seattle becomes Tir Tairngire's major port.
  • UCAS Pres Adams died after re-election, VP Thomas Steele takes the Big Chair.

2052 - More Representatives


  • Jonathan Pope becomes the Pueblo Corporate Council's representative on the Council of Denver.
  • Margaret Stands Firm is appointed administrator of the Ute Sector.
  • William Huhuseca becomes the Ute Nation's representative on the Council of Denver.
  • The Humanis Policlub-led riots in Chinatown suddenly stop. Rumors hint to an agreement between Humanis Policlub and local business interests.
  • The wife of David Vaas, owner of the Raintree Inn, is murdered.

2053 - Hestaby


  • Hestaby takes possession of Shasta Dam and surrounding territory in Northern California, repelling a Tir Tairngire attack.
  • Publication of Anchoring theorems.
  • Proteus corp completes two arkoblocks (offshore Arcologies) in Japan.

2053 - Cattle killed


  • An alarming number of cattle are found mutilated just outside of the city.

2054 - Atlantis


  • Tentative discovery of Atlantis (Thera) 150 miles off Crete.
  • Tir Tairngire locks down Crater Lake.
  • Pat MacNamara kandidates as mayor of New York City.
  • December: A massacre on several corporate officials happens on Hawai'i.

2054 - Random madness


  • A Tir Tairngire commando team initiates a raid against the Data Haven, the home base of the Shadowland computer network, in order to prevent information on Tir Tairngire from being released. The team accidentally strays into Sioux territory and is attacked by a group of the Sioux Special Forces Wildcats. The event causes a large, yet short lived, diplomatic incident and is unsuccessful at preventing the Tir Tairngire files from being broadcasted.
  • A fight between two shamanic adepts at the Raintree Inn leads to one of them spontaneously combusting.
  • The Ute sector inexplicably cuts off all transport in or out except for approved trips to the Ute Nation. The close-out is short lived.
  • June 5: The home of Yakuza Oyabun Kasigi Toda is bombed, although Toda is not home during the explosion, his wife and two children are killed.

2055 - The Universal Brotherhood (UB), Chicago Contanment Zone and Chermak Blast


  • UCAS FBI discovers insect spirits as controlling the UB, shuts it down, no reasons given publicly. Financial corruption used for cover.
  • Other nations take similar steps, By '56 the UB is completely shut down.
  • Ares assisting destructive raids against local hives, reported as "unmotivated terrorist violence" against the Universal Brotherhood.
  • Aug 22: Knight Errant Firewatch team attacks probable largest insect hive in North America. Bug spirits spill out to infest Chicago.
  • Aug 23: UCAS government establishes Chicago Containment Zone, explained as virulent outbreak of VITAS.
  • Early October: Knight Errant Firewatch team inside Chicago Containment Zone detonates subtactical thermonuclear warhead inside the new core hive.
  • Blast and radiation effects much lower than expected, virtually all the insect spirits in Chicago going into torpor.

2055


  • In DeeCee Sprawl, UCAS, a group calling itself the Compensation Expedition Force or Compensation Army sets up squatter camps all across the city. The group state that they are people promised re-compensation for land lost to the NAN through the Treaty of Denver. They immediately begin picketing most major government offices.
  • An Aztechnology high priest is extracted from the Aztlan sector by a shadowrunner group. A large number of high explosive weaponry is used resulting in a great deal of death and destruction. The runners escape in a van that is hit with a missile before it can cross into CAS territory.
  • In Sioux Nation, NAN, Fuchi buys up what is left of FTL Technologies. Steven Z. Ridgemont is offered the opportunity to stay with the company but refuses. Instead, he moves to FRFZ and forms Warpdrive Systems.
  • August 14: DeeCee Sprawl, UCAS, two new bills are introduced to the House of Representatives. On is a bill apportioning voting areas in the former North Virginia counties of Arlington, Fairfax, and Alexandria. The second is a bill granting immediate repayment to all people displaced by the Treaty of Denver.
  • late December: A file is downloaded into the Nexus concerning the Chicago Containment Zone. The information in the file states that the Zone is not suffering from a VITAS plague. The real disaster is that the zone has been infested by huge insect spirits that use humans and metahumans for food and reproduction. The Zone has actually been constructed to keep the insect spirits from escaping into the rest of the world. After verifying the contents, the Nexus sysops broadcast the file to all Shadowland computer nodes. The information is distributed to the general public.

2056 - Year of the Bug (Bug City)


  • Late December 2055-January 2056: Chicago Containment Zone spread to public via Shadowland, the Denver Data Haven, etc. via Bug City download.
  • UCAS government can no longer sustain coverup, the world knows insect spirits and totems are a truth
  • UCAS Congress formally recognizes Great Dragon Dunkelzahn a legal citizen of the UCAS. Famous "handshake" (Dunkelzahn and President Thomas Steele) sends Technocrat ticket to top of polls.
  • Nov: President Thomas Steele and Vice Pres James Booth re-elected in "the dullest election of the 21st century".
  • Dec-Jan: UCAS Election results of 2056 found to be rigged; House Speaker Betty Jo Pritchard declares election null and void, announces new elections. Congress approves short campaign season. Election Day re-scheduled to Tuesday, 7 Aug 2057.

2057: Year of the Dragon (Super Tuesday, Shadows of the Underworld, Dunkelzahn's Secrets)


  • March 15: Dunkelzahn announces his intention to run for President on a historic broadcast of "Wyrm Talk!"
  • July 19: Republican candidate General Franklin Yeats found murdered in his hotel room (Shadows of the Underworld)
  • April 20: All eight mega-corporations suffer security breaches and system shutdowns at midnight, followed by extortion demands by a unidentified decker who leaves behind an enigmatic negative portrait of the Mona Lisa. The decker is later dubbed "Leonardo" and is rumored to be an elven genius of enormous intellect. (res.25, Novel: Black Madonna)
  • August 7: The great dragon Dunkelzahn is declared the winner of the 2057 Presidential Election by a narrow margin.
  • August 9: President Dunkelzahn is assassinated in the Presidential limo as he leaves the Watergate Hotel.
  • August 10: Kyle Haeffner succeeds Dunkelzahn as President of the UCAS
  • Aug 15: Dunkelzahn's Will is officially read and spread across the Matrix. The Draco Foundation is founded.
  • Aug 15: Miles Lanier (Fuchi chief of security) leaves Fuchi to join the board of directors of Renraku Computer Systems.
  • Aug 20: Arthur Vogel becomes president of Sierra, Inc.
  • Aug 22: Nadja Daviar grants Damien Knight voting control over Gavilan Ventures (Ares stock portfolio) for 2 years
  • Aug 31, 02:55:23 EST: The Players (of the Awakened World) is uploaded to the Shadowland BBS by system administrator Captain Chaos.
  • Sep 12: Wu Lung-Wai announces dramatic expansion plans for Wuxing, Inc.
  • The Dunkelzahn Institute of Magical Research is created

2058 - Aftermath and new pains


  • Feb 22: Ares implements "Operation Extermination," a large-scale physical and magical assault on the insect spirits infesting the Chicago Containment Zone. The Chicago quarantine is officially lifted in President Haeffner's State of the Union address. Ares uses FAB Strain III, an astrally active bacteria, to target Bug Spirits in the Zone. Unfortunately, Strain III does not restrict its depredation to insect spirits—it affects all astral objects and beings. Chicago's ghoul community is devastated.
  • Corporate wars are starting as a consequence to actions resulting from Dunkelzahn's will

2059 - Year of the Corp (Blood in the Boardroom)


  • Jan 7: Tadamako Shibanokuji, chairmain of Yamatetsu's board of directors, suffers a debilitating stroke. Control of his stock shares goes to Yamatetsu CEO Saru Iwano.
  • Feb 22: Tadamako Shibanokuji dies in a Yamatetsu hospital in Kyoto. Control of his stock reverts to his son, Yuri Shibanokuji (an ork).
  • May 5: Yamatetsu announces relocation of its corporate headquarters to Vladivostok, Russia.
  • May 16: Dosan Aburakoji, one of Mitsuhama's Corporate Court representatives, commits suicide in his Kyoto home.
  • Jun 6: Fuchi brings suit against Renraku in the Corporate Court, accusing them of using Miles Lanier's inside knowledge to steal Fuchi trade secrets. Within 24 hours, the charges are dropped. Lanier leaves Renraku, selling his four million shares of Renraku stock to the Zurich-Orbital Gemeinschaftsbank.
  • Jun 16: Navroz Chandaria of Renraku is named to the Corporate Court seat left vacant by Aburakoji's death.
  • Jul 8: Pacific Prosperity Group officially forms.
  • Jul 11: Flight 1118 from Tokyo crashes into Seattle's Redmond Barrens, on the Salish-Shidhe border. Nearly 200 people are killed in the plane and on the ground, hundreds more are injured and fires rage out of control throughout the district for more than 24 hours.
  • Jul 19: David Hague, one of Fuchi's Corporate Court representatives, is found dead in Redmond, Seattle.
  • Aug 15: Li Feng of Wuxing, Inc. is named to the Corporate Court seat left vacant by Hague's death.
  • Aug 22: Nadja Daviar regains control of the Ares stock owned by Gavilan Ventures.
  • Sep 29: "White Monday" The Tokyo Stock Exchange suffers its largest single- day drop in 70 years.
  • Oct 6: Richard Villiers of Fuchi announces the formation of Novatech, Inc., which continues Villiers' strategy of acquiring large portions of Fuchi. Miles Lanier is appointed Novatech's director of security.
  • Oct 20: Leonard Aurelius sells all of his Ares stock to Arthur Vogel. Vogel steps down as president of Sierra, Inc., and is replaced by Gary Grey.
  • Oct 27: Leonard Aurelius joins the board of directors of Cross Applied Technologies.
  • Dec 15: Anna Villalobos replaces Domingo Chavez as Aztechnology's representative on the Corporate Court.
  • Dec 19: The Renraku Arcology is closed to visitors for an indefinite period due to problems with its computer systems.

2060 - Year of the AI (Renraku Arcology Shutdown)


  • Feb 3: Renraku CEO Inazo Aneki begins an indefinite leave of absence. Haruhiko Nakada takes over as Interim CEO.
  • Mar 19: A virus of unknown origin attacks Seattle's Matrix RTG. People accessing the RTG suffer memory loss, psychotic episodes or brain death. The attack lasts for eleven minutes, then ends with no explanation or after effects.
  • Mar 26: Navroz Chandaria, one of Renraku's Corporate Court reps, dies in a terrorist bombing in New Delhi.
  • Apr 5: Shikei Nakatomi of Fuchi purchases four million shares of stock in Renraku from the Zurich-Orbital Gemeinschaft Bank. Renraku begins acquiring large portions of Fuchi.
  • Apr 15: Yves Aquillon of Cross Applied Technologies gains the Corporate Court seat left vacant by Chandaria's death.
  • Jun 7: Korin Yamana of Fuchi announces his marriage to Mitsuko Shiawase of Shiawase Envirotech.
  • Jun 14: Shiawase Corporation purchases all remaining assets of Fuchi Industrial Electronics. Korin Yamana accepts a position on Shiawase's board of directors.
  • Jun 15: Neil Benson replaces Francesco Napoli as Renraku's rep on the Corporate Court.
  • Jul 28: Fuchi Industrial Electronics is officially dissolved.

2061 - Year of the Comet


*Jan: Comet hype begins.

  • Jan-Sep: The first leg of the "Probe Race", as the space megacorps compete to be the first to send a probe to the comet. One by one, each probe falls victims to accident or sabotage.
  • Mar 19: A citywide power failure cripples the Seattle RTG for a short period, forcing many users and hosts offline and impeding other Matrix functions.
  • May 7: Inazo Aneki returns from his convalescence in Tibet.
  • May: Cooperating with an otaku alliance called Overwatch, Aneki enters the Renraku Arcology and uses hard-wired "kill codes" to disable the rogue artificial intelligence that has kept the arcology locked down for the past sixteen months. Deus is apparently destroyed. Aneki commits suicide. Public credit for ending the shutdown goes to Sherman Huang, despite the crucial role played by anonymous shadowrunners.
  • Late May: Inazo Aneki's death is announced publicly. Details are vague. Hot contenders for the now-vacant position of Renraku CEO are Sherman Huang and current acting CEO Haruhiko Nakada.
  • Aug: Typhoons batter the Philippines.
  • Sep: Halley's Comet becomes visible to the naked eye.
  • Sep 4: The first reported cases of SURGE express.
  • Sep 4: Ibn Eisa, leader of the Islamic Unity Movement, is assassinated.
  • Sep 9: Ibn Eisa rises from the dead, proclaims a New Islamic Jihad.
  • Sep 10: SURGE sweeps the globe, continues at a regular pace.
  • Sep 12: Paranoia about SURGE sparks riots, attacks and urban unrest.
  • Oct: SURGE backlash continues in full swing, with riots and attacks on metahumans.
  • Oct 27: Major earthquakes and volcanic activity shake the entire 'Ring of Fire' on both sides of the Pacific Ocean. Among the casualties is nearly the entire Japanese Imperial family. The Bay Area in California is crumpled by an earthquake; six volcanic eruptions and an earthquake wreck the Philippines; many other PacRim areas are also devastated.
  • Oct 29: The Japanese Diet orders the withdrawal of Imperial troops from foreign soil to assist with disaster relief and to rebuild Japan.
  • Nov: Halley's Comet temporarily disappears from view.
  • Nov: General Saito refuses the Diet's withdrawal order, staging a military coup in San Francisco backed by loyal troops and Japanese megacorps. Saito's troops quickly move into the Central Valley, seizing Sacramento and key sites. Ares moves troops in to defend Silicon Valley.
  • Nov 1: Ancestor spirits warn of the "return of the dead."
  • Nov 27: The news of the discovery of natural orichalcum deposits sparks an Orichalcum Rush.
  • Dec 2: An earthquake demolishes the free city of Los Angeles; walls go down, riots and looting sweeps the city.
  • Dec 8: The Pueblo Corporate Council moves in troops, seizing Los Angeles and the outlying areas. The PCC makes all Los Angeles residents probationary citizens.
  • Dec 24: The first reported "zombie" (shedim) attack occurs; many more are reported in the weeks that follow.
  • The CCMA creates a new Matrix policing agency in response to the arcology situation and grid shutdowns, called the Grid Overwatch Division (GOD).

2062 - Pendragon


  • October 31: The Isle of Lyonesse appears south of the British coast
  • December: First appearance of the Pendragon.
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